Towers - University of Idaho Newsletter - Vol. 15, Issue 2 (2012)

Towers Newsletter of the Library Associates of the University of Idaho Library Spring 2012

“I cannot teach my classes without the library.”

Inside this issue: What the Library Means to Me..............1-2

We support the University of Idaho Library because we know that as an institution, it makes critical contributions to education, research, scholarship and the overall success of our communities and our state. But what do these contributions look like?

How does the library figure in to the daily lives of faculty, students, and the campus community? In this issue of Towers, we’re going to explore the ways the University of Idaho Library contributes to the successes of a few of our stakeholders.

Dr. Dinah Zeiger is an Assistant Professor in the University of Idaho School of Journalism and Mass Media.

She and her students are regulars in the library.

The Map Room................................................3 Dean’s Corner: Thank You!...........................4

Ways to Give.....................................................4

Harry Potter’s World Exhibit........................3

Elephant Toothpaste!....................................2

Volume 15, Issue 2

To subscribe to Towers, please visit us at: www.lib.uidaho.edu/giving/

Here is what she has to say about the role the library plays in her teaching:

I cannot teach my classes without the library, even in the age of the Internet. In the past several years, librarians have helped my students learn to mine the riches of the University of Idaho Library. I always include a session in the library to make sure students know how to find basic information and how to work some of that old technology like microfilm and microfiche readers.

We’ve found some real treasures using those resources! One recent semester the Special Collections librarians introduced my beginning reporters to the cache of documents and photographs relating to University of Idaho’s early history, and students produced an interactive site locating the university’s ghost buildings.

This semester, students in American Studies have explored the decade of the Fifties through the library’s extensive periodicals collection, which Nancy Young, Library Liaison to Social Sciences, pulled out of storage and made available on the first floor. I am always dazzled by the vitrines, and last fall the library provided case-space for a display of one of those other antiques – manual typewriters from the collection of the faculty in University of Idaho’s School of Journalism and Mass Media.

Kristen Blanton, a graduate student in the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program, uses the library while teaching her English 102 classes each semester, but she also depends heavily on the library for her

P.O. Box 442350 Moscow, ID 83844 Phone: (208) 885-6534 Email: librdean@uidaho.edu

(above) Dr. Dinah Zeiger, Assistant Professor in the University of Idaho School of Journalism and Mass Media

1

continued on page 2

Library, continued from p. 1

ledge everything they could possibly desire and more. I spend more than half my week lost in the stacks and rows of carefully cataloged books looking into topics from lectures I want to better understand, or simply to quench my curiosity for a personal project.

At the library, we get to hear personal “library stories” every day. We witness the UI undergraduate from Boise, scholarly, personal, and Laura Gray professional relationships that form as diverse members of the university community come together in library spaces to use library resources to inform their growth as scholars and people. It is a pleasure to be able to share just a few library stories with you here in the hope that you can see at least a partial picture of the work your gifts make possible.

Your continued support of the University of Idaho Library ensures that our spaces and resources will be here to help people create their library stories for generations to come.

own work as a student. She says: The Interlibrary Loan system is one of the most useful tools for my research- I am consistently pleased by how quickly I am able to access materials and also how the library is able to find what seem to me to be incredibly obscure resources. The reference librarians are approachable and helpful at all stages of the research process. One of my other favorite things about the library is the organization of the books - this may seem obvious, but as a writer, it is always nice to be able to scan surrounding books and find more resources I might not have found simply by author or subject title.

We’ve heard from a faculty member and a graduate student, but what about those who are newer to campus and academic life? How does the library work in their lives? Laura Gray is an undergraduate English major from Boise who finds the library indispensible to her studies. She tells us: As a student, especially as an English Major, the library is not only a key resource for my learning and research, but a place to further investigate topics that we have touched upon in class.

The University of Idaho Library’s books, journals, and microfilm can be accessed by anyone who asks for it. These resources and our Special Collections that contain history from all over the Western United States give any student with a thirst for know-

Elephant Toothpaste!: Chemistry Magic in the Library

On a rainy Monday afternoon in April, six graduate students from the University of Idaho Chemistry Department and our very own Professor Dumbledore (a.k.a. Dr. Tom Bitterwolf ) brought the magic of chemistry to the library. The students provided an amazing show for the enthusiastic audience, which included students, staff, faculty, community members and local children. They demonstrated making “elephant toothpaste” (a foamy substance caused by the rapid decomposition of hydrogen peroxide) and chemical color changes. They also gave a very personal demonstration (see below) of how the human body conducts electricity. Finally, one lucky young audience member got to assist the students in creating a truly magnificent “cloud” with liquid nitrogen.

The library hosted these demonstrations to complement the Harry Potter’s World exhibit. The students said they enjoyed preparing and presenting the show and the audience was obviously delighted. The library creates an educational and scholarly crossroads on campus, where ideas can cross-pollinate. Bringing chemistry to the library gave chemistry students a chance to check out a nearby poetry display, and reminded English majors and others who may not have darkened the door of a lab since high school of the wonders of science.

Chemsitry graduate students Temple Warwick, Conner Jeffries, and Rachel Faulkner have an electrifying experience as part of the chemistry demonstrations.

Dumbledore (aka Dr. Tom Bitterwolf) talks to some children in the library before the Elephant Toothpaste! Chemistry Demonstration on April 16th

2

Harry Potter’s World from the National Library of Medicine In 2008, Gail Eckwright and the University of Idaho applied to the American Library Association and the National Library of Medicine to be one of the libraries that would have the opportunity to host the traveling exhibit “Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine.” In 2008 the world was in the midst of an acute Harry Potter frenzy bordering on obsession. EVERYONE wanted this exhibit. So, we had to wait, but this spring it is finally our turn. The exhibit is now here and it will be on display at the library through the end of April.

According to the exhibit website: In 1997, British author J. K. Rowling introduced the world to Harry Potter and a literary phenomenon was born. Millions of readers have followed Harry to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he discovers his heritage, encounters new plants and animals, and perfects his magical abilities. Although a fantasy story, the magic in the Harry Potter books is partially based on Renaissance traditions that played an important role in the development of Western science, including alchemy, astrology, and natural philosophy. Incorporating the work of several 15th and 16th century thinkers, the seven-part series examines important ethical topics such as the desire for knowledge, the effects of prejudice, and the responsibility that comes with power.

This exhibition, using materials from the National Library of Medicine, explores Harry Potter’s world, its roots in Renaissance science, and the ethical questions that affected not only the wizards of Harry Potter, but also the historical thinkers featured in the series. Visit the exhibit online at:

An image from the University of Idaho’s copy of Edward Topsell.

History of Four-Footed Beasts and Serpents...Collected out of the Writings of Conradus Gesner and other Authors. London: Printed by E. Cotes, for G. Sawbridge … T. Williams … and T. Johnson, 1658, held by Special Collecitons.

This exhibition was developed by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health and curated by Elizabeth J. Bland.

The University of Idaho Library is pleased to partner with the College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences, and the College of Science in bringing this exhibit to campus.

If you have any questions, please contact Sarah VanGundy at svangundy@uidaho.edu or 208-885-7814.

New from Digital Initiatives: The Map Room

The latest project from the University of Idaho Digital Initiatives is the creation of “The Map Room: Mapping Historic Photos from the University of Idaho’s Digital Collections.” With an interactive, color-coded map, The Map Room (http://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/maps/) provides instant access to more than 8,000 photographs, taken between 1880 and 1990, that depict scenes from over 130 Idaho cities, every Idaho county, and many other locations in the Northwest and across the country.

This picture, from the Ott Historical Photograph Collection, was taken at the Lincoln School in Moscow, Idaho around 1910. It is just one of the many photographs you can find through the new The Map Room page from the University of Idaho Digital Initatives.

3

The Map Room uses Google web applications to draw information and images from the University of Idaho Library's Digital Collections. Each map is searchable by keyword and limitable by date, providing researchers a quick and easy way access to historic photographs related to specific geographic locations. Photographs from the Barnard Stockbridge Collection, the Ott Collection, the Laughlin Collection, Campus Collections, Sports Collections, Dam Collections, Aerial Photographs, and Idaho Cities are included in The Map Room. Each clickable tab color indicates photographs from a different collection.

The Digital Initiatives department works to preserve and make accessible collections from the library, the University of Idaho, and the State of Idaho via its digitization, database, and digital archiving services. If you have any questions or comments, please contact the Digital Initiatives Coordinator, Devin Becker at dbecker@uidaho.edu.

Dean’s Corner Corner: Thank You!

Dr. Lynn Baird, Dean of the Library

Travelers have recounted tales of libraries they’ve found in their journeys, great places for cultural discoveries. I feel fortunate to have seen libraries through these storytellers’ eyes.

When we share our library stories, we are cultivating an appreciation of reading and lifelong learning. Libraries are the heart of great universities and this message was woven into this year’s budget presentation to the University of Idaho Regents and State Board of Education members. Great universities require great libraries. The library stories we hear everyday confirm that your contributions are important--not just to the library--but to our students, faculty, and community. Thank you.

--Lynn Baird, Dean of Library Services

For more information on giving options and ensuring your gift is used exactly the way you want it to be, contact Dean Lynn Baird at (208) 885-6534.

• Cash Gifts • Planned Giving • In-kind Gifts (Materials and Personal Collections) • Tax Benefits Appreciated Assets • Memorial or Honorary Gifts For more information, please visit: www.lib.uidaho.edu/giving/ways.html

Visit us online: www.lib.uidaho.edu Become a Fan: facebook.com/UofILibrary Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/UofILibrary Check in on Foursquare: foursquare.com/venue/1500910

P.O. Box 442350 Moscow, ID 83844 Phone: (208) 885-6534 Email: librdean@uidaho.edu

Stories are the cultural glue of a community. As the public face of the library, I often learn of people’s perceptions of the library through their library stories. One young man who worked as a student shelver informed me that he learned so much about libraries as a result of his summer job that he felt comfortable when he began his freshman year. One of our international students commented that she would never have gotten as much out of her study abroad program had she not had the opportunity to learn about American culture through her work at the library.

According to one dean at the University of Idaho, “The librarian has the power to change lives.” She was introduced to reading through the careful attention of her librarian. She recounted that the librarian paid attention to what she was reading and helped her select materials that set her on a path of lifelong learning.

Yet another colleague described his public library as a cathedral, an awe-inspiring space for discovering new ideas.

Our donors also have stories. I have heard love stories, tales of meeting a future spouse in the library. There are stories of shared adventures, searching for great book deals, or completing a collection.

Ways to Give