“Wrapped in Thought: Four-year-old Philip Ross finds ABC Easter Bunny more interesting than his guns and spurs. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Max Ross, 12605 Califa St., North Hollywood, he said he can’t read but ‘didn’t mind looking at pictures.’ Librarians at North Hollywood branch library said he is a frequent visitor.”
(via BoingBoing)
The Life Science Library’s Science Study Break program will wrap up its season on Wednesday (4/13) with an examination of James Cameron’s most recent blockbuster Avatar.
Dr. Misha Matz of the School of Biological Sciences will analyze biological fact and fiction in the fantastic world of the film.
The program will be at 6 p.m. in Garrison Hall, Room 0.102. It is free and open to the public.
Pop culture and the academy collide as Science Study Break features relevant faculty and experts from The University of Texas at Austin discussing the reality and fantasy portrayed as fact in science-themed books, television and film. Past presentations have featured presentations on bioterrorism and its treatment in the Fox thriller 24, artificial intelligence gone wild in 2001: A Space Odyssey, the comic realities of Spider-Man and epidemiological models for the proliferation of zombies.
Science Study Break occurs twice each semester and is generously supported by the University Federal Credit Union.
UPDATE: You can view Matz’s Avatar presentation on the university’s YouTube channel. Thanks, Misha.
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As the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office considers opening satellite offices to deal with a surplus of innovation across the country, various congresscritters are lining up to tout their respective districts as the ideal locations for the enterprise.
We’d expect no less from 25th Congressional District Representative Lloyd Doggett, and in making his argument for Austin as a potential future home for processing patents, the congressman pays The University of Texas and the Libraries (noting the McKinney Engineering Library) a tribute in making us part of his case for the project.
From the relevant text (emphasis added):
“Central Texas’s academic research sector is also very strong and would be an excellent partner as the USPTO seeks to enhance public engagement. Of the top 250 R&D universities in the country, the universities in Texas earned the fourth largest number of patents. The University of Texas flagship campus is in Austin and is home to 150 research units, exceeding $642 million in research spending as a Tier 1 research university (2009-2010), and is a major national leader among research universities with the fourth highest level of patent earnings in the country. The University offers the only Master of Technology Commercialization degree program in the world, and UT Austin ranks in the top 10 in both Engineering and Computer Science. UT Austin is also ranked in the Top 10 of research libraries and its McKinney Engineering Library is a PTO depository library.“
It’s nice to know our leaders are paying attention.
Next week, anyone needing to see the value of research at the university need only to step foot on campus.
Beginning on Monday, April 11, and continuing through Friday, April 15, the hard work of students gets a bit more visibility as part of Research Week 2011, this year’s installment of the annual campus-wide celebration of undergraduate research and creative activity featuring a combination of existing programs plus events and activities, and highlighting the many research opportunities available to students.
As a part of our central role on campus to provide the informational foundation for research at the university, the Libraries will host our third annual All Libraries Fair on the Plaza at the Perry-Castañeda Library on Wednesday, April 13, from 11:30am-1:30pm. Representatives from each of the ten campus branch libraries will be on hand with games, activities and information related to the Libraries and their resources.
There will be juggling, contests, prizes and cotton candy, so come join the fun, learn a little and see the significance of research at your university.
(Special thanks to Mayank Aranke – Biochemistry, Social Work – who appears at 1:36 in the following video and makes a case for your libraries.)
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And…action!
The Benson Latin American Collection presents its ninth annual ¡A Viva Voz! at 7pm this Thursday featuring film producer Elizabeth Avellán, co-owner (with director Robert Rodriguez) and vice president of Troublemaker Studios.
Avellán co-founded Los Hooligan Productions with Rodriguez when the two began work on El Mariachi (1992) in 1991. She co-produced From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), Desperado (1995) and The Faculty (1998). In 2000, Los Hooligan became Troublemaker Studios, which has since generated such notable films as the Spy Kids franchise, Sin City (2005), the Rodriguez/Tarantino double-feature, B-Movie homage Grindhouse (2007), Predators (2010) and Machete (2010).
Avellán will discuss her work and rare position as a Latino woman in the traditionally male-dominated film business.
Charles Ramirez-Berg of the Department of Radio-Television-Film will make an introduction, and food will be provided by El Meson.
An exhibit of cinematic materials from Troublemaker Studios and Cine Las Americas as well as rare materials on the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema from the Benson’s extensive archival holdings will be on view at the Benson, as well.
Check out the trailer for Avellán’s latest production credit, just off its SXSW showing, Blacktino.
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For once, we’re pretty happy that a lack of space has become an issue on campus.
Thanks in no small part to the ridiculously extensive Tennessee Williams holdings at the Harry Ransom Center, the Fine Arts Library has gotten the chance to host an overflow exhibit of materials related to the HRC’s massive homage to the Southern Gothic playwright, “Becoming Tennessee Williams.”
The companion exhibit at FAL, “Tennessee Williams, the College Years” features a limited number of items from Williams’s time in the academy – both at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and at the University of Iowa – including photos, correspondence, manuscripts and more.
The exhibition opens today and runs through July 31 in the Roberts Reading Room at FAL, where it can be viewed Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and weekends from noon to 5 p.m.
We know that food trailers are all the rage right now, so it seems rather natural that those locations on wheels might find some other uses as well.
Enter the Artstream Ceramic Libary, a unique art exhibition featuring the work of 13 nationally recognized ceramic potters. Housed in a vintage 1967 silver Airstream trailer, the library travels across the country to libraries and organizations interested in sponsoring this project so people from coast to coast may participate in this distinctive cultural exchange.
And what better place to host such a gallery on wheels than at the Fine Arts Library at The University of Texas at Austin.
Similar in structure to a literature-based library, the Ceramic Library loans out unique handmade cups for seven days. Borrowers from the Ceramic Library are required to take a digital photograph of the cup in use, though other art forms are encouraged as well, including music, video and visual art. The photographs and art based on the loaned items will be posted online.
Take note, though: the borrowing program is limited to University of Texas at Austin faculty, staff and students.
The Artstream Ceramic Library will be hosted at the Fine Arts Library through March 31.
A reception highlighting the 40 cups available for checkout will take place Friday, March 4 at 5 p.m. Lisa Orr – a local potter and one of the Artstream artists – will speak at 5:30 p.m. about the Artstream project.
On Monday, March 7 at 9 a.m. there will be a demonstration by Orr and Austin potter Ryan McKerley in the ceramics studio in the Art Building, Room 2.410.
Special thanks to ceramics aficionado Dennis Trombatore for his generous sponsorship of the exhibition.
In case you were unable to attend last week’s first Science Study Break of the spring (or if you just want to extend the Valentine’s Day theme a bit longer), check out the video of Sheril Kirshenbaum‘s presentation on the Science of Kissing now available on the university’s YouTube Channel.
Enjoy.
Science Study Break returns this Wednesday (weather permitting) with a special Valentine’s installment of the program.
The popular edutainment series hosted by the Life Science Library features noted researcher Sheril Kirshenbaum at the lectern discussing the biological impetus for kissing. Kirshenbaum’s book The Science of Kissing: What Our Lips Are Telling Us has helped to drive a recent public interest in philematology.
Takes place in Garrison Hall, Room 0.102, southeast of the Tower at Inner Campus Dr. & 22nd St. Refreshments(cake!) and lip balm will be provided. Free and open to the public.
Sponsored by the University Federal Credit Union.
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We all know the cliche, “a picture is worth a thousand words”, so in age of YouTube and Twitter, Library Instruction Services decided that collapsing our text-heavy web pages into succinct and visually stimulating comics and videos would help bridge new media, instruction-on-demand, and quick reference for our time-strapped undergraduates.
The idea for these short light-hearted videos evolved over time to incorporate comics instead of actor librarians; we’re slightly camera shy here and creating comic alto-egos mean we’ll never have a bad hair day. Staff in Library Instruction Services scripted the vignettes, and our Library Assistant and resident-artist Elise Nacca and Graduate Research Assistant Krystal Wyatt-Baxter used a free version of Bitstrips to create characters and dialogue incorporating the scripted scenarios.
Since their release in September 2010, the Tip Jar posts have covered topics such as how to use Google Scholar, narrowing a topic and placing it in context , finding E-Books and more.
Creating this digital content means that it’s easily distributed and re-purposed depending on student and staff needs. For instance, Tip Jar instructional videos are integrated with a collection of videos created by students from our 2009 Library Video Contest to be used in the Undergraduate Studies First-year Interest Group program as a way to introduce the students to library services in a fun and flexible way. We’ve also included these videos within our online research guides for course-integrated instruction or during a reference exchange over our Ask A Librarian chat service.
The posts run every other Monday on our News For Undergraduates Blog, which also incorporates events, resources, and items of interest for the University of Texas undergrad community. Stop by and get a tip from us!
Cindy Fisher is the First-year Experience Librarian, Library Instruction Services.