Ranking America

How does the United States compare to other nations in such areas as arts funding, life expectancy, math scores, or refugee populations? How about cheese production or civil liberties? The data may surprise you!

If you are curious, visit the Ranking America blog site, created by Mark Rice, Professor of American Studies with St. John Fisher College, to tap into the data. The data posted to the site are drawn from a variety of collecting agencies worldwide including the FAO, the World Health Organization, the World Resources Institute, and the British Geological Survey, among many others.

Swine Flu Resources

In light of recent outbreaks of the swine flu virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have issued respective information pages to track the virus and to supply the public with definitions, reports, press briefings, travel notices and practical tips for care.

Additionally, UW-Madison researchers and health service professionals continue to monitor disease reports and campus conditions, urging those who have recently traveled to areas where outbreaks have occurred to be alert for symptoms and to seek advice from their health-care providers, as need be.

Note: Ebling Library has also just posted information on its news blog.

Big and Small, We Treat Them All! (April 26)

The Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital will host an open house on Sunday, April 26, (from noon until 4:00 PM) to introduce the public to the many, quality-care services provided to animal patients and their human companions. Open house participants (adults and children) can tour the large and small animal hospitals and observe a variety of demonstrations—from performing CPR to brushing teeth.

The UW Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital is located at 2015 Linden Drive. Free parking is available in Lot 62 on the UW campus. Admission is free.

Arbor Day Resources

Is your backyard looking bare? Go out and plant a tree!

If you didn’t know, National Arbor Day is Friday, April 24. First observed in Nebraska in 1872 with the planting of more than a million trees, the holiday is now observed throughout the nation and the world. To learn about the history of the holiday, environmental considerations, or to find out how to celebrate, stop by Steenbock Library.

Get a historical perspective by checking out Nathaniel Egleston’s 1896 work, Arbor Day: Its History and Observance. More current works dealing with all things trees include, Plant for the Planet: The Billion Tree Campaign: An Album and Shaul E. Cohen’s work, Planting Nature: Trees and the Manipulation of Environmental Stewardship in America. You can locate these books by asking a librarian at Steenbock library or by doing a MadCat catalog search.

Another great way to learn about the history, facts, and ways to celebrate the holiday is by visiting the National Arbor Day Foundation’s web site.

With thanks to Sam B for this blog post.

Fresh Farm Atlas

The 2009 edition of the Southern Wisconsin Fresh Farm Atlas will be released at the first Dane County Farmers' Market of the season on April 18 and can be picked up at several university and area locations, including Steenbock Library.

Use the Atlas to locate farms, markets and restaurant partners who bring you fresh, area-grown produce and food products. Do note that many of the area growers welcome visitors with special events, u-pick options, hay-rides and tours.

Should you be looking for options outside of the southern Wisconsin area, consult the site for Wisconsin Fresh Farm Atlases.

Think globally, eat locally!

New Blog! CALS Plant & Insect Science Librarian

Steenbock librarian Amanda Werhane has launched a blog for plant and insect science researchers where you can also keep-up on the latest news by e-mail or RSS feed subscription.

Examples of recent posts include:
Open access journals via Wiley-Blackwell,
Top-ranked Journals in Ecology and Environmental Sciences,
Organic vs. Conventional Production: Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial, and
Try it: Conference Proceedings Citation Index, Springer E-books.

Amanda has a B.S. in Biological Aspects of Conservation, an M.A. in Library & Information Studies, and is the library's liaison to the departments of Agronomy, Entomology, Horticulture, and Plant Pathology, plus related programs and centers.

She welcomes your feedback on the blog, phone (608) 890-2684, email, or IM: AmandaAtSteen.

Create a READ Poster!

To celebrate National Library Week (April 13-18), the MERIT Library (formerly CIMC) will be creating personalized READ Posters. Strike a pose with your favorite reading materials!

The library will take the photos between 1:00 -5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, (April 13-18). Posters will be produced at 11x17 in size and cost $2.00 each as charged to your campus print/photocopying debit-card. The library requests one poster, per person or group, and that you allow a week for its creation.

View the flyer for this event.

When: 1:00 to 5:00 PM; Monday, April 13th until Saturday, April 18th
Where: MERIT Library; 3rd Floor Teacher Education Building; 225 N Mills St;
Call 608-263-4750 for more information.

Voices and Visions (April 14)

In conjunction with the broadcast of the PBS series, “We Shall Remain” (first episode to air, Monday, April 13, 8:00 PM, WHA-TV), College Library will host Voices and Visions, a program featuring personal stories, discussion and reflection with faculty members, Roberta Hill, Richard Monette and Patty Loew. The program will be held in the Ethnic Studies Collection Room (Room 1193), College Library, Tuesday, April 14 (5:30-7:00 PM).

The Voices and Visions program is free and open to the public. Supporters include the General Library System, Wisconsin Public Television, American Indian Studies Program, Wunk Sheek , American Indian Student Academic Services, and Wisconsin Historical Society.

Wisconsin's Energy Future, Earth Day Conference (April 22)

The third annual Nelson Institute, Earth Day Conference will feature programs exploring emerging federal and state energy policies and opportunities to develop sustainable, home-grown solutions—be it via biomass, wind and solar technologies, etc.

While the conference is open to everyone, pre-registration is required by Monday, April 13. The $45 registration fee ($25 for students) covers all materials, a continental breakfast, lunch and refreshments.

The conference will be hosted at the Monona Terrace, Wednesday, April 22.

Register

View conference program

(Note: There will not be an on-site registration).

UNdata

The United Nations Statistics Division offers UNdata, a one-stop access portal to the many UN data products. The page includes links to databases and data sets in such categories as agriculture, population, industry, energy, trade, tourism, and more.

The databases are accessible by browsing, by keyword searching from a simple search page, or by selecting an advanced search from the “More” link in which limits by world region, statistical product and year can be applied. The “More” link also leads the user to the United Nation’s “Country Profiles.”

The UNdata site also supplies links to news regarding its reports and products as well as to country-specific data providers/services (as selected from the right column).

Country Profiles

Do you need to retrieve data about a selected country? If so, campus libraries supply access to a variety of databases and free Web resources. A selection of resources can be accessed using the E-Resource Gateway (Area/International Studies category).

Consider the following:

CountryWatch

Country Reviews supply historical, political, economic, investment, social, and environmental overview of each country. CountryWatch Data allows you to display, cross-tabulate and download numeric data about the countries. Country Wire provides access to articles from international news services. CountryWatch Maps supply physical/political maps in a variety of sizes and formats.

Country Profiles, FAO (Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)

Information retrieval tool groups the organization's vast archive of information on its global activities in agriculture and development into a single area and organizes it by country.

Global Road Warrior (business-travel oriented)

Site supplies demographic and socio-cultural information about countries—with much of its content of interest to business travelers.

World Factbook, CIA

Site contains overviews of each country, including data on geography, people, government, economy, membership in international organizations, communications, and transnational issues. Maps and flags may be viewed in various formats.

GROW with CALS

CALS has transitioned its Grow magazine, to a new online presence—one with opportunities to discuss its stories and to share them via email or in social networking spaces. Additionally, the new Grow site will serve as a model for reinventing the CALS Web presence; your feedback will be much appreciated by its Web team.

Grow, published by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, features interesting research, teaching and outreach performed by staff from its departments in the areas of agriculture, food, health, environment, energy, and community development.

NIH Public Access Policy: Submitting Manuscripts and Managing Citations (April 7)

The NIH requires that researchers make their manuscripts available to the public through PubMed Central. Campus librarians are available to help faculty and researchers comply with the NIH Public Access policy. Tuesday’s presentation will focus on the practicalities of submitting manuscripts, managing manuscript citation information and reference numbers, and retrieving reference numbers from PubMed.

Presenters: Julie Schneider, Acting Director, Ebling Library and Emily Wixson, Chemistry/ Biochemistry Reference & Instruction, Chemistry Library

NIH Public Access Policy: Submitting Your Manuscripts and Managing Your Citations for NIH
Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Time: 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Place: Health Sciences Learning Center, Rm. 1345

Microbes at the Movies (April 7)

Come to a free showing of Gattaca on April 7 (6:30 PM) in the Microbial Sciences Building, Room 1520. Microbiology students and staff will be on hand to lead discussion and to answers after the show.

The public is welcome and encouraged to attend. Popcorn and beverages will be provided.

Science Expeditions 2009 (April 4)

With Science Expeditions, UW-Madison hosts an exciting day of hands-on Exploration Stations and “Science Spectaculars”—special demonstrations and lectures. All events are free and open to the public.

While the exploration stations and spectaculars will be held at the Stock Pavilion, Microbial Sciences and the Biochem Addition, this is a great day to check out other campus science venues including the Geology Museum, the Botany Greenhouse and the Primate Center Learning Lobby.

The DC Smith Greenhouse (465 Babcock) will be hosting a special butterfly exhibit and Tony’s Creepy Crawly Zoo (pick up an entrance pass from the Entomological Expeditions demonstration area at Science House, 1645 Linden Drive, should you wish to visit this venue on April 4).

View the Science Expeditions schedule for the day; consult the map for venue.

Cooking with Local Flavor

There is growing interest in local food, and Dane County is no exception. Every Saturday, Madisonians flock to the capitol square to find good deals on a wide variety of food, including locally raised produce, meats, and dairy.

If you are looking for great recipes or ideas for preparation, be sure to stop by Steenbock Library to browse the cookbook collection. The unique collection, housed on the first floor, boasts over 5000 titles. Check out Ivy Manning’s, The Farm to Table Cookbook: the Art of Eating Locally for interesting information on farmer’s markets and natural cookery.

The Farmer’s Market is also a great way to save money. If eating healthy and saving money is your style, have a look at Dede Hall’s, The Starving Students’ Cookbook. The collection has something for just about anyone. Vegetarians will delight in the Wild Vegetarian Cookbook: a Forager’s Culinary Guide. For those of you interested in maintaining Wisconsin’s natural flora, come see, The Invasive Species Cookbook: Conservation through Gastronomy.

Stop by Steenbock to browse the cookbook collection or search from home through a MadCat library catalog search (tip: try using “cookery” as a search term). For more information on the Dane County Farmer’s Market try visiting their website.

With thanks to Sam B for supplying this blog post!