Tales from Planet Earth (Nov 1-3)

Tales from Planet Earth is a film festival featuring environmental films from around the world. From the fanciful to the profound, the films selected should engage audiences in thoughtful discussion of environmental issues and the use of film media to capture and to examine those issues.  Attending the festival will be many of the film-makers themselves with whom to discuss their work.

The festival is a public outreach event from the Center for Culture, History, and Environment (CHE) and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.

All festival events are free and open to the public as space/seating accommodates.  The opening roundtable, moderated by Professor Gregg Mitman, will feature Ruth Ozeki, Alex Rivera, Marie-Hélène Cousineau, and Zach Kunuk in a conversation examining questions of time and culture in the age of the Anthropocene (marking the unprecedented scale of human impact upon the planet).

View film schedule, thematic list; speaker schedule, and ways to connect (Facebook, Twitter).

Green Fire and Panel Discussion (Dec 5)

Save the date to attend a special screening of Green Fire, a feature-length documentary film about the life and legacy of Aldo Leopold. The film is narrated by Curt Meine, Nelson Institute alumnus and Leopold Scholar.  Following the screening, there will be a panel discussion moderated by Dick Cates, CIAS. Scheduled panelists include:

• Paul Johnson, past chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
• Curt Meine, Aldo Leopold Biographer and Scholar
• Stanley Temple, Emeritus Leopold Chair in Wildlife Ecology
• Joy Zedler, Professor of Botany and Aldo Leopold Chair in Restoration Ecology
• Michael Bell, CIAS Director 

What:  Green Fire, Agriculture and the Land Ethic: Leopold’s Legacy, Screening and Panel Discussion 

When:  Wednesday, December 5, 2012 (7:00 PM) 

Where:  Biochemistry, Room 1125 (420 Henry Mall)

This event, a CIAS Culture of Agriculture event, is free and open to the public. 

"We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes – something known only to her and to the mountain. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters’ paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view."

--Aldo Leopold, "Thinking Like a Mountain," Sand County Almanac with Essays on Conservation from Round River

Of related interest do consult the Aldo Leopold Archives, UW Digital Collections.

Print an event poster. (PDF)

Exploring American Indian Agriculture (Nov 26)

Mark your calendar for a special CIAS Culture of Agriculture event!  On Monday, November 26, Dan Cornelius Technical Assistance Program Specialist with the Intertribal Agriculture Council (and UW alumnus) will present a history of American Indian agricultural practices and tribal food systems, current challenges, and opportunities for innovation.

What: Exploring American Indian Agriculture and Food Systems, Past, Present and Future

When:  Monday, November 26 (6:00 PM)
Where:  DeLuca Forum, Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery

This event is free and open to the public.
Print the event flyer (PDF).
Check in with the event’s Facebook page.

Everything has a Story, WBF (Nov 7-11)

Feeling a bit lost and looking to find a great read to bring you home?  If so, discover what you have been missing by seeking out the annual Wisconsin Book Festival.

The theme for the book festival this year is that of "lost and found" and how writers and their readers might interpret what are often deeply personal instances of either condition. 

Featured authors include: Ayad Akhtar, Jerry Apps, Dean Bakopoulos, Kambri Crews, Edwidge Danticat, Beverly Gordon, Patricia McCormick, Michael Perry, and Richard Russo among many others.

• See the full list of presenters
• View the festival events guide
• Download a Program and Schedule

Do also plan to visit College Library's Open Book Cafe on Saturday (November 10) for an exhibit of printed matter including posters, stickers, zines, journals and books.  This "Dane County Print Explosion" is sponsored by the Wisconsin Book Festival, the Rainbow Bookstore Cooperative and College Library.  For more information, click here.

FARE (Forum on Animal Research Ethics)

Mark your calendar for two programs that will lend themselves to thoughtful discussion regarding the use of animals in research.

"Prosocial Primates: Empathy in Animals and Humans"
Who: Dr. Frans de Waal, Director of the Living Links Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center
When: February 3, 2012 (7:00 PM)
Where: Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, Forum

"Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Lessons Learned from Monkeys"

Who: Dr. David Abbott, Wisconsin National Primate Research Center
When: April 12, 2012 (7:00 PM)
Where: Biotechnology Center, Auditorium 1111

Print a flyer.

Creating DairyLand, Book Talk (Dec 5)

Learn how and why Wisconsin became a dairy state when Steenbock Library welcomes author Edward Janus for a special book presentation, December 5, 2011. In his new title, Creating DairyLand, Mr. Janus examines how the history of ideas and the reality of resource degradation would serve to transform the practice of agriculture in the state, or, in other words, show "how caring for cows saved our soil, created our landscape, brought prosperity to our state and still shapes our way of life in Wisconsin."

In addition to recounting this dairying revolution, the author shares stories and photos of contemporary practitioners--dairy farmers and cheese-makers. There will be time for questions.

Author’s Website | Press Website | Read an excerpt

Date: Monday, December 5, 2011
Time: 1:00-2:15 PM
Place: Room 340 (third floor), Steenbock Library, 550 Babcock Drive

Visitor Information | Parking

This event is free; the library welcomes faculty, staff, students and the community to attend.

Print a flyer (PDF)

The Greenhorns (Nov 29)

FH King and Steenbock Library are pleased to partner for a screening of The Greenhorns on November 29 (12:15 PM). This documentary film examines the possibilities and challenges facing young American farmers as they enter and reinvent the art, science and vocation of farming.

The screening will be followed by discussion.
For more information on the film and The Greenhorns organization, visit their Website.

Date: Tuesday, November 29
Time: 12:15-1:30 PM
Place: Steenbock Library, Room 340 (third floor)

Print a flyer (PDF)

Book Discussion Forums, GBR

As you read the Go Big Read selection, Enrique’s Journey, do plan to attend a book discussion forum. There are many discussion forums planned in a variety of venues, on campus and off, including one for Wednesday, October 26 at Steenbock Library. The Steenbock Library forum will begin at 7:00 PM in Room 340.

Discussion forums provide a great opportunity to wrangle with the issues raised by a book as those issues are examined by a community of readers who bring their knowledge, experience and reflections to the table. For students, insight drawn there can often make for a more satisfying reading experience and serve to help you with related class exercises. It can be enlightening to hear what others have been thinking.

Of related information, consider this list of related articles and reviews (as shared via RefWorks) and the Libraries’ Research Guide.

Save the date! Sonia Nazario will speak in Varsity Hall, Union South on Thursday, October 27, 2011. This author event is free and open to all; doors open at 6:00 PM with the presentation to begin at 7:00 PM. We hope that you will attend!

Wisconsin Book Festival (Oct 19-23)

Save the date! Do you look for opportunities to feed the mind and to stir the soul? If so, consider sampling the bountiful harvest of author presentations and book discussion forums that comprise the annual, fall Wisconsin Book Festival.

The theme for the book festival this year is that of "voices" and how writers and their readers might share a discourse--both literal and literary.

Featured authors include: Diana Abu-Jaber, Dean Bakopoulos, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Jeffrey Eugenides, Myla Goldberg, and Parker Palmer, among many others.

• See the full list of presenters.

• View the festival events guide.

The Friends of UW-Madison Libraries is among the festival sponsors.

Wisconsin Agricultural Economic Outlook Forum (Jan 19)

Economists and commodity specialists from UW-Madison and UW-River Falls will be on-hand to review the financial status of the state’s farm sector and its emerging issues and opportunities during the fourth annual forum, January 19 (12:45-4:00 PM) at the Pyle Center.

Register to attend the forum by January 12, 2011. For those unable to attend the event at the Pyle Center, there will be a live webcast made available from the site. The site also supplies links to a tentative agenda and the report and webcast from the previous (2010) forum.

The forum is hosted by UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and UW-Extension, Cooperative Extension with sponsorship provided by the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, the Wisconsin Farmers Union and the UW-Madison Office of University Relations.

Book Discussions, Go Big Read

As you read the Go Big Read selection, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, do plan to attend a book discussion forum. There are many discussion forums planned in a variety of venues, on campus and off, including one for this coming Monday, October 11 at Steenbock Library. The Steenbock Library forum will begin at 6:30 PM in Room 340.

Discussion forums provide a great opportunity to wrangle with the issues raised by a book as those issues are examined by a community of readers who bring their knowledge, experience and reflections to the table. For students, insight drawn there can often make for a more satisfying reading experience and serve to help you with related class exercises. It is also just plain fun to hear what others have been thinking.

Of related information, consider this list of related articles and reviews (as shared via RefWorks).

Save the date! Rebecca Skloot will speak at the Kohl Center on October 25, 2010. This event is free and open to all; doors open at 6:00 PM with the presentation to begin at 7:00 PM. We hope that you will attend!

Shane Hamilton Public Lecture, WHEATS

The WHEATS 2010 Planning Committee has invited Shane Hamilton to speak on Friday, October 8, as a kickoff lecture for WHEATS, (Workshop for the History of Environment, Agriculture, Technology, and Science). His presentation, entitled, "Where's the 'C' (for Capitalism) in WHEATS" will explore political economy as a lens by which to examine and draw together the research literature from history of agriculture, environment, technology, and science.

This public lecture will begin at 4:00 PM in the CHE Theater (Room 123/125) of the Bradley Memorial Building, 1225 Linden Drive.

Shane Hamilton is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Georgia and author of Trucking Country: The Road to America's Wal-Mart Economy (Princeton University Press, 2008).

• See the flyer for this lecture event.
  

Social Cataloging

Social networking meets your personal library with free applications that enable you to document the contents of your personal library (drawing descriptive information from libraries and booksellers).

Organize your “shelves” to indicate what you are reading and plan to read next, browse the personal libraries of those who may have titles in common with you, rate books, write reviews, and share recommendations with friends in group forums.

Several library staff members, who are avid users, have developed a chart comparing the features of four popular products: LibraryThing, Shelfari, Book Army, and GoodReads.

Check them out today!

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.