Whet Your Appetite with New Food Books

This year’s Go Big Read title, In Defense of Food, has sparked animated debate regarding what we consume and how it is produced and absorbed--quite literally and figuratively--into our bodies and our cultures, (traditions and expectations).

As an academic library devoted to the robust examination of these ideas, Steenbock Library collects titles about food--be they of popular interest (cookbooks, essays) or academic (nutritional analyses, farm production, foodways).

In order to explore what new titles we are adding to the stacks, be sure to follow the New Food Books feed generated by staff librarian, Bev P.

Speak with librarians at our Information Services/Reference Desk for locating these and related titles.

Extend Your Library Access

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month with Madison Public Library!

Madison Public Library invites all Madison residents to sign up for its free library card. This additional library card will give you access to the public library system’s materials and resources which include its research databases, job and business resources, magazines, media, and popular reading collections.

While campus and public library systems are not set up for mutual book retrieval and return, there are many public branch libraries throughout the city to make for a convenient visit. The public library system is a great way to extend your reach to library materials and to supplement that which you obtain from the campus system.

During September, Madison Public Library will also be giving a small gift to everyone who signs up for a new library card.

For more information on signing up for a library card, visit one of Madison’s nine public libraries or visit its FAQ page for borrowing materials.

It's Good For You!

In conjunction with Go Big Read, Ebling Library will host an exhibit of historical interest: It’s Good for You! 100 Years of the Art & Science of Eating (September 22, 2009 - March 31, 2010).

The exhibit will explore such themes as the history of the food pyramid, the story of Victory Gardens, the confusion inherent in diet advice, the "voice of authority" in cookbooks and nutrition literature, the marketing of food products, and the evolution of hospital diets.

An opening reception will be held, September 22 from 4:00-6:00PM, in the Historical Reading Room (Third Floor, Ebling Library).

SociETAS Panel, Go Big Read (Sept 21)

The SociETAS Seminar (Department of Community & Environmental Sociology) will host a panel discussion on Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, September 21 (noon -1:00PM) in the Buttel Conference Room (3rd floor, Agriculture Hall).

The featured panelists are Jack Kloppenburg, Jill Harrison, and Madeleine Fairbairn.

For more information about the panelists, visit the SociETAS site.

Go Big Read, Author Lecture (Sept 24)

Save the date! Plan to attend the Go Big Read/Humanities Without Boundaries public lecture, In Defense of Food: The Omnivore’s Solution on Thursday, September 24 (7:00 PM), Kohl Center.

No tickets are required for this event; it is FREE and open to the public. Doors open at 6:00 PM.

A host of sponsors….the Center for the Humanities in partnership with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation; the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies; the Center for Culture, History, and Environment (CHE); the Wisconsin Initiative for Science Literacy; the Bradshaw-Knight Foundation; UW-Madison Libraries; the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences; the Distinguished Lecture Series; UW-Madison Athletics; and the Research, Education, Action and Policy on Food Group (REAP)...are pleased to announce this public lecture by Michael Pollan.