Locavore App

You will never be far away from fresh, seasonal produce with the Locavore App. The iPhone Locavore App uses GPS technology to find your location in order to display a list of fruits and vegetables that are in-season and should be available, if not soon, from local farmers’ markets. This App can be purchased from the Apple iPhone App store, as listed under “Lifestyle”. *

Do note, though, that the App draws information from LocalHarvest.org where you, too, can look to source your produce locally—no iPhone required.

*Note: I have supplied this information merely for interest as to how one may obtain the App. I do not stand to profit personally from such endeavors.

Friends Used Book Sale (March 25-28)

The Friends of UW-Madison Libraries will host a used book sale, March 25-28, in Room 116 of Memorial Library.

A preview sale, with $5.00 admission, will be held from 5:00 until 9:00 PM, Wednesday, March 25. The regular sale, which is open to all at no charge, will be held from 10:30 AM until 7:00 PM on Thursday and Friday, March 26-27.

On Saturday, March 28 (10:30 AM – 1:00 PM), you can bring a bag and fill it for $3.00. Between 1:05-2:00 PM, remaining books are free.

Wisconsin Film Festival (April 2-5)

Tickets remain on sale for the Wisconsin Film Festival (April 2-5), hosted at campus, public and independently-owned theaters in the heart of Madison—all conveniently within walking distance of one another. The festival brings Madison audiences some of the finest examples of independent, local and international film-making. Among the highlights of this year’s festival is the special selection of films called The Cream and the Crop: Farming and the Land on Film.

Additionally, the Babcock Hall Dairy has crafted a themed ice-cream for the film festival—namely, “In the Dark” with such tasty ingredients as chocolate malt ice cream, chocolate truffle pieces, chocolate chips, dark fudge swirl, and pecans.

State of Birds Report

While we may speak historically and metaphorically of canaries in coalmines, in actuality, all bird species speak to the health of their ecosystems, remaining an early warning system. The State of Birds Report has continued to document declines in bird populations during its 40 years of reportage. The current 2009 report lists particular species at greatest risk and suggestions for remediation within respective ecosystems.

For more information about bird species, do consult the online edition of Birds of North America. This comprehensive reference tool details the life histories of more than 716 North American species. The online edition, a product of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, supplies descriptive text, image collections, audio and video to illuminate aspects of behavior and habitat.

Showcase 2009

The annual UW-Madison Showcase is slated for Tuesday, March 24 at the Memorial Union. The Showcase is an opportunity to share best practices and to learn from campus colleagues the efforts made to improve work processes, learning environments and campus climate. While all events and programs are free, participants are asked to register. In order to plan your day, preview the draft program. The first Showcase made its debut in 2000.

Look for campus librarians in the Great Hall Exhibits area for a demonstration of the Ask a Librarian service!