Students

Election day is almost here and you might find it helpful to know what will be on your ballot. Find out by going to Publius.

Information that Publius will tell you:
• Who is running for which offices
• What proposals or referendums you will vote for (or against)
• The location of your polling place and its hours

Harry Houdini was best known as an illusionist, magician, stunt performer, and escape artist. He died in Detroit in 1926. The Mardigian Library doesn't have much about Houdini in our collection, but you can find lots of material in MeLCat. By using MeLCat, you can search the library catalogs of about 400 libraries in Michigan and have a book or DVD delivered right to the Mardigian Library to pick it up. Give it a try!

In 1918, Harry Houdini registered for Selective Service as Harry Handcuff Houdini. Do you have any interesting stories about Houdini? Something passed down in your family, perhaps?

This Friday, November 2, Dr. Sarah Veatch, Assistant Professor of Biophysics and Physics at the University of Michigan, will speak at the Natural Sciences Colloquium. Dr. Veatch’s presentation will be “Lipid Rafts Reach a Critical Point.”

And, if the presentation didn’t tell you enough about lipids, you can find more of Dr. Veatch’s research through the Summon Search tool on the library’s home page.

To help save on energy costs, motion sensing lights were installed in the library over the summer. During times of no traffic, or if you are very still for a long period of time, the lights may go out in the zone in which you are studying. So, if the lights go out on you, just stand up or wave an arm to turn the lights back on.

On this day 225 years ago, the Mozart opera "Don Giovanni" opened in Prague. The library has a CD of the opera, musical scores, different language translations, and many other items related to the opera. You can also stream nearly 500 tracks from various recordings of the opera through Naxos Music Library. Whether you like to listen to music, read about music, read music, or play music, we have something for you!

The Library Research Center will be holding several open research workshops for students during the fall semester.

Topics will include:
• Discovering what is new in the library
• How to conduct more effective research

Students will also be able to ask topical questions related to their current research assignments.

Fall 2012 open research workshops will be held in 1212 Mardigian Library on:

Wednesday, October 31 from 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. and again from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, November 29 from 11:00 a.m. – noon
Tuesday, December 4 from 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Contact Teague Orblych at mtorblyc@umd.umich.edu or 313-593-5562 with questions or to RSVP.

Have you been reading anything for fun lately? I’ve been reading The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America's Pastime. It seemed to me to be appropriate with the Tigers in the World Series. This book helps explain some of the things that are happening behind the scenes that lead up to beanballs and bench-clearing brawls, among other things. I recommend it for any baseball fan -- or those who might want to be fans just because the Tigers did so well this season.

What are you reading for fun? What’s it about? Would you recommend it?

That was the topic of the Mathematics Colloquium yesterday afternoon. If you missed the presentation, you can find out more on this topic in the MathSciNet database.

Today is the anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations. Don’t know much about the United Nations? Do you know something, but wish you knew more? The Mardigian Library has more than 130 books about some aspect of the United Nations, including many e-books. Check out one (or more).

Dr. Sonia M. Tiquia-Arashiro, Associate Professor of Biology and Microbiology at UM-Dearborn, will be the guest speaker at the Natural Sciences Colloquium on Friday, October 26. Dr. Tiquia-Arashiro’s presentation will be “Isolation and screening of carboxydotrophs isolated from composts and their potential for butanol production.”

Want to read about some of Dr. Tiquia-Arashiro's research? Access journal articles through the library’s Summon discovery tool.

This Thursday, October 25, UM-Dearborn’s Career Services Office is sponsoring “Foreign Service Fellowship Programs & Careers in the U.S. Department of State.” You can learn more about the U.S. Foreign Service through a couple of e-books in the Mardigian Library's collection. Check them out!

Career Diplomacy Life and Work in the U.S. Foreign Service
Career Diplomacy Life and Work in the U.S. Foreign Service, 2nd edition
The Practice of Public Diplomacy Confronting Challenges Abroad

                         

Do you need to view a DVD or VHS tape while at the Mardigian Library? The library has two portable DVD players (Blu-ray and standard) on reserve for student, faculty, and staff use within the library. There is also a cart available with both a DVD and videocassette player, along with a monitor, that can be checked out for use in the library. Headphones are also available. Just ask for what you need at the Circulation Desk.

Some people might not think musical scores are as interesting as the Tigers scores. But, if you attended last night’s Fair Lane Music Guild concert, you might think otherwise. If you attended the concert, you heard Brahm’s Horn Trio, among other pieces. If you are musically inclined, you might be interested to know that the score for Horn Trio in E-flat major, Op. 40 can be found in the library’s collection. The library also has scores and recordings of other music by Brahms, Mozart, and Strauss. Check them out!

On Friday, October 19, Dr. Anne Danielson-Francois, Assistant Professor of Biological Science at UM-Dearborn, will be a guest speaker at the Natural Sciences Colloquium. Dr. Danielson-Francois’ presentation will be “Mating Behavior and Sperm Competition in Spiders”.

Read some of Dr. Danielson-Francois's work through the library’s Summon discovery tool.

The list of new books and other materials added to the library’s collection in September has been posted. Click on “…more New Arrivals” on the library’s home page. Or, go directly to http://library.umd.umich.edu/newbooks/.