Faculty

On this date fifty years ago, Algeria banned the Communist Party and closed its newspaper.

The Mardigian Library has online access to a few historical newspapers that covered this news item. These news articles can be accessed through ProQuest Direct. If you are looking for newspaper coverage of historical events, you can search individual newspapers by checking ProQuest Historical Newspapers and ProQuest Historical Black Newspapers. Or, you can search all newspapers available through ProQuest at one time by searching ProQuest Direct.

The other day, I was looking for new music to play during the holidays. I have multiple copies of a lot of the standard Christian hymns, but I wanted to learn something new. So, I searched the library catalog and found The New Oxford Book of Carols. This book includes the music and text for 201 carols from the last 700 years. I found a few new pieces for my Eb harmonica and there was so much for my D pennywhistle that I had a hard time limiting my choices. Now, to find the time to get out the guitar and keyboard as well…

How about checking out online sources of sheet music from the 19th century?
Music for the Nation: Sheet Music ~ 1820-1860 & 1870-1885, Historic American Sheet Music: 1850-1920, and Godey’s Lady’s Book (available in Accessible Archives) all include thousands of pieces of sheet music. I didn't check these specifically for holiday music, but give them a try!

   

     

As a child you probably read some of the fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm. Maybe you saw some of the Disney movies based on the tales, such as "Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty," and "Snow White." Whether you read the tales or watched the movies (or not), come to the library to see our latest exhibit — Once Upon a Time... — celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Grimm fairy tales. We have books on display from our juvenile collection that demonstrate the many versions of some of the stories. We also have objects that show various characters from the movies and stories. And there is so much more!

You can find the exhibit near the elevator on the first floor.

Win a gift card! We are having a Brothers Grimm trivia contest. A winner of a $20 gift certificate to Club Cappuccino will be selected from the entries with the most correct answers. Stop by the exhibit for an entry form.

Share with us! What is/was your favorite Grimm fairy tale? Who is/was your favorite Grimm fairy tale character?
My favorite tale was probably the "Town Musicians of Bremen." When I was in grade school, the music I played on my harmonica was probably just as bad as the music of the donkey, dog, cat, and rooster. And, I thought it was fun to see what the robber thought each animal was (do you remember which was thought to be an ogre?).

   

Do you need to view a DVD or a 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. Also, there is a cart available that holds both a DVD and a videocassette player, along with a monitor that can be checked out for use in the library by anyone who needs them. Headphones are also available. Just ask for what you need at the Circulation Desk.

BTW, we have a collection of thousands of DVDs and videocassettes (including blockbuster motion pictures, educational films, and documentaries) that can be viewed in the library or checked out for viewing at home.

Examples:

           

Did you miss the discussion earlier today with nonverbal communication expert Lin Klaassen? If so, don’t fret. The library has dozens of books available about nonverbal communication. I’m sure the books won’t be as entertaining as the discussion sponsored by Student Engagement, but they might help you learn a little bit about what you missed.

For example:

           

Library hours during Thanksgiving will be:

Wednesday, November 21 – 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Thursday, November 22 – CLOSED
Friday, November 23 – 1:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Regular Fall hours resume on Saturday, November 24.

For Library, LRC, and Computer Lab hours, see library.umd.umich.edu/Us/hours.php

Are you working on a term paper or just getting started? Do you have a presentation that requires library research? Are you perhaps a faculty member needing a little help to find support for an article you plan to submit? There are many ways to contact a reference librarian or one of our knowledgeable student assistants:
• Telephone – call 313-593-5563
• In-person – stop by the Library Research Center on the first floor of the library next to the public computers.
• Make an appointment with a subject specialist librarian
• Text messaging – text your question to 66746, and start your question with “AskLRC”
• E-mail – ask-a-question@umd.umich.edu
• Instant messaging/chat – see our Ask a Question page
• Open Research Workshops for students (see blog post)

Need to make a video for a class project and don’t have the equipment? The library has a solution for you. Campus Media Services has purchased Kodak Playtouch digicams, which are now available for checkout at the library’s Circulation Desk.

The Playtouch is the size and shape of a smartphone and will take HD videos in 1080p resolution. One-touch uploading provides easy sharing through e-mail, YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, and other sites. You may also connect the Playtouch to your computer and transfer the files. If you want to edit the video, the library’s Campus Media Services has a multimedia editing room for student and faculty use. The editing room is equipped with the best audio and video editing software, including Avid, Final Cut Pro, and the suite of Adobe and Microsoft applications.

Each digicam comes in a carry bag with an extra battery, an external microphone, connecting and charging wires, and the manual. Ask for one at the library’s Circulation Desk. Digicams have a three-day checkout period.

Yes, it’s that time of the year again, when many of us get the flu shot to help protect ourselves from seasonal flu. The library can’t provide you with a flu shot, but we have books, e-books, and video in our collection that you can check out to find out more about the flu, pandemics, and healthcare response to the flu over the past century. And, if you are really interested in the history of the flu, we have online access to An Inaugural Dissertation on the Influenza... — from 1793!

Check one out.

Examples:
Influenza: A Century of Science and Public Health Response (book)
Introduction to Pandemic Influenza (e-book)
Spanish Flu (DVD)

          

The Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive recently worked with Irene Miller to publish her Holocaust memoir, “Into No Man’s Land: A Historical Memoir.” Ms. Miller recounts her family’s efforts to survive during World War II. Robbed and stranded in a frozen field outside Warsaw by the man hired to help them escape to Soviet-occupied territory, the family must separate in order to cross the border. When Irene’s mother is rounded up with other families abandoned in the field, she must make a desperate and daring escape from the train of Jews being sent “who knows where.” The family is reunited, but then is shipped off to forced labor camps in Siberia where years of hard work and near starvation take a toll on the family.

Miller will be a highlighted local author at the Jewish Book Fair at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield on Sunday, November 18 (10 a.m. to noon).

“Into No Man’s Land” is available for sale at Amazon.com.

     

This Friday (November 16), Dr. Kristi Judd from Eastern Michigan University will speak at the Natural Sciences Colloquium. Dr. Judd’s presentation will be “Effects of Phragmites invasion and removal on ecosystem structure and function in Great Lakes coastal wetlands.”

Do you know what Phragmites are? You might want to check them out in JSTOR Plant Science. JSTOR Plant Science offers:
• The world’s largest database of plant type specimens – more than a million specimens.
• Links to over 175,000 scientific research articles and other content dating back hundreds of years from leading academic journals.
• More than 20,000 paintings, photographs, drawings, and other images.

     

Another Stewardship Saturday will be held this Saturday (November 17) at the EIC. The goal of Stewardship Saturdays, held each month, is to remove invasive plants from the Environmental Interpretive Center Natural Areas. For more information, see the EIC’s newsletter Natural Explorations.

And, if you are interested in reading about invasive species, the library has a wealth of resources. Check our Summon discovery tool for books & e-books, book chapters, conference proceedings, dissertations & theses, journal articles, newspaper articles, radio program transcripts, reports, etc.

     

The Armenian Research Center’s exhibition in the library celebrating the 500th anniversary of the first Armenian printed book continues until this Friday, November 16. Hurry before it’s gone!

Armenian language printed books from the 17th century to the present are on display.

For group tours, contact the Armenian Research Center at 313-593-5181.

Did you miss the business etiquette dinner last night? The library might be able to help you with some of what you missed! While we don’t have any leftovers from the dinner, the library has many books in our collection about business etiquette. For example, we have the e-book Business Etiquette for Dummies, 2nd edition. And, if you expect to have an international reach in the future, we have Do’s and Taboos Around the World, 3rd edition. Check out a book today!

          

On this day in 1887, John Henry (Doc) Holliday died of tuberculosis. There was much more to Doc Holliday than his association with the Earp brothers and the 30-second Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1881. How much do you know about the life of Doc Holliday? Wikipedia has quite a biography, with links to the well-known and not-so-well-known events in Holliday's life.

The Mardigian Library also has links to biography databases with information about Doc Holliday. The two best are probably:
• American National Biography Online
• Biography in Context