Coming soon: Native Pennsylvania, A Wildflower Walk

A new exhibit will open in Hunt Institute on March 2: Native Pennsylvania, A Wildflower Walk. Poster lists a series of informal Sunday lectures to be held in conjunction with the exhibit.  press release

Richard Crist watercolor. Courtesy of Hunt Institute.

Habenaria fimbriata peramoena, Large purple fringed orchid. Watercolor on paper by R. Crist.

Oxford Bibliographies Online

Overviews, definitions, and annotated recommendations for books,
textbooks, journals, etc., with links to Google Books, WorldCat, Cameo
and ILL:

Book Display: Celebrating Our Differences

Take a moment to reflect on the differences that make a vibrant community. Hunt Library, first floor, across from the reference desk.  Courtesy of the University Libraries’ Diversity Committee.

Exhibit: The Last Minstrel

Sir Walter Scott  & The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Borders. Through April 30. The exhibit by Sheila Liming (PhD candidate in English, Literary and Cultural Studies) is the latest in a series of exhibits curated by Posner Center interns and funded by the Posner Fine Arts Foundation.

ABSTRACT: He had failed as a playwright, and garnered only mediocre esteem in his career as a legal scholar, yet Walter Scott was determined to achieve success. In 1802, he convinced James Ballantyne, a publisher in whose Edinburgh operations Scott had invested a hefty sum, to publish The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Borders. The work was meant to be a “slim volume” consisting of traditional Scottish folk ballads collected firsthand by Scott. The published product, however, was a massive, three-volume set, containing everything from war epics, to romantic sagas, to new works designed to emulate the style and diction of Scottish folk balladry. The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Borders was a hit, and granted Scott wealth and prestige. This exhibit showcases the Posner Collection’s beautiful, 1810 edition of Scott’s epic Minstrelsy, and explores the vast literary network of the early nineteenth century and Scott’s rise to unprecedented, international literary fame. — Sheila Liming

Foreign Broadcast Information Service Daily Reports

DATABASE: Transcripts of foreign broadcasts and news, translated into English. Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports

Open Access E Journals: View from the Top

VIDEO: Open Access E Journals: View from the Top (10/24/2011)

Stephen Fienberg (Statistics and Social Science, CMU) and Tim Deliyannides (University of Pittsburgh) talk about about their experiences editing and publishing e journals  -  http://repository.cmu.edu/jpc/ and http://www.library.pitt.edu/e-journals/pubs.html respectively. Moderated by Dr. Afeworki Paulos, University Libraries.

Flyer: Open Access E Journals – View from the Top: Editors and Publishers


Passport GMID

WORKSHOP: Passport GMID database.  This Euromonitor International database provides “industry data and reports, consumer lifestyles, companies and brands in over 200 countries; current, historical, and forecasted.” Led by Roye Werner, Business & Economics Librarian, the first session of the workshop will be held Thursday, Nov. 17, 9-10 am, in the Telepresence Room at Posner Center (members of the CMU-Q campus community will participate remotely).
This session will be limited to 8 Pittsburgh attendees. RSVP to jeana@andrew.cmu.edu.

The Passport GMID workshop be repeated on Monday, Nov. 21, 2-3 pm, in the Library Instruction Center at Hunt Library.  It is not necessary to RSVP to attend the Nov. 21. session.

Naming of the Engineering and Science Library

From provost Mark Kamlet:  I am very pleased to announce that the Engineering and Science Library has a new name—The Roger Sorrells Engineering and Science Library.

No doubt, many of you knew Roger Sorrells, the longtime partner of our Dean of Universities Libraries, Gloriana  St. Clair.  But, for those of you who did not get to know Roger, let me tell you a bit about this quiet, renaissance man from Louisiana who became a steadfast supporter of Carnegie Mellon.

Roger received his B.S. in physics and M.S. in mathematics from the University of Texas.  He served on the mathematics faculty at both San Antonio College and Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University).  His love of computing was sparked while he was at San Antonio College, which led him to become a computer scientist and work toward a Ph.D. in this area at Texas A&M University.  Ultimately leading the Help Desk there, Roger was renowned for his ability to troubleshoot computer programs.  In 1991, he received the President’s Meritorious Service Award from A&M before retiring the following year.  His intellectual curiosity and commitment to helping others flourished throughout his life as evidenced by his work with the World Shakespeare Bibliography, the Chautauqua Institute, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, Compassionate Friends, and the Lions Club.  Roger’s adventurous nature was also reflected in his array of outdoor activities where he loved to bike, hike, spelunk, and snorkel.  After retiring and relocating to Pittsburgh, he became deeply involved in activities at Carnegie Mellon, including the Million Book project.  He was also founding member of the Highlands Circle donor society at CMU.

Roger lost his courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease in September of this year.  In memory of his never-ending thirst for learning and love of computation, Gloriana made a gift of $900,000 to name our engineering and science library for him.

A formal ceremony to commemorate the renaming of the library will take place later this year.  In the meantime, I hope you will join me in both thanking Gloriana for her incredible generosity and to take a few minutes to quietly reflect on the life of a man who became a proud Pittsburgher and member of the CMU community.

Book Display: Native American Heritage Month

Hunt Library, first floor, across from the reference desk, through November. Courtesy of the University Libraries’ Diversity Committee. The display features Native American history, education, art, drama, and individual biographies. Enjoy!

Government documents – free to a good home!

Hunt Reference is in the process of de-accessioning some government documents that are available full text in the ProQuest Congressional database. The first group of these are some volumes of the Senate and House Journals ca. 1800s, and then various Senate and House Documents ca. 1940-1975 (not complete). These are NOT the hearings or committee prints.

A report is a document that presents a committee’s explanation of its action regarding legislation that has been referred to it. Congressional documents originate from congressional committees, cover a wide variety of topics and may include reports of executive departments and independent organizations, reports of special investigations made for Congress, and annual reports of non-governmental organizations. [definitions from GPO Access].

If you would like any of the available documents, please contact Sue Collins, sc24@andrew.cmu.edu, by end of business Thursday, November 10, 2011.