March 2011 Archives
Material Connexion is now available from the VCU Libraries. This unique online resource focusing on materials and material research permits searches by keyword or browse by category, process, sustainability, usage, or property. Information on the materials includes descriptions, manufacturing information, and basic properties, as well as high-quality photographs and company/vendor contact information. There are currently over 4,500 samples in the database, including: polymers, naturals, metals, glass, ceramics, process, cement-based, and carbon-based. This resource will be useful to designers of all disciplines, including industrial, furniture, packaging, graphics, fashion, interior design, landscape architecture, and transportation.
U.S. District Court Judge Denny Chin has rejected the settlement between Google and groups of authors and publishers designed to allow Google to make a vast collection of books available online. In his statement, Judge Chin cited concerns of copyright and antitrust, but also suggested that with certain revisions, the settlement might be legally acceptable.
For news reports and commentary on the case, visit these websites:
Grzimek's Animal Life encyclopedia is described by Library Journal as the most comprehensive and authoritative information source on animals ever published.This online version of the 17 volume print edition is available in a powerful new knowledge portal complete with accurate and detailed descriptions of every single animal genus in the animal kingdom, from the largest mammal to the smallest creature you can only see with the help of the microscope. Descriptions also covering endangered species and critically endangered species are written by notable experts in the field. Each description is enhanced with colored interactive maps and animations. MP3 files give in-depth account of physiological or behavioral activities of animals. These files can be downloaded to mobile devices or incorporated into scholarly papers and presentations.
Groups of animals covered are:
- Mammals
- Birds
- Reptiles & Amphibians
- Fishes
- Invertebrates
The database also includes sections on Biomes and Evolution. Grzimek's interface is user friendly, making it easy to search and returning displays that are attractive and informative.
Access Science is the premiere online science platform featuring fully searchable content of McGraw-Hill's encyclopedia of science and technology.
In this new generation of Access Science, vast amounts of information are organized to give fast, easy, and accurate access to authoritative articles in all major areas of science and technology. It features more than 8,500 online articles, plus:
- Research Updates from the McGraw-Hill's yearbooks of science and technology
- Over 110,000 definitions from McGraw-Hill dictionary of scientific and technical terms
- 15,000 illustrations and graphics, and bibliographies containing more than 28,000 literature citations
- Content contributed by more than 5000 researchers, including 36 Nobel Prize winners
- Biographies of more than 2,000 well-known scientists from the Hutchinson dictionary of scientific biography (Q141 .H88 2004eb)
- The latest news in science and technology from Science news and ScienCentral video
In addition to the continuously updated, fully-searchable, media-rich content, terms, images and videos the content is enhanced with illustrations, animations and images.
Access Science uses the most up-to-date technology. Apart from the fast sophisticated search capability, it features RSS feeds, Flash animations, podcasts, video, and more. Weekly Q&A resolves queries posted by users.
SPIE Digital Library has been added to the VCU Libraries collections. Published by the International Society for Optics and Photonics, SPIE Digital Library gives unlimited access to the world's largest collection of optics and photonics research and provides user-friendly tools that save researchers' time. The database provides the broadest range of applied optics and photonics science and engineering papers anywhere.
Over 40,000 SPIE papers are cited in more than 20,000 high-technology U.S. patents and several thousands more in international patents.
- 6,000 volumes of conference proceedings and eight journals form the base of this digital library.
- Over 300,000 articles have been published from 1990 to 2010 and 17,000 new articles are added annually.
- Eight SPIE journals are featured: Optical engineering, Journal of biomedical optics, Journal of electronic imaging, Journal of micro/nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS, Journal of applied remote sensing, Journal of nanophotonics, SPIE reviews, and Journal of photonics for energy.
Benefits of the SPIE Digital Library include timely e-first publication, multimedia, CrossRef links, and RSS alerts.
With over 75,000 pages of original material from the 1960s to today, along with more than 25,000 pages of interviews, commentary, theory, and criticism from journals, books, and magazines, Underground and independent comics, comix, and graphic novels is the first-ever scholarly online collection for researchers and students of adult comic books and graphic novels. The comic book has shown itself to be a medium capable of both the offensive and the sublime. This collection documents the entire spectrum of underground and independent North American and European comics and graphic novels. It provides researchers with tools to understand the wealth of material held in the VCU Libraries Special Collections at Cabell Library and its renowned Comic Arts Collection.
Want some professional VCU basketball photos? Check out our AP Images database of Associated Press photos -- some never published before. Just search "vcu basketball". There are many images from the men's second game against Purdue, the upset victory over Florida State, and the stunning defeat of Kansas, as well as images from the women's team. The AP Images database is also found alphabetically under "Databases A-Z" on the VCU Libraries home page.
.Access Engineering has been added to the VCU Libraries' collections. This new addition is a dynamic resource of world renowned engineering content, supporting all levels of scientific and technical research. It features over 250 authoritative and up-to-date references in 15 categories.Categories that are covered include:
- Biomedical Engineering has 14 titles including Bioinformatics, Artificial
tactile sensing, and Computer-aided drug and delivery systems.
- Chemical Engineering includes Perry's chemical engineers' handbook, the most popular reference title in chemical engineering of all times.
- Mechanical Engineering with 36 titles includes well known Standard handbook of engineering calculations, Marks' standard handbook for mechanical engineers, and Fluid power engineering.
- Electrical Engineering has 48 titles and includes topics such as digital design, computer architecture, mobile design, power quality in electrical systems, semiconductor manufacturing, and microelectronics.
Other categories are:
- Civil, Communications, Construction, Energy, Environmental, Green/Sustainable, Industrial, Materials Science, Nanotechnology, Optical, and Software
VCU Libraries has updated the Natural & Man-made Disaster Research Guide in response to the Japan earthquake and tsunami. Top news, the science behind these types of disasters, and human interest and preparedness information is included. There are also links to selected international aid organizations.
Film screening:
Who does she think she is?This riveting documentary profiles five bold women who navigate some of the most problematic intersections of our time: parenting and creativity, partnering and independence, economics and art. Academy Award winning producer and filmmaker Pamela Tanner Boll (Born into brothels) explores the history of gender and art and how art is valued in our culture. (82 minutes)
Can women follow their artistic instincts and still function as wives and mothers? Pamela Tanner Boll's articulate documentary answers that question with a qualified "Yes."
- V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Please bring a lunch.
Co-sponsored by VCU Libraries and Student Affairs & Enrollment Services: University Student Commons & Activities (USC&A Programs). Visit VCU Libraries events page for more information on other upcoming events and workshops.
World News Connection (WNC) is an online news service that offers an extensive array of translated news and information sources compiled from thousands of non-U.S. media sources. WNC covers significant socioeconomic, political, scientific, technical, and environmental issues and events. New information is entered into WNC within 24-72 hours from the time of original publication or broadcast. Regions covered include:
- Africa (Central, East, North, Southern, West)
- Americas (Caribbean, Central, North, South, Antarctica)
- Asia (East, South, Southeast)
- Eurasia (Caucasus, Central, Russia)
- Europe (Balkans, Central, North, South)
- Middle East
- Oceania
WNC is a valuable resource for anyone who wishes to monitor non-U.S. media sources.
Special Collections and Archives at James Branch Cabell Library presents Zine Night. The event will take place on Tuesday, April 5, 2011, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in Special Collections and Archives at James Branch Cabell Library, room 401 on the fourth floor. The event will be divided into two sessions. During the first, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., participants will learn more about zines through an overview of the VCU Libraries zine collection. The second session, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m., will be a collaborative zine workshop in which participants will create their own zine pages and bind them together into a zine that will be included in the VCU Libraries zine collection and scanned for participants to keep. Participants may attend one or both sessions. Light refreshments will be provided.
A zine, pronounced "zeen," is a group of folded, photocopied and distributed sheets of paper containing one's thoughts, art, rants and raves with little hope or desire for profit or fame. It is a creative outlet for anyone who wants to be heard. The VCU Libraries zine collection is an emerging collection currently containing over 400 zines from local and national creators. Personal zines, socio-political zines, literary zines, comic zines, LGBT zines and punk zines are just a sampling of genres in the collection.
Zine Night is sponsored by the Cabell Library Undergraduate Advisory Committee (CLUAC), the Richmond Zine Fest and the VCU Friends of the Library. The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP by Tuesday, March 29, 2011, at http://www.vcuzinenight.eventbrite.com or the front desk of Special Collections and Archives. For further details and questions, please contact Gay Acompanado (or 804-828-1108).
