Gleeson Gleanings

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.
-  Proverb from Guinea

Click Here to view Gleeson Library/Geschke Center Hours for Intersession and Spring 2010

Where does your Thanksgiving dinner come from?

Linda Zellmer, Government Information and Data Services Librarian at Western Illinois University, has used data from the 1997, 2002, and 2007 Census of Agriculture to develop a set of maps showing where the foods consumed at the traditional Thanksgiving dinner (e.g., turkey, cranberries, squash, and green beans) are grown. Amaze your Thanksgiving guests with answers to such questions as which state produces the most cranberries or which state has the fewest turkeys.

Or perhaps you want to have a locally grown Thanksgiving? For information about local foods, see Gleeson Library’s Sustainable Food guides.

Find out more about Gleeson Library’s government information collection by visiting our homepage or contacting Carol Spector (the Government Information Librarian) at csspector@usfca.edu.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Greetings!

We want your feedback regarding the study zones that we launched at the beginning of the semester. As you probably know, different areas of the library are “zoned” as either conversation, quiet, or silent.

How do you think these zones are working? Do you think they’re clearly defined? Take our survey and let us know!

(Click the image to enter the survey)

We’ll run the survey until the end of the semester. Over winter break we will analyze the results and make changes to the zones if necessary. Your feedback is valuable to us, so let us know what you think!

Greetings! The next book club selection is Love Life by Ray Kluun, translated from the Dutch by Shaun Whiteside.

We will meet on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 from 12 noon – 1 pm in Kalmanovitz Hall, Room 265. Bring your lunch and tell your friends — the book club is open to the whole USF Community.

To get a copy of the book, request it through Link+. Gleeson Library is purchasing a copy but we haven’t received it yet.

From what I understand, this novel, set in Amsterdam, is dark and gritty — it tells the story of a man coping with his wife’s terminal breast cancer, so at times he is despicable but the story is told with probing honesty. I hear it’s beautifully written and is a page turner — the book club member who suggested it read it in 3 days!

To read full reviews, check out the book’s Amazon page.

Check it out and join us for a lively discussion. You don’t need a background in literary criticism to join us. You just have to like books

UPDATE: The Gleeson copy has arrived! If you want it, click “request” on its record in the catalog.

Here at the library we’re proud to co-sponsor USF’s celebration of International Education Week 2009. Now in the lobby we’re featuring film, recent fiction and poetry by international newcomers to the Bay Area and across the U.S., in honor of IEW and our international students.

You might have already spotted photos from the IEW photo contest around campus or on Facebook. You can view them online here and on the monitor in the library lobby as well. The campus community is invited to vote for the three that best depict international education and cultural exchange. Cast your vote online or in Parina Lounge when it’s transformed into the USF World Village next Tuesday, Nov. 17 from noon to 2 p.m. Voting will be open through Tuesday at 2. The photo contest winners will be announced at the fabulous Culturescape. Don’t miss it!

Photo by Rob Guillen

A display to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publishing of Charles Darwin’s book “On the Origin of Species.”

We have selected for display a number of books that demonstrate the pervasive influence of Darwin’s theory of natural selection on a broad range of disciplines.  No single researcher has matched his impact on the natural and social sciences; on politics, religion and philosophy; on art and cultural relations.

We have recently ordered a number of newer books on the topic and they will be continually added to the display until it is removed.

The display will up be up until the end of November.   Please visit the display (near the Gleeson front desk and the entrance to the Thacher Art Gallery), browse and/or checkout the books and and say hello to Charles.

On Wednesday, November 11^th from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. the Thacher Gallery and the Donohue Rare Book Room will hold an opening reception for the exhibition “Eric Gill, Iconographer: Engravings from the Albert Sperisen Collection.” During the reception there will be an opportunity to print on the Rare Book Room’s 1854 Albion handpress, once owned by the firm of Hague & Gill. Students from the Art + Architecture course Printmaking I will assist guests who wish to print a broadside keepsake featuring an Eric Gill image and quote. There is nothing quite like pulling an impression on an antique handpress. To experience the art and craft of letterpress printing, please visit the Donohue Rare Book Room during the opening reception. For more information, please call (415) 422-2036.

John Hawk
Head Librarian, Donohue Rare Book Room

In conjunction with the Thacher Gallery exhibition: Eric Gill: Iconographer, the Gleeson Library has digitized the wood engravings in the Eric Gill collection from the Donohue Rare Book Room and made it available online to USF community.  Nearly 400 digitized images are included in the Printing and Graphic Arts Collection and available for view on the Gleeson Library Digital Collections website.   The site offers tools to zoom in and out of the image to view minute details.   You can search across the collections for specific items.  Due to copyright restrictions,  the images are only accessible to  USF IP addresses, but the records associated with the images are all available to the general public.

We’re actively expanding our digital collections, so check back often for new content!

Read more >> Options >>

Looking for in-depth analysis of a federal program you’ve heard about in the news? Then you’ll be really pleased to discover the reports issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

GAO is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. Sometimes referred to as the “congressional watchdog,” GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars.

Some recent GAO Reports include:

Operation Iraqi Freedom: Preliminary Observations on DOD Planning for the Drawdown of U.S. Forces from Iraq GAO-10-179, November 2, 2009

Federal Student Aid: Highlights of a Study Group on Simplifying the Free Application for Federal Student Aid GAO-10-29, October 29, 2009

Climate Change Adaptation: Strategic Federal Planning Could Help Officials Make More Informed Decisions GAO-10-175T, October 22, 2009

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Employment Discrimination: Overview of State Statutes and Complaint Data GAO-10-135R, October 1, 2009

Biofuels: Potential Effects and Challenges of Required Increases in Production and Use GAO-09-446, August 25, 2009

Health Insurance: Enrollment, Benefits, Funding, and Other Characteristics of State High-Risk Health Insurance Pools GAO-09-730R, July 22, 2009

Many of these reports are in Gleeson Library’s catalog, “Ignacio.” You can also find them on GAO’s website.

Find out more about Gleeson Library’s government information collection by visiting our homepage or contacting Carol Spector (the Government Information Librarian) at csspector@usfca.edu.