An Interview with author Sharon White

Posted on May 11, 2010 by Adam Shambaugh

sharon white.jpg Interview with Sharon White

On Thursday, March 25, 2010, author and professor Sharon White visited the Paley Library Book Club to discuss her most recent book, Vanished Gardens: Finding Nature in Philadelphia. Sharon White is the recipient of a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship for Creative Nonfiction and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. Sharon spoke to the Book Club about her own experiences and explorations of public gardens in Philadelphia. She also discussed her research of the little-known history of urban agriculture that is as old as the city itself. After the book club talk, Sharon sat down with librarian Adam Shambaugh to chat about Vanished Gardens, her earlier works, life in Philadelphia, and writing as a healing process. Please have a listen.

Listen to the audio of the Interview

– Adam Shambaugh

Refworks 2.0 beta available

Posted on May 10, 2010 by Fred Rowland

When you log into Refworks, you now have the option to try out the Refworks 2.0 beta version. Just click on the link in the upper right corner for “Refworks 2.0.” When using Refworks 2.0, you will have access to all the citations in your Refworks database. From Refworks 2.0, you can switch back to the traditional interface by clicking “Refworks Classic” in the upper right corner. Make sure you save any new work before switching between the two interfaces.

Refworks 2.0 preview —Fred Rowland

New: MadCad.com Codes & Standards

Posted on May 3, 2010 by John Schoolar

We now have online access (one user at a time) to selected codes/standards via MadCad.com.

Currently available:

International Building Code 2009
International Energy Conservation Code 2009
International Mechanical Code 2009
International Plumbing Code 2009
NFPA 13: Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems
NFPA 70: National Electrical Code
NFPA 101: Life Safety Code
ASHRAE Standard 90.1: Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings

Oxford Reference Update

Posted on May 3, 2010 by John Schoolar

The following new titles are now available via Oxford Reference Online:

Dictionary of Critical Theory
Dictionary of Dentistry
Dictionary of London Place Names
Oxford Encyclopedia of African Thought

Talking About Starbucks

Posted on May 3, 2010 by Fred Rowland

Bryant Simon

Temple history professor Bryant Simon is the author of Everything But the Coffee: Learning About America From Starbucks, published by University of California Press in 2009. It describes how the Starbucks phenomenon reflects many of the social and cultural trends in American society and business. On March 24, 2010, he stopped by Paley Library to talk to me about his new book. He discussed the history of the company, the research methods he employed, the coffeehouse tradition, the shrinking of public spaces in America, and how we might renew our civic culture.

Listen to the audio of the interview

[ensemblevideo contentid=SJ8M9IHa2Uu06K2YLqbBDA audio=true]

iTUnes U link (for downloads)

Subscribe to this podcast series

—Fred Rowland

Trial: Oxford Bibliographies Online

Posted on April 30, 2010 by John Schoolar

We have trial access to Oxford Bibliographies Online (OBO) until 5/29/10. According to Oxford, OBO is

an entirely new research tool for the social sciences and humanities. A scholar-curated library of discipline-based subject modules, OBO is designed to help busy researchers find reliable sources of information in half the time by directing them to exactly the right chapter, book, website, archive, or data set they need for their research. Each entry is a selective guided tour through the key literature on a topic, receives multiple peer-reviews as well as Editorial Board approval, and is designed to facilitate a research experience with no dead ends.

Subject modules currently available are Classics, Criminology, Islamic Studies, and Social Work. Your feedback is welcomed.

Improvements Coming to the Urban Archives Reading Room–Renovations May 3 through July 2

Posted on April 29, 2010 by

The Urban Archives Reading Room is undergoing improvements that require extensive renovations, scheduled to take place between May 3 and July 2. During that time, some services may be limited. Full services at the Archives will resume on Tuesday, July 6. We encourage you to contact the Archives ahead of time, at 215-204-8257 or urban@temple.edu, for the best possible research assistance. Ongoing updates about these improvements will be posted at http://library.temple.edu and http://library.temple.edu/collections/urbana, so check back for additional information.

ARTstor Update 4/29/10

Posted on April 29, 2010 by John Schoolar

ARTstor has announced the following:

Now available: Foundation for Landscape Studies
ARTstor has collaborated with the Foundation for Landscape Studies to share approximately 5,000 contemporary photographs and historical illustrations of gardens and landscapes from around the world in the Digital Library.

Now available: European popular imagery from the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin
ARTstor has collaborated with the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin to share approximately 800 images of European prints documenting popular culture in the Digital Library.

Now available: Beyond the Taj: Architectural Traditions and Landscape Experience in South Asia (Cornell University Library)
ARTstor has collaborated with Cornell University Library to make available more than 6,600 photographs of South Asian architecture from the Beyond the Taj collection.

JSTOR Update 4/29/10

Posted on April 29, 2010 by John Schoolar

The following journals have been added to JSTOR.

Cuadernos de Pensamiento Político
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=cuapenpol
Release Content:
Nos. 1-20 (October, 2003 – October/December, 2008)
Moving Wall: 1 year
Publisher: FAES, Fundacion para el Analisis y los Estudios Sociales
ISSN: 1696-8441

Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=jmiddeastwomstud
Release Content:
Vol. 1, No. 1 (Winter, 2005) – Vol. 2, No. 3 (2006)
|Moving Wall: 3 years
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISSN: 1552-5864
Note: The content for Vol. 2, No. 2 (2006) will be released as soon as the issue becomes available to JSTOR.

Meridians
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=meridians
Release Content:
Vol. 1, No. 1 (Autumn, 2000) – Vol. 7, No. 1 (2006)
Moving Wall: 3 years
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISSN: 1536-6936

Papers of the British School at Rome
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=papbritschrome
Release Content:
Vol. 1, No. 1 (1902) – Vol. 74 (2006)
Moving Wall: 3 years
Publisher: The British School at Rome
ISSN: 0068-2462

Philosophy of Music Education Review
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=philmusieducrevi
Release Content:
Vol. 1, No. 1 (Spring, 1993) – Vol. 14, No. 2 (Fall, 2006)
Moving Wall: 3 years
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISSN: 1063-5734

Schools: Studies in Education
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=schoolstudedu
Release Content:
Vol. 1, No. 1 (March, 2004) – Vol. 3, No. 2 (Fall, 2006)
Moving Wall: 3 years
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
ISSN: 1550-1175

Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=trancharpeirsoc
Release Content:
Vol. 1, No. 1 (Spring, 1965) – Vol. 42, No. 4 (Fall, 2006)
Moving Wall: 3 years
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISSN: 0009-1774

Translation and Literature
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=translit
Release Content:
Vol. 1 (1992) – Vol. 13, No. 2 (Autumn, 2004)
Moving Wall: 5 years
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISSN: 0968-1361

Discussion with Temple Classicists

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Fred Rowland

On March 18, 2010 I had the opportunity to speak with Classics professors Dan Tompkins, Robin Mitchell-Boyask, and Sydnor Roy. I wanted to understand how Classics research–and humanities research more generally–had changed in the course of the past few decades in the wake of broad transformations in academia, technology, and society.

Dan Tompkins received his PhD from Yale University in 1968 with a dissertation entitled Stylistic Characterization in Thucydides. Robin Mitchell-Boyask graduated in 1988 from Brown University with a dissertation entitled Tragic Identity: Studies in Euripides and Shakespeare. Sydnor Roy is a 2010 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her dissertation is entitled Political Relativism: Implicit Political Theory in Herodotus’ Histories.

We began by discussing their respective dissertation experiences: where they studied, what kinds of sources they used, the technology that was available, and the scholarly community that surrounded them. Since the three dissertations spanned the years from 1968 to 2010, the discussion revealed interesting similarities and differences in the academic environment over the past forty years. Below is Part 1 of our discussion. Parts 2 and 3 will follow.

Listen to the audio of the discussion, Part I

[ensemblevideo contentid=xoGjjJfmXEydHowYpXDNrQ audio=true]

iTunes U link (for downloads)