What's New

New Resource: Roper Center Polling Data

The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research is one of the world's leading archives of social science data, specializing in data from surveys of public opinion. The Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy has subscribed to a one-year membership (through November 14, 2010) for all of Washington University.

• This membership includes on demand access to the full datasets required to conduct bivariate and multivariate analyses on archived surveys using RoperExpress. Search the catalog of data set holdings.
• Membership also offers access to iPOLL, a comprehensive database of 500,000 questions and answers asked in the US since 1935. (free registration required)

These combined services permit you to locate questions and topline results in iPOLL and then download the documentation and datafiles for the studies. Please see these user responsibilities.

New Exhibit: Ethnic Profiling

"Ethnic Profiling: A Challenge to Democracy Series"

This exhibit is presented in conjunction with the Center for the Study of Ethics and Human Values. It describes the remaining series of  films, performances, lectures, and other programs focusing on the issue of ethnic profiling occurring during November and December. View the exhibit in the South Display Case in the lobby of Olin Library from November 2-30.

For further information about the series please contact: the Center for the Study of Ethics and Human Values: phone: 314.935.9358; email: EthicsCenter@wustl.edu; website: http://humanvalues.wustl.edu.

New Resource: PressDisplay

The Libraries have subscribed to PressDisplay, a full-color, full-page collection of today's newspapers from around the world, created by NewspaperDirect: 'Instant access to 1000+ newspapers from 82 countries in 39 languages!' (from database homepage) Note that this is a rolling file; for most papers, only the most current 60 days are available. For a few titles, the time period is shorter. 3 concurrent users; please sign out when finished.

New Exhibit: Anatomy of a Film Clip

There’s more to making a documentary film than meets the eye. That’s the theme of The Anatomy of a Film Clip, a new exhibition in Olin Library’s Grand Staircase Lobby featuring materials from the Libraries’ Film & Media Archive. The exhibition explains how even a small segment of a documentary film can be extremely complex.

Behind the carefully edited footage we see on TV are long hours of archival research, interviews, scripting, budgeting, and fact-checking, not to mention the actual filming, sound mixing, and final editing that goes on before the documentary is broadcast. All of these steps are carefully broken down in the exhibition, providing a fascinating look at the filmmaking and storytelling process for scholars, teachers, filmmakers, and students.

New Resource: CQ Almanac

The Libraries have purchased online access to the complete full-text of the CQ Almanac, 1945 to the present.  Here's the description from that site:  'Since it was first published in 1946, CQ Almanac has been the definitive annual reference for studying the U.S. Congress. Building on the reporting and analysis done throughout the year by CQ's award-winning news staff, the Almanac offers original narrative accounts of every major piece of legislation that lawmakers considered during a congressional session. Arranged thematically, CQ Almanac organizes, distills, and cross-indexes for permanent reference the full year in Congress and in national politics. Its clear and concise language makes the Almanac an essential resource for scholars, journalists, interested citizens, and students of the U.S. legislative system.' (from About CQ Almanac Online Edition)

New Resource: Encyclopaedia Islamica

The Libraries have subscribed to Encyclopaedia Islamica.  It's described this way on its homepage: 'This volume of Encyclopaedia Islamica is the first of a projected 16-volume publication, consisting of an abridged and edited translation of the Persian D¯a’irat al-Ma’¯arif-i Buzurg-i Isl¯am¯i, one of the most comprehensive sources on Islam and the Muslim world. One unique feature of this work of reference lies in the attention it gives to Shi’i Islam and its rich and diverse heritage, which makes it complementary to other encyclopaedias. In addition to providing entries on important themes, subjects and personages in Islam generally, it offers the western reader an opportunity to appreciate the various dimensions of Shi’i Islam, the Persian contribution to Islamic civilisation, and the spiritual dimensions of the Islamic tradition.'  See also Encyclopaedia of Islam and Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures on the same site.

Faculty Books Celebration

The Center for the Humanities and the Washington University Libraries invite you to this year’s Faculty Book Celebration on Tuesday, November 17, 2009, at 4 p.m. in Graham Chapel. Pulitzer-Prize winning author Louis Menand will deliver the keynote address. Featured faculty authors will be Bill Lowry (Professor of Political Science) and Lori Watt (Assistant Professor of History and International and Area Studies).
 
A reception and book signing will follow in Holmes Lounge. Some 170 books by Washington University faculty members will be available for purchase. The event is free and open to the public.

Related Display
A display about the Faculty Book Celebration, Louis Menand, and the two featured faculty speakers is on view in Olin Library in the north display case on level 1.

About Louis Menand
Louis Menand is a professor of English at Harvard University, but he is perhaps best known as an award-winning author and cultural historian. He has been a regular contributor to The New Yorker since 1991 and a staff writer since 2001. Menand has written and edited a number of books, including his most well-known—The Metaphysical Club—winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for History.

Selected Books by Louis Menand

• Discovering Modernism: T. S. Eliot and his Context (1987)
• The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America (2001). (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History, the Francis Parkman Prize, and The Heartland Prize for Non-Fiction)
• American Studies (2002)
• The Marketplace of Ideas: Reform and Resistance in the American University (forthcoming, January 2010)

Book Talk & Exhibition

Join the Libraries for a special talk and exhibition viewing with author, humanitarian, photographer, and Navy SEAL Eric Greitens.

Greitens will speak about his new book of photographs and essays, Strength & Compassion, in Olin Library Room 142 on Tuesday, November 3, at 5:30 PM. The talk will be followed by an exhibition viewing and book signing in the Ginkgo Reading Room.

Strength & Compassion combines engaging humanitarian photographs from Rwanda, Cambodia, Albania, Mexico, India, the Gaza Strip, Croatia and Bolivia, with essays on strength, courage, hope, and compassion.

Eric Greitens is the founder and CEO of The Mission Continues, a veterans nonprofit. He teaches public service, ethics, and leadership as a Senior Fellow at the Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri. Greitens lives in St. Louis.

GIS Symposium - November 19th, 2009

On November 19th the University will be hosting a GIS Symposium including speakers on the topic of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the morning and a series of short workshops in the afternoon. In conjunction with the symposium, the Washington University Libraries are hosting a map gallery/poster session and contest.  The symposium will be held in Whitaker auditorium and afternoon sessions will be held in the GIS lab in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Building (EPSc).  The poster session will also be in held in the EPSc Building.

If you’re interested in attending the symposium, you can register at http://gis.wustl.edu/.

Some basics about the poster session:

1.    The session will run from 12pm-4:30pm on November 19th in the EPSc Building.

2.    Any project using GIS is eligible.

3.    Deadline for submission is November 17th.

4.    Prizes will be awarded for the best use of GIS.

5.    Free poster printing is available.

6.    Submit all posters and/or inquiries to Cheryl Morton at cmorton22@wustl.edu or 935-4148.

West Campus Construction

The long awaited rebuilding of the HVAC systems for the Archives and Closed Stacks is expected to begin the week of November 9th. We expect the entire project to take about 12 weeks once work begins.

On some days, all or parts of our Closed stacks will be inaccessible. We are working to arrange schedules for retrieving materials from construction zones. While we will fill requests for materials as expeditiously as possible, we expect some delays in filling requests from the Closed Stacks.