Keep Your Eyes Peeled! Photography Filled Books

Our new book display focuses on books within our collection that are filled with photos.  Often referred to as "coffee table" books these large format selections offer a chance to be transported, while delving into their subjects, and feasting your eyes on spectacular photography.

Here are descriptions of three books featured in the display:

Ice: Portraits of Vanishing Glaciers by James Balog and the Extreme Ice Survey Team (2012)

"A never-before-seen look into the forbidding environment of glaciers, this book celebrates a realm of magnificent endangered beauty. Since 2005, renowned nature photographer James Balog has devoted himself to capturing glaciers and documenting their daily changes. These stunning images are a celebration of some of the most extraordinary natural formations on earth, as well as a dramatic and timely demonstration of the stark consequences resulting from global warming—from Alaska to Iceland to the Alps." (excerpted from the book's description)

Distant Shores: Photographs from Lake Superior and Lake Michigan by Richard Olsenius (1990)

"Richard Olsenius is a 20-year veteran of newspaper and magazine photography and filmmaking.  He has won numerous awards including the prestigious World Press Photo award.  In 1987, Olsenius spent eight months on assignment for National Geographic Magazine covering the Great Lakes.  Distant Shores is an outgrowth of that assignment..."  (excerpted from the books "About the Authors" page)

Water Light Time by David Doubilet (1999)

"Beneath the world's waters lie landscapes, species, vegetation and populations as diverse and splendid as those on land, yet these kingdoms have been explored by few. is an extraordinary look at the work of David Doubilet, an artist and diver who pioneered the medium of deep-sea reportage to become widely acclaimed as the world's leading underwater photographer...From the waters of the Galapagos to the Red Sea, from the Pacific shores to the fresh waters of North America, "Water Light Time" includes over 25 years of Doubilet's work, and reveals the mesmerising beauty of more than 30 bodies of water." (excerpted from the book's dust cover)

If you are a Wisconsin resident and would like to check out this or any other book, please fill out our book request form. If you are a UW student, faculty or staff, please request books through the Library Catalog.

Book Review: Mighty Fitz

When it first went into service in 1958, the Edmund Fitzgerald was one of the largest and most expensive freighters ever built.  Its tragic demise on November 10th, 1975 was to become one of the most legendary shipwrecks ever witnessed in America's inland waters.  Lifelong resident of the Great Lakes region Michael Schumacher has written twenty-five documentaries on shipwrecks and lighthouses.  We are pleased to add his latest book, Mighty Fitz: The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald  to the Wisconsin's Water Libraries collection. 

Schumacher delves deep into the history of the ship, describing her many years on the Great Lakes, the fateful wreck, search efforts, and the subsequent controversy and investigation.  Booklist concludes that Mighty Fitz is "a thoroughly admirable addition to Great Lakes history."  We agree and encourage you to check it out.

If you are a Wisconsin resident and would like to check out this or any other book, please fill out our book request form. If you are a UW student, faculty or staff, please request books through the Library Catalog.

For more on Great Lakes Shipwrecks:

Browse Wisconsin's Water Library's Recommended Reading List on Great Lakes Shipwrecks here
Visit Wisconsin's Great Lakes Shipwrecks website here
Publisher The University of Minnesota Press' official website here
And finally, watch a clip of musician Gordon Lightfoot performing his song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald  here

The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars

Wisconsin's Water Library seeks out opportunities to engage our community, share our collection and promote literacy, while exploring science topics, particularly water related ones.  This week we are looking forward to a visit with the preschool-aged students at the Ho-Chunk Head Start program near Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.  Our theme this visit is the solar system and we have books to read aloud, a craft to make, and a fun zero gravity walking activity planned around the theme of "The Sun, the Moon and the Stars".

As we are visiting a school within a Native American community, one online resource we have referred to in selecting materials for this story time is the website American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL).  Begun in 2006 by University of Illinois Professor Debbie Reese, the AICL website is a rich resource that "provides critical perspectives and analysis of indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books, the school curriculum, popular culture, and society."  Reese recommended Joseph Bruchac and Gayle Ross' The Story of the Milky Way: A Cherokee Tale and we'll be sharing it with the preschoolers tomorrow!

Read the AICL review of The Story of the Milky Way: A Cherokee Tale here

   

Book Review: The Bark River Chronicles

Recently added to the library's collection is The Bark River Chronicles: Stories from a Wisconsin Watershed by Milton J. Bates .  The Bark River valley region of Southeastern Wisconsin is used to explore a diverse assortment of topics.  The book outlines the author's voyage by canoe from the Bark River's headwaters, through its confluence with the Rock River, and finally joining up to Lake Koshkonong.  The book connects the this meandering river route taken to corresponding stories including those of early settlements, glaciation, effigy mounds, the Black Hawk War, the development of waterpower sites, and the damage done by water pollution and invasive species. 

As the Wisconsin Historical Society Press review concludes, "for the two voyageurs who paddle the length of the Bark, it is a journey of rediscovery and exploration. As they glide through marshes, woods, farmland, and cities, they acquire not only historical and environmental knowledge but also a renewed sense of the place in which they live."

If you are a Wisconsin resident and would like to check out this or any other book, please fill out our book request form. If you are a UW student, faculty or staff, please request books through the Library Catalog.

Wisconsin Historical Society Press info on the book here
Milton J. Bates' author biography here

Open Access Science Resources

Open Access has made it possible gain access to high quality, peer-reviewed scientific research and information without the prohibitive cost associated with many subscription resources. 

Open Access Week was just observed October 22-28 and resulted in the sharing of many useful resources.   We came across Matthew Von Hendy's blog post "Open Access Science Resources" and wanted to highlight five of his suggestions.

1. Science Gov: www.science.gov  is a government website allowing users to search over 50 U.S. government science-related databases and websites.  Science.gov websites improvements were the subject of a recent AquaLog post, available here.
2. WorldWideScience.org: www.worldwidescience.org/about.html offers a federated search that covers national and international government science resources.
3. Public Library of Science : www.plos.org publishes seven high quality peer-reviewed open access journals.
4. Toxnet: www.toxnet.nlm.nih.gov  Offers access to the United States National Library of Medicine databases on toxicology, hazardous chemicals, environmental health and toxic releases.
5. DOE Information Systems: www.scienceaccelerator.gov offers a federated search covering Department of Energy related research, articles and conference proceedings.

For more Open Access suggestions, consult Matthew Von Hendy's complete blog post here 
Open Access Week information here

USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center Tour

We recently attended the Wisconsin Library Association's Annual Conference in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  One morning, along with a group of fellow attendees, we boarded a bus and headed to the USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) for a tour.  The UMESC works with a wide range of partners to conduct applied research essential to solving natural resource management problems.  UMESC is also the science leader of the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program (LTRMP), the Nation's largest river monitoring program with six remote state-operated field stations.

Our tour presented a fascinating overview of their facilities, their various research projects underway, and resources available to environmental scientists, educators, librarians, and the public.  The Center maintains a research fishery with representatives of every species of fish known in the Upper Midwest region held in large tanks.  A separate secure room houses tanks with Asian Carp, as they are conducting research to develop new methods for controlling  and mitigating the effects of these aquatic invasive species through chemical, biological, or physical means.  Our tour concluded with the center's library and a presentation by their Librarian, Lisa Hein.

A fascinating tour and all are encouraged to schedule their own visit of the USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center and to use their numerous online resources.

Wisconsin's Water Library's Facebook Photo Album from the tour here
UMESC Aquatic Invasive Species Control Programs webpage here
Consult our Water Research Guide on Invasive Species here