Book Review: Voices From The Sweetwater Seas: A Great Lakes Anthology

Would you like to dive down and explore the Leopard Frog Cave system near Tobermory, Ontario?
 

Attempt to break the speed record for the 600 plus mile trip from Chicago to Detroit?  

Or join a canoeist as he paddles more than 28,000 miles in one continuous journey?  

William F. Keefe has written profiles of Great Lakes adventurers who did all of these feats as well as 30 others who have accomplished remarkable environmental, artistic, recreational, or commercial achievements in the region.  Assembled as one anthology, Voices from the Sweetwater Seas is a welcome addition to our library's collection.

In informal interviews the subjects, men and women, Americans and Canadians, paint descriptions and relate narratives that show clearly, and sometimes poignantly, why the Lakes are a challenge, a means of making a livelihood, an esthetic treasure, a storehouse of wonders great and small, an inspiration, and a geologic miracle. (excerpt from book's back 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.

Photo Contest Winners!

Our jury has finally emerged from its carefully guarded seclusion and handed us the list of winners for our Water Library Photo Contest held throughout National Library Week (April 14-20).  Thanks to everyone who participated in our photo contest.   We were all impressed at the creative ways you found to interpret our themes of libraries, community, and water!

And finally, for your participation, we enthusiastically declare that you are all winners! (literally)

"Best Show of Library Pride" Antonia McGinn (@missmcginn) for her photo submission of the UW-Madison Department of Geography's Robinson Map Library

"Best Great Lakes Sunrise" Wisconsin Sea Grant,  Fisheries Specialist, Titus Seilheimer (@DrFishS) for his beautiful photo of Lake Michigan facing East 

"Most Creative Use of Abandoned Furniture" award went to Steenbock Library, Science Information Services Librarian, Erin Carrillo (@partiecolored)

"Water Cycle Artistry Award" for "Half Lake/Half Water" is awarded to Steenbock Library, Undergraduate Services Librarian, Jessica Newman (@jessinalibrary)

"Educational Brilliance Award" went to Steenbock Library (@Ask_Steenbock) for their photo of an aquaponics display presented during last week's Undergraduate Symposium

"Best Sunset Dipping Into Lake" award goes to Wisconsin Sea Grant, Communications Manager, Moira Harrington

"Water Recreation Promotion" honors went Wisconsin Sea Grant, Communications Manager, Moira Harrington

"Best Forlorn Boat Adjacent to Stream" distinction is awarded to Wisconsin Sea Grant, Communications Manager, Moira Harrington

All photos are copyright protected and should not be used without first obtaining permission from the photographers.  Thanks.

Celebrate National Library Week with our Photo Contest!

In honor of National Library Week, we are having a photo contest!

This year's theme for National Library Week is "Communities Matter @ Your Library" so we are seeking photos that highlight the following: water, libraries, or your community.  Or any combination of the three! 

Wisconsin's Water Library Project Assistant Peter took this photo from the Palisades overlooking Seagull Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Please submit your photos by email to askwater@aqua.wisc.edu or Tweet a photo to #WaterLibraryPhotoContest

We will announce the winning photos on Monday, April 22nd.

Celebrate National Library Week April 14-20

This week (April 14-20) is National Library Week and the Water Library will celebrate with posts and updates all week long.  This year's theme is "Communities matter @ your library".  We couldn't agree more!

Here's a link to @ your library: The Campaign for America's Libraries from the American Library Association which contains a wealth of helpful articles, book/music/film/game recommendations, and countless other library related resources.

Look soon for more fun online activities and fun from the Water Library.

Bottle Free Badgers

We've all become accustomed to the convenience of drinking bottled water.  So much so that many of us have forgotten that it is a relatively recent consumer phenomenon.  We have also followed the objections that many have raised concerning their effect on our environment.  On campus, a student group formed called Bottle Free Badgers to organize around some of the negative impacts of our use of bottled water and propose a ban on their sale throughout campus.  Their campaign points out that plastic water bottles are harmful to the environment and major corporations are profiting off of our natural resources unnecessarily. Bottled water is more often than not just tap water that has been repackaged and sold back to us at a 1000 times more expensive cost.  By using reusable water bottles, drinking tap water, and making a commitment to avoid using bottled water, we will use less plastic and produce less waste in our environment.  These are compelling arguments and certainly worth our consideration. 

Here are the top five reasons Bottle Free Badgers thinks its important to reconsider bottled water sales on campus:

1. Bottled water leads to water shortages.
2. Bottled water contributes to climate change.
3. Our landfills cannot support bottled water.
4. Bottled water is not safer.
5. Water is a human right.

Follow Bottle Free Badgers:
On Twitter
On Facebook
And by reading their Bottle Free Badgers Blog

SIGN Bottle Free Badgers petition to ban sales of 1 Liter or less plastic water bottles on UW Madison's campus, specifically in unions, housing and athletics.  HERE

The Wisconsin's Water Library has many books and DVD's that address the topic of bottled water including:
Bottled and Sold : The story behind our obsession with bottled water 
Bottlemania : How water went on sale and why we bought it
Tapped (DVD)

Book Review: Fish In Art

Ranging from ancient Egyptian wall art to contemporary photorealist paintings, fish in their countless  aquatic forms have captivated and inspired artists as a subject matter to paint, draw, sculpt, and photograph.

Fish in Art may be the first study devoted to artistic representations of fish in art.  The almost 200 images are spread throughout chapters divided by their depictions in the sea, on the beach, in markets, in the kitchen, on the table, in still waters, in rivers, and on the riverbank.

The author, Christine Jackson combines her academic expertise in natural history with research into art history to illustrate how these depictions of fish connect significantly to the religious, social, political, and economic moments they reflect.

A richly visual treat we are happy to have added to our library's collection and hope you can check it out soon.

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.   

UW-Madison Science Expeditions

 

UW Sea Grant will be presenting a program to kick-off this weekend's event titled "Sea Lamprey, Sturgeon Sound and Shipwrecks: Success Stories From Wisconsin’s Sea Grant College". Wisconsin Sea Grant and UW-Madison Aquatic Sciences Center's Director James Hurley will begin by introducing the basics about Wisconsin Sea Grant College.  Then WI Sea Grant's Aquatic Invasive Species Outreach Specialist, Tim Campbell will talk about aquatic invasive species such as, round gobies, sea lamprey, and phragmites.  Next Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies Ph.D. Candidate Chris Bocast will share his recordings of sturgeon “thunder.”   Chris has captured the subsonic sounds made by these large, prehistoric fish present in Great Lakes waters.  And finally, WI Sea Grant's Science Communicator, John Karl will talk and show video of the 51 Wisconsin shipwrecks that he has documented have been nominated for the National Register of Historic Places.

Quite an evening of science provided by UW-Madison Sea Grant and Aquatic Sciences Center!  The free event will begin at 7pm at the Genetics-Biotechnology Center , 425 Henry Mall, Room 1111.  Find a map to the location here.

Information on the entire schedule of events for UW-Madison Science Expeditions

Book Review: Lost & Found: Legendary Lake Michigan Shipwrecks

We recently added another title to the Water Library's collection of books on the subject of Great Lakes shipwrecks.   Accomplished diver and author Valerie Van Heest uses her extensive experience and Great Lakes contacts to allow readers the tragic sinking of these ships.  Spanning the ages of sail, steam and diesel, the book details discoveries shared with the author by some of the lake's most prolific wreck hunters.

The book describes "the many shipwrecks that became even more famous after their discoveries than at the time of their losses, gaining notoriety as historic attractions, archaeological sites, and in some cases, over bold salvage attempts or precedent- setting legal battles."

 For more information about Wisconsin's Great Lakes Shipwrecks, visit the UW Sea Grant and Wisconsin Historical Society site, wisconsinshipwrecks.org. The Water Library also has a reading list of books about Great Lakes Shipwrecks.

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.