The University of Vemont Libraries: Bailey/Howe Library

Here’s a selection of Elect Resource and Serials Access Coordinator Shawn Biegen’s favorite narrative films. Shawn says, “In order to avoid my legal responsibility, as a former film student, to list Citizen Kane, The Godfather and Casablanca in any top film list, the following is a completely random selection of five films that I enjoy…”

The Third Man (1949)

While investigating the suspicious death of his childhood friend, an American pulp novelist becomes entangled in the seedy underworld of post-war Europe. The fact that this film was largely shot on location in the ruins of war-ravaged Vienna, gives it a haunting quality unique even among the best film noirs. Add to this Graham Greene’s screenplay, Carol Reed’s directing, and the acting of Joseph Cotton and Orson Welles, and you have as close to a perfect film as there is.

Watch the trailer for The Third Man:

Barry Lyndon (1975)

Relates the sordid life of its title character, an 18th century rogue intent on ascending to the peak of 18th century European society by any means necessary. This is my personal favorite out of all of Stanley Kubrick’s films. However, be forewarned that it is definitely a heavyweight, at a full 185 minutes long. So set aside an entire evening, and enjoy.

Watch the trailer for Barry Lyndon:

Brazil – 1985

Follows the life of a mid-level bureaucrat within an absurdly Orwellian society, as he becomes increasingly compromised by his search for a mysterious woman that haunts his dreams. There are actually two versions of this film available in our collection, as this film was famously taken away from its director, Terry Gilliam, and re-edited by the film’s concerned financiers. I strongly recommend watching the director’s cut.

Watch the trailer for Brazil:

The Prestige – 2006

Two rival late 19th century magicians, with a tragic personal connection, vie with each other to create the world’s most astonishing illusion in an era when scientific innovation makes anything seem possible. This excellent film was the victim of unfortunate timing, as it came out virtually simultaneously with The Illusionist, which proved to be too much magic for the general public, and split these films’ modest target audience in half.

Watch the trailer for The Prestige:

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford – 2007

This is a film I recommend very cautiously, for the following reason. I really like westerns. Unfortunately, Hollywood doesn’t make westerns anymore because apparently nobody else goes to see them. If by some miracle a western is released, I will happily sit in my seat devouring my popcorn long after the two other people in the theater have left in disgust. So, it is possible that my bias may have blinded me to the fact that this film is truly bad. With that being said, I consider this film a flawed masterpiece that inverts the clichés of its genre by examining the consequences of the celebrity status attained by western icons like Jesse James, as well as the glorification of violence often associated with their fame. I am unbiased enough to concede that the film’s often rambling narrative should have been tightened up considerably, but I think it’s still well worth seeing. At the very least, please consider watching this film (or the remake of 3:10 to Yuma, Open Range, etc.) as an altruistic act, to help save the western genre from total extinction.

Watch the trailer for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford:

The UVM Libraries now provide electronic access to CQ Weekly, from 1983 onward. CQ Weekly is an independent publication that provides objective, non-partisan reporting and analysis of Congressional activities, on a week-by-week basis. It will prove useful to students of political science, public policy, and history.

A recent issue included articles on health care legislation and debates, such as “Health Care: A Matter of Mandates,” “Highlights of the House Health Care Bill,” and “Health Care Polls: The Question Helps Define the Answer.”

Useful charts and graphics summarize recent votes, appropriations, and upcoming bills, making it easy to track on issues, and to see how the President’s agenda is faring. Articles are searchable a variety of ways, including by topic, committee, or bill number. Floor votes dating back to 1983 can be easily retrieved.

Print volumes of CQ Weekly from 1975-2008 are available in Bailey/Howe Books (JK1 .C15), and 2009 volumes can be found in the Reference Collection. Microfilm at the Library Research Annex dates from 1953-1988.

Senate Entry by deltaMike, used in accordance with Creative Commons.

Dancing in the dark : a cultural history of the Great Depression by Morris Dickstein

“The gloom of the Depression fed a brilliant cultural efflorescence that’s trenchantly explored here. Dickstein surveys a panorama that includes high-brow masterpieces and mass entertainments, grim proletarian novels and frothy screwball comedies, haunting photographs of dust bowl poverty and elegant art deco designs.” –Publishers Weekly

Listen to an interview with Dancing in the Dark author Morris Dickstein

Divas on screen: Black women in American film by Mia Mask

“This insightful study places African American women’s stardom in historical and industrial contexts by examining the star personae of five African American women: Dorothy Dandridge, Pam Grier, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Halle Berry.” –Publisher’s information

Watch Halle Berry in Introducing Dorothy Dandridge:

Long past stopping : a memoir by Oran Canfield

“Juggled between an endless succession of friends, relatives, anarchist boarding schools, libertarian commune dwellers, socialist rebels, and born-again circus clowns, Oran Canfield grew up viewing the inconsistencies of the world with a wary eye. The son of Jack Canfield—the motivational speaker and creator of Chicken Soup for the Soul—Oran is intensely self-conscious and reserved, but his life won’t seem to leave him alone.” –Publisher’s information.

Watch Oran Canfield talk about Long Past Stopping, via a prayer hotline:

Our noise : the story of Merge Records, the indie label that got big and stayed small by John Cook, with Mac McCaughan & Laura Balance

“Freelance reporter Cook and Merge cofounders McCaughan and Ballance trace the history of the North Carolina–based record label that started in a bedroom and now releases some of indie rock’s biggest names. While some of the label’s artists may be beyond the scope of the casual music fan, bands like Magnetic Fields, Spoon and Arcade Fire demonstrate how vital Merge is to the indie rock landscape.” –Publishers Weekly

Check out the Merge Records website.

Sinister yogis by David Gordon White

“Marketed as a clear path to self-realization, mind expansion, and taut abs, yoga is also perceived as an ancient and unchanging Indian tradition based on the revelations of benign and limber sages. But this modern conception of yoga derives from nineteenth-century European spirituality, Sinister Yogis reveals, and the true story of yoga’s origins in South Asia is far richer, stranger, and much more entertaining.” -Publisher’s information

More about David Gordon White

What else but home: seven boys and an American journey between the projects and the penthouse by Michael Rosen

“Michael Rosen’s seven-year-old son Ripton one day decided to join a pick-up game of baseball with some older kids in the park. At the end of the game Ripton asked his new friends if they wanted to come back to his house for snacks and Nintendo. Over time, five of the boys—all black and Hispanic, from the impoverished neighborhood across the park—became a fixture in the Rosens’ home and eventually started referring to Michael and his wife Leslie as their parents.” –Publisher’s information.

Watch members of the Rosen family read excerpts from What Else But Home:

When the rains come : a naturalist’s year in the Sonoran Desert by John Alcock

“John Alcock knows the Sonoran Desert better than just about anyone else, and in this book he tracks the changes he observes in plant and animal life over the course of a drought year. Combining scientific knowledge with years of exploring the desert, he describes the variety of ways in which the wait for rain takes place—and what happens when it finally comes.” –Publisher’s information

Read an excerpt of When the Rains Come

[John Dewey at UVM in 1949; courtesy of Special Collections]

The American philosopher, educator, and UVM alumnus, John Dewey, was born in Burlington, Vermont 150 years ago on October 20, 1859. Widely recognized as the “father of progressive education,” Dewey’s works investigated the relationship between democracy and education and the centrality of the student in curriculum.

Bailey/Howe Library is home to a wealth of resources on John Dewey’s life and work, including over 150 books by and about Dewey (which can be located via the library catalog).

Bailey/Howe’s Special Collections houses the John Dewey Papers, which include research materials and photographs compiled in conjunction with Dewey’s 1949 visit to UVM, marking his 90th birthday, as well as correspondence with John Dewey and his family. Additional progressive education collections include the papers of Theodore Brameld, Paul Nash, and Kenneth D. Benne – all scholars of the philosophy of education – and the records of Vermont’s Prospect School, which contain hundreds of examples of student work.

[Student work by "Virginia," from the Prospect Center Archives; courtesy of Special Collections]

For more information on John Dewey, see the Center for Dewey Studies, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

University of Vermont Libraries are pleased to announce the addition of Reaxys, a web-based search and retrieval system for chemical compounds, bibliographic data and chemical reactions.

Reaxys provides access to the content from Beilstein, Gmelin and the Patent Chemistry database and replaces the existing CrossFire service.

Features include:

* Synthesis planner to design the optimum synthesis route
* Multi-step reactions to identify precursor reactions underlying synthesis of target compounds
* Additional search capabilities such as the ability to generate structure query from names or phrases
* Search result filters by key properties, synthesis yield, or other ranking criteria
* Results visualization
* Similarity search
* Transformation analysis

For more information about this resource, see http://www.info.reaxys.com/.

Chemistry Set, by unloveablesteve, used in accordance with the Creative Commons license.

Two events in Bailey/Howe, on Tuesday, October 20, 2009, will commemorate the National Day on Writing.

The Writing in the Disciplines Program will celebrate the past and present of writing-across-the-curriculum at UVM at its National Day on Writing open house. The open house will honor Professor Emeritus of English Toby Fulwiler, Director of the UVM Faculty Writing Project from 1984 to 2002, with a dedication and reception from 12 to 1:30 pm. Exhibits will also highlight the work of faculty who attended the 2009 WID Institute, as well as writing produced by UVM Writing Center tutors. Please RSVP for the reception at http://events.uvmctl.info/.

Bailey/Howe Library presents Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts: Witnesses from our Written Past, an exhibit displaying early book-making techniques with 12th to 17th century materials from the library’s Special Collections. Colorfully illustrated books and manuscript leaves will illustrate numerous styles of writing, mostly in variations of Gothic script. The exhibit explains the process of manuscript production and copying in scriptoria at medieval monasteries and universities. It will be open through the fall semester in the Bailey/Howe library lobby and Special Collections area. A reception to open the exhibit will be held in on October 20 at 4:30 p.m.

The National Day on Writing, organized by the National Council of Teachers of English, draws attention to the remarkable variety of writing produced by writers in all walks of life, and celebrates the importance of writing in personal, professional and civic lives. Galleries and activities throughout the week will showcase writing in the UVM community, highlighting academic and creative approaches to writing.

See a full list of National Day on Writing events at UVM.

Megan’s Present/Hand by Aeioux, used in accordance with Creative Commons.

The UVM Libraries now subscribe to British History Online, a digital library featuring sources documenting the history of the British Isles (England, Scotland, and Wales), from the 11th through the 19th centuries.

Topics include religious, legal, educational, cultural, parliamentary, regional, and urban history. Materials can be browsed by subject, place, time period, or source.

Sample documents such as 16th and 17th century journals from the House of Commons, historical diaries, and early maps of London can be located through browsing or keyword searching.

British History Online was created by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust.

“Midsummer–The Bonfire” [illustration] appears in The Everyday book, Or a guide to the year: Describing the Popular Amusements, Sports, Ceremonies, Manners, Customs and Events, Incident to the three Hundred and Sixty-Five days, In past and present times, by William Hone, 1826. Retrieved via A Clipart History.

Need help configuring your laptop for wireless? Detecting viruses? Re-imaging your machine?

Enterprise Technology Services (ETS) will be offering computer help in Bailey/Howe on Sundays from 5:30 to 9:30.

Stop by with your questions.

HELP! by bejealousofme, used in accordance with Creative Commons.

Ninety years ago, the 1918-19 Flu Pandemic was called the “greatest medical holocaust in history.” Best estimates put the worldwide death toll anywhere from 50 to 100 million people.  The H1N1 virus, an unusually virulent strain of influenza A, was identified as the deadly culprit behind that pandemic. Now, fast-forward to 2009, and the H1N1 virus has re-emerged around the world.

A new exhibit at the Dana Medical Library, H1N1 Flu: 1918-19 & 2009, traces the epidemiological and historical aspects of this virus in two different centuries. The images and texts in the exhibit hope to shed some light on the virus’ impact on a world at war, on student life at UVM, and even on literary works on the shelves at the Bailey/Howe Library. Current 2009 influenza statistics from the Vermont Department of Health will be monitored and posted weekly for this dynamic display.

The UVM Libraries now provide electronic access to Climate Policy, an interdisciplinary journal devoted to presenting high-quality peer-reviewed research and analysis of international policy issues raised by climate change. Works investigate climate policy through a variety of disciplines, including science, economics, environmental studies, political and social science, and ethics.

A recent issue looks at emissions trading in a variety of industries and countries. Sample articles include Wolfgang Sterk and Joseph Kruger’s “Establishing a transatlantic carbon market” and Erik Haites’ “Linking emissions trading schemes for international aviation and shipping emissions.”

Icelandic Weather by Zanthia, used in accordance with the Creative Commons license.