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Month: September

Self-checkout launched at library

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Jose Beduya, Cornell University Library

 

Among several ways patrons can check out books and other materials from Cornell University Library, a new service offers another convenient option: letting them do it on their own, with the Cornell Self-Checkout kiosk and separate app.

 

The Cornell Self-Checkout app for smartphone or tablet—free to download for Apple or Android devices—along with kiosks at several library locations empower patrons to “choose their own adventure,” said Tobi Hines, head of operations and outreach for Mann Library.

 

“Our hope for this service is that it becomes yet another option in what I like to think of as our suite of options for library users to customize the library experience that they want to have on any particular day,” Hines said, referring to different ways of requesting library materials, including contactless pickup and deliveries to preferred library locations on campus.

 

A pilot project, Cornell Self-Checkout is currently only available in the following Cornell University Library locations:

  • Catherwood Library
  • Clarke Africana Library
  • Flower-Sprecher Veterinary Library
  • Kroch Asia Collections
  • Law Library
  • Mann Library
  • Mathematics Library
  • Olin Library
  • Uris Library

A Cornell Self-Checkout kiosk is located in an easy-to-access spot in each of these libraries—with the exception of Catherwood Library, which only uses the app.

 

Alternatively, the Cornell Self-Checkout app enables patrons to scan and check out their books from any area within the library spaces listed above. (The app will not work in libraries not part of the pilot, namely Adelson Library, the Music Library, and the Mui Ho Fine Arts Library.)

 

“Somebody could take a book to our upstairs reading area, and if they want to go out of the library to the atrium on that floor, they can check the book out with the app instead of having to walk back downstairs to the circulation desk,” said Chris Dunham, access services and administrative manager for the Flower-Sprecher Veterinary Library.

 

“I think we’re meeting users where they are and letting them choose how they want to interact with the library and access our collections,” Hines said. “We’re all very familiar with this concept of self-checkout, and it’s exciting to be able to bring this to the Cornell community as well.”

Exhibit Opening: The Art of Symbiosis

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The Art of Symbiosis: A Showcase from the Build of Natural Science Illustrators, Finger Lakes Chapter

 

The natural world has evolved over billions of years by developing extraordinary relationships between different species and populations. These symbiotic relationships, both cooperative and destructive, demonstrate the importance of long-term partnerships for a healthy ecosystem. From mysterious microscopic organisms to amazing plant life, insects, and large mammals including humans, many species’ survival is interdependent on one another. A new exhibit featuring works by the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators – Finger Lakes Chapter opens in the Mann Library Gallery on September 4. The exhibition brings art and science together to help us understand the importance of interconnectivity and how better-informed decisions will help address the challenges of biodiversity loss, food insecurity and environmental conservation.

 

A reception in the Mann Gallery will celebrate the exhibit’s opening on Tuesday, September 12, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. All are welcome.

Fall 2023 Workshops @ Mann Library

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Feeling a little lost? Library workshops can help ou find your way! Our fall workshops will help you gain valuable research skills and set you on the right path for the semester. In addition to the live workshops listed below, we also have a wide selection of pre-recorded workshops – including ciataion managmenet software and research data management options – listed on our Workshops page. 

 

Introduction to Bloomberg

This is one of the best financial databases available and is widely used by finance and investment professionals.  From company information to analyst advice, to mergers and acquisitions, few resources have either the range or depth of information of Bloomberg. Give yourself an edge in the job search by learning to use this powerful and sophisticated research tool.

Introduction to Market Research

Understanding the consumer is essential for any successful business. Market research encompasses several aspects critical to understanding the consumer, ranging from their demographic make-up to their attitudes and behavior regarding a product or service. This workshop will introduce attendees to the basics of market research, highlighting key concepts that dictate what information is available, and exposing attendees to Cornell’s top resources for discovering this information.

Introduction to Workspace

Refinitiv, a major financial research and data company, has recently combined many of their research platforms (including Eikon, SDC, and Datastream) into a single, all-encompassing platform called Workspace. Come learn how to use this powerful new research tool!

Intro to QGIS

This workshop will cover basic tasks using QGIS: loading data, changing the styles used to display the data on a map, installing plugins, using processing tools to do basic analysis, and exporting a finished map image.

Systematic Reviews, Scoping Reviews, and More! An Introduction to Evidence Synthesis

Are you interested in working on a systematic review, scoping review, or meta-analysis but don’t know where to start? Have you wondered about the differences between literature reviews and systematic reviews–and wondered which one is right for you? Join us for this workshop to get an overview of evidence synthesis and to learn how the library can help you at every stage of the process!

For the full listing of all Cornell University Library workshops, visit the Library Workshops calendar.

Soil Fair @ Ag Day this Friday 9/30!

This event complements our ongoing soil-themed exhibits, Grounded and Mud Paintings, on display at Mann through October.
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Soil is the foundation of our food systems and our planet’s most biodiverse habitat. It also has a key part to play in humankind’s ability to mitigate and manage the process and effects of global warming.  


Important as it is to our planet’s life support system, there is much to be learned about this vital but under-appreciated resource.  The Cornell community and wider Ithaca area public are warmly invited to explore some of what’s happening at Cornell to advance our knowledge about soil, its life-sustaining qualities for a healthy future, and the various ways we can work to protect and support its vital role in our global agro-ecoystem.  Join us at the Soil Fair that will be part of this year’s Ag Day being organized by Alpha Zeta Cornell on the Ag Quad on Friday,, September 30, 9:00 to 4:30 p.m. Look for us on the Tsujimoto Plaza in front of Mann Library!

 

Programs, information tables and partners at the Fair will include:  

 

Cornell University Library Grants Program for Digital Collections

Your idea + our technical expertise = a great digital collection!
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Attention all Cornell faculty and post-A exam graduate students: Do you have an idea for a new digital collection that will support research and teaching at Cornell? Perhaps you know of a collection of images or objects we can photograph, or have analog material – DAT tapes, slides, negatives, or cassette tapes – related to your research or the history of your field? The Grants Program for Digital Collections funds several digitization projects each year, and all you need to apply is a good idea!

 

Examples of proposals that are within the scope of the grants program include:

  • Creating new digital collections from Library, departmental, faculty, or graduate student-held resources that are regularly used in teaching or research, including lecture notes, slides, photographs, printed documents, manuscripts, or audiovisual materials. 
  • Digitizing archival collections or unique materials held by Cornell University, which are instrumental in supporting learning, teaching, and research, as well as supporting the University’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 
  • Converting materials or born-digital content held by other cultural institutions, that will support teaching and research at Cornell — especially combining dispersed resources to create new and enriched ones. 
  • Projects that will subsequently support new research methods, innovative data visualization, and tools that enable novel ways of analysis and interpretation.

50+ diverse projects have been funded over the past twelve years. Interdisciplinary collaborations across the University are encouraged. Email dcaps@cornell.edu with any questions. Note: Final selection of materials will be subject to ability to clear copyright.

 

Inquiries requested by October 1, 2022 | Application due October 31, 2022

 

The 2022 grant cycle is now closed. Please check back in August 2023 for information about the next cycle.

Voting Info at the Library

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No better day than National Voter Registration Day to announce a new info resource at Mann Library: a kiosk on Mann’s 1st floor offering some forms and handouts students will find helpful for making their voice heard in the U.S. election process. Here’s what you’ll find there:

 

The voting info kiosk at Mann is made possible by a partnership between Mann Library and Cornell Votes, a non-partisan student organization dedicated to fostering a campus culture which every person exercises their right to have a voice in their representation. Care to get involved with this good effort, or want further info on any question you might have about registering to vote? Sending an email to Cornell Votes will do the trick!  

Fall 2022 Chats in the Stacks @ Mann Library

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We are pleased to share our line-up of fall book talks, which will be held in-person in Mann Library 160. You can find all recordings of our past Chats in the Stacks on our YouTube channel.

 

September 22, 4pm

Mann Library, Room 160

Harold van Es, Building Soils for Better Crops: Ecological Management for Healthy Soils

Organic matter was once extolled as the essential soil ingredient, but the availability of inexpensive synthetic fertilizers and the mass industrialization of farming after World War II have led to a serious soil crisis. What can we do to increase the vitality of soils today and for future generations? In this book talk, Harold van Es explains how soil health has degraded at the global level, and the steps that everyone can take—from home gardeners and small farmers to large agricultural corporations and food industries—to improve and preserve this essential resource. 

 

October 13, 4pm

Mann Library, Room 160

Chris Barrett, Socio-Technical Innovation Bundles for Agri-Food Systems Transformation

While dramatic advances in human well-being have been achieved worldwide through technological and institutional innovations in agri-food systems, adverse impacts on climate, the natural environment, public health, and social justice increasingly impede further, sustained progress. How humanity can innovate to bring about local and global agri-food systems that more equitably, healthfully, and sustainably expand on past progress is the fundamental question posed in Socio-Technical Innovation Bundles for Agri-Food System Transformation, a synthesis of the current state of the world’s agri-food systems, and an examination of key external drivers of change anticipated over the next 25–50 years.

 

November 2, 4:30pm

Mann Library, Room 160

Robert Connelly, Frameworks, Tensegrities, and Symmetry

Geometry has been a wonderful attraction since the time of Archimedes. We all have our prejudices and points of view. Some are from the problem of making a structure rigid. Some are from the problem of making a surface flexible. Some are beautiful Art. Tensegrities are all of those as collections of points with distance constraints. Some are rigid but very squishy, but they all can be seen and felt. In this book talk, Robert Connelly, professor in the Department of Mathematics and a pioneer in the study of tensegrities, will discuss the latest edition of Frameworks, Tensegrities, and Symmetry (Cambridge University Press, 2022).

 

November 10, 4pm CANCELLED

Mann Library, Room 160

Jenny Goldstein, The Nature of Data: Infrastructures, Environments, Politics

It is not possible to fully understand current global environmental politics and responses to environmental challenges without understanding the role of data platforms, devices, standards, and institutions, according to Jenny Goldstein, assistant professor in Global Development. In this book talk, Goldstein discusses her new book, The Nature of Data (coedited with Eric Nost, assistant professor at the University of Guelph), which brings together scholars from geography, anthropology, science and technology studies, and ecology to explore these connections, and reveal how environmental politics are waged in the digital realm.

Fall 2022 Workshops @ Mann Library

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We want to help all new and returning Cornellians start the semester off right with our selection of fall workshops. There is no better time to start building those research skills, and with our wide selection of pre-recorded workshops, you can explore these sessions at a time and place that works best for you!

 

Visit our Workshops page for the full listing of asynchronous workshops, including help with searching and literature reviews, citation management software (Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote), the nuts and bolts of systematic reviews, and research data management.

 

And be sure to check out the schedule of live workshops this semester, which are being offered in-person in Stone Classroom (Mann 103):

 

Intro to QGIS

Tuesday, September 27, 3-5pm

Learn the basics of QGIS, the popular free and open-source desktop GIS application for mapping and geospatial analysis. We will work together through examples of loading common types of data, modifying the display styles, and performing some basic analysis.

 

Introduction to Bloomberg

Monday, September 12, 5-6pm

Tuesday, September 27, 12-1pm

Tuesday, October 4, 4:30- 5:30pm

Hundreds of thousands of investment professionals rely on the most comprehensive financial research tool on the market – Bloomberg. Give yourself a competitive advantage by learning the basics of how to navigate Bloomberg quickly and efficiently.

 

Introduction to Market Research

Thursday, September 22, 4:30-5:30pm

Tuesday, October 4, 12-1pm

Understanding the consumer is essential for any successful business. Market research encompasses a number of aspects critical to understanding the consumer, ranging from their demographic make-up to their attitudes and behavior regarding a product or service. This workshop will introduce attendees to the basics of market research, highlighting key concepts that dictate what information is available, and exposing attendees to Cornell’s top resources for discovering this information.

 

For the full listing of all Cornell University Library workshops, visit the CUL Workshops calendar.

Reproducible Research Workshop Series

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Good research is reproducible, replicable, and transparent. The Cornell University Library and RDMSG are collaborating to offer a free reproducible research workshop series covering available tools and overarching best practices to help you document, organize, and publish your research data while keeping it safe and maximizing your research impact. Follow the links below to register!

 

Organization for Spreadsheets / TIDY Data, Thursday 10/14, 10:30am to 12pm

Good data organization is the foundation of a research project. Most researchers have data in spreadsheets, so it’s the place that we will start. In this workshop, we’ll learn good data entry practices, different approaches for working with data in spreadsheets, and how to optimize your final “data package” to fulfill research quality and reproducibility requirements and facilitate new research.

 

How and Where to Publish your Data, Thursday 11/4, 10:10am to 12pm

We are frequently asked to share, archive, or otherwise publish data by funders and publishers, but few instructions exist on how to find a repository, and how to prepare your data and metadata for sharing. This workshop will provide hands-on experience preparing data for publishing by “curating” an example dataset and identifying common data issues. Participants will also learn about the overall role of repositories within the data sharing landscape and learn strategies for locating and evaluating repositories.

 

Cornell Center for Social Sciences is also offering How to Make your Research Transparent and Reproducible, Wednesday 10/6, 1 to 3pm.

 

View the full list of all Cornell University Library data and GIS Workshops or contact us at rdmsg-help@cornell.edu to let us help you find the workshop you need!​

Landscape Sculptures: Conversations with Land and Water

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Press Release Mann Gallery
For Immediate Release, September 30, 2021
 
June Szabo: Landscape Sculptures, Conversations with Land and Water, a new exhibition by Finger Lakes sculptor June B W Szabo explores the themes of decay and renewal, loss, and place through wood and wire sculptures inspired by regional geomorphology.
 
Ithaca, N.Y. – A new exhibition, Landscape Sculptures, Conversations with Land and Water, opened in late September in the Mann Gallery at Cornell University’s Mann Library. It features the work of sculptor June B W Szabo whose wood and woven copper wire sculptures explore themes of loss, the temporal nature of place, and decay as a means of renewal. A longtime resident of the Finger Lakes Szabo’s process begins with personal exploration of a regional landscape, enhanced by highly detailed relief maps and deep research into the geomorphology of each location. In her studio these experiences are rendered material through Szabo’s manipulation of beads, copper wire, and local hardwoods.
 
The exhibition, which brings together objects from the most recent period of Szabo’s practice, includes a number of new works. In describing the common thread shared by all the sculptures in the show, Szabo says the “thought that has guided me for this installation is that of letting go. There is much in all our lives that we have little control over, which can be a source of anxiety and a sense of loss. Working wood and wire to reflect on how land is built up as it’s worn down over time, how decomposition in fungi and plants leads to new growth —for me this work has been a lesson in what we gain by letting go.”
 
Indeed, her new sculpture Let Go to Grow created by wrapping and coiling copper wire, explores how the renewal seen in spring and summer landscapes depends on the loss and decay that occur each fall and winter. Reflecting on trees that have the power to “let go” of their own leaves in any season as a defense against stressors and as a means of renewal, this work proposes that letting go of fear and being open to nature’s law of return makes room for growth. In another new piece, Restoration, a hanging sculpture carved from poplar, Szabo references a moraine—an intriguing landform built by a thick accumulation of glacial drift transformed by wind and time into a forested expanse—which serves as a powerful metaphor for recovery and restoration.
 
Reflecting on the influences that have shaped her work Szabo cites the teaching of many Cornell scholars, including beloved geology professors O.D. Von Engeln and Arthur Bloom, whose many books detailing the geography and glacial history of the Finger Lakes Region have accompanied her throughout her journeys.
 
Landscape Sculptures, Conversations with Land and Water, will be on display at the Mann Gallery from September 18, 2021, until January 15, 2022. Mann Library is located on the Cornell University Ag Quad, Ithaca, NY.