Branner Blog

The recent issue of ReMix contains an article summarizing the symposium on Japanese maps, in which Branner Library participated last October.

Japanese Imperial Maps as Sources for East Asian History: A Symposium on the History and Future of the Gaihozu

Please join us for a talk by Professor Kobayashi Shigeru!

Stanford University owns a large but uncatalogued set of Japanese colonial surveys (gaihōzu), mostly from the 1930s and 40s, including detailed topographical maps of the entire empire as well as thematic maps for Manchuria. While similar materials also exist in other collections (the Library of Congress, as well as more than a dozen other institutions in the US, Taiwan, & Japan), these maps have mostly lain outside of the purview of colonial historians until now. This symposium will examine the utility of these colonial maps as tools for historical research. Our presenters represent a diverse, international group of scholars who are interested in reconstructing past landscapes—whether urban or rural—and analyzing colonial development priorities and practices by using cartographic documents as a resource.

When:
Friday, October 7, 2011. 05:00 PM.
Approximate duration of 1.5 hour(s).
Where:
Building 200 - Room 307, History Corner, Main Quad (Map)
Admission:
Free and open to the public. RSVP requested by October 5 to Sayoko Sakakibara at sakakibara@stanford.edu. Please include name, affiliation
and field of study.
For more information, visit: http://events.stanford.edu/events/290/29043

If you are interested in the life of Richard Feynman, join novelist Jim Ottaviani and illustrator Leland Myrick as they discuss their new book, “Feynman, A Graphic Novel Biography.” Together they tell the story of this Nobel-prize winning quantum physicist, adventurer, and musician beginning with grade school in Long Island to his work in quantum electrodynamics, the Manhattan Project, and as a member of the Commission that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. They also talk about Professor Feynman’s passion for science and science education. Be prepared to be inspired by Richard Feynman’s exuberant life!

When: Monday, September 26, 2011, 5:30-7:00 pm
Where: Cecil H. Green Library, Information Center Classroom (Room 166)
Discussion and refreshments follow the talk. All are welcome to attend!

Sponsored by Dr. Robert Schwarzwalder, Associate University Librarian, Science& Engineering Libraries

Engineering Library Workshop on Scopus and xSearch:
Do More Searching in Less Time

Learn about Scopus and the New xSearch tool for enhanced searching. Bring your lunch and join us for our continuing series of workshops. All faculty, students and staff are welcome to attend!

Searching of multiple databases in related disciplines uncovers articles, books and reports critical to your research. Demos will include a comparison of ISI Web of Knowledge, Scopus and the new Stanford Libraries’ xSearch tool. E-mail alerts for subject, titles, and authors will also be covered.

Date: Tuesday, November 2, Noon-1pm
Where: Huang 203, outside the Terman Engineering Library

Date: Thursday, November 4, Noon-1pm
Where: Y2E2 Conference Room 105 (near the Coupa Café)

Date: Monday, November 8, Noon-1pm
Where: Y2E2 Conference Room 105 (near the Coupa Café)

To sign-up, click on this Google docs link and select the workshop you will attend : http://tinyurl.com/24ra3cb

Cookies will be provided.

Patricia Carbajales, Branner’s Geospatial Manager, is offering two workshops next week on Introduction to ArcGIS. Both will be held at classroom A-65 located on the sub-basement of Mitchell Earth Sciences Building (http://earthsciences.stanford.edu/facilities/a65/index.php)

You must register with Patricia by emailing her at carbajales@stanford.edu.

The first one will be next Monday, October 18th, from 8:00am to 11:00am.
The second one will be next Friday, October 22nd, from 2:30pm to 5:00pm.

This is a three hour workshop that will get you started with GIS. It will be interactive with minimal lecture and lots of hand-on exercises. During the third hour you will be building your own map.

Come join us and learn some GIS!

Come to the Library Open House on September 28th at Green Library from noon to 5pm. There will be music, videos, raffle prizes (including an Ipad and a Kindle), and giveaways (many free books).

* Learn about and see demos of our vast collections (books, films, data, e-resources, and more).
* Meet staff from the over 20 libraries on campus; see highlights of their resources.
* See a demo of our book-scanning robot.
* Tour Green Library with University Librarian, Michael Keller.
* See demos of various resources including SearchWorks, xSearch, RefWorks and Zotero.
* Hear University Librarian, Michael Keller present Thoughts on the Future of Stanford’s Libraries.
* Attend a curated visit of the new exhibition, Celebrating Mexico, a demo of SULAIR in Second Life, and more.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The newest mechanical visitor to Mars, the Phoenix Mars Lander, descends through the atmosphere on Sunday to land in the Martian Arctic. Dubbed the first of the “Scout Missions,” the lander will provide information that may answer questions such as: Can the Martian arctic support life, what is the history of water at the landing site, and how is the Martian climate affected by polar dynamics?

You can read more about the mission at the main project Web page. Local Bay Area events include:

* Mars: Fire & Ice at the The Crucible in Oakland. Live feed of the landing from NASA.
* Chabot Space and Science Center, Oakland will host activities on Saturday and Sunday including a live feed of the event on Sunday afternoon.
* NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, will host a Sunday afternoon event with robotic demonstrations and pre-landing remarks from local scientists and engineers.

You can also watch the landing over the Internet by tuning into NASA tv at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

LANL will be doing necessary upgrades and maintenance on their SearchPlus and FlashPoint systems. They will be unavailable beginning at 5pm on Thursday, January 17 with resumption of service on Tuesday, January 22nd.

If you need to access SciSearch you may do so through ISI’s Web of Science.

A round-up of news from the fall AGU meeting up in San Francisco:

• From the AGU website, news and a few podcasts.
• AGU dispatches from realclimate.
• Lots of Ink: News from the American Geophysical Union Meeting from the Knight Science Journalism Tracker.
• NYT’s dot earth.

Any more?

It’s time for the 2nd annual Bay Area Automated Mapping Association (BAAMA) Education award and mapping challenge. The competition is designed to support students in higher education using GIS both as a major field of study and in support of their own research fields. The top prize is $2,500 with a one-year membership in BAAMA, and a complementary entry to CalGIS in April, 2008 where you’ll present your work. Entries are due February 15, 2008. More information can be found at the BAAMA website. It would be great to have a Stanford student win this year!