Library News Online

Science Library: opening the doors to knowledge

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:16:09 +0900

After many years of planning, research, and design, Stage 1 of the new Science Library opened on July 20th. As soon as the doors opened, students were ready to explore. Some were immediately drawn to the collaborative areas on the ground floor and started writing with white board markers on the specially designed glass-topped tables. Others headed through the light, open atrium and up the stairs to find a quiet place to study amongst the book stacks.

"The Library is designed primarily for students," John Arfield, University Librarian and Director (Information Management), said. "Students want to come to libraries to work and, increasingly, they are working together, either informally or on group projects, and there are few places on campus where they can do this."

Science Library: vital statistics

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:35:31 +0900

For the first time in the history of the UWA Library the full range of scientific material is housed in one place. The collections of books and journals for all Science faculties are now integrated into a single sequence that runs to an approximate length of 10,620 metres.

Science Library: promoting the scientific arts

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:11:24 +0900

Walking into the Science Library you first see a large print at the end of the foyer, showing the shadowy images of some of the great scientists of the past: Darwin, Einstein, Newton, Marie Curie, and Brunel. As you come closer to the print, words start to emerge as the faces fade into the background, and you can see that the entire image is actually comprised of quotations from eminent scientists.

Science Library: Darwin's view of the South West

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:44:38 +0900

Marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, the Science Library is hosting it's first exhibition, Evolution in Action : Charles Darwin and Western Australia’s Biodiversity Hotspot.

Professor Lyn Beazley, Chief Scientist of WA and UWA staff member, officially opened the exhibition on the 27th of July, with around 80 people attending. Professor Beazley shared a personal story of how she was first inspired to study biology after a visit to Darwin's Down House in Kent, England.

Getting down to business

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:48:46 +0900

Armed with their expertise and a laptop, Librarians Will Hamilton and Michelle Mahoney are now providing a regular information service to staff and students in the new Business School.

Sharing stories with Black Words

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:04:50 +0900

Jake Milroy, a UWA Arts graduate, is currently working in the UWA Library on Black Words, which is a subset of AustLit dedicated to indigenous works. Jake started at the Library in March and will be working full time until the end of the year.

"I'm working on the WA, Northern Territory and Torres Strait Islander indigenous authors," Jake explained. "I track them down, different storytellers, and we include where they are from, their language, who they might be related to, background information and history. It's a pretty good job - I get to read a lot of interesting stuff!"

Funding for Expensive Items: call for recommendations

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:21:34 +0900

Each year the Library reserves a small part of its budget for the purchase of resources which cannot be easily funded from its Faculty allocations. Such items may be large sets of books, reference works or research collections, with a cost of more than $1,000. Items may be in print or online, but journal subscriptions are usually not considered.

McGraw-Hill Enyclopedia of Science & Technology Online

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:00:10 +0800

Since the first edition in 1960, the McGraw-Hill Enyclopedia of Science & Technology (now in its 10th edition) has been the definitive source of science information with topics across all major disciplines, earning the reputation of being the original and best multidisciplinary science encyclopedia. This information is now available 24/7 to UWA staff and students through AccessScience, an online science platform from McGraw-Hill.