The library will be closed on Thursday November 26 and Friday November 27 for the Thanksgiving holiday. We will be open our regular weekend hours on Saturday and Sunday, 10 am - 9 pm.

Want to contribute to Thanksgiving dinner but don’t have time to cook?  How about making a centerpiece:

 Happy Thanksgiving!

The annual TED conference brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers in Technology, Entertainment, and Design. They are challenged to give the “talk of their lives” (in 18 minutes) and many of these talks are available for free on the web.

Sifting through hundreds of videos can be a challenge, so to give you a taste of TED, here are a few of my favorites:

William Kamkwamba: How I harnessed the wind

To power his family’s home in Malawi, 14 year old William Kamkwamba built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap.

Blaise Aguera y Arcas demos Photosynth

A dazzling demo of Photosynth, software that could transform the way we look at digital images. Using still photos culled from the Web, Photosynth builds breathtaking dreamscapes and lets us navigate them.

Jill Bolte Taylor’s Stoke of Insight

Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: She had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions — motion, speech, self-awareness — shut down one by one.

Google has no doubt transformed the way we find information on a daily basis.  Whether you need to know tomorrow’s weather forecast or find out how computers are made, Google is a quick and easy resource to turn to.

Of course, for in-depth academic research, your best bet is to use the library’s databases to find articles from scholarly journals and other trusted publications.  However, there is valuable information freely available on the web - the trick is finding the good stuff fast.

There are many different kinds of search engines you can use - each with their own strengths and weaknesses.  To help you sort out your options, the library has put together this guide to finding Web Sites.  In addition to popular search engines, you’ll find links to search engines that are science and engineering specific and focus on scholarly literature. You will also find links to subject directories and searching tips.

And don’t forget, anyone can publish a web site!  That is why it is especially important to be critical when evaluating information from the free web.  Here are some guidelines to help you evaluate information you find.

You have had a couple months to use the library’s new web site - now it’s time to tell us what you think.  What do you like about it?  What bugs you? Is it easy to find what you are looking for?  Let us know by taking this brief library web site survey.

At the end of the survey submit  your email address to enter a random drawing to win a $50 gift card to Amazon.com.  And you don’t even have to spend it on books!  Don’t delay, you must complete the survey by November 15 to be eligible to win.

In addition, you can volunteer for a web site usability study.  In exchange for about 30 minutes of your time you will receive a $15 Amazon gift card.  If selected, you will be asked to “think out loud” while you complete a series of tasks on the library web site.  Sign up at the end of the survey or email us at blibrary@poly.edu if you are interested in participating.

Thanks for your feedback.  Your input is important as we continue to evaluate and improve the site.

It’s time for Halloween, but there is no reason to fear the library!  If you ever find yourself lost and confused simply ask a librarian.

 Take a break from books and check out the fun, festive, and frightful Halloween activities taking place all week at NYU-Poly:

Tuesday, October 27

Fright Night Movie: “Halloween”
8:30 - 11:00 pm
Pfizer Auditorium

Wednesday, October 28

Thriller Dance Workshop
Noon- 2:00 pm
RH 116

Thursday, October 29

Haunted Lounge
6:30 - 7:30 pm
First Floor Lounge

Dead End Cemetery
Doors Open at 7:00 pm
RH 116

Friday, October 30

Trick-Or-Treat
Noon - 4:00 pm
3rd Floor Jacobs Building

Haunted House Trip
7:30 pm & 8:00 pm
*Tickets are being given away at Dead End Cemetery Event*

If you need help tracking down case studies, check out the new Case Studies page on the library web site.  You’ll find information on where to find articles and books containing case studies, both online and in print.

For those of you looking for Harvard Business School Case Studies, be aware that they are not made available to libraries (strict copyright restrictions ensure that they provide a large income stream to HBS).  More information on how to get copies of Harvard cases is available on the Case Studies page.

Experience the wonders of science outside of the classroom for a change.  The second annual Imagine Science Film Festival brings its science-in-fiction film screenings and panel discussions to three boroughs – Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens – from now until October 24.

Panel discussions will be held with the festival’s actors, directors, journalists and scientists. This open forum allows you to explore an array of topics from mathematics, physics and neuroscience, to evolution and climate change.  All Imagine Science Film Festival screenings are open to the public.  For  more information check www.imaginesciencefilms.com.

The Coles Science Center at Bobst Library Presents the Coles Science Salon Series

Pandemic Influenzas Past and Present:
History and Science, Science and History

by Eric L. Altschuler, MD, PhD
Departments of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and
Microbiology & Molecular Medicine,
New Jersey Medical School,
University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey

We are currently in the midst of an influenza pandemic. There were three such pandemics in the Twentieth Century including the great pandemic of 1918 which killed more people than any infectious disease in history. These pandemics taught physicians and scientist much about influenza and other infectious diseases. Now current science is able to shed light on past pandemics such as our finding and retrieval of antibodies from aged survivors of the 1918 pandemic and my current work using long ago frozen samples to find the strain of the 1889-1890 pandemic.

DATE: Wednesday, November 4, 2009
TIME: 6:00-7:00pm
PLACE: Avery Room, 2nd Floor, Bobst Library*

Please join us for the talk, followed by a discussion. Refreshments will be served.

***RSVP Required***
Go here: http://tinyurl.com/salon-rsvp

Have you checked out our new multimedia library guides?  We currently have 18 guides on an array of topics from chemical engineering to copyright law.  These guides are the best starting points for finding articles, books, video, news, and more in your areas of interest.  Scroll through the sample guides below or browse the complete list.

You can access these guides directly from the library home page using the “Subject Guides” tab on the search box.  More guides are being added on a regular basis. If you’d like to see a guide for a particular area, let us know!

If you’d like to try playing a guitar that uses lasers for strings or drawing on a giant 3-D Etch-A-Sketch, now is your chance.  The Gizmodo Gallery is a temporary interactive museum in Manhattan (267 Elizabeth Street) that pays homage to the 80 coolest gadgets from today and years past.  The Gallery, open September 23-27,  is presented by the popular tech blog Gizmodo.

In addition to a $3,500 pancake machine that whips out a flapjack in 14 seconds, you will find a one-of-a-kind model of the first Apple phone prototype,  man made lightning machines, and a 103-inch plasma screen TV on which you can play “The Beatles: Rock Band.”  Oh yeah, and free pancakes.

Get Gallery hours and more details at Gizmodo Gallery 2009.