Welcome Razorbacks! This August we reached out to our faculty and staff for their picks to get new and returning students back in the groove. From essential tips and tricks that stand the test of time, to boundary-crossing favorites, the University Libraries latest staff picks have you covered.
The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into In College
by Harlan Cohen – This title caught the eye of Kathleen Lehman, User Experience Librarian, and it’s probably catching yours, too. Now in it’s 5th edition, The Naked Roommate is a go-to guide on dorm and college life. Cohen has tips and advice on tons of different aspects of student life, from sharing a bathroom with 40 strangers to sharing lecture notes. Tip #49-The Major Issue: Picking One / Tip #14-The Ultimate Roommate Rule / Tip #8-Technology: The Fifth Wall. Face it, you need this book.
The Elements of Style by Strunk and White – “This title was always an important resource to me as an undergraduate student majoring in English,” said Sherryl Faulkner-Robinson, Circulation System Manager. “Not only does it have a review of the principal grammar elements, it also includes lists of words most misspelled, phrases most misused, and some composition examples. It is an invaluable resource for anyone needing to write papers. A complete copy is available on-line, but there are also several copies in the Libraries’ collection.” So true, Sherryl, this slim volume is indispensable.
Doing a Literature Search: A Comprehensive Guide for the Social Sciences by Chris Hart – Necia Parker-Gibson, Plant Sciences, Environmental Sciences, and Human Environmental Sciences Librarian, recommends this title, because “the author makes his writing very approachable and has many strategies to share about this difficult stage of the research process.” Not sure how to start a literature search? Pick up this book from the main lobby of Mullins Library, or better yet, contact your Subject Librarian – we have a librarian for every major on campus!
Me llamo Rigoberta Menchú y así me Nació la Conciencia edited by Elisabeth Burgos-Debray – Martha Parker, Digital Services Librarian, recommends this autobiography chronicling the life of Rigoberta Menchú, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 “in recognition of her work for social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples.” Menchú told Burgos her life in a series of interviews and her story is considered one of the major texts of Latin American “testimonio.”
Chemistry Imagined: Reflections on Science by Roald Hoffmann and Vivian Torrence; with a foreword by Carl Sagan and a commentary by Lea Rosson DeLong – Patricia E. Kirkwood, our go-to librarian for everything engineering related, said, “this books reminds me why I studied and loved chemistry. It is full of art and science and poetry.” In the pages of this book, readers will find a Nobel Prize-winning chemist using unexpected means – like collages, short essays, personal commentary, and poems – to help illustrate his field.
Battle for the Buffalo: a Twentieth-Century Conservation Crisis in the Ozarks by Neil Compton – New to Northwest Arkansas? It won’t be long until the Buffalo calls out. Learn about its rich history through the “story of America’s first National River” recommended by Janet Parsch, Special Collections Librarian. Special Collections has numerous resources on conservation in Arkansas (check out 40-50-100 for an overview). “The 2010 reprinting, with a new cover photo by Terry Fredrick and a foreword by Kenneth L. Smith, is a must-read for anyone interested to learn what it took to persuade government officials and legislators to establish the Buffalo River in north Arkansas as the first National river. Written in a careful, fact-filled, journalistic style, Compton methodically describes the grass-roots effort that succeeded in keeping the Buffalo River undammed and free-flowing.” Read it – then go for a float! (Additional resources to help you get to know the natural state, recommended by Parsch, include the Buffalo River Handbook by Kenneth L. Smith and A Rough Sort of Beauty: Reflections on the Natural Heritage of Arkansas, edited by Dana Steward.)
Goldfinch & Son: Fables by Steve Stern – Mikey King, Special Collections Unit Head in Tech Services, introduces readers to an alumnus of the U of A with her pick. “Steve Stern was an early MFA student here in the 70s. Most of his books are drenched in Jewish mysticism. He was from Memphis, so much of his fiction is set in Memphis, TN. This title is his masters’ thesis,” she said. The typed manuscript (signed by Ben D. Kimpel – you might be familiar with Kimpel Hall) contains three short works, Goldfinch & Son, Isaac and the Undertaker’s Daughter, and The Gift of the Muse.
How to Find Out Anything: From Extreme Google Searches to Scouring Government Documents, a Guide to Uncove ring Anything About Everyone and Everything by Don MacLeod – Elizabeth Chadbourn McKee recommends this ebook, available when you are logged into the UARK system. “As a retiring librarian after 42 years here, plus an earlier year as a student assistant, here is my advice to students, a quote for them taken right from this book: ‘Your ID is your library card. Talk to a librarian.'” It’s true. Our librarians are knowledgeable, available, and totally helpful. For information, for research, for learning, or for entertainment, your University Libraries are here for you.
Thank you Elizabeth! And thanks to everyone who turned in a title to help the Razorbacks settle in for another incredible academic year at the U of A!