An Evening with Charles Darwin

The Northern State University Science Club and Williams Library are sponsoring “An Evening with Charles Darwin” to celebrate his scientific achievement and his 201st birthday. Mr. Darwin, portrayed by Dakota State University biology professor Dale Droge, will discuss his life, the times he lived in, and his scientific contributions. The audience will have the opportunity to ask Mr. Darwin questions. The program is free and open to the public.

• When: Tuesday, February 2
• Time: 6-8pm
• Where: Johnson Fine Arts Center, Room 134

Refreshment will be served

$100 Essay Contest

The Williams Library is sponsoring an essay contest based on the book, This I Believe: Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women . The book is a collection of essays from the National Public Radio (NPR) show This I Believe. The book is on reserve at the library front desk and other essay examples are on the shows web site.

The essay contest will culminate with ten finalists reading their essays on April 6, 7pm at the library. Judges will select the winners: first place wins $50, and second and third places win $25 each.

Read all the information and rules at the library's essay contest page.

Haiti before and after earthquake images

A few sources have compiled photos, video, and images of the Haitian earthquake.

• NYTimes multimedia - images and videos
  
• NASA - includes satellite images, and location of fault line (scroll down on page to see all info)
  
• Google/GeoEye - satellite images(before and after0
  
• US Government effort
  

Database Highlight: Credo Reference

Over the winter break the library decided to subscribe to Credo Reference, an online database that includes a broad range of subject and general encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference materials. This is a good starting point for background information.

Try it out and let us know what you think.

Database Trial: Credo - Reference ebooks

After grading or taking that last final, now you can relax and tool around CredoReference*, a database of encyclopedias, handbooks, and other reference materials. For the next few weeks the library is testing this resource to see if it meets the needs of the campus, please let us know what you think.

*contact us at reference@northern.edu if you want off campus access.

Control your stress: Mayo Clinic tips

During finals and the holiday season it is easy to let stress get the better of you, and here is a link to brief articles on stress and ideas for controlling it from Mayo Clinic.

Stress management from Mayo Clinic

Finals Week Survival Tips

Below are two finals week survival guides from the University of Pennsylvania and University of California-Riverside. Select the links to get the full descriptions of each point.

• Ten Tips for Surviving Finals Week from UPenn
  1. Don’t panic (make too much of the final).
  2. Don’t be too relaxed (make too little of the final).
  3. Make time for "renewing" activities.
  4. Use an effective study method.
  5. Get enough sleep.
  6. Resist the urge to party on "off" days.
  7. Arrive on time for the exam.
  8. Follow the rules of good exam taking.
  9. Don’t worry about others finishing earlier than you.
  10. When the exam is over, let it go!

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• 13 tips from UC-Riverside
  1. Start early.
  2. Sleep. You need at least four hours of sleep a night to function.
  3. Determine what type of final (comprehensive/non-comprehensive)
  4. Focus on your notes.
  5. Hide. Study in an out-of-the-way place.
  6. Don't chase an old test.
  7. Stop cramming five minutes before the test.
  8. Read all of the directions carefully.
  9. Stay calm during the exam.
  10. Ask questions if allowed.
  11. Stay for the entire session.
  12. Remain calm after the exam.
  13. Study your favorite subject last and the one you dread first.
  

Living Stories: NYTimes, WashPost, and Google

Two major US. Newspapers, the New York Times and the Washington Post, have teamed up with Google to create Living Stories. This pilot site focuses on presenting news specifically online.

You can navigate between news articles, opinion pieces and features. Each story has an evolving summary of current developments as a well as an interactive timeline of critical events. Stories can be explored by themes, significant participants or multimedia.

The site will focus on six national developing stories (and two local DC stories):

• Washington Tackles Health Care Reform (WashPo)
• Politics of global Warming (NYTimes)
• Struggle Over Health Care Reform (NYTimes)
• War in Afghanistan (NYTimes)
• Executive Compensation: How Much to Pay? (NYTimes)
  
• Battling Swine Flu (NYTimes)
  

Extended Hours at the Library

The library is extending its hours for this and next week. The hours are...

Sunday Dec 6: 1pm to 12am
Monday - Thursday Dec 7-10: 7:30am to 12am.
Friday Dec 11: 7:30 to 5pm
Saturday Dec 12: 10am to 5pm
Sunday Dec 13: 1pm to 12am
Monday - Thursday Dec 14-17: 7:30am to 12am.

New Book lists updated

Check the New Book lists to see which titles the library has added to the collection in the last month. The link is also on the left side of the library homepage.