Stanford Libraries staff anniversary honorees 2019
On Wednesday, December 18, 2019, the Stanford Libraries staff gathered at Paul Brest Hall to celebrate the past year and honor staff who are marking employment anniversaries. Congratulations to all!
Blogs
Rosa Parks' Stanford press conference recording now accessible online
The Archives is excited to share that an audio recording of a Rosa Parks press conference, held at Arroyo House at Stanford University on February 18, 1990, was recently digitized and is now accessible worldwide via Stanford Libraries' discovery platforms.
Volvelles: the rotating diagrams with some assembly required
A recently cataloged 16th century astronomy book provides fascinating insight into how a particular kind of diagram was printed and constructed. These rotating diagrams, called volvelles (from the Latin volvere, to turn), were used in both manuscripts and printed books to calculate data related to calendars, tide tables, astronomy, astrology, and more. They typically consist of one or more circles surmounted by other graduated or figured circles or pointers which rotate from a central axis. The circles could be made of paper, cardboard, or vellum, and the pivots were typically made of string or thread. The most common were printed with woodcuts.
Databases of the week: Finding journal articles in biology
Listed below are seven of the most frequently used databases for finding biological literature. Which is the best database for finding journal articles in biology? The quick answer is that it depends on your specific topic. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
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Students find it in the stacks: Plantasia
“Play nice music for plants. Be confident. Get to know your plants better. Don’t worry too much about them. Relax! Read and learn as much as you can. Plants are very understanding.” Listening to the space-age sounds of Plantasia, there’s nothing to do but relax.
For this blog the Archive of Recorded Sound invited one of our student workers to write about an item in the archive. Read on and find out about the soothing sounds of Plantasia as written by guest blogger and student worker extraordinaire Jonah. -Nathan Coy
Early visitors guide digitized on behalf of the Australian Museum
Guest blogger Adria Castellucci, librarian for Rare Books and Library Collections at the Australian Museum, describes the impact of her request to digitize the earliest guide for visitors published by the Australian Museum, which outlined not only the contents but the physical arrangement of the specimens. The 1873 Guide to the contents of the Australian museum is an important work in their institution's history, and including Stanford's digital object makes their collection complete.
Databases of the week: Linguistics
Like Sloppy the Levia family turtle, library databases often hide in plain sight!
Human Rights Day, December 10
The Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted (10 December 1948). The UDHR represents a cornerstone of the international human rights regime. The UDHR has been translated into 522 languages; you can listen to a recording in your language.