Penn State Life Sciences Library

This month in our Audubon display case

2011-06-30T10:21:00.002-04:00

This month we are featuring the Trumpeter Swan. The Trumpeter swan is the largest species of native North American waterfowl. It is a long-lived, social species, conspicuous by its large size, all white plumage, and trumpet-like call.

Internship

2011-04-19T15:37:00.002-04:00

Applications are currently being accepted for the University Libraries Bednar Internship in partnership with the Inter-institutional Consortium for Indigenous Knowledge. Applicants must be a student in Agricultural Sciences, Anthropology, Education, English, Rural Sociology, or Sociology of junior or senior standing for the 2011-2012 academic year. Salary is $8.50/hour for (up to 100) hours per semester. Deadline to apply is 2 May 2011.

This Month in our Audubon Display Case

2011-04-11T09:12:00.002-04:00

This Month in our Audubon Display case we are featuring the Common Redpoll. Redpolls are busy, acrobatic finches, spending much of their time flitting about, feeding, and calling with their incessant che,che,che contact calls or their plaintive dsooee. Their bouncy flight and rolling feeding flocks in winter fields add to the feeling of constant and exuberant activity.

Cookie Recipes

2011-03-17T14:15:00.000-04:00

We had an open house for other library staff this past Tuesday and pretty much stayed on a "cookie" theme for our munchies. Although there was quite a selection of store brought varieties (Wegmans and Keebler being predominant) we also had a nice selection of "made from scratch" cookies. Which resulted in a bunch of "do you have the recipe?" questions.

Since what we do is answer questions.... here you go:

Mushroom Cookies (made by Amy).
Peanut Butter Blossoms -with the Hershey Kiss. (made by Ann)
Laura Bush's Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies (made by Sarah)
Oatmeal Scotchies (made by Helen)
Soft Snickerdoodles (made by Helen)
Coffee Crisps (made by Janet: variation of a recipe from the book "Cookies at the Academy', from the series California Culinary Academy, 1987, ISBN 1-56426-035-6)

1 ¾ cups flour
¼ teaspoon each salt, baking soda, and baking powder
1 tablespoon powdered or granulated instant coffee
½ cup butter or margarine
¼ cup vegetable shortening
½ cup each sugar & packed brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons (approximately) granulated sugar

In a bowl stir together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and instant coffee to blend thoroughly, set aside. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
In mixer bowl combine butter and shortening; beat until fluffy. Add sugars and beat until well blended. Beat in vanilla, then egg yolk. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until just well combined.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Dip a flat-bottomed glass in granulated sugar, and use it to flatten each cookie to a thickness of about 1/4 inch.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes until cookies are golden brown and feel firm when touched lightly. Let stand on baking sheets for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool.
Yield about 3 dozen 3-inch cookies

Lemon Sugar Crisps (made by Barbara)

½ cup butter
½ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp lemon extract
1 1/8 cup flour
¾ tsp baking powder

Cream together butter, shortening and sugar.
Add egg, lemon juice and lemon extract
Stir in flour and baking powder
Shape into ball
Flatten with glass dipped in sugar (can add some yellow food coloring to sugar) Bake at 400F for approximately 8 minutes
yield 24-36 cookies

This month in our Audubon display case

2011-02-10T11:49:00.002-05:00

This month in our Audubon display case we are featuring the Evening Grosbeak. The Evening Grosbeak is a stocky, heavy-billed finch of northern coniferous forests. An irruptive migrant across much of its range, it makes roughly biannual appearances at winter feeding stations throughout much of the coterminous United States. Often moving in large flocks, this boldly colored bird with the massive bill is difficult for observers to miss.

This month in our Audubon display case

2010-12-30T13:45:00.002-05:00

This month in our Audubon display case we are featuring the Swainson's Hawk. Each Autumn, nearly the entire breeding population of the Swainson's Hawk migrates from the temperate zone of North America to "wintering" areas in South America. From Prairie Canada, this migration is more than 10,000 km each way, a distance second among raptors only to that of the Arctic Peregrine Falcon. Swainson's Hawks forage and migrate in flocks often numbering in the thousands.

Librarian’s TimeSaver Tip - Library Toolbar

2010-12-15T14:48:00.006-05:00

(hey, we look for information all the time and know tons of time saving tricks. Here is one!)

Picture this: while browsing the internet, or reading your webmail, you come across a book that you would like to see. Does Penn State have a copy? You can go the library page, select the CAT and input a search to find out….OR… you can simply highlight the title, right click your mouse and select “search the CAT for title” and another window opens with your search already executed! See this in action by clicking the play button on the video below:

Unable to display content. Adobe Flash is required.

How about this… you are at home using an internet connection via your cable or phone company. Your advisor recommends an article at Elsevier’s ScienceDirect service and sends you a link, but since you are not on campus, you can’t read it without paying! But the library already has a subscription! You can go the library page and search the e-journal list, sign on and navigate to the article you want …. OR… simply right click anywhere in the page and select “Reload www.xxxxyyyyzzz.com via EZProxy” put in your PSU ID/Password and you have access!

You can do all this with the Library (LibX) Toolbar. This is a customizable browser plugin for Firefox (a great browser) that provides direct access to Penn State's library resources.

See more information and download the plugin!

We love it!

This month in our Audubon display case

2010-11-03T14:32:00.003-04:00

This month in our Audubon display case we are featuring the Sage Grouse. The Sage Grouse is North America's largest grouse. Its habitats are dominated by big sagebrush in western North America. The first written accounts of this species were based on observations by the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1805, when the species was widespread in the west.
This species is renowned for its spectacular breeding displays, during which males congregate on relatively small lek sites to perform a strutting display in order to breed with females.

This Month in our Audubon display case

2010-10-07T15:05:00.002-04:00

The American Dipper

The American Dipper chooses a nest site, invariably along a stream, that provides security from floods and predators. Availability of suitable nest sites appears to limit its populations and is probably the principal limiting factor. It eats an exclusively animal diet, composed almost entirely of aquatic insects. This species' distinctive traits include incessant dipping, a blinking white eyelid, and frenzied feeding by jumping or diving into turbulent water even at ambient temperatures well below ) degrees Celsius. To persist in this demanding environment, the American Dipper has a low metabolic rate, extra oxygen-carrying capacity in its blood, and a thick coat of feathers. It aggressively defends both summer territories and winter spaces along streams.

This Month in our Audubon display case

2010-09-08T09:48:00.002-04:00

This month we are featuring the Sage Thrasher and the Varied Thrush. The Sage Thrasher, originally called the Mountain Mockingbird, has a long, melodious song of great variety, reminiscent of a mockingbird's song, and is found mostly in the shrub-dominated valley's and plains of the western United States. The Varied Thrush breeds from Alaska to California.It's contrasting black-and-orange plumage and eerie, penetrating song make it one of the most distinctive birds in the Northwestern forests.

Rock Ptarmigan

2010-08-02T14:18:00.002-04:00

This month in our Audubon display case we are featuring the Rock Ptarmigan. Also known as the Rock Grouse, Rock Ptarmigan are the quintessential arctic bird, living only on inhospitably cold and windswept tundra regions around the northern hemisphere. The Rock Ptarmigan is the only known bird species in which all populations spend their entire life cycle on the tundra, retreating only from the northernmost regions during the long period of winter darkness.

Band-Tailed Pigeon

2010-07-02T11:09:00.003-04:00

This month in our Audubon display case we are featuring the Band Tailed Pigeon. The Band Tailed Pigeon is in many ways reminiscent of its more widely distributed relative the Rock Dove, the Band Tailed Pigeon is similar in size and posture, movements, and reproductive and feeding behavior. It is equally a generalist, able to nest and feed in towns and near farms as well as in distant forests. The Band Tailed Pigeon is broadly distributed from Alaska to South America with only two sub-species north of Mexico. They inhabit the dry montane forests of four states in the southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado). For more information on the Band Tailed Pigeon, see this article in Wikipedia.

This month in our Audubon display case

2010-06-04T10:03:00.003-04:00

Featured this month in our Audubon display case is the Gyrfalcon. Largest of all falcons, and the most diurnal raptor, the Gyrfalcon inhabits circumpolar arctic and subarctic regions, with some individuals moving south into northern temperate zones during fall and winter. Gyrfalcons exhibit pronounced sexual dimorphism in size (males weigh only about 65% as much as females) but not in plumage, which ranges from nearly pure white to an almost uniform dark gray-brown, referred to as "black."

Lapland Longspur

2010-05-11T13:43:00.003-04:00

This month in our Audubon Display case we are featuring the Lapland Longspur. One of the most abundant terrestrial birds in North America, the Lapland Longspur breeds across vast areas of the arctic, where it is almost invariably the most visible and abundant bird and sometimes it is the only songbird. In winter, it is generally uncommon in eastern North America and west of the Rocky Mountains, but huge numbers can be found west of the Great Lakes and across the Great Plains from southern Canada to northern Texas often feeding on waste grain in agricultural fields; some flocks have been estimated as large as 4 million birds.

Ag Day 2010

2010-03-26T11:30:00.002-04:00

April 21, 2010 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm on the HUB lawn.
Help celebrate the goals and accomplishments of the College of Agricultural Sciences, its students and the agricultural field.

Audubon Display Case

2010-03-08T15:10:00.000-05:00

This month in the Audubon display case on the 4th floor of the Paterno Library is the Bohemian Waxwing also known as the Bohemian Chatterer. Named for the nomadic ranging patterns of its winter flocks, the waxwing moves widely, seeking crops of winter fruits, and irregularly sweeps into regions to the south and east of its typical winter range. The waxwing feeds primarily on sugary fruits during most of the year yet it feeds heavily on insects during the warmer months. The bohemian Waxwing is monogamous and breeding coincides with the ripening of a new season's fruits.

Audubon Display Case

2010-02-04T12:00:00.002-05:00

Featured this month in our Audubon display on the 4th floor of the Paterno Library are four members of the crow family, the Florida Scrub Jay, the Steller's Jay, the Yellow-Billed Magpie, and the Clarke's Nutcracker. As its name indicates the Florida Scrub Jay is found throughout central Florida, while the Steller's Jay, Yellow-Billed Magpie, and the Clarke's Nutcracker are all found in the western United States and Canada.

Ornithology by Gill now in Reserve Reading Room

2010-01-13T10:16:00.001-05:00

The textbook Ornithology, by Frank Gill, has been taken from the LS Reserves and put in the Reserve Reading Room due to request by the course's professor.

Blue Grouse

2010-01-05T14:11:00.001-05:00

This month in our Audubon display on the 4th floor of the Paterno Library is the Blue Grouse. The Blue Grouse is endemic to mountainous regions of western North America and have a restricted geographic range. Nevertheless, they occupy a wide range of breeding habitats from maritime to continental in climate, from sea level to 3600+ meters in elevation, and from northwestern coast rainforest to shrub/ steppe high desert and sub alpine/alpine tundra. Virtually all populations winter in conifer forests, where conifer needles comprise their main winter food. As a species, they share physical and behavioral attributes with both "forest" and "prairie" grouse.

Rock and Winter Wrens

2009-11-11T14:59:00.002-05:00

This month in our Audubon display on the 4th floor of the Paterno Library are the Rock and Winter Wrens. The Rock Wren is a pale wren of arid, western North America. These wrens are also found in non-rocky habitats as long as there exist areas rich in crevices, passageways, recesses, nooks and crannies of diverse shapes and sizes. These wrens are more easily heard then seen. Rock Wren songs are unmistakable, but beauty lies in the ears of the listener.

The Winter Wren creeps mouselike around the forest floor, next to, into, and out of large logsand other tangles and sings loudly from favorite perches. A superb songster, and more often heard than seen, this small, brown, cryptically colored wren generally inhabits dark, moist conifer forests in North America, although some breed in hardwoods or on cliff faces on treeless islands.

Rosetta Stone Presentation

2009-11-04T14:48:00.003-05:00

The presentation scheduled for Wednesday 11 November has been cancelled.

PubMed/New Interface

2009-11-03T11:32:00.003-05:00

The PubMed redesigned interface is now available. The goal of the new design is to simplify the search interface. More information is available http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/so09/so09_pm_redesign.html.

Rosetta Stone presentation

2009-10-22T10:23:00.001-04:00

Rosetta Stone, the company that offers language learning products, will be giving a demonstration of their online product on Wednesday, November 11 from 1-3 p.m. in Foster Auditorium.

This Month in our Audubon Display

2009-10-07T11:04:00.003-04:00

This month in our Audubon Display case on the 4th floor of the Paterno Library we are featuring three different birds, the Western Kingbird, the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, and the Say's Phoebe. The Western Kingbird is a conspicuous bird of open habitats that breeds in the western United States and winters in southern Mexico and Central America. It occupies a variety of habitats including riparian forests and woodlands, savannahs, shrublands, agricultural lands, deserts, and urban area. Typical of tyrant flycatchers, this kingbird forages by aerial hawking and perch-to-ground flights, often with acrobatic flying maneuvers. Insects make up the majority of its diet.

The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is a common sight throughout the south-central United States and northeastern Mexico during spring and summer. It favors open areas -- savannah, grassland, shrubland, and agricultural and urban habitats -- with sufficient perches for feeding and trees and shrubs for nesting. Well suited for life in the open grasslands, it eats mostly grasshoppers and beetles, more so than other North American flycatchers.

The Say's Phoebe is similar in behavior, size and breeding biology to the Black and Eastern phoebes, although its voice, coloration, and habitat preferences are distinctive. Say's Phoebe breeds over much of western North America, from the Great Plains west nearly to the PAcific coast. It has one of the broadest latitudinal ranges among the North American flycatchers, extending from central Mexico farther north than any other into the arctic tundra, apparently constrained only by the lack of suitable nesting sights.

Pine Grosbeak

2009-09-03T13:36:00.003-04:00

This month in our Audubon Display case on the 4th floor of the Paterno Library we are featuring the Pine Grosbeak. The Pine Grosbeak is a large, unwary finch, the Pine Grosbeak inhabits subarctic and boreal forests from eastern Asia to Scandinavia and, in North America, from eastern Canada to western Alaska. Pine Grosbeaks are most abundant in open forest, a condition occurring near treeline in taiga and montane forests, and near natural and human-made openings elsewhere. A short, conical bill allows this species to nip buds and growing tips of conifer branches and to crush seeds, although it feeds its young mainly on insects captured on the ground, in vegetation, and by fly-catching.

Scopus Trial

2009-07-08T14:19:00.004-04:00

The libraries currently has trial access to Elsevier's Scopus database. The trial runs through the middle of August. Access is limited to Penn State folks on campus, or accessing resources through the VPN. The Scopus database is a direct competitor to ISI's Web of Science. The libraries will NOT be able to afford subscriptions to both databases, it would have to be one or the other. Comments on the database can be left here on this blog, or let your thoughts be known directly to your librarian.

Black-billed Magpie

2009-06-10T11:47:00.000-04:00

A strikingly marked and conspicuous bird of the cold, shrub-steppe environment of western North America, the Black-billed Magpie has attracted much attention and had a colorful association with early Americans. It frequently followed bison-hunting Native-Americans and lived on the refuse of their hunts. When Lewis and Clark first encountered magpies in 1804 in South Dakota, these birds were bold, entering tents to steal meat and taking food from the hand.

Twelve subspecies of magpies are found throughout northern Europe and Asia, with probable connections via the Bering Land Bridge to Black-billed and Yellow-billed Magpies in western North America.

CABI "Swine" flu dashboard

2009-05-05T09:56:00.000-04:00

CABI has developed a Swine flu 'dashboard' that brings together up-to-the-minute information on the virus. The 'dashboard' includes resources from CABI and critical advice from key health organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The information is organised into the following tabs:

Resources from CABI: links to selected abstracts from our databases, updates from our blog and a feed of valuable information selected by our subject experts
Global Health: free access to CABI’s Global Health database, including prepared searches in this area
Center for Disease Control and World Health Organisation: latest updates from these two organisations
Wikipedia: latest updates
Google: relevant search trend information
Maps: two of the best visualisations showing information about swine flu

new journals

2009-03-24T11:02:00.003-04:00

The Penn State community now has access to the current year of several core titles; The American Journal of Physiology, Journal of Applied Physiology, Journal of General Virology, and Stem Cells. Enjoy!

Darwin 'Origin of Species' report

2009-02-17T15:00:00.003-05:00

The NSF report on how Charles Darwin's seminal book "On the Origin of Species" has influenced science and society during the last 150 years. Includes an interview by PSU biological anthropologist, Kenneth Weiss.

Also, come in to the library to see our display on Darwin, in celebration of his 200th birthday!

2007 Census of Agriculutre

2009-02-09T10:32:00.003-05:00

Results of the 2007 Census of Agriculture were released February 4, 2009.
http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/

Taylor & Francis Journals no longer online

2009-01-22T16:18:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately we no longer have online access to most of the journals published by the Taylor and Francis publishing company. In December, without prior notice, the publisher presented Penn State with a new agreement that had new terms that we considered unacceptable. Our attempts to reach a mutually-agreeable compromise with Taylor and Francis have been unsuccessful. We are unable to ensure all-campus electronic access directly from Taylor and Francis without a large package subscription. The publisher’s most recent offers included unacceptable terms that would tie our hands by requiring us to maintain a “current spend” (over $400,000 per year) and not pay them any less per year over the course of the next 5 years. The cost and the terms of the Taylor and Francis agreement are untenable in the current economic climate. As a consequence the University Libraries have chosen not to renew the agreement.

We will have print copies of some of the higher use titles including:
Avian Pathology
British Poultry Science
Children's Health Care
Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis
Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition
Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences
Experimental Aging Research
Food Additives & Contaminants
Health Care for Women International
Health Communication
International Journal of the History of Sport
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
Journal of Community Health Nursing
Journal of Occupational & Environ. Hygiene
Journal Of Toxicology & Environmental Health Part A
Nutrition and Cancer
Society & Natural Resources
Systematic Biology

For other titles not in our collection, you can request articles through our Interlibrary Loan system, ILLiad, which will provide you an electronic copy directly to your workstation in a matter of days.

Also, remember that Faculty and Staff may request copies of articles from PRINT journals owned by Penn State delivered to their desktop. Simply choose the "article" link under the "Request Items Owned by Penn State Libraries" header in the ILLiad system.

Northern Harrier

2009-01-20T14:50:00.002-05:00

The Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus), called the Hen Harrier in Europe and Asia, is a slender, white-rumped, medium sized and low-flying raptor of upland grasslands and fresh- and saltwater marshes. The only representative in North America of the cosmopolitan genus Circus, the Northern Harrier breeds throughout North America and Eurasia.It is the most northerly breeding and most broadly distributed of all harriers and is a long-distance migrant throughout much of its range.

Like most other harriers, the Northern Harrier nests on the ground, usually in tall, dense clumps of vegetation, either alone or in loose colonies.

Seaside Sparrow

2008-11-03T10:41:00.004-05:00

The Seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus) is a coastal resident of the United States, extremely rare anywhere but in the salt-water bayous, marshes, and rivers affected by the tides. The sparrow is monogamous throughout its range. Although territorial, it often feeds long distances from the defended space around its nest, a response to wide separation of nesting and feeding areas in these tidal zones.

For those with a Penn State access account read more about the Seaside Sparrow in Birds of North America online at:

http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/127/articles/introduction

OECD.Stat training

2008-10-24T14:28:00.003-04:00

OECD-Stat is one of the most authoritative sources of international data. Data includes a wide range of subjects such as: agriculture and fisheries; development; environment; health; and science and technology. The library will be offering hands on training for the OECD.Stat database on Nov. 14, 2008, from 10a.m.-noon in W211 Pattee Library. Seats are limited so please register!

Scarlet and Western Tanager

2008-10-22T17:47:00.004-04:00

The vivid red and black male Scarlet Tanager, a harbinger of spring in eastern North America, is among the most colorful and striking of our breeding birds. The Western Tanager ranges farther north than any other tanager breeding up to 60 degrees North.

For those with a Penn State access account read more about the Tanagers in Birds of North America online at:

http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/479/articles/introduction
http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/432/articles/introduction

RefWorks

2008-10-15T14:09:00.003-04:00

Trying to organize your references? Use RefWorks! RefWorks is an online research management and bibliography creator service that allows you to: store an unlimited number of records accessible from any computer linked to the Internet (no downloading software or installation!); Import references automatically from multiple databases; Organize & manage references; Share references; and Format bibliographies and manuscripts in seconds.

Black-capped Chickadee

2008-10-06T11:29:00.003-04:00

Black-capped Chickadee - (Parus atricapillus)

The Black-capped Chickadee is one of the most familiar and widespread birds in North America. It ranges from coast to coast, including much of Canada and about the northern two thirds of the Unted States.

For those with a Penn State access account read more about the Black-capped Chickadee in Birds of North America online at:
http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/039/articles/introduction

White-tailed Kite

2008-09-26T13:37:00.005-04:00

White-tailed Kite - Elanus leucurus

Although some populations fluctuate regularly in size, it is unknown whether this species is migratory, nomadic, or both.
The Birds of North American, No. 178, 1995

For those with a Penn State access account read about the White-tailed Kite in Birds of North America online at http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/178/articles/introduction

Scanner and collaborative workstation

2008-08-27T11:30:00.003-04:00

The Life Sciences Library now has a Epson GT15000 scanner available for public use. It is along the wall across from the network printer. We also added a collaborative workstation that is available for groups of 2 or more. It features a 24" monitor.

Workstations

2008-08-19T09:23:00.002-04:00

The Life Sciences Library added 7 workstations this week. This brings the total number of workstations up to 31. In addition there are 5 Express stations. The CAT and Library databases are available from the Express stations and does not require a password. However printing is not available.

Smithsonian exhibit on Soils

2008-07-22T11:59:00.005-04:00

Dig It! The Secrets of Soil is a new Smithsonian exhibit which opened Saturday, July 19, and will run through Jan. 3, 2010 at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. Patrick Drohan, assistant professor of pedology in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, helped with the exhibit. Dig It! will transport visitors to the world of fungi, bacteria, worms, and countless other organisms. Visitors will discover the amazing connections between soils and everyday life and think about this hidden world in a whole new way.

(from the Dig It! website)
FUN FACT: There are more living creatures in a shovel-full of rich soil than human beings on the planet. Soils are teeming with life!

Veterinary Journals now available online

2008-07-02T10:33:00.001-04:00

Penn State now has online access to two core journals in the veterinary sciences. The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Journal of Veterinary Research.

These have been activated in the PSU "GetIt" service, so you will be able to access them directly from the databases where you find the articles. You can also get access from the Citation Linker service.

Enjoy!

New PubMed Features

2008-06-13T11:34:00.002-04:00

PubMed has been modified frequently over the years to optimize retrieval or provide features that lead searchers to additional information. PubMed is undergoing two changes which continue this trend. One change is in the way Automatic Term Mapping (ATM) works and the other is a new feature called Citation Sensor.

The Automatic Term Mapping feature was further developed to enable PubMed to recognize author names, journal titles, and MeSH vocabulary terms that are used in searches without search tags.

Citation Sensor is a new PubMed feature that matches searches with citations. It recognizes combinations of search terms that are characteristic of citation searching, e.g., volume/issue numbers, author names, journal titles, and publication dates, which it then matches to citations.

See more information at this NLM Technical Bulletin.

Attention: NIH Researchers

2008-03-28T09:41:00.004-04:00

Principal investigators must ensure that electronic versions of any peer-reviewed manuscripts arising from NIH (National Institutes of Health) funding and accepted for publication on or after April 7th, 2008 are deposited in PubMed Central (PMC), NIH's digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature. More information available at the University Libraries Web site.

Journal Citation Reports

2008-03-19T15:05:00.002-04:00

The libraries is pleased to announce that we finally have access to the ISI Journal Citation Reports (JCR) resource. This resource allows you to identify (by ISI criteria)

Most frequently cited journals in a field
Highest impact journals in a field
Largest journals in a field

Enjoy!

Dr. Seuss

2008-02-27T16:11:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Theodor Geisel!
In honor of his birthday the Life Sciences Library has on display the "Animals of Dr. Seuss."

Chocolate!

2008-02-07T11:10:00.000-05:00

Just in time for Valentine's Day - check out these web pages on one of our favorite foods:

All About Chocolate from The Field Museum in Chicago. This includes links to information about growing, history, eating and making chocolate, Also see their interactive site Manufacturing Chocolate from Seed to Sweet.
Chocolate; Melting the Myths from the Royal Society of Chemistry answers the question, "Is chocolate naughty or nice?"
The Sweet Lure of Chocolate an online issue of the Exploratorium Magazine from the museum of science, art and human perception in San Francisco, looks at the history, production and attraction of chocolate.
Ruth Wakefield information about the inventor of the famous Chocolate Chip Cookie from Lemelson-MIT Program which is dedicated to honoring the acclaimed and unsung heroes who have helped improve our lives through invention.

American Wigeon

2008-01-17T12:06:00.001-05:00

American Wigeon - Anas americana

The American Wigeon, commonly known as the "Baldpate," is one of the most northerly dabbling ducks, breeding from the Bering Sea to Hudson Bay and from the tundra edge south to the southern prairies.

The Birds of North America, No. 401, 1999

Insect Postal Stamp Display

2008-01-17T11:50:00.000-05:00

Not all insect stamps are butterflies and honey bees. Come see the assortment of international and United States insect postage stamps. There are beetles, grasshoppers, and mosquitoes as well as bees and butterflies.

Books of the Month

2008-01-08T12:06:00.000-05:00

This month's books cover the fascinating world of insects. We pulled just a small representation of the many books on this subject - check out the wonderful photography and other illustrations!

Stilt Sandpiper

2007-12-17T10:41:00.001-05:00

Stilt Sandpiper - Calidris himantopus

The Stilt-Sandpiper breeds exclusively in low-artctic and subarctic areas of North America and winters manily in the interior of Central South America. This medium-sized wader was once considered the unique extant representative of the genus Micropalama, which was characterized by having exceptionally long legs, partly webbed toes, anda long bill with an expanded tip.

For those with a Penn State access account read more about the Stilt Sandpiper in "Birds of North America" online at http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/341/articles/introduction

JSTOR update

2007-11-01T10:33:00.000-04:00

JSTOR is a not–for–profit organization helping the scholarly community take advantage of advances in technology. Our initial effort – building trusted digital archives for scholarship – provides for the long–term preservation and access of leading academic journals and scholarly literature from around the world. Our work is supported by libraries, scholarly societies, publishers, and foundations.

JSTOR Update October 31, 2007

JSTOR is pleased to announce the addition of a large number of journals and retrospective content to the archive. Due to the size of this content release, we have created a special web page that lists all of the titles.
The release page may be found at:http://www.jstor.org/resources/oct2007.html

Today’s release includes:
44 journals new to JSTOR, consisting of 2.8 million journal pages.
Portions of 191 different titles, approximately 1.78 million pages, of reworked content. The rework includes: capturing reference linking data, rescanning of illustration content to allow for image compositing, capturing Unicode characters and transliterations, indexing captions, and rescanning and/or clean-up of low quality bitmap images.

Great Auk

2007-10-30T09:06:00.001-04:00

The Great Auk
Pinguinus impennis

The Great Auk was the last flightless seabird of the Northern Hemisphere. Inhabiting the boreal and low-Artic regions of the North Atlantic, this extinct alcid was the original Penguin.

For those with a Penn State access account read about the Great Auk in Birds of North America online at
http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Great_Auk/

Plant Management Network

2007-10-30T08:05:00.000-04:00

The Plant Management Network, www.plantmanagementnetwork.org , has recently revamped its homepage making its journals and other electronic resources more readily accessible. This results from comments that all users have not been completely aware of PMN's full range of content offerings. Thus, a lot of underlying links have been given greater visibility by featuring them in the page's right-hand column. Direct links to PMN's four peer-reviewed journals and subscription/partnership icons have also been added. For increased ease of access from other areas of the site, a horizontal navigation bar is available at the top of most pages and the "Find" menu has been significantly enhanced. PMN publishes journals, search engines, and other e-resources in fulfillment of its mission to provide science-based solutions in agriculture and horticulture, worldwide.

Cooperative Extension records

2007-10-26T10:12:00.000-04:00

The Penn State University Archives, in concert with the University Libraries Digitization and Preservation Services, have created a digital collection of selected Cooperative Extension records (1916-2000). The records, all held in the Archives collections, were digitally scanned and mastered in ContentDM software for access. These records are now publicly available for research and administrative uses. See http://www.libraries.psu.edu/speccolls/psua/agcountyagents/pamap2.htm. The counties that are digitized are hotlinked and marked in blue.

Turfgrass Information Center news

2007-10-16T09:13:00.000-04:00

Turfgrass Information File (TGIF) records for articles from Golf Course Management (GCM), and predecessor titles, from 1933 up through October of 2005, are now linked to a .pdf version of each

article .

To access these articles use the databases by title list from the Libraries homepage and select Turfgrass Information Services.

Books of the month

2007-10-09T10:45:00.000-04:00

It is once again Nobel Prize season. This months books focus on previous winners from Curie to McClintock. For more information about the Nobel prizes visit their site at:
http://nobelprize.org/

Little Auk

2007-10-08T16:44:00.001-04:00

Dovekie - Alle alle

The Dovekie (also known as the Little Auk) is the smallest and most abundant alcid in the North Atlantic. The Dovekie has been given many colorful names by different cultures. Norwegians refer to it as Alkekonger or King Auk; Newfoundlanders call it Bull Bird (owing to its chunky, neckless appearance). One small Newfoundland community just south of St. Johns, called Bay Bulls, is apparently named after this small, hearty auk.
The Birds of North America, No. 701, 2002
William A. Montevecchi and Iain J. Stenhouse

Shelving removal

2007-09-25T15:10:00.000-04:00

Next Wednesday 3 October we will be removing shelving from the reference area to make room for a new group study area. We are expecting it to be a rather noisy day and you may wish to study in the back of the room that day.

Ink Jet Cartridge Recycling

2007-08-30T13:16:00.000-04:00

Wondering what to do with that empty ink jet cartridge or old cell phone? Bring or send it to the Life Sciences Library - 408 Paterno Library - and we will recycle it for you.

Monarch Butterflies

2007-08-29T12:33:00.000-04:00

The fall migration of the Monarch Butterfly has begun! The Library of Congress website on Monarch migration lists butterfly web sites, monarch migration projects, and monarch conservation initiatives.

Access Science

2007-08-17T09:47:00.000-04:00

Today, McGraw-Hill launched AccessScience on a new online platform, which features fully searchable content from McGraw-Hill's Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, 10th Edition. You will immediately notice a new look to the home page, with improved topic organization and features so you can find what you are looking for and put it to use quickly.

Over 8,500 online articles the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology 10th edition, from over 5,000 contributors, including 36 Nobel Prize winners

Research Updates from the McGraw-Hill Yearbooks of Science & Technology

110,000+ definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms

15,000 illustrations and graphics, and bibliographies containing more than 28,000 literature citations

Biographies of 2,000 well-known scientists from the Hutchinson Dictionary of Scientific Biography®

The latest news in science and technology from Science News® and ScienCentral® videos

And much more

American Bittern

2007-08-06T11:23:00.001-04:00

American Bittern - Botaurus lentiginosus

"Because of this species' secretive nature and inaccessible habitats remarkably little is known about basic aspects of its biology, including sources of mortailty, habitat use, mating systems, and population structure. Basic research on its natural history would help to conserve the species, which is undergoing substantial declines over much of the U.S. owing largely to loss and degradation of wetland habitats."
The Birds of North America, No. 18, 1992
J.P. Gibbs, S. Melvin, and F.A. Reid

Books of the Month: Edible Wild Plants

2007-08-03T14:32:00.000-04:00

Edible wild plants is the topic for this month's "Books of the Month". You might be surprised what you can eat. How do you know what plants are safe to eat? How do you collect and prepare what you find? What are the historical uses of plants by native peoples and generations past? Check out some books to help you. Also, check the Library of Congress' Edible Wild Plants Tracer Bulletin for more information!

Ice Cream

2007-07-23T15:40:00.000-04:00

In celebration of the heat of the summer, check out the Library of Congress' list of resources on Ice Cream. Enjoy!

Books of the month - Tour de France

2007-07-02T15:23:00.000-04:00

Running from Saturday July 7^th to Sunday July 29^th 2007, the 94^th Tour de France will be made up of a prologue and 20 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,550 kilometres. In honor of this occasion the Life Sciences Library "Books of the month" display will feature books about the tour and cycling in general.

Biological Abstracts changing

2007-06-13T09:41:00.000-04:00

We have switched the online platform through which we gain access to Biological Abstracts from SilverPlatter to ISI Web of Knowledge (the same interface as we use to gain access to Science Citation Index/Web of Science). We now have access to the full range of Biological Abstracts from 1926 to current.

If you had saved searches (SDI) in the old SilverPlatter platform, you can still, (for a short while, at least), get to the old interface by going through the E-Resource List (A-Z), choosing another database that still uses SilverPlatter, (e.g. Mental Measurements Yearbook), and clicking on the SDI button. You cannot directly transfer the saved search, but you can copy it and use it to create a "Saved Search History" in the new interface.

You can register to save your searches on the ISI server, or you can save searches on your local hard drive.

The ISI platform offers results analysis to rank results by source, author or other criteria, easy export to citation managers such as EndNote, creation of citation alerts to email you when a particular article is cited (so you can track when your own articles or your favorite articles by other researchers are cited), and various other features. It allows you to cross-search Web of Science to find unique (i.e. not in Biological Abstracts) citations with a simple click on the "Cross Search: view additional results from other databases" link.

We hope you find this new platform easy to use and powerful.

Books of the Month: Get Outdoors!

2007-06-08T12:04:00.000-04:00

June is National Great Outdoors Month! In celebration of this, we've chosen some books for our "books of the month" display that may inspire you to visit national parks and wilderness areas, go camping, or just appreciate the wildlife. Also see information at the Great Outdoors Month website.

New Life Sciences Page

2007-05-24T13:59:00.000-04:00

We have released a new version of the Life Sciences Library webpage. All the same content is available, but some of it has been rearranged. Please let us know if you can't find something you are used to using. The new page is in line with the overall library web site, which will facilitate your navigation. Enjoy!

Rachel Carson

2007-05-08T10:35:00.000-04:00

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Rachel Carson (May 27th), the "books of the month" for May are by, about, or related to her. You can see a more extensive bibliography at the Library of Congress "Rachel Carson: Selected Reading List" site, which also includes selected internet resources. Check them out!

Back files: Annals of the NY Academy of Sciences

2007-04-30T10:58:00.000-04:00

We now have full-access to the Annals of the New York Academy of the Sciences. 1879 - to date! They are now available through the "get it" button from your favorite database.

Ag Progress Days

2007-04-30T09:24:00.000-04:00

Looking for something to do in August?
The College of Agricultural Sciences Ag Progress Days will be held August 14-16, 2007 at Rock Springs, PA. Free admision and parking. For more information go to apd.cas.psu.edu

Yellow Crowned Night-Heron

2007-04-27T14:36:00.001-04:00

Yellow Crowned Night-Heron
Nyctanassa violacea

Listed as Endangered in Indian and Threatened in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Kentucky.
The Yellow Crowned Nigh-Heron captures pry by stalking up within range and lunging with its bill. It easily picks up small prey with its bill and swallows them whole. Typically grabs larger crabs repeatledly by the legs or pincers and shakes vigorously to detach them from the body.

Birds of North America, N0. 161, 1995
Bryan D. Watts

Annual Reviews back files

2007-04-24T14:56:00.000-04:00

We are pleased to announce that the back files for the Annual Reviews Collection, which includes (among many others) titles such as Annual Review of Biochemistry, Annual Review of Genetics, Annual Review of Entomology, and Annual Review of Neuroscience is now available to the Penn State Community. We have had a current subscription for several years now, but this addition includes all Annual Reviews back to vol.1 of each series. These series have become an indispensable part of the literature of many disciplines. Enjoy!

Ag based renewable energy production report

2007-04-24T11:30:00.000-04:00

See the report perpared for Congress by the Congressional Research Service on Agriculture-Based Renewable Energy Production. There are sections on agriculture based biofuels (Ethanol, Methane, Biodiesel), wind energy, and a brief overview of the major pieces of legislation that support agriculture-based renewable energy production. Thanks to the National Agricultural Law Center for posting this...

Cherry Blossoms

2007-04-05T10:48:00.000-04:00

It's spring. Really! Check out this list of Cherry Blossom links from the Library of Congress Science Reference Section

Short-Billed Dowitcher

2007-03-28T17:29:00.001-04:00

Short-Billed Dowitcher - (Limnodromus griseus)

"The short-billed, medium-sized Short-billed Dowitcher is a common and conspicuous migrant alsong the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts. Its breeding grounds are restricted to North America, extending nearly from coast to coast boreal and subartic regions of Canada and Alaska."
The Birds of North America, No. 564, 2001

Spring Peepers

2007-03-15T10:39:00.000-04:00

To get us all ready for spring, the Library of Congress Science Reference Section has created a Spring Peeper listing of internet resources that have images of spring peepers, and in many cases also have recordings of their song. Enjoy spring!

ScienceDirect will be down Saturday!

2007-03-02T14:35:00.000-05:00

ScienceDirect will be unavailable on Saturday, March 3, 2007 for approximately 9 hours starting at 06:30 AM EST (11:30 GMT). During this time Elsevier will be carrying through a large-scale rebuilding exercise on some of core aspects of the underlying technologies, which will help ensure that the system continues to provide a high level of reliability in the coming years.

About Beer - March Books of the Month

2007-03-02T14:33:00.000-05:00

Beer is one of the oldest beverages known to man. The Books of the Month display, located at the front of the Life Sciences Library, focuses on the art, science and history of brewing. It seems appropriate for the month of March, famous for St. Patrick’s Day and green beer.

February is Heart Healthy Month

2007-02-05T11:12:00.000-05:00

For Heart Healthy Month, look at our displays on heart healthy recipes and on Web resources for information on the human heart. Physical only, not emotional.

Heart Health is the focus of the Books of the Month display at the front of the library. New books are also placed here. Feel free to check any of these books out.

Kathy

Journal of Food Protection

2007-01-25T19:07:00.000-05:00

The library has begun an online subscription to the core food science journal Journal of Food Protection. We have access from 1994 to date!

New Reference Books

2007-01-19T15:18:00.000-05:00

Handbook of the birds of the world - volume 10
Cuckoo-shrikes to Thrushes
Life Sci Ref
QL673.D4 1992

Includes in-depth information, photograhps and illustrations of each genus. There are also maps, and an extensive list of references. This is a reference for the serious birder.

The official ABMS directory of board certified medical specialists, 39 edition
Life Sci Ref
R712.A1D5
39th edition
2007
This is a large 4 volume directoy of board certified medical specialsis. The directory is arranged first by speciality, second by geographical location, and then alphabetically by name within each location.

Black-bellied Plover

2007-01-19T15:17:00.001-05:00

The Black-bellied Plover
Pluvialis squatarola

The Black-bellied Plover is one of the fastest and most powerful fliers among shorebirds. It is able to fly with ease into strong winds. Its wings in normal flight average 4 beats per second. During Spring and Fall migration this bird is locally common on all three coasts of North America and on the Great Plains.

Libraries' Home Page Redesigned

2007-01-15T09:13:00.000-05:00

The Penn State University Libraries' home page has been redesigned to better meet users' needs. Based on testing and feedback from students, faculty and staff, the improved home page now provides immediate access to the most commonly used library resources as well as effective tools for finding and using databases. Old favorites like The CAT and the E-Resources A-Z list have not changed, although they may have moved slightly.

Users also will find easier access to subject-based resources and specialized materials such as audio and video formats, statistics and maps, as well as many Web pages developed by Penn State librarians.

In addition, users can now select the Find Database link, which offers the options of searching for databases by keyword or subject category. The MultiSearch link, also on the home page, allows users to conduct simultaneous searches across a range of databases within a subject area. Users searching for databases will find the new search options are a considerable improvement on the lengthy E-Resource (A-Z) List.

The new University Libraries home page is at http://www.libraries.psu.edu. For questions, contact Laura Probst at (814) 865-5524.

Books of the month - Greatest Science Books

2007-01-12T12:06:00.000-05:00

This months selection features the "Greatest Science Books of All-Time."
In the December 2006 issue of Discover editors assembled what they called the All-Time Essential Reading List, the 25 greatest science books ever written. We are lucky enough to have copies of just about all of them. Come see if your favorite is here. Check out the small display case for the entire list. Let us know if you agree or not with the list. What would you add?

UK PubMed Central Launches

2007-01-12T10:06:00.000-05:00

Based on PubMed Central (PMC), the US National Institutes of Health free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature, UK PubMed Central (UKPMC) provides a stable, permanent, and free-to-access online digital archive of full-text, peer-reviewed research publications. UKPMC is part of a network of PMC International (PMCI) repositories. PMCI is a collaborative effort between the US National Library of Medicine (NLM), the publishers whose journal content makes up the PMC archive (including the Journal of the Medical Library Association), and organizations in other countries that share NLM's interest in archiving life sciences literature.

Methods in Enzymology

2007-01-12T09:37:00.000-05:00

We now have access to Methods in Enzymology! We purchased both the back files (back to 1955) and the current subscription, so all of Penn State has access to the entire file. Enjoy!

Now available online

2007-01-04T13:58:00.000-05:00

The Distribution Maps of Plant Diseases and Descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria are now available online. Search The CAT for these titles and click on the link.

Distribution Maps of Plant Diseases are widely respected referenced sources of information on the global distribution and extent of plant pathogens affecting agriculture and forestery.

Descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria provide standardized, illustrated descriptions of pathogens and other species of economic importance.

Books of the Month

2006-12-07T17:11:00.000-05:00

The theme for this month, coordinated by Dorothy Franco, is migration and hibernation this was inspired by the film, "Winged Migration." The theme expanded somewhat to include animal and bird behavior in winter.

CABI Representative visit

2006-12-05T10:13:00.000-05:00

Donna Loews, Senior Sales Manager, CABI North America will be visiting the Life Sciences Library tomorrow. Donna will be talking about the improvements that have been made to the CAB Direct platform and about the full text products they have added to their product line. CABI Publishing is one of the leading publishers of bibliographic databases, books, CD-ROMs and internet resources in the applied life sciences.

The range of CABI Publishing products and services covers animal sciences, entomology, plant sciences, environmental sciences, human health, parasitology, mycology, crop protection, rural development and economics and leisure and tourism.

Wednesday 6 December 2006
2:00 P.M.
403 Paterno Library

Wild Turkey

2006-11-22T16:36:00.002-05:00

Wild Turkey - Meleagris gallopavo

This is the only bird in the Western Hemisphere to receive worldwide importance through domestication. There are six subspecies of the Wild Turkey, four well marked; the nominate subspecies is the least known. A strong short distance flier, it roosts in trees at night but spends most daylight hours on the ground.

The major predator on adult Wild Turkeys is man

November New Reference Books

2006-11-17T10:51:00.000-05:00

Recently Received Life Sciences Reference Books

QM25.N46 2006
Atlas of Human Anatomy, 4th edition by Frank H. Netter
Includes new radiographs, computed tomographic (CT) images, CT angiograms, and magnetic resonance (MR) images.

QM25.R55 2006
Color Atlas of Anatomy: A Photographic Study of the Human Body
"A complete dissection course in a single atlas"

QH506.e534 2004
Encyclopedia of Molecular Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine
16 volume set that covers the molecular and cellular basis of life, disease, and therapy at university and professional researcher level

RJ401.A5 2006
Red Book: 2006 Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases
By the American Academy of Pediatrics
Summary of current American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations concerning infectious diseases in and immunizations for infants, children, and adolescents

TX349.D36 2006
The Oxford Companion to Food 2nd edition
By Alan Davidson
A-Z listing of food terms with extensive definitions, includes a lengthy bibliography

FSTA down time

2006-11-16T12:09:00.000-05:00

FSTA (Food Science & Technology Abstracts) will be unavailable from 05:00 am (EST) on Saturday 25th November until approximately 09:00 am on Monday 27th November 2006. This is to enable the database producer (IFIS) to carry out a reindexing of the database to reflect their most recent thesaurus updates. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Books of the Month - Healthy Eating

2006-11-02T11:03:00.000-05:00

As we get ready for the holidays, don't forget to eat healthy! This month's selection of books might help. There is a little information on food safety, healthy natural eating, general diets, and diets for a few common diseases. Enjoy!

Complete Work of Charles Darwin

2006-10-26T11:11:00.000-04:00

The largest collection of Darwin's writings ever published are now available on the website The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online.
http://darwin-online.org.uk/
This site currently offers more than 50,000 pages of searchable text and 40,000 images of both publications and transcribed manuscripts.

The project, designed and directed by Dr. John van Wyhe of Christ's College, Cambridge, is hosted by the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities at the University of Cambridge.

Books of the Month - Scary Monsters

2006-09-27T19:50:00.000-04:00

This months books feature things that go bump in the night. Everything from Big Foot to the Loch Ness Monster. Also included are books about UFO's and weird science. Check out the small display case to see our glow-in-the-dark brain and where to find books on crop circles.

New Electronic Science Journal Titles

2006-09-15T12:22:00.000-04:00

JSTOR is a not-for-profit organization responsible for preserving and extending access as broadly as possible to an archive of important scholarly journals.

JSTOR's General Science Collection has been renamed as the Health & General Sciences Collection to reflect the addition of several journals in the health sciences. The expanded Health & General Sciences Collection includes several prestigious titles in nursing.

American Journal of Nursing - 1900-1998
Environmental Health Perspectives - 1972-2006
Journal of Community Health Nursing - 1984-2000

Books of the Month - Outdoors

2006-09-11T16:37:00.000-04:00

The books on display for September are outdoors-themed to fit with the Library Open House this month. There are books on a range of outdoor sports and activities, including hiking, camping, bird watching, fishing, and hunting. There are also outdoor-themed topics, such as conservation, national parks, and wilderness medicine. Pretty neat stuff!