Archive for the 'Natural Sciences' Category

New Archives Online Exhibit: Places of Invention

Lisa Laughy May 31st, 2010

A new online exhibit, called Places of Invention: Science and Mathematics at St. Paul’s School, is now part of the Ohrstrom Library website. This online exhibit is based on a more in-depth Archives photograph exhibit now on display in the upper level of Ohrstrom Library. Here is an excerpt from the introduction to the online exhibit:

With construction of the Lindsay Center for Mathematics and Science now well underway, it is fitting that the St. Paul’s School community reflects back upon the places that have served the study of science and mathematics so well throughout the School’s history.

Photos from the Archives were scanned specifically for the online exhibit including this image of a Biology classroom in the Westinghouse Lab:

The online exhibit features images ranging from the first science lab built on the St. Paul’s School grounds in 1889 to the architectural renderings of the Lindsay Center for Mathematics and Science, now under construction. The main gallery of thumbnail images includes links to individual pages that feature larger images and brief descriptions. There is also a slideshow of the images that can be initiated from any of the pages in the exhibit.

Take a few moments to browse through the gallery of images and follow the development of the places that have helped to facilitate the high standard of education in mathematics and science that has been a part of the St. Paul’s School vision from its very beginning.

Visit the online exhibit by clicking HERE.

Visit the full Archives exhibit in the upper level lobby of Ohrstrom Library.

New Reference Books: A Dictionary of Biology, A Dictionary of Earth Sciences

Lura Sanborn April 6th, 2010

Two new updates by famed reference publisher, Oxford University Press are now available in Ohrstrom:

A Dictionary of Biology edited by Robert S. Hine, Oxford, 2008.

Find it in Ohrstrom at: REF 574 Ox2M

A Dictionary of Biology, now in its 6th edition is, in fact, a straight-forward dictionary of biology.  Flip through the alphabetical listings to find brief definitions of:
•    Abductor
•    Corolla
•    Factor VIII
•    Palaeozoic

A Dictionary of Earth Sciences edited by Michael Allaby, Oxford, 2008.

Find it in Ohrstrom at: REF 550 AL5D

A Dictionary of Earth Science, now in its 3rd edition is also a straight-forward dictionary, this time about earth sciences.  Flip through the alphabetical listings to find brief definitions of:
•    Accumulation zone
•    Goldschmidt’s rules
•    Moisture budget
•    Tidal current

Helpful for
:  Biology, Ecology, Eco-Action, Human Anatomy

New Reference Book: Nature and the Environment in 20th-Century American Life

Lisa Laughy May 21st, 2009

Lura Sanborn – Reference Librarian

Nature and the Environment in 20th-Century American Life by Brian Black, Westport: Greenwood, 2006.

Find it in Ohrstrom at: REF 304.2 B56N20

Did recent Earth Day activities generate an interest in topics related to the environment?  This new reference book is a great way to continue fueling the inspiration.  Read about oil and the automobile, the evolution of the National Park Service and/or the Donora Smog of 1948.  Dozens of additional topics are covered and discussed in this new source.  Photos and primary texts are scattered throughout the volume.

Helpful for: Humanities IV, U.S. History Research, Environmental Research

New Reference Book: Landmarks and Pioneers in American Science

Lisa Laughy May 19th, 2009

Lura Sanborn – Reference Librarian

Research and Discovery: Landmarks and Pioneers in American Science edited by Russell Lawson, M.E. Sharpe, 2008.

Find it in Ohrstrom at: REF 509 L44R

This three volumes set presents scientific biographies, topics and inventions from fourteen different branches of science.  A handful of primary source documents conclude each section.

Read about Weather in Early America, John Josselyn’s Description of Seventeenth-Century Fauna, Psychoanalysis in America, Count Rumford and/or browse the entry on New Hampshire’s own Mary Baker Eddy and her connection to Medicine & Health.

Helpful for: Science, Humanities IV, Ecology

Photo credit:

Count von Rumford, Benjamin Thompson. Essays, Political, Economical, and Philosophical. 2 vols. Boston: Manning & Loring, 1799. Thomas Jefferson’s Library. Lib. of Congress. 17 Apr. 2009 <http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/jefflib.html>.

New Reference Book: The Oxford Companion to the Year

Lisa Laughy May 7th, 2009

Lura Sanborn – Reference Librarian

The Oxford Companion to the Year by Bonnie Blackburn & Leofranc Holford-Strevens, Oxford, 2003.

Find it in Ohrstrom at: REF 529.3 B560

The first half of this volume offers a day-by-day listing of associated events and people.  The focus is on British and U.S. events with some non-western celebrations included.

The second half of the volume describes the history of the Christian calendar and major non-Christian calendars.

Helpful for: Celebrations, Browsing, History of the Calendar

Photo credit:


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