Culinary History Highlight: The Science of Nutrition (1896)

This culinary history highlight focuses on The Science of Nutrition:  Treatise Upon the Science of Nutrition, by Edward Atkinson, LL.D., Ph.D.  The entire book is digitized, and available here, thanks to University Libraries Special Collections, but let me give you some of the (sometimes amusing) highlights of this item:

• There is a note in the front matter from Dr. Atkinson thanking Andrew Carnegie, who apparently placed copies of this book in 3500 public libraries across the nation.  The note is dated November, 1895.  
• The author, Atwater, seems to have invented the Aladdin Oven, and describes in great detail how it can promote health and benefit the entire household.
• Coauthors Mary Abel and Maria Daniell offer instructions for using the Aladdin Oven, and a good number of recipes, including:  Beef, Oatmeal, and Tomato, Pigs' Feet a la Vinaigrette, and Daub, a creole dish.  
• Recommendations for entire dinners pull these recipes together.
• Authors also calculate nutritive values.

Be sure to check out this book for more nutrition information from the 1890s, either online or in our Special Collections (1st floor, Newman Library).  

Post #3 (Day 5--Last Day!): Library Day in the Life Project Round 6

Okay, so this Library Day in the Life post is two days late--with good reason:

[7:00 a.m.]:  Woke up with sore throat, shivery, achey.  Decided that maybe going into work and getting going would make me feel better...

[8:00-9:00 a.m.]  Made it to the office, checked and answered email, updated this blog and my professional development blog, and checked on a few items I am thinking of purchasing for my collections.  Still wasn't feeling better, but decided to keep working, since I had a three hour desk shift coming up.

[9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.]  Desk shift!  Thankfully, the shift was very quiet.  Not many "real" reference questions; most questions were directional or about lost books.

[12 p.m.]  Decided to go home after my reference shift, since I was still feeling pretty bad.

Public service librarians, like me, come into contact with a lot of people (and germs) on a daily basis, and may be exposed to seasonal bugs, like the flu.  Although I got my flu shot this year, I'm pretty sure that some sort of flu-like illness got me down for the past few days.  Regardless, it's now Sunday, I'm feeling much better, but am back in the office, catching up on things (my educational psychology lessons for the week, my lesson planning for next week, conference presentation for next week, and chapter proposal) I intended to finish on Friday afternoon.

And thus ends Library Day in the Life Round 6--I'm already looking forward to Round 7!

Picture Post (Day 4): Library Day in the Life Project Round 6

Today's Library Day in the Life picture post is a bit different from Tuesday's.  Because my day consisted mostly of desk work, meetings, and instruction sessions, there wasn't a lot that 1) could take pictures of, since most students and colleagues balked at the sight of a camera and 2) seemed very interesting.  So, instead, I wrote a quick paragraph about my day and turned it into a Wordle (word cloud) image--still a picture post!  Click on the picture below to enlarge it:



And that's Day 4 of Library Day in the Life, Round 6.  Check back for my final update (for this round, anyway) tomorrow afternoon.

Spring 2011 Resource Trials

At this point in the semester, University Libraries has three databases and an e-book collection on trial.  Per usual, these trials will allow you access to these resources while we're "trying them out."  Most of them go through the middle of February (2/18); although none of them contain HNFE-specific information, you may want to check them out and let us know what you think.  Be sure to log in to Off Campus Sign In, just as you would for a regular database, if you're interested in checking them out:

African American Study Center from Oxford
Access via our trials page:  http://www.lib.vt.edu/find/articles-databases/current-trials.html

American National Biography Online from Oxford
Access via our trials page:  http://www.lib.vt.edu/find/articles-databases/current-trials.html

Linguistic Bibliography Online from Oxford
Access via our trials page:  http://www.lib.vt.edu/find/articles-databases/current-trials.html

Palgrave Connect E-books from Palgrave Macmillan
Access via the Palgrave Connect page:  http://www.palgraveconnect.com/pc/browse/jumpStartResults

Again, if you are at all interested in these resources, your feedback is appreciated!

Image from blog.only2clicks.com

Post #2 (Day 3): Library Day in the Life Project Round 6

So, I originally thought that I would be writing three posts for this week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, that would capture my Library Day in the Life snapshot.  But when I used the "snapshot" metaphor, it inspired me to create yesterday's picture post--real snapshots!  I don't think I'll do another one tomorrow, simply because of the time involved, but it was definitely a fun experiment!  Today, I'm going back to my original text-based post...

Wednesday, January 26, 2011
At this point in the week, I've taught four of the six classes that I have scheduled.  Although it isn't really a lot of classes, the preparation and the teaching has kept me busy, and definitely on my toes.  I've got two more classes tomorrow, and then I can focus, I hope, on publications and presentations that have been on my "to do" list since last week!

• [7:00-7:10 a.m.]  I drove to work today, since this is my least favorite kind of weather--cold and wet.  Although forecasts were calling for snow, we've just gotten cold rain/some snow all day.  Ick!  I needed to get to work early, though, in order to hold librarian office hours across campus and have time to prepare for my two  (different) classes today.  

• [7:15-8:20 a.m.]  Checked and answered emails, scheduled a few consultations, updated Facebook, wikis, and blogs for various communication projects with the library and other organizations, and prepared for my two classes later in the day.

• [8:20-9:30 a.m.]  Walked over to Wallace Hall for my HNFE Librarian Office Hours.  I think the weather was keeping people away, because I barely saw anyone in the building!  No students or faculty dropped by for a consultation, but I was able to update some software on my netbook (which I always bring with me to my mobile office hours) and install both Mendeley and Zotero, for which I often provide consultation.  

• [9:45-11:25 a.m.]  Came back over to the library to teach my first class of the day.  Even though I got to the classroom 20 minutes early, there were students waiting in the hall!  This was another basic overview for a senior seminar class; I focused on developing research ideas, performing background searches, and using PubMed and Web of Science.  

• [11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.]  Warmed up dinner leftovers for lunch.  I also caught up on email (this project is making me realize email is a HUGE part of my day!), worked a bit on the book chapter that I talked about yesterday, and prepared for my second class of the day, which met at 1:30.

• [1:10-2:50] Since my first class of the day arrived so early, I wanted to make sure I got to the classroom before they did.  Again, I had a few students waiting on me!  This class was the second session of the two-day library workshop with one of the classes that I met with on Monday.  I usually focus the second session of library workshops on citation and bibliographic management, after reviewing resources from the first session.  EndNote has always been a huge part of the material, since VT has a site license, but today I also worked in Zotero and Mendeley.  I'm teaching the same lesson to a different group tomorrow, and I think I need to figure out a better way to describe so much information.  

• [3:00-5:00 p.m.]  Back in my office--I checked email (again!), but mainly started brainstorming about better ways to teach the bibliographic management component of this workshop.  Perhaps tomorrow I'll divide the students up into groups after I briefly demo each tool and let them experiment, then come back together for discussion.  Hmmmm...  Also, I wrote this blog post!  

• [5:30-9:00 p.m. or so]  Although this isn't part of my professional day, I thought I would throw this in just to reflect a bit on community involvement outside the workplace...  Every Wednesday night, I volunteer at Blacksburg's not-for-profit movie theater and community center:  The Lyric.  This place is undoubtedly my favorite place in town.  Each week, we only show one movie, and it's usually a solid mainstream film or a well-received indie, documentary, or arthouse film.  Regardless, it's always something good.  There are two showings a night, and I volunteer for the 7:00 p.m. showing. I get to the Lyric at 6:30 p.m. and sell tickets or concessions for half an hour, then get to go watch the movie.  This week, we're showing Black Swan, which I haven't seen yet, and I am really looking forward to it!  Since the theater is right downtown, very close to the library, I just stay here until 5:30 or so, then meet my SO for dinner downtown and head for the movie!  I love being out in the community, seeing people from all over town, and getting to discuss fun films.  Working at the Lyric always makes a stressful day better--I'm looking forward to tonight!  

Librarian Office Hours

Normally, I will be over in Wallace Atrium from 2-3:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and 9:00-10:30 a.m. on Wednesdays to hold Librarian Office Hours for the Spring 2011 semester

Because I am often teaching classes at unusual times at the beginning of the semester, I have had to alter my office hours for TODAY (1/26) and next Tuesday (2/1).

Today, 1/26, I will be in Wallace Atrium from 8:45-9:30 a.m.
Tuesday, 2/1, I will NOT be able hold Librarian Office Hours.


I'll be back in Wallace Atrium at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 2.  If you would like to schedule a one-on-one appointment with me, I will be happy to set up a time that works for us both.  I look forward to working with you!

Picture Post (Day 2): Library Day in the Life Project Round 6

Tuesday, January 25...in pictures!  








7:50-8:15 a.m.
Walked a mile to campus; entered the library!  The entrance is the building on the left, after you would pass under the bridge.

8:15-8:45 a.m.
Opened the shades in my office, checked (and answered) email, made tea, and mentally prepared for the day!  Reference desk shift starts at 9 a.m....

9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Reference Desk shift!  Answered questions (mostly about the location of the printers and reserve items), did some collection development (hence selection tools pictured), updated my professional development blog, and worked on class preparation.





 12:00-12:15 p.m.--Lunch, upload pictures to blog (sorry, no pictures of the picture uploading!)

12:20-1:45 p.m.
Taught another section of HNFE 4004 in one of Newman Library's instruction classrooms.  For a class meeting right after lunch, the students were pretty attentive!

1:45-1:55 p.m.
Ventured across campus to Wallace Hall, home of the Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise (HNFE) Dept.  It was 48 degrees at the time--hard to believe we're supposed to have 4-8" of snow by tomorrow.

2:00-3:30 p.m.
Held librarian office hours for HNFE in the Wallace Atrium.  First session of the semester.  The visibility seems to be good--actually had a student come in for a consultation!  That little sign in the corner says "Rebecca Miller, HNFE Librarian"

3:45 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
Took Blacksburg Transit bus to an off-campus meeting (at Panera!) to discuss a co-authored book chapter.  Although I have a car, it's nice that Blacksburg is so pedestrian and public transportation friendly.

4:00-5:20(ish) p.m.
Met in Panera with two colleagues, and co-authors, to outline a book chapter.  I was left to guard the table while the others went to find snacks to fuel the creative process.  They did, and we were successful.

5:30 p.m.
Back in the office, watching the campus empty out for the day. Checking (and answering) email, uploading pictures, finishing this blog post, and preparing for my two classes tomorrow.  Definitely heading home soon--whew!






Tomorrow I'll write another text-based post, and then perhaps another picture post on Thursday!  Stay tuned...