Oberlin College Science Library

Highlights from the collection plus science happenings and science news, with a  focus on environmental advocacy and scientific literacy.  libraries.oberlin.edu/libraries/science-library

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Our Last Post - but this is not goodbye!

Just a few parting shots from the Science Library. 

Above, a portion of a book display for Black History Month, “Celebrating Black achievement in science, and highlighting the need to continue to diversify STEM education and disciplines.”

Below, new journal issues continue to be received in print - not as many as were received just a year ago, for sure, as we rely on online access.  But plenty of good reading here!

Books on the popular science reading shelves, seen below, beckon!  Winter Term is a fine time to read beyond the syllabus and explore new ideas.

Look for future posts from the Science Library on the various social media channels of Oberlin College Libraries:  Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and the Libraries news feed.

Thanks for checking in - we hope to see you in the library soon!

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You can still use the libraries while finishing the semester remotely.

Don’t hesitate to ask us to scan a chapter or two from a book or send a pdf of a journal article.  Request items using the Interlibrary Loan option described in the image above or email the science library.  slibrary at oberlin.edu

We are happy to help!  Questions welcome.

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Atmospheric Chemistry Lecture

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Divers Remove Ghost Fishing Gear From Ill-Fated Fishing Vessel

After settling to the bottom, the Patriot shipwreck’s ghostly gear continued to fish unattended—trapping curious fish and even drowning a gray seal. The billowing nets around this shipwreck, located within Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, created an ever-present danger to divers as well as marine life.

As part of International Coastal Cleanup and the Massachusetts Coastsweep effort, a multi-agency dive team set out in late summer to remove some of the most hazardous gear from the wreck.

Read the full story: https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/sep21/patriot-cleanup.html

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There are plenty of resources cataloged in OBIS that expound on the threats posed by marine debris.  Take a look at the many items found with a subject search on the phrase “marine debris” or “plastic marine debris,” for starters.

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New from Open Book Publishers: Negotiating Climate Change in Crisis

Freely available in PDF or HTML formats.  "Climate change negotiations have failed the world. Despite more than thirty years of high-level, global talks on climate change, we are still seeing carbon emissions rise dramatically. This edited volume, comprising leading and emerging scholars and climate activists from around the world, takes a critical look at what has gone wrong and what is to be done to create more decisive action.” (publisher’s statement)

Open Book Publishers publishes in all disciplines, with an emphasis on humanities and social sciences.  More on this book from the publisher: “Composed of twenty-eight essays—a combination of new and republished texts—the anthology is organised around seven main themes: paradigms; what counts?; extraction; dispatches from a climate change frontline country; governance; finance; and action(s). Through this multifaceted approach, the contributors ask pressing questions about how we conceptualise and respond to the climate crisis, providing both ‘big picture’ perspectives and more focussed case studies.               “This unique and extensive collection will be of great value to environmental and social scientists alike, as well as to the general reader interested in understanding current views on the climate crisis. “

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Take a bit of us with you

The Popular Science reading collection is just a few steps inside the science library entrance.  As you finish exams, why not stop in and browse, and find something new to read during the pause between summer session and fall semester?  There is great reading to be found here!

Here are just a few of the newest additions to the Popular Science reading collection, with links to OBIS for more information.  Check them out!

The bird way : a new look at how birds talk, work, play, parent, and think 

A lab of one’s own : one woman’s personal journey through sexism in science 

Yosemite : the embattled wilderness 

Every life is on fire : how thermodynamics explains the origins of living things

Our biosocial brains : the cultural neuroscience of bias, power, and injustice 

Climate courage : how tackling climate change can build community, transform the economy, and bridge the political divide in America 

The journeys of trees : a story about forests, people, and the future 

Metazoa : animal life and the birth of the mind 

Great adaptations : star-nosed moles, electric eels, and other tales of evolution’s mysteries solved

The power of deserts : climate change, the Middle East, and the promise of a post-oil era 

Moving water : the Everglades and big sugar 

Hidden wonders : the subtle dialogue between physics and elegance 

There are plenty more to browse, in-person, or view all of the new books in this LibGuide.  We can easily arrange an extended loan for any of the new books.  Enjoy!  

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Still time to borrow a book or two!

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Portrait collection expanding

The windows of the north reading area of the Science Library have long been accented by portraits of three notable alumni who grew up in Oberlin and had long, successful careers in science and industry.  Their portraits are in the center of the above photo:  Albert Allen Wright, Charles Martin Hall, and Lynds Jones.  These men have finally been joined by two alumnae, prominent  women whose leadership and scientific achievements have been lauded. 

Portraits of Joanne Chory '77 (left, photo courtesy of Salk Institute of Biological Sciences) and June Osborn ‘57  (right, photo courtesy of Ellen Levy) now flank the three men.  Both women received honorary degrees from Oberlin College; Chory was honored in 2019, barely a month after delivering the highly acclaimed TED Talk, “How supercharged plants could slow climate change.” Osborn delivered the commencement address when she received her honorary degree in 1993, the same year the National Commission on AIDS, which she chaired, presented their final report to the President and Congress.  Entitled AIDS: An Expanding Tragedy, the text of the report can be downloaded on Google Books.  An interview with Osborn, “What can we learn from the AIDS crisis?” was recently published in the Oberlin Alumni Magazine.

 We are honored to display their portraits in the Science Library and to celebrate their remarkable achievements. More portraits of notable Oberlin women in science are coming!

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Coming soon: a portrait of Matilda Arabella Evans, who attended Oberlin College in 1887-1891 and was the first African-American woman licensed to practice medicine in South Carolina.

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Honoring Michael Collins, Apollo Astronaut

Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, sometimes referred to as “the forgotten astronaut” of that historic moon mission, died this week after a battle with cancer. Listen to the NPR remembrance on All Things Considered, April 28, 2021.

The photo above of Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong (left) with pilots Michael Collins (center) and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin (right) is from Moon Missions: Mankind’s first voyages to another world. Read about the Apollo space missions in this or one of the books pictured below: 

All Things Considered (ATC) included this wonderful quote from Collins, on his recollections of the Apollo 11 mission: "The thing I remember most is the view of planet Earth from a great distance…Tiny. Very shiny. Blue and white. Bright. Beautiful. Serene and fragile.“  See the ATC story for more photos and memories.

Books pictured above: 

Apollo: The epic journey to the moon.

Apollo: The definitive sourcebook. also an ebook.

Exploring the Moon: The Apollo expeditions.  also an ebook (2nd ed.).

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Listen today to a reprise of the Terry Gross interview with Michael Collins on Fresh Air!  Hear it at 2pm ET, on WKSU.org.

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Honoring Michael Collins, Apollo Astronaut

Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, sometimes referred to as “the forgotten astronaut” of that historic moon mission, died this week after a battle with cancer. Listen to the NPR remembrance on All Things Considered, April 28, 2021.

The photo above of Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong (left) with pilots Michael Collins (center) and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin (right) is from Moon Missions: Mankind’s first voyages to another world. Read about the Apollo space missions in this or one of the books pictured below: 

All Things Considered (ATC) included this wonderful quote from Collins, on his recollections of the Apollo 11 mission: "The thing I remember most is the view of planet Earth from a great distance...Tiny. Very shiny. Blue and white. Bright. Beautiful. Serene and fragile."  See the ATC story for more photos and memories.

Books pictured above: 

Apollo: The epic journey to the moon.

Apollo: The definitive sourcebook. also an ebook.

Exploring the Moon: The Apollo expeditions.  also an ebook (2nd ed.).

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Sustainability resources with sustainable access; All in for Oberlin!

Pictured here are just four ebooks among the hundreds of sustainable-related titles online (including at least one major encyclopedia, shown above) accessible through OBIS.  This is part of our “access without borders” approach, provided with library subscriptions and our consortium agreements (hurray for OhioLINK!).  A gift to the OC Libraries today, during All in for Oberlin, will help us continue to serve up sustainable literature, sustainably.  It’s a great way to celebrate Earth Day!

Pictured above: 

Encyclopedia of food security and sustainability.

Renewable energy: international perspectives on sustainability.

Sustainable development goals and institutions of higher education.

The principles of green and sustainability science.

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Journals - received in print!

It’s a tiny fraction of what we used to get, but print subscriptions keep arriving; one way we are sustainably All in for Oberlin! Dutifully recorded and displayed, with the firm conviction that more people will - post-pandemic - arrive and safely browse the collection.

Why do we do this?  Because scientific knowledge and public awareness of science are both enhanced when we read reputable reports of research from trusted, unbiased sources – from sources that are understandable, clearly written, and accurately cite other reputable sources.  

Looking beyond your typical boundaries, being open to new and unasked questions, is fertile ground for scientific exploration.  Give yourself a few minutes of leafing through a journal, in print, in the quiet comfort of the science library, and there’s no telling what light bulbs might go off.  Come on in.

Help us make it possible - Be All in for Oberlin on this Earth Day.  We seek to educate Obies sustainably for generations to come. 

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Donate today! allin.oberlin.edu/organizations/oberlin-college-libraries.  Thank you!

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Journals - received in print!

It’s a tiny fraction of what we used to get, but print subscriptions keep arriving; one way we are sustainably All in for Oberlin! Dutifully recorded and displayed, with the firm conviction that more people will - post-pandemic - arrive and safely browse the collection.

Why do we do this?  Because scientific knowledge and public awareness of science are both enhanced when we read reputable reports of research from trusted, unbiased sources -- from sources that are understandable, clearly written, and accurately cite other reputable sources.  

Looking beyond your typical boundaries, being open to new and unasked questions, is fertile ground for scientific exploration.  Give yourself a few minutes of leafing through a journal, in print, in the quiet comfort of the science library, and there’s no telling what light bulbs might go off.  Come on in.

Help us make it possible - Be All in for Oberlin on this Earth Day.  We seek to educate Obies sustainably for generations to come. 

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April snow puts on a show

Looking westward on the path around the Morgan Street reservoir, just as the sun breaks through clouds.  Hmm, might have to crawl under that low limb.

All of the trees with fresh spring foliage sag under the weight of mid-April snow. The ducks were unfazed.

April often brings a last blast of winter.  This blast has the path around the old Oberlin reservoir completely blocked by sagging tree limbs.

What does all of this have to do with the library, you ask?  Not much!  Just enjoying a bit of nature observation.  Did you know “snow” is a Library of Congress subject heading? True. Try it in OBIS.  My favorite result of this search: 

Wonders of water : the hydrogen bond in action / Ivar Olovsson

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Neuroscience Seminar: Dr. Ghazaleh Sadri-Vakili, Mass General Institute for Neurodegeneration Disease

Friday, April 16, 2021

12pm via Zoom: tinyurl.com/NSCIseminar

“Targeting tau mitigates mitochondrial fragmentation and oxidative stress in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)”

Here’s a bit of background reading:  Mitochondria : the dynamic organelle / edited by Stephen W. Schaffer and M.-Saadeh Suleiman.  Available online, at the OhioLINK Electronic Book Center and at Springer.

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Unmask us. Bring us together again.

from The Global Vaccine Poem 

Heard on WKSU this morning.  Well worth a moment to listen!

Image: a portion of the community poem, beginning “Dear Vaccine”

From the WKSU website: “Kent State's Wick Poetry Center has joined with the University of Arizona's Poetry Center to offer a collaborative poem that encourages people around the world to share their feelings of the pandemic and the opportunity to finally get vaccinated through verse. The 'Global Vaccine Poem' was inspired by a decade-old Wick Poetry Center activity that allows community members to respond to one another in stanzas to create one collective poem, Director David Hassler said.”

https://www.wksu.org/podcast/wksu-news-presents/2021-04-06/the-global-vaccine-poem-healing-one-stanza-at-a-time

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Two Biology Seminars This Week! Both at 12:20pm:

Wed., March 24. Samantha St. Clair. “Passing gas in the mammalian respiratory system”

Fri., March 26. Kevin Scriber. “The function of mitosis versus meiosis, the structure and role of chromosomes, and the significance of data they carry”

Here is a quick introduction to the respiratory system, from JoVE (video, access through OBIS).

Just in case you need a refresher on mitosis and meiosis, JoVe offers these introductory videos, accessible through OBIS: Cell Division and What is Meiosis?

For more in-depth consideration of topics related to these seminars, try these scholarly ebooks: 

Respiratory biology of animals: evolutionary and functional morphology / Steven F. Perry, Markus Lambertz, Anke Schmitz. Oxford University Press, 2019

Cellular-molecular mechanisms in epigenetic evolutionary biology / John Torday, William Miller, Jr.  Springer, 2020

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Biology Lecture: Maggie Amsler on Antarctica

“Antarctica’s Marine Web of Life Spanning the Subtidal to the Deep Sea,” presentation by Maggie Amsler, researcher in the department of biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham. 

Join the lecture on Zoom, open to all: oberlin.zoom.us/j/81355441498

4:40 pm Thursday, March 11, 2021

By way of a bit of background reading, check out:  Lost Antarctica : adventures in a disappearing land / James McClintock

Antarctic ecosystems : environmental contamination, climate change, and human impact / R. Bargagli  also online

The last ocean : Antarctica's Ross Sea project : saving the most pristine ecosystem on earth / John Weller 

There are many more resources, both in print and digital, to be found! This subject heading search in OBIS will get you started.