Marriott Library Blog

The Marriott Library has teamed up with faculty from the University of Utah’s Entertainment Arts and Engineering Master Games Studio to present three public lectures during spring semester 2012. The theme for the lecture series is Video Games: Where Technology Meets Art.

Combining faculty from The School of Computing and Film and Media Arts, EAE offers undergraduate and graduate emphases in game development and study. Students of the EAE Master Games Studio study and build games that push the state of the art and question how games are made and played.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 12:15-1:15 p.m.

Leonardo was right: Reuniting arts and technology / Mark van Langeveld, engineering track director

Tuesday, February 21, 2012, 12:15-1:15 p.m.

Animation: the secrets / Craig Caldwell, USTAR senior research professor, arts track director

Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 12:15-1:15 p.m.

Serious, games? How games are changing the future of science, medicine, and the academy / Roger Altizer, design and production track director

All lectures are free and open to the public and will be held in the Gould Auditorium, level one of the Marriott Library.

In the fall of 2010, five people from the U of U journeyed to Antarctica to conduct research and to write about the continent creatively. Three lectures, which will be held at the Marriott Library during spring semester 2011, highlight the fascinating science and the raw aesthetics of Antarctica.

Thursday, February 3, noon – 1:00 p.m.

Fire and Ice – Measuring Antarctica’s Frozen Sea

Cynthia Furse, PhD, U of U Associate VP for Research, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Joyce Lin, PhD, NSF Postdoctoral Fellow in Mathematics; and David Lubbers, Senior in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Thursday, February 24, noon – 1:00 p.m.

Looking South: Poems from Antarctica

Katharine Coles, PhD, Utah Poet Laureate, novelist, U of U Professor of English. Dr. Coles was selected to participate in the NSF Antarctica Artists and Writers Program.

Thursday, April 14, noon – 1:00 p.m.

Climate Change and the Melting Polar Ice Caps

Ken Golden, Professor of Mathematics and Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Utah. A sea ice and climate expert, Dr. Golden led the NSF sponsored United States research team on this international expedition to study Antarctica’s frozen sea and its role in Earth’s climate.

All lectures are free and open to the public and will be held in the Gould Auditorium, first floor of the Marriott Library.

The QR Code implementation project is not quite two months old, but, statistics are showing some interesting early trends. Twelve codes have been generated so far, and not all of them at the same time (so a textbook case of assessment this post is not).

The QR codes generated were designed to explore their use in a wide variety of settings, they included library map, workshops schedule, events schedule, reference desk phone number, catalog search, course reserves, classroom schedule and library website.

I had assumed that the more frequently scanned codes would be the library map, course reserves, searching the catalog, however, this has not proven to be the case.

By far and away the largest number of scans so far have been for library events and the library’s main website.

I can see how it would be completely logical to quickly scan the code for the library website, bring it up on my mobile and navigate to any of the other areas on the go rather than scanning each of their codes.

As far as library events went, I was surprised to find it was a ‘heavy hitter’

– in fact, including library events was pretty much an afterthought made sensible by the need to fill up additional space on the QR code promotion poster.

But, perhaps this should not so easily surprise, maybe this is a signal of our visitors interest in an enhanced library experience? A moment of serendipity, if you will, of going off the beaten path and not knowing the end result.

Whereas most of our QR codes involve known actions (e.g. call the reference desk, search the catalog, find a room), the message we are receiving from the number of hits suggests that an element of the unknown is attractive.

We figure that library event posters should have QR codes themselves, but, is scanning a code that takes you to ‘more about the event advertised on this poster’ really the same thing? If the goal of a visitor is to experience a detour, then maybe that’s how we should be re-thinking use of QR codes.

The J. Willard Marriott Library and the University MUSE (My U Student Experience) project are offering three paid internships at the Marriott Library for Spring Semester 2011. Each Internship will be available for 12-15 weeks, through the end of the semester. Successful applicants will work 10 hours a week at a pay rate of $10.00 per hour. It may be possible to arrange for credit for the internships through your college.

The three available Internships are:

• Scholarly Communications Research
• External Relations
• Research & Learning Services/Special Collections

See link for more information about these internships

The J. Willard Marriott Library and the College of Science co-sponsor “Women in Science: A Panel on Possibilities,” featuring Dr. Yoky Matsuoka, Torode Family Endowed Career Development Professor, Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington. Other panelists include Cynthia Furse, Denise Dearing, Marjorie Chan, Michele Johnson, and Carol Sansone from the University of Utah. A reception will be held from 5:00 – 6:00 pm.
Date: Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Time: 3 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Contact: Phyllis Atkinson
801-585-9775
Location: Marriott Library, Gould Auditorium – (view map)
Parking: Park in the Bookstore lot
Cost: Free and open to the public
Website: http://lib.utah.edu