Business Research Orientation class turns 5

Back in 2007, my coworker Jan Herd and I decided to develop a class specifically for business researchers.  Our very first class was in October 2007. While we included some general information about doing research at the Library and a detailed overview of the Library’s online catalog, we wanted to feature specific guidance on business …

Read more »

Watching Baseball at the Opera House

The following is a guest post by Emmy-Award-winning engineer Mark Schubin. He has been writing about the intersecting histories of opera and media technology since 1972 and currently serves as engineer-in-charge of the Metropolitan Opera’s Media Department. In October 2011, Mark gave a presentation at the Library on the “Fandom of the Opera: How a …

Read more »

A Weather-proof Nation

It’s not very often that a reference librarian gets to attend a House Science Committee briefing, but this week I had the wonderful opportunity to attend one. Being the self-proclaimed weather gal at the Library,  I was thrilled when an invitation to attend a committee briefing related to weather was forwarded to me by my …

Read more »

Fear the Turtle or Eat the Turtle

Today’s post is by 2012 Junior Fellow Brian Horowitz of the University of Maryland, College Park. The Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) is both the Maryland state reptile and the official mascot of the University of Maryland (UMD).  The bronze statue of Testudo, a gift from the class of 1933, sits with pride on the campus at College …

Read more »

Five Questions (Intern Edition): Shayela Hassan

With summer winding down and our interns returning to school, we are featuring a Five Questions post with intern Shayela Hassan. Shayela’s assignment in our division gave her the opportunity to immerse herself in the Library’s collection of cookery and food history books. 1. What is your background? I’m a first-generation American girl born to …

Read more »

A Special Kind of Moon

There is something about a full moon that affects us (sometimes literally!) and our admiration of it can be found in art, literature, music, and poetry.  The full moon is revered in many cultures across the globe.  In North America, tribes of Native Americans gave varying names to the full moons according to the season, …

Read more »

An Early History of Life Insurance

Today’s guest post is by 2012 Junior Fellow Alec Korte. A life worth living is a life worth insuring. The above quote was the bedrock on which Judge Willard Phillips, a Massachusetts lawyer, founded the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company in 1835. The anchor that held that bedrock firm was the leadership at the top, which …

Read more »

Five Questions (The Intern Edition): Alec Korte

1.  What is your background? Excluding five years in California, I have lived most of my life in Bowling Green, Ohio, home to its namesake university as well as the National Tractor Pulling Championship. I am currently enrolled at the University of Cincinnati, where I am studying Mechanical Engineering and, eventually, Business as part of …

Read more »