Construction - north end of SE level 1

Construction of the Preservation Unit workspace in the north end of level 1 of SE will begin on July 28th. The project, one phase in the remodel of the Arts Library, should take 3-4 weeks. Apologies for any disruption.

Nature of Glass, NY Times

The Nature of Glass Remains Anything but Clear - July 29th New York Times

Various theories on the nature of glass, with quotes from UCSD chemistry professor Peter G. Wolynes.

Peter G. Wolynes, a professor of chemistry at the University of California, San Diego, thinks he essentially solved the glass problem two decades ago based on ideas of what glass would look like if cooled infinitely slowly. “I think we have a very good constructive theory of that these days,” Dr. Wolynes said. “Many people tell me this is very contentious. I disagree violently with them.”

Others, like Juan P. Garrahan, professor of physics at the University of Nottingham in England, and David Chandler, professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, have taken a different approach and are as certain that they are on the right track.

“It surprises most people that we still don’t understand this,” said David R. Reichman, a professor of chemistry at Columbia, who takes yet another approach to the glass problem. “We don’t understand why glass should be a solid and how it forms.”

Browsing Collection - New Books & Recommendation Form

Have you read or heard about a book that would make a good addition to the S&E Browsing Collection? Use our recommendation form to let us know.

We’ve also added some more books to the Browsing Collection. Click the title to see if the book’s available or place a request for one that’s checked out.

+ Best American science writing: 2007
+ One to nine : the inner life of numbers
+ Titan unveiled : Saturn’s mysterious moon explored
+ Powering up : are computer games changing our lives?
+ How to take a penalty : the hidden mathematics of sport
+ How math explains the world : a guide to the power of numbers, from car repair to modern physics
+ The universe in a mirror : the saga of the Hubble Telescope and the visionaries who built it
+ The coming convergence : surprising ways diverse technologies interact to shape our world and change the future
+ A nuclear family vacation : travels in the world of atomic weaponry
+ Simplexity : why simple things become complex (and how complex things can be simple)
+ What does the moon smell like? : 151 astounding science quizzes
+ Keep watching the skies! : the story of Operation Moonwatch & the dawn of the spage age

More online journals, but fewer citations?

Electronic Publication and the Narrowing of Science and Scholarship, James A. Evans
Science 18 July 2008, Vol. 321. no. 5887, pp. 395 - 399

Online journals promise to serve more information to more dispersed audiences and are more efficiently searched and recalled. But because they are used differently than print—scientists and scholars tend to search electronically and follow hyperlinks rather than browse or peruse—electronically available journals may portend an ironic change for science. Using a database of 34 million articles, their citations (1945 to 2005), and online availability (1998 to 2005), I show that as more journal issues came online, the articles referenced tended to be more recent, fewer journals and articles were cited, and more of those citations were to fewer journals and articles. The forced browsing of print archives may have stretched scientists and scholars to anchor findings deeply into past and present scholarship. Searching online is more efficient and following hyperlinks quickly puts researchers in touch with prevailing opinion, but this may accelerate consensus and narrow the range of findings and ideas built upon.

More about this article:
1. Survey Finds Citations Growing Narrower as Journals Move Online (in the same issue of Science)
2. Access to Online Journals Reduces Breadth of Citations, Study Finds (Chronicle of Higher Education)
3. Great minds think (too much) alike (The Economist)
4. Is the Internet Bad for Science? (Wired News) - with comments
5. Research Publications Online: Too Much Of A Good Thing? (ScienceDaily)

SciFinder Update for OS 10.5

The SciFinder Scholar client has been updated for OS 10.5 (Leopard) users. The new file (Sfs2007a.dmg) can be downloaded from the UC SciFinder Scholar site.

This update was only to fix compatibility issues that were discovered with OS 10.5 and does not include new features. SciFinder Scholar 2007 is still the most current version for both PC and Mac users.

S&E Hours for July 14-20

S&E Hours for July 14-20:

Monday-Thursday: 7:30am - 9:45pm
Friday: 7:30am - 6:45pm
Saturday: 10am - 5:45pm
Sunday: 10am - 9:45pm

Science Magazine - Special Issue on Mercury

In the July 4 issue of Science, you’ll find a series of reports based on observations from the MESSENGER spacecraft’s flyby of Mercury earlier this year. There will be another flyby in October.

• Mercury, Up-Close Again - Science, July 4, 2008
• MESSENGER Website, with photos and other mission details (NASA/APL)

Looking for books, journals downstairs?

This month, we are splitting the S&E Stacks into S&E Journals and S&E Books. Everything is still here, but you should look at the book call numbers on the shelves (not the call number signs) to locate a book. Journal volumes may be on carts in the middle area if you don’t see them on the shelves where they used to be located.

Need help? Go to the S&E service desk on the 2nd floor and we’ll be glad to help you find the journal/book(s) you need. You can also use the Request feature in Roger to have the books pulled and waiting for you at the S&E Circulation Desk.