Friday, October 31, 2014

November Issue of Check This Out!

The new issue of Check This Out will be posted in the library over the weekend, but enjoy a sneak preview here on the blog! Featured is the library's participation in the 3rd Annual International Games Day on Saturday, November 15.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

New Printing System in the Library


The new system allows students to print from their laptops or computers in the library.  The cost is still 10 cents per page for black and white and 20 cents per page for color and uses your Stout One card.  The new print system was funded by the Stout Student Association and has been set up to be self-sustainable with funds generated from the system used to replace and repair the system.  Staff are ready to help you get the new printers set up on your laptop so stop by today.

Welcome Gretchen Yonko


Gretchen Yonko is our new financial specialist.  She works half-time for the Library and half-time for the Nakatani Teaching and Learning Center.  She worked in the Business and Financial Services office as a financial specialist at Stout prior to coming to the Library and NTLC.

 
In her off campus life, Gretchen attempts to have many outdoor adventures camping, hiking, canoeing, and snowboarding. All activities she has enjoyed. However, her current reality fits more into the reading, crocheting, and movie watching category. Also quite wonderful adventures if you do it right, she says.
 
Gretchen earned her Associate of Applied Science degree in Accounting from Chippewa Valley Technical College, a Master of Science in Education degree from UW-River Falls, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Macalester College.

Winter Haven homeless shelter needs you!

Local homeless shelter Winter Haven, run by Stepping Stones of Dunn County, is looking for night shift volunteers to help with the program that runs from November to March. Volunteering is a great addition to resumes and graduate school applications, has networking and social benefits, and isn't bad for the ol' karma either!

Homelessness is a worldwide issue with many contributing factors, including social inequality and mental illness. For more information on this complex topic, check out Opposing Viewpoints: Homelessness, an e-book in the library's collection. Stepping Stones also creates a quarterly newsletter with information about the shelter and homelessness issues.

Winter Haven is in need of volunteers to for two night shifts. Volunteers will work in pairs. For more information, visit Stepping Stones' website, or contact Stepping Stones' Shelter Coordinator Heidi Hooten by email at shelter@steppingstonesdc.org or by phone at 715 235-2920.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Book Recommendation: Tamara Brantmeier

We recently asked Tamara Brantmeier, associate professor and School of Art and Design director, to recommend a book in her field that would appeal to UW-Stout students as a follow-up to her feature in UW-Stout's 5 Questions series, which profiles faculty from across campus. Here is what she picked:


The Creative Habit, Learn it and Use it for Life
By Twyla Tharp
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003

Available in the library on 5th floor.  Call number: BF408 .T415 2003

Creativity is not a gift from the gods, says Twyla Tharp, it is the product of preparation and effort, and it's within reach of everyone who wants to achieve it. Here, Tharp takes the lessons she has learned in her remarkable thirty-five-year career and shares them with you, whatever creative impulses you follow--whether you are a painter, composer, writer, director, choreographer, or, for that matter, a businessperson working on a deal, a chef developing a new dish, a mother wanting her child to see the world anew. When Tharp is at a creative dead end, she relies on a lifetime of exercises to help her get out of the rut, and The Creative Habit contains more than thirty of them to ease the fears of anyone facing a blank beginning and to open the mind to new possibilities. (Simon & Schuster)

To learn more about Tamara Brantmeier's art, teaching, and special interests, take a look at her profile in the 5 Questions series.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

2nd Annual Halloween Window Decorating Contest

Win prizes for your Org! The University Library, in collaboration with the Involvement Center, is hosting the second annual Halloween window decorating contest.  There will be three prizes awarded to the windows voted “all around best dressed,” “spookiest,” and “best org spirit.” This is a great opportunity to promote your organization to the campus community while helping us spookify the library!

 ThDetails:

Who: All Student Organizations on Campus
WhereLibrary windows in the reference area (1st floor)

What do we need to bring? Nothing but your creative ideas!  Window paint will be provided by the library, and  paper, die-cuts, and other supplies are available at the Creation Station in the Involvement Center.

WhenDecorating will take place from October 23-30th.  Judging will occur on October 31st

Contact: To sign up for a window, please contact Ann Vogl (voglan@uwstout.edu).

Thursday, October 02, 2014

MST3K: The UW-Stout Connection

Screenshot from MST3K: The Movie (1996)

In 1988, MysteryScience Theater 3000 (usually shortened to MST3K by its fans) started airing on KTMA in Minneapolis, Minn. The show, which consisted of a team of comedians watching and making fun of bad vintage movies, was so popular it eventually made syndication on Comedy Central before its cancellation in 1999. You may not have heard of MST3K, but you may be familiar with what they do, as they pioneered the pastime of "riffing" on bad movies for entertainment. While finished, the show has gained a cult following over the years.
 
Screenshot from a viewing of Parts: The Clonus Horror (1997)
So where’s Stout in this obscure little piece of television? Mike J. Nelson, one of the head writers on the show, eventually replaced a role played by series creator Joel Robinson. Beginning in Episode 512, Mike J. Nelson began playing a fictional version of himself, hosting the show, in which Mike apparently went to UW-Stout before finding himself stuck on a satellite orbiting the earth, forced to watch bad movies with wisecracking robots (The actual Mike J. Nelson attended UW-River Falls). Stout is mentioned in the show once or twice due to this. The most famous reference is Mike's character wearing a UW-Stout shirt in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie. In another episode during a viewing of "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Died and Became Mixed-up Zombies," (yes, that is an actual movie title) when a character wakes up in a cold sweat, one of the robots quips, “Look familiar Mike? Morning after the UW-Stout Spring Fling?”
 
No word on if UW-Stout ever plans to offer a degree in making fun of movies!
 
by Abby Anderson 

Screenshot from a viewing of The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Died and Became Mixed-up Zombies (1997)


Wednesday, October 01, 2014

October issue of Check This Out!

The new issue of Check This Out is available today throughout the library and here on the blog! Featured is the new (Re)Search and Rescue Squad mobile reference desk service, and keep your eyes peeled for a fun guest blog post from BFA in Entertainment Design student Abby Anderson, coming soon.