Due to construction in the courtyard, the Sciences Library will be closed May 19–Aug. 3.* During this time, library staff will be available online and in their offices in the Van Allen, MacLean, and Chemistry buildings. They will have access to the Sciences Library to collect materials for patrons, but there may be delays in deliveries. Materials can be returned to the other library locations on campus. Thank you for your patience. 

Why is the construction happening? The utility tunnels in the courtyard, which have significant structural deterioration and some of which are more than 100 years old, are being rebuilt. The sewer replacement has now been completed but work on the steam tunnels continues. 

You can always find our most updated hours or contact a sciences librarian on our website at lib.uiowa.edu/sciences/contact. 

Please, don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.

*The original re-open date of July 14 has been extended to Aug. 4.

Coming in September 2024, view Edgar Allan Poe’s works of early science fiction juxtaposed with uncanny creatures on loan from the Natural History Museum. Engage in word search puzzles, mad libs, and other activities based on Poe’s most famous works. This event is free and open to all.

Where: First floor of the Sciences Library, 120 Iowa Ave. 

Experience science with demonstrations from Hawk-Eyes on Science, University of Iowa Chemists, the Iowa City Science Booster Club, and more. Attendees are welcome to drop in at any time between 3:30 and 5 p.m. This event is free and open to all.

When: Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. 

Where: Third floor of the Sciences Library, 120 Iowa Ave. 

It was a thrilling experience to witness the partial solar eclipse that took place in the skies above Iowa City on Monday, April 8! The eclipse-viewing event, hosted jointly by the Sciences Library and the Department of Physics and Astronomy, was a huge success, with thousands of people gathering in the Sciences Library courtyard and on the Pentacrest lawn to collect free eclipse glasses, view the sun and moon’s alignment through solar telescopes, make pinhole cameras, and have their faces painted with eclipse-themed motifs. About 2,300 glasses were handed out before the peak obscuration (89%!) of the sun by the moon, which occurred at 2:01 p.m.

Here’s what you might have missed if you didn’t make it to our celebration in the Sciences Library courtyard.

Sunspots were visible on the sun’s reflected image as shown through the wooden Sunspotter solar telescope. Later, clouds passing across the sun could be seen in the Sunspotter’s projection.

Features were clearly visible on the sun’s surface through the solar telescopes, including sunspots and prominences dancing on the sun’s edge.

Tiny eclipses could also be seen through the holes of a colander.

Sciences Library volunteers answered many thought-provoking questions from curious attendees.

It was moving to see the generosity of people who shared their eclipse glasses so that everybody had the chance to safely view the eclipse with the naked eye (in addition to seeing it through telescopes and pinhole cameras).

The Iowa City Press-Citizen covered the event before it happened, and KWWL after (below)! In this segment, you can spot Conrad Bendixen, sciences reference and digital services librarian, adjusting a telescope to keep the sun in view as it moves across the sky (see Conrad at 1:39).

The Sciences Library would like to take this time to thank all the volunteers from the UI Libraries and the Department of Physics and Astronomy. And thank you to everyone who turned out to experience this rare occurrence with us!

Image Gallery

The Sciences Library is offering new spring workshops. Attend to learn how to compare gene sequences, use Sciwheel or EndNote reference management software, navigate scientific papers more effectively, find math literature, set up an ORCiD identifier, or explore ornithological treasures in the library’s collection. 

All workshops can be attended in person or virtually. 

Endnote Desktop for Scientists
Thursday, Feb. 22, 11–11:50 a.m.
Sciences Library Room 102 or Zoom
Set up an EndNote Desktop account and get started using it. For staff, professionals, and graduate students. Come to the Sciences Library or register for Zoom.

Endnote Basic for Scientists
Thursday, Feb. 29, 11–11:50 a.m.
Sciences Library Room 102 or Zoom
Set up an EndNote Basic account and get started using it, including exporting references to BibTeX. Come to the Sciences Library or register for Zoom.

Strategies to Read a Scientific Article
Thursday, March 7, 1–1:50 p.m.
Sciences Library Room 102 or Zoom
Learn strategies to navigate and better understand scientific articles in this workshop. Come to the Sciences Library or register for Zoom.

BLAST: Comparing Gene Sequences
Thursday, March 21, 1–1:50 p.m.
Sciences Library Room 102 or Zoom
Arrange gene sequences in pairwise alignment and determine how they compare to one another. Come to the Sciences Library or register for Zoom.

ORCiD: Open Researcher and Contributer ID
Thursday, March 28, 11–11:50 a.m.
Sciences Library Room 102 or Zoom
What is ORCiD? In this workshop, learn the benefits of setting one up, and how to do it. Come to the Sciences Library or register for register for Zoom.

MathSciNet
Thursday, April 4, 11–11:50 a.m.
Sciences Library Room 102 or Zoom
Delve into MathSciNet, the database for mathematics literature. Come to the Sciences Library or register for Zoom.

Sciwheel: Peruse Article Recommendations
Thursday, April 18, 1–1:50 p.m.
Sciences Library Room 102 or Zoom
Use Sciwheel to organize your references, receive article suggestions, and more. Come to the Sciences Library or register for Zoom.

Kent Ornithology Collection: Learning All About Birds
Thursday, April 25, 1–1:50 p.m.
Sciences Library Room 102 or Zoom
Discover delight from this collection of over 250 books about birds at the Sciences Library. Come to the Sciences Library or register for Zoom.

The workshops can also be found on the new Sciences Library workshops guide.

Think. Check. Submit. “aims to educate researchers, promote integrity, and build trust in credible research and publications.”  Its valuable resources prompt researchers getting ready to publish to:

Think: Consider the suitability of the journal or publisher as the platform for your work. Is it right for your work in terms of scope and content?  Is the journal or publisher trustworthy and will you want to be affiliated with them?   

Check: Use the journals or the books and chapters checklist to guide you through a systematic assessment of a journal or publisher.  The lists include items about the publisher’s transparency around:

• author guidelines
• fees
• peer review process
• copyright and licensing policies
• contact information

They also remind you to check things like where a journal is indexed; if it has a clear archiving and preservation policy; and, if the publisher is a current member of recognized industry initiatives like the Directory of Open Access Journals or the Open Access Scholarly Publishers’ Association.

Submit: Submit your manuscript only when and if you can answer yes to the checklist questions.

For more information or help with finding the best place to publish your research, reach out to your librarian. 

We’ve made it easy with our new map! Find the location of the Math Collection on floor 2, or the latest issues of our print math journals (the current math periodicals) on floor 3. 

Remember, not all the UI math books are in the Math Collection

Math books can also be found other UI libraries. The library and shelf location of every print book is listed in its record in InfoHawk+. Places you’ll see associated with math books in InfoHawk+ include:

Main Library Math*

• A book with this location before its call number is in the Math Collection in the Main Library.

Main Library Stacks*

• A book with this location is in the Main Library, but not in the Math Collection. See the map!

*If you see the word FOLIO after either of these locations, that tells you that the book is big, and for space efficiency’s sake it will be in a slightly different part of the library than the books without FOLIO. See the map for the exact locations.  

Engineering Library Stacks

• The largest group of math books outside the Main Library is housed in the Engineering Library, located in Seamans Center across the road from MacLean Hall. All books in that library are on its lower level.

Sciences Library Stacks

• The QA (math) books in the Sciences Library are located on floor 2.

Hardin Library for the Health Sciences Stacks

• This library is currently undergoing renovation and book locations are shifting. Ask library staff for help finding items.

Library Annex

• Only annex staff can access this location. Books housed here must be delivered to users by request.

Book Delivery

Most books in InfoHawk+ can be delivered to a different library or location for pickup. Options are a library, an office mailbox, or a remote address. To request delivery, sign into your account, then indicate your preferred pickup location.

Browsing e-Books

Of course, we have many math books that are available online, too. You can browse through what we have in InfoHawk+ by typing in keywords related to the topics you’re interested in, then filtering (on the left side of the screen) to “Full Text Online” under Availability, and “Books” under Resource Type. To access the books you find, log in and follow the appropriate links through InfoHawk+. 

Browsing e-Journals with BrowZine

We also have a terrific tool that lets you browse all the latest issues of the math journals we subscribe to electronically instead of (or in addition to) print. The tool is called BrowZine.  BrowZine lets you look at the tables of contents of recent journal issues, and open any interesting articles, or save them for later. You can even set up a virtual bookshelf with your favorite journals and get notifications when new issues are published. 

Log in and set up an account here: https://login.proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/login?url=https://browzine.com  

BrowZine is also available as an app for phone or tablet: https://thirdiron.com/download-browzine/ 

If you like both versions, you can sync your account between the two.

We hope you enjoy browsing the UI math books and periodicals!

Join us outside (weather permitting) in front of the Sciences Library along Iowa Ave on Tuesday, December 12 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm of Final Exams Week for scientific-themed songs, treats, and beverages. All are welcome!

• Listen or join in on science songs such as Deck the Labs, The Twelve Days of Biology, and Frosty the Photon!
• Enjoy cookies and warm apple cider while supplies last.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact the Sciences Library at 319-335-3083 or lib-sciences@uiowa.edu.

The UI Pre-PA club is partnering with CommUnity Crisis Services and the food bank to do a food drive through the month of October. Bins are open for food donations at the Sciences Library. Non-perishable donations such as rice and pasta, canned meat, and baby formula are encouraged.

Here is a full list of the donation items needed:

1. Financial donations 
2. Canned fruit in juice
3. Peanut butter 
4. Canned meat 
5. Baby diapers
6. Baby formula 
7. Rice and pasta 
8. Hearty soups and stews 
9. Toilet paper 
10. Laundry detergent 

Tree talk and tour

Join Arborist Andy Dahl for a talk the about trees growing on the University of Iowa campus, followed by a walking tour of campus trees.  

• Where? Meet on the 3rd floor of the Sciences Library, 120 Iowa Ave.
• When? Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 1 p.m.

Exhibit and competition

Visit the Historic Trees of the University of Iowa Campus Exhibit and enter our Tree Trivia Competition.  Winners will be given a small prize and entered into the grand prize, a copy of the book That Tree by Mark Hirsch. 

• Where? Sciences Library, 120 Iowa Ave.
• When? The exhibit and contest are open through Friday, October 20, 2023.

These events are free and open to the public.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the program, please contact Laurie Neuerburg at 319-467-0216 or laurie-neuerburg@uiowa.edu.