UWSP Libraries

The Geography of Genius : A Search for the World's Most Creative Places from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley By Eric Weiner  Call Number:  BF412 .W395 2016 Review from the New York Times Publisher's Description:   Travel the world with Eric Weiner, the New York Times bestselling author of The Geography of Bliss , as he journeys from Athens to Silicon Valley—and throughout history, too—to show how creative genius flourishes in specific places at specific times. In The Geography of Genius, acclaimed travel writer Weiner sets out to examine the connection between our surroundings and our most innovative ideas. He explores the history of places, like Vienna of 1900, Renaissance Florence, ancient Athens, Song Dynasty Hangzhou, and Silicon Valley, to show how certain urban settings are conducive to ingenuity. And, with his trademark insightful humor, he walks the same paths as the geniuses who flourished in these settings to see if the spirit of what i...

3D MODEL DESIGN FOR BEGINNERS Please join us for our next Library Labs   workshop!  Description:    Not a CAD expert but still wish to create your own 3D models to print? This hands-on workshop will introduce you to a variety of tools designed to make 3D file creation simple and fun.  Intended Audience:  Students/Faculty & Staff (Approved for SBE events credit) Date & Time:  Tuesday, May 3, 2016 at noon - 1:00 p.m. Location:  LRC 107 Register: Register here (free!) Presenter:   Matt Sonnenberg, IMC Assistant

“Wow, you must have lines of students waiting to use it!” said someone recently after learning the Library has a 3D printer. While there may not be lines waiting at the 3D printer, that statement does not accurately reflect the activity and creativity that we have seen from students inspired by 3D printing. Within days of the 3D printer arriving in the summer of 2014, our first student found the printer and presented his problem.  He had purchased an old Brownie camera, but it had a broken film spool. His solution? Use his 3D design skills to create and print his own spool.  Problem solved!     Our first student-created, 3D printed piece: a spool for a Brownie camera. Another student took on the daunting task of creating a 3D model of the entire UWSP campus. Working with Facilities Planning and the Disability and Assistive Technology Center, the Interior...

April 21 is Poem in Your Pocket Day. The Library is excited to share poetry around campus, and this year we our collaborating with our community partners, including the Portage County Public Library, the Arts Alliance of Portage County (now CREATE Portage County), The Store, and the Portage County Literacy Council. Read more about Poem in Your Pocket here.  

One Child : the Story of China's Most Radical Experiment By Mei Fong Call Number:  HB3654.A3 F66 2016 Review from the New York Times Publisher's Description :   An intimate investigation of the world’s largest experiment in social engineering, revealing how its effects will shape China for decades to come, and what that means for the rest of the world When Communist Party leaders adopted the one-child policy in 1980, they hoped curbing birth-rates would help lift China’s poorest and increase the country’s global stature. But at what cost? Now, as China closes the book on the policy after more than three decades, it faces a population grown too old and too male, with a vastly diminished supply of young workers. Mei Fong has spent years documenting the policy’s repercussions on every sector of Chinese society. In One Child , she explores its true human impact, traveling across China to meet the people who live with its consequences. Their stories reveal ...

Lit Up : One Reporter, Three Schools, Twenty-four Books that Can Change Lives   By David Denby   Call Number:  PN70 .D46 2016   Read a review from the New York Times   Publisher's Description :   A bestselling author and distinguished critic goes back to high school to find out whether books can shape lives.   It's no secret that millions of American teenagers, caught up in social media, television, movies, and games, don't read seriously-they associate sustained reading with duty or work, not with pleasure. This indifference has become a grievous loss to our standing as a great nation--and a personal loss, too, for millions of teenagers who may turn into adults with limited understanding of themselves and the world. Can teenagers be turned on to serious reading? What kind of teachers can do it, and what books? To find out, Denby sat in on a tenth-grade English class in a demanding New York public school for an entire a...