Monday, February 15, 2016

Virtual Reality from a Cardboard Box: Assemble a Viewer for your Smartphone at the TEC Lab!

Have you wanted to experience virtual reality using just your smartphone and some cardboard?  Now you can! Using a Google Cardboard viewer and a free app on your phone, you can watch 360 degree videos and interact with immersive 3D environments.  

Come to the TEC Lab on Tuesday, March 8, between noon and 2:00pm.  We will supply free Google Cardboard viewers to the first 15 attendees, assemble them, and show you how to experience this growing VR world of free videos and images.  We will also have some other types of viewers on hand for you to try.  No smartphone?  That's OK - we'll have some iPod Touch devices on hand for you to use.

Remember, if you attend two or more of our TEC Lab workshops and speaker events in Spring 2016, you will be entered in a drawing for a Kindle Fire tablet.

All are welcome to attend. Please drop by at any time during the two hour workshop.


The 3Doodler: Create With This HandHeld 3D Printer at the TEC Lab!

With the 3Doodler, you can easily create items from plastic filament by moving your hand!  The pen-like 3Doodler allows you to control where you "draw" an item and its shape and size.

The Gardner-Harvey Library TEC Lab has several 3Doodlers and 3D pens, and many colors of filament.  Come to our workshop on Wednesday, March 2, any time between noon and 2:00pm to learn how to use them.  You'll gain experience and you can walk away with your own created item!

Remember,  if you attend two or more of our TEC Lab workshops and speaker events in Spring 2016, you will be entered in a drawing for a Kindle Fire tablet.

Also, between March 2 and March 9, the TEC Lab is holding a 3Doodler contest!  Stop in at any time during the week following the workshop to create your entry.  A prize will be given to the best doodled item.

All are welcome to attend. Please drop by at any time during the two hour workshop, or at any time the library is open to participate in the contest.

3Doodler and its box

3Doodlers on a table

Learn About Writing and Publishing From Author Kathy Merman

Join MUM English instructor Dr. Kathy Merman at the Gardner-Harvey Library on Monday, March 14 from 2:30pm-3:30pm.

Dr. Merman will share her insights on the writing process and offer guidance for getting published.  Her suggestions are drawn from her experiences publishing in print and online, including her novel, Wooden Dice.

Join us in the Blue Chairs Area in the Library.  Light refreshments will be served.  All are welcome to attend.

MUM Book Discussion Title for February

The MUM Book Discussion group will next meet on Tuesday, February 23 to discuss Paula McLain's work Circling the Sun.  We will meet at 12 pm in STAR Lounge 2 in the Library. 

Here is a brief summary of the title, along with links to request the book from Miami, OhioLINK, and SearchOhio libraries (Just click "Request" and choose "Miami University" from the dropdown list.  Then enter your UniqueID and password, and the library from which you would like to retrieve the item):  

"Circling the Sun brings to life a fearless and captivating woman--Beryl Markham, a record-setting aviator caught up in a passionate love triangle with safari hunter Denys Finch Hatton and Karen Blixen, author of the classic memoir Out of Africa. Brought to Kenya from England as a child and then abandoned by her mother, Beryl is raised by both her father and the native Kipsigis tribe who share his estate. Her unconventional upbringing transforms Beryl into a bold young woman with a fierce love of all things wild and an inherent understanding of nature's delicate balance. But even the wild child must grow up, and when everything Beryl knows and trusts dissolves, she is catapulted into a string of disastrous relationships."


Give it a read, or read something else interesting and come along to our discussion.  Share what else you've been reading/watching/listening to/experiencing, and help us plan our future readings.

Have an idea for a book to discuss?  Let us know and check out our page of past and future reads at http://www.mid.muohio.edu/library/bookdiscussion.htm

Friday, February 05, 2016

New Books Added in January at the Gardner-Harvey Library

See our new materials list of items we added to the collection in January! We added 48 books, e-books, DVDs, and other items during that time, thanks to your selections and suggestions. The list is sorted by call number, with items grouped roughly by subject area.

This tag will show you all of the prior lists of new materials, in reverse chronological order. We are eager to hear from you about individual items you would like us to buy, or types of items we should be on the lookout for, or general subject areas we should build up in the collection. Your input will help us keep the collection working well for 2015/16 and beyond!

If you have a suggestion of something to order, please use our "Tell GHL to Buy It" form, email Jennifer Hicks (hicksjl2@miamioh.edu), or drop by the library with your request. And pass your general suggestions or comments about the collection to us in those same ways.

Thanks again for keeping our collection vibrant and your information needs met!