Month: May 2017

Celebrating 2017 GIS Contest Winners

Boston College Libraries proudly awarded prizes for the 8th Annual Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Poster Contest, April 26th, 2017 in the lobby of the O’Neill Library.

Boston College Libraries proudly awarded prizes for the 8th Annual Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Poster Contest, April 26th, 2017 in the lobby of the O’Neill Library.

This event highlights the ongoing library initiative to engage students in the use of GIS as an essential tool for research and data visualization. The contest is an opportunity to  meet and encourage  the talented, enthusiastic students as we recognize their research in topics such as environmental changes, food security and health issues.

The first place awards of a $100 Amazon Gift Card went to:

Samantha Dow, Geology/MCAS, graduate prize: “Mapping channel changes in glacial and legacy sediment reaches of the South River”.
Mary Stack, Geology/MCAS, undergraduate prize: “Farmer’s Markets in Massachusetts”.

Library Director, Tom Wall congratulates undergraduate Mary Stack, 1st prize winner. (Photo: Kevin Tringale, Exhibits Specialist)
Library Director, Tom Wall congratulates undergraduate Mary Stack, 1st prize winner.
(Photo: Kevin Tringale, Exhibits Specialist)
Scott Britton, AUL Public Services, with graduate winners Samantha Dow, 1st prize, and Shan Shan, 2nd prize. (Photo: Kevin Tringale, Exhibits Specialist)
Scott Britton, AUL Public Services, with graduate winners Samantha Dow, 1st prize, and Shan Shan, 2nd prize.
(Photo: Kevin Tringale, Exhibits Specialist)

The second place awards of a $50 Amazon Gift Card, went to:

Shan Shan, Sociology/MCAS, graduate prize: “Inquiring and Visualizing Large-Scale Space: Placing China’s Changing Urban Hierarchy from 1985 to 2010 Into Spatial System”.
Theresa L Rager, Biology/MCAS, undergraduate prize: ”Failing Provisions and Failing Hearts: The association between grocery store access and cardiovascular disease”.

The third place awards of a $25 Amazon Gift Card went to:

Rachel Piccolino, Psychology/MCAS, co-winner undergraduate prize: “Impact of Sexual Education on HPV Vaccination Rates”.
Lesley Lopez, Sociology/MCAS, co-winner undergraduate prize: “Smoking and Stroke Prevalence across the United States”.

Awards were based on map quality, use of GIS as a research tool and originality. Special consideration was given to topics depicting social implications of the research such as environmental issues.

Past winning posters can be found in the university Institutional Repository: eScholarship@BC, under the category Juried Student Work. The entries of our newest winners will join this distinguished group.

We ask faculty to encourage their students to enter next year’s contest. Look for details on GIS Day, which will be November 15th, 2017.

Our thanks go to contest judges: Rudolph Hon, Associate Professor, Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Constantin Andronache, Research Associate, Research Services, ITS, Enid Karr, Science Librarian and Barbara Mento, Data/GIS Librarian.

Selected Recent Acquisitions Purchased with Boston College Library Endowment Funds With Thanks to Our Donors

Early Arabic Printed Books from the British Library: Sciences, History & Geography (Gale)
A full-text, searchable, digital trove of early printed books in Arabic script, so that Boston College scholars no longer need to travel to London or Cairo to consult the original resources included. Purchase Funded by The Vincent A. Wasik Family Library Fund and The National Endowment for the Humanities Library Endowment
For more information:  Chelcie Rowell, Digital Scholarship Librarian and History Liaison, O’Neill Library, and Kimberly Kowal, Associate University Librarian for Digital Initiatives and Services, O’Neill Library

Citation Connection Databases Added to Web of Science Platform (Clarivate, formerly Thomson-Reuters)
Book Citation Index, Data Citation Index, Biosis Citation Index, Derwent Innovations Index, Current Chemical Reactions and Zoological Record and others. Purchase Funded by The Josephine E. Chiles ’03 Library Fund, The Grace C. Elbery Library Fund, The Class of 1927 Book Fund, The Class of 1933 Book Fund, The Class of 1934 Book Fund, and the National Endowment for the Humanities Endowment Fund.
For more information:  Sally Wyman, Head of Collection Development and Research Services, O’Neill Library

Latin American Newspapers, 1805-1922 (Readex)
Part of the World Newspaper Archive Collection, this title offers access to historic newspapers from more than 20 Latin American countries in Spanish, English and Portuguese. The newspapers are full-text and include editorials, obituaries, poetry, advertisements and more.  Purchase Funded by The Rubin and Sarah Garber Library Fund and The Yen-Tsai Feng-McNi Book Fund
For more information:  Julia Hughes, Bibliographer for African and African Diaspora Studies, Asian Studies, Government Documents, Islamic Civilization and Societies, Latin American Studies and PoliticalScience, O’Neill Library

International Encyclopedia of Public Health, 2nd ed.
Demography, behavior, ethics, methods and much more, this interdisciplinary resource benefits the new Global Public Health Program at Boston College, as well as courses offered by the Connell School of Nursing and the School of Social Work.
Purchase Funded by The Pope John XXI Library Fund
For more information:  Wanda Anderson, Nursing Librarian, O’Neill Library