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Database Highlights & Trials, Libraries, Science

JoVE Offers FREE Access through June 15

In response to the significant impact COVID-19 is having on the educational community, JoVE is providing FREE access to their STEM education video library collection through June 15. While this access does not include all of JoVE’s content, it does include access to the following:

  • JoVE Core – a video textbook that isolates and visually presents core concepts in Biology and Social Psychology to improve learning comprehension.
  • JoVE Science Education – a collection of simple, easy-to-understand video demonstrations in eight STEM fields
  • Lab Manual – comprehensive, curriculum focused videos for introductory biology lab courses

In order to obtain access, you must use your St. Thomas email address to create an individual JoVE account. Go to https://www.jove.com/ and click the “Log In” link at the top of the page and then hit the “Sign Up” button that is provided. From there you can save the login/password info to your browser or simply re-enter when returning to the JoVE site.

This free access is open to all St. Thomas students, faculty, and staff. Please contact Research & Instruction Librarian, Karen Brunner (brun4952@stthomas.edu), with any questions.

Database Highlights & Trials, Science

A New PubMed is Here!

The new year includes a new PubMed. Don’t worry, it will continue to be the go-to biomedical database with over 30 million citations and growing daily. But gone is the clunky, 1990s-esque database look; in its place the National Library of Medicine promises a modern interface with intuitive search features and responsive design to improve the mobile experience.

Here’s a quick overview of some key features that you rely on for searching, as well as for saving and sharing your results:

  1. The default sort order of results is now Best Match. Best Match uses an algorithm based on several relevance factors. You can choose to toggle results to a Most Recent sort.
  2. Use the Results by Year graph to see trends in literature over time or to refine your search results by publication year.
  3. Use the filters along the left to meet your research needs.
  4. Save your search results to a file, email your results, or send your results to a clipboard. Please note: if you previously had an NCBI account, it will continue to work in the new PubMed (so if you previously saved searches and/or results–they will still be there!).

While Legacy PubMed is still currently available, it will eventually be retired (though no official end date has been announced). The St. Thomas Libraries encourage you to familiarize yourself with the new interface. For the best search experience, please remember to always access PubMed from the St. Thomas Libraries page.

In the meantime, if you have questions or need help with the new PubMed, please contact reference librarian Karen Brunner (brun4952@stthomas.edu).

Libraries, Media/Music Collections, Science

Investment in the Cultivated Future  (on Video)

Take a journey to the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway with two fascinating documentaries. The “Doomsday Vault” as it’s often known, is a seed bank which houses over 900,000 seeds. It serves as backup storage to as much of the world’s cultivation as possible to prevent humanity from losing plant life in the event of environmental catastrophe. Get an in-depth look at the controversy of seed ownership versus the investment in the greater good from the illuminating documentary Seed Battles. Cary Fowler, American agriculturalist and former executive director of the Crop Trust, hosts.

For extra insight on the reasons behind the creation of the vault, watch the 60 Minutes special on The Doomsday Vault. Journalist Scott Pelley travels to the seed bank with Cary Fowler and discusses the world-wide attempts to reserve plant diversity.

If you’re looking for more about efforts to preserve and control the future of seeds and farming, check out these physical titles in the Music and Media Collections.

Seeds of Time is a feature length documentary following Cary Fowler and his continuing struggles to preserve genetic diversity. Here, he travels beyond Svalbard to save the world’s most vulnerable seed vaults.  SB123.3 .S44 2014 DVD

GMO OMG takes a provocative approach to the ethics of genetically modified food and the agricultural giant Monsanto. Filmmaker Jeremy Seifert questions what GMO food is and who will control food production in the future. TP248.65.F66 G6 2014 DVD

In her documentary The Future of Food Deborah Koons Garcia investigates patented seeds, GMOs, and sustainable agricultural options. Our 2-disc set features additional interviews, farmer portraits, and a guide to seed saving. TP248.65.F66 F8 2004 DVD

Please stop by and check out these fascinating titles! Find us in the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library to the far right of main circulation desk.

By Sarah Pavey

Libraries, Media/Music Collections, New Materials, Science

Animal Welfare on Video

The Cove is an eye-opening 2009 documentary that follows Ric O’Barry and other activists on their mission to stop the brutal capture and killing of dolphins in Taiji, Japan and throughout the cetacean hunting business. A remarkable crew of filmmakers and free-divers travel to Taiji to capture footage of the annual slaughter, to the dissatisfaction of both local and global fishing authorities. This controversial film won many awards including an Oscar and a Sundance Film Festival award for its efforts in the fight to save dolphins the world over.
SH387 .C6 2009 DVD

The 2013 Canadian documentary The Ghosts in Our Machine follows photojournalist and animal activist Jo-Anne McArthur as she navigates through the ethical dilemmas of the fur trade, animal testing, and the cattle industry. Using photography, McArthur focuses on the animals’ experience to draw attention to her cause. View this title on the streaming site Docuseek!

2008 PBS documentary Chimpanzees: An Unnatural History examines the cruel history of experimentation and exploitation of our closest animal relative. From circuses and the space race to HIV/Aids testing, chimpanzees have been captured by humans since the mid-1800s. Writer and director Allison Argo narrates this award-winning feature documentary about the future of these intelligent creatures and their lives in sanctuaries in the US and Canada.
QL737.P96 C4 2007 DVD

For nearly 60 years orcas have been captured and trained by humans. But only since the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010 has the practice of keeping orcas in captivity been viewed with a more critical eye. The gripping 2013 documentary Blackfish tackled the issue head on. Despite the surrounding controversy, the film was nominated and won several awards for best documentary. Orca entertainment shows are scheduled to end at SeaWorld’s parks in Florida and Texas sometime in 2019.
SF408.6.K54 B5 2013 DVD

In the moving documentary Love and Bananas actress and director Ashley Bell goes on a 500 mile rescue mission across Thailand to give Noi Nah, a blind 70-year old elephant, her freedom. Critically endangered Asian elephants like Noi Na are often used for logging and kept in trekking camps where tourists can ride them. Because they are not domesticated animals like dogs, their spirits are broken as calves in a torturous device known as the “crush box.” Dedicated and passionate conservationist Sangdeaun Lek Chailert, a “Hero of Asia”, leads the harrowing 48-hour journey to her elephant sanctuary.
DS 563.5 .L68 2018 DVD

By Sarah Pavey 

Archbishop Ireland Library, Charles J. Keffer Library, Libraries, Media/Music Collections, News & Events, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library, Science

Neuroscience DVDs


Get a closer look at the brain with some neuroscience DVDs in the Music and Media Collections. We’re on the first floor of the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library to the right of the Main Circulation Desk. Please feel free to step in and look around!

Brain Story: New Frontiers in Brain Research is a six part series featuring research by neuroscientist Dr. Susan Greenfield. Outstanding 3D graphics bring the brain to life as you learn about the deep complexities of the human brain. Each 50-minute section of this BBC production focuses on a different aspect of the brain, utilizing study from biology, linguistics, and psychology.
QP 376 .B73 2003 pt. 1-6 DVD

In the 2015 PBS production The Brain, neuroscientist David Eagleman takes you on a journey through the wonders of the human brain. Through this six part series, he addresses big questions about humanity with a unique combination of personal stories and innovative special effects.
QP 376 .B365 2015 disc 1-2 DVD

If you’re looking for a more technical approach, check out Discovering the Human Brain: New Pathways to Neuroscience. Dr. Susan Bookheimer uses the resources of UCLA’s Brain Mapping Center to illustrate the history of neuroscience. She charts the development of our understanding of the brain from the reliance on autopsies in the past to our use of MRI machines today.
QP 385 .D57 2007 DVD

 

By Sarah Pavey

Libraries, Media/Music Collections, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library, Science

Wild Animals on Video

Summer is a great time to learn about the lives of animals. Here are three selections you will find in the Music and Media Collections on the first floor of the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library.

Bat City USA is a short film by Laura Brooks documenting the struggle to save a Mexican Free-tailed bat colony in Austin, Texas. Merlin Tuttle, one of the world’s leading experts on bats, leads the charge, working tirelessly to save the colony from extermination.
Call #: QL 737 .C54 B3 2013 DVD

For a quick look at a slow-moving creature, watch Hanging with the Sloth. This 30-minute documentary gives an in-depth look at this unique and highly specialized mammal as well as its conservation.
Call #: QL 737 .E22 H3 2006 DVD

Cracking the Koala Code is an eye-opening documentary that dispels so many myths about this fascinating marsupial. Watch the koalas grapple with the urbanization of Brisbane, Australia, and learn about their communication and social structure.
Call #: QL 737 .M384 C7 2012 DVD

By Sarah Pavey

Libraries, Media/Music Collections, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library, Science

Octopus Hunt Video


If you’re looking for an underwater adventure The National Film Board of Canada is a great place to start. Bernard Devlin’s 1965 short documentary Octopus Hunt follows a zoological expedition to capture an octopus specimen for the Vancouver aquarium. Or, dive into a feature-length documentary like St. Lawrence: Stairway to the Sea and watch famed French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau explore the Great Lakes.

https://www.nfb.ca/film/octopus_hunt/
https://www.nfb.ca/film/st_lawrence_stairway_to_the_sea/

Additionally, our DVD collection boasts some stunningly filmed documentaries about life under the sea.  BBC Earth’s Great Barrier Reef doesn’t just capture the beauty of this natural environment but examines how it functions and the delicate balance that keeps this incredible ecosystem alive. For a wider look at the ocean, Visions of the Sea features Al Giddings’ remarkable underwater photography and an innovative soundtrack as you learn more about the world beneath us.

Great Barrier Reef: QE566 .G7 G7 2013 DVD
Visions of the Sea: QH91 .V57 2009 DVD

By Sarah Pavey

Archbishop Ireland Library, Charles J. Keffer Library, Libraries, Media/Music Collections, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library, Science

Docuseek2 Streaming Video

As winter in Minnesota drags on, many of us are hoping for warmth and sun. If you’re looking to explore exotic lands without leaving the comfort of your dorm, the video streaming service Docuseek2 is a great place to start. Travel the world and the see people and cultures from around the globe through documentaries on art & architecture, anthropology & archaeology, cultural & ethnic studies, environment, geography, social studies, and world regions. Ranging from quick informational videos that are only a few minutes long to feature-length documentary films,  Docuseek2 has a great variety of documentary and social issues films.


As winter in Minnesota drags on, many of us are hoping for warmth and sun. If you’re looking to explore exotic lands without leaving the comfort of your dorm, the video streaming service Docuseek2 is a great place to start. Travel the world and the see people and cultures from around the globe through documentaries on art & architecture, anthropology & archaeology, cultural & ethnic studies, environment, geography, social studies, and world regions. Ranging from quick informational videos that are only a few minutes long to feature-length documentary films,  Docuseek2 has a great variety of documentary and social issues films.

By Sophia Wolf

English, Libraries, Media/Music Collections, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library, Science

Ambrose Video Collection

The Ambrose Video Collection has over 400 titles available for streaming for students, faculty, and staff at UST. It covers the subject areas of American history, American literature, world history, ancient history, geology, biology, theology, art, sciences, and all the Shakespeare plays that were produced by the BBC.

Below are a few suggested titles that show the broad range of media available from streaming through The Ambrose Video Collection:

Julius Caesar: Watch this classic Shakespeare play come to life through the work of BBC Productions. Julius Caesar is a highly ambitious political leader in Rome whose aim is to become dictator. Caesar is assassinated due to the plotting of Marcus Brutus and Cassius, who meet their inevitable defeat and plunge the country into civil war.

Glaciers: The most powerful geologic force on the planet – glaciers. Glaciers can dominate an entire continent or reshape a continent’s surface features in the blink of a geologic eye. All the spectacular mountain peaks that inspire us have been shaped by glaciers. This thirty-minute short documentary includes interviews with leading glacial experts from around the country.

Great African American Authors: 1761-1901: From pre-Revolutionary War poetry and sermons, to anti-Civil War slave narratives, to Jim Crow Era segregation and discrimination issues, the Civil Rights period, to the Black Artists movement and to the Black New Wave of the 21st Century, this breakthrough eight-part series, Great African American Authors, tells the amazing story of the evolution of the African American literary tradition in the United States. This first section celebrates authors born out of slavery and the African oral tradition who gave voice to the struggles of African Americans in the early days of this nation. Program one examines the beginning of African American Literature through the authors Jupiter Hammon, Phillis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass, Paul Laurence Dunbar and Booker T. Washington.

By Sophia Wolf