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Book Bouquet: Periodic Table

Each week we look at a collection of a few books on a topic. You can explore the books on your own, or use them as a foundation for building a display in your library!

The periodic table of elements turns 150 this year! It is pretty amazing to think about the huge scientific advances made in such a short amount of time. This would be a wonderful display to set up in your library. Add all kinds of cool STEM books to encourage patrons to check out some excellent titles that may be exciting and interesting to them!

(As always: if you click on a link below, you can check out all the info from Amazon.com. And if you happen to buy a book, or anything else, on that trip to the store – CMLE gets a small percentage of Amazon’s profits: yay! Thanks in advance!)


The Periodic Kingdom: A Journey Into The Land Of The Chemical Elements,
by P. W. Atkins

Come on a journey into the heart of matter—and enjoy the process!—as a brilliant scientist and entertaining tour guide takes you on a fascinating voyage through the Periodic Kingdom, the world of the elements. The periodic table, your map for this trip, is the most important concept in chemistry. It hangs in classrooms and labs throughout the world, providing support for students, suggesting new avenues of research for professionals, succinctly organizing the whole of chemistry. The one hundred or so elements listed in the table make up everything in the universe, from microscopic organisms to distant planets. Just how does the periodic table help us make sense of the world around us? Using vivid imagery, ingenious analogies, and liberal doses of humor P. W. Atkins answers this question. He shows us that the Periodic Kingdom is a systematic place. Detailing the geography, history and governing institutions of this imaginary landscape, he demonstrates how physical similarities can point to deeper affinities, and how the location of an element can be used to predict its properties. Here’s an opportunity to discover a rich kingdom of the imagination kingdom of which our own world is a manifestation.

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements, by
Sam Kean

Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie’s reputation? And why is gallium (Ga, 31) the go-to element for laboratory pranksters?*

The Periodic Table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it’s also a treasure trove of adventure, betrayal, and obsession. These fascinating tales follow every element on the table as they play out their parts in human history, and in the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. THE DISAPPEARING SPOON masterfully fuses science with the classic lore of invention, investigation, and discovery–from the Big Bang through the end of time.

*Though solid at room temperature, gallium is a moldable metal that melts at 84 degrees Fahrenheit. A classic science prank is to mold gallium spoons, serve them with tea, and watch guests recoil as their utensils disappear.


Periodic Tales: A Cultural History of the Elements, from Arsenic to Zinc, by
Hugh Aldersey-Williams

Like the alphabet, the calendar, or the zodiac, the periodic table of the chemical elements has a permanent place in our imagination. But aside from the handful of common ones (iron, carbon, copper, gold), the elements themselves remain wrapped in mystery. We do not know what most of them look like, how they exist in nature, how they got their names, or of what use they are to us. Unlocking their astonishing secrets and colorful pasts, Periodic Tales is a passionate journey through mines and artists’ studios, to factories and cathedrals, into the woods and to the sea to discover the true stories of these fascinating but mysterious building blocks of the universe.

The Periodic Table: A Visual Guide to the Elements, by
Paul Parsons

As one of the most recognizable images in science, the periodic table is ingrained in our culture. First drawn up in 1869 by Dmitri Mendeleev, its 118 elements make up not only everything on our planet but also everything in the entire universe.

The Periodic Table looks at the fascinating story and surprising uses of each of those elements, whether solid, liquid or gas. From the little-known uses of gold in medicine to the development of the hydrogen bomb, each entry is accompanied by technical data (category, atomic number, weight, boiling point) presented in easy-to-read headers, and a colour coding system that helps the reader to navigate through the different groups of elements.

A remarkable display of thought-provoking science and beautiful photography, this guide will allow the reader to discover the world afresh.


The Periodic Table: A Very Short Introduction, by
by Eric Scerri

In this authoritative Very Short Introduction to the periodic table, Eric Scerri presents a modern and fresh exploration of this fundamental topic in the physical sciences, considering the deeper implications of the arrangements of the table to atomic physics and quantum mechanics. Scerri looks at the trends in properties of elements that led to the construction of the periodic table, and how the deeper meaning of its structure gradually became apparent with the development of atomic theory and quantum mechanics, so that physics arguably came to colonize an entirely different science, chemistry.


The Elements Book: A Visual Encyclopedia of the Periodic Table, by DK

2019 is the 150th anniversary of the periodic table, and this visual guide for children shows and explains every chemical element in dazzling detail. 

Kids can go on a visual tour of the 118 chemical elements of the periodic table, from argon to zinc, in this one awesome volume packed with incredible images and fascinating facts.

Cataloged by type, each element’s properties and atomic structure is explained. More than 1,000 full-color photographs showcase the natural forms of each element, as well as a wide range of unexpected everyday objects in which it is found, to make them relevant to a child’s world. How does a motorcycle utilize nitrogen? Which element can absorb harmful chemicals in water? Which famous landmark is made of copper? From hydrogen to sodium to nickel, kids will learn fun facts and be amazed.

Supporting STEM education initiatives and designed in DK’s signature visual style, The Elements Book brings the periodic table to life.

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Makerspace Bus Tour!!

Makerspace Bus Tour April 29, 2019 and photo of a bus

Check out this fun event coming up April 29, from 8:30 AM-3:45 PM! We are passing this along from the State Library Services, so don’t have more info about it than you see here. But CMLE members: We can provide you with a scholarship to cover expenses for continuing education programs such as this!

Are you interested in seeing how tinkerers, makers, and curious folk in Minnesota are incorporating tech and hands-on inquiry? ITEM is hosting a MakerSpace Bus Tour this spring! Join us as we visit different “flavors” of maker spaces around the metro area. Participants will have the chance to tinker, make connections, network, and talk to vendors about maker space ideas.

When: April 29

What time: 8:30 AM-3:45 PM

Where: Metro area

8:15 — Meet at Nicollet Middle School (Burnsville)

9:00-9:45 — Leonardo’s Basement

10:15-11:00 – Hennepin County Library — Minneapolis Central

11-12:00  — lunch at Minneapolis Central

12:30-1:15 – Create[space]

1:45-2:30 – Arlington Hills

3:00-3:45 – Nicollet Middle School (Burnsville, limit 40)

Registration:  http://mnitem.org/event-3267869

Cost: 

Tour + membership – $100.00

Tour at member rate plus one year membership. Save $10 off the usual membership dues of $60!

Tour only (current member) – $50.00

Tour only (non-member) – $60.00

Don’t wait – Space is limited!

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Article Recap: Transform the High School Library

Corning-Painted Post High School Library 1

This is an excerpt from a very interesting article from American Libraries – the home of the ALA where you can always find good info from the profession. We are sharing some useful programming info below, and you can read the entire article right here.

All the very cool programs below could be implemented in your library! If you want to chat about some ideas to get started we are here to help you with your planning so that programs meet the needs of your community. We have mini-grants available for your library, to help with some start-up money. And we can refer to you to some other great library people all around the CMLE system, in every kind of school library, who are already trying out different programs.

There are more than 200 school libraries across the twelve counties of CMLE’s system – and we want to help all of you to provide great services (and programs!) to your communities. Being part of a system means we can rely on each other to provide stronger and better resources than any library can alone. Yes: It’s good to be part of a team!

Innovative ways to get more students—and staff—engaged with your space

By Chiquita Toure

“…As the year went on, I realized that prioritizing relationships with students, teachers, staff members, administrators, and parents was the best way to resolve the issue of an underutilized space. I was reminded that the quiet school library no longer exists. The school library needs to take on a different role as it caters to present-day academic and social needs. The reality of low circulation cannot overrule the necessity of being a learning hub where student meets student, staff member meets staff member, staff member meets students, and community meets school.

“We can be seen as “the place to be” through transformational thinking. Here are some ideas for getting the community to see the school library differently:

Start a virtual book club. Social media is second nature to students. Take book club selections and prompts online, and encourage all members of the school community to participate in a digital discussion.

Host brown-bag lunch workshops. For example, in my first year I hosted a Women’s History Month–themed event at which I invited professional women in the community to speak about their careers while students ate lunch in the library.

Start a writing center. I was honored whenever students solicited my advice on writing personal essays, college applications, résumés, and informational reports. Consider forming a student-led writing center. At our school, Warrior Words, a literary publication featuring poetry, prose, opinion, and artwork, was born from this group.

Hold information literacy sessions. Teach students serious search strategies and how to dig into noteworthy databases. Show them how to handle the overload of information by focusing on research questions, not topics.

Bring in storytellers. Who says high schoolers are too old to enjoy a professional storyteller? Students learn the significance of spoken language and how to honor oral history from our cultural bearers.

Put on music. After purchasing a Bluetooth speaker for the library, I found that playing music—reggae, gospel, jazz, pop, and rap—while students gathered to chat, play cards, put puzzles together, and study was an effective strategy to get students to visit more often.

Promote the library to instructors. Market the school library as an open space where educators from different disciplines can meet to showcase interactive learning and share their course reading.

Are we meeting the needs of a new generation of school library users? As models of professional learning, we must be prepared to take the community to a higher level of engagement.

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The Cool Way This English Department Encourages Kids to Read!

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So many of our school libraries are designing fun and unique book displays to get students excited about reading. At this high school in Illinois, the whole English department got into it and decked out their entire hallway!

“When the students of Mundelein High School in Mundelein, Illinois returned to school from winter break there was something different about the hallways of the English department.

Six floor-to-ceiling vinyl prints of book covers had been installed while they were away in the hopes that it would encourage students to talk more about their reading life.”

See the pictures and rest of the article here!

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Training Tip: It’s Public Domain Day! Yay!!

January 1 is always Public Domain Day – a wonderful holiday for library people across the country!!

What is Public Domain Day? So happy you asked!

In the United States, our copyright laws are…restrictive. (Terrible. Run by Disney and other big corporations. These are other potential descriptors – but they are more reflective of my personal opinions. So I’m just going to say “restrictive” for our purposes here.)

They keep material out of the public domain for extended amounts of time. You can find out if any published materials are in the public domain, or whether they are protected by copyright, right here on this handy Digital Copyright Slider. A quick browse over this will show you whether the material you are looking at is available to use, or when it will enter the public domain. (It’s so handy!)

And this is a banner year for advocates of using copyrighted material! In 1998, we were supposed to get material from 1923 to use, after their 75-year copyright expired. Sadly, Congress decided that bowing to the corporate interests of companies such as Disney (gotta be worried about The Mouse!) was more important than sharing material freely with everyone. And they extended the protection on material from 1923 to 1977 for an additional 20 years.

But!! Here we are!! A mere NINETY-FIVE YEARS LATER!!  And for the first time in twenty years, we have some good stuff entering into the public domain!!

What does this mean to you?? Well, first off: all the books in this new classification can be shared at no cost, and with no restrictions, with your patrons. Check out Project Gutenberg for some great, FREE, access to all kinds of ebooks available in the public domain. Link to this on your website! Add them to your catalog! Download them and hand them out on street corners! It’s all perfectly legal!!!!

[*tossing handfuls of confetti around the office to celebrate*]

Movies can be shown to your patrons – anytime, as often as you want, and without a single permission slip or fee paid to anyone!!

Posters can be downloaded, printed, and put up all over the library, given away as prizes, or anything else that sounds fun to you!

And, okay, yes. This stuff is 95 years old. Star Wars will not enter the public domain until long after all of us are dead, so forget having access to that kind of stuff.

“Unfortunately, the fact that works from 1923 are legally available does not mean they are actually available. Many of these works are lost entirely or literally disintegrating (as with old films and recordings), evidence of what long copyright terms do to the conservation of cultural artifacts. For the works that have survived, however, their long-awaited entry into the public domain is still something to celebrate.”

But!!

There are a lot of good things here that you can share freely with your patrons now. You have heard of a lot of these, and there will be no sadness at all in sharing them with the public.

Here are a few things, from the Duke University Center for the Study of the Public Domain. (This is THE spot to go for copyright questions and education!)

Books:

 

Films:

Music:

  • Yes! We Have No Bananas, w.&m. Frank Silver & Irving Cohn
  • Charleston, w.&m. Cecil Mack & James P. Johnson
  • London Calling! (musical), by Noel Coward
  • Who’s Sorry Now, w. Bert Kalmar & Harry Ruby, m. Ted Snyder
  • Songs by “Jelly Roll” Morton including Grandpa’s Spells, The Pearls, and Wolverine Blues (w. Benjamin F. Spikes & John C. Spikes; m. Ferd “Jelly Roll” Morton)
  • Works by Bela Bartok including the Violin Sonata No. 1 and the Violin Sonata No. 2
  • Tin Roof Blues, m. Leon Roppolo, Paul Mares, George Brunies, Mel Stitzel, & Benny Pollack

Still from the Duke site:

What Could Have Been

“Works from 1923 are finally entering the public domain, after a 95-year copyright term. However, under the laws that were in effect until 1978, thousands of works from 1962 would be entering the public domain this year. They range from the books A Wrinkle in Time and The Guns of August, to the film Lawrence of Arabia and the song Blowin’ in the Wind, and much more. Have a look at some of the others. In fact, since copyright used to come in renewable terms of 28 years, and 85% of authors did not renew, 85% of the works from 1990 might be entering the public domain! Imagine what the great libraries of the world—or just internet hobbyists—could do: digitizing those holdings, making them available for education and research, for pleasure and for creative reuse.”

It’s a Wonderful Life, you guys!!!!

“It’s a Wonderful Public Domain. . . . What happens when works enter the public domain? Sometimes, wonderful things. The 1947 film It’s A Wonderful Life entered the public domain in 1975 because its copyright was not properly renewed after the first 28-year term. The film had been a flop on release, but thanks to its public domain status, it became a holiday classic. Why? Because TV networks were free to show it over and over again during the holidays, making the film immensely popular. But then copyright law reentered the picture. . . . In 1993, the film’s original copyright holder, capitalizing on a recent Supreme Court case, reasserted copyright based on its ownership of the film’s musical score and the short story on which the film was based (the film itself is still in the public domain). Ironically, a film that only became a success because of its public domain status was pulled back into copyright.”

And you know what?? I love that Robert Frost poem, darn it. I’m going to do what was a big violation of federal law, potentially resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, to do just two days ago.

I’m typing it all in here below.

Enjoy!

And take a moment to celebrate Public Domain Day in your own library!! Take time to educate your community members about copyright laws, to prevent them from getting into trouble. (And if we all get good and mad about it – maybe we can make some changes to the law, Disney’s well-paid fleets of lawyers and lobbyists be darned!)

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

By Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

 

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

 

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

 

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.