October 2011

Book purchase suggestion for the sciences collection

31st October, 2011 ~ 1 comment

I would strongly recommend purchase of the following book:

BOOK INFORMATION:

Infinite Words: Automata, Semigroups, Logic and Games
By Dominique Perrin & Jean-Éric Pin
Volume 141 of the Pure and Applied Mathematics series
Hardbound, 550 Pages
Published: FEB-2004
ISBN 10: 0-12-532111-2
ISBN 13: 978-0-12-532111-2
Imprint: ACADEMIC PRESS

http://www.elsevierdirect.com/product.jsp?isbn=9780125321112

JUSTIFICATION:

I strongly recommend purchase of this book because it is the only source out there that contains all the major results of the field thoroughly gathered in a single place, making it easy for someone new to the field to get up to speed on what is known without wading through tons of papers. Furthermore, the information contained in the book is very well presented and organized, so even if it were not the only book in its class it would be worth adding to the collection because of how well it treats the subject.

It is worth noting that I am writing this recommendation not as a specialist in the field of automata myself but actually as a quantum physicist, which demonstrates that this information is useful not only for narrow specialists within the field of formal language theory but for other diverse disciplines as well.

Request for a toxicology journal

31st October, 2011 ~ 1 comment

Dear Ms Lyons,
I wonder whether it would be possible, please, for the library to subscribe to the "Journal of Analytical Toxicology"? Mater has a NATA accredited drugs-of-abuse laboratory and we often want to access this journal.

With many thanks,
Janet Warner
Chemical Pathologist (Mater Hosp)

Biol library express printing

26th October, 2011 ~ 2 comments

Hi,

Would it be possible to enable more of the printers in the biol science library to allow for express printing?

Thanks

book returns

24th October, 2011 ~ 1 comment

Hi Library,
The computerised book return gizmo in SSH is too slow and spits back the books or has a hissy fit (eg "One moment please!"). Also, a colleague in the book return queue said that sometimes the gizmo doesnt record the book return and one has to go retrieve the book from the shelf and shove it through the gizmo again.

How about a traditional hole in the wall slot for those of us who have a load of books to return and do not want to wait for the precious gizmo to align its microchips?
Thanks!
mg

Biological Sciences purchase suggestions (2 books)

20th October, 2011 ~ 1 comment

Who's in Charge? Free Will and the Science of the Brain
Michael S. Gazzaniga Ecco: 2011. 272 pp. $27.99, £18.24
ISBN: 9780061906107

Thinking, Fast and Slow
Daniel Kahneman Allen Lane/Farrar, Straus and Giroux: 2011. 512 pp. £25/ $30
ISBN: 9780374275631

Reviewed here:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v478/n7369/full/478322a.html

Book purchase suggestion

19th October, 2011 ~ 3 comments

Introduction to statistical relational learning

Lise Getoor, Ben Taskar

MIT Press, 2007 - Computers - 586 pages

Nick Haslam, Introduction to Personality and Intelligence -

19th October, 2011 ~ 1 comment

ISBN 978-0-7619-6057

This is an excellent book for all mental health professionals who need to know about personality disorders as it explains in very comprehenisible manner all the theories on the development of personalities and their disorders. I would recommend it especially for our masters in mental health students and all the professional mental health service providers who work with clients who have personality disorders. Some of its chapters will be in our core reading list for both our PXMH7023 & PXMH7028 courses

Best regards!

Jacquie Robinson

The Biological Sciences Library

16th October, 2011 ~ 1 comment

Hello
The state of the Bio Sciences Library on the weekends is pretty average.
At the moment there is at least one large smelly bin that is overflowing with food and packaging on the floor, the ladies toilets have toilet paper all over the floor and most desks have crumbs and tissues on them (I also found a bandaid on mine today).
Clearly students should be careful to respect the facility, however maybe extra cleaning is required on the weekend due to its 24/7 nature. Even if wipes were provided for the desks that would be really helpful.
Thank you

A solution to the problem of noisy students in Quiet zones

14th October, 2011 ~ 1 comment

My experience tells me that no matter which library, time of day, undergraduate or postgraduate student, I continually observe students who cannot understand or are too arrogant to acknowledge 'QUIET STUDY' signage.

In the past at least, in public and school libraries patrons are reprimanded by library staff for breaking the rules. Libraries were once considered sacred quiet spaces. Perhaps we need to bring back these basic rules, or at least reeducate students?

While I understand the impracticalities of library staff policing the issue, I would like to make the suggestion of emailing all students (undergraduate & postgraduate) to explain what is meant 'Quiet study', and why it is critical to respect these sacred quiet spaces.