Library Blogs

In the UMich Research Data Services (RDS) group, we see and work with all sorts of data. One particularly thorny variety is netCDF. In Deep Blue Data, we have been getting regular deposits of data in this format, and we didn't know much about it. We had many questions how do we open it, what's its structure, how do researchers create these files and why can the size vary so widely from 100s of MBs to 100s of GBs or even TBs? Jake Carlson, Director of RDS, and I hashed out the idea of creating "profiles" for file formats as quick reference resources for RDS as well as others in the data curation field to help us do our jobs more easily and consistently. So, we thought we'd pilot this idea by creating a “Data Curation Format Profile” (DCFP) for netCDF data files since it seemed like an interesting file format and we were likely to get more of them in the future.

The Special Collections Research Center is continuing its new open house series, Special Collections After Hours, and this time we're getting ready for Halloween! Join us to see the Skeletons in Our Closets on Tuesday, October 9.

Part two outlining our findings after discovering some moldy floppy disks.

The Special Collections Research Center is pleased to announce a new exhibit celebrating the work of Michigan poet David Cope. Drawing on drafts, proofs, and other documents from Cope's archive, this exhibit offers a glimpse into his poetic and editorial process. The exhibit will remain on view through November 30, 2018 in our gallery space on the 6th floor of Hatcher Graduate Library (South), adjacent to the Reading Room.

We'd like to share the details about a video game-related talk happening in the library next week: This presentation is an exploration of the intersections of video game building, meaningful learning, Indigenous and Western cultures through relation-oriented ontologies - rather than aspect- or object- oriented ones. From the tech that is used to the land and waters the event is hosted on - these connections matter, weaving networks of relations across digital and physical heterotopic borders.

The Fire is the sequel to The Eight, one of my favorite books of all time (see my previous review). Both books tell the story of the quest for a legendary chess set that once belonged to Charlemagne, and which holds a secret of enormous power. The quest is played out as a chess game with the characters as pieces. The Fire takes place thirty years after The Eight, when the daughter of the heroine of The Eight finds out that the deadly game has begun again.

Over the next few months, we'll be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Computer & Video Game Archive. To help kick off the celebrations, we've decided to create a poll on our bulletin board that provides a place for archive users to share their favorite memories. The questions ask "What is your favorite memory of the CVGA?" and "What is your first memory playing video games?"

This fascinating adventure-fantasy tells the story of the quest for a legendary chess set once owned by Charlemagne, which contains the key to a dangerous and powerful secret. The quest is carried out by two brave, intelligent heroines in two different time periods: the French Revolution and the 1970s, and the novel is told in alternating chapters so it is structured like a spiral or figure 8. The Eight can be considered a predecessor of The Da Vinci Code, but in my opinion it is much better written. In fact, it is one of my favorite novels of all time.

This summer Asia Library hosted a workshop and made plans to celebrate its 70-year history.

Lewis Barnavelt, a ten-year-old orphan, comes to live with his Uncle Jonathan in a 19th century house in a town which is a fictionalized version of Marshall, Michigan. He finds that his uncle and his next-door neighbor, Mrs. Zimmermann, are wizards, and that the house has a clock buried in its walls, counting down the minutes until the end of the world. Will Lewis, his uncle, and their friend be able to stop the clock in time? This mystery/horror story is perfect for children and people of all ages.