With the 2018 FIFA World Cup well under way, students and staff have been convening in Briscoe Library’s The Hub to watch each match. On days of the big games, the usually subdued library becomes a bustling, vibrant gathering place with cheers and boos from students rooting for both sides.
While the World Cup will come to an end this weekend, The Hub will continue to show sports games, news, and other TV shows every day. Stop by anytime, we’re open 24/7!
Construction has been completed in preparation for the new fresh food and coffee vending area on the 3rd floor of Briscoe Library. The area has been completely renovated with new electrical, plumbing, walls, and floors. The vending machines, which will include a coffee machine and two fresh food machines, are expected to be installed and ready to go in August.
No matter the weather or time of day or night, you’ll soon be able to grab a quick bite without having to leave the comfort of the library. We’ll not only leave a light on for you, we’ll prepare dinner too!
Dana Whitmire, Electronic Resources Librarian, has accepted an appointment as secretary of the Council of Research and Academic Libraries (CORAL). CORAL is a consortium of libraries in the greater San Antonio area that promotes cooperative programming, collaboration, and professional development. Additionally, CORAL provides a forum for librarians to discuss issues and trends in the realm of information literacy.
Briscoe Library will soon be introducing a chat service which will allow you to chat directly with a librarian. The chat will be managed during our regular on call hours (10 AM – 4 PM). Keep an eye out for the orange chat button on the bottom right of each page of the library’s website. When a librarian is available for chat, the button will display “Chat Now”. When offline, you will have the option to submit your question through an online form (all questions will be answered during on call hours) or search for your answer in our LibGuides with the “Ask Us” button.
We will provide more information when the chat service is available!
Briscoe Library now has access to three Taylor & Francis journal packages through the University of Texas System Digital Libraries (UTSDL) consortium. Access begins with 1998 and includes:
Medical package (206 titles)
Including Journal of Interprofessional Care
Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine
Science & Technology package (537 titles)
Social Science & Humanities package (1,445 titles)
This month’s historical book selection is The Anatomy of Melancholy, What it is, with all the kinds, causes, symptoms, prognostics & several cures of it. Philosophically, Medicinally, Historically opened & cut up, by Robert Burton [Democritus Junior] (1576-1640). Initially published in 1621, Burton edited and augmented four subsequent editions, and packed his psychological tome with a mix of humor, popular 17th century theory, and boundless lists of symptoms, causes, remedies, and cures for the mysterious “black-hole”.
Ironically, The Anatomy of Melancholy has its share of whimsy. Burton’s notable sense of humor is initially revealed by his choice of pen name, Democritus Junior. The first Democritus (c. 460 B.C.E. – c. 370 B.C.E.) is known as the laughing philosopher, and Burton’s comic wit is evident throughout his writing, especially in the satirical preface: Democritus to the Reader.
Burton himself was a vicar, mathematician, and philologist. He reportedly wrote to help sort through his own personal fight with melancholy. However, he “increased it to such a degree, that nothing could make him laugh, but going to the bridge-foot and hearing the ribaldry of the bargemen, which rarely failed to throw him into a violent fit of laughter”.
Burton’s work is heavily referenced with Latin, French, Greek, and biblical citations, eager to provide evidence for his ruminations. Within his myriad of divergent contemplations, he examines the relationship between depression and love, beauty, geography (including hot countries prone to jealousy), anatomy of the body and soul, bloodletting and the horse-leech, diet, digestion, drink, bad air, idleness, shame, disgrace, scholarly melancholy, and even cause from an undesirable wet nurse.
Visit the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library to experience firsthand our treasured 1632 edition of this classic tour de force. Get a closer look at the detailed frontispiece and read Burton’s interesting interpretations for each illustrated compartment in “The Argument of the Frontispiece”. If you would like to check out a facsimile of this hefty book, there is a copy in the circulating stacks on the fourth floor.
For more information on the collections of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library, contact us via email: special collections@uthscsa.edu
Source:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/democritus/
Diane Fotinos, MLIS student
For a list of the newest titles at the Briscoe Library click here.
Purchase suggestions?
Complete the online Purchase Suggestion Form or contact
Andrea N. Schorr, Head of Resource Management.