The USC Libraries' technical services staff will be conducting maintenance on the HOMER online catalog tonight starting at 11:00 p.m. We hope to make all HOMER services available again starting at 11:10 p.m. Watch Libwire and the USC Libraries' home page for updates.
If you can't make it to this year's ceremony, be sure to check out the live Webcast, starting at 7:30 p.m. PST. Watch screenwriter Eric Roth receive the Scripter Literary Achievement Award and hear from this year's winning writers. Crazy Heart, District 9, An Education, Precious Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, and Up in the Air are all in contention this year.
The libraries subscribe to the comprehensive Web of Science e-resource, which recently added two Conference Paper Citation Indexes. The Science and the Social Science & Humanities Conference Proceedings Citation Indexes cover 1990 to present. These add to the power of the Web of Science, especially when tracking citations. Check it out and see where your conference papers have been cited.
The USC Libraries recently began subscribing to the Lyell Collection, which covers all areas of geology. The e-resource was created in 2007 as part of the 200th anniversary of the Geological Society of London and named for 19th century geologist Charles Lyell. It includes a full-text archival collection with key journals, Special Publications, and Society book series dating back to volume one of all titles. You can use the e-resource to investigate the transactions of the Geological Society dating back to 1811.
The 22nd-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award will take place in Doheny Library on Saturday, February 6, 2010. Because of our preparations for the ceremony, the East Asian Library, the Los Angeles Times Reference Room, the Current Periodicals Reading Room, and the Hall of Honor will be closed starting at 4:00 p.m., Thursday, February 4, 2010. The entire building will close at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 6, and reopen at noon for normal operating hours on Sunday, February 7. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Traditionally contained in one leather-bound volume, the USC Libraries' Hacienda Manuscript has been digitized and is now available as a scanned digital document. The manuscript--dating from 1820s Mexico--is comprised of estate records and maps from the Hacienda Buenavista del Coxo, Opichán and adjacent lands co-owned by brothers Cayetano and Juan Quintero. The manuscript provides insight into the social status and economic conditions of this leading family of "hacendados" during the early to mid 19th century. You can view 266 high-resolution, color images from the manuscript in the USC Digital Library.
Conference Proceedings Citation Index, Science of Synthesis, and e-EROS are the latest additions to the USC Libraries databases. Conference Proceedings Citation Index helps researchers access published literature from the most significant conferences, symposia, seminars, colloquia, workshops, and conventions worldwide. Science of Synthesis is a reference work for preparative methods in synthetic chemistry produced by the collaborative efforts of chemists from both industry and academia. e-EROS is the online version of the critically acclaimed Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis, combining the complete text of the encyclopedia with sophisticated database features.
In a recent New York Times review of Rebecca Keegan's The Futurist: The Life and Films of James Cameron, Tom Shone describes how Cameron taught himself visual effects using dissertations and other free resources at the Cinematic Arts Library. Shone writes, "After the family moved to California, he got a job driving the hot-lunch truck for the Brea Olinda Unified School District and began scribbling plot ideas about blue people and bioluminescent planets while boning up on matte processes at the University of Southern California library. Then, in 1977, he saw 'Star Wars' and emerged seething: somebody had made his movie. 'That’s when I got busy,' he said."
The Atlantic Times, an English-language magazine based in Germany, recently published an article about novelist Lion Feuchtwanger's legacy in Los Angeles. Journalist Caroline Fetscher describes the architectural splendor of Villa Aurora--his former home in the Pacific Palisades--as well as USC's Feuchtwanger Memorial Library. She also speaks with artists currently in residence at Villa Aurora to learn how they are inspired by Feuchtwanger's legacy and experiences during his exile in Southern California.
Eric Roth has won the 2010 Scripter Literary Achievement Award for his sustained contributions to the art of film adaptation. Roth previously won an Oscar for his adaptation of Winston Groom’s novel Forrest Gump and earned Oscar nominations for his work on Munich, The Insider, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, also a 2009 Scripter finalist. Screenwriter Steven Zaillian will present Roth with the award at the Feb. 6 Scripter ceremony.