In recognition of National Holocaust Remembrance Day this Monday, April 8th, several works will be on display on the 5th floor of Bizzell to commemorate the persecution and genocide of approximately six million Jews.

Taken from the History of Science Collections and the Bass Business History Collections, the works showcase only some of the internationally significant contributions made by European scientists of Jewish descent in the early twentieth century, as well as the opposing force of the science of eugenics and the deadly social movement it produced.

Among the pieces on display are those by Nobel Prize winning scientists Niels Bohr, for his discoveries in atomic structure and quantum mechanics, as well as Albert Einstein, via a rare edition of his Theory of Relativity in Yiddish (description).

These books can be viewed at the History of Science Collections on the 5th floor of Bizzell Memorial Library, Monday-Thursday 9 AM -7 PM, Friday 9 AM-5 PM, and Saturday 12-4 PM. For more information, see the Visit link above, or call (405) 325-2741. While there, you may also view the Galileo display and the Living Library exhibition which features more than 100 rare works from the History of Science Collections.

The contributions to science made by Europeans of Jewish backgrounds before and during the Holocaust are remarkable for their breadth and influence even today. Einstein’s and Niels Bohr’s groundbreaking discoveries within the fields of physics won them Nobel Prizes in 1921 and 1922, respectively. Sigmund Freud’s enormously significant work in neurology and psychoanalysis throughout the early 20th century is similarly showcased here through a beautiful allegorical drawing of the unconscious.

However, despite the internationally recognized and honored impact that these works hold today, the work of Jewish scientists was not received or appreciated in the same light immediately after Hitler’s rise to power. In contrast to these notable Jewish scientific achievements during this period, the equally pervasive science of eugenics influenced Nazi ideology and undercut these discoveries. One of the most harrowing and ironic cases involves the German-Jewish chemist and 1918 Nobel Prize winner, Fritz Haber, whose work in developing poisonous gases eventually produced the deadly weapon Zyklon gas. Haber, among the other scientists recognized within this case, was stripped of his position in the university under the Nazis, and his books were burned and denounced in favor of “Aryan” science and achievements.

NORMAN – A rare manuscript written by a leading astronomer in Rome at the height of Galileo’s astronomical discoveries recently was acquired by the University of Oklahoma’s History of Science Collections.

The newly acquired manuscript, Tractatus de sphaera, by Oratio Grassi, records Grassi’s lectures in mathematics and astronomy. The Grassi manuscript is one of three works by Grassi to enhance OU’s Galileo collection this year. In two just-acquired printed books, Grassi discussed three comets that appeared in the sky in 1618.

“The Grassi manuscript is an important addition to the OU History of Science Collections, which is already recognized as among the small number of great collections in science in the world,” said OU President David L. Boren.

The Grassi manuscript is one of only a few astronomical manuscripts from the leading Jesuit university preceding the publication and subsequent condemnation of Galileo’s Dialogo (1632). OU holds Galileo’s own copy of the Dialogo, containing his handwritten comments in the margins.

“By any measure, this Grassi manuscript is a significant acquisition for the University of Oklahoma and an important addition to the prestigious Galileo works held by our History of Science Collections,” said Rick Luce, dean of University Libraries. “The penmanship is beautiful,” said Luce, noting that some of the pages have detailed illustrations, all hand-drawn.

The Grassi manuscript discusses Galileo’s discoveries, including imperfections on the surface of the Sun and Moon and the satellites of Jupiter.

These discoveries were first published by Galileo in Sidereus nuncius, printed in Venice in 1610. The OU copy of Sidereus nuncius displays Galileo’s signature on the title page.

“The OU Galileo collection is remarkable,” Luce said. “While many major libraries hold one or two first editions of Galileo, OU holds the entire set of 12 first editions. Neither the Library of Congress nor the British Library can say the same. Moreover, four of OU’s first editions, including the Sidereus nuncius and the Dialogo, contain Galileo’s handwriting. The Grassi manuscript and the two other printed books by Grassi acquired this year are unique additions to an already world-class Galileo collection.”

The acquisition was made possible with a $500,000 gift from the OU Athletics Department to establish an endowment to support exhibits and acquire rare works for the History of Science Collections.

“We are grateful to the Athletics Department for funding the endowment that made it possible for this manuscript to find its way to OU for its permanent home,” Luce said.

Key works from the OU Galileo collection, including the newly acquired Grassi manuscript, are now on display in the lobby of the History of Science Collections on the fifth floor of Bizzell Memorial Library (directions, hours). For accommodations on the basis of disability call 405/325-2741.

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Read about it:

• OU Daily
• Norman Transcript
• Grassi manuscript photographs

Follow us:

• Blog, ouhos.org
• Facebook
• Twitter (Curator)
• Twitter (Collections)
• Pinterest
• Visit us, directions

by James Burnes (@LifeThruTime), graduate student, Department of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, presented at TEDxOU, January 25th, 2013.

The remains of King Richard III (1452-1485) were recently recovered from underneath a parking lot (cf. “Royal Recovery,” NPR, February 4). In recognition of this event, we have identified several rare books relating to the ill-fated monarch held at OU libraries.

Come see the following items from the John and Mary Nichols Rare Books and Special Collections, currently on display on the 5th floor of Bizzell Library:

• 1646, The History of the Life and Reigne of Richard the Third
• 1674, A Chronicle of the Kings of England
• 1707, A Genealogical History of the Kings and Queens of England
• 1788, The Battle of Bosworth Field between Richard the Third and Henry Earl of Richmond, August 22, 1485

In addition to these historical works, you may view this treasure:

• 1632, Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies (The Second Folio)

Download a brochure (pdf):

These books may be viewed at the History of Science Collections on the 5th floor of Bizzell library, Monday-Thursday 9-7 pm, Friday 9-5 pm, Saturday 12-4 pm, through February 28 (325-2741; directions and more info). While there, you may also view the Living Library exhibit, a display of more than 100 works from the History of Science Collections.

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Image from: The History of the Life and Reigne of Richard the Third (London, 1646), courtesy John and Mary Nichols Rare Books and Special Collections.

The editor of the History of Science Society’s Isis Current Bibliography, Stephen Weldon, requests participation in a 10-minute online questionnaire on how students and professionals in history of science and related fields use reference tools and social media in their research.

The link to the survey is here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7H3XD63

The purpose of this questionnaire is to help Weldon’s research team design a new set of discovery and networking tools for research in the history of science. He is working with a group of scholars, librarians, and technical experts on this project, exploring new possibilities for research tools in the current digital environment.

Participation in this survey by anyone whose research may include the history of science, technology, and medicine, whether or not they use the Isis Bibliography, will help provide data on current research practices that will assist in the creation of a new research tool.

The survey will be accessible until Friday, March 15. Your participation is greatly appreciated.

Isis Bibliography – more info

“The currently available digital copies of Darwin’s great work suffer serious defects from the point of view of both human and machine readers.” (Goldstein, editor’s introduction)

Adam M. Goldstein, of Iona College, has created a structured source text of Charles Darwin, Origin of Species (London, 1859). Here is the link to download a digital edition of the source text, in pdf (6.4MB), at the American Museum of Natural History website:

http://darwin.amnh.org/files/images/pdfs/e83461.pdf

The source text underlying this edition was produced by editing, correcting, and reformatting the Oxford Text Archive’s text number 1783. In the editor’s introduction, Goldstein relays the results of an initial proof-reading of the 1783 text by Eric English:

“The base text (text 1783) is rife with errors, approximately 1,000 of them identified during the first round of proofreading. Some seem to be typographical errors or errors of transcription, and some of these significantly alter the meaning of the text: missing words, a variant of a word differing in meaning from the correct word; missing punctuation; and, most startling, missing phrases or sentences. The base text is Anglicized in some cases, Americanized in others. For instance, “organization” and “organisation” both appear regularly in the base text, and double quotes where Americans today would expect them are frequently changed to single quotes in a manner that accords with today’s British practice. Additionally, no diphthongs, ampersands, or accented characters appear anywhere in text 1783. Dashes, commas, and semicolons are often deleted or misplaced. Superscripts, subscripts, and mathematics are either deleted or incorrectly represented.”

This edition rectifies these issues, creating a nearly word-for-word replica of the 1859 edition. As Goldstein states in his introduction: “The central principle informing the editorial practices used in production of the digital Origin is that the text be presented in a manner as close to its original rendering as possible….” Features which still differ from the original text (for example, the lack of running heads) are identified in the editor’s introduction.

Goldstein expresses the hope that this new source text will “provide a basis in machine-readable code for producing the text of the 1859 Origin in a range of designs, for instance, a large-type edition for the visually impaired, or an edition formatted for reading on a hand-held device.” In addition, the source text is structured to support machine analysis. Goldstein envisions the creation of an appropriate informatics tool that will enable scholars to analyze this source text of the Origin more powerfully than is possible through basic key word searching. Not only is this pdf the most accurate digital copy of the Origin to date, but Goldstein’s preparation of the structured source text underlying the pdf is an important step toward the application to the Darwin corpus of analytical techniques adapted from informatics.

This is the first version of this digital edition; revisions will be posted at the same link. At present, the AMNH site is the only authorized distribution point; refer users to the link above rather than distributing the file itself.

Notes about the edition:

• The editor’s introduction is an invaluable guide to the technical ins and outs of making an accurate digital edition and a sustainable encoded source text. It discusses the edition’s necessity and methodology.
• The pdf includes a hyperlinked table of contents and two hyperlinked indices, one that refers to the pagination of the edition in hand, the other to Darwin’s original Origin pagination. The latter is more accurate than the index in Ernst Mayr’s facsimile edition.

A copyright mark appears on every page of the pdf. Goldstein explains that the document is available under the terms set by the AMNH for use of material on the Darwin Manuscripts Project site. He intends eventually to release the source text under the GNU GPL, but that’s taking a little time to work out.

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The OU History of Science Collections is providing high resolution facsimile images of Darwin first editions to the Darwin Manuscripts Project of the American Museum of Natural History. For more about the OU Darwin collection, see Darwin First Editions and Darwin@theLibrary.

The astrolabe was the most important scientific instrument in the Middle Ages, and the treatise ascribed to Masha’allah (ca 800 C.E., but not actually by him) is the most important text on the subject. It was much copied and survives in all or in part in almost 200 manuscripts. Generally there are more than 100 copies of each part of the treatise.

The 1935 edition published by R. T. Gunther was based on only three or four local manuscripts, and as such is defective in many places. Missing phrases, or mis-copies or mis-read phrases at times makes that text unintelligible.

This edition is based on the collation of a significant number of manuscripts (over 80, and eventually, it is hoped, all manuscript copies). What is now being published here is the text of the Prologue and of the first six chapters. The edition is available in four PDF files:

• Part I: Introduction contains the preface and introductory material, including manuscript information;
• Part II: Critical Edition contains the Latin text and diagrams, the critical apparatus and a facing English translation;
• Part III: Latin Text contains the Latin text and diagrams, without the apparatus criticus, but maintaining the line numbers of the critical edition;
• Part IV: English Text contains the English text and diagrams, for those who are interested in consulting only the translation.

Over time these texts will be updated and expanded, when the remaining manuscript copies are collated, and when the editing of further sections has been completed. However, it is not expected that the present version will change – the rest of the manuscripts will expand the apparatus criticus but are unlikely to modify the text itself.

The proper citation of this work is: Pseudo-Masha’allah, On the Astrolabe, ed. Ron B. Thomson, version 1.0 (Toronto, 2012).

The editor is interested in receiving comments on the text and further insights into its interpretation from others. He is willing to incorporate such additions into future versions for the benefit of others who would consult this edition in the future. Comments can be sent to thomson@chass.utoronto.ca.

Permission is given for scholars to print out (and bind) any or all of these texts for non-commercial uses: research, study, criticism and citation. Commercial reproduction of all or part of the texts is not permitted without the prior consent of the copyright owner.

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Note: We thank Prof. Thomson for this guest post, and for making this important edition available to scholars in electronic form as downloadable pdfs from ouhos.org. Bookmark this page to obtain future versions of Prof. Thomson’s edition. Should it become available elsewhere, this page will forward visitors to the most current location.

Two online guides for the History of Science, Technology & Medicine, prepared by Librarian JoAnn Palmeri, are now available on the OU library website:

• “History of Science, Technology and Medicine: Guide to Searching”
• “History of Science, Technology and Medicine: Guide to Resources”

About the Guides

The main purpose of these guides is to support research and teaching in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine at OU. The content of each guide is summarized on its opening page.

The “Guide to Searching” provides basic instruction on how to use the OU library website to find materials useful for research and study in HSTM. It includes tips on using the online catalog, finding books and journals, and searching for primary and secondary sources in OU’s many databases.

The “Guide to Resources” provides catalog links to key resources in the field, including reference materials, introductory works, notable series, and primary sources. The different sections of this guide showcase the variety of materials available for research and study in the field. These materials serve as an introduction to the field for newcomers and a foundation for ongoing study for all levels of researchers. For the most part, items listed in the pages of this guide are books held in the History of Science Collections, Bizzell and other OU libraries, or books accessible through OU’s databases. A separate internet page illustrates the range of online sources available beyond OU.

Scope of the Guides
Beyond showcasing examples of core resources, important critical editions, and classic texts, these guides include tips on the use of particular types of resources (for example, reference works), and include strategies for searching for specific materials (for example, works by scientists).

Sections of the two guides are listed below to highlight features undergraduates may find useful:

Guide to Searching:

1. “Finding and Borrowing Books Beyond OU – Worldcat & ILL”

2. “Selecting Databases to find Articles (Secondary Sources)” and “Selecting Databases to find Historical Materials (Primary Sources)”

3. “Catalog Search tips – Limit Your Search by Location, Date, or Format”

4. “eJournals for HSTM Research – A Select List“

Guide to Resources:

5. “Researching with Reference Works”

6. “Bibliographies of the Secondary Literature”

7. “Primary Sources – Scientists’ Writings”

Sample pages from the “Guide to Resources” are listed below to illustrate the range of materials it includes.

1. Page featuring award-winning books

2. Page featuring notable and advanced series

3. Page featuring microform holdings related to HSTM

4. Page featuring primary source readers

5. Page featuring guides to finding primary sources

6. Page featuring information about HSTM and History disciplines, including links to the Isis Focus section and thematic readers.

7. OUhos.org page includes section with links to History of Science Collections blog and posts for items such as incunabula, manuscripts, and the online galleries.

Other OU Guides
Keep in mind that other guides are available on the Guides home page of the OU Libraries website. Links to many of these guides are included in the two History of Science Guides. The History and Related Areas guides created by Laurie Scrivener (History and Area Studies Librarian) are likely to be particularly useful to you.

Suggestions Welcome
Please contact JoAnn Palmeri: I welcome suggestions that would make theses guides more helpful in the support of research and teaching in HSTM at OU. In particular, your ideas and contributions to the creation of topical research guides and class-specific guides would be most welcome. Please see me to discuss this if you are interested in collaborating on such guides.

John van Wyhe, editor of the Darwin Online project, today announced the opening of the Wallace Online project, three years in the making.

Alfred Russell Wallace (1823-1913) is well-known as a co-discoverer, with Charles Darwin, of the theory of descent with modification from common ancestors by natural selection. Wallace was also of major importance for the development of ecology, particularly through his extensive explorations of southeast Asia and Malaysia (cf. Wyhe’s biographical essay).

The University of Oklahoma Libraries is glad to announce its partnership with the Wallace Online project. The History of Science Collections has contributed the following books:

• Wallace, A. R. 1875. On miracles and modern spiritualism. Three essays. London: James Burns.
• Wallace, A. R. 1907. Is Mars habitable? A critical examination of Professor Percival Lowell’s Book “Mars and its canals,” with an alternative explanation. London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd. And New York: The Macmillan Co.
• Wallace, A. R. 1913. Social environment and moral progress. London, New York, Toronto & Melbourne: Cassell & Co., Ltd.

Also, the History of Science Collections is the leading external contributor to Darwin Online, contributing 40 titles to that project (see related post).

One of the many attractions of the University of Oklahoma is the History of Science Collections. Upon my first visit, I felt an immediate excitement as I looked upon the handwritten notes of Galileo, the original letters of Charles Darwin, and countless other treasures from deep within the vaults. With extensive holdings that continue to grow, as documented in this Living Library exhibition and catalog, the History of Science Collections comprises an internationally-acclaimed center of excellence for exploring science and its history.

Ongoing growth in special collections is essential to the creation of a living library. As we witness the disruptive changes now underway with the emergence of eResearch, special collections become increasingly important as laboratories for scholarship which support knowledge creation both locally and in virtual space. They connect communities of scholars and students around the world in collaborative and multidisciplinary ways.

It is rare to see a special collection as embedded in academic programs as is OU’s History of Science Collections. Local users of the Collections include students representing every conceivable undergraduate major who are bridging and connecting different worlds, disciplines and paradigms for knowing and understanding. Students with a sustained interest in this multidisciplinary field of inquiry may opt to distinguish themselves by completing a minor or choose to earn a bachelors, masters or doctoral degree in the history of science.

In addition, the reach of the History of Science Collections extends internationally, attracting scholars from around the world each year whose on-campus visits contribute a vibrant dimension to ongoing academic conversations. The Collections also serves the international community by participating in digital projects that are transforming scholarship and research methods in the history of science. Many opportunities await us in collaborative ventures to create multidisciplinary, international eResearch communities at the intersection of the sciences and the digital humanities.

The History of Science Collections of the University of Oklahoma Libraries is a living library, and that means exciting prospects lie ahead.

– Rick Luce

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Rick Luce, Dean, University of Oklahoma Libraries, Peggy V. Helmerich Chair, and Associate Vice President for Research, 2012-present

Get more out of the Living Library exhibit with the multimedia iPad exhibit guide! With this guide you may read a brief description of each item on display and swipe through a gallery of images showing additional pages in any book that catches your eye.

The exhibit guide requires an iPad (3rd or 4th generation with Retina display, or iPad mini) running the iBooks app. Several iPads are available in the History of Science Collections with the exhibit guide preloaded for your convenience. To download the exhibit guide, follow these steps on your iPad:

• Make sure you have iBooks and iTunes U installed on your iPad.
• Request enrollment in the Living Library iTunes U course, and enter user code J29-F9F-672.
• Download the exhibit guide within the iTunes U course.

Ask the front desk attendant to demonstrate the guide for you. Request help at any time. Read below for further instructions.

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Navigating the Exhibit Guide

(From the Living Library exhibit guide)

Turn on the iPad, then tap the iBooks application to open iBooks.

In iBooks, tap the “Living Library” book to open the exhibit guide.

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Below is the first “Chapter” page, a Welcome page:

Notice that the Chapter page contains a row of thumbnails along the bottom edge representing each page within that chapter.

The first page of any chapter contains large photos relevant to that chapter. For example, the thumbnail in the lower left corner of this Welcome page contains a portrait of Everette Lee DeGolyer (left) and of Duane H.D. Roller and Marcia Goodman (right). Many other chapters begin with a photograph of the display case to help you find your way around the exhibit.

On any Chapter page:

• Swipe left or right in the thumbnail row down below to see each item page within a chapter. Tap any thumbnail to go to that item page.
• Swipe in the area above the thumbnail row left or right to go to the next or previous chapter.
• Section pages have a blue bar along the top. Chapters with sections have table of contents links on the title page to jump directly to those sections.

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On any item page:

• Swipe left or right to go to the next or previous item page within that chapter.
• To return to a Chapter page: Pinch to miniaturize any page in the bottom thumbnail row and return to the Chapter page for that chapter.

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Figures and slideshows:

• Reverse-pinch to expand figures and slideshows to full screen.
• When thumbnails appear below any figure, the figure is a gallery rather than a single image. To view additional images, tap any thumbnail or just swipe the image.
• Pinch any full screen image or video to miniaturize and return to a page view.

Play video demo | download

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Hold the iPad vertically to skim
(skimming omits images that are not numbered)

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Gold for old, blue for new
Nearly all of the works described in the Living Library guide were acquired since 1976, but occasionally they are compared with “golden oldies” acquired before that time. In that case, a gold color accent (perhaps as background to an image) emphasizes that an item is old (acquired before 1976). If two works are shown together on the same page, one old and one new (as pictured, below), then the “golden oldie” is indicated by gold and the new item (acquired after 1976) is marked by blue. When there are no color accents, then everything on that page is new.

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Students: Thinking about creating an iPad exhibit guide for your own virtual exhibit? Working either individually or in small groups, making your own iPad exhibit guide might be an appealing semester project.

You will need the following:

• iPad (2nd or 3rd generation) with iBooks app installed.
• Mac with the free iBooks Author software installed.
• Download our exhibit guide template to get you started – open this template in iBooks Author, and you will be able to export an iBooks guide that works on an iPad in both horizontal and vertical orientations.
• For images to add to your virtual exhibit, browse our Online Galleries These Galleries contain 85,000 high resolution images which you may use in your virtual exhibits (if you don’t see what you want, ask us about digitizing it yourself and adding it to the Galleries). The “medium” jpg format generally works best in iBooks Author.
• For iBooks Author help, watch the Apple Education Special Event keynote from January 19, 2012. And here’s the iBooks Author support page at apple.com. Two other helpful references are Nellie McKesson and Adam Witwer, Publishing with iBooks Author (O’Reilly) and Michael Cohen, Take Control of iBooks Author (Tidbits).

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Sharing and Presenting virtual exhibits in the classroom

• Use Apple TV and Airplay for wireless screen sharing to a flat panel or data projector from iPads and Macs.
• Notes for presentation (pdf): “iPads in the Classroom: Using iBooks Author to create interactive, multimedia semester projects,” by Kerry Magruder and Hunter Heyck, OU Teaching Scholars Initiative, October 19, 2012.

Many changes have occurred in the History of Science Collections over the summer. One transformation is readily apparent when you first enter the Collections lobby: the arrival of 11 new museum-quality display cases, handcrafted by Ron Mitchell. These cases change everything for public outreach.

One of the new wall cases in Ron Mitchell’s shop, awaiting delivery.

The cases arriving…

Installation of three wall cases

All eleven cases are now installed and filled with the books of the Living Library exhibit. When you come to the Collections to view the Living Library exhibit, take time to appreciate these exquisite cases.

Going forward, beginning with the Living Library exhibit, we now have the capability to display a larger number of books, sufficient to support exhibit-based tours. In the past, we have not been able to meet the demand for personal tours and customized book presentations. Long waits and schedule conflicts have been all too common. With these new cases and the exhibits they make possible, however, no one will ever need be turned away from viewing the treasures of the Collections. iPads loaded with a multimedia exhibit guide will facilitate self-guided tours for walk-ins. Trained docents will be able to offer exhibit-based tours to an increasing number of groups.

We are compiling a list of area educators, retired faculty and graduate students who would be interested in receiving training to serve as prospective docents. To schedule a tour or to inquire about the docent program, contact the new Outreach Coordinator, Carilyn Livesey (lib-hos@ou.edu).

The cases are beautiful works of art and craftsmanship in their own right, but they also signal an exciting transformation in public service and outreach by the History of Science Collections.

A Living Library: The Growth of the History of Science Collections after “Roller-Goodman,” 1976-2012

1949, 1976 and 2012 are milestone years for the History of Science Collections. A new exhibit displays 100 interesting items acquired since 1976.

1949: Everette Lee DeGolyer founded the DeGolyer Collection with a donation of 129 volumes.

Everette Lee DeGolyer

1976: Curator Duane H.D. Roller and librarian Marcia Goodman published the “Roller-Goodman” catalog of the renamed History of Science Collections, containing records for 40,000 items.

Duane H.D. Roller, Curator, 1954-1990; and Marcia Goodman, Librarian, 1973-1994; with the Roller-Goodman catalog (1976)

2012: Rick Luce arrives as the new Dean of the University of Oklahoma Libraries. The History of Science Collections now holds 95,000 volumes.

Rick Luce, Dean, University of Oklahoma Libraries, Peggy V. Helmerich Chair, and Associate Vice President for Research, 2012-present

The items displayed in this Living Library exhibit reveal how the History of Science Collections is a living library, growing constantly to serve a dynamic community of scholars.

As you view the books in this exhibit, look for the interweaving of two stories: the history of science, and the history of the Collections. Look for additional exhibit-related posts to appear on this blog over the next several weeks.

No appointment is necessary to view the exhibit. It will be available through the end of the semester. The exhibit is open during the regular hours of the History of Science Collections, which is located on the 5th floor of Bizzell Library. For accommodations on the basis of disability, call 405/325-2741.

Contact us – visit – directions | hours

The Department of the History of Science offers a colloquium series in the Harlow Room many Friday afternoons throughout the fall and spring semesters. See the Department website for a colloquium and special events calendar.

The Digital Humanities Working Group at OU offers a brown-bag workshop in the Harlow Room on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of many months.

To reserve the Harlow Room, the Gaylord Room, the Bass Lobby, or to schedule a special event, consult with the Curator or Librarian. The calendar below may help you anticipate scheduling conflicts, but be forewarned that these spaces may not be available on a given date and time, even if they appear available on this calendar.

Instructors:

• Caveat: The Harlow Room is scheduled at the discretion of the Dean of University Libraries. It is not a centrally-scheduled classroom, but is used for special events. All other classes and events scheduled to meet in the Harlow Room are subject to cancellation. We will try to provide at least several weeks notice when a scheduled class or event must be pre-empted, but please keep a back-up plan in mind.
• Scheduling: To request use of the room for a class, contact the Curator or Librarian of the History of Science Collections. Many classes request use of the Harlow Room both as a regular meeting place and for special class visits; it may not be possible to approve all requests. For use as a regular class meeting place, priority will be given to classes that make frequent use of special collections materials and which concern the mission of the special collections. Instructors must note the caveat above. We particularly urge instructors of classes which meet for several hours, only one time each week, to maintain a backup location to use in the event of cancellation, or to arrange for another room to use regularly and meet in the Harlow Room only on those days in which they will actually be using special collections materials.
• Policies: Please acquaint your students beforehand with the policies and procedures listed on this handout (pdf).

  

• We encourage you to send your students this link before the first class:
  http://ouhos.org/2010/08/21/guide-for-classes-meeting-in-the-harlow-room/
• You may rearrange the tables and chairs as best fits your class, but before the students leave please ask them to help you return the room to the same configuration as you found it. Make sure all sticky surfaces are clean, if there were drinks or food.
• The Epson PowerLite 1775W data projector currently provided in the Harlow Room accepts VGA, RCA and HDMI video inputs. A provided HDMI cable can be used to connect to the data projector from either (1) your laptop; (2) the AppleTV; or (3) the Document Camera (see below for descriptions of the AppleTV and the Document Camera). Just connect the HDMI cable to whichever video source you wish to project. Or, if your laptop does not have an HDMI out, you may use the provided VGA cable. If your laptop does not have either HDMI or VGA, then be sure to bring your own dongle to convert to either HDMI or VGA out. The projector does not have a DVI input.


Epson Data Projector inputs/outputs



• The data projector is equipped with an AppleTV. Connect the AppleTV to the data projector with an HDMI cable (provided). Then the data projector will project video mirrored to the AppleTV from your MacBook Pro or iPad. That is, you may project wirelessly, from anywhere in the room, from an iPad 2 or later, an iPhone 4s or later, or a Mac with Mountain Lion. The wireless projection has several advantages, including:
  • Teach untethered, with unhampered mobility. You’re not restricted to the podium, but can range among individuals or small groups and meld projection with active learning experiences.
  • Share the screen with students who have their own compatible devices. Projection need no longer be instructor-centric.
  • The new smartboard: Since what you see on your Mac or iPad is what everyone sees on the big screen, the AppleTV is more versatile than smartboards. Seamlessly switch between web pages and apps as needed. Think outside the PowerPoint box: it’s no longer necessary to package everything that shows on screen into a presentation app. When an AppleTV-equipped projector is used in conjunction with simple notes and drawing apps, the combination is as easy to use as a chalkboard, while being more versatile than a smartboard. The next two points give two examples of presenting with apps.
  • With a simple drawing app like Penultimate, the projector becomes a more versatile chalkboard. Change color, erase, undo with the touch of a button; when finished, email the “chalkboard” to all the students directly from the device. Inquire about available styli at the front desk.
  • Use FaceTime or Skype for impromptu videoconferencing, since audio is sent along with video to the Apple TV.

  Ask at the front desk for the Apple TV password; to share the screen, you may give out this password to your students.

  Here’s a video demonstration of wireless projection from a Mac (first video) and from an iPad (second video):

  
  Note: At this time, wireless projection is only compatible with recent Apple devices. If you do not have a compatible device, you may, of course, still connect your laptop or device to the projector using cables, as in the past. (HDMI and VGA cables are provided; please bring your own DVI-to-VGA or DVI-to-HDMI adapter, if needed.) When wireless projection becomes possible for Windows and Android devices (as with the Google Nexus Q, announced July 2012 but not yet shipping), we’ll add that hardware capability as well. To schedule an appointment for a demonstration and training, call the Collections and ask for Tim Corbly.

• A small number of iPads are available for checkout. Advance notice is recommended.
• An Elmo TT-12 document camera is particularly useful for sharing close-up views of books and texts on the projected screen.
  

  Connect the document camera to the data projector using the provided HDMI cable. The TT-12 camera features 12x optical zoom, plus an additional 8x digital zoom, which can enlarge images up to 96 times to display minute details. The TT-12′s 3.4 megapixel image sensor captures text and shaded drawings in 1080p HD, projecting in real-time. Raise, lower or rotate the adjustable camera arm to focus attention from above or from the side. Turn the zoom dial to zoom in and out. Control the Document Camera from across the room with the remote, and mask or highlight specific areas of the screen. Bring your own SD card or USB flash drive to record photos or videos for later use (e.g., to compare with the next book). Watch the Elmo Basics video for a quick orientation. Cf. other Elmo training videos at youTube: Remote; Operating Panel, Set-up. To schedule an appointment for a demonstration and training, call the Collections and ask for Tim Corbly.


Elmo Document Camera inputs/outputs

• The Harlow Room has a phone jack to facilitate teleconferencing. The number is written above the jack. Teleconferencing equipment may be arranged with sufficient advance notice; please inquire.
• Vanity Fair caricatures: To encourage your students to examine the Vanity Fair portraits on display in the Harlow Room and the adjacent hallway, feel free to reproduce the following brochure (pdf).

James G. Harlow, Jr. (1934-1996), served as president of Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OG&E) and chair of the board of trustees of the OU Foundation. A $1 million James G. Harlow, Jr. Chair in Business Ethics and Community was established at OU in 1997. Jim and his wife, Jane, played a founding role in the establishment of the Bizzell Library Society for the support of OU Libraries.

The more than 1,000 volumes of the James G. Harlow, Sr. Collection in the History of Science Collections include a 1513 edition of Boethius, De philosophiae consolatione.

Here’s hoping you’re having a great summer! Meanwhile, here in the Collections, many changes are underway. When you return for the fall semester, you’ll discover some exciting new developments, including fast wi fi available everywhere. Don’t miss the Collections orientation for registered researchers on August 24, at 3:30 in the Harlow Room. Stay tuned to this blog for future announcements!

The Copernican Century: A tribute to Robert Westman

The exhibit features works by 16th-century astronomers such as Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Kepler, Regiomontanus, Erasmus Reinhold, Ursus, Gallucci, Peurbach, Zuniga and Galileo. In preparing this exhibit we were assisted by Margaret Gaida, graduate student in the Department of the History of Science.

Nicolaus Copernicus, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (1543)

The exhibit is prepared in conjunction with a public lecture Monday evening, April 30, by Robert S. Westman: Copernicus and the Astrologers. This presentation, to be held at 7 p.m. in the Fred Jones and Mary Eddy Auditorium, located in the Fred Jones, Jr., Museum of Art, is sponsored by the History of Science Graduate Student Association, the Speakers Bureau and UOSA, the Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of the History of Science.

The Copernican Question (University of California Press, 2011), a study of Copernicus and 16th-century astronomy by Robert S. Westman, represents a true magnum opus, the kind of masterful analysis that appears once in a generation. From at least 1975, when Westman published The Copernican Achievement (University of California Press), he has pursued a richly productive and provocative scholarly career.

No appointment is necessary; the exhibit will be available for viewing through the end of May. The exhibit is open during the regular hours of the History of Science Collections, which is located on the 5th floor of Bizzell Library. For accommodations on the basis of disability, call 325-2741.

A new exhibit in the lobby of the History of Science Collections opens today:

Near the Heavens: Women in science reach for the stars

At various times, Oklahoma aviator Jerrie Cobb held world records for the longest flight, the highest altitude, and the fastest speed. Two of these world records were previously held by Russian aviators. No wonder that she became one of the group of women known as the “Mercury 13,” who were trained by NASA to become the first astronauts.

Jerrie Cobb is featured in performances this weekend of “They Promised Her the Moon” (April 12-14; see the OU Fine Arts Events calendar for details). The new exhibit in the History of Science Collections pays tribute to this play by Laurel Ollstein, playwright-in-residence in the University of Oklahoma College of Fine Arts.

The exhibit features works by women scientists throughout the centuries who worked in subject areas related to astronomy and other aerospace sciences. The exhibit was prepared by Amy Rodgers, a student pursuing graduate degrees in both the School of Library and Information Studies and the Department of the History of Science.

No appointment is necessary; the exhibit will be available for viewing through the end of April. The exhibit is open during the regular hours of the History of Science Collections, which is located on the 5th floor of Bizzell Library. For accommodations on the basis of disability, call 325-2741.

Regiomontanus, Epitome of Ptolemy’s Almagest (1496), frontispiece.

A magnificent full-page woodcut depicts Ptolemy and Regiomontanus seated beneath an armillary sphere. (Click any image to view a larger version.)

The Almagest of Ptolemy

Claudius Ptolemaios, one of the greatest astronomers of all time, lived in Alexandria, Egypt, in the middle of the second century A.D. In the Mathematical Syntaxis, Ptolemy synthesized and extended the accomplishments of ancient Greek and Babylonian mathematical astronomy. Written in Greek, Ptolemy’s book was titled Almagest (“The Greatest”) by its Arabic translators.

Regiomontanus, Epitome of Ptolemy’s Almagest (1496), title page.

The title page announces that the Epitome of Ptolemy’s Almagest was prepared by “Joannes de Monte regio,” the Renaissance astronomer Regiomontanus.

The Epitome of the Almagest (1496)

An epitome of Ptolemy’s Almagest, based upon a Greek manuscript belonging to Cardinal Johannes Bessarion, appeared in 1496. This remarkable book was the first printed edition in any form of Ptolemy’s Almagest, and its only printing in the 15th century. Begun in 1460 by the great Renaissance astronomer Georg Peurbach, at Bessarion’s request, the Epitome was completed by Peurbach’s student Regiomontanus not long after Peurbach’s death in 1461. Regiomontanus hoped to publish the Epitome with his own press in Nuremberg, but his premature death delayed its appearance for 20 years.

Far from merely introducing Ptolemaic astronomy like earlier textbooks, the Epitome was a major contribution to Renaissance astronomy. As a detailed commentary organized on the same plan as the Almagest, it contained new techniques, methods, observations and critical reflections. For example, at the end of Book V, Section 22, Regiomontanus called attention to the astonishing fact that Ptolemy’s lunar theory required the Moon occasionally to appear four times its usual size. This impossible wonder arrested the attention of Copernicus.

In the Dictionary of Scientific Biography, Doris Hellman and Noel Swerdlow conclude:

the Epitome served as the fundamental treatise on Ptolemaic astronomy until the time of Kepler and Galileo, and remains the best exposition . . . next to the Almagest itself. Although it runs to about half the length of the Almagest, the Epitome is nevertheless a model of clarity and includes everything essential to a working understanding of mathematical astronomy — and even manages to clarify sections in which Ptolemy omits steps or is somewhat obscure. It has not been superseded even by the excellent modern commentaries on the Almagest, and the mathematical astronomy of the sixteenth century is in places unintelligible without it. The Epitome is the true discovery of ancient mathematical astronomy in the Renaissance because it gave astronomers an understanding of Ptolemy that they had not previously been able to achieve. Copernicus used it constantly, sometimes in preference to the Almagest; and its influence can be seen throughout the De revolutionibus.

Regiomontanus, Epitome of Ptolemy’s Almagest (1496).

In the 21st century, the Epitome of Ptolemy’s Almagest is one of three landmark books that appear on any short list of extremely rare and essential works in the history of early modern astronomy.

Three Treasures: For the history of astronomy, the 16th century began in 1496 with the Epitome of Ptolemy’s Almagest (top), reached its mid-point with Copernicus’ De revolutionibus (middle, 1543), and ended with Kepler’s Mysterium cosmographicum (below, 1596), published exactly 100 years after the Epitome.

Some Editions of Ptolemaic Astronomy held in the Collections

Gerard of Cremona, Theorica planetarum, in Sacrobosco, Sphaera (1478).

Gerard of Cremona’s Theorica planetarum offered a simple introduction to Ptolemaic planetary calculations, and became the major astronomy textbook of the middle ages.

Georg Peurbach, Novae theoricae planetarum (Venice, 1534).

In the 15th century, Peurbach’s Theorica novae planetarum replaced Gerard of Cremona’s Theorica planetarum as the standard introduction to Ptolemaic planetary astronomy. Peurbach’s student Regiomontanus published the first edition of Peurbach’s Theorica novae planetarum in 1472.

Regiomontanus, Kalendarium (Venice, 1476), Table of eclipses.
View entire Kalendarium.

The Kalendarium of Regiomontanus was the earliest printed work to include a date on the first page – an ancestor of the title page. Published in 1476 by Erhard Ratdolt, it predicted the positions of the Sun and Moon for 40 years. Columbus took an earlier German edition on his fourth voyage, and used its prediction of the 1504 lunar eclipse (shown here) to frighten his Jamaican hosts. Regiomontanus wrote a number of other important astronomical works, including a study of trigonometry dedicated to his friend and patron Cardinal Johannes Bessarion, Archbishop of Nicaea.

Nicolas Copernicus, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (1543), cosmic section.
View entire De revolutionibus here.

Without the Epitome of 1496, Renaissance astronomy and the Copernican Revolution would have been inconceivable. Copernicus overthrew the Earth-centered Ptolemaic system, placing the Sun at rest in the center of the universe, and setting the Earth in motion around the Sun as a planet.

Ptolemy, Almagest, 1549.

This 1549 edition featured both Greek and Latin texts of Book I, with commentary by Erasmus Reinhold, who strengthened Ptolemy’s arguments against the motion of the Earth (although elsewhere he adopted Copernicus’ mathematical models).

A Valentine’s Celebration: Matters of the Heart

Giovanni Anfossi, Dell’uso ed abuso della cioccolata (Venice, 1779),
the wrapper is ornamented with cocoa bean illustrations
(more on this item)

This joint exhibit features works from the History of Science Collections, the John and Mary Nichols Collection, and the Harry W. Bass Business History Collection.

Works on display celebrate:

• the science of love,
• chocolate,
• roses,
• the rituals of love,
• the anatomy of the heart,
• tales of romance from American and British Literature,
• famous scientific couples,
• and the romance of science.

No appointment is necessary; the exhibit will be available for viewing through early March. The exhibit is open during the regular hours of the History of Science Collections, which is located on the 5th floor of Bizzell Library. For accommodations on the basis of disability, call 325-2741.