More materials on apostasy and alcoholism within Islam November 22, 2004
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentI have recently been trying to gather materials for a research paper on Islamic law and ethics, and I originally wanted to explore alcoholism within Islam. However, our libraries only have 2 books on this important topic. Then I decided to shift my focus to Muslim apostasy. Once again, only 2-3 books exist directly on this topic. As a result, my professor has asked that I request the addition of materials on these very vibrant topics (alcoholism and apostasy within Islam) so that future students might not encounter the same problems I have in gathering materials. Thank you for your consideration.
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: You might want to check with the Perkins Library Reference Dept. or over at the Divinity School Library, where they collect material relating to religion. They can help you search pertinent databases, find material buried in books on broader topics, or refer you to subject specialists. If there are any specific books that we don’t have, you can use the “suggest a purchase” form at http://www.lib.duke.edu/colldev/ask4book.htm (available from the library’s web page from the “Request Forms A-Z”).
Where did the sculpture go? November 10, 2004
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentThere used to be a little garden with a large sculpture (a rusty metal knot) in the courtyard where all the construction is going on now as you enter Perkins. What happened to the sculpture after it was removed? And what’s going up in that space now?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: The sculpture is out behind the Old Chem building, but that’s not its final location and AP doesn’t know its final disposition (I don’t think they’ve decided). The structure being built in the former courtyard is called “The Pavilion.” It will be a fancy coffee shop with glass walls — sort of a modernized luxury version of The Perk — to bring the library a little closer to the Barnes & Noble model of information dissemination. In the lower right of the library homepage there’s a link to the Perkins Project web pages http://www.lib.duke.edu/perkproj/ — the expansion and renovation of the library — including some renderings that show the new Pavilion (the view is really looking from the approximate north at Old Chem, looking south; Languages is on the left): http://www.lib.duke.edu/perkproj/eastsite_sml.html . Here’s a nice floor plan: http://www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/dukemag/issues/091002/books-plan-lg.html .
Names of Military Operations November 10, 2004
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Government , 2commentsWho comes up with the names for US military operations, like the “Phantom Fury” or “Noble Eagle”? Is it someone’s job in the Pentagon to sit around and think about cool names for future missions? My personal hunch is that the Pentagon has a special set of dice with intimidating-sounding words. Then they just roll them and combine the two words that come up. Your thoughts?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: There is a fair amount of information about this in “the literature” (which, these days here at the library, means online databases). I will summarize it here, but to find several entertaining full-length articles you can go to, say, ProQuest, then go to Advanced Search and search the words “military operations names” in the “Article title” field. You should loosen up or play around with this search to find more articles. Yes, things have come a long way from Operation Overlord to Operation Enduring Freedom, and the names are generally as amusing to AP’s cynical mind as they are to the headline writers of these newspaper articles (”Operation Slick Moniker”) … except that the folks coming up with these terms are serious!
Apparently operation names were first used by the Germans in WWI. In WWII, the Germans focused on terms from mythology and religion (e.g., “Valkyrie”). Hitler himself apparently named the invasion of the Soviet Union “Barbarossa,” relating to Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, who had vanquished Slavs. Joint U.S.-British operations came from the Combined British-United States Interservice Code Word Index, but still, folks like Churchill and Eisenhower seemed to have been personally involved in the naming of major operations.
Today, the naming procedure sounds like something devised by Buck Henry.
The names are generated by computers in the military’s NICKA unit (for the Nickname and Exercise Term System). AP is not making this up (not that I ever do). Each of a couple of dozen Defense Department entities is assigned a series of two-letter alphabetic sequences, such as AG-AL, ES-EZ, etc. (Operation names now always seem to consist of two words, so these would be the first two letters of the adjective.) Possibilities are passed up through the command until the Secretary of Defense gets the final decision (at least for the big operations). They look for names that avoid “lightness or vulgarity,” and most people agree that these names sound as though they were written by committee rather than chosen by a decisive Churchill- (or Hitler-) like figure.
Your dice theory may work as well.
For an official history from the Army, see “The Art of Naming Operations” by Gregory C. Sieminski, complete with 107 endnotes, published in the Autumn 1995 issue of Parameters (v.25, no.3), from the United States Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. You can find this in Perkins Library’s Public Documents collection in the basement at call number D 101.72:v.25.
I love the music library! November 5, 2004
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentAt my undergraduate university, we had a music library where one could only borrow CDs for in-building use. We used to go there to listen to music while doing our homework. I was planning on doing the same thing when I got here for grad school, and was surprised and very pleased that I could actually take CDs out of the Duke music library and listen to them at home. Huzzah for the Duke Music Library!
-a greatful first year
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Thanks for the compliment! We try to have fairly liberal circulation policies here and are happy to get the positive feedback. I’ll pass this along to our music library.
Perkins Suggestion Book Online? November 5, 2004
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentFor those of us who can’t make it into Perkins, it has been a great pleasure to read the comments and Answer Person words of wisdom from the lobby book. It hasn’t been updated in 6 weeks. Has the book gone up in smoke? Has it vanished into a black hole of Duke construction? Will it come back to online life?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: One of those hardhat guys accidently cut the internet cable that link the AP server (it was the Bat Computer in a former life) to the library web page. We’re repairing the cable while I write this, so maybe late Friday or by early Monday. Sorry for the delay, and I appreciate that you enjoy reading it!
Product warnings November 1, 2004
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentOn a Q-tip box, one of the warnings is not to use the q-tips in your ear canals. Of course, everyone uses q-tips to clean ears by putting the tip in the ear canal. Do manufacturers actually expect this type of advice to be followed, or is it merely on the box for liability reasons?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: This is, of course, just a disclaimer from lawyers to make sure the cotton swab industry isn’t held liable for reckless use of its product. AP’s ears are naturally low-wax, so I don’t need to deep clean them like this. (What’s that you say?) The medical profession nowadays really does seem to advise against using firm pointy physical probes deep in the ears. The online medical encyclopedia from the National Library of Medicine, in its article “Wax Blockage,” says, “Individuals who suffer from frequent blockages may benefit from weekly irrigations. Never attempt to clean the ear by placing any object into the ear canal (such as a Q-tip). It is better to clean the outer ear canal by using a cloth or tissue paper wrapped around your finger.” http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000979.htm
Be aware that cotton swabs (Q-Tip is a registered trademark of Chesebrough-Ponds) are useful for a million cleaning, polishing, and other applications, so just because they’re out of favor for ear cleaning doesn’t mean they’re not incredibly useful.
Urine November 1, 2004
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentWhat would happen if one drank his or her own urine? Would there be health complications? You, I am sure, have heard the stories about people stranded in small spaces after earthquakes who survive on their own urine. Are these true stories?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Well, there are apparently plenty of subscribers to the theory that drinking your own urine actually benefits your health. Even a former prime minister of India, Morarji Desai, is rumored to have imbibed his own urine. For details, just do a Google search on “urine therapy.” One of these sites is understandably preoccupied with plugging the nose: “If you find it difficult to drink warm, plug your nose and hold it closed for a while after drinking. The urine can also be chilled, but holding your nose is usually all it takes to get the job done. Rinse the mouth with water afterwards and remember, the longer your nose is plugged the better. It may even be worthwhile using a nose plug so both hands are free while waiting for any residual taste and odor to disappear.” http://www.digitalnaturopath.com/treat/T45177.html
Although AP can’t find any information on the therapeutic value of urine in standard medical sources, it does seem to be a recognized form of therapy in many cultures around the world. AP has also heard about it as a survival trick, and I guess it must be true if you’re to believe newspaper accounts, but I suspect it was an extreme last resort (only after hallucinations began), and maybe didn’t aid in survival. Some survival web sites say flat out not to do this as it will dehydrate you more. Anyway, would you really be urinating much if you were that dehydrated? I believe the kidneys remove material from your blood (water or excess vitamins) that aren’t needed, which wouldn’t seem to be the case if you were dying of thirst. For definitive answers on safety, like with all medical questions, AP will ask that you seek the advice of a trained medical professional.
ottoman in Chinese room in Lilly November 1, 2004
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentThere are four comfortable arm chairs in the Lilly Chinese reading room. (I forget the official name of this room–maybe the Thomas room, or something like that?) But there are only three ottomans to go with them. I suspect that the fourth was destroyed or stolen by some freshman in years past. Nonetheless, might it be replaced?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: The answer is, yes! The head of Lilly Library tells us that “the fourth ottoman has been missing for some time. Its disappearance is a bit shrouded in mystery, but one staff member has a vague recollection that the legs were damaged, so it had to be discarded. This question comes up at a very good time. We are planning to reupholster the furniture in the Thomas Room this semester, so we will ask for an ottoman replacement at the same time.” The room, incidentally, is known as the Thomas Room.
