Today the Geology Library has re-opened to the OSU public, and to our new normal. We have many socially distant features, wipes, and hand sanitizers for you to enjoy.
We also have Edward Orton Sr., the first University President, modeling a nice disposable mask to celebrate Fall Semester. Please join him by wearing your mask.
Geology Library is open 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM Monday through Friday, and our seats are by reservation only.
Stay Well Everyone!
Patti Dittoe
The title of this post is not a typo. I recently finished listening/reading the book, “Moby-Duck: The true story of 28,800 bath toys lost as sea and the beachcombers, oceanographers, environmentalists, and fools, including the author, who went in search of them.”
Donovan Hohn is the author, but I personally wouldn’t call him a fool. The story begins with the spill off of the cargo ship “China.” It took place on 10 January 1992 near the Aleutian Islands of Alaska in an area known as the Graveyard of the Pacific. The author followed the trail of these toys all over the planet to get a real feel for what might happen to them. He interviewed oceanographers and beachcombers, he went to toy factories in China, he worked on a cargo ship in the wintry Pacific Ocean, and he worked on a Canadian Coast Guard ice-breaker. The author tells a mostly whimsical tale of this journey; however, his information about the environmental impact of plastics, not just the polyethylene bath toys he is chasing, but also the islands of plastic trash in all of our oceans, took the whimsical tale to a wholly different level. In the end we find that the plastic duckies deteriorated before many were found intact. Sadly, most plastics don’t break down so quickly. Perhaps we should all consider the plastic drinking straw that we’re about to use will be in the environment for 200 years.
Happily, this book will be available for check out next week after I return the copy & it’s out of quarantine.
Hello Everyone,
I thought I’d give you all an update on the progress underway to reopen the Geology Library, which is set for 08-25-2020. We now have Plexiglas around our Circulation Desk, so users can safely pick up their requests for library items. I continue to work from home most of the time, but I’m looking forward to a return to something like normal.
Stay Well!
Patti Dittoe
During my continued work from home, I’ve taken advantage of the quiet to do more free eTraining through Lynda.com. As I stated in a previous post, I can take as many Lynda.com courses as I wish through my membership with Columbus Metropolitan Library. I have a whole list of courses that I hope to take this year, and I’ve recently completed the very timely: “Learning Zoom,” and “Microsoft Teams Essential Training.” Every time you take a course you get a “Certificate of Completion” to share with your supervisor.
I’ve been doing more training than Lynda.com courses, I’ve also been learning how to work with ArcGIS Story Maps and ArcGIS Map Viewer software. I can’t share much about that just yet, but GIS Day in November will have the great reveal.
Hello Everyone,
Recently I’ve been able to work some of the time in person at Geology Library as we get ready to reopen, and we are slated to reopen to our users on August 25th. It will be a different experience for them, but Together as Buckeyes we can do this. You’ll notice in the photograph below that our seating is reduced, but we are just as beautiful as ever.
I continue to work from home most of the time, and I’ll share more about what I’ve been up to in my next post.
Stay Well Everyone!
Patti