Harper & Brothers’ Family and School District Libraries, 1830-1846.

In the 1830s, at the dawn of mass-market publishing, J. & J. Harper of New York began publishing several libraries, including Harper’s Family Library and Harper’s School District Library. A “library” in this sense is a series or set of uniformly bound and uniformly priced books issued by the same publisher. A leading publisher and a major force in the broad religious and social reform movements of the period, the Harper brothers helped to shape education in American homes and schools. As Methodists they were advocates of reading for moral improvement. As innovative publishers, they made full use of the recent advances in transportation and printing technologies that facilitated mass-market publishing. Their marketing of inexpensive, portable libraries that offered moral and practical instruction resonated with families as well as with the superintendents of education in several states who at the time were persuading their legislatures of the need for tax-supported libraries. In consultation with educators and “gentlemen of high literary acquirements and correct taste,” the Harpers spent more than sixteen years developing these libraries and made it possible for many communities lacking selection expertise to purchase well-balanced collections. Although these libraries represent an effort to influence and make a profit on the education of the American masses, it was an effort welcomed by many, especially the social and educational reformers who agreed with the Harpers about the people’s need for cheap books that provided useful information and moral instruction

Computational Study of the Structure and Thermodynamic Properties of Ammonium Chloride Clusters Using a Parallel J-Walking Approach

The thermodynamic and structural properties of (NH$_4$Cl)$_n$ clusters, n=3-10 are studied. Using the method of simulated annealing, the geometries of several isomers for each cluster size are examined. Jump-walking Monte Carlo simulations are then used to compute the constant-volume heat capacity for each cluster size over a wide temperature range. To carry out these simulations a new parallel algorithm is developed using the Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM) software package. Features of the cluster potential energy surfaces, such as energy differences among isomers and rotational barriers of the ammonium ions, are found to play important roles in determining the shape of the heat capacity curves.Comment: Journal of Chemical Physics, accepted for publicatio

E-Book Reading Practices in Different Subject Areas: An Exploratory Log Analysis

Print books pose inherent difficulties for researchers who want to observe users’ natural in-book reading patterns. With e-books and logs of their use it is now possible to track several aspects of users’ interactions inside e-books, including the number and duration of their sessions with an e-book and the order in which pages are viewed. This chapter reports on a study of one-year of EBL user log data from Purdue University to identify different reading patterns or ways in which users navigate within different types of e-books—authored monographs vs. edited collections--and in e-books in different subject areas. The analysis of reading logs for e-books is still very much a new venture. From this perspective the results of this chapter are exploratory and descriptive, rather than conclusive, and as much about the evolution of workable methodologies as they are about the results of the analysis. Log analysis reveals nothing about users’ circumstances or intentions; however, in tandem with usability studies, and studies based on surveys, diaries, and interviews, it can contribute to a more objective understanding of users’ interactions with e-books

Inhibition of NGF deprivation-induced death by low oxygen involves suppression of BIMEL and activation of HIF-1.

Changes in O(2) tension can significantly impact cell survival, yet the mechanisms underlying these effects are not well understood. Here, we report that maintaining sympathetic neurons under low O(2) inhibits apoptosis caused by NGF deprivation. Low O(2) exposure blocked cytochrome c release after NGF withdrawal, in part by suppressing the up-regulation of BIM(EL). Forced BIM(EL) expression removed the block to cytochrome c release but did not prevent protection by low O(2). Exposing neurons to low O(2) also activated hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) and expression of a stabilized form of HIF-1alpha (HIF-1alpha(PP-->AG)) inhibited cell death in normoxic, NGF-deprived cells. Targeted deletion of HIF-1alpha partially suppressed the protective effect of low O(2), whereas deletion of HIF-1alpha combined with forced BIM(EL) expression completely reversed the ability of low O(2) to inhibit cell death. These data suggest a new model for how O(2) tension can influence apoptotic events that underlie trophic factor deprivation-induced cell death

Patron-Driven Acquisition: An Introduction and Literature Review

Introductory article to the Special Issue: Patron-Driven Acquisition: Current Successes and Future Direction

Momentum analysis of complex time-periodic flows

Several methods have been proposed to characterize the complex interactions in turbulent wakes, especially for flows with strong cyclic dynamics. This paper introduces the concept of Fourier-Averaged Navier-Stokes (FANS) equations as a framework to obtain direct insights into the dynamics of complex coherent wake interactions. The method simplifies the interpretations of flow physics by identifying terms contributing to momentum transport at different timescales. The method also allows for direct interpretation of non-linear interactions of the terms in the Navier-Stokes equations. By analysing well-known cases, the characteristics of FANS are evaluated. Particularly, we focus on physical interpretation of the terms as they relate to the interactions between modes at different timescales. Through comparison with established physics and other methods, FANS is shown to provide insight into the transfer of momentum between modes by extracting information about the contributing pressure, convective, and diffusive forces. FANS provides a simply calculated and easily interpreted set of equations to analyse flow physics by leveraging momentum conservation principles and Fourier analysis. The method is applicable to flows with complex cyclic waveforms, including broadband spectral energy distributions.Comment: 28 pages, 23 figures. Submitted to the Journal of Fluid Mechanic

Academic E-Books: Publishers, Librarians, and Users

Academic E-Books: Publishers, Librarians, and Users provides readers with a view of the changing and emerging roles of electronic books in higher education. The three main sections contain contributions by experts in the publisher/vendor arena, as well as by librarians who report on both the challenges of offering and managing e-books and on the issues surrounding patron use of e-books. The case study section offers perspectives from seven different sizes and types of libraries whose librarians describe innovative and thought-provoking projects involving e-books. Read about perspectives on e-books from organizations as diverse as a commercial publisher and an association press. Learn about the viewpoint of a jobber. Find out about the e-book challenges facing librarians, such as the quest to control costs in the patron-driven acquisitions (PDA) model, how to solve the dilemma of resource sharing with e-books, and how to manage PDA in the consortial environment. See what patron use of e-books reveals about reading habits and disciplinary differences. Finally, in the case study section, discover how to promote scholarly e-books, how to manage an e-reader checkout program, and how one library replaced most of its print collection with e-books. These and other examples illustrate how innovative librarians use e-books to enhance users’ experiences with scholarly works.https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/purduepress_ebooks/1036/thumbnail.jp

Introduction to Academic E-Books

With so many advantages, it seems logical that librarians would be eager to switch from purchasing books in print to embrace the electronic format. However the transition to e-books in academic libraries has not been a smooth or quick one and the reasons are myriad and complicated. Aware that this is still a time of transition and that there are many issues surrounding the e-book, the editors set out to present the state of e-books in academic libraries today. They invited knowledgeable publishers and librarians to write about the current challenges, successes, and trends. In addition, there is a section that analyzes new data about user interaction with e-books and an essay written by a teaching faculty member who uses and encourages her student to use e-book