Libraries/IDS Spotlight

Go to Sanborn Insurance Maps

Sanborn® fire insurance maps are detailed property and land-use records covering more than 12,000 U.S.towns and cities. Founded in 1867 by D. A. Sanborn, the Sanborn Map Company was the primary American publisher of fire maps for over 100 years, repeatedly mapping towns and cities as they changed.

The maps provide a wealth of information, such as building outline, size and shape, construction materials, height, building use, windows and doors, street and sidewalk widths, boundaries, house numbers, and more. The plans often include information and shading for steel beams or reinforced walls, plus symbols for stables, garages, warehouses, etc.

Factories are labeled with the owner’s name, as well as the products manufactured there. In large industrial and commercial buildings, even individual rooms and their uses are recorded. Also depicted are pipelines, railroads, wells, water mains, dumps, and heavy machinery likely to affect the property’s vulnerability to earthquake, fire, and flood.

UDM has access to Michigan maps only.

Starting Tuesday, January 19, compact shelving will be installed in the basement of the library; for a period of approximately 8 weeks, the basement will be inaccessible to library users, except for the men’s restroom. The handicapped restroom will be available for those using a wheelchair. All library materials in the basement will be retrieved on request by library personnel. To request materials from the basement, please print the catalog entry or fill out a call slip with the call number and title of the item and take it to the Research & Information Services Desk or the Check Out & Customer Service Desk. We apologize for the inconvenience as we continue to improve study and research conditions in the library.

Friday October 23 from 6-9 PM

The UDM Libraries/Instructional Design Studio will be hosting

Video Game Night in the Library

Right now, it looks like we’ll be playing Rock Band: Beatles, Rock Band 2, Halo 3, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Mario Kart Wii, and probably some Wii Sports (bowling, tennis, and maybe even some baseball).

There’ll be pizza and pop, as well as door prizes  — including Best Buy gift certificates and UDM swag — for folks who come before seven and stay til the end. All UDM students, faculty, and staff are invited to come play, or just hang out and watch.

Though our access to hardware is somewhat limited, we’d really like to hear what you’re interested in playing at game night. Post a comment here (on the blog) to let us know what you’d like to see, and if there’s enough interest we’ll see what we can set up, either for this October, or next term’s Game Night.

A valid UDM ID is required to get in the door. Please register your interest on our Game Night web page so we’ll have an idea of how many folks plan to attend.

Celebration of Constitution Day 2009, or more formally Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, was established through legislation sponsored by Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia in 2004. As a constitutional scholar and longest-serving member of the Senate, Byrd views the Constitution as a living document, worthy of acknowledgement and study by all. One of his speeches on a previous Constitution Days is in the list of websites cited below.

The Presidential Election of 2008, still fresh in our minds, is a prime example of how the rights established in the Constitution have become the standard for a democratic society–one that values the rights of all citizens to elect its leaders.

The Libraries will also display Constitution materials in a case in the lobby of the library and in an additional case in the reference area. Please come by and see the historical and current pieces that reflect our heritage and our right to have a voice in government.

The links below lead to a variety of sites that celebrate the Constitution as a document that established a relationship between a fledgling nation and its citizens and allowed for changes by amendment as the nation matured.

U.S. Constitution Primer. This is a brief, easy to understand commentary on the Constitution, along with links to related historical documents and some quizzes about the Constitution.

National Constitution Center: Interactive Constitution. The Interactive Constitution lets users select text from the document, and get explanatory notes and commentary on the selected text.

Celebrate Constitution Day! This site from the National Archives explores the history and importance of the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights, three key founding documents of our nation.

Justice Learning. This site sponsored by National Public Radio and the New York Times Learning Network explores some of the major issues of the day—gun control, affirmative action, civil liberties in wartime, free speech, juvenile justice, and the death penalty.

Constitution Day – Federal Courts Educational Outreach. This site, developed by the Federal Judiciary leads with an article, “Constitution Day is Every Day at the Federal Courts,” and explores how the Constitution shapes the decisions of the courts.

Robert C. Byrd Center: Raymond W. Smock Biography. Links to Senator Robert C. Byrd’s 2005 Constitution Day address given at Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

Are you a creative idea person?    Do you like to tinker with new concepts?

Do you think wireless communication and computing is cool?

Now’s your chance to become an award-winning innovator!

Enter your team in the UDM/Ford Innovation Challenge to conceive a new application for SYNC—the Bluetooth system developed by Ford Motor Company and Microsoft.

Each team—comprised of 3-5 full-time UDM undergraduate students from any majors— must develop a 3-minute digital presentation of the new application. The intent of the challenge is to identify an unmet customer need and present creative solutions. It is not about the detailed design of a hardware/software.

Contest requirements include:

• Register your team at http://eng-sci.udmercy.edu/InnovationChallenge by Monday, Sept. 14, 5 p.m. Team members must be 3-5 full time undergraduate UDM students from any majors.
• Attend an introductory kick-off presentation, Monday, Sept. 14, 6-9 p.m.
• Attend a mid-contest coaching meeting with leading innovators from Ford, IDEO (a leading innovation consulting company) and UDM on Friday, Sept. 18, 6-9 p.m.
• Develop and submit a 3-minute digital (video) presentation of a new SYNC application (presentation can include a simulation of your idea; teams don’t need to build the actual application) by Monday, October 9, 2009

Contest is open to the first 25 teams to register. Presentations will be judged by leaders at Ford and IDEO, UDM faculty and a Detroit automotive journalist.

Contest award prizes include:

• A 2-day visit to IDEO in Chicago for the winning team including learning more about their innovation processes and participating in an actual innovation project with an IDEO team
• A 2-day immersion in Ford’s Special Vehicle Team including working with some of Ford’s top innovators, participating in vehicle design meetings/activities and a “drive event”
• Other prizes will be posted on the challenge websiteWinners will be announced at the Ford Innovation Symposium on Thursday, October 15, 6-9 p.m., Life Sciences Building, McNichols Campus.

For more information on the contest and to register your team visit:
http://eng-sci.udmercy.edu/InnovationChallenge

Contest sponsored by University of Detroit Mercy, Ford Motor Company, and IDEO.

This the inaugural year of the UDM’s First Year Experience (FYE) Common Read! We’ve designed the program to introduce our first-year students to the academic and intellectual culture of the University of Detroit Mercy through a common reading experience.

All first-year students are expected to read the book over the summer and participate in discussions during fall orientation, Prologues, Transitions, and Viewpoints (PTV), and various other activities planned during the fall term. The 2009 Common Read selection is The Other Side of the River: A Story of Two Towns, a Death, and America’s Dilemma by Alex Kotlowicz.

Visit the First Year Experience Web Site and Read the Blog