The Challenge - Stanford University Libraries & Academic ...

Multidisciplinary Research Across the University
Although the three initiatives in human health, environmental sustainability, and
international affairs are Stanford’s largest and broadest multidisciplinary efforts, there
are other significant activities occurring throughout the university that are also aimed at
seeking solutions to societal problems and improving the world around us. Multidisciplinary
programs involve collaborative research and scholarship from several disciplines
and often two or more schools. Library subject specialists, who can provide discovery,
acquisition, and access to diverse materials, often become active members of research
teams studying complex issues from multiple viewpoints.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Across Campus
Branner Earth Sciences Library and Map Collections and the
Social Sciences Data Center in Green Library provide support
for patrons using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). GIS
are a suite of hardware, software and data that allow a user to
build multi-layered maps based upon the similarity of geographic
space. The layers of disparate data are then queried
to elucidate complex relationships between the information
displayed in a graphical format. Patterns become apparent
that would not have been readily seen were the data displayed
in another form. This set of tools is used widely across campus
by faculty and students in the fields of epidemiology, earth
sciences, archaeology, anthropology, business, urban planning,
engineering, and conservation biology. As the hub of
GIS support on campus, the Libraries foster and enhance their
use across a wide variety of disciplines and in all the schools;
an important consideration as work becomes increasingly
multidisciplinary across campus.
Julie Sweetkind-Singer
Head, Branner Earth
Sciences Library
Spoken Word Archive of Contemporary Thinkers Michael Toms
and Justine Willis Toms, Co-Founders and Co-Presidents
of New Dimensions Broadcasting Media Network, donated
the entire New Dimensions archive to the Stanford University
Libraries. Comprising 35 years, about 6,000 hours, of recordings
heard on public radio throughout the world, the recordings
include interviews with the Dalai Lama, Krishnamurti,
Linus Pauling, Joseph Campbell, Timothy Leary, Deepak Chopra,
Bill Moyers, Alice Walker, Maya Angelou and about 3,000
others. New Dimensions’ guests have included leaders whose
papers are archived at Stanford, including utopian architect
and thinker R. Buckminster Fuller and Stewart Brand, creator
of The Whole Earth Catalog, thus creating a rich, multimedia
trove of opportunities for students to explore the spoken and
written words of these important thinkers, as well as to incorporate
the spoken word into their own course projects.
Roberto Trujillo
Head, Department of Special
Collections and Field Curator
for Special Collections
Opposite
A technician sets up
a book to be automatically
scanned by
Stanford’s page-turning
robot.
Top
Many sorts of maps
are housed in the
Branner Earth Sciences
Library along with
extensive geo-referenced
digital data.
Financial Mathematics: A Case Study in Interdisciplinary Degrees
The Interdisciplinary Master of Science Degree in Financial
Mathematics is a relatively new program that requires carefully
coordinated support from the Libraries. Most graduates
of the program find positions as quantitative modelers and
traders at investment banks and hedge funds. Faculty from
four departments – Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, and
Management Science & Engineering – as well as the Graduate
School of Business plan the curriculum and course offerings.
The program also sponsors a well attended Financial Mathematics
Seminar open to the public. The 2006-2007 series
featured academic speakers from Columbia, Chicago, Princeton,
London and Zurich and leading industry speakers from
Credit Suisse, Bloomberg, and the Federal Reserve Board,
among others. In response to student and faculty requests,
the Math Library has begun an acquisition program for select
titles in Financial Mathematics.
Linda Yamamoto
Head, Mathematical &
Computer Sciences Library
Middle
A selection of New
Dimensions archival
recordings hints at
the variety of topics
covered.
Bottom
Much used volumes
of the Annuals of Mathematical
Statistics.
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