Earthquakes

Our CPIT Library was quickly up and running after the earthquake but other local libraries haven’t been so lucky. The University of Canterbury’s Central Library will be closed for the rest of this year and only part of the Lincoln University Library collection is accessible at present.  Teams of CPIT Library staff are pitching in to help shelve the fallen books at Lincoln.

We have some interesting electronic, print and AV resources about earthquakes…

	Kusky, T. (2008). Earthquakes : Plate Tectonics and Earthquake Hazards. New York : Infobase Publishing. “…provides readers with an understanding of how, why, and where most earthquakes occur. It includes coverage of what happens during an earthquake.” Read this book online
	Rafferty, J. (2011). Plate Tectonics, Volcanoes, and Earthquakes. Chicago : Britannica Educational Publishing. “Along with the science behind each phenomenon, readers learn about major examples and cases that bring home the effects of nature’s awesome power.”   Read this book online
	Villaverde, R. (c2009).  Fundamental concepts of earthquake engineering. Boca Raton : CRC Press. “…presents the concepts, procedures, and code provisions that are currently being used to make structures as earthquake-resistant as is presently feasible.”  TA654.6VIL

International Day of Peace at CPIT Library

Tuesday 21^st September 2010 is the International Day of Peace (or World Peace Day), and was established by the UN in 1981. It is dedicated to promoting and strengthening ideals of peace between nations, and also closer to home within families and communities. To mark this event CPIT Library is hosting a display of peace posters sourced from peace groups and organizations from around the world. These posters, gifted to the CPIT Art Collection, have appeared in a number of exhibitions including No More Hiroshimas: the International Peace Poster Exhibition at Turnbull House, Wellington back in 1985. 

If you are keen to see more, check out Flickr for more of the collection online, or drop by the Library.  

2010 National WorldSkills at CPIT

Welding, carpentry, restaurant service and other vocations are just some of the skills being put on display this week at CPIT. These are a few of the 18 competitions at this national event being held Thursday – Saturday 23-25 September.  The public and interested secondary students are invited to attend.

Regional experts from across New Zealand will be participating in this event. Competitions start on Thursday 23rd September and run through Saturday 25th September. Fourteen of the competitions will be held at the Trades Innovation Institute on Sullivan Avenue. The remaining four competitions, restaurant service, floristry, cooking and hairdressing are being held at the Madras Street campus. Open Day is Saturday 25 September from 10AM – 3PM at Sullivan Avenue.

Preparations and organisation for the competition has been going strong with the operations centre in the library at Sullivan Avenue. “We look forward to delivering a successful event for CPIT and the region, “ says Phil Agnew, CPIT’s TradeFIT Development Manager. There is overwhelming support from the community and industry.

For more information about this event go to www.cpit.ac.nz/worldskills or WorldSkills Programme

Show New Zealand how much you love it.

This week (12-19^th September) was Conservation Week across NZ. This year’s theme for Conservation Week was all about celebrating our unique wildlife, native plants and natural areas, and showing New Zealand just how much you love it. Unfortunately, many of the events in Canterbury have been postponed due to the earthquake.  You can read more here about how DOC facilities in the Canterbury region have been affected. 

However, there are still plenty of places you can explore, and we have lots of books to give you ideas, including: Christchurch and Canterbury Walks and Off the beaten track. And you can still learn more about NZ’s amazing flora & fauna, as well as conservation issues at CPIT Library. 

See our Library display for more info.

Stressbusters

We all experience stress at various stages of our lives. Sometimes stress is good and propels us to greater achievement.

Photograph: Mark Newport/In The Loop

At other times we desperately need some time-out. Indulging in a hobby is a great way to deal with stress. It allows you to explore your creative potential and also offers opportunities to meet and socialise people with similar interests.

Need some inspiraton or don’t know where to start?

The Craft & Quilt Fair at the the CBS Canterbury Arena (formerly, the Westpac Arena) will be offering  a range of workshops this coming weekend.

Christchurch is also home to a wide range of clubs and community organisations that can help you get started.

And finally: a small selection of library books that showcase inspiring, fun and whimsical approaches to tradtional past-times such as knitting and sewing.

	Really wild tea cosiesLoani Prior Shelf Location: TT825 PRI
	49 sensational skirtsAlison Willoughby Shelf Location: TT540 WIL
	Mixed media jewellery : methods and techniquesJoanne Haywood Shelf Location: NK7304HAY

CPIT due to open again Monday 13th Sept

 

Yeah!! CPIT is expected to open again on Monday. Staff were allowed into the Library this week to tidy up, although damage has been minimal. The Saturday quake caused light fittings to come adrift from the ceiling, but they have snapped back together again. Some books fell to the floor, but  thanks to earthquake strengthening and bracing on the shelves, this was not a major problem…(perhaps it also helped that our building was designed by a Wellington Architect ?!)  The shelves on Level 2 of the Library have earthquake bracing across the top of the shelves. On the ground floor the shelves are bolted to the concrete floor. 

Fewer aftershocks, of reduced intensity, are helping calm frayed nerves and life is slowly returning to normal. We look forward to seeing staff and students back on Monday after what has been a very long week. 

While some students have managed to return books in the past week we will be waiving overdues and making adjustments to due-dates on Monday morning. 

Please ignore any overdue email notices which may have been automatically generated in the past week. 

Access to online resources via the website has been reinstated today (Friday). 

CPIT Library closed

CPIT is closed, following the earthquake on Saturday morning. The Library seems in relatively good shape but will remain closed until Madras St. Campus gets go-ahead from structural engineers and Management Team.

At this stage we are closed on Monday 6th and Tuesday 7th September.

Online resources are still available through the Library, Learning and Information Services  website

Check out the CPIT website for further updates.

CPIT Library Blog Is One Year Old

Our Library Blog is one year old this week!

There have been 63 posts covering topics as diverse as Santa Claus as a bad role model to the plagierism of Witi Ihimaera , and new library database resources.  

Over the last year there have been a total of 8, 028 views with the busiest day occuring on September the 17th 2009 with 209 views.  The post on that day was What is Wolfram Alpha?  which encouraged readers to look for Virtual Easter Eggs.

Thanks to everyone who has been following our blog over the last year, hopefully it’s been as enjoyable to read as it has been to write.