Sales of bottled water at supermarkets, discount stores, and similar retail establishments reached a total of $23,000,000,000 in 2017 in the US.  That’s 23 billion dollars.  We’re happy to announce that you can refill your water bottle with free filtered water at our new Bruno Library water fountains, each of which now features a built-in water bottle filling station.

Read more about the bottled water market in the US and around the world using the Passport database, available in the databases list at the library’s website.

If the World Cup has you excited about soccer, you’re certainly not alone.  Over 30 million Americans viewed or attended a soccer game in 2017, and over 14 million played in a game, with participation split nearly equally between children and adults.  In 2016 (latest year available), Americans purchased 5.8 million soccer balls, mostly at sporting goods stores or discount stores.

Want to see the numbers behind your favorite sport? Check out Sports Market Analytics (formerly SBRnet), one of the many databases brought to you by the University Libraries.

The Business Source Complete database was recently upgraded to Business Source Ultimate.  Business Source Ultimate is the most comprehensive business database offered on the EBSCOhost platform.  It adds the full text of more than a thousand international journals and magazines to the already-robust amount delivered in Business Source Complete.  Other types of data included are case studies, industry profiles, SWOT analyses, market research reports, country reports, news videos, and detailed company profiles.  Look for Business Source Ultimate in the library website’s list of databases.

Many important inventors of the past had ties to Alabama.  Did you know that one of the first patents for windshield wipers was awarded to a Birmingham woman named Mary Anderson in 1903?  Unfortunately, while her product was the first to be effective, it was never produced commercially.  Alabama inventors produced the Klaxon horn (“ah-OO-gah!”) and the first electrical hearing aid, explored motorized flight, designed early submarines, created a particle accelerator, introduced crop rotation, and developed numerous practical plant-based products.

Learn more about the history of invention and innovation in Alabama in this article from Alabama Business magazine:

Ah-oo-gah and Other Alabama Greats
http://www.businessalabama.com/Business-Alabama/November-2013/Ah-oo-gah-and-Other-Alabama-Greats/

The Bruno Library has new hours for fall semester 2016!  We have adjusted our opening and closing times for your convenience.   We are opening a little earlier on weekdays to give you more time to come by and use the computers or make printouts before your 8:00 classes.  We’re also opening earlier on Sunday so you can get an earlier start on all those assignments due on Monday.  And we’re staying open a little later on Friday and Saturday evenings for the busy folks who use those hours as study times.

Here is the new schedule, with the changed times marked in red:

Sunday: 11:00 am to 1:00 am

Monday-Thursday: 7:30 am to 1:00 am

Friday: 7:30 am to 7:00 pm

Saturday: 10:00 am to 7:00 pm

Let us know what you think about the new schedule!

This year the Bruno Library is offering students a chance to take a short break from their studying and have a little fun!  Inside the library on the main floor is a table with adult coloring sheets and colored pencils for some quiet relaxation time.  A nearby whiteboard offers students the opportunity to display their artwork.  Next to the coloring table is a photo booth with fun accessories.  Students who post their photo on Twitter with the hashtag #BrunoFinals16 are entered to win a prize!

On Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons the fun continues outside.  Activities include ring toss, blowing bubbles, and a hula hoop contest!  Free freezer pops are also being given away.

We know our students are working hard, and we invite them to maintain healthy habits while they work by eating right, getting plenty of rest, and taking a fun break now and then.

Group of students enjoying library-sponsored outdoor activities

Need just the right software to complete your project?  The Bruno Library offers fifty software packages on its collection of Windows desktops and laptops and Mac laptops.  From Adobe Acrobat to Wolfram Mathematica, we provide the software you need to produce documents, analyze data, prepare presentations, animate web content, construct web pages, design graphics, and otherwise be productive and creative.

Check out the complete list of software available on Bruno Library computers on the Libraries’ website.

Please join us in welcoming Kayla Johnson as a new temporary business reference librarian in Bruno Library.  Kayla comes to us from University Libraries’ Gorgas Information Services, where she was Reference & Instructional Services Librarian.  She will be using her expertise in reference and instruction to support Bruno Library users over the next several months.

You can reach Kayla by email at kdjohnson5@ua.edu.  Her office is located at 107 Bruno, and her phone number is 348-1095.

Welcome, Kayla!

It’s Exam Week, and the Bruno Library is filled with students preparing for their final exams. We’re observing extended hours, so we’ll be open from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. Monday through Thursday, then 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday.

Graduate students are welcome to use our new graduate student study room on the ground floor.  The group study rooms are staying busy, so groups are also welcome to use the quiet talking area on the ground floor.  For those who prefer absolute silence, we recommend the silent study area in the northeast corner of the top floor — but it’s actually pretty quiet throughout the top two floors.

There are vending machines in the copy center on the ground floor across from the circulation desk.  Add BamaCash to your Action Card at the kiosk in the copy center.  If our computers are all occupied, check out a laptop (Windows, Mac or Chromebook) at the first (middle) floor circulation desk.

To all the students in Bruno Library, good luck on your exams!

The Bruno Library is now circulating Dell Chromebooks. Chromebooks are laptops that run the Chrome operating system. Chromebooks boot quickly and automatically connect to the University’s wireless network. The Chrome browser loads, and apps such as Word and Powerpoint can be opened as tabs in the browser. Documents can be saved in the cloud or onto a flash drive. Users can sign into the Chromebooks with a guest account, myBama account, or personal Google account (e.g., an account at crimson.ua.edu, culverhouse.ua.edu, or gmail.com). Come by our first floor circulation desk to check one out.