When I make bagels at home, they come out much lumpier on the outside than the ones I could buy at Bruggers or even Alpine. I know that I do not shape perfectly, so that is one problem. But the real bumpiness on the surface seems to come in the boiling stage. Do you have any tips for how to keep the surface smooth at this stage? Also, why doesn’t the library have a good selection of cookbooks?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: It has been years since Answer Person made bagels, and I don’t know you entire process, but it may be that you don’t have any oil in the water when you are boiling the bagels.

AP’s favorite Jewish cookbook is Sara Kasdan’s LOVE AND KNISHES (Fawcett, 1956). Although we don’t have that one in our collection, we do have several others listed under the heading “Cookery Jewish” in the online catalog. Try “Baking” as well.

Let me know how they turn out–samples can be left for AP at the Perkins Circulation Desk or Reference Desk!

How would one go about starting an undergraduate publication at Duke?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: This same question appeared in the Perkins Lobby Suggestion Book.

Exactly the same question. Here is the same answer that will appear there.

You need to contact the Undergraduate Publications Board; 01 Flowers Bldg., 684-2220, Fax 684-8395,
http://www.duke.edu/web/UPB/index.html.
Make sure your idea is in publishable form.

Hey Library Folks!

I know I owe you some money (or a book – which I checked out 2 years ago, and in the drunken meanderings that were freshman year, promptly lost). But, I am on a leave of absense from Duke right now. Don’t worry, I’m not sick or having an emotional breakdown, and no, my family is not in some dire situation that necessitated me going home. Simply, instead of studying abroad, I decided to take the semester to travel through Europe. So, I am writing to you from Maastricht, the Netherlands, which means I can’t exactly stroll into Perkins and give you a check.

So, any ideas on how I should pay? I suppose I can mail you a check – does that work? Who should I send it to? Maybe you can bill it to my bursar’s account and I can take care of it when I get back in January – does that work? I really do want to pay my fine (in a moral, not monetary sense of desire) – I just need you to help do so.

I am also submitting this to the answer guy (online), because that book has gotten me through two years of mixed up relationships at Duke – it can probably figure this one out to.

Well – let me know what to do…

Take care,

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Dear Wanderer:

It is great to see that your sense of responsibility and loyalty are not lost in the separation of an ocean.

Normally, lost books are charged to students’ accounts when they aren’t paid–when we know about them.

Answer Person is relaying your original message, which includes your e-mail address, to the Circulation Department. They will follow up on this and let you know how best to proceed.

Thanks for remembering us, and best wishes for a wonderful trip through Europe.

P.S.–Thanks as well for the kind words about our past encounters; I hope the previous problems were as easily resolved as this one!

Answer Person, you are a very funny, sly creature.

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: And you are a serious, perceptive fan.

Thanks!

Every time I try to renew books or just check my account online, it takes several minutes for me to find the My Account login. The Circulation page takes me to a form that sends an e-mail request, but why not a link to the My Account page? As an alumnus and a professor, I find the library resources invaluable to my research. But as an out-of-town user, I find the difficulty of getting account information frustrating.

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Hmmm. On the library’s home page (http://www.lib.duke.edu/)–always a good place to start–there is a link at the bottom of the screen: “your library account.” It takes you directly to the login screen for your account.

Now, if they would only put Answer Person’s link on the home page!

Why do they water the astroturf on East Campus? I’ve seen it with my own eyes….

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Just because it isn’t thirsty, doesn’t mean it doesn’t like a refreshing shower once in a while! Actually, the sprinklers (or water cannons) soak the turf a few hours before games to soften the field. You have probably heard about football injuries associated with hard artificial surfaces; well, this is a field hockey field, and the players (armed with sticks, hitting a hard ball, and most without any protective padding) appreciate this added safety feature.

Do you know of any concepts or beliefs associated with the symbol of a circle circumscribed about a triangle?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Well, in architecture and electrical engineering they believe it serves as a symbol for certain kinds of steel supports or motor/generator wiring. Ad de Vries DICTIONARY OF SYMBOLS AND IMAGES (Perkins Ref. 291.3703 V982D) ascribes a whole range of uses: man and woman, the Plain of Truth (the area within the triangle), unity and the trinity. This last is a very common Christian religious use (also as a circle within a triangle, and, of course, a plain triangle). Until 1993, it was used by Alcoholics Anonymous as their symbol, with the words “Recovery, Unity, Service” around the triangle.

What is the process for receiving tenure? I have heard it is rigorous, but wonder about the details. Is it harder at Duke than at other universities? Thanks

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: The process varies at the different schools at Duke. A good place to see the details is the Faculty Handbook (http://www.provost.duke.edu/fhb.pdf).

Actually, the basics are about the same at most universities and colleges. Obviously, standards will vary according to the institution; thus, as a major research university, standards at Duke may be higher than for many other schools. On the other hand, you have to factor in things like an institution’s interest in upgrading its image, the focus on teaching against research, etc.

When did manufacturers begin naming car models as opposed to just using letters and numbers (Model T)?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Answer Person you assumes you mean other than “that d@#n” as the inventors struggled with the new technology. Actually, first commercially available car appears to have been the “Duryea,” manufactured by Duryea, in 1895. So names did come first.

You say you hope the committee does its job in picking the next president of Duke. But is the committee composed of the right members? It has very little student input, with just one undergrad and one grad student. Is this typical of search committees at Duke, past and present? And do such committees at other elite universities include more students?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: It is a very typical presidential search committee at Duke. In 1992 the members were:

John W. Chandler, Committee Chairman, Washington, D.C.
Philip Stewart, Committee Vice-Chairman, Prof. of Romance Studies
Allison Haltom, Executive Vice-Chairman and non-voting member, University Secretary
Philip J. Baugh, Nicholasville, Ky., trustee rep. and member ex-officio as Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Sara S. Beale, Prof. of Law, faculty rep.
Richard M. Burton, member ex-officio as Chairman-elect of the Academic Council, Prof. in the Fuqua School
Jerry D. Campbell, Univ. Librarian
Julie C. Esrey, Shawnee Mission, Kansas, trustee rep.
John M. Falletta, faculty rep., Prof. of Pediatrics
Bertram Fraser-Reid, faculty rep., Prof. of Chemistry
Craufurd Goodwin, faculty rep., Prof. of Economics
Graduate Student rep.
Edward M. Hanson, Rockville, Maryland, President-elect of the Duke Alumni Association
Fitzgerald Hudson, Charlotte, NC, alumni rep
William A. Lane, Miami, Fla., trustee rep.
Dorothy L. Simpson, Mercer Island, Washington, trustee rep.
Jean G. Spaulding, Durham, NC, community rep.
Daniel Tosteson, Boston, Massachusetts, trustee rep.
ASDU President, as a student rep.
Secretary of the Committee, Mary Jane Crossno

As to other universities, yes, it is typical to have just one or two student reps. Some have none.

They seemed to have a done a good job last time–Answer Person is hopeful that there will be a satisfactory outcome this time as well.