Happy International Women in Engineering Day!
Women have traditionally been underrepresented in the science, technology, computing and mathematical professions, yet their contributions have been critical in shaping the modern world, as STEMjobs and IveyEngineering describe. Ada Lovelace invented the fundamentals of programming before electronic computers were even invented, Grace Murray Hopper first coined the term debugging code, which at first meant removing insects that had become caught in the delicate calculating machinery. While in science Marie Curie stands out as one of the most influential figures in twentieth century physics, who remembers Einstein’s wife, who was a respected engineer in her own right or the small group of black American women who were instrumental in putting man on the moon, whose tale is now chronicled in recent Hollywood film release “Hidden figures”.
A lack of visibility of women working successfully in these fields is recognised to have discouraged others from following in their footsteps. International Women in Engineering Day is intended to help counter this trend by shining a spotlight on the success of women working as engineers. You can find more support and campaign
ideas for anyone encouraging more women engineers from WISE, the Campaign for Gender Balance in Science, Technology and Engineering and IEEE Women in Engineering. You can also find out more about women in science and technology through the Discovery Service or browse the IEEE Women in Engineering magazine. Read more ›
Happy 
Well, perhaps not quite all of it, but today is the long awaited day when the illuminated logo on the front of the library building is replaced. Today we see take last lingering look at a sign that has probably been a part of the library longer than anyone still working here. Change is one of the signs of life, however, and the institutional rebranding continues apace.
Among the many things Google is involved in at the moment is the controversial new e-journal Distill, a product of its the Distill Working Group. Operated at a distance as a peer-reviewed academic journal in the area of artificial intelligence, questions are being raised about its standing and, more importantly, whether this makes Google now a publisher and media company. Read more on the 
Tomorrow is World Gin Day. Dubbed “mother’s ruin” in Victorian Britain, in a campaign that at one point saw people seriously recommending the “warming effects of beer” over the chill charms of the juniper-scented spirit. Gin, like all alcoholic drinks, can cause problems when enjoyed to excess or in an escape to drown out emotional problems. Gin has been singled out for derision historically because it was the cheapest and most readily available form of alcohol, providing unwelcome competition for organised religion as the consolation of the masses. Slammed in the popular nineteenth century cartoon “Gin Lane” by William Hogarth (right), which depicts a drunken women slumped in the throws of gin fuelled alcoholism to the point she is blissfully unaware of her infant child falling a great distance from her arms, gin has also featured as the voiceless villain in such films as “The sorrows of gin” (available through our Digital Theatre Plus subscription, link below). It is perhaps not surprising that the gin industry has since felt the need for a bit of self-promotion! 
The Library is pleased to present new and expanded historical resources covering gender and social change and documentation on the papers of state, including a brand new resource, Gender: Identity and Social Change and a huge expansion to the authoritative State Papers Online. 
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