The 37,000-square-foot Main Library Learning Commons opened just a few days ago with the start of the fall semester, but it’s already buzzing with activity.

UI students and others are encouraged to spend a fun and fascinating weekend learning about the cultural and natural history of the Iowa Great Lakes region. Registration will close Sept. 3 for the 22nd Natural History Weekend Sept. 6-8 at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory.

Doug Trevor, former editor of "The Iowa Review," will read from his novel "Girls I Know," at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City. The reading also will be streamed live on the University of Iowa Writing University website.

Summer vacations are nearly in the books, so we asked our Facebook followers to submit their favorite photos from vacation, Hawkeye gear included.

With the 2013 football season approaching, Iowa Now would like to remind fans about important policies and procedures, parking and traffic updates, safety guidelines, and information regarding access to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

The Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine will hold its annual memorial service for the Deeded Body Program at 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30, at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 1300 Melrose Ave., Iowa City.

The University of Iowa School of Music will present “Tony and Friends,” a free performance featuring UI cello faculty member Anthony Arnone, at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 1, in Riverside Recital Hall on the UI campus.

University of Iowa students, faculty, staff, and the general public are invited to the Military and Veteran Student Services Open House from 12:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3, in the newly remodeled office located at 111 Communications Center on the UI campus.

Former journalist and Air Force Airman Allen Roberts brings his experience and enthusiasm to the new position of Military and Veteran Education Specialist at the University of Iowa, where he advocates for the more than 500 student veterans on the UI campus.

As Iowa City Police will plan patrols aimed at spotting out-of-control parties, the Partnership for Alcohol Safety is sharing info that can help hosts and guests make parties safer and avoid legal trouble.

Professor Katherine H. Tachau of the UI Department of History in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has been appointed by President Barack Obama to the National Council on the Humanities, the advisory board for the National Endowment for the Humanities.

A study by a University of Iowa economist finds that increased physical education requirements help reduce obesity among fifth grade boys, but fifth grade girls showed little change.