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Resources and News for Information Professionals
ResourceShelf is Compiled & Edited By Gary Price, MLIS Librarian Director of Online Information Resources, Ask.com Editor and Compiler, The ResourceShelf Editor and Compiler, DocuTicker
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Friday, September 30, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Medical Libraries It's Almost Here!!! National Medical Librarians Month 2005 Begins tomorrow! -- National Libraries Source: ManagingInformation.com National Libraries Of Japan And Holland Sign Joint Operating Agreement "The Koninklijke Bibliotheek (KB) in the Netherlands has signed a joint operating agreement with the National Diet Library in Japan. The two national libraries will cooperate in several areas, such as digitisation and long-term digital preservation. By means of exchange programmes, employees of both institutions will acquire experience and exchange specific knowledge." -- OpenURL--RFP Source: NISO OpenURL Registry RFP Released (PDF) "NISO is seeking to find an organization to serve as the Maintenance Agency for the OpenURL Registry. The scope of the work and obligations are detailed in a Request-for-Proposal released on July 6. Proposals are due October 15, 2005." -- Information Technology Source: JISC Understanding Advanced Display Technologies "The report has two main sections: the first half looks at how the human visual system (HVS) processes information and the relative success with which cathode ray tube and flat panel display technologies are able to match the HVS. It also looks at how and why 'flatness' has come to dictate current technology developments and where this may take us in the future." Summary ||| Direct to Full Text (PDF)
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Department of Homeland Security Source: Inspector General/DHS (via DocuTicker) Just Released, Emergency Preparedness and Response Could Better Integrate Information Technology with Incident Response and Recovery, OIG-05-36, September 2005 67 pages; PDF. -- Biology--Central America--Digital Collection Source: Smithsonian Institution, et. al. Electronic Biologia Centrali-Americana (EBCA) "This digital edition of the important and out-of-print Biologia Centrali-Americana makes all 58 biolological volumes available. Descriptions of over 50,000 and images of over 18,000 species of animals and plants are now accessible as never before. This is the first step toward an extraordinary new set of electronic resources and knowledge tools for biodiversity studies -- the Biologia Centrali-Americana Centennial." -- Adult Education--United States Source: National Center for Education Statistics Labor Force Participation in Formal Work-Related Education in 2000-01 "This report uses the Adult Education Survey of the 2001 National Household Education Survey Program to examine the extent and nature of participation in work-related education among adults in the labor force. The report provides data on instructional providers, topics studied, employer support, and other employment-related inducements for participation." Full Report (PDF; 834 KB) -- Home Networks--Windows PCs Source: O'Reilly and Associates Home Networking -- The Missing Manual: Using the Network With Windows Computers (PDF; 2.3 MB) "Surfing the Web from your newly networked computers is fun, no doubt. But some of the best parts of having a home network revolve around what's going on inside your house. You, proud network owner, have got your own wide world of resources waiting for you on the PCs sitting right within your home. The files, folders, disk drives, and printers -- in fact, almost anything you can attach or store inside any computer on your network -- can be shared among all your PCs. Sharing requires taking three basic steps...." Sample book chapter; 43 pp.
Search Briefs + MSN Shopping Adds Search Refinements for Hundreds of Product Categories + Preview Some New "Save Search" Features at AOL Search + Broadband Adoption in U.S. Homes Continues to Increase Thursday, September 29, 2005
Resources of the Week ------------------------------ by Shirl Kennedy, Deputy Editor Natural disasters, stratospheric gas prices, a messy war in Iraq that goes on and on, two Supreme Court nominations on the line, evolution versus "intelligent design," privacy-threatening security breaches, and a whole raft of other social issues creating divisiveness in society... Is it just me, or does it seem like the number of rumors and hoaxes flying around the Internet is reaching critical mass? My current personal favorite? Killer dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico, freed from a Naval research facility by the wrath of Hurricane Katrina. Not that I really have time to go to the beach anyhow... It's probably a good time to review some of the sites on the Web where you can go to check this stuff out before forwarding it along to 100 of your closest friends. (And don't we all have friends like this who are eager to "share" with us?) + Urban Legends Reference Pages: Always check here first, since this is the motherlode...and it's nicely organized, for browsing and searching. Links on the front page will take you to the newest and 25 hottest urban legends. Both pages have their own RSS feeds. For each tale, you'll learn where it came from (if possible) whether it is true, false, or undetermined/ambiguous. References and links to related information are often included. Killer dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico? Probably not. But they have been trained to detect mines, which could be useful. + CIAC Hoax Pages (Hoaxbusters): This website is part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Computer Incident Advisory Capability. However, the site maintainers tell us, "At CIAC, we find that we spend much more time de-bunking hoaxes than handling real virus and Trojan incidents. These pages describe some of the warnings, offers, and pleas for help that are filling our mailboxes, clogging our mailservers, and that generally do not have any basis in fact." You can browse by category (including fake virus/malicious code warnings) or search the archive. There's also a Full Hoax Index that allows you to see, on a single page, the contents of all the other pages on the site. Also included is a comprehensive list of links to other hoax sites, as well as scam/fraud information and reporting sites. + About.com Urban Legends and Folklore: You can search and browse here as well, but as is typical for About.com sites, the cluttered interface can be distracting. Below the title of each entry, on the right, you'll see information about the origin of the rumor/hoax, its status and a link to a brief analysis. Clicking on Hoax Central on the lefthand nav bar takes you to a collection of stuff that is currently floating around, including Bogus Websites (remember the Bonsai Kitten?) and Faux Photos (always amusing). There's a top 25 list here as well, and an image quiz (real or fake?). + TruthOrFiction.com: While not as content-rich as the three sites mentioned above, there's a particularly good section on religious/spiritual rumors, including prayer requests, etc. Search or browse. Paid subscriptions are offered here for those who want to be promptly alerted to "the latest stories, eRumors, and hoaxes." + purportal.com ("The Bunk Stops Here"): Keyword search five different hoax sites from a single page -- the first three sites mentioned here, plus the CERT Computer Security Database and the Symantec (Real) Virus Encyclopedia. Well worth a bookmark. Purportal was a ResourceShelf "Resource of the Week" in 2004.
Professional Reading Shelf Online Information Source: Research Information The October/November 2005 of Research Information is Now Online Articles include: + Language skills help text mining + Automation reduces the cost of archiving + Archive programmes gain momentum -- Hurricane Katrina--Archives Source: SAA Report of Hurricane Katrina Damage Assessment PDF. -- Used Books Source: AP Used Books Are $2 Billion Industry -- Library Databases Source: GovTech.net Revamped Michigan eLibrary Brings New Tools and Information Resources to Residents "On Wednesday, the Library of Michigan and Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL) announced the Michigan eLibrary (MeL) is open for business with a brand new look, more user-friendly search and retrieval features, and a stable of information resources, all geared to provide Michigan residents with access to a comprehensive collection of information."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Civil War--United States--Maps Source: American Memory Project, Library of Congress Just Released, Confederate Army Maps Now Online From a news release, A collection of Civil War maps, many of which were used by Gen. Robert E. Lee and Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, is now available online at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/maps/hotchkiss/. The maps, from the Geography and Map Division, were obtained from Mrs. R.E. Christian, granddaughter of Maj. Jedediah Hotchkiss (1828-1899), a topographic engineer in the Confederate Army.' 'The Hotchkiss Map Collection' contains cartographic items by Hotchkiss (1828-1899), who made detailed battle maps, primarily of the Shenandoah Valley, some of which were used by Gens. Lee and Jackson for their combat planning and strategy. Several of the maps have annotations of various military officers, demonstrating their importance in the military campaigns. The collection also includes maps made or used by Hotchkiss during his postwar years, including maps with information about railroads, minerals and mining, geology and history. Most of them focus on Virginia and West Virginia, but also cover other states and even the world." -- Joseph Stalin--Databases Source: Univeristy of Pittsburgh Digital Libraries New, Stalinka: Digital Library of Staliniana "The Digital Research Library released an image collection visually documenting the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. The website, Stalinka: Digital Library of Staliniana, is the result of a two-year effort between the DRL and Prof. Helena Goscilo (Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures), Susan Corbesero (Department of History), and Petre Petrov (graduate student). The collection comprises 368 visual materials and artifacts relating to Stalin: photographs, posters, paintings, banners, sculptures, chinaware, pins, etc." --- Country Studies Source: Federal Research Division/Library of Congress New, Country Profile of Thailand PDF. See Also: More Country Profiles from the FRD -- Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Weapons--Maps Source: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Deadly Maps "The complete collection of maps from Deadly Arsenals: Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Threats by Joseph Cirincione, Jon B. Wolfsthal, and Miriam Rajkumar is now available online. Included in the collection are maps that reflect the worldwide proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and their missile delivery systems. Additionally, country maps show the major nuclear installations, both civilian and military, in each country." -- Crime Enforcement--United States--Statistics Source: Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (Syracuse University) New, Criminal Enforcement Changes in the Bush Years Released "New data show significant shifts have occurred in how the federal government enforced the law during the Bush Administration. From FY 2000 to FY 2004, federal prosecutions were up by over 31%. The data, obtained by TRAC under the Freedom of Information Act, also document changes in the kinds of cases being brought to court: immigration and weapons prosecutions are climbing while white collar crime and drug prosecutions are sliding. The new data go through the end of March 2005 (the first half of FY 2005)." -- Government--Canada Source: Library and Archives Canada New Online Exhibit, By Executive Decree -- Armed Forces--United Kingdom Source: Ministry of Defence Just Released, UK Defence Statistics, 2005
Search Briefs + Roll Your Own Search Engine With Rollyo (Beta)* ***Make sure to check out Rolly, very cool! The possibilities are endless. + Export or Backup Your Gmail Contacts List with Just a Few Clicks + Yahoo Desktop Search Out Of Beta, Gets LiveWords Contextual Search + Dynamically Search and Browse RSS News Headlines *** Very interesting technology!
Briefly + Proquest Offering 2000+ Medical e-Books From MyiLibrary + MetaPress Announces Web Site Enhancements Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf National Archives--United Kingdom Source: National Archives, UK The National Archives tackles digital compliance "The National Archives have reached another milestone in digital preservation testing and compliance. In conjunction with the UK Data Archive, The National Archives have released a report comparing their preservation practices to the leading internationally recognised standard for digital archives. This provides a model for other organisations to test the compliance of their own systems." Direct to full text of report (PDF). -- Academic Libraries Source: Chronicle of Higher Education In Depth: Libraries This is a special Chronicle supplement on libraries containing a package of stories, most of which are available to subscribers only: + Thoughtful Designs: "As they renovate old libraries and plan new ones, colleges consider the purpose of the buildings -- and how to make them popular." + Evolving Roles: "Today's reference librarians need IT and pedagogical skills. Institutions are adapting in various ways, says W. Lee Hisle." + The Beauty of Browsing: "Fred D. White doesn't want stacks closed and mechanized. He wants to hold books in his hand and see where they take him." + Should Librarians Get Tenure? Yes, It's Crucial to Their Jobs: "College librarians are crucial partners in teaching and research, and they should be eligible for tenure like their faculty colleagues, says Catherine Murray-Rust." (This one is available free to non-subscribers.) + Should Librarians Get Tenure? No, It Can Hamper Their Roles: "Librarians should be involved in college governance, but, writes Deborah A. Carver, they don't face the academic-freedom issues that professors do, and don't need tenure." (This one is available free to non-subscribers.) -- Library Catalogs Source: Center for Research Libraries Center for Research Libraries Releases New Catalog "The Center for Research Libraries has unveiled a new online catalog, allowing researchers additional functionality in searching and displaying the more than one million records in the catalog. The added functionality includes two new search types: a dedicated newspaper search and a combined author and title search. The newspaper search feature enables patrons to search all newspapers held by the Center by geographic area. Using a list provided in a drop-down box, patrons can search for foreign newspapers by country or for domestic newspapers by U.S. state." -- Scholarly Publishing Source: The Economist The paperless library "Free access to scientific results is changing research practices." See Also: New Report: Governments should improve access to publicly funded research, finds OECD report Direct to Full Text: OECD report on the scientific publishing industry (119 pages; PDF). -- Librarians--Pregnancy Source: Catherine Woodworth Wong (http://www.sciencelibrarian.org/) Pregnant @ the Reference Desk "I have created this web site to serve as a resource to help pregnant librarians and adopting parents as I included some adoption resources as well. When I was pregnant, I was so busy working that I did not know about a lot of this stuff. I am trying to include things that you may not have found as opposed to the really popular web sites!" Covers librarian parenting e-mail lists, health issues, maternity clothing, librarian-recommended websites. (via librarian.net)
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents September 11th Source: The Memory Hole All Available NY Fire Dept Dispatch Tapes From 9/11 "The Fire Department of New York's radio dispatches from the morning and early afternoon of 9/11. For over three years, they fought in court to keep these recordings secret but were finally forced to release them in August 2005. For the first time anywhere, we've made the contents of all 21 audio CDs available online." -- Psychology--Full-Text Documents Source: York University (Toronto) Classics in the History of Psychology "Classics in the History of Psychology is an effort to make the full texts of a large number of historically significant public domain documents from the scholarly literature of psychology and allied disciplines available on the World Wide Web. There are now over 25 books and about 200 articles and chapters on-line. The site also contains links to over 200 relevant works posted at other sites." Searchable. + Index by author + Index by topic -- Natural Disasters--Children's Books Source: University of Illinois Extension Disaster Resources (by Lynn Blinn Pike, Ph.D., University of Missouri) Children's Literature on Floods and Natural Disasters "Reading about floods, understanding what causes floods, and talking about natural disasters in general will help children who have experienced a flood to communicate their feelings and fears. Through thoughtful questioning, children can be guided to relate their own experiences to those of the characters in the books." See also: Bibliography: Books on Disaster For Kids (FEMA)
Citation Reports Source: ISI + Science in Finland, 2000-04 + U.K. Universities: Most Prolific in Mathematics, 2000-04 + Dentistry/Oral Surgery & Medicine: High-Impact U.S. Universities, 2000-04 + Journals Ranked by Impact: Entomology
Search Briefs + Dynamically Search and Browse RSS News Headlines + Time For Results Counts / Number Of Matches To Go? + Google Claims To Be Most Comprehensive -- But Helps Defuse Size Wars By Dropping Home Page Count
Briefly + Market for Business Online Services Projected to Grow 3.1% to $36 Billion in 2005, Says Simba Information's Business Information Markets Report + Wales: Internet Makes Archive World Smaller (via ManagingInformation.com) Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Digitization Projects--Canada Source: Library and Archives Canada Digitization Program for the Archival Community A list (with links) to the digital projects (2004-2005) that have received funding and support from Library and Archives Canada, the Canadian Council of Archives and the Department of Canadian Heritage. -- Scholarly Communication Source: ARL (Bimonthly Report 241) Seeking a Global Perspective on Scholarly Communication: Contributions from the UK "How do the University of Chicago Press's titles compare to Elsevier's in terms of median price? How long does it take first-time submitters to self-archive a work through the Internet? How do librarians and publishers feel about the concept of a national site license for a collection of journal titles? These questions about our current scholarly communication system are addressed in recent reports commissioned in the United Kingdom. It is worth taking a close look at three of these reports as much of the data collected and many of the findings are highly relevant for North American research institutions." -- Information Technology Source: JISC New, TechDis staff packs published to support accessibility "Engaging staff with e-Learning can be difficult, particularly where their personal IT skills are modest. This difficulty can be compounded by misguided accessibility training that attempts to give highly technical advice to people who lack the skills to make use of it. The resulting confusion can lead to tutors and lecturers - the staff with biggest potential impact on accessibility - retreating to traditional, less accessible teaching approaches. The JISC-funded service TechDis has produced a series of self-supporting staff development packs aimed at highlighting the important issues surrounding technology and disability. Each pack is self-standing and can either be delivered as a session independently or adapted into a wider staff development programme. Direct to TechDis Staff Packs. -- Public Libraries--United States--Statistics Source: NCES Updated, Compare Public Libraries Database "Compare Public Libraries allows users to compare one library (the library of interest) with similar libraries (the comparison group). For example, a user may wish to compare one library's total circulation with the total circulation of a group of libraries with similar total expenditures. Once you complete your analysis you can view the results and download them as an Excel file. This data tool has just been updated with information for fiscal year 2003." -- Researching Hospitals Source: TVC Alert Conducting Research on Hospitals
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Celluar Subscribers--Global--Lists & Rankings Source: Computer Industry Almanac Just Released, China Tops Cellular Subscriber Top 15 Ranking "The worldwide number of cellular subscribers will surpass 2 billion in 2005 - up from 11M in 1990 and 750M in 2000. China is the clear leader in cellular subscribers and will reach nearly 400M at year-end 2005 - nearly twice as many as the USA. Russia has seen tremendous growth in the last few years and is projected to be in third place by year-end 2005. Rapid expansion in India will see a future climb in the rankings to a possible #2 in 2010. Worldwide cellular subscribers are forecasted to reach 3.2B by the end of 2010." -- MBA Programs--Lists & Rankings Source: Economist Intelligence Unit European school takes top spot in the Economist Intelligence Unit's MBA rankings -- College Rankings--Influence Source: Cornell Higher Education Research Institute The Influence of the U.S. News and World Report Collegiate Rankings on the Matriculation Decision of High-Ability Students: 1995-2004 (PDF; 216 KB) "The annual U.S. News and World Report (USNWR) Guide to America's Best Colleges is a much anticipated magazine among both high-ability prospective students and college and university administrators. In this paper we use a decade of Colgate University Admitted Student Questionnaire surveys to estimate the influence of changes in a school's USNWR rank on the probability of matriculation of high-ability students. We find that the school choice of students is more responsive to changes in rank the higher (better) a school is ranked. This sensitivity to rank is independent of other objective measures of quality. As a group, women (aided and full-pay) are slightly less sensitive to the rankings than men, minorities (full-pay) are less sensitive to the rankings than non-minorities, and the rankings themselves have become more important over time for aided students. In terms of financial factors, the net cost of attendance along with the packaging of the aid matters for aided students. Finally, merit aid in general does not appear to influence high-ability full-pay students. Our results suggest that it is rational for college administrators (especially those at the highest ranked institutions) to pay attention to their USNWR rank because it is an important influence in yielding accepted students." (via DocuTicker) -- Hurricanes--United States--Map Source: NOAA (National Hurricane Center) Continental United States Landfalling Hurricanes 1950-2004 Very nice map, in .jpg format.
Search Briefs + For Many, It's All About the Very First Search Result + Infospace Gets Ready to Launch Mobile Search Client + Google Video Gets Flashy
Briefly + Autonomy and NetLibrary (OCLC) Announce Deal + Department Of Justice Awards $26 Million To Enhance State Criminal Justice Records + New Release of Factiva Public Figures & Associates Provides Enhanced Compliance with Global Anti-Money Laundering Regulations Monday, September 26, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Information Industry--Forecasts Source: Outsell In a New Report, Outsell, Inc. Forecasts Single Digit Growth For The Information Industry, Reaching $358 Billion "Outsell, Inc. has released FutureFacts: 2006 and Beyond, the market?s first-ever comprehensive forecast of the trends and drivers fueling the Information Industry. The report pegs the Information Industry to reach $358 billion by 2008, lending credit to innovative companies like Yahoo!, Google, Baidu, Interactive Data Corporation, Greenfield Online and, HealthStream Inc. for growing the market." The full text of the report is available (free) here (registration required). -- Searching--User Interface--Children Source: Human-Computer Interaction Lab, University of Maryland Interface Design for Children's Searching and Browsing From the abstract, "Elementary-age children are among the largest user groups of computers and the Internet, so it is important to design searching and browsing tools that support them. However, many interfaces for children do not consider their skills and preferences. Children are capable of doing Boolean searches, but have difficulty with the sequential presentation of hierarchical structures used in many category browsers. Based on previous research, we believed a simultaneous presentation of a flat category structure might better support children. We conducted two studies of searching and browsing with these two types of category browsers. Our results suggest that a flat, simultaneous interface provides advantages for both Boolean searching and casual browsing. These results add to the understanding of children?s searching and browsing skills and preferences and suggest guidelines for other interface designers."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Renters--Satisfaction--Lists & Rankings Source: Apartment Ratings, Inc. Renter Livability and Satisfaction Survey: Top Cities for Renters List 2005 "The Renter Livability and Satisfaction table is based on the results of analyzing data collected from users of ApartmentRatings.com regarding renter satisfaction and average rent along with data regarding local economic conditions from secondary sources. The index uses the most up-to-date information available from government research agencies for income and rental vacancy. The most current data were available for 2003 and 2004 respectively." -- Interactive Voice Response Systems Source: Intuit QuickBase Find-A-Human -- IVR Phone System Shortcuts (USA) "Instructions for bypassing IVR systems to get to a human as quickly as you can." See also: Info for Amazon.com, eBay and PayPal customer service (Cliche Ideas) -- September 11th Source: 9/11 Commission New Version, Four Flights and Civil Aviation Security (PDF) The September 12, 2005 version of the Staff Monograph on the "Four Flights and Civil Aviation Security" resulted from a second review of the report by the executive branch. This version was released by the U.S. Department of Justice and transferred into the custody of the National Archives on September 12, 2005. This newer version contains less redacted information than the first version released on January 28, 2005. -- Crime--United States--Statistics Source: BJS Just Released, Criminal Victimization, 2004 "Victimization rates for every major type of crime measured were unchanged from their 2003 levels." -- Pensions--United States Source: Congressional Budget Office New, A Guide to Understanding the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Sunday, September 25, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf PubMed Source: NLM New Edition of PubMed Tutorial Available The tutorial can be accessed here or via a link on the PubMed sidebar. -- Internet Security--Internationalized Domain Names Source: United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) Understanding Internationalized Domain Names "You may have been exposed to internationalized domain names (IDNs) without realizing it. While they typically do not affect your browsing activity, IDNs may give attackers an opportunity to redirect you to a malicious web page."
REMINDER Make Sure to Visit DocuTicker Today! Docuticker is a daily update from the ResourceShelf team with direct links to new reports from government agencies, ngo's, think tanks, and other groups.
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Toys--Holiday Season--Lists & Rankings Source: Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us Announces Its Annual List of the Hottest New Toys for the 2005 Holiday Season "Toys 'R' Us Us today announced its annual list of toys anticipated to be the top choices of children this holiday season. The Toys "R" Us Joy List -- organized by age from infants to big kids -- features 36 toys that are new to market this year. From this list, 14 toys were selected as the overall 'best of the season.'" -- MacBeth--Database Source: askSam The Tragedy of MacBeth by William Shakespeare -- Free Searchable Version "Using the askSam Web Publisher, we've put the entire text of MacBeth on-line in a searchable database. You can search and browse through the information from your Web browser." You can also download the database along with an askSam viewer. (Free registration required.)
Search Briefs + Vivisimo and MSN Awarded Contract to Power Search on FirstGov + MSN Search Offers Free Full Text Access to Encarta Encyclopedia Saturday, September 24, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Information Industry Libraries Source: ACCESS The September Issue of ACCESS is Now Online Articles include: + The future of the book: the view from a librarian and a publisher + India moving ahead with open access + Companies turn to knowledge management to solve information overload
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Elections Source: Parliamentary Library, Parliament of Australia Research Brief: Elections Around the World "This electronic brief provides links to web-based information and full-text articles relevant to selected countries having national elections in 2005." Friday, September 23, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Federal Depository Library Program--Selection Policy Source: GPO FDLP Selection Mechanisms: Item Numbers and Alternatives "As part of its ongoing planning efforts, GPO's Information Dissemination (Superintendent of Documents) organization has undertaken a review of the item number system used by libraries in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) to select tangible and electronic titles. As the number of electronic publications disseminated continues to grow, GPO raised questions about the continued utility of item numbers in its initial planning statement on the National Bibliography. In response to a request from the Depository Library Council, GPO conducted a review of the current item number system and examined possible alternatives. As a result of this review, GPO is releasing three briefing papers and soliciting comments from the depository library community. Depository Selection: History and Current Practice (PDF; 84 KB) is provided as background information for the other two papers. It provides an overview of the item number process in its current form. Depository Selection Mechanisms: New Model for the Selection of Online Titles (PDF; 82 KB) proposes new mechanisms for the selection of online titles. Depository Selection Mechanisms: New Model for the Selection of Tangible Publications (PDF; 90 KB) proposes new mechanisms to support a more flexible model for selection and distribution of tangible publications.... Deadline for comments is Monday, October 31, 2005." -- Public Libraries--United Kingdom Source: LISU Public Library Materials Fund and Budget Survey 2004-06 "LISU's regular Public Library Materials Fund and Budget Survey describes in detail how our Public Library Services are faring and their plans for the future. Based upon an extensive questionnaire survey of UK Libraries, it is a compilation of recent spending results, together with budgets for 2005-2006." -- Public Libraries--United States Source: National Center for Education Statistics E.D. TAB: Public Libraries in the United States: Fiscal Year 2003 "This report includes national and state summary data on public libraries in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the outlying areas, with an introduction, findings, and numerous tables. The report is based on data from the Public Libraries Survey, Fiscal Year 2003, and includes information on population of legal service area, service outlets, public service hours, library materials, total circulation, circulation of children's materials, reference transactions, library visits, children's program attendance, interlibrary loans, electronic services and information, full-time-equivalent staff, operating revenue and expenditures, and capital expenditures. The report includes several key findings: Nationwide, library visits to public libraries totaled 1.3 billion, or 4.6 library visits per capita. The average number of Internet terminals available for public use per stationary outlet was 9.5." Full Report (PDF; 1.07 MB)
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Hurricane Rita A Selection of Resources to Track the Storm -- Wealth--United States--Lists & Rankings Source: Forbes Just Released, Forbes 400 (2005) "The 400 Richest Americans." Sort list by rank, name, net worth, age, and residence. Numerous special features are included in the online package. -- Public Schools--United States--Financial Data Source: National Center for Education Statistics Public School District Finance Peer Search "This search lets you compare the finances of a school district with its peers. Peer districts are districts which share similarities among these characteristics: total students; Student/Teacher Ratio; Percent Children in Poverty; District Type; and Locale Code. In the box above, enter the name of a district. You may enter the entire name or any portion of the name. Click the search button to perform your search." Recently updated to include 2002-03 fiscal data and 2003-04 non-fiscal data. -- Workplace--United States--Statistics Source: BLS Just Released, Work At Home In 2004 "In May 2004, 20.7 million persons usually did some work at home as part of their primary job, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. These workers, who reported working at home at least once per week, accounted for about 15 percent of total nonagricultural employment in May 2004, essentially the same percentage as in May 2001." -- Health--Web Resources Source: MedlinePlus New MedlinePlus Topic Compilation + Coping with Chronic Illness + Fluid and Electrolyte Balance -- MacArthur Fellows Program--Grant Recipients Source: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation 25 MacArthur Fellows Announced by the MacArthur Foundation... "The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation today named 25 new MacArthur Fellows for 2005. Each received a phone call from the Foundation this week informing them that they will be given $500,000 in 'no strings attached' support over the next five years. MacArthur Fellows are selected for their creativity, originality, and potential. By providing resources without stipulations or reporting requirements, the MacArthur Foundation offers the opportunity for Fellows to accelerate their current activities or take their work in new directions. The unusual level of independence afforded to the Fellows underscores the spirit of freedom intrinsic to creative endeavors."
Search Briefs + AOL.com Portal Leaves Beta + Findory Completes Release of Personalized RSS Reader + University of Michigan Official Comments on Google Library Lawsuit Thursday, September 22, 2005
Resources of the Week By Shirl Kennedy, Deputy Editor This week, we bring you another eclectic ResourceShelf Round-Up. Here's a brief look at a few quality resources available from some of the leading U.S. business schools. We'll bet there's at least something here you've never seen before. And if you know about other "hidden gems" like this, please let us know. Business Education--Research Source: Columbia University School of Business http://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/ideasatwork/ "Columbia Ideas at Work is a bridge between business research and practice, offering key insights from Columbia Business School's faculty in a format that is easily accessible to busy executives. Our faculty members -- world-class scholars in accounting, economics, finance, marketing, management and operations -- are engaged in pioneering research on issues that affect your business. This site presents practical applications of that research to help you understand your customers, motivate your employees, make strategic investment choices and capture opportunity in today's dynamic, global marketplace. The site is organized into three sections: + Magazine -- a quarterly, online magazine showcasing recent research + Research briefs -- one-page digests of the main findings of research papers (includes the idea, the research and how you can apply it) + Research archive -- a searchable database of faculty publications (citations, abstracts, and full text) An RSS feed is available, as is a link to the collection of research guides compiled by the Thomas J. Watson Library of Business and Economics. -- Business Leaders--Multimedia Source: Stanford Graduate School of Business Audio & Video Here you'll find a large collection of audio and video presentations from business leaders in a wide range of discplines who have spoken at the graduate school, including such notables as Microsoft's Steve Ballmer, Jack Welch, Anne Mulcahy of Xerox, and Symantec CEO John Thompson. RealPlayer format. -- Union Army--Data Source: University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, Center for Population Economics Union Army Study "The Union Army Data Set consists of 35,747 white males mustered into the Union Army during the Civil War, for whom military, socio-economic, and medical information from several sources throughout their lifetimes has been collected." Includes three datasets: + Military, Pension, and Medical Records: The largest data set is the 'Military, Pension, and Medical Records' data set, which is derived from military-related documents housed in the National Archives in Washington, D.C. These include both war-time records and applications made by veterans for pension support. + Surgeon's Certificates: "Associated with these pension applications are detailed physical examinations, completed by physicians, that certify the veterans' health and disability status. Information from these examinations is collected in the second major dataset, known as the 'Surgeons' Certificates' data set." + Census Records: The 'Census Records' data set contains all information on the veterans that is available in the U.S. Federal Censuses of 1850, 1860, 1900, and 1910, though not all veterans could be linked successfully to the Census documents." Researchers have used this data "to analyze, among other things, trends in chronic diseases, life-cycle and intergenerational factors in the secular decline of mortality and morbidity, and changes in the pattern of retirement and aging." -- Branding Source: Emory University, Goizueta Business School Zyman Institute of Brand Science "The Institute's lauded scholars lead the development of new knowledge and insights for building, maintaining, enhancing, and revitalizing persistently profitable brands. We help companies link brand equity to business and shareholder value." If you're doing research in this area, you'll find an interesting collection of full-text articles on the front page, including Building a Branding Taxonomy, one of the Institute's projects. There's also an annotated selection of relevant articles from around the Web. -- Public Utilities--Research Source: University of Florida, Warrington College of Business Public Utility Research Center "The Public Utility Research Center (PURC), at the University of Florida Warrington College of Business, provides international training and strategic research in public utility regulation, market rules, and infrastructure management in the energy, telecommunications, and water industries. Its outreach activities support the expanded deployment and efficient delivery of telecommunications, energy, energy and water/wastewater services, including the achievement of environmental objectives." Offers: + Collection of "articles and working papers on regulation" + Infrastucture Regulation and Market Reform, an online book that "covers such topics as price cap regulation, interconnection pricing, investment incentives, benchmarking, and sector issues." + Spanish language materials + Extensive collection of briefly annotated links to resources in electricity, general regulation, international development, natural gas and oil, telecommunications, water, transportation, analytical tools, and laws. -- Business Leaders--Audio Source: Dartmouth University, Tuck School of Business Radio Tuck "Radio Tuck brings you ground-breaking digital interviews, straight from the business leaders of today." Download mp3 files and transcripts, or listen in streaming audio. Collection is searchable. -- Business--Research Guides Source: Harvard School of Business, Baker Library Baker Library Research Guides You may already be familiar with this excellent resource, but if you haven't been here lately, you'll see that it's been updated and now includes a large collection of Country Guides that draw on a variety of U.S. and international sources. Also here: + Research Guides + Subject Guides + Industry Guides -- We also like the collection of research guides from the Cole Library, Rensselaer at Hartford.
Professional Reading Shelf Libraries--Marketing Source: Chris Olson The September Issue of Chris Olson's Marketing Treasures Newsletter is Now Online Highlights include: + Pointers For Better Focus Groups + Open Houses For Solo Librarians + Washington State Library Marketing Plans + Singapore National Library Board Winning Marketing Strategy -- Library Jobs--United Kingdom Source: CILIP CILIP Relaunches Lisjobnet.com From a news release "...Lisjobnet.com has been relaunched with a new look, new functionality and a wide range of content. Its aim is to provide an unmatched resource for jobseekers and employers in the library & information community...[The service offers] four separate search facilities and on-line access to all the latest jobs published in Gazette magazine -- the UK's leading library & information recruitment publication. Alongside the jobs are special sections to assist jobseekers by providing them with direct links to support services and professional advice. -- Book Prices Source: LISU Summary Only: Average Prices of British Academic Books Jan-June 2005 and Average Prices of USA Academic Books Jan-June 2005 Full text of the report is fee-based. "Academic librarians all over the world buy large numbers of English language academic books published in the UK and the USA. LISU's firmly established bi-annual series giving the average prices for these materials have recently been revised, and are now available electronically. The information is particularly helpful to librarians for budgeting purposes." -- Hurricane Katrina--Libraries Source: IMLS In Midst of Katrina's Destruction, Gulf States and Neighboring Libraries Persevere Examples of what libraries are doing in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, and Georgia.
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Hurricane Katrina--Web Resources + Watch/Listen To Live TV and Radio Coverage from Houston Stations A link to a compilation of sources that Gary posted on SEW Blog + Up-to-the-Minute Coverage of Hurricane Rita NewsNow aggregates content from more than 21,000 sources. Page auto-refreshes every five minutes. + Storm News Tracker from the Wall Street Journal Acccess to the page is free, you don't have to be a WSJ subscriber. The tracker is updated with headlines throughout the day. + Hurricane Rita Resources via Texas Governor's Division of Emergency Management Maps, links to local emergency mangement offices, and more. + Facts: Texas Disasters at a Glance (PDF) + Facts: Texas Levels of Emergency Response (PDF) + The Harris County (Houston area) Office of Emergency Management offers this real-time, interactive rainfall map. + Harris County Storm Surge Zones Map (PDF) + Harris County Elevation Map (PDF) + Emergency Managers Weather Information Network--Houston + Hurricane Rita Tracking Map (via Geodata.gov) + Buoy Data near Hurricane Rita (via NOAA) -- Pharmaceutical Drugs--Clinical Trials--Portals Source: Reuters Drug firms launch Web site to disclose trials data "The global pharmaceutical industry launched a new Web site on Wednesday giving details of clinical trials on new medicines in a bid to allay patient fears over drug safety. The move follows criticism that companies manipulate or suppress results of clinical studies in order to come up with favorable conclusions. The new portal (www.ifpma.org/clinicaltrials), established by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, links available online information about clinical trials worldwide." -- Business--United States--Statistics Source: U.S. Census Just Released, 2002 Economic Census, Management of Companies and Enterprises, Geographic Area Series, United States and States: 2002 29 pages; PDF. -- Business Schools--United States--Lists & Rankings Source: The Wall Street Journal Just Released, 2005 Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive Business-School Rankings "These rankings measure how appealing the schools are to recruiters -- the buyers of M.B.A talent. The three top-rated schools this year all offer relatively small M.B.A. programs and produce graduates that companies find attractive both for their technical aptitude and their agreeable attitudes. Recruiters like students from Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business for their collegiality and teamwork. Purdue graduates are considered impressive because of their humble attitudes and strong work ethic. And IMD receives praise for its students' unusual maturity and depth." Direct to Summary (PDF) Searchable Database -- Congressional Research Service Source: CRS (via FPC) A Selection of New/Updated CRS Reports All reports are PDF documents. + Gasoline Prices: Policies and Proposals + Federal Affirmative Action Law: A Brief History + The Macroeconomic Effects of Hurricane Katrina + Federal Civil Rights Statues: A Primer + The Use of Federal Troops for Disaster Assistance: Legal Issues -- U.S. Supreme Court Hearings--Transcripts--Databases askSam Offers Searchable Versions of Transcripts from John G. Roberts Confirmation Hearings "Search and analyze the transcript of Supreme Court nominee, Judge John G Roberts's confirmation hearings." Browse online or download (you'll need the askSam viewer, free). You'll also find a database (search/browse) of Judge Roberts's published court opinions.
Search Briefs + Diller Says Ask Jeeves Will Rebrand as Ask.com + Save the Time of the Searcher: Yahoo's New "Quick Links" + blinkx.TV Adds Video Content from HBO + 10 Years of Popular Search Terms at Lycos + A New Approach to Sharing Web Research (via SearchDay)
Briefly Info Industry...Alacra Launches The Alacra Wiki! (PDF) See Also: Direct to Alacra Wiki + New from LexisNexis: Accurint Business Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Libraries--United States Source: Institute of Museum and Library Services $17.3 Million Awarded to Advance Innovation and Public Service at Nation's Museums and Libraries "The Institute of Museum and Library Services, the primary source of federal funds for the nation's museums and libraries, today announced the recipients of its prestigious National Leadership Grants for 2005. More than $17 million ($17,349,361) is being awarded to 41 museums and libraries throughout the country in this highly competitive grant program." Direct to a list of recipients. -- Digital Archives Source: PADI Tomorrow's File Endings : On Archiving Principles and Archiving Formats A new article by Marcus Uneson. "This paper discusses general digital archiving principles, such using open standards and text-based formats, particularly in regard to the archiving of scientific and scholarly publications. The efficacy of using various file formats in an archival setting are also discussed. These formats include pdf, pdf-a, tex/latex and xml." -- Academic Libraries--Journals Source: Wichita Eagle KU to lose $500,000 worth of journals "As state money for higher education gets harder to come by, the University of Kansas is saving money wherever it can. That includes cutting back on its subscriptions to scholarly journals, some of which carry annual price tags in the thousands. But some faculty members say the strategy hurts their ability to do research." -- The British Library--Digitsation Source: ManagingInformation.com British Library Put Manuscript Of 'Alice's Adventures Under Ground' Online "On 21 September 2005, the original manuscript of Alice's Adventures Under Ground, one of the world's most popular and well-known children's books, will be available to internet users for the first time." -- Librarians Library Educators Source: The Australian Library and Information Association Some Very Sad News To Report via the ALIA What's New Page: "Professor L. Anne Clyde ...died suddenly on 18 September at her home in Reykjavik. Anne's influence and friendships extended around the world and she inspired students and colleagues throughout her prolific academic career in Australia, Canada, and Iceland. Anne was a long-standing advocate for school librarianship. Her teaching and research interests also focussed on the use of the internet and online information. Her most recent publications were Weblogs and libraries and An introduction to the internet. Anne will be greatly missed."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Hurricane Katrina--Labor Source: Congressional Research Service (via Open CRS) New, Unemployment and Employment Programs Available to Workers from Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi Affected by Hurricane Katrina Thanks to IWS News Service for the tip. -- Work--United States--Statistics Source: BLS Just Released, American Time Use Survey--2004 + Employed persons worked 7.6 hours on average on the days that they worked. They also worked longer hours on weekdays than on weekend days--7.9 versus 5.8 hours. + On the days that both worked, employed men worked about an hour more than employed women--8.0 versus 7.2 hours. + Married persons spent more time doing household activities than unmarried persons--2.1 versus 1.4 hours per day--and women, regardless of marital status, spent more time doing these activities than men. + On an average day, persons age 65 and over spent the most time--7.3 hours--participating in leisure and sports activities of any age group; 35- to 44-year-olds spent the least time--4.2 hours. -- Enterprise Information Integration (EII) Source: Compterworld What is Enterprise Information Integration (EII)? "Enterprise information integration (EII) refers to software systems that can take data from a variety of internal and external sources and in different formats and treat them as a single data source." -- Business--United States--Statistics Source: U.S. Census Just Released, County Business Patterns: 2003 -- Hurricane Katrina--Images Source: USGS/NASA Katrina Rolls Barrier Island Landward -- Shown by Airborne Laser Mapping Images In a cooperative research program, the USGS, NASA, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are using airborne laser mapping systems to quantify coastal change along the entire coastline affected by Hurricane Katrina." Links to images and animations are included.
Briefly + Social Bookmarking: Nature Publishing Group's Connotea wins ALPSP Award for Publishing Innovation (PDF) Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Scholarly Publishing Source: HighWire Press Stanford's HighWire Press Portal Has A New Look "After more than three years of operation, during which we monitored usage, read your feedback messages, and conducted usability research, we are launching a new, improved version of the HighWire Portal." Learn more about what's new. -- Archives-Web National Library of Medicine Source: ARL Bimonthly Report Permanence Levels and the Archives for NLM's Permanent Web Documents "The instability of resources on the Web is one of many challenging issues related to digital preservation. Several years ago, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) recognized the seriousness of this problem and included in its long range plan for 2000-2005 the following objective: Take a leadership role in ensuring permanent access to important digital materials in health and biomedicine, including electronic journals, databases, documents published on the Web, and new kinds of scholarly communication and documentation of knowledge, using NLM's own electronic output and services as initial testbeds." -- Audio Books--Accessibility Source: TAP Information Services Accessibility Trial of the Downloadable Digital Audio Book Service from netLibrary and Recorded Books LLC "The volunteers who participated in this two-month trial had a wide variety of experiences and reactions to those experiences. Some volunteers thought this was the best digital audio book system they had ever tried. (Many of the testers currently use and subscribe to a variety of digital audio book services, such as Audible.com and Bookshare.) Others thought it was barely functional and barely accessible. The content website, the digital rights management system, and Microsoft's Windows Media Player software presented substantial accessibility challenges for a large portion of the group of volunteer testers. The volunteers generally were very satisfied with the quality of the digital audio books themselves, in terms of the selection of content, the quality of the narrators' performances, and the sound quality of the files." (via Librarian.net) -- Archives Project Update: Archives and Human Rights Violations: International UNESCO / ICA Guide to Sources
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Canada--Imagery--Databases Source: Library and Archive of Canada New Database, Framing Canada: A Photographic Memory "The photographic collections at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) contain more than 22 million images. Representing the history of photography from its beginnings in the early 1840s to the present day, these photographic collections are an invaluable resource for the visual history of Canada and Canadians. Featuring photographs from various public and private collections, Framing Canada: A Photographic Memory presents a searchable database of digitized photographic images from 1843 to the mid-20th century. These images tell the fascinating and ever-changing story of how Canadians see themselves and their world." -- Grandparents--Caregivers---Fact Sheets Source: AARP, et. al. State Fact Sheets for Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children "U.S. Census 2000 data tell us that 2.4 million grandparents are taking on primary responsibility for their grandchildren's basic needs. Many of these grandparents have assumed this responsibility without the parent of the child being in the home. These grandparent and other relative caregivers often lack information about the range of support services, benefits and policies they need to fulfill their caregiving role. In an effort to remedy this situation, a group of child and aging advocacy and research organizations has prepared State Fact Sheets, which provide helpful state-specific data and information for all the states and the District of Columbia." Individual fact sheets in PDF format. -- China--Economics Source: OECD New, Economic Survey of China Exec summary and policy brief available. -- Federal Employers--Ranking Source: American University's Partnership for Public Service and the Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation Best Places to Work in the Federal Government 2005 From press release: "Best Places to Work includes a ranking of 30 agencies and 220 subcomponents on overall employee engagement, as well as in ten work environment categories. The rankings also highlight trends among demographic groups, including workers under 40 versus workers over 40, men versus women, and African American, Hispanic, and Asian employees. Best Places to Work was made possible with technical assistance from Sirota Survey Intelligence, specialists in attitude research." Site done entirely in Flash; may have accessibility issues. Results also to be posted on U.S. News and World Report site later this week. -- Internet Security Source: Symantec New, Internet Security Threat Report, Vol. 8 "Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today released its eighth volume of the Internet Security Threat Report, one of the most comprehensive sources of Internet threat data in the world. The semiannual report, covering the six-month period from January 1 to June 30, 2005, identified new methods of using malicious code for financial gain with increasing frequency to target desktops rather than enterprise perimeters." Summary ||| Full Text (Registration Required, Free) See Also: Symantec: Mozilla browsers more vulnerable than IE
Search Briefs + Two Yahoo! Employees Recognized as Top Technology Innovators by MIT's Technology Review Monday, September 19, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Legal Databases--United States--Milestones Source: U.S. Courts PACER Accounts Top 500,000 "Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER), the service that allows users to obtain case information online from federal courts, now has over 500,000." -- Hurricane Katrina--Medical Libraries Source: MLA Medical Libraries and Hurricane Katrina Website "This Website is intended to be a portal to MLA efforts and relief efforts nationwide and to provide ideas on ways MLA members can support medical libraries that are having difficulty providing information services." -- Archives--United Kingdom Source: The National Archives The National Archives Publishes Annual Report -- Web Browsers Source: PC World Build a Better Browser "...35 free downloads add invaluable new features to Internet Explorer and Firefox."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Earthquakes--California--Handbooks Source: USGS Before The Next Big Earthquake: New Handbook Offers Vital Tips To Bay Region Residents "A useful and perhaps life-saving new handbook is being released by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country--Your Handbook for the Bay Region is a practical, informative guide for Bay Area residents on earthquake preparedness. Hurricane Katrina's disastrous aftermath serves as a stark reminder that natural hazards can strike suddenly, putting millions of Americans in harm's way and that preparedness is key to survival. The handbook describes the likely impacts of future earthquakes in the Bay Area and gives seven important steps people should follow to prepare for, survive and recover from future earthquakes." Highlights ||| Direct to Full Text -- Hurricane Katrina--Geospatial Resources Source: USGS USGS Releases Hurricane Katrina Geospatial Clearinghouse -- Ready Reference Source: Answers.com Answers.com Adds New Content New reference content about: Poker -- poker rules and terms First Names -- first names and their origins -- Water Source: EPA Two New "Water" Documents + Bottled Water Basics (7 pages; PDF) + Filtration Facts (7 pages; PDF) -- Jewish Music--United States--Archive Source: Lowell Milken/Milken Family Foundation Milken Archive of American Jewish Music "A musical adventure of historic proportions, the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music is an international undertaking to record, preserve and distribute a vast cross-section, comprising hundreds of outstanding pieces of American Jewish music from the past 350 years. While secular music by American Jewish composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Kurt Weill and Leonard Bernstein is widely available, the Milken Archive's focus on the rich body of music specifically related to the American Jewish experience, both sacred and secular, is unprecedented.... In addition to its recording program, the Milken Archive has videotaped more than 100 oral histories of composers, conductors and performers; is commissioning a comprehensive history of American Jewish music; and is assembling an extensive collection of memorabilia. When completed, the Milken Archive will comprise the largest collection of American Jewish music ever recorded." Includes: + Feature articles + Glossary + Annotated links
Search Briefs + Yahoo Cache Now Offering Direct Links to Wayback Machine + Results from Google Groups Now Appearing at the Bottom of Google Web Results Pages Sunday, September 18, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Books--United States--Censorship Source: ALA Materials for Banned Books Week 2005 Banned Books Week begins on September 24th. Lists include: + Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2004 + The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000 + The Top 10 List of Most Frequently Challenged Books
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Hurricane Katrina--Enviromental Issues Source: EPA and CDC Just Released, EPA, CDC issue joint New Orleans Needs Assessment "EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) formed a joint task force to advise local and state officials of the potential health and environmental risks associated with returning to the City of New Orleans. The initial Environmental Health Needs & Habitability Assessment, issued September 17, 2005, identifies a number of barriers to be overcome and critical decisions to be made prior to reinhabiting New Orleans." -- Health Insurance--United States--Surveys Source: Kaiser Family Foundation Just Released, Employer Health Benefits 2005 Annual Survey "This annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-based health coverage, including changes in premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing policies and other relevant information. This year the survey also documented the prevalence of high-deductible health plans and savings account options, including the percentage of employers offering these plan types and the percentage of workers covered by them. The 2005 survey included 2,995 randomly selected public and private firms with three or more employees (2,013 of which responded to the full survey and 982 of which responded to an additional question about offering coverage). The Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust jointly conduct the survey." Saturday, September 17, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf History Source: Center for History and New Media at George Mason University Digital History: A Guide to Gathering, Preserving, and Presenting the Past on the Web The full text (web version) of a book by Dan Cohen and Roy Rosenzweig. -- Public Libraries--Special Collections--Holocaust Source: Indianapolis Star Evansville library will open Holocaust archive "A collection of Holocaust survivors' testimonies, filmed as a memorial to the millions who lost their lives in the Nazi-run death camps of World War II, has become an educational resource to teach cultural acceptance. Universities and libraries in recent years have begun using the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation's film archives to compile their own collections of survivor testimonies that chronicle the horrors of Adolf Hitler's concentration camps. The Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library on Monday will be the latest to open a collection from the foundation -- 115 films that document the lives of survivors and Holocaust witnesses who fled to Indiana, Kentucky, and southern Illinois after the war."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Emergencies--United States Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency National Situation Update Daily update with news about weather, fires, etc. Archive of NSU's available back to 2000. -- Information Security Source: CIO/PricewaterhouseCoopers (via DocuTicker.com) The Global State of Information Security 2005 "To borrow from forestry parlance, information security is an escaped wildfire. And according to 'The Global State of Information Security 2005,' a worldwide study by CIO and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), you are the firefighters, desperately trying to outflank the fireline and prevent flare-ups and firestorms. It's a thankless, impossible business." Friday, September 16, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf ERIC Source: ERIC ERIC Provides Citation Management -- Libraries Source: ALC Gulf Coast Libraries Renewal Fund Created by Americans for Libraries Council -- Privacy--Social Security Numbers Source: General Accountability Office (PDFs) Social Security Numbers: Federal and State Laws Restrict Use of SSNs, yet Gaps Remain, by Barbara D. Bovbjerg, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues, before the New York State Assembly Standing Committees on Consumer Affairs and Protection, Government Operations, and Banks, in New York City. (via DocuTicker) Highlights Full Report
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Community Investment--Database Source: Calvert Foundation Community Investment Profiles Database "Calvert Foundation and many community development organizations have worked together to present the most complete on-line resource for financial and program information on over 100 groups. If you want to read about how and where different community development organizations work, search this database." Search by lending sector, geographic area, organization name. "Please register (free) if you would like access to the advanced version of the profiles database. Upon registration you will have access to more detailed financial information, more sophisticated search capability, and further information about the operations of the organizations in this database." -- Electronic Voting Source: National Research Council Just Released (Prepub) Report, Asking the Right Questions About Electronic Voting "...articulates important questions and issues that election officials, policy makers, and informed citizens should ask concerning the use of computers and information technology (IT) in the electoral process." -- Disasters--Mental Health Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Disaster Mental Health Resources "This page includes information on general strategies for promoting mental health and resilience that have been developed by various organizations based on experiences in prior disasters. While each individual is affected differently by a disaster, certain groups may share common experiences." See also: Information on Coping With Traumatic Events (National Institute of Mental Health) -- Hurricane Katrina--Environment Source: EPA Hurricane Katrina Response from the EPA Daily updates -- Hurricane Katrina Source: National Climatic Data Center Climate of 2005: Summary of Hurricane Katrina Thursday, September 15, 2005
Resource of the Week By Shirl Kennedy, Deputy Editor Yes, we do love digital libraries here on ResourceShelf, and we stumbled across a really good one this week that we would like to share with you. Clear a block of time in your schedule before you start browsing here because there is plenty to see. Academic Library--Digital Library Source: University of Wisconsin Libraries University of Wisconsin Digital Collections "The University of Wisconsin Digital Collections provides quality digital resources from its academic libraries to UW faculty, staff and students, citizens of the state, and scholars at large." To be perfectly honest, I stumbled into this site via a "side door," if you will. I enjoy looking at prints of birds in old books (especially woodpeckers), and there is an amazing series of volumes digitized here -- A natural history of birds. Most of which have not been figur'd or describ'd, and others very little known from obscure or too brief descriptions without figures, or from figures very ill design'd, by one George Edwards (1694-1773). Who could resist "The great spotted cuckow"? Definitely not me. Naturally, I started clicking around to see what else was available here. I found some other cool bird books: + The natural history of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands: containing the figures of birds, beasts, fishes, serpents, insects and plants by Mark Catesby (1683-1749). Check out this woodpecker! He ended up as my Windows wallpaper at work for awhile. + Birds of North America by Jacob Henry Studer (1840-1904). This plate is especially charming. + American ornithology; or The natural history of the birds of the United States by Alexander Wilson (1766-1813). Behold the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker in all its splendor. But these bird books are just a small part of the amazing Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture: Image and Text Collections, which offers such gems as: + The house in good taste by Elsie DeWolf (1865-1950). (Now, where would you put the computer...?) + Sketches for country houses, villas, and rural dwellings; calculated for persons of moderate income, and for comfortable retirement by John Plaw (1744 or 5-1820). Here's an interesting example. + The Art journal illustrated catalogue: the industry of all nations, 1851. Wonder what some of this stuff would bring on eBay? Lots more here. "The Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture collects and creates electronic resources for study and research of the decorative arts, with a particular focus on Early America. Included are electronic texts and facsimiles, image databases, and Web resources. Made possible by the Chipstone Foundation, the project is produced at the University of Wisconsin Madison General Library System." There are many ways to browse the collection, and everything is keyword searchable, including the images. Search volumes individually or search the whole collection. You'll also find a nicely annotated list of primary documents in their original format. I kept clicking around and discovered that the Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture is only one section of a huge, fabulous digital collection. While some of the materials are specific to Wisconsin and the upper midwest, there is a variety of general interest material here as well. I commend your attention to: + Chambers's Book of Days ("A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in connection with the Calendar"). Click on your birthday on the calendar here and enjoy. I share a birthday with Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV. Who knew? + The James Joyce Scholars' Collection: "The selected works compiled in the James Joyce Scholars' Collection (JJSC) all share two characteristics: 1) all the books are currently out-of-print and 2) they are valuable, perhaps indispensable, to those who seek a more complete understanding and appreciation of the richness of James Joyce's literary works." + New Communication Technologies, Their History and Social Influence: An Annotated Bibliography: "This annotated bibliography covers scholarship on the history and influence of new communication technologies. The term 'new' is used in a historical sense, which is to say that all technologies were at one time new. For example, innovations in timekeeping, the reproduction of visual images, and Johann Gutenberg's invention of printing with movable metal type were new in the context of the period between the thirteenth and mid-fifteenth centuries and they helped to make possible the modern world. This bibliography attempts to cover both very old and very recent developments in communications, and in so doing to place the rapid changes of our modern-day world into historical perspective." You can search by keyword or browse by subject heading (or search by multiple subject headings). Each entry is richly annotated. Awesome! + Ravenstein Atlas des Deutschen Reichs. This atlas of the German Empire was published in 1883, and you can download individual maps. + SouthEast Asian images & Texts: "...contains digitized images, including photographs and slides, that librarians, scholars, and other subject specialists have deemed important to these fields of study will be added to the collection on an ongoing basis." Lots of material about the Phillipines here. See also: Portal to Internet Asian Resources. Also here -- links to niche databases such as: + The Women's Studies Core Books database: "...a project of the Association of College & Research Libraries -- Women's Studies Section. Book titles currently in print are selected by academic librarians that volunteer to maintain a subject area." + Women's Audio Visuals in English: "...a database maintained by the University of Wisconsin System Women's Studies Librarian's Office that lists documentary, experimental, and feature film and video productions by and about women." + PrimateLit: "...provides bibliographic access to the scientific literature on nonhuman primates for the research and educational communities. Coverage of the database spans 1940 to present and includes all publication categories (articles, books, abstracts, technical reports, dissertations, book chapters, etc.) and many subject areas (behavior, colony management, ecology, reproduction, field studies, disease models, veterinary science, psychology, physiology, pharmacology, evolution, taxonomy, developmental and molecular biology, genetics and zoogeography)." + Historical Research in Europe: A Guide to Archives and Libraries: "The intention is to unite web-based and printed resources which provide information about European libraries and archives in a single interactive database. The collections of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which are exceptionally strong in guides to European archives and libraries, form the basis for the printed materials included here. Websites are gathered from a variety of sources. The database is updated and new resources added on a monthly basis. Hyperlinks are verified and updated every month." Much more to look at here. Poke around and find treasures of your own. For those who are working on a digital project at their own institutions...or are thinking of doing so, you'll find extensive documentation that includes "detailed and specific workflows, project models, and industry standards," and also a page of related links. And last, but certainly not least, there's contact information for the hard-working people behind this initiative.
Professional Reading Shelf Dictionaries Source: Oxford English Dictionary New on the OED Site, Learning Resources "A new Learning Resources area has been added to the site, with exercises for different school levels, as well as some articles, quizzes, and useful links." -- Web Search Source: Webology Precision and Recall of Five Search Engines for Retrieval of Scholarly Information in the Field of Biotechnology "This paper presents the results of a research conducted about five search engines- AltaVista, Google, HotBot, Scirus and Bioweb -for retrieving scholarly information using Biotechnology related search terms. The search engines are evaluated taking the first ten results pertaining to 'scholarly information' for estimation of precision and recall. It shows that Scirus is most comprehensive in retrieving 'scholarly information' followed by Google and HotBot. It also reveals that the search engines (except Bioweb) perform well on structured queries while Bioweb performs better on unstructured queries." -- Digital Libraries Source: D-Lib The September 2005 Issue of D-Lib Magazine is Available Articles in the new issue include: + Anatomy of Aggregate Collections: The Example of Google Print for Libraries + Institutional Repository Deployment in the United States as of Early 2005 + An Examination of Citation Counts in a New Scholarly Communication Environment + Current Cites: What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Education--Statistics Source: OECD Just Released, Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators -- 2005 Edition Full text is fee-based. However, statistical tables and and executive summary (64 pages; PDF) are available for free. You'll also find a link to the OECD Online Education Database. -- Call Centers--United States Source: Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies, Cornell Univ. U.S. Call Center Industry Report 2004 62 pages; PDF. "This national benchmarking report represents the first large scale survey of management practices and outcomes in the U.S. call center industry. This industry has grown dramatically over the last decade, employing an estimated 3 percent of the country's workforce. This U.S. study is part of a larger global call center industry project. It is the first in a series of national reports on the call center industry in over 15 countries worldwide." See Also: The Indian Call Centre Industry: National Benchmarking Report 26 pages; PDF. -- Telecommunications Source: FCC Just Released, Trends in the International Telecommunications Industry Highlights ||| Full Text 53 pages; PDF. -- Population--United States--Fast Facts Source: U.S. Census Fast Facts About the Unmarried Population in the United States Next week is "Unmarried and Single Americans Week." -- Agriculture--Hub Source: University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Agripedia "Agripedia has been created to allow students to use resources across the country in an integrated, interactive learning resource on the Internet. As an "encyclopedia of agriculture", Agripedia presents facts, figures, demonstrations, examples, graphics, and more regarding the concepts, practices, and vocabulary of agriculture in a multimedia format using audio clips, graphics, text and animation. AGRIPEDIA not only provides ready access to instructional sites on the web, it also helps students navigate the tangle of the world wide web with ease." -- Pulp Fiction--Canada Source: Library and Archives Canada Tales From the Vault "Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is proud to present its Canadian pulp art and fiction collection, straight from the special collections vault. The collection featured in this virtual exhibit, Tales from the Vault!: Canadian Pulp Fiction, 1940-1952, is one of the very few known pulp magazine holdings in Canada, and is available for consultation at LAC." -- Hurricane Katrina--Aerial Imagery Source: MSN Virtual Earth, MSNBC Hurricane Katrina: New Orleans Virtual Flyover "Before and after photos of Hurricane Katrina."
RSS Round-Up by Steven M. Cohen, Contributing Editor ----- A few RSS resources I found in my travels which may be useful for the information professional: + GPO Access launched a feed for their "What's New" Page. + Current Copyright Literature, a page edited by Tobe Liebert, the Assistant Director for Collection Development & Special Projects at the Tarlton Law Library. This list of links to scanned first-pages of articles has an RSS Feed. + A list of LC Classification Heading Feeds for new books enetered in the University of Alabama Libraries catalog. + A way to set up customized feeds of new materials in the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign library. + The Edmonton Public Library has subject guides that are RSSified (Many thanks to RSS4Lib for a few of these resources.)
Search Briefs + Convera's Web Index Expands + Watch "The Google Boys" Video + Ask Jeeves Unveils Gift Finder Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Librarianship Source: Sirsi OneSource 32 Tips to Inspire Innovation for You and Your Library: Part 2 "In the July issue of Sirsi OneSource, I wrote my first 11 tips for innovation and product development success at your library based on my own experiences (and as a sort of ode to the 25th anniversary of my MLS graduation). This is a three-part series, and the next 11 are right here. Watch for the final batch in October." By Stephen Abram. -- Metadata--Lectures Source: LAC Library and Archives Canada (LAC) Session on Innovations in Metadata Metadata Lectures Announced "New Directions in Description series, organized by Library and Archives Canada (LAC) in association with the Canadian Metadata Forum 2005 (www.collectionscanada.ca/metaforum/), presents two lectures discussing metadata research. The speakers are Deane Zeeman, from LAC who will cover the Metadata Strategy Catalytic Initiative of LAC and Dr. Joseph Tennis, University of British Columbia, will reveal research findings from the InterPARES2 project." -- Scholarly Publishing--Science Source: PLoS Medicine Why Most Published Research Findings Are False "There is increasing concern that most current published research findings are false. The probability that a research claim is true may depend on study power and bias, the number of other studies on the same question, and, importantly, the ratio of true to no relationships among the relationships probed in each scientific field. In this framework, a research finding is less likely to be true when the studies conducted in a field are smaller; when effect sizes are smaller; when there is a greater number and lesser preselection of tested relationships; where there is greater flexibility in designs, definitions, outcomes, and analytical modes; when there is greater financial and other interest and prejudice; and when more teams are involved in a scientific field in chase of statistical significance. Simulations show that for most study designs and settings, it is more likely for a research claim to be false than true. Moreover, for many current scientific fields, claimed research findings may often be simply accurate measures of the prevailing bias. In this essay, I discuss the implications of these problems for the conduct and interpretation of research." -- Government Printing Office Source: GPO GPO Information Expert Tapped to Drive Strategic Initiatives Forward PDF document. -- Public Libraries Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting Time for a New Catalog: Busy Library System Closed For Three Days The Multnomah County Public Library shuts down for three days. -- Hurricane Katrina Source: ALA Hurricane Katrina Library Update: September 13 -- Intellectual Property Source: ManagingInformation.com WIPO Begins Online Publication Of 'WIPO Gazette Of International Marks' "The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) began this month publishing an on-line edition of the WIPO Gazette of International Marks, the official publication of the Madrid System for the International Registration of Trademarks. "
Citation Reports Source: ISI + The #1 Paper (all fields) from the Top Ten Countries + Science in the United Kingdom, 2000-04 + Journals Ranked by Impact: Microbiology + U.S. Universities with Highest Concentrations in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, 2000-04 + Archaeology: Most Prolific U.S. Universities, 2000-04
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Hurricane Katrina--Maps Source: NOAA New, NOAA Aerial Mapping Assisting U.S. Coast Guard, Fema Shows Flood Waters Receding In Regions Affected By Hurricane Katrina Direct to Maps: + Katrina Flood Depth-Estimation (9/3) + Hurricane Katrina Response (9/12) + Background and more info -- European Parliament--Webcasts Source: Kable.net Online revamp for EU Parliament "A live webcast of all European Parliament proceedings is available on its new internet service." -- Education--United States--Economic Benefits Source: U.S. Census Bureau What It's Worth: Field of Training and Economic Status: 2001 (via DocuTicker) "An update on the value of an education, with national earnings data for men and women by level of educational attainment. Data provided by race and Hispanic origin as well. Includes a section on the amount of time it takes people to complete degrees beyond high school." Full Report (PDF; 652 KB) -- Life Sciences--Salary Survey Source: The Scientist The Scientist's Annual Life Sciences Salary Survey Includes numerous tables and maps. -- Insurance--United States Source: Insurance Information Institute New Resource, First Online Edition of Commercial Insurance From a news release, "The Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) has launched the first online edition of Commercial Insurance, to help businesses and the media better understand the basics of commercial insurance--what it is and how it works."
Search Briefs + Google Unveils Blog Search Engine See Also: Comments from Danny Sullivan and Gary. + Yahoo Shopping Goes Mobile + MSN's Developer Center is Now Live + Sun Research Developing Audio Search Tools
Briefly + Outsell predicts bumpy ride for b-to-b publishers + GlobeXplorer Acquires AirPhotoUSA (via Directions Magazine) + Convenient New Interlibrary Loan Feature for WilsonWeb 2.5 Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Audio Books--Public Domain LibriVox "LibriVox is an open source audio-literary attempt to harness the power of the many to record and disseminate, in podcast form, books from the public domain. It works like this: a book is chosen, then *you*, the volunteers, read and record one or more chapters. We liberate the audio files through this webblog/podcast every week (day ?). LibriVox is a VOLUNTEER project: if you have problems with the quality of a recording, get busy and make another one; If you wish to listen, please enjoy; if you wish to record, please contact librivox." -- Library of Congress--Preservation Source: LC Dianne L. van der Reyden Named Director For Preservation "Deanna Marcum, Associate Librarian for Library Services, has named Dianne L. van der Reyden as Director for Preservation at the Library of Congress. Van der Reyden has been serving as acting director since 2004, while she continued to perform her duties as chief of the Conservation Division."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Atlas Source: NGS National Geographic Society Unveils "Student Edition" of MapMachine "More than just maps, MapMachine Student Edition also has photos, facts, and fun. Here you can find the place you're looking for--or get lost in the cultures, sights, and sounds of the world." -- September 11, 2001 Source: National Security Archive FAA Believed Second 9/11 Plane Heading Towards NY for Emergency Landing: Released 9/11 Hijacking Reports Further Detail Confused U.S. Response "Ten minutes after American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) controllers in New York saw United Airlines Flight 175, heading "right towards the city," [PDF; p.13] but thought it was aiming for an emergency landing at a New York airport, according to FAA documents released this week under the Freedom of Information Act and posted on the web by the National Security Archive. Minutes later, Flight 175 hit the south tower of the World Trade Center." -- Transportation--United States--Statistics Source: National Transportation Safety Board Just Released, Transportation Fatalities Decrease In 2004 "Transportation fatalities in the United States decreased slightly in 2004, according to preliminary figures released today by the National Transportation Safety Board. Deaths from transportation accidents in the United States in 2004 totaled 44,870, down from the 45,158 fatalities in 2003." Table/Chart also available. -- Law Enforcement--United States--Salaries Source: Congressional Budget Office New Report, Comparing the Pay of Federal and Nonfederal Law Enforcement Officers "This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) paper compares the pay (wages and salaries) of federal law enforcement officers with the pay of nonfederal officers in the national and regional labor markets and in selected federal locality-pay areas." 33 pages; PDF. Additional material in this supplement (PDF). Thanks to Stuart B. for the news tip.
Briefly + Endeca Signs Deal with In-Q-Tel to Provide Search Solutions to the Defense Intelligence Agency + KnowX Begins Offering Tracer Search Tool + Leading Educational and Blog Search Companies Launch Safe Blogging Tool for Schools + Illinois Libraries Launch 24/7 "Media Mall" Monday, September 12, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf The British Library Source: BL New Report, Redefining the Library: The British Library's strategy 2005 - 2008 -- Patriot Act--Libraries Source: AP Judge lifts gag order on librarian in Patriot Act case "A federal judge lifted a gag order Friday that shielded the identity of librarians who received an FBI demand for records about library patrons under the Patriot Act." -- Online Information--EPA Source: GovExec.com Report: EPA should create a centralized online data system "An online master data system of facilities regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency is necessary to allow the public access to reliable environmental data and reduce administrative burdens, according to a report from a coalition of businesses, activists and state government officials." Direct to report cited in article. -- Virtual Reference--Australia Source: NLA AskNow records its 100,000th enquiry "AskNow!, a Council of Australian State Libraries (CASL) initiative, has recorded its 100,000th enquiry, three years after its launch. AskNow! (www.asknow.gov.au), managed by the National Library of Australia, is a virtual reference desk where rostered operators in libraries around Australia handle queries online using chat software. The milestone inquiry was handled by an operator from the State Library of Victoria."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Entrepreneurship--Lists & Rankings Source: Red Herring 20 Entrepreneurs Under 35 "Red Herring recently recognized 20 outstanding entrepreneurs under 35." Profiles are included. -- Hurricane Katrina--Health Insurance Source: Kaiser Family Foundation (via DocuTicker.com) New Materials Related to Health Coverage and Hurricane Katrina Fact Sheets and access to audio briefing. -- Hurricane Katrina--Environment Source: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) NIEHS Launches Website with Global Information System for Assessing Environmental Hazards from Hurricane Katrina "A new website with a Global Information System will provide valuable information for assessing environmental hazards caused by Hurricane Katrina. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), one of the National Institutes of Health, created the website to provide the most up-to-date data to public health and safety workers on contaminants in flood waters, infrastructure and industry maps, as well as demographic information for local populations. The NIEHS Hurricane Katrina Information Website accessible at http://www-apps.niehs.nih.gov/katrina/ provides information on assessing and evaluating hundreds of potentially hazardous environmental pollutants that may pose a risk to human health. The website draws from information that NIEHS has acquired from a variety of sources including its research programs, as well as through its Superfund Basic Research Program, Worker Education and Training Program, and Environmental Health Science Centers. The website also includes a link to a new Global Information System (GIS) that NIEHS is developing with several academic partners. The GIS will contain layers of data, including the locations of refineries, oil pipelines, industrial facilities, Superfund sites, Toxic Release Inventory Data, agricultural operations, as well as maps and satellite images of schools, neighborhoods, and medical facilities, that will help assess the short and long effects of Katrina on the Gulf region." -- Hurricane Katrina--Environment Source: OMBWatch Potential Toxic Chemical Sites in New Orleans -- Energy--Education Source: EIA New Edition, Energy Education Resources: Kindergarten Through 12th Grade "Energy Education Resources: Kindergarten Through 12th Grade provides a list of generally free or low cost energy related educational materials available for students and educators. This is the 17th Annual edition." PDF.
Briefly + Over 44% Of Companies Without Information Management Strategy (via ManagingInformation.com) + ProQuest Historical Newspapers Program to Include Small Town and Community Newspapers Sunday, September 11, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf National Archives and Records Administration Electronic Records--United States Source: ALA NARA Chooses Lockheed Martin for Digital Records System "Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein announced September 8 the awarding of a $308-million, six-year contract to Lockheed Martin to design a system to preserve the federal government's electronic records. Lockheed was chosen over the Harris Corporation after a year-long design competition. Weinstein noted that the National Archives and Records Administration was impressed by Lockheed's 'ability to design a system which addresses in considerable depth NARA's business needs, on the one hand, and on the other hand, a system that entails a modern, service-oriented architecture.'" More details in this official news release from NARA. See Also: National Archives Announces Advisory Committee for Electronic Records Archives See Also: State Governments Grapple with Digital Archiving -- Government Archives--United Kingdom Source: Kable.net Extending the archives "The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) is to develop a central repository for better storage and information access. The MLA has awarded a contract to information management specialist Simulacra to develop a database, which will act as a repository for its three websites. The development costs have been funded by the European Union as part of the Michael project, which aims to create the first multilingual inventory of museums, libraries, and archives across Europe. The database will link with Cornucopia, an online database of information on 6,000 collections in the UK's museums, galleries, archives and libraries, and a MLA case study website." -- Hurricane Katrina--Libraries Source: ALA Hurricane Katrina Library News Last update was posted 9/10/2005. -- Maps--Crime Source: National Institute of Justice New Report, Mapping Crime: Understanding Hot Spots 79 pages; PDF. See Also: Mapping Crime Principle and Practice (1979)
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Supreme Court--United States--Nominations Source: Law Library Reading Room, Library of Congress Supreme Court Nominations New compilation of resources. Includes: + John G. Roberts Nomination Collection + Supreme Court Nomination Documents + Web Resources Relating to Supreme Court Nominations -- Education Statistics--Projections Source: National Center for Education Statistics Projections of Education Statistics to 2014 "This publication provides projections for key education statistics. It includes statistics on enrollment, graduates, teachers, and expenditures in elementary and secondary schools, and enrollment, earned degrees conferred, and current-fund expenditures of degree-granting institutions. For the Nation, the tables, figures, and text contain data on enrollment, teachers, graduates, and expenditures for the past 14 years and projections to the year 2014. For the 50 States and the District of Columbia, the tables, figures, and text contain data on projections of public elementary and secondary enrollment and public high school graduates to the year 2014. In addition, the report includes a methodology section describing models and assumptions used to develop national and state-level projections." Full Report (PDF; 1.24 MB) -- September 11th September 11th Anniversary Resources A ResourceShelf compilation from 9/11/2002. Saturday, September 10, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Federal Depository Libraries Source: Federal Depository Library Council The Federal Government Information Environment of the 21st Century: Towards a Vision Statement and Plan of Action for Federal Depository Libraries "The GPO over the past two years has outlined and begun implementing its vision for operating in the changed environment of the 21st century. Libraries need to envision if and how they fit. Some FDLs have already answered this question for themselves by dropping out of the FDLP. But all libraries, not just FDLs, now have an opportunity to shape a vision of the government information environment of the 21st century with themselves as contributing participants." -- Out-of-Print Books--Ranking Source: BookFinder.com The BookFinder.com Report "The BookFinder.com Report is a different kind of bestseller list. It's a measure of the most sought after out of print titles in America."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Hurricane Katrina Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists) + New Orleans Levees and Floodwalls: Hurricane Damage Protection + Price Increases in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: Authority to Limit Price Gouging + Disaster Evacuation and Displacement Policy: Issues for Congress + Tax Deductions for Catastrophic Risk Insurance Reserves: Explanation and Economic Analysis -- Occupations--Ranking Source: Harris Poll Firemen, Doctors, Scientists, Nurses and Teachers Top List as 'Most Prestigious Occupations,' According to Latest Harris Poll "Firemen, doctors, scientists, nurses and teachers are all seen as prestigious occupations by U.S. adults while union leaders, journalists, accountants, real estate agents and stockbrokers are all seen at the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to having prestigious occupations." Librarians didn't make the list... -- Computer Protocols Source: Computerworld Quick Study: Protocols See Also: The Protocols that Power the Internet Friday, September 09, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf National Archives and Records Administration Electronic Records--United States Source: News Release National Archives Announces Advisory Committee for Electronic Records Archives Committee members include: -- Dr. David Carmichael, state archivist of Georgia -- Dr. Jerry Handfield, state archivist of Washington State -- Richard Pearce-Moses, director of digital government information at the Arizona State Library and Archives -- Jonathan Redgrave, partner at Jones Day -- Dr. Sharon Dawes, director of the Center for Technology in Government and associate professor of public administration and policy, the University at Albany -- Dr Luciana Duranti, chair and professor of Archival Studies, School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, The University of British Columbia, and director of the InterPARES Project -- Dr. Daniel Greenstein, associate vice provost scholarly information and university librarian, California Digital Library, University of California, -- Andy Maltz, director, Science and Technology Council, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences -- David Rencher, director, Records and Information Division, Family and Church History Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- Dr. Kelly Woestman, professor and history education director, Pittsburg State University
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Hurricane Katrina Source: LexisNexis LexisNexis Offers Free Full Text Access to Hurricane Katrina Content Newspaper articles (including local papers), transcripts and more. Additional info in this article. -- Federal Government IT Vendors--Ranking Source: Federal Computer Week Top 50 GSA Schedule 70 Contractors (PDF; 1.3 MB) "If there is a grand-daddy of all federal procurement vehicles, it is the General Services Administration's schedule contracts. Schedule 70, which makes up most of the information technology products and services, remains a bellwether of market activity. The following is a list of the top contractors on the IT schedule as compiled by Eagle Eye Publishers, a market research firm." See also: 20 Top Systems Integrators (PDF; 3.24 MB) See also: 10 Hot Companies to Watch -- Immigration--United Kingdom--Maps Source: BBC New, British immigration map revealed "BBC News website readers can see an immigration map of Britain based on the most comprehensive set of figures yet assembled about people born outside the British Isles, where they come from, where they live and how they're doing. More info here. Direct to database.
Search Briefs + Ask Jeeves Offers Smart Search Box with Hurricane Katrina Info + Squeezing The Search Engine Loaf For Freshness
Briefly Hoover's Rolls Out Significant Enhancements To Family Tree And Adds Deeper International Company Coverage Thursday, September 08, 2005
Resources of the Week -------------------------------------- By Shirl Kennedy, Deputy Editor Unless you're made of stone, you've been deeply touched by the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. And we information professionals tend to be a compassionate bunch by nature. Natually we want to help...and the most pragmatic thing to do, of couse, is give money. It's probably safe to say that we're all pretty much savvy enough not to open our wallets or whip out our credit cards without checking to make sure that the organization receiving our donations is legitimate. Unfortunately, in the wake of disasters of this magnitude, scams and scamsters abound. In the interest of getting this information in front of as many eyeballs as possible, this week we present a round-up of resources you can use to make sure your hard-earned dollars will get to those folks in such desperate need of help. + Guidestar (Philanthropic Research, Inc.) provides "comprehensive data on more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations...." You must register in order to use the database; paying subscribers have access to more information and features, but the basic (free) registration will get you contact information (including the website, if applicable); a brief description of what the organization does; whether it is, in fact, a 501(c)(3) Public Charity; number of board members, employees and volunteers; goals, results, accomplishments; and IRS Form 990s (return for organizations exempt from federal taxes). A link on the front page takes you to a search form pre-filled to extract information on organizations involved in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. + The Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance offers its own alphabetical listing of reports on charities and other organizations that solicit nationally. Among other information, each report indicates whether or not the organization meets the BBB Wise Giving Alliance Standards for Charity Accountability. A link on the front page takes you directly to a list of reports for charities participating in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. + Network for Good -- which is powered by the Guidestar database -- allows you to donate easily online to worthwhile organizations, as well as to find volunteer opportunities. You'll find a special page dedicated to Hurricane Katrina relief organizations. + The Katrina Help Wiki offers an Aid Agencies page that provides "(p)hone numbers and online donations forms for Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery charities and other organizations. Includes resources for animal relief." + The American Institute of Philanthropy is a "Charity Watchdog" that offers a rating guide to roughly 500 charitable organizations to its donors. However, a list of the top-rated charities is available for free online. A special page offers advice on "The Best Way to Help Victims of Hurricane Katrina," with a list of 16 top-rated charities involved in relief efforts. + The IRS provides a page of links to information about state agencies that regulate charities and other non-profits. For example, the Florida Division of Consumer Services offers a database that contains "financial summaries of charitable organizations which are registered with the State of Florida." + For tax information, IRS Publication 526 (PDF; 180 KB) covers charitable contributions. + The SANS Institute reports that Katrina malware and donation scams are already showing up online. Be particularly careful of Red Cross "phishing" sites. Here is a list of Red Cross Official Cash Donation Sites.
Professional Reading Shelf Dictionaries Source: OED The September Issue of the Oxford English Dictionary is Now Online Articles include: + Sri Lankan English + Memories of the Oxford English Dictionaries, 1972-2005 + Interesting antedatings -- Open Access Source: Peter Suber/SPARC SPARC Open Access Newsletter, September 2005 is Now Online See Also: Two New Reports About Open Access Are Now Online via JISC The reports are titled, "Disciplinary Differences & Needs," and "Learned Society Open Access Business Models." -- Data--Statistics Source: ManagingInformation.com Data Burden Keeps Growing According To New Research "The amount of digital information that businesses have to manage is set to grow by a maximum of 30% over the next two years. That's a key finding in the latest edition of the Hitachi Data Systems Storage Index, a bi-annual survey of more than 840 CIOs and IT Directors from 21 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA)." -- PDFs--Accessibility Source: A List Apart Facts and Opinions About PDF Accessibility "PDF files on the web are sometimes annoying and very often unnecessary. But when they aren't either of those things, we need to make them accessible for the same reasons we make other web content accessible. Contrary to popular opinion -- and also contrary to quasi-judicial claims in some places -- PDF documents can be no less accessible than HTML. While this may be a shocking revelation, it is nonetheless true. This article will explain how PDF does and does not support accessibility."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Supreme Court Justices--Nomination Hearings Source: GPO Access Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Supreme Court Nomination Hearings (1971 - forward) Senate Judiciary nomination hearings for: William Rehnquist, Sandra Day O'Connor, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, David Souter, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, John Paul Stevens. (PDFs) -- Tires--Safety Ratings--Databases Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Tire Ratings: Database Look-up From press release: "Passenger vehicle tire quality has improved since last year, according to ratings released today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). NHTSA's 2005 ratings cover more than 2,400 lines of the most popular passenger vehicle tires sold in the U.S. The agency rates tires based on traction, treadwear and their ability to resist heat." -- Hurricane Katrina--Economics Source: Congresstional Budget Office Just Released, Macroeconomic and Budgetary Effects of Hurricane Katrina PDF. -- Flood Damage--Data Recovery Source: National Public Radio Recovering PC Data after Flood Damage "Many people whose houses were flooded by Katrina thought they lost data stored in their computers. Technology consultants say the best thing to do with flood damaged PCs is to send the equipment immediately to the experts, wrapped in plastic -- and not to wait until the device is dry." Listen in Windows Media or RealPlayer format.
Search Briefs + The Wall Street Journal Tackles Blog Search and a Few Comments + Ask Jeeves CEO Interviewed, Says Online Scams Could Slow Adoption of Personalized Search Tools + Happy 7th Birthday, Google! Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Reference--Reviews Source: Gale The September 2005 Edition of Peter's Digital Reference Shelf is Now Online This month Peter Jacso offers reviews of: Terrorism Knowledge Base "A rich collection of statistics and factual data about terrorist groups, individuals, and incidents, enhanced by a good bibliography with many links to full-text documents, and 'disenhanced' by a poor glossary. The software splendidly helps make information from data, and knowledge from information." & Terrorism: Q & A "A well-written, but outdated, compendium by competent experts about terrorism with a focus on post-9/11 activities targeting the United States, but not an encyclopedia as it is often referred. Its software makes it particularly appealing for those who are fond of the Q&A-style presentation of information." See Also: Last Week the Terrorism Knowledge Base was the ResourceShelf ROTW -- ERIC Source: Education Resources Information Clearinghouse ERIC Adds New Content for New School Year "ERIC is pleased to announce the availability of a substantial amount of new 2004 and 2005 content. Highlights of this content addition include approximately 20,000 new records for users to search, more than 10,000 bibliographic journal records from more than 300 current journals, and over 1000 ERIC documents (most documents and some journal articles are available in full text). To provide access to as much new material as possible, ERIC has included more than 9000 journal records that have been acquired, but only partially processed." -- Optical Media--Longevity Source: PC Magazine Are DVDs and CDs Disintegrating? "Reliability is a very amorphous proposition in the world of optical media. No one knows how long such media will last...." Discusses the 2004 report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology: Stability Comparison of Recordable Optical Discs -- A Study of Error Rates in Harsh Conditions (PDF; 653 KB)
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Lake Ponchartrain--Environment Hurricane Katrina Source: USGS Full Text, Environmental Atlas of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin -- Country Studies Source: Federal Research Division/Library of Congress Just Updated, Just Released, Country Profile of Australia PDF. See Also: More Country Profiles from the FRD -- Criminal Justice--United States--Statistics Source: BJS New, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 2003 "The 31st edition of Sourcebook contains over 600 tables from over 100 sources. Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 2003." -- Health--United Kingdom--Databases Source: Kable.net NHS launches chronic database "The Department of Health (DoH) has unveiled a database that it hopes to support the care of patients with long-term conditions. It referred to the system as "the world's most comprehensive database on the prevalence and management of common chronic diseases," in a statement issued on 31 August 2005." -- U.S. Code--Databases Source: GPO Updated: The United States Code: 2000 Edition, Supplement 2, is now available on GPO Access -- Nuclear Accidents--Chernobyl Source: UN (via DocuTicker) New Report, Chernobyl: the true scale of the accident "A total of up to 4000 people could eventually die of radiation exposure from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP) accident nearly 20 years ago, an international team of more than 100 scientists has concluded. As of mid-2005, however, fewer than 50 deaths had been directly attributed to radiation from the disaster, almost all being highly exposed rescue workers, many who died within months of the accident but others who died as late as 2004. The new numbers are presented in a landmark digest report, "Chernobyl's Legacy: Health, Environmental, and Socio-Economic Impacts," just released by the Chernobyl Forum. The digest, based on a three-volume, 600-page report and incorporating the work of hundreds of scientists, economists, and health experts, assesses the 20-year impact of the largest nuclear accident in history. The Forum is made up of 8 UN specialized agencies, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA), United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), and the World Bank, as well as the governments of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine." Summary Direct to Full Text, Images, and Related Materials
Search Briefs + Katrina Missing Persons Meta Search Tools from Lycos and Yahoo + Google Patents Method to Determine Equivalent Descriptions Based on Information Needs of Searcher + On Search, Students, and Libraries Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Classification Source: OCLC Research Presentation: DeweyBrowser (2.2MB/14 slides/PPT) Presented by Ed O'Neill on behalf of Diane Vizine-Goetz at the Dewey Translators Meeting held in conjunction with the World Library and Information Congress: 71st IFLA General Conference and Council, 16 August 2005, Oslo University College, Oslo (Norway). See Also: Learn More About the DeweyBrowser "The OCLC Research DeweyBrowser prototype allows users to search and browse collections of library resources organized by the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC)." -- Digital Repositories Source: RLG Audit Checklist for Certifying Digital Repositories "This draft report is the first guide for determining whether a digital repository can be certified as a trusted location for digital collections. Developed by a task force of experts assembled by RLG and National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the draft is available for public comment." -- Patent Searching Source: WIPO On-Line Patent Searching -- A Cautionary Tale "Are Search Statements Submitted to Patent Databases Public Disclosure of an Invention?"
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Schools--United States--Databases Libraries--United States--Databases Source: NCES Updated: Search for Schools, Colleges and Libraries "Search for Schools, Colleges and Libraries has been updated with more recent data for both public and private schools. Conduct a search and get detailed information for schools." -- Consumer Issues--Scams Source: The Internet Crime Complaint Center Hurricane Katrina Charitable Scams (PDF) "The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has issued an alert about an influx of websites soliciting for charitable donations to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina, a few of which are simply scams. For help on what to do when considering online options for providing funding, IC3 has provided some guidelines for consumers." -- Cooking--Science Source: Exploratorium (sponsored by the National Science Foundation) The Accidental Scientist: Science of Cooking "Discover how a pinch of curiosity can improve your cooking! Explore recipes, activities, and Webcasts that will enhance your understanding of the science behind food and cooking." -- Food Labelling Source: Parliamentary Library, Australia New, Research Note: Country of origin labelling: Are consumers willing to pay more for Australian products?
Briefly + JISC Agreement Will Bring Elsevier's Scopus, World's Largest Science Database, To British Universities + OneSource Plans International Expansion Monday, September 05, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Reference Tools--Guinness World Records Source: The Smithsonian World's Unlikeliest Bestseller "This year Guinness World Records celebrates its 50th anniversary. Since 1955, the company's exacting scribes have chronicled the earth's extremes: Tallest Building (Taipei Financial Building, Taiwan). Largest Atoll (Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands). Driest place (Chile's Atacama Desert). Heaviest Human (Jon Brower Minnoch, U.S.A., 1,399 pounds). Most Venomous Mollusk (the blue-ringed octopus). Now it also sanctions some of the world's silliest stunts." Full Article (PDF; 192 KB) -- Library Programming--Weblog Source: Rhonda K. Kitchens Sell It With Sizzle "Shares Free Ideas, Tips and Hints for Library Programming, Outreach and Events" -- Libraries--Hurricane Katrina Source: ALA Hurricane Katrina Library Update: September 5
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Hurricane Katrina--Imagery Update: DigitalGlobe Has Posted Additional Satellite Images of New Orleans Links to imagery here. -- Hurricane Katrina--Fast Facts Source: U.S. Census Fast Facts for Hurricane Katrina's Affected Areas Includes links to reports and maps. -- Hurricane Katrina--Maps Source: FEMA Mapping and Analysis Center Hurricane Katrina FEMA Maps (Situation Map, Power Outages, etc.) -- Health Care--United States--Surveys Source: Kaiser/USA Today/Harvard Health Care Costs Survey Kaiser/USA Today/Harvard Health Care Costs Survey "This week, the Kaiser Family Foundation, USA Today, and the Harvard School of Public Health released a comprehensive survey that looks at how Americans are being affected by health care costs. The survey includes information on the problems Americans have paying for medical care and prescription drugs; the impact paying health care bills has on family budgets; and the barriers health care costs pose to obtaining medical care. Complete survey results, and a link to a three-day series in USA Today based on the survey results." -- Petroleum--United States--Statistics Source: Energy Information Administration Enhanced, Petroleum Navigator "Petroleum Navigator provides an integrated and consistent interface for accessing a comprehensive set of EIA's petroleum data. Features include: + downloadable spreadsheets containing complete data history + data tables which "pivot" to present different perspectives + selection boxes to easily change the product, area, process, period, and unit of measure" Sunday, September 04, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf The Internet Archive A Message from Brewster Kahle at The Internet Archive The Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library, needs help in finding URLs of sites and blogs that contain documents of this major disaster. Please email links to sites and pages that should be saved for future research to katrina@archive.org. We have worked to archive events such as 9/11 and the tsunami with the generous help of volunteers finding and sending in links. We then save these digital works for the long term and create research tools (for example: http://www.loc.gov/minerva/collect/sept11/index.html and http://web.archive.org ). As a library, we provide free access to those wanting to learn from these events-- we can only hope that we learn some lessons from disasters such as these. Again, please send email to katrina@archive.org with lists of URLs you suggest should be archived relevant to the Katrina Disaster. We are also looking for a couple of volunteers who can help orchestrate the crawl. If you are interested, please send a note to katrina@archive.org with "volunteer" in the subject line. Thank you. -Brewster Kahle Digital Librarian Internet Archive --------------------------- --------------------------- Images--Australia--Databases Source: PictureAustralia Congrats! Happy 5th Birthday PictureAustralia! "PictureAustralia celebrates its 5th birthday on 4 September and see how it has grown! The service was launched in 2000, with seven participants and 470,000 images. We now include images from forty one participating agencies including all the State Libraries, several public libraries, museums, galleries, and university libraries, and also two overseas contributors. There are now over 1 million images available through PictureAustralia. We expect this number to continue growing, with many agencies, both Australian and international, expressing an interest to join and share their images in this collaborative environment.:
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Hurricane Katrina--Disaster Relief Source: American Red Cross Facts at a Glance: American Red Cross Response to Hurricane Katrina A growing collection of images is also available. -- Hurricane Katrina--Health Issues Hurricane Katrina--Environments Issues Source: National Library of Medicine Enviro-Health Links -- Hurricane Katrina: Links to Health Information including toxicology and environmental health -- Flooding--New Orleans Source: Scientific American Drowning New Orleans This article was published in the October 2001 issue of Scientific American. & Gone With the Water From the October 2004 of National Geographic. -- See Also: MANY More Hurricane Katrina Resources (including links to satellite and aerial imagery) Here, Here, Here, and Here Saturday, September 03, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Sound Recordings Source: Council on Library and Information Resources and Digital Library Federation New Report, Survey of Reissues of U.S. Recordings "The purpose of this study was to determine the legal accessibility of sound recordings published in the United States. The survey was designed to quantify the degree to which rights holders of historical sound recordings have made available, either directly or through licensees, past recordings that they control." -- Federal Depository Libraries--Hurricane Katrina Source: GPO Federal Depository Libraries: Hurricane Katrina Aftermath "A number of Federal depository libraries were in the path of Hurricane Katrina. While it is too early to gauge the impact of this horrendous storm on those institutions, GPO is committed to helping our depository partners recover in any way that we can. As a first step GPO has taken the following actions..." -- Libraries--Disaster Planning Source: Jon Schultz, University of Houston Law Center Master of Disaster: The Beginner's Disaster Planning Site for Libraries, Businesses and Institutions "The Master of Disaster pages help you borrow ideas from other people's disaster plans and check the best disaster information sources. Most importantly, see the one-hour planning instructions and the pages on what to do when disaster strikes." -- Information Industry Source: IWR Aggregators win reprieve as Financial Times abandons embargo "The Financial Times has abandoned a move to delay feeds of its content to news aggregators until after noon on the day of publication, which was due to come into force today. A reprieve was won on the afternoon of 31 August after heavy lobbying from key aggregator partners, including LexisNexis and Factiva."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Floods--New Orleans Hurricane Katrina--Web Resources Source: U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Corps Hurricane Response Page ++ Q&As on Unwatering New Orleans (PDF) See Also: MANY More Hurricane Katrina Resources Here, Here, Here, and Here Includes several links to satellite and aerial imagery. -- Hurricane Katrina--Economic Effects Source: Standard & Poor's Hurricane Katrina "Standard & Poor's will continue to closely monitor the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the economy and on equities, credit, industrial, energy & utility, financial services and insurance issuers, and public finance issuers, and will publish updates below as necessary. In most cases, it is still too early to estimate the overall effects of the storm." Most in PDF format; some video reports. -- Law Firms--Ranking Source: The American Lawyer The A-List "We compile the list by measuring performance of Am Law 200 firms in four key areas: Financial success is one component, commitment to pro bono is another. A firm must attend to the morale and training of its associates and do something more than pay lip service to the idea of a diverse workplace. Our goal here is fairly straightforward. We aim to determine, as objectively as possible, the firms that have been able to build successful practices without abandoning the profession's core values." Free registration required to access rankings. Friday, September 02, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf American Literature--Digital Resources Source: Council on Library and Information Resources and Digital Library Federation New Report, A Kaleidoscope of Digital American Literature "This report will be useful to anyone interested in the current state of online American literature resources. Its purpose is twofold: to offer a sampling of the types of digital resources currently available or under development in support of American literature; and to identify the prevailing concerns of specialists in the field as expressed during interviews conducted between July 2004 and May 2005. Part two of the report consolidates the results of these interviews with an exploration of resources currently available. Part three examines six categories of digital work in progress: (1) quality-controlled subject gateways, (2) author studies, (3) public domain e-book collections and alternative publishing models, (4) proprietary reference resources and full-text primary source collections, (5) collections by design, and (6) teaching applications. This survey is informed by a selective review of the recent literature." -- National Libraries Source: Australian Broadcasting Co. Aust to fund PNG library facelift "Australia is to fund the refurbishment of Papua New Guinea's national library as part of independence celebrations. There will also be a rugby league match between Australia and PNG." -- Public Libraries--Marketing Source: Proceedings SERVIG Research Conference, Singapore (via E-LIS) Gaining Mindshare and Timeshare: Marketing Public Libraries (PDF; 140 KB) "This presentation is an examination of how the National Library Board had successfully gained market share by redefining its market space and remaking the image of libraries and librarians. Libraries were repositioned to gain mindshare and timeshare among Singaporeans, competing against the cinema, TV, video games and other leisure activities, becoming the Third Place after home and work for many." -- Libraries--Louisiana Source: Louisiana Library Association LLA Disaster Relief Details and address on the LLA web site (left column). -- Librarians--USA Patriot Act Source: American Civil Liberties Union In Legal Papers Unsealed Today, Librarian Speaks of Fear of Imprisonment Over Government Gag in Patriot Act Challenge "In previously sealed legal papers made public today by the American Civil Liberties Union, an unnamed librarian expressed fears of imprisonment if he were to violate a gag order in a challenge to a controversial Patriot Act power used by the FBI to demand library records. The papers, which were ordered unsealed by the judge in the case, include three affidavits and a legal brief. One of the affidavits was filed by a librarian charged with educating the library community and general public about intellectual freedom. The unnamed librarian is a representative of the ACLU's 'John Doe' client in the case."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Hurricane Katrina--Aftermath--Energy Source: EIA Hurricane Katrina's Impact on the U.S. Oil and Natural Gas Markets Updated on a daily basis to this point. & Center for Study of Public Health Impacts of Hurricanes, Louisiana St. University & Strategic Petroleum Reserve Source: Congressional Research Service Issue Brief: Strategic Petroleum Reserve Updated May 31, 2005. 19 pages; PDF. IB 87050. & Oil and Gas Rigs--Data Source: Rigzone Rigzone Data Center "The Rigzone Data Center provides detailed information about the worldwide offshore rig fleet, along with other industry indicators including utilization, day rates, GOM permits and plans. If you want to learn about current offshore rig activity, the Rigzone Data Center is the place!" -- African-Americans--Statistics Source: U.S. Census Bureau Just Released, We the People: Black Population in the United States (PDF; 508 KB) From press release: "A demographic, social and economic portrait of the more than 36 million people who identified themselves as black or African American in Census 2000. The special report also discusses differences between men and women within the black population at the national level." -- Broadcasting--Women Source: University of Maryland, Library of American Broadcasting Taking a Leading Role: Women in Broadcasting History "The exhibit provides a glimpse into the lives and careers of 16 American women who worked in broadcasting during its most crucial years of development and expansion, in the mid-20th century. The diversity of their collections illuminates the myriad ways that women shaped the course of broadcasting history." Thursday, September 01, 2005
Resource of the Week By Shirl Kennedy, Deputy Editor We gave the Terrorism Knowledge Base, sponsored by the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT), a brief mention here on resources last fall. This site has come a long way since then, and we'd like to introduce you to some of its features this week. Terrorism--Databases Source: National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base This site bills itself as "the one-stop resource for comprehensive research and analysis on global terrorist incidents, terrorism-related court cases, and terrorist groups and leaders," and we can't argue that it's extremely comprehensive. Basically, what we have here is a searchable directory that comprises six sections: + Groups -- Profiles of terrorist organizations that you can sort alphabetically (in ascending or descending order) by name of group or base of operations. + Cases -- Legal cases that you can sort by date or U.S. indicted. + Countries/Areas -- Country profiles that incorporate data from the CIA World Fact Book, Transparency International, and The International Centre for Prison Studies. View alphabetically or sort regionally. + Incidents -- Many sorting options are available for this database of terrorism incidents. View data by date, geographic location, number of fatalities, targets, tactics weapons... When I looked here Tuesday evening, there was a link for "Recently Added Incidents," but clicking on it produced "no results." + Leaders and Members -- View profiles (which include pictures, where available) of terrorist group leaders and group members. Sort by name, group or role. + Information Resources -- An organized listing of articles, books, organizations/governments, brochures, CD-ROMs, electronic resources, magazines, proceedings, reports, sound recordings and video resources. Sort by title, author or publisher. There is a lot of data here. According to the site, you'll find over 35 years of international terrorism data; over 5 years of worldwide domestic terrorism data, over 20 years of US terrorism cases, hundreds of group and leader profiles and a searchable image archive; and interactive GIS, side-by-side comparison, graphing, and statistical analysis tools. The analytical tools can be used to "create charts and graphs and tables that analyze RAND data on terrorist incidents or legal data on the prosecution of terrorists," or you can look at pre-defined incident, group or legal reports. An Incident Analysis Wizard allows you to create pie graphs, line graphs or bar graphs of numbers of terrorism-related incidents, injuries or deaths, or terrorist groups -- in two or three dimensions. One intriguing new feature under development is the National Counterterrorism Center Worldwide Incidents Tracking System (WITS). The complex query form permits lots of search choices: date (currently offers only data from the year 2004); geographic location (region, country, state/province, city); event type; perpetrator; target (facility type, characteristic, nationality, degree of damage); victim (type -- political leader, educator, etc., characteristic -- religion, etc., nationality). You can also search events by victim statistics -- total victims, fatalities, wounded, hostages. Yes, it's complex. But they've recently added a two-minute virtual tour of the site that is quite helpful. Other resources here: + A link to the National Counterterrorism Center report, A Chronology of Significant International Terrorism for 2004 (PDF; 2.83 MB) + Recent terrorism-related news headlines from AP. + Links to other sites with terrorism-related news and data + An extensive glossary of terrorism-related terms + An Image Archive, where you can search for photos of terrorist groups, their leaders, and terrorism incidents. (The page warns that "certain pictures might be graphic in nature and not suitable for all ages.") The entire site is searchable; use the simple keyword search box on the home page or choose the advanced search form, which includes an array of dropdown menus that let you specify search parameters relating to the characteristics of terrorist groups and/or incidents, dates, geographic locations and legal cases.
Professional Reading Shelf Internet Resources Source: IRN The September 2005 Issue of The Internet Resources Newsletter is Now Online Numerous links to quality resources and news from Roddy MacLeod. -- RFID Source: GCN Legislator pushes for RFID ban in California "The sponsor of controversial legislation that would ban most uses of radio frequency identification in California is making a final push for passage of his bill before the Assembly adjourns Sept. 9. State Sen. Joe Simitian (D) is ramping up his efforts to persuade the state legislature to approve his Identity Information Protection Act of 2005, SB628. The measure would prohibit use of RFID for three years for driver's licenses and student identification, library, and health insurance cards." -- JSTOR--XML Source: JSTOR JSTOR Launches XML Gateway "As part of our continued effort to increase the convenience of access to the archive, we have developed a new interface to the JSTOR Search Engine. This interface, called the JSTOR XML Gateway, was created to better facilitate metasearching, which is also known as 'federated searching' or 'cross-database searching'" -- Libraries Source: LJ Americans for Libraries Council To Study Public Opinion About Libraries "The Americans for Libraries Council (ALC) has been awarded a two-year, $770,000 challenge grant by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to implement Building the Case for Libraries, a three-part initiative to build knowledge about public libraries."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents New Orleans--Maps Hurricane Katrina--Imagery Source: Greater New Orleans Community Data Center Maps/Census Data of New Orleans "New Orleans has 73 official neighborhoods. For all these neighborhoods, this site contains easy-to-use Census 2000 data--this includes households without cars, poverty, age of housing stock, and other demographics relevant to the impact of Hurricane Katrina. This site also publishes historical snapshots of each of these neighborhoods. & Brand New Satellite Imagery of New Orleans, Biloxi, MS, and other Locations (via DigitalGlobe) New images added September 3rd. & Before and After Satellite Imagery (via GlobeXplorer) ||| Hurricane Katrina ImageAtlas Viewer & More Satellite Imagery, Some Images Taken September 2, 2005 (via Space Imaging) & Satellite Imagery from ORBIMAGE & Hurricane Katrina Impact Studies (via USGS) "Aerial video, still photography, and laser altimetry surveys of post-storm beach conditions were collected August 31 and September 1, 2005 for comparison with earlier data." & Experimental Storm Surge Flood Models (via LSU, includes maps and imagery) & Emergency Response [Aerial] Imagery via NOAA "NOAA today posted online more than 350 aerial images of the U.S. Gulf Coast areas that were decimated by Hurricane Katrina. NOAA will be flying more missions in the days ahead that will yield hundreds of additional aerial digital images." Summary info, key images, and additional links here. & Hurricane Katrina Aftermath Satellite Imagery (via Earth Scan Laboratory, LSU) -- See Also: Hurricane Katrina Related Links Here and Here See Also: National Next of Kin Registry -- -- -- American Red Cross--RSS Feeds Source: American Red Cross American Red Cross RSS Feeds available: In The News, Disaster News, Biomedical News, International News, Press Releases See also: RSS feeds from SunHerald.com (southern Mississippi), New Orleans Sun -- Higher Education--Undergraduates Source: Beloit College Beloit College Mindset List--Class of 2009 "In the coming weeks, millions of students will be entering college for the first time. On average, these members of the Class of 2009 will be 18 years old, which means they were born in 1987. Starbucks, souped-up car stereos, telephone voicemail systems, and Bill Gates have always been a part of their lives." -- Credit Reports--United States Source: FTC Consumers Across the Country Eligible for Free Annual Credit Reports "Starting September 1, consumers in 14 East Coast states join the rest of the country in qualifying for a free annual credit report from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies -- Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion...The FTC has issued two new consumer education brochures: Your Access to Free Credit Reports, which explains how consumers can request their credit reports and dispute any errors, and Want a Free Annual Credit Report? The Only Official Website is Annualcreditreport.com, which warns consumers about imposter Web sites. The brochures are available at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/freereports.htm, and http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/freerepalrt.htm." -- Public Speaking Source: ExportSource.ca Speaking Globally: A Team Canada Inc On-Line Guide for Exporters A PDF version of this new guide is also available. -- Poverty--United States--Statistics Source: U.S. Census New, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004 "Real median household income remained unchanged between 2003 and 2004 at $44,389, according to a report released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Meanwhile, the nation's official poverty rate rose from 12.5 percent in 2003 to 12.7 percent in 2004. The percentage of the nation's population without health insurance coverage remained stable, at 15.7 percent in 2004. The number of people with health insurance increased by 2.0 million to 245.3 million between 2003 and 2004, and the number without such coverage rose by 800,000 to 45.8 million." Summary/Fast Facts/Additional Links Direct to Full Text (PDF)
Briefly + UK Patent Office Moves To The British Library (via ManagingInformation.com) + SwetsWise Online Content signs additional publishers + Nstein Technologies inks deal with Getty Images |
