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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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Saturday, December 31, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Public Libraries--Exhibits Source: St. Petersburg Times Will Morrison exhibit light readers' fire? "The Clearwater Library, once a hangout for a young Jim Morrison, is considering a permanent Morrison exhibit." (Ignore the brain-dead lead about Morrison as "a young man getting shushed a lot at the Clearwater Library."). -- Data Quality Source: Government Technology MPI Report Shows Database Errors Plague Immigration Enforcement "Thousands of times each year, police officers checking the name of an individual stopped or detained against records in the nation's main criminal database have received an initial 'hit' for an immigration violation that, upon further investigation, the Department of Homeland Security could not confirm. These 'false positives' have likely caused wrongful detentions and diverted scarce police resources from local public safety priorities, finds a report to be released on Thursday by the Migration Policy Institute." See the full report via DocuTicker.
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Health Statistics--United States Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Health, United States, 2005 "Health, United States is an annual report on trends in health statistics. The report consists of two main sections: A chartbook containing text and figures that illustrates major trends in the health of Americans; and a trend tables section that contains 156 detailed data tables. The two main components are supplemented by an executive summary, a highlights section, an extensive appendix and reference section, and an index." (via DocuTicker) -- Nonprofits--Entrepreneurship Source: Fast Company, Monitor Group Social Capitalist Awards 2006 "Like their counterparts in the profit-driven world, our 25 winning organizations -- winnowed from 278 nominations with the help of 43 experts -- are masters at envisioning products and services that don't yet exist, marshaling resources, and crafting solutions that deeply affect their customers. The results these nonprofit organizations deliver hinge on business acumen and often reflect strategies that their for-profit brethren would do well to imitate." -- U.S. Supreme Court Source: National Archives National Archives Opens Additional Samuel Alito Records "The National Archives at College Park will release 45 documents relating to Samuel Alito. These records total 744 pages from Record Group 60, Records of the Department of Justice, Files of John Bolton, Michael Carvin, Roger Clegg, Stephen Galebach, Brian Landsberg, Mark Levin, and Richard Willard." Direct to materials.
Population--United States--Statistics Source: U.S. Census Just Released, U.S. Population as of January 1, 2006 "The U.S. Census Bureau today projected the Jan. 1, 2006, population will be 297,821,175 up 2,713,518 or 0.9 percent from New Year's Day 2005. In January, the United States is expected to register one birth every eight seconds and one death every 12 seconds. Meanwhile, net international migration is expected to add one person every 31 seconds. The result is an increase in the total population of one person every 14 seconds." Friday, December 30, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Questia Media Source: Houston Chronicle Online library isn't ready to give up yet "Since the company's inception, Questia's biggest critics have been academic librarians. Some felt threatened that they would be rendered obsolete, some didn't like the idea of Questia marketing itself as an academic library rather than a database, and others didn't like the idea of charging for information that is free at the local library." -- OCLC Library Education Source: OCLC OCLC and ALISE announce 2006 research grant award recipients "OCLC Research and the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) awarded research grants to Lokman Meho with Kiduk Yang (Indiana), Joyce Kanini Mbwesa with Julius Mburi (Nairobi), Jeffrey Pomerantz (North Carolina), and Louise Spiteri (Dalhousie)."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text United States--Statistics Source: U.S. Census Recently Released: Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2006 Summary and Fast Facts Direct to Full Text (by Chapter) -- Spam--Lists & Rankings Source: America Online Hey, 'Donald Trump Wants You'!! (... & Other Lies Told by Spammers in 2005) "Does Donald Trump really want you? Will the Penis Patch improve your sex life? Is your mortgage application ready? Can you lose 6-20 inches in one hour with a body wrap? Did Lisa send you to the wrong site? The answer to each of these questions is almost certainly no. But they are examples of increasingly sophisticated methods spammers are using to prey on email users this year, according to AOL's third annual Top 10 Spam List." -- Music--Concerts--Lists & Rankings Source: Pollstar Top 20 North American Tours of 2005 -- Environment--United States--Statistics Source: EPA New Report, Measuring Progress 1999-2003: The Priority Chemicals Trends Report "EPA has released its National Priority Chemicals Trends Report. This year's report analyzes 23 of the 31 priority chemicals found in some industrial waste, using 2003 data newly reported and compiled in the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). TRI is a publicly available database with information on the use, release, and management of more than 650 toxic chemicals within industrial and federal facilities. Priority chemicals are chemicals that are persistent, highly toxic, and can accumulate in living organisms." -- iPod--Tutorial Source: Apple iPod 101: Master Your Music and More Did you get a new iPod over this holiday season? Learn how to get the most out of it. "Whether you're a Mac or Windows user, iPod 101 contains tons of information that'll help you enjoy your iPod to its fullest and guide you on your way to becoming iTunes savvy (we're using iTunes 6 in our course materials). Get ready to walk through the virtual aisles of the iTunes Music Store; learn how to sync your music, contacts, calendars, and more; admire your pretty pictures (and force others to do the same); watch TV shows and video; and find out what to do when things don't go as planned." Thursday, December 29, 2005
Resource of the Week By Shirl Kennedy, Deputy Editor Are you familiar with 511, "America's Traveler Information Telephone Number?" It's not active everywhere in the United States yet, but it's getting there. 511, basically, is a highway and traffic information system that takes advantage of detailed information on road conditions gleaned from Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). A motorist dials 511, and he or she receives localized basic travel information such as traffic conditions, construction/road closures, weather, public transit service updates, etc. Personally, I've never dialed 511 but I've accessed it a number of times online, for the State of Florida, and for the local Tampa Bay area. Actually, there is a lot of stuff like this online; anyone with Internet access need never settle for those skimpy radio and TV traffic reports. Since we are such huge fans of one-stop shopping sites here at ResourceShelf, we commend your attention to a site which aggregates a large collection of links to highway and traffic information...and sometimes more. Traffic Information--United States Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration National Traffic and Road Closure Information Nothing complicated here, folks. A clickable map you can use to get to information for the state of your choice, or use the text listing beneath it. Keep scrolling for links to sites with national information on traffic conditions, weather and road conditions, and regional information. At the very bottom is a link that will take you to a page with direct links to all 50 state transportation departments. Click the "What's New" button below and to the left of the map to explore the sites most recently added. There are some national links above that, including pointers to information about the 511 system. For additional information about intelligent transportation systems, see: + Center for Intelligent Transportation Systems at Penn State University + Intelligent Transportation Systems at Transport Canada + Intelligent Transportation Systems at the University of Washington + Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute at the University of Minnesota + Intelligent Transportation Systems at Oak Ridge National Laboratory + Intelligent Transportation Systems Science Tracer Bullet at the Library of Congress + ITS America And here is an ITS glossary.
Professional Reading Shelf Access to Information Source: GCN OMB policy on posting information sparks debate -- Electronic Journals Source: IWR Elsevier covers archiving with Portico deal "Scientific, technical and medical publishing giant Elsevier is creating a permanent archive for its e-journals in a deal with Portico, a specialist in electronic archiving. Elsevier will deposit over 2000 titles from ScienceDirect into the Portico archive." -- Libraries--United Kingdom--Statistics Source: LISU New, A Survey of Library Services to Schools and Children in the UK 2004-05 -- Serial Prices Source: Swets Serials Price Increase Report #3 published -- Documentaries--Ranking Source: Video Librarian Video Librarian 2005 Best Documentaries "The following list, selected and compiled by Video Librarian staff, honors the best new documentaries reviewed in the magazine and online during 2005. Unless otherwise noted, titles are available from most distributors."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Employment--United States--Reference Source: BLS Just Released: Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07 Edition Just Released: Career Guide to Industries, 2006-07 Edition -- Educators--United States--Statistics Source: NCES New Report, Background Characteristics, Work Activities, and Compensation of Instructional Faculty and Staff: Fall 2003 "This publication is the second from the 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:04), a study of faculty and instructional staff in public and private not-for-profit 2-year-and-above postsecondary institutions in the United States." -- Climate--United States Source: NOAA NOAA National Weather Service Unveils New Precipitation Web Page "High-quality precipitation analyses used for flood forecasts, drought monitoring and climate trends are being made available on the NOAA National Weather Service Web site on a trial basis through June 2006." -- E-Government--United States Source: CBO New Report: Expanding E-Government: Improved Service Delivery for the American People Using Information Technology "All 25 of the reviewed agencies had 'effective' enterprise architectures, or systems designed to eliminate redundancies in business functions, processes and technologies, the report stated." 12 pages; PDF. More in this Govexec.com story. -- Baby Names--United Kingdom--Lists & Rankings Source: National Statistics Office Babies' Names 2005 -- Dissertations--Lists & Rankings Source: ProQuest Business Research Is Tops in 2004 in ProQuest Analysis of Best-Selling Dissertations and Theses -- Internet Usage Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project New Research: How Women and Men Use the Internet
Search Briefs + New Search Engine For Economists (via ResearchBuzz) + New Entry: Medio Joins Mobile Search Space in U.S. + Consumer Reports Looks at Travel Search Meta Engines in New Study Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Motion Pictures--United States Library of Congress Source: LC Librarian of Congress Adds 25 Films to National Film Registry Films Selected to the 2005 National Film Registry Baby Face (1933) The Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act of Man (1975) The Cameraman (1928) Commandment Keeper Church, Beaufort South Carolina, May 1940 (1940) Cool Hand Luke (1967) Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) The French Connection (1971) Giant (1956) H2O (1929) Hands Up (1926) Hoop Dreams (1994) House of Usher (1960) Imitation of Life (1934) Jeffries-Johnson World's Championship Boxing Contest (1910) Making of an American (1920) Miracle on 34th Street (1947) Mom and Dad (1944) The Music Man (1962) Power of the Press (1928) A Raisin in the Sun (1961) The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, April 18, 1906 (1906) The Sting (1973) A Time for Burning (1966) Toy Story (1995) -- Libraries Source: from ARL, CNI, and SPARC ARL, CNI, and SPARC Publishes Bimonthly Report on Research Library Issues & Actions This issues focuses on "Role of the Library in a Digital Landscape." -- Law Libraries Health Sciences Libraries Source: ARL + ARL Publishes Health Sciences Library Statistics for 2003-04 + ARL Publishes Law Library Statistics for 2003-04 -- International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Source: IFLA IFLA 2005: Report of Achievements
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Information Industry Source: U.S. Census Just Released, 2004 Service Annual Survey: Information Sector Services "Revenues from cellular and other wireless telecommunications firms reached approximately $126 billion in 2004, up 14 percent, from 2003, according to a report released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Cable and other program distribution revenues increased 13 percent, to $73 billion. Basic cable programming, which accounts for more than half of cable distribution revenues, increased by 14 percent, to $44 billion. Up 28 percent, cable Internet access services posted the largest year-to-year percentage increase of cable distribution revenues, increasing to $9 billion." Direct to Full Text. See Also: The Services Annual for the Investment/Securities Industry Has Also Been Released -- Airline Industry--United States--Statistics Source: BTS New Issue Brief: Airline Travel Since 9/11 -- 2005 Source: LexisNexis Most Talked-About News in 2005: Americans Rank Hurricane Katrina and Spike in Oil Prices Highest, Reports LexisNexis Survey "More than 1,500 Americans ranked the stories they most talked about in 2005. It is no surprise that Hurricane Katrina ranked number one, with 97 percent of consumers reporting that it was the most talked about event at their home or office. The spike in gasoline/oil prices took second place (88%) compared to the war in Iraq, which ranked third and revealed that the domestic economy remains top of mind for most Americans." See also: The Clicks Are In and the Winner Is ? (Wall Street Journal)
Search Briefs + CiteSeer Offers New Feature; Mirrors of Database Also Added + Technorati Adds New Features, Rubel Offers "Hacking" Tips + Google Faces Patent Infringement Lawsuit Over Google Talk + New Microsoft Patent Apps Discusses the Building of Personalized Portals Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Open Access Source: Inside Higher Ed 'The Access Principle' "Paying for information? In print? That's a model that's just so early 20th century, according to The Access Principle: The Case for Open Access to Research and Scholarship, published last week by MIT Press. The book reviews the various models to bring the dissemination of knowledge online and to make it free, and along the way, the book criticizes plenty of publishing practices, copyright interpretations and scholarly traditions. John Willinsky, professor of language and literacy education at the University of British Columbia, has devoted much of his scholarship to the ideas behind the book. Among other things, he directs the Public Knowledge Project, which is financed by the Canadian government to promote the free exchange of information. Willinsky responded to questions about the themes of his book." -- Wikipedia Source: St. Petersburg Times When Wikipedians run amok on orderly online encyclopedia "What's the difference between an expert and an enthusiast? On Wikipedia, both have equal weight in creating and maintaining the site." -- Libraries--Books--Ranking Source: Library Journal Library Best Sellers 2005 "It wasn't all The Da Vinci Code in libraries this year. LJ's fiction list shows how responsive librarians are to patron demand. Pop titles pop right away, ride the list up, and most often ride back down to get replaced by the next big thing. But library book clubs and insightful readers' advisory keep many books alive well past their first printings. While John Grisham's The Broker was hot, it barely outpaced not only Dan Brown's Da Vinci but Khaled Hosseini's reading club sensation The Kite Runner. James Patterson ruled this year's borrowed fiction, however, with four titles making the top 20."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Law Schools--Rankings Source: University of Alabama Public Law Research Paper (via SSRN) The Relationship between Law Review Citations and Law School Rankings "Much recent scholarship has focused on the US News rankings and other ranking systems; other scholarship has focused on citations of law journals. This paper combines those two areas. It explores the connections between US News rankings (particularly the peer assessment scores) and citations of schools' main law reviews by journals and by courts. There are high correlations between the US News peer assessment scores and citations of main law reviews by journals for the US News top 50 schools. For comparison purposes, the paper also looks to Brian Leiter's rankings and finds a similar correlation. However, the strength of the correlations decrease for US News third and fourth tier schools. There is a weaker correlation between US News peer assessment scores and court citations across all US News tiers. The paper considers some of the implications of the correlations for law school rankings and suggests that, perhaps, future rankings should include citations as a factor in assessing the quality of law schools." -- Telephony--Hub Source: O'Reilly Network O'Reilly Emerging Telephony "I'm excited to announce the launch of our new O'Reilly site devoted to what we're calling 'Emerging Telephony.' We'll be covering the latest happenings in telecommunications, from VoIP and Internet Telephony to new mobile applications and devices to the policy and regulatory issues that impact these important technologies. Please check back regularly or subscribe to our feed: you'll find news, analysis, reviews, and the in-depth technical articles you've come to expect from O'Reilly." -- CEOs--Ranking Source: Burson-Marsteller, Economist Intelligence Unit The World's Most Admired Leaders of 2005 "Despite the continuing controversy surrounding today's corporate executives, leadership still shapes a company's destiny. A new global study conducted by Burson-Marsteller with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) names Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect, the world's most admired business leader. The 2005 CEO Capital study asked more than 600 global business influentials in 65 countries to write in which CEO or chairman they admire most in the business world today. The CEO/chairman rankings appear below." Monday, December 26, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Information Overload Source: USA Today Ready access to info means smarts or stress? "'Social networks, search engines and things [not?] yet invented are critical as we bring millions of movies, books, and musical recordings online,' said Brewster Kahle, a search pioneer who created the Internet Archive, a non-profit preservation group. Even more important will be good research skills -- infoliteracy, if you will. That means knowing where and how to look, and evaluating what you get back. And that's crucial as people get inundated with electronic information 24/7 -- not just at their computers. Cellphones are being transformed into search and browsing tools, and iPods are becoming small television displays." -- Public Domain Works Source: Associated Press (via Baltimore Sun) He revives books others have forgotten "Steve Hines spends hours camped out at the Nashville Public Library, looking for obscure works by famous authors. He's motivated by more than just a love of literature. Hines is hoping to find and publish stories by writers such as Louisa May Alcott and Laura Ingalls Wilder -- not the famous novels like Little Women or Little House on the Prairie but lesser-known works that might still appeal to the authors' die-hard fans. The copyright for most books and stories published in the United States before 1978 expires after 75 years, putting it in the public domain. That means anyone can republish the stories for profit." -- English Language Library--Russia Source: The Daily Times (Maryville, TN) Project supplies English library to Russian town "This is a good Christmas story. It revolves around humanity, charity, kindness, and compassion. It's about how a city of Alcoa employee named Steve Hillis inspired and led 144 people to organize and deliver a 10,000-volume English library to a struggling Russian town that was once a center of chemical weapons production."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Population--United States--Statistics Source: U.S. Census Nevada Edges Out Arizona as the Fastest-Growing State -- Health Issues--Backgrounders Source: Health Behavior News Service Facts of Life: Issue Briefings for Health Reporters "We publish a monthly issue briefing for health reporters that provides background on particular topics within health and behavior, interviews with prominent researchers and sidebars that can be published, with credit to the Health Behavior News Service. Recent topics have included: second-generation SSRIs, conveying disease statistics, obesity and the elderly, postpartum depression, depression in children and carpal tunnel syndrome." -- Biology Source: Whitman College Virtual Pig Dissection "Requirements for the VPD: A monitor set to 16-bit (Thousands) of colors or more, Netscape or IE with the newest version of the Shockwave Plug-in, and your monitor needs to be set to a resolution of at least 640x480, but preferably higher. The stage size for the presentations is 640x480, and you need to be able to see the entire stage." Includes study guides and quizzes. -- Military Science--Bibliographies Souce: Air University Library Two new bibliographies include Internet resources, books, documents, periodicals + Chechnya Insurgency + Effects Based Operations Sunday, December 25, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Encyclopedias Source: Future Brief Changing The World - Overnight "The encyclopedia industry was blindsided. They never imagined that they could be marginalized, much less by the antithesis of their long-valued process of expert editors and verified content experts. In a way, this is similar to what happened to be [sic] best buggy whip manufacturers when the automobile replaced the previous common mode of transportation." -- Out-of-Print Books--Ranking Source: Bookfinder.com Top 10 out-of-print books of 2005 "According to BookFinder.com's research, the top 10 most sought after US out-of-print books of 2005 are...." Madonna's Sex (1992) is number one. Who knew?
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Holiday Season--United States--Statistics Source: U.S. Census Fast Facts: The Holiday Season A round-up of facts and stats including: 6.5 million Number of Christmas trees cut in Oregon in 2002, making the Beaver State the nation's leader. (There were 2.6 million trees cut in Clackamas County, Ore., alone.) Also topping the 1-million mark among states were Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin. + 1,162 Population of Christmas, Fla., an unincorporated town. (Source: American FactFinder) Other places whose names are associated with the holiday season include North Pole, Alaska (population 1,659 in 2004); Santa Claus, Ind. (2,201); Santa Claus, Ga. (238); Noel, Mo. (1,476); and -- if you know about reindeer -- the village of Rudolph, Wis. (418). On top of that there is Snowflake, Ariz. (4,836); Dasher, Ga. (822); and a dozen places named Holly, including Holly Springs, Miss., and Mount Holly, N.C. (Source: American FactFinder) + $21.5 billion The value of total retail e-commerce sales for the fourth quarter of 2004. This amount, represented 2.3 percent of total retail sales over the period and exceeded e-commerce sales for all other quarters of the year. E-commerce sales were up 24 percent from the fourth quarter of 2003. -- Philanthropy--Ranking Source: Center for Civil Society Studies, Johns Hopkins University Institute for Policy Studies As the World Gives: Johns Hopkins Survey Details Philanthropic Behavior, Giving "Just who in the world is the most generous? Would it be Americans, who lead the world in cash donations to charities, measured as a percentage of gross domestic product? Or is it the good people of the Netherlands, who give more of their time and money combined and thus lead the world in overall philanthropic behavior?" Chart: Private Philanthropy Across the World (PDF; 10 KB) -- "Each of the three lists below provides a different perspective on philanthropic giving patterns in the countries studied by the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project. The first column includes all private philanthropy (giving + volunteering), the second covers only the value of volunteering, and the third covers only giving (cash and other property gifts)." -- Media--Plagiarism Source: Regret the Error 2005 Plagiarism Round-Up "Oh what a year for plagiarists. Herewith, a quick collection of the year's instances of plagiarism in the media. We've tried to catch them all, but can't promise that this is a definitive list." See also: Crunks '05: The Year in Media Errors and Corrections Saturday, December 24, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Public Libraries--Budget Issues Source: MassLive.com Girl to Santa: Reopen library "An 11-year-old girl has written a letter to Santa stating that all she wants for Christmas is 'our little town library open again.' Anne Collins, of Hampden, who said she is home-schooled, said the Hampden Free Public Library, which was closed in July after a proposed override of Proposition 2½ failed, was like 'a second home' to her." -- Medline--Literary Allusions Source: British Medical Journal From Shakespeare to Star Trek and beyond: a Medline search for literary and other allusions in biomedical titles "More than 1400 Shakespearean allusions exist, a third of them to 'What's in a name' and another third to Hamlet -- mostly to 'To be or not to be.' The trend of increasing use of allusive titles, identified from Shakespeare and Andersen, is paralleled by allusions to Carroll and proverbs; the trend of biblical allusions is also upward but is more erratic. Trends for newer allusions are also upwards, including the previously surveyed "paradigm shift." Allusive titles are likely to be to editorial or comment rather than to original research."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Christmas--Science Source: NewScientist.com Instant Expert: Christmas Science "Ever wondered how they celebrate Christmas at the South Pole, pondered the psychology behind Christmas card lists and Christmas dinner, or wondered why an average of 80,000 Brits end up hospitalised every holiday season? Here NewScientist.com guides you through the science of all things festive." -- Recipes--Database Source: Naval Supply Systems Command, Naval Logistics Library Naval Logistics Library: Recipe Repository "Welcome to NAVSUP's Naval Logistics Library Recipe Repository. All recipes require a free PDF Viewer/Reader from Adobe.... Please enter your search criteria below (all fields are optional). Example of search keywords are Ham, Steak, Shrimp, Index, Conversion." Friday, December 23, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Libraries--Buildings Source: Library Journal A Storm Rains on Our Parade -- Library Buildings 2005 "A year that features 185 completed public library projects should be cause for celebration, and likely those constituencies that now have access to these 91 new buildings and 94 added-to/renovated facilities no doubt have been pleased with the outcome. Yet, underlying all this solid library construction news is a sadness over the devastation suffered by other libraries and their communities following Hurricane Katrina and her sister storms." -- Young Adults--Recommended Reading Source: Young Adult Library Services Association Recommended Reading for Tweens & Teens: Chronicles of Narnia Read-A-Likes (PDF; 81 KB) "While these books were selected for tweens and teens, the titles on this list span a broad range of reading and maturity levels. We encourage adults to take an active role in helping individual teens choose those books that are the best fit for them and their families."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Now Available--2006-07 Editions of the Occupational Outlook Handbook and the Career Guide to Industries Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics -- Business Expenses--United States Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2002 Business Expenses Survey (BES) "Data are collected on operating expenses including payroll and fringe benefits, contract labor costs, taxes and license fees, packaging and containers, transportation and warehousing services, depreciation and amortization charges, software and other computer expenses, communications services, computer and other supplies, office supplies, repair and maintenance expenses, lease and rental payments, printing, utilities, advertising, accounting, insurance, management and consulting services and legal services." -- Faculty--Characteristics and Attitudes Source: National Center for Education Statistics Background Characteristics, Work Activities, and Compensation of Instructional Faculty and Staff: Fall 2003 "This publication is the second from the 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:04), a study of faculty and instructional staff in public and private not-for-profit 2-year-and-above postsecondary institutions in the United States. This report describes the background characteristics, work activities, and compensation of instructional faculty and staff in fall 2003, by employment status, institution type, and program area. The results show that the majority (57 percent) of instructional faculty and staff were employed full time in fall 2003. Women made up a larger proportion of part-time than full-time instructional faculty and staff (47 percent vs. 38 percent). Full-time instructional faculty and staff, overall, reported working an average of 53 hours each week at all jobs both within and outside the institution, and part-time faculty averaged 40 hours per week at all jobs. The average basic salary from the institution for full-time instructional faculty and staff in all types of institutions was $66,800, and the average basic salary for part-time instructional staff was $11,000 in 2003." Full Report (PDF; 344 KB) -- Journalism--Awards Source: International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Center for Public Integrity ABC 20/20, Sweden's TV4 Receive International Watchdog Awards "An ABC News 20/20 report documenting systematic sexual exploitation of girls and boys by UN peacekeepers and civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been awarded the Outstanding Investigative Reporting prize for 2005 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the international arm of the Center for Public Integrity. Winners and Finalists
REMINDER Make Sure to Visit DocuTicker Today! Docuticker is a daily update from your ResourceShelf team with direct links to new reports from government agencies, ngo's, think tanks, and other groups. Looking for primary docs? This is the place. Thursday, December 22, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Data Quality Source: Science News Online The Risky Business of Spreadsheet Errors "Spreadsheets create an illusion of orderliness, accuracy, and integrity. The tidy rows and columns of data, instant calculations, eerily invisible updating, and other features of these ubiquitous instruments contribute to this soothing impression. At the same time, faulty spreadsheets and poor spreadsheet practices have been implicated in a wide variety of business and financial problems." -- Libraries--Marketing The December issue of Chris Olsen's Marketing Treasures newsletter is available. Among other things, you can find out "what to include in Requests for Proposals seeking logo design services."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Advertising--Foreign Markets Source: Advertising Age Ten 2005 Ads America Won't See "With viewable online videos, we bring you the annual review of the most noteworthy 2005 ads from other countries that will never be shown in the U.S." Free registraion required. -- Packaging Material--Recycling Source: Plastic Loose Fill Council (PLFC) Peanut Hotline "The Peanut Hotline, 800-828-2214, is the national reuse program for plastic packing peanuts . Consumers can drop off their leftover plastic packing peanuts at Peanut Hotline collection sites. There are over 1,500 collection sites in the US. Search for a Collection Site to find the one nearest you." -- Satellites--Database Source: Union of Concerned Scientists UCS Satellite Database "The UCS Satellite Database is a listing of operational satellites currently in orbit around the Earth. It is available as a downloadable Excel file, which is updated roughly quarterly. Our intent in producing the database is to create a research tool for specialists and non-specialists alike by collecting open-source information on operational satellites and presenting it in a format that can be easily manipulated for research and analysis. The database includes basic information about more than 800 satellites and their orbits, but does not contain the detailed information necessary to locate individual satellites." Direct to database (xls) -- Celebrities--Ranking Source: Internet Movie Database STARmeter Top 25 for 2005 "IMDb.com, Earth's biggest movie database, has released their top 25 stars for 2005. These STARmeter rankings were not based upon critical assessments or box-office performance, but the actual search behavior of over 30 million users of IMDb.com." Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Digital Libraries Call for Papers: Special Issue on Digital Libraries and eScience To be published in the International Journal on Digital Libraries. -- eBooks--Digitization--Legal Issues Copyright Source: Digital Library Federation and Council on Library and Information Acquiring Copyright Permission To Digitize and Provide Open Access to Books "This report focuses on three efforts at Carnegie Mellon University to acquire copyright permission to digitize and provide open access to books-that is, to make books freely available on the Internet for public use. [1] To provide a context for the studies that form the basis of this report, the report begins with an overview of copyright laws, licensing practices, and technological developments that have brought about dramatic changes in the cost and dissemination of scholarly information. This section also describes the impact that these changes have had on research, learning, and libraries. The three studies, including data analyses that explore the response and success rates with different types of publishers and publications and transaction costs, are then presented in detail. Anecdotes illuminate the effort required and problems encountered in trying to acquire copyright permission for open access, from the difficulty of determining copyright status and ownership and locating copyright owners to the questions, concerns, record-keeping methods, and changing contractual practices that constrain publishers' embrace of open access. The report describes how lessons learned in each study were applied in the next study and the benefits of flexible and innovative approaches to acquiring copyright permission." -- National Archives--United Kingdom Source: IWR Archives site upgraded for FoI -- Access Services Source: ARL New SPEC Kit (Summary Only): SPEC Kit 290: Access Services "In 1991, SPEC Kit 179, Access Services: Organization and Management, documented the emergence of a new trend in ARL member libraries: over the course of a decade, a variety of services related to providing access to library resources were being brought under one administrative umbrella, a department that was typically called 'Circulation,' though a growing number of libraries began to use the term 'Access Services.' This new SPEC survey, conducted in spring 2005, tracks developments and trends in access services since 1995. The survey results show a steady evolution in department name from 'Circulation' to 'Access Services' and an increasing relevance of this department's functions to library users." Table of Contents and Exec Summary (PDF). -- Metadata--United States Government Source: GCN GSA: Metadata not essential for search "Metadata and other advanced preparation techniques may not be required to make government information available for public search, according to feedback the General Services Administration received from a request for information it posted earlier this year."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Telephone Numbers--United States--Databases Source: Melissa Data Area Code + Prefixes in a Radius Lookup Find all of the prefixes and areas in a radius of a specific Zip Code (10 miles max). Melissa Data offers a number of free lookup databases that we offer an overview of here. -- Germany--Elections Source: House of Commons Library New Research Report, Germany: elections, the new government and Anglo-German relations PDF; 57 pages. -- Agriculture--Economics Source: ERS/USDA Just Updated: International Macroeconomic Data Set -- Crime--United States--Statistics Source: BJS Just Released, Uniform Crime Reports: Preliminary Semiannual Report, January-June 2005 -- Central Intelligence Agency Source: CIA Just Released, CIA Organizational Chart PDF. -- Spam--United States--Statistics Source: FTC New Report, Effectiveness and Enforcement of the CAN-SPAM Act: A Federal Trade Commission Report to Congress (December 2005) Summary ||| Direct to Full Text (PDF)
Search Briefs + Ask Jeeves Adds New Features AJ continues to develop into a key ready reference tool for librarians. + Answers.com Testing New "Find As You Type" Feature + Governments Ask Google to Turn a Blind Eye All sorts of places to find satellite imagery. + Yahoo Launches Open Shortcuts, Allows Creation Of Custom Search Commands You'll also read about several toolbars that allow you to create one-click searches with just about any search engine EVEN if doesn't offer its own toolbar. Cool! Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Web Search--Google Source: Google First Issue of Google's Newsletter for Librarians Released More than two months ago Google said that they would begin publishing a quartely newsletter for librarians. Today, the first issue became available. Unfortunately, not much there in terms of content except for an intro article by Jodi Healy and an interesting article about how Google works (and most other web engines for that matter) by one of our favorite Googlers, Matt Cutts. That said, the article, although interesting and well written (Cutts is a great writer), will be, for the most part, known by many of the information professionals and and library school students who read it. Info pros who have read books by Chris Sherman, Ran Hock, and Tara Calishain (books held by many libraries) and other IR titles, talk about much of what's written here. Btw, both the books by Chris and Ran are full text searchable via Amazon's "Search Inside the Book" program but not accessible via Google Book Search. Tara's, latest book, Web Search Garage, is not available (search wise, that is) from either service. Her 2003 book Google Hacks is searchable via Google Book Search. However, Matt's article will serve as an excellent review by an expert. The sidebar with an exercise for students about the concepts involved in an inverted index is also a great idea. I was surprised not to see more, being this is the first issue, like the latest from Google's perspective on the Google Library Project since its first anniversary was last week (here's a review I compiled) and this would have been a logical time for an update, more search tips, and intros to Google's lesser known servics like the just launched (synergy) music search. Personally, I would have also enjoyed learning more about an exchange from a recently held Google Print/Library debate that took place at the NY Public Library. In a discussion with a leader from a publishing trade group, Google's General Counsel said it would be "horrors" if people only went to libraries to gain physical access to new books found via Google Book Search. I blogged about it here. Bottom Line: ResourceShelf welcomes the Google Librarian Newsletter to the growing number of publications serving the info community. Welcome! -- Digital Libraries Source: Corporation for National Research Initiatives The December Issue of D-Lib is Now Online Articles include: + Five Views of the Archive, Ingest and Handling Test + Harvard's Perspective on the Archive Ingest and Handling Test + Parallel Worlds: Online Games and Digital Information Services + The Archive Ingest and Handling Test: The Johns Hopkins University Report -- Emergency Responders--Databases Source: NLM WebWISER makes WISER available on the Internet "The National Library of Medicine announces that WISER, the Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders, is now available on the Web. This new version, WebWISER, joins the existing PDA and desktop (PC) applications. WISER was developed by the Library's Division of Specialized Information Services." -- Public Libraries--New York City Map Libraries and Collection Source: NYPL The Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division Opens After Extensive Renovation Wow! Interested in the info technology available? Check this fact sheet.
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Influenza--Pandemics Source: World Health Organization WHO Handbook for Journalists: Influenza Pandemic: Updated December 2005 PDF; 24 pages. -- Bankruptcy--United States Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts on behalf of the U.S. Courts New, 2005 Bankruptcy Act Resources -- Women--United States--Statistics Source: US Census Just Released, Fertility of American Women: June 2004 Profiles current fertility patterns of American women by age, race, ethnicity, education, marital status, income and nativity. Also contains labor force participation data by fertility status. PDF.
Search Briefs + Specialty Databases (Verticals) the Focus of a Wall Street Journal Article ResourceShelf Editor, Gary Price, is quoted in the article. + Japan's Government Forms Study Group to Determine if Country Should Launch its Own Search Engine + A New Blog from WWW Founder Tim Berners-Lee and a Bit of WWW History Monday, December 19, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Libraries--Health Information Libraries--Africa Source: U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) Recently Released, The Role of Libraries in HIV/AIDS Information Dissemination in Sub-Saharan Africa "The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) today announced the publication of The Role of Libraries in HIV/AIDS Information Dissemination in Sub-Saharan Africa...Believing that a key weapon in the battle against the HIV/AIDS pandemic is education and information targeted directly to the general public, especially young people, the Commission set the goal of this study to explore how information is--or can be--disseminated in parts of the world where the impact of HIV/AIDS has been the greatest, and the resources of the countries impacted have been the smallest. Nowhere is information so crucial and nowhere is information for the general population so lacking as in Africa." News Release (PDF) Direct to Full Text (PDF) -- RLG Source: RLG The December 15th Issue of RLG's DigiNews is Now Online Articles include: + When Just Doing It Isn't Enough: The University of Oregon Takes Stock + Building a Digital Archive: A Dutch Experience + A Look at the Electronic Literature Organization Web Site -- Electronic Databases--Reviews Source: Charleston Advisor Review of PatronsBooksinPrint -- National Archives and Records Administration Source: NARA National Archives Partners with the National Coalition for History to Identify Missing or Stolen Records
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text 2005 Source: InfoPlease.com Year-in-Review Materials from Infoplease.com + News of 2005 + People in the News, 2005 + Deaths 2005 -- United Nations Source: UN New Web Site: The UN Global Compact -- Substance Abuse--United Surveys--Youth--Surveys Source: Monitoring the Future, NIH Just Released, 2005 Monitoring the Future Survey Shows Continued Decline in Drug Use by Students From the NIH news release, "Overall, the 2005 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey showed good news. While there was no substantive change in any illicit drug use between 2004 and 2005, analysis of the survey revealed an almost 19 percent decline in past month use of any illicit drug by 8th, 10th, and 12th graders between 2001 and 2005. This trend is driven largely by decreasing rates of marijuana use among these students. For example, since 2001, past month use of marijuana has fallen by 28 percent among 8th graders and by 23 percent among 10th graders." Direct to Tables and Additional Materials -- Calendars--Science--Conferences and Meetings Calendars--Medicine--Conferences and Meetings Source: Newswise + Calendar of Scientific Meetings + Calendar of Medical Meetings Both calendars are updated monthly.
Briefly + OverDrive: New Service Enables Audiobook and Music Downloads Inside the Library -- + ProQuest Completes Chicago Tribune and LA Times Digital Archives
Search Briefs + Blinkx.tv Ends a Busy Year with a New Feature and Some New Content Download content video blogs directly to your Video iPod. Sunday, December 18, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf National Library of Medicine Source: NLM + What's New for 2006 MeSH + "Bird Flu" Terminology and Changes to Influenza A Viruses and Related Headings + New Resource: NCBI Search Toolbar + New Authority Index Feature in the NLM Catalog -- Literacy--United States--Statistics Source: NCES Just Released, A First Look at the Literacy of America's Adults Includes summary, full text report (PDF), data tables, and more. -- Research Libraries ARL Source: Association of Research Libraries Publication Announcement: ARL Publishes ARL Statistics 2003-04 "ARL libraries are a relatively small subset of the largest research libraries in North America, but they account for a large portion of academic library resources in terms of assets, budgets, and the number of users they serve. The total library expenditures of all 123 member libraries in 2003-04 was more than $3.4 billion; of that total, almost $2.6 billion was spent by the 113 university libraries and more than $800 million was spent by the 10 nonuniversity libraries."
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Congressional Research Service Source: CRS A Selection of New/Updated CRS Reports All reports are PDF. + Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues + Muslims in Europe: Integration Policies in Selected Countries + Securing General Aviation + The Law of Church and State: Opinions of Judge Samuel Alito + Congress as a Consumer of Intelligence Information + Protecting New Orleans: From Hurricane Barriers to Floodwalls -- Manufacturers--United States--Statistics Source: U.S. Census 2004 Annual Survey of Manufactures, Product Shipments
Search Briefs + Google, Yahoo and Dogpile's Top Searches of 2005 List A very interesting list that shows info pros could play a role in training the web searcher on how it all works. + New Issue of Information Science Publication Focuses on "Paid Search" + A Brief Look at Mobile Mail Access from Yahoo and MSN Saturday, December 17, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Librarians--Massachusetts Source: BetaNews Librarians Voice Support for OpenDoc "Five library associations voiced their support for the use of OpenDocument (ODF) in Massachusetts this week, sending a letter to William Galvin, the Commonwealth's Secretary of State. In it, the groups say the open source format is the best choice, as everyone has access to its specifications." -- PATRIOT Act Source: AP Senate Defeat For Patriot Act -- Special Collections Source: ARL New, Uses of Special Collections in Teaching and Learning, Summary of an ARL Membership Meeting Briefing Session, by Monica McCormick, UNC-Chapel Hill
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Educational Media Source: Kaiser Family Foundation New Report on Educational Media for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers "In recent years, there has been a big increase in new electronic media products for very young children, including those as young as one month old. A driving force behind this new market is the advertising and package labeling that makes claims about the educational benefits of specific products. A new report examines the educational claims about commercially available educational media products (videos and DVDs, computer software, and video games) for very young children and the research to substantiate the educational claims." -- Education--United States--Statistics Source: NCES Just Released, Revenues and Expenditures by Public School Districts: School Year 2002-03 -- Country Studies Source: Federal Research Division/Library of Congress Just Updated, Country Profile of Turkmenistan PDF. -- Occupational Safety--United States--Statistics Source: BLS Just Released, Lost-worktime Injuries and Illnesses: Characteristics and Resulting Time Away From Work, 2004 Tables and text summary.
Search Briefs + CiteSeer Makes Mirrors of Database Available @ MIT @ U. of Zürich @ National U. of Singapore This web research "classic" offers incredible access to scholarly materials in computer science, IT, telcom, and related areas. The service began at Penn St. University. Developed by Dr. Lee Giles and team at Penn St. University. See Also: SmealSearch Same IR technology. Database focuses on scholarly materials in business. Amazing! Friday, December 16, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf SPARC Scholarly Communication Source: Against the Grain I Hear the Train A Comin' -- SPARC, An Interview With Executive Director Heather Joseph Published in Against the Grain, November, 2005. PDF; 2 pages. "What has SPARC accomplished, what is its view of the current scholarly communication landscape, and where are we headed?" -- Unstructured Data Source: ACM Queue Information Extraction: Distilling Structured Data from Unstructured Text "Much of the world's information is locked within unstructured, natural language text. Information extraction techniques can help set it free." -- Information Standards Source: National Information Standards Organization (NISO) Now Available: December 2005 Issue of NISO Newsline Posts include: + "NISO to Sponsor Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative" + "NISO-Sponsored INFO URI Scheme Gets Thumbs Up from IETF Group" + "Scanning the Pros and Cons of RFID Tagging" + "2006 Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America's Collections"
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Topix.net Source: SEW Blog Topix.net Has One Impressive Year from Both Business and User Perspective; Ends Year with New Look and Design A ResourceShelf favorite news search tool continues to expand and improve. -- Seat Belts--United States--Statistics Source: NHTSA New Data Show Rising Safety Belt Use Rates in Most States "More Americans than ever are wearing their safety belts with usage rates climbing in 34 states this year, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta. In 2005, safety belt use ranged from 60.8 percent in Mississippi to 95.3 percent in Hawaii. Others breaking the 90 percent belt use barrier included Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Michigan, California, Puerto Rico and Maryland." Direct to Full Text report. (PDF; 7 pages) -- Advertising--Online--Lists & Rankings Source: Clickz Top 50 Advertisers by Media Value in October, 2005 "The top Internet advertisers by media value. The data are provided by TNS Media Intelligence." -- Information Technology--Management--Lists & Rankings Source: Computerworld Just Released, Premier 100, 2005 "...7th annual awards shine a spotlight on some of the brightest minds in the IT community." -- Energy Conservation Source: FTC New Web Site, Saving Starts @ Home: The Insider Story on Conserving Energy "The Federal Trade Commission is offering energy conversation tips to help consumers save money in every room of the house. The Web site, Saving Starts @ Home: The Insider Story on Conserving Energy..." -- Higher Education--Engineering--Salary Surveys Source NSF Recent Engineering and Computer Science Graduates Continue to Earn the Highest Salaries "Recent bachelor's and master's engineering graduates and graduates with computer sciences bachelor's are more likely to be employed full time and to earn higher salaries than are graduates in other fields. Industry continues to be the largest employer of recent graduates in science, engineering, or health. Data are from the 2003 National Survey of Recent College Graduates for graduates who received bachelor's or master's degrees in science, engineering, or health fields between July 2000 and June 2002."
Search Briefs + Google Gmail Now Accessible via Mobile Phones + Technorati Begins Cooking Up Ideas in their New "Kitchen" + Search Execs Talk at MIT Forum + Yahoo Tweaks Pure Search Interface; Adds New Page Highlighting Popular Services Thursday, December 15, 2005
Resource of the Week by Steven M. Cohen, Assistant Editor Editors Note: Shirl Kennedy, Deputy Editor, will return next week with her ROTW column. Btw, we mentioned this week's ROTW and its developers last week when it was first released. Congrats to Derek and Adrian on the ROTW mention. While awaiting anxiously for the new release of Thomas, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Washington Post has entered the congressional data fray with their votes database, which "lets you browse every vote in the U.S. Congress since 1991."
Professional Reading Shelf National Archives and Records Administration Source: AP Archives Smooths Web Access to Records If you ever used the Access to Archival Databases (AAD) from the National Archives of the U.S. it was a pain in the rear. You had to search one database at a time. Well, that's changed. Yes, it's another example of meta or federated searching coming to life. From the AP article: "The revamped Access to Archival Databases site -- http://http://aad.archives.gov/aad/ -- allows the public to search for free through 85 million documents in 475 files amassed by more than 30 federal agencies." From the site itself, "...Feature global free-text searching across all series and files, in addition to our standard fielded search, and easier and faster ways to find the series and files you want!" Thanks to Randy H. for the news tip. I think the challenge now will be in reaching these databases. I've been having trouble for the past hour. -- RLG Source: Educause Audio: Interview with RLG President and CEO, James Michalko A 20-minute interview with Michalko. History, preservation, services, and more. Includes talk about ResourceShelf favorite, RedLightGreen. See Also: Get Ready for ArchiveGrid from RLG (Coming in 2006) -- Digital Books On-Demand Printing Source: Book Tech New Study Predicts Double-Digit Growth in Digital Book Printing -- Spatial Data Source: ARL New, Spatial Data Collections and Services "This SPEC Kit examines how library patrons' use of spatial data has changed since 1999 and what effect this has had on library staffing, collections, budget, and services. The publication provides a snapshot of how ARL member libraries are handling the challenges associated with spatial data 15 years after geographic information systems (GIS) and digital mapping first appeared on campus." Full-text fee-baed. Executive Summary Available (PDF; FREE) -- Libraries and Librarians Source: LJ New by Roy Tennant: What I Wish I Had Known What will be a classic by our friend, Roy Tennant!
Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Health Industry--United States--Databases Health Billing Codes and Dickens: Two New Databases from AskSam Available for Free AskSam is a free-form database company that offers numerous databases (online and offline, they call them ebooks) for free. In some cases you'll need the AskSam Reader (also free). New from AskSam this week: + Medical Billing Codes (Available online only) CPT and HCPCS Medical Codes. "This database contains a complete listing of CPT codes (Current Procedural Terminology) and HCPCS codes (Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System). This database is fully searchable by code, description, type or category." + A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Free Searchable Version. Browse and/or search online or offline. ---- -- Trade--Canada--Interactive Maps Source: exportsource.ca Tutorial For Interactive TradeMap Canada From the site, "The decision to begin exporting, or to expand into new export markets, is not one that can be taken without some serious research into issues such as: 1. Is there a market for my product? 2. What market should I go after? 3. Is this market growing? 4. Who is the competition? 5. Are there any tariff or non-tariff barriers? The list goes on. Trademap Canada will have some of these answers for you. This tutorial will help you get these answers, enabling you to analyze the export or import potential for your product." Registration to use the database is required (Free). -- Historical Maps--Bibliography Source: Air University Library Historical Map Bibliographies "The bibliographies in this series are produced by Air University Library staff to support the need for historical maps pertaining to wars, battles, and famous leaders' actions. Maps cited in these bibliographies may be a combination of internet sites, books, periodicals, or documents, and may contain links to full-text material. Click on a specific topic to view a bibliography." Includes: Desert Storm, Korean War, WW I, WW II. See also: Air University Library Maproom -- Automobile Insurance Pricing--Factors Source: Quality Planning Corporation Why People Who Live Close to Restaurants Are More Likely To Have an Accident and Pay More for Auto Insurance "If you live within a mile of a church, you're far less likely to have a car accident than drivers who live more than a mile from a church. But if you live within one mile of a restaurant, you face a significantly greater risk of an accident than most other drivers. Those are among the key findings of a study released...by a leading predictive analytics company -- Quality Planning Corporation -- a firm that helps insurance companies price insurance more accurately and fairly." -- Renewable Energy--United States--State Profiles Source: EIA New, Renewable State Profiles California is the first state in a series of upcoming state renewable energy profiles. The state profiles will cover: electric power statistics from 1999-2003; renewable resource maps; state incentives for renewable energy; state market share rankings, as well as capacity and generation."
Search Briefs + Ask Jeeves UK Releases Smart Search Tool for Football Fans + Google Adds Music Search Feature and Learn What Others Offer + The A9 Top 99 Search Terms of 2005; All Terms Contain Nine Letters + Mobile Search: 4Info.net Has Plans to Release Client Software + Wayfinding on the Web
Wikipedia Roundup Wikipedia Source: BusinessWeek Yes, Another Interview With Wikipedia Founder, Jimmy Wales Comments by Gary. Last week Wales told NPR listeners to take Wikipedia and other web info with a grain of salt (actually, good advice). Today, in BusinessWeek he is quoted saying the following: Q. Do you think students and researchers should cite Wikipedia? A. (Jimmy Wales): No, I don't think people should cite it, and I don't think people should cite Britannica, either -- the error rate there isn't very good. People shouldn't be citing encyclopedias in the first place. Wikipedia and other encyclopedias should be solid enough to give good, solid background information to inform your studies for a deeper level. And really, it's more reliable to read Wikipedia for background than to read random Web pages on the Internet. Without getting into a long discussion about what encyclopedias are (both general and even more so, subject specific works) and when and how they should be used, I find the response interesting. I think some would argue that both types of encyclopedias are very citeable by a student or anyone else. 1) Worth noting that these comments, including about not citing EB, came before a new study (just released) that shows EB and Wikipedia compare well in terms of quality of entries in the sciences. More about knowing about and using specialty tools (electronic and print) is also becoming even more important than it has been in the past. Both of these are major areas where info pros need to be involved. --- More Reading and Listening A recent article about the quality of Wikipedia entries was published in The Guardian. Entries on specific topics were reviewed by subject experts. In most cases, the entries were rated from fair to poor. Finally, if you're interested in an audio interview with Jimmy Wales, he was heard on NPR last week. Wales said that material in Wikipedia and other data found on the web should be taken with a "grain of salt." That's another way of saying that critical info skills are important, choice of resource is important, etc. Again, we know this, but does the public and do they care to know or just take the first result they find and move on (aka satisficing)? The more I listen or read what Mr. Wales has to say, I admit I'm becoming more impressed. However, is he trying to tell people what we as info pros have been trying to impress upon them for years? Again, this is about why info literacy, we could even call it searching literacy and critical info skills must be taught and developed at an early age and continued throughout one's formal and informal education. At the same time it's crucial--I would think info providers would find it essential--that the public is taught about a variety of tools. My bottom line on Wikipedia? All the best to Mr. Wales. I might disagree with some of his comments but I respect where he's coming from. That's a bit of a change on my part. He also comes off being a likable guy. Btw, all of this doesn't mean I still don't have MAJOR concerns with Wikipedia. The true test of Wikipedia will be not today, tomorrow, or even next year, but in five or ten years. Will the volunteer efforts sustain? Remember the Open Directory Project? Now look at what it has become. Note to Mr. Wales: One change that I think would help Wikipedia is requiring those who license the database (free) to refresh the content on their server at a specific interval. However, from browsing the Wikipedia site, I noticed that some people take the data and don't even give Wikipedia credit, another issue for you to make sure your data is used correctly and updated on a regular basis. This would help answer the question, which version of Wikipedia am I looking at? I would think that as WikiP grows, more and more people will want to license and use the massive amount of content you offer for free. Can your system and, I guess, the public handle that? Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Professional Reading Shelf Web Search--Google Google Library Project Source: SEW Blog Anniversary #1 is Today: Google's Library Project Now One Year Old It has been quite a year. Talk about one project getting gobs of attention. Gary has compiled a list that looks back at key stories from the first year of a program including a look (via a post from Danny) at the important differences between Google Print (now Google Book Search). -- PubMed Source: NLM PubMed Online Training Page Now Available -- Science--Online Information Information Industry--Elsevier Source: Scirus Scirus Adds New Content to Database Word from Scirus (Elsevier) that a new content repository has been added and now searchable via Scirus. + "A partnership with DiVA - Academic Archive On-line - to index its repositories, and to power the search on the portal site. DiVA is a joint program of Scandinavian universities to publish, preserve and collect all of their academic content in the DiVA repository solution." Direct to DiVA. See Also: New, Elsevier Collaborates with MIT Researchers to Increase Access to Scientific Web across the Developing World See Also: Science search in developing nations (via News.com) -- Microsoft--Maps and Imagery--Live Local Source: AllPointsBlog Live Local to Get Data from EarthData "A press release from EarthData of Frederick, MD, announces it will provide data to Microsoft's Live Local (powered by Virtual Earth). It's a five-year deal for new imagery, lidar, and radar data acquisition and map production and gives Microsoft access to the company's archives." See Also: What is Live Local From Microsoft? (Very Cool!) -- International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Source: International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Just Released, IFLA Annual Report 2004 -- Dictionaries--Words of the Year Source: New Oxford American Dictionary New Oxford American Dictionary: 'Podcast' Is the Word of the Year New Oxford American Dictionary has selected "podcast" as the Word of the Year for 2005. Podcast, defined as "a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player," will be added to the next online update of the New Oxford American Dictionary, due in early 2006." Runners-up for the 2005 Word of the Year include: + ICE (an entry stored in one's cellular phone that provides emergency contact information) + IED + lifehack + reggaeton + rootkit + squick (cause immediate and thorough revulsion: "was anyone else squicked by our waiter's piercings?") |
