Library Literature
This Week Only: Free, Full-Text Access to Reference Services Review
This week only the Emerald service is providing free, full-text access to the last 5 years of RSR. Specifically, you can find material from Vol. 25 No.1 (1997) through Vol. 30 No. 1 (2002). Happy Reading!
See Also: Every week Emerald provides free access fo 2 journals. Here’s a list of upcoming titles.

Web Search–Statistics
Must Read: Notess Posts Web Search Statistics
Librarian and Search Guru, Greg Notess, has posted updated statistics to his site.
What You’ll Find:
1) Web Database Relative Size
Surprising? WiseNut finishes in 2nd place.
2) Total Database Size
3) Database Size Changes Over Time
Greg has also posted new pages that discuss Google’s “Database Components” and indentifying and understanding Google’s “Unindexed”content.

News Alerts–New York Times
New York Times Keyword News Alerts Via E-Mail
We were informed by to the NewsTracker service by G.T. late last week. You will need to be registered with the NYT to access and set-up the alerts. Alerts can be sent immediately as the news breaks or at regularly scheduled times including a weekly news digest. Users are limited to 3 alerts. However, if you head to the College Times section of the paper you can develop 5 more alerts. You’ll be asked for your school affiliation or simply select “other”. Btw, make sure to take a look at the College Times “Articles by Subject” directory. It’s a useful browsing tool for NY Times content. Some of the full-text articles found in “Subject Directory” are still accessible for free long after the 2 week free limit found on most NYT material has expired.

Librarians
UCLA Writer Sends An Apology To LISNews.Com
Sony Bari, the writer of the column of a recent UCLA Daily Bruin column that blasts librarians and library science, has sent an apology to LISNews.Com. At the moment the LISNews.Com site is down. With the permission of Blake Carver, LISNEWS publisher, I’m posting the apology/explanation here.
UPDATE (3/13/02): Letters to the Editor Appear in the UCLA Daily Bruin

The Semantic Web
Source: Business Week
“The Next Web”
“The ultimate goal: to turn the Web into a gigantic brain. Every computer connected to the Internet would have access to all the knowledge that humankind has accumulated in science, business, and the arts since we began painting the walls of caves 30,000 years ago.”
See Also: Table, “What Is the Semantic Web?”

Web Search–Google
Save a Click: Stock Info via Google
As many of you already know Google provides access to stock market quotes and related information by simply typing in the companies ticker symbol. However, the results page also includes other hits on the ticker symbol. So, a search on IBM brings a link for a quote to the top of the page and then lists other IBM hits. However, if you type, stocks:ibm you’ll be taken directly to the company information master page where you’ll find tabs to several sources.

Ready Reference
Source: The World Almanac and Book of Facts
The March Edition of The World Almanac E-Newsletter is Now Available

Web Search-Google
Google Launches Microsoft “Specialty Search” Engine
Much like the Apple Macintosh and Linux specialty search sites, Google has recently launched a database that is focused on Microsoft and Microsoft related content.

Web Search–FirstGov
Source: WashTech
FirstGov Search Contract Awarded to AT&T, FAST Search and Transfer Technology To Be Utilized
The new engine is set to debut April 1st. I can’t wait to give it a whirl. From the article, “The General Services Administration today awarded AT&T Government Markets of Washington a contract to replace FirstGov’s search engine. AT&T will use search technology from Fast Search and Transfer Inc. of Foster City, Calif., to replace the Inktomi Inc. engine…GSA said use of Fast Search and Transfer’s engine will expand the number of sites FirstGov will be able to search beyond the 51 million federal and state sites currently indexed and will let users search Portable Document Format documents and databases.” The contract is for one year, with 4 one year options, and is valued at $2 million per year.
See Also: “FirstGov pick Stirs Controversy” (via Federal Computer Week)
See Also: FAST Technology Powers the Impressive AllTheWeb Search Engine
See Also: AllTheWeb News Search
See Also: Official Announcement from FirstGov
UPDATE 3/17/01 “AT&T Business Services to Provide a Norwegian Tour Guide for FirstGov.Gov” (via Information Today NewsBreaks)

Hazards–United States–Database
Source: FEMA
New FEMA Database Hazardmaps.Net Debuts on the Web
From the site, “Hazardmaps.net is the official website of FEMA’s Multi-Hazard Mapping Initiative (MMI). Hazardmaps.net is a public on-line, interactive mapping resource for multi-hazard planning and management efforts. It is developed and maintained by FEMA…” “The two main components of Hazardmaps.net are: The WebGIS Atlas: an interactive mapping resource, and The Data Clearinghouse: an extensive data archive that allows free uploading and downloading of data.”

Database of the Week
Business Directories–United States
Source: Dun & Bradstreet
It’s Free: A Wonderful Phone/Address Directory From D&B
Not only is this a great tool but it’s also an example of what you can find if your always on the lookout for buried treasure. This site itself is part of a service for small business owners, suppliers, etc. to find contact information and then purchase credit info, business leads, and other reports from D&B. However, the business directory, which is free to use is a comprehenive dbase that’s full of useful data. You’ll not only find basic phone number/address info but many entries include business owner/executive names, links to company or other related web sites, number of employees, and headquarters identification. Selecting the advanced interface allows you to search by name/address, telephone number, type of business, or D-U-N-S� Number.
Note: If you use the advanced interface to search by name/address you must limit your search to a particular state. However, using the primary interface (inside the yellow box) you can conduct a nationwide name/address search.

Web Search–Privacy Issues
Source: Newsbytes
“Netscape Navigator Browser Snoops On Web Searches”
From the article, “According to a network traffic analysis performed by Newsbytes, Netscape is capturing Navigator 6 users’ search terms, along with their Internet protocol (IP) address, the date Navigator was installed and a unique identification number. Anytime a Navigator user performs a search by typing terms into the browser’s URL bar and pressing the adjacent Search button, or by using the Search tab on the browser’s My Sidebar feature, the user data is sent to a server at info.netscape.com using a uniform resource locator (URL) forwarding system. While search sites such as Google log data about visitors, Netscape is in a unique position to compile a meta-database of search information, according to Marc Maiffret, “chief hacking officer” for Eeye Digital Security.”

Digitization Projects–Maps
GIS
“This Is a Real Quest for Maps”
Source: Wired News
From the article, “When David Rumsey decided to take his private collection of 19th and 20th century maps public, even the world’s largest library couldn’t handle the load. So, rather than donate his vast collection of 150,000 maps to the Library of Congress, Rumsey decided to put it online…The result is an extraordinary online compilation of more than 6,500 high-resolution digital images from one of the largest private collections in the United States…This week, Rumsey will introduce 18 historic maps of Boston. He will later include other major U.S. cities, states, countries and continents. He hopes to have 500 historical maps in GIS by the end of the year…He is currently doing a collaborative project with the Library of Congress to fuse the two map collections online. MapLibraries.com, which currently holds about 250 images, will eventually include more than 10,000 images.”
Direct to the David Rumsey GIS Collection

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (2 Items)
Identity Theft
Source: GAO
Full-Text Report, Identity Theft: Incidence and Cost Appear to Be Growing, GAO-02-363
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Science and Engineering–United States–Statistics
Higher Education–United States–Statistics
Source: NSF
Full-Text Report, Science and Engineering Research Facilities: 2001
From the site, “The 2001 survey consisted of only two questions: the amount of science and engineering (S&E) research space existing at U.S. colleges, universities and nonprofit biomedical research institutions and the adequacy of this research space to meet current program commitments.

Reference Tools–Reviews
The March Edition of P�ter’s Digital Reference Shelf is Now Available
This month P�ter Jacs� reviews the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia and McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms.

Information Organization
Web Organization
“Researchers Discover Internets Self-Organizing Properties”
From the announcement, “Despite the Internet’s decentralized and seemingly unorganized nature, scientists at the NEC Research Institute have discovered that the Web is in fact naturally self-organizing. This discovery led the scientists to develop an algorithm that may change the way that companies segment and target specific online audiences…The scientists’ research shows that the Internet’s structure of “clickable” links within web pages allows for identification of communities based on specific topics of interest. These communities are considered to be natural, in that independently authored pages collectively organize them. This research is particularly significant given the fact that no central authority or process governs the formation and structure of web pages and links…Once affirming the Internet’s self-organizing properties, Dr. Gary W. Flake and Dr. Steve Lawrence, research scientists at the NEC Research Institute, teamed with Dr. C. Lee Giles, a professor at Penn State University and Dr. Frans M. Coetzee, chief technical officer of GenuOne, to develop the community algorithm. This algorithm enables businesses and individuals to zero in on specific information by focusing on communities of web pages that are related to one-another…For example, an individual wishing to study the latest scientific findings on breast cancer research is able to locate medical literature, treatments and new developments without wading through the pages of irrelevant material that a normal Internet search on the subject might produce. This is possible because NEC’s algorithm utilizes link information to generate its results, rather than specific text that may appear on countless web pages.”
UPDATE: “Search Engine Makes Social Calls” (via Nature)
UPDATE: Further Explanation and Examples
Thanks to J.F. for the update info.
See Also: “Efficient Identification of Web Communities (2000)”
See Also: Dr. Lawrence and Dr.Giles are the co-founders of ResearchIndex, a search tool for computer science and information technology literature on the web.

Public Libraries–United Kingdom
Source: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries (Resource)
Site Update: “Resource Launches New People’s Network Website”
From the new site, “The People’s Network is a project to connect all public libraries to the Internet, as part of the Government’s commitment to give everyone in the UK the opportunity to get online.”
Direct to The Peoples Network Website

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (4 Items)
Information Policy
Source: Re:Source/The Library Association
Full-Text: Report on Developments World-Wide on National Information Policy
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Energy–Canada
Source: Energy Information Administration (United States)
Update: Canada Country Analysis Brief
Provides overview of Candian energy issues and statistics.
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Documents in the News
Source: GPO
Full-Text, “Final Report of the Independent Counsel In Re: Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan Association Regarding Monica Lewinsky and Others”
237 pages .pdf
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Health–Statistics–United States
Source: National Center for Health Statistics
New Listserv: State Health Statistics by Sex and Race/Ethnicity
This list from NCHS will notify you of, “notices throughout the year of updates to existing tables, new releases, and other relevant information.”

U.S. Census
Happy 100th Birthday to the U.S. Census Bureau!

Business-Company Filings
EDGAR
SEDAR
Source: Information Today Newslink Monthly Spotlight
Learn More About: “SEC Info Is Back Online” (scroll down to the Newslink Monthly Spotlight)
Paula Hane chats with Fran Finnegan, founder and sole propriertor of SECInfo.Com about this great service. SECINFO.Com also provides a free real-time free of Canadian SEDAR documents. Paula was verry kind to include a few comments that I shared with her about accessing SEC filings which are not available via EDGAR but available (selected content) free via MSN Money Central. A special thanks to Bill Spence for making this article available online so soon after publication.
See Also: Btw, the Newslink Monthly Spotlight is available via e-mail at now charge. Each month it contains an original article written by Information Today editor Paula Hane. You can learn more about this and other ITI newsletters here. You can browse older Monthly Spotlight’s here.

Information Industry–Hoover’s
People Search
Hoover’s Adds Additional Search Power To “Advanced” People Search
Something new for Hoover’s subscribers. From the announcement, “The Hoover’s Advanced People Search allows customizable searches by more than 20 different criteria, including job function, job title keyword, age, salary, location and company…For example, subscribers can use the tool to quickly locate general managers who earn more than $100,000, are between 45 and 65 years of age, and who work for California-based public companies that trade on the Nasdaq. Hoover’s Advanced People Search also allows searches for people with specific job responsibilities, regardless of the differences in titles from one company to another.”
See Also: Advanced People Search Example

Web Browsing
Information Organization
Source: WashTech.Com
“Browse3D, a More Visual Way to Surf the Web”
From the artcile, “[David] Shuping’s company, Browse3D Corp., sells software that allows users to see Internet pages they left and ones they can link to, in addition to the main page they are viewing.” “The browser works by logging a history of the Internet pages that were viewed last and attaching small pictures of each on the right of the main screen. Users can pull up any of the sites they were previously viewing by clicking on the thumbnail picture. To the left of the screen, the browser displays snapshots of any Internet sites that may be featured as links on the current page.The software also allows users to store copies of Web pages on their hard drives, either as stagnant images or active sites that change as the page is updated. Shuping said this feature allows users to better organize their research or quickly access a group of favorite sites.” Thanks to G.G. for the news alert.
Direct to the Browse3D Web Site (Free Trial Available)

Information Quality
Source: LLRX.Com
“Getting It Right: Verifying Sources on the Net”
LLRX.Com founder and editor Sabrina Pacifici with a useful guide about web resource evaluation. From the article, “This guide provides strategies and tools to assist you in the task of evaluating website content. Determinations about quality, value and reliability are certainly subject to the discretion of the reader, and can be based on personal or professional perspective. When considering whether to use a site with confidence, consider that the criteria for evaluating web site content has similarities to the methodology used for print publications, including newspapers, magazines and newsletters. However, choosing to rely on content published on Web sites does require an extra level of due diligence on the part of the reader. ”
See Also: I.Q.: Information Quality via The Virtual Chase

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (2 Items)
Human Rights
Source: U.S. Department of State
New Edition Available: “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices”
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Philanthropy–Post 9/11 Giving
Source: The Foundation Center
New Research Report: “Giving in the Aftermath of 9/11: Foundations and Corporations Respond”
Summary/Fast Facts ||| Direct to Full-Text
See Also: Expanded Lists of Top 9/11 Foundation and Corporate Funders
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Digitization Projects
Arkansas–History–Images
Source: Arkansas History Commission
Digital Archive of Historical Images from Arkansas Now Available
From the announcement, “We have an amazing history, and it’s nice to now be able to share it online,” said Lynn Ewbank, photo archivist at the Arkansas History Commission. “Whether you are in Little Rock, in one of the four corners of the state, or at the other end of the world, you can access Arkansas visuals for the first time without having to come down to our office.” “The online digitization process started in 1999, after the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council provided a $255,000 grant to the Arkansas History Commission. With the new online archive system, users can search the online database of more than 13,000 images, view selections, and even purchase a high-resolution version for $12.50.”
Direct to the Arkansas History Commission Photo Archive

Digitization Projects
Library of Congress
Source: Wired News
“Scholars Who Dig-itize Gutenberg”
From the article, “A project is currently underway at the Library of Congress to digitize its copy of the Gutenberg Bible. The library has partnered with Octavo to photograph, scan and digitize every binding, endsheet and page of the three-volume Bible.”
See Also: Additional Resources and Examples via Octavo site

News Services On the Web
Online Information–Dow Jones
Yahoo News Adds Small Amount of Dow Jones Content
Located in the Yahoo News-Business section is a very small feed of content from Dow Jones (DJ Newswires and Wall Street Journal Online). You can also find a limited feed of Dow Jones Newswires material on the Yahoo Asia portal.
See Also: Top Stories from the Wall Street Journal are published each day on the MSNBC site.

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (6 Items)
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Area Studies
Source: Canadian International Development Agency
Country Profiles (CIDA-INC)
Pay particular attention to the Gender Profiles available for many countries. They contain many charts and tables with direct links to original sources.
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Asians–United States
Population–United States
Source: U.S. Census
Full-Text Report: The Asian Population: 2000
Summary/Fast Facts ||| Direct to Full-Text
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Education–United States–Statistics
Source: National Center for Education Statistics
New Edition Now Available: The Digest of Education Statistics, 2001
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Digitization Projects–Abraham Lincoln
Source: Library of Congress
Final Release: Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress
From the annoucement, “This final release of the Papers includes 20,000 documents, comprising 61,000 digital images and annotated transcriptions of approximately 10,000 documents.The Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress contain items dating from 1833 through 1916. Most of the approximately 20,000 items in
this release are from the 1850s through Lincoln’s presidential years, 1860-65.

Internet Usage–United States
Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project
New Study Available: Getting Serious Online
From the site, “As Americans gain experience, they use the Web more at work, write emails with more significant content, perform more online transactions, and pursue more serious activities.” Available in HTML and .pdf
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Nuclear Facilities–Russia
Military–Russia
Source: CIA
Full-Text Report: Annual Report to Congress on the Safety and Security of Russian Nuclear Facilities and Military Forces

Internet Archive
Source: Business Week
“A Library as Big as the World”
From the article, “Brewster Kahle has the technology to assemble the ultimate archive of human knowledge. What’s stopping him? Restrictive copyright laws.”
See Also: Greg Notess’s article (via Online), “The Wayback Machine: The Web’s Archive”. It includes several ESSENTIAL searching tips to get the most out of The Wayback Machine’s.

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (6 Items)
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Business–Lists & Rankings
Personal Wealth–Lists and Rankings
Source: Forbes
2002 Forbes Billionaires List
Several “specialty lists” and related articles are available at this url or direct to the complete list of 497 people.
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Real Estate–United States–Lists and Rankings
Source: Forbes
The Most Expensive Homes In America 2002
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Voter Registration
Election 2000
Source: U.S. Census
Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2000
Summary/Fast Facts ||| Direct to Full-Text
16 pages .pdf
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Manufacturing–United States–Statistics
Source: U.S. Census
2000 Annual Survey of Manufactures, Statistics for Industry Groups and Industries
Summary ||| Direct to Full-Text
215 pages .pdf
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Manufacturing–United States–Statistics
Source: U.S. Census
2000 Annual Survey of Manufactures, Product Shipments
Summary ||| Direct to Full Text
128 pages .pdf
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Labor–United States–Statistics
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Updated Annual Statistics: State and Regional Unemployment, 2001 Annual Averages

Web Search–Google
Source: S.F. Chronicle
“Google Programmer Creates Internet Buzz with Cutesy Logos”

We’re Back Home in D.C.

Canada–Heritage Information
Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) Will Debut Revamped Site on May 1st
From the announcement, “Celebrating 30 years of innovation in the use of information technologies, the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) is dedicating its new Web site to the development of skills for the creation and management of digital content. The revamped CHIN site, to be launched on May 1st, will maintain its current address, www.chin.gc.ca…The new CHIN Web site will feature sections dedicated to Creating and Managing Digital Content, Intellectual Property, Collections Management, and more. Current training tools, online publications, directories and databases, all designed to meet the needs of both small and large institutions, will continue to be nurtured. Information on topics such as careers, funding and conferences will also remain accessible and up-to-date.”

Online History–CAB International
Source: Online
“History Lesson: CAB International”
Marydee Ojala continues her series about the history of major online services and databases. From the article, “In many ways, the story of the development of CABI is emblematic of the entire history of the online information industry. Data from scientists in the field were published in learned society journals. In turn, synopses of these articles fed the abstract journals designed to help scientists keep up-to-date with research in their field. When the production of these journals was computerized, the resulting electronic versions of the journals became databases. Search companies developed to provide common access languages to these databases. More recently, database-producing companies have looked to the Web both as a distribution channel for their established information and for innovative ways to repurpose that data.”

Web Search–Paid Placement
Source: PC World
Are Search Results For Sale?
If you’re not up-to-speed on the current issues this article provides a good overview.

Enterprise Search–AltaVista
Source: InfoWorld
New Enterprise Search Software Due From AltaVista Next Week
From the article, “AltaVista Enterprise Search 2.0 attempts to boost workplace productivity by unlocking information buried within complex applications, according to Phil Rugani, executive vice president of the AltaVista Software division, in Palo Alto, Calif. “Individual workers can’t access information in the enterprise because of the complexity with the applications themselves. Workers have to know how to use each application to get information from it,” he said. “We are circumventing the application to go after the data to give workers access to information they need.”

U.S. Government Documents
Source: LJ
“Librarian Questions Nuclear Plant Info”
From the article, “Are a few librarians overreacting with their concern about Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) information available on microfiche, or has the federal government lagged in offering guidance?
See Also: “Librarian Calls for Screening Public Access to Nuclear Documents” (via The Chronicle of Higher Education)

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (3 Items)
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Afghanistan
Source: UNESCO
New Web Site: UNESCO and Afghanistan
From the annoucement, “…UNESCO launched a website on its Afghanistan Assistance Programme. Aid to media and to libraries and archives in Afghanistan are but two of the five action areas featured on the site.”
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U.S. History–Online Exhibit
Arts–United States
Source: National Archives
New Online Exhibit: A New Deal for the Arts
“Government-sponsored art projects provided work for unemployed artists during the 1930’s.”
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E-Commerce–Conference
Source: United Nations
Global E-Commerce 2002 (scroll to first entry on page)
View online (Real Video) all presentations from this conference which took place last week in New York. From the site, “…intensive executive level presentations, and expert panels. Speakers will detail the latest developments on E-commerce, E-government, Security, Cyber/Bio Security, Network Assurance, and Disaster Management Applications.” You can also view the complete speaker list and conference agenda here.
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Identity Fraud
Source: LexisNexis
“Identity Fraud: Searching For A Solution”
This white paper was presented at the U.N. conference which is listed directly above this post.

Good Day from 26 Degrees North Latitude/88 West Longitude
We’re Heading To New Orleans Aboard Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas

Online Information–Dialog
Dialog Launches New “NewsRoom” Product
Update 3/4: Just posted on the Information Today site: Online editor, Marydee Ojala, offers up a complete overview of the new Dialog “NewsRoom” Product.

Web Search–FirstGov
Portals–FirstGov
Source: GovExec.Com
Redesigned FirstGov Debuts On the Web
See Also: Official News Release

Web Search–Google
Souce: VNUNet
Are You A GoogleWhack Fanatic? It’s Time To Try Google Bombing!

Communication Tools–AOL Instant Messenger
AOL AIM Express
If you want/need to use AIM to communicate but are unable or simply don’t like downloading client software, AIM Express might be just what you need. Accessing this page and selecting “Start” will open a Java based AIM client. After you login to the system your “buddy list” will appear. Btw, if you’re not an AOL user and still want to use AIM you can by setting up a free AIM account.
See Also: Don’t have someone to chat with? Send a “hello” message to “SmarterChild”. This is agent software that you can query with questions and have answers instant messaged back to you. Basic reference tools, news, weather, and more. These links can provide you with more info about SmarterChild and it’s “parent”, ActiveBuddy. I bet this technology has some use in the virtual reference world.