Information Storage and Preservation
Source: The Washington Times
“Bytes of Memory”
This article discusses the many issues and challenges in preserving information in various electronic formats. Projects at the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian are mentioned.

Web Search–Yahoo
Advice Sites
Source: News.Com
“Yahoo Launches Advice Site”
This is actually more of a retooling as Yahoo abandons it’s own advice service for a service powered by LiveAdvice.Com. This telephone-based service charges $.06 a minute to connect and takes between 30 and 50 percent commission on fees charged by advise givers. A quick check of the question board shows that many Advisors charge in the $2 a minute range. Who are the Advisors? From the site, “Our trusted Advisors are LiveAdvice members; they’re a talented group of professionals, entrepreneurs, academics, researchers and people with experience and expertise to share…Some Advisors have had their credentials officially verified by AbsoluteBackgrounds.com, an independent third-party service provider that has contacted organizations, employers and schools to confirm the Advisors’ qualifications.” Bottom Line? Another place where people pay to get answers that in many cases are available for free from a library.
See Also: Direct to the Yahoo Experts Site
See Also: Direct to the LiveAdvice Site

Web Search–Google
Alexa Meets Google
The bottom line:
A Robust and Useful Alternative to the Primary Google Database If You�re Aware of the Limitations.
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As reported by The Virtual Chase, another interface to the primary Google database of open web content has appeared (beta format) on the web. This new interface is provided by Alexa.Com.
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Alexa, is a company that was started by Internet pioneer, Brewster Kahle. Brewster is also the founder of The Internet Archive, the compiler and provider of The Wayback Machine web archive and The Television Archive. Alexa was acquired by Amazon.Com during 1999..
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Many people now Alexa as a web browser add-on tool, technically termed a �browser companion� that’s downloaded as a toolbar. It’s designed to help with navigation, provide site information, and find related sites. Newer versions of the toolbar also include a button directly into The Wayback Machine. This can make accessing The Wayback Machine faster and easier since url’s don’t need to be retyped. A new beta version (Beta 6.5) of the toolbar is now available. Alexa Toolbar users should also be advised that a new �Terms of Service� is set to go into effect on May, 1st. Here, you can read precisely what changes are being made to the agreement.
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Now, let�s look take a quick look at the new Alexa search beta which is available at: http://info.alexa.com/. When you reach the site the opening page contains web site traffic rankings, an “editors pick” (suggested websites, who are the editors?), and advertisements for Amazon.Com. You�ll also notice that the page looks and feels similar to an Amazon.Com web page.
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At the very top of the page you�ll also see a search box. The database �powering� this search engine is the complete Google database. However, the layout and design of a results page looks very different than what you�re used to seeing at Google.Com
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First, after conducting a search, you�ll see a results list that includes thumbnail images of the first three hits. A great idea except that each thumbnail is very small and difficult to read/identify. Nevertheless, I think we�ll see more of this type of preview service in the future. Vivisimo and WiseNut offer a similar �preview� features that actually opens a live version of the page inside of the results list.
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Next, you�ll notice that each entry on the results page also contains a link labeled, �Details For�. Selecting this link will take you to a page of �related info� about the particular page you�ve selected. This page has been designed to look almost identical to an entry page from the Amazon.Com catalog. You�ll find site traffic information, site ownership info (if available), and links to other pages of possible interest which are labeled as, �people who visit this page also visit�. Remember, this is querying an Alexa database of related site info. Google.Com uses another database and algorithm to determine the “related sites” (what you see at Google.Com). A category list to browse related pages in the Open Directory is also made available.
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Inside a box along the left margin, you�ll notice a link that will run a search on that specific url in The Wayback Machine. Finally, each page has a place where anyone can write a review or share comments about the page. Users can also easily e-mail a link to the selected web page to any e-mail address.
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The Alexa Web Search beta offers just about all of the same services that the Alexa Toolbar offers merged with results from Google database. This is a great way for those who don�t want to or are unable to download the toolbar software to take make use of Alexa’s services.
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What don�t you get from Alexa/Google?
A list of a Google services that are not available via the Alexa Search service:
*Google Cache
*Advanced Interface
*Auto Conversion Version of PDF and other formats into HTML
*Last Crawl Date (Selected Material)
*Spelling Suggestions
*Limiting by Language
*Translation Services
*Date Limiting
*Added Services such as Stock Quotes, Phone Numbers, Maps
*No Direct Links to Run Search in Google Groups, Google Images, Google Directory
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Note: A few sample searches shows that most of the Google limit syntax is available (intitle, inurl, link:, site:, filetype:, etc. ).
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Addendum: I had a chance to have a brief chat with a couple of Alexa representatives and learned that this new database is really of merging of data from Google and Alexa. This means Google is crawling the web and supplying search results and Alexa is also crawling the web to determine additional info (related links, picture images, etc.). I also learned that the page images offered on Alexa/Google for the “top 3″ results on a results page are located in a database that is currently being built by Alexa. Stay tuned.
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See Also: Learn More About the Method Alexa Uses to Determine “Related Links”

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (4 Items)
Television Advertising–United States
New Site, Ads.Com
This new service, very similar to the closed AdCritic.Com provides web access of most major television commercials from the United States. A service like this should help with the, “I saw this on TV last night and…” queries. All commercials, hopefully the site will grow to include more material, available on Ads.Com can be searched for by brand or product, or by time slot. This Newsbytes story contains additional details along with the latest info on the future of AdCritic.Com
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Science & Engineering–United States–Statistics
Source: NSF
Full-Text Report, Science and Engineering Indicators�2002
From the site, “…contains quantitative analyses of key aspects of the scope, quality, and vitality of the Nation’s science and engineering enterprise.” The report is available in HTML and PDF. A CD-ROM version is available by submitting an e-mail request.
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Business–Washington D.C. Region–Lists & Rankings
Source: The Washington Post
Now Available, The 2002 Edition of The Washington Post 200
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United Kingdom–Vital Statistics
Source: National Statistics Office
Now Available, Key Population and Vital Statistics For 2000
Summary ||| Direct to Full-Text
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Business–Lower Manhattan, NYC–Directories
Source: LexisNexis
LexisNexis Providing Free Access to Directory of Lower Manhattan Businesses
From the news release, LexisNexis(TM) announced the availability of a free online directory of Lower Manhattan retail businesses. LexisNexis is helping to patch this hole by spurring economic growth in Lower Manhattan. Anyone can visit http://www.lexisnexis.com/shopmanhattan to find a complimentary business locator of retail shops of interest in Lower Manhattan.” “The idea for the free business directory came from Rissa Peckar, library director for the law firm of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, whose offices are located in Lower Manhattan.”
See Also: Direct to the LN Shop Lower Manhattan Directory

News Briefs
Google Challenges Yahoo (via InfoWorld)
No surprise here. Article lead, “Of all search referrals worldwide, 36.35 percent come from Yahoo, while Google trails close behind with 31.87 percent, according to figures from market researcher WebSideStory, which released the results of a tracking study by its StatMarket division Tuesday.Microsoft’s MSN network placed third with 12.73 percent of worldwide search referrals.” “The two companies are headed in different directions, according to WebSideStory: Search engine referrals from Google have risen from 1 percent in June of 2000 to the current level, while Yahoo’s numbers have dropped from 46 percent of all referrals in the same time frame.”

Search Engines–Conference Presentations
Presentations from the Search Engine Meeting
On April 15th some of the biggest names in the search world met in San Francisco for the Seventh Annual Search Engine Meeting. Now, most of the presentations (Powerpoint slides) are available on the web. This is “must look at” material.
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Clare Hart (Factiva, NJ)
The Future of Search Engines
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Jim Bair (Strategy Partners International, CA)
What Content and Knowledge Management Require of Search Engines
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Amanda Spink (Penn State University, PA)
A Human Information Behavior Approach to the Future of Search
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Avi Rappoport (SearchTools.com, CA)
Can P2P Search Engines Work in the Real World?
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Jay Ven Eman (Access Innovations, NM)
Tame the Terabyte Terror - Taxonomy Tools Explained
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Susan Feldman (IDC, MA)
Find What I Mean, Not What I Say
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John McKechnie (Construction Informatics Research Centre, UK)
Computer Assisted Processing of Large Unstructured Document Sets
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Marti Hearst (UC Berkeley, CA)
Using Dynamic Metadata to Improve Search User Interfaces
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Laurent Proulx, (Nstein Technologies, Quebec, Canada)
To SEEK and not to FIND. What is your Question?
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Daniel Lulich (RuleSpace, OR)
Roopangi Kadakia (FirstGov, DC)
David Evans (Clairvoyance, PA)
Technical Dimensions of “Responsibility”
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Stephen Arnold (AIT, KY)
Mereology and its Associated Tools: New Advantages in the Search Arena
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Chahab Nastar (LTU Technologies, France)
Making Sense of Visual Content
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Andrew Littlefield (Inktomi, CA)
Effective Enterprise Information Retrieval across New Content Formats
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Donna Harman (NIST, MD)
The TREC Question-Answering Track
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Elizabeth Liddy (Syracuse University, NY)
Why Settle for a List When You Want an Answer?
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David Hawking (CSIRO, Australia)
Intranet Search: What Works and What Doesn’t
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Horst Baumgarten (Roche Diagnostics, Germany)
Empowering a Corporate Intranet with a Broad Range of Search Applications
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Robert Ainsbury (EoExchange, CA)
How to extract ‘Universal Search’ out of Intranet Solutions
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Neil Margolis (Wyeth-Ayerst Research, PA)
Search for a Search Engine: Selecting and Implementing Corporate Search

Scholarly Portals–Academic Libraries
Source: ARL
“Portal Functionality Provided by ARL Libraries: Preliminary Results of an ARL Survey”
See Also: ARL’s Scholarly Portal Web Resource (Links to Several Reports, Presentations)

Center for Research Libraries
CRL Awarded Grants from NEH and the Mellon Foundation
You can learn more about the $350,000 NEH grant via this news release. Info about the $510, 000 Mellon Foundation grant is available here.

Information Quality–Web
Source: Information Today NewsBreaks
“Consumers Union Launches Consumer WebWatch”
Barbara Quint with details about this new project from CU.
See Also: Direct to the CU’s Consumer WebWatch Resource

Information Quality–Health Information
Source: American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (URAC)
MEDLINEplus Earns URAC Health Web Site Accreditation
From the annoucement, “[Medlineplus] is the first government-run Web site to receive the URAC seal, and the 16th site to achieve accreditation overall.”
See Also: Direct To MedlinePlus
See Also: A Few of the Most Recently Added Medlineplus Compilations (Nutrition for Seniors, Tendinitis, Bruises, Bronchitis)

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (6 Items)
Information Technology–Lists & Rankings
Source: Network World
Now Available, Network World 200, 2002
“Networking’s Biggest Companies.” This url also contains links to a searchable database and nine charts that include info onn companies adding employees fastest, fastest growing (revenue), most profitable, etc. A popular vendor to libraries and information centers, divine, was named the “fastest growing” company.
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Electronic Commerce–International
Source: GAO
International Electronic Commerce: Definitions and Policy Implications
This 100 page (.pdf) report includes many tables and charts, for example:
*Table, Definitions of E-Commerce from Several Organizations
*Table, U.S. Laws Governing Privacy of Personal Information
*Chart, Electronic Commerce as a Percentage of Total Retail Sales, 2000: An International Perspective.
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Energy–International–Statistics
Source: EIA
Full-Text Report, International Energy Outlook 2002
See Also: The World Energy Projection System
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Population–United States–Lists & Rankings
Source: U.S. Census
Fastest Growing Counties in the U.S. (New Population Estimates)
Summary and Top 10 List ||| Direct to Related Reports and Lists
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Newspapers–United States–Directory–Wireless
Source: Newspaper Association of America
New Directory, Newspapers Everywhere
From the site, “… find local news wirelessly. The Local News Gateway shows all the wireless sites available from newspapers and gives you the right links for the device you�re using.”
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Mentoring
Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education
Full-Text Available Online, Critical Perspectives on Mentoring: Trends and Issues

Google Answers
The Original Post, Links, and Q&A With Google About the Service Can Be Found Under the Thursday, April 18th Postings

Those of you who subscribe to the Weekly Reminder E-Mail Might Have Seen These Comments. I’m Posting Them Here For Those Of You Who Aren’t On The Mailing List.
For those of you who haven�t heard about Google Answers and need background, you�ll find plenty of coverage under the April 18th postings on the weblog. I�ve been adding content to this original post, including a Q&A with a Google spokesperson and links to comments from Genie Tyburski (TVC Alert) and Jenny Levine (The Shifted Librarian). I�ve also included a link to Tara Calishain�s article about Google Answers. The article was published as an Information Today NewsBreak.

*The Google Answers beta came online on Thursday, March 18, 2002. Therefore, we’ll need to wait and see how the service develops but its creation and possible development are still deserving of discussion. Even if the service doesn�t make it out of beta, it could be a good thing. Huh? Yes, it might be another needed wake-up call about how we MARKET our skills, services, and tools.
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*Let�s not forget that Google has a well-deserved reputation for being a great service. Who doesn�t include it in their web searching toolbox? It works and it works well. The company is constantly offering new and innovative services like Google Catalogs. For information professionals and researchers, Google is the only search engine at the present time to full-text crawl adobe acrobat (.pdf) files and other file types. The problem is not what Google is doing but what the information profession hasn�t done.
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*Online answer services have been tried before but they were NOT started and developed by Google. As Barbara Quint recently wrote, “to Google”, �you googled�, �it has googled”, etc. has become a verb that means, “to search” for many people. Forget web search or proprietary service. Google equals search! Google is “the service” for all facets of the search engine user population, from the techie in Hong Kong to the most casual online user in Miami. However, it’s important to remember that other important and useful search services exist and continue to improve. Finally, there are always new tools in the works.
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*Google has every reason to want to expand the company, develop new revenue streams, and satisfy user requests at the same time. I say go for it Google! Google is a business. It�s supposed to do this. According to the company, Google Answers is a service that users asked for. What does that say about library/information professional marketing?
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*For information professionals and libraries Google Answers says something, and could say even more in the future, about how we market our skills, our services, and the tools we offer. We must do better. Think about it. Google Answers already exists and it�s called the library. Virtual and telephone reference services, “Ask A” sites, remotely accessible databases, which many public libraries here in the U.S. offer patrons at no charge, books, and most importantly our skills and knowledge at finding, accessing, and making choices, transcend any answer service that a web search could offer. These facts are true for all types of libraries and information professionals.
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*Google answers will most likely be a service where people are paying for answers and materials that are available to them at no charge from a library. That�s sad!
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*Additionally, people could pay money and be told by the Google Researcher to go to the library. Also very sad. If this occurs, we had better have the marketing in place to keep these new users coming back. Since so much full-text is not on the “open web” will people continue to pay to buy articles and books without considering what they could find from their library? What a great idea for Google to start another revenue stream or two.
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*Will Google Researcher�s suggest books from Amazon or other online bookstores? Will they make additional money by suggesting �must read� titles and making a few extra dollars by becoming Amazon associates? By the way, I did say books. (:
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*I�m still waiting to hear if the database of asked and answered questions will be maintained with corrected or changed facts, sites, etc. Of course, you might say that if it�s not it would be similar to any USENET discussion. Maybe, but remember these answers will have Google�s �approval�.
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*Google Answers could continue the myth that all answers can be adequately answered using �open web� resources, and that all the information that you would ever need is available on the open web free. We all know that the web is a tremendous tool but it�s only a tool. It�s constantly amazing all of us with what you can find. Nevertheless, web search and research are not synonymous. At the same time always using a general search engine to find important resources might not always be the best idea. Collection development is just as important with open web as it is with electronic and print materials.
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*Of all the things that could happen perhaps the scariest deals with funding. Remember, politicians college administrators and your boss now about and most likely use and love Google. Will those who provide funding see that Google can answer questions with what�s available on the �open web?� They might ask, �so why are we paying all this money for information, when Google can charge money and only utilize free sources?

A Final Thought
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I would like to invite all of you who don�t work in the information profession to closely examine what the libraries you have access to offer. Since access to many types of libraries are dependent on where you work or study, I’ll focus these comments around where most people have access capabilities.

If you haven’t visited your public library lately, you really should. There you�ll find trained and qualified professionals who have access to resources beyond what you can find from Google or any other open web search engine. If you don’t want to visit the library building, many of the services are available to you free without ever having to leave your home. The reach of today�s public library extends way past its walls.
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Are you aware of “virtual reference desk” services where you can get an experienced librarian to assist and guide you without ever having to leave your home or office? Cool! Here’s a list of just a few of the places that make these services available. The Library of Congress also offers an “Ask A Librarian” service while many professional and scholarly organizations offer “Ask An” expert sites. If none of these work for you all you may need is a telephone. Why? Because many libraries also offer telephone-based reference assistance.
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Finally, did you know many public libraries offer FREE REMOTE ACCESS to fee-based databases? These databases contain full-text and full-image articles from thousands of publications. This is material that, no matter how diligently you searched, you couldn’t find using Google or any other search engine. To access, all you need is a library card.
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Here are Three Examples of What�s Available! Many of these Databases Offer Full-Text Materials at No Charge! Make Sure To Check What Your Public Library Offers!
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TAKE A LOOK at the remotely accessible databases library cardholders in
Pennsylvania have access to via the Internet.
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Los Angeles Public Library Remotely Accessible Databases
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Arlington Country, Virginia Public Library Remotely Accessible Databases
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Those of you who have access to your company and/or college/university library make sure to also find out what they have to offer. Regardless of where you live around the globe, information professionals are available to assist you in satisfying your information needs.
Thanks to Jenny L. for her comments during the preperation of this commentary.

Web Search
Source: Search Engine Showdown
Search Engine Freshness Analysis
Greg Notess has posted updated numbers and info on his SES site. He writes, “All search engines are pictures of the past, but which search engine has taken its picture most recently? This comparison tries to begin to answer that question.”

Virtual Reference–Library of Congress
Source: Library Journal
CDRS Changes Name To QuestionPoint
The Colloaborative Digital Reference Service Project from the Library of Congress has changed its name to QuestionPoint. You can learn more about the service and digital reference in general via the QuestionPoint home page.

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents
Science, Technology, Medicine–Conferences–Database
EventOnline
Updated design and new personalization features. Events through 2010. Many entries include links to conference homepage. Database is updated daily.

Academic Libraries–Internet Usage
Source: Council on Library and Information Resources
“National Survey Documents Effects of Internet Use on Libraries”
Must read! From the article, “Eighty percent of the students and faculty members who responded to a recent national survey stated that the Internet has changed the way in which they use campus libraries. More than one-third of the respondents overall and half of those in fields such as business and engineering now use the library less than they did just two years ago. These are among the preliminary findings of the survey of more than 3,200 students and faculty members at universities and liberal arts colleges conducted by the Digital Library Federation (DLF) and the research firm Outsell, Inc. The main purpose of the inquiry was to learn how the Internet is affecting the work of students and scholars and what consequences Internet use will have on campus libraries. CLIR will publish full results of the study, entitled Dimensions and Use of the Scholarly Information Environment, this summer.”

Law Librarians
Source: AALL Spectrum via Law.Com
“At Home on the Edge of a Profession”
All librarians or those contemplating going to library school should read this article written by Travis McDade. He is currently working on his MLIS degree at the University of Illinois.

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents
Highways—United States–Statistics
Source: Federal Highway Administration
New: Our Nations Highways, 2000
“Selected Facts and Figures” are included in this report. Available in both html and pdf.

Resources of the Week
Ready Reference Shelf�Holidays
Source: U.S. Department of State
1) List of Local Holidays
A browsable list, by country, to find the dates of local holidays celebrated in various countries around the world.
Ready Reference Shelf–Chanceries in Washington D.C.–Directory
Source: U.S. Department of State
2) Chanceries in Washington D.C.
A browsable directory, by country, with addresses and phone numbers of the Chanceries here in D.C.

Librarian Developed Web Resources and Directories
Source: American Libraries
Learn About: Fiat Lux
Some VERY exciting news! From Karen Schneider’s column, “This project is called Fiat Lux, and it addresses what is, ironically, the biggest problem on the Internet: the difficulty in reliably finding significant, objective, and relevant information. Basically, Fiat Lux is a not-for-profit cooperative founded by the librarians who manage important�though small and grossly underfunded�Internet finding aids (a Cybrarian Cartel, if you will). Our idea is that there is strength through cooperation, collaboration, and resource-sharing�an idea many of you involved in building library systems and consortia can connect with.” Btw, Karen is the director of on of these “finding aids”, the Librarians’ Index to the Internet.

Professional Reading Corner (4 Items)
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Libraries and Librarians
Source: The Providence Journal
“How to Take an Internet Safari”
A tip o’ the VAS&ND cap to Linda Henderson from The Providence Journal for this great column. She is The Providence Journal’s library director.
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Library Serials
The Spring Issue of netConnect is Now Online
netConnect is a quarterly publication from Library Journal
Selected Articles:
“Gullible’s Travels” (Net Info Quality) by Marylaine Block
“Yesterday’s Headlines” (Web Accessible Newspapers) by Richard Wiggins
“Discovering Cyber-Lectures” by Steven Bell
“Delivering Digital Reference” by Alice K. Kawakami
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Electronic Journals
Source: Learned Publishing
“Free electronic refereed journals: getting past the arc of enthusiasm”
This article was written by the RLG’s Walt Crawford.
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Periodical Prices–United States
Serial Services–United States
Source: American Libraries
U.S. Periodical Prices�2002
U.S. Serial Services Price Index�2002
Source: Library Journal
Periodicals Price Survey 2002: Doing the Digital Flip

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (2 Items)
Education–United States–Statistics
Source: National Center for Education Statistics
Expanded Resource, Quick Tables and Figures
Over 1000 tables are now available. From the site, “Using this search tool allows you to locate all tables/figures published in the inventory of NCES’ Education Statistics Quarterly; the NEDRC (National Education Data Resource Center) Table Library; and many NCES publications. Tables from NCES publications and data sets are constantly being added to this data base.”
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Science and Engineering–Statistics–United States
Source: NSF
Full-Text Report, Federal Science and Engineering Support to Universities, Colleges, and Nonprofit Institutions: Fiscal Year 2000
From the NSF page, “These tables provide statistics of Federal academic and nonprofit science and engineering collected through the Survey of Federal Science and Engineering Support to Universities, Colleges, and Nonprofit Institutions. This annual survey is the only source of information on Federal S&E obligations to individual institutions and includes statistics on Federal S&E obligations by funding category over time, funding agency, type of institution, institutional ranking, and geographic distribution.”

Search Technology
Source: Information Week
Keyword Search Telephone Calls? Other Audio Material?
Absolutely! From the article, “Fast-Talk Communications Inc. this week plans to introduce a telephony version of its audio-search technology aimed at call-center operators who need to quickly search databases of customer-service calls. But Fast-Talk Telephony may also prove beneficial to customers using the vendor’s year-old audio search engine” This new technology can also be applied to conference calls and telephone based press conferences.
See Also: Direct to the Fast-Talk Web Site
See Also: You Can Demo Similar Search Technology That Converts Creates Mechanically Creates Searchable Transcripts Using Voice Recognition Technology
1) Speechbot (Demo From Compaq)
Search over 14,000 hours of radio broadcasts. Then listen online using RealAudio.
2) Demo of Virage Technology using PBS Lehrer NewsHour Programming
Keyword search content from the television program beginning in February, 2001. View online using RealVideo.

The Ephemeral Web
Source: Wired News
“Rotten Links Hamper Learning”
On the web one day, gone a few days later. A new study focusing on broken links used in science education. From the article, “Two researchers at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln tracked so-called link rot after they discovered that hyperlinks disappeared before they finished developing distance education courses.”
See Also: Direct to the Full-Text of the Study Discussed in the Article,
“Broken Links: Just How Rapidly Do Science Education Hyperlinks Go Extinct?”

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (3 Items)
E-Government–Worldwide
Full-Text Report, “eGovernment Leadership�Realizing the Vision”
From a Kablenet.Com article, “Canada has again outperformed the rest of the world when it comes to e-government, an influential annual global study has found. The United States and Singapore still trail Canada, with the UK in sixth place according to the report published by Accenture on 23 April 2002.”
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British Monarchy
Source: House of Commons Library
Full-Text Report, Queen and Country Fifty Years On: Facts and Figures for the Golden Jubilee 2002
22 pages .pdf
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U.S. Federal Government–Benefits
New Portal, GovBenefits.Gov
From a GCN article, “The portal, up and running at www.govbenefits.gov, is connected to the FirstGov portal and consolidates 55 benefits programs through one Web address.” From the actual site, GovBenefits is a free, easy-to-use, and confidential online screening tool. Just answer a series of questions about yourself and GovBenefits will return a list of government benefits you may be eligible to receive, along with information about how to apply. The official launch for the new portal is set for Monday.

News Briefs
Presidential Libraries–United States
“Presidential Libraries: Mines or Shrines?” (via The New York Times)
See Also: History and Directory of U.S. Presidential Libraries (via National Archives)

Librarians
Learn About: Michael Grey, A Librarian at the Voice of America
From the profile, “With 26 years of service at the Voice of America, Michael Gray says he has one major project to go before retirement - transferring the sound from bulky reels of audio tape to storage on computer discs. “You would find that piece of tape with a few mouse clicks and have our coverage available to you within a minute. It’s having history at your fingertips,” he said.”

Professional Reading Corner (2 Items)
Electronic Libraries
Source: Emerald Journals
This Week Only! Free Full-Text Access: The Electronic Library
You can browse and read the full-text of material beginning in 1997 (Vol 17.1) - the latest issue Vol. 20.1.
Here are a few selected titles found in the last two issues:
From Vol. 20 No. 1
The promise of digital libraries in developing countries
Reference anytime anywhere: towards virtual reference services at Penn State
Turning search into knowledge management
From Vol. 19 No. 6
Wrong way: go back! An exploration of novice search behaviours while conducting an information search
Future development of electronic journals: a Delphi survey
Content management and the future of academic libraries
Implementing a Web-accessible database
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Library Technology
The April Issue of Biblio Tech Review is Now Online

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (3 Items)
Mental Health–Worldwide–Atlas
Source: World Health Organization
Atlas: Country Profiles on Mental Health Resources
Summary ||| Direct to Atlas
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Public Safety–Canada
New Portal, SafeCanada.Ca
A new portal from the Solicitor General of Canada. Topics include, Criminal Activity/Policing Emergencies, Financial Safety, and Internet Safety.
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Federal Spending–United States–Statistics
Source: U.S. Census
Federal Domestic Spending
Summary ||| Direct to Full-Text Report

News Briefs
Info Industry–ebrary
ebrary Names International Resellers
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Info Industry–Morningstar
Investment Research–Mutual Funds
Morningstar Revamps Ratings System (Fact Sheet)
See Also: News Release About Ratings System

Competitive Intelligence
Source: Newark Star-Ledger
“The Prying Game”
From the article, “The ranks of CI operatives, meanwhile, have climbed dramatically the past decade, from 1,550 in 1990 to nearly 7,000, according to the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals. These days, the director of a Fortune 500 CI department can earn upwards of $200,000, says Houston, who runs Results Management Group, a Denver-based executive search firm specializing in competitive intelligence.”

Virtual Reference Desk Conference 2002–Call For Papers
Call for Papers: VRD 4th Annual Digital Reference Conference
The conference is scheduled to take place in Chicago on November 11th and 12th. You can submit your proposal online.

Web Search–Copyright
Web Search–Google
Source: The New York Times
“Google Runs Into Copyright Dispute”
From the article, “Legal experts say the episode highlights problems with the law that can make companies or individuals liable for linking to sites they do not control. And it has turned Google, whose business is built around a database of two billion Web pages, into a quiet campaigner for the freedom to link.”
See Also: VAS&ND (April 13, 2002)

Digital Data
Computer Forensics
Source: Salon.Com
“Digging for Computer Dirt”
An interesting read. From the article, “Collecting obsolete tape drives used to be an eccentric hobby. But now that corporate lawsuits can hinge on unearthing ancient digital data, stocking up on funky hardware is good business.”

Encyclopedias–Canada
“Government of Canada Renews Agreement with the Historica Foundation for the Canadian Encylopedia Online”
See Also: Direct to the Canadian Encyclopedia

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (5 Items)
Terrorism–Bibliography
Source: U.S. Government Information Division/Oklahoma Department of Libraries, Government
Full-Text, Annotated Bibliography of Government Documents Related to the Threat of Terrorism & the Attacks of September 11, 2001
This 95 page bibliography compiled by librarian Kevin D. Motes. From the site, “This bibliography is intended to serve as a means of access to information produced by the United States Government concerning the events of September 11.” Chapters include, “Aftermath of the September 11 Attacks”, “Congressional and Presidential Actions”, “Global Terrorism”, “International Politics”, “National Security of the United States”, “U.S. Foreign Relations, Policy, and Treaties”, “Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)”
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Women in Management–United States
Source: GAO
New Testimony, Women in Management: Analysis of Current Population Survey Data
10 pages .pdf. Many charts and tables.
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Manufacturing–Worldwide–Statistics
Source: BLS
New Report, “International Comparisons of Labor Productivity and Unit Labor Costs in Manufacturing, 2000″
Several tables include data beginning in 1950.
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ERIC
Site Update, ERIC Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education
From ERIC, “The ERIC Clearinghouse on Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education has begun to update its Web site with a whole new look.”
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Indian Affairs–Canada
Source: National Library of Canada
New, Search/Browse: Indian Affairs Annual Reports 1864-1990

Semantic Web
Source: O’Reilly.Com
“The Semantic Web: It’s Whom You Know”
In the article Andy Oram writes, “Academics have long been judged by the number of citations of their works that appear in respected journals. It’s quite reasonable to assume that if a lot of people find a work worth mentioning, it’s a significant work.” If you want to read more about citation analysis, what Andy’s describing in his article, the writings of it’s creator and the founder of the Institute for Scientific Information, Eugene Garfield, are available full-text “on the web”. You can find Dr. Garfield’s often cited and greatest impact factor articles in the 1st column.

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents
Country Reports–Fact Sheets
Source: United States Department of State
Updated Content: Background Notes
Here’s a list of Backgound Notes updated this month. .
Albania
Chile
Columbia
Costa Rica
Croatia
El Salvador
Haiti
Iceland
Laos
Poland
Somalia
Zambia

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents
United Nations–Thesaurus
Controlled Vocabularies
UNBIS Thesaurus (BETA)
A new electronic version of this multilingual thesaurus is now in beta. According to the site, “The UNBIS Thesaurus is multidisciplinary in scope, reflecting the wide-ranging concerns of the Organization. The terms included in the UNBIS Thesaurus are meant to reflect accurately, clearly, concisely and with a sufficient degree of specificity, matters of importance and interest to the United Nations today.”
See Also: USAID Thesaurus

News Briefs
The Internet Public Library
1) The IPL’s Online Text Collection Reaches 20,000 Listings Milestone (Both Searchable and Browsable)
See Also: The Online Books Page
2) Sue Davidsen Has Been Named IPL Director
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Internet Archive
The IA Makes A Donation to Library of Alexandria in Egypt
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Internet Privacy
Public Records on the Internet
Source: News.Com
“Sounding off: Privacy vs. Free Speech”
From the News.Com site, “The two sides face off at a high-profile computer conference, debating a widening rift over how public records should be made available on the Internet.”

Google Stopwords
Source: TVC Alert
“At Google, Sometimes a Stop Word Isn’t”
The latest.

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (3 Items)
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Maps–Europe
Maporama
European based interactive map and direction database. Interface available in many languages. Numerous export options.
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Copyright–United States
Source: Columbia University Law Library
Music Copyright Infringement Online Archive
From the site, “The purpose of this project is to capitalize on the distributed nature of digital information systems to collect, organize and distribute graphic and audio materials associated with music copyright infringement cases in the United States from the middle of the nineteenth century on.” Thanks LLRX
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R&D–United States–Statistics
Source: Rand
Full-Text Online, Federal Research and Development Activities in the Fifty States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico

Happy International Special Librarians Day!

Web Search–Google
Something New From Google, Questions Answered For A Fee: Google Answers
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Google has opened (beta) a fee-based answer service. Ask a question and have a Google Researcher bid to supply you with an answer. How do you become a Google Researcher? First, write a paragraph on why you want to be a researcher. Then, pass a test by answering 5 sample questions. Google editors will also “spot-check” answers and if they aren’t up to standards the question will be put back into the system. A user feedback system will also be incorporated to rate Researchers. The faq states, “The Researcher will be an expert at locating hard to find information on the web”. What about all of the info not on the web? Finally, some Researchers will be “experts in their fields.”
Answers
According to the faq, both questions and answers will be publicly viewable on the web. Anyone who has registered for the service can comment on any question or answer but the actual “answer” can only come from an approved Google Researcher. If a registered user answers your question to your satisfaction for free you can cancel your query. If the question is answered by a researcher you can also ask him/her for a “clarification”. If the answer is not to your satisfaction, you can choose to apply for a refund.
Fees?
First, a non-refundable $0.50 fee to list the question. Then the amount you are willing to pay. The minimum is $4 and the max is $50.00. From the faq, “The more research required to find an answer, the more you should offer. Three-quarters of your research fee goes directly to the Researcher who answers your question; the other 25 percent is used by Google to support the service. Setting a price too low to compensate for the time required may result in your question not receiving an answer. The more you are willing to pay, the more likely your question is to get answered quickly.”
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Here’s a question or two for the library/information community,
*Will the fee-based resources that many public libraries make available see a rapid increase in usage?
*Will virtual reference desk services be flooded with questions from Google Researcher’s who can then sell the answer or at least a portion of it on Google? In some cases you need to have an affiliation (ie. library card) to use a local service but the Library of Congress service is available to anyone, anywhere.
*Will people pay $ to be told to go to the library for help?
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Update 4/19 and 4/23: I had the chance to speak with a Google spokesperson over the telephone and via e-mail. Here are a few things I learned. We begin with a few questions and answers that I asked and the Google spokesperson answered. Then, additional facts from the conversation.

Q. What Types of Resources Can Be Used?
A: Researchers can use any publicly available resource to find an answer to a user’s question. In most cases, the web would be the most efficient way to find information.”
Q. I Asked Google about the use of Virtual Reference Desks (VRD) to answer questions. For example could a researcher submit an answer where a portion/all of the research was done by a VRD?
A: “Researchers can use any publicly available resource to find an answer to a user’s question. However, these virtual reference services are not likely the best resource for a Researcher because a Researcher has a limited amount of time to spend answering each question. If the question is not answered, it goes back into the queue for another Researcher to work on. Researchers work on one question at a time and can more quickly find an answer to a difficult question by conducting the intensive research themselves and synthesizing the answer for the user. So while virtual reference services can be used as resources, it is not likely that a Researcher would use those services for their research.”
Q. What Type of Training Will Researchers Receive?
A: “Google Answers’ training focuses on format and style of search and delivery (how to best present the answer). The Researchers that are hired will have previous searching experience and good communication skills.”
Q: Would Google Be Able To Share A Sample Question from the Researcher application?
A: [Sample Question] How many of Elvis Presley’s movies included a scene where the character played by Elvis died?
Q. Would Google be able to judge if an organization was answering questions as opposed to a Researcher.
A: “Google Answers is actively recruiting individuals from the around the web to become Researchers. If a Researcher was affiliated with an organization and that particular organization logged into the account to answer posted questions, Google Answers would not immediately know. Instead, Google Answers would continue to monitor the answers posted by this particular Researcher and review the ratings posted by the users. If the ratings fell below the standard, the Researcher would be relieved of his/her responsibilities.”
Q. Would the answer, here are some citations I found via my library gain approval from an Editor?
A. “Researchers are expected to answer the question and provide additional resources. If the library citations were included among online resources, this answer would be approved. While citations from a library may be helpful, Researchers must consider that a user may not have immediate access to a local library. Because questions to Google Answers are submitted online, web resources will most likely be utilized by the user.”
Q. What about books? Since books are held locally searching the questioners local library is impossible. So, for newer books could someone search the Amazon catalog and provide links to books from Amazon? I asked this question because with the affiliate programs that Amazon and other online bookstores offer Researchers and others could make extra money by telling people these are “must reads”.
A. “If a user is asking where to find a specific book, yes, a Researcher might suggest searching Amazon and provide a link to where the book is available. As mentioned, Researchers can use any publicly available resource to find an answer to a users’ question. As Google Answers is a newly launched beta service, we have not yet come across the issue of a Researcher using an affiliation to make extra money. We are aware that this situation may occur as the service evolves, and we will keep an eye out for it and handle appropriately.”
Q. Would Google would consider partnerships with fee-based or community sites?
A. “As Google Answers recently launched in beta, we will explore partnership opportunities as the service evolves.”
Note from Gary: If this happened as a method to provide full-text articles from various vendors, questioners would have to pay $ to have the question answered and pay again to get the full-text of the article. So, people would be paying for two services when both services are available for free or very little cost from a library. (:
Who are the editors? How many will you have?
A. “Google has currently hired contracted employees as editors. As Google Answers is currently in beta, we will evaluate the feedback from our users and observe market demand to determine the number of editors needed during this testing period.”
Q. What are the criteria editors will use to judge if the answer can be posted? Will all url’s be checked?
A. “We are unable to describe specific criteria. Yes, all URLs will be checked and reviewed by an editor.”
Other Answers!
*Presently, All Questions Must Be Asked and Answered in English
*Researchers are Not Required to Only use the Google database.
*An Unlimited Number of Clarifications Can Be Asked
*All Answers Will Be Reviewed by a Google Editor Before Posting
*Questions Can Be Posted to Stay on the Answer Board for 1 Week, 1 Month, or 1 Year
*All Questions and Answers Will Be Publicly Available For All Web Searcher’s To Use
(Note: I’m still Awaiting An Answer To Learn if the Q&A Database Will Be Maintained With Updated URLs, New or Changed Facts?)
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From The Shifted Librarian
“I checked this site a few times today, always looking at the Questions Currently Being Asked. When the RIAA and MPAA tell you that consumers won’t pay for content they can get for free, don’t believe them. This site is living proof, because every question I saw could have been answered for free with a simply contacting the local public library. Sigh…Free answers @ your library should be a major cornerstone of ALA’s campaign.”
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See Also: “New Google Answers Service Raises a Few Questions of Its Own” (via Information Today)
See Also: Comments and a Spot Check of a Google Answer (via TVC Alert)
See Also: Read the Complete FAQ (where most of the above info was found).
See Also: Google Answers Terms of Service

Resources of the Week
#1 Cities–United States
Source: Wall Street Journal/RealEstateJournal.Com
Fast Facts: City Profiles for Major U.S. Cities
Each report is a treasure chest of fast facts and links for each city. Demographic info, housing info, crime stats, weather data, links to additional sources of info, and much more.
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#2 Corporations–United States
Source: BizFilings.Com
Fast Facts: Basic Corporation Filing Requirements For All 50 States and D.C.
Filing dates, types of recognized corporations, income tax rates, etc. This info is also available via Yahoo Small Business.

Business Research–China–Web Resources
Source: Free Pint
“A World of Resources Awaits You in China”
Laurel J. Delaney, a Chicago based author and university lecturer in international marketing, shares several resources to use when doing web-based research on China.

Web Search–Daypop
News and Weblog Searching
Daypop Begins Offering Search Results in RSS Format
Directions are available on the Daypop blog.

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (3 Items)
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Competitive Intelligence–United States & Canada–Education
Library and Information Science–United States & Canada–Education
Source: Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals
New List: Compiled Listing of Universities and Colleges Offering CI Courses
A list of Canadian programs is also available.
See Also: Directory of Accredited LIS Master’s Programs, U.S. and Canada (via ALA)
See Also:
World List of Departments and Schools of Information Studies, Information Management, Information Systems, etc.
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Web Search–Google
Source: Intelligence-Center
Handy List: Google’s Regional Interfaces
Approx 80 languages, 30 countries.
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R&D–United States–Statistics
Source: NSF
New Report, Research and Development in Industry: 1999
From the NSF site, “The detailed statistical tables track historical trends in industrial R&D spending, sources of funds for R&D performance, the character of industrial R&D, domestic employment of R&D-performing companies, and cost per R&D scientist or engineer, by industry and size of company, and introduces the new North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) now being used for industry R&D statistics.”

News Briefs
Scholarly Publishing
“Engineering Institute Will Drop Form Pledging Adherence to Copyright Act (via TCOHE)

The Structure of the Web
New Study, “Winners Don’t Take All: Characterizing the Competition for Links on the Web”
This study, from the NEC Research Institute (Pennock, Flake, Lawrence, Glover, Giles), is being published in the April edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. From the summary web site, “Earlier research has shown that the distribution of links to web sites approximates a “power law” (Science, 286; Nature, 401), where a small number of sites receive the majority of links, and most sites receive very few links.” “The distribution has been attributed to a process called “preferential attachment”, wherein new links on the web are more likely to go to sites that already have many links. Competition varies in different categories NEC researchers discovered that the degree of “rich get richer” or “winners take all” behavior varies in different categories and may be significantly less than previously thought.” “A new model has been developed which can be used to predict and analyze competition and diversity in different communities on the web.”
See Also: Download the Full-Text of the Paper (Preprint)
See Also: News Release and Highlights (via Penn St. University)
See Also: SearchDay Article

Web Search–Google
Web Search–Patents
Source: USPTO
New Patent Application Published,
“Methods and Apparatus for Using a Modified Index to Provide Search Results in Response to an Ambiguous Search Query”
For those hardcore search engine researcher types out there. This patent application was published by the USPTO on April 11, 2002. It lists Google Inc. as the assignee and Sergey Brin, a Google’s co-founder, as one of the inventors.
SEE ALSO: Here’s the U.S. Patent for Google’s PageRank Algorithm. It was assigned to Stanford University and lists Larry Page as the inventor.

Search Engines
Source: Reuters
“Search Engines Bolster Gov’t Security”
From the article, “Several Internet search engines and software makers are trying to address those challenges. Companies like CMGI’s AltaVista and Inktomi, which started out organizing the billions of documents on the Web, today are selling similar technologies to help government agencies organize all the material they have collected over the years.”
See Also: “LexisNexis and i2 To Jointly Develop Visualization Tools for Government Investigators”
See Also: “Tools of the Trade” (via Computerworld)
A brief article about software being used in open-source intelligence.

Web Search–Google
Source: News.Com
Google API Update, Week One
A comprehensive review (for non-programmers) about the latest rage, Google’s API’s.

Industry Briefs
Info Industry–Dialog
Dialog’s New Canadian Content: The National Post
Factiva Adds Content from American Lawyer Media

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (3 Items)
Business Customs–Worldwide
Country Profiles: Conducting Business Around the World
You’ll find short profiles for over 40 countries. Info includes, “corporate culture”, “meeting and greeting”, and “body language”. Content is provided by Window on the World and is also used on the WSJ CareerJournal Europe site.
Related Resource: Access to the Complete “Doing Business In” Series from Ernst and Young
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Tax Issues–United States
New Resource: Tax Policy Center
From the site, “An independent source for tax information and analysis”. This new resource is produced by The Urban Institute and Brookings Institution. One portion of the site, “Tax Facts”, includes data from many sources including Data are compiled from a variety of sources, including the Urban Institute, Brookings Institution, Internal Revenue Service, the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Congressional Budget Office, the Department of the Treasury, the Federation of Tax Administrators, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Web Search–Legal Issues
Source: Network World
German Railroad Set To Sue AltaVista, Google, Yahoo
From the article, “Deutsche Bahn AG, the German national railway operator, Wednesday will file suit against Google because the company’s search engine provides links to a Web site that offers instructions on how to sabotage railway systems, Deutsche Bahn said Tuesday. Lawsuits against Yahoo and AltaVista also are being prepared.”
UPDATE (4/18/02): “AltaVista and Google Remove Rail Sabotage Links”
UPDATE (4/17/02): “AltaVista to Remove Link to Railway Sabotage Guide”
UPDATE (4/17/02): “Google May Remove Controversial Links”

Online and Web Search
Source: Computerworld
“The Future of the Search Engine”
From the article,”In a recent interview with Computerworld, Hadley Reynolds, research director at Delphi Group in Boston, talked about what’s wrong with today’s search engines and how that will change.” Thanks to G.T. for the tip.

Web Search–Google
Source: News.Com
“Google Protects Its Search Results”
From the article, “Lockouts are hardly unprecedented on Google. The company has long banned computer-generated search requests, which can sop up substantial system resources and help unscrupulous marketers manipulate its search rankings.”

Web Search–FirstGov
E-Government–United States
Source: Government Computer News
An Interview With Deborah Diaz,
Deputy Associate Administrator for the General Services Administration�s Office of FirstGov.Gov

Internet–Journals
Electronic Commerce–Journals
Source: Emerald Journals
This Week Only! Free Full-Text Access: Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy
You can browse and read the full-text of material beginning in 1994 (Vol 4.1) - the latest issue (Vol. 12.2).
A Few Articles That Might Be of Interest:
“Methodologies for crawler based Web surveys” (Vol. 12.2)
“Cross-industry review of B2B critical success factors” (Vol 12.2)
“Knowledge for Web site development” (Vol. 11.5)
“Facilitating virtual team relationships via Internet and conventional communication channels” (Vol 11.4)
“Use of query reformulation and relevance feedback by Excite users” (Vol. 10.4)

Academic Libraries–Acquisitions
Source: NY Times
“Catalog This”
From the article, “University libraries are in the business of buying up the papers, manuscripts, letters and notebooks of major literary and historical figures, but when they make an acquisition, they don’t always know exactly what they’re getting.” Thanks to S.C. for the news tip.

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (7 Items)
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Philanthropy–United States–Statistics
Source: The Foundation Center
New: Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates, 2001 Preview
12 pages .pdf. Includes several lists and charts. From an email message, “This 12-page summary provides a forecast of 2001 giving together with a “first look” at aggregate 2000 giving and asset data for the close to 56,600 grantmaking foundations tracked by the Center. Giving projections for 2001 are based on estimates reported by more than 1,800 large and mid-size foundations, combined with year-end fiscal indicators and supplemental reporting by donors on 9/11 contributions.”
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Stories in the News–Middle East
The Middle East Situation: Two Comprehensive Resources from JURIST
JURIST: The Legal Education Network, based at the University of Pittsburgh, has two resources with links to key legal documents, peace process documents, and useful web sites. These compilations should be of value to many types of online researchers.
JURIST Israel ||| JURIST Palestinian Authority
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Documents In The News
Source: U.S. Supreme Court
Full-Text: Opinion, Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition
44 pages .pdf
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Aviation Industry–Statistics–United States
Source: BTS
New: Historical Air Traffic Data (Monthly)
2001 ||| 2000
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Environmental Health–Webliography
Source: C&RL News
“Environmental Health: Sites That Focus on Protecting Our Natural Resources”
From the May, 2002 issue of College and Research Libraries News.
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Womens Health–Bibliography & Webliography
Source: OCLC PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service)
Women’s Health
You’ll find a bibliography of citations from PAIS along with a selection of relevant web resources.
See Also: Additional OCLC PAIS “Hot Topic” Resources
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MEDLINEplus–Webliography
Source: NLM
New Web Guide: Vegetarianism