Librarians in the News
Source: Chicago Tribune
Meet the Librarian: Ruth Ketchum of the Chicago Public Library, Sulzer Regional Library
Ruth does a Q and A for the Trib’s “On the Job” column.

Librarians in the News
Source: Chicago Tribune
Meet the Librarian: Ruth Ketchum of the Chicago Public Library, Sulzer Regional Library
Ruth does a Q and A for the Trib’s “On the Job” column.

Professional Reading Shelf
Online Databases
Source: Library Journal
“Online Databases- Trends from the Industry Perspective”
Dr. Tenopir writes, “…company representatives were asked what major issues or trends will impact database availability and distribution in the next year. While budget woes are clearly the major issue for libraries and vendors alike, other trends are also expected to shape online information services.” These trends include “expanded linking”, “back file building”, and “single access points”.
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Librarians
Study Results: “You Don’t Look Like a Librarian!”
By Ruth A. Kneale (Via E-Mail Note, The Shifted Librarian, and Library Stuff)

News Briefs (2 Items)
Water Causes More Damage To Materials at National Library of Canada
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U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Upgrades Web Site: New Look and Database Output Options

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (3 Items)
Consumers–United States–Credit Cards
New Web Site, “Web Site Lets Consumers Check for Credit Card Theft”
From an AP article, “An anti-fraud education group that tipped federal authorities to a major Internet credit card scheme has opened a Web site that will let Americans check to see if their card numbers are in the hands of thieves.”
See Also: Direct to the CardCops Site
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Undergraduates–United States
Student Financing–United States
Source: NCES
Three New Reports
Profile of Undergraduates in U.S. Postsecondary Education Institutions: 1999�2000
Student Financing of Undergraduate Education: 1999�2000
Student Financing of Graduate and First-Professional Education, 1999�2000: Profiles of Students in Selected Degree Programs and Their Use of Assistantships
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Family Violence–Canada–Statistics
Source: Statistics Canada
Full-Text Report, Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile

Web Search–Teoma
Teoma Launches Toolbar
As noted on the blog late last week, Teoma’s Toolbar is now available online.
Teoma’s Search Bar includes:
– The Highlight feature, which lets users highlight search terms as they appear on a Web page whether accessed through the Teoma Search Bar or a Web browser and highlights terms in up to six colors;
– The Email this page to a friend feature that lets users email any Web page along with a personal message with a click of a button;
– The Dictionary Search function that lets users look-up words with Merriam-Webster online; and
– Web browser functionality allowing Teoma Search Bar users to type specific Web addresses into its search box and be taken directly to the desired site.
Note: I have both the Google Toolbar and Alexa Toolbar on my system. I haven’t run into any conflicts by adding the Teoma toolbar.

Public Libraries–United States–Privacy
Source: Office of Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association
New, “FBI in Your Library” Web Compilation
This new compilation features links to news articles, materials on the USA Patriot Act, Privacy: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights, and other resources.

Health Information–Information Quality
Source: The Washington Post
“Rx for the Future: Get an Ix”
From the article, “[Donald] Kemper has a radical solution to end patients’ exhausting, disorienting and hazardous Web searches. Doctors should write “information prescriptions” that direct patients away from e-health’s more suspect specimens and to the more wholesome and nutritious health information on the Internet. Kemper and Molly Mettler, a senior vice president at Idaho-based Healthwise, have laid out a manifesto in their book “Information Therapy: Prescribed Information as a Reimbursable Medical Service”(Center for Information Therapy, 2002). The book urges doctors to harness technology for patients by administering “information therapy” — an “Ix” to accompany the usual Rx — rather than send them out alone to sort through the glut of Web health pages. For providing this service, doctors would be paid.”

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (6 Items)
Wildfires–United States
Source: NIFC/NICC
National Interagency Fire Center
Key Resources from the Site:
National Fire News (Includes State-By-State Summaries, Updated Daily)
National Situtation Report (Updated Daily, Includes Some Canadian Information)
Incident Management Situation Report (Updated Daily ||| Archived Reports)
Directory of Regional Centers (Arizona ||| Colorado
Image Portal Database (Searchable)
National Fire Maps (Access to Real-Time Maps via GeoMac)
Wildland Fire Statistics
Glossary of Wildland Fire Terms
National Fire Weather Page (NOAA)
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Workplace–United States–Lists & Rankings
Source: Fortune
Best Companies For Minorities, 2002 ed.
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Information Technology–Lists & Rankings
Source: Business Week
The Information Technology 100/200
See Also: PDF Version Also Available
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Internet Usage–United States
Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project
Full-Text Report, The Broadband Difference: How Online Americans’ Behavior Changes with High-Speed Internet Connections at Home
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Software–Economics–Statistics
Source: NIST
Full-Text Report, The Economic Impacts of Inadequate Infrstructure for Software Testing
See Also: Article about this New Study (via Computerworld)
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Smuggling–United Kingdom
Shopping–United Kingdom
Source: House of Commons Library
Full-Text Report, Cross Border Shopping and Smuggling

Professional Reading Shelf
Information Architecture–Vocabulary
Source: ASIST Bulletin
New Issue of ASIST Bulletin Features Three Articles About Vocabulary Control on the Web
The articles included are:
“Do Your Links Stink? Techniques for Good Web Information Scent”
“Redesigning an E-Business Taxonomy: Egreetings Project Case Study”
“New Course Design: Classification Schemes and Information Architecture”

Electronic Library Projects
Source: Detroit Free Press
“Michigan’s Pioneering e-Library Has New Look”
Mike Wendland alerts Free Press readers to many changes now available at MeL including access to proprietary research databases for residents of Michigan. According the the article, users will access by simply entering their drivers license number or state ID number. Thanks Mike for alerting the general public to these services.
See Also: Direct to the Michigan Electronic Library

Web Search–Vivisimo
Vivisimo Receives 3rd Round of Funding
Another round provided to the Pittsburgh based company from Innovation Works. If you’ve never used Vivisimo’s document clustering technology, it’s worthy of your time. The company provides an opportunity to use its technology with several specialized search tools as well as with several general search engines to create a meta type search tool. When running a meta search note the preview option for each result. This feature allows you (IE Only) to open a live version of the page directly “inside” the result set.

Information Industry–Thomson
Source: Information Today NewsBreaks
“Thomson Corp. Now Listed on the New York Stock Exchange”
Marydee Ojala writes, “On June 11, Thomson Corp. was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), one of the largest companies added to that market this year. The lead underwriters were Merrill Lynch & Co. and Morgan Stanley.”

Linking Issues
Source: Financial Times
“Reasons to Think Before you Link”
Richard Poynder provides a review of the current legal issues.

Resources, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (3 Items)
Crime–United States-Statistics
Source: FBI
Crime Trends 2001 (Premiminary Data)
Summary ||| Full-Text Report
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Demographics–United States–Lists & Rankings
Source: U.S. Census
Ranking Tables for Places of 100,000 or More Population by Race Alone, Race Alone or in Combination, and Two or More Races
Materials are available in .pdf, ASCII, or Excel formats.
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International Relations
Source: Department of Parliamentary Library (Australia)
Full-Text Research Report, India-US Relations In a Changing Strategic Environment

Professional Reading Shelf
CLIR Issues (July/August, 2002) Is Now Available
Selected Article Titles:
“Perspectives on Digital Preservation”
“Digital Libraries Seek Interoperability”
“Who Says the Library Won’t Survive?”

Web Search Industry
Source: E-Commerce Times
“The Serious Business of Internet Search Engines”
From the article, “There is money being made, although it doesn’t seem like it,” Sue Feldman, research vice president at IDC, told NewsFactor. “And there is definitely money to be made in the future. The shakeout is happening now.”

Libraries–United States
Source: S.F. Chronicle
“FBI Checking Out Americans’ Reading Habits: Bookstores, Libraries Can’t Do Much to Fend Off Search Warrants”
From the article, “For the first time since the Cold War, the FBI is visiting public libraries to keep tabs on the reading habits of people the government considers dangerous…In a nationwide survey of 1,020 public libraries in January and February, the University of Illinois found that 85 — or 8.3 percent — of them had been asked by federal or local law enforcement officers for information about patrons related to Sept. 11, said Leigh Estabrook, director of the school’s Library Research Center.”

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Source: Forbes ASAP
The Job of a Patent Examiner
Spend some time with patent examiner, Patrick Nolan. From the article, “More than anything, he depends on the USPTO’s technological system. Nolan’s computer accesses vital information on all approved patents; the complete information of eight large industrial databases, each following the latest published research; more than 700 commercial databases offering less-rigorous information; 8,000 electronic books; and 700 journals.”

News Briefs
“Pop-Up Ads On Rise in Spite of Criticism” (via Contra Costa Times)
Article includes information on several pop-up stoppers that are available for downloading.