Internet Archive
Internet Archive Gets DMCA Exemption To Help Archive Vintage Software
From the announcement, In 2003 the Internet Archive, as part of research into vintage software archiving, discovered possible archiving issues involving the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. This could make it impossible to legally archive early computer software and games, even for accredited institutions wishing to store limited amounts of non-distributable, archival images…Following deliberation, the Copyright Office ruled in late October 2003 that four exemptions should be added to the anti-circumvention clause of the DMCA, to be valid until the next Copyright Office rulemaking in 2006, including two that are related to the Internet Archive’s original comments:
# Computer programs protected by dongles that prevent access due to malfunction or damage and which are obsolete.
# Computer programs and video games distributed in formats that have become obsolete and which require the original media or hardware as a condition of access.

Aviation–Real-Time Databases
Source: PC Magazine
How Real-Time Flight Information Databases Work
When Chris and I wrote The Invisible Web we spent a few pages talking about real-time or near real-time databases. One of our favorites in this category is FlightTracker (via CheapTickets.Com). Yes, flight tracking info is available in many places including directly from the airlines but FlightTracker allows you to actually see the plane move every few seconds on a map. Other data includes air speed, compass direction, and altitude. In many cases flight info data is supplied by Boston-based RLM Software. This article from the current issue of PC Magazine explains how it all works. Don’t forget that what’s available for free is just the tip of the iceberg as compare to the data available via a subscription to the fee-based service. Btw, you can also get flight tracking info direct from RLM but imho, the FlightTracker implementation looks nicer.

Library Robots
Source: Kyodo News (via Japan Today)
“Robot can browse for books in library via Internet”
From the article, A Japanese team of researchers has developed a robot that could help browse for books in a library by receiving instructions via the Internet, a team member said Friday. The robot, a wheeled vehicle measuring 50 by 45 centimeters with a digital camera, mechanical hand and arm, follows orders received through the Internet. Still in the experimental stage, it was developed as a way to help people who cannot go to a library, said Akihisa Oya, an assistant professor at the University of Tsukuba.
See Also: The Evelyn Wood of Digitized Book Scanners (via NY Times)

Libraries–India
“Libraries should be more proactive”
A good suggestion for libraries all over the world! From the article, Governor T N Chaturvedi on Thursday called for a national library movement to reach out to millions of people in the country…�Libraries have to become more proactive� since they are not just storehouses of knowledge but also propagators of knowledge,” he said.

Professional Reading Shelf
Scholarly Communication
Source: Jekyll.comm: International Journal of Science Communication no. 6
Full Text, “Invisible Hand(s) Quality Assurance in the Age of Author Self-Archiving”
A new paper by Gerry McKiernan a librarian and bibliographer at Iowa State University.
See Also: Full Text, Peer review: is it crisis?
by Mauro Scanu, Innovations in Science Communication, ISAS, Trieste, Italy

Education Resources
Source: Education Week (Registration Required, Free)
“Some AskERIC Services Shift To Syracuse University”
A brief article about some of AskERIC’s services moving to a new home at EduRef.Org on December 19th. From the article, To keep the service going, the Information Institute of Syracuse is moving the information collection to a new electronic home. Known as the Educators Reference Desk, the new site will give educators free access to most of the information they get now through AskERIC. One missing element, though, will be the customized question-and- answer service that has been ERIC’s most-used feature. With the loss of federal support, the institute no longer has enough staff members to field individual queries. “We know we still have a lot of users who depend on resources such as the lesson plans,” said R. David Lankes, the executive director of the institute, which helped develop AskERIC and has run it for 11 years.
See Also: An Important Statement About the ERIC Database was Released this Week
Beginning in January and until the new ERIC model for acquiring education literature is developed later in 2004, no new materials will be received and accepted for the database. However, the ERIC database will continue to grow, as thousands of documents selected by the ERIC clearinghouses throughout 2003 will be added. When the new model is ready later in 2004, the new ERIC contractor will communicate with publishers, education organizations, and other database contributors to add publications and materials released from January 2004 forward.

Professional Reading Shelf
The December, 2003 Issue of the Internet Resources Newsletter is Online
Always interesting and useful material from Roddy M., Catherine U., and Catherine F., from the Heriot-Watt University Library.
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Conferences
Just Made Available, Presentations from the EDUCAUSE 2003 Conference
Numerous presentations from the conference might be of interest. Here’s a sample:
+ Copyright Policies: Past, Present, and Future (Video Presentation)
+ MIT OpenCourseWare: A New Model for Open Sharing (Video Presentation)
+ Looking for LTAs? Discover Low-Threshold Applications at the Campus Library
Panelists include Steven Bell, Philadelphia University
+ Institutional Repositories: What Does Your Institution Need to Know?
+ Virtual Communities of Practice
+ Expansion of Web-Based Library Services in Large Research Libraries: A Penn State Case Study
+ Instant Messaging Interactive Agents: Responding to Student Queries “Naturally”
+ Comparison of the Cost and Use of University Electronic and Print Journal Collections
Presentation not yet online.
+ Digital Library Collections: Creating More Than Pretty Pictures
+ The DSpace Federation: Reports from the New Frontier in Scholarly Communication
Presentation not yet online.
+ Emerging Best Practices for Integrating Library Content and Services with Educational Technology
Presentation not yet online.
+++ See Also: Complete List of Presenters and Presentations
Plenty o’ good stuff.

Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full-Text Documents (3 Items)
Terrorism–Canada
Source: Canadian Security Intelligence Service:
Recently Updated, List of Entities as Determined by the Government of Canada Pursuant to the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2001
Brief annotations about many of the groups are included on this list.
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Wages–United States–Statistics
Source: BLS
Just Released, 2002 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
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Astronomy
SpaceWeather.com
“Science news and information about the Sun-Earth environment.”

Librarians
Source: The New Zealand Herald
Be Gone Librarian Stereotypes: “The secret life of tattooed and bellydancing librarians”
In a wonderful column, Shelley Howell, a writer for The New Zealand Herald, helps inform the public that we’re not all “stereotypical librarians.” From the column, Librarians rock. That reputation they have involving buns, sensible shoes and shushing people is merely a cunning ruse, developed over centuries, to conceal their real lives as radicals, subversives and providers of extreme helpfulness. Combine librarians and the net, and in no time they will rule the world.

Consumer Products–United States
Feds Launch New Product Recall Site, Tracks Announcements From Six Agencies
From a GCN article, The site, www.recalls.gov, provides not only the recalled household items listed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission but also data on recalled motor vehicles, recreational boats, food, medicines, cosmetics and pesticides…The home page features a series of tabs organized by product type. The pages linked to each tab contain links to lists of product recalls and to the home page of the agency responsible for regulating those products. The subpages also feature a link, marked with a red arrow, that tells consumers how to report problems to agencies. The regulatory agencies that are CPSC�s partners on the portal�the Coast Guard, Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, Food Safety Inspection Service and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration�are responsible for updating their own recall lists, Fleming said.

Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full-Text Documents (2 Items)
United Kingdom–Statistics
Source: National Statistics Office
Released Yesterday, Full Text, UK 2004 - The Official Yearbook of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The definitive overview of the United Kingdom in text, tables, maps, charts and (in the hardcopy version) colour photographs. The latest edition includes chapters on government, international relations, defence; education and training, the labour market, social protection, health, crime and justice, religion, culture, communications and the media, sport, environment, housing, planning and regeneration, transport, sustainable development, the economy, public finance, international trade and investment, science, engineering and technology, agriculture, fishing and forestry, manufacturing and construction, energy and natural resources, and financial services. Information on England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is included throughout, and in separate introductory chapters.
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Wine–United States
Source: The Wine Institute
U.S. Wine Laws and Info
Includes federal wine laws, the Federal Register sections that pertain to wine, ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) regulations and forms, tax information for all states, California laws and laws from other states, including information on which states permit direct shipment of wine. Also includes contact information and links to the websites of all state Alcoholic Beverage Control Authorities.
See Also: Who Ships Where
See Also: American Vitacultural Areas

Briefly
ProQuest…Cambridge Scientific Abstracts and Proquest Make Linking Deal
BvD…New UK Company Data Added to DASH Database

Legal Research–United States
Public Records–United States
Coming Very Soon: Instant Registration to PACER Database
From the announcement, Beginning January 5, 2004, free instant registration will be offered for Public Access to Court
Electronic Records (PACER). Joining the nearly 300,000 registered users of PACER will be easier than ever. PACER allows users to obtain case and docket information from federal Appellate, District and Bankruptcy courts, and from the U.S. Party/Case Index. It offers an inexpensive, fast and comprehensive case information system to any individual with a personal computer (PC) and Internet access. But until now, the process of registering and receiving a password has taken up to two weeks.
See Also: Direct to the PACER Service Center
See Also: What is PACER?

Quote of the Week
Higher Education
Source: Educause Review, vol. 38. no. 6
From the article, “Why IT Has Not Paid Off As We Hoped (Yet)”
The real heroes of the digital revolution in higher education are librarians; they are the people who have seen the farthest, done the most, accepted the hardest challenges, and demonstrated most clearly the benefits of digital information. In the process, they have turned their own field upside down and have revolutionized their own professional training. It is a testimony to their success that we take their achievement for granted.

Professional Reading Shelf
Conference Announcements
CFP: ECDL 2004 (European Digital Library Conference)
ECDL 2004 (September 12-17 2004 at the University of Bath, UK) is the 8th in the series of European Digital Library Conferences. ECDL has become the major European Forum focusing on digital libraries and associated technical, organisational and social issues.