Search Briefs
+ Presentations from the 2005 Search Engine Meeting
PLENTY of interesting reading including a presentation by Dr. Carol Tenopir.
+ A New Search Engine for European Travel

Professional Reading Shelf
Librarians
Source: Ancestry.com
Ancestry.com — In Praise of Library Personnel
“My primary business is operating a seminar company whose mission is to provide continuing education to library consortia, professional librarians, and library staff. My work has brought me in contact with many thousands of librarians and…this week, I want to let you in on what the people you see and the people in the background in our public libraries do for us.” By George Morgan, president of the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors.

Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents
Business–Lists & Rankings
Source: EIU
US, Switzerland and Slovakia the biggest gainers in Economist Intelligence Unit’s sixth annual e-readiness rankings
“Since 2000, the Economist Intelligence Unit has published an annual e-readiness ranking of the world’s largest economies. A country’s “e-readiness” is a measure of its e-business environment, a collection of factors that indicate how amenable a market is to Internet-based opportunities.” The full text of the report is availale here.
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Executive Compensation–United States–Lists & Rankings
Source: Forbes
CEO Compensation Rankings
Sort by Rank, Name, Company, Age, and Total Compensation.
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Mexican Americans–Fast Facts
Source: U.S. Census
Fast Facts About Mexican Americans
A new compilation of facts to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.
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Books–Online Exhibits
Source: University of North Texas Libraries
Pop-Up and Movable Books: A Tour Through Their History

Professional Reading Shelf
Military Librarians
Source: ARNews
Army librarians hone ‘virtual library’ skills
“Army Knowledge Online personnel attended the Army Library Institute and trained attendees on integrating AKO?s functionality into the Army Library Program. A hands-on approach in a computer lab setting featured discussions on AKO capabilities, the new AKO syndicated news channel, creation of ‘virtual teams’ for librarians, use of various collaboration tools and techniques, and upcoming changes to AKO.”
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Copyright–United States
Source: ARL
Teleconference, Orphan Works: Issues and Legislative Strategies
“What do you do if you can’t find the copyright holder of a work (say a photograph, article, or film clip) that you want to use in a book or a Web site? The Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the Medical Library Association (MLA) and the American Association of Law Libraries(AALL) are sponsoring an interactive teleconference on Orphan Works, Monday, May 2, 3:00-4:30 p.m. EDT.”

Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents
Population–Lists & Rankings
Source: United Nations
Population of capital cities and cities of 100,000 and more inhabitants
A global list.
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Food and Drug Regulation–United States
Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
USDA Enforcement Report Index
“The FDA Enforcement Report is published weekly by the Food and Drug Administration. It contains information on actions taken in connection with agency regulatory activities. Inquiries about individual actions should be directed to the companies involved.” Includes reports back to February 1990. Searchable.

Professional Reading Shelf
Online Information
Source: OCLC
OCLC Researchers Hits the Road
Links to several PowerPoint presentations from members of OCLC Research.
+ Mining for Digital Resources: Identifying and Characterizing Digital Materials in WorldCat
+ A Systemwide View of Library Collections
+ Information Management in a Knowledge Society
+ Metadata: Practice and practice
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Legal Research
Source: GlobalLex
A Guide to the U. S. Federal Legal System Web-based Public Accessible Sources
A new guide by Gretchen Feltes, a Faculty Services/Reference Librarian at New York University School of Law Library.
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E-Books
Source: Brown and White (Lehigh University)
E-books may soon hit market, CEO says
A Lehigh alumnus described the future of the publishing age, which he believes will include electronic books, Thursday at Linderman Library.”
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Scholarly Publishing
Source: APS News
Publication and the Internet: Where Next? (PDF; 240 KB)
“There are, I believe, two important components to a new publishing model. The first is to rely as much as possible on the authors of scientific papers to take over functions now carried out by scientific journals. Good software tools can facilitate this. The second is to recognize tasks that — irreducibly — require professional editors and staff, and to assign the real costs and collect revenues for these tasks. In the following, I will quote costs for these services as a fraction of the present cost for the Physical Review to process a paper (?PR cost?).”

Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
Source: Stanford University Libraries/World Trade Organization
GATT Digital Library
“Welcome to the website of the GATT Digital Library. This site provides access to documents and information of and about the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), an organization that promoted international commerce and the reduction of trade barriers among member states from 1947-1994…. Browse, search and view over 30,000 documents and publications of the GATT.”
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Thomas Register–Databases
ThomasNet.com Adds “Brand” Searching
“ThomasNet.com (www.thomasnet.com) added a brand name search feature in response to customer feedback and market demand. Manufacturers can now promote specific brands and support their distributor network while buyers can search by brand, further enhancing the quality of their results.”
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Vehicle Accidents–United States–Statistics
Source: National Highway Transportation Safety Administration
2004 Projections: Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Fatalities and Injuries (PDF; 869 KB)
From press release: “While the fatality rate dropped and alcohol-related crashes are down from 2003, 42,800 died on the nation?s highways in 2004, up slightly from 42,643 in 2003, according to projected 2004 data compiled by the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in a preliminary report.” (via DocuTicker)

Resource of the Week
by Shirl Kennedy, Deputy Editor
Financial literacy is an important subset of information literacy. Our Resource of the Week is a content-rich site from the Federal Reserve Board. If you’re a teacher, you’ll really appreciate this site. Much of what’s here is aimed directly at you.
Financial Education
Source: Federal Reserve Board
Federal Reserve Education
The Federal Reserve System has just redesigned its financial education website, consolidating the contents of four different sites, with resources for teachers, high school and college students, and the general public. The four main sections of the site are:
+ Federal Reserve Education, which offers “links to instructional materials and tools that can increase your understanding of the Federal Reserve, economics and financial education.” Some features of note include: Peanuts and Crackerjacks, an “educational unit on the economics of pro sports;” Fed Card Currency Trivia, which gives you an opportunity to “test your currency knowledge;” Ask Dr. Econ, who can enlighten you “on topical and challenging economic quandaries.” There’s also a collection of links to other economic education websites.
+ Teachers Resources offers a search engine that helps teachers locate “Federal Reserve System education materials that meet national education standards for incorporation in their lesson plans.” There are title and keyword search boxes, and dropdown menus that let you restrict your search to level of material (elementary, middle or high school), type of material (comic books, games, videos, pamphlets, websites, teaching guides and more), and/or relevant National Council on Economic Education standard.
+ Personal Financial Education includes tutorials, brochures and other information covering consumer banking, consumer protection, homes and mortgages, interest rates, loans, and credit. Very cool: Video (MPEG format) showing The Life of a Dollar Bill “as it moves from printer to shredder.”
+ Fed 101, “an interactive site that provides an overview of the history and organization of the Federal Reserve System, monetary policy and federal regulations, and services provided to depository institutions.”

Also here:
+ An extensive glossary of economics and money terminology
+ A searchable FedFAQ
+ Links to all the Federal Reserve Bank websites
+ Biographies of all Federal Reserve Bank presidents

The entire site is searchable; there’s a keyword search box in the upper righthand corner of the home page and several other pages.

Professional Reading Shelf
Libraries–Marketing
Source: Chris Olson
The April 2005 issue of Chris Olson’s Marketing Treasures newsletter is available online.
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Health Information
Source: NLM
New Compilation, Resources for International Librarians, Health Professionals and Researchers
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National Libraries–Philippines
Source: INQ7.net
Age-old books in National Library go online
“The National Library of the Philippines (NLP), one of the country’s oldest government institutions, has finally gone high-tech with the launch of its online version aptly called the Philippine eLib (www.elib.gov.ph). The site features a collection of more than 800,000 bibliographical records from the National Library’s archives. There are 29,000 full-text journals [via various vendors] and 150,000 theses and dissertations, many of which are being preserved and cannot be borrowed.”
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Medieval Studies–Web Resources
Source: C&RL News
New, Medieval studies: Gateways, subject guides, and more
A new compilation of web resources compiled by John Jaeger, a librarian at Dallas Baptist University and Paul Victor Jr., a librarian at the University of Florida.

Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents
Genetics–Atlas
Source: National Geographic
Atlas of the Human Journey
Part of the NGS Genographic Project.
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Film–Canada
Source: Library and Archives Canada
New Web Resource: Canadian Women in Film
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U.S. Government–Alert Services
Source: CBO
New E-Mail Alert Service from the Congressional Budget Office
“CBO now offers instant notification of releases (or a next-day summary).”
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Music–Digital Collections
Source: Library of Congress
The Roger Reynolds Collection at the Library of Congress
“This new presentation provides a record–to be updated periodically–of representative materials that composer Roger Reynolds has donated to the Library of Congress. The presence of the Roger Reynolds Collection in the Library’s Music Division provides a rare opportunity for future composers and music scholars to study the work of an important composer who has kept extensive, detailed notes and sketches that trace the development of his compositional methods. The ‘I Hear America Singing’ presentation includes an interview with Reynolds with interactive footnotes, as well as sound and score examples that illustrate Reynolds’ work and allow the user to interact with the materials in the collection. Other features of the site include the complete score of Reynolds’ “Transfigured Wind III” for solo flute, chamber ensemble and quadraphonic computer processed sound. This is accompanied by a sound recording of a performance of that work and an in-depth interview with the composer, featuring his own technical analysis of the work and its creation.”

Search Briefs (via SEW Blog)
+ Multimap: Wireless Web Access to Maps for More than 50 Countries
+ Your Web Search History: New Services from Google and Filangy

Briefly
Wiley InterScience Launches Analytical Sciences Backfile Collection

Professional Reading Shelf
Web Directories
Source: LII
The Librarians’ Index to the Internet User Survey
One of the great librarian-built resources is asking for your assistance. Karen and the LII team would appreciate if you would complete a short survey (only 15 questions). Thanks!
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Librarians
Special Libraries
Source: CareerJournal/Wall St. Journal
Corporate librarians are abandoning the stacks
More postive press about the profession and the skills info pros possess and can offer organizations! Congrats to ResourceShelf contributing editor Steven Cohen on the mention. More congrats to Gary’s former boss (during library school) and former president of SLA, Judy Field, on being quoted in the article.
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Electronic Journals–HighWire Press
Source: HP
Check out a Preview Version of the New HighWire Press Web Site
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Information Science
Source: ASIS&T
The April/May 2005 Issue of the Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology is Now Online
Articles and Columns Include:
+ The Historical Development of Information Infrastructures and the Dissemination of Knowledge: A Personal Reflection
+ Bella and Yakov and Tillie’s Panties: What I learned in “Construction and Maintenance of Indexing Languages and Thesauri”
Great read!
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MEDLINE
Source: NLM
Just Published, 2005 List of Journals Indexed for MEDLINE
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Website Accessibility
Source: The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
New Report, Accessibility of museum, library and archive websites: the MLA audit
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Conferences–Australia
Source: NLA
Conference celebrates research using National Library’s collections
“Join outstanding Australian and international authors, scholars and commentators as they speak about research based on the National Library’s collections at the conference An Open Book: Research, Imagination and the Pursuit of Knowledge from Friday 29 April until Sunday 1 May 2005.”
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Public Libraries–Censorship
Source: American Civil Liberties Union
Reader’s Block: Internet Censorship in Rhode Island Public Libraries (PDF; 470 KB)
From press release: “The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today released a report showing that public libraries in the state are impeding patrons’ access to information on the Internet through the unnecessarily expansive use of so-called ‘blocking software.’ Calling the findings ‘troubling,’ the 18-page report, ‘Reader’s Block,’ urged libraries to reassess the policies and practices they have implemented.” (via DocuTicker)

Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents
Emerging Technology
Source: Technology Review
10 Emerging Technologies
“Of the numerous technologies now in gestation at companies and universities, we have chosen 10 that we think will make particularly big splashes. They range from bacterial factories to silicon photonics to quantum wires­­–and any one of them could change your world.”
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Academia–Salaries
Source: American Association of University Professors
Inequities Persist for Women and Non-Tenure-Track Faculty: The Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession 2004-05
“Following the pattern of recent years, this annual report first examines the economic situation of full-time faculty at different types of institutions, after which it considers longer-term trends affecting higher education and faculty status. Highlights include a comparison of the salaries of university and college presidents to those of faculty and a discussion of probably the single most significant trend for higher education faculty: the growing predominance of contingent positions. For the first time, this year’s report touches on the pay of contingent professors relative to that of tenure-track faculty, an issue on which sufficient data unfortunately do not yet exist. The report concludes with a matter of abiding concern: the question whether women faculty are making progress toward equity with men.” (via DocuTicker)
Full Report (PDF; 215 KB)
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Nutrition
Source: USDA
New Web Site, MyPyramid.gov
Interactive food guidance system. More info in this news release and this article.
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Business–United States–Lists & Rankings
Source: DiversityInc
Just Released, The Top 50 Companies for Diversity (reg. req., free trial avail.)
Methodology and specialty lists available.
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Earthquakes–History
Maps
Source: USGS
USGS Produces New Map Showing Detailed Ground Shaking in Great San Francisco Old Maps, even Old Cemeteries, Provide New Clues for Modern Intensity Tool
“The catastrophic damage resulting from the 1906 earthquake proved to be the springboard for a century of advances in the understanding and science of earthquakes. Now the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has employed one of its most sophisticated modern tools to visually show in detail for the first time the intensity of shaking in San Francisco and the extraordinarily high intensity of shaking in communities like Santa Rosa from that earthquake. The 1906 damage patterns are displayed graphically as a ShakeMap, posted on the web at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1135/ and accompanied by a report analyzing the basis for the recent findings, and lessons for future great California earthquakes that can be inferred from the new data.”

Search Briefs
+ Podscope Beta Now Available, Keyword Search Podcasts
+ Images from Five More Cities Added To A9’s Visual Yellow Pages

Briefly
+ Used Books: Biblio.com Announces OCLC Linking for Libraries
+ Springer and Ingenta Make Deal

Professional Reading Shelf
Digitization Projects–United States–Newspapers
Source: Salt Lake City Tribune
Old news is brand new at U. library project
“Thanks to new technology, digital pictures are making old newspapers readable from the comfort of your home computer. On Tuesday, the University of Utah’s Digital Technology Division began loading onto the Internet digitized copies of 19th century editions of The Salt Lake Tribune.”
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Library of Congress
Library of Congress Home Page Receives a Makeover
Kudos!!!
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On Demand Publishing
Source: Information Today
Newstex Launches Content On Demand
Paula Hane writes, “Newstex (http://www.newstex.com), founded in late 2004 by president Larry Schwartz and CEO Steve Ellis, has announced Content On Demand, which offers full-text newsfeeds to content redistributors and enterprise customers. Content sources include branded newswires, newspapers, magazines, financial and business sources, official government feeds, and Weblogs. The company claims to be unique for its low-cost business model, newly developed technology built on an open source platform that is reliable and fast, flexibility to meet evolving customer requirements, full text plus embedded images in the feeds, and the financial commentary licensed from selected bloggers. Newstex is currently targeting the financial, government, and entertainment markets.”
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Public Libraries–Staff Reductions
Source: Cincinnati Enquirer
Library issues 48 pink slips
“The reality of budget cuts at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County hit home this week in the form of pink slips for 48 employees. The majority of jobs being eliminated are in the main library’s government and public documents departments, where all 28 employees got notices that their jobs will disappear June 30, Executive Director Kimber Fender said. About half as many jobs will be re-created in a new, combined department, and the employees can apply for those.”
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Archives
Source: FCW
Center creates archiving model
“A New York-based technology research center has developed an approach and methodology designed to help state and territorial archivists and librarians preserve digital information.”

Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents
Press Freedom
Freedom of Expression
REDcom — New Website on Freedom of Expression and the Press
“Direct access to more than 100 organizations active in promoting freedom of expression and press freedom, as well as the right of access to information, are now available on REDcom, a new website developed by UNESCO�s Regional Office for Communication and Information for Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Quito.”
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Winston Churchill–Audio
Source: Churchill Family
Churchill Speech Interactive
“In 1946 Winston Churchill gave a speech in Fulton, Missouri, where he introduced the term ‘Iron Curtain’ to the world. Now you can hear that talk from the comfort of your desk. Launch the speech and thrill to Churchill’s sonorous voice as small picture and text boxes slide across the screen, synchronized to complement his words. Discover more on Churchill as a young man, read about Germany divided, and meet Truman’s entourage. Uncover glimpse after glimpse of Churchill’s notes for the speech. All the while you can stop or start the talk, replay parts, skip ahead to intriguing sections, or follow the transcript scrolling along the bottom of the screen.” (Blurb via Yahoo Picks of the Week).
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Electronic Music
Source: IEEE Virtual Museum
New Online Exhibit, “Songs in the Key of E”
“The IEEE Virtual Museum has launched its latest exhibit, which explores the numerous ways electronics have been used to create music. With examples such as the singing arc, the theremin and the synthesizer, among others, the exhibit highlights both the inventors of electronic instruments and the instruments themselves, and uses audio clips to demonstrate the various sounds.”
See Also: Other IEEE Virtual Museum Exhibits
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Healthcare–United States–Fast Facts
Source: U.S. Census
Fast Facts About Nurses and Hospitals in the United States
A new fact sheet (full of numbers and links to full text reports) to celebrate National Nurses Week and National Hospital Week.

Search Briefs
+ Mobile Search Tools for the Health/Medical Researcher
+ A New Dynamic Search Term Suggestion Tool from Snap

Web Browsers
Opera 8.0 Now Available
The new version of Opera is out of beta and now available for Windows and Linux.