Simply dial: +1 (512) 696-0729 and you can now listen to The Daily SearchCast with Danny Sullivan.

It’s a given that Danny Sullivan is not only a top-tier search guru, a great writer, a former boss, and a superb person, but also the host of a very popular podcast about search, search optimization, search marketing, etc. The program is called the Daily Searchcast and will also be of interest to info pros. Why? It’s essential that info professionals have some knowledge of the business of web search. Of course, the program also talks about issues of direct interest to the information industry.

Yesterday we posted about the coming age of the cellcast or mobilcast (you choose the term). Actually, it’s something we’ve been seeing coming for almost a year. More in the post but the bottom line will be that downloading and then listening will eventually become a thing of the past or an “extra” step. Either you’ll stream directly to your smartphone, iPhone, Treo, BlackBerry, etc. (this includes live content) if you have the proper software and a plan that can handle the bandwidth without forcing you to go broke.

But, what about others as of today? For example, those who:
1) don’t have the proper phone
2) those who don’t pay for unlimited or large amounts of bandwidth
3) those who can’t use the tools correctly (ie. have the required software)
4) those who just want to listen. Said another way, no learning curve please.

The answer, and again more in yesterday’s post is being able to dial a phone number, and listen. Greg Linden might say that this is grandma friendly.

Even grandma or grandpa will most likely be able to dial +1 (512) 696-0729 and listen. Yes, it will still cost you the minutes to listen. However, with so many services offering very inexpensive time, it’s much less of a deal vs. just a few years ago. Of course, you can also dial-in from a landline.

Remember, that those of use who are search geeks, info geeks, IT geeks, etc. make-up only a very small portion of the Internet user base. It’s important that we don’t forget this. Technology is a tool but not THE answer and something this simple can take an idea (the podcast) and make them more accessible to all.

Those of you with library podcasts might want to consider using a service like Podlinez. It could make your program more accessible to those who don’t have the knowledge of skills to listen to the show in its traditional format.

Simply dial +1 (512) 696-0729
and the latest Daily SearchCast begins playing.

Yes, some might start thinking of the ad and branding possibilities. Lots to think about. For now, archived shows are not available via dial-up but can be streamed or downloaded from the programs web page.

Thanks to our friend and colleague, Danny Sullivan, for allowing us to sample Podlinez (not to be confused with RSS aggregator Bloglines) to make The Daily SearchCast dial-up ready.

Yes, of course, given the low-bandwidth of a phone call, all of this works best for spoken word material. If you have unlimited bandwidth and the proper type of phone and software (and some good headphones) the quality of streaming to your phone gets better all of the time.

Btw, UpSNAP, also offers a bunch of content that’s accessible by simply dialing a phone number. Some of it’s free, other content is fee-based. Here’s an example of some of the podcasts they make available.
See Also: UpSNAP Offers Urban Content Package for Mobile User

See Also: Podlinez Directory of Programs and Telephone Numbers

See Also: PhoneCasting.com

+ Quality of Web Data, Oodle Adds Oodle Insights
Helping to make Oodle classified listings more reliable. Quality of data is a major issue as we all know.

+ Custom Information Research Service from the Library of Congress

NTIS and the Federal Research Division (FRD) of the Library of Congress offer a unique fee-for-service research and analysis service. Use the expertise of FRD’s staff to exploit the unparalleled collections of the Library of Congress and other collections as you specify. The cost is based on the level of effort required. Because the research and analysis is carried out by specialists, the information you receive will be on target and on time. Cost estimates are available upon request.The minimum fee is $500.

See Also: FRD Web Site

+ New UK Government Document: Introduction to determining what is personal data (via The Information Commissioner’s Office)

+ Yahoo’s New President Oversees a Shake-Up (via NY Times)

Librarian Salary Survey reports median librarian salary up 2.8 percent to $57,809 in 2007; non-MLS position salaries also reported

Analysis of data from more than 800 public and academic libraries showed the mean salary for librarians with ALA-accredited Master’s Degrees increased 2.8 percent from 2006, up $1,550 to $57,809. The median ALA MLS salary was $53,000. Salaries ranged from $22,048 to $225,000.

For the first time the non-MLS salary survey data, including 62 non-MLS positions, reported salaries for staff employed as librarians but who do not have ALA-accredited Master’s Degrees in Library Science. Non-MLS salaries ranged $10,712 to $143,700. Both printed surveys also indicate the minimal educational requirement for each position.

Source: ALA

See also: ALA-APA Rural Library Staff Salary Survey (PDF; 216 KB)
Source: ALA Committee on Rural, Native and Tribal Libraries of All Kinds

We’ve talked about The Online Books Page compiled by John Mark Ockerbloom MANY times on ResourceShelf. It’s one amazing and essential resource.

However, in the past couple of weeks I’ve been asked the same question (or close to it) by several people. They asked about where to learn about new full text books (the free stuff) as they become available). The answer is The Online Books Page. In fact, an RSS feed is also available. When you head to this page: http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/new.html

You’ll quickly see the volume of content Ockerbloom adds each day/week from different sources including Project Gutenberg, Google Library Project, and many many other sources.

It’s easy to forget that numerous organizations are digitizing content and doing it for a long time. For example, Project Gutenberg has been around for 36 years.

The RSS feed for this “What’s New” info can be accessed at:
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/newrss.xml

Another source for online books is the Digital Book Index. It contains over 137,000 titles with about 97,000 of them available for free. We were unable to find a “new book list” but after the simple and easy registration this is a “must have” resource.

Finally, what about books for kids? Well, we’ve also mentioned the International Children’s Digital Library many times on ResourceShelf. All of the content is free, available in several languages and looks good. The basic search interface is appealing, useful and dare we say, fun, for both for children and even “older kids” like the editors of ResourceShelf.

When new books are added to the database you can find them listed here.

Postscript 1: Another full text book service is ebrary. They not only license content to companies and libraries but also offer a free service, Shop.ebrary.com. Over 20,000 titles all free to browse, search, and read online. You only pay to copy or print a page (about 25 cents per page).

Postscript 2: Of course, we do our best to include several new titles each week on DocuTicker and ResourceShelf. However, the titles and URLs we list are just the tip of the iceberg. For more in-depth coverage, we suggest taking advantage of the sites listed above.

Digitized Images: LC’s National Photo Company Collection Adds More Digitized Images
What’s new is that the collection has grown from about 12,400 images (all digitized) to 15,400 images (all digitized).
From the database:

ca. 1850-1945, bulk 1909-1932. Photos assembled by Herbert French, who supplied photographs of news events in Washington, D.C., to subscribers. Features portraits of presidents and celebrities and scenes of social life. Includes a growing proportion of the original negatives in the National Photo Company Collection ans well as some photographic prints for which copy photos have been produced.

See Also: A Complete list of Collections Accessible via the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog

Source: Prints & Photographs Division, Prints & Photographs Online Catalog, Library of Congress

National Library of Australia Reminds Us of New Interface, Tools for Music Australia
From the newsletter announcement:

With its recent new design, navigation and interface, Music Australia gives users a single access point. You can listen to sound recordings or purchase digital downloads, print Australian sheet music and find full scores, and explore related materials such as pictures, books and archived websites. Finding resources on bands such as Silverchair
currently, on an Australia-wide tour, simply means entering Silverchair in the search box on the Music Australia site. You receive a host of results including where you can buy or borrow the score to their Diorama album, related books, images, websites, DVDs and almost 200 sound recordings which you can sample or purchase.

Source: eNews

News today from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta about the CDC WONDER Database

+ Quick overview from the FAQ:

Wide-ranging OnLine Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) — is an easy-to-use internet system that makes the information resources of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) available to public health professionals and the public at large. It provides access to a wide array of public health information.

Here are just a few highlights from the “What’s New” page:

We’ve identified the list of WONDER system data queries on our home page, since data is what WONDER is all about. The inclusive list of CDC web resources for data is still available, click on the “Topics” tab for a categorized list, or click on the “A-Z Index” tab for an alphabetical list.

Search the entire WONDER site to the searches that already existed for the Scientific Data and Prevention Guidelines document collections. The search includes data request forms and help files along with the document collections, and should greatly enhance the ability to find the data you’re looking for.

and Recently Added Data:
Disease Trends data for 1996 - last week

Mortality data from the CDC 122 Cities Mortality Reporting System as printed in Table III of the MMWR each week.
Morbidity data on provisional cases of selected national notifiable diseases, from the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS). NNDSS data reported by the 50 states, New York City, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories are collated and published weekly as numbered tables printed in the back of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Cases reported by state health departments to CDC for weekly publication are provisional because of ongoing revision of information and delayed reporting.
Data are updated weekly.

Source: CDC

Search Clinic: Chemicals & Drugs in PubMed

An hour-long online search clinic was presented by the NLM and the National Training Center and Clearinghouse (NTCC) via Adobe Connect™ on August 23, 2007 (2pm EDT). The presentation covered NLM MeSH vocabulary and how best to describe substance concepts and effectively search PubMed for relevant citations to articles.

The recorded clinic offers an opportunity to view, review, and share the clinic with others. View the recorded clinic or read the transcript

Comments and suggestions are welcome via the evaluation. Your suggestions will be invaluable in planning future online search clinics.

After consultation with NLM experts, answers to specific questions posed during and after the live clinic will be posted on the Search Clinic Web site in the next few weeks.

The overall response to this clinic and online distance education has been very positive. We are pleased to continue with our initiative to offer online training to enhance your use of NLM resources.

For more training opportunities, see the National Training Center and Clearinghouse Web site and the NLM Distance Education page. Watch for announcements of new training resources here in the NLM Technical Bulletin.

See Also: The PubMed Tutorial has Moved (New URL)

Source: NLM Technical Bulletin
Thanks to Pete Weiss for the tip.

Webcast: UK: Public sector is crucial to national digitisation efforts, says MLA’s Chris Batt

Chris Batt is the Chief Executive of the Museum Libraries and Archives Council, a key partner of JISC’s in the Strategic Content Alliance2, a cross-sectoral body looking to widen access to online content for all citizens of the UK. In this podcast he talks about the work of the MLA, the Strategic Content Alliance and why the public sector is crucial to any attempts to create an information landscape that has quality and the needs of its users at its heart.

Direct to Webcast (MP3 File)

Direct to Museum, Libraries, and Archives Council Web Site

Source: JISC

NOAA Provides Easy Online Access to Historical Hurricane Tracks

Visitors to NOAA’s Historical Hurricane Tracks Web site and mapping application can easily generate customized maps based on more than 150 years of Atlantic hurricane data. The recently updated Web site includes historical tropical cyclone data and information on coastal county hurricane strikes through 2006.

Developed by the NOAA Coastal Services Center in partnership with the National Hurricane Center, the site allows users to search by U.S. ZIP code, state or county, or latitude and longitude points. Visitors can also search the site using a storm’s name or year. From this information, they can generate a map showing the track of the storm or storms along with a table of information. Searches can be narrowed to specific storm categories, years, or months.

Source: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Association

+ Newberry Library Acquires Rare Maps From Boeing

+ Google Adds Personalized SMS Feature

Personalized SMS saves you time by saving your location. We’ll automatically save your most frequently used location for future queries. You can also text ’set location’ followed by a city & state or zip to save a new location.

This can be very useful if you’re always in the same city or location. However, SMS is also useful to business people, travelers and others who move from one city to the next. In that case, like other services, you’ll need to physically change the location or search by entering a new location, let’s say for a restaurant. We did find this official announcement but found nothing about how many times/searches it takes for that location to become your default location.
+++ See Also: 4INFO.net’s App Offers Location Setting You can also save locations (movies, weather, etc.). without the app. More shortcuts here.
+++ Yahoo SMS and Shortcuts Text “Shortcuts”
+++ Live.com SMS and Shortcuts

From the AOL site:

Today, we updated AOL Travel’s Beta Travel Guides — your one-stop-shop for all your travel needs. We have two enhancements to our Travel Guides we’re pleased to announce today. All maps now have pan and zoom functionality and we’ve made it easier for you to contribute your reviews.

Details:
All maps now have pan and zoom functionality. Previously, non-U.S. and Canada maps were static images. That has now changed, as you can zoom in and out as desired, or move the map in any direction to get more visual context to the city you’re looking at. As an example, note the new functionality on the left side of the map on our Dublin Guide:

2. Reviews for destinations and hotels no longer require the Overall Rating to be selected before you can submit your review. We listened to your feedback and concluded that the mandatory rating for a destination or hotel was confusing. And since your voice is at the heart of our Destination Guides, we’ve made it easier for you to contribute your reviews.

Source: AOL

+ OverDrive Announces New Audiobook Automated Ordering Plan
See Also: The Very Useful Overdrive Digital Media Locator From OverDrive
Covers audio books, eBooks, music, and video.

+ EBSCO Publishing Acquires Ten Print Indexes from SAGE

Collection guides and bibliographies (web resources, too) from the Library of Congress. All three were compiled by Compiled by Kenneth Drexler, Digital Reference Specialist

+ The War of 1812

The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of material associated with the War of 1812, including manuscripts, broadsides, pictures, and government documents. This guide compiles links to digital materials related to the War of 1812 that are available throughout the Library of Congress Web site. In addition, it provides links to external Web sites focusing on the War of 1812 and a bibliography containing selections for both general and younger readers.

+ A Guide to the Mexican War

+ A Guide to the Spanish-American War

Source: Virtual Programs & Services, Digital Reference Team

Minnesota 511
Offers real time traffic info, traffic cams, advisories, construction updates, weather, and more. Available for the entire state including the Twin Cities. A directory of public transit information sources is also linked on the page.

511 Information is also available over the phone. While in MN, dial 511. This page lists what is and is not available.

Source: Minnesota Department of Transportation

See Also: Directory of Other States Offering 511 Services (via FHWA)

See Also: 1-800-My-TRAFC offers real time traffic info (voice activated for many U.S. cities)
A service of Traffic.com. They also offer a mobile site and RSS alerts.

See Also: Our Growing List of Real-Time or Near Real-Time Info Sources