A Collection of “News Widgets” from Reuters
Monday, June 30th, 2008A page of widgets from Reuters that can be used for several services.
Source: Reuters
Archive for June, 2008
Database: Aging Everywhere
Monday, June 30th, 2008Aging Everywhere: AARP International’s resource featuring quick facts, research, and events around the world.
The Aging Everywhere interactive world map serves as a “one-stop” international clearing house of the most relevant and timely information on aging populations worldwide. This site is updated regularly with newly published regional and country specific research, reports, and resources. We intend for it to serve as a useful tool for policymakers, researchers, students, media, and all others interested in the issues of global aging.
The database provides for:
+ Comparative Data Search
Source: AARP (via Basefsky’s IWS Documented News Service)
Resource of the Week: PolicyArchive
Monday, June 30th, 2008Resource of the Week: PolicyArchive
By Shirl Kennedy, Senior Editor
On DocuTicker, our sister site, you will find a neverending stream of reports from government agencies, ngos, think tanks, and other groups. It is an impossible task to keep up with the sheer volume of this material; we do the best we can to offer a representative sampling of…What’s Out There. By and large, this is high quality research material — but if you are unaware of it, it might as well not exist.
We’re not the only ones who recognize this problem. Say hello to PolicyArchive, a joint project of the Center for Governmental Studies (CGS), a nonprofit organization in California, the Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis Library and Communications Consortium Media Center in Washington, DC.
Problem: American philanthropic foundations spend over $1.5 billion a year on research. Spread out across the nation among diverse libraries, institutions, databases, and websites, this valuable research can be difficult or impossible to identify and obtain once it has been published. Research organizations have no central place to distribute or archive their content, and search engines cannot easily locate much policy research. Research is not optimized to appear at the top of search engine results. Existing policy websites are focused on single issues or available only upon payment of substantial fees.
Solution: PolicyArchive simplifies this complex research landscape by providing a universal, easy-to-use, free, and open digital archive of foundation-funded and other public policy research. The PolicyArchive solution provides public interest organizations a low-cost electronic system for distributing, publicizing, and archiving their research. It allows research users, policy makers, the media, and the public to quickly access the depth and breadth of research in various subject matters. It also provides a direct line of communication between research providers and end-users, thus increasing public awareness of an organization’s work and adding significant value to their research investment. Ultimately, PolicyArchive will indefinitely preserve the life of public policy research, substantially increase its impact, and provide society at large with long-term access to the benefits of that important research.
The archive is ridiculously easy to use. A dropdown menu allows you to browse by topic, author, funder, or publisher. Or hunt for something specific, via the keyword search box next to the dropdown menu. An advanced search form offers menu-driven field searching, Boolean options, and the ability to limit your search to a particular topic or type of publication.
Topic “quick links” are available at the bottom of the home page:
- Agriculture, forestry and fishing
- Banking and finance
- Business
- Culture and religion
- Economics
- Education
- Energy
- Environment
- Government
- Health
- Human rights
- International relations
- Justice
- Labor
- Law and ethics
- Manufacturing and industry
- Media, telecommunications, and information
- Military and defense
- Politics
- Population and demographics
- Science and technology
- Social conditions
- Trade
- Transportation
The archive currently contains more than 12,000 documents; organizations are encouraged to register and upload their research to the site. More than 250 diverse institutions (PDF; 14 KB) are already doing so, from Action for Children to Women’s Voices for the Earth. The entire political spectrum is represented as well — from the liberal Center for American Progress, to the libertarian Cato Institute, to the conservative Heritage Foundation.
About halfway down the home page, on the righthand side, you can see the latest additions to the archive. You can subscribe to an e-mail newsletter if you’re interested in keeping up with what’s new.
What’s sorely missing here? RSS feeds. We’d love to see individual feeds available for each topic. Which would turn this wonderful archive into a top-notch current awareness service.
NLM/AAHSL Co-sponsor 2007-2008 Leadership Fellows Program for Future Academic Health Center Library Directors
Sunday, June 29th, 2008The National Library of Medicine is pleased to announce the 2007-2008 year of the leadership program jointly sponsored with the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL). The NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program is focused on preparing emerging leaders for the position of library director in academic health center libraries.
“This collaboration of NLM and AAHSL is of exceptional value for the next generation of directors,” said AAHSL president Elaine Martin. “Our evaluation shows that the program has contributed to the quality of leadership in the profession.”
Source: NLM
Hat Tip: Pete W.
Professional Reading: The July 2008 Issue of Roddy MacLeod’s Internet Resources Newsletter is Now Online
Sunday, June 29th, 2008Professional Reading: The July 2008 Issue of the Internet Resources Newsletter is Now Online
News and several large helpings of high quality web resources from Roddy MacLeod and crew at the Heriot-Watt University Library in the UK.
Source: Heriot-Watt University Library
eBooks: NetLibrary announces distribution agreements with 19 publishers from around the world
Saturday, June 28th, 2008NetLibrary, OCLC’s platform for eContent and the leading provider of eBooks for the institutional library market, has announced agreements with 19 publishers that will add thousands of new eBooks and eAudiobooks to NetLibrary’s growing catalog of more than 170,000 titles.
Note: Many libraries (including public libraries) offer free REMOTE access (available from any computer with an Internet connection) to NetLibrary. In most cases, all you need is a library card for the specific library. Cool!!!
Fast Facts: Fourth of July 2008
Saturday, June 28th, 2008Facts and stats relating to the holiday.
Including:
+ 2.5 million
In July 1776, the estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation.
+ Please Pass the Potato Salad
Potato salad and potato chips are popular food items at Fourth of July barbecues. More than half (52 percent) of the nation’s spuds were produced in Idaho or Washington state in 2007.
+ $17.3 million
The value of U.S. manufacturers’ shipments of fireworks in 2002.
+ $4.7 million
In 2007, the dollar value of U.S. imports of American flags. The vast majority of this amount ($4.3 million) was for U.S. flags made in China.
…and many more
Source: U.S. Census
Americans’ Access to Medical Care Deteriorates Between 2003 and 2007…and other full-text reports on DocuTicker
Saturday, June 28th, 2008Posted 27 June 2008 on DocuTicker:
+ Americans’ Access to Medical Care Deteriorates Between 2003 and 2007 (Center for Studying Health System Change)
+ Cigarette Use Among High School Students — United States, 1991–2007 (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report)
+ First Hard Numbers on Obama Tax Plan Show Dramatic Tax Redistribution (The Tax Foundation)
New ResourceShelf Collection: Media Guides, Factbooks, Backgrounders, and Press Kits #4
Friday, June 27th, 2008+ Insurance Information Institute: Research and Analysis (white papers, backgrounders, primers and fact sheets)
+ Drug Abuse and Addiction Media Guide (PDF; National Institute on Drug Abuse)
+ A Scientist’s Guide to Talking with the Media (Union of Concerned Scientists)
+ Psychology Topics (fact sheets — American Psychological Association)
+ Human Genome Project Media Room (lots of fact sheets, etc.)
+ A Media Guide to Disability (Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities)
+ Federal Election Commission: Guide to Researching Public Records
New: World Trade Indicators 2008
Friday, June 27th, 2008…the World Trade Indicators (WTI), an interactive tool designed to benchmark a country’s trade policy and institutions and help policy makers, advisors, and analysts’ identify the main border and behind-the border constraints to trade integration.
The WTI 2008 database is organized in five thematic categories, namely Trade Policy, External Environment, Institutional Environment, Trade Facilitation and Trade Outcome. Each category contains a main indicator and other reference indicators.
Source: The World Bank (via Basefsky’s IWS Documented News Service)
Lists & Rankings: Valley of the Sun and Big Apple Heat Up Seventh Annual Old Space Sweatiest City Rankings
Friday, June 27th, 2008Valley of the Sun and Big Apple Heat Up Seventh Annual Old Space Sweatiest City Rankings (PDF; 65 KB)
In celebration of the beginning of summer, Old Spice, the No.1 selling anti-perspirant/deodorant stick and body wash brand with guys, today announced its Seventh Annual Top-100 Sweatiest Cities List – just in time for the season’s hot weather. In addition, this year Old Spice is introducing its list of Biggest Sweat Producers, taking into consideration the total sweat produced by entire city populations.
Famed desert city Phoenix burned up the charts again to take the No. 1 spot as America’s Sweatiest City in this annual ranking of the nation’s heaviest sweaters (based on amount of sweat produced per person). To earn top spot as Sweatiest City, Phoenix’s average temperature was 95.1 degrees in June, July and August 2007, resulting in the average Phoenix resident producing 26.4 ounces of sweat per hour (more than 2 cans of soda). With scorching temperatures often in the triple digits, the Valley of the Sun also took this top honor in 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2003.
“People might be surprised that a city known for its ‘dry heat’ tops the Sweatiest Cities list,” said Dr. Paul Ruscher, associate professor and associate chair of meteorology at Florida State University. “However, sweat tends to evaporate from the skin much more quickly in places like Phoenix and people just don’t feel it as much as say in New Orleans or Miami where high humidity leads to that dreaded sticky, ‘muggy’ feeling. Regardless of where a city falls on this list, there’s one thing we can all agree on – hot weather means sweating.”
Source: Old Spice
Federal Wildlife Report Censored…and other full-text reports on DocuTicker
Friday, June 27th, 2008Posted 26 June 2008 on DocuTicker:
+ Federal Wildlife Report Censored (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility)
+ American Time Use Survey — 2007 Results (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
+ FTC Reports on Alcohol Marketing and Self-Regulation (Federal Trade Commission)
e-Book Survey Results
Thursday, June 26th, 2008From the news release/summary:
ebrary, a leading provider of e-content services and technology, today announced that the results of its first 2008 Global Student E-book Survey completed by nearly 6,500 students throughout the world, representing approximately 400 individual institutions, are now publicly available at no cost. Anyone interested in receiving a digital copy may register at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=MQw_2bsqqPdvfhhTWvN31Fwg_3d_3d. Printed copies will also be available at ebrary’s booth (#1792) at ALA Annual, June 28 to July 1, 2008 in Anaheim, CA, USA.
Source: ebrary
New Public Library Association Tech Note: Automated Storage/Retrieval and Return/Sorting Systems
Thursday, June 26th, 2008Automated Storage/Retrieval and Return/Sorting Systems
Note: MS Word Document
Source: Public Library Association
USA.gov — Genealogy Resources, by State
Thursday, June 26th, 2008Genealogy Resources, by State
From USA.gov RSS feed:
Check out USA.gov’s new genealogy page. You’ll find links to state archives, libraries, or other places to begin researching your family tree.
