+ A Journalist’s Guide to the Federal Courts (U.S. Courts)
+ Center for Gaming Research: Media Guide (University of Nevada Las Vegas Libraries)
+ GLAAD Media Reference Guide, 7th Edition (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)
See Also: Compilation #1
Few computer programs are as widely used and as little understood as the humble spreadsheet.
Assemble a group of Microsoft Excel users, and ask them how many think they are in the top percentile of savvy users. Almost everyone will raise their hands, said Mbwana Alliy, a Microsoft Office product manager.
However, few are aware of all the features a good spreadsheet offers.
“People do not realize this, but you do not need to do a particular application for everything,” said Robert Holmes, an Excel instructor at the Agriculture Department’s Graduate School. “You can do a lot in Excel. You just need to know how.”
“In some situations, a spreadsheet can be an easier tool to use than a database system because you can pull the data you need on-the-fly with functions,” said Faithe Wempen, author of numerous books on Microsoft Office, including Special Edition Using Microsoft Word 2007.
Wempen is an adjunct instructor of computer technology at Purdue University and the instructor for a set of online classes offered by the Hewlett-Packard Learning Center. “Spreadsheets are nimble; they do not assume that you want to save every query and calculation for later use.”
However, such flexibility does not come naturally to most users. Holmes said. For his classes, he encourages students to think in Excel, which can take some doing.
“It’s like a language. You can take French lessons for 10 years, but if you never learn to think in French, you are not really effective. Computer applications are the same way. You have to think in that application in order to use it effectively.”
GCN can’t help you parlez-vous Spreadsheet, but here are a few quick phrases — that is to say, tips — that can help you get more from your spreadsheets with comparatively little effort.
Source: Government Computer News
2008 Presidential Medal of Freedom Citations
This year’s winners:
Source: White House Press Office
Today, we begin work on a new ResourceShelf collection of reference resources: media guides, factbooks, backgrounders, press kits, etc. from various sources.
Although these items are often designed for members of the media, they can also be very useful at the reference desk as they are full of facts, contact info, etc.
We begin our new collection (several guides every week) with a few from the U.S. Government. Many more to come. Collect them all. 
+ NASA Press Kits for Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab Missions
+ FAA Administrators Fact Book
+ Human Genome Project Media Room
+ Terrorism and Other Public Health Emergencies: A Field Guide for Media (via HHS)
+ U.S. Small Business Administration Disaster Recovery Media Guide
+ Federal Election Commission Press Office Backgrounders for Reporters
+ U.S. Department of Labor: Office of Disability Employment Policies
+ National Center for Environmental Health List of Fact Sheets
+ Centers for Disease Control Injury Fact Book ||| CDC Injury Fact Sheets
In the early 1960’s, broadcast journalist Mike Wallace donated 65 recorded interviews made in 1957-58 from his show “The Mike Wallace Interview” to the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas. The bulk of these were 16mm kinescope film recordings, some of the earliest recordings of live television that were possible, and that survive today. Many of these have not been seen for over 50 years, and they represent a unique window into a turbulent time of American, and world history. From Senators to strippers, Ku Klux Klansmen to Nobel Prize winners, Mike Wallace has interviewed them all, and we invite you to view The Mike Wallace Interview .
Source: The School of Information, University of Texas
Source: Floodsmart.gov
by Johnson, Richard K. and Luther, Judy (2008)
Abstract: Some 15 years after the Web first captured the popular imagination most journals are published in dual print and electronic formats and many are still published in print only. The digital metamorphosis of established journals seems stuck in the transition zone. Publishers are reluctant to turn their backs on existing revenue streams from print subscriptions, even if they are declining. Library subscriptions are not the only piece of the puzzle for many journals, such as those that largely rely on print advertising revenue. For society publishers, membership-related factors further complicate the situation.
Source: E-LIS // ARL: A Bimonthly Report on Research Library Issues and Actions(257): pp. 1-6.
Source: Candidates Web Sites
Here are five more “mobile friendly” sites for your mobile browsers. Btw, these sites can be viewed/previewed on regular web browsers.
From the news story:
Through a computer, a mobile or a PDA, users can define their needs, their artistic, cultural and gastronomic preferences, their lifestyle and their favourite hours.Thanks to this project, called SAMAP, travellers can customize their visit, indicating whether if they are disabled or not and their spending capacity.
Source: EurekaAlert
Hat Tip: Pete W.
Direct to Mobile Web Site (can also be viewed on a regular web browser)
Includes:
+ Countdown Clock
+ Beijing Time and Weather
+ News
+ Images
+ Yahoo OneSearch Box
See Also: Yahoo’s Non-Mobile Olympic Site
Brick and Click Libraries:
November 7, 2008
Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, Missouri
“Brick and Click” offers a wide variety of content for a reasonable price ($135). Presentation topics include social networking, online learning tools, wireless reading devices, marketing and instruction for Millennials, assessment of RSS, wiki-based reference tools, tracking mechanisms, and collection development/acquisitions utility. Full program: http://www.nwmissouri.edu/library/brickandclick/sessions.htm
Google Maps of Development
From newsletter:
An alignment of the Bank’s database of development projects with Google Maps“ known as a mash-up has made it possible for users to understand what’s happening in all the countries of the developing regions and how the Bank relates to them. It is a visual entry point to browse Bank projects, news, statistics and public information centers by country.
Source: World Bank
15 of the Most Astonishing Retirements, Bonuses and Cash-Outs in Corporate America
While athletes’ contracts grab all the headlines, they can’t hold a candle to the most legendary corporate cash-outs, retirements, and bonuses. Here are 15 of the most astonishing retirement packages, severance payouts and bonuses that corporate America has ever seen.
Source: HR World
Posted 20 June 2008 on DocuTicker:
+ International Migration of Scientists and Engineers (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology)
+ Massachusetts Maintains Lead as Nation’s Top State in Technology and Science, According to Milken Institute (Milken Institute)
+ The Coastline at Risk: 2008 Update to the Estimated Insured Value of U.S. Coastal Properties (AIR Worldwide Corporation)
This statistical and research supplement to the Occupational Outlook Handbook presents detailed, comprehensive statistics used in preparing the Handbook. It also discusses how the data are prepared and presents new research information that is valuable to training officials, education planners, vocational and employment counselors, jobseekers, and others interested in occupational information. This edition of the supplement is the 18th in a series dating back to 1971.
Source: BLS (via Basefsky’s IWS Documented News Service)
Database producers H.W. Wilson and MLA have agreed to make article-level records available in WorldCat.org, increasing visibility and access to authoritative content licensed by libraries on the Web.
MLA and H.W. Wilson will permit a portion of their content to be indexed in WorldCat.org, the Web destination that allows information seekers to find what they need from a single source, online through OCLC’s cooperative organization of libraries.
The article-level metadata from H.W. Wilson and MLA will be added to the more than 50 million articles indexed from NLM MEDLINE, the Department of Education’s ERIC database, the British Library Inside serials, the GPO Monthly Catalog and the OCLC ArticleFirst database to expand access and discovery of authoritative content through WorldCat.org.
Source: OCLC
Kentucky Settles Internet Censorship Suit, Agrees to Lift Ban on Blogs
The Commonwealth of Kentucky has settled a lawsuit with a political blogger whose critical comments of then-Gov. Ernie Fletcher resulted in the state “blacklisting” all blogs on state-owned computers.
Public Citizen’s client Mark Nickolas, author of the blog BluegrassReport.org, agreed Tuesday to dismiss the suit in the U.S. District Court in Frankfort, Ky. after Kentucky officials approved the settlement agreement. Louisville attorney Jennifer Moore also represented Nickolas.
Under the settlement, Kentucky officials agreed to no longer single out Web sites just because they are considered blogs. State officials reserve the right to block sites they consider inappropriate but agree to use a “viewpoint-neutral” standard that applies equally to all Web sites.
Public Citizen filed suit on behalf of Nickolas after the state started using a filtering program to censor all Web sites categorized as blogs. The state’s former top computer official stated in a court filing that the filtering policy was implemented because the governor’s office was unhappy with Nickolas’s blog, which was widely read by state employees and frequently criticized the governor.
Source: Public Citizen
The Internet in Transition: A Platform to Keep the Internet Open, Innovative and Free
Source: Center for Democracy & Technology
America’s next President and Congress will have the chance to take a fresh look at the challenges and opportunities of the Internet and to set a policy course for this vital medium that will keep it open, innovative and free. Help us refine the blueprint by posting your comments and ideas.
We often take the Internet for granted. In a short time, it has become a powerful engine for innovation, economic growth and democratization. The Internet has changed the way we “do” politics. Ordinary Americans are making their voices heard and organizing online. Political candidates are building networks of supporters, raising unprecedented funds from small donors, and educating the public on their policies and visions.
The freedom we have come to expect on the Internet is not guaranteed. Risks to online free expression are growing. Spyware, spam and other online harms are eroding consumer trust. Increased government surveillance threatens privacy. Concerns about child safety are sparking calls for new restrictions on social networking. New broadband business models call into question the Internet’s openness and neutrality. Globally, the Internet is being harnessed for government control and repression.
Help us keep the Internet open, innovative, and free. Ask candidates the key questions below. Dig deeper by clicking the links to read version 1.0 of CDT’s blueprint for how the next President and Congress should address these vital questions.
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