Archive for the ‘Reference Tools’ Category
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco Unveil Landmark Climate.Gov Portal to Climate Information
In a press conference earlier today, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco unveiled a new Web site that will serve as a single point-of-entry for NOAA’s climate information, data, products and services. This climate portal will provide information about the impacts of climate on nearly every aspect of our lives from agriculture and energy to transportation.
…
Known as the NOAA Climate Service Portal, the site is designed to address the needs of five broadly-defined user groups: decision makers and policy leaders, scientists and applications-oriented data users, educators, business users, and the public.
Highlights of the site include:
- An interactive “climate dashboard” that lets users see a range of constantly updating climate datasets (e.g., temperature, carbon dioxide concentration, and sea level) over adjustable time scales;
- A new Web-based climate science magazine called ClimateWatch, featuring videos and articles of scientists discussing their recent climate research and topics that cannot be relayed in charts and graphs;
- Explanations and exploration of data products available from NOAA and partner agencies, with direct links to the sources of the comprehensive datasets;
- Educational resources for students and teachers, including lesson plans for the classroom and laboratory, educational games and interactive media; and
- Easy-to-understand fact sheets and presentations for professionals and the public about climate science, research and climate impacts.
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Posted in Access to Information, Government Documents and Political Information, New Websites and Resources, Portals, Reference Tools, Resources for Educators, Science, Search News, Source File, Technology and Internet | No Comments »
Monday, February 8th, 2010
Resource of the week: Guardian (UK) — Gateway to Government Data Around the World
We actually posted about this resource from The Guardian last month, but we figured it was worth highlighting here because it’s a work in progress that is bound to grow more and more useful over time.
From The Guardian:
Data, data, data. There’s loads of it out there and more coming your way as governments open their statistics vaults around the world.
First the US with data.gov, then Australia and New Zealand followed suit. Now it’s the UK’s turn with data.gov.uk.
And that’s in addition to the cities and US states that have made government data available too: London launched very recently – you can get the full set of links for government data sites around the world here.
Ever since the government appointed Sir Tim Berners-Lee as its open data Czar (working with Prof Nigel Shadbolt from Southampton University) it was obvious the issue was going to be big for the government, but what does it mean for you?
You now have tens of sites around the world providing you access, but how do you find them?
Well, this is now the place. To coincide with the launch of data.gov.uk, we have created the ultimate gateway to world government data.
At World Government Data you can:
- Search government data sites from the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand and London (this comes under United Kingdom, if you want to browse) in one place and download the data (more sites to come)
- Help us find the best dataset by ranking them
- Collect similar datasets together from around the world
- Browse all datasets by each country
+ Direct to world government data
Source: guardian.co.uk
Hat tip: J. T. Johnson, Institute for Analytic Journalism
And here’s a related resource you might find useful, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Statistical Sites on the World Wide Web. Includes links to both U.S. and international statistics agencies and offices.
Posted in Government Documents and Political Information, Reference Tools, Search Tools, Source File, Statistics | No Comments »
Friday, February 5th, 2010
A new 3 page Q&A interview with the co-founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales. Here are a couple of exchanges we found most interesting.
Q. Would you recommend Wikipedia as a reference work to students?
A. Yes, but as long as some precautions are taken. Wikipedia is an excellent starting point. It is a comprehensive encyclopedia, written in a simple language and easy to access, but Wikipedia is not the best final point for research.
One has to deepen the investigation and consult other sources of information. The reader might find these sources at the footnote of the entries, where there are good references about the subject, such as books, newspapers, magazines and other websites.
What else can be done to improve Wikipedia?
The most important step we have taken in the last few years is the system of highlighted reviews.
The idea is to guarantee the public is reading an entry that has been reviewed by a trustful member of the community.
This system was tested as a pilot project in the German version of Wikipedia and the result was quite good. We are close to reaching an agreement with the volunteers of the English version of Wikipedia to implement a similar project. This is the kind of thing we are always doing to improve the content of the encyclopedia.
Access the Complete Interview
Source: goldcoast.com.au
Posted in Reference Tools, Social Media | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
From the Article:
One of the world’s most trusted references was busy double-checking its facts on Ireland tonight after giving a grossly inaccurate account of the country’s civil war.
A concise version of Encyclopaedia Britannica which was first published seven years ago wrongly described the 1922 conflict over partition as a war between Catholics in the south and Protestants in the north.
Editors worked through the night to ensure the extraordinary mistake has not been repeated in online versions used by 4,000 schools in a special e-learning programme.
Ian Grant, Encyclopaedia Britannica managing director, said the offending article may have been wrongly compiled by an editor attempting to condense complex history.
“This is very rare,” he said.
[Snip]
He could not explain for definite how the error had been made.
But he suggested an inexperienced editor may have attempted to explain the civil war in a very small article and confused history with a current mistaken perception about sectarianism and the Troubles.
Source: IOL News
See Also: British encyclopedia sorry for Irish history goofs (via AP)
Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, History, Reference Tools | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
The fascinating world of forgotten information
There’s a fascinating world of all but hidden information out there waiting to be tapped. A growing number of news organizations are beginning to mine and manipulate that information, which in many instances rests in government records files that while public are, for practical purposes, obscure. The conversion by government units to electronic record keeping has not, in many instances, made it easier for the average reporter, let alone the average citizen, to get access to that information. And even when agencies post records online, the data is frequently difficult to find.
Media Web sites that have found ways to cull or link to this data are helping regular readers get information they want and need, and bringing new readers to their Web sites It’s a fresh way to deliver “news” that holds enormous potential to increase site visits and time spent, and to build a new allegiance as a source of essential information about neighborhood and community.
Some months ago, ASNE’s Freedom of Information Committee began a survey of newspaper Web sites, exploring their use of public records data. The initial goal was to establish a baseline of available records and make that report available so news organizations could use the information to push for greater online transparency in their communities and states.
…
The survey found enormous variations among media Web sites. On some sites, we were unable to locate a single database feature utilizing a public record or any other database presence. But many are doing highly innovative and exciting work, putting up database pages that offer scores of information searches that could be enormously helpful, intellectually satisfying, and sometimes just plain fun.
The databases permit both critical and trivial pursuit of information, and a lot of simply useful searching in between.
+ Full Report (PDF; 6.6 MB)
Source: American Society of Newspaper Editors
Posted in Access to Information, Databases, Directories, and Guides, Government Documents and Political Information, Media, Reference Tools, Source File | No Comments »
Monday, February 1st, 2010
Facts for Features: Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV will be played Feb. 7 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., a Miami suburb. To commemorate this occasion, the Census Bureau has compiled a collection of facts examining the demographics of the host city, as well as the cities represented by the contenders, in this year’s edition of our nation’s most celebrated sporting event.
With the mail-out of 2010 Census questionnaires slightly more than a month away, the Census Bureau will run three ads promoting census awareness during the Super Bowl telecast — two during the pregame show and one during the third quarter.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Posted in 2010 Census, Fast Facts, Reference Tools, Source File | No Comments »
Monday, February 1st, 2010
Budget of the U.S. Government – Fiscal Year 2011
ssued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Budget of the United States Government is a collection of documents that contains the budget message of the President, information about the President’s budget proposals for a given fiscal year, and other budgetary publications that have been issued throughout the fiscal year. Other budget items, such as related publications and supporting materials, are included, which may vary from year to year.
GPO has signed and certified the PDF files to assure users that the online documents are official and authentic. The digitally signed PDF files should be viewed using Adobe Acrobat or Reader version 7.0 or higher.
Source: GPO
Posted in Government Documents and Political Information, Reference Tools, Source File | No Comments »
Monday, February 1st, 2010
New One-Stop Source for Scientific Information about U.S. Oceans and Waters
A one-stop source for biogeographic information collected from U.S. waters and oceanic regions is now available from the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) Program.
The OBIS-USA website offers a unique combination of tools, resources, and biodiversity information to aide scientists, resource managers and decision makers in the research and analyses critical to sustaining the nation’s valued marine ecosystems.
OBIS-USA was established in 2006 in cooperation with the U.S. National Committee for the Census of Marine Life a committee composed of renowned marine community leaders. OBIS-USA – a partnership of state, federal and scientific organizations — is the United States’ contribution to the International Ocean Biogeographic Information System, an effort led by the Census of Marine Life to provide “open access” to global biodiversity data on the myriad of marine life that inhabits the ocean.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey
Hat tip: Craig Pittman
Posted in Portals, Reference Tools, Resources for Educators, Science, Source File | No Comments »
Sunday, January 31st, 2010
From an Article:
The FDA has launched a new,searchable database that includes 971 recalls since January 1, 2006. (The database only goes back four years. If you have pet food from before then, I urge you to throw it away now for reasons completely unrelated to recalls!)
The number 971 sounds quite scary indeed. If you’re thinking of circumventing this problem by making your pet’s food, remember that recalls of human food are stunningly common as well…
Access the New Pet Food Recall Database
Access the Human Food Recall Database
Source: Dr. Eric Barchas, DVM (Dogster/Catster)
Other Human Food Recalls Can be Found Here
Also, More RecallsHere No Food But Many Other Products, Some Data Back to 1973.
Posted in Consumer Issues, Databases, Directories, and Guides, Government Documents and Political Information, Reference Tools, Resources | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
From the Blog Post:
Sharing in the sum of all human knowledge requires us to go to the sources. Beyond citations to books, journals, and websites, knowledge comes alive through images, video, and audio footage. We can travel to the beginnings of human history and admire the beauty of the Venus of Brassempouy carved from mammoth ivory 25,000 years ago. We can marvel at 2000-year-old mummy portraits that capture the dead in vivid colors. We can immerse ourselves in an Easter procession of the 19th century painted in incredible realism by Ilya Repin. We can listen to the earliest sound recording of a human voice, which could only successfully be played back two years ago for the first time.
Galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (a collective we refer to as “GLAM”) document, showcase, preserve and protect our cultural treasures. The Internet gives us the opportunity to share digital entry points to the fuller experience that cultural institutions can offer. With more than 340 million unique visitors every month, Wikipedia is the central entry point for research in the Internet-connected world.
The international Wikimedia volunteer movement is therefore naturally aligned with the public service mission of cultural institutions. Over the last year, we have seen an acceleration of partnerships to bring content online. This is also a result of the emergence of Wikimedia’s world-wide presence through chapter organizations founded by volunteers, which exist in 27 countries.
For the first time, we now have compelling data that shows the success of these partnerships, and the virtuous circle they can inspire. We also can use the same metrics to track the success of Wikimedia’s other content outreach initiatives.
The post continues on to include a large amount of stats.
Source: Wikimedia Blog
Posted in Reference Tools, Social Media, Statistics | No Comments »
Monday, January 25th, 2010
From the Careercast.com:
When launching their careers, many job seekers had a simple method of choosing the best job for them: They guessed. A job might “feel right” or “sound cool” or be considered successful according to the media, conventional wisdom or the advice of others. However, as many realtors and autoworkers will tell you, conventional wisdom can change. And with fierce competition for jobs making it tougher than ever to get a “do-over” if you make the wrong choice, guessing is not a smart approach to career management.
So if the lesson of the past year is that you need to determine the best career path for you the first time around, how exactly can you do that? For starters, having a few facts will help. CareerCast.com’s 2010 Jobs Rated report offers a comprehensive analysis of 200 different jobs – from Accountant to Zoologist – giving each a unique ranking based on factual analysis and hard data, not guesswork. If you’re entering (or re-entering) the job market and want to avoid selecting the wrong career, our rankings can help you make a stronger, more informed decision, both for today and the long-term.
How does Jobs Rated determine which professions rank better than others? Data on each job is broken down into five key categories: Physical Demands, Work Environment, Income, Stress and Hiring Outlook. Jobs receive a score in each individual category, and when these are added together, the career with the best overall score is ranked 1st, while the one with the worst overall score is ranked 200th.
Of course every employee is different, and what you consider a “dream job” might be someone else’s idea of a career nightmare.
Make sure to read the complete introduction. Important info at the conclusion
Access the Complete List
In case you’re interested, a librarian is #46 on the list. That’s one below a Market Research Analyst at #45 and one above a Anthropologist at #47.
Source:Careercast
Posted in Business and Economics, Lists and Rankings, Reference Tools | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
All Things Census: 2010 U.S. Census methods, findings and research
Welcome to All Things Census, a gathering place for postings about census methodology, findings and resources.
As the 2010 Census revs up its engine over the coming weeks, this site will look closely at its machinery. After the actual count gets underway – beginning with enumeration in remote Alaska this month and ramping up with delivery of census forms in March — All Things Census will explore how well it is going. When the data come out, starting late this year, it will feature reports on what the numbers say and mean.
Source: Pew Social & Demographic Trends Project
Posted in 2010 Census, Access to Information, New Websites and Resources, Reference Tools, Source File, Statistics | No Comments »
Monday, January 18th, 2010
From the Summary:
This guide provides information on locating military unit histories and individual service records of discharged, retired, and deceased military personnel. It includes contact information for military history centers, websites for additional sources of research, and a bibliography of other publications. This report will be updated as needed.
This version of the report is dated: December 16, 2009
11 pages; PDF.
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Open CRS)
Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, Reference Tools | No Comments »
Monday, January 18th, 2010
From the Announcement:
The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) has announced its list of Outstanding Reference Sources for 2010.
The list is compiled by a committee of RUSA members who are readers’ advisory and reference experts. They review publications and online reference resources released in the previous calendar year and present their selections at the RUSA Book and Media Awards Reception at the ALA Midwinter Meeting.
The 2010 selections for the Outstanding Reference Sources List are:
* Archaeology in America: An Encyclopedia (Greenwood Press), Francis P. McManamon
* Encyclopedia of African American History: 1896 to the Present (Oxford University Press), Paul Finkelman
* Encyclopedia of Modern China (Charles Scribner’s Sons), David Pong
* The Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars (ABC-CLIO), Spencer Tucker
* Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy (Gale Cengage), J. Baird Callicott and Robert Frodeman
* Encyclopedia of Human Rights (Oxford), David Forsythe
* Social Explorer, an online reference resource located at http://www.socialexplorer.com
* Broadway Plays and Musicals: Descriptions and Essential Facts (McFarland & Company Publishers), Thomas S. Hischak
* American Countercultures (Sharp), Gina Misiroglu
* Encyclopedia of Gender and Society (Sage), Jodi O’Brien
* Encyclopedia of Marine Science (Facts on File), Nichols C. Reid and Robert G. Williams
Source: ALA
Posted in Books, Reference Tools | No Comments »
Monday, January 18th, 2010
Resources of the Week: A Handful of Niche Search Engines
By Shirl Kennedy, Senior Editor
It’s only common sense. When you’re looking for a needle in a haystack, it’s easier when the haystack is as small as possible. So why use a general web engine when what you’re looking for is very specific? Thus, our love for specialized search engines. Here are four.
+ SlideFinder allows you to search for PowerPoint slides in English and an assortment of other languages. There’s even a plug-in for PowerPoint 2007 that lets you search for slides from within PowerPoint. You can also add it to the collection of search engines in your brower’s search bar. According to its blog, SlideFinder is placing special emphasis on indexing presentations from university websites because these “will often contain high quality content.” The blog is worth following for its presentation advice and tips.
+ eCirc, from the Audit Bureau of Circulation, offers the latest summarized circulation figures for newspapers, consumer magazines, business publications and farm publications in the U.S., Canada, and for selected publications in other coutries.
+ AddALL Ebook Price Comparison allows you to “(m)eta-search 30+ ebook sites with one click”. The results screen allows you to sort by title, author, price, site, or format. Clicking a title takes you directly to the site where it’s available so you can buy/download the book. Incorporates free e-books.
+ National Climatic Data Center Storm Event Database, from NOAA, allows you to search for various types of storms in your state, down to the county level. It contains:
- All Weather Events from 1993 – 1995, as entered into Storm Data. (Except 6/93 – 7/93, which is missing) (NO Latitude/Longitude)
- All Weather Events from 1996 – Current, as entered into Storm Data. (Including Latitude/Longitude)
- Plus additional data from the Storm Prediction Center; Including
- Tornadoes 1950-1992
- Thunderstorm Winds 1955-1992
- Hail 1955-1992
Select a state (or “all”) from the dropdown menu, and you’re off and running. You can limit your search to a single event type (e.g., tornadoes), a particular time period, the $ amount of damages, number of injuries or deaths, and more.
Posted in Access to Information, Archives and Special Collections, Databases, Directories, and Guides, Info Management and Retrieval, Reference Tools, Resource of the Week, Search Tools, Source File, Technology and Internet, Web Search | No Comments »
Sunday, January 17th, 2010
This impressive and updated collection (as news becomes available) about Haiti, its people, and the earthquake comes from the Middleton Thrall Library in Middletown, NY.
Access Collection
See Also: In Early December, 2009 the Thrall team compiled this COLLECTION of resources about Afghanistan.
Source: Middletown Thrall Library
Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, Reference Tools, Resources | No Comments »
Sunday, January 17th, 2010
Intercountry Adoption Information
Intercountry adoptions are governed by both the laws of the child’s home country and the laws of the United States . In fact, when adopting you must comply with three different sets of laws: U.S. federal law, the laws of the child’s country of birth, and the laws of your U.S. state of residence. Learn about the U.S. requirements for intercountry adoption in the About Adoption tab of this website.
To help you navigate the adoption process in a specific country, we offer Country Information. For each country, this Country Information describes whether a country is party to the Hague Adoption Convention. It names a country’s adoption authority and describes the eligibility requirements for prospective adoptive parents and for children to be adopted. In addition, the Country Information offers key contact information, information about the role of the court and adoption agencies, as well as adoption statistics.
Source: Office of Children’s Issue, U.S. Department of State
Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, Fast Facts, Geographic, Government Documents and Political Information, Reference Tools, Source File, Statistics | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
Resources for Covering Haiti Earthquake Devastation
CNN reported Wednesday morning that the Haiti earthquake has killed hundreds of thousands of people, destroying most of Port-au-Prince, the capital city.
I know that you’re likely struggling to find voices from Haiti who can supply you with firsthand accounts of what is going on. Here are some of the sites I have found to be helpful and up-to-date.
Source: Al’s Morning Meeting (Poynter Online)
See also: Find Highly Rated Relief Agencies Seeking Help for Haiti Earthquake Recovery
Posted in Bibliographies, Webliographies, Fast Facts, Media, News Search, Reference Tools, Resources for Educators, Search News, Social Media, Source File, Web 2.0 | No Comments »
Monday, January 11th, 2010
From the Article:
Wikipedia Israel chairman Shai Yakir said, “Several years ago we jumped with joy when we reached 1,000 articles, and when we reached 50,000 we already understood that Wikipedia Israel was a success. Today we have reached 100,000. Who would have believed it?”
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said, “Hebrew Wikipedia has become the largest ever encyclopedia written in the Hebrew language, and one of Wikipedia’s largest worldwide versions thanks to your joint work and dedication.
[Snip]
To mark 100,000 articles Wikimedia Israel published some statistics. There have been 4.8 million edits to date and each article has been edited an average of 48 times. 18% of edits are by anonymous contributors and 620 users make five or more edits a month.
Wikipedia Hebrew has: 51.7 million words and 33.3 million pages viewed a month.
Source: Globes
Posted in Reference Tools, Social Media | No Comments »
