Both Gale and EBSCO have begun offering free, authoritative information on the H1N1 and seasonal flu for both health practitioners and the public. This content is pulled from each vendor's proprietary resources, but is available to all at no cost.
Thanks to both EBSCO and Gale for their quick response to this need. Please share these links with colleagues, family, and friends (and consider plugging Gale's widget into your library's website).
According to Nielsen, 10% of web searchers have. That doesn't sound notable, but in the world of search engines, cracking into the double digits in market share is quite a feat.
I haven't really given Bing a shot, or at least that was true up until I downloaded Internet Explorer 8. That version of IE integrates Bing a little more into the web experience. One nifty thing about that integration is the ability to search for a highlighted term. Just highlight something on any web page, as though you were going to copy and paste it into Google, and a little blue box appears. If you click it, you get the option of mapping the thing you just highlighted, translating it, or running a web search on it in Bing. Pretty slick, pretty intuitive, pretty surprising that isn't something that's been available for years.
With the large number of people using IE, Bing's chances of continued growth seem strong. Having a fallback from Google isn't a bad idea either, especially for those of us involved in web research. Have you tried Bing? My favorite thing about it is the results page preview pop-ups, which tell you more about a page before you click into it. Do you have a favorite thing about Bing?
The Federal Reserve's Beige Book is published eight times per year and offers very current economic insight gathered from banks, businesses, and market analysts from across the country. Use the Beige Book to learn how an industry is operating in a specific area of the country, or to learn about trends in consumer spending, employment, and prices. The much-awaited new issue is released today, and many hope it will offer confirmation that our faltering economy is stabilizing.
And actually has been for quite some time. Sorry! Forgot to post it here before heading to the ALA annual conference.
In the June issue of Reference Notes, you'll find:
- A new catalog option from OCLC
- An update on new AskMN member libraries
- A note about a former Minnesota librarian turned ASCLA RUSA executive director
- An innovative tool to pre-limit catalog searches
- Examples of information literacy and college readiness programs across the P-20 spectrum
- Guidance in creating DIY maps
- Yahoo!Pipes in 2.0 minutes
- A re-cap of the MN Digital Library annual meeting
- A call for applications for digitization projects through the MN Digital Library
- A story about new literacy skills and the Scratch software
- A recorded conversation between five MN library directors about dealing with budget shortfalls, and...
- A model for successful customer service from online shoe retailer Zappos.
Find the June issue, along with past issues, at: http://minitex.umn.edu/publications/refnotes/
The World FactBook, excellent source for country statistics, maps, and flags, has gotten a face-lift. The redesigned site is much more interactive and visual than the previous iteration, but the content is as useful for student projects, background on international news stories, or ready reference questions as ever. Check it out at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
Via ResourceShelf
From the announcement:
On behalf of Minnesota’s State Library Services, Online Dakota Information Network (ODIN), the North Dakota State Library, South Dakota Library Network (SDLN), the South Dakota State Library, and itself, Minitex is pleased to announce our joint, 3-state participation in licensing the databases and database packages recommended by the Minitex Electronic Information Resources (MEIR) Task Force as a result of the Request for Proposal (RFP) that was issued in 2008-2009. These partners realize the importance of statewide access to a common suite of databases to the libraries and school media centers within and among the three states.
In coordination with Elaine Kelash, Buyer, University of Minnesota Purchasing, Minitex will finalize license agreements with the following vendors for access to the following statewide electronic resources. These resources will be available beginning July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2012.
The Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities have a joint venture that may be of interest to researchers and history enthusiasts. Chronicling America provides information on newspapers published since 1690 from across the U.S.
Use the Newspaper Directory to locate titles by location, date, or even ethnic or labor group focus. Once you’ve found one or more newspapers of interest, the site can help connect you with libraries in your area that own them. A search for Minnesota newspapers yielded some 3,000 title entries (though some entries were duplicates).
The site also includes digitized images of a set of newspapers, including the St. Paul Daily Globe from the late 1800s. Search for these on the Search Newspapers page.
This topic begs mention of several other resources. WorldCat, for instance, can help you locate and request newspapers via interlibrary loan. WorldCat is one of the ELM databases. Another excellent source is Minnesota Reflections. This site from the MN Digital Library provides online access to historical primary source materials including plat maps, diaries, letters, and photos.
Internet search providers are doing some innovative things these days. Recently, two examples surfaced: Wolfram/Alpha, which returns answers rather than sources; and Netbase, which looks at the language surrounding a search term to expand on a topic’s context.
Web Tool “as Important as Google” [Wolfram/Alpha], BBC News
A Smarter Search for What Ails You [Netbase], Technology Review
Many of these new search technologies promise to analyze the context of data and return specific answers to our questions, as opposed to current search engines that bring us to sources where we can find the answers. It’s a fine point, but an important one. Current search technologies require us to know of or at least analyze the source for an answer. New tech does more of this legwork for us in terms of sifting through a source to find data. But what does this mean, besides allowing us to type in “population Rhode Island” and being shown a number, rather than the Census Bureau web page where that number comes from?
It means that the source is hidden or at least obfuscated, which begs a couple of questions: First, commercial vendors are presenting data rather than sources. Who says they have the principle of good information as a primary motive? Second, such services further remove searchers from the process of search and make us less responsible for checking the sources for found information. We’ll potentially be more reliant on the search tool, and less reliant on our own critical thinking skills.
I’m not saying that the Internet should be a place that requires a higher education to use, but I do think a higher level of skepticism can’t hurt. Some aspects of these technologies are easily lovable (quicker reference-type answers, making the Internet more practical for everyone, automatic relationship-building between topics) but some other aspects make me nervous. What do you think?
Have you seen the new issue of the International Journal of Data Mining and Bioinformatics? How about SIMILE (Studies in Media Information & Literacy Education)? The Journal of Informetics? No? Well, surely you’ve seen the latest Knowledge and Information Systems, right?
Right? …Anybody?
If you’re in academia (or of that mindset) and find yourself in the horrifically shameful position of not knowing what’s currently being discussed in your field’s academic publications, consider TicTocs. This free site indexes the tables of contents from thousands of academic publications, and delivers whichever of those TOCs you select directly to your RSS feed reader. So you can stay current with the most recent findings from the International Journal of Web Engineering and Technology.
Or whichever publications you’re genuinely, or contractually-obligated to be, interested in.
I might also add that many of the ELM databases, such as Academic Search Premier, offer the option of setting up automatic alerts. These alerts let you know (by email or RSS feed) when new articles are added that match your interests - not just from specific publications but also on specific topics from specific publications. Just run your search and look for the “Alert/Save/Share” link in the upper-right corner of your results listing.
Minitex is pleased to announce that availability of the Soaring to Excellence teleconference, "An Ounce of Prevention: Health Reference Basics."
The following streaming video link is available for teleconference. It will be active for approximately 30 days after the broadcast.
http://www.dupagepress.com/index.php?id=4109
Don’t miss out on this great professional development and enrichment opportunity!
Help us spread the word about MnKnows – Dig Deeper @ Your Library (www.mnknows.org), the new portal that gives Minnesota students and library patrons one-stop access to five statewide library services: MnLINK Gateway, Electronic Library for Minnesota (ELM), Minnesota Reflections, AskMN, and the Research Project Calculator. We’ve established a website where you can retrieve the MnKnows logos to add to your library’s website and use for other publicity purposes.
• See: “About” page on the MnKnows website: http://www.mnknows.org/about.php (“Help Us Promote MnKnows”)
Minnesota academic and state government libraries are receiving a packet of MnKnows bookmarks (100 per packet) in the Delivery System. If you want more packets, please see the contact information at the end of this message.
Minnesota public libraries are receiving bookmarks through their regional public library systems.
Minnesota media centers – please contact us directly to let us know how many bookmarks you need for your schools.
Goodness knows I don’t know much about cataloging, but OCLC and the University of California are helping me picture what the catalog of the future will look like with their pilot Melvyl Catalog. Turns out it’ll look pretty much like a website. But - and here’s the revolutionary part - a website created this decade. Unlike some catalogs I could name…
Sorry, that was snarky. Check out the catalog for yourself, and learn more about the joint effort here.
(via ResourceShelf)
What do you think of when you think of “2.0”? For some, the term brings to mind time-wasting websites and misplaced library efforts. Others fully embrace 2.0 and spread themselves - and their libraries - successfully throughout the social web. Many of us are likely somewhere in the middle: interested in new tools, but not sure how to efficiently incorporate them into our professional duties.
Today we’d like to open up a new series of videos that speak to people in all of these scenarios: “2.0 Tools in 2.0 Minutes.” This ongoing series will profile a 2.0 tool and highlight its value to you, the busy library professional, in almost no time flat. You’ll find no 2.0 for the sake of 2.0 here, though; nothing bleeding edge just because it’s bleeding edge. Instead, we’ll only highlight tools that can help you do your everyday job more efficiently. We’ll answer the question, how can 2.0 tools help me be more productive, not less?
The series begins with what we believe to be the most essential element of the 2.0 revolution, and arguably the tool that can add the most productivity to your work day by bringing valuable information to you: RSS Feeds (2:00). Then we’ll take a look at how Greasemonkey (2:17) can help you customize and optimize specific websites. And we’ll end with a tour of a tool that grants free access to office products like word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation software from anywhere with an Internet connection: Zoho (1:59).
These videos are the first three in an ongoing series. To determine which tools to cover next, we’d like to hear from you. What single 2.0 tool has been most effective in making your work more efficient? Drop a comment and we’ll consider your favorite site for the dubious honor of being the next “2.0 Tools in 2.0 Minutes” video.
From Joyce Antler, Jewish Women's Archive Advisory Committee Chair
On March 1, 2009, the Jewish Women’s Archive will launch the free, online version of Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia, edited by Professors Paula Hyman of Yale University and Dalia Ofer of Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Previously available only on CD-ROM, the Encyclopedia is the first comprehensive source on the history of Jewish women and includes more than 1,700 biographies, 300 thematic essays, and 1,400 photographs and illustrations. The Encyclopedia nearly doubles the content available on http://jwa.org/encyclopedia and gives Internet users all over the world free and easy access to a wealth of information.
To keep the Encyclopedia current, we hope to add new entries from time to time and to update published pieces as necessary.
MINITEX is pleased to announce that availability of the Soaring to Excellence 2009 teleconference, “Targeting the Ages: Programming that Hits the Mark."
The following streaming video link is available for teleconference. It will be active for approximately 30 days after the broadcast.
http://www.dupagepress.com/index.php?id=4078
Don’t miss out on this great professional development and enrichment opportunity!
Program Overview
Targeting the Ages: Programming that Hits the Mark
A. A Primer for Programming
1. Identifying Your Patrons' Needs
2. Planning for Successful Implementation
3. Adaptation is Key
4. Common Pitfalls
B. Programming for Youth
1. Common Needs of Audience
2. Examples of Innovative Programs
C. Programming for Adults
1. Common Needs of Audience
2. Examples of Innovative Programs
D. Programming for Seniors
1. Common Needs of Audience
2. Examples of Innovative Programs
E. Question and Answer Session
Here’s one for your reference bookmarks: Times Topics, from the New York Times. The site is organized by topic – there are 14,000 of them covered – and provides prepared background reports (on many topics) and archived news stories (on all). Topics range from economic stimulus to global warming; from the peanut butter recall to Hamas; and far beyond. If all of that seems too heavy for a Friday, don’t worry, there’s something for everyone, including Neil Diamond fans.
(Found via FMI)
Many library databases (including a number of the ELM databases) help students and researchers create source citations to be included in their project or report bibliographies. For those that don’t, and for other types of research sources, from books to periodicals to multimedia, consider KnightCite. This excellent interactive tool from the Hekman Library of Calvin College takes basic information on each source and formats citations according to MLA, APA, or Chicago citation styles. If you haven’t seen it, check it out. Your students just might thank you.
When you talk to your non-library friends about libraries, is there one thing that seems to come up again and again? It’s the catalog, isn’t it? My friends always joke about the Dewey Decimal system; it’s like comic gold. And it makes me think that when most non-library people think about libraries, they think about library catalogs. So what do you think about your library’s catalog?
A recent survey (“Perceptions 2008: an International Survey of Library Automation”) looks at librarians’ satisfaction levels with library catalog systems, and provides insight into different vendors. Is your library automation system mentioned? Do you agree with the general drift of the feedback?
I think we can all agree that improvements can always be made in how our catalogs work. So, going forward, what are some things that can be done to make library catalogs easier for our patrons to use?
More Things On a Stick Program To Launch in January
ST.PAUL, Minnesota (January 15, 2009) --Minnesota’s seven multicounty, multitype library systems (multitypes) will launch the More Things On a Stick: A Library Learning 2.0 Program on January 20, 2009.. This program is the new version of the very popular 23 Things On a Stick Program sponsored the Minnesota Multitypes last year. Staff in academic, school, public and special libraries, as well as members of library Governing and Advisory Boards are invited to participate in this fun, self-paced program that encourages participants to experiment with various Web 2.0 tools. Mashups, more organizational and productivity tools, and deeper uses of RSS and Delicious are just a few of the new offerings in 2009.
All details about how to participate and suggestions for getting ready are now available online at http://morethingsonastick.pbwiki.com. Registration will begin on January 20th at this same address (as part of Thing 1). Those who complete all 23 Things plus the evaluation within 17 weeks will win a completion prize.
Continue reading "More Things On a Stick Program To Launch in January" »
ALA released a resource for libraries in hard economic times.
The “Advocating in a Tough Economy Toolkit” is available at www.ala.org/tougheconomytoolkit.
Additional resources:
Media coverage of libraries' role during the current economic crisis.
http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/mediapresscenter/presskits/librariesintougheconomictimes/economy.cfm
A relevant past article by ALA:
ALA: Library Funding to Help Get America Back on Track
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/wo/woissues/washfunding/fedfund/Background%20-%20Stimulu.pdf
Minnesota media coverage of libraries’ role in hard economic times can be found at:
http://webjunctionworks.org/mn/blog/index.php/category/library-value/
WebJunction pathfinder: Focus on Libraries in Tough Economic Times
http://www.webjunction.org/home/articles/content/30406184
Alliance Library System and LearningTimes are pleased to announce an exciting conference featuring science and virtual worlds. On January 30th we are "Stepping Into Science" and taking the day to explore the possibilities of using virtual worlds to learn about and teach science. The conference will be taking place entirely in Second Life and will feature a keynote and panel discussion as well as small breakout sessions, field trips and an opportunity participate in "Science Friday", NPR's live broadcast from Second Life.
For more information and to register, click here:
http://www.steppingintovirtualworlds.org/
Speakers and field trips will include:
- Troy McConaghy (Scientist and Educator who has been involved with Second Life for over three years)
- Dr. George Djorgovski (Caltech and Meta Institute for Computational Astrophysics (MICA))
- Joanna Scott (Writer for Nature and manages Second Nature on Second Life)
- Adrienne J. Gauthier, M.Ed. (Instructional Technology Specialist, Steward Observatory)
- Tony Crider (Elon University)
This online conference provides a great opportunity for anyone interested in exploring the latest in science education using 3D, immersive, virtual worlds.
It is ideal for anyone who might be at any stage of implementing education projects using virtual worlds.
There will be many opportunities to ask questions and discuss ideas with our speakers and guides as well as others attending the conference.
Those new to Second Life are encouraged to attend! We'll even be offering Second Life orientations before the 30th so if you've been meaning to check out Second Life, but haven't quite gotten around to it this is a great and structured opportunity to learn about some fantastic projects and also take Second Life for a spin.
The conference will be held live online in Second Life on January 30th. The registration fee is $65 per person. (Group rates are available.)
For more information on the conference, please visit:
http://www.steppingintovirtualworlds.org/
Please freely distribute this invitation to those you might thing would interested in attending!
To edit a phrase: the medium changes the message. Accessing information through different types of technologies has a profound impact on how that information is internalized and used. The ways in which students access information are changing at a rapid pace (fueled by mobile technologies and social online tools) and as information providers, it’s important for us to keep up. A good source for learning more about how students use technology is a series of studies from Educause Center for Applied Research (ECAR). Every year, ECAR surveys tens of thousands of college students at dozens of institutions to learn more about what technology they own, how they use it, and how it affects their learning activities. The most recent report is freely available here: 2008 ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology.
Here in the MINITEX Reference Services unit, we spend quite a bit of time talking about ELM databases. A note from one of these database providers, EBSCO, caught my eye the other day (in the Nov/Dec issue of Reference Notes, no less). EBSCO’s new design version, called EBSCOhost 2.0, is apparently fully compatible with mobile devices. And, according to the update, “a brand new product for accessing EBSCOhost using handheld devices is currently in development and targeted for release in the spring.” Could you see your high school or college students using a library database on their iPhone? Would you use one this way? Drop a note in the comments to let us know what you think.
And in case you’re not quite convinced that new technologies are ubiquitous and are changing how students live their everyday lives, try to guess which day was Facebook’s busiest day ever. Christmas eve.
MarketWatch has an article from yesterday talking about the addition of primary sources to Encyclopaedia Britannica. "eBooks From Project Gutenberg Including Literature, History and Philosophy Provide a New Dimension to Research." Project Gutenberg, the digitatization project started by Michael Hart in 1971, will add richness to Online Britannica allowing individuals to get a well-rounded research experience from one place. Visit Encyclopedia Britannica for more information.
From Gale:
Gale offers ten ideas that we can implement together to ensure that your database and eBook usage shoots through the roof. These suggestions illustrate initiatives Gale is taking to help you double usage of your Gale databases in the coming months, bringing more value to your library.
By focusing on the needs of your patrons and bringing more power to users, Gale helps you increase the value of each resource you receive from them.
Please peruse the PowerPoint and let Gale know what you think. Gale is also very interested in hearing about the best practices you have already used in your library to drive usage. Check out Rule #9 about ways to download audio!
Here's the direct link: Download rules_that_drive_usage.pdf
From OCLC:
The OCLC WorldMap is a prototype system that provides an interactive visual tool for selecting and displaying international library holdings represented in WorldCat, and publishing, library, cultural heritage, and collection data.
The OCLC WorldMap allows users to select countries of interest, then to compare various library and cultural heritage data by country.
WorldMap will generate interactive graphs that compare several different kinds of data for up to four countries at a time. The data includes the number of:
* Holdings in WorldCat for titles published in each country,
* Languages represented in WorldCat for titles published in each country,
* Titles in WorldCat published in each country; or
* Libraries in each country (broken down by type of library),
* Library volumes in each country (broken down by type of library),
* Certified/degreed librarians in each country (broken down by type of library),
* Registered library users in each country (broken down by type of library),
* Library expenditures (in US $), for each country (broken down type of library),
* Cultural heritage institutions (museums and archives) in each country, and
* Publishers in each country.
Results are displayed on a new screen. In addition, the tabs for each country on the new screen allow viewing of the complete dataset for each country, and the sources for the data (N/A indicates no data are available). A key to the display (.pdf: 607K/6 pp.) is available.
The data for the map were generated from WorldCat and more than forty other sources. The non-WorldCat data in the prototype, however, may not be complete. OCLC is not responsible for incomplete or inaccurate data. If you know of other data sources that can be used to update our data, please let us know.
For more information on OCLC WorldMap
From Library Hotline / February 25, 2008
Gale, part of Cengage Learning, in recognition of Women's History Month in March, is offering free resources on its Women's History Month Web site, accessible at http://gale.com/free_resources/whm/.
They include biographies, quizzes, activities, time lines, and more to complement classroom topics.
EBSCO Publishing is pleased to announce plans to update the EBSCOhost interface in the summer of 2008. Since the last EBSCOhost major interface redesign in 2002, there have been many technological advancements, many of which we will incorporate into EBSCOhost 2.0. We are pleased to provide you with an early preview of the key features of EBSCOhost 2.0.
Some of the key updates will include:
• A cleaner, simpler user interface
• Related Images readily available beside the Result List
• Results directly from NewsBank
• Instant article previews from mouse-over action
• Expand/Collapse side panels
• Search history displayed above Result list
• SmartText Searching to provide full results from partial Find field terms
• Multi-database access to Authority files
• URLs that can be bookmarked
• A convenient, streamlined Cite process for all citation styles
We have also created an EBSCOhost 2.0 Flash overview, available here, and additional detailed information that describes all of the above features, here. (If you cannot open this link, please copy and paste this URL into your browser to see the details on EBSCO's Support Site: http://www.ebscohost.com/thisTopic.php?marketID=1&topicID=969)
In early March, additional support information regarding EBSCOhost 2.0 will be available on the EBSCO Support Site, including FAQ's, help sheets, user guides, online training sessions, and more.
Trudi Jacobson and Laura Cohen of the University Libraries University at Albany, SUNY have recently rewritten their mid-90s guide to helping students and others evaluate Web sites. The new version of this document reflects the impact of Web 2.0. It can be found at http://library.albany.edu/usered/eval/evalweb/ They still consider it as a work in progress. Check it out - it looks great and quite useful!
Carnegie Mellon Libraries has created two library games. The "I'll Get It" game features you as the librarian helping students with electronic and print materials to answer their questions. A good game to brush up on reference skills.
"This site allows you to search and read newspaper pages from 1900-1910 and find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP)." (from the website)
|
MinnPost, an online news launch, was announced by former big city publisher and editor and has quickly collected a couple dozen well-known former daily bylines known to readers.
|
|
Important Details: When long-time Star Tribune editor and publisher Joel Kramer exited the newspaper business in 1998, he hadn't a glimmer of what he is now doing one decade later: launching an online news start-up. But the peculiar times journalism lives in has driven him in back into publishing, and not on newsprint.
From Outsell.
|
If you try to access the Professional Collection from Thomson-Gale (Statewide Databases) and get InfoTrac Custom Newspapers, please don't be alarmed. Gale has informed us that the image is incorrect but the data you search is from Professional Collection - they are working on a patch to fix the image.
|
EBSCO Academic Search Premier Business Source Premier Regional Business News MasterFILE Premier MegaFILE
|
GALE Kids InfoBits InfoTrac Junior Edition infoTrac Student Edition Junior Reference Collection Discovering Collection Professional Collection ¡Informe! |
|
OCLC WorldCat NetLibrary |
ProQuest ProQuest Newsstand Complete
|
Check out this YouTube video on creating wikis!
New York Public Library has released its' list of Best of Reference 2007: Big Top Reference. Some of the items on the list include WorldCat, Pew Hispanic Center, Technorati, Wayback Machine, Google Patent Search along with recently published encyclopedias and other reference resources. To see the complete list, visit: http://www.nypl.org/branch/books/index2.cfm?ListID=338
From Calisphere:
"Calisphere is the University of California's free public gateway to a world of primary sources. More than 150,000 digitized items — including photographs, documents, newspaper pages, political cartoons, works of art, diaries, transcribed oral histories, advertising, and other unique cultural artifacts — reveal the diverse history and culture of California and its role in national and world history. Calisphere's content has been selected from the libraries and museums of the UC campuses, and from a variety of cultural heritage organizations.
Calisphere is a public service project of the California Digital Library (CDL). Through the use of technology and innovation, the CDL supports the assembly and creative use of scholarship for the UC libraries and the communities they serve. Learn more about the CDL."
Recently on the ILI-listerv (ACRL's Instruction Section Information Literacy Instruction Discussion List) a discussion thread has been started on ways to deliver staff training for libraries on topics such as Web 2.0.
One of the members responded by pointing to an online resource called "Learning 2.0." It is a resource that can be customized and tailored to your own institution. The right-hand column provides links to other libraries doing the Learning 2.0 program.
Wow! This is a terrific video "starring" Vermont librarian, Jessamyn West. It shows her installing "Ubuntu" to two computers that were donated to The Calef Library in Washington, Vermont. Ubuntu comes bundled with Open Source software such as OpenOffice, Gimp (like Photoshop), Firefox, and Gaim (Instant Messenger). This is a great work-around for those who do not want to or cannot purchase various software programs. Check it out!
Recently launced is a new "Wikipedia-like" website for biology enthusiasts, Encyclopedia of Life. The goal of the project is to create a free online resource that catalogs and describes all the planet's known species.
From American Libraries Direct:
Researchers from the Syracuse University School of Information Studies, the American Library Association (ALA), and the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, are working together to research games in libraries through a project called Game Lab. Researchers will tackle the development of a classification structure for games and determine the public good served by the library that provides gaming programs. To read the entire article
To follow the work of this project check out the Game Lab blog
These two tutorials are at the top of my list for content and delivery. Check it out!
Plagiarism tutorial from Paul Robeson Library of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey:
http://library.camden.rutgers.edu/EducationalModule/Plagiarism/
CLUE - from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries (a tutorial to orient the student to UW-Madison Libraries and college level research tools and strategies):
Check out this outstanding tutorial!!
From the ILI-L listserv:
The Peer-Reviewed Instructional Materials Online (PRIMO) Committee of
the Instruction Section of ACRL announces its site of the month for February 2007.
To read the full interview and browse the archive of previous profiles, please see
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrlbucket/is/iscommittees/webpages/emergingtech/site/index.htm
*** PRIMO Site of the Month Interview, February 2007 ***
A Beginner's Guide to Business Research
http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/tutorials/zicklin/research/
Author: Louise Klusek
Institution: Baruch College, The City University of New York
Interviewer: Britt Fagerheim
Description: A Beginner's Guide to Business Research is an e-learning
module designed specifically for students doing company research for the
first time. This module is a required information literacy component of
Introduction to Business, a 1000-level course required of all students
intending to major in business at Baruch College. The Guide covers two
major sources of information: company websites (including annual
reports, 10-K filings, webcasts and press releases) and business
databases for news, company profiles, histories and up-to-date stock
information.
Over 70 years ago, the National Archives, http://video.google.com/nara.html, was founded to preserve American historical documents, as well as the moments and events that could be saved in still photos, films, and audio recordings. Today the Archives is home to everything from rare historical footage (newsreels and government documentaries from the 1930s) to the 1969 moon landing. Now Google is launching a pilot program to digitize its video content and offer it to everyone in the world for free, and you can watch a growing selection on Google Video.
DUBLIN, Ohio, USA, 26 February 2007—OCLC has launched the WorldCat Registry, a comprehensive directory for libraries and consortia, and the services they provide. The WorldCat Registry will help libraries and consortia manage and share data that define their organizations--such as institution type, location, URLs for electronic services, circulation statistics, and population served--through a single, authoritative Web platform.
Continue reading "WorldCat Registry offers management of organizational data" »
A documentary not only worth seeing but also a must have for your collections!
An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
with Al Gore, directed by Davis Guggenheim
From IMDB:
A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.
Reviews:
"In 39 years, I have never written these words in a movie review, but here they are: You owe it to yourself to see this film. If you do not, and you have grandchildren, you should explain to them why you decided not to." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"In the movie he is merely excellent. But in person…he presents a combination of intellectual force, emotional vibrancy and moral urgency that has hardly been seen in American public life in recent years." - David Denby, The New Yorker
"one of the most important films ever." - Larry King
"[Al Gore] he is not only forcing us to confront the problem, he is also looking for realistic solutions ... [Gore] firmly believes that environmental responsibility and economic prosperity are not mutually exclusive." - Amanda Gefter, New Scientist
"I was skeptical that Al Gore was really going to change how I thought about global warming. I was wrong. I now believe that An Inconvenient Truth is the most important film that anyone will see this year. We have become accustomed to hearing about global warming in a muted, disconnected way ... but at last someone has marshalled all the fragments of information and woven it into a single, breathtaking whole. ... we can only comprehend global warming if we take the widest possible view, and we can't access that viewpoint while wearing party-political blinders."
- Dave Hoskin, Metro
Check out this public resource!
From the MPC:
The Minnesota Population Center (MPC) is a University-wide interdisciplinary cooperative for demographic research. The MPC serves sixty faculty members and research associates from ten colleges and nineteen departments at the University of Minnesota, and employs nearly a hundred research support staff, including computer programmers and technicians, administrative staff, research assistants, and data-entry staff. As a leading developer and disseminator of demographic data, we also serve a broader audience of some 6,000 demographic researchers worldwide.
At a recent conference I had the pleasure of meeting two representatives from ISEEK. Check out their site!
This description from their website:
ISEEK, the Internet System for Education and Employment Knowledge, is a web-based gateway to Minnesota career, employment, education, and business development information and services. The Internet system helps you make smart choices about careers, employment, education, and business growth.
ISEEK provides information in four main areas:
To learn more about ISEEK visit: What is ISEEK?
Check out the School Library Journal 2006 Webcast series on blogs, podcasts, and wikis and how these can be used in the classroom at:
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6363460.html#
Scroll to the bottom of the page and you will find links to the following webcasts:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration provides some terrific resources for kids, students, educators, and researchers. Check out their homepage and the left navigation bar for these resources. Some of these resources include homework help, Internet and multimedia resources, learning and student opportunities, contacts for students and educators, career information, research assistance, and professional development. You can also find these resources at NASA Education.
WebJunction Minnesota has a brand new look!
Check it out at: http://mn.webjunction.org
From Marvin Stewart, Event Specialist at Center for Intellectual Property, University of Maryland University College -
The Center for Intellectual Property (CIP) at the University of Maryland University College is excited to announce the launch of a new blog portal addressing the cultural, political and legal context of copyright issues:
(c)ollectanea! http://chaucer.umuc.edu/blogcip/collectanea/
Continue reading "(C)ollectanea!: Collected Perspectives On Copyright" »
The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection is a general collection of more than 250,000 maps covering all areas of the world. This online collection has been created by the University of Texas at Austin Libraries.
This amazing collection includes maps of:
Furthermore, you can find historical maps, outline maps, and maps of current interest (i.e. Afghanistan, Iraq, Korea, Somalia).
Explore the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection online!!
Family Genealogy and History Internet Education Directory, a project of V. Chris & Thomas M. Tinney, Sr., established in 1997, offers free coverage of the Genealogy World in a Nutshell. SEARCH This Site, provides updated site search engine access by Google, Pico, and Yahoo!
"This is a professional worldwide humanities and social sciences mega portal, connected directly to thousands
of related sub-sets, with billions of primary or secondary family history and genealogy database records. It encompasses all other key worldwide genealogy sites. Our goal is to promote scholarly educational access to all key worldwide Internet genealogical and family history databases and resources. Independent researchers are
always invited to voluntarily email us, to report any broken, changed, inappropriate, misdirected, new, outdated or undiscovered pertinent genealogy and family history links."
From Darlene Fichter's blog "Blog on the side"...
The 2007 Digital Future Project annually surveys more than 2,000 people across the USA about the impact of online technology on users and non-users. This year they noted that Internet is finally having a powerful personal and social impact on people's lives.
Staff members at the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library are pleased to announce the public availability of a biographical database covering all Minnesota legislators back to territorial times, Legislators Past & Present (http://www.leg.mn/legdb). While a handful of states have lists of legislators available electronically, we believe this resource is unique in the nation.
For more details on the database, see an article published in the St.
Paul Legal Ledger, scanned with permission and available at:
http://www.leg.mn/webcontent/lrl/pdf/legdb.pdf
Continue reading "Biographical Database Covering All Minnesota Legislators" »
We regularly get requests for finding information about quotes: the correct wording, its origin, or the author of a quote. Sometimes we find what we're looking for and sometimes we don't. Quotes are a tricky one. While we rely mainly on the resources here at the University of Minnesota Libraries, they too can be limiting. That is why when we come across a good resource, especially for quotes, we bookmark them for future use. We also like to share the knowledge of resources available, especially when they are free!
Here is one we have come across as an addition to our arsenal of quotation resources: The Literature Network, http://www.online-literature.com/advancedsearch.php. This is a good resource when you want to locate a particular quotation by searching through a database of the author's works. As I mentioned, it is a free resource so you will have to deal with banner ads and the ocassional pop-up, but still, it's a good resource.
The "Second Wave" and Beyond scholarly community, launced in April 2006, is an innovative form of electronic communication and research that brings together feminist thinkers, both scholars and activists, to create a stimulating and supportive environment in which to pose and analyze compelling questions about feminist activism and theories, define new directions for historical research on this period, and provide a new venue for publishing traditional articles but also for writing and recording this history in ways made possible by the medium of online publication.
More specifically, look here to find dicussions, chronologies, oral histories and memoirs, images, reviews, bibliographies, resource links, teaching and research resources, and more.
A resource that we use frequently is the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) Library. Often times we will go there to look up news articles in various papers or retrieve copies of documents from the Minnesota State Archives. Recently, I fielded a reference request for divorce documents written up in 1882. The MHS Library and State Archives is a treasure trove of exciting materials and documents. In addition to their amazing newspaper collection, you may also find birth records, death records, a federal census for Minnesota, marriage records, military records, naturalization records, obituaries, and much more. Check out their library services.
A tool I've used recently to locate mining maps in various states throughout the U.S. is called the GeoCommunicator. Click on the Land & Mineral Use Records link and you will be able to search, locate, and map the BLM's land and mineral use records including:oil & gas, geothermal, solid minerals, agreements, unpatented mining claims, rights-of-way, mineral material disposal, miscellaneous uses, oil & gas lease sales, stipulations, and cases that affect the status of the land.
Wondering what some of our questions are? Recently, I was asked to locate information regarding a historical crime, and confirm whether or not the person was still in prison. During the research process I stumbled upon, with guidance of a warden, the Department of Corrections Offender Search at http://info.doc.state.mn.us/publicviewer/main.asp. Here one is able to locate if a person is still under the Commissioner of Corrections jurisdiction.
Coming Next Week! WebJunction Minnesota!
WebJunction Minnesota, an online service for the Minnesota library community, launches September 10, 2006. It is a collaborative effort of Minnesota State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education; MINITEX Library Information Network; Metronet, a Minnesota Multitype Library Cooperation System; and WebJunction.
WebJunction is an online community and portal that supports library staff with technology and library development materials; provides courses for online learning and professional development; and brings the library community together in online discussions and programs.
WebJunction Minnesota offers an online community space where Minnesota libraries and staff can share best practices, policies and procedures, learning opportunities, and expertise to promote high quality library services. Minnesota library staff will have access to all the resources of the global WebJunction site plus local content of interest to the Minnesota library community, free online courses, and local discussion forums. Content will grow and change according to Minnesota library community needs.
WebJunction Minnesota will be promoted in various venues this fall, including the annual conferences of the Minnesota Library Association and the Minnesota Educational Media Organization. Alert your colleagues in the library community to prepare for the launch by signing up now for a free user account at www.webjunction.org. Stay tuned for more details!
WebJunction Minnesota is funded in part with federal IMLS Library Services and Technology Act funds, administered by State Library Services in cooperation with MINITEX Library Information Network and Metronet. Minnesota joins nine other states – Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Vermont, and Washington – in the WebJunction Community Partner program.
Questions, comments, or suggestions for content? Contact Mary Ann Van Cura, State Library Services and WebJunction Team Lead, at maryann.vancura@state.mn.us, Jennifer Hootman, MINITEX Library Information Network, at hootm001@umn.edu, or Deanna Sylte, Metronet, at deanna@metrolibraries.net.
Below you will find an e-mail from Janet Arth where she has cited an article that ties together numerous free audio book resources.
The United States Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service provides state and county level data in the "Quick Stats" section for various agricultural goods. Some of the data is available from as early as 1909. For instance, this is a great resource to find out the yield for corn, oats, or wheat in a particular year or stretch of years for any county in Minnesota. Give it a try!
Another project supported by the Minnesota Digital Library, Minnesota Maps Online, is a digital collection of historic maps from the collections of the Minnesota Historical Society and the Office of the Secretary of State.
This searchable database includes Minnesota's original public land survey plats from 1848-1907. Additionally, you will find General Land Office and Bureau of Land Management maps, up to the year 2001. Another section allows you to search for plat books and atlases.
If you are searching for patent applications and images, try the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Patent Full-Text and Image Database.
This database includes patents from 1790-present. Please take note of the system requirements to view full-text and images.