My Reference Notes

from Amy:

Student was looking for data on sugar (all I've seen so far; might be one or more other commodities)

for 1990-present

by:
import
export
prices
employment rate
wages

between either:
2 countries or
2 country groups or
1 country and a country group
**country groups may not have much data; user may be better off looking up individual countries.

Sources:

Import/Export:
UN Comtrade:
http://www.lib.umn.edu/site/moreinfo.phtml?id=11843

**Use "Data Availability" and select "Reporter" (that's the country (group) reporting the data). User selects country (group), picks longest time range, modifies selection to specify commodity.

Prices
FAOSTAT's PriceStat:
http://faostat.fao.org/site/351/default.aspx

**"PriceStat" = 1991-present; Price Archive = 1966-1990

Employment Rates / Wages
International Labor Organization's LABORSTA database
laborsta.ilo.org/

**detailed industry and/or occupational data highly variable

Amy

Posted by s-gang at 7:14 PM | Permalink

The old wilson ref blog is at http://blog.lib.umn.edu/staff/iris/

Posted by s-gang at 8:33 PM | Permalink

Here's the message about Emergency Preparedness in relation to the swine flu epidemic.

Posted by s-gang at 4:57 PM | Permalink

This is Severe Weather Awareness Week in Minnesota. Today, safety officials around the state will be testing weather warning systems at 1:45 PM and 6:55 PM. Be prepared to hear sirens and other alarms at those times. For more information, see this link:
http://www.severeweather.state.mn.us/

Here are some general instructions to follow during a tornado or severe weather:

If you are inside a campus building:

Go to the basement, pedestrian tunnel or an inner hallway on a lower floor. Stay away from building entrances and windows. If building is of reinforced construction, stay inside. Avoid auditoriums, gymnasiums, (large areas with poorly supported roofs), glass areas, and temporary buildings. Evacuate the top floor. Use the telephone ONLY to report emergencies. Dial 9-1-1 on campus.

If you are outside on the campus:

Seek shelter inside the nearest permanent structure, preferably in a basement, underground excavation, or a steel framed or reinforced concrete building. If time does not allow you to get inside, lie flat in the nearest depression, ditch, or ravine.

This is also a good time to review emergency procedures for your building. Emergency procedures for each library are available at:
https://wiki.lib.umn.edu/FOM/EmergencyProcedures

Please feel free to contact me or the facilities coordinator in your building with any questions or concerns.
Matt

Posted by s-gang at 6:16 PM | Permalink