New Poet Laureate of the United States
from the Chronicle of Higher Education:

"The Library of Congress has named Louise E. Glück, a senior lecturer in English at Williams College, as the new poet laureate of the United States.
Ms. Glück, who has taught at Williams since 1983, will succeed Billy Collins as laureate this fall. In announcing the appointment last week, James H. Billington, the librarian of Congress, hailed her 'strong, vivid, deep poetic voice.' "

Here's a Billy Collins poem about what happens to poetry in the classroom!

Here's some poems from Louise Gluck. js

Another great find by Marylaine Block in her "Neat New Stuff I Found This Week." http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html

FreeMedicalJournals.com "Links to over 1300 free medical journals, by discipline, title, language, and the period of time after which the material becomes free, with information on each journal's impact factor as measured by citations. "

Exploring this site further I found links to free medical textbooks online, Free Books 4 Doctors at http://www.freebooks4doctors.com/
My favorite so far is a veterinary text whose last chapter details all the drugs available for my slightly phobic dog, Bart.

This introductory paragraph is the perfect example of what I think of as the "how much are you really worth" attitude everywhere these days.

"In the early 1990s, the average veterinary practice in the USA was estimated to lose in excess of $17,500 in income annually for services that were not delivered because the pets were relinquished due to behavioral concerns [2]. More recent estimates of behavioral problems suggest that this may be a gross under-estimate [3,4]."

Gee, if our pets weren't so psycho, our vets would make lots more money! And I wonder what "relinquished" really means! js

This just arrived from Marylaine Block in her Neat New Stuff I Found This Week [ http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html ]

Whatsonwhen.com
http://www.whatsonwhen.com/
"You'll have fun with this, searching either by location or activity for events you might want to take part in, throughout the world, including both the unusual (dog races on ice, the world pumpkin chucking championship, the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, the Tarantula Festival and Fall Barbecue, etc.) and everyday attractions and activities like art exhibits, greyhound racing, farmers' markets, whitewater rafting, etc. Even if you never go anywhere, it's provides remarkable insights into the human imagination." Marylaine Block

Wednesday already--love short weeks!

The floor tiles are still being laid in the East side of the Atrium, so till at least Friday, please use the West (lakeside) doors.

The Instruction classroom, 128 with 12 computers, will be open on those days with no classes scheduled. As with any of the computers in the library, there is no wordprocessing software and you can't access your floppies at all. Download OK. Upload NOT--preventing viruses and script kiddies from causing chaos. Also no research or techie assistance, but if you want a place to do some online research or email your family, you won't even have to climb the stairs! js

Apparently the Sobig F virus will expire on September 10th and bother us no more. I sure hope so because I'm tired of deleting items from my mailbox. Fortunately, as with most viruses, the Macintosh is immune, so my irritation is truly minor. For those of you who have to suffer under Windows, here's a couple of websites you should know about:

Symantec Security Response - Latest Virus Threats Page
and the McAfee AVERT Virus Information Library
js

The tile guys are just about done installing slate colored tile at the west entrance to the library and will be starting on the east side soon. Be aware of the signs outside directing you to the correct, open entrance to the building.

Classes have started! Lots to read. Here's a break--the Internet version of reality TV. This plug is from my weekly Internet Scout Project update.

12. EarthCam
http://www.earthcam.com/
Started in 1996, the EarthCam company was one of the first corporations to begin delivering services designed to assist those persons seeking to set upthe necessary infrastructure to send live images across the globe. This freesite is a helpful way to take a peek at literally thousands of places(including some rather unusual ones) around the world. Visitors will want to begin by exploring some of the fun cameras set up by the EarthCam group in Philadelphia, New Orleans, Seattle, Dublin, and Las Vegas. Also featured on the Web site's home page are the Top Ten Cam Sites, which feature the most popular Web cams from around the world. There is a search engine provided on the site, or visitors may elect to peruse the available cams by theme, such as those focused on weather, schools, beaches, or businesses. Overall, the site is quite entertaining, and more than a bit addictive. [KMG]

Finally we have a winner from Alabama! (but you should read them all.)

This from the Scout Reports of last Friday:
"10. The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest
"It was a dark and stormy night," so begins one of the most reviled first lines in literary history, composed by that somewhat obscure 19th century British author, Edward George Bulwer-Lytton. Since 1982 the English department at San Jose State University has sponsored the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, challenging entrants to compose the opening sentence to"the worst of all possible novels."
http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/english/2003.htm

Where do the members of the U. S. Congress get the information they need to decide on legislation--from the Congressional Research Service, part of the Library of Congress (that's why it's called The Library of Congress.)

But the reports the CRS generates are not crawled by the basic web search engines, so you can't get to them through Google and friends. Here are two portal websites that will get you to the unbiased info that "should" affect your Congressman's vote.

http://www.house.gov/markgreen/crs.htm

http://www.house.gov/shays/resources/leginfo/crs.htm

The Washington Post's column "Style Invitational" gives an annual award to those readers who have invented the most ingenious words by taking a regular dictionary word and changing only one letter. These are th 2002 winners:

Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
Giraffiti: Vandalism painted very, very high.
Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit).
Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
Glibido: All talk and no action.
Dopeer Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

And, the winner of the Washington Post's Style Invitational:
Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

Finally we've got the Mobile Register back online!

This just in from Kathy Wheeler:

"The Mobile Register (1992 - present) is now available online (remotely and on campus) through Newsbank. You can find it in three places -- Full-text Journals and Indexes, Reference Sources, and Reference Sources/News. Currently data from 10/01 to 1/10/03 is unavailable"

Find it under Mobile down in the alphabetical list on the Full Text and Indexes page on the library's website. js

I've been busy getting ready for the Fall Semester. Have you been busy downloading music off the Web? Check here to see of the record industry has you on their target list for a subpoena!

EFF: RIAA Subpoena Database
http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/riaasubpoenas/

WOW! A great site for a boring Friday!

SoYouWanna.com

It "teaches you how to do all the things nobody taught you in school." You will get a few pop-up ads, but, hey, nothing's without some cost. My personal favorite--do stand-up comedy "What could be more fulfilling than revealing the most intimate details of your life to an audience of hostile drunkards armed with tomatoes? "

Here are some of the other "how-tos" you might want to know about:

avoid getting a traffic ticket
be a comic book artist
be a human guinea pig
change your name
donate an egg
donate sperm
fake an appreciation for art
fake being an indie rock expert
fake being a wine expert
get a ferret
get an unusual piercing
get a sex change
hold a seance
join the circus
learn about opera
lie persuasively
read tea leaves
speak with an Irish accent
use feng shui
write a children's book

SoYouWanna.com

js

Open Access Now: Campaigning for Freedom of Research Information

Librarians wail; faculty complain; students curse.

Much information about current research is in the hands of for-proft publishers who charge exhorbitant amounts for subscriptions to essential journals especially in the sciences. Academic libraries are poor and often can't afford these subscription and yet their faculty send their research articles to these same journals because they are "the" place to be recognized. Well some smart people and groups are fighting back and working hard to figure out a way to get the best current information disseminated to those who need it in a timely and inexpensive way and still allow researchers the recognition they deserve from both their peers and their institutions. It will be a sea change if this can be accomplished.

Biomed Central is one of these groups and this is one of their webpages. From it I got a link to this article on mercury poisoning from fish--relevant to all of us on the Gulf Coast. js

From Vickey Baggott, our govdocs librarian:

HOT DOCS at USA

"Help me, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!" Many of us can recall the commercial with the little grandmother on the floor calling for help on her Medic Alert pager and all of us have experienced a time when we have received help or offered it to others. Some of these new documents may help you or someone you know, one examines how an agency offered help in a time of great need, and the last one gives you an opportunity to be a helper. All are available in the Documents Department:

Consumer’s Guide to Radon Reduction : How to Fix Your Home. Washington, DC : Environmental Protection Agency, 2003. EP 4.8:R 11/3

If you have already tested your home for radon, this booklet will guide you in selecting a qualified radon mitigation contractor, determine an appropriate radon reduction method,

and offer suggestions for maintaining your radon reduction system.

10 Tips to Protect children from Pesticide and Lead Poisonings. Washington, DC : Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pesticide Programs, 2003.

EP 5.2:P 43/29

These simple steps can help you save children from environmental hazards around the home.

FEMA’s Delivery of Individual Assistance Programs : New York — September 11, 2001. Washington, DC : Federal Emergency Management Agency, Office of Inspector General, Inspections Division, 2002. FEM 1.2:D 37

This report presents the results of FEMA’s review of their delivery of assistance in New York after September 11th and focuses on changes that need to be made in order to improve FEMA’s delivery of assistance to victims of future terrorist attacks.

Escape from Fire : Once You’re Out, Stay Out. Washington, DC : Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Fire Administration, 2003. FEM 1.102:ES 1

This brochure explains the dangers from lack of oxygen and other chemical hazards encountered during a fire and gives recommendations on what to do and NOT to do once you’ve escaped a burning building.

Helping Yourself Heal : a Recovering Woman’s Guide to Coping with Childhood Abuse Issues. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 2003. HE 20.408:H 34

Designed to aid women in rehab programs, this booklet explains how abuse suffered in childhood can impact their mental health and how dealing with these memories can be dealt with in a positive way.

Treatment, Services, and Intervention Programs for Child Delinquents / Barbara J. Burns, … [et al.]. Washington, DC : Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2003. J 32.2:C 43/TREAT

Child delinquents, age 12 and younger, are two to three times more likely to become tomorrow’s serious and violent offenders. This bulletin examines how to identify and help children headed in this direction.

Adopting a Wild Horse or Burro. Washington, DC : Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Program, 2003. I 53.2:H 78/18

Got a spare 400 square feet in your backyard you’re not using? Have you ever wanted a pony of your very own? This booklet tells you all you need to know about helping to preserve a living symbol of our American history

FYI,

From today's New York Times:

"In the past, to tell President Bush — or at least those assigned to read his mail — what was on your mind it was necessary only to sit down at a personal computer connected to the Internet and dash off a note to president@whitehouse.gov.
. . . .

"Under a system deployed on the White House Web site for the first time last week, those who want to send a message to President Bush must now navigate as many as nine Web pages and fill out a detailed form that starts by asking whether the message sender supports White House policy or differs with it.
. . . .

"Completing a message to the president also requires choosing a subject from the provided list, then entering a full name, organization, address and e-mail address. Once the message is sent, the writer must wait for an automated response to the e-mail address listed, asking whether the addressee intended to send the message. The message is delivered to the White House only after the person using that e-mail address confirms it."

I'm back from vacation, but not caught up. Since the talk in the local media seems to be about tax reform in Alabama I thought this link would be useful to you.

It's the calculator that will tell you approximately what you pay in property taxes on your residence right now, and how much you will pay if the referendum passes in September. Mine will go up to something between $100.00 and $200.00--not much considering the benefits that will accrue at everyone in the State!

http://www.governor.state.al.us/taxcalc/calc.htm

I wonder if all those who call Sound Off at the Mobile Register to complain about increased taxes know that-- all citizens 65 years old or older will be exempt from paying any state property taxes on their homestead property. And that the homestead exemption will increase from $40,000 to $50,000. A homeowner living in a $100,000 home would pay approximately $132 more per year in property taxes. js

In honor of Independence Day for the United States, the University Library will be closed tomorrow, Friday, July 4.

Happy 4th of July

Everyday, it seems to me, the freedoms we take for granted are becoming eroded (with the implementation of such laws as the USA Patriot Act. To help remember what this country stands for, take a look at the Declaration of Independence. kw

As I sit here with a splint on my wrist over a bandaid for the cortosone shot I got yesterday at the orthopedist's office, I'm thinking that this site might be useful for those of you who still have perfect bodies. It has good advice about how to set up your office and computer so you don't incur this kind of injury from doing your research, writing your papers, or even surfing the web. js

Computer Workstation Ergonomics from the CDC

"WASHINGTON (AP) -- A divided Supreme Court ruled Monday
that Congress can force the nation's public libraries to
equip computers with anti-pornography filters.

The blocking technology, intended to keep smut from
children, does not violate the First Amendment even though
it shuts off some legitimate, informational Web sites, the
court held. "

Monday's New York Times (check LexisNexis for the full story.) js

Blisspix

A site with lyrics to more songs than you ever knew existed about libraries and librarians!

http://www.blisspix.net/library/songs.html

Change in Store?

What's the difference between libraries and bookstores? Library Information UPDATE published the results of a study of both public library and bookstore users and found some interesting details. Click above for the whole article. Here's a brief quote:

"Respondents from bookstores regarded both bookstores and libraries as helpful and quiet places, but rated the bookstore as warmer, smarter, more comfortable, more welcoming, and more stimulating than the library. Respondents from libraries viewed public libraries in more positive terms, regarding them as more welcoming, more helpful and safer places than bookstores. However, library respondents viewed the bookstore environment more positively than bookstore respondents viewed the library environment, and library respondents regarded bookstores as marginally warmer, smarter, more comfortable and more modern than public libraries." js
http://www.cilip.org.uk/update/issues/jul03/article3july.html

The 185 page dissertation upon which this article is based is at:
http://dagda.shef.ac.uk/dissertations/2000-01/cartwright.pdf

Thurs. June 19

HOT DOCS at USA

Deskbook for Chief Judges of the U.S. District Courts. 3rd ed. Washington, DC : Federal Judicial Center, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, 2003.

Learn about the job of a chief judge within the federal judicial administration system, his/her specific duties and responsibilities with respect to national and regional courts; other judges, officers, and employees of the district court; various functions of the court; and external groups such as the bar, media, and public.
JU 13.2:D 46

I-ADAM in Eight Countries : Approaches and Challenges : Research Report / Bruce Taylor, editor. Washington, DC : National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Dept. of Justice, 2002.

This progress report presents some research findings on the implementation of the International Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (I-ADAM) program in eight countries. It also describes the experiences of these countries as they launched this program designed to track trends in the prevalence and types of hardcore drug use--such as cocaine, heroin, and marijuana -- among booked arrestees.
J 28.24/3:IN 8

Principles and Promises : BJA's Plan for the Future. Washington, DC : Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Dept. of Justice, [2003].

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) presents its future plans to develop programs for bringing security and an efficient, responsive justice system to every American community by helping states and communities learn about innovative ideas and promising practices from the field, and will encourage states and local communities to find solutions that work best for them.
J 26.2:P 93/3

Who Cares?

Looking for information and don't know where to start, especially when 500,000 sites come up with a Web search? This article by Mary Ellen Bates published yesterday has great advice about where to look and how to narrow your search down to "Who cares."

http://www.searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/2214431

Government Views of SARS
(Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

For someone interested in the SARS virus and its repercussions across many countries, the librarians at CUNY have put together an exhaustive bibliography of primary sources with links to online documents. http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/library/Divisions/Government/SARS.html

Copyright Reform: Stagnation of the Public Domain

Here's the chart that tells what could have been--and I think--what should have been, but isn't.

I just put together for a student a short list of websites that talk about website design: the good, the bad and the ugly. If you are thinking of designing a website this summer, I recommend that you read a few books, articles or websites like these before you begin, because once you dive in to the actual designing it is Oh soooo hard to back away and take an objective look at your funny animated gifs, beautifully designed frames and content-crammed pages. js

http://www.asktog.com/basics/firstPrinciples.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9605.html
http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/html/97/05/index2a.html?tw=design
http://www.karmanaut.com/coursenotes/principles/
http://www.webstyleguide.com/index.html?

Sci Tech Web Awards

The best scitech web sites by category chosen by Scientific American magazine.

Can't use this in the library--we don't have sound cards in our computers, but try it in a lab or at home:

HistoricalVoices.org

"A substantial portion of our cultural heritage from the 20th century is recorded in enormous collections of spoken-word materials. Yet much of it may be lost or remain hidden away in archives and private collections, making the voices inaccessible to students, teachers, scholars, and the general public. The purpose of Historical Voices is to create a significant, fully searchable online database of spoken word collections spanning the 20th century - the first large-scale repository of its kind. Historical Voices will both provide storage for these digital holdings and display public galleries that cover a variety of interests and topics." http://www.historicalvoices.org/

Copyright 101 for Educators

http:// www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/WCE/archives/copywes.html

Welcome to Summer School and the rearranged library!

Second Floor South is now open with gov. docs., law collection, current periodicals, microfilm, microfiche and a few microform readers. We still don't have many electrical circuits so we can't move the copy machines and the other reader printers down from their former home on the Third Floor yet. The Docs. Reference collection is moving in with the regular reference as we change their locations on the Catalog. If you need help, come to the Reference Desk on 2 North or the Help Desk on 2 South--the old Docs. desk on 3 is now defunct. JS