American Library Association Annual Conference

Will Manley, an American Libraries journal columnist, writes this month that the American Library Association (ALA) "is a caring and compassionate professional organization." Proof of that is certainly in the decision by ALA to hold its annual conference this month in the city of New Orleans. Although many other organizations decided to move their conventions to other cities because of the damage of Katrina, ALA held firmly to its commitment to the people and businesses there. This conference will be the first one in the city since the devastating hurricane. It is estimated that the conference will bring $20 million to the city and close to 20,000 librarians. Goodwin's librarian will be one of the 20,000.

Facts on File Databases FREE TRIAL

I have arranged a free trial of many Facts on File Databases. Facts on File is one of America’s leading publishers of online reference materials for the school and library market. The databases span a multitude of subject areas such as U.S. history, world history, language and literature, science and technology, careers, social issues, and many others. Literary Reference Online, Science Online, Curriculum Resource Center, and some of the history materials would be of particular interest to our students and faculty. Please take advantage of the free trial and let me know if you are interested in any of these for the Goodwin Library.

URL: http://www.fofweb.com/Demo
Username: Goodwin
Password: Trial

What is SETI@home?

I mentioned SETI@home in an earlier post. Since then, several people have asked me what it is. It is a scientific experiment that uses Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). You can participate by running a free program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data.

Source: http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/

Google Spreadsheet

Google has released the beta of an online spreadsheet. It is aimed at the consumer/home office market -- in other words, at people who use their spreadsheets for reasonably simple accounting processes, data tracking, or other tasks. According to Information Week, "Google Spreadsheet is fun to play with, and has some interesting potential as far as sharing data online is concerned, but right now it's more a curiosity than a working model."

Google Spreadsheet is currently in "limited test" mode; you can apply for an invitation at http://spreadsheets.google.com. If you do not want to use Microsoft's spreadsheet application, go with one of the open-source applications, of which OpenOffice is the best known, according to IW.

Source: Information Week Review

Digital Technology and the Printed Book

According to a recent article in the New York Times, "from the days of Sumerian clay tablets till now, humans have 'published' at least 32 million books, 750 million articles and essays, 25 million songs, 500 million images, 500,000 movies, 3 million videos, TV shows and short films and 100 billion public Web pages. All this material is currently contained in all the libraries and archives of the world. When fully digitized, the whole lot could be compressed (at current technological rates) onto 50 petabyte hard disks. Today you need a building about the size of a small-town library to house 50 petabytes. With tomorrow's technology, it will all fit onto your iPod."

Source: Kevin Kelly, "Scan This Book" New York Times, May 14, 2006

Vanishing Archives

The Information Security Oversight Office of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration performed an audit of all re-review efforts undertaken since 1995 by various government agencies. The audit found that of more than 25,000 historical documents withdrawn from public access, more than a third did not contain sensitive information justifying their classification. In a significant number of cases, agencies reclasssified records that had been previously declassified properly.
Source: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, May 1 2006
www.archives.gov

Digital Forensics Classes

"One of the hottest new courses on U.S. college campuses is a direct result of cybercrime.
Classes in digital forensics — the collection, examination and presentation of digitally stored evidence in criminal and civil investigations — are cropping up as fast as the hackers and viruses that spawn them. Traditional students, police officers, government employees and aspiring security consultants are taking the courses as more crooks stash ill-gotten data and goods on PCs, PDAs, cellphones, network servers, iPods and even Xboxes."
Source: USA Today

Medicine and Compassion

The library staff are frequently asked for sources of spirtuality in medicine. A recent article in The Library Journal suggests reasons. "Modern medicine boasts a wide range of tools for diagnosing and treating ailments . While potent drugs, radiation, and genetic analysis can kill bacteria, remove tumors, and predict risk, respectively, they also lead physicians to think in terms of a disease or a body part rather than a person. Making matters worse is the managed-care system, which encourages quick encounters that do not allow for doctors and patients to become acquainted and discuss options.

With alternative therapies, however, people can participate actively in their care and control aspects of their recovery. Spirituality, of course, is a key part of the alternative medicine approach. " (Quoted from article)

Here are a few selections representing approaches from both Eastern and Western cultures. Islam is not represented owing to few health materials available in English."
Weisman & Berman. Own your health: Choosing the best from alternative and conventional medicine health communications.
Boccio, F. J. Mindfulness yoga: The awakened union of breath, body and mind.
Rossman, M. L. Guided imagery for self-healing: An essential resource for anyone seeking wellness.
Sharples, B. Meditations and relaxation in plain English.
Shaw, S. The little book of yoga breathing: Pranayama made easy.
Cohen, K. Honoring the medicine: The essential guide to native American healing.
Source: The Library Journal May 1, 2006

Most Insecure place for Personal Data: Colleges

The largest percentage of security breaches in the United States happens at colleges, with higher-education institutions involved in 30 percent of all incidents, according to ChoicePoint, a consumer data-collection firm. It turns out that 845,000 college students, professors, or alumni have had data about them jeopardized because of security incidents at colleges since January. Soon colleges will be able to boast having over a million served to hackers or identity theives. Source: Los Angeles Times

Computing for the Cure

The cure for cancer might be found on your home computer. At least, if you string a bunch of idle computers together online and let them crunch numbers, the results could help in the discovery of the cures for some diseases. That's the hypothesis of David Baker, a biochemistry professor at the University of Washington, who is asking people to donate the screensaver time on their home and office computers to a project he calls Rosetta@home.

It's modeled after the popular SETI@home project, which connects hundreds of thousands of personal computers in analyzing radio waves from deep space to search for signs of alien civilizations. Rosetta@home has attracted 60,000 users, creating the equivalent of a supercomputer at a fraction of the cost.
Source: Associated Press

-->

Patient Education Information: Medem

Medem's award-winning Medical Library represents the full range of patient education information from partner medical societies and other trusted sources, and is unsurpassed in quality, breadth and depth of health care information. Selected one of the top ten most useful websites by the Medical Library Association, this Medical Library provides patients with reliable health care information from introductory to advanced texts. The library staff recommend this resource for health science students with patient brochure assignments.
Source: www.medem.com

Solving the Nursing Shortage

Several weeks ago, the New York Times published an article about solving the current nurse shortage by bringing in more nurses from other countries. A little-noticed provision in the Senate immigration bill would "throw open the gate to nurses and drain them from the world's developing countries." Read the article and the editorial.
Source: New York Times, May 24 and 27, 2006

What Really Saves Gas?

You may not need to buy a hybrid car after all. Auto experts tested several of the common gas-saving tips over a remote 55-mile route in the high desert of California, and found that "by changing your driving habits you can improve fuel economy up to 37 percent right away." Of course, that kind of savings depends on how bad a driver you are right now. Try these driving tips.

Chinese Tree Peonies in Bloom at Cricket Hill

If you want to see Chinese tree peonies, fly to China or visit Thomaston, CT. David and Kasha Furman have a luscious garden in Thomaston with a collection of 300 varieties of Chinese tree peonies that are blooming now. The garden is open to the public from 10-4 Tuesday through Saturday. This is truly a Connecticut treasure!

Every week, for a period of about 5 weeks, there will be different peonies in bloom. See these large, silky flowers and understand why the tree peony is China’s national flower for more than 1400 years. Hand-painted umbrellas shelter exquisite blooms on seven acres in a terraced, woodland setting.

Find directions and more information at their website.
http://www.treepeonies.com

Videos in Clinical Medicine

Our New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) subscription now includes a new video series that lets you view a common clinical procedure right on your computer. The Videos in Clinical Medicine series provides a concise review of a medical procedure — including preparation, indications, contraindications, complications and troubleshooting strategies, as well as a demonstration of the procedure itself. Great for a fast review, or to see how others perform the procedure! Each video runs aproxiimately 5-8 minutes. The first three videos in the series are available to view now: arterial line placement, nasogastric untubation, and arthrocentesis of the knee. For access, contact the library staff.

CQ Researcher Report on Teen Spending

Are teenagers learning to manage money wisely?

"Teenage American consumers spent a mind-boggling $159 billion last year on everything from movies and French fries to clothes and iPods. Experts say teens are spending more than ever before because they have more to spend. About 10 percent of teens have credit cards, nearly twice that number have debit cards and about 20 percent get money simply by asking their parents for it. Consumer advocates — as well as rappers and professional football players — say kids aren't learning how to use “plastic” wisely. In fact, parents themselves are setting poor examples. Credit card loan delinquencies are at record levels, while Americans' saving rate is at an all-time low. Critics say the credit card industry is too aggressive in marketing to younger and younger kids. The Bush administration and some members of Congress are pushing for more financial-literacy courses earlier in schools. Meanwhile, only a few states require schools to teach personal finance." CQ Researcher is an online subscription resource for the Goodwin community. Ask the library staff for user name and password to access the complete report. Join Mike Rotondo's Personal Finance club!
Source: CQ Researcher

Marketing for Students

"Marketing will grow in importance as institutions have to rely more heavily on adult students and online education to increase enrollments," according to industry experts at the annual Competing in Higher Education Conference that ended this week.

"While higher-education enrollments are expected to increase in the next decade, the overall rate of growth is projected to drop. But the adult-student market, which increasingly is geared to online programs, should remain robust. That shift in enrollment patterns will increase the attractiveness of the online market," but competition for those adult students will increase. Source: Chronicle of Higher Education Today's Report

Early Childhood Web Corner

The full title is Early Childhood Educators' and Family Web Corner. This site includes teacher pages with topical index of links to information on early childhood. You will find articles about topics of interest to teachers and families. Education, consumer information, childbirth, grandparenting, social issues and much more are all in the family pages section. For anyone connected to young children in some way, this is a place to check out.
Source: Early Childhood Web Corner

What magazines would you like to read?

The library would like suggestions for additions to our periodical collection. If there is a magazine or journal, serious or recreational, that you would find of interest for yourself or for others in the Goodwin Community, let the library staff know. Post a comment here, please. It's easy.

How much do you know about the world?

Can you name the world's most spoken primary language? The largest consumer of oil? The most heavily fortified border on the planet? The current population of the U.S.?
Nationanl Geographic tested the geography knowledge of 18- to 24-year-olds across the U.S. to see how much they know about our world. More know where the TV show CSI is set than can find Iraq on a map. The survey shows that too many young Americans have a limited understanding of the world. But do American adults do better? TEST YOURSELF: How much do you know?
Source: National Geographic