Archive for April, 2009
State Databases: CT – State Patents/Volunteer Op
Posted by Daniel Cornwall in SLDTF on April 28, 2009
Since the last time I highlighted a state database from Connecticut, I’m happy to say that Julie Schwartz has stepped forward to maintain this page and has already started adding additional databases. So it seems only appropriate to honor her work by highlighting one of her recent additions:
Connecticut Patents Project – 1800 – 1890 Connecticut patents. Database may be searched by Invention, Inventor’s Last Name, Year, Town, State, Code, or Patent Number. According to the database home page, every record includes:
- Item being patented
- Person or persons receiving the patent
- Residence of the above
- Issue date of patent
- Patent number
- A “notes” field containing miscellaneous information, including to whom the patent was assigned, if other than the “patentee”
- A numerical “subject code” which places each patent into a category; i.e. firearms, metal working, nautical, time pieces, etc. There are currently 44 different codes assigned.
This database also serves as finding guide to microfilmed patents held by the Museum of Connecticut history.
With Julie’s participation in State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States, there are now only six states without a documents specialist to keep the page up to date and to add new databases:
Illinois
Indiana
Maine
Mississippi
New Jersey
Vermont
If you have interest and knowledge expertise in any of these states, please adopt one or more of them. Perhaps you are a library/information school instructor. Having a class of yours take on one of these pages would make a great class project.
What do you need to do to volunteer? Just add your name and contact information to the state page and to our page volunteer list. Then look over the What is a Database? page and start adding databases to the page. If you have other questions or have trouble logging into the wiki, please drop me an e-mail at dnlcornwall “AT” alaska “DOT” net.
State Databases: HI – Agriculture & Food Products
Posted by reblakeley in SLDTF on April 21, 2009
If you’ve been to Hawaii, like I have, you’ll remember all that tasty food…including macadamia nuts and Dole Pineapples. Heck, even the McDonald’s in Honolulu served a side of Dole Pineapple bits with your Burger n’ Fries!
If you are curious to learn more about what Hawaii has to offer for food and agriculture products, check out the Hawai`i Agriculture & Food Products Database, which allows you to find a specific producer or product (i.e. Dole), or just browse the listings by category to view the large variety of products Hawai`i has to offer. You can search by business type, specific services, by a specific island, and more. Each result gives you the company’s details, including contact information, a website, types of services, markets, and products.
The Hawaii page of State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States is maintained by Rebecca Blakeley.
State Databases: DE – Probate Records
Posted by Daniel Cornwall in SLDTF on April 21, 2009
Genealogists should like today’s State Agency Database Highlight:
Probates Records Database These indexes are the primary finding aid to Delaware Public Archives holdings of manuscript probate records for all three counties from c. 1680 to c. 1925.
The database may be searched by name, date, and in the case of Kent and Sussex counties, by race.
The Delaware page of State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States is maintained by John Stevenson.
If you liked this database, please check out our listing of official records databases.
Live blogging at Spring ‘09 Depository Library Council (DLC)
Posted by jrjacobs in Depository Library Council (DLC) on April 20, 2009
We’re live blogging from the Spring ‘09 Depository Library Council meeting (April 20 – April 22, 2009) from the glorious Hyatt Regency Hotel in Tampa Bay, FL. Check here for agenda and schedule.
GODORT Program @ Spring DLC Meeting: “Government Documents Librarianship: Reflections from Mid-Career”
Posted by amyewest in Chair, Conferences, Depository Library Council (DLC), GODORT on April 17, 2009
“Government Documents Librarianship: Reflections from Mid-Career”
Join GODORT in Tampa as our current Chair reflects on her 20-year career to date. Cass Hartnett shares personal and professional anecdotes since 1989. She invites attendees to consider the special mix of experiences, preferences, and fate that lead us to work in government information. If traditional “gov docs” librarian positions are disappearing, what will the future hold for our “edgeless” specialization?
Speaker: Cass Hartnett, U.S. Documents Librarian, University of Washington Libraries
- Depository Library Council — Hyatt Regency Hotel, Tampa
- Room: Regency V
- Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 7:00-9:00pm
2009 GODORT Program at ALA Annual in Chicago: “Gov Doc Kids”
Posted by amyewest in Conferences, GODORT on April 16, 2009
This program will help participants promote government information while engaging K-12 students in learning about history, culture, science and government. Games, interactive activities, teaching aids and lesson plans will be highlighted, along with exciting tools to enhance student learning. We will provide librarians with a collection of free government resources to advance their reference skills and aid in collection development decisions. We will focus on resources available at the Gov Docs Kids Group website, which includes primary source materials and links to U.S. Government Web sites for kids. Please see our websites at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/Gov_Doc_Kids and http://govdocs4children.pbwiki.com/ for more information.
Speakers
- Nan Myers – Wichita State University
- Antoinette Satterfield – Kansas State University
- Carmen Orth-Alfie – University of Kansas
- Tom Adamich – Muskingum College (Ohio)/Visiting Librarian Service
Date and Time
- Date: 13 July 2009
- Time: 10:30-12:30 PM CDT
- Location: TBA
2009 GODORT / MAGERT Preconference: “All Government Information is Local: Building on a Century of Local and Regional information in Libraries”
Posted by amyewest in Conferences, GODORT on April 16, 2009
The 2009 GODORT/MAGERT Preconference at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago will be “All Government Information is Local: Building on a Century of Local and Regional information in Libraries”. It’s from 9:00am to 1:00pm Friday July, 10, 2009. Come see this spirited panel discussion about the history and future of local government information resources/services in the library. Learn from experts and practitioners in urban studies who suggest specific ways to cooperate with local governments that serve the library’s community in order to get important public information, set up engaged citizen forums to discuss critical issues involving local education, environment, employment, and social policies.
- Speakers
- John A. Shuler, University of Illinois at Chicago, Bibliographer for Urban Planning
- Charlie Hoch, University of Illinois at Chicago Professor, Urban Planning
- Rana Hutchinson Salzmann, Librarian, Merriam Center Library, American Planning Association
- Joseph Schwieterman, Director of the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development and professor of public service management at DePaul University
- Davis Schneiderman, Co-Director, Virtual Burnham Initiative
- Advance Tickets: Advance: ALA Member, $75; Division/RT Member, $65; Non-Member, $100; Student, $40
- Onsite Tickets: ALA Member, $85; Division/RT Member, $75; Non-Member, $125; Student, $50
- Event Code: GO1
- Register at Annual Registration Form
Gov Info Interest Group @ ALAConnect
Posted by reblakeley in GODORT on April 14, 2009
I started a Government Information Interest Group at ALA Connect. If you are a member of ALA, please consider joining. It is pretty bare bones right now and I could use some help in developing it and making it grow. It is a great way to connect with all types of librarians who share an interest in government information, but may or may not be part of a depository library or a member of GODORT. It is another way to provide outreach and educate our fellow librarians about the world of government information!
The group is for those interested in government information (federal, state, local, and international). Various topics of interest include depository libraries, government information collections, open access, transparency, and preservation of government information, E-government, Government 2.0, and using social networks to collect and disseminate government information (”Gov Docs 2.0″) and more!
DttP needs your feedback!
Posted by jrjacobs in DttP, Publications on April 14, 2009
DttP: Documents to the People needs your feedback! Take the DttP readership survey!
In order to better serve our readers and to improve our product, we would like to ask your participation in a brief survey. The survey should take you no longer than 10 minutes to complete. Your feedback is valuable to the DttP Editorial board. We appreciate your time.
The survey will run from Monday, March 30th through Wednesday, April 22nd.
State Databases: CT – Bond Spending
Posted by Daniel Cornwall in SLDTF on April 14, 2009
Since Amy talked about the possibility of Minnesota posting some of its spending data, I thought it would be appropriate for this week’s State Agency Database Highlight to feature a state that is posting some spending data:
Bond Allocation Database (Connecticut)- Track state bond spending with this database. Searchable by Recipient Category, Funds Use, Program Area, by Municipality, Project Description Field, Recipient Category and Program Area, Municipality and Program Area.
Here is an example of one spending record:
- Meeting Date: 1/30/2009
- Agenda Item Number: 1
- Public Act or Special Act?: Public Act
- Act Number:
- Section: 10-287 of the CGS
- Recipient Category: Municipalities
- Use of Funds: Buildings, Facilities, Grounds
- Municipality: VARIOUS
- Allocation Amount: $300,000,000.00
- Any Use of Previously Allocated Funds?: False
- How Much?: $0.00
- Description: These funds are requested to finance grants-in-aid for fiscal year 2008-09 for the State’s share of the cost of the principal and current payments for the construction of local school building projects.
If the information seems cryptic, there is an explanation of the types of information found in this database at http://www.osc.state.ct.us/finance/information.htm. The database may also be downloaded in its entirety.
The Connecticut page of State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States has not yet been adopted by a volunteer. If you would like to maintain this page, please send an e-mail to dnlcornwall AT alaska DOT net with your name and how you come about your knowledge of Connecticut government information.