31 July 2007

RELAX, YOU’RE NOT A SURGEON

Emily Clasper [Suffolk County Library Cooperative, New York, USA] has a good post on her blog, Library Revolution. Here is the part I especially like.


“I’m not really cut out to be a medical professional. Too much pressure. Too much at stake. Which is why (in part) I became a librarian.


“As a librarian, I certainly have certain responsibilities that could impact people negatively if I don’t perform them perfectly every time. But if I do have an of day, nobody is going to be paralyzed. Or disfigured. Or killed. They might just be a little grumpy.


"This is what I want to say to a lot of library staff: Relax. You are not a surgeon. Or a military officer. Or an air traffic controller. Getting that book on the shelf stat [immediately] will not prevent someone from losing a limb. Making sure that hold gets fixed so that Mrs. So-And-So gets the new James Patterson ASAP [as soon as possible] will not bring about world peace. Relax.


"Yes, you can genuinely and deeply effect your patrons with what you do professionally. You can influence people’s lives with the information and services you provide. You can educate, inform, entertain, and really make a difference to your patron and your community. But you also have the luxury of knowing that you are not in a life or death situation, and not every little thing needs to be made a Federal Case. Relax. I mean it. Take a deep breath. Ask yourself, 'Is anyone going to die from this?' And Relax."


URL: http://libraryrevolution.com/2007/07/31/relax-youre-not-a-surgeon/

FEED THEM AND THEY WILL COME--PROVEN!

Years ago I contributed to a small pamphlet from Dialog on how to do an open house. My section was titled “Feed them and they will come.” I just read a research article on the same subject.

Six researchers and one librarian (Melissa L. Rethlefsen) at Mayo Clinic compared attendance at weekly lunchtime medical grand rounds both with and without free food (sandwich, fruit, beverage). The food was provided from unrestricted grants from pharmaceutical companies. Mean attendance increased 38 percent with food; the size of the population only increased 6 percent in the same time. They also asked a few questions. Respondents said they were more likely to attend rounds with food (31 percent much more likely, 40 percent slightly more likely; only 5 percent less likely). Interestingly, they also said that their attendance had not changed because of the food; but 53 percent said that if food was not there they would be less likely to attend.

I think this shows “scientifically” that food at events increases attendance. It’s nice to have the research agree with what we’ve known all along.

Segovis, Colin M., et al., If you feed they will come: A Prospective study of the effects of complimentary food on attendance and physician attitudes at medical grand rounds at an academic medical center, BMC Medical Education 7:22, 2007
URL:
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6920/7/22

29 July 2007

THE FUTURE OF LIBRARIES: A MUST-READ

Degree Tutor interviewed 27—from Gene Ambaum (co-creator of the comic strip Unshelved) to Martin Harfagar from an island south of Chile. This is fascinating reading and should be read by all librarians—not just those working in public libraries.

I am fascinated by the disconnect between how the librarians actually use libraries and what they think libraries should be.

URL:
http://www.degreetutor.com/library/librarians-online

There is also an article summarizing the interviews, arranged by topics, at http://www.degreetutor.com/library/librarians-online/future-librarians

27 July 2007

USA GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SITES

Insanely Useful Websites from The Sunlight Foundation* lists 21 sites for finding information from and about the US government. Many of these sites are sponsored by the Foundation. If you need this kind of information, you should be able to find it on one of these databases. (Caveat: There is a decided left-wing orientation to them.)

*“founded in 2006 with the goal of using technology to enable citizens to learn more about what their elected representatives are doing, to help reduce corruption, ensure greater transparency.”

URLs: http://www.sunlightfoundation.com/resources
Congresspedia.org, from Center for Media & Democracy, pages for each member of congress or committees, http://www.congresspedia.org
Contractor Misconduct Database, from Project on Government Oversight, top 50 contractors only, http://www.contractormisconduct.org
Department of Justice documents search engine, database of emails related to the recent firings of US attorneys, http://wwww.trainingdb.com
Fedspending.org, search contracts by state, agency, type, http://www.fedspending.org
Follow the Money, campaign contributions at state level, http://www.followthemoney.org
GovTrack.us, follow bills, information on members of Congress, RSS feeds, http://wwwGovTrack.us
LOUIS (Library of Unified Information Sources), search Congressional reports, Congressional Record, hearings, Federal Register, presidential documents GAO reports, and bills and resolutions, http://www.louisdb.org
MAPLight, analysis of legislation, interest groups, contributions (especially for California), http://www.maplight.org
Metavid, video of federal legislature, http://metavid.ucsc.edu
FOIA Document Review, review, tag comment, rate, on Freedom of Information Act Requests, http://foia.citizensforethics.org
OpenCongress.org, from US government sources, RSS feed, http://opencongress.org
OpenCRS, publicly released documents, http://www.opencrs.com
Open Hearings, schedules of current and future Senate committee hearings, http://openhearings.org/live/
Project Vote Smart, biographical information and ratings on elected federal and state officials, http://www.vote-smart.org
Taxpayers for Common Sense, pork barrel projects, http://www.taxpayer.net
WashingtonWatch, average cost or savings per individual of each bill introduced, pro and con arguments, http://www.washingtonwatch.com

OpenSecrets.org (and their databases), campaign finance data for candidates since 1989, searchable, http://www.opensecrets.org
Lobbying, http://opensecrets.org/lobbyists
Personal Financial Disclosure
, hhtp://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/overview.asp
Revolving Door, tracks those leaving congress to work as lobbyists, http://www.opensecrets.org/revolving
Travel, http://www.opensecrets.org/travel

25 July 2007

MARKETING TIP FROM J. HOSP. LIB.

Here's another marketing tip from the same issue of the Journal of Hospital Librarianship (v. 7, #1).

This one is from "The Buck Starts Here: Using In-House Reports to Market Your Library" by Elizabeth Burns [Kansas City (Missouri) Veterans Administration Medical Center, USA].

"The authors [Mosby, D and M Weissman, The paradox of excellence: How great performance can kill your business. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005] likened the reports to a grocery store clerk handing the customer a receipt and saying, 'You saved X amount of money by shopping with us today.'"

How about including a note with each document or search delivered to your customers that says, "You saved X amount of money by ordering this information from your library"--with what the item would have cost from an outside provider.

Or, include an invoice for the cost of the information, with a large stamp that says, "Paid in full courtesy of the .... Library" (or for public library, "Paid in full by your tax dollars.")

THE BEST OF INTENTIONS--NOT!

There is a very good article in the latest issue of Journal of Hospital Librarianship by Michelle Helliwill [Eastern Kings Memorial Community Health Centre, Kingsville, Nova Scota, Canada]. In "Comfy Chairs, Lovely Books, andn No Librarian: What Is the Professional Standard for Setting Up a CHIS? [Consumer Health Information Centre]," she uses a good example of how to get the message across that a library must have a librarian.

"Imagine the following: A librarian, working in a busy hospital, sees a need to help patients sitting for long waiting periods at the walk in clinic. He gathers a small committee including representatives form HR, laundry, and information systems. They decide to set up a room for patients--it will have some bandages, perhaps some pain relievers, throat lozenges, and other materials, including a reference book on common ailments. It will be open three or four days a week, with a volunteer who has first aid training. The call it a 'self-serve' clinic.

"This seems like a ridiculous scenario, and it would never be allowed to happen. Indeed, what physician, nurse or other health care practitioner would even agree to entertain such an idea? Yet the undertaking of a 'patient library' that leaves out the librarian in the planning or the management of this service does occur." She calls this "the good intention room."

Sound familiar? I've also used the argument that you wouldn't hire an amateur to manage the organization's books, so why would you do the same for your information resources?

This is a sample of the good articles in the Journal of Hospital Librarianship--which costs a whole US$40 per year (4 issues of over 100 pages). You should check it out.

URL for the Journal: http://www.haworthpress.com/store/product.asp?sku=J186

22 July 2007

TRANSLATING HARRY POTTER

If you’re having a spot of trouble figuring out some of the words in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—hint, trainers are tennis shoes—this site will help. The (very) Best of British : The American's guide to speaking British has over 1000 words and expressions that differ in usage between the USA and the UK, in seven categories: home, slang, people, motoring, clothing, around the house, food and drink, and “odds and sods.” There are lots of similar sites, but I like this one because it is enlightening and a lot of fun to read.

URL:
http://www.effingpot.com/

21 July 2007

PROVING YOUR WORTH

Libraries: How they stack up is a great marketing piece from OCLC. It has a series of visual comparisons of library as other types of enterprises. For example, libraries as economic engines vs. retail video, athletic footwear, and magazine advertising. Another good one compares visits to US libraries (1.1 billion) vs. tickets sold to all major sports (204 million). There’s even one comparing library circulation to Fedex and Amazon—of course libraries beat them both, after all, this is from OCLC. It’s a bit out of date (2003), but the trends should be the same now. Although it is based on public library statistics, it wouldn’t be hard to adapt the idea for your own library.

URL: http://www.oclc.org/reports/2003libsstackup.htm

GEEK ONLINE

The How-To Geek is a useful site if you don’t have your own computer guru handy. There are short articles on subjects such as: increase size of Windows Vista taskbar previews, change Outlook startup folder, change the default font in Excel 2007, and more (many of which I can’t even understand the description, much less the answers). Not everything is about Microsoft, either; there are hints for Foxfire, Apple, Linux, and other platforms (though most are MS, probably since we need the most help with it). You can even subscribe through RSS to get notice of the latest additions.

URL: http://www.howtogeek.com

AFRICAN JOURNALS ONLINE

“AJOL is a database of journals published in Africa, covering the full range of academic disciplines. The objective of AJOL is to give greater visibility to the participating journals, and to the research they convey.” Journals must be scholarly, peer reviewed, have full contents available electronically, provide document delivery service through AJOL, and published within Africa to be included. There are over 270 journals in the database now. In 2005, 12,000 people signed up (it is free) to use the service and received over 2600 document deliveries (price based on your country, ranging from free for “low-income” countries to US$16 for “high-income” countries—based on the criteria of the World Bank).

This looks to be a very useful and reasonably priced service if you need information from or about Africa.

URL:
http://www.ajol.info/

WHICH WIKI TO USE?

If you’re contemplating creating a wiki, you are probably confused as to which software program you should use. Never fear, WikiMatrix is here to help. This site, from CosmoCode, a German software company, allows use to make side-by-side, feature-by-feature comparison of the most popular wiki programs. You can also print out all the data for just one or two wikis. Points of comparison include: cost, storage, limits, spam and security features, support, common features, special features, linking, syntax, usability, statistics available, output formats, media and file handling, and examples of formats. It is most impressive—and free. Highly recommended.

URL: http://www.wikimatrix.org

INFORMATION ETHICS WEBSITE

“Information Ethics is the first site of its kind in the UK. Its principal role is to offer a point of reference for members of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) to relate their practical experiences to the Institute’s Ethical Principles and Code of Professional Practice, providing editorial commentary on key issues and facilitating member discussion of ethical dilemmas in the workplace.”

There are also links to news or events, the principles and code, case studies, resources,, and a blog, CILIP Information Ethics. The editors of the site are Jonathan Gordon-Till and Sylvia Simmons, the principals in InfoResponse Associates. The site is also a joint venture with Oxford Business Intelligence.

It is wonderful to see something like this, with all the resources in one place. Is there anything like this is in the USA? If you know of a site, let me know.

URLs:
Information Ethics: http://www.infoethics.org.uk/CILIP/admin/index.htm
CILIP Information Ethics blog:
http://oxbizint.typepad.com/cilip_infoethics/

19 July 2007

WRITING FOR THE PROFESSION—LONG POST

On 10 July, Stephen Abram and I did a one-hour webinar for the SirsiDynix Institute. The podcast is available at http://www.sirsidynixinstitute.com/archive.php. You can also download the slides.

There were some unanswered questions at the end of the event. Abram posted his answers on his blog, Stephen’s Lighthouse (http://stephenslighthouse.sirsidynix.com/archives/2007/07/the_sdi_session.html). Here are mine. I have deleted some that will make no sense to someone who hasn’t heard the podcast.)

2. What are the roles of library oriented listservs in writing for the profession?

First, remember that “listserv” is a trademarked program—use “electronic list” instead.

I consider the lists still to be viable formats. Stephen thinks they are antiques, superceded by blogs and wikis, etc. However, I get a lot of information from them I subscribe to about 15 of them, including sla-dsol—the one sponsored by the Solo Librarians Division of the Special Libraries Association. But I subscribe to over 70 blogs, so…

What’s written on the lists is definitely a part of the literature and part of sharing and passing on information within the profession.


3. How do you get around vetting constraints? The Director of my library has asked that all writing that we do needs to be vetted by her. I would prefer not to have to take comments and edits from someone not directly involved with the article topic.

I’ve never faced this situation. I would find out if everyone in the parent organization is subject to the same constraints. If so, you’re stuck. If not, point this out to her and get the policy changed.

In the meantime, you could write on your own time and speak as an individual, not as a representative of the organization. She shouldn’t be able to muzzle you completely. You may not be able to write articles, but you can blog—from home. Just say that you are a librarian at xyz type of institution and put no details in that could identify you.

Personally, if I faced this situation, I’d be looking for another job. I don’t like people looking over my shoulder and I hate “censorship” in whatever format it appears.


4. (We did a section on “How” to write.) “How” to me means “how to find the time?” Can you share some of how you both manage this? (I’m a Mom of a 71/2 year old—difficult just to balance work--but would love to find time to start writing!

It’s a bit hard for me to answer, since I am childless (except for my 53-year-old—my husband—and 2 cats) and most of my writing happened after I quit my 40-hour-per-week job. But writing, like everything else, requires the following:

Commitment: if you really want to write, you’ll find the time.

Good time management techniques: don’t procrastinate, limit interruptions, etc. (Blatant plug warning! For more on time management, see my book, Time Management, Planning and Prioritization for Librarians, Scarecrow Press, 2002, ISBN 0-8108-4438-9—or available from me).

Patience: don’t start with a book; start with a blog posting, an article for the newsletter of your professional organization—or OPL. Something small. Once it gets easier, and your child gets bigger, you can try the tougher stuff.


5. My concern about all of the blog content is how it will be preserved for the future; so much of our exciting discourse these days published in blogs and I’m afraid it will all be lost.

Yup, that is probably what will happen—unfortunately. Some bloggers are collecting their posts into books, both self-published and commercial, but most of it will go away. I wish that weren’t true, but we have to face reality; no one is archiving the Web.

But don’t let that stop you from blogging. Before the information disappears, it will have informed, helped, or improved the profession.


6. What if your employer won’t let you use your real name for a personal blog?

You can use a pseudonym or be anonymous, but how can the employer control what you do on your own time? I’d ask the higher ups if this is “kosher” and try to get it changed.

7. Would you recommend a para professional to write when the opportunity presents itself?

Of course. Many (most?) paras have as much or more to give back to the profession. You are the ones down in the trenches doing the dirty work and probably have more direct customer contact than most of the professionals. Write, and write often.

(You are planning to go to library school someday and earn the “big” bucks, right?)


9. What are some of the best RSS Aggregators?

I don’t know about best, but I use Google Reader. It’s easy, free, and being improved on a regular basis. Unfortunately, there is no real customer support, but you can ask questions of other users on their forums—but I haven’t encountered any problems. You can always ask other librarians (on the lists) for their advice.


10. What are some of the pitfalls you’ve encountered in writing for scholarly publications?

I’ve only done this twice. Why? To put it bluntly, they’re a pain in the butt. The article will be sent out for peer review and that take a while. It may be rejected, sometimes without even saying why or giving you a chance to rewrite. There’s a terribly long time-lag from when you write the article to when it’s published—like a book, only even longer sometimes. You almost always have to transfer copyright to the publisher (which I refuse to do). And you often have to pay for reprints of your own article.

However, if you are a faculty member, you have to do it to get tenure and promotion. Note that many faculty stop writing after they are made professors—guess why?


11. When writing an article, how do you find the best periodical to publish in? Looking at the magazine publishing schedule and their topics per issue is useful, but how do you target the most appropriate periodical for publishing?

It should be relatively obvious where your article is appropriate. Get a list of library journals (Emerald and Haworth have a zillion of them) and pick one. I’d try for one that is widely read; that you would read.

Even better, however, would be to choose a periodical that your users (or better yet, those who fund your library) read. We spend too much time and energy talking to ourselves—we need to talk to them!

(I told Abram, president-elect of SLA, that I won’t be happy until I see ads or articles by and about special librarians in Time, Fortune, Business Week, Journal of the American Medical Association, American Bar Association Journal, and the like. Let’s see if he delivers….)


12. There are plenty of librarian blogs out there. I’ve noticed a fair bit of overlap (e.g., who doesn’t link to CommonCraft videos?) What are ways to market your blog and differentiate it from the others (if you’re not a “mover and a shaker” who is known in library circles)?

Overlap is not necessarily bad. Everyone doesn’t follow 70 blogs like I do, or 700 like Abram does. The more places a piece of information or debate appears, the better, I say. The object is to get the information out there. There’s a lot of overlap in books, too.

The best way to market your blog is by writing something people want to read. It will be found by other bloggers and passed on. You can also write to some of the more influential bloggers and tell them you have a blog—they’ll publicize it for you. That’s how I found out about a neat new blog from Nina Platt, Strategic Librarian—I read about it on Stephen’s Lighthouse.

You differentiate yourself by having something different to say. If you don’t have a ‘voice” or “point-of-view” that is different, you probably shouldn’t be blogging.

(What are CommonCraft videos? I guess I’m “out of the loop.”)


13. How do you overcome the attitudes of a “disinterested” patron audience? Is there a good way to market to the “disinterested” so that the role of the library and librarians, as well as new technologies, are highlighted?

The way to market to anyone is frequently, in different formats, at different time, in different voices. I once read that it takes seeing and “ad” eight times before the average person takes action. Your “disinterested” audience just may not need what you have—right now. But tell them anyway—eventually they will get the idea.

Send out electronic newsletters, print newsletter, and emails. Put marketing information in various places in your library. Put the same flyers in the cafeteria or break rooms, even in the rest rooms. Carry them with you. Create different marketing pieces for different audiences.

(Blatant plug alert 2! Check out my book, The Visible Librarian: Asserting Your Value With Marketing and Advocacy, ALA Editions, 2003, ISBN 0-8389-0848-9, for more marketing tips.)


14. I am the PR person for the library. I write press releases which sometimes is like writing for a black hole because I often write good news and the newspaper is interested in bad news. How can I make this work better? I also write our library newsletter.

Ask if you can have a weekly/bi-weekly/monthly column. Give up on the big newspaper in town and get published in the smaller, regional ones—if you have any. They are much more likely to pay attention to your press releases. (I sent press releases about a local Meals on Wheels group to the big daily paper, a county daily, and a regional weekly. The regional weekly printed the release almost untouched. The county daily sent a reporter and photographer and did a front page story. The big daily ignored me completely.)

Also, make the headline and first paragraph relevant to what’s going on in the community, not in the library. Write about something that the people need, not what the library has.


15. Is there a format to follow for proposals and queries to publishers?

Most publishers have a proposal form and guidelines somewhere on their website. Otherwise, call and ask for one. If you use their form you improve your chances of a positive response.


16. If you think you might need funding for a potential research article, which is better to do first: get the funding/grant or get the article proposal approved?

I’d get the funding, write up the research, then find a place to publish. You should be able to find a journal that’s interested, just maybe not the one you had in mind at first.


17. A colleague and I are planning on writing an article on Library Blog readership. What way would you suggest to approach blog writers for assistance in writing the survey for the study?

Pick out a couple of bloggers you respect and ask for their advice. Find out what questions they would like to know the answers to. Then pick out some more, run those questions by them, and ask if there are any more questions you should include. Repeat until you have a good-sized list. Then delete half the questions (a long survey will not be filled out).

I can’t give more advice without knowing what you’re trying to accomplish. Feel free to ask me off-line (via email).


18. Why do you recommend Lulu.com as a self-publisher over others? Is it from personal experience?

We didn’t mean to recommend it. It was just an example and, frankly, I just mentioned it so you’d know why you couldn’t find Walt Crawford’s latest book at the bookstore. (Balanced Libraries: Thoughts on Continuity and Change, http://www.lulu.com/content/737992)


19. I was wondering about finding collaborators for articles, I’m a new solo librarian.

Pick out someone who you admire and think would add to the article, then ask. If he or she says “no,” ask someone else. Repeat until you’re successful.


20. Many academics write for general audiences in places like Harper’s, New Yorker, etc. Is there a place for librarians to do this? Or examples of librarian’s do this?

Hmmm. The only example of librarians in the “mainstream” media that comes to mind is the wonderful article in Inc. on Highsmith and its librarian (The Smartest Little Company in America (http://www.inc.com/magazine/19990101/707.html). But I don’t read Harper’s, New Yorker, etc.

NEW BLOG: STRATEGIC LIBRARIAN

This is a web log created by Nina Platt Consulting, Inc. as a means for communicating all things related to using strategy to develop and lead libraries. It will focus mainly on law firm libraries but most of what you find here could be used with other libraries as well. Platt is the former library director of Faegre & Benson LLP, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

One of her first posts is The Knowledgeable Librarian (Do you know what your librarian knows?). She lists the skills she feels a law firm library director needs, in the categories of business skills, organizational knowledge, and technology. She’s looking for more input, so give it a read and see what—if anything—you can add.

URLs:
Strategic Librarian: http://nlplatt.wordpress.com/
The Knowledgeable Librarian post:
http://nlplatt.wordpress.com/2007/07/10/
do-you-know-everything-you-need-to-know/

STICKER SHOCK

This great site from Cornell University's Engineering Library (Ithaca, New York), compares the cost of some of the scientific journals to other expensive items such as a car, motorcycle, or cruise.

This display was inspired by a similar exhibit at the Health Sciences and Human Services library at the University of Maryland. It is wonderful. You should consider doing something similar for your library.

URL: http://astech.library.cornell.edu/ast/engr/about/StickerShock.cfm

17 July 2007

CAN YOUR CHILD DO ALL THESE THINGS?

I found these technology standards on the Internet (from Livonia Michigan schools). It was a real eye-opener!

Prior to completion of First Grade, students will:
Use all the letters on the keyboard
Will correctly use the shift, backspace, delete, and spacebar keys on the keyboard
Use a word processor to type at least a sentence
Print a document

Prior to completion of Second Grade, students will:
Use a word processor and be able to change the font, font size and font color
Use a drop down menu
Open a document
Save a document
Use the library system to find a book--YEA!
Use the Internet for guided research

Prior to completion of Third Grade student will:
Be able to copy and paste within a document
Use spell check
Insert a graphic into a word processing document
Use the Internet to communicate

14 July 2007

DATABASE OF US STATE DATABASES

The Government Documents Roundtable (American Library Association) is putting together a wiki of state agency databases on business, people, agriculture, and more. This site will attempt to collect links to them in one place. They hope to add search capability at a later date. Only the following states’ sites are active as of today, but this looks to be a great idea. Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming

URL:
http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/State_Agency_Databases

MEDICAL LIBRARIANSHIP BLOGS

There are two good sites for finding lists of medical librarianship blogs. One is the LISWiki page with lists of blogs around the world put together by David Rothman [Community General Hospital of Greater Syracuse, New York ].The second, and shorter one, is on the mla-hls website (Medical Library Association, Health Libraries Section), divided into blogs about hospital and clinical library services and blogs of interest to library staff. If you know of others, post them to one or the other list.

URLs:
LISWiki:
http://liswiki.org/wiki/Medlib_Blogs
mla-hls:
http://mla-hls.wikispaces.com/Blogs

12 July 2007

ACT FOR LIBRARIES

This is “a website designed to help all library advocates, from teens to trustees to town officials, strengthen their libraries and their communities, … with a focus on the New England states. This website draws on 14 years of advocacy experience from Americans for Libraries Council and its program arm, Libraries for the Future, as well as the Council's national network of passionate librarians and library supporters. It was developed through the generosity of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.” Next, they will focus on libraries in the Gulf Coast states.


URL: http://www.actforlibraries.org/

CRITICAL COMPENDIUM


“Every day we post links and a few lines from or about reviews from newspapers, journals, magazines and web zines. You will also find a sizable list of links to book review sections around the world. We also don't link, for the most part, to sites that require subscriptions.”

URL:
http://criticalcompendium.com/index.html

RELIGIOUS PODCASTS

This searchable database includes all of the following--and more.

Ancient Religion,Baptist Podcasts, Bible Study, Buddhism, Catholic, Christian, Evangelical, Agnostic, Atheist, Pagan, Hindu, Islamic, Jehovah Witness, Jesuit, Jewish, Krishna, Mormon, Native Religions, Kabbalah, Christian Science, Unitarian,
Religious Music, Christian Rock, Gospel Music, Hymns, Religious News, Sermons, Theology Discussions and Lectures, Youth Sermons.


URL: http://www.religious-podcasts.net/

02 July 2007

EUROPE DIRECT--ANSWERS TO EU QUESTIONS

I just watched a fascinating video on Europe Direct, a free information service for question about EU matters in any of the official EU languages. For instance, you can ask questions on any European Union policy, find out practical information on dozens of subjects (“for example, how to get your qualifications recognised or how to complain about unsafe products”), get contact details of organizations you need to work with, and get advice “to help you overcome practical problems with exercising your rights in Europe.”

You can get help by phone (a free call in the EU), go to their website, visit one of their information centers, email, or chat online. For more information, see their website.

URLs:

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG5tx9y47Lo
Website: http://ec.europa.eu/

LIBRARY BLOGS AROUND THE WORLD


Infobib has guest articles from library bloggers all over the world on their LibWorld page. Currently available are articles on Spain, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, Singapore, France, Australia, Denmark, Iran, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Netherlands, Austria, and Belarus. They are VERY interesting.

URL: http://infobib.de/blog/features/libworld

KEEPING WITHIN THE LAW

Paul Pedley [The Economist Intelligence Unit, London, England] has launched a new venture. Keeping Within the Law is a subscribers-only service “covering legal issues for the information stakeholder community.” It includes: 12 monthly e-newsletters, in-depth news stories, and a daily blog. For free, you can see just the headlines of the e-newsletter. The cost is £225 per year and it is available from Facet Publishing only. If it’s from Pedley, it will definitely be a quality service.

URL: http://www.kwtl.co.uk/