Tuesday, September 30, 2008

What's going on with the economy?

The current crazy economic situation is pretty confusing, but here are a few information sources that can help you make as much sense of it as it's possible to do.

Here is a link to the Treasury Department's press release, detailing the original bailout package. The Congressional Budget Office prepared this informational letter in response to a Congressman's request for cost details. Here's a link to the bill that was rejected on Monday, and here's the House of Representative's report on the bill. Be aware that the great amount of interest in these documents has overworked government servers on occasion the past few days. You might have to try more than once to get this material, especially if you have a slow connection.

Reliable, non-partisan news analysis can be found here in a series of articles on the National Public Radio website. They give you lots of links to background information.

Want a really different perspective? Here's what today's Times of London has to say.

Friday, September 26, 2008


Open Access is a phenomenal movement in publishing. Much like the philosophy behind open-source software, Open Access publishing uses the Internet to freely disseminate research findings and reports.

Traditionally, researchers applied for grants from federal institutions. These institutions used tax payers’ money to fund the research grants. The researchers then conducted their research and published their findings in a journal. To read the article, members of the general public had to purchase the journal or find a library with a subscription to the journal, in effect paying to read the results of research that they funded!

With Open Access, researchers still apply for grants, which are still typically granted using federal monies. However, now the reports are published in Open Access journals, which are freely available online and anyone with an Internet connection may read the article reporting the findings.

Open Access provides researchers with a larger audience, shortens the delay between acceptance and publication of articles, and increases the citation rate of their articles.

Open Access provides researchers with free online access to scholarly information.

Open Access provides teachers with research articles which they can freely share and use in classes without fear of copyright infringement.

Open Access provides scientists and scholars a feasible way to publish their research without utilizing the traditional publishing system, which has actually been raising prices for years, causing many libraries to cut subscriptions. Some subscription prices have increased 700 percent since 1989! Publishing through Open Access is an effective solution to the out-of-control spiraling of journal prices.

To learn more, visit the Public Library of Science (http://www.plos.org/oa/definition.html), The Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition (http://www.arl.org/sparc/), or Students for Free Culture (http://freeculture.org/).

Friday, September 5, 2008

New On The International Scene

Have you ever searched for global data, only to find yourself overwhelmed with the wealth of information available? The Blume Library may have a solution for you, with two recent additions to the International Relations subject database.

Launched by the United Nations Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UNdata delivers a single entry point for locating and accessing an impressive array of statistical resources. Currently consisting of 17 databases, with more additions on the way, UNdata searches over 55 million records pooled by UN agencies and similar international organizations from the past 60 years.

Topics range from agriculture, employment, and industry to education, health, and tourism. Users can search by keyword, browse individual databases, or even view popular searches from other users. Bonus features include country profiles that summarize key social and economic statistics, accessorized with color maps; a wiki with links to in-depth information about UNdata’s sources; an extensive glossary of commonly-used terms; and an Explorer tab for locating data sources and displaying statistical reports in table formats. Highly recommended by the most recent issue of Choice Reviews, this powerful tool is intended not only for analysts and decision-makers but also for students in a variety of disciplines who share a common interest in global statistics.

International Security Resources targets the information overload issue with a similar solution, by compiling international resources in a central location. Edited by Richard Horowitz, Esq., this collection of resources may be browsed by topic or tool, though a keyword search may be the most practical tactic for sifting through the wide assortment of links for useful tidbits. Topics include arms control, human rights, money laundering, and weapons of mass destruction, while the featured tools consist of databases, search engines, libraries, and media. Whether you’re tracking down the latest counterterrorism reports, locating international bloggers, or challenging your investigative knowledge with a 38-question quiz, indulge your curiosity by checking out International Security Resources.

Both International Relations resources are freely available through the Blume Library’s Databases Listed By Subject.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

London-bound

In a couple of days 23 St. Mary's undergrads and 2 faculty members will be heading to London for the fall semester. One of the faculty is Librarian Kathy Amen. The students will be taking courses on British culture, history of science, sports in the UK, and World War II, earning St. Mary's credits toward graduation. Some of them will also be working in internship positions with British firms. In addition, of course, they'll all be experiencing English and European culture and cuisine first-hand.

Does this experience sound like fun to you? Check out this and other St. Mary's study abroad programs here. And if you want to keep in touch with Kathy while she's away, read her blog.