World Bank Group opens data to all

The World Bank Group now provides free access to more than 2,000 financial, business, health, economic and human development statistics that had mostly been available only to paying subscribers in the past.

This means that researchers, journalists, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), entrepreneurs and school children alike will be able to tap into the World Bank's databases via a new website at data.worldbank.org

The World Bank's open data initiative has the potential to stimulate more evidence-based policymaking in developing countries by bringing more researchers and innovative analysis into the development process. The move might also stimulate demand for data and increase countries' capacity to produce it.

For the first time, data will also be available in languages other than English, with an initial 330 indicators translated into French, Spanish and Arabic. Read more at http://go.worldbank.org/MZ29WQLWK0

Image from Wikimedia Commons

Congratulations to 4th Annual Library Undergraduate Research Award recipient

On Friday, March 26, 2010, the recipient of the Fourth Annual Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award was recognized at the Eleventh Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. The award recognizes a student researcher who demonstrates skill and originality in the application of library and other information sources in a research project.

The First Place Award of $200 was granted to Rebecca Denise Lopez for her project, "Enhancing Learning: Modifying the Learning Practice Inventory for Use in Health Care." The faculty mentor for the project was Dr. Andrea Berndt.

Congratulations, Rebecca!

Stand up and be counted

Well, you don't actually have to stand up. You can be counted sitting down. And it's so easy to do you can even be counted lying down if you prefer. There's very little energy required.

Every 10 years, as specified in the U.S. Constitution, the Census Bureau conducts a count of every single person in the land. At least, that's the theory. It only works if each of those people cooperates and participates.

This April 1 is Census day for this decade. The last time it happened was April 1, 2000, and it won't happen again until April 1 (presumably) 2020. Every household is to respond to the questionnaire as of that day. Not the day before or the day after. [I was so disappointed that my son barely missed getting counted in the 1980 census—he was born a week later!]

The form is very short and only takes a few minutes to complete. You can take a look at it here. The more detailed questions that used to be a part of the Census are taken care of in the American Community Survey, which is an ongoing survey and only questions a sample of the population.

Simple as it is, there are a couple of areas you might have questions about:

• If you live on campus, your parents shouldn't count you on their form at home. You'll be counted in the dormitory. Here's more information on this count.
  
• The Census folks intend for Hispanic origin (which has only be noted since the 1970 Census, by the way) to be considered a separate characteristic from race. That's why there are two separate questions on the form. But race is self-reported. So if you're not comfortable marking white or African-American for race, there's a place for you to fill in what you consider yourself. The whole race question is very complicated and fraught with linguistic, emotional, and political baggage. The Library's Census guide has a section on comparability of Census data in this area. But suffice it to say that a perfect solution has yet to be devised.
• If you have any questions about getting a form or filling it out, here are some information phone numbers.
  

The main thing is to be counted! Census data is used for apportioning seats in the U.S. and Texas legislatures, for awarding grants, and in the research papers of generations of college students. So don't be left out!

Apply for the Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award

Are you entering a project in the Undergraduate Research Symposium?

Consider applying for the
Fourth Annual Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award

First Prize: $200
Second Prize: $100

The Award recognizes student researchers who demonstrate skill and originality in the application of library and other information sources in a research project. The Award is restricted to undergraduate students.

You must enter the Undergraduate Research Symposium (deadline Friday, March 12, 2010) to be eligible for this Award.

The Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award application deadline: Monday, March 22, 2010 at 5pm.

Photo of 2007 Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award winning project posters.

Photographs and Memories …..during Women's History Month

We celebrate Women's History Month every March in the United States. This year, St. Mary's University is hosting several programs to honor the contributions of women. Take a look at the 2010 St. Mary's University's Women's History Month program.

I hope you will visit the Blume Library to see our display celebrating Women's History Month: Snapshots of Women's History. I designed the display to focus on the way photographs can challenge our assumptions about the diversity of female experiences. The pictures on display show women contributing to society in a variety of ways including as artists, teachers, students, protestors, writers, business owners, and athletes. All the photos on display come from the Flickr Commons project, a repository of publicly-held photographs from archives and libraries throughout the world. The display also includes books from the Blume Library collection that focus on women in photography, either as subjects of the photos or as photographers.

The Blume Library Art Exhibit area highlights the two themes of women and photography this March with the opening of a photo exhibit by local artist Melanie Rush-Davis. The exhibit will run from March 7- April 16th and a reception will be held on Wednesday, April 7th from 4-5:30pm.

I invite you to stop by the library to view these displays and think about women's contributions to society, both now and in the past. I also encourage you to take advantage of all the wonderful Women's History Month programs occurring this month on our campus!

The Chronicle of Higher Education now available through the Blume Library

The Louis J. Blume Library now offers you the full-text, with graphics and photos, of The Chronicle of Higher Education at your desktop or from wherever you might be.

The Chronicle of Higher Education is where college and university faculty members and administrators turn for news, information, and jobs in higher education. The Chronicle’s online edition is published every weekday. The Chronicle’s site features the complete contents of the latest print issue; daily news and advice columns; thousands of current job listings; articles published since September 1989; vibrant discussion forums; and career-building tools.

Go to the Louis J. Blume Library web site and click on The Chronicle of Higher Education at the top of that page or go to the The Chronicle’s direct link at http://blume.stmarytx.edu:2048/login?url=http://chronicle.com

For other new databases and trials, check the Louis J. Blume Library web site. The Library frequently "test drives" new databases and would very much appreciate your feedback on them.

information provided by Dr. H. Palmer Hall, Director, Louis J. Blume Library, St. Mary’s University

Download netLibrary books to your eBook reader

Did you get an eBook reader recently? If so, did you know that you may be able to download selections from the library’s collection of 50,000+ NetLibrary eBooks onto your eReader?


All you have to do is connect to the Louis J. Blume Library’s website and click on Databases Listed Alphabetically. When you do, you will be able to click on NetLibrary. This will take to the NetLibrary website where you will be able to establish a free account with NetLibrary.

NOTE #1: Initially, you need to do this through the library’s website because Netlibrary uses our IP addresses to authenticate that you are connecting from a library that has purchased the collection. You may also do this from off campus by using EZ Proxy, the server that let’s all of our faculty and students log on to and check the library’s databases from off campus.

Procedure:
From the NetLibrary website, go to "Advanced Search."
Key in your search (by author/title/subject/keyword) and,
Before clicking on the search button, select "Downloadable eBooks."

You will be shown a list of downloadable eBooks that matches your search criteria.
When you get a list of books, click on "Show Details"
and then click on "Check Out & Download this eBook."

NOTE #2: Do have your eReader connected to your computer when you do this. The book will be downloaded into your "reader software" on your computer so you can transfer it to your hand-held device.

NOTE #3: NetLibrary checks books out to you and they will be unreadable on your eReader after 7 days. So, don’t download a whole bunch at one time.

NOTE # 4: NetLibrary is a scholarly collection of eBooks, so don’t look for bestsellers or works of fiction. Get those from the Sony store, Amazon, B+N.com, or other eBook vendors.

Since all of the downloadable eBooks are pdf files, they ought to work on a variety of eBook readers.

NOTE #5: Just another service provided by the Louis J. Blume Library.

Happy Techie New Year!

information provided by Dr. H. Palmer Hall, Director, Louis J. Blume Library, St. Mary’s University