NEW National Library of Medicine page on Crude Oil Spills and Human Health

Forwarded from NLM:

A new page of links to information on "Crude Oil Spills and Human Health" is now available at http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/oilspills.html.

The page has links to information on how the United States responds to oil spills, state agencies in the Gulf region that respond to spills, occupational hazards for professionals and volunteers assisting with clean-up, seafood safety and more. The links under "Featured Sites" focus on the latest updates about the recent spill and subsequent controlled burning of crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico. The spill followed the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit oil platform 50 miles southeast of the Mississippi Delta on April 20, 2010.

Please send your comments and suggestions about additional health information content to tehip@teh.nlm.nih.gov. This information is compiled by the Disaster Information Management Research Center, Specialized Information Services, US National Library of Medicine.

With thanks to the LSU Library and Information Science Listserv.

Updated hours for finals week

EXTENDED HOURS FOR FINALS

The College Library, main building, will be extending its hours to serve our students during finals.

Monday, May 3rd – Thursday, May 6th & Monday, May 10th

7:30 AM – 1:00 AM

Friday & weekend hours will remain the same.

Library Commons hours will remain the same.

From the news

Recession drives more Americans to libraries in search of employment resources; but funding lags demand

CHICAGO – When jobs go away, Americans turn to their libraries to find information about future employment or educational opportunities. This library usage trend and others are detailed in the 2010 State of America’s Libraries report, released today by the American Library Association. The report shows that Americans have turned to their libraries in larger numbers in recent years.

 

Since the recession took hold in December 2007, the local library, a traditional source of free access to books, magazines, CDs, and DVDs, has become a lifeline, offering technology training and workshops on topics that ranged from résumé-writing to job-interview skills.

The report shows the value of libraries in helping Americans combat the recession. It includes data from a January 2010 Harris Interactive poll that provides compelling evidence that a decade-long trend of increasing library use is continuing—and even accelerating during economic hard times. This national survey indicates that some 219 million Americans feel the public library improves the quality of life in their community. More than 223 million Americans feel that because it provides free access to materials and resources, the public library plays an important role in giving everyone a chance to succeed.

 

And with more businesses and government agencies requiring applicants to apply on line, job-seeking resources are among the most critical and most in demand among the technology resources available in U.S. public libraries. Two-thirds of public libraries help patrons complete online job applications; provide access to job databases and other online resources (88 percent) and civil service exam materials (75 percent); and offer software or other resources (69 percent) to help patrons create résumés and other employment materials.

 

However, the report also shows that increased library use did not lead to an increase in funding for libraries. Research by the ALA and the Center for Library and Information Innovation at the University of Maryland suggests a “perfect storm” of growing community demand for library services and shrinking resources to meet that demand. While library use soars, a majority of states are reporting cuts in funding to public libraries and to the state library agencies that support them.

 

Other key trends detailed in the 2010 State of America’s Libraries Report:

 

• Internet use continues to expand at public libraries, which have seen double-digit growth since 2007 in the on-line services they make available to their patrons. More than 71 percent of public libraries provide their community’s only free public access to computers and the Internet, according to an article in the November 2009 issue of American Libraries. Wireless access also continues to grow and is now offered at more than 80 percent of public libraries.
• Ninety-six percent of Americans feel that school libraries are an essential part of the education experience because they provide resources to students and teachers and because they give every child the opportunity to read and learn. School librarians play a crucial role in “keeping the digital doors open to help young people think about learning beyond the classroom,” according to one authority on online social networking sites. However, funding for school libraries also lags. 
• America’s academic libraries are experiencing increased use, both physical and virtual. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports academic libraries have more than 20.3 million visits per week (1.5 million more than two years earlier), answered more than 1.1 million reference questions, and made more than 498,000 presentations to groups. Almost 95 percent of students use their academic library’s website at least once a week, according to one study of students and technology, and nine out of 10 college students surveyed in another study said they turned to libraries “for online scholarly research databases . . . for conducting course-related research, valuing the resources for credible content, in-depth information, and the ability to meet instructors’ expectations.”
• America’s libraries continue their efforts to support minorities and other underserved or disadvantaged populations. The ALA’s Spectrum Scholarship Program, for example, awarded 48 scholarships in 2009 to members of underrepresented groups to help them pursue master’s degrees; and the library community remained committed to sustained efforts on behalf of people with visual and other disabilities and adult English-language learners.
• The library community continues to defend a core value embodied in the First Amendment and the corollary right to receive and consider ideas, information, and images. Librarians nationwide encountered new challenges as a range of individuals and groups sought to have books or other materials removed from public access, and as the federal government debated extending the life of intrusive legislation such as the USA PATRIOT Act.
• Library construction fared better in 2009 than many expected during the recession, especially given the unreliability of funding for programming, materials, and hours. The answer may be that money earmarked years ago was seeing construction through to conclusion. Many of the new libraries and renovations show a timely concern for the environment.

 

The full text of The State of America’s Libraries, 2010, is available at this link.

Source: ALA Press Release, American Library Association, April 12, 2010

Who Wants to be a Librarian

Created by Bossier Parish Community College.

ProQuest Updates

Through our access to LOUIS here at the library we are getting an update this July to the ProQuest platform.  We already have access to Nursing and Allied Health as well as ProQuest Dissertations A&I, and the update to the general platform will help to make these databases cross-searchable.

ProQuest Central earned the 2010 CODiE Award for Best Online General Reference Service, and as always, you can access information from the ProQuest databases we have access to from our library web page.

National Library Week

This week is National Library Week and to celebrate our library is hosting a number of exciting events.

At 9:00am on Monday (today!) there will be coffee and doughnuts at the library to start off the celebration.
On Wednesday at 11:30am there will be pizza and snow cones at the library - with the fist 100 snow cones being free.
On Friday at 11:00am there will be a prize drawing for Community Coffee gift cards - winners will be notified by email.

The American Library Association explains what National Library Week is and what it's all about:

 National Library Week will be observed April 11-17, 2010 with the theme, "Communities thrive @ your library®."


First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support. All types of libraries - school, public, academic and special - participate.

Many school libraries also celebrate the month of April as School Library Month sponsored by the American Association of School Librarians, a division of ALA, with the same theme as National Library Week. National Library Workers Day, celebrated the Tuesday of National Library Week (April 14, 2009), is a day for library staff, users, administrators and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers.

The Public Information Office of the American Library Association coordinates the promotion, placing articles in national media. Librarians, Friends and trustees of libraries join in sponsoring local promotions. Posters and other promotional materials are available through the ALA Graphics Catalog.

The ALA Public Awareness Committee assists in planning National Library Week and related activities. The committees hold open meetings at the ALA Annual Conference and Midwinter Meeting. Suggestions are welcome.

History

In the mid-1950s, research showed that Americans were spending less on books and more on radios, televisions and musical instruments. Concerned that Americans were reading less, the ALA and the American Book Publishers formed a nonprofit citizens organization called the National Book Committee in 1954. The committee's goals were ambitious. They ranged from "encouraging people to read in their increasing leisure time" to "improving incomes and health" and "developing strong and happy family life."

In 1957, the committee developed a plan for National Library Week based on the idea that once people were motivated to read, they would support and use libraries. With the cooperation of ALA and with help from the Advertising Council, the first National Library Week was observed in 1958 with the theme "Wake Up and Read!"

National Library Week was observed again in 1959, and the ALA Council voted to continue the annual celebration. When the National Book Committee disbanded in 1974, ALA assumed full sponsorship.

New Ways to Connect with the National Library of Medicine

New Ways to Connect with the National Library of Medicine


by Emily Hurst

Social networking opportunities are attracting new users to sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Now you can stay connected with the National Library of Medicine through both Facebook and Twitter. Become a Fan of the National Library of Medicine on Facebook and follow informative tweets on Twitter by using the links below.



National Library of Medicine Facebook Fan Page

nlm_newsroom Twitter feed

Additional information about all social networking options from the National Library of Medicine can be found in the following page:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/socialmedia/index.html