Data USA

 

Have you heard about Data USA? Data USA provides you visualized information about issues across the United States; places in America-towns, cities, and states; occupations-teachers, welders, or Web developers; industries-where they are thriving, declining and their interconnectedness to each other, and education and skills-where is the best place to live with your job or what skill is needed for the job. The information is based on public US government data, benefiting citizen, business and government.

The College Library is on Pinterest

If you haven't heard about Pinterest yet, you probably will soon. Wanna know what it is?

Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard. Click to learn more.

Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

The Library has begun "pinning" on Pinterest. Check us out for book recommendations, cool technology and gadgets and other cool library stuff.

Flying Books Spotted on the Internet!

Moonbot Studios, based in Shreveport, LA, has produced a short film, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, which has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Animated Short Film category.  The fantastic story of a love for books also draws inspiration from the events of Hurricane Katrina, "The Wizard of Oz," Buster Keaton, and silent film.  The animation, created by the illustrator, William Joyce and co-director, Brandon Oldenburg uses a hybrid style of computer and traditional 2-d animation and minitures.

More information is available on the film's website, on IMDB, and in the news.  The film itself can be watched on iTunes, Vimeo, and also this page.

Social Safety

The New England Journal of Medicine recently published an article, "Integrating Social Media into Emergency-Preparedness Efforts," which describes ways in which social media can be and already is helpful in the event of a disaster.

Here at OLOL there is a handy emergency text messaging system already in place that will provide information and safety directions should something terrible happen on campus.  To get these alerts you'll need to sign up for LYNX Emergency Messaging Service through Web Services.  You'll find directions for doing this on the college web page here.

Here in Louisiana you really have to be aware of hurricane season.  The state government has a useful website, Emergency.LA.gov, that has useful information on both preparing before a disaster, warnings for when one is anticipated, and relief information after it has passed.  The web site currently has information about the flood, and previously had information about the oil spill.

The CDC produced this little frequently updated web image to help spread information about disaster preparedness and response.

Emergency Preparedness and Response Widget

For Fiction Fans!

There's a really unique new way to search for new authors to read.  If you check out this spiffy new link you'll find a map of literary similarities.  Searching for an author on the Literature-Map will bring up a diagram showing links to other authors.  How close they are to the author in the center will show you how likely it is for someone who likes the center author to also like the linked author.

It's simple, fun, and a handy way to find new fun things to read.  :)

Searching Tips

The Medical Library Association published a helpful table with links to places where you will be able to find the best directory information on government health care services.

While keyword searching is helpful, using these services will help you get more accurate results.  They are web services sponsored by the government that will provide current and accurate information.  The chart that the Medical Library Association published includes a description of the directory, where they get the information for it, how frequently it updates, and what kind of information it contains.

This information is useful for anyone who needs to find current information about where to find government health care services.  Local information may also be available from the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.  Emergency information for our state is always available at the state emergency web portal.

List of helpful public health links

The Health Sherpa blog collected this helpful list of public health websites.

Government Public Health

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The CDC is the government’s go-to site for all topics related to public health.
2. Department of Health and Human Services: A wide range of public health services exists under the HHS roof.
3. Flu.gov: HHS is the managing sponsor for this site, which concentrates solely on various flu pandemics and information.
4. Food and Drug Administration: The FDA is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security of food, drugs and products.
5. Healthy People: Healthy People 2010 challenges individuals, communities and professionals to take specific steps to ensure that good health, as well as long life, are enjoyed by all.
6. National Institutes of Health: NIH is an agency of the HHS and is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research.
7. National Library of Medicine: The NLM is an umbrella educational organization that contains databases and resources that range from PubMed to MedlinePlus and more.
8. National Network of Libraries of Medicine: NN/LM advances the progress of medicine and improving the public health through access to health information.

Public Health Associations and Organizations  

9. American Public Health Association: APHA is the oldest and most diverse organization of public health professionals in the world.  
10. American Public Human Services Association: APHSA, founded in 1930, is a nonprofit, bipartisan organization of state and local human service agencies and individuals.
11. American Social Health Associations: ASHA is America’s authority for sexually transmitted infection information.
12. Association of Schools of Public Health: ASPH promotes the efforts of schools of public health to improve the health of every person through education, research, and policy.
13. Association of State and Territorial Health Officials: ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the public health agencies and their employees of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia.
14. Centers for Public Health Education and Outreach: CPHEO promotes lifelong learning and provides educational programs, online courses, and managing training outreach.
15. National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems: NAPHSIS is a national association of state vital records and public health statistics offices.
16. National Association of County & City Health Officials: NACCHO is the national organization representing local health departments.
17. National Association of Local Boards of Health: NALBOH is dedicated to strengthening and empowering boards of health through education and training.
18. National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems: NAPH represents America’s safety net hospitals and health systems.
19. National Environmental Health Association: NEHA’s mission, is “to advance the environmental health and protection professional for the purpose of providing a healthful environment for all.”
20. National Public Health Information Coalition: NPHIC is an independent organization of professionals sought after to improve America’s health through public health communications.
21. Public Health Foundation: PHF is dedicated to achieving healthy communities through research, training, and technical assistance.
22. Public Health Institute: PHI is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting health, well-being and quality of life for people throughout California, across the nation and around the world.
23. Public Health Institutes of the World: IANPHI is a global initiative that aims to develop stronger and more coordinated public health systems through the development and support of national public health institutes, or NPHIs.
24. The Task Force for Global Health: This group encompasses a network of programs focused on both international and domestic health and human development.

Public Health Policy and Law

25. Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy: CIDRAP conducts epidemiologic research and the rapid translation of scientific information into real-world practical applications and solutions.
26. Centers for Law and the Public’s Health: This is a collaborative at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities.
27. Kaiser Family Foundation: This organization serves as a non-partisan source of facts, information, and analysis for policymakers, the media, the health care community, and the public.
28. National Association of Public Health Policy: NAPHP, founded in 1979, aims to improve the health of the people of the United States by helping to develop health policy and supporting measures to strengthen the public health services.
29. National Health Policy Forum: This group’s mission is to cultivate a learning community among key senior staff in Congress, its support agencies and the executive branch of the federal government.
30. Public Health Law & Policy: An independent non-profit (as of July 2010), PHLP partners with government staff, advocates, and other community leaders to provide practical solutions to a wide range of public health problems.
31. Public Health Law Association: PHLA promotes healthy people and healthy communities through dialogue, partnerships, education, and research in public health law and policy.
32. Public Health Law Center: Formerly the Tobacco Law Center, this center is working collaboratively to bolster the growing field of public health law.
33. Public Health Law Research: This is a national initiative to promote effective regulatory, legal and policy solutions to improve public health.
34. Public Health Policy: This Web site offers key sources of information on public health policy in Canada and in the international sphere.

Public Health Web Sites and Libraries

35. Indiana Public Health Digital Library: The stated purpose of this project is to locate, digitize, organize and make publicly available Indiana public health publications and documents (both historical and current).
36. Medical Library Association: MLA is a nonprofit, educational organization with more than 4,000 health sciences information professional members and partners worldwide.
37. Partners: This is an educational collaboration among U.S. government agencies, public health organizations and health sciences libraries.
38. Public Health Digital Library: Seattle & King County’s gateway to online public health resources, open to the public.
39. Society for Public Health Education: SOPHE is an independent, international professional association made up of a diverse membership of health education professionals and students.
40. Tennessee Health Public Health Digital Library: This library was created by the Annette and Irwin Eskind Biomedical Library, Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
41. What is Public Health? This Web site helps readers gain a better understanding of the various roles public health professionals play each day to ensure a healthy American public.

Journals

42. American Journal of Public Health: This journal was voted one of the 100 most influential journals in biology and medicine over the last century.
43. BMC Public Health: This is an open access journal publishing original peer-reviewed research articles in the epidemiology of disease and the understanding of all aspects of public health.
44. Directory of Open Access Journals: This link leads to the Public Health category, where you can gain access to a variety of journals that are free and open to the public.
45. Global Public Health: This journal is a peer-reviewed journal that energetically engages with key public health issues that have come to the fore in the global environment.
46. International Journal of Public Health: This journal publishes original quantitative and qualitative scientific work on public health.
47. Journal of Public Health: The Journal of Public Health invites submission of papers on any aspect of public health research and practice.
48. Journal of Public Health Policy: This journal is committed to providing an accessible source of scholarly articles on the epidemiologic and social foundations of public health policy, rigorously edited and progressive.
49. Public Health: Public Health is an international, multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal that reports on all aspects of the science, philosophy, and practice of public health.
50. Zoonoses and Public Health: This journal brings together veterinary and human health researchers and policy-makers.

From: "50 Excellent Public Health Web Sites Worth Bookmarking"

State Library lists computer classes at parish libraries

The State Library has created a list of computer courses being taught in parish libraries state-wide.  These basic courses are very helpful if you need to brush up on computer skills before you get too far into the new semester.  The classes are free, so if you need the help you should definitely take advantage of this great resource.

Free classes currently available in East Baton Rouge Parish are Computer Fundamentals, Excel 2007 level 1, Excel 2007 level 2, PowerPoint 2007 level 1, Word 2007 level 1, Word 2007 level 2.  Brought to you free of charge by the State Library.  The full list of all classes available parish-by-parish is on the web at http://lajacc.state.lib.la.us/training/available.php.

Libraries in the media!

It's always exciting to see libraries mentioned in the news for good reasons.  It's almost more exciting to find viral media and popular trends that celebrate libraries.  I'm sure that by now almost everyone has heard about the Old Spice guy phenomenon, so let's see what he has to say about libraries.



The library over at BYU enjoyed this ad campaign so much that they decided to do their own take on it.  The students there made this video in the format of the original Old Spice commercial.  While Our Lady of the Lake has no sandwich shop, you'll find that the rest is mostly relevant.  Please don't ride the book carts.



Thanks for reading!  I hope you all had fun this time.  :)