Resources of the Week
By Shirl Kennedy, Deputy Editor

Something different for you this week — a small round-up of niche international resources.

Asia–Human Trafficking
Source: Asia Foundation
TIPinAsia.info
“TIPinAsia.info provides quick links to country-specific information on trafficking in persons in multiple languages, as well as anti-trafficking news and information about individual countries. You may access this information by simply clicking on a country name or a national flag.” This is actually a group of three portals — for Cambodia, Thailand, and East Timor. Each offers news, conference notices, a discussion forum and case studies. You’ll find links to directories of aid providers, laws and relevant documents. It’s still a resource under development, so some areas are more content-rich than others. Some RSS feeds are available. Information is available both in English and in native languages. The Asia Foundation says in a press release that “Content in local language from seven additional countries will be added this year.”
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Arab Countries–Political Systems
Source: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
This webpage represents a joint undertaking of the Democracy and Rule of Law Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington and the Fundaci�n para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Di�logo Exterior (FRIDE) in Madrid. It provides easily accessible baseline information about the political systems of Arab countries, with links to official documents and websites, and will be frequently updated to provide information about reforms being introduced.” Right now, you’ll find country studies for Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. These are extensive documents — in Microsoft Word (.doc) format — that provide information on state institutions/separation of powers, citizen rights, political forces, election results, constitutional revision, corruption, ratification of international conventions. “The webpage complements the information about political reform in Arab countries provided by the Arab Reform Bulletin, a monthly online publication by the Carnegie Endowment.”
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Japan–Statistics
Source: National Diet Library
Statistical Materials for Learning About Japan
“‘Statistical Materials for Learning about Japan’ is an English-language guide to statistical information about Japan. It introduces major statistical materials on Japan written in English, or in both Japanese and English, in the form of printed publications and Internet information. A bibliographical note is added to each piece of material. As a rule, the statistics presented are linked to relevant Internet sites in English, even for those available only in printed form.” You’ll find annotated links to data on: population, business/industry/economics, agriculture/forestry/fisheries, science and technology, commerce and services; labor and prices, housing, education, criminal justice and more. There’s also a section on Reference Tools for Searching for Statistics, including the Guide to Official Statistics in Japan and the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
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By the way, the U.S. Census Bureau maintains a comprehensive list of links to official statistical agencies in other countries. And the amazing University of Michigan Documents Center offers a large collection of links to Foreign Government Data Sources.

Professional Reading Shelf
Librarians–Awards
Source: NY Times
Nominations for 5th Annual New York Times Librarian Awards Now Open
“The Times will recognize 27 public librarians from across the country who provide outstanding community service on a consistent basis. Nominations come from the general public.” Nomination form is linked here.
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Scholarly Publishing–United Kingdom
Source: The Guardian
Research councils back free online access
“Thousands of British academics in every subject from art history to zoology will soon be required to make their research freely available online, the UK research councils have announced…University libraries will benefit from an easing of the financial pressure to acquire more, and ever more expensive, journals as scholars can consult research for free. The UK is now said to lead the world in open access policy, but today the Publishers’ Association raised the alarm, accusing the research councils of going “too far, too fast” without properly costing their proposals.”
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Libraries
Source: OCLC
PowerPoint Presentation: Looking at Libraries
A presentation (34 slides) by OCLC’s VP of Research, Lorcan Dempsey, at the 2005 NetLibrary Publishers’ Summit Meeting.
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Public Records–United States–Databases
Source: GCN
IRS search for public records access ends with ChoicePoint
The Internal Revenue Service has awarded ChoicePoint Government Services a contract worth as much as $20 million to serve as the agency’s public records provider for batch processing projects, according to the company. ChoicePoint provides public records information about a person, asset or location, a company spokesperson said. The information can include current and former addresses, property ownership records and bankruptcy, lien or judgment information.”
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National Archives and Records Administration
Electronic Records
Source: Committee on Digital Archiving and the National Archives and Records Administration, National Research Council
Now Available, Building an Electronic Records Archive at the National Archives and Records Administration: Recommendations for a Long-term Strategy
“The final report from this project examines long-term issues related to electronic records archiving at the National Archives and Records Administration, including coping with technological change, reengineering archival processes for electronic records, partnering with other institutions, broadening research interactions, and assuring record integrity and authenticity.”
Background Executive Summary (PDF) Direct to Full Text Report
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Public Libraries–United States
Source: NYPL
NY Public Library Unveils Business Information Wall
Not only cool, useful too!

Briefly
Factiva Acquires Taxonomy Business

Digitization News
Digitization Projects–Maps
Source: University of Maryland
Maryland and LexisNexis Team to Preserve and Digitize Historic U.S. Maps
“The University of Maryland and LexisNexis U.S. have announced an alliance today aimed at preserving images of the U.S. Serial Set Maps while making the maps easily accessible and searchable online.”
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Digitization Projects–Journals
Scholarly Publishing–IEEE
Source: IEEE
First Step in Digitizing Archives of All IEEE Technology Journals Complete
From the announcement, “Added to the IEEE online collection earlier today were more than 12,000 papers and articles published in the Proceedings of the IEEE from 1963 to
1987…Papers dating back to the first issue of the journal, published in 1913 as the Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers (the name of an IEEE predecessor organization), will be online in early 2006.

Search Briefs (via SEW)
+ Topix.net Releases New Services for Canadian Market
Note: Regarless of location, if you’ve never checked out what Topix offers, you should. It’s a ResourceShelf favorite!
+ Yahoo Releases My Web 2.0

Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents
Bolivia
Source: National Library of Bolivia
The “El Dorado” Ibero-American and Caribbean Virtual Library of Bolivia is Now On-line
“The National Library of Bolivia is on-line with a collection of 45 of the best works in Bolivia. It is accessible on the Internet through the “El Dorado” Virtual Library of Bolivia at www.archivoybibliotecanacionales.org.bo. The Bolivia portal is a small sample of what will be the ‘El Dorado’ Virtual Library that will bring together 33 Ibero-American and Caribbean national libraries, offering access to a basic collection of 5,000 works of complete text and images, representing the life and culture of our countries, through the Internet.”
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Internet Resources
Source: IRN
The July 2005 Issue of The Internet Resources Newsletter is Now Online
More goodies from Roddy M. and crew.
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Lobbyists–New York City–Databases
Contractors–New York City–Databases
Source: GovTech, City of New York
New Database, NYC Lobbyist Search
“The new database, called NYC Lobbyist Search, is available through www.nyc.gov/bizsearch, which also includes the recently launched NYC Vendor Search, a database of City contractors.” Additional info here.
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HIV/AIDS
Source: UNAIDS/WHO
New Report, Access to HIV treatment continues to increase
“The number of people receiving combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV/AIDS in developing countries is increasing significantly — more than doubling from 400 000 in December 2003 to approximately one million in June 2005 — according to a new report released today by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). However, access to HIV treatment continues to fall short of the growing need, and overall progress is unlikely to be fast enough to reach the target set by WHO and UNAIDS of treating three million people by the end of 2005.”
News Release Full Text (PDF)

Professional Reading ShelfDigitization Projects
News Libraries
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
The U-T library and how it works
Learn about the library and librarians at the San Diego Union-Tribune. Congrats to the U-T Library! “Even though the Union-Tribune library is no longer open to the public, Union-Tribune readers benefit from the work that staffers do. The imprint of the library staff can be seen in each day’s newspaper, whether or not they’re credited at the end of the story.”
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Librarians–United States
Source: IMLS
Over $21 Million to Recruit New Librarians and Help Offset National Shortage
“The federal Institute of Museum and Library Services announced $21,087,684 in grants to 37 universities, libraries, and library organizations across the country today to recruit and educate a new generation of librarians.” Complete list of grant recipients here.
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National Libraries–France
Source: The Independent
Curator is charged as 30,000 books are ‘lost’ by French national library
“More than 30,000 books, including 1,000 rare and priceless items, are believed to have been stolen from the French national library in Paris. So chaotic are the library’s cataloguing and security systems it is impossible to know when books were stolen.”
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Access to Information–Canada
Source: NCASRD
Final Report: National Consultation on Access to Scientific Research Data (NCASRD)
Recently released. 137 pages; PDF.
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Conference News
+ UK: CILIP launches RFID in Libraries Conference
+ US: Registration Opens for 2005 Virtual Reference Desk Conference

Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents
Narcotics
Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
Just released: World Drug Report
“The negative impacts of the illicit drug trade touch every society in the world. This year’s World Drug Report estimates that 200 million people, or 5% of the global population age 15-64, have consumed illicit drugs at least once in the last 12 months. The drug trade is pernicious and large. UNODC estimates its retail value at US$ 321bn. It impacts almost every level of human security from individual health, to safety and social welfare. Its consequences are especially devastating for countries with limited resources available to fight against it. The World Drug Report 2005 provides one of the most comprehensive overviews of illicit drug trends at the international level.” Download sections, including statistics, in PDF. (via DocuTicker)
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Mental Health
Source: World Health Organization
New, WHO Resource Book on Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation
18 pages; PDF. From the news release, “…a landmark book which will guide countries and support stakeholders in creating mental health legislation. The WHO Resource Book on Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation includes input from consultations with hundreds of experts and stakeholders throughout the world, leaders in psychiatry, psychology, law, and human rights, as well as representatives from mental health service users, family groups and NGOs.”
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Independence Day–United States
Source: U.S. Census
Fast Facts, The Fourth of July 2005
Facts include:
+ $17.3 million, The value of U.S. manufacturers, shipments of fireworks in 2002.
+ 150 million, number of hot dogs (all varieties) expected to be consumed by Americans on the Fourth.
+ Nearly 69 million, number of Americans who said they have taken part in a barbecue [PDF] during the previous year.
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Medicare–Drug Benefits
Source: National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA)
Medicare Resource Center
” Welcome to your one-stop online Medicare Part D resource, giving community pharmacists the knowledge and tools they need to successfully transition their patients and practices to Medicare Part D. You’ll find materials and resources addressing Medicare Part D contracts, how to talk with your patients who are Medicare beneficiaries, education opportunities, and more.”
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Corporate Scandals–United States–Factbox
Source: Reuters
Factbox: Implicated executives in U.S. corporate scandals

Search Briefs (via SEW)
+ Gary’s Wish List & More Q&A On Google Video
+ Findory and Filangy Also Offer Personalized Web Results
See Also: Google Relaunches Personal Search - This Time, It Really Is Personal
+ Google Earth Flies Free
See Also: World Wind from NASA, A Free Tool to Tap into Several Repositories of Satellite Imagery

Briefly
+ Readex Launches Digital Edition of American State Papers, 1789-1838
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Three Announcements from EBSCO
+ Chemical Abstracts Service Provides Full-Text Linking to EBSCOhost Databases
+ Full Text Version of CINAHL to be available through EBSCOhost
+ Insurance Periodicals Index Now Available Through EBSCOhost

Professional Reading Shelf
PubMed
Source: NLM
New, PubMed Search Terms Highlighted
“A highlighting feature will soon be implemented in PubMed to help users quickly find where their search terms appear in their search results.”
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The British Library
Archives
Digitization
Source: Information World Review
British Library-JISC alliance targets archives
“Digital archives and content are causing problems for universities across the UK, according to the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). It says that as academic institutions increasingly produce and rely on digital content, libraries are struggling with the technology to preserve digital content and face a lack of skilled archivists.”
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Reference Guides
Source: CILIP
The New Walford: making sense of the information universe (PDF)
From the article, “The first volume (Science, Technology and Medicine) of The New Walford: guide to reference resources (TNW) is published this June, in an information environment far removed from that of 1959, when the original Walford Guide to Reference Material made its appearance. Walford has historically been regarded as the international leader in its field. How relevant and useful is such a print-based guide today?”

Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents
Medicaid–Timelines
Medicare
Source: KFF
Just Released, New Interactive Timelines Highlight Key Developments in Medicaid and Medicare
+ Medicaid
+ Medicare
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Workplace–Information Technology–Surveys
Source: Computerworld
100 Best Places to Work in IT 2005
A sortable list of winners is available (free, registration required).
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Marketing–Dictionaries
Source: American Marketing Association
Dictionary of Marketing Terms
Search or browse.
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Disability Rights Organizations–Directory
Source: National Council on Disability
Resource Directory: Links to Disability and Civil Rights Organizations
Nicely annotated list of links to the websites of organizations involved with: multi-issue civil rights, criminal justice reform, economic rights, equality, freedom of speech and the press, general disabilities, government oversight, health and disability law, immigration law, law and technology, voting rights/democracy, women’s rights. Also includes links to government- and public policy-related hubs, disability and civil rights organizations and associations, and advocacy organizations.
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File Sharing
Documents in the News
Source: United States Supreme Court
Opinion: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd.
See Also: Coverage of Court Decision via Paper Chase
See Also: Backgrounder: MGM Studios v. Grokster (via Duke Univ. Law School)

Briefly
+ Fast Search and Transfer Signs Contract With Reed Business

Professional Reading Shelf
Web Search–Yahoo
Source: Information Today
Varying Content Commitments from Vendors for Yahoo! Search Subscriptions
New article by Barbara Quint.
See Also:”Fee” Web Content Accessed by Yahoo! Search Subscriptions (via Info Today)
See Also: Yahoo Launches Access to Some Subscription (aka Deep Web) Content With More To Come
See Also: AccessMyLibrary.com Puts Library-Only Content On The Web
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Archives–Conference
Source: RLG
Conference Presentations: 2005 RLG International Archival Gateways Meeting
“On May 23 and 24, RLG sponsored a unique two-day working meeting to exchange ideas on building international archival gateways. Representatives from 8 different national archives based in North America, the UK, and continental Europe were invited to participate, and 30 individuals attended the meeting, hosted by The National Archives in the UK.”
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Librarianship
Source: InterActions: UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies
New Article: Trippin’ Over the Color Line: The Invisibility of Race in Library and Information Studies
“The issue of race has been evaded in the field of Library and Information Studies (LIS) in the United States through an unquestioned system of white normativity and liberal multicultural discourse. To counteract these paradigms, this paper draws from various scholarly writings about race and racial formation in order to center race as the primary axis of analysis in the reinterpretation of major theoretical issues in LIS.”

Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents
Congressional Research Service
Source: Center for Democracy & Technology
New One-Stop Resource: Search and Access Congressional Research Service Reports from Several Respositories
A new database, Open CRS, from the Center for Democracy & Technology has just launched. Open CRS aggregates material from several well-known open-access CRS repositories. Cool! More about Open CRS in this article.
See also: Congressional Research Service Reports, Hosted by UNT Libraries (University of North Texas)
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Science–Employment–Databases
Source: Nature Publishing Group
Redesigned Site, NatureJobs.com
New look and several new features. Free. RSS feeds, too!
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Energy–United States–Statistics
Source: EIA
Just Released, Petroleum Supply Annual, Volume 1
“Final annual data for the supply and disposition of crude oil and petroleum products.”
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Agriculture–Outlooks
Source: OECD
OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook: 2005-2014
Full Text of document is fee-based. However, highlights (PDF; 46 pages) are available free.
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Law–United States–Lists & Rankings
Source: Corporate Counsel
Chart: Women Who Head Legal Departments at 73 Fortune 500 Companies
Additional material here.
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Motorcycles–Theft and Accidents–Lists & Rankings
Source: Insurance Journal
Study Shows Suzuki Motorcycle Is Risky Business
“The Suzuki GSX-R Series motorcycle is the most likely motorcycle to be stolen and to be involved in a crash according to a recent study of claims data on more than two million motorcycles insured over the past three years.” Lists the top five motorcycles most and least likely to be stolen or crashed. Study by Progressive Insurance.