Author Archives: dcornwall

The past few weeks have been a busy time at the State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States project at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/State_Agency_Databases. Part of what has kept us busy was the first official quarterly "link check" of our pages. This is a new initiative designed to keep project pages fresh. Thanks to the many volunteers who spent the last week checking and fixing page links and posting the date of link checking to their page. ORPHAN NEWS A big thank you to Carlos A. Diaz for adopting Mississippi. He fixed all the broken links and added a number of new resources. Now the official list of unadopted orphans stands at just two Rhode Island and Texas. I still think it would be a public service for someone to adopt Gov. Rick Perry's home and expand the list of Texas databases in order to provide a broader view of the Texas record. I'd do it if I didn't have Arizona in addition to Alaska. If you're a librarian in either Texas or Rhode Island, I'd really appreciate it if you would forward this message to appropriate listservs in your state. If you're interested in either Texas or Rhode Island, check out our volunteer guide at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/SADATFS_Volunteer_Guide and then send me an e-mail if you'd like to adopt one of the above states. If you adopt a state, be prepared to put your name and contact information on the main project page AND your state page within two weeks of receiving your wiki login. See the Volunteer Guide for more details. TRANSFER NEWS Not sure if this was mentioned in a previous report, but Liz Paulus has taken over the Oregon page. WIKI ACTIVITY See our last seven days of activity at http://tinyurl.com/statedbs for a blow by blow description of changes to the page. Here are a few highlights: DATABASES ADDED CALIFORNIA (Joel Rane) Publicly Traded Disclosure Search - This search allows you to search for all publicly traded corporations that have filed a Corporate Disclosure Statement with the Secretary of State, search the full text of information contained in a specific statement, and view abstracts of reported information. Searchable by corporation name, the names of officers, or an auditor name; there is also an advanced search. INDIANA (Kimberly Brown-Harden) Oral Arguments Online - Oral arguments are webcast live and are available in Windows Media format. The link to view a live webcast will be available two minutes prior to the start time of an argument, and no sooner, unless the courtroom proceedings are delayed. The link to the archived video and the audio podcast (if available) will be accessible two hours after the start time of the hearing. Can search the arguments by keyword, title, case number, summary, etc. Also able to browse by year,court, month, and county. MISSISSIPPI (CARLOS A. DIAZ) Market Development Company Search - This database is part of the Make Mine Mississippi marketing campaign so people can get in touch with Mississippi companies. CHANGES TO SUBJECT PAGES BIOGRAPHICAL DATABASES North Carolina Builders & Architects: A Biographical Dictionary - This biographical dictionary highlights architects and builders who have produced North Carolina's architecture for more than 300 years. Clicking on "show more options" opens up Gender, Race, Trade, Styles & Forms, Building Types, and "Flourished Dates." Records includes locations where the builders and architects did projects. Continue reading →

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ORPHAN NEWS We had another relatively quiet at the State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States project. The list of orphan states in need of adoption is unchanged from last week: Mississippi Rhode Island Texas If you're a librarian in one of the above states, I'd really appreciate it if you would forward this message to appropriate listservs in your state. As I mentioned last week, the entry of Gov Ricky Perry into the Presidential race could make the Texas page a hot property if someone volunteered to update it. Just think of how Texas' perfomance in the last decade could be documented if there was a one stop place of all of its various databases. If you're interested in one of the above states, check out our volunteer guide at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/SADATFS_Volunteer_Guide and then send me an e-mail if you'd like to adopt one of the above states. If you adopt a state, be prepared to put your name and contact information on the main project page AND your state page within two weeks of receiving your wiki login. See the Volunteer guide for more details. WIKI ACTIVITY See our last seven days of activity at http://tinyurl.com/statedbs for a blow by blow description of changes to the page. Here are a few highlights: DATABASES ADDED DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (Shirl Kennedy) Answers, Please! (Social Services Database) - "Answers, Please! Online offers the public direct access to a network of government and community social service providers via the Internet. By incorporating the latest web technology and the District's mapping system, users may locate programs alphabetically or by program name, topic, keyword, and proximity to an address." NEW MEXICO (Adrienne Walker) EGIS Mapper The EGIS Mapper Application allows users to find and display key features of the data map such as drinking water sources and hazardous waste facilities. The navigation menu to the left covers key topics and functional tools of the map. Click on the Help Using this Tool link located in the upper right corner of the application for explanations and instructions regarding navigation, layers and controls in the creation of your query. In addition to the databases added to project pages, Shirl Kennedy added some resources to our "Not Databases" page at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/Not_Databases, including: Office of Tax and Revenue: Delinquent Taxpayers List "Publication of the delinquent taxpayers' lists below is part of an overall program to encourage voluntary compliance with the District's tax laws." (PDF) Office of the Chief Financial Officer: DC Tobacco Directory "Use the following links to view the Tobacco Directory and any changes to it that may be currently pending. The Tobacco Directory is listed by Manufacturer and is in PDF format. To search by brand family instead of manufacturer, select the search option on the toolbar at the top of the document and type in the exact brand family name. Be sure to include the correct spelling and punctuation to ensure a correct brand search." Office of the Chief Technology Officer: All Online Maps "The District of Columbia offers several online mapping applications highlighting data and information from various fields of interest such as crime statistics, public school profiles, detailed property information and more. The online mapping sites below, listed in alphabetic order, present data coming from agencies across the District government. Click each online map to read a brief introduction and to access the site." More than 30 are currently available. Why does our project have a "not databases" page? Since the project got underway in June 2007, a number of people have submitted resources, that while useful, fell outside the scope of this project. Either they weren't really databases or they were not published by a governmental entity belonging to a given state. But they are useful and so we're loath to just throw them away. Continue reading →

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ORPHAN NEWS This week was relatively quiet at the State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States project. The list of orphan states in need of adoption is unchanged from last week: Mississippi Rhode Island Texas It would be particularly nice to have Texas adopted out as an accurate annotated list of Texas databases would likely be used by people evaluating Governor Rick Perry's record now that he's running for President. If you're interested in one of the above states, check out our volunteer guide at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/SADATFS_Volunteer_Guide and then send me an e-mail if you'd like to adopt one of the above states. If you adopt a state, be prepared to put your name and contact information on the main project page AND your state page within two weeks of receiving your wiki login. See the Volunteer guide for more details. WIKI ACTIVITY See our last seven days of activity at http://tinyurl.com/statedbs for a blow by blow description of changes to the page. Here are a few highlights: DATABASES ADDED NEW MEXICO (Adrienne Walker) Licensed Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors - Search for licensed professional engineers and licensed professional surveyors by license number, last name, first name, city, state, zip, license type, branch or status (there is a key available on the search page to assist in the selection of license type, status or branch). New Mexico Coal Mines Query - This database displays information from the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. This site includes general data and statistics about active mines, notices of violation and water quality samples. LOUISIANA (Rita Franks) Restaurant Inspections - This state website provides access to restaurant inspections that include critical and non-critical violations, along with corrective actions that have been taken or are pending. DATABASES REMOVED MISSOURI (Annie Moots) Local Telephone Exchange Companies - Searchable by town/city. Continue reading →

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VOLUNTEER AND ORPHAN NEWS This week the State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States project welcomed three new volunteers who have publicly claimed their pages: District of Columbia - Adopted by Shirl Kennedy Indiana - Adopted by Kimberly Brown-Harden Hawaii - Adopted by Gwen Sinclair With the changes above, the current list of orphan states in need of adoption is: Mississippi Rhode Island Texas If you're interested in one of the above states, check out our volunteer guide at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/SADATFS_Volunteer_Guide and then send me an e-mail if you'd like to adopt one of the above states. If you adopt a state, be prepared to put your name and contact information on the main project page AND your state page within two weeks of receiving your wiki login. See the Volunteer guide for more details. WIKI ACTIVITY See our last seven days of activity at http://tinyurl.com/statedbs for a blow by blow description of changes to the page. Here are a few highlights: DATABASES ADDED DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (Shirl Kennedy) Food Facility Inspections Online - Search for and view inspection reports for facilities that serve or sell food to the public. Site says, "The majority of the permitted food service establishments in Washington, DC receive two routine unannounced food safety inspections per year." Database contains reports for the last three years. Reports are in PDF format. Shirl added seven other databases to the DC page. Check them out! NORTH CAROLINA (Jennifer Davison) NC Open Book : Transparency in NC State Government NC OpenBook is designed to show you where North Carolina's money goes. Allows searches for awardees of grants and contracts. Jennifer also appears to have added and reorganized other material on the North Carolina page. If you haven't visited recently, it would be worth it to go back. DATABASES REMOVED ALASKA (Daniel Cornwall) Alaska Consultant List - From the website "The Alaska Consultant List is intended to be a shortcut to finding Mining Engineers and Geologists that are properly licensed to perform consulting service business in the state of Alaska. The list provides names of persons by service who have requested to be listed. Pull down the list by service and click on the selected name to show contact information. The list is intended to be a service to the public; the Office of Economic Development makes no representation as to the competency of the persons or businesses." This resource is still live on the web, but we realized it did not fit the criteria for a searchable database. Since it is a useful resource, we moved it to our Not Database/Not State page at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/Not_Databases. Continue reading →

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