State Agency Databases Activity Report 12/16/2012
The volunteers at the State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States project at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/State_Agency_Databases spent last week fixing a lot of links and finding some databases to add to our state lists. Our survey on whether to retain our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/statedbs only got seven responses. While this might already send the message that the project Facebook page will not be missed, we're going to keep the survey open another week. So if you haven an opinion one way or the other, we'd love you to visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GHP7SPY and answer our quick, four question survey. Now on to our activity highlights. For the full listing of changes in the last week, see http://tinyurl.com/statedbs. DATABASES ADDED CONNECTICUT (Janice Wilson) Connecticut's Reemployment Portal - Linking skills and talents to new employment opportunities. Connecticut’s Reemployment Portal displays occupations with similar characteristics such as knowledge areas, tools and technology, and general work activities of your selected occupation. GEORGIA (Chris Sharpe) Search Fire Extinguisher Companies - Search companies to verify they are licensed to conduct business related to fire suppression systems and fire extinguishers. Continue reading
State Agency Databases Activity Report 12/9/2012
As predicted, our quarterly link check at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/State_Agency_Databases aka the State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States Project has generated a significant increase in activity this past week. Before we get into that activity, we'd really appreciate it if you would answer a four question survey about our project's Facebook page at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GHP7SPY. The end of the year seems like a good time to evaluate whether our project's promotional efforts are best spent on Facebook or somewhere else. Now back to your regular report. For a full listing of all activity during the past seven days, visit http://tinyurl.com/statedbs. Here are some highlights: DATABASES ADDED ALASKA (Daniel Cornwall) Alaska Volcano Observatory Image Search - Database of volcano related photos. Database may be searched by name of volcano, year, image type (may refer to purpose or format), words in caption, author, recent images and "keywords." Keywords are in quotes because you are asked to choose form a list. Images appear to be public domain. Credit for photographers and AVO/USGS is requested for use of these images. ARIZONA (Daniel Cornwall) Indigenous Governance Database - From UA News, "The Indigenous Governance Database, recently launched by the UA’s Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management and Policy, pulls together in one central location articles, case studies, videos and other resources focused on governance, sovereignty, leadership, and sustainable economic and community development." The database may be searched by keywords, resource type (books, case studies, films, etc), Format type (text, audio, video), Topic (civics, education, laws & code, etc), Native Nation (organized by state, then tribal organization). Keywords MUST be entered. A two minute demo video is available. IOWA (Julie Thomas) Business Entities Search - Database allows you to search by either business entity number or name. The name search offers the option of entering the first few letters or words of a business entity name, in order to retrieve a list of all business entities beginning with the same letters. For example, entering NOW may return NOW INC., NOWHERE INC., and NOW PUBLICATIONS INC. MICHIGAN (Michael McDonnell) Statewide Search for Subdivision Plats - The Bureau of Construction Codes provides access to digital images, with print capability, of the plats and related documents of land subdivisions in the State of Michigan's plat files. The maps data as far back as 1821. UTAH (Susanne Caro) Construction Information Database - A searchable database of building permit data from nearly all cities and counties in Utah since 1975. Required fields include month and year. State, City and County search options are available. WASHINGTON (Marilyn Von Seggern) Find a CPA or Firm Licensing Search - Search for a CPA individual or firm licensed in the state of Washington. DATABASES REMOVED ARIZONA Lost and Found Livestock - Database of lost and found livestock including: cattle, sheep, swine goats, horses, Emu, Ostrich, llamas, alpacas, Bison, domestic deer, and domestic elk. Records are viewable by animal type, date and county. Pictures provided when available. Formerly at http://www.azda.gov/lostFound/webView.aspx This database is still listed on the Arizona Ag site, but hasn't worked since June 2012. Continue reading
State Agency Databases Activity Report 12/2/2012
With our upcoming quarterly link check in mid-December, we're having increased activity at the State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States Project at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/State_Agency_Databases. This month is special. Our volunteer guide states that our document specialist volunteers agree to check their links four times a year. Some of us are more active than that, but most of us check links at least quarterly. Unfortunately a few folks haven't had time in 2012 to update their pages at all. So, the weekend of January 5/6 2013, Daniel Cornwall will be reviewing the "history tab" under each page. Any page (hopefully few in number) that has not been updated by its volunteer will be put out for adoption. So, if you've wanted to become part of our project, look at the activity and statistic reports we'll be issuing in January. Now, for the activity. As always, you can view a blow-by-blow list of changes for the past two weeks by visiting http://tinyurl.com/statedbs14d. Here are the highlights: DATABASES ADDED MICHIGAN (Michael McDonnell) The Michigan Registered Casino Interest Searchable Database - This database allows you to search for registrants required by law to file a registration under the Casino Registration Act. Only the Greektown, MGM Grand Detroit and Motor City casinos are included in this database. TEXAS (Ann Ellis) Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Central Registry Query - The Central Registry provides for searches regarding basic information on facilities, organizations and people that are regulated by the Agency. Types of searches include customer, regulated entities, program IDs, and documents. UTAH (Susanne Caro) Businesses Registered in Utah - Includes Business Name & Address, Registered Officers, Principals, Partners, Registered Agents, and Addresses. DATABASES REMOVED CALIFORNIA (Joel Rane) Special Education at Certified Nonpublic, Nonsectarian Schools and Agencies formerly at http://www3.scoe.net/npsa/index/index.cfm. Searchable database for special education services provided by nonpublic, nonsectarian schools and agencies that have been certified by CDE. NEW MOBILE APPS MICHIGAN Michigan Campaign Finance Search - The Michigan CFS (Campaign Finance Search) for the Apple is provided by the Office of the Michigan Secretary of State to deliver mobile, real-time access to the latest Michigan state campaign finance information, viewed as aggregated totals. The application provides mobile access to electronically filed campaign finance information for all state offices, state political committees and quick access to direct cash contributor information, on the go. It allows you to enter name-based exact or close match searches that provide a listing of candidates and/or committees that meet the search criteria. The App is available at the iTunes App Store. An android version of this app is available at the [https://play.google.com/store/devices?hl=en Google Play Store] HOW VOLATILE CAN A PAGE BE? While our project is not currently keeping statistics on how often database URLs change, I'm sometimes surprised by the amount of change between page updates. A case in point is California, maintained by Joel Rane. Between August 16th and November 21st, five database URLs changed. In addition another database was dropped by its agency and descriptions or supplementary information for five databases changed as well. If you are interested in researching the volatility of state agency databases, our state history pages may be helpful to you. Contact Daniel Cornwall for more details. Continue reading
Good advice for new docs librarians needs two more tips
Bernadette J. Johnson, Reference Librarian and Government Documents Coordinator at the Francis Mason University, writes a good article on getting up to speed as a new documents librarian/government information specialist. She also has good ideas on educating non-documents librarians, faculty, students and others on the existence and value of government information. If you're a government documents librarian and especially if you are new and/or in an academic library, I encourage you to read the whole article. As good as Ms. Johnson's article is, there are two major sources of support not mentioned in her article - govdoc-l and the Government Documents Roundatable (GODORT). Govdoc-l is a mailing list for government document librarians that has operated for decades. It currently has 2,000 plus subscribers, most of whom are government information specialists. It is a rich source of expertise. In my decade or so of documents work, I don't think I ever saw a question go without a response. No documents librarian should be without this support system. If the volume of mail is too heavy, that's what the "digest" feature is for. It also has an extensive archive. While Ms. Johnson rightly points new docs librarians to fdlp.gov, she doesn't also point people towards GODORT at the state and national level. These organizations are also important sources of information, advocacy and general support. I have to admit that State GODORT's can vary - a few only exist on paper. While states may vary, the national GODORT is in pretty good shape, as their wiki attests to. One particularly useful GODORT generated tool for librarians of any tenure is the Government Information Clearinghouse & Handout Exchange. As their page says, "We don't need to reinvent the wheel. We can provide templates for one another to save time, share models, and work smarter." Other government documents librarians/government information specialists are one of the greatest resources any docs librarian has. Use them, cherish them and contribute back to the community when you can. You're not in this alone. Reference: Bernadette Johnson, "Government Documents Usage and Awareness in Education," DttP: Documents to the People, 40, no. 3 (2012): 22-24, http://wikis.ala.org/godort/images/b/b4/DttP40n3.pdf#page=22 Continue reading
State Agency Databases Activity Report 10/5/2012
This past week was a quiet one for the State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States project at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/State_Agency_Databases. But it was notable for the removal of this database in Washington state:
== Community, Trade, and Economic Development, Department of == Washington Prospector: Buildings, Land, and Site Selection Analysis - Formerly at http://www.washingtonprospector.com A business site selection analysis program that assists with gathering economic, planning, geographic, and other information in real time. The GIS application allows for creation and printing of maps.The Washington page is maintained by Marilyn Von Seggern. For a full list of other changes during the past week, including some link fixes, see http://tinyurl.com/statedbs. Continue reading
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