Tag Archives: databases

This week we added new volunteers to the State Agency Databases project at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/State_Agency_Databases. We welcomed Ellen Richardson and Jennifer Ekblaw as the new documents specialists for the Massachusetts project page. ORPHAN STATES With Ellen and Jennifer's adoption of Massachusetts and the pending adoption of Montana, the project is now looking for people to adopt the following pages:

• Arkansas
• District of Columbia
• Florida
• Hawaii
• Indiana
• Kansas
• Maryland
• Minnesota
• Oklahoma
• South Carolina

If you are interested in one of these pages, please read through our volunteer guide and then contact Daniel Cornwall through the contact link on the main project page. PAGE ACTIVITY For a full listing of link repairs and other activity for the past week, see http://tinyurl.com/statedbs. Read on for a few highlights: DATABASES ADDED COLORADO (Samantha Hager) Colorado Environmental Public Health Tracking - Search environmental and health data by county, topic, and year. RESOURCES Added The original focus of the State Agency Databases project was on searchable databases produced by state agencies. Over the years our volunteers have found a number of use resources that are either not databases or databases not produced by state agencies. For these resources, we established the "not databases" page at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/Not_Databases. This week Connecticut documents specialist Janice Wilson put up a sizable number of CT resources including:

• Banks in Connecticut - Lists institution, main office addresses, CEO, and regulating authority.
• Dealers, Licensed Repairers, and Licensed Recyclers only. Dept. of Revenue Services, Most Popular Downloadable Forms
• Directory of Performing & Teaching Artists - This directory provides lists of Connecticut artists (dance, traditional arts, literary arts, music, theater) willing to perform/provide specialized instruction in schools or community settings. Click on the individual discipline links for the listings.
• DMV Learner's Permit Test Appointments - Use the online Quick Service Center to schedule, reschedule and pay for the learner's permit test. Infraction Ticket Processing - You may either pay your ticket or plead Not Guilty on this website.

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There was a flurry of end of year activity at the State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States project (http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/State_Agency_Databases) over the last few weeks, including our annual compilation of usage statistics. We also had the sad duty of returning 11 pages to orphan status as they were not updated in 2012. But first, the good news! All together, state project pages were visited 201,084 times in 2012. This is nearly triple the number of visits in 2011. Our subject pages also got about three times more visits in 2012, logging 28,131 visits. The most popular state page was Alaska, followed closely by Missouri. The Prisoner Locater page continued in its number one spot among subject pages, but Lynn McClelland's Healthcare Practitioner pages were a close second. The full statistics worksheet listing individual stats for all states and subject pages is linked from our main project page under 2012 Usage Stats. DATABASE ACTIVITY For a full listing of all changes to project pages during the last two weeks, visit http://tinyurl.com/statedbs14d. Below are some highlights of activity. DATABASES ADDED MICHIGAN (Michael McDonnell) Michigan Healthcare Help - This site provides information on where to find free or inexpensive health related services. Included are links to free clinics, mental health services, dental care, prescription drug programs, family planning, and cancer screening and treatment services. You can also find assistance with Medicaid enrollment here. MISSOURI (Annie Moots) Field Guide - What plant or animal is that? - Search the database of plants, animals and mushrooms found in Missouri. OHIO (Audrey Hall) Interest Calculator - Select tax type, amount due, and payment date to calculate interest. WASHINGTON (Marilyn Von Seggern) Children's Safe Products Act Reports Database - Beginning in August 2012, manufacturers of children's products must report to Dept. of Ecology if their products contain toxic chemicals such as lead, cadmium and phthalates. The Reporting List of Chemicals of High Concern to Children can be searched by chemical, company, or product. NEW ORPHANS FOR 2013 Some bad news for the project, but potentially good news for you. Since 2011, our project guidelines state that we will terminate volunteers who have not documented link checks or updated their pages in the past calendar year. State pages meeting that condition are put out for adoption the following January. So here is our new orphan list for 2013:

• Arkansas
• District of Columbia
• Florida
• Hawaii
• Indiana
• Kansas
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• Montana
• Oklahoma
• South Carolina

If you are interested in taking on one of these pages, first read our volunteer guide and make sure that you are willing and able to meet the requirements of a project volunteer. Then contact Daniel Cornwall, the project coordinator using the contact link on our main page. After you are given the page and a wiki account (if needed), you will have two weeks to change the page to reflect your ownership. We would love to have you join our group of 40 odd document enthusiasts and specialists. Just make sure you can fit quarterly link checks and database finding into your schedule. Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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