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Guide of the Week: Human Rights

UC Berkeley contributed this annotated bibliography to the ALA GODORT Handout Wik: Human Rights Resources (Univ. of California--Berkeley, 1999) Last updated 7/7/2006 It is separated into the following sections:

  • Encyclopedias, Guides, and Handbooks
  • Guides to Research
  • Document Sources
  • Directories
  • Bibliographies
  • Annuals
  • Library Catalogs
  • Periodicals Indexes/Databases
  • Periodicals
  • News Sources
  • Government Information
  • Internet Sources
Before I highlight specific resources, I wanted to give kudos to the UC Berkeley folks for including the "library catalogs" section and suggesting these terms for folks searching for human rights resources in library catalogs:
  • Censorship
  • Civil rights
  • Detention of persons
  • Dissenters
  • Government, resistance to
  • Human rights
  • Human rights workers
  • Political crimes and offenses
  • Political persecution
  • Political prisoners
  • Race discrimination
  • Refugees, political
  • Self-determination
  • Sex discrimination
  • Social justice
  • Torture
While controlled vocabulary *is* a wonderful concept and does a great job of tying related records together it is not always obvious what vocabulary to use. If we don't highlight what to use, who will? Another good thing about the catalogs section is that UC Berkeley offers a tip on browsing human rights in the stacks -- "Browse in the stacks for books on human rights in the call number range 'JC571-628.'" As for the resources themselves, they are drawn from a number of print and electronic resources. A tiny sample includes: There is much, much more and you really ought to look at the rest of the guide. Then see what else is available. And if you're a docs librarian with a guide, annotated bibliography or handout, then add it to the exchange. Continue reading

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Guide of the Week: Housing

Housing has been an issue both this year in general and as an election issue. So this week I'm highlighting another Bert Chapman guide that he allowed the ALA GODORT Handout Exchange Wiki to link to: * Housing (Bert Chapman, Purdue University, 2001) Last updated 6/18/2008 In his introduction, Bert notes:

Housing affects our lives in many ways. We buy and sell homes, rent apartments, and invest in residential and commercial properties. Government agencies produce many publications on various aspects of housing. These publications can be found in various Purdue Libraries with the HSSE and MEL libraries having the largest collections. Examples of Library Catalog subject headings you can use to search for government documents on housing include:
  • Government Sale of Real Property United States
  • Home Ownership United States
  • Housing Policy United States
  • Housing Surveys United States
  • Rental Housing Law and Legislation United States
He then identifies a number of resources including: Check out the rest of the guide. Then see what other topics are available. And if you are a documents librarian with a guide, please add your guide to the wiki! Continue reading

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Guide of the Week: History

I had a pretty humble beginning in government documents. In June 1993, I began work as a documents clerk at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). UTSA was enlightened enough to send a paraprofessional to the local government documents users group. It was there that I first met Kathy Amen, the author of today's ALA GODORT Handout Exchange guide and someone I consider to be both a mentor and friend even though we don't keep in great touch. Kathy's Guide: Government Information in the Study of History (Kathy Amen, St. Mary's University, 2003) makes it's purpose clear with this intro statement:

This set of guides has 2 purposes: * to identify historically significant materials in the Blume Library documents collection, housed on the main floor of the Library * to provide convenient access to government (and related) web sites of interest to the historian and history students Therefore, each of the guide's sections is subdivided into * annotated listings of the Library's print holdings (with online versions noted if they are available) * major web-based resources * references to relevant links in our Government Information on the Web Subject Index, as an aid to finding more detailed online information.
Those guide sections would be: General, Archaeology, Archives, Area Studies, Biography, Institutions, Military, Places, Science/Technology, Social/Labor, and Sources. In addition to browsing these pages, a search is available. Some of the many resources that Kathy identifies in the area of history are:
  • Honor Bound: The History of American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973 (D 1.2:H 75/3). This volume draws upon research in official records, published literature and interviews with former POW's to chart the history of those taken prisoner during the Vietnam conflict.
  • Built in America: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record. This collection, part of the Library of Congress' American Memory project, "document achievements in architecture, engineering, and design in the United States and its territories through a comprehensive range of building types and engineering technologies." The website includes drawings, photographs, narrative descriptions, etc. You may search by keyword or browse by subject or location.
  • Bibliography of the History of Medicine. (HE 20.3615:). Annual. 1964-1993. Covers articles, monographs, and conference proceedings world-wide. One section contains references to biographical information on the medical histories of famous persons, medical aspects of artistic works, and biographies of those in health related professions. A second section indexes references by subject, subdivided, where appropriate, by geographical or chronological headings. There is a detailed contents list of subject headings which includes cross references.
  • Famous American Trials. Many, though not all, of the trials covered on this site developed by a law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City were held in the U.S. Information given includes links to official documents, background and analytical studies, contemporary and later reactions, maps, photographs and other illustrations as relevant.
  • Guide to the Research Collections of Former Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1789-1987. ( Y 1.1/2:13872). Identifies repositories of papers, oral history tapes and tape transcripts.
Check out the rest of the guide. I know I say this in every entry, but it is particularly true here. Kathy's guide is extensive and has many subtopics, so you really need to browse it awhile to get a sense of what's available. Once you're done, take a break. Then see what other topics are available. And if you are a documents librarian with a guide, please add your guide to the wiki! Continue reading

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Guide of the Week: Gerontology (Aging)

According to the Census Bureau, by 2030 one in five Americans, including me, will be 65 or older. It's never too early to prepare for old age, it seems like a good time to highlight this guide linked from the ALA GODORT Handout Exchange: Selected Bibliography of Gerontology Resources in the Social Work Library, with Selected Web Resources (Sally Haines Lawler, University of Michigan, 2003) Last updated 9/26/2006 The scope note (introduction) to the guide emphasizes that this list is not comprehensive and that people should contact library staff for additional resources. While not comprehensive, the guide is pretty extensive with lists of books, journals, databases, web sites and more. A too brief sample of what's available includes:

  • Andersson, L. (Ed.). (2002). Cultural gerontology. Westport, Conn.: Auburn House. HQ 1061 .C7931 2002
  • Birren, J.E. (2001). Telling the stories of life through guided autobiography groups. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. RC 953.8 .R43 B5751 2001
  • American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. Albany, NY: American Orthopsychiatric Association * Full text available only to U-M students; available on campus at Social Work Library (1988-present), Shapiro Undergraduate Library (1980-present) * Indexed in: AGELINE, Psychological Abstracts, Social Sciences Citation Index, Social Work Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts
  • AGELINE Conduct a subject search for gerontology. Also try subject searches for social gerontology, geropsychology, psychological aging, biological aging, successful aging, older adults, old old, and young old. Try to be as specific as possible in this database, as it covers aging and older adults, in particular the social, psychological, economic, policy and health care aspects. For additional information, see the Social Work Library's guide "How to Search CSA Illumina."
  • http://www.americangeriatrices.org/ American Geriatrics Society.
Aside from the extensive list of resources, the guide also offers a number of search terms to use when searching gerontology issues in library catalogs. Some of the terms offered are: Aged offenders, Frail elderly, Hospice care, Rural aged, and Terminal care. Check out the rest of the guide. Then see what other topics are available. And if you are a documents librarian with a guide, please add your guide to the wiki! Continue reading

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Guide of the Week: Energy

Since energy policy has been in the news most of this year, it seems like a good time to highlight this guide from the ALA GODORT Handout Exchange: Energy (Ed Herman, University of Buffalo, 2007) Ed has produced an annotated listing of web resources to these aspects of energy:

  • National Policy Issues
  • US Statistics
  • Technical Information
  • Nuclear Energy
  • New York State
  • International Data
  • Additional Information
Some of the specific resources he includes are:
  • The Energy Source (U.S. Congress. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources) http://energy.senate.gov/ The hearings and news room sections are the most informative parts of this site. These abbreviated hearings reproduce testimonies of witnesses before the full committee and the subcommittees, but exclude dialogs among the witnesses and the Committee members. The Business and Government Documents Reference Center maintains the complete hearings in paper format. The news room includes two sets of press releases issued by the Committee Chair and the ranking minority member.
  • States (U.S. Department of Energy. Energy Information Administration) http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/states/_seds.html Presents energy statistics pertaining to the 50 states.
  • Building Energy Codes (U.S. Department of Energy. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy) http://www.energycodes.gov/ Attempts to promote improved energy codes for buildings by working with government agencies, national code organizations, and industry. It also hopes to develop and distribute compliance tools; and provide financial and technical assistance to states.
  • Nuclear Power Information Tracker (Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)) http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/nuclear_safety/reactor-map/embedded-flash-map.html Select power plants from a map or a list to view a brief box that describes safety issues and a detailed statement that cites the reactor's owners, locations, populations within a 10-mile radius, and safety issues. Links lead to more detailed documentation.
  • International Energy Annual (U.S. Department of Energy. Energy Information Administration) http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/iea/contents.html Provides information and trends on world energy production and consumption for petroleum; natural gas; coal; and electricity. Statistics measuring population and GDP put the data in context. View information in PDF format or download Excel files that offer longer time series.
Check out the rest of the guide. Then see what other topics are available. And if you are a documents librarian with a guide, please add your guide to the wiki! Continue reading

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