Happy 40th anniversary Internet!
Happy anniversary [w:Internet]! it was 40 years ago, on December 5th, 1969 that the original 4 node network of [w:ARPANET] -- the experimental network built with funding from Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the US Defense Department -- was connected. For more, see the exhibit at the Computer History Museum.
The initial ARPANET consisted of four IMPs. They were installed at:
- UCLA, where Leonard Kleinrock had established a Network Measurement Center (with an SDS Sigma 7 being the first computer attached to it).
- The Stanford Research Institute's Augmentation Research Center, where Douglas Engelbart had created the ground-breaking NLS system, a very important early hypertext system (with the SDS 940 that ran NLS, named 'Genie', being the first host attached).
- UC Santa Barbara (with the Culler-Fried Interactive Mathematics Centre's IBM 360/75, running OS/MVT being the machine attached).
- The University of Utah's Computer Science Department, where Ivan Sutherland had moved (for a DEC PDP-10 running TENEX).
Let the countdown begin!
Thank you, James, for the warm welcome! I thought I'd kick off my guest blogging with a fun countdown. No, we are not counting down to the New Year, though I'm sure we are all ready for a fabulous 2010! This countdown is much more important. In 119 days, people all over the country will send off their census forms. That's right, folks, it is census time. Everyone should receive their forms in the mail by March 2010. It's 10 questions that will only take you 10 minutes to fill out--and then you don't have to do it ever again. Okay, you will have to do it again, but not for another 10 years! So make it count! It's free, easy, and confidential. And it decides how many representatives your state gets, as well as how much funding the federal government gives to your community. Besides, if you don't do it, they'll just track you down and knock on your door until you answer the questions or go insane...believe me, they will. For more information on the 2010 Census, visit http://2010.census.gov. Remember: government information needs to be free--help out by turning in your completed census form as soon as you get it. Sonnet Continue reading
Sonnet Brown in “the return of the FGI guest blogger”
Ok gentle readers, we've got a new guest blogger for December. Welcome to the podium Sonnet Brown, head of the Federal Documents Department at the Earl K. Long Library at the University of New Orleans. She's a 2010 ALA Emerging Leader so watch out! Check out her bio for more. Take it away Sonnet! Continue reading
Sonnet Brown: BOTM for December, 2009
Sonnet Brown is head of the Federal Documents Department at the Earl K. Long Library at the University of New Orleans. She was selected to be a 2010 American Library Association Emerging Leader. Sonnet received her M.L.I.S. (2008) from Texas Woman’s University and her B.A. in Classical Studies (2004) from Loyola University New Orleans. When she isn’t working with documents, she enjoys writing and exploring Second Life. She is currently a columnist with Legal Information Alert and will also be writing the Tech Watch column with Rebecca Blakeley. She is also working with UNO’s Digital Initiatives Librarian Keith Pickett to digitize U.S. Hearings from the 1960s-1980s. She promotes the project and the rest of her collection through the department’s Facebook, Twitter, and Blog. As a member of Gen Y, Sonnet looks forward to a long career ahead of her. After all, she believes that “librarians are like vampires…they live forever!” Continue reading
Lunchtime Listen: Finding Docs and Geology Information
While poking around the Government Printing Office's (GPO)'s OPAL training site at http://www.opal-online.org/archivegpo.htm, I found a couple of online workshops that I think will be valuable to beginner and expert alike:
Searching for Free Government Full Text Docs Online: Where to Begin? presented in October 2009 by Holly Harper, GPO intern and MLIS student at the University of Washington. * Streaming audio with slides Geology Librarianship and Government Documents presented in August 2009 by Stephanie Earls, GPO intern and MLIS student at the University of Washington. * Streaming audio with slidesThey appear to run best in Internet Explorer. The recordings were made by two library school interns working with GPO's Robin Haun-Mohamed. The intention was to create programming that would be helpful to generalist librarian and new depository staff. I think they've done well at this and created some videos that should be shared with non-librarians as well. I publicly thank Robin and the GPO staff that made these possible. You may wish to pause the videos in places to make notes of URLs. One new thing I learned (or was reminded anew) by the "Full Text Docs" presentation was the ability to browse publications in FDSys by collection, congressional committee or by Date. Use the "last 24 hours" option to see just how much information government is pumping out these days. And that's just a fraction of what's available. My highlighting these two OPAL presentations should not be interpreted as a slight on the other good material you can find there. Go, watch and explore. Continue reading