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:He then identifies a number of resources including:
- 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
- A Chronology of Housing Legislation & Selected Executive Actions 1892-2003 HSSE DOC Y 4.F 49/20:108-D
- American Housing Survey (various cities) HSSE DOC C 3.215:H-170/
- Census of Construction Industries MEL REF, MEL, & STOR C 3.245/
- Mortgage Insurance Companies of America/Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Reports MEL REF FR 1.63/
- Germany Federal Ministry of Transport, Building, & Housing (In German)
New international report on green jobs
We normally keep our focus on US government information, but this report on green jobs caught my eye coming through my feed reader (UN Pulse is a really good site to follow for UN-related news!). Since this issue is in the news and on the lips of our presidential candidates, I thought I'd give you the heads-up about "Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World", (press release / PDF). It was cooperatively published by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE). According to the press release, the study finds that "changing patterns of employment and investment resulting from efforts to reduce climate change and its effects are already generating new jobs in many sectors and economies, and could create millions more in both developed and developing countries. However, the report also finds that the process of climate change, already underway, will continue to have negative effects on workers and their families, especially those whose livelihoods depend on agriculture and tourism." Look for it soon in OCLC. Continue reading
The “Stop Open Access Act”
Peter Suber reports on H.R. 6845, which is officially called the "Fair Copyright in Research Works Act" but which Suber nicknames the "Stop Open Access Act" or the "Put Publishers First Act."
- A bill to overturn the NIH policy, by Peter Suber, SPARC Open Access Newsletter, issue #126m October 2, 2008.
Bureau of Labor Statistics RSS feeds
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics now has a page of "Latest Numbers" RSS feeds. There are feeds available for: BLS Principal Federal Economic Indicators, Business Employment Dynamics, Employment, Hours, and Earnings from the Current Employment Statistics survey (National), Consumer Price Index, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, Employment Cost Trends, Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Productivity and Costs, Mass Layoff Statistics, Import/Export Price Indexes, Producer Price Indexes, and regional statistics. Continue reading
Where is that official government information?
According to a press release, the Committee on House Administration has adopted new rules that "permit Members to post content on outside websites so long as the content is for 'official purposes'...." On the one hand, this is a welcome relief from the rules the House was using, which seemed more appropriate for the nineteenth century than the twenty-first. On the other hand, it will it make the job of identifying, authenticating, and preserving official government information that much more difficult. John Wonderlich reports that the new rules say that Members of the House may post "official content" outside of .gov:
In addition to their official (house.gov) Web site, a Member may maintain another Web site(s), channel(s) or otherwise post material on third-party Web sites.With official government information migrating to YouTube and other dot-coms and without deposit of official government information in depository libraries, even web harvesting projects will have little hope of being comprehensive. Continue reading