National Wetlands Research Center Library
Welcome to the National Wetlands Research Center Library: Not Just Another Library -- A Special Library: Fact Sheet (FS) 2007-3028 provides information to visitors and other external users of the National Wetlands Research Center (NWRC) library. Libraries are grouped into four major types: public, school, academic, and special. The NWRC library is classified as special because it is sponsored by the Federal government, and the collections focus on a specific subject. The NWRC library is the only USGS library dedicated to wetland science, and its collections include subject specialties in forested wetland ecology, fire science, spatial analysis, remote sensing, modeling, statistical analysis, marsh and coastal prairie management and restoration, plant communities, habitats, aquatic ecosystems, climate change, wetland loss, hurricanes, nutrient dynamics, and limnology. Editing, design, layout, and Web posting of this FS were provided by staff of the Lafayette and Denver PSCs. NWRC Fact Sheet Continue reading
GPO’s FDLP Podcasts available!
Only two weeks after the Spring FDLP/Depository Library Council meeting, GPO has released audio files via podcasts! Download them through iTunes, share them with friends and family, and use Audacity to couple them with phat beats. Continue reading
Congress and YouTube
An interesting development for government information specialists is the use of video sharing sites by government agencies (U.S. Military's "Multi-National Force" on YouTube) and by politicians. Technology Daily has a story, which says that by the end of the year, according to according to Karina Newton, the director of new media for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, "most members of Congress will be using video-sharing sites like YouTube in some way."
- Experts Predict Web Video Revolution On The Hill, by Heather Greenfield, National Journal's Technology Daily, May 2, 2007 PM edition. [subscription required]
While morning floor speeches often are delivered to a largely empty chamber, the excerpts already have been seen 100,000 times.Is this just a channel for delivering content that we already have in our libraries in the form of The Congressional Record and other documents? or is the particular aggregation of content on a particular site of interest to librarians to point to today and to save for the future? One thing we do know is that the folks maintaining these sites have a different view of "long-term" access than librarians do. "Jeff Weingarten, president of Interface Media Group, noted that unlike with television, the video 'lives on forever.'" Of course, his perspective of "forever" is in contrast to the life of a political ad on TV, not the perspective of maintaining this information past the current election cycle. Interestingly, some Republicans think that YouTube is too liberal and have set up an alternative called QubeTV.tv, "dedicated to bringing your conservative take on politics and culture to the Internet."
- QubeTV set as YouTube alternative, By Eric Pfeiffer, The Washington Times, May 2, 2007
Republican White House veterans Charlie Gerow and Jeff Lord have created a new conservative video Web site called QubeTV, which they describe as an alternative to YouTube, a popular clearinghouse for sharing video files. ...Both Mr. Gerow and Mr. Lord, who served as aides during the Reagan administration, say QubeTV is necessary because of what they view as an anti-conservative bias by the administrators of YouTube.Continue reading
USGS Launches Land Cover Data Web Tool
USGS Launches Land Cover Data Web Tool San Francisco, Calif. - On April 12th the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced the launch of the new USGS Land Cover Visualization and Analysis Tool, which allows users to analyze, in specific detail, how land cover has changed over time. Designed for both novice and expert users, the web-based system provides an intuitive interface able to selectively view and analyze land cover data from any web browser. The USGS is soliciting users to evaluate the preview release of the application. For more information, go to http://emmma.usgs.gov/landcover "Land cover data has been a largely untapped information resource. With increasing population and the challenging prospect of climate change, comprehensive information about the condition of our land, and how it is changing, becomes more and more vital," said Barbara Ryan, USGS Associate Director for Geography. "An easy-to-use Web-based application that delivers national land information assets to a wider audience and clearly demonstrates how our environment is changing broadens opportunities to incorporate land cover data in decision making." Visit this link for the complete announcement. Continue reading