100 Niche Search Engines Every College Student Needs 9 Feb 2010, 6:26 am

100 Niche Search Engines Every College Student Needs - a list from OnlineUniversities.com

March is Women's History Month - Library of Congress 9 Feb 2010, 6:05 am

"The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of women whose commitment to nature and the planet have proved invaluable to society"

Research Information Centre - Microsoft and British Library) 8 Feb 2010, 12:01 pm

"The Research Information Centre (RIC) is a virtual research environment framework being jointly developed by Microsoft External Research and The British Library. We view researchers as extreme information workers and the purpose of the RIC is to support researchers in managing the increasingly complex range of tasks involved in carrying out research. Built on top of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007, the RIC extends the core MOSS functionality to meet the needs to academic researchers engaged in collaborative research projects"

Wellcome Library Insight - From deviance to diversity (UK) 8 Feb 2010, 8:06 am

"Even in the quite recent past, individuals who did not conform to conventional patterns of gendered behaviour or sexual orientation were regarded as either freakish curiosities or dangerous deviants. Using a broad range of materials from the Wellcome Library, this Insights session demonstrates the gradual changes in medical and scientific understanding of sexual identity, the bringing about of changes in the law, and the development of more tolerant social attitudes. Speaker: Dr Lesley Hall, Archivist, Wellcome Library. You can pick up your free ticket for this event from the Information Desk from 16.30 on the day. 11 February 2010, 18.00 - 19.00"

The Project Gutenberg Monthly Newsletter - January 21, 2010 8 Feb 2010, 7:25 am

The Project Gutenberg Monthly Newsletter - January 21, 2010 is now available online

February 2010 Early Reviewer Books at LibraryThing 8 Feb 2010, 6:50 am

The February 2010 batch of Early Reviewer books is now available at LibraryThing. There are 3495 copies of 107 books available this month

Chatterbooks (UK) 8 Feb 2010, 6:41 am

"Chatterbooks is a reading group programme for children aged four to twelve which is all about encouraging a love and enjoyment of reading. With Jacqueline Wilson as the patron, and authors and publishers supporting the scheme, Chatterbooks is a great way to find out about the best children's books and ideas to get children hooked on reading. Chatterbooks offers an innovative, exciting and creative reading approach, which will meet libraries' and schools' objectives in an imaginative way. Chatterbooks groups will appeal to all children, including those not currently engaged with reading."

British Library to offer 19th Century first editions for free download on Amazon Kindle 8 Feb 2010, 6:33 am

The British Library is to make more than 65,000 rare first editions of 19th Century fiction available for the public to download for free from the spring. Owners of the Amazon Kindle e-book device will be able to view the books, including their original typeface and illustrations, of famous works by Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy, as well as thousands of more obscure authors. Printed paperback copies of the first editions, including Dickens’ Bleak House and Austen's Pride and Prejudice, will also be available for the public to order from Amazon for around GBP15. The library is concentrating on the 19th century because the books are out of copyright and so can be offered for free. As well as classic titles by famous 19th Century authors, many of the downmarket books known as "penny dreadfuls" will also be made available to the public, including Black Bess by Edward Viles and The Dark Woman by J M Rymer.

Online Guide to Open Access Journals Publishing 8 Feb 2010, 6:19 am

"The Online Guide to Open Access Journals Publishing provides practical information and tools to support the efforts of scholars and other small teams producing independent Open Access journals. The guide has been developed by Co-Action Publishing and Lund University Libraries Head Office with support from the National Library of Sweden and Nordbib"

2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 7 Feb 2010, 9:13 am

The 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award: Amazon.com, along with Penguin Group (USA) and CreateSpace, is pleased to announce the third annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, the international competition seeking the next popular novel. For the first time, the competition will award two grand prizes: one for General Fiction and one for Young Adult Fiction. The 2010 competition is open to unpublished and previously self-published novels waiting to be discovered. Each winner will receive a publishing contract with Penguin, which includes a $15,000 advance

Conservation Almanac (USA) 7 Feb 2010, 9:00 am

"The Conservation Almanac is a growing repository of information and data about land conservation in America from The Trust for Public Land. TPL's Center for Conservation Finance created the almanac for policy makers, the media, foundations, academics, public officials, and conservation leaders. The data - never before gathered in one place - provides a context for assessing the impacts of conservation and the growing number of state and local conservation funding measures"

CQ Press Custom and Online Books 6 Feb 2010, 10:38 am

"CQ Press Custom and Online Books provides professors free, 24/7 access to titles from CQ Press College Publishing and the ability to create customized textbooks that are specifically designed for their particular course. The platform gives professors the ability to customize content so they're ordering exactly the book they want for their students. A single, free log-in gives professors immediate access (and an eco-friendly approach) to a virtual bookcase of exam copies. Instructors can perform full text searches across books to locate a fact and find references, identifying the perfect information to present to their students"

National Literacy Trust News - February 2010 (UK) 6 Feb 2010, 10:31 am

National Literacy Trust News (UK) - February 2010 issue now available

Library of Congress Digital Preservation Newsletter - February 2010 6 Feb 2010, 10:25 am

The February 2010 issue of the Library of Congress Digital Preservation Newsletter is now available

Bookbite (UK) 6 Feb 2010, 10:23 am

"Bookbite is here to help you get more out of reading and writing. Whether you always have your nose in a book or just flick through a local paper; whether 'writing' to you means writing short stories, keeping a diary or a note in a greetings card. Join our reading group or writing club, take part in competitions, find information, book lists, tips and more About the partners: Booktrust has enjoyed a partnership with both UK online centres and WRVS to create and launch Bookbite. In addition, Booktrust is working with around 300 informal partners - libraries, organisations for older people, and resource centres across England. From the West Indian Seamen's Association in London to Care & Repair in Manchester. From Ellesmere Port Central Library to HMP Hewell in Worcestershire, Booktrust is delighted to have the support of a diverse range of organisations. All are helping us to deliver the Bookbite magazine to encourage 100,000 older people to get the most out of reading and creative writing for discovery and pleasure"

NYPL Map Rectifier - New York Public Library 6 Feb 2010, 10:10 am

"The NYPL Map Rectifier is a tool for digitally aligning ("rectifying") historical maps from the NYPL's collections to match today's precise maps. Visitors can browse already rectified maps or assist the NYPL by aligning a map. Play the video below to tour the site and learn how to rectify a map yourself

Non-parochial and non-conformist records now online (UK) 6 Feb 2010, 7:29 am

UK National Archives: "All birth, marriage and death records from our collection of Non-Parochial, Foreign and Maritime Registers can now be found online at BMDRegisters.co.uk. An excellent resource for researching details of ancestors that may not be recorded elsewhere, the records can be searched with ease and without a fee, though there is a cost for advanced searching and downloading documents. Listing over 8.25 million entries from 1636 to 1950, this unique and wide-ranging record set contains maternity records, Fleet marriages, births, marriages and deaths aboard ships, non-conformist records, and many others"

Video: Manchester Central Library - The Stacks (UK) 6 Feb 2010, 7:16 am

"A trip down through Manchester Central Library's stack system. Beneath the Great Hall, at the heart of the library, are four levels of library stacks (storage areas). Made of steel, they directly support the reinforced concrete floors of the building and drive down into the sandstone bedrock. They contain approximately 22 miles of shelving and were designed to provide storage space for up to one million books. The stacks contain some of the oldest and most precious treasures of the library, kept in special secure areas and an underground environment-controlled archive store"

Manchester Central Library - The Stacks from Manchester Libraries on Vimeo

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles 6 Feb 2010, 6:29 am

Forum Médical Suisse

Primary Care : Journal Suisse de Médicine de Premier Recours

Primary Care : Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Hausarzmedizin

Schweizerisches Medizin-Forum

Advances in Environmental Sciences

Animal Biology & Animal Husbandry

Chronicles of Young Scientists

Extreme Life, Biospeology & Astrobiology

Human & Veterinary Medicine

Methodist Review

Proenvironment Promediu

Cadernos de História da Educação

Current Trends in Biotechnology and Pharmacy

The International Arab Journal of Information Technology

The New Educator

International Journal Bioautomation

International Journal of Computer and Network Security

Kust Medical Journal

Mamlu-k Studies Review

Avicenna Journal of Medical Biotechnology

Electronic Journal of Plant Breeding

The New School Psychology Bulletin

Simon Fraser University Educational Review

Pecunia : Revista de la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales

ellipsis

International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology

Sonograma

International Journal on Computer Science and Engineering

Studii si Cercetari Filologice : Seria Limbi Romanice

International Journal of Molecular Epidemiology and Genetics

Rationality, Markets and Morals

Revista Profissão Docente

Advances in Electrical and Computer Engineering

ZooNotes

Semantics and Pragmatics

Via Litterae

telondefondo : Revista de Teoría y Crítica Teatral

Saskatchewan Health Information Resources Partnership (Canada) 6 Feb 2010, 5:02 am

The Saskatchewan Health Information Resources Partnership provides access to a comprehensive suite of online health information resources for all health practitioners in Saskatchewan. Practice areas include medicine, nursing, pharmacy, psychology, and therapy. The SHIRP digital library includes:

* 13 Medical and Interdisciplinary Health Databases
* Over 6,000 Full text Journals
* 144 Full text Books
* 2 Clinical Decision Support Tools

SHIRP's Mandate:

* ensure that critical evidence-based health information is available to all health care practitioners in the province
* provide training and reference support for all health care practitioners in accessing these vital resources

The SHIRP team is comprised of two Co-Chairs, a Coordinator, an Outreach Services Librarian, and a Programmer/Analyst

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference 5 Feb 2010, 12:44 pm

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - this week: Airports. Answers here.

1. Name the main airport serving London, situated west of London.
2. There is an airport and flying doctor base near Alice Springs in which country?
3. What was the former name of Kennedy International Airport in New York?
4. What is the name of the Scottish airport 2 miles NNE of Ayr?
5. At which Ugandan airport in 1976 were most of the hostages rescued who had been held aboard an Air France plane?
6. What is the name of the airport which was upgraded in the 1950s as a second London airport?
7. What is the name of Chicago's international airport?
8. "MAD" is the airport code for which airport?
9. At which airport just outside Paris did Charles Lindbergh land after his historic nonstop flight from New York in 1927?
10. Name the airport in E Newfoundland which became a major North American terminal for flights to Europe.

Begging for mercy: 19th century criminal petitions (UK) 5 Feb 2010, 6:45 am

"Criminal petitions at The UK National Archives tell fascinating, and sometimes shocking, stories of 19th century crime and punishment"

Seattle Public Library holding "community conversations" 5 Feb 2010, 6:40 am

"Members of the public are invited to attend "community conversations" in March to help The Seattle Public Library plan for evolving Library patron needs and to prioritize limited resources"

AAUP Journal of Academic Freedom 5 Feb 2010, 6:35 am

AAUP Journal of Academic Freedom - Volume One, 2010 is now available from the American Association of University Professors

David Shumaker receives The Rose L. Vormelker Award for 2009 5 Feb 2010, 6:27 am

"David Shumaker, associate professor at the Catholic University of America, has received the 2009 Rose Vormelker Award for excellence in guiding and mentoring future information professionals and librarians awarded by the Special Libraries Association. Since joining the faculty at CUA, Shumaker has actively recruited students to the library profession and promoted the values of special librarianship. His students from the marketing information services class participate in real-life practical assignments in libraries across the American capital. He was honoured for his instruction on embedded librarianship and marketing and establishing librarians collaborative programmes. Shumaker has served as clinical associate professor and director of the Information Commons at the CUA School of Library and Information Science since August 2006"