i Multiple wagons of goods train derailed in Madhya Pradesh By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Thu, 15 Aug 2024 01:44:00 +0530 Full Article Other States
i Thousands of decorative lights allegedly stolen from Ayodhya’s Ram Path and Bhakti Path By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Thu, 15 Aug 2024 02:23:00 +0530 Complaint filed by contractor in charge of installation and maintenance said around 3,800 bamboo lights and 36 ‘gobo projector’ lights went missing in May Full Article India
i Three budding hockey players struck dead by lightning in Jharkhand By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Thu, 15 Aug 2024 03:45:00 +0530 The players were going to participate in a hockey competition in Jhapla of the Tutikela Panchayat, and they stood under a tree to avoid the rain Full Article Jharkhand
i Government working to increase Madhya Pradesh’s share in India’s economy to 5% from the current 4%: CM Mohan Yadav By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Thu, 15 Aug 2024 22:11:25 +0530 In November, the State will launch the Yuva Shakti Mission for youth, the Nari Sashaktikaran Mission for women, the Kisan Kalyan Mission for farmers, and the Gareeb Kalyan Mission for the poor, the Chief Minister said in his Independence Day speech Full Article Madhya Pradesh
i U.P. CM launches scheme to promote entrepreneurship among youth By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Fri, 16 Aug 2024 03:00:00 +0530 The CM spoke of Uttar Pradesh’s vast potential as he listed development works that had been completed Full Article Uttar Pradesh
i Protests erupt in Assam as first CAA beneficiary granted citizenship By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Fri, 16 Aug 2024 05:57:00 +0530 Students’ organisations and Opposition parties said citizenship to a Bangladesh-born man was a violation of the Assam Accord of 1971 Full Article Other States
i Opposition slams Nitish Government over murder, alleged gang rape of Dalit minor in Bihar By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sat, 17 Aug 2024 01:33:00 +0530 While RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said the morale of “state-protected criminals and rapists” has increased under the “patronage” of Nitish Kumar, the Congress demanded a speedy probe Full Article Bihar
i Fish powder in meals helps Assam district reduce child malnutrition By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sat, 17 Aug 2024 02:00:00 +0530 The initiative in Kamrup district has also been beneficial for women fish farmers, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Full Article Other States
i Autorickshaw driver fined for not wearing helmet in Assam By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sat, 17 Aug 2024 03:02:00 +0530 A sub-inspector of the traffic police in Haflong said an assistant sub-inspector chose the wrong option in the electronic device while issuing the challan Full Article Other States
i Nana Patole hints on more BJP leaders to join Congress, small parties to go solo By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sat, 17 Aug 2024 05:33:00 +0530 Shishupal Patle’s entry ahead of the Assembly election is being seen as a way to strengthen Congress’s influence in the constituency, which falls under the Vidharbha region of Maharashtra Full Article Maharashtra
i Teenage boy stabbed by classmate in Udaipur succumbs to injuries By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Tue, 20 Aug 2024 00:51:50 +0530 Tension prevails after crowd gathered outside hospital and other areas; police resort to lathi charge; more force sent to maintain law and order; prohibitory orders remain Full Article Other States
i Staines murder: Supreme Court seeks Odisha’s reply on remission plea by convict Dara Singh By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Tue, 20 Aug 2024 21:39:54 +0530 Dara Singh, the main accused in the triple murder, was convicted and sentenced to death by a CBI court in 2003 Full Article Odisha
i Shots fired at house of Manipur college principal By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Wed, 21 Aug 2024 19:27:43 +0530 Police said masked men on a scooter fired five rounds on Tuesday evening. In July 17, miscreants had lobbed a grenade, but it did not explode and was later disposed of by a special squad Full Article Manipur
i Search continues for second day for missing training aircraft in Jharkhand By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Wed, 21 Aug 2024 21:17:56 +0530 Aircraft with two persons onboard belongs to Alchemist Aviation flying school in Jamshedpur Full Article Other States
i BJP has no leaders in Jharkhand, they ‘hire’ from other States to handle political scenario here: CM Hemant Soren By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Thu, 22 Aug 2024 22:28:43 +0530 Without naming anyone, Mr. Soren said the Opposition is engaged in divisive politics and that there is no agenda or vision shown by them Full Article Other States
i Outrage after minor girl’s gang rape in Assam By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Fri, 23 Aug 2024 15:35:51 +0530 Some locals found her lying semi-conscious by the roadside on her way back home from tuition classes Full Article Assam
i J&K Police declares cash award for information on LeT commander By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sun, 25 Aug 2024 08:11:07 +0530 A police spokesperson said that Babar is using Kashmiris as couriers for raising and passing on funds to different groups to carry out terrorist acts in the valley Full Article Other States
i AIUDF meets Assam Governor, seeks action against communal groups By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Mon, 26 Aug 2024 21:52:37 +0530 Several organisations representing indigenous communities have asked migrant Muslims, referred to as Miya, to leave eastern Assam following a gang-rape case Full Article Assam
i Rajasthan increases gratuity limit for government employees; no decision on UPS implementation By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Wed, 28 Aug 2024 21:39:53 +0530 The State Cabinet, which considered the issue of bringing UPS for the government employees at its meeting, did not arrive at a final decision Full Article Rajasthan
i Congress’s Rajasthan chief whip attacked outside residence in Jaipur By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Aug 2024 22:31:16 +0530 People present at Rafeek Khan’s house overpowered the attacker, thrashed him and handed him over to police. The accused is a former CRPF assistant commandant and a Shaurya Chakra awardee Full Article Other States
i Cyclone Asna leaves no major impact on Gujarat, moves towards Oman By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sat, 31 Aug 2024 10:55:17 +0530 As a precautionary measure, the local administration had shifted nearly 3,500 persons to safer locations and had asked people living in huts and mud houses to take shelter in other buildings Full Article Gujarat
i Farmers to hold maha panchayat on September 15 and 22, ask center to open borders to Delhi By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sat, 31 Aug 2024 14:05:30 +0530 Full Article Haryana
i Delhi court to take cognisance of charge sheet against Lalu, Tejashwi Yadav in Land for jobs case By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sat, 07 Sep 2024 17:05:00 +0530 Special Judge Vishal Gogne fixed the matter for the next week after noting that no further clarification was required from the ED on the matter Full Article Other States
i Depression likely to bring heavy rain in most parts of Odisha By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sat, 07 Sep 2024 18:30:04 +0530 It is likely to move nearly northwards and intensify into a depression over the northwest Bay of Bengal off north Odisha-Gangetic West Bengal coasts on September 8 Full Article Other States
i M.P. forms panel to redraw district, division boundaries By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Tue, 10 Sep 2024 00:34:01 +0530 Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said that problems exist with respect to the number of districts and their boundaries Full Article Other States
i Tension in U.P.’s Muzaffarnagar after Muslim man buys house in Hindu-majority neighbourhood By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Wed, 11 Sep 2024 01:01:23 +0530 Right-wing outfits allegedly warning that under no circumstances will Muslim families be allowed to settle in the predominantly Hindu locality Full Article Other States
i 2 killed, 20 injured as police open fire during Assam eviction drive By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Fri, 13 Sep 2024 00:23:41 +0530 Tension began after the evicted people reoccupied the cleared spaces around Thursday noon and confronted the officials; security stepped up Full Article Other States
i Minor raped by teacher in Bhopal school; CM orders formation of special court By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Wed, 18 Sep 2024 21:38:18 +0530 The alleged incident took place inside the private school in Kamla Nagar police station area on September 13 and the girl’s mother reported it to the police the next day Full Article Madhya Pradesh
i 1998 murder case of ex-Bihar Minister: Supreme Court sentences two persons to life imprisonment By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Thu, 03 Oct 2024 11:43:54 +0530 A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Sanjay Kumar and R. Mahadevan partially set aside the Patna High Court verdict acquitting all the accused and asked convicts Mantu Tiwari and ex-MLA Shukla to surrender within 15 days Full Article Bihar
i RJD leader Pankaj Yadav shot in Bihar on morning walk By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Thu, 03 Oct 2024 13:43:02 +0530 The attack on Pankaj Yadav, a state general secretary of the RJD, took place in Safiabad locality Full Article Bihar
i Madhya Pradesh Cabinet meets in tribal queen’s capital on her 500th birth anniversary By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sat, 05 Oct 2024 23:01:57 +0530 The Cabinet has approved additional assistance of up to ₹3,900 per hectare to farmers under the Rani Durgavati Shri Anna Protsahan Yojana, over the minimum purchase price Full Article Madhya Pradesh
i National film award dedicated to Assam women’s stork army By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Wed, 09 Oct 2024 20:15:27 +0530 IPS officer Partha Sarathi Mahanta has directed the 19-minute documentary film on the Hargila Army comprising women of Dadara Pasaria village Full Article Other States
i Naga tribes body issues deadline to Nagaland government for feedback on autonomous territory By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sat, 12 Oct 2024 18:45:17 +0530 The Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation wants the creation of Frontier Nagaland Territory comprising six districts of the northeastern State bordering Myanmar Full Article Nagaland
i Police constable suspended for stalking woman in Ratlam By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Tue, 15 Oct 2024 19:07:56 +0530 Full Article Madhya Pradesh
i Empowerment campaign enhances access of differently-abled persons in Barmer By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Wed, 23 Oct 2024 22:45:45 +0530 The initiative has ensured a hassle-free process of obtaining disability certificates and saved the time of differently abled persons to travel all the way to the district headquarters to appear before the Medical Board Full Article Other States
i Chhatisgarh rolls out red carpet for industries, will fund pilgrimage for the elderly By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Tue, 29 Oct 2024 11:13:49 +0530 Titled ‘New Industrial Policy 2024-30: Incentives for Industries’, the policy, announced after a cabinet meeting held in Nava Raipur, will come into force on November 1 Full Article Chhattisgarh
i NSCN (I-M) seeks third-party intervention to break talks deadlock By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sat, 09 Nov 2024 00:17:00 +0530 Accusing the Centre of betraying the Framework Agreement of 2015, the Naga extremist group led by Thuingaleng Muivah threatened to return to violent ways Full Article Nagaland
i MSL Meeting - 12/11/2007 By marstonscience.blogspot.com Published On :: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:27:00 +0000 1. Announcements-The MSL holiday party is this Friday at 6pm-Pat has bought popcorn for the custodial staff. See her to contribute $$2. MSL Services-The electronic version of Science shows up very far down in the hit list in the catalog because it is titled "Science Magazine" not "Science". Paula sent a request to have this changed. Tara will follow up to make sure there is resolution to this problem.-Chrissy is going to the communications committee meeting this afternoon. Email her any items you would like her to bring up.-Tara reported that the 2nd floor will be getting the old carpet back; the 5th floor will be recarpeted sometime during Spring semester with new carpet.-Carrie asked if there would be a new reference desk schedule for Spring. Are we single staffing? We took a vote and over half the staff wanted to change their current base schedule so we will need to redo the schedule for Spring.-Laurie asked everyone to weed out documents from their serve folder because systems is switching to new servers.-Everyone should bring in their stuffed animals for the annual holiday display case.-Beth reported there are 40 titles that need decisions (withdraw/keep) to determine if they should be barcoded. She will be sending the information around to selectors.-Val is going on three IFAS center trips this Spring. She will be helping two center libraries revamp their libraries. One is undergoing a reclass project and the other is looking to change how they use the library space.-Carrie asked if we wanted extra Princeton files from the Education library. She will ask Alex to bring one over so Christine can evaluate.-Sara announced the Annunciator is working again. The staff voted to change the layout to full screen with a crawl.3. Library Newsletter-Joe B. is on the newsletter committee. Submit any ideas for Science stories to him. Two ideas submitted in the meeting were "Laptops @ MSL" and a "New Librarian" story.4. Committee reports-Val reported on the Web 2.0 group. They broke into several groups to explore various technologies and have now submitted a report. -Facebook group: Will create a UF Libraries account -Internal blogs: Tom M. is creating a template; the rest of the group is creating policies -E-learning: This group hasn't gotten very far with it's charge to "Integrate library resources into WebCT & Moodle". -Library games: The Bioactive game has finished testing and team members will begin incorporating results from the beta testing into the game; The guitar hero day was a sucess and the library will continue to explore similar events. -Project management: Denise's committee will test Basecamp as a project management tool. -Toolbar group: They created a library toolbar. No one was aware of how it will be incorporated into the library. -Vivo: The student assistant is fantastic and has already inputted the 28 test departments. Next she will begin inputting publications.5. Computer services-Laptop 101: Everyone played with the laptops; we reviewed the patron policies; if you see patron having problems using the laptops send them to Chrissy, Laurie & Michael. Chrissy is creating a troubleshooting guide for staff.6. Cataloging-Steve F. is retiring and his party is this afternoon. Full Article
i Big problems with ISI data reported by science editors By marstonscience.blogspot.com Published On :: Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:21:00 +0000 Got this in an email from one of my lists:>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>This presumably will be drawing some attention shortly. It is a very disturbing report by editors from the Journal of Cell Biology and the Journal of Experimental Medicine who have joined with the Executive Director of the Rockefeller University Press in reporting their inability to verify published impact factors using data provided provided by ISI itself. Their fruitless efforts to replicate published impact factors for their own and other journals revealed numerous and serious errors in several data sets provided by ISI and call into question the validity of both ISI's dataset and their published impact factors. If the problems they encountered are widespread, then the host of evaluative decisions that rely at least in part on published impact factors are suspect. Published impact factors affect authors' decisions about manuscript submission, funding awards, and promotion and tenure. While critiques of the use of impact factors are quite common, this is the first serious question raised about the underlying validity of the data used to calculate impact factors and therefore the accurracy of the metrics that are published.The editorial by Mike Rossner, Heather Van Epps, and Emma Hill was published in the Journal of Cell Biology and is available athttp://www.jcb.org/cgi/content/full/179/6/1091 Full Article
i Distance Learning Council Meeting By marstonscience.blogspot.com Published On :: Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:45:00 +0000 At the last DLC meeting Becky Williams, an instructional designer with CITT, gave a presentation on CMS software issues and spoke about open source (such as SAKAI) vs. Vendor (WebCT/Blackboard) products and a new software system for teacher grading, called SWoRD. Here is a synopsis of what she presented, and feel free to take a look at her ppt for more information: (http://plaza.ufl.edu/rjwillia/swordtalk%20-%20learning%20consort-oct07.ppt).The first four slides are about CMS vendors vs. open source:A growing disillusionment with vendor products has many Universities moving or considering moving to Sakai (the most popular open source system available). WebCT and Bb have left many unaddressed issues, and they require universities to pay for upgrades or extensions if something does not work. Moving a CMS to open source has its own issues, but that the vendor situation is so aggravating more universities are considering it as an option. I thought these issues sounded familiar to our LMS experiences - I'll be interested in seeing where the CMS discussion goes.Slide 5 through 42 are about a new, free software called SWoRD. In large classes, professors assign fewer papers as writing assignments due to the difficulty of grading a large number of papers. Despite writing less, student grades are higher and students feel they are good writers; and, yet, teaching faculty don't agree. SWoRD is a system by which papers are automatically assigned to other student writers, for peer-review. Each student peer-reviews 5 papers. Ms. Williams had evidence supporting the value of multiple peer reviewing of a paper; it is much more useful for a student to have 3 peers review their paper than it is for one student or one professor to review the paper. Read the slides if you are interesting in learning more. Currently the software is free, although Ms. Williams thought that would most likely change.This meeting was held in the Digital Worlds Building at Norman and included a digital tour of the Gator Nation Island in Second Life. Someone at the meeting mentioned that the Libraries were holding reference hours within SL, which Laura Jordan was able to speak to. Full Article
i MSL Meeting Minutes - 1/15/08 By marstonscience.blogspot.com Published On :: Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:44:00 +0000 Reference Desk:Amy announced the new Outlook calendar for the reference desk. Currently she and Pat can edit the calendars so they will be writing trades in the calendar. Remember to write all vacations/known days off in the print calendar so Pat/Amy can find a trade. You can find your own trade, email Pat/Amy 1-2 weeks in advance so they can get it on the calendar and don't look for a trade. If you are sick, just call in like normal and Pat will find a replacement. If you trade a day ahead or so (after the schedule has been printed) just mark it on the printed schedule at the reference desk.Someone asked if the long distance number has been moved. No one knew. I just called it and Amy answered so it still comes to the MSL Ref Desk.Display CaseThe display case is open until October. If you have an idea for a display, contact Val to schedule.MSL Outlook listsTara brought up that the lists in Outlook for MSL all start with different designations. There is: MSL, Marston & Science. We voted and most people preferred MSL. Tara will try to combine lists and change them all to begin with MSL.ComputersLaptops will begin circulating Thursday. Feel free to direct people waiting for computers to the circ desk.Printing problems: We are having problems printing big files. If this happens, power the printer off, count to 10 and turn it back on. This will reset the printer and the print job will be lost. You can then print the "bad" files using the reference desk printer.Tara asked about the scanners we were supposed to get. We don't know where in the process they are.. Denise/Laurie will ask Michael and report back.SelectorsWe all agreed Vernon did a nice job with the answers to Michelle's strategic planning questions. Thanks Vernon!Denise gave a nice synopsis of the OCLC Talk she went to. It was about their latest report on users.Vernon reminded everyone that the Brittle Books review period would begin soon.Tara explained what everyone needs to do for the Elsevier Title Swap.(Sorry these are so late.. I kept forgetting to type them up!) Full Article
i MSL Staff Meeting Minutes - 1/29/08 By marstonscience.blogspot.com Published On :: Tue, 29 Jan 2008 21:15:00 +0000 Announcements - N/ACommittee Reports Library Council - The reorganization was announced, so most of the meeting focused on this topic. Judy will be coming to the MSL staff meeting next week to answer any questions that we may have about the chart and/or process. PSC Meeting - The login to the public computers will be changed from the 14 digit library # to the Gatorlink account. This should be completed during the intercession between Spring and Summer A. RealPlayer will be added to the public computers.MSL Services Whitney Lab - They do have services through our ILL/Document Delivery department. In the ILL/DD form their department is "DISTANCE- Whitney Lab" MSL blog & wiki - We will not be transferring them at this timeComputer Services Laptops - Batteries and chargers still aren't here. Only 10 are currently circulating.Cataloging Services Coastal Archives - there is still 100 linear feet on the shelf waiting to be searched plus 12 other boxes Database Management Librarian - this position is still a goSelectors Reference Email - Amy will be taking over as the primary on this GOBI3 Training - Tara will be attending the webinar on Friday and will report back to those who were interested Elsevier Title Swap - Please continue to look through and make decisions on the low usage titles Google Doc. Select titles from the list that Rich generated from Serials Solutions & the Incremental list and send them to Tara by this Thursday! Full Article
i New link to Library Reorganization Blog By marstonscience.blogspot.com Published On :: Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:59:00 +0000 I've put a link to the new Library Reorganization Blog to our list of links (look on the right hand side). It appears that it is open for comments, whether named or anonymous. Full Article
i Wikipedia assignments By marstonscience.blogspot.com Published On :: Fri, 14 Mar 2008 13:55:00 +0000 Following up on the article Dan sent around (http://www.infotoday.com/online/mar08/Badke.shtml) I thought this Wikipedia page was interesting (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:School_and_university_projects). It lists universities/courses who have completed a class project using wikipedia and includes a list of suggested exercises for classes. Amy thought the idea of having students "evaluate and edit Wikipedia articles, using research from other sources as an evaluative tool" would be a great project for our ENC3254 courses. This would be a great way to introduce some information literacy considerations into a course. What do you think? Can you think of any other ways we could us wikipedia in our one shot classes? Full Article
i Brainstorming for new science portal By marstonscience.blogspot.com Published On :: Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:08:00 +0000 We need to start brainstorming for ideas and features that we want on the new science portal so we'll be prepared for when we locate a web designer.Here are a list of some other science library websites. Not all are great but I'd like for us to discuss what elements we like and which features we don't like (just as important). Please feel free to post links to other libraries you think are worthy of critique. Also, if there are general guidelines and features that you'd like to include please post about those too.My first impression looking at these sites is how busy they all are. Lots of links and it seems overwhelming at first glance. Its a decision that we'll have to make about how much information should be quickly accessible on the main page but yet still easily usable. Caltech's library page is the most easily navigated, IMO. I like the quick drop down boxes and the selection of links. I especially like the menu for authors - as the issue of open access and author rights becomes more important on campus, we'll need to take an active role in helping the faculty understand their rights and options for publishing.Berkeley: Chemistry: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/CHEM/ Engineering: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENGI/ Physics/Ay: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/PHYS/Caltech: http://library.caltech.edu/Chicago : http://www1.lib.uchicago.edu/e/crerar/index.php3Irvine: http://www.lib.uci.edu/libraries/science.htmlMichigan: http://www.lib.umich.edu/science/MIT Science Library: http://libraries.mit.edu/science/Oregon Science Library: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/scilib/Santa Cruz: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/scilib/ Full Article portal
i MSL Staff Meeting Minutes (3/25/08) By marstonscience.blogspot.com Published On :: Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:58:00 +0000 1. AnnouncementsBudget Report/Library Council - PamLibguidesThere was a question about what it could be used for (internal vs. external). As of now, folks have flexibility (no prescribed templates or specific policies) in what they would like to use it for. Peter is going to set up training sessions soon.ReorganizationThe Faculty Senate's Infrastructure Committee approved the org chart contingent on the University Libraries Committee approving it (which they did). The chart is now slated to go through the Faculty Senate's Steering Committee then to the Faculty Senate. It should be on the agenda as an information item or an action item for the April or May meeting. Judy is meeting with the 2 groups (see Straw Poll results) that don't really support the new org chart to discuss it. Library West will now begin the process of internal reorganization which will involve coming up with various models and putting them to a vote. The new org chart will take effect July 1st.BudgetJudy is adamant about not cutting services (e.g. cutting hours, etc). Hiring priorities are as follows: Associate Dean for Technology and Support Services, Electronic Resources Librarian, Development Librarian, Judaica Librarian, & Staff Development Librarian. A Grants Specialist position will be funded by the Provost. Library West & Marston chairs will be internal searches - possible 3 yr limited term - review process by the department at the end of the term. $400K needs to be cut out of OPS budget which would translate to a 75% cut to each library's OPS budget.Materials Budget$750K cut out of base budget (same amount as Provost gave the library 2 years ago to avoid cuts). Circle managers will be asked to cut 10% and prioritize the list. Foundation endowment $ will be used for funding extended hours and continuations (possibly).Judy's main objective is no layoffs.2. MSL Services - nothing to report3. Computer Services - LaurieReplacement laptops are coming. Printing is available on the laptops. LibX toolbar on all public machines now, so please install on the service desk computers so that you can assist patrons with it.4. Cataloging Services - Jimmie - nothing to report Full Article
i Web address for Science Portal in progress By marstonscience.blogspot.com Published On :: Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:58:00 +0000 The URL for the mock-up Leila showed last Tuesday is:lnadams.org/msl.htmPlease remember that this is just a design layout, the links do not work, and it is subject to extreme change.Comments are highly encouraged! Please post to this blog or email Sara or Joe. Full Article portal
i USAIN 2008 Conference By marstonscience.blogspot.com Published On :: Fri, 02 May 2008 17:08:00 +0000 2008 USAIN (United States Agricultural Information Network) Conference Tradition in Transition: Information Fueling the Future of Agbiosciences April 27 – 30, 2008 Wooster, OH University of Florida is an institutional member of USAIN, an organization whose primary purposes are to promote discussion of agricultural issues and trends, to develop and influence national agricultural information policy, to make recommendations to the National Agricultural Library (NAL) and to increase collaborations between member partners (http://www.usain.org/). USAIN does an excellent job communicating legislative changes to its members, and then working with members to get involved with state and national government. The conference was hosted by Ohio State University and held at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, closely situated next to a beautiful arboretum and rose garden.Here are a few of the most important highlights from the conference:1. The AgNIC Born Digital Steering Committee, of which UF is a participant, met for the first time to begin phase I of the born digital initiative. Here at UF it used to be we would receive a copy of IFAS Extension resources, which we would catalog and make available in our print collection. Many Extension resources (documents, websites, etc) are now published only in digital format and while this format increases access to the current resources, many of these older resources are at risk of being permanently lost due to a lack of consistent preservation processes. This is a problem not just at UF, but at almost every land-grant throughout the nation. The goal of this steering committee is to identify digitization standards (selection, metadata, format, etc.) and to develop an infrastructure to assist the land-grants in developing their own processes at the local level. The other institutions participating are Univ. of Arizona, Ohio State, Colorado State, Texas A&M, Cornell, Univ. of Minnesota, Purdue, and potentially Michigan State and Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 2. Mary Ochs (Cornell) Peter Ballantyne and Barbara Hutchinson (IAALD) spoke about Agbioscience information for the worldwide community. There is a strong need to "make research information easy to access for current and future generations" through common international standards, open applications, user friendly information & data, andlocal and global action . A large amount of agricultural information is created within the U.S., and we should do more to share that information with the international community. The result of this discussion was the creation of an International Agricultural Information Interest Group which will focus on the first steps of bringing in librarians from other countries to future USAIN conferences, as well as providing more Ag information on the USAIN website. Here is Peter Young - the Director of the National Ag Library - speaking about global collaborations: http://iaald.blip.tv/file/864317/ 3. Peter gave the NAL update, mentioning the new Blueprint for Success: The National Agricultural Library 2008-2012. Many of you may have seen in the Washington Post the article, A Precious Resource at Risk, about the drastic budget cuts facing NAL in the upcoming year. I believe it was at the last USAIN that I learned that the NAL has had a flat budget for the last twenty years. Somehow I didn't write down the percentage they will have to cut, but I believe it was either 40% or 60% - both staggering cuts. This will prevent the NAL from preserving their special collections, from buying print materials, from participating in Interlibrary Loan, and more. For more information, see the USAIN website for Lobbying Congress for Support. Additional information related to the theme of the conference: Many of the invited speakers spoke on biofuels, bioenergy/bioproducts, and sustainable farming, including David Kline, an Amish farmer and author/editor of Farming Magazine. Without going into too much detail, here are a few of the interesting things I learned from all the speakers: In the 1850’s ethanols were used for lighting, but in the 1860s-1906 an ethanol tax was enacted (making kerosene more competitive). The first ethanol fueled auto was the Ford Quadricycle (1896). The first flex-fuel car: Model-T (1908)!In 2008 there were 11 billion gallons of ethanol produced from corn. Unfortunately there are a number of issues related to: water quality, soil erosion, water supply, biodiversity, loss of grasslands, increase in feed costs. Also, corn is displacing other crops -- leading to food riots.The cellulosic biofuels (corn, switchgrass, MSW, forest residues, etc.) industry will grow rapidly in coming years. And will bring some very specific questions, such as how will supply chains develop (big issue), what are the implications for the food/feed/fiber markets, how will environmental issues be addressed, can we coproduce fuels and foods, and how can farmers and local communities benefit?Lastly, has been shown to increase smog and cancerous benzene emissions. Also, all current biofuels increase carbon dioxide emission relative to gasoline. There was quite a bit more information available from all the speakers. If you are interested in reading the speaker presentations, they are available for download: http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/usain/downloads.html Full Article agricultural information conference USAIN
i MSL Meeting - 07/01/2008 By marstonscience.blogspot.com Published On :: Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:33:00 +0000 Announcements: Welcome Adrian!!No building access after normal hours - this means do not enter the building between 1:30am & 4-5am. If you do alarms will go off and the police will come to take you away :0L208A conference room - Carol D's old office has been turned into a conference room. The 3rd floor conference room is now another Xerox office because they had to move from the 5th floor. There is a telephone available in the new conference room for teleconferencingStaff meeting time - The MSL reorg report suggested changing the meeting time to the afternoon so the evening/weekend staff could attend. Sometime in mid-July we will begin holding meetings at 3pmOpening time - our official opening time is 8:00amCirculation wall calendar will be making a comeback so circ staff can easily see who is gone/back/etc. However, make sure you put your time off on the black calendar in Pat's office. This is the "official" calendar and you must put your time off here.Convocation is August 13th at 2pm. Tara is compiling a list of MSL accomplishmentsJuly 10th is the next cross division meeting. There should be lots of reorg and other interesting information presentedNominations for the library excellence awards close todayMSL ServicesOPS Budget - cut by $41,000. We will have 55hrs/wk of time that needs to be filled with non-OPS students. Feel free to help shelve or shift while we are down :) Just contact Christine for directions. Also, if students come to the desk searching for a job... Ask if they are work study. If they are ask them to attach a copy of their work study permit to the application.Construction - movers will be here mid-July to finish the moving. The new doors will be put in sometime before that.Evacuation procedures - For the next fire alarm we will make an announcement on the PA for everyone to leave. The elevator is fixed now. Assignment for everyone: find all the fire extinguishers & fire pull handles in the building - Tara will conduct a quiz at the next meeting!MSL Reorg - Adrian came over and will combine with the serials unit to make a collection services unit which reports to Vernon. Joe will be taking over the MSL website. Circulation will report to Vernon with both Marijka and Vanessa reporting directly to Vernon so he can get updates on both days (Marijka) and nights/weekends (Vanessa). The system liaison program has been dropped. Michael and Laurie will now report to Systems.Web Presence We talked a little about the need for a Science Portal launch. We will wait a few weeks and talk about it again soon to decide what type of PR is best. Tara will put in a syshelp to get icons put on all the public computers for the science portal.Computer services Contact Laurie if you'd like to use remote desktop and she will set it up for you.Selectors - Nature proposal FCLA is working with Nature to get discounts on any new journals we subscribe to and a increase cap. We talked about canceling some peripheral journals to get Nature Chemical Biology, Nature Photonics and Nature Geology (?). Full Article
i MSL Meeting 7/29/08 By marstonscience.blogspot.com Published On :: Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:58:00 +0000 · Steve Williams from systems showed up to explain the new trouble ticket system. Anyone is allowed to access it and submit a trouble ticket. Go to http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/grover · Library 2.0 Committee met and there is no more talk about new wikis. There was discussion about one massive library committee blog to house all committee minutesHowever, this is not rolled out for the public yet · New self check out machine is here. The desensitizer isn’t working right and Chrissy has to fix that.Once functional Chrissy would like people to try it out and bring up issues during the weekly meetings · Val talked to Barbara Hood about the brochures. The Map Library and Health Science brochures are used more for development.Possibly create a pdf for use on the website. · Collaboration Health Science Center uses rolling white boards, which might be good to use here for groupsAlso the use of a large screen tv or projection screen for groups in L107 · Tara met with the directors about Advanced Directory. Change to using gatorlink name and password to log onto computersWill happen between August 8th and August 16thThey are working with bridges to create semi permanent gatorlink id.One reminder. Do not log anyone onto a computer using your information. Full Article