HURRICANE ISABEL: FINDING RESOURCES Greetings! In case any of you have missed recommended resources for this storm, please read on for some suggestions from Web scout and guru, Gary Price. 1) New from Census Census Bureau Says Nearly 50 Million People in Path of Hurricane Isabel http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2003/cb03cn68.html 2) Hurricanes and Coastal Storm Websites (from USGS) Includes links to full-text reports and real-time real-time streamflow info. http://www.usgs.gov/hurricanes/stormsites.html 3) Database: Historical Hurricane Tracks http://hurricane.csc.noaa.gov/hurricanes/index.htm From the site, The Historical Hurricane Tracks tool is an interactive mapping application that allows you to easily search and display 150 years of Atlantic Basin tropical cyclone data. A "Storms Report" and a "Costal Population" database are also listed on the page. The Storms Report dbase contains info on events from 1958 to 2001. 4) Database Source: National Climatic Data Center Storms Events Database http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwEvent~Storms The Storm Events Database contains data from the following sources: * All Weather Events from 1993 - 1995, as entered into Storm Data. (Except 6/93 - 7/93, which is missing) (NO Latitude/Longitude) * All Weather Events from 1996 - Current, as entered into Storm Data. (Including Latitude/Longitude) * Plus additional data from the Storm Prediction Center; Including Tornadoes 1950-1992, Thunderstorm Winds 1955-1992, Hail 1955-1999 5) 10 Most Costliest Hurricanes (Insurance Info Inst.) http://www.iii.org/media/facts/statsbyissue/hurricanes/ and Billion Dollar U.S. Weather Disasters, 1980-2003 http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/reports/billionz.html and Top Ten Natural Disasters (FEMA) http://www.fema.gov/library/df_8.shtm 6) FEMA: Searchable Photo Archive http://www.photolibrary.fema.gov/photolibrary/index.jsp
MIAMI HERALD NEWSPAPER REDESIGN Greetings! For a look at the recent front page redesign of the Miami Herald, please check this URL. A week's worth of front pages only are available at http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/front/. There are reported complaints that the new font is harder to read on some pages (especially the comics, shrunk to fit a daily Tropical Living tabloid which replaces the old Living sections). This PDF: http://specialsections.miami.com/sections.asp?sesid=79524239&refid=&sec=4435&pg=3 explains the changes. Thanks to Liz Donovan, Miami Herald news researcher, who shared this information with NewsLib.
ISSUES AND CONTROVERSIES ON FILE Greetings! Faculty, students, and researchers might be interested in a relatively new database offered on the UNC-CH online catalog. It is "Issues and Controversies on File." [Note: this is an electronic edition of the old and valued "Facts on File."] The time frame is from 1995 to the present. It is a reference database that contains full text of articles on current topics of interest arranged in opposing points of view. For example, by inserting the phrase "media consolidation" into the search box, I retrieved an Aug. 27, 2003 article on media consolidation. There were sections on: * History of media regulation * Free market approach gains momentum * Deregulation Opposed * Deregulation supported * Mergers, court challenge possible? In addition, there is a bibliography, additional sources, contact information, key points, plus a media consolidation update. There are other general topics to explore including: * Arts, Entertainment and the Media * Business, Labor and the Economy * Crime and Terrorism * Education * Environment * Families and Family Live * Human and Civil Rights * International Affairs * Medicine and Health Care * Minorities and Race Relations * Politics and Political Reform * Religion * Science and Technology * Sports * Wars, Weaponry and Military Force * Women Also include are colorful charts, graphs, maps and photos. And, if you are seeking newspaper editorials, you'll discover *selected* newspaper editorials on key topics. All in all, a worthwhile site to consult. You can reach this database by going to: http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid/ and clicking on "I" then scroll down the screen to reach the hot link to "Issues and Controversies on File." BTW, don't forget "CQ Researcher." It is also a very useful site for seeking in-depth articles on topical issues. You can find it also by going to http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid/ and clicking on "C" for "CQ Researcher." As always, if any one of you would like a demonstration of these databases, please contact me in my office or via email for an appointment.
NEED A COMPUTER LAB FOR A SPECIAL PROJECT? Greetings! Our Park Library has a computer lab (seating for 12 students and one instructor) which may be used for faculty and grad students involved with special, relatively short-term research projects requiring computer access. This lab may be reserved by checking with me, Barbara Semonche. Presently we have two faculty members already using this Park Library lab, so if your needs are great and your schedules are tight, please get to me as early as possible. This lab is popular with our students and it tends to fill up when the lab is not reserved.
INTERLIBRARY LOAN: DAVIS LIBRARY STYLE Greetings! New students and faculty might want to be clear about interlibrary loan (ILL) policies on this campus. If you proceed to our Park Library's new web site: http://parklibrary.jomc.unc.edu then click on "For Faculty" or "For Students" or "For Researchers" you will discover, under the category of "Library Resources," a link to "UNC Interlibrary Loan." Once at that site, you will have to register if you are a first-time user. Once that is accomplished and you have your ILL logon and password, you can request ILL items online. You will, of course, have to provide a full citation to the work(s) needed. As always, while I'm available to help you navigate this resource, our Park Library is not able to directly arrange ILL requests. These requests must be processed through Davis Library's ILL department.
UNC LIBRARY CARDS FOR FACULTY Greetings! New JoMC faculty members might want to know that their grad research assistants (RAs) can indeed check out books (and selected other materials) from Davis Library on behalf of their professors. This is a relatively new policy. Here are the directions to set up this arrangement: 1. Send your grad RA to Davis Library's Circulation Desk 2. The RA will be given a form to complete 3. Upon receipt of the completed form, Davis Library's Circulation staff will clear the way for the RA's card to check out materials (again, selected materials) for up to 6 months. This is very friendly, considerate policy, but it is critical that both the faculty member and the RA keep track of these materials so that their return is timely *and* to the correct library. There are at least 20 libraries on the UNC-CH campus and each one may have special circulation policies. Make certain that you and your RA are clear about what is involved. A reminder about Park Library circulation polices: we don't circulate any of our materials. Everything is on reserve. However, we do have a photocopy card for faculty member use. RAs may use this card *if* such use is for the professor. Our Park Library needs your cooperation to keep the costs of this service reasonable. Copy fees have increased to ten cents a page, up from eight cents earlier.
PARK LIBRARY'S NEW WEB SITE Greetings! After months of work, the new URL for our Park Library's web site is ready for its closeup: http://parklibrary.jomc.unc.edu Please note the URL change and send verbal bouquets to JoMC grad student Charlene Simmons and JoMC network administrator Fred Thomsen for launching this information resource. This wholesale redesign and reworking of hundreds of files was truly a Herculean task. Your comments and critiques are eagerly sought. Please send those to me. Also, please advise me of what you think is missing and/or what should be added or corrected. Note that this new web site offers special features such as a site map, search capability, and archives of Semonche's electronic epistles to faculty and staff. You'll find this "blog" in the Park Library News section. Best regards,
SEPTEMBER 11 DIGITAL ARCHIVE Greetings: From the Special Libraries Association comes this announcement: ". . . . the new September 11 Digital Archive launched by the Library of Congress on Wednesday, see http://www.911digitalarchive.org/." Best regards,
NEW BOOK: DIGITAL DILEMMAS Greetings! "Digital Dilemmas: Ethical Issues for Online Media Professionals" just arrived in our Park Library. Written by Robert I. Berkman (on the faculty of Media Studies at New School University, NY) and Christopher A. Shumway (broadcast journalist for 15 years) it was published by Iowa State Press in 2003. [ISBN # 0-8138-0236-9] Cost: $39. The first thing I check upon receiving a new book is what's offered in the back of the book. I'm looking for info about the authors and to see if there is a credible index. There is. This 386 page book comes with not only an index, but extensive chapter notes, an appendix of the ethical codes of major online media organizations, as well as recommended resources for each of the chapters. One of the chapters addresses the query: "Does the Internet make journalists lazy?" Hmmmmm. This text establishes a framework for discussing, understanding and ultimately making sound decisions regarding ethical obligations such as privacy, limitations of free speech, and intellectual property. The authors warn about specific types of ethical hazards: speed vs. accuracy and quality; validating Internet sources; and blurring editorial with commercial information. Berkman and Shumway rely upon the use of historical summaries, discussion of specific problems, case studies, critical thinking exercises, and more. The book's afterword focuses on media consolidation, the Internet and democracy. From my preliminary scan, this book's deals primarily with North American contacts. Wonder if a similar book, somewhere, addresses the international media. If anyone has a cite, please share it with this list. Best regards,
Greetings! From today's issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education comes this article about RIAA's suit against 261 people for allegedly sharing large quantities of copyrighted songs online. Barbara Semonche _____________________________________________________ This article is available online at this address: http://chronicle.com/daily/2003/09/2003090901t.htm Tuesday, September 9, 2003 Record Companies Sue 261 People Who Allegedly Shared Quantities of Copyrighted Songs Online By ANDREA L. FOSTER Record companies filed 261 lawsuits on Monday against people the companies accuse of sharing large amounts of music over the Internet in violation of copyright law, the Recording Industry Association of America announced. But the group did not reveal the names of those sued, nor did it say how many of the defendants were college students. The association promised more such lawsuits -- possibly thousands -- in coming weeks and months. "When your product is being regularly stolen, there comes a time when you have to take appropriate action," Cary Sherman, president of the RIAA, said at a news conference. "We simply cannot allow online piracy to continue destroying the livelihoods of artists, musicians, songwriters, retailers, and everyone in the music industry." At the same time he announced the lawsuits, Mr. Sherman said the record companies would promise not to sue individuals for swapping music if they stepped forward voluntarily, admitted that they had traded music online, and promised not to do so again. He said individuals seeking amnesty would be required to submit their photographs to the RIAA and to sign a notarized statement promising to delete from their computers any music files that they had obtained illegally. The amnesty program would not apply to individuals who already have been sued or identified through subpoenas served on Internet service providers. Mr. Sherman said Monday's lawsuits were filed in federal courts scattered throughout the country, and sought damages and injunctive relief under the 1976 Copyright Act. The defendants have each made available, on average, more than 1,000 music files, the RIAA said in statement released on Monday. Under the law, copyright holders can sue those who infringe for damages ranging from $750 to $150,000 for each work illegally copied or distributed. The recording companies will leave it up to judges to decide the amount of any damages awarded, said Mr. Sherman. The lawsuits are the long-promised second step in the RIAA's campaign to thwart people from illegally sharing music online. In the first step, the RIAA used a provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to ask federal courts to issue more 1,500 subpoenas to Internet service providers -- including colleges -- demanding that they identify individuals who had been uploading copyrighted music files. Mr. Sherman said a handful of people who had been identified through the subpoenas had already reached settlements with record companies, each paying the companies about $3,000. He encouraged the defendants named in Monday's lawsuits to do the same. Lawyers who have said they are willing to defend those being sued offered various suggestions about how any college students named in the lawsuits could defend themselves. Joseph W. Singleton, a Beverly Hills lawyer, recommended that college students band together to present a coordinated defense against the recording industry. Such a group might be able to garner public sympathy and also save on legal fees, he said. An individual who contests a record-company lawsuit could face legal fees of between $30,000 and $100,000, he estimated. "I would suspect that your average college student is going to pretty much be defenseless, not necessarily because of the facts or the law, but because of the power of the RIAA," Mr. Singleton said. "It's going to be able to hold their feet to the fire." A student who has been sued might also choose to declare bankruptcy, Mr. Singleton said. It's unknown whether a copyright-infringement judgment can be discharged in bankruptcy court, he said. Daniel N. Ballard, a Sacramento lawyer, said students who have been sued should seek legal advice. If they admit to liability and settle with the recording companies, he said, they might be opening themselves to subsequent criminal charges and lawsuits by music publishers, because record companies claim copyrights only to the sound recordings. The recording-industry group has been pressuring the U.S. Department of Justice to begin criminal prosecutions against file sharers, he said. "It's a very tricky situation," said Mr. Ballard. "There are land mines they could step on." Apart from the lawsuits, some lawyers are advising those who share music online not to participate in the RIAA amnesty program. The industry group cannot be trusted to safeguard personal information, said Tom A. Lewry, a lawyer in Southfield, Mich. He represented Joseph Nievelt, one of four college students sued by the RIAA in April. Mr. Nievelt settled with the industry group by agreeing to pay it $15,000 (The Chronicle, May 2). Background articles on this topic from The Chronicle of Higher Education: * Recording Industry Says It Will Sue Hundreds, Including Students, Starting This Month (9/12/2003) * 80 Percent of Students Who Download Music Don't Think About Copyright, a Study Finds (8/15/2003) * Federal Appeals Court Forces Verizon to Identify 2 Alleged File-Sharers (6/20/2003) * Colleges Told to Block Illegal File Sharing (3/14/2003)
WWI STARS AND STRIPES ONLINE Just announced on the NewsLib list: World War I Stars and Stripes available full-text digitally via the Library of Congress. Please read on for details. I thought that some of our faculty and students might be interested. The World War I newspaper Stars and Stripes being available digitally through the Library of Congress' Serial and Government Publications Division: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/sgphtml/sashtml/sashome.html. Not only does this project make available some great historical primary source material, but the technology it gives to the enduser is a little different from other digital newspaper sites I've seen. Users can zoom in and out, view optical character recognition (OCR) text, customize the window size, and view different versions of the images, like TIFF and pdf. It also has nice navigation tools and a search engine. Barbara P. Semonche, Director, The Park Library
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