Posts Tagged 'help!'

American FactFinder?? HELP!

Published May 20, 2013 outreach , the profession Leave a Comment
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We have a great new Help! webinar headed your way in June. I’ve seen Katharin do a similar session before and she is the bomb (disclaimer: and my co-author). Good times right here.

Help! I’m an Accidental Government Information Librarian presents … Just the Facts, Ma’am! Getting Started with the U.S. Census & American FactFinder

The Government Resources Section of the North Carolina Library Association welcomes you to a series of webinars designed to help us all do better reference work by increasing our familiarity with government information resources, and by discovering the best strategies for navigating them.

The U.S. Census and American Community Survey provide a wealth of social, economic, and housing information of use to social scientists, policy-makers, social workers, community activists, and anyone interested in understanding a specific population or community. For many, however, the complexity of the American FactFinder interface can be a hurdle to getting started. This webinar will provide a concise introduction to the U.S. Census and American Community Survey focusing on the background information necessary for understanding and using current population statistics and the steps to successfully navigate American FactFinder in order to obtain the statistics you need. You don’t need to be a statistician to use these great statistics! This webinar will be useful for librarians new to the Census as well as those looking for new ways to present American FactFinder to users.

Katharin Peter is the Social Sciences Data Librarian for the International and Public Affairs Library at the University of Southern California. She has a BA in Sociology, an MLIS, and a Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Science & Technology. She is also an adjunct lecturer for the San Jose State University School of Library & Information Science where she teaches courses on data librarianship and survey research methods.

We will meet together for Session #27, online on June 12 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (Eastern). Please RSVP for the Session by June 11 at 5:00 pm using this link: http://tinyurl.com/grs-session27

Technical requirements: We will be using collaborative software called Blackboard Collaborate. It requires that you be able to download Java onto your computer, but you do not need any special software. After you RSVP, we will send you a link that you can use to test the software. If you have any questions, please contact Lynda Kellam (lmkellam@uncg.edu). You do not need a microphone as a chat system is available in the software, but you do need speakers or headphones.
The session will be recorded and made available after the live session, linked from the NCLA GRS web page (http://www.nclaonline.org/government-resources).

New Help! Webinar!

Published April 29, 2013 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Help! I’m an Accidental Government Information Librarian presents … “Legal Research …Without the Law Library”  Tuesday, May 14 at 12:00 pm

 

The Government Resources Section of the North Carolina Library Association welcomes you to a series of webinars designed to help us all do better reference work by increasing our familiarity with government information resources, and by discovering the best strategies for navigating them.

 

Researching the law is a complex and difficult process, not just for library patrons but also for the librarians who are asked to provide them with guidance. Effective legal research requires an understanding of the interplay between legal materials from all three branches of government within both federal and state systems. Unfamiliar jargon and constant changes to the law can also pose unique challenges for the novice legal researcher. The next Government Resources Section webinar will outline a mix of free and widely-available subscription resources which can help library patrons find and use legal materials, along with tips to help librarians identify the important distinctions between “legal reference” and “legal advice.”

Jennifer L. Behrens is the Head of Reference Services & a Lecturing Fellow at Duke Law School’s J. Michael Goodson Law Library, where she provides regular instruction on legal research topics. Jennifer holds both a JD and an MLS from the University at Buffalo, and previously worked as a graduate assistant in UB’s Charles B. Sears Law Library as well as its Lockwood Library’s former Business & Government Documents Reference Center. She served as Secretary/Treasurer of NCLA’s Government Resources Section from 2009-2011.

We will meet together for Session #26, online on Tuesday, May 14 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (Eastern). Please RSVP for the Session by May 13 at 5:00 pm using this link:  http://tinyurl.com/grs-session26
 
Technical requirements: We will be using collaborative software called Blackboard Collaborate. It requires that you be able to download Java onto your computer, but you do not need any special software. After you RSVP, we will send you a link that you can use to test the software. If you have any questions, please contact Lynda Kellam (lmkellam@uncg.edu). You do not need a microphone as a chat system is available in the software, but you do need speakers or headphones.

The session will be recorded and made available after the live session, linked from the NCLA GRS web page (http://www.nclaonline.org/government-resources).

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#diylib free government information support

Published April 3, 2013 the profession , Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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I’ve been stalking the In the Library with a Lead Pipe for the past few weeks. The editors are presenting at ACRL on do-it-yourself (DIY) projects in librarianship and have been asking librarians to give suggestions. So, here is my suggestion for #diylib.

The Help! I’m an Accidental Government Information Librarian webinar series created by the NCLA Government Resources Section is mega-DIY. (Full disclosure: I organize and run tech for these things.) While it is known in the niche community of govdocers, the series has gained tremendous momentum in the past 2 years. Our 25th webinar is coming up this month and we are hitting our second anniversary.

You may ask what about an organization’s webinar series is DIY? Well, keep in mind the organization that created this series has about 5 active members (and 25 dues paying members). We came up with the idea because we realized we weren’t getting the training and support needed to be good gov info librarians. Most of us are thrown into this area as an after-thought with the expectation that we can suddenly help patrons with everything the government produces (let’s see: the Census, Education statistics, BEA, BLS, legal research, Congressional research, economic information, and more). It makes your head spin. So, if we weren’t getting the support we needed, we decided to make it happen…entirely for free. And it is all through the lovely contributions of a bunch of talented librarians (who don’t get paid).

The series was created in the spirit of free government information being accessible to all AND the need for the library community to support the continuing education of its librarians. So, again, mega-DIY.

The NCLA Government Resources Section

The NCLA Government Resources Section

I may have interpreted it all incorrectly, so if I’ve stepped on any DIY toes, I apologize.

25 webinars in 2 years?! YES YOU CAN!

Published March 28, 2013 outreach 1 Comment
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I am pretty happy to announce this. The NCLA Government Resources Section has hit its 25th webinar in 2 years! Our first webinar presenter, Bryna Coonin, return to talk about the history of the US Census. It is hard to believe that we hit two years and 25 sessions, but yay! Help us celebrate by joining us! If you are interested in our previous webinars (or membership), you can find more information here: http://www.nclaonline.org/government-resources

Help! I’m an Accidental Government Information Librarian presents … “Come to Your Census: the development of the U.S. Census from its inception to the present”

The Government Resources Section of the North Carolina Library Association welcomes you to a series of webinars designed to help us all do better reference work by increasing our familiarity with government information resources, and by discovering the best strategies for navigating them.

A census is a count of a country’s population as of a fixed date, to assess whether its population is growing, stable, or declining, and what the population looks like in terms of characteristics. Censuses have been taken since ancient times, but few censuses can rival the United States Census in richness and value for us as government information professionals. Mandated in 1787 as a mechanism for determining political representation for each state in the House of Representatives, the census has been taken decennially since 1790. Join us for a look at how this remarkable ongoing collation has developed and changed over the years, and how it provides researchers with vital information about changes in American society over time.
Bryna Coonin, M.L.I.S, M.B.A., is a member of the Research & Instructional Services Department at Joyner Library, East Carolina University (ECU) in Greenville, N.C. Bryna served as a graduate student at UNC Libraries in the mid-1980’s for the legendary regional documents librarian Ridley Kessler. She has worked as a reference librarian at the University of Georgia, and NC State University. In each of her reference assignments Bryna has remained intentionally and actively involved with state and federal government documents. Bryna taught basic reference for the School of Information & Library Science at UNC-Chapel Hill and basic reference and government documents courses for the graduate library school program at ECU. A longtime member of NCLA, she has chaired both the Reference & Adult Services Section (RASS) and the Government Resources Section (GRS).

We will meet together for Session #25, online on April 22 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (Eastern). Please RSVP for the Session by April 21 at 5:00 pm using this link: http://tinyurl.com/grs-session25

Technical requirements: We will be using collaborative software called Blackboard Collaborate. It requires that you be able to download Java onto your computer, but you do not need any special software. After you RSVP, we will send you a link that you can use to test the software. If you have any questions, please contact Lynda Kellam (lmkellam @ uncg.edu). You do not need a microphone as a chat system is available in the software, but you do need speakers or headphones.

The session will be recorded and made available after the live session, linked from the NCLA GRS web page (http://www.nclaonline.org/government-resources).

New Help! Webinar Series on Economic Indicators

Published March 12, 2013 outreach Leave a Comment
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Help! I’m an Accidental Government Information Librarian presents… All you ever wanted to know about Economic Indicators!
The Government Resources Section of the North Carolina Library Association welcomes you to a series of webinars designed to help us all do better reference work by increasing our familiarity with government information resources, and by discovering the best strategies for navigating them.
Economic indicators are metrics that document the condition and direction of the economy and its sub-sets.  The data, which is gathered and reported by various Executive Branch agencies, is used by investors, legislators, policy-makers, labor leaders, economists, and many others.
 
In this webinar, you’ll learn:
  • What are economic indicators
  • Examples of indicators covering a range of economic activities, such as: size and growth rate of the economy, inflation rates, employment and unemployment, wages and hours worked, personal indebtedness, consumer confidence, and others 
  • What the individual indicators reveal about the economy
  • Where to find them
Mary G. Scanlon is the Research and Instruction Librarian for Business and Economics at Wake Forest University.  She earned her MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University and her MLIS from Kent State University.  Her publications include “Reconceiving Entrepreneurship for Libraries: Collaboration and the Anatomy of a Conference” and “The Entrepreneurial Librarian: Essays on the infusion of Private-Business Dynamism into Professional Service.”  She is currently serving as the Chair of Business Librarianship in North Carolina, a section of NCLA, and teaches LIB230: Business & Accounting Research Sources and Strategies.  She can be reached at scanlomg @ wfu.edu . 
We will meet together for Session #24, online on March 27 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m (Eastern). Please RSVP for the Session by March 26 at 5:00 pm using this link:  http://tinyurl.com/grs-session24
Technical requirements: We will be using collaborative software called Blackboard Collaborate. It requires that you be able to download Java onto your computer, but you do not need any special software. After you RSVP, we will send you a link that you can use to test the software. If you have any questions, please contact Lynda Kellam (lmkellam @ uncg.edu). You do not need a microphone as a chat system is available in the software, but you do need speakers or headphones.

The session will be recorded and made available after the live session, linked from the NCLA GRS web page (http://www.nclaonline.org/government-resources).

New Help! Webinar

Published February 8, 2013 outreach Leave a Comment
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Help! I’m an Accidental Government Information Librarian presents… Homeland Security Digital Library
 
The Government Resources Section of the North Carolina Library Association welcomes you to a series of webinars designed to help us all do better reference work by increasing our familiarity with government information resources, and by discovering the best strategies for navigating them.
 
The Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL) is the nation’s premier research collection of open-source resources related to homeland security policy, strategy and organizational management. The HSDL is sponsored by the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Preparedness Directorate, FEMA.
 
Greta Marlatt is the Outreach and Collection Development Manager for the Naval Postgraduate School’s Dudley Knox Library and the Content Manager for the Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL).  She has over 30 years of experience working in libraries in various capacities. Ms. Marlatt has published several articles and is the author of a number of bibliographies and help guides for topics relating to Intelligence, Information Warfare, Special Operations, Homeland Security, Mine Warfare, Directed Energy Weapons, NBC Terrorism and more.  She has given numerous presentations on topics related to conducting research in the homeland security and military arenas. Ms. Marlatt holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Arizona State University, a Master of Library Science degree from the University of Arizona and a Master of Arts degree in National Security Studies from California State University, San Bernardino.
 
We will meet together for Session #23, online on February 27 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (eastern). Please RSVP for the Session by Feb 26 at 5:00 pm using this link:  http://tinyurl.com/grs-session23
 

Technical requirements: We will be using collaborative software called Blackboard Collaborate. It requires that you be able to download Java onto your computer, but you do not need any special software. After you RSVP, we will send you a link that you can use to test the software. If you have any questions, please contact Lynda Kellam (lmkellam@uncg.edu). You do not need a microphone as a chat system is available in the software, but you do need speakers or headphones.

The session will be recorded and made available after the live session, linked from the NCLA GRS web page (http://www.nclaonline.org/government-resources).

New Help! webinar coming your way just in time for the Holidays!

Published November 27, 2012 outreach Leave a Comment
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It’s a big Christmas gift wrapped up in virtual continuing education goodness! Yummy.

Help! I’m an Accidental Government Information Librarian presents … British and Commonwealth legal materials, December 13 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (Eastern)

The Government Resources Section of the North Carolina Library Association welcomes you to a series of webinars designed to help us all do better reference work by increasing our familiarity with government information resources, and by discovering the best strategies for navigating them.

Working with legal materials can be daunting for undergraduate students. Working with legal materials from a foreign jurisdiction adds an additional level of complexity and unfamiliarity. However, interdisciplinary approaches within advanced undergraduate classes may require students to find and evaluate sources of law from outside of U.S. jurisdictions.

This webinar considers two such examples drawn from upperclass level classes recently taught at Valdosta State University: a history class requiring the use of historical English capital statutes, and a communications class focusing upon comparative media law. The webinar will discuss sources of law for the purposes of these classes, in addition to strategies for effective information literacy instruction that were attempted.

Presenter Howard S. Carrier, graduated with an M.S.L.S. degree from UNC Chapel Hill in May 2009. He is currently employed as a Reference Librarian and Assistant Professor in the Odum Library at Valdosta State University. Prior to becoming a librarian, Howard completed a law degree and a subsequent Master’s degree in Human Rights Law at the University of Leicester (United Kingdom), thereafter working as a Research Associate in the Centre for Risk and Insurance Studies at the University of Nottingham, and as a Lecturer in Law at the University of Sunderland.

We will meet together for Session #21, online on December 13 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (Eastern). Please RSVP for the Session by December 12 at 5:00 pm using this link:  http://tinyurl.com/grs-session21

Help! is getting the love

Published November 14, 2012 outreach Leave a Comment
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The NCLA Government Resources Section

The North Carolina Library Association’s Government Resources Section has been crazy busy with our webinar series. We just finished our 20th on UNdata and it was a hit! Our Vice-President also was featured at the Depository Library Council Meeting and Federal Depository Library Conference in October. He talked about the success of Help! and how you can start your own webinar series.

Great times! Get help!

Getting to know the House Un-American Activities Committee

Published August 22, 2012 outreach , tutorials Leave a Comment
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We have a fab new Help! webinar coming up in September. Come learn about research HUAC!

Help! I’m an Accidental Government Information Librarian presents… Researching the House Un-American Activities Committee
The Government Resources Section of the North Carolina Library Association welcomes you to a series of webinars designed to help us all do better reference work by increasing our familiarity with government information resources, and by discovering the best strategies for navigating them.
The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was one of the most controversial government organizations in American history. Founded in 1938, it would spend nearly four decades seeking out real and alleged subversives before its disbandment in 1975. HUAC’s most famous witnesses would include former communists such as Whitaker Chambers, Hollywood film stars and screenwriters, and  even athletes such as Jackie Robinson. The committee’s publications offer an invaluable source of primary materials on such topics as American political culture during the Cold War, the history of American Communism, and civil liberties during a period of external threat. In this webinar out how to trace the history of HUAC through its most famous documents, as well as historical background on the committee and its activities and other relevant federal documents resources.

David Durant is Federal Documents & Social Sciences Librarian at J.Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University.

We will meet together for Session #19, online on September 19 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (EDT). Please RSVP for the Session by May 10 at 5:00 pm using this link:  http://tinyurl.com/grs-session19

Technical requirements: We will be using collaborative software called Blackboard Collaborate. It requires that you be able to download Java onto your computer, but you do not need any special software. After you RSVP, we will send you a link that you can use to test the software. If you have any questions, please contact Lynda Kellam (lmkellam@uncg.edu). You do not need a microphone as a chat system is available in the software, but you do need speakers or headphones.

The session will be recorded and made available after the live session, linked from the NCLA GRS web page (http://www.nclaonline.org/government-resources).

July = 2 New Help! Webinars

Published June 19, 2012 outreach Leave a Comment
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Help!, the NCLA Government Resources Section webinar series, is hitting a milestone. It is turning 18! Well, we are hitting our 18th webinar. The 19th webinar is also in the works and more information about that soon. Both will be in July and you should join us!

At the June webinar we learned how to find and report those pesky fugitive documents.  It was excellent. Become a fugitive hunter! Recording and slides will be available on our website soon.

Help! I’m an Accidental Government Information Librarian presents … Mooooooore Data at the USDA!The Government Resources Section of the North Carolina Library Association welcomes you to a series of webinars designed to help us all do better reference work by increasing our familiarity with government information resources, and by discovering the best strategies for navigating them. This webinar is jointly sponsored by the International Association for Social Science Information Services and Technology.

Join us on Thursday, July 12 at 12:00 pm (ET) for a session on the US Department of Agriculture’s resources. The USDA website provides a wealth of data for users. Of course, much of it is about agriculture, but the USDA is also a great source for data you might not expect such as nationwide broadband adoption, food insecurity, and weather. The USDA also provides access to data from other agencies, such as population data, in forms easier to use than the source. However, the depth of content on the USDA site comes at the cost of ease of use. This session will highlight the diversity of data available from USDA and provide tips for navigating the site in order to locate datasets and databases within.
Amy West has been the Data Services Librarian at the University of Minnesota since 2007. From 1999 to 2006, she was the Electronic Government Publications Librarian at the University of Minnesota. As a result, she has particular expertise in US government data sources.

We will meet together for Session 18, online on Thursday, July 12 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (EDT). Please RSVP for the Session by July 11 at 5:00 pm using this link:  http://tinyurl.com/grs-session18

Technical requirements: We will be using collaborative software called Elluminate. It requires that you be able to download Java onto your computer, but you do not need any special software. After you RSVP, we will send you a link that you can use to test the software. If you have any questions, please contact Lynda Kellam (lmkellam@uncg.edu). You do not need a microphone as a chat system is available in the software, but you do need speakers or headphones.

The session will be recorded and made available after the live session, linked from the NCLA GRS web page (http://www.nclaonline.org/government-resources).

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