Vendor Printer

A little while ago I reported a frozen--despite rebooting--Vendor Printer to our help desk.

Naxos Music Library cancelled

Mike recently informed me that we canceled our subscription to Naxos Music Library due to lack of use.

Wilson Web Interface enhancements starting today

The Wilson databases have some enhancements, including:

A new search results page that includes the handy relocation of all icons within the record for both Brief and Full citations displays. It also includes new coloration and record separators that are designed to make reviewing search results much easier for users.
· Now, PDF Full Text records can be emailed as an attachment, if desired. Please be sure to allow for WilsonWeb's domain name (http://wilsontxt.hwwilsonweb.com)in any filtering system you might have employed on your computer to ensure seemless delivery of attached emails.
· Users will also enjoy the newly improved Search History screen.
· Now records can be cited in the Chicago/Turabian style format, if desired.

For more details about the new enhancements, please see the following:
http://www.hwwilson.com/Documentation/WilsonWeb/enhancements/wweb_maintenance.htm.

Off campus access to CUNY-wide databases

Roland Samieske posted this on CULIBS today:

There is a technical problem with off-campus access servers run by the Office of Library Services.

This includes access to the CUNY-wide licenses listed at http://libraries.cuny.edu/resource.htm as well as the proxy servers we run for the Law School, Hostos CC, KBCC, NYCCT, Medgar Evers, Graduate School of Journalism, and York. These servers are down until further notice.

At present, CIS staff is working on solving this problem and we hope to have the service back up soon.

Thanks for your patience.

Cornell student research of interest

To follow up on my earlier post today, I checked out Galdwell's comment in his New Yorker article that Cornell grad students, using SEC filings and doing ratio analysis, had very early recommended a SELL on Enron, and this recommendation was available on Cornell's web site. The report dates from 1998, long before the company failed. They are posted on the Parker Center Johnson Center site at Cornell, and the Enron research is among those available at http://parkercenter.johnson.cornell.edu/research_other_student_reports_9798.htm.

The disclaimer notes, among other things, that the report is intended to solely serve as an example of student analytical work, and it is based on information available to the public, and the report is not intended to provide investment advice.

I didn't know of these reports. I think they could serve as an example to show our students as they incorporate business and industry, accounting and financial analysis and valuation, and comparable company valuation.

Self Checkout machine - PC

The Self Checkout machine is not working. A PC will be placed behind the reference desk in order for repairs to be made on the machine.

New Yorker article of interest re the use of information

I found Open Secrets by Malcolm Gladwell in this week's New Yorker an interesting read on the use of information relating to a number of events, including Enron and Iraq. I liked this paragraph: "Mysteries, though, are a lot murkier: sometimes the information we’ve been given is inadequate, and sometimes we aren’t very smart about making sense of what we’ve been given, and sometimes the question itself cannot be answered. Puzzles come to satisfying conclusions. Mysteries often don’t."

I think his explanations of special entities, and the complex nature of many business transactions, as well as mark to market accounting are easy to understand (At least I think I understand them.)

Student printing accounts during January intersession

Saad contacted Christian Keck, the Director of Student Computing, to get some details on student printing accounts for the January intersession. Here are Christian's comments:

Those students who are registered for a course or courses during the January term can print as of yesterday morning. They must be registered for a course and have paid their bill. There have been a lot of students coming to the help desk yesterday that have confused January intercession with Spring semester which also starts in January. Some students also think that since they had a balance left over from the Fall semester that this would still appear. We start fresh and all old accounts are removed so the new accounts for each term can be updated. The account started yesterday morning at 8:00 AM and are good through Thursday January 25 at midnight. If the students are having problems are questions they may come or contact the help desk for assistance.

question about student printing accounts for the January term

Could someone please provide the details of the student printing accounts for students taking courses this January term? A student just told me he received an error message when he tried to print the syllabus for his January class. Thanks.

Wall Street Journal Changing Today

The Wall Street Journal is making major changes to its print edition starting today. The size of the paper is shrinking and more content, notably breaking news and market statistics, is going to the online edition. A recent letter from the publisher outlined "What is Changing -- and What Isn't -- In the Wall Street Journal."

A key change is the launch of a Markets Data Center that will be available free in WSJ.com and will feature downloadable data, interactive charting, and mutual fund and ETF screening. There will be more emphasis on exclusive news and analysis in the print edition. Librarians should note that the "Marketplace" section has a daily index to People in addition to its index to Businesses.

To introduce the changes, the Wall Street Journal Online is free today at www.wsj.com. It is worthwhile to take the tour and read the "Help: A Guide to Finding Tables" found in the Markets Data Center.

Infoshare Database down

On Dec. 21, Loren Mendelson at CCNY reported on CULIBS that the Infoshare database is not working. Their server crashed a couple of days ago and they're have problems bringing it back up.

UPDATE: Infoshare is now working again.

Firefox at the reference desk

My article in Library Journal, "Firefox at the Reference Desk," was just published today in the December 15th issue. You can read it online at the Library Journal web site. One thing that didn't make it into the final version of the article was a list of links to the resources discussed in my article:

BookBurro
http://bookburro.org/

Book Borough
http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/1498

Firefox 1.5
http://www.oldapps.com/firefox.htm

Firefox 2
http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/

IE Tab
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1419/

Internet Explorer 7
www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/

L2
http://lib20.com/blog/

Mycroft
http://mycroft.mozdev.org/

OpenURL Referrer
http://www.openly.com/openurlref/

Pearl Crescent Page Saver
http://pearlcrescent.com/products/pagesaver/

Snapper
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/2703

If you'd like to try some of these things out, the staff PC at the front right corner of the reference desk has Firefox installed with these extensions: Book Burro, L2, IE Tab, OpenURL Referrer, Pearl Crescent Page Saver, and Snapper.

Vendor Printer

The vendor printer was reading "service required" at 7pm Wednesday evening and wasn't working. I sent a request for service to the Help Desk.

Paper for Printers in room 238

The paper supply is running low in room 238. Nelson has been notified. He stated that the suppliers are scheduled to arrive today (Dec. 13th) to save the day.

Preview LexisNexis Academic redesign

There's a bit of information available on the LexisNexis Redesign 2007 page about the upcoming changes. (Thanks to Rita for sharing this with me.)

Databases that require patrons to set up free accounts

A handful of our databases require patrons to register for a free account before they can access the database at all:

• Audit Analytics
  
• Books24x7
• Gartner (you have to have a CUNY Portal login to get to this database)
  
• LearningExpress.com
• MRI+
  
• netLibrary
• RefWorks (no remote access yet)
  

Some databases don't require registration but offer it (or request an e-mail address at the outset) so that you can get useful personalization:

• CCH Business & Finance
• CCH Capital Changes
• CCH Tax Research
  
• ebrary

If I forgot a database, please add it in the comments section of this blog post.

Wilson to offer retrospective Library Literature databases

Just saw an announcement that next January H.W. Wilson will launch Library Literature; Information Science Retrospective: 1905 -1983.

New Videocamera Loan Service

I've just created a videocameras page in the wiki that details everything I know about this new service. Please add any other details to the wiki page that you think should be there (just click the "Edit page" link on the videocameras page, login using the password that we've always used for logging in to the wiki, type in your corrections or additions, and then click "Save.")

Investigative Journalism Web Links

Barbara Oliver, Director of Research for the NY Times, was a guest lecturer at my Research Methods course at the Graduate Journalism School last week and was kind enough to share the following list of links used at the Times for investigative stories.

The sites might be useful for helping students at the reference desk and for updating online subject guides.

Jerry

Here are the links:

Public record finder

http://www.brbpub.com/pubrecsites.asp



State Courts

http://www.ncsconline.org/D_KIS/info_court_web_sites.html



Incarceration records by state

http://www.vi nelink.com/index.jsp



National Sex Offender registry

http://www.nsopr.gov/



Updates on law, media and technology

http://www.bespacific.com/



Targeted leagl research

http://www.llrx.com/



CT case lookup

http://www.jud.state.ct.us/jud2.htm



CT professional licenses

http://www.dcpaccess.state.ct.us/DCPPublic/LicenseLookup.asp



NJ Civil Motion calendar

http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/acms/MOTN/CV0390W0E.ASP



NJ Professional licenses

http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/consumeraffairs/search/searchentry.pl



NY Professional licenses

http://www.op.nysed.gov/opsearches.htm



Federal Tax Court

http://www.ustaxcourt.gov/docket.htm



NYS Attorney look-up

http://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/attorney/html/AttorneyWelcome.html

NYC Civil Servants

http://www.citylaw.org/cityadmin.php





HEALTH AND MEDICINE

http://denison .uchsc.edu/education/eval.html



Evaluating Risk

http://www.stats.org/stories/media_distort_nov21_2006.htm



Questionnable Doctors

http://www.questionabledoctors.org/



The Cost of Poverty

http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err26/err26.pdf



BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS



Public Company Information

http://www.sec.gov/



Business filings by state

http://www.llrx.com/columns/roundup29.htm

Simmons Choices III and Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy available again!

Saad has set up a new CD-ROM server, thereby returning access to Simmons Choices III and the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. These two databases may only be accessed from selected PCs in the library.