In the past few years, Langsdale Library has been able to greatly improve the speed and efficiency with which we can deliver articles through Interlibrary Loan. Not that long ago, if someone wanted an article from a journal Langsdale did not own, it could take 2 weeks before a copy of said article would arrive in the mail.

Today however, requests can be submitted and delivered electronically. Instead of 2 weeks, sometimes you can get an article in 2 days, and you can even get your article without having to step foot in the library.

In addition to saving time, our ILL system tracks all of the requests electronically, helping us save on paper and staff time. Except that no system is perfect, and some of the quirks of the ILL Express moved our Interlibrary Loan Librarian, Carol Vaeth, to write a poem entitled "Aisles of Files: Ode to Twentieth Century Interlibrary Loan". The poem was published in the August 2007 issue of the Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Electronic Reserve (what, you haven't heard of that title before?), so be sure to congratulate Carol on her publication.

Yes, you read that right. The Office of Citizen Services and Communications at the U.S. General Services Administration has created a new blog about government information, with a different blogger for each day of the week (meet them here). They'd really like to hear from you, the public, so check out the blog and leave comments or drop them an e-mail.

Blog Link: Gov Gab: Your U.S. Government Blog

Labels: gov docs, news

Here are some of the new titles that you can find in the Langsdale Government Documents Collection:

Print/CD/DVD (online version linked when available)

• The All-Volunteer Military: Issues and Performance. (Y 10.2:M 59/16)
• Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, "The Art and Science of Grant Writing", March 2006. (HH 1.2:C 73/51/2006)
• New Realities: Law Enforcement in the Post-9/11 Era. (J 26.35:L41/CD)
  CD-ROM contains four monographs:
• Assessing and Managing the Terrorism Threat
• Engaging the Private Sector to Promote Homeland Security: Law Enforcement-Private Security Partnerships
• Intelligence-Led Policing: The New Intelligence Architecture
• Mutual Aid: Multijurisdictional Partnerships for Meeting Regional Threats
• Offender Employment Specialist, Building Bridges. (J 1.100:OF 2/DVD/CD)
  From the back cover: "Offender Employment Specialist, Building Bridges is a multi-DVD/CD set that presents an entry-level training program for practitioners who assist offenders in securing and retaining employment. The target audiences for this training include, but are not limited to, those who work in prisons, jails, probation, parole, one-stops, career resource centers, government agencies, and faith-based and community organizations."
  
  The set includes introduction, facilitator training and guide book CDs, plus 5+ hours of video training on three DVDs. From the National Institute of Corrections Video Library.
• Serve, Support, Simplify: Report of the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors, July 2007. (PR 43.8:W 25/C 18)
• Serve, Support, Simplify: Subcommittee Reports and Survey Findings: Report of the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors, July 2007. (PR 43.8:W 25/C 18/REPORTS)
• A Virtual Small Business Tax Workshop DVD, February 2006. (T 22.69:V 81/2006)
  From the IRS.gov description: "A Virtual Small Business Tax Workshop DVD is an innovative DVD designed to help new and existing small business owners understand and meet their federal tax obligations. The workshop provides information and resources in an interactive format. The workshop consists of ten lessons and is subtitled in English, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. The DVD running time is 3 hours and 43 minutes."

For a list of new electronic titles available in September, please go the Catalog of Government Publications.

Labels: gov docs, new titles, resources

In honor of Constitution Day (Sept. 17), Langsdale Library has created a display on the first floor of the library; we encourage you to stop by and see it before the end of September. As part of the exhibit, the library is giving away FREE pocket-sized copies of the U.S. Constitution (including the amendments). To get your copy, please stop by the Reference Desk on the first floor.

There is also a new Constitution Day Guide: http://langsdale.ubalt.edu/howto/ConstitutionDay_guide.htm

For questions about other resources available at Langsdale, please contact the Reference Desk at langref@ubalt.edu or 410-837-4274.

Labels: celebration, constitution, gov docs, resources

Gen. David H. Petraeus and Iraq Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker are testifying about Iraq before a Joint Hearing of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Armed Services. The text of their statements (plus graphics) is now available online:

• Gen. Petraeus (slides included): http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/110/pet091007.pdf
• Ambassador Crocker: http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/110/cro091007.pdf

For more about the hearings, check out these sites:

• U.S. House of Representatives, House Armed services Committee: http://www.house.gov/hasc/hearing_information.shtml
• U.S. House of Representatives, House Committee on Foreign Affairs: http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/testimony.asp?subnav=close
• Status of War in Iraq -- C-SPAN (live feed): http://www.c-span.org/watch/cs_cspan3_wm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS3
  

Labels: gov docs, Iraq, primary_sources, resources

The Election Resources Guide has been updated with information on the upcoming Baltimore City Primary and General Elections, as well as links to local media coverage. Surf on over to: http://langsdale.ubalt.edu/howto/election_guide.htm

Labels: baltimore, elections, resources

In case you missed these, here are some of the new titles that you can find in the Langsdale Government Documents Collection:

Print (online version linked when available)

• America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being. (PR 42.8:C 43/C 43/2007)
• Changes in the Economic Resources of Low-Income Households with Children. (Y 10.2:EC 7/19)
• Citing Records in the National Archives of the United States. (AE 1.113:17/2007)
• Comprehensive Revised Report with Addendums on Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction (Duelfer Report). (PREX 3.2:IR1)
• Congressional Pictorial Directory. (Y 4.P 93/1:1 P/110)
• Elisha Jones House and Shed: Minute Man National Historical Park, Concord, Massachusetts. (I 29.88:J 71)
  Part of the Historic Architecture Program series issued by the National Park Service. Other reports can be found in Langsdale Government Documents.
• Federal Resources on Missing and Exploited Children. (PR 42.8:C 43/R 31/2007)
• The Health Benefits of Volunteering: A Review of Recent Research. (Y 3.N 21/29:2 H 34)
• Military Service Records at the National Archives. (AE 1.124:109)
• National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in Private Industry in the United States, 2005. (L 2.3:2589)
• The National Export Strategy: Annual Report to the United States Congress. (C1.1/6: 2007)
• Research in the Land Entry Files of the General Land Office: Record Group 49. (AE 1.124:114)
  From the introduction: "The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the official repository for records of the U.S. General Land Office, a predecessor of the Bureau of Land Management, that document the transfer of public lands from the United States to private ownership. The case files generated by over 10 million such individual land transactions, known as land entries, and the tract books and various name indexes used to access them are located in the National Archives Building, Washington, DC."
• Source Book of Statistics of Income. Active Corporation Income Tax Returns July 2004-June 2005. (T 22.35/5-2:2004)

For a list of new electronic titles available in June, July and August, please go the Catalog of Government Publications.

Labels: gov docs, new titles, resources