Posts filed under 'reference'
During an election year, national level politicians from all sides of the spectrum may say whatever it takes to get elected. One website to check out the truth behind the speeches is factcheck.org, a project of the Anneberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Factcheck will respond to commericals, speeches, and other comments made by candidates during the campaign, and will cite its sources at the end of the response.
September 4th, 2008
Since the UCB Library now has access to U.S. Congressional Hearings via LexisNexis Congressional (see this previous post for more information on what is available in LexisNexis Congressional), we will begin migrating our hearings to the Northern Regional Library Facility, better know as NRLF. If you need to access a paper version of any hearing UCB holds after this move, you have 3 options: you can request the hearing via Pathfinder, by visiting a circulation desk and making the request in person, or by visting NRLF directly. If you request the hearing, you will have the hearing in 1-2 business days. If you have any questions about this process, please let us know via our webform.
July 18th, 2008
The UC Berkeley Libraries have just purchased access to several previously unavailable full-text digital Congressional Publications though our database LexisNexis Congressional. With this access, UCB faculty, staff and students can search for an exact quote from a hearing from a computer on campus or connected through the proxy server, where previously you had to visit the Library and spend some time reading the hearing to get the quote. The following types of congressional materials are now available (with one exception) for full-text searching.
Congressional Hearings (1824-2003) LexisNexis is currently digitizing all congressional hearings and have completed the published hearings from 1950’s though 2003. They are working backwards and will have digitized all published and unpublished hearings from 1824-present when the project is completed at the end of 2008. Prior to this digitization project, UCB only had access to the published hearings in paper and microfiche.
Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports (1916-2003) - CRS is a part of the Library of Congress and creates research reports for congressional members. CRS reports provide the background information that Congress uses in its legislative and investigative work. These reports are rarely released to the public, and can be a great starting point for many research projects because they contain background information and full bibliographies. UCB previously only had access to these reports from 1991-present in microfiche.
Committee Prints (1830-2003) - Committee Prints contain a variety of information, including research, notes, and background reports that a congressional committee uses when it is working on a bill or other issue. The contents of Committee Prints vary widely, and some prints will contain more information than others. These documents provide invaluable insights into the inner-workings of Congress. Prior to this purchase, UCB only had access to these from 1917-1969 in microfiche and 1970-present in paper.
For more information, please contact us through our webform
February 22nd, 2008
New in Government Reference…
Hurricane Katrina : a nation still unprepared : special report of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, together with additional views.<2006>
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Published: Washington : U.S. G.P.O. ; For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., 2006.
Electronic Location: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS77202
Location(s): Govt Refe KF31; .H65 2006
June 26th, 2007
WASHINGTON-As the world pauses to remember the 62nd anniversary of the Allies’ victory in Europe during World War II (May 8, 1945), the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) is joining with Southern Methodist University (SMU) Central University Libraries to provide the public with a digital collection of more than 300 U.S. Government publications distributed during the course of the war.
“Giving the public permanent access to this historic digital collection is an example of GPO’s mission to make Government documents available electronically to all Americans,” said Ric Davis, Acting Superintendent of Documents. “Partnerships, such as this one with SMU, are part of GPO’s ongoing efforts to work with the library community as we move forward with GPO’s digital transformation.”
SMU Central University Libraries, which are part of GPO’s Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), have digitized hundreds of historical World War II publications that are available to the public. With just a few keystrokes, Americans can access World War II reports and documents such as: Choosing Women for War - Industry Jobs, America’s Biggest War Plant and Air Raid Shelters in Buildings. These documents and many others are accessible at:
http://worldwar2.smu.edu/
“The 62nd anniversary of Victory in Europe day on May 8 is an opportune moment to remind people of how this collection provides insight into the American experience during World War II,” said Gillian M. McCombs, Dean and Director, Central University Libraries. “SMU values our role in preserving collections for the future and is happy to join GPO in using the latest technologies to maintain this historical information for generations to come.”
ABOUT SMU:
A private university of 11,000 students near the center of Dallas, SMU offers strong undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs through seven schools - in the humanities and sciences; business; the performing, visual, and communication arts; engineering; education and human development; law; and theology.
ABOUT GPO:
The U.S. Government Printing Office is the Federal Government’s primary centralized resource for gathering, cataloging, producing, providing, authenticating, and preserving published U.S. Government information in all its forms. GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of information products and services for all three Branches of the Federal Government. In addition to publication sales, GPO makes Government information available at no cost to the public through GPO Access (www.gpoaccess.gov), and through partnerships with more than 1,250 libraries nationwide participating in the Federal Depository Library Program. For more information, please visit www.gpo.gov.
May 7th, 2007
Need some help with research on legislation, human rights, census data, state budgets and more?
The Government Documents unit of the Doe Library now offers an improved chat reference service. Just enter your question in the Meebo box on their web page, or use your IM account and the address “ucbgovref”.
Librarians specializing in local, state, national and international government affairs are online Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 1-5pm.
The Government Documents unit also offers an e-mail reference service, where you can ask a question any time.
April 8th, 2007
