CAMPUS HIGHLIGHTS

MADCAT UNVEILED
http://www.library.wisc.edu/

At the end of June, the new Madcat was released and along with it, the
redesigned electronic library web site.  If you've not had occasion to
search Madcat or navigate around the site, give it a try.  If you have
comments or questions, please send them to me or to the GLS at
userview-l@macc.wisc.edu.   If there seems to be enough interest, I'll do a
workshop here in the fall.
 

CURRENT CONTENTS

We are moving our current contents service to the web where we hope to
provide a usable format for everyone, including direct links to journals
with their fulltext online.  For those of you who already subscribe, we'll
notify you of the change -- until then you'll continue to receive updates
via e-mail.  For those of you who are not subscribers but would like to
receive the tables-of-contents of atmospheric science, planetary,
mathematical, or oceanography related journals (or another discipline)
please contact me and you can be added to an existing group or we can
create another.
 

NASA FAR SUPPLEMENT
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/nfstoc.htm
http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/library/refs.htm (under U.S. Government Information)

NASA has determined that it is more efficient and economical to provide the
NASA FAR Supplement through electronic means and has discontinued the paper
subscription version.  Our paper copy is still on the shelf but should not
be relied upon for current information and is so labeled.  You can search
the NASA FAR Supplement as well as the Federal Acquisitions Regulations
from this site.
 

THREE NEW RESOURCES IN THE ELECTRONIC LIBRARY:

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLICATIONS INTERNET SITE
http://www.epa.gov/ncepihom/nepishom/

The National Environmental Publications Information System began in 1997.
The database now offers over 7,000 EPA documents to browse, view or print
online.  Access is open to everyone.

ACM DIGITAL LIBRARY
http://www.acm.org/

Founded in 1947,  the Association for Computing Machinery is a prominent
educational and scientific computing society.  The ACM has opened the ACM
Digital Library, a vast resource of bibliographic information, citations,
and full-text articles.  Campus libraries have licensed access to the
entire database.

FEDSTATS
http://www.fedstats.gov/

More than 70 agencies in the United States Federal Government produce
statistics of interest to the public. The Federal Interagency Council on
Statistical Policy maintains this site to provide easy access to the full
range of statistics and information produced by these agencies for public
use.  All of the statistical information available through FedStats is
maintained and updated solely by Federal agencies on their own Internet
servers.   Some of the agencies providing statistical information include:
NASA, NOAA, USGS, EPA, NSF, OSTI.   Access is open to everyone.
 

OTHER SITES OF INTEREST

SOLAR ECLIPSE
http://eclipse99.nasa.gov/
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/TSE1999/TSE1999.html
http://www.skypub.com/sights/eclipses/solar/9908solarpreview.html
http://exploratorium.edu/eclipse/live99.html

On Wednesday, August 11, 1999, a total eclipse of the Sun will be visible
from within a narrow corridor that traverses the Eastern Hemisphere. The
path of the Moon's umbral shadow begins in the Atlantic and crosses Central
Europe, the Middle East, and India where it ends at sunset in the Bay of
Bengal. A partial eclipse will be seen within the much broader path of the
Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes Northeastern North America, all of
Europe, Northern Africa and the western half of Asia.  [Note:  although you
won't be able to see the eclipse in Wisconsin, you can watch it at some of
the sites listed above.]  This event is the last total solar eclipse of the
20th century, benefiting formal and informal education communities alike.
[NASA, Eclipse 99]
 

COMMITTEE FOR THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
(NIE) WELCOMES REPORT ON THE FUTURE ROLE OF THE NSF IN
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Last week the National Science Board approved implementation for the
National Institute for the Environment Initiative with a target budget of
$1 billion/year for five years.   The goal for creating an NIE  includes
"four crosscutting recommendations that address physical, technological and
information infrastructure."  The creation of a National Library for the
Environment, which is part of this proposal, comes one step closer to
reality.  Details of the NSB report and comments from the Committee for the
National Institute for the Environment can be found at  http://www.cnie.org.

The implications for this initiative are broad and cut across many
disciplines and lines of work. One of the truly unique functions of the
proposed NIE and NLE is the cross-disciplinary sharing of environmental
data, information, resources, expertise, and knowledge. This is best
summarized in the NSB's conclusions:

"Scientific understanding of the environment, together with an informed,
scientifically literate citizenry, is requisite to quality of life for
generations to come. As the interdependencies of fundamental and applied
environmental research become more evident, the NSF should capitalize on
the momentum gained in its past support for premium scholarship and
emerging new research areas and technologies. The time is ripe to
accelerate progress for the benefit of the Nation."

The National Science Board Report speaks of the "overwhelming importance
and exciting opportunities for progress in the environmental arena," an
observation with which the CNIE fully concurs.  The Board's two "keystone"
recommendations call for substantial new funding for environmental science,
and for an "effective organizational approach" that involves "a
high-visibility, NSF-wide organizational focal point" with budgetary
authority to support interdisciplinary and integrated activities.  The CNIE
hopes that the National Science Foundation will choose to implement these
and other recommendations with a well-funded, strongly integrated,
interdisciplinary environmental program.    [Science and Technology
Section, ACRL and CNIE Advisory Council for the National Library for the
Environment, 08/04/99]
 

NEW AIR QUALITY INDEX (AQI) -- EPA [.pdf, .wpd]
http://www.epa.gov/airnow/publications.html

On July 23, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the
release of a new Air Quality Index, which is used by state and local
agencies for reporting on daily air quality to the public, especially in
major cities. The new Index has been revised to enhance public
understanding of air quality and associated health effects, and it reflects
updated health information on several pollutants. In addition to the full
text of the new AQI Rule (105 p.), several related documents are offered at
the site. These include the AQI fact sheet, Air Quality Guide, Ozone Health
Effects Booklet, and Guideline for Reporting of Daily Air Quality.  [From
The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-1999]
 

WEB DEVELOPER'S VIRTUAL LIBRARY
http://www.stars.com/

The Web Developer's Virtual Library (WDVL) is one of the largest, oldest,
and most useful Web developer's resources in existence. While most virtual
libraries provide only indexes of external information, the WDVL offers
original articles and tutorials on various current Web development
technologies and problems. The site is nicely organized, making it easy to
quickly drill down to an interesting article, and one can lose track of
time reading the informative articles and following pointers to useful
Websites. An effective search engine also helps users to find information
within the site. The WDVL's weekly email newsletter contains information
about the latest articles, tutorials, and developer trends. All in all, the
WDVL is an excellent resource for Web development and should be a bookmark
on any developer's list.  [From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout
Project 1994-1999]
 

DISABILITY AND THE WORKPLACE:  AN INTERNET PRIMER
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/library/reference/GUIDES/DW_Primer/default.html

Catherwood Library, located at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations
at Cornell University, offers an extensive guide to Internet Resources
dealing with several levels of physical and mental
disability and the workplace. Detailed annotations of indexed sites cover
topics including the Americans With Disabilities Act, government sites,
worker's compensation, and job hunting. The Getting Started section lists
resources for those with disabilities.  [From The Scout Report, Copyright
Internet Scout Project 1994-1999]
 

NASA IS MY PLAYGROUND
http://www.nasa.gov/kids.html

NASA has long maintained a considerable Web presence, offering data,
photos, and news for astronomers and scientists, as well as the curious
general user. The agency has also created a fair number of sites aimed at
younger users, but like the rest of NASA's sites, they have been widely
scattered and attached to various different projects. This new metasite
from NASA brings together these kids' sites in one convenient location.
Divided into six sections (Airplanes, Earth, Planets, Stars and Galaxies,
Space Travel, and Other), NASA is My Playground links to a wide variety of
online activities and educational content aimed at younger users. Some of
these include the Adventure of Echo the Bat, Build your own Martian
spacecraft, Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous Quiz, and NASA Rocket Classroom
Activities, among many others. A number of links to other NASA sites and
projects are also provided. [From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet
Scout Project 1994-1999]
 

ADLER PLANETARIUM
http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/

In January, the Adler Planetarium, a venerable Chicago Institution, debuted
its new 60,000-square-foot Sky Pavilion, including the StarRider Theater.
In conjunction, the Adler presents its Website,
primarily an online guide to the museum that can be used to plan a visit,
get the schedule for StarRider shows, and find out what's on display.
Portions of the 1930s building will be under construction until October, so
some users may opt to enjoy the Website rather than going to the
Planetarium. Online features include the collections, descriptions with
some images of the museum's holdings of rare books, works on paper, and
scientific instruments, as well as past
exhibitions. Select the our collection section and click on Awestruck, a
1997 show of astronomical art, to see 22 celestial charts, broadsides, and
portraits of astronomers. The astronomy
online section features a sky watchers' guide for backyard astronomers,
weather watch for weather conditions on other planets, and a celestial
weight calculator that will compute your weight on other planets and stars.
There is also a searchable database of links
to other astronomical sites.  [From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet
Scout Project 1994-1999]