Research Infrastructure

Library and Information Center

Rowland Institute at Harvard
Library News & Notes
May 28, 2004

Notes

The library will not be staffed on Monday, May 31, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. Enjoy the first weekend of the summer.

Internet Sites of the Week

Cicadas
They're back, after 17 years underground. The Scout Report lists a host of resources at
http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/NSDL/LifeSci/2004/ls-040528-topicindepth.php#1, the first of which, from Michigan, features “song clips,” while others include photos, links to research groups, recipes (!) and games.
(Sources: NSDL Scout Report for Life Sciences; Librarian's Index to the Internet)

Coming Soon: the Death of Search Engines?
Rita Vine asks: “Why is searching getting harder and less productive?”
http://www.llrx.com/features/deathsearchengine.htm
(Source: beSpacific)

Mining Your Data
A NYT article examines widespread scouring of personal data by scores of government agencies, practices that would be restricted with private companies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/27/national/27privacy.html?ex=1401076800&en=5671e4c741290d53&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND
The article generated a lot of follow-ups, especially among those who thought there was an end to the Total Information Awareness project, and ranging from acerbic
(The Register, http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/28/us_gov_data_mining/,)
to a little more tempered (Wired News, http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,63623,00.html; eWeek http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1602573,00.asp.)
At the other end of the spectrum, Cnet’s Declan McCullagh talks about the “upside” of the loss of privacy:
http://www.reason.com/0406/fe.dm.database.shtml
(Source: SciTechDaily Review)

Networked Homes Move Closer to Reality
…but what if our appliances start IM'ing each other?…
http://news.com.com/Networked+homes+move+closer+to+reality/2100-1041_3-5222185.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=news

Quick Fixes for Web Info Junkies
A BusinessWeek reporter lists several freely available information sources ranging from patents to mathematics to fine art and song lyrics.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_22/b3885045.htm
(Source: Open Access News)

Transit of Venus
Venus is due to pass over the sun on June 8, a rare phenomenon for which the Scout Report lists a number of informational sites:
http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/NSDL/PhysSci/2004/ps-040528-topicindepth.php#1;
one from NASA includes some historical background and James Cook's observation of it on his way to Tahiti.
(Sources: NSDL Scout Report for Physical Sciences; NASA Daily Update)

NEW BOOKS/VIDEOS

Received May 22 - 28, 2004