Author: Susan Paterson

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News Website

Looking of US Census Data?

If you’re looking for US Census data the Oklahoma Dept. of  Libraries  has just updated their site with resources such as “How to use Census data: guides and handouts about data from the U.S. Census Bureau”.

It also includes links to three how-to guides about Census data:  **Choosing Census Data**– How do you choose between Decennial Census data, American Community Survey (ACS) data, and Annual Population Estimates Program (APEP) data? This will help you and your customers make “Best Practices” choices.

**Mixing Census Data Types Together** – Mixing Decennial Census data, ACS data, and APEP data together is a no-no at the Census Bureau. But here at the Oklahoma State Data Center we know that our customers mix different types of Census data together regardless of the statistical inaccuracies of doing so, so we offer this guide to help you work with customers who insist on doing this.

* *Using American Community Survey Data** – How do you work with1-year, 3-year, and 5-year ACS data? This is another “Best Practices” guide. It is essentially the same guide published by ALA/GODORT at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/images/4/42/Beleu-occasionalpaper3.pdf

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News Online Resource (Free)

World Bank launches open access Digital Collection

A great new open access resource will allow users to access all World Development Reports since 1978.  You can read the press release below:

“A new online, open access, collection of all World Development Reports since 1978 was launched today by the World Bank. The Complete World Development Report Online, which allows users to easily access and search across these World Bank annual flagship publications, is free and open to the public and may be accessed at http://wdronline.worldbank.org

For over thirty years, the annual WDR has provided a window on development economics to a broad international readership. The report has served as one of the principal vehicles for encapsulating the World Bank’s knowledge of and policy recommendations on key global development trends. From agriculture and the environment to economic growth and international trade, the WDR has tracked theoretical and empirical findings as well as policies in the field of international development.

The robust search engine of The Complete World Development Report Online optimizes search both across and within all WDRs with the click of a button. In addition, the background papers upon which the most recent reports were drawn are also available.

A free optional individual user account allows users to take advantage of tools such as bookmarking and saving selected chapters or reports, saving searches, and taking notes. A custom eBook feature lets users select chapters from multiple reports for future reference, sharing with colleagues, or creating course packets. The custom eBooks may also be downloaded, printed, or easily shared through social networking sites. In addition, the site features quick links to World Bank open databases, RSS feeds, new content alerts, and COUNTER-compliant usage statistics for librarians.

“We are pleased to offer the custom eBook tool in The Complete World Development Report Online,“ said Carlos Rossel, Publisher of the World Bank. “We hope that by offering this new, free resource with added features, we will facilitate research and help our users more easily collect, save, and share the World Bank knowledge captured in the collection of World Development Reports.”

A bonus title, Shahid Yusuf’s Development Economics through the Decades: A Critical Look at 30 Years of the World Development Report, is also included. “The World Development Report provides a unique perspective on the evolution of thinking, policy making, and practice in the field of development. Now for the first time, those interested in development have a convenient way to access all the WDRs at the same time, in the same place, to compare how key areas in development have changed over the years,” said Yusuf.”

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News

US foreign-born population closes in on 37 million

From Docuticker:

“The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 36.7 million of the nation’s population (12 percent) were foreign-born, and another 33 million (11 percent) were native-born with at least one foreign-born parent in 2009, making one in five people either first or second generation U.S. residents. The second generation were more likely than the foreign born to be better educated and have higher earnings and less likely to be in poverty. In 2009, 59 percent of the native-born 25 and older with at least one foreign-born parent had some college education and 33 percent had a bachelor’s degree. That compares with 45 percent of the foreign-born who had some college and 29 percent who had a bachelor’s degree. “– Docuticker

You can read the news release from the  US Census Bureau here. Detailed tables can be found here.

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Uncategorized

Liberals introduce mandatory-census bill

The Liberals are trying to resuscitate the governent’s decision on the long form census  by introducing a private member’s bill to bring back the mandatory long form census.

  • You can read the complete Globe and Mail story here.
  • Interested to see what questions are asked on the long census form? You can take a look at the questions here :

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/imdb-bmdi/instrument/3901_Q2_V3-eng.pdf

  • Also take a look at types of data that are based on the long form census – available to UBC  staff, students and faculty.

Census of Canada – Topic Based Tabulations

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News

HST: Recall campaign against MLAs to begin Jan. 1

“Recalling any MLAs may prove more difficult than the petition campaign, which required the volunteers to collect signatures from 10 per cent of registered voters in each of the province’s 85 ridings.

While that was hard enough, for the recall campaign the volunteers will have to start from scratch again and collect signatures from 40 per cent of eligible voters in the riding of each MLA they are targeting. ” – CBC News

Read the full story from CBC news here

  • To read more about Bill Vander Zalm, take a look at Bill Vanderzalm: “for the people”: hindsight – insight – foresight: the autobiography of British Columbia’s 28th Premier available at Koerner Library.
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News

Legislative Committee assembles to discuss anti-HST petition

Read the CBC article here

The Select Standing Committee on Legislative Initiatives is composed of the following MLAs:

Terry Lake (convener), Liberal, Kamloops-North Thompson

Eric Foster, Liberal, Vernon-Monashee

Dave S. Hayer, Liberal, Surrey-Tynehead

Richard T. Lee, Liberal, Burnaby North

Pat Pimm, Liberal, Peace River North

John Slater, Liberal, Boundary-Similkameen

Katrine Conroy, NDP, Kootenay West

Mike Farnworth, NDP, Port Coquitlam

Rob Fleming, NDP, Victoria-Swan Lake

Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver-Mount Pleasant

The proceedings of the Select Standing Committee on Legislative Initiatives will be streamed live to the Internet.
At 12:45 PM today, a link will appear on this page to the Webcast of the proceedings:

http://www.leg.bc.ca/hansard/webcasts/

In addition, the archive Webcast and transcript of the proceedings will be linked on this page:

http://www.leg.bc.ca/cmt/39thparl/session-2/legis/index.htm

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News

Concern over new Canadian Census Form Changes

Changes in the way census information will be collected due to privacy concerns is concerning many Canadians 
as well as the research community.
 
The long form questionnaire which contains valuable information for researchers and StatsCan will be eliminated 
and replaced with a new voluntary National Household Survey form and the results will never be released.

According to the Vancouver Sun story: "The idea of doing away with the long census questionnaire form,  
transferring the questions to the NHS and no longer releasing the information did not become public until Saturday, \
when it appeared in a  government publication."
Tories Scrap Mandatory Long Form Census – Globe and Mail
Census Change Under Fire – Vancouver Sun
The next Census will be in 2011.
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News

Text of Bill C-32 now available

The text of the bill is now available:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/32401372/Copyright-Bill-C32

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News

C-32, new Copyright Bill introduced

A day earlier than expected the new copyright bill, C-32, has been introduced.

The text of the bill  is not yet available online but is coming soon:  http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/crp-prda.nsf/eng/home

For further information take a look at Michael Geist’s blog.

Also CBC  features a news story about the bill:  Copyright bill would ban digital locks

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News Online Resource (Free) Website

Library Journal’s Notable Government Documents for 2009

Library Journal has published their annual selection on the most pertinent government documents of the past year.

Important issues included:

Digitization – “Google launched a collaborative project to scan every U.S. government document held by the libraries of the Big Ten universities and the University of Chicago. At the project’s end, the full text of an estimated one million to 1.5 million U.S. government publications will be available through Google Book Search and the HathiTrust Digital Library“- Library Journal

Hathi Trust Digital Library is  a digital repository for the nation’s great research libraries, bringing together the diverse collections of partner institutions. It was conceived as a collaboration of the thirteen universities of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation and the University of California system to establish a repository for these universities to archive and share their digitized collections.” – Hathitrust website.

Open government – The Obama administration created an Open Government Directive – “requiring executive agencies to make their activities transparent, to enhance the public’s role in policy making, and to collaborate more extensively with one another, with state and local governments, and with private institutions”

Some of the highlighted documents include:

Investigation of Failure of the SEC To Uncover Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme. public version. by H. David Kotz. U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.

Restorative Commons: Creating Health and Well-Being Through Urban Landscapes. ed. by Lindsay Campbell & Anne Wiesen. U.S. Forest Svc., Publications Distribution.

Climate in Peril: A Popular Guide to the Latest IPCC Reports. by Alex Kirby. UN Environment Programme.

Report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict. UN Human Rights Council

You can view the complete list here.

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