Collection News, January 2008

• Politics and Primaries
• Chicago Manual of Style Online
• Novel Knovel Subjects
• Universities around the Globe

The primary season has begun and the UA Libraries have added many new databases and features to help you keep track of the polls and the pols.

 

CQ Press offers a number of important reference sources for politics and current events, including:

 

• CQ Researcher
  Provides original, comprehensive reporting and analysis on issues in the news. Reports are published weekly. Each single-themed, 12,000-word report provides researchers with an introductory overview; background and chronology on the topic; an assessment of the current situation; tables and maps; pro/con statements from representatives of opposing positions; and bibliographies of key sources. Recent topics covered include: oil prices, recycling, Iran, the mortgage crisis, gun violence, health care, slow food, and fair trade consumer goods.
  CQ Researcher is a fantastic resource for speech topics and debates.
• CQ Weekly
  Covers current events on Capitol Hill, with legislative and election news and analysis. A complete source for expert coverage of the U.S. Congress: status of bills, votes and amendments, floor and committee activity, and backroom maneuvering.
  
• CQ's Politics in America
  Provides profiles of members of Congress, including political styles, legislative agendas, political ambitions, and reputations of members at home and on Capitol Hill. Detailed state and district information plus a wealth of information and data on campaign finance, partisan caucuses, standing committees, and other member facts are also provided.
  
• CQ's Vital Statistics on American Politics
  Provides data on elections and political parties, public opinion and voting, the media, the military, social and economic, policy, and much more. Covers 1788-2006.

Polling the Nations is a comprehensive collection of public opinion, with information from not only in the United States but also more than 90 countries around the world. The database includes the full text of the questions and responses covering a broad range of issues, drawn from Gallup, Roper, Harris and other major news and marketing organizations.

 

Polling the Nations has recently added a new function, "Graph this Question," that allows users to export data to Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. From there, it is easy to create graphs and charts for research assignments.

 

Lexis Nexis Academic now includes the Gallup Poll News Service from 2003 to the present in addition to thousands of newspapers and legal sources. Browse the News Sources section for Government and Politics to search in the Federal News Service, recent National Journal issues, and a special file of Presidential campaign news sources.

Lexis Nexis Congressional features bill tracking, the Roll Call newspaper of current events on the Hill, member voting records, and campaign contributions.

Can't get enough political news? Check out our recommended free Web sites for campaign and election coverage.

 

The 15th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style is now available online to UA students and researchers. No more running to the Reference Desk every time you need to check on tricky issues such as the citing anonymous newspaper articles, use of acronyms and abbreviations, rights and permissions for republication, treatment of quotations, and, of course, the proper format for bibliographical citations.

This online version features a Q & A section, tables of proofreading marks, sample letters, diagrams of the publication process, and a quick guide to Chicago style. So - no more excuses. We expect your masterwork any day now.

 

With support from the Arkansas Center for Space and Planetary Sciences and the Microelectronics-Photonics Program, the Libraries have recently added new subject areas in the Knovel Technical Library database:

• Aerospace & Radar Technology features reference works such as: Aeronautical Engineer's Data Book, Aerospace Software Engineering - A Collection of Concepts Air Transportation Systems Engineering, Biological Effects and Exposure Limits for "Hot Particles," Civil, Commercial, and International Remote Sensing Systems and Geoprocessing, Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences, Space Vehicle Dynamics and Control, and more.
  
  
• Electronics & Semiconductors offers reference works on topics such as manufacturing, materials, sensors, and superconducting, and includes titles such as: RFID Handbook, Flat-Panel Display Technologies, MEMS - A Practical Guide to Design, Analysis, and Applications, Ceramic Films and Coatings, Crystal Growth Technology, and Nanostructured Materials - Processing, Properties and Potential Applications.

Knovel provides a searchable database of more than 1000 handbooks and reference sources in science and engineering. The University of Arkansas currently subscribes to over 900 titles focusing on areas such as:

• Biochemistry, Biology & Biotechnology
• Chemical Engineering
• Electrical Engineering
• Materials and Semiconductors
• Mechanical Engineering
• Safety

 

 

 

 

 

Need to know the faculty of the chemistry department at Charles University in Prague? The structure of the higher education system in Nigeria? The names of major museums in Sweden? The email address for the registrar at the University of Witwatersrand? The Europa World of Learning has the answers!

Published annually since 1947, the World of Learning is a comprehensive guide to colleges and universities, museums, research centers, and other institutions worldwide, offering information on:

• more than 30,000 universities, colleges, schools of art and music, libraries, learned societies, research institutes, museums and art galleries
• more than 200,000 staff and officials
• more than 550 international cultural, scientific and educational organizations
• large national libraries giving the number of volumes held and outstanding features of the collection.
• professors at major universities together with the subjects in which they specialize

A new feature introduced in 2008 is a directory of Regulatory and Representative Bodies in selected chapters, covering relevant ministries and other government bodies, organs for accreditation and quality assurance, funding bodies and other organizations of national importance in the higher education sector for covered countries.