New York and Memorial Day

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced this week the opening of a brand new exhibit: New York: Birthplace of Memorial Day.  The exhibit features photos, music, documents, and other artifacts highlighting New York's officially recognized role in the beginnings of what is now an official national holiday. While everyone is welcome to visit the state Capitol in Albany to view the exhibit, you may prefer to take a few relaxing minutes or a short study break to enjoy the online exhibit here.   

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Happy Memorial Day

We will be open and I will be prowling for part of the Memorial Day weekend.  Our hours are below.  As always, check our web page for details and updates on Library and Reference desk hours.

Fri. May 25 - Mon. May 28
Fri. May 25  -  8am - 5pm
Sat. May 26  -  10am - 6pm
Sun. May 27  -  10am - 6pm*
Mon. May 28  -  CLOSED*    

*The Library closes completely as of Sun. May 27 at 6pm through Tues. May 29^th at 8am .

There is no 24/7 access during this time for students and 2012 graduates.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Link Rot for Resources at the Government Domain Level

The Chesapeake Digital Preservation Group is releasing the results of its fourth annual analysis of link rot among the original URLs for law- and policy-related materials published to the Web and archived by the Chesapeake Group. The analysis also explores the prevalence of link rot among top-level domains.

For this study, the term "link rot" is used to describe a URL that no longer provides direct access to files matching the content originally harvested from the URL and currently preserved in the Chesapeake Group's digital archive. In some instances, a 404 or "not found" message indicates link rot at a URL. In other cases, the URL may direct to a site hosted by the original publishing organization or entity, but the specific resource has been removed or relocated from the original or previous URL.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

The Government's App Initiative

The President Wants More Mobile Apps!

Do you want to find government information with the click of a 'button?'  The new presidential initiative is to provide more mobile apps for users, hopefully making goverment information more accessible.

"President Barack Obama has ordered all government agencies to offer more of their services in the form of mobile apps.
A new memo called “Digital Government: Building a 21st Century Platform to Better Serve the American People” requires each agency to make at least two services, used by the public, available on mobile devices within 12 months.

“For far too long, the American people have been forced to navigate a labyrinth of information across different government programs in order to find the services they need,” says the memo.

“Americans deserve a government that works for them anytime, anywhere, and on any device,” Obama said in a statement."

Read more about it at Mashable here: http://on.mash.to/Kd7w3G

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Google Introduces the Knowledge Graph

Google says the new search technology "Knowledge Graph"  understands "things not strings" and shows relevant details in a results sidebar.  It can help you "find the right thing".  Queries can be ambiguous and the results are offered in a manner that allows the searcher to select the most relevant results.

You will get the best summary.  Google summarizes relevant information around the topic including key facts one is likely to need to understand the topic.  The idea is to understand the relationship between things.

You can go deeper and broader because the Knowledge Graph connections can help one make unexpected discoveries. 

Knowledge Graph is still in the roll-out phase but it appears that it is an enhanced Google search experience.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat