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Revision as of 15:46, 2 July 2009

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This is the wiki for the SST division. You can use this wiki for:

• Organizing content for later publication to BPL's webpage
• Listing useful websites
• Keeping track of discussions in the reference meetings.
• Anything else you think might be useful. Really, anything.

Animals and Pets

A cat in an unnatural stance.

http://www.avma.org/care4pets/ - a site from the American Veterinary Medical Association, with information on care and selecting a pet.

http://www.missingpet.net/advice/ - advice on searching for a lost pet.

Bank Bailout

http://www.federalreserve.gov/bankinforeg/tarpinfo.htm The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System has added a page of information about the recent "bailout" of financial institutions, above.

Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation

http://www.bedc.org/ This website was suggested by Business Library staff for quick access to info about Brooklyn. Click on the tab that says "Brooklyn."

Business Plans

NYC Business Express site leads new business owners through questions to ask themselves as well as a sample cover letter and business plan with various parts explained. very good source http://www.nyc.gov/html/sbs/nycbiz/downloads/pdf/business_plan.pdf

http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/writingplan.html

http://www.mbda.gov/documents/businessplanwriter-one-pager-v2.pdf This is a Power Point presentation from the Minority Business Development Agency

http://leeds-faculty.colorado.edu/moyes/bplan/ basic instructions and 4 plan templates

http://www.bplans.com/sp/businessplans.cfm allows users to see 60 free sample plans for specific types of small businesses from the 500+ the company sells in their software product

Civil Rights Movement-primary sources

Black Panther Party

http://www.blackpanther.org also the Huey P. Newton Foundation site

====Jackie Robinson letter==== to President Eisenhower urging him to ensure the immediate rights for African Americans saying that they had waited too long already. digitalized copy. http://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/document.html?doc=17&title.raw=Letter%20from%20Jackie%20Robinson%20to%20President%20Dwight%20D.%20Eisenhower

Malcom X Project

Malcolm X

archival footage, speeches, new info on his assassination and oral histories of people close to him

Martin Luther King, Jr.

http://foia.fbi.gov/king/mkl1a.pdf Detailed records from as early as late 1963 of Hoover's attempt to discredit him and attempts to replace King as the leader he had become.This site hasover 16,000 photocopied pages of the FBI documents.It is indexed with page numbers for access. Excellent primary source and fascinating historical reading.

Climate change

http://www.pewclimate.org From the Pew Center on Global Climate Change this site includes international, national,regional and business data on the subject.

http://www.climatescience.gov

Site contains Climate Literacy, "The Essential Principles of Climate Sciences," which is a guide for individuals and communities "for learners of all ages." 

Computer Tips and Tricks

Customizing Google http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/11/biases-and-restrictions-in-google.html

Country Pages for the World

This resource, developed by the University of Colorado at Boulder, combines many standard resources on countries like the CIA World Factbook with many less obvious resources from international organizations and national sources. A great source for patrons looking for comprehensive information about countries. http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/foreigngovt.htm

Day Care Centers, starting one in NYC & info for parents

http://www.nyc.gov/html/sbs/nycbiz/downloads/pdf/daycarecenters.pdf Thorough clearly organized info on the process, requirements, possible grants and funding through NYC and multiple websites for additional information. Starts with the five types of day care depending on ages of the children, number of children and then lists the regulations for that type, which agency has authority and who conducts inspections. Great source

http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/pdf/safety/safety_child_care_centers.pdf Fire Safety in Day Care Centers--What Parents Need to Know

http://nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/public/dohmhnews4-1.pdf Choosing a day care center

Federal, State, and local Government Resources

Local government resources

AIDS & HIV

diagnosis statistics for 2008 by borough http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/dires/dires-2009-report-semi1.pdf

ACRIS

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/jump/acris.shtml Search property records and view document images for Manhattan, Queens, Bronx, and Brooklyn back to 1966 Compute property transfer taxes Create cover pages and tax forms to record documents Find a property Borough, Block and Lot (BBL) or Address

Auctions

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/services/services_auctions.shtml Site for listing of upcoming vehicle auctions run by NYC.

Personal asset auctions not listed here but are listed in the NYC newspapers and posted in both the Sheriff's and City Clerk's offices.

Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation

http://www.bedc.org/ This website was suggested by Business Library staff for quick access to info about Brooklyn. Click on the tab that says "Brooklyn."

Forms, NYC

Banking Corporation Tax forms http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/business/business_tax_banking.shtml#forms

Birth certificates, online order form https://www.vitalchek.com/new-york-city-express-birth-certificates.aspx

Business and Excise taxes http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/pub/pub_businesstax.shtml 1996-current year

Property forms: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/pub/pub_property.shtml

  Tax Reduction Programs (Exemptions & Abatements)
  Third Party Notification for Real Property Taxes
  Assessment/Valuation
  Real Property Income & Expense
  Real Property Transfer Tax
  Dividing (Apportioning) & Merging Lots
  Payment Plans
  Refunds

New York City Business Solutions - Free sample business plan

NYC Business Express site leads new business owners through questions to ask themselves as well as a sample cover letter and business plan with various parts explained. very good source http://www.nyc.gov/html/sbs/nycbiz/downloads/pdf/business_plan.pdf

NYC Housing Programs - Apartments

Current Lotteries http://www.nyc.gov/html/housinginfo/html/apartments/housing.shtml

HASA Housing Services - emergency assistance for people with AIDS http://www.nyc.gov/html/housinginfo/html/em_assist/emergency_assistance.shtml

Mitchell-Lama apartments http://www.nyc.gov/html/housinginfo/html/apartments/apt_rental-Public_housing shtml

Public housing http://www.nyc/gov/html/housinginfo/html/apartments/apt_rental_public_housing.shtml

Rent assistance for people on public assistance http://nyc.gov/html/dhs/html/atrisk/behindrent.shtml

(SCHAP) Senior Citizen Home Assistance Program http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/owners/senior-home-assist.shtml

(SCRIE) Senior Citizens Rent Increase Exemption Program http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.3441e01ec4a3f6a62fa24601c789a0

Section 8 housing http://www.nyc.gov/html/housinginfor/html/section8/section_8_voucher.shtml http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/section8/section8/shtml http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/section8/section8-intro-shtml (statistics)

Senior citizen housing (by zip code) https://a069-webapps12.nyc.gov/egovt/housing/Brooklyn.cfm

NYC Housing Programs - Homeowners and Homebuyers

Asset Sales Program http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/buyers/programs/shtml

Current Lotteries http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/buyers/lotteries.shtml#lists

Disabled http://www.nyc.gov/html/mopd/html/programs/programs.shtml The Department of Finance offers a partial real property tax for property owners who have a medically certifiable disability, who own and reside in residential properties (including one-, two- or three-family homes, condominium units, or cooperative apartments), and who meet the annual income eligibility criteria. Eligible property owners may apply for the exemption by March 15th to qualify for benefits in their next annual real estate tax bill. Visit the Department of Finance website for more information on the Disabled Homeowners Exemption (click on the red button called "STAR/Tax Exemptions") and other tax reduction programs administered by the Department of Finance.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/mopd/html/programs/programs.shtml The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is actively engaged in the development of accessible and affordable housing. Since 1996, HPD has produced approximately 850 accessible dwelling units through its Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Program, Neighborhood Redevelopment Program and Tenant Interim Lease Program. HPD sets aside 5% of its units for applicants with mobility impairments and 2% for applicants with hearing or visual impairments. HPD works closely with the Mayor's Office for People With Disabilities (MOPD) to market broadly the availability of accessible housing units to people with disabilities

Emergency Repair Loans http://www.nhsnyc.org/content/repair/home_repair.html

HomeFirst Down Payment Assistance http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/buyers/downpayment.shmtl

HPD-approved homebuying counseling agencies http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/buyers/classes.shtml

Home rehabilitation loans http://www.nyc.gov/html/housinginfo/html/repairs/maintenance_complaints.shtml

Mitchell-Lama Co-ops http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/buyers/mitchell-lama.shml

Moderate repair loans http://www.nhsnyc.org/content/repair/home_repair.html

Neighborhood housing services http://www.nhsnyc.org/content/repair/home_repair.html

Neighborhood Offices

http://www.brooklynda.org/kcda_neighborhood_offices/kcda_neighhd_offices.htm Use this website to find nearby Neighborhood Offices. The Neighborhood Offices have been created in response to the public safety needs of Brooklyn residents as well as to offer free help to those who may have a crisis in their life or a quality of life issue.

The areas in which Neighborhood Offices can offer help are:

Keeping Your Child in School, Protecting and Empowering Seniors, Family Justice, Immigration Safety, Support for Parolees, Safe Lending & Borrowing, Safe Housing, Drug Treatment Alternatives to Prison, Helping Your Family Member, Neighbor or Friend.

Please recommend Neighborhood Offices to patrons looking for help and information in the above mentioned areas. The Director of Neighborhood Offices, Reagan Stevens can be contacted at the following address for further information: Email: Stevensr@Brooklynda.org

New York City Vital Records

http://home2.nyc.gov/html/records/html/vitalrecords/home.shtml NEW YORK CITY birth,death,marriage,genealogical http://www.health.state.ny.us/vitalrecords NEW YORK STATE birth,death,marriage,divorce,adoption information registry and genealogical records and resources

Homeless statistics

http://www.nyc.gov agencies list homeless services upper right hand corner lists number of families and individuals within a day

NYS government resources

New York state Vital Records

http://home2.nyc.gov/html/records/html/vitalrecords/home.shtml NEW YORK STATE birth,death,marriage,divorce,adoption information registry and genealogical records and resources

New York State Adoption Album

Formerly known as the Adoption Blue Books when it was in paper format the state now presents the information online. There is an opening screen where prospective parents can fill in information about the prospective child and themselves. http://www.ocfs.state.ny.us/adopt/services.asp

New York State court forms, free

are available at http://www.nycourts.gov/forms/index.shtml

Federal government resources

Bank Bailout

http://www.federalreserve.gov/bankinforeg/tarpinfo.htm The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System has added a page of information about the recent "bailout" of financial institutions, above.

Climate Literacy

http://www.climatescience.gov
Site contains Climate Literacy, "The Essential Principles of Climate Sciences," which is a guide for individuals and communities "for learners of all ages." 

Congressional Committees

To locate Congressional committees link to http://www.house.gov or http://www.senate.gov. Committee members are listed. Every legislator has a web site which will list his/her committee affiliations. Committees can be searched for members.

Constitution, U.S.amendments not ratified

Text of the 6 proposed amendments that were not ratified. Div Ref 342.73023 U58 C The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretations

Electoral College

http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/index.html]

Finally a source that fully explains the process of choosing the electors, who they are,threir duties and how they affect electiona. Question and answer format. Includes section for teachers. Other sources at the same site explain the entire process of electing a president of the United States. Excellect resource.

FDIC and current fiscal crisis

http://www.fdic.gov Information about temporary changes in insurance coverage of bank deposits by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. It is important to note that the new $250,000 maximum is TEMPORARY, for the period 3 Oct 08 through 31 Dec 09.

Federal agency forms

are available at http://forms.gov/bgfPortal/citizen.portal

Federal money given to States

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy08/bis.html Scroll down to Program Tables and choose program: school meal programs, Head Start, Medicaid,Food Stamps, child support enforcement, low-income home energy assistance, state children's health insurance, foster care, Homeland Security and Disaster grants, public housing, community development, airport improvements, highways, capital investment and federal transit are included. Has information on current and past presidents.

FOIA Request, guide for filing

http://www.bushsecrecy.org/PageIndex.cfm?ParentID=2&CategoryID=8&PagesID=34

Foreclosures

http://www.fha.gov Lastest news updated daily; listing of HUD-approved counseling programs; HUD's Guide to Foreclosure; Lender Locator allows searchers to use finding tool as specific as zip code; event calender to all kinds of FHA-related events in NYC and Brooklyn; FHA wikipedia has definitions and hundreds and questions and answers.

Government Grants

http://www.grants.gov Good starting points to explain why there's not free government money just waiting for recipients: http://www.nofreemoney.com/

Housing rehabilitation programs

http://www.hud.gov/recovery/

No Child Left Behind Act full-text

http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/107-110.pdf

Passports

http://www.travel.state.gov/passport Has all information related to obtaining, applying for, renewing passports. Including reporting lost or stolen passports, fees, online applications and downloadable applications.

STAT-USA

STAT-USA and USA Trade User Name and Password Information

We are authorized to use (simultaneously) a maximum of two dedicated workstations for accessing the STAT-USA and companion USA Trade databases.  Please note that we are required to sign users on with the information below:

http://www.STAT-USA.gov
User ID:  F0398
Password:  TMM74KM

We should assume the above is case-sensitive.

DL 03/09/09

USA Trade

STAT-USA and USA Trade User Name and Password Information

We are authorized to use (simultaneously) a maximum of two dedicated workstations for accessing the STAT-USA and companion USA Trade databases.  Please note that we are required to sign users on with the information below:

http://www.STAT-USA.gov
User ID:  F0398
Password:  TMM74KM

We should assume the above is case-sensitive.

DL 03/09/09

Financial services-ratings of

The Business Library has noticed an increased interest in ratings for a variety of institutions. In case you receive similar requests, here are some leads you may wish to provide:

Banks

http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/bank/index.html Most of the rating services on this site charge a fee. However, we subscribe to two of the services (TheStreet.com and Highline), and users are welcome to examine them in person or call us (718-623-7000) to read brief information over the phone. Of these two services, TheStreet.com is much easier to comprehend for the layperson.

Annuities

Because annuities are issued by insurance companies, patrons need to look for ratings for the insurance companies. We have TheStreet.com and Best's, and patrons are welcome to examine them in person or call us (718-623-7000) to read brief information over the phone.

Brokerages

We know of no ratings services for brokerage firms. The best strategy is search a business periodical database such as EBSCO's Business Source Premier for articles analyzing the broker's performance. BSP includes some analyst reports such as those from Datamonitor, and these provide quite a bit of detail.

Although one may find ratings from investment sources such as Morningstar or free websites such as Yahoo!Finance, be aware that these ratings are intended for investors and usually focus on the growth or income potential of the companies as investments. This is not necessarily the same as ratings for the overall solidity of the company, which is what many nervous callers are after. Of course, these investment ratings are also restricted to publicly-owned companies.

Foreclosures

http://www.fha.gov Lastest news updated daily; listing of HUD-approved counseling programs; HUD's Guide to Foreclosure; Lender Locator allows searchers to use finding tool as specific as zip code; event calender to all kinds of FHA-related events in NYC and Brooklyn; FHA wikipedia has definitions and hundreds and questions and answers.

FOIA Request, guide to filing a form

http://www.bushsecrecy.org/PageIndex.cfm?ParentID=2&CategoryID=8&PagesID=34

Government Grants

http://www.grants.gov Good starting points to explain why there's not free government money just waiting for recipients: http://www.nofreemoney.com/

Health

The United Nations Report on the Global AIDS Epdemic

http://www.unaids.org This 2008 publication consists of worldwide statistical information and an update of the UN involvement in the AIDS crisis. The web site has profiles of countries and their AIDS statistics.

Nutrition & exercise websites

http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov MyPyramid Tracker is an online dietary and physical activity assessment tool that provides information on your diet quality and physical activity status. You put in the food and amounts you eat during the day and it will tell you what foods you still need to eat that meet the amounts recommended by the "pyramid." You can put in the amounts at the end of a day to assess that day alone but the unique service this site offers is that you can register and track your food and exercise balances for one year. Drop down menus are used for both foods and activities. They do not have to be used together; you can keep track of just one. Note: the Pyramid changes every 5 years.

Women's health websites

http://www.whealth.org/links Website has many links related to women's health issues

High school dropouts in NYC

I (DP) found 3 articles in MasterFile. Search under author's name Wallis, Claudia for this Time magazine article about 2007 statistics the latest I could locate after much searching.

A more recent 2009 article from Education Week explains why there are few correct statistics about dropout rates because many students who are failing are "discharged" by teachers which is not the same statistic as a student dropping out themselves. Search in MasterFile under author's name Samuels, Christina A.

The most telling article explains that states use trickly ways of counting to cover-up the true rates. The Secretary of Education will force states to use a single formula that will correctly present accurate statistics. New York Times 4/1/2008 by Dillon, Sam

Homeless statistics

"On any given night in this country 800,000 persons experience homelessness. Nearly 200,000 of these individuals are veterans who have served in the armed forces. Over the course of a year, approximately 500,000 veterans experience homelessness." source: Ending Homelessness Among Veterans Through Supportive Housing page 4. published by the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans

www.nyc.gov agencies list homeless services upper right hand corner lists number of families and individuals within a day

Import/Export Business, Great article on

http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/businessideas/startupkits/article41846.html

International Adoptions

http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/intercountry/_473.html Provides as up-to-date as possible information on specific country's laws and limitations. US requirements and details about the assistance they can and cannot fer and necessary forms are explained in detail. A user-friendly site.

Inventors

National Inventors Hall of Fame

Hundreds of inventions and inventors with bios, indexes by inventor, invention and decade [great for timelines.] http://www.invent.org

History of Mathematics

Organized in many ways including time period, names including a separate index of women inventors, birthplaces and updates to the site. http://www-history.mcs.st.andrews.ac.uk/history

Labor-primary sources

http://www.library.dol.gov Click on the Digital Library under "Find It".

Library Wikis

http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Main_Page Best Practices Wiki

http://instructionwiki.org/Sharing_resources Library Instruction Wiki

Marijuana

http://www.drugsense.org/mcwilliams/www.petertrial.con/grow.htm Full-text of 1998 book How to Grow Medical Marijuana which was formerly in our collection.

Nonprofit organizations

http://www.usa.gov/Business/Nonprofit.shtml USA.gov for Nonprofits One-stop shopping for all federal government programs that fund nonprofits and a section on basic proposal writing. Users can link to their state's requirements for incorporating, find information on special mail eligibility and filing for tax-exempt status. Site includes faith based initiatives.

http://www.usa.gov/shopping/forgovernment/forgovernment.shtml Sales for Government and Nonprofit Buyers Meant for state and local nonprofits excess property from the GSA and military is available for sale. Some items are: computers, real estate, and office equipment though the potenial buyer must realize that items and quantity vary constantly.

http://www.dhcr.state.ny.us/general/pubs/05seminar8.pdf Joint Ventures for CHDO's and Nonprofits

http://www.nolo.com on first page of this site there is a list and explations of each step of forming a nonprofit.

Grant and Proposal writing

http://www.donorsforum.org/resource/grant_start.html Writing grants

http://www.npguides.org/ Non-Profit Guides: Grant Writing Tools for Non-Profit Organizations NOTE:The guides will not assist individuals or start-up organizations." An overview of grant writing, with sample proposal summaries, inquiry letters, cover letters, and applications. The site is "specifically designed to assist established, experienced private and public non-profit organizations and entities

http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/shortcourse/index.html Proposal Writing Short Course A shortcut to the Foundation Center's site: This "step-by-step process in the search for private dollars" covers the gathering of background information; the components of a proposal; how to write the executive summary, the statement of need, and the project description; and assembling a budget. From the Foundation Center, an "authority on philanthropy ... dedicated to serving grantseekers, grantmakers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public."

Philosophy Resources

Online Philosophy Encyclopedia http://plato.stanford.edu/ A short blurb from their website--"All entries and substantive updates are refereed by the members of a distinguished Editorial Board before they are made public. Consequently, our dynamic reference work maintains academic standards while evolving and adapting in response to new research."

Dictionary of the History of Ideas http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/DicHist/dict.html Full text of an out-of-print title published in 1974. Searchable and Browsable.

Reference Desk info

See Help Book

Science sites

http://www.nbii.gov/portal/server.pt. National Biological Information Infrastructure. Information on Biomes/Habitats: much more than is listed just on the home page.

http://tolweb.org Tree of Life Web Project. A peer reviewed collaborative project written by biologists. The pages are organized heirchically, using principles of cladistics.

Suggested Reading

Suggested Reading

Some Library wikis

• Other Departments
• Hints for Wiki Admin

Sandbox

Click on the link to go to the Sandbox. Experiment with creating and edit wiki pages without affecting the real pages.--> Sandbox

The United Nations

Anna's report on UN library. need URL

Human Development Reports

hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2007-2008/ Published by the UN Development Programme the reports contain statistical information by country.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union of the United Nations

http://www.ipu.org/english/home.htm Information on Parliamentary systems worldwide as well as the role of women in parliaments and politics in general.

The United Nations Report on the Global AIDS Epdemic

http://www.unaids.org This 2008 publication consists of worldwide statistical information and an update of the UN involvement in the AIDS crisis. The web site has profiles of countries and their AIDS statistics.

Statistics

http://data.un.org Currently covers 15 databases with a wide range of statistics in the fields of agriculture, education, employment, energy, environment, health and many more.

The United Nations Yearbook

http://unyearbook.un.org Now online, users can search individual editions or several at once.

World Bank and the Human Security Report Project

http://www.miniatlasof human security.info.en/access.html The atlas is a guide to the worldwide political voilence and global security and provides a wealth of info on armed conflicts since 1946: death tolls, human rights violation including political repression and child soldiers.

Wikipedia, an in-depth analysis

The comments are as interesting as the article itself http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/02/wikipedia-and-the-new-curriculum/

Women

The Inter-Parliamentary Union of the United Nations

http://www.ipu.org/english/home.htm Information on Parliamentary systems worldwide as well as the role of women in parliaments and politics in general.

Women's health websites

http://www.whealth.org/links Website has many links related to women's health issues