Government Info Pro

Elsevier Full-Text Journals: New Total Tops 800

An additional 250 Elsevier journals have joined the collection* available through lexis.com. Get insights into highly complex technical and scientific issues for prior art research, medical malpractice—even for understanding environmental and economic theories—offered by the world’s pre-eminent experts.

You can’t find another full-text collection like it online any place else.

And find more than words. Embedded graphics such as charts and illustrations are included for review, download or print. Or link to a PDF** of the article you need—no additional search needed. Search for the concepts you need.

Get more details from this LexisNexis Info Pro Keeping Current article.

Welcome to The Fast Lane

The Department of Transportation has a new blog: Fast Lane: The Official Blog of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. In the initial post: Welcome to the Fast Lane! by Secretary of Transportation, Mary E. Peters, Secretary Peters talks about the purpose of the blog:

This new opportunity will allow me and others here at the Department to speak with you and engage in an earnest conversation about our nation’s transportation system…and, I hope, have a little fun while we’re doing it. [Welcome to the Fast Lane!, April 29, 2008].

She expresses a desire for Fast Lane to be a "true online community" and encourages comments and thoughts.

The blog starts off with a bang. The first guest poster is Mayor Richard M. Daley. Read Mayor Daley's post: Guest Blogger Mayor Richard M. Daley: Great News for the City of Chicago out on the Fast Lane. He writes about a $153.1 million Congestion Reduction Grant for Chicago that will cut traffic, improve transit, and reduce pollution. 

You can subscribe to the blog via RSS or email. The blog also features FastLane Photos and links to DOT Agencies.

Welcome to the Blogoshere, Secretary Peters and contributing bloggers from:

• Federal Aviation Administration
• Federal Highway Administration
• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
• Federal Railroad Administration
• Federal Transit Administration
• Maritime Administration
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
• Research & Innovative Technology Administration
• Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation

Just Do It

Last Thursday, I shared an article on volunteerism by LexisNexis Librarian Relations Consultant, Julie Webster-Matthews with you on the Government Info Pro. A part of Julie's article that I particularly enjoyed was the section in which she shared some of the volunteer activities of a few of the LexisNexis Librarian Relations Consultants. Here's what Julie shared about their volunteer activities:

• Jenny Kanji—sorting donated clothing at St. Francis Church in Palo Alto, CA.
• Michael Saint-Onge and Rachel Schultz—sorted food at a food bank in Los Angeles, CA.
• Julie Webster-Matthews—cooked and served meals at a homeless cafeteria in Atlanta, GA.
• Leanne Battle—organized toiletries for the YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter in Richmond, VA.
• Bridget MacMillan and Elizabeth Cavendish—organized a group of LexisNexis employees who distributed Christmas gift baskets at a shelter in Chicago, IL.
• In Fort Wayne, IN, Cindy Spohr—volunteered at a local society for the prevention of cruelty to animals by walking dogs and giving them an opportunity for exercise.
• Gayle Lynn-Nelson, Danielle Francis & Carol Barra—created birthday gift baskets for under privileged children in the New York area. READ THE FULL ARTICLE

I really appreciate the two paid days of leave that LexisNexis provides to each of its employees so that we can serve the community. Learn more about LexisNexis Cares and other ways in which LexisNexis strives to improve our communities on the LexisNexis Community site. This year, I've continued to do volunteer work for MAGNUM, a non-profit health care public education organization working to build awareness of the medical seriousness of the migraine disease. I am their blogmistress, which may be the coolest title I have ever had. If you suffer from migraines or know someone who does then visit MAGNUM and the Migraine Blog. I have also done some volunteer work with The Tourette Syndrome Association of Greater Washington (TSAGW). This past weekend, I did some extra volunteering by judging a poetry contest for MAGNUM. You can read about the contest at Migraineblog.com and you can check out the 2008 winning poems.

Each person must find a way that suits them best to volunteer in the community. I am always amazed at the interesting things that friends and colleagues do to serve. For instance, Karen Huffman, winner of the SLA 2007 Innovations in Technology Award, and Manager of Knowledge Initiatives, National Geographic Society, Libraries & Information Services, completed 4 blankets this weekend for a project she is involved with called Blanketing DC with Love. How do I know? Facebook and Twitter... but that's a whole other blog post - maybe two.

As we move into National Volunteer Week consider your special gifts and talents and how you can put them to work for others.

Mining for Marketing Data on LexisNexis - A Program at the DOI Library

I wanted to share this notice about an upcoming program as seen on the FedLib listserv. Thanks to George Franchois, Coordinator of the U.S. Department of Interior Library Services, for sharing an invitation from the Department of Interior Library for a free DOI Library Training Session: "Mining for Market Data on LexisNexis".  The Department of the Interior Library has done an impressive job of sharing many different programs that they host or present within the library including a variety of research classes and the Park Ranger Speaker Series. If you have not made it over to one of their open programs, make some time to attend one soon.

Here is George's invitation:

Hi Everyone –

I just wanted to send an e-mail to invite you and your staffs to the Department of the Interior Library on Wednesday, April 30th at 10:00 am for a free DOI Library Training Session, "Mining for Market Data on LexisNexis."

LexisNexis can be a great resource to use in conducting basic and detailed market research. Attendees of this training session will learn about sources and strategies for retrieving market information on industries and companies, including information such as tabular data on industries and companies; niche markets, i.e. ethnic, Generation X and Y, women; market share for companies and industries; and public opinion surveys. This program will be conducted by a LexisNexis trainer.

All that are interested are invited. The DOI Library is located in the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street, NW, Room 1151 in Washington. Space is limited so please contact the Library by phone at (202) 208-5815 or by e-mail at library@nbc.gov to let us know you will be coming. For more information about future DOI Library Training Sessions, we encourage you to visit our Training Sessions website.

We hope to see you here on April 30th!

Volunteering To Make a Difference

Julie Webster-Matthews, LexisNexis Librarian Relations Consultant, writes about the satisfaction to be had from volunteering in the April 2008 Monthly Column on the LexisNexis Info Pro site just in time for National Volunteer Week, which is April 27 – May 3. Her column: How Good is It? - Volunteerism (04/08) provides inspiration and some good ideas about volunteering your time and energy to help others.

She begins...

Have you ever seen the television commercial for a national brand yogurt in which two friends go to great lengths to describe the awesome taste of the yogurt they are eating? They describe the taste as “a day at the spa” or “finding an awesome pair of shoes on the 75% off clearance rack” kind of good. That is precisely the way I describe the feeling I get when I give to or help others. Giving to others makes me feel really good (actually, even better than shoe shopping!) If you have ever volunteered to help another person or a cause, I am sure you can relate to that same all-consuming feeling of joy and satisfaction. Giving is so often measured in terms of the size of the check. Millions of dollars are donated annually to support thousands of worthy campaigns and causes, but volunteerism is a form of giving in which anyone can participate, regardless of income bracket. In fact, that is the beauty of volunteerism—everybody has something to give. READ THE FULL ARTICLE

LexisNexis® Advanced Government Solutions User Conference

There are a few seats left for the LexisNexis® Advanced Government Solutions User Conference, the premier event for our customers within the government community. 

Date:  Thursday, May 8, 2008
Time:  7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Location: Washington Court Hotel, Washington, DC

This is your chance to:

Attend training sessions*, some sessions may offer CLE credits

Provide input for future product development

Exchange ideas and best practices with other LexisNexis users in your community

Take time to select your Afternoon Breakout Sessions. Throughout the event, there will be several afternoon breakout sessions and some of them will consist of hands-on training labs. Please read the session descriptions found on the agenda page, click here, and then select the sessions that are of the most value to you. There are three afternoon breakout sessions, so please ensure that you make a selection for all three. Space is limited.

Tom Ridge, First Secretary of Homeland Distinguished Statesman, will deliver the Keynote Address. LexisNexis® will also be hosting a "Birds of a Feather" Luncheon at the conference where each attendee will be able to sit with peers and a LexisNexis domain expert to discuss specific topics of interest.

We look forward to having you join us at the upcoming LexisNexis Advanced Government Solutions User Conference.

LexisNexis® Government Info Pro: Episode 7

Karen Huffman's April 2, 2008 National Press Club program on Web 2.0 in the Workplace and Beyond, presented at the 2008 LexisNexis® Library Week Government Librarian Seminar is now available as a special episode of the Government Info Pro Podcast. You can listen to it three ways:

• right from the embedded player in this post
• download the mp3 from the link right below the player
• subscribe to the Government Info Pro Podcast on iTunes

Marie Kaddell, LexisNexis® Senior Information Professional Consultant, shares the 2008 LexisNexis® Library Week Government Librarian Seminar: Web 2.0 in the Workplace and Beyond, held at the National Press Club in Washington DC on April 2, 2008. The featured speaker was Karen Huffman, winner of the SLA 2007 Innovations in Technology Award. Karen is Manager of Knowledge Initiatives, National Geographic Society, Libraries & Information Services. During this lively program, Karen shares her knowledge and insights on Web 2.0 and beyond in the workplace, libraries, government agencies, our professional associations, and our personal lives.


MP3 File

View Karen's slides from the program.

Karen also shares her notes in the 2008 Best Practices.

5 Tips for Helping Public Access Library Patrons

Gail Civins Lenson, LexisNexis Government Consultant, shares some LexisNexis search tips for those working with public access library patrons.

Let’s face it – It’s difficult to help public access patrons as they do their research on Lexis.com.  You may be inundated with help requests.  The patron may not want to release information to you about the issue they are searching.  Or maybe you’re not quite sure how they should begin their research.  The easy, user friendly, Lexis.com tips below will help you guide public access patrons in the right direction. 

1. Recommend caselaw searching by Topic or Headnote (from the Search Tab) as an easy way to obtain cases on a particular topic.  The Search by Topic or Headnote feature can help the user build their search by suggesting terms of fact and law, without them even having to enter search terms.
2. Suggest Shepardizing® a statute for an instant list of cases that have cited to that statute. 
3. Propose using the More Like This link in an on-point case to retrieve additional documents either by Core Cites or Core Terms.   This is another way to run a search without having to enter search terms!
4. Show users Forms that are available on Lexis.com by either Area of Law or Jurisdiction.  These forms may help the user realize the type of information and format court documents require.

5. Point out the helpful Checklists located in many Matthew Bender® publications.  The easiest way to see if there is a checklist is to search for the term ‘checklist’ in the Table of Contents of the publication.

Sharing Marketing Success

There was a great contest over at the LexisNexis Info Pro recently. Librarians got a chance to share their marketing successes. The winner was Brenda Foote, Assistant Reference Librarian, Thompson Coburn LLP, in St. Louis, Missouri. You can read about how Brenda and other librarians created marketing successes in their libraries and about the contest itself on the Inspiration from Your Peers page on the LexisNexis Info Pro site. Some of the titles of submissions include:

• Information Resource Center Liaison Program
• Ongoing Education Alerts
• Seminar Madness
• Just Say "Know"!
• The Haunted Library
• Technology Translators
• And more...

Visit the Inspiration from Your Peers page to read them all!

Resources for Planning Your Library Event

Are you planning an event but wish you could get a little additional inspiration? Maybe you need a theme or some ideas about how to give your event that extra something that will make it a better experience for your users and the library staff. Take a look at the LexisNexis Info Pro's Marketing You and Your Library page for resources on event planning.

Still need more? The LexisNexis Info Pro's Marketing You and Your Library page has it. Take a look at these additional resources for National Library Week from ALA and AALL. There's even library clip art here!