Free Government Publications

Not only are many government publications freely available online these days, you can also order free or low cost copies of some publications in print.  Check out the selection on this page from the General Services Administration: 

http://publications.usa.gov/

Notice that one of the publications you can get for free is the Consumer Information Catalog, which lists other publications that are available for free.  So, if that catalog is metadata, is this web page meta-metadata, or metadata-data?

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome

MERS, or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, has been in the news quite a bit recently because the first cases were just discovered in the U.S.  The disease causes fever, coughing, and shortness of breath, and about 30% of the people who've been diagnosed with it have died.  Read more about it, including the latest updates on cases in the U.S., on this page from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 

http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/index.html

And, as always, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue if you cough or sneeze and wash your hands thoroughly and frequently.  Cleanliness may or may not be next to godliness, but it certainly is next to healthiness.

National Mental Health Awareness Month

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month.  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) web site provides a great deal of information about various mental health problems, their treatment, and their prevention: 

http://www.samhsa.gov/

According to the site, "It is SAMHSA's mission to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America's communities."  So, if you're stressed and you're stressing out about how stressed you are, or even if you have a more serious condition, SAMHSA may have some information or advice that will help.

Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  As people around the country today celebrate the 1862 victory of Mexican peasants over French invaders in Puebla, Mexico, their minds will naturally turn to tacos, margaritas, and Denver, Colorado.  Why Denver?  Read all about it on this page from the Library of Congress:

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/es/co/es_co_cinco_1.html

If your celebrations today will involve Tequila, please remember to designate a driver.  Andale!

Hiring a Contractor

Whether your house has recent tornado damage and needs repairs, or you're just planning to add on a new rumpus room, hiring the right person to do the work (or to help you do the work) is vital.  The Federal Trade Commission has some important advice to help you hire wisely: 

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0242-hiring-contractor

If you take the proper precautions, improving your home sweet home need not be a sour experience.

Wheel Well Passengers

If you've watched the news recently you may have heard about the 15 year-old boy who stowed away in the wheel well of an airplane that flew from California to Hawaii.  He endured extreme cold and a lack of oxygen, but he survived.  I thought surely the Federal Aviation Administration would have statistics on this sort of incident, but all I found was a report from 1996 that summarizes incidents from 1947-1993.  See report #96/25, "Survival at High Altitudes: Wheel Well Passengers:" 

http://www.faa.gov/data_research/research/med_humanfacs/oamtechreports/1990s/1996/9625/

And for those of you who might be thinking about stowing away, please reconsider.  Even though airplane seats are nearly as uncomfortable as the wheel well, you do at least get heat and oxygen on most flights.

Libraries

Happy National Library Week!  Whether you're a librarian or not, you may find something to interest you on the Libraries page maintained by the Archives Library Information Center (ALIC) at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).  It features NARA library resources, searchable catalogs, selected academic and public library web sites, resources and discussion groups for librarians, and much, much more:

http://www.archives.gov/research/alic/reference/libraries.html

But, before you go explore the page, please join me in the librarian's traditional celebratory battle cry:  Shhhhhhhhh...