chosen by your "librarian without walls," Marylaine Block marylaine at netexpress.net

May 4

10 Infographics for Foodies
http://ecosalon.com/10-food-infographics-that-have-us-consciously-consuming/
Intriguing infographics enlighten us on Food Waste, The Case for Beer, Eating Seasonably, and more.

Fantasy Book Critic
http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/
This labor of love by a dedicated team of avid readers/fans includes reviews of "Fantasy, Science fiction, Horror, YA/Children’s Books and other Speculative Fiction," as well as author interviews and spotlights on books coming out each month. So far, there are 1000+ reviews already, with more added daily.

HGTV - Decorating, Home Improvement, Landscaping Ideas...
http://www.hgtv.com/
I've noticed that since the real estate market has gone downhill, a lot of people seem to have opted for remodeling and updating the homes they already own, so this may be a good time to explore HGTV's wealth of ideas and advice on how to decorate, add decks or patios, do kitchen makeovers, start a gardening project, etc. You can get design ideas from the videos, photos and episodes of HGTV shows, and step-by-step guides on how to carry out your projects.

Historical Marker Database
http://www.hmdb.org/
Did history happen in your town or state or in the places you're passing through when you travel? Find out here, browsing by state or country, or by historical events (wars, exploration, churches, landmarks, heroes, notable buildings, etc.)

How To Read Science News - Boing Boing
http://boingboing.net/2012/04/30/how-to-read-science-news.html
This, and the linked original article it's reporting on, should be a basic part of your information evaluation toolkit, because much of the science reporting in standard news media is seriously flawed.

MentorMob - Learn What You Want, Teach What You Love
http://www.mentormob.com/splash
Allows anybody to view or create their own "playlists" of videos, articles and websites on any topic that interests them. Existing playlists are searchable and browsable by topic, subdivided into academic or recreational. A blog highlights recent interesting additions to the site. Among the playlists: lean startup methodology, creating a video grame from scratch, weather science projects for kids, women's self-defense, baking sourdough bread at home, etc.

National Consumers League
http://www.nclnet.org/
"The National Consumers League provides government, businesses, and other organizations with the consumer's perspective on concerns including child labor, privacy, food safety, and medication information." Of particular note: NCL's Savvy Consumer Blog, and its Fraud Center, which "tracks the latest Internet and telemarketing scams, and helps consumers avoid them."

Public Services International Research Unit
http://www.psiru.org/
"PSIRU researches the privatisation and restructuring of public services around the world, with special focus on water, energy, waste management, and healthcare. It produces reports and maintains an extensive database on the multinational companies involved." Since there is little follow-through by governments to see whether private contractors do in fact deliver public services as well as government workers, and with the claimed cost savings, the research here is worth exploring even though the site is sponsored by public service trade unions with a personal stake in the research.

State of the Air 2012 - American Lung Association
http://www.stateoftheair.org/
Check out the rankings for most polluted and cleanest cities. Click on the name of the city for a detailed description of its air conditions.

World Religions, Religion Statistics, Geography, Church Statistics
http://www.adherents.com/
"a growing collection of over 43,870 adherent statistics and religious geography citations: references to published membership/adherent statistics and congregation statistics for over 4,200 religions, churches, denominations, religious bodies, faith groups, tribes, cultures, movements, ultimate concerns, etc."

April 27

37 Alternatives to Yelling at Your Kids - Parenting Squad
http://parentingsquad.com/alternatives-to-yelling-at-your-kids
Provides 37 techniques for calming yourself first, for dealing with the feelings behind the child's behavior, and for modeling good conflict resolution. Not to mention figuring out whether the problem is the child being unusually irritating, or you being unusually irritable.

The Best City Reads of 2011 - the Atlantic
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2011/12/best-cityreads-of-2011/774/
People who loves cities and want them to thrive may enjoy The Atlantic Cities site, which provides its own original stories and gathers them from other sources. Here's a sampler: a roundup of the best journalism they found about cities in 2011.

Consumer Finance Protection Bureau - Submit a Complaint
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/
The new bureau is already investigating consumer complaints about mortgages, credit cards, banking, vehicle loans, and student loans, and already has a track record of quick response. Register here with your first complaint, and then check your complaint status here.

Food in Every Country
http://www.foodbycountry.com/
Country-by-country descriptions of the foods and popular dishes, often with recipes. Useful for travelers and for anybody who wants to add a little international variety to their own cooking.

Lady of the Stopwatch
http://marylaine.com/observe/35.html
If you're gearing up for Mother's Day, May 13, you might enjoy my tribute to all moms, the traditional stay-at-homes like my own mother, and those who learned that "having it all" is not what it was cracked up to be.

Medical Research and Treatment Information from Medify.com
https://www.medify.com/
The site's motto is "Medical research is complex, the search for it shouldn't have to be." Type in a condition, and choose the overview, to search studies, or compare top treatments. You can retrieve a chart that analyzes the research on common treatments: the number of studies, number of patients studied, the strength of the evidence for each, and how they rank compared with other treatments. You can then follow the links to view the research studies through Medline.

Non-GMO Project
http://www.nongmoproject.org/
Anyone concerned about genetically-modified organisms in our food supply will welcome the web site of this "non-profit organization committed to preserving and building sources of non-GMO products, educating consumers, and providing verified non-GMO choices." Supported by retailers who support consumers' right to information about their food, it includes FAQs about GMO foods and crops, provides testing and verification of products, and allows you to browse certified non-GMO products by brand or product category (baby food, dairy products, feed & seed, packaged/frozen meals, etc.).

Natural History - The Browser
http://thebrowser.com/topics/natural-history
"Experts from London's Natural History Museum discuss their top five books on everything - from bats to plants, dinosaurs to meteorites and more."

Private Company Research - LibGuides at Duke University
http://guides.library.duke.edu/content.php?pid=20375&sid=155506
Because privately held companies are not traded on stock exchanges, they are not required to make public detailed financial information or annual reports, so information about them is hard to find. But not impossible, especially to determined librarians like these at Duke University. Would-be investors, reporters and job-seekers may want to learn from them how to find such information themselves. Note that use of the specialized (and expensive) databases is limited to Duke students and faculty, but your own local libraries may also subscribe to them.

Religion News Service
http://www.religionnews.com/
Since religion - a major part of our lives and guiding philosophies - is largely ignored by the traditional news media, the Religion News Service aims to fill in that hole by providing "in-depth, non-sectarian coverage of religion, spirituality and ideas." Searchable and browsable by categories like Politics, Faith (Doctrine & Practice, Clergy & Congregations, Leaders & Institutions), Ethics (Death & Dying, Medical Ethics, etc.), multimedia presentations, and blogs.

WHAT I'M CURRENTLY READING:

Non-fiction: Slide Mountain: The Folly of Owning Nature, by Theodore Steinberg. The problem with owning a chunk of nature is that nature has a distressing way of moving around. Steinberg presents fascinating stories of legal conflicts arising from nature's shifts, including: who owns an Indian tribe's property when its river boundary shifts position; who owns a rich underwater resource depends entirely on whether the body of water is called a lake or a stream, and more.

Fiction: William Kent Krueger's novels about sometime Minnesota sheriff Cork O'Connor. One of his novels is called Boundary Waters, and that title defines what the books explore. Those boundaries can lead to richly productive intermixing, and to conflict: the boundaries between between two cultures, white and Indian; between wilderness and human-ordered property (town and reservation); between law and justice. O'Connor is a complex character, mostly white but part Indian, who embodies those conflicts as an outsider in both cultures.

April 20

2012 Pulitzer Prize Winners
http://www.pulitzer.org/node/8501
Includes descriptions of and citations to the work the winners and finalists are being honored for, but no direct links.

Food-a-Pedia
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/SuperTracker/foodapedia.aspx
Nutrition information for more than 8000 foods.

Good Jobs First
http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/
A resource for anyone who wants to make economic subsidies offered by state and local governments more accountable and effective. The site includes Accountable USA,which reports on each state's subsidy practices and controversies, a Subsidy Tracker database which provided info on the cost and the employment impact of companies receiving subsidies, and Corporate Subsidy Watch, which tracks companies that are "the leading over-users and abusers of economic development subsidies."

Informing the Debate over Tax Policy - Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
http://itepnet.org/
Since it's already clear that how people and corporations are taxed will be a major issue in the presidential campaign, this informative site will be useful. In addition to news about taxation by state, it includes state-specific reports, policy analysis ("Capping Property Taxes: A Primer," "State Income Taxes and Older Adults," "How State Corporate Income Taxes Work," etc.), and multistate reports ("Building a Better Gas Tax," "Corporate Taxpayers & Corporate Tax Dodgers," "The ITEP Guide to Fair State and Local Taxes," etc.)

Library Journal Infodocket
http://www.infodocket.com/
This long-time guide to top-notch information resources and documents by Gary Price and Shirl Kennedy, a long-time favorite of librarians and information junkies, has found a new home at Library Journal.

Movie Review Query Engine (MRQE)
http://www.mrqe.com/
A database of reviews of over 100,000 movies, new and old, in theaters or on DVD. For fun, you can check out the list articles: "Best to Worst Dystopian Movies," "Best to Worst Buddy Cops Movies," "Best Cold War Movies," etc.

Old Book Illustrations
http://www.oldbookillustrations.com/
"a wide range of illustrations scanned from old books. Most of these vintage pictures are originally wood engravings or woodcuts, fewer are etchings or metal engravings." Browse through galleries of Animals, Plants, Landscapes, Buildings, etc. Click on thumbnails to get a full sized image, and the citation to the book the image was taken from. While no other info is provided, the clickable subject headings assigned to it yield clues about what and where the subject matter is.

Paying for College Cost Comparison Worksheet - CFPB
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/payingforcollege/costcomparison/
Enter up to three universities you're considering, and it will supply for each the sticker price for first year, average grants and scholarships, total borrowing, estimated debt after school, and comparative debt burden.

Poem in your Pocket Day - April 26
http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/406
Celebrate by carrying around a favorite poem and sharing it with friends. There are plenty of poems available on the site, as well as advice to people who'd like to organize an event.

The Thoughtful Animal
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/thoughtful-animal/
A blog by Jason Goldman, exploring "the evolution and architecture of the mind." For anyone interested in the great mystery of how 3 pounds of gray matter can produce inventions, literature, comedy, music, etc.

April 13

100 Greatest Cooking Tips of All Time - Food Network
http://www.foodnetwork.com/chefs/100-greatest-cooking-tips-of-all-time/index.html
When Food Network Magazine asked top chefs across the country for their best advice, here's what they got. Some are surprising, and some so obvious, like reading the entire recipe before you begin, it's embarrassing how often we forget to do them.

1940 Census Records - National Archives
http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/
Judging from the fact that on the day the web site opened, the servers were overloaded and broke down, some of you already know about this. The answers to the questionaires provide invaluable genealogical information and economic and social insights about families and neighborhoods.

2011 Customer Service Hall of Shame
http://money.msn.com/investing/the-2011-customer-service-hall-of-shame.aspx?cp-documentid=6821116
"Major players in industries we love to hate -- banking, credit cards and cable -- dominate the list of 10 companies ranked worst in MSN Money's fifth annual survey." Each of the companies explains here what steps they have taken to improve their service.

Budget Your Trip
http://www.budgetyourtrip.com/
"Travel costs from real people." Travelers can not only plan and track their travel spending here, using the site's tools, but also share it to contribute to the site's database. When you enter a city's name, you get a description of what the place has to offer, travel tips submitted by the site's users, and the average daily costs for accommodations, food, entertainment, etc. There's also a currency conversion calculator.

Consumerism Commentary
http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/
A personal finance blog that has been recommended as a must-read by Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine.

Europeana 1914-1918 - Your family history of World War One
http://www.europeana1914-1918.eu/en/browse
This project has already collected a lot of personal stories and memorabilia about World War I, and invites users to add their own postcards, letters, diaries, and stories to the site.

Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/
It seems that too often, the pace of societal and technological change is faster than consideration of its impact on our ethical decision-making. The Markkula Center offers a forum for research and discussion of ethical issues in biomedical science, technology, business, government, and more, presenting articles, case studies, blogs, and podcasts. Among recent topics: warning signs of ethical collapse in business organizations, conscientious refusal in health care, conflicts of interest in nonprofit organizations, when is a contribution a bribe, etc.

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood - All Videos - PBS
http://pbskids.org/rogers/videos/index.html
The entire series, much beloved by children, is available here. You can browse the episode guide, or look for the field trips and how people make things episodes.

Pew Internet Libraries
http://libraries.pewinternet.org/
The invaluable Pew Research Center plans to publish "a series of reports examining technology adoption and use in libraries, patrons’ expectations, the “library of the future,” and how libraries fit into people’s lives in all sorts of ways." The currently featured report is on the rise of e-reading.

POGO Study: Private Service Contracts Cost Government Almost Double Expense of In-House Staff
http://www.pogo.org/pogo-files/alerts/contract-oversight/co-gp-20110913.html
The widespread contracting out of government work to private enterprise rests on the assumption that they will cost less than government employees would, but it's always a good idea to test the truth of assmptions. The Project on Government Oversight, comparing not salaries of government and contracted workers, but what private enterprise billed for those workers, found contractors to be more expensive in all but two of the 35 job classifications they studied.

April 6

11 Tax Audit Red Flags - CNNMoney
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2012/pf/taxes/1203/gallery.audit-red-flags/?iid=HP_Highlight
If you haven't filed yet, check this out. If you have, you might want to copy this and keep it with your records for next year's taxes. A bonus: the link to an article about the craziest tax deductions.

American Customer Satisfaction Index
http://www.theacsi.org/
Go to the ACSI Results page to browse by industry sector or by company (compared to other companies in the sector and to previous customer satisfaction scores). Customer satisfaction with government services is also included.

Choosing Wisely - Lists
http://choosingwisely.org/?page_id=13
"Specialty societies representing 374,000 physicians developed lists of "Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question" in recognition of the importance of physician and patient conversations to improve care and eliminate unnecessary tests and procedures."

Civil War Records - National Archive
http://www.archives.gov/research/military/civil-war/index.html
Information available here includes photographs, military personnel records, draft records, Confederate pension records, and a good deal more. Start your research with their broad overview of the available records, how to compile a soldier's history, and how to obtain those records.

The Food Timeline - Food history & vintage recipes
http://www.foodtimeline.org/index.html
Food historian Lynne Oliver traces what was eaten and grown from 17,000 B.C. up to the present, with citations to books and links for recipes. (If you'd like to make Bible-era food part of your Easter celebration, they recommend several recipe books.) Arrow down to the bottom of the page to browse the FAQs by specific foods, food service (fast foods, restaurants, school lunches, etc.), places and eras. The teacher tools for historic food prices and historic weights and measures will be helpful. Ms. Oliver also answers readers' questions.

Frog Crafts - KinderCrafts
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/frog/
April is National Frog Month. If your kids are as crazy about frogs as my grandsons, they should enjoy celebrating this month by making frog puppets, pop-up frog cards, and origami frogs, not to mention learning all about frogs in these quizzes and coloring sheets.

Garden Pilot Navigator
http://navigator.gardenpilot.com/
Trying to decide what to plant? Select the type of plant that interests you (annuals, bulbs, shrubs, vegetables, trees, etc.) and then limit by considerations like flower color, light requirement, growth height, water requirement, etc. You'll get an array of thumbnail pics of plants matching your specifications.

How the National Mortgage Settlement Affects You
http://blog.usa.gov/post/20067081592/how-the-national-mortgage-settlement-affects-you
Homeowners with problematic mortgages may benefit from the National Mortgage Settlement, which requires the country’s biggest mortgage servicers to commit about $25 billion in relief to individuals and governments. Learn more here about the settlement, who's eligible for it, and scams already being perpetrated in relation to it.

Locus Online - the Website of the Magazine of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Field
http://locusmag.com/
Features news, reviews, new book announcements, interviews with authors, the Locus Index to Science Fiction Awards, and more.

SafeMama
http://safemama.com/
A "one-stop child safety, product recall, health, well-being, non-toxic, eco-conscious resource. The author seems to be a conscientious researcher who reads the scientific literature about toxins and other child safety issues before taking a stance on them. In addition to the articles and product recalls notices, she offers an excellent set of links to additional resources, and a collection of "cheat sheets" on a wide variety of topics, including BPA-Free Canned Foods, Alternatives to Plastic Bootles and Sippy Cups, Natural Lice Remedies, 2011 Safer Toy Guide, etc.

March 30

27 Uses for a Dead Phone Book - Get Rich Slowly
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2012/03/26/27-frugal-uses-for-a-dead-phone-book/
If you've ever felt a little guilty about throwing away old or unwanted phone books (they do multiply, don't they?), you might want to consider these ways in which they could actually be useful.

The Best Smart Growth Projects in America
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/housing/2011/12/best-smart-growth-projects-america/617/
The Atlantic tells you what these communities did to earn the Environmental Protection Agency's Smart Growth awards (link to the EPA's Awards announcement included).

Economist's View
http://economistsview.typepad.com/
I have no training in economics, but when a Nobel Prize economist says we should pay attention, I will. Paul Krugman says that the blog's author, Mark Thoma, "has opinions (very sound opinions, in my view), a lot of what he does is act as a clearing house for new ideas and information. And he does a huge amount of work in finding what’s important each day." Some sample entries deal with the health insurance mandate, whether the economy's losses are permanent, "Republican Voters Embrace Government," "Did Obama Delay Stimulus Spending to Aid His Reelection?,"

How To Reduce Eyestrain
http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/10020/1/How-to-Reduce-Eye-Strain.html
If your eyes are tired more often than you would like, you should benefit from this explanation and advice on how to reduce the strains you are subjecting them to.

Make Your Own Playdough
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2012/03/14/make-your-own-playdough-73365/
This should be even more fun for kids than just playing with it - after all, they'll get to mix in and experiment with their own color choices.

Map of the Most Popular Surnames in the United States - National Geographic
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/02/geography/usa-surnames-interactive
You can tell a lot about a state's settlement and immigration history by the predominant surnames of its residents. Zero in on the area of the map that interests you and use the + sign to magnify the names.

On Your Side
http://onyoursi.de/
A wiki and blog from consumer advocate Christopher Elliott, who also promises to help you with your customer problems. Includes an ongoing series, "Is This a Scam," as well as consumers' stories and general articles like "7 Lessons Consumers Learned in 2011."

Tweens and cell phones: a guide for responsible use - National Consumers League
http://www.nclnet.org/technology/150-cell-phones/556-tweens-and-cell-phones-a-back-to-school-guide-for-responsible-use
Advice for parents on things to consider before buying, choosing the phone and plan, and setting the rules for using it.

Water Resources of the United States - United States Geological Survey
http://ag.arizona.edu/azwater/
Americans who don't live in an arid region often take the availability of fresh clean water flowing from the tap for granted, but it is, in fact, a scarce and threatened resource. This web site "collects information needed to understand the Nation's water resources, and provides access to water data, publications, and maps, as well as to recent water projects and events."

Who Gets Published/Reviewed by Major Magazines, by Gender
http://www.vidaweb.org/the-2011-count
It may not surprise you to learn that even in the most liberal publications, female writers are a distinct minority.

March 23

43 Chores Young Children Can Do
http://parentingsquad.com/45-chores-young-children-can-do
If you believe as I do that children should learn early on that they have an obligation to clean up after themselves and take part in household chores, you'll appreciate this guide to chores that children are able to do at different ages.

The Baloney Detection Collection
http://www.physics.smu.edu/~pseudo/baloney.html
As a college librarian I saw way too many students who believed that if something appeared on the internet, it was, therefore, true. Teachers and parents can arm them with a baloney detection kit.

Carnegie Hero Fund Medal Awardees
http://www.carnegiehero.org/awardees_recent.php
This is a wonderful site to browse in whenever you despair of the human race. Throughout the year the Carnegie Hero Fund sends out investigators to learn more about acts of heroism and awards medals to people in the United States and Canada who "risk[ed] their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others." Read their inspiring stories, and those of previous winners, here.

Disease Risk Index
http://www.diseaseriskindex.harvard.edu/update/english/
Harvard School of Public Health offers you this opportunity to first assess your own personal risk for developing cancer, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, and stroke, and then get advice on preventing the diseases.

Forced Arbitration Rogues Gallery - Public Citizen
http://www.citizen.org/rigged-justice-rogues-gallery
Or, why you should actually read the contract you sign with service providers - you may be signing away your right to hold them accountable in court if they cause harm.

Graphic Novel Reviews
http://comicsworthreading.com/category/graphic-novels/
Johanna Draper Carlson, who has been running Comics Worth Reading since 1999, says "Looking for the best of the best? Here's a list of Must-Read Comic Classics, my attempt at defining a comics canon."

No Budget No Pay Act - Congressman Jim Cooper
http://cooper.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=578&Itemid=73
If you're upset with the fact that Congress won't perform its basic constitutional duty of appropriating funds for government agencies and programs, you might like this idea. Its sponsor, Congressman Jim Cooper, discusses it here. (I would also suggest that members of Congress don't get to go on free vacations whenever they feel like it if they haven't done their jobs.)

Old Book Art
http://www.oldbookart.com/
A bookstore owner shares (and blogs about) both black-and-white and color images from out-of-copyright books. Searchable and browsable by Atlases & Maps, Children, Nature, Places & Travel, etc. Everything he has personally scanned is available with a Creative Commons license.

Spontaneous Smiley - Photos of the smiley face as it appears in everyday objects
http://spontaneoussmiley.com/
March 22 was International Goof Off Day. If you missed it, here's a site where you can have a belated celebration, because there are smiley faces on vegetables, appliances, cars, buildings, mounds of potatoes, etc. If you get in the habit of looking for them, you'll start seeing them everywhere. Share your own spontaneous smileys here.

Spring Break Science Experiments To Get Your Kids Outdoors - Parenting Squad
http://parentingsquad.com/spring-break-science-experiments-that-will-get-your-kids-outside
And to help them see that science can be fun.

March 16

10 Strength Training Exercises for Women at Home without Equipment
http://www.moneycrashers.com/strength-training-exercises-women/
If you can't afford a gym or fitness equipment, you can still do strength training at home with the help of an empty gym bag, 2 empty water jugs, and dirt (or sand or kitty litter).

BenefitsCheckUp.org - National Council on Aging
http://www.ncoa.org/assets/files/pdf/center-for-benefits/You-Gave-Now-Save-Guide-to-Benefits.pdf
There are many assistance programs for seniors that they may not be aware of. Answer some questions here to find "benefit programs that can help you pay for medications, health care, food, utilities and more.

Eatocracy - CNN.com Blogs
http://eatocracy.cnn.com/
CNN's blog about food includes news, an Eatcyclopedia, step-by-step recipes, a daily food-related list called 5@5 (which includes a great post on training your child to be restaurant-friendly)

The Financial Crisis - Five Books - the Browser
http://thebrowser.com/interviews/francis-fukuyama-on-financial-crisis
If you want to know how we got in the economic mess we're in, these books offer a good explanation.

The Library in the City - Pew Charitable Trusts
http://www.pewtrusts.org/our_work_report_detail.aspx?id=85899373217
"Big-city public libraries have rarely been as popular as they are today and rarely as besieged. The hard economic times of recent years have generated increased demand for the free and varied services libraries provide, even as revenue-challenged local governments have cut back on contributions to library budgets. All of this comes at a time when libraries are being asked to perform a new and changing range of functions."

Save Money - Saving Advice - SavingAdvice.com
http://www.savingadvice.com/
A collection of forums, blogs, tools (freebie finder, calculators, financial dictionary, etc.), and articles (browsable by categories like Budgeting, Debt, Making Money, Retirement, etc.). A sampling of recent articles: "Save Money Spring Cleaning," "25 Ways To Save Money on Insurance Plans," "Money Lessons Learned from Board Games," etc.

SF Signal - a Speculative Fiction Blog
http://sfsignal.com/
This multi-author blog is searchable and browsable by categories like interviews, book reviews, anime, games, events, humor, web sites, etc. There's 10 years worth of interesting material for fans here.

Summary of IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources - the Energy Collective
http://theenergycollective.com/karenstreet/57389/ipcc-special-
report-renewable-energy-sources
The forthcoming report by the International Panel on Climate Change, the summary of which is here, attempts to answer the questions "How much electricity and other energy can be supplied by renewables?" "At what cost?" "What might interfere?" "What steps would have to be taken?" What would be the challenges of integrating those resources into the power grid?" The report will be a useful basis for discussions of energy policy.

Urban Gardening Help
http://www.urbangardeninghelp.com/
Offers introductory information and resources on topics like container gardening, green roofs, hydroponics, rainwater collection, community gardening, pest control, and more. Also has guides for appropriate plants and for small garden design.

Worst Company in America - Consumerist
http://consumerist.com/2012/03/worst-company-2012-bracket-announcement.html
Every year, Consumerist comes up with its own March madness tournament, but the reluctant competitors are their readers' nominees for Worst Company in America. Will Bank of America win back the title from BP, or will other deserving entrants walk off with the not-so-coveted Golden Poo award? Follow the competition at consumerist.com as the candidates face as readers' votes determine the winners of each bracket.

March 9

50 Ways To Save Money on Food
http://www.savingadvice.com/articles/2012/02/07/109201_50-ways-to-save-money-on-food.html
Some of these tips are obvious, but a lot of them may not have occurred to you, and they refer you to articles about how to do those things, like reduce food waste, changing yoour food habits, learning to use all your leftovers and like them, etc.

9th Annual Photo Contest Finalists - Smithsonian
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/photocontest/9th-annual/9th-altered-1.html
Great photographs can make us see the extraordinary in the ordinary - an apartment building, a red umbrella, a collection of tubes...

Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, 2012
http://youngscientistchallenge.com/
For students in grades 5-8. Entrants are "challenged to identify an everyday problem related to the way we move, the way we keep ourselves healthy, or the way we make a difference. The problem should directly impact them, their family, their community, or the global population. The idea must be a new innovation or solution..." Submissions are due April 19. Read all about it here.

Flower Identifier
http://healthyhomegardening.com/Flower_Identifier.php
Here in North Carolina, the unusually warm weather has been rushing flowers into bloom weeks ahead of schedule, which means we've had lots more "what's the name of that flower" questions. This tool allows you to search and to browse by petal color, number of petals, and parts of plants

How Much Have Big Banks Been Docked for the Financial Crisis? - Pro Publica
http://projects.propublica.org/tables/financial_settlements
Anyone hoping the bankers who caused this mess will get their comeuppance will find this "chart of notable settlements reached between big banks and the government—namely, the SEC and the Department of Justice—over charges stemming from the crisis" disappointing.

The Internet Blueprint - Developing bills to build a better internet
http://internetblueprint.org/
Fair-minded internet enthusiasts can agree that the internet presents some problems, and not just to creators of copyrighted material. But since some of the legislators attempting to deal with those problems know they don't know enough about the internet to do it intelligently, they have asked the internet community for advice on how to legislate intelligently. Read proposed legislation and the explanations of it here, along with information about organizations and companies supporting the legislation. Then check to see if your own Congressional representatives support it, and make your own opinion known.

Penguin Cam
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/frozen-planet/penguin-cam/
Adorable but noisier than you might expect.

ProPublica Recovery Tracker: How Much Stimulus Funding Is Going To Your County
http://projects.propublica.org/recovery/
The great political question is whether the stimulus contributed to job growth. ProPublica has "taken all the data used on the government’s stimulus Web site, Recovery.gov, spiffed it up and added thousands of other recovery spending records. The result: the most comprehensive publicly available analysis of stimulus spending that we know of." Find your state and county to track total stimulus money, per capita money, and the unemployment data for 2009, 2010, and 2011.

Rites of Spring - the appeal of baseball
http://marylaine.com/observe/74.html
"Baseball is icumen in; lhude sing "Play ball!'"

Top 50 Most Admired Companies - Fortune
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/most-admired/2012/full_list/
Fortune surveyed business leaders to see what companies they most admired, and why. Read the list and profiles, and if you wish, add your own two cents worth.

March 2

11 Tips for Packing a Healthy Frugal Lunch Your Kids Will Eat
http://moneyning.com/kids-and-money/11-tips-for-packing-a-healthy-frugal-lunch-that-your-kids-will-actually-eat/
This useful tips from a lunch volunteer who's watched what children eat and don't eat includes not only food ideas but suggestions on how to get your child to participate in the selection and preparation of lunch.

The Art of Video Games - Photo Gallery - Smithsonian Magazine
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/videogames
If this article does not convince you that video games are an art form, check out the gallery at <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/multimedia/photos/?c=y&articleID=139541863>

Auto Insurance Buyers Guide - MintLife Blog
http://www.mint.com/blog/consumer-iq/auto-insurance-buyers-guide-022012/
A clear explanation of types of coverage that might make you want to go back and reread your existing policy to make sure it covers everything you want it to cover.

Christian Fiction, Movies, Authors, News - FamilyFiction.com
http://www.familyfiction.com/
Whether you wish to find reviews and interviews about Christian authors, books, or movies, you can browse by specific genres including suspense, romance, young adults, children, comics, etc.

Dictionary of American Regional English
http://dare.news.wisc.edu/
The long-awaited final volume in this monumental work has just been published. This website allows you to sample some of the splendidly varied delights of Americans' rendering of the English language. You can listen to some of the audio interviews that were the basis for the construction of the dictionary, check out your own state for a sample of words that are unique to that state, watch a video explaining how the editors gathered the data to construct the dictionary, and test yourself with a quiz about the meaning of a dozen of the words.

The Dollar Stretcher - Frugal Living since 1996
http://www.stretcher.com/index.cfm
The site has been around for 15 years, which means it has created an impressive online library of tips, tools, tutorials, blogs, forums, and more to help you make the most of your money. Searchable, and browsable by categories like food, home & auto, baby boomers, and 20-somethings, as well as by resources for income opportunities, budgets, groceries, etc.

Footnoted.com - Morningstar's Guide to what's hiding in SEC filings
http://www.footnoted.com/
Which, often enough, is exorbitant goodies handed out to present and departing executives, information about proxy fights, announcements of risks to future profits such as class action lawsuits - and even, in some rare cases, changes in policy prompted by shareholder rebellions. All are worth considering before you invest.

National Missing and Unidentified Persons System
http://namus.gov/
If someone you love is missing, you'll want to check this "national centralized repository and resource center for missing persons and unidentified decedent records [human remains]" and if necessary, add your missing person's name and information to the database. Advanced search features allow you to search unidentified remains for a variuety of distinguishing physical characteristics including tattoos, medical implants, etc.

Peeps Diorama Contest: Best in Show - Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/peeps-contest-best-in-show/2012/02/08/gIQAhVmszQ_gallery.html#photo=1
I'm not sure when people began using our favorite marshmallow candy for art, but as you can see here, they've done some amazingly inventive things. Also check out National Geographic's Peeps in Places Photo Gallery <http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/2010/04/peeps-photography>. Question: have any librarians done displays using peeps to illustrate favorite books and movies in their collections? If so, do you have photos online?

Why Nations Fail
http://whynationsfail.com/
While the site serves to promote its authors' book of the same name, the blog is "devoted to understanding why nations fail and to shed light on current economic, political, and social events through the lenses of the theory" developed in that book. It might be a good site for Congress and government officials to study before they next decide to conduct a nation-building exercise overseas.


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ABOUT NEAT NEW STUFF

I'm going to do something a little different this week: explain how and why I choose the sites I do for Neat New Stuff.

In 1995, when I was a reference librarian at St. Ambrose University, I constructed a web site for our students and faculty called Best Information on the Net (BIOTN) <http://library.sau.edu/bestinfo/>, an annotated guide to authoritative information sources for every academic program St. Ambrose offered, as well as useful resources for faculty and for students (Hot Paper Topics <http://library.sau.edu/bestinfo/Hot/hotindex.htm> turned out to be a BIG hit with students). I also created a virtual reference desk to answer questions my fellow librarians and I regularly fielded. Each week, the section on Neat New Stuff pointed out to students and faculty some of the niftiest sites I'd added to BIOTN.

When I quit my job to become a full-time writer and speaker, my colleagues suggested that since NeatNew was the one part of the site where I let my personality leak through, it was more mine than St. Ambrose's, so I took it with me when I left, and mounted it on my own web site. My audience was now wider than just my campus, but I still saw NeatNew as a tool to share with other librarians sites that answered questions I knew people would be asking them.

That's why many of the sites I point to provide objective evidence to shed light on current national issues and controversies. When factual misinformation and confusion about an issue abounds, as in the case of the Affordable Health Care Act, I may address it repeatedly, pointing to the text of laws, Congressional testimony, statistics, research reports, and good explanations offered by objective sources. Many of the sites I point you to are sources I encountered in my daily reading; others are sites I scouted for when I needed better background information on a topic.

Since many people who are in trouble go to the library looking for information and assistance, I've been listing numerous resources to help people deal with unemployment, foreclosures, credit problems, and money management. Since people are always coming to librarians with health questions, I point to any trustworthy health site I come across.

It has been my experience that in the face of disaster, most of us hate feeling helpless, and want to DO something, be it volunteering or donating. That's why I always point to trustworthy organizations that are assisting in current catastrophes.

I provide other fodder for anyone's own virtual reference desk in the form of statistical sources, documents, topical news sites, webliographies, map sources, information portals, databases, etc. Since many information requests are seasonal, I always point to resources for things like summer travel, holidays, dedicated months (Women's History, Hispanic Heritage, etc.), and sites to help frazzled parents entertain the kids when school is not in session.

Reading lists, review sources, and other good sites about books are always welcome to librarians (myself included) and the readers they serve, so I frequently include such sites on NeatNew. Lists not only make great conversation starters, but can also serve as exhibit and program ideas for librarians, so I often tuck in a Top 10 of some sort on NeatNew.

Librarians and information junkies alike revel in the fact that the interactive, audio, and visual capabilities of the net allow it to provide entirely new kinds of information experiences, so I often point to photography and film archives, oral histories, recorded speeches, illustrated lectures, charts and graphic illustrations of complex topics, discussion forums, mashups of maps and content, etc.

From that point on, it's a pretty eclectic mix - you might find sites for recipes, auto repair, hobbies of all sorts, blogs, thought-provoking articles, prize-winning work in some field of endeavor, government web sites providing useful information, etc.

To a large extent I simply follow my curiosity - and there's nothing I'm not curious about. I pick up sites from the books and magazines I'm reading, or I go hunting on the web for more information on something that was mentioned in them. And sometimes I follow my readers' curiosity, when they send me sites they think are pretty neat AND explain why they're special (after one computer catastrophe too many, I do not follow blind links).

I know my limitations, and stick to recommending things I am qualified to evaluate. I won't include:

sites about computers and software - sorry, I only use them, I don't understand them.

social networking sites

sites that are primarily commercial - I'm after good free information, and plenty of it. Commercial sites can make the cut if, like Amazon and L.L. Bean, they also offer great free information

I know that many of my readers are not, in fact, librarians, but simply people who enjoy discovering the often hidden treasures of the net; I'm delighted to be of service to you as well.

And now that you all know what I've been doing on NeatNew, and have every intention of continuing to do, please come back next week to see another dozen sites that I'm already looking forward to showing you.

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