Oh, the Places You'll Go

(Web Sites You Might Like)

This time of year many people experience seasonal stress. Additionally, the economy and other internal and external forces may conspire to bring about feelings of sadness or depression. The following lists of Web sites from Searcher: The Magazine for Database Professionals
include psychological tests and stress relief:

• Authentic Happiness Questionnaire Center (http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/questionnaires.aspx) "Martin Seligman, the founder of the Positive Psychology movement, offers 19 surveys on this site in return for free registration. Measure today's happiness and your characteristic level of satisfaction. Do you find meaning in your life? Do you have grit and perseverance? The results can serve as clues for your next life moves. This site is also available in Spanish and Chinese, traditional and simplified."


• Happier.com (http://happier.com/) "In return for free registration, take clinically validated tests and learn techniques for being happier, including gratitude, letting go of grudges, and recalling good things that happen each day. Personalized help is available for a subscription fee."


• Why Are We Happy? Why Aren't We Happy? (http://ted.com/index.php/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy.html) "In this video from TED, Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert explains how our prefrontal cortex predicts (mostly incorrectly) what will make us happy." [this video was previously published on this blog]


• Portable Guide to Stress Relief (https://www.health.harvard.edu/PDFs/Stress_Relief_Guide.pdf) "Follow these few suggestions from Harvard Medical School to help alleviate stress. Ideas include reaching out to others, correcting negative assumptions, and physical relaxation techniques that you can practice on the go."


• The Happiness Project (http://www.happiness-project.com/) "Gretchen Rubin, former lawyer, spent a year looking for happiness by 'test-driving every principal, tip, theory, and scientific study I could find, whether from Aristotle or St. Therese or Martin Seligman or Oprah.' She writes about her findings on her blog."

Old Friends (you may not have met yet)

This month I am introducing a new regular feature to this blog in which I will highlight interesting and/or useful books from the Reference stacks. These books will not be new books, but may be new to you.

• How to Be a Perfect Stranger: The Essential Religious Etiquette Handbook edited by Stuart M. Matlins and Arthur J. Magida (3rd ed.) 2003

"We North Americans live in a remarkably diverse society, and it's increasingly common to be invited to a wedding, funeral, or other religious service of a friend, relative, or coworker whose faith is different from our own. These can be awkward situations...What will happen? What should I do? What do I wear? What do I say? What should I avoid doing, wearing, saying? Is it okay to use a video camera? How long will it last? What are the basic beliefs? Will there be there be a reception? Will there be food? Should I bring a gift? When is it okay to leave?" - from the back cover

New Books

• Training Paraprofessionals for Reference Service by Pamela L. Morgan

FYI: "This second edition of Training Paraprofessionals for Reference Service has been revised to incorporate the changes in reference librarianship since publication of the first edition in 1993, many of which have been brought on with the advent of the Internet: virtual reference, increasing use of electronic resources, the move to single-service points, an increase of self-services for patrons, the decrease in ready reference questions, and the general appearance of new technologies." - from the Preface

• Searching 2.0 by Michael P. Sauers
• Staff Development Strategies that Work: Stories and Strategies from New Librarians edited by Georgie L. Donovan and Miguel A. Figueroa

New Book

• The Accidental Librarian by Pamela H. MacKellar

New Books

• The Portable MLIS: Insights from the Experts edited by Ken Haycock and Brooke E. Sheldon
• More than MySpace: Teens, Librarians, and Social Networking edited by Robyn M. Lupa
• Virtual Worlds Real Libraries: Librarians and Educators in Second Life and Other Multi-User Virtual Environments edited by Lori Bell and Rhonda B. Trueman

New Feature

This month I am introducing a new regular feature to this blog in which I will highlight interesting and/or useful Web sites from professional journals. The mini articles will be transcribed directly from their sources.

Oh, the Places You'll Go

JustGive
http://www.justgive.org/

“Many nonprofit organizations suffer a double whammy during hard economic times – donations decrease but the need for charitable services increases. So when making a donation, you’ll want to be sure the money is well-spent. JustGive can help you identify charitable organizations that work in areas that interest you. The database of charitable organizations is grouped into 19 categories such as Arts & Culture, Children & Youth, and Human Rights. Or you can search by key word or by the name of the organization. The reports vary in the amount of detail. But for large charities such as Habitat for Humanity or the American Red Cross, you’ll get fairly complete financial details. If you find the raw financials daunting, though, you may want to try Charity Navigator (http://www.charitynavigator.org/), which gives easy-to-understand ratings on nonprofits.” –Suzanne Cole

From: The CyberSkeptic’s Guide to Internet Research

New Book

• A Field Guide to the Information Commons edited by Charles Forrest and Martin Halbert

FYI: "Libraries have responded to their rapidly changing environment by selecting, acquiring, and making accessible a host of new information resources, developing innovative services, and building different types of spaces to support changing user behaviors and patterns of learning. A Field Guide to the Information Commons describes an emerging library service model that embodies all three spheres of response: new information resources, collaborative service programs, and redesigned staff and user spaces." -from the back cover