Month: March 2013

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Reminder: Five GLRPPR Topic Hubs Repackaged as LibGuides

Several years ago, GLRPPR staff converted several topic hubs into LibGuides. To date, the following Topic Hubs have been converted:

LibGuides is a web 2.0 platform that libraries use to create topical guides to help their users find information. It combines the best features of social networks, wikis, and blogs into one package. Librarians can incorporate RSS feeds, video, web links, bibliographic citations, search boxes, and other finding aids. LibGuides also allows librarians to create polls and allows users to comment on specific resources and tools within each guide.

Users can also sign up to receive e-mail alerts when new content is published, either for particular topics/keywords or for a specific librarian (in this case, GLRPPR). In addition, the converted topic hubs live in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s LibGuides space, which means that they’re more visible to the UIUC community, particularly students.

For a list of GLRPPR guides, visit the GLRPPR profile page on the UIUC Library’s LibGuides web site. You can also see the list of guides I’ve created on my profile page. Please take a look at the converted topic hubs and give us your feedback about the new format.

The Topic Hubs originally developed by GLRPPR have been fully archived and are no longer being updated in the original format. We hope to repackage the remaining topic hubs into LibGuides sometime during the next project period.

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Learn to use TRI’s pollution prevention data to target technical assistance

For the past quarter-century, the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) has provided information about toxic chemicals released from industrial facilities in communities across the nation.  In addition to informing citizens of releases in their areas, however, TRI also contains a plethora of information about pollution prevention activities and how, in many cases, facilities have switched to safer chemicals or safer waste management alternatives.  Now, information about effective pollution prevention practices is easier to access than ever.

To find out more, join the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), and the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable’s Safer Chemistry Challenge Program for the free webinar: Exploring the Toxics Release Inventory’s Pollution Prevention Information:  A New Resource and a P2 Provider’s Perspective, on March 20, 2013 from 2:00-3:30 pm EDT.  Register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/269134136.

This webinar will provide an overview of the pollution prevention and waste management data collected by the TRI Program and introduce participants to a new search tool that makes this information easy to access, visualize, and use.  Additionally, participants will hear about the Minnesota Technical Assistance Program (MnTAP), how they use the TRI information, and how they plan to integrate the new pollution prevention tool into their outreach activities.

Featured speakers will include:

  • Daniel Teitelbaum, Pollution Prevention Staff Lead, TRI Program Division, Office of Environmental Information, US EPA
  • Laura Babcock, Ph.D., Director, MnTAP
  • Robert Lundquist, Senior Engineer, MnTAP