Library News

In response to Chancellor Nancy Cantor’s invitation, to campus and community, to explore the “Soul of Syracuse,” the Syracuse University Library will lead an exploration of the concept of “soul” itself. The “What Is Soul?” program will include an interactive website, a keepsake publication, a symposium, and a keynote speech at the Syracuse University Library Associates annual Spring Luncheon. The Library invites all members of the campus and local community to participate in the program.

The Library’s “What Is Soul?” web site, launched on November 16, 2004, provides a context within which faculty, staff, students, alumni, parents, friends, and the local community can share personal reflections and perspectives on soul. In addition, the “What Is Soul?” website will list resources, quotes, examples, and definitions of soul. A schedule of “What Is Soul?” programs will also be online. Click libwww.syr.edu/soul to visit the site.

Posted by at 1:35 PM | Permalink

Responding to requests from students and faculty in the Maxwell School, SU Library has added full subscription access to UNCOMTRADE. This United Nations database is a platform for exploring detailed commodity statistics pertaining to the economics of global trade. Produced by the statistics division of the UN, the UNCOMTRADE database each year captures merchandise trade statistics as reported by over 130 countries. Although international trade statistics are commonly available in a variety of sources, this database is particularly unique because of its level of specificity relevant to certain commodity classifications. Its data are arranged according to five variables: country, commodity category (referenced by both the “Harmonized System” and the “Standard International Trade Classification”), trading partner country, year (ranging from the late 1960s through to the current period) and trade flow (import, export or re-export). All reported values are converted into U.S. Dollars. While the UN allows guest users some free content from UNCOMTRADE, the new SU Library subscription will allow SU affiliated students, faculty, and staff unlimited downloads. A link to this database appears on the SU Library web site Database Main Menu. Access it from the alphabetical list of databases or, alternatively, under specific database subject categories such as “economics” and “international relations.”

-Michael Pasqualoni, Reference Librarian for Political Science, Public Administration, International Relations & Economics mjpasqua@syr.edu

Posted by at 12:15 PM | Permalink