Month: March 2012

Database of the Month: NBER / National Bureau of Economic Research

Hope Houston

Founded in 1920, the National Bureau of Economic Research is the leading private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to promoting a greater understanding of how the economy works. The NBER is committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic community.

The National Bureau of Economic Research highlights recent projects, publications, and new working papers on all aspects of economics and the economy.  Daily updates are posted on the front page.  Searching for specific topics ranging from the global financial crisis to incentive pay and employee performance is quick and easy using the search box located in the upper right hand corner of the database screen.

The database is divided into five distinct report activities –

  • Working Papers & Publications where you may access reports and chapters from books in process
  • Activities which report on NBER’s programs and working groups (e.g. Development of the American Economy, Entrepreneurship, Health Economics, etc.)
  • Meetings – summaries of meetings on a spectrum of economics topics
  • Data – Boston Census Research Data, Current Population Survey, New Economic Releases, Vital Statistics are some of the frequently requested data sources through NBER

 The most frequently searched for data are:

  •  US Business Cycle Expansions and Contractions
  • The NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee Report
  • The Latest NBER Working Papers and Chapters for Forthcoming NBER Books

Some of the available papers listed the Week of March 12, 2012 include:

Target-Date Funds in 401(k) Retirement Plans
Olivia S. Mitchell and Stephen Utkus

On the Road: Access to Transportation Infrastructure and Economic Growth in China
Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Nancy Qian

Gasoline Taxes and Consumer Behavior
Shanjun Li, Joshua Linn, and Erich Muehlegger

Does Universal Coverage Improve Health? The Massachusetts Experience
Charles J. Courtemanche and Daniela Zapata

 Connect to this Database:

You may find NBER listed on the library’s Databases A-Z page, as well as under the Economics Databases subject page.

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Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to an important research database, highlighting key features of the database that you should know about. If you would like more information about this database (or any of the library’s databases) please contact the Reference Desk.  If you would like a demonstration of this database for a class, please contact our Coordinator of User Education, Elizabeth Galoozis.

Life Stories

On Display: Life Stories

Kimberly

Life StoriesOne question we get quite a lot at the reference desk is “Where is your biography section?”. This is not an easy question to answer. The library has thousands of biographies, autobiographies and memoirs in our collection, but these titles are classified under various topics/disciplines which puts them in different call number areas of the collection.

On Display: Life Stories via Pinterest
http://pinterest.com/bentleylibrary/

Currently on display in the Library lobby is a collection of biographies and autobiographies celebrating the wide variety of people and places published in this genre. Included are winners of the Pulitzer Award, National Book Critics Award, James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award. We have also included some brand new 2012 titles and some staff picks.

Please stop by and browse, or, check out the display on Pinterest!

Spring Break Hours: March 10-18

Lisa

Those of you who are not headed out of town for spring break might be wondering if the library will be open.  You’ll be pleased to hear that we are, with some minor modifications to our normal hours.  Alas, Einstein’s will be closed, so you’ll need to bring your own caffeine and carbohydrates with you.

Saturday, March 10 & Sunday, March 11:
 CLOSED

Monday, March 12 — Thursday, March 15:
8:00am to 6:00pm

Friday, March 16:
8:00am to 4:30pm

Saturday, March 17:
CLOSED

Sunday, March 18:
1:00pm to 2:00am

Please note: The Deloitte Cafe/Einstein Bros. Bagels will be closed Saturday, March 10 through Sunday, March 18.

The library and cafe will resume regular hours on Monday, March 19, 2012. To view more information about our hours please check our online hours calendar.  Enjoy the break!

March is Women’s History Month

Liz
Strikers ca. 1910-1915

Since 1987, March has been proclaimed National Women’s History Month in the United States. March 8 has also been observed  as International Women’s Day since the early 1900s, born out of the suffrage movements of that era. Learn more about women’s history by delving into the wealth of materials the Bentley Library and the Internet have on the topic!

Starting places on the library’s website include our research guides on both Gender Issues and History, which will point you toward key databases, books, videos, and websites in those areas.

Take a look at the Women’s Studies section of one of our latest databases, Films on Demand, to see videos ranging from a history of women at West Point to speeches given by key figures in women’s rights to a full-length PBS film on the introduction of birth control.

Singer/songwriter Billie Holiday

Our library catalog is packed with books, films, and electronic documents about women’s history; this is just a sampling:

Meanwhile, Bentley’s Women’s Center has its own library of books. Search it right from the Bentley Library’s catalog, or stop by LaCava 120 to browse for yourself. Keep your women’s history local by keeping up with the Women’s Center on Twitter and Facebook, and look for events on HerCampus Bentley, too.

Also locally, you may want to check out the centennial events going on this year at Orchard House in Concord, historic home of writer Louisa May Alcott and her family. More information can be found in this Boston Globe article.*

Learn more about Women’s History Month at the websites of the National Women’s History Project and womenshistorymonth.gov, both of which contain images, histories, and chances to test your knowledge.

The photos on this page came from a Library of Congress flickr set called “Women Striving Forward, 1910s-1940s.”

 

*(Thanks for the tip, Barb!)

February Acquisitions: New Books, DVDs & Audiobooks

Lisa

Check out our book, popular reading, DVD and audiobook acquisitions for the month of February. Go to our New Books & DVDs page to browse by subject or format.   If you find something you want, simply hit the “Request” button to place a hold on it.