Author Archives: Laura B.

About Laura B.

Laura L. Barnes is a librarian at the Prairie Research Institute Library, embedded at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, and writes for Environmental News Bits.

Open Access Legislation passes in Illinois

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Laura B.

On May 16, 2013, SB 1900, the Illinois Open Access to Research Articles Act, passed both the House and Senate. The synopsis of the bill and amendments follows. Synopsis As Introduced Creates the Open Access to Research Articles Act. Provides … Continue reading →

Posted in INHS, ISAS, ISGS, ISTC, ISWS, Open access | Leave a comment

University of Illinois Web Services launches secure messaging service

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Laura B.

Email+, available through the Web Services Toolbox, now offers a new feature for sending secure messages.  A secure message could be a login, password, any type of link that requires a user to authenticate in, or any other type of … Continue reading →

Posted in INHS, ISAS, ISGS, ISTC, ISWS, Tools | Leave a comment

Introducing Environmental Science & Technology Letters

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Laura B.

Environmental Science & Technology Letters (ES&T Letters) is a new peer-reviewed journal complementing Environmental Science & Technology, the most cited journal in Environmental Engineering and Sciences. Beginning in summer 2013, ES&T Letters will begin to accept manuscripts in a Letters-format, … Continue reading →

Posted in Journals | Leave a comment

Help wanted: Public needed to uncover clues in natural history collections

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Laura B.

Read the full story from UC Berkeley. Like bugs? Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes at natural history museums? Interested in helping scientists understand our changing environment? These are just some of the reasons why people should join … Continue reading →

Posted in Citizen science, INHS | Leave a comment

New Tool: Metadata Access Tool for Climate and Health (MATCH)

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Laura B.

The Metadata Access Tool for Climate and Health (MATCH) is a publicly accessible, online tool for researchers that offers centralized access to metadata ‐ standardized contextual information ‐ about thousands of government-held datasets related to health, the environment, and climate-science. MATCH … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, Downloadable Data, INHS, ISAS, ISGS, ISTC, ISWS, Weather and Climate | Leave a comment

The Energy Data Initiative

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Laura B.

The Energy Data Initiative is a Federal effort to “liberate” government data and voluntarily contributed non-government data as fuel to spur entrepreneurship, create value, and create jobs in the transition to a clean energy economy. As part of this initiative, … Continue reading →

Posted in Data Management, Downloadable Data, Energy, ISGS, ISTC, Open access | Leave a comment

Greening Libraries Wins Award in the 2013 Green Books Festival

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Laura B.

Via Library Juice Press. Laura Barnes, Prairie Research Institute Librarian and liaison to the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, authored a chapter in the book. The 2013 Green Book Festival awarded its top honor in the category of Best Business Book … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Institute Highlights, ISTC | Leave a comment

Patent awarded to ISTC researcher

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Laura B.

Junhua Jiang is listed as co-inventor on a patent entitled “Electrochemical process for the production of nitrogen-fertilizers”, which was issued patent number 8,398,842 on March 19, 2013, by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Patent abstract: The present invention … Continue reading →

Posted in Institute Highlights, ISTC, Patents | Leave a comment

Biodiversity Information Serving Our Nation (BISON)

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Laura B.

Biodiversity Information Serving Our Nation (BISON) is a product of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Core Science Analytics and Synthesis Program. BISON is an information system that allows users to access, explore, and download U.S. species occurrence data from participating data … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity, Downloadable Data, INHS, Institute Highlights, Maps | Leave a comment

The Science of What We Do (and Don’t) Know About Data Visualization

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Laura B.

Read the full story at HBR Blogs. Visualization is easy, right? After all, it’s just some colorful shapes and a few text labels. But things are more complex than they seem, largely due to the the ways we see and … Continue reading →

Posted in Data Management, INHS, ISAS, ISGS, ISTC, ISWS, Tips | Leave a comment