Back in July, LJ spoke with Todd Chavez, the director of academic resources at the University of South Florida Libraries, about the libraries’ new Gulf Oil Spill Information Center (GOSIC), which aimed to create a wide-ranging online center for Gulf oil-spill information. Now comes word via the Mobile Press-Register’s blog that the Alabama Virtual Library, a state-funded site overseen by library and higher education organizations, went live last month with its own Gulf Oil Spill Resources page.
The page includes EBSCOhost, CSA, and Cengage Learning database resources, links to local and federal government agencies, and even a link to GOSIC.
The Alabama Virtual Library is governed by the Alabama Public Library Service and the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (which includes the Network of Alabama Academic Libraries), among other state agencies.
Its new oil-spill page, though perhaps less ambitious than GOSIC, is worth a look. Keep in mind, however, that if you’re not from Alabama, you may be out of luck: the Alabama Virtual Library uses IP-address geolocation to confirm its users are Alabama residents.
Oil-spill resource pages are also available on other area academic library sites, including those of Louisiana State University Libraries, Florida State University Libraries, and Texas A&M University Libraries.
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