This Week's Facts:
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Federal Employment
Opportunities Found at USA Jobs
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SIRIS Catalog Helps Locate
Artistic & Cultural Treasures
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IDEM Program Offers Info on
Indiana's Beaches
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Website Details Eligibility
Requirements for CARS Handouts
Report Finds World's Population is Getting Older
An Aging World: 2008, a report issued this Summer by the U.S.
Census Bureau, stated that the world’s older population increased by an average
of 870,000 people each month from 2007 to 2008. “Virtually all nations are now
experiencing growth in their number of older residents,” the report points out.
“The most rapid increases in older population are in the developing world.”
You may download the 204-page PDF and find charts covering “Average Annual Percent
Growth of Older Population in Developed and Developing Countries: 1950 to 2050”
and “Percent Change in the World’s Population: 2005 to 2040,” among many others.
The first two pages allow you to test your knowledge of Global Aging. Do you
know what proportion of the world’s countries have a public old-age security
program… or whether older men or older women are more likely to be illiterate?
Give these questions a try!
Access the Census Bureau’s press release with
highlights about the report
here.
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Friday Facts is a production of the Indiana State Library
Friday Facts Editorial Team:
Katharine Springer
State Data
Center Coordinator
Elisabeth
O’Donnell
Federal Documents Librarian
&
Kim Brown-Harden
State
Documents Coordinator
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Library patrons looking for jobs and willing to relocate may be interested in
working for the federal government. The government’s job portal,
USAJOBS,
is a great place to start. Citizens are able to search for job openings based
on specific criteria, whether it be by particular field, location or salary
range. Some employment opportunities are temporary, while others are
permanent. People can create “search agents” that help them ferret out specific
jobs they are looking for. You can search for jobs, keep an online profile, and
even upload your resume. Many opportunities on USAJOBS even have you apply for
the job directly from the site. Don’t know what exactly you want to do? Check
out the
Top Occupations in Demand page! This is a list of the fields that need the
most employees. Not only is there a variety of jobs listed here – from
administrative assistants to engineers – but there are also opportunities in
nearly every agency in the government. Whether someone is looking for a job in
the National Park Service or a civilian position in the US Army, there is
something for nearly everyone.
There is also a
search field aimed specifically at
veterans. This section also includes tips for veterans on how to look for
jobs – how to convert military experience for civilian employment and how to
determine your Veterans’ Preference Status.
SIRIS
Catalog Helps Locate Artistic & Cultural Treasures
 Do
your patrons need more information about a piece of art they’ve seen in their
city or town, or perhaps out of state? How about a sculpture you’ve always
wanted to know more about, but didn’t know who to ask? Try searching the
Smithsonian Institution Art Inventories Catalog via the
Smithsonian
Institution Research Information System, or SIRIS. By using this catalog,
you can find details about Robert Indiana’s LOVE sculpture such as its owner,
provenance, condition, and any additional notes about the piece. By using
SIRIS
as
a whole, you can also search many other catalogs at the same time, including the
recently added Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection in Washington,
DC and the National Air and Space Museum Directory of Airplanes, Their Designers
and Manufacturers. You can search all SIRIS catalogs by keyword. If you choose
“Search Finding Aids,” this selects from another part of SIRIS, the Archives,
Manuscripts, and Photographs catalog. When performing a search within SIRIS, you
can also click “Slideshow” on the upper right (tan horizontal bar) for a
slideshow of images. Need help? Try some sample searches, browse the Image
Gallery , or
view the SIRIS Cross-Catalog Searching Tutorial, a six-minute video that
demonstrates how to best use its features.
IDEM Program
Offers Info on Indiana's Beaches
 Before
summer comes to a close, experience Indiana’s beaches along
Lake Michigan! The beaches are a great place to swim, play, relax, and
watch wildlife. While these beaches are beautiful and pristine, they need
protection from various problems.
Indiana’s Beach Program can help Hoosiers and other visitors learn about
beaches, plan trips, and understand how to help protect them. This website is
also helpful in obtaining current water conditions at Lake, Porter and LaPorte
County beaches throughout the swimming season; you can visit the
BeachGuard online monitoring system for beach closings and other helpful
information to enhance your vacation experience. Indiana’s beaches are
protected in part by the
BEACH Act, which was passed in October 2000 to “reduce the risk of disease
to users of the nation's recreational waters.” The Act addresses pathogens and
pathogen indicators such as Escherichia coli.
Under the BEACH Act, Indiana has used grant dollars to develop the
Lake Michigan beaches program. For more information, please visit the
frequently asked questions page and the
Indiana Department of Environmental Management website.
Website
Details Eligibility Requirements for CARS Handouts
 Patrons planning on purchasing a new car may want to first check out the
Car Allowance Rebate
System (CARS) Act. Formerly known as “Cash for Clunkers,” the Act
officially comes into effect on July 24, 2009. It ends on November 1, 2009 or
whenever funding is depleted, whichever comes first. People who want to take
advantage of this should hurry! The Act gives car owners a credit for trading
in a vehicle with poor fuel economy for a new one with a good rating. The
amount varies, but most people can generally expect $3,500 or $4,500 toward a
new car. Eligibility requirements are stated on the website. Some of the
important criteria are that the car needs to be less than twenty-five years old
and should have a combined city/highway fuel economy of less than 18 mpg. If
you don’t know your fuel economy, make sure to check out
fueleconomy.gov. It tells you the fuel economy and other important
information of nearly any car dating back to 1985.
Be sure to check out the
FAQ section of the website for further information. Not only are most
questions answered there, but it also outlines the steps that need to be taken,
from figuring out eligibility to talking to the dealer and ultimately purchasing
a car.
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