Friday, July 31, 2009

International Trade Library no.5: ELIS - Export Library & Information Service




ELIS is the Export Library & Information Service of the New Zealand School of Export. This service supports the teaching, exporters’ study and research of the School. Although it has a physical location ELIS is freely available through the web http://www.export.ac.nz/library.html and also through the Catalogue http://ets.kohalibrary.com/

Resources can be borrowed by enrolled exporters, but because there is an emphasis on digital materials many are made accessible through the Catalogue.

The New Zealand School of Export is housed in a building at Aokautere Park which in a former life was used by the Water and Soil Division of the New Zealand Ministry of Works. As a result of the Water and Soil Conservation Act 1967, soil conservation work moved from the Department of Agriculture to the newly created Ministry of Works Water and Soil Division.

Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand says: ‘The Soil Conservation Centre was set up at Aokautere near Palmerston North, and investigated the impact of soil erosion on pasture productivity in the East Coast, and on Taranaki hill country. Research included testing poplar and willow species for controlling gully and slip erosion, and using remote sensing – such as satellite imaging and aerial photography – to assess the effects of erosion on the landscape.’ (Source: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/TheSettledLandscape/ChangingTheLandscape/SoilErosionAndConservation/en )

In 1986 the Ministry of Works was disbanded and the work which had been done here was continued by a Crown Research Institute in Palmerston North.

The room used by ELIS was a laboratory and there is still evidence of its scientific use in the continuing presence of a workable extractor fan.


Thursday, July 23, 2009

International Trade Library no.3/4


The Jules Léger Library situated in Ottawa, Canada at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. It has as its main mandate support of the research needs of departmental employees both at Headquarters in Ottawa and at missions abroad. In addition, the Library supports the needs of Canadian and foreign clients conducting research in the subject areas mandated to the Department such as foreign affairs and international trade.
Also on the Canada Foreign Affairs and International Trade website is the Multimedia Centre:
This Centre holds a collection of podcasts and videos. CanadExport podcasts connect Canadian companies to industry experts and leaders in business, not to mention the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service—Canada's most comprehensive network of international business professionals. These podcasts explore hot topics as well as pan-sectoral exporting and investment opportunities, not to mention science and technology partnerships.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Trade happens



Photo: Simon Upton. Image from: http://4.bp.blogspot.com

In his column "Upton at Large" published in The Dominion Post and possibly in other New Zealand media, former New Zealand politician and former chair of the OECD's Round Table on Sustainable Development, Simon Upton wrote:

'Trade happens. It can significantly enlarge human welfare. It can also be a conduit for new and intensified environmental pressures.' July 14, 2009 The Dominion Post p.B5

He suggests that the ECA or environmental cooperation agreement which accompanied New Zealand's Free Trade Agreement with China, could provide New Zealand with a valuable platform for exporting expertise and environmental technologies.

I find Simon Upton's columns worth reading - they are well-written and I think 'wise'.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Why BLOG?



Photo: Sushrutha Metikurke Hole in fence, Wellington

I've been looking at Valeria Maltoni's 'e-book' called "Why Blog + 25 tips to make it work" which I downloaded from http://www.conversationagent.com/ Thanks Conversation Agent - I've found it pretty useful - it makes some simple but obvious suggestions which I have already put in to operation. It also highlights some gaps in my understanding...

Friday, July 3, 2009

A TraLIS? What's that?

Diagram: Graeme Siddle. Click to enlarge.
It is a library and information service which serves the needs of people who work at all levels of international trade. This is what it looks like diagrammatically. It may be located in a company, a government organisation or an educational institution.
Central to its success is a person with qualifications and experience in librarianship or information and knowledge management. A trade library and information service staffed by a suitably qualified and expereinced person is able to match a person's information need with appropriate resources in the format that delivers the best result. This may be a book, image or academic peer-reveiwed journal in electronic format.
A TraLIS ideally would include an information portal which presents gateways to evaluated sources of trade information, but a website or information portal alone is not a TraLIS.
It would also include a catalogue which recorded available resources particularly but not exclusively in digital formats. The catalogue software used would make it possible for the TraLIS manager to fully exploit information sources with subject headings, tags and analytical entries. www.ets.kohalibrary.com/ - the New Zealand School of Export Library catalogue using Koha software is an example of how this can be done.
A Trade Library Information Service would also be embedded within an organisation which includes experts such as practitioners in all aspects of international trade, or teaching staff and adjunct faculty. They are living information sources which the enquirer can tap into through links made by the TraLIS manager.

Can you add or expand, critique this explanation?

Thursday, July 2, 2009

International Trade Library no.2


JETRO Business Library is the second featured trade library and information service. It is located across the JETRO Tokyo and Osaka headquarter offices, and has a wide selection of materials and resources devoted to international trade, business and investment, including numerous Japanese and foreign books, newspapers and magazines. Library users can also access commercial online databases, company directories and CD-ROMs containing recent trade and economic data.
The OPAC is searchable in English: http://tinyurl.com/myjsx8