Public Library Association (PLA) 2008 National Conference was just held in Minneapolis, March 25-29. Because it has gone paperless, many presenter handouts are available online and can be downloaded by clicking here. Check it it out!

Exploring this growing field can help you create a medical family tree, understand ethnicity & inherited disease and determine your DNA heritage & ancient roots!

All About BIrds has a Birding 123 class or get outside and view migrating birds at the MN Valley Wildlife Refuge along the Mississippi River. Check out their calendar of events for birdwatching walks.

Check out the winners in comedy, creative, instruction, politics, etc.  I've seen a few, but I 'need' to watch the rest....

At Autotropolis; see top-10 value cars, top-10 highway cars and top-10 family cars.  You don't have to stop there, though.  Look at 15 more top-10 lists.

Reading in a foreign language is a great way to acquire new vocabulary.  Both the suburban and city libraries collect books and DVDs in over 10 foreign languages.

In beta is Photoshop Express from Adobe, free!  Give it a shot if you need to do some photo editing.

The 2008 Annual Report from the Social Security Board of Trustees was released on March 25.  It is available on the Social Security Website.  Get updated on the long range financial outlook for Social Security benefits.

If you're on Facebook, check out the new privacy controls.  Read about it on the Facebook blog and the TechCrunch blog.

This Yale University exhibition and web site explores the lives of women artists who set in motion lasting aesthetic and cultural practices.

MIT's Technology Review has identified 10 emerging technologies that they believe will be particularly important over the next few years.  The technologies either solve problems, present new ways of looking at problems, are "just" new and cool things like wireless power.

CNNMoney.com has a series on the slumping economy and how it may affect you.  Includes the mortgage crisis, the Federal Reserve and their actions, tax rebates, jobs and more.  Have the problems with the economy hit home? The U of MN Extension service provides a series of fact sheets on Getting Through Tough Times.  Find tips on financial decisions, dealing with stress, how to stretch your dollars, finding jobs and more.

Sunshine Week is devoted to freedom of information and open government. The Minnesota Department of Education is a great place for citizens to access free information about education in Minnesota.

Library staff of HCL Minneapolis compiled a brief illustrated history of Minneapolis newspapers.

Our Lands and People online database, provides articles on countries, cultures, current events, and more.

Watch the new 35W bridge as it is constructed. 

All the ACT and SAT study guides checked out of the library? Try an online practice test using LearningExpressLibrary, available from the Library's website 24/7.

Considering the high-tech online options offered by your Bank?  Take a look at the Ask questions about high-tech banking services page from the U of MN Extension service before you decide.

Looking for info on a particular Culture?  Check out Yahoo! Cultures.  There are over 150 cultures to choose from in this large directory of links.  Choose by country, category or region.

Have you played FreeRice yet?  For every word you get right on this vocabulary quiz, the website donates 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program.

Ready for spring, sun, and gardening? Get a head start. Plant Information Online lets you search for plant and seed sources, articles about plants, images, and nurseries.

The United States Geological Survey  website has links to national and state maps of flood and high flow water conditions.  Real time data for Minnesota stream flows is posted on  the USGS site every 1-4 hours.

The Minnesota State High School League provides tournament schedules and results.

Or use this poll as I did, to find out some cool new apps you might be able to use....

Learning English? Check out Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day.  Site also includes pronunciation exercises and commonly confused words.

National (PLA) Public Library Association conference meets in Minneapolis this year, March 23-29.  See the PLA website for details.

Don't forget to "Spring" your clock ahead one hour on March 9th.  For some interesting facts about this annual adjustment to our time, check out the Information Please Almanac online.

You can now access the Value Line Investment Survey from your home or office.  Click on the link under Top Databases on this screen and use the  barcode number listed on your library card to be connected to Value Line.  Print copies are still available at 17 library locations.  Questions?  Call 952-847-5669.

Pricegrabber.com helps you compare prices and get consumer reviews on many popular products.  Site includes merchant coupons and rebates.

The ACLU's Women's Rights Project focuses on four core areas: employment, violence against women, criminal justice, and education.  Links to recent news events and other features regarding women's rights are included.

Alexander Street provides the content for the database Classical Music Library, linked below.  Check out their blog for free classical music downloads. 

March is National Women's History Month!  The National Women's History Project provides a Women's History Calendar as well as links to other sites.

Separate fact from fiction on the campaign trail at PolitiFact.com.  From a collaboration between The St. Petersburg Times and  Congressional Quarterly. Also check out the Truth-O-Meter section.

The Library of Congress has posted more than 3,000 images on Flickr to ask for help in tagging the pictures to increase access to the collections.  This project, The Commons, has some excellent photos.  View, tag, and comment on the collections here.

Want to learn more about  Nanotechnology?  Visit the Project on Emerging Nanotechnology  website for Nano 101. This informational website provides news, events, links to academic publications and inventories of nanotechnologies.