14 things: links for October 3rd, 2013

Welcome to our roundup of topic links about digital literacy, technology, and related resources, as part of our 14 Things project.

Where'd that resource go?
The shutdown of the US government probably isn't news to you at this point, but you might not have realized that it affects a number of online resources, including census data (from census.gov), the Library of Congress websites and catalog, or the ERIC database (articles are still searchable on EBSCO, but links to the eric.ed.gov site won't work.)

Some further details:

• American Libraries explains the implications for libraries. 
• The Chronicle of Higher Education talks about implications for academia (especially if the shutdown continues for more than a few days)
• The UK's Guardian newspaper has a good summary of other effects.
• The Wayback Machine has made copies of the government websites from before the shutdown available. 

If you need help finding data from a government site, and can't find it, check in with us here at Mantor Library - we'd be glad to look at some alternate sources for you.

In other news: (a few interesting links of the week)

• Lifehacker explains 10 common tech questions and their answers (everything from battery life to using public wifi).
• Dear Author explores alternatives to GoodReads for tracking books you've read.
• If you've got a fondness for the macabre, Atlas Obscura is doing a series of articles on 31 Days of Halloween with articles about a wide range of intriguing topics. That link will also take you to articles from previous years. (Warning: some of the images on their site are graphic or horrific - you can generally guess based on the article topic.)

(Got a great link? You can leave a comment here, and we'll see it.)