Contained on this website are Codes for more than 1,600 local governments (105 from North Carolina) in searchable online databases. Includes advanced and boolean search options. A few jurisdictions provide access to minutes and specialized ordinances. A multiple code search feature is also available by subscription.
March 4, 2007
Sharing Water in Times of Scarcity: Guidelines and Procedures in the Development of Effective Agreements to Share Water Across Political Boundaries
When two or more independent governments share a common water resource, the timing and magnitude of the respective individual uses can be continual sources of conflict. Water scarcity is evident throughout much of the western United States and consequently water sharing between the states is expanding in scope. The growing use of shared water resources is often a major source of legal and political conflict. The problem is magnified in the international area. In 1995, ASCE initiated the Shared Use of Transboundary Water Resources (SUTWR) Project, whose purpose was to review existing transboundary water sharing agreements and develop …
January 17, 2007
Electronic Records Management
Strategies and practices for local government. With electronic records come new challenges for records management: risks and liabilities associated with e-mail use, high risk of loss from technical threats, terrorist attacks, or natural disasters, short life expectancy of the hardware and software, higher demand for technical expertise, new concerns with employees who have the freedom to create, store, modify, and delete records, privacy and security issues.
Julian L. Mims III (editor)
Washington, DC: ICMA Press, 2006.
160 pages. ISBN: 0-87326-147-X.
December 20, 2006
North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics
SCHS collects, analyzes, and publishes North Carolina health statistics including vital records (births, deaths, marriages, and divorces), county level information, data on cancer and birth defects, and the North Carolina Health Atlas.
December 10, 2006
Super-Scenic Motorway: A Blue Ridge Parkway History
The most visited site in the National Parks system, the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway winds along the ridges of the Appalachian mountains in Virginia and North Carolina. According to popular myth, the Parkway was a New Deal “godsend for the needy,” built without conflict or opposition by landscape architects and planners who traced their uniform vision along a scenic, isolated southern landscape. The historical archives relating to this massive public project, however, tell a different story…
December 1, 2006
Using Our Blog’s RSS Feed
Since RSS is a fairly new type of technology, here is a short tutorial on using the RSS feature to receive blog updates.
First, you need to access what is known as an RSS feed reader. There are web-based readers and desktop readers. We would recommend a web-based reader, because these readers allow you to access your chosen feeds wherever there is a computer with an internet connection. Desktop readers need to be downloaded and can only be used at the computer you download them on. Furthermore, many desktop readers require payment to get the full version. Some popular web-based readers include My Yahoo, Bloglines, and Google Reader.
Once you have set up an account with an online reader, or downloaded a desktop reader, your next step is to subscribe to feeds on websites that you like. In general, you can access any site’s feed url by clicking on one of these icons; 
, 
, or 
. Then you just copy the feed url into your feed reader, and the reader will update anytime a new story is posted on the site that you have subscribed to. By subscribing to many site’s feeds, you can read all the new content from your favorite sites on your reader without having to visit each site individually.
So, to subscribe to the Library Blog’s RSS feed, just copy our feed’s url into your reader. Here’s the url – http://knapplibrary.wordpress.com/feed. Once you subscribe, your reader will be updated whenever we add a new post to the blog.
November 17, 2006
Managing Urban America, Sixth Edition
Morgan, England, and Pelissero offer a forward-looking account of the new urban management environment. In a comprehensive update, the authors have reorganized the book’s structure to better fit the challenges facing today’s cities, and make even greater use of systems theory as an analytic framework. Featuring discussions of the New Public Management model, the impacts of globalization, changes in service delivery, urban planning, economic development, and program evaluation, they discuss key productivity enhancements that emphasize results and accountability. The authors then focus on the impact of citizen participation, e-government, the events of 9/11, and intergovernmental relations as examples of significant environmental factors that impinge on the management of modern cities.
http://www.cqpress.com/product/Managing-Urban-America-6th-Edition.html
November 9, 2006
2006 North Carolina Election Results
The 2006 election season has come to a close. You can use some of these resources to check out the results for the state of North Carolina:
- North Carolina State Board of Elections Results Page
- North Carolina General Assembly Website
- News and Observer Elections Page
For nationwide results, check some of these sites:
November 1, 2006
Imperfect Institutions
In Imperfect Institutions, Thrainn Eggertsson, Professor of Economics at the University of Iceland and Global Distinguished Professor of Politics at New York University, analyzes why institutions that create relative economic backwardness emerge and persist. Additionally, he considers the limits of institutional reform and proposes that imperfect social institutions are the problem when it comes to many nations not enjoying the full benefits of the technological revolution. http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=91126.
November 1, 2006
Federal Citizen Information Center
If you have a question about the federal government or about the government’s take on various consumer issues, the Federal Citizen Information Center is a good place to look for the answer. The Center is a department of the General Services Administration, an independent agency of the United States government. The Center bills itself as “a trusted one-stop source for answers to questions about consumer problems and government services.” Check out the Center at www.pueblo.gsa.gov.
