ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C& RL N ew s ■ M arch 2001 / 299 IN T E R N E T R E S O U R C E S Gerontology and the aging population Online information for professionals and the public by Mary Cassner A ccording to a U.S. Census Bureau re­port, “by the middle of the next cen­ tury, it might be completely inaccurate to think of ourselves as a Nation of the young: there could be more persons who are eld­ erly (65 or o ld er) than young (14 or younger) .”1 In 1900, men and women aged 65 or older comprised 4 percent of the total population; by 2000 they accounted for nearly 13 percent of the total population. The most rapidly growing segment is the “oldest old,” age 85 and over.2 Gerontology is multidisciplinary in nature and includes the study of biological, psycho­ logical, social, and environmental aspects of aging.3 Because of the multidisciplinary na­ ture of gerontology and its ever-increasing body of knowledge, practitioners and re­ searchers sometimes have difficulty access­ ing the information the field encompasses.4 There is a growing gap between what is gen­ erally known about aging populations and the knowledge and information readily avail­ able and accessible to professionals who work in the field of gerontology.5 Researchers who study the aging popula­ tion, policymakers, and community leaders must have a good understanding of the health, economic, and social needs of the elderly. Seniors and their family members want easy access to the resources and services that af­ fect them. An increasing amount of informa­ tion is available via the Internet. Although some of the resources listed in this article are of interest only to professionals in the aging field, many others should be useful to the general public. My list of Internet resources for gerontology and the aging population is not meant to be comprehensive, but a place to begin when seeking information on this topic. S ta rt in g p o in ts The sites listed below are good places to be­ gin locating information on gerontology and the aging population. • AARP Guide to Internet Resources Re­ lated to Aging. This Internet guide was pro­ duced by AARP, the American Association of Retired Persons. It will be of interest to sen­ iors, and provides a good overview for pro­ fessionals in the gerontology field. General topics covered include Web sites, electronic lists, newsgroups, electronic periodicals, and Internet search tools. Each suggested resource contains an annotated description. Title and sub­ ject indexes are available. Access: http://www. aarp.org/cyber/general.htm. Mary Cassner is subject specialist librarian a t the University hortAbout he aut o f Nebraska-Lincoln, e-mail: mcassner1@unl.edu http://www mailto:mcassner1@unl.edu 300 / C & R L N e w s ■ M arch 2001 • GeroWeb Virtual lib r a ry o n Aging. The GeroInformatics Workgroup at the Wayne State University Institute of Gerontology spon­ sors this site. Web sites can be located through keyword search or a subject search of 46 cat­ egories. Exam ples o f categories include caregiving, family issues, gerontology, law/ public policy, medicine/health care, research, and social services. Sites tend to be all-inclu­ sive and list national, regional, and local re­ sources. The sites are annotated and include the date each entry was checked. A unique feature is hotlinks that enable users to com­ ment on the listing of specific sites. Access: http://w w w .iog.w ayne.edu/G eroW ebd/ GeroWeb.html. The In G stit e ute r o o f G W erontology Presents • Web Sites o n Ag e in b g. ™ This comprehe sive resource is sponsored by the Adminis­ tration on Aging (AoA) and contains five dis­ tinct sections. The first section, “Internet In­ formation Notes,” was developed for seniors and their caregivers as well as for profes­ sionals. Information is arranged alphabetically by subject. Each subject contains a short de­ scription followed by main headings. For ex­ ample, adult day services (also known as adult day care) contains the following headings: consumer information, consumer guides, state and local service provider directories, statis­ tics, organizations and industry standards, and publications and articles. Many of the Web sites listed link to full-text fact sheets or other materials. The second section, “State and Area Agencies on Aging,” is arranged by state and provides links to agencies on aging. The third section, “Federal Agency Consumer Web Sites of Interest to Older Adults,” provides links to federal agencies and their information re­ sources. The fourth section, “Metasites,” lists other comprehensive sites on aging. The fi­ nal section, “Related Resources on the AoA Web Site” includes Resource Directory for Older Persons; Retirement and Financial Plan­ ning: Online Resources; Online Statistical Data on the Aging; Eldercare Locator; and Internet Development for the Aging Network: Online Resources. Access: http://www.aoa.dhhs.gov/ agingsites. n A s s o c ia tio n s an d o r g a n iz a t io n s • AARP: Am erican Association o f Re­ tired P erson s. This large, well-known orga­ nization provides information and advocacy for people age 50 and older. Some of the main cat­ egories found on the site include computers and technology, health and wellness, legislative is­ sues, leisure and fun, life transitions, money and work, research and reference, and the volunteer experience. Each category contains features such as news articles, print and online resources, and opportunities for further participation locally, na­ tionally, or through online chats. Access: http:// www.aaip.org. • Alzheimer’s Association. The mission of this organization is to work toward the elimi­ nation of Alzheimer’s disease through the ad­ vancement of research while offering support to affected individuals and their families. From the homepage, users may select from the fol­ lowing options: “People with Alzheimer’s,” “Family Caregivers & Friends,” “Physicians & ­ Health Care Professionals,” “Researchers,” and “Media.” The online glossary of terms related to Alzheimer’s may be helpful for users. Infor­ mation on the Benjamin B. Green-Field Library and Resource Center, as well as its online cata­ log, is found on the Alzheimer’s Association Web site. The library collects and lends mate­ rials on Alzheimer’s and provides information to professionals and the general public. A c­ cess: http://www.alz.org. • A m e rica n G e ria trics S ociety. The American Geriatrics Society is an organization of health care professionals seeking to improve the well-being and health of seniors. It pro­ motes research, shapes health care policies for the elderly, and provides educational oppor­ tunities for geriatrics professionals and the pub­ lic. Access: http://www.americangeriatrics.org. • G erontological Society o f Am erica. This organization seeks to promote the study of aging and to disseminate research findings to other investigators, practitioners, and policy­ and opinion-makers. Included in this Web site is information on foundations and grants, data resources for gerontology, an annotated list of online resources on the aging population, and job openings in gerontology. The site also pro­ vides links to the Student Organization, the Association for Gerontology in Higher Educa­ tion, which is an educational unit o f the Gerontological Society, and to the National Academy on an Aging Society, a policy insti- http://www.iog.wayne.edu/GeroWebd/ http://www.aoa.dhhs.gov/ http://www.aaip.org http://www.alz.org http://www.americangeriatrics.org C& RL N ew s ■ M arch 2001 / 301 tute of the organization. Access: http://www. geron.org. G overnm ent and g o ve rn m e n t­ related sites • FirstGov for Seniors. Created and main­ tained by the Social Security Administration, the goal of this portal site is to provide seniors electronic access to government services and benefits. The sites listed are not limited to fed­ eral agencies but also include links to other sites for seniors, such as state agencies and nonprofit organizations. Each page contains a sidebar offering a quick keyword search op­ tion as well as drop-down boxes with links to nearly 100 federal agencies, other federal por­ tals, and a senior site for each state. Users also can select from 12 subject categories. The health and retirement planner categories are especially well developed and contain useful sites. Access: http://www.seniors.gov. • Administration on Aging. This division within the Department of Health and Human Services is an advocate for seniors and their concerns. In this role, the Administration on Aging works closely with other federal agen­ cies, as well as state and area agencies on ag­ ing, to develop community services to meet the needs of older Americans and their caregivers. The agency’s homepage is orga­ nized into four sections— “Information for Older Persons and Their Families,” “Practitio­ ners and Other Professionals,” the “Aging Net­ work,” and “Researchers and Students.” Ac­ cess: http://www.aoa.dhhs.gov. • National Institute on Aging. Part of the National Institutes of Health, this agency con­ ducts and supports studies related to aging, disseminates research findings, and provides research training. Professionals in the aging field may be interested in the links for current grant and training opportunities. The Web site provides links to the Alzheimer’s Disease Edu­ cation & Referral Center (ADEAR). The center, a service of the National Institute on Aging, provides information on Alz-heimer’s disease to professionals and the general public. Ac­ cess: http://www.nih.gov/nia. • U.S. Senate Special Committee on Ag­ ing. This committee conducts studies related to the concerns of seniors such as health, in­ come, and housing. Information on the site includes the committee’s hearings and press releases, a status report of bills before the Sen­ ate, and congressional publications of interest to seniors. The Web site also contains infor­ mation on the fraud hotline maintained by the Committee on Aging. This hotline seeks to learn of fraud, waste, and abuse programs affecting older Americans. Access: http://www.senate. gov/~aging. Statistical in fo rm ation • Centers for Disease Control and Pre­ vention. National Center for Health Statis­ tics. Aging Activities. This Web site includes health data related to the aging population. There are links to “Trends in Health and Ag­ ing,” a database providing information on the health status of seniors, and to Longitudinal Studies of Aging, surveys intended to measure changes in health status and behaviors. Ac­ cess: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/agingact.htm. • Older Americans 2000: Key Indicators o f Well-Being. The Federal Forum on Aging­ Related Statistics produced this study. The re­ port provides information on various aspects of seniors, including population, health care, health status, health risks and behaviors, and eco­ nomics. Access: http://www.agingstats.gov. • Profile o f Older Americans. Currently prepared by the Administration on Aging, this annual report provides a variety of statistical data: current population and projected growth, marital status, living arrangements, racial and ethnic composition, geographic distribution, income, housing, employment, education, and health. Access: http://www.aoa.gov/aoa/stats/ profile. • U.S. Census Bureau. A great deal of information on the aging population is avail­ able from the “Age Data” section of the Cen­ sus Bureau. Often, this information consists of full-text reports in pdf format. Specific titles include Older P opulation in the United States, 65+ in the United States, and Centenarians in the http://www http://www.seniors.gov http://www.aoa.dhhs.gov http://www.nih.gov/nia http://www.senate http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/agingact.htm http://www.agingstats.gov http://www.aoa.gov/aoa/stats/ 3 0 2 / C& RL N ew s ■ M arch 2001 United States. Access: http://www.census.gov/ population/www/socdemo/age.html. E le c tro n ic jo u rn a ls/n e w sle tte rs Many publishers provide electronic access to institutions or individuals subscribing to the paper versions of their journals. Listed be­ low are some electronic journals or newslet­ ters that provide free full-text articles without a subscription requirement. • AARP Bulletin, Modem Maturity, My Generation. All three publications are published by AARP and are available from the organization's homepage. Access: http://www.aarp.org. • Aging Today, Generations. Both are published by the American Society on Ag­ ing, a large multidisciplinary network of pro­ fessionals in the field of aging. Aging Today, a bimonthly newspaper, makes approxi­ mately two-thirds of its articles available full­ text. Generations, published quarterly, is the official journal of the American Society on Aging. Only 14 articles are currently avail­ able full-text. The titles can be accessed online from the organization’s home page. Access: http://www.asaging.org. • Connections. This quarterly newsletter is published by the Alzheimer’s Disease Edu­ cation & Referral Center, a service of the Na­ tional Institute on Aging. The publication can be accessed from the organization’s homepage. Access: http://www.alzheimers.org. • E ld erW eb .co m N ew sletter. Karen Stevenson Brown, developer of the ElderWeb site, publishes this weekly newsletter. It is available for free via e-mail subscription or from the ElderW eb hom ep age. A ccess: http://www.elderweb.com. • Gerontology News. This newsletter is a publication of the Gerontological Society of America. It can be accessed from the organization’s homepage. Access: http://www.geron.org . D isc u s s io n lists • AGELIS-L. This discussion list is the Al­ liance of Gerontology/Geriatric Educators, Librarians, and Information Specialists List. It seeks to serve as a professional support fo­ rum for librarians, educators, researchers, and other professionals to facilitate access to litera­ ture and resources in gerontology and geriat­ rics. Access: listproc@usc.edu; subject: blank; subscribe agelis-l first name last name (in body). • GERINET. The name of this discussion list is the Geriatric Health Care On-Line Dis­ cussion Group. All individuals who are in­ terested in good health care for older adults may join this list, including health and other professionals, caregivers, and patients. A c­ cess: listserv@listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu; subject: blank; subscribe gerinet first name last name (in body). O th e r s ite s o f in te re st • ElderWeb. ElderWeb is the largest and oldest eldercare and aging sourcebook on the Web. It serves as a research tool for profes­ sionals and seniors and their families. This site provides access to information on eldercare and long-term care, including financial, hous­ ing, legal, and medical issues. Among the 6,000 entries are links to full-text articles from the ElderWeb Newsletterand publications from a wide variety of agencies, newspapers, and journals. Access: http://www.elderweb.com. • Foundations Supporting Aging Re­ search . Compiled by the Gerontological So­ ciety of America, this annotated list of foun­ dations may be useful to researchers seeking grant opportunities. Access: http://www.geron. org/found.html • National Archives o f Computerized Data o n Aging. Funded by the National In­ stitute on Aging, this data archive’s mission is to advance research on aging by acquiring and preserving relevant data sets, facilitating data use for researchers, and furnishing user support and technical services. The archive can be searched by keyword, subject, title, principal investigator, or study number. “Links to Related Web Sites” provides links to each of the ten National Institute on Aging’s centers on the Demography of Aging. Several of these centers also provide data set information. Ac­ cess: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/NACDA. N otes 1. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Sixty-five Plus in the United States; May 1995, rev. Sept. 2000. http://www.census.gov/socdemo/www/ agebrief.html (January 15, 2001). http://www.census.gov/ http://www.aarp.org http://www.asaging.org http://www.alzheimers.org http://www.elderweb.com http://www.geron.oig mailto:listproc@usc.edu mailto:listserv@listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu http://www.elderweb.com http://www.geron http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/NACDA http://www.census.gov/socdemo/www/ C& RL N ew s ■ M arch 2001 / 303 2. Ibid, 1-2. 3. Wendy Diliberti and Ann Rimkus, Thesau­ rus o f Aging Terminology, 6th ed. (Washington, D.C.: American Association of Retired Persons, 1997), 50. 4. Dorothea R. Zito, Myron Miller, and Charles ( “B o a r d a ctio n s” con tin u ed fr o m p a g e 294) the University of Wisconsin Library system that reduced expenses—and a corresponding reduc­ tion in revenues due to reduced registration fees. A p p roved allo ca tio n s to su p p o rt tw o ACRL programs: 1) a two-day Institute for Infor­ mation Literacy Immersion program faculty re­ treat to be held in San Francisco prior to the 2001 ALA Annual Conference— $3,780; and 2) a satel­ lite program on the Harvard campus for U.S. and international academic librarians during the 2001 IFLA Conference in Boston—$16,400. Allocated $ 2 0 ,0 0 0 to establish a publicity campaign directed at academic administra­ tors and faculty about the vitality and value of academic libraries. Voted to pursue external funding for ACRL’s Best Practices in Information Literacy National Working Conference, and asked that the Budget and Finance Committee review the financial im­ plications should outside funding not be received. G overnm ent relations Endorsed th e resolution o n LSTA Reau­ thorization. Voted to recognize that the ALA Resolution on Internet Filtering is pertinent and relevant to academic libraries and librarians and is reflective of their commitment to intellectual freedoms and to local library control and expressed support of an assertive role for ALA in communicating the concerns of the entire association to appropriate agencies and individuals and an equally asser­ tive role in challenging the pertinent legislation. Partnerships Formed a task force consisting of represen­ tatives from AASL, ACRL, and LIRT to further three priorities: 1) joint publication of the AASL and ACRL “Standards for Information Literacy”; 2) joint professional development opportunities; and 3) joint award for collabo­ ration in information literacy. Herrera, “Special Resource Centers in Ger­ ontology and Geriatrics,” B e h a v io r a l & S o­ c i a l S c ien ces L ib r a r ia n 4, no. 4 (1985): 6 1 - 6 6 . 5. Bill Bytheway, Ageism (Buckingham, En­ gland: Open University Press, 1995), ix. ■ Professional developm ent Approved proposals for six preconferences: RBMS 2002, 2003, and 2004; information lit­ eracy training 2002; Instruction Section 2002; and Advocacy 2002. Publications Approved in closed session, upon recom ­ mendation of the Publications Committee, the appointment of William Potter as editor of Col­ lege a n d Research Libraries, (C&RL). Potter will serve one year as an apprentice to current C&RL Editor Don Riggs. Potter becomes editor at the close of the ALA Annual Conference 2002. Research Approved in concept the designation o f a fund for supporting research on academic li­ braries and referred the matter to the ACRL Budget and Finance Committee for consider­ ation and recommendations. Standards Approved, upon recommendation from the Standards and Accreditation Committee, the re­ vised “Standards for Faculty Status for College and University Librarians”; “Guidelines for Col­ lective Bargaining” (see page 304); and with com­ mendations for its high-quality “Objectives for In­ formation Literacy Instruction.” ■ Delware Valley celebrates 50 years Whereas the Delaware Valley Chapter (founded as the Pennsylvania Chapter) was the first recognized ACRL chapter; whereas the Delaware Valley Chapter was estab­ lished in 1951 and has been continuously supportive of ACRL’s goals; therefore, be it resolved that the ACRL Board o f Direc­ tors congratulates the Delaware Valley chapter on 50 years of services to academic librarians in this region.