We are big supporters of nonprofits in general both here on ResourceShelf and over on DocuTicker, our sister site. Thus, we are huge fans of the Foundation Center. This is a venerable institution; in operation since 1956, it's currently supported by roughly 550 foundations and is widely recognized as a pre-eminent authority on "organized philanthropy."
There is an avalanche of useful information on the Foundation Center's website, and most of it is free. We thought we'd give a little love to the Catalog of Nonprofit Literature -- formerly known as Literature of the Nonprofit Sector (LNPS) -- this week.
The Catalog of Nonprofit Literature is a searchable database of the literature of philanthropy. It incorporates the unique contents of the Foundation Center's five libraries and contains approximately 28,000 full bibliographic citations, of which nearly 20,000 have descriptive abstracts. It is updated daily.
The basic search form offers a standard keyword search that allows for the use of standard boolean operators. Use the radio buttons to either search everything or restrict your search to full-text resources only. To the right are links to more information and/or help, including a guided tour, a bibliography of periodicals, and a quick look at recently added items.
The "standard search" is actually an advanced search form offerings several more options that facilitate a more precise query. If you click on the buttons labeled "Index," a window pops up with a directory of relevant subject terms. Nicely done!
Though there are full-text resources in this database, many other items are not available online. They can be viewed at the Foundation Center's headquarters in New York City, its national collection in Washington, D.C., or its field offices in Atlanta, Cleveland, and San Francisco. These libraries are freely open to the public; no appointment is necessary to use them. If none of these locations is convenient, you might want to try one of the center's 400 "Cooperating Collections" -- most located at public or academic libraries around the country, as well as in Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, South Korea, and Thailand. (If your institution is interested in housing a cooperative collection, The Foundation Center is currently soliciting applications.)
By the way, don't leave this website without a look at the wonderful collection of Links to Nonprofit Resources. The navigation links on the right make it easy for you to browse by subject category; major subject headings are:
The FreePint Family is a family of resources to help information workers be more effective, raise the value of information in their organisations and contribute to success.
'FreePint... provides most of my professional development because it won't come through work and [other resources] just don't cut it.'
FUMSI Forum: Do you have a research question? Post it to the FUMSI Forum, where professionals share Q&A and useful tips on how to Find, Use, Manage and Share Information. It's free.
FreePint Shop:
VIP LiveWire:
