E. Kaminaka
Agricultural Safety and Health Library
Cal Poly State University
The Agricultural Safety Institute at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, with funding from the Agricultural Personnel Management Program, has created a database that includes more than 2,300 titles of agricultural safety materials. Designed specifically to meet the needs of farm employers, but also expected to be useful to extension educators, private safety trainers, and others, the database will soon be ready for wide distribution. It provides information on materials ranging from video and audio cassettes to books and pamphlets to decals. About a third of the items listed are also available at the regional Agricultural Safety Library at Cal Poly. The information and materials came from over 100 organizations, such as extension offices, fertilizer companies, and commercial video producers.
The database will eventually be offered by the Agricultural Safety Institute on a high-density computer floppy disk (Macintosh or IBM-compatible) with a "smart" user interface to facilitate searching for information. At present, it is on disk only as a 909K text file that can be opened with a word-processing, spreadsheet, or database program. It can be searched by topic (such as dairy, packing house, tractors, chemicals), title, author, format (such as video, audio, or printed materials), size, or location (California or all states).
The disks will be offered at $10 each, based on costs for time, materials, and the user interface software. Printouts of the entire 500-page printed list, or of specific parts searched upon request, will also be obtainable at cost. Use of the library is free by appointment, and non-copyrighted material can be copied at cost.
For more information, contact Dr. Richard Cavaletto, Agricultural Safety Institute, Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93420 (phone: 805/756-2384; e-mail: rcavalet@oboe.aix.calpoly.edu).
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