State and County Profiles on South Carolina State Agency Webpages

Many of the state agencies of South Carolina are posting both statistical and narrative profiles of the state and counties for the areas they address.  Once these profiles were only made available in print format, possibly monthly or quarterly, but more often only annually.  Now, however, the information can be posted quickly to the website, so that current information is more readily available.  Usually the data is presented in a format that is easy to print or download.  Some of the agencies that post state and/or county profiles include:

South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control

            SC DHEC reports on the status of health and presence of disease or risky behaviors at http://www.scdhec.gov/hs/epidata/county_reports.htm.  The page allows a user to choose a county or region and then view a list of reports.   The disease reports are color graphs for a region or trends in mortality for the state.

South Carolina Employment Security Commission

            SC ESC has three pages of county or labor area profiles.  County Spotlights (http://www.sces.org/lmi/Spotlights/index.asp ) are single page descriptions of the population, labor force, income, location and climate.  Workforce Investment Area (WIA) reports (http://www.sces.org/lmi/Spotlights/WIA/index.asp ) are similar to county spotlights, but are on 12 areas in South Carolina.  Information includes extended demographic and labor statistics.  Summary workforce information is reported monthly at http://www.sces.org/lmi/news/news.asp#Labor_Force_Data_by_Workforce_Investment_Area .

South Carolina Department of Commerce

            SC Department of Commerce has county and city profiles giving information for prospective businesses at http://www.sccommerce.com/SearchCommunityProfiles.aspx.   Simple search yields information by name or county.  Advanced search allows a user to specify ports or interstate locations or to limit reports by population or labor market.  Short reports on labor markets by place are also available (http://www.sccommerce.com/Searchlaborprofiles.aspx ).

South Carolina Department of Education

            SC Department of Education reports on the status of schools in the counties at http://ed.sc.gov/topics/researchandstats/schoolreportcard/ .  Choose the year desired, then the county.  On the county page there will be a links to a Printable pdf Report Card for the County  and to links for specific school reports.  Reports give enrollment and summary reports on annual exams.

South Carolina Office of Research and Statistics

            SC ORS receives information both from the state agencies and from the US Census Bureau.  Their page of Community Profiles (http://www.sccommunityprofiles.org/ ) provides statistical profiles at the state, county, place, zip code, and census tract levels.

These profiles of the state and counties provide valuable information.  However, in most cases only current information is available, as reports are merely updated as new information is acquired.  Because the agencies opt to update existing documents instead of creating new documents that can be saved for comparison, they create the risk that vital information about the state may be lost.  Agencies are encouraged to cooperate with the South Carolina State Library Depository System in efforts to identify and preserve the information about South Carolina and its residents.

Join in the South Carolina Arts Commission’s 40 Anniversary celebration by adding your favorites to the 40 Lists Project!  Visit 40 Lists Project to submit ideas for such lists as:

- an arts organization that has enhanced the quality of life through the arts

- a “non-arts” business that supports the arts

- an outstanding arts educator

- your favorite S.C. writer or poet

- your favorite place to enjoy or buy visual art

- your favorite way to express your creativity

A few lists generated by Arts Commission staff are already posted. Other lists results will be revealed in stages beginning in late November.  Don’t miss this chance to have your say about your favorites!

More than 200 print and electronic state documents were added to the State Library state documents collection during September.  Some particularly interesting publications that were part of the Depository System (Sufficient copies for depository libraries) included:

Divorce and the law.  SC Bar Association. (J8987B 2.D48)  This is a brief but informative brochure on the grounds for and process of obtaining a divorce in South Carolina.  There is no “divorce form” available through the courts, and individuals are advised to seek legal counsel for this procedure.

Jasper County Natural Resources Conservation Plan Department of Natural Resources (N2197 2.J17) This is a beautifully illustrated book of the status and history of various types of resources in Jasper County and outlines strategies and recommendations to preserve them in light of growing urbanization.

Quick Guide for Riverine Floodplains, Development, and Maps.  Department of natural Resources (N2197 2.Q84) This is a very usable guide covering the basics of watersheds and floodplains and showing factors to consider when development is proposed.  The pages are sturdy and secured in a spiral comb that allows the pages to lie flat.  It includes lots of graphs, statistics, bulleted items and drawings to illustrate important aspects.

Items added as electronic formats include:

General Records Retention Schedules for:

  Municipal Records

  County Records

  State Colleges and Universities

  State Agency Administrative Records

  State Agency Financial Records

  State Agency Personnel Records

  State Agency Data Processing and Electronic Records

S.C. Public Libraries Annual Statistics SCSL

www.statelibrary.sc.gov/scedocs/L6265/000459.pdf

Complete lists of items added to the documents collection for the month are posted on the State Documents Depository Shipping List and the South Carolina State Library - New Documents Not in Depository System.  For information on the South Carolina State Documents Depository System contact Elaine Sandberg, Government Documents Librarian.

The South Carolina Office of Human Resources is offering a new feature, HR Podcasts. These are short 3-5 minute MP3 audio files updated weekly and “intended to provide our customers knowledge on current HR issues in the HR community” Topics featured so far include Electronic Data Storage, the new E-Recruitment system, and Onboarding. Listen to them while you work!

blinks, a large video search engine, announced recently ” that a wide array of PBS streaming video content will now be indexed and easily searchable at www.blinkx.com.“”blinkx users can find PBS’ award-winning educational, news and public affairs streaming content online, and will be able to search a broad variety of documentaries and other popular PBS programs. They will also find an array of educational programming, including streaming content made for classroom learning.”

There is an enormous wealth of knowledge in public broadcasting, and an increasing amount is being found available online. Here are some other links that might be of interest if you are looking for video or audio content.

• PBS NewsHour-search streaming video by keyword and subject
• Washington Week-search video by keyword, subject, and panelist
• Julia Child: Lessons with Master Chefs-search by keyword, subject, guest chef, series, or even ingredient!
• A list of all PBS shows, many of which have video content, can be found here

For South Carolina related video and audio content, here are some great ETV links.

• South Carolina ETV Video on Demand-selected archived video
• South Carolina ETV Podcasts-audio shows on arts, culture, music, and more
• S0uth Carolina ETV webcasts-streaming video for selected shows, currently Making it Grow, Bluegrass Express, and South Carolina Statehouse coverage.

To celebrate the great weather, I went on a -very- spur of the moment trip to Savannah over the weekend. Usually I am a consummate travel planner, with all stops written out and Google maps to each dutifully printed out. So it was an adventure going to a mostly-new-to-me city without plans, or even a Georgia map.

But I had an ace up my sleeve. I knew that I-95 would have a wealth of knowledge waiting for me at the Georgia Visitor Center. They had more pamphlets, maps, coupons, and guide books than this girl knew what to do with. The staff was extremely pleasant and seemed knowledgeable from overheard conversations. I found a Savannah map and guide to restaurants and attractions.

But what does this have to do with South Carolina you say? I have passed the South Carolina Welcome Centers on the North Carolina and Georgia borders hundreds of times, but never thought to go -in-. After all, I know my own state right? I didn’t have a chance to go in on the way back, but I bet there are pamphlets and guides to tons of attractions and places right next door that I never think about going to or know much about.

The South Carolina Parks, Recreation, and Tourism department has a web page dedicated to the South Carolina Welcome Centers and lists some of the features you can find there: brochures, coupons, travel information, traffic information, maps, mail-drop, and AT&T international language line.

I love that in SC they are called “welcome centers” rather than “visitors centers” because I think South Carolinians could benefit from these services as well. This summer, on your way back from that vacation, stop in one and see if you can’t plan your next adventure closer to home.