Happy 2009 gentle readers! We're back to work and hoping to make FGI even better in 2009. Chella Vaidyanathan (full bio) from University of Miami is our guest blogger for January 2009. Take it away Chella!

Chella Vaidyanathan is the subject liaison librarian for History, Political Science, U.S. Govt. Information, International Documents, and GIS at the University of Miami. She enjoys teaching course-specific library instruction sessions for her assigned subject areas. Chella completed her MLS from the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) in December 2006. Moreover, she has a Master of Arts in Modern European History, a Master of Philosophy in History, and a Master of Arts in Indian/South Asian History. At McKeldin Library in UMCP, Chella worked as the GIS Graduate Assistant in the Department of U.S. Gov. Information, Maps, & GIS Services, where she also served at the reference desk and helped patrons locate government information. Since then, she has always been very interested in teaching and promoting government documents.

Hi all. We had a guest blogger lined up for the month of december, but unfortunately he had to withdraw at the last minute. So we'll start up again next month with a new guest blogger. For this month, we'll put all blog posts front and center! Let us know if you'd like to be a guest blogger. Email us: admin AT freegovinfo DOT info. That is all.

Well, November's here and you know what that means ... tofurkey! oh and a new guest blogger :-) This month we welcome to the podium Rikhei Harris, government documents librarian at Grand Valley State University (see her full bio here). Can't wait to read what's on Rikhei's radar. Take it away Rikhei!

Thanks also to our October guest blogger, James Turk. James started some good conversations, and spread the good word about APIs, earmarks and the advantages of open data. Thanks JT!

When Laura "Rikhei" Harris received her M.S. in Information from the University of Michigan in 2004, she had no idea that one day she would be the Government Documents Librarian at Grand Valley State University. Since taking on this role, Laura has become increasingly interested in the statistical information produced and provided by government agencies, and is now considering pursuing a degree in statistics. Her other academic interests include usability and using emerging technologies to improve library workflow and library services. She also blogs at Llyfrgellydd.

Wow it's October already! And that can only mean one thing: Polls are open in Ohio!! Ok, I guess it means 2 things: It also means we've got a new guest blogger to introduce. So without further ado, let's welcome James Turk to the podium. James comes to us from the Sunlight Labs (full bio here), makers of such fine projects as Visualizing Earmarks, Capitol Words, Fortune 535, PoliQuiz and of course PublicMarkup.org. We're really excited to read what's on James Turk's mind. Take it away James!

We'd also like to thanks Starr Hoffman, our guest for September. Starr started a number of good conversations (see below) all while juggling classes, work at University of North Texas and myriad other things. You're a Rock Starr!!

James Turk is a Web Developer for Sunlight Labs. The focus of his work is web application development, including distributed research projects such as EarmarkWatch.org, he also maintains the Sunlight Labs API (http://services.sunlightlabs.com/api/). He earned his Bachelor of Science in computer science from the Rochester Institute of Technology where he also studied Political Science and Public Policy. Before joining the Sunlight Labs, he also spent time working at Project Vote Smart. He spends a good part of his time, both at work and elsewhere hacking away at government data of all types.

Hi all. We're starting a little late this month due to the labor day holiday. Please welcome to the podium Starr Hoffman, digital librarian from the University of North Texas (more bio here). Take it away Starr!

And we really need to thank Acting Superintendent of Documents, Ric Davis for joining us last month. Ric posted quite a few interesting and thought-provoking posts (below). This was a great opportunity for Ric and the Government Printing Office to reach out to the library community, so I would strongly suggest that readers go to those posts and submit comments. Thanks again, Ric. We really appreciate your efforts!

Starr Hoffman is Librarian for Digital Collections at the University of North Texas Libraries. She is responsible for maintaining UNT's Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports Archive and the CyberCemetery, a NARA-affiliated archive of defunct government websites, and is also the Web Administrator for ALA GODORT. Starr received her Master of Library Science and Master of Art History from the University of North Texas, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Higher Education. Her research interests include web archiving, distance learning, digital collections, library marketing, and graphic novels. She also writes the Geeky Artist Librarian blog… and it’s rumored that sometimes she finds the time to sleep.

And now the moment you've all been waiting for when we unveil our special guest blogger this month. So please welcome to the podium Ric Davis, acting Superintendent of Documents and Director of Library Services & Content Management at the U.S. Government Printing Office(read more of Ric's bio here). We're really excited to have Ric blogging for us and look forward to the conversations this month. Take it away Ric!

Ric Davis currently serves as the Acting Superintendent of Documents while continuing to serve as Director of Library Services and Content Management at the U.S. Government Printing Office. Davis coordinates and administers a variety of GPO initiatives, including the Federal Depository Library Program, the Cataloging and Indexing Program, the International Exchange Service and the ByLaw Program. Additionally, he manages GPO Access, GPO's Web site that is a leading source of free and official Government information.

We've got a special treat in store for the month of August with a very special blogger of the month. I'm not going to tell yet, but suffice it to say, it's gonna be BIG! So stay tuned :-)

Hi all. We're taking a little guest blogger holiday for the month of July. FGI volunteers will continue to post to the center column. We have a *really* special guest lined up for August, so stay tuned for that! HUGE thanks to the Stanford Law Librarians, who graciously took 2 rounds of BOTM! And as always, if you're interested in being a guest blogger, please email us at admin AT freegovinfo DOT info.

You may also have noticed that we've got a new look. We just thought it was time for a little spruced-up look and feel, sort of like a new shirt :-) We're still the same old FGI underneath. Let us know what you think by leaving us a comment.

Happy May Day (whether you observe International Workers' Day or the lesser known Loyalty Day)!!

This month we have a special treat for you: a group of law librarians from Stanford have agreed to be group bloggers-of-the-month for May, 2008. The group includes Paul Lomio, Brian Provenzale, Erika Wayne, Kate Wilko, and George Wilson -- see the Stanford Law Librarians' bios for more on what they do and where their interests lie. We're really looking forward to reading what's on the minds of these good folks.

Thanks also to Frank Lester, our BOTM for April, 2008! Below is the recap of the threads that Frank got started.

• Court Invalidates Part of Copyright Remedy Clarification Act
• HHS Appeals Ruling That Would Give Consumers More Access to Physician Medicare Claims Database
• Consumer Satisfaction with E-Government on the Downturn

Remember, if you're interested in taking a turn at the BOTM podium, please email us at admin AT freegovinfo DOT info.

Take it away Stanford Law Librarians!!

J. Paul Lomio is library director and lecturer at law at Stanford Law School. Paul hates paying for government information twice -- once as a taxpayer, and then again as a library director forced to purchase government produced information. Paul has graduate degrees in law from Gonzaga Law School and the University of Washington and a masters of library and information science from the Catholic University of America. Paul was admitted to the Washington State Bar. He is the author (with Henrik Spang-Hanssen) of Legal Research Methods in the U.S. and Europe (DJOF 2008).

Brian Provenzale has been a librarian for a few years (at UCLA and currently at Stanford) and a Web nerd for over ten. He thinks every U.S. citizen should, with minimal effort, be able to find out what the government is doing at all times.

Sergio Stone. Sergio is Stanford's first Foreign, Comparative and International Law Librarian.

Erika V. Wayne is deputy library director and lecturer in law at Stanford Law School. Along with George Wilson, Kate Wilko and Paul Lomio, Erika Wayne has co-taught Advanced Legal Research for 3 years. Erika's interest in Open Access dates back to the 1996 when she helped in the development of the Securities Class Action Clearinghouse -- the first court designated internet site for public posting of securities litigation filings. And, she hates to pay for *anything* that should be free. She has a JD from Penn, an AB from Duke and a MS from Illinois in Library and Information Science.

Kate Wilko is a Reference Librarian and Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School. This Spring marks the sixth time she has team-taught Advanced Legal Research. Within the legal research world and its limited publisher options, open access is quickly becoming a topic of more urgent importance. Kate is very pleased to be able to share thoughts and ideas with other open access community members on freegovinfo.info

George Wilson is a reference librarian at Stanford's law library. He started working there in late 2005, after having spent seven years in corporate law practice in Washington, DC and San Francisco, as well as around a decade as a researcher and administrator in various Stanford departments. He has a JD from Georgetown, a BA from UC Berkeley, and will receive his MLIS degree from San Jose State in May 2008.