Congressional Recess and You
I don't have much time left as the August guest blogger, so I will use my current position of power here in the center column to point out the new post by James R. Jacobs over there in the side column: "Google for government spending" blocked by unknown Senator . This post from James concerns S. 2590, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. My lunching lobbyist friend just let me know that the story is also covered in the August 28 Washington Times. (For those not familiar with the Washington Times, its editorial spin is somewhat different than that of, say, Mother Jones.) I have wanted to write a post about the power of August recess, and this breaking story gives me just the opportunity. Don't like what's happening? Talk to your Senators and Representatives in the U.S. Congress. They should be back home for August recess. For some of the flavor of a congressional recess, check out the article "Recess!" by Paul Jenks in the August issue of LLRX.com. Jenks is slightly more cynical than I am about your constituent power during recess, but he does observe that "in Washington [members of Congress] are isolated somewhat from their constituents and are at the beck and call of their national parties, interest groups and the administration. On recess, they are on their own amongst their own." And you certainly have more power than I do: I live and vote in DC. Whether the topic is the spending database, or net neutrality, or EPA Libraries, you can use what is left of August recess to make government information issues real to your elected representatives. But this is no endless summer. The Senate reconvenes on September 5, and the House reconvenes on September 6. Continue reading
Two from beSpacific
Two recent posts on the beSpacific blog that should be of interest to FGI readers:
- The Nation: Librarians at the Gates - To quote from the article, "While the ethic of secrecy often prevails in the gathering and dissemination of corporate and governmental information, the work of a librarian is imbued with just the opposite."
- Appeals Court's Website Features RSS, Audio Recordings - From the press release, "The next time you see someone pop on the headphones and get that faraway look in his or her eyes, don't be so sure it's a tune that's beguiling them. It just may be the latest oral arguments from the Seventh Circuit."
Column on Government Documents and the News
An earlier FGI post inspired me to write a column about efforts to link documents to the news about them. Take a look at The Government Domain: Government Documents and the News in the August issue of LLRX.com. (Actually, as I write this, the full August issue is not up yet--will be soon--but you can get to my column via the link I just provided.) I give FGI credit in the column so, if people read to the end of it, I may spread some FGI awareness. Continue reading
GovMine on the Subway
We have weird ads on the DC Metro subway system. They advertise things like fighter jets, the Coast Guard Integrated Deepwater System, or some sort of "government solution." These are not goods the typical consumer can buy. Often I can’t tell what it is they are selling, I only know the target customer is someone who influences federal agency procurement, not me. Convera has been advertising its new government search engine on the subway since sometime in July. That is how I heard about it. For once, something I could relate to! The search engine, called GovMine, was launched on August 14. Convera is looking to sell its solution to federal agencies, but we the people get some immediate benefit with another free .gov/.mil search engine. GovMine follows quickly on the heels of Google U.S. Government Search, which followed (kind of) on the heels of the new FirstGov search engine, which used solutions from Microsoft and Vivisimo. I have not had time to take GovMine through its paces, but I can tell you that it seems to bring to the surface some relevant pages that Google and FirstGov do not. That’s the beauty of this competition for federal eyeballs. Another site to try, another possible route to the answer. Take a look at GovMine. Try a simple search and explore the options that pop up with the results screen. I have written in the past about Google’s product and FirstGov Search for LLRX.com. A new player entered the arena after Google and before Convera: search guru Tara Calishain at ResearchBuzz is offering a tool built on Google Government Search that narrows results by state. Continue reading
Open Government Guide – New Edition Posted
A new version of The Open Government Guide is now available online at The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press website. The guide to state open records and meetings laws was formerly titled "Tapping Officials' Secrets." Thanks to Law Librarian Blog for the tip. Continue reading
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