Support Independent Podcasting March 22, 2007
Dear FGI Readers,
I beg you to indulge me in a non-govinfo posting that I think touches on some of our issues anyway. Here is an appeal I've been making across the 'net whereever I have a venue (except govdoc-l):
------------------------
Thanks to the great business communicators/music lovers over at For Immediate Release, I've become aware of a great campaign calculated to show the collective power of podcasters and lovers of independent music.
Here's the idea from the Bum Rush the Charts blog:
Podcasting gets little respect from traditional media. To them we're little more than a joke, than amateurs. What they don't understand is that podcasting is more than just a delivery mechanism - it's a social movement. People are sick of the watered-down, cookie-cutter content that networks and record companies expect us to enjoy. People are tired of watching friends and loved ones get sued by record labels who only care about profits and nothing else, not even the artists they supposedly represent.I'm in. Are you? I'm even going to download iTunes again just so I can buy "Mine Again" on March 22, 2007. Will you join me? If you will, repost this message anywhere you can think of!
We want and deserve more. On March 22, 2007, we're going to change that with your help.
We can do better. We can match and exceed the reach of big media, corporate media, labels, and the entrenched interests. On March 22nd, we are going to take an indie podsafe music artist to number one on the iTunes singles charts as a demonstration of our reach to Main Street and our purchasing power to Wall Street. The track we've chosen is "Mine Again" by the band Black Lab. A band that was dropped from not just one, but two major record labels (Geffen and Sony/Epic) and in the process forced them to fight to get their own music back. We picked them because making them number one, even for just one day, will remind the RIAA record labels of what they turned their backs on - and who they ignore at their peril.
What's more, we're going to take it a step beyond that. We've signed up as an affiliate of the iTunes Music Store, and every commission made on the sale of "Mine Again" will be donated to college scholarships, partly because it's a worthy cause, but also partly because college students are among the most misunderstood and underestimated groups of people by big media. Black Lab has taken it up another notch - 50% of their earnings are going to be donated to the scholarship fund as well.
If you believe in the power of new media, on March 22nd, 2007, take 99 cents and 2 minutes of your time to join the revolution and make iTunes "Mine Again". If you're a content producer (blogger, podcaster, etc.), we're asking you to join up with us and help spread the word to your audience. Nothing would prove the power of new media more than showing corporate media that not only can we exceed their reach and match their purchasing power, but that we can also do it AND make a positive difference in the world. If we can succeed with this small example, then there's no telling what can do next.
Go to Bum Rush the Charts's blog and add them as a MySpace friend.
Join the Independents! Down with Alliance Media! Learn what the heck those terms might mean!
------------------------- What possible connection can there be between buying an indie song on March 22 and FGI's mission? Several, as I see them:
- Podcasters, like libraries, break up a media/information monopoly.
- Combined community efforts will be key to building a reliable government information system in the future, so we need practice in common effort.
- This campaign is a sign that activists of any cause don't have to passively wait for a large organization (RIAA, Congress, GPO) to "make things better." We can do things ourselves.
- Podcasting relies on Creative Commons and public domain material and most podcasters share our view of DRM!
Social Bookmarking in a half hour
Still don't get our del.icio.us page? Don't have a clue about social bookmarking, de.lico.us, etc? Have a clue but think it's a waste of time? Try listening to Rachel Bridgewater's explanation at a half-hour Sirsi/Dynix Institute event A Little Help from your Friends: Social Bookmarking. I listened to this presentation on my MP3 player, which I do with all SIRSI/DYNIX Institute podcasts. Even without her slides and other materials, I found it to be a both a solid introduction for beginners and a refresher for people like myself who have de.licio.us accounts but haven't done much with them. Something Ms. Bridgewater said gave me a flash of inspiration involving de.licio.us, rss feeds and feed2js. If anything real becomes of it, I'll let you know. The social bookmarking session is available in the Institute's archive. If you have a broadband connection, you owe to yourself to subscribe to these events and maybe even participate live. There's just no excuse for missing out on great continuing education these days. I realize this isn't about government information at all, but it is a tool we can use to promote it. Continue reading
Thanks Linda Resler – GPO OPAL session on Catalog
The following message was posted to the FDLP-L mailing list today:
The first FDLP web-based training session is now available for viewing in the GPO OPAL archive at http://www.opal-online.org/archiveGPO.htm. Linda Resler, Manager of GPO's Library Technical Services Support, demonstrated the functionality of the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) and provided tips for successful searching. This session will assist new users of the CGP, including depository library staff and the general public, in navigating through the online catalog as they search for U.S. Government information. Watch for announcements of other GPO online training sessions in the coming months, including live, interactive sessions, as we develop future programs. All sessions will be archived on the GPO OPAL site, so you will have convenient access at all times. If you have questions or comments, please use the GPO online help service at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/help. To ensure that your question is routed to the correct area, please choose the category "Federal Depository Libraries" and the appropriate subcategory, if any. You may also contact the GPO Customer Contact Center at 866-512-1800 (Toll-free), or at 202-512-1800 (DC Metropolitan Area), Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m., EST. GPO Customer Contact CenterI've had a chance to this training and I think many will find it helpful. Slides 1-12 deal with background in the development of the Catalog of Government Publications, but after that is a solid tutorial for first time users. I'd strongly encourage people to sit through this 34 minute presentation to get a sense of this great finding aid. Thanks Linda! Continue reading
Daniel Cornwall
Daniel Cornwall was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He lived in California, Texas and Florida before moving to Juneau, Alaska in 1998. Daniel graduated with a Masters of Library and Information Science from UT Austin. He works for the Alaska Division of Libraries, Archives & Museums, which is not associated in any way whatsoever with Free Government Information. Daniel is currently the Head of Technology and Instructional Services, but spent seven years (1999-2007) as the federal and state documents librarian for the Alaska State Library. His full professional history can be found on his LinkedIn profile. He remains active in government information through his coordination of the State Agency Databases project for the State and Local Documents Task Force of ALA GODORT. In addition to his role at Free Government Information, Daniel maintains a personal blog and a professional Facebook page. To learn about how Daniel became a librarian in the first place, visit his blog post for the Library Routes Project. When not blogging, Daniel enjoys photography, astronomy, space exploration and nearly all things science fiction. Many of these interests are featured on his Tumblr blog. Continue reading
Documents Roundtable Meeting from AkLA 2007
Being the chair of the Alaska Library Association's Government Documents Roundtable is a little like being the Maytag Repairman. There are about 20 registered members, but only about four or five of those folks are active in association activities. Our usual business meetings vary from two to four and last year I didn't get anybody.
Today I was pleasantly surprised. I got a special visit from Cam McIntosh, Seattle-based Information Specialist for the Census Bureau's Seattle field office. Cam is wonderful to work with and a great trainer. If you work anywhere in Cam's region, you should call her office and arrange a training. If you don't work in her five state area, find your nearest Census field office and see what training resources they can offer your organization.
In addition to Cam, three other RT members showed up. Lacking a formal agenda, I put Cam on the spot and she gave us a brief overview of the American Community Survey, which included these helpful tips:
By 2010, All communities in the United States will have THREE population estimates - one based on a one-year sample of population, one based on a three year rolling sample and one based on a five year rolling sample. This combined with the reporting of "margin of error" in populations may make for some interesting educational opportunities for library patrons who "just want to know what the exact population of ___ is."
It is best to report percentages or proportions in the American Community Survey rather than raw numbers. But be sure to say + or - x percent. Cam compared this to political polling as a way to get folks comfortable with the concept of sampling.
Nationwide, the American Community Survey surveys 1 in 464 addresses every month. This proportion is much higher in smaller areas, reaching at least as high as 35% in really small towns.
Data for the 2005 American Community Survey data DID NOT include any numbers for people housed in "group quarters." Group quarters are places like military bases, boarding schools, homeless shelters, prisons, etc.
State Ranking Tables are available for American Community Survey Data and they can be filtered by the criteria of "with statistical significance." This can be a real eye opener and halt some of the jockeying for position some people have for state ranking tables. If I'm right, the phrase "with statistical significance" should link you to a table of 2005 data ranking proportion of people 85 and over. Looks like Alaska is last by any measure.
Aside from Cam's courteous impromptu ACS presentation, I also got to meet a new librarian from Ketchikan and introduce my new federal documents librarian. All in all, it was a fun hour. If you've got a documents roundtable report to share, send it to me and I'll post it LISNews, Alaskan Librarian, and Free Government Information. If you've already posted your report to the web, feel free to send me a link.
Continue reading
Latest Comments