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Public Resource makes CFR available for free
Carl Malamud and Public.Resource.Org, Inc. is at work again, freeing what should be free. He has purchased the Code of Federal Regulations from GPO and is making it publicly available without charge. This is the raw, SGML and images version that GPO sells for over $17,000. Carl says:
Our intent in purchasing this product is to make it available in raw format on the Internet for access by anonymous FTP. We will not charge for access, nor will we restrict usage by the imposition of any license agreements. Since public documents are defined as “public property” in 44 USC 1119, this deployment of the raw feed of the Code will make it available for all to use without restriction and will allow for-profit and non-profit entities to construct alternative versions of the CFR.See details here and Public Resource's GPO page. Continue reading
Government Tweets
Did you know that the first announcement of the discovery of ice on Mars was by NASA on Twitter.com? Did you know that the Joint Forces Command and the Office on Women's Health in the Health and Human Services Department are using twitter to announce speaking engagements and deliver medical news and advice? Did you know that you can receive Twitter messages on your cell phone, or your instant messaging client, or by e-mail, or via other Web 2.0 applications, such as Facebook? Welcome to the new world of government communication.
- Psst! Are you Twittering yet?, By Heather B. Hayes, FCW, August 25, 2008.
Lunchtime Listen: Government Data and The Invisible Hand
In this interview, Jon Udell talks with Director and Associate Director of the Center for Information Technology Policy about the future of government information distribution and the paper Government Data and the Invisible Hand (Robinson, David, Harlan Yu, William P. Zeller, and Edward W. Felten. SSRN, May 28, 2008). The paper proposes that the government should reduce its role in presenting important government information to citizens and should provide reusable data, rather than providing websites, as the core of its online publishing responsibility.
- Ed Felten & David Robinson of the Center for Information Technology Policy, Princeton University, Jon Udell's Interviews with Innovators, 46 minutes, 21.1mb, recorded 2008-09-02
Plan B for NIH Open Access
Stevan Harnad has proposed a Plan B for NIH Public Access Mandate: A Deposit Mandate, American Scientist Open Access Forum, Sat, 13 Sep 2008. See also: Hearing on bill that would block NIH Public Access policy. Continue reading
NYT: Federal Files Blip Into Oblivion
This is a pretty good popular-press overview of the problems of digital preservation of government information and some of the steps being taken to address the problems.
- In Digital Age, Federal Files Blip Into Oblivion, By Robert Pear, New York Times, September 13, 2008.
The Achilles' heel of record-keeping is people. In an effort to save money, federal agencies are publishing fewer reports on paper and posting more on the Web. The Web site of the Environmental Protection Agency lists more than 50 "broken links" that once connected readers to documents on depletion of the ozone layer of the atmosphere. At least 20 documents have been removed from the Web site of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. They include a draft report highly critical of the civil rights policies of the Bush administration. 93 percent of [top officials surveyed at NASA] were violating federal requirements for preserving e-mail correspondence. "Most Web records do not warrant permanent retention," because they do not have "long-term historical value," the [National] Archives said. Alarmed at the possible loss of White House e-mail messages, the House passed a bill in July that would require agencies to preserve more electronic records. ... Republican opponents said the requirements would be onerous and costly. Mr. Bush has threatened to veto the bill, saying it could "interfere with a president's ability to carry out his or her constitutional and statutory responsibilities."See also: Citizens in the Dark? Government Information in the Digital Age. Continue reading
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