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Rovere on Privacy (1958)
The technological erosion of privacy has been an important issue for a long time. Richard H. Rovere's article is as timely today as the day he wrote it almost 50 years ago, but his analysis of the issues is clearer, more complete, and more rational than most of what we hear today.
- The Invasion of Privacy: Technology and the Claims of Community, by Richard H. Rovere, The American Scholar, Autumn 1958 issue.
But the fact of the matter is that it is not narcotics peddlers whose privacy has been more efficiently violated by the use of the new techniques; the net has not been drawn tighter against society’s enemies — it has simply been spread for a larger catch…. It is one thing to deceive and trap a dope pusher by almost any means available, and quite another to tap the phone of, let us say, a philanthropic foundation on the chance of turning up a relationship between it and some citizen of a heretical turn of mind.Rovere wrote the "Washington" (later "Affairs of State") column for The New Yorker for more than 30 years, until his death in 1979. Continue reading
Federated Search Systems For Government Information
Exploring the deep web Internal and external federated systems lead users to treasures that regular search engines can't find By Drew Robb, GCN, 06/04/07 issue.
Google makes search look simple, but in fact, search is not simple, particularly when completeness is important. ...Public search engines may be fine for locating a hotel in Singapore, but not for professional research.Continue reading
Good explanation of the semantic web
If you wonder what "the semantic web" is, this is a good, short article to read.
- Semantic Search: An Antidote for Poor Relevancy, By Dr. Riza C. Berkan, Read/Write Web, May 29, 2007
Will GPO charge for a Bill Summary Database?
Rob Pierson met yesterday with the folks in charge of Thomas at the Library of Congress. Rob is Vice-President of Technology at the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy and reported on his meeting to the Open House Project Group.
- Re: Thomas Feature Requests?, by Rob Pierson, Open House Project (Google Groups) Jun 5, 2007. 7:15 am.
Rob's message has several things of interest to government information professionals including:
- The relationship betweeen the CRS Legislative Information System (LIS) and Thomas.
- The rationale for having a less featured search system for Thomas (they are trying to appeal to a different audience).
- Thomas and LIS are both working on upgrading their systems and the Thomas folks are working extensively with the LIS folks and are incorporating elements of LIS into Thomas.
- Their expectation that the new XML bill summary database would probably be available through GPO and might not be freely available to the public. "The XML version of bills and roll call votes is currently available to the public for free, and it would be a very problematic break with that precedent if GPO began selling legislative XML data. This isn't yet set in stone, however."
Rob also attached a document, which provides a background into what LIS is planning for the future, as well as some history of the group. You can download it from the URL above and i've also put a copy for your convenience here. (THE LEGISLATIVE INFORMATION SYSTEM: OBJECTIVES AND PLANS FOR THE RETRIEVAL SYSTEM IN THE YEAR 2007, Prepared by the Congressional Research Service and the Office of Information Technology Services Library of Congress, January 2007.)
I would be very interested to hear if anyone knows if GPO plans to sell the XML data or make it available without charge or if they have not decided and are considering charging.
Continue readingOpenHouse Project Op-Ed on Preservation
The latest in a series of op-eds in The Hill addresses digital preservation:
- Preserving information, by James A. Jacobs, The Hill, June 05, 2007
I wrote this piece with the help of my FGI colleagues and we based it on the preservation chapter of the Open House Project Report on which we collaborated.
The measures outlined briefly in this op-ed are compatible with projects already in existence at the Library of Congress, the Government Printing Office, university libraries, and libraries using LOCKSS software. These steps will also make digital preservation more affordable and effective for more memory institutions.
This is one of a series of Op-Eds written by contributors to the OpenHouse Project's recent report on congressional information. The complete report is available as a pdf document: Congressional Information & the Internet (The OpenHouse Project, May 8, 2007). The earlier Op-Eds are:
- Give bloggers Capitol access, by Robert B. Bluey, April 30, 2007.
- No light in basement, [campaign finance documents] by Tim La Pira, May 08, 2007.
- Inexplicable anomaly [CRS Reports], by Leslie Harris and Matt Stoller, May 15, 2007.
- More access to committees, by John Wonderlich, The Hill, May 22, 2007.
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