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Live blogging Depository Library Conference Spring 2011 #dlc11s
We'll be live blogging once again at the Spring 2011 Depository Library Conference from San Antonio, TX. With a new Public Printer and Superintendent of Documents, the discussions are sure to be interesting. The 3 plenary sessions will be especially interesting and include discussions on PACER, future needs and goals of the FDLP and a weds morning session on permanent public access to digital material with a panel from HathiTrust, Internet Archive, GPO staff and Chris Brown. The twitter hashtag #dlc11s and #dlc11 will show up in the live blog so we hope many of the attendees will tweet their thoughts and comments. Twapper Keeper now has a subscription model, so the only archive of tweets will be the live blog. If anyone would like to volunteer to be a DLC reporter and use CoverItLive to track the conference, please contact me ASAP at freegovinfo AT gmail DOT com.
OMB prepares for open gov sites to go dark in May
This is just too depressing! OMB prepares for open gov sites to go dark in May By Jason Miller Executive Editor Federal News Radio
Many of the Obama administration's top open government initiatives are set to be turned off by May 31. Government sources confirm that the Office of Management and Budget is planning to take seven websites dark in two months because of a lack of funding. One government official, who requested anonymity because they didn't get permission to discuss the topic, said funding will begin to run out on April 20 for public sites IT Dashboard, Data.gov and paymentaccuracy.gov. The source said OMB also is planning on shutting down internal government sites, including Performance.gov, FedSpace and many of the efforts related the FEDRamp cloud computing cybersecurity effort. The official said two other sites, USASpending.gov and Apps.gov/now, will run through July 30 but go dark soon after.[HT to John Wonderlich at Sunlight Foundation!] Continue reading
Help save the Statistical Abstract
There has been a lot of discussion and suggestions for action on GOVDOC-L and various library listservs and ALA Connect about the pending demise of the Census Bureau's Statistical Compendia Branch and along with it the elimination of the Statistical Abstract of the United States (aka Stat Abs) and all other titles produced by that branch (State and Metropolitan Area Data Book, County and City Data Book, USA Counties, Quick Facts). Here's the US Census Bureau's budget estimates for 2012 (PDF). Librarians around the country are beginning to mobilize. Alesia McManus, the Library Director at Howard Community College in Columbia, MD, has created a Facebook group “Save the US Statistical Abstract” to try to help spread the word and share information. ALA Washington Office has just announced a Legislative Action Alert opposing the defunding of the Statistical Compendia Branch. Lastly, below is a sample letter that I hope all of our readers will send/email/fax to their Senators and Congressmen -- many thanks to Starr Hoffman at the University of North Texas, Hailey Mooney at Michigan State University, and Kevin McLure at Chicago-Kent College of Law for getting the letter rolling! Feel free to copy and/or edit the letter to suit and forward this post far and wide. Here's an easy way to find the contact information of your Congressional delegation:
TO YOUR SENATOR: The Honorable (full name) (Room #) (Name) Senate Office Building United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator ___________: TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE: The Honorable (full name) (Room #) (Name) House Office Building United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Representative __________: Paragraph 1: Why you are writing and who you are. List your "credentials." (If you want a response, you must include your name and address, even when using email.) My name is __________, and I’m a librarian at INSTITUTION which has served the government information needs of the constituents of your Congressional district and state since DATE LIBRARY BECAME A DEPOSITORY. I’m writing because I and many other librarians are deeply concerned that the U.S. Census Bureau's Budget Estimates for Fiscal Year 2012 calls for the termination of the Statistical Compendia Branch which would mean the elimination of the United States Statistical Abstract and all titles produced by that branch (State and Metropolitan Area Data Book, County and City Data Book, USA Counties, Quick Facts). The library community is deeply upset at the thought of losing access to this important program and urges you to take action to stop this program change. Paragraph 2: more details about the situation. The Statistical Abstract of the United States, published annually since 1878, is a key publication for the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), which provides free, public access to government information. Both the print and online versions of the “Stat Abs,” as many librarians affectionately refer to it, are on the FDLP Essential Titles list. It is the first place that many librarians, researchers, students and your constituents(!) look for statistical information, because it compiles a vast amount of information, some of it unpublished and not available anywhere else. The Statistical Abstract also provides a citation for the original source for each table, acting as a guidebook to a huge array of diverse government statistics. The Stat Abs (as well as all of the titles published by the Statistical Compendia Branch!) is a staple of reference librarians and the public for its ease of use, comprehensive content, and as a guidebook to federal statistical sources. These long published titles -- and the federal depositories that distribute it to the American public -- are not an earmark, but are critical to the provision of social, economic, and political indicators to the American public and greatly benefit every American in every Congressional district. Without it, librarians, the public and your constituents(!) will waste much valuable time looking for statistics in multiple places and compiling longitudinal data. Paragraph 3: Close by requesting the action you want taken: a vote for or against a bill, or change in general policy. If a certain bill is involved, cite the correct title or number whenever possible. Please urge the Department of Commerce to reinstate the budget for the Census Bureau's Statistical Compendia Branch and the essential, valuable titles that the Branch provides to the public. Many thanks for your time and your service. Sincerely, YOUR NAME YOUR POSITION YOUR INSTITUTION INSTITUTION/CONTACT INFO References: Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP): http://fdlp.gov FDLP Essential Titles: http://snipurl.com/essential-titles US Census Bureau budget estimate 2012: http://snipurl.com/census-budget-estimate-2012Continue reading
FOIA news: FOIA.gov launches and how to be a cooperative FOIA reviewer for EFF
Because it's Sunshine Week, there's lots of news about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). First off, the US Department of Justice just announced their new site FOIA.gov as a central repository for FOIA compliance across the Federal government, agency FOIA data since 2008 (detailed reports here), and FOIA spotlight in the news. Interestingly, they haven't put up a link to individual agency FOIA electronic reading rooms, but I've sent in that request and hopefully it'll soon be added to the site. Do you want to assist in the FOIA process? If so, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has a job for you. The EFF has so many liberated/FOIA'd documents in the realms of privacy, due process and civil liberties, that they're seeking help from the public to pore over those liberated government docs as part of their cooperative FOIA review project.
Here's how the Cooperating FOIA list will work: Send us an email to put your name on our list. When we get government documents in response to a FOIA request, we'll post a note to the list with a basic description of the project (for example: "Documents from DHS detailing government use of social media - approximately 100 pages" or "Documents from FBI detailing misuse of National Security Letters - approximately 10,000 pages"). If you're on the list and are interested, you contact us, and we'll tell you how to access pdf versions of the documents and what we're looking for in the information. Then you review the documents and let us know what you find. Interested in being a Cooperating FOIA Reviewer? Send a note to coopfoia@eff.org with your name, email address, and some brief information on who you are and what you're interested in, and we'll add you to the list.And finally, check out SunshineWeek.org for FOI news roundup and event listings around the country. You can also play the Ray of Sunshine game! Continue reading
The demise of the Statistical Abstract and other critical Census titles
If you've been on govdoc-l over the last couple of days, you've no doubt read about the demise of the US Census' Statistical Abstract of the United States, published every year since 1878 and one of the most heavily used items in libraries across the US. According to the Department of Commerce's 2012 Congressional Budget Justification document (see pp 82-92), the entire Statistical Compendia Branch as well as the Federal Financial Statistics Program of the US Census is slated to be defunded. Not only will the Statistical Abstract no longer be published, but it also means the elimination of ALL titles produced by that branch (State and Metropolitan Area Data Book, County and City Data Book, Consolidated Federal Funds Report (CFFR), Federal Aid to States (FAS) etc.). Please write/phone/email/fax your representatives NOW and let them know how critical these publications are to an informed citizenry and to your daily library work. Congress.org has a handy page that will allow you to write all of your representatives at once. Please also forward this message to any library listservs to which you subscribe and send to your friends and family. UPDATE 3/15/11: In reading further, this looks to be a decision by Census to shift funds to a new program that will use new ways to collect and disseminate data. But Census still seems to be putting the StatAb cart before the new data dissemination horse here. Census Bureau will first kill StatAb etc and *then* initiate a pilot project to see how this new method of disseminating data will work. The new program will not be in place for 1-2 years and in the meantime the American public will not have access to the easy to use and handy Statistical Abstract. Continue reading
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