73 Days to Government Information Liberation
You can imagine how much the Chicago metropolitan culture and political scene is just all abuzz at the realizationn that one of their own is about to move into the White House. Richard Daley is just beaming. Cook County pols look just a bit more polished and respectable -- and our governor, who enjoys a lower estimation among Illinois residents than President Bush, appears to savor the political opportunities during the next few weeks. Though I have only lived in the area for 15 years, there is much about Chicago politics that is visceral, atavastic, and so profoundly grounded in neighborhoods in a way that the old U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Tip O'Neil captured with his classic observation that "All politics is local." This elemental truth was hammered home again with an announcement from the Illinois Library Association that all nine library referendums and/or ballot mesaures voted on throughout the state Tuesday went down to defeat. National, even state level, politics may be charged by a renewed sense of energy or purpose, but in the local trenches, the struggle still wins or loses on voters deciding on "how much will it cost me?" Further, for many of other Illinois libraries (private and public academic, special, law, etc.)funds are being cut for collections, staff, and services. If a new season of government information services in libraries is to come about, these local institutions need to put their civic values back on top of the agenda. Here's a thought -- day three discussion point -- how about if each state wide library association makes a commitment to hold a "government information summit during the Spring or Fall of 2009 to discuss exactly this point. It can be separate meeting, or part of their annual state wide library association meetings. Further, each state, if not each region that crosses state lines, has a few government information librarians who were involved with earlier revolutionary changes in the how and why of government information services (changes in depository library practices, technology, public education, and teaching future government information professionals.) And what if they organizers of these statewide summits brought their deliberations and agendas to a nation wide meeting -- perhaps to Chicago at the ALA conference in July 2009? Something informal, I am sure, could be arranged that embraces the new technologies and be less bound by the rigidities of ALA scheduling. In a way, it would close the circle. What began to unravel in Chicago during the the Democratic National Convention, in Grant Park, during the summer of 1968 can be reclaimed... The hometown of Saul Alinsky and so many other community organizers would be an outstanding place to begin the next information revolution. So, as the Grahm Nash song goes: Won't you please come to Chicago For the help that we can bring. We can change the World. Rearrange the World. It's dying to get better. Continue reading
74 Days to Government Information Liberation
When I first thought of this particular blog thread -- driving home on Wednesday from work, my government information librarian brain still snapping and sparking from the electoral charge of Tuesday's events -- it felt as if I rediscovered some long lost sensibility. For so long, at least since the late 1990s, my research and public service seemed burdened with such struggle and cynicism when talked to students and faculty about government information sources. I had to temper my remarks with observations that understanding the import and impact of government information was never going to be easy; they would have to wade through a ocean of muck, obscurity, and partisanship. The partisanship drumbeats (from both major political parties) of "government is not the solution, it is the problem", quite frankly took the joy out of the whole civic engagement story. So, for my second koan I suggest we ride this wave of civic renewal and put our libraries back into the center when people want to wrestle with the social, economic, and political issues of the day. Lets not wear the mantle of disengagement out some percieved notion we would no longer be neutral. We should argue on behalf of civic engagement and debate in our buildings as passionately as we defend the right to shelve all those books other people want to ban or keep out of the hands of those they perceive to need protection. What better mechanism to reconnect with our communities than through a spirited discussion of what our future governments might promise in the coming months. The bitter political partisanship over the last forty years (sparked, I think after the 1966 congressional elections if I read the history rightly) drained the civic ecosystem of any sense of good will or trust. As a valued institution, I think libraries can begin to restore that trust and engagement. There you are, a new slogan for an old value -- libraries the original social software.... See you at the forum for tomorrow's thought of day. And James, thanks for the connective tissue among the different blog posts trying to weave these many threads into a more complete picture. 74 days and counting. Continue reading
75 days to Government Information Liberation
As I thought about this week's remarkable series of electoral and civic revolutions, it got me thinking that between now and Obama's inauguration on January 20, 2009 offers us a unique opportunity. Each day I am going to post one specific reason, observation, analysis about how the new political powers in Congress and the White House should think about government information. In particular I want to push back against the nearly ten years of rhetorical tide that swamped the way we talk about the distribution and preservation of information produced by our government. In particular, I hope we can recapture the conceptual high ground of the whys and hows of the civic conversation about government information. Technology is important. Market forces are compelling. Political partisanship demands committment. But I remember a time when the phrase "documents to the people" actually spoke to a civic form of rhetorical community organizing. Our collections and public services were our store front headquarters in this struggle. So, here is my first thought of the day: any depository library program's purpose transcends both format or its distribution mechanism. The programs long-standing purpose is to sustain the free and permanent access to government information. This can and must happen regardless of how the depository libraries, or their host institutions, arrange their services or materials. Let the conversation begin and see you tomorrow. Continue reading
Government Information Online: Ask a Librarian — National Digital Reference Service Launched
Government Information Online: Ask A Librarian
I am pleased to announce the improved and evolved national digital reference project that began almost three and half years ago as a volunteer effort and collaboration with the Illinois State Library, OCLC, and my institution, University of Illinois at Chicago. For the next two and half years, as the project evolved through three phases, over thirty libraries from around the country contributed their time and expertise to learn what it takes for state libraries, public libraries, private and public university libraries, and special libraries to cooperate answering the public's government information questions using OCLC's QuestionPoint software and working across geographic and institutional boundaries.
By Spring 2007, following further discussions with the government information librarians of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (essentially the Big 10 universities and the University of Chicago) and the Government Printing Office, all agreed to make the project's next phase a more formal organization. The library participants would underwrite the purchase of the OCLC software subscriptions and the CIC would form a management structure to assure a consistent set off policies and procedures among the participating libraries. To coordinate the with the Government Printing Office (which has been involved in the project since its beginning), a formal partnership was formed between GPO and UIC (who is acting as on behalf of CIC interests in the partnership) to explore the implications of national digital reference services and the fully digital depository library system now planned over the last 12 years. Furthermore, 9 other non-CIC libraries agreed to join the effort, bringing the total number of libraries that actively support the effort with both personnel and fiscal resources to 19. Here is the complete list -- which is a pretty good cross section of libraries that participate in FDLP.
Indiana University
Library of Virginia
Michigan State University
Newark Public Library
Northwestern University
Ohio State University
Penn State University
Purdue University
San Francisco Public Library
State Library of Pennsylvania
Southern Illinois University
Tennessee State Library
University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Illinois Chicago
University of Illinois Urbana
University of Iowa
University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Minnesota
University of Missouri --Columbia
The project seeks other government information library folks (and their institutions) who want to discuss the project and its goals -- and who might want to join the project. If you have questions about this, drop me a line at alfred@uic.edu. I want publicly acknowledge the resources and time and support the 19 libraries listed above for their support and cooperation -- without which this project would not happen. And to the folks at GPO, when they saw another partnership idea coming out of the Midwest might have rolled their eyes just a bit, I want to thank them for agreeing to join this effprt in a formal way to figure what all the opportunities might mean in our shared digital depository future.
I also want to publicly thank the good folks here at freegovinfo who long kept a link to the project on their pages over the past three years, and happily borrow Mr. Cornwall's hat for a tip and public high five to James Staub at the Tennessee State Library for gently reminding me every week to get off my professional butt, think outside of the box, and make this happen. It is good to have colleagues that share a vision and have the reserves to talk through the more difficult moments. To further this public moment of thanks, I want to particularly acknowledge the support of the library administration at UIC, and especially Mary Case, the director, for keeping the resource lines open during the long months of transition last year -- proving once again that collaboration is the one true article of faith in our profession.
Here is a formal announcement of the project.
Government Information Online (GIO): Ask a Librarian – national digital reference service that focuses on government information
What is GIO: Ask a Librarian?
Through Government Information Online (GIO) any one can ask government information librarians who are experts at finding information from government agencies of all levels (local, state, regional, national international) on almost any subject from aardvarks to zygomycosis. GIO is a free online information service supported by nearly twenty public, state and academic libraries throughout the United States. All participants are designated Federal depository libraries in the U.S. Government Printing Office's Federal Depository Library Program. Many are also official depository libraries for their other types of governments and public agencies.
Who is answering the questions?
Government information librarians with a specialized knowledge of agency information dissemination practices -- as well as expertise in how to use government information products, resources and or publications -- answer all the questions submitted to GIO. These librarians are dedicated to helping users meet their government information needs. While the librarians will assist you in any way they can, you may be communicating with a librarian who does not work at your local library and therefore does not have access to your personal library card records.
Who provides support for the GIO?
Each of the participants provides resources and personnel to answer the questions. The project's current phase and overall management is handled through the Committee on Institutional Cooperation and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The project also benefits from a formal partnership between UIC and the U.S. Government Printing Office to explore how federal depository library reference services could be extended through the World Wide Web.
Two New Pew Internet & American Life Project Report
Thanks for the opportunity to contribute as January Blogger of the Month FGI. Good luck to you Susanna -- I think it is wonderful way to foster conversations within our community. In a note from Beth Haper, who is the editor of the Wisconsin Library Association's Government Information Round Table's newsletter "Eagle Press" informs me that they ask subscribers to respond to a question, and publish the responses in the issue. She wanted to use the three questions I posted on Jan. 18 in this fashion. I said sure -- I love a mash-up between the print and electronic worlds. Seems to be the defining feature of our current professional life, as pointed out by several responders to the discussion -- formats do matter. I guess the debate unfolds over how much they should matter....but that will be for another blog entry.
Along these lines, and in response to another comment sent about the inherent difficulties and limitations of electronic government services in public libraries, I want to note that the good folks at the Pew Trust have released a couple of significant reports about how American's use the Internet in their civic and political lives (another future blog entry; delineation between civic and political information.)
The first report "Infomation Searches that Solve Problems" (http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/231/report_display.asp) reports
"People who have faced one of several common government-related problems in the past two years are more likely to consult the internet than other sources, including experts and family members.
In a national phone survey, respondents were asked whether they had encountered 10 possible problems in the previous two years, all of which had a potential connection to the government or government-provided information. Those who had dealt with the problems were asked where they went for help and the internet topped the list:58% of those who had recently experienced one of those problems said they used the internet (at home, work, a public library or some other place) to get help. 53% said they turned to professionals such as doctors, lawyers or financial experts. 45% said they sought out friends and family members for advice and help. 36% said they consulted newspapers and magazines. 34% said they directly contacted a government office or agency. 16% said they consulted television and radio. 13% said they went to the public library.
The survey results challenge the assumption that libraries are losing relevance in the internet age. Libraries drew visits by more than half of Americans (53%) in the past year for all kinds of purposes, not just the problems mentioned in this survey. And it was the young adults in tech-loving Generation Y (age 18-30) who led the pack. Compared to their elders, Gen Y members were the most likely to use libraries for problem-solving information and in general patronage for any purpose."
The other report, "The Internet Gains in Politics" (http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/234/report_display.asp) continues a decade long study by the Pew Institute that investigates how the internet is used in electoral campaigns.
"Nearly a quarter of Americans (24%) say they regularly learn something about the campaign from the internet, almost the double the percentage from a comparable point in the 2004 campaign (13%)."
So, perhaps it's more than a mash-up between paper and digital. One can argue for a mash-up between the library as place and electronic civic and political information sources. Now there is a novel twist -- the library physical as the ultimate format of choice.....
jashuler
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