The Day the Server Died
The library's server was out of commission for two days last week. Luckily, we were closed one day, fall quarter hasn’t started, and we have a back up for the circulation system. Plus we could search (sort of) our collection on WorldCat. Dead servers are one of the reasons why distributed digital deposit is a key element in providing access to information. But, we don't have much technology money (thus the old server). Collecting our own copies of electronic content is an aspiration, yet given our fiscal reality, it’s not going to be practical for a while. After three years of budget cuts, the University of Washington has lost half of its state funding. We are all feeling the effects. So I've been printing out documents, as a very small way of contributing to the greater good and serving our patrons. At least that's what I think I'm doing. It’s not something I hear a lot about, but I can’t imagine that other librarians don’t do this. Maybe we’re too embarrassed to admit we print electronic documents? Our policy is to very selectively print documents for the collection. The selection decisions need to be consistent with our collection development policy, but also take into account the ease of printing and binding (not too long, not too short, PDF preferred). We also consider the ease of use by the public. The perfect example is Washington State judicial benchbooks, which are guides used by trial judges, but often used by patrons without lawyers. For many years, because we are a public law library, we received the benchbooks, and other publications from the Administrative Office of the Courts, in paper, for free. Now the benchbooks are on CD ROM and we have to pay (not much, and I'm not complaining about this given the state budget). We recently acquired the Manual for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction on CD ROM, and chose to have it printed, even though we had to spend scarce staff time to put all the documents in one PDF file so it could be send to the copy center. The Courts of Limited Jurisdiction handle a wide variety of traffic violations and misdemeanors, including reckless driving, driving under the influence, and driving with a suspended license. These courts also issue domestic violence protection orders and no-contact orders. It is a much smoother reference transaction (for both patron and public service staff) if the staff has a book to put in the hands of a patron with an issue in traffic, family, or juvenile court. Although we have many public workstations, these patrons are often challenged, and challenging. “It's on the computer" can be a barrier to access. In a perfect world, we’d have the Manual for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction in print, on the original CD ROM, and downloaded to our local server, which will never die. But for now, two out of three will have to do. Continue reading
August Lost Docs Report and Appeal
REPORT For August, we received and posted 4 reports to GPO from librarians reporting documents that had seemingly fallen through the cracks of the cataloging process. The reports were originally sent to GPO during August 2011. This month, of the 4 reported documents posted by us, none have been cataloged, and these 4 items remain listed as "fugitive documents." No documents reported to GPO appeared to already have public CGP records. So there were no "false positives" for the month. Please remember that our listing of "fugitive documents" reports is only as complete as you make it. APPEAL If you like the concept of a public listing of fugitive documents reported to GPO, there are a number of easy ways to help us:
- If you report a fugitive document to GPO, send your e-mailed receipt to lostdocs@freegovinfo.info. We welcome any item reported to GPO in the past month. It is best if you can send us the receipt the same day you get it from GPO. Some e-mail programs will support auto-forwarding. If so, please consider autoforwarding items where the subject contains "lostdocs submission."
- Visit the blog at lostdocs.freegovinfo.info and comment on the listed items. Comments can include -- Did your library receive the item? Did you find it in the CGP? Do you think the item is out of scope for the CGP? Did you report the item as well and so on.
- Post the blog link to your website or share it on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media.
- Subscribe to the blog feed at lostdocs.freegovinfo.info/feed/ or better yet incorporate the feed into your website or blog.
State Agency Databases Activity Report: 9/4/2011
ORPHAN NEWS We had another relatively quiet at the State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States project. The list of orphan states in need of adoption is unchanged from last week: Mississippi Rhode Island Texas If you're a librarian in one of the above states, I'd really appreciate it if you would forward this message to appropriate listservs in your state. As I mentioned last week, the entry of Gov Ricky Perry into the Presidential race could make the Texas page a hot property if someone volunteered to update it. Just think of how Texas' perfomance in the last decade could be documented if there was a one stop place of all of its various databases. If you're interested in one of the above states, check out our volunteer guide at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/SADATFS_Volunteer_Guide and then send me an e-mail if you'd like to adopt one of the above states. If you adopt a state, be prepared to put your name and contact information on the main project page AND your state page within two weeks of receiving your wiki login. See the Volunteer guide for more details. WIKI ACTIVITY See our last seven days of activity at http://tinyurl.com/statedbs for a blow by blow description of changes to the page. Here are a few highlights: DATABASES ADDED DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (Shirl Kennedy) Answers, Please! (Social Services Database) - "Answers, Please! Online offers the public direct access to a network of government and community social service providers via the Internet. By incorporating the latest web technology and the District's mapping system, users may locate programs alphabetically or by program name, topic, keyword, and proximity to an address." NEW MEXICO (Adrienne Walker) EGIS Mapper The EGIS Mapper Application allows users to find and display key features of the data map such as drinking water sources and hazardous waste facilities. The navigation menu to the left covers key topics and functional tools of the map. Click on the Help Using this Tool link located in the upper right corner of the application for explanations and instructions regarding navigation, layers and controls in the creation of your query. In addition to the databases added to project pages, Shirl Kennedy added some resources to our "Not Databases" page at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/Not_Databases, including: Office of Tax and Revenue: Delinquent Taxpayers List "Publication of the delinquent taxpayers' lists below is part of an overall program to encourage voluntary compliance with the District's tax laws." (PDF) Office of the Chief Financial Officer: DC Tobacco Directory "Use the following links to view the Tobacco Directory and any changes to it that may be currently pending. The Tobacco Directory is listed by Manufacturer and is in PDF format. To search by brand family instead of manufacturer, select the search option on the toolbar at the top of the document and type in the exact brand family name. Be sure to include the correct spelling and punctuation to ensure a correct brand search." Office of the Chief Technology Officer: All Online Maps "The District of Columbia offers several online mapping applications highlighting data and information from various fields of interest such as crime statistics, public school profiles, detailed property information and more. The online mapping sites below, listed in alphabetic order, present data coming from agencies across the District government. Click each online map to read a brief introduction and to access the site." More than 30 are currently available. Why does our project have a "not databases" page? Since the project got underway in June 2007, a number of people have submitted resources, that while useful, fell outside the scope of this project. Either they weren't really databases or they were not published by a governmental entity belonging to a given state. But they are useful and so we're loath to just throw them away. Continue reading
Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act
Another note-worthy item from this past summer is the approval of the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act (UELMA) by the Uniform Law Commission, also known as the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL), at its annual meeting in July. A uniform law is a legislative proposal drafted by NCCUSL, a non-governmental body. Once approved, state legislatures are urged to enact the law, thus developing a uniformity of law across the states (think Uniform Commercial Code). UELMA takes an outcomes based approach, and requires that official electronic legal material be authenticated, preserved, and accessible for use by the public. For purposes of the Act, legal material includes the state constitution, session laws, codified laws or statutes, and state agency rules with the effect of law. States may also choose to include other types of legal material such as court rules, judicial decisions, and administrative decisions. NCCUSL’s approval of the UELMA is a particularly exciting development, full of possibility. The extent of the impact will, of course, depend on what happens now in the 50 states. Librarians, library associations, and all supporters of permanent public access to legal information should pay attention, make their voices heard on the state level, and work with their legislators. In my view, UELMA is a positive step toward permanent public access to state law. For more, see the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act committee page, which includes approved text, drafts, and issue memoranda. Continue reading