State Agency Databases Activity Report: June 5, 2011
Since last week, project volunteers have been busy at the State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States project on the GODORT wiki: Florida Volunteer Rich Gause updated many links on one of the most comprehensive project pages. Kansas Volunteer Bill Sowers updated a number of legislative database links. North Dakota Volunteer Kathryn Thomas updated links on the North Dakota page and added a number of new databases, including: Company Profiles - A database of "new wealth creators" like manufacturers, food processors and various information technology businesses. New wealth creators are businesses that bring new money into the state by selling a significant portion of their products outside the state. Search by city, company name, NAICS, or product. Search Available Property - Cities and Counties with currently available properties for sale or lease. Virginia Volunteer Nathan Verilla updated page links and added two databases: Burned Jurisdiction Database - This database contains a growing collection of records originally recorded in courts or jurisdictions that subsequently suffered record losses. These records are from higher or appeal courts, most of which do not presently exist. Among the jurisdictions included in this database are the General Court, the [Supreme] Court of Appeals, the High Court of Chancery, the various Superior Courts of Chancery, and the various District Courts. These records were found while processing chancery causes and other locality materials. The database contains records from collections housed and processed at the Library of Virginia as well as those processed in localities. Virginia Military Dead Database - The primary purpose of the Virginia Military Dead Database is to honor those Virginians that have given their lives in defense of freedom. It pulls together information from a wide variety of sources and makes that information more accessible. For more information consult the Introduction to the Virginia Military Dead Database and the Source Guides. Washington Volunteer Marilyn Von Seggern updated links on the Washington page and added new resources including the Environmental Information Management system. In addition to the activity above, project coordinator Daniel Cornwall undertook the following actions: - Established a draft guide for volunteers - Created a volunteers mail discussion list as part of an effort to bolster communication and community among project volunteers. - Did some fixes to the Wyoming page as a result of user e-mail - Continued to contact project volunteers who had not updated their pages since January 1, 2011. Continue reading
Video: What maps can tell us
While not specifically about government maps, this five minute video from the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library is a nice overview of the different uses of maps and why old maps remain important. It also makes a decent case for why at least some maps ought to continue in a physical format. Continue reading
Privacy in the value chain: an important role for libraries past and future
The new report Surveying the Digital Future from the Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenberg School, says that internet users are increasingly concerned about their privacy:
The annual study of the impact of the Internet on Americans conducted by the Center for the Digital Future found that almost half of Internet users age 16 and older -- 48 percent -- are worried about companies checking their actions on the Internet. -- press release and highlightsUsers are more concerned about corporations than governments:
By comparison, the new question for the Digital Future Study found that only 38 percent of Internet users age 16 and older are concerned about the government checking what they do online.It is not clear from the press release that respondents were asked about any specific activities or behaviors of governments or if they were asked about any specific laws such as the "PATRIOT" Act. Providing users with privacy and confidentiality when they read is one of the key, long-term values of libraries. As we look to our future, we should invest in our ability to continue to do that by hosting digital content and providing users a way to securely and privately browse and read digital content. See also: Privacy: "I have nothing to hide" Disintermediation Continue reading
Two CRS reports on GIS
Thanks to Steven Aftergood at Secrecy News for these CRS reports:
- Geospatial Information and Geographic Information Systems (GIS): An Overview for Congress, by Peter Folger, Specialist in Energy and Natural Resources Policy, Congressional Research Service 7-5700, R41825 (May 18, 2011). Includes information on The Basics, Examples of Why and How Geospatial Information Is Used, and How Geospatial Data Is Managed at the Federal Level.
- Issues and Challenges for Federal Geospatial Information, by Peter Folger, Specialist in Energy and Natural Resources Policy, Congressional Research Service 7-5700, R41826 (May 18, 2011). Includes information on Issues with Organization and Management, Data Sharing, and Coordination; Recent Legislation; Non-Federal Stakeholders; and a section on "A National GIS?".
1940 Census: An Invitational Workshop
In preparation for the release of the 1940 Census on April 2, 2012 - which will be, for the first time, available digitally - a workshop hosted at the National Archives at College Park, MD was held in partnership with four agencies: the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Science Foundation, NARA, and the University of Maryland College Park. The workshop was videotaped, and presentations are available as PowerPoint (PDF). Workshop Participants included social scientists, historians, representatives of social science research and data centers, computer scientists, and officials of NARA and other agencies. While discussions centered around the 1940 population census, key planning strategies emerged to investigate possible ways to enhance the value of the scanned records for scholarly and scientific research through advanced computer methods that will facilitate access to other socio-economic data sets. The workshop agenda focused on the following goals:For links to slides and videos, visit: http://www.archives.gov/ncast/news/events/1940-census.html For more information about the release of the 1940 Census records on April 2, 2012, visit http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/census/1940/index.html Continue reading
- Increase the usefulness of the scanned images for historical, social, scientific, and other research;
- Expand the possible types of research;
- Examine possibilities for NARA to collaborate with another institution serving some or all of the relevant populations of researchers;
- Further scholarship through the introduction of technological tools that can exploit a wider applicability.