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.
NAP to provide free PDFs of all books
The National Academies Press announced that all PDF versions of books it publishes will be available for free download. This includes both its current catalog of more than 4,000 books as well as all future reports. Printed books will continue to be available for purchase through the NAP website and traditional channels. Browse the NAP catalog at http://www.nap.edu/ NAP is publisher for the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council. Known collectively as the National Academies, they are private, nonprofit institutions that provide expert advice on some of the most pressing challenges facing the nation and the world, including many government issues. The National Academy of Sciences was formed by a congressional charter signed by President Lincoln signed in 1863. Many of their activities are mandated and funded by Congress and federal agencies. Continue reading
NLM: American Medical Books Dating Back to 1610
Medicine in the Americas: 1610-1920: A Digital Library National Library of Medicine Releases "Medicine in the Americas," Featuring Digitized Versions of American Medical Books Dating Back to 1610, NLM News (23 May 2011).
The National Library of Medicine, the world's largest medical library and a component of NIH, announces the release of "Medicine in the Americas." A digital resource encompassing over 300 early American printed books, Medicine in the Americas makes freely available original works demonstrating the evolution of American medicine from colonial frontier outposts of the 17th century to research hospitals of the 20th century. Drawing on the collections of NLM's History of Medicine Division and including works from the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada, this initial release of Medicine in the Americas encompasses monographs dating from 1610 to 1865. Additional titles, dating up to 1920 and drawing further upon NLM's comprehensive collection of early American printed books, will be available on an ongoing basis in the future.Note that "All of the works included in Medicine in the Americas are in the public domain, usually because of their dates, though sometimes because they were published by a government body. Also, the National Library of Medicine does not claim copyright on the electronic files created for Medicine in the Americas, so images and text files created for the project can be published or distributed without seeking permission." http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/americas/americascopyright.html Continue reading
HTML for California statutes: Collaborate?
Ari Hershowitz, who runs Tabulaw (software tools for legal work), has converted California's statutes into structured html, with most internal references now hyperlinked (calaw.tabulaw.com), and has written about the process of doing this on his blog:
- How to Convert All Files in a Directory: CA Legislation.
- How to Convert Citations to Hyperlinks: CA Laws.
- How to: Convert Sections Into Hyperlink Targets.
- How to convert Text to HTML: Using txt2html Perl Module.
- California Laws: Converting Plain Text to HTML.
- California Law: Recovering Meaning and Metadata with RegEx.
...tracking of bills or proposed legislation becomes more meaningful if it can be compared to existing legislation. Please get in touch if you are interested in brainstorming or working with me to connect proposed legislation to the existing statutes to create a "legislative diff", or related improvements. Even better would be thoughts on how we can get California's legislature to include this metadata in the original drafts of bills.See www.tabulaw.com if you'd like to get in touch with Ari. Continue reading