Preserving History at the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Preserving History at the U.S. National Library of Medicine, by Kristi Davenport, Peter Gabriele, Stephen Greenberg, Holly Herro, Christie Moffatt, Paul Theerman, and Jeffrey S. Reznick, History News Network (May 23, 2011).
In this landmark year for the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM)--its 175th anniversary--its staff have been facing down nature through a project that looks to the next 175 years and beyond. Engaging in the emerging field of forensic conservation--a cross-over application of forensic science and state-of-the-art analytical technologies--staff are seeking to protect and save for future generations one of the most important historical documents of the twentieth century: the first summary of the genetic code, created by the American biochemist and 1968 Nobel Laureate, Dr. Marshall Nirenberg (1927-2010), whose papers the Library makes publicly available through Profiles in Science, the NLM's premier digital manuscript project that celebrates twentieth-century leaders in biomedical research and public health. Written in multiple blue-ballpoint pen inks on several sheets of 8 1/2" x 11" paper taped together with pressure-sensitive tape, the Nirenberg genetic code chart records the author's deciphering of the genetic code contained in DNA.Continue reading
State Agency Databases Report 6/29/2011
State Agency Databases Report 6/29/2011 There's been new activity for the State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States project on the ALA GODORT wiki. I've decided to start making occasional reports when it seems like there is enough activity to justify a report. Databases removed from project pages due to dead and apparently unrecoverable links: Arizona - Who's Who in Arizona GIS - WRA/WRITE Project Database - Brownfields Search Utility New Jersey - Brownfields SiteMart - Bike project database For details on the above, click on the "history" tab of the state page and click on a previous version. If you know of a new link for one of the above items, please let me know. Databases ADDED to project pages: Arizona - Doctor Search (Arizona Medical Board) - ADWR Image Records Database (Water Resources) - AZURITE License Application Query Utility Volunteer Changes - Alabama - Paula Webb taking over from Valerie Glenn. - Maryland - Page is now open for adoption. General Notes - Project volunteers who have not updated their pages since January 2010 are being contacted about their continued participation in the project. - Project pages without volunteers are in the process of being link checked. If you have questions or comments about this project, feel free to contact me at dnlcornwall@alaska.net Continue reading
Pinboard report on link rot
A new report on link rot on the blog of the social bookmarking service Pinboard:
- Remembrance of Links Past, by Maciej Ceglowski, Pinboard Blog (May 26, 2011).
How Data is Presented Matters: Arizona
While working on the State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States project updating Arizona databases, I ran across this resource: ADWR Imaged Records Database - Searchable database of digitized records, including: Well Registry, Statement of Claiment, Surface Water Files, Groundwater Authority Files, among others. This database has a number of technical hurdles: Windows Only, Internet Explorer Only, Javascript enabled, PowerWeb ActiveX viewer. The plug-in is free, but Windows Vista and Windows 7 users need to follow an illustrated, six page MS Word document to install the plugin. I don't think this is a deliberate attempt on Arizona's part to discourage access to records, but it does illustrate that there is much more to providing access to public records than simply putting them online. Ideally an agency considers the formats that citizens are likely to use and uses technologies that require low levels of involvement from users. Or, failing that, posting the data in an easy to manipulate format (spreadsheets, xml, pdf, etc) that other people and organizations can use to provide better access. Continue reading
how many G-20 countries make CRS-like reports available to the public?
The United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) recently released the World e-Parliament Report 2010. The Report, prepared by the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament, is based on the results of the Global Survey of ICT in Parliaments conducted by the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament between July and November 2009, to which 134 parliamentary assemblies responded. The 134 parliaments were surveyed on a number of issues, including whether or not they make the work of their parliamentary research services available to the public. Daniel Schuman, Policy Counsel for the Sunlight Foundation, contacted one of the report's authors, and asked for the underlying data on which countries make their CRS-like reports publicly available. Although they could not share that specific data, they told Daniel how many countries made those reports available. Answers to Daniel's questions were provided in an email from the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament, for which Daniel had permission to make public. Here are the highlights:
With regard to parliamentary chambers within members of the G-20:Thought this might be interesting and helpful. Thanks Daniel for sharing this information. Continue reading
- Parliamentary chambers in 16 of the 20 members of the G-20 responded to the 2009 survey. Because the European Union is a member of the G-20, the European Parliament is included in this group of 16. The names of all parliaments and chambers that participated in the 2009 survey can be found on page 5 of the Report.
- Parliamentary chambers in 4 of the G-20 members did not participate in the survey.
- Parliamentary chambers in 13 of the 16 G-20 members who responded to the survey reported that they did have subject matter experts on public policy issues who provide research and analysis for members and committees.
- Parliamentary chambers in 3 of the G-20 members reported that they did not have subject matter experts on public policy issues who provide research and analysis for members and committees.
- Parliamentary chambers in 11 of the 13 G-20 members who reported that they did have subject matter experts on public policy issues also reported that they make the results of that research and analysis available to the public. This represents 85% of the G-20 members whose chambers have subject matter experts (11/13).
- A number of the parliaments among the 13 who have subject matter experts are bi-cameral. These 13 therefore include a total of 19 separate chambers. Of these, 16 (84%) have subject matter experts whose work is made available to the public (16/19).
- NOTE: the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament has assured all participants of the confidentiality of their responses to the survey and that the names of individual chambers have not been provided in this correspondence.