Geospatial Data Preservation Resource Center
Geospatial Data Preservation Resource Center
A new Web site, the Geospatial Data Preservation Resource Center, aims to help those responsible for producing and managing geospatial data learn about the latest approaches and tools available to facilitate long-term geospatial data preservation and access. The Web site provides descriptions and links for a variety of relevant resources, including education and training modules, useful tools and software, information on policies and standards for preserving geospatial data, and examples of successful preservation and associated benefits. This first release of the Web site, which CIESIN will be enhancing over the next year, was developed as an element of the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) of the Library of Congress. The Geospatial Data Preservation Resource Center is accessible at http://geopreservation.org/ CIESIN, the Center for International Earth Science Information Network, is a unit of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, based at the Lamont campus in Palisades, New York.Continue reading
Eleven Words in Pentagon Papers to Remain Classified
Eleven Words in Pentagon Papers to Remain Classified, by Steven Aftergood, Secrecy News (May 26th, 2011).
The Pentagon Papers that were leaked by Daniel Ellsberg four decades ago have been formally declassified and will be released in their entirety next month -- except for eleven words that remain classified. David S. Ferriero, the Archivist of the United States, announced the surprising exception to the upcoming release of the Papers at a meeting of the Public Interest Declassification Board on May 26.The Real Pentagon Papers, by A. J. Daverede, National Declassification Center blog (May 26, 2011)
The conditions under which the copies of the Report [leaked by Daniel Ellsberg] were made and distributed, coupled with the speed with which the copies were distributed and the urgency to publish the material, meant that the newspaper and magazine releases of the Papers covered only a very small portion of the 7,000 page Report. The copies of the Report that were leaked to Congress ultimately had better luck in publication. Ultimately, Senator Mike Gravel (D, Alaska) made available his copy of the Report to the publishing house of Beacon Press, located in Boston. The Beacon Press editions, published in 1971 in both hard and soft cover versions, were the definitive account of the Report until now. However, Beacon Press had its own copy problems that led to words, paragraphs, and even full pages of the Report being deleted, possibly due to the quality problems in the copy received from Senator Gravel. ...NARA's June release of the Report of the OSD Vietnam Task Force will present the American public with the first real look at this historic document. It is true that 11 words are redacted from one page of a 7,000 page report. However, this is very much a complete release of the Report.Continue reading
The Secret Patriot Act
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) says that the government applies a broad legal interpretation of certain provisions of the "P.A.T.R.I.O.T Act" and has classified that interpretation so that it cannot be publicly assessed or challenged.
- There’s a Secret Patriot Act, Senator Says, By Spencer Ackerman, Wired (May 25, 2011). Wyden says he "can't answer" any specific questions about how the government thinks it can use the Patriot Act. That would risk revealing classified information -- something Wyden considers an abuse of government secrecy. He believes the techniques themselves should stay secret, but the rationale for using their legal use under Patriot ought to be disclosed.
- The Secret PATRIOT Act and the End of Limited Government in America, by E.D. Kain, Forbes (May 26, 2011). Apologists for the PATRIOT Act have claimed that the innocent have nothing to fear from the government’s broadened powers.
"We can have honest and legitimate disagreements about exactly how broad intelligence collection authorities ought to be, and members of the public do not expect to know all of the details about how those authorities are used," Sen. Wyden said. "But I hope each Senator would agree that the law itself should not be kept secret and that the government should always be open and honest with the American people about what the law means." But the Senate moved toward cloture on reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act provisions and the Wyden amendment, which was co-sponsored by several Senate colleagues, was not permitted to be offered or to be voted upon.Continue reading
Status of the Wayback Machine
Roy updates us on the status of the Wayback machine with an example from the White House:
- Back to the Wayback Machine, Roy Tennant, Library Journal (May 18th, 2011). But that means that any claims to be "archiving the web" should be taken with a grain of salt. Maybe say "archiving the parts of the web that matter" or "ignoring what doesn’t matter so much".
Through a user-friendly web interface, Archive-It partners can catalog, manage, and browse their archived collections using web archiving tools developed at the Internet Archive. Collections are hosted at the Internet Archive data center and are accessible to the public, including full-text search.Continue reading
Social Security Administration Releases New iPhone App With Baby Name Info
You just never know when and when and where U.S. baby name info might be needed. Now, iOS users who need the info can access SSA material using a new app. In the past couple of days the Social Security Administration has introduced a new iPhone app (it should also work on iPad and iTouch devices) that provides access to 130 years of SSA info that you can browse or search. A "surprise me" button is available and you can also shake the iOS device to get info about a random name. According to the iTunes App Store here's what the the free app includes: + "Browse or search over 130 years of baby name data — over 45,000 unique names!" + "Save your own favorite names list and share them on Facebook, Twitter, or via an email." + "View baby name popularity trends" + "A Trivia game to test your baby name knowledge" + "View government-approved baby and family related services and information" Direct to App Store: http://bit.ly/INFOdocket5 -Gary Price and Shirl Kennedy We're Now at INFOdocket.com and FullTextReports.com Also, available on Twitter Continue reading