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
More on Google and Newspaper Archives
Following up on Google cancelling its newspaper digitization project, here are two more stories:
- Google archive decision 'astonishing' to Ottawa originator, by Vito Pilieci, The Ottawa Citizen (May 24, 2011). Google’s decision to end support for its newspaper archival services is distressing news for the Ottawa businessman who sold Google the technology to digitize records. "It’s disappointing, especially when you consider what I thought that this would do," said Bob Huggins, former chief executive officer and co-founder of PaperOfRecord.com, which Google bought in 2008 for an undisclosed sum. ...Huggins suggested that Google should partner with public sector institutions, such as the Library of Congress in the United States, to continue the newspaper digitization effort. The information could be stored by the library for safekeeping and made available online for everyone to read. "They need to give their head a shake here and realize they have some public responsibility," added Huggins. "For a company that said they wanted to organize all of the world’s data, what happened to that mandate?" While Google has shifted its focus away from digitizing historical newspapers, the company is trying to work hand-in-hand with newspapers to help them charge for content on their websites.
- Demise of Google Newspaper Archive Shows Need for National Digital Library Policy, by Irvin Muchnick, Beyond Chron, The San Francisco Alternative Daily (May 25, 2011). ...the collapse of the project reinforces the limits of self-appointed public utilities. Apparently, the newspaper archive wasn't getting enough eyeballs to make the project profitable.
OMB to cut two transparency programs, put improvements on hold
OMB to cut two transparency programs, suspend others, By Joseph Marks, NextGov (05/24/2011).
Two transparency initiatives and numerous improvements to open government programs will be scrapped as a result of a 75 percent funding cut lawmakers agreed to in April to avert a federal shutdown, officials said Tuesday. ...The government's most visible and popular transparency initiatives will stay in operation, such as USAspending.gov, which tracks government spending on contracts, and the IT Dashboard, which details spending on information technology projects. But planned improvements will be put on hold, according to Kundra's letter.Update: Kundra on e-gov cuts: no project unaffected, by Daniel Schuman, Sunlight Foundation (May 24, 2011).
Data quality may suffer....New data will be harder to come by.Continue reading