GPO Relases Draft Report on Regionals
Taking another step towards the larger discussion, GPO announced the release of its "Regional Depository Libraries in the 21st Century: A Preliminary Assessment", was delivered to the JCP and is now available on the FDLP Desktop.
6 Days to Government Information Liberation
The next few months are important for libraries to take advantage of the civic optimism unleashed by the recent national elections. Promoting government information in new (and not so new) ways ought to become the priority for our institutions and associations. I have already mentioned a couple of possibilities -- Talking Back to Democracy and working closely with your congressional district offices to reach out to parts of the community not directly participating in the life of the institution that is responsible for a depository. Or even working with the several depositories that might be part of a congressional district. The point is, I suppose, is to get back to some things that librarians have always done well and transcend both the traditional practices of paper-based government information service and the whiz-bang possibilities of using the web. The heart of our local practice, if not our theory, is that we explain complicated processes and events. Here again, examples from journalism might shed some light. The Chicago Tribune recently published a graphic that explains the rather baroque steps involved in order to impeach a governor. I think this is a graphic style/narrative librarians have touched upon in the past -- remember those different kinds of graphics that show how a bill becomes a law. From another point of explaining, there are two excellent examples from the New York Review Books -- one that describes a rather complicated case of libel in England and the other that discusses the role of pharmaceutical companies in the promotion of useless drugs -- that demonstrate the classic strengths of what are essentially bibliographic essays. Another way we reach out to our communities is through information/reference services. Tomorrow I will talk about the the success of the Government Information Online project and the promise it might offer. See you on day 5. Continue reading
Good News from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
FBI's Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report reveals that crime rates declined in 2008. The report revelas that from January-June 2008, violent crimes decreased by 3.5 percent and property crimes by 2.5 percent. FBI's press release states that a full report for 2008 will be released in fall. The main points are: "Violent crimes in all population groups declined: murder by 4.4 percent, aggravated assault by 4.1 percent, forcible rape by 3.3 percent, and robbery by 2.2 percent. On a regional basis, law enforcement in all four parts of the country reported a drop in violent crimes: 6.0 percent in the Midwest, 5.0 percent in the West, 2.9 percent in the Northeast, and 1.5 percent in the South. Overall, property crimes fell in the Midwest (4.7 percent), the West (6.1 percent), and the South (0.4 percent). Among population groupings, each category of property crime was down: motor vehicle thefts by 12.6 percent, larceny-theft by 1.2 percent, and burglaries by 0.8 percent. Arsons dropped in all four regions of the country and among all population groups (with the exception of cities with populations of 250,000-499,999, where it actually increased 2.0 percent)." - Main points quoted from the FBI's Press Release Continue reading
The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2009 to 2019 from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
The Congressional Budget Office has released the Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2009 to 2019. The CBO expects that the current economic recession will “last until the second half of 2009, making it the longest recession since World War II.” The recession began in December 2007. Some of the main predictions are: 1) This year, the deficit will be $1.2 trillion (8.3% of the GDP) 2) Unemployment rate will increase more than 9 percent at the beginning of 2010 3) Federal revenues will decrease by $166 billion from the amount it was in 2008 4) A further decline of 14 percent in the national average price of a home between 2008 and 2010 5) In 2010, there will be a slow economic revival and a growth of 1.5 percent in the real GDP Continue reading
Current State & Future Outlook of E-Government
The OMB released reports yesterday on the current state and future of E-Government. They include: * Expanding E-Government Results Report * Federal CIO Council Transition Guide * Report to Congress on the Benefits of the E-Government Initiatives Departments and agencies claim that they "continue to make great improvements in the area of security and privacy" and the CIO Council Transition Guide focuses on these areas of interest: - Empowering the Government through Information Sharing - Protecting the Networks & Systems Required to Operate in the Information Age - Tapping the Power of a Collaborative Citizenry Continue reading