Crisis in “Foreign Relations of the US” series
The Foreign Relations of the US (FRUS), one of the most important and long-standing documents recording the "official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity," is in crisis due to mismanagement by the Office of the Historian. William Roger Louis, the esteemed historian who has chaired the Committee for the last five years, presented his views in a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (pdf). According to Dr Louis, "15 historians or compilers in a staff of about 35 have left in the last three years." It's a sad state of affairs the such a venerable publication could succumb to petty politics.
November 28, 2008 The Honorable Condoleezza Rice Secretary of State Department of State Washington, D.C. Dear Secretary of State Rice: Foreign Relations of the United States Documentary Series Fully conscious of the serious nature of the issues raised in this letter, I must write to you about the future of the Foreign Relations series and of the related issues of plummeting morale and mismanagement within the Office of the Historian. I have served on the oversight body of the series, the Historical Advisory Committee, for nearly ten years, five of them as chairman. I am a past President of the American Historical Association. Along with all other members of the advisory committee, I am guided by the Congressional mandate to ensure that the Foreign Relations series represents a trustworthy, full, and honest documentary record. In our judgment, the prospective fate of the series has now become so grave that it would be a failure of responsibility on my part were I not to call it to your attention. The significance of the Foreign Relations series can be summed up by stating that, as required by Congressional legislation (Public Law 102-138), it provides the public, both here and throughout the world, with a thorough, accurate, and reliable documentary account of US foreign policy. Members of Congress, government officials, scholars, journalists, and interested citizens depend on the timely appearance of the series for an understanding of the course of American foreign affairs. This historic mission is now in danger, and, for reasons I shall explain at the end, there is a certain urgency to this letter. My concern, along with that of all members of the committee, arises from mismanagement by the Historian himself, Dr. Marc Susser. So large are the numbers of staff members leaving, or contemplating departure, that the integrity of the Foreign Relations series is now in jeopardy. To give you a rough idea of the extent of the problem, 15 historians or compilers in a staff of about 35 have left in the last three years during Dr. Susser’s tenure.[Thanks Secrecy news!] Continue reading
GovTrack announces major updates
Govtack.us has announced some major new features!
- Site Updates in September, December 2008, by Josh Tauberer, December 20, 2008
Guide of the Week: finalizing plans for the 2010 Census
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently identified Finalizing plans for the 2010 Census as one of 13 urgent issues facing the next President and Congress. If you're not a docs librarian or a policy wonk (there are a few of you reading FGI, right?) you might not realize the importance of this issue. The GAO spells out why every American should care about this issue:
The results of the 2010 Census are central to apportionment, redistricting congressional boundaries, and distributing around $300 billion in federal aid to states and localities each year.Translation - The results of the 2010 census will redraw the legislative districts in your state, possibly changing how you are represented. The results will spark the redrawing of your congressional district, unless you live in Alaska or Wyoming, which have statewide Representatives. This redrawing could make it easier or harder to unseat your current Member of Congress. In addition, the 2010 results will affect how much federal money each state will receive. In terms of Census planning, I'm afraid that for the first time in considering these critical transistion issues, I can't find any guide from the ALA GODORT Exchange Wiki that would help you understand planning for the next census. For that, you had best just read the GAO page on the subject. On the other hand, if you're looking on how find and use census information once it's published, librarians can help. A lot. Check out these guides for a start. Next week I'll be dealing with librarian produced guides relating to "caring for service members." So if you have any guides relating to that topic, please try and post them to the Handout Exchange this week. Hopefully next week I won't get caught flat-footed again. Continue reading
Guide of the Week: Improving US Image
Note: Below is the entry that should have appeared last Saturday. My apologies for the delay. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently identified Improving the US Image Abroad as one of 13 urgent issues facing the next President and Congress. Today on Guide of the Week, we'll talk about some librarian produced guides from the ALA GODORT Exchange Wiki that can help inform citizens, Congress and President-Elect Obama on this issue. There appear to be two librarian-produced guides that look helpful in this area:
- Government Publications on Islam (University of Colorado at Boulder Government Publications Library, 2008)
- Public Opinion Sources (Univ. of California--Berkeley, 1999) Last updated 5/9/2006
34 Days to Government Information Liberation
2. Seek to establish the most effective techniques individual bibliographic institutions can contribute to a national system of government information access, preservation and organization. The 1990s represent some of the best and brightest efforts of advocacy, thinking and study about the future prospects of government information services in libraries -- here are some of the highlights (by no means complete; I will try to fill in more of the missing pieces in my subsequent posts) Coming on the heels of OTA's Informing the Nation report, government information librarians were ready and willing to weigh in on the future of the federal depository library program in particular, and the role of libraries in the civic machinery of federal government information. The decade began with a set of principles from the American Library Associations Governemnt Documents Roundtable -- published in Documents to the People, v.19:1 (March 1991):12, 14. Soon after, a separate group of libraries came together around the issue and formed a coalition called the Dupont Circle Group, which issued its own set of principles, hosted a national conference, and made some specific recommendations on who the depository library program might change. A year or so later, another loose affiliation of library groups came together with their own recommendations. The Coalition of Many Associations Framework debated many of the points rasied by the Dupont Circle effort, and issued its own report -- "Enhanced Library Access and Dissemination of Federal Government Information: A Framework for Future Discussion." Working Document endorsed by the American Association of Law Libraries, American Library Association, Association of Research Libraries, Special Libraries Association, 1995. American Association of Law Libraries Newsletter 27, no. 1 (September 1995): 14-15. Not to be left out of the picture, the Depository Library Council issued its own statement on the challenges ahead -- Depository Library Council to the Public Printer (U.S.). "Alternatives for Restructuring the Depository Library Program: A Report to the Superintendent of Documents and the Public Printer from the Depository Library Council." September 1993. Administrative Notes 16, no. 16 (December 5, 1995): 23-59. But wait -- there's more. ALA devoted significant chunks of its 1995 midwinter and summer conference to the issues -- and issued a report: * "Model for 'New Universe' of Federal Information Access and Dissemination: Preliminary Results of Forum on Government Information Policy, July 20-21, 1995, Sponsored by American Library Association." ALAWON, ALA Washington Office Newsline 4, no. 77 (August 9, 1995). But then, the National Commission on Library and Information Science considered the problem, and issued its own set of principles, following work they did back in 1990. GPO weighed into the fray -- and issued its own considerations -- "Report to the Congress: Study to Identify Measures Necessary for a Successful Transition to a More Electronic Federal Depository Library Program as required by Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1996. Public Law 104-53." Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. June 1996. But wait there is more ... In 1996-7, GPO issued to other strategic documents -- "Study to Identify Measures Necessary for a Successful Transition to a More Electronic Federal Depository Library Program" and THE ELECTRONIC FEDERAL DEPOSITORY LIBRARY PROGRAM: TRANSITION PLAN, FY 1996 - FY 1998 Finally, and again -- remember I am only touching on the highlights of ten years here -- NCLIS returned to the problem and issued its own massive report on the problem of public information in a digital age following on a large-scale national effort during 1999-2000: A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION DISSEMINATION FINAL REPORT -- JANUARY 26, 2001 I am tired just thinking about how many brain cells we killed during these ten years trying to get a handle on the future of government information in a digital age. In reviewing this good work, I am reminded of the phrase -- those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it. Let's not close out this decade with another series of reports or studies -- lets do something about it. I will get back to this exciting decade tomorrow -- after some rest. See you Day 33 Continue reading