Hearing on Over-Classification and Pseudo-Classification of Government Information
House Panel Investigates Over-Classification of Federal Information National Coalition for History April 27th, 2007
On April 26, 2007, the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment held a hearing to consider the problem of over-classification, and “pseudo-classification,†of government information. At issue are the federal government’s attempts to standardize procedures for the treatment of what is referred to as “Sensitive But Unclassified†(SBU) information. There are currently 107 different markings for sensitive information that has led to over-classification and a reluctance to disseminate information to state and local law enforcement agencies. In addition, some 280 laws and 150 regulations control the handling of classified information.Selected testimony and statements are already available:
- Hearing on The Over-Classification and Pseudo-Classification of Government Information: The Response of the Program Manager of the Information Sharing Environment House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment April 26, 2007
More LOCKSS slides from Spring 2007 Depository Library Council
Patricia Kenly from Georgia Tech has given us permission to post her powerpoint presentation describing Georgia Tech's LOCKSS program (PPT). I also added a link to it on our Spring '07 DLC page. While I wasn't at DLC, the information that I gleaned from Patricia's slides is that LOCKSS is relatively easy to administer, the hardware is cheap, LOCKSS has quickly become the library's primary strategy for digital preservation, and Georgia Tech is willing to share information with anyone. Thanks Patricia for the slides! Continue reading
International Polar Year March 2007-March 2009
International Polar Year Thanks to advances in global telecommunications technologies, people worldwide have a rare opportunity to follow, and sometimes even participate in, Arctic and Antarctic research and exploration as part of the International Polar Year (IPY), a global scientific campaign which began in March 2007. IPY promises to advance our understanding of how the Earth's remote polar regions affect global climate systems, to bring about fundamental advances in many areas of science, and to fire the enthusiasm of young men and women for careers in science and engineering. The Polar Year actually will extend from March 1, 2007, until March 1, 2009, to allow researchers to conduct two annual observing cycles in each region, particularly in isolated areas that are prohibitively cold and dark for roughly six months of the year. The USGS Educational Resources Index for IPY lets you explore a variety of USGS resources on polar research, from maps and fact sheets to photographs and databases. Designed for researchers, students, teachers and others interested in research and findings related to polar science, this index contains more than 65 different resources. Check it out at USGS/IPY, and keep checking for updates. For more information, contact Robert Ridky at (703) 648-4713 or rridky@usgs.gov. Continue reading
May Day, BOTM and maps oh my!
Happy May Day aka International Workers' Day! Let's welcome Angie Cope to the "podium" as our May Blogger-of-the-month (bio)!! Angie's a maps librarian so I hope we'll see lot's of information about USGS, GIS, etc. And thanks too to our April BOTM, Newkirk Barnes. Just when I thought that Gary Price was our most prolific BOTM, along comes Newkirk. In case you missed anything, here's a wrapup of Newkirk's posts:
- FEMA struggles to upgrade information technology
- Google and state government information
- 2010 Census field data collection
- Homeland Security Report Card
- Report from President's Identity Theft Task Force
- Library of Congress newspaper project
- Money management
- Data breach at USDA
- American Presidency Project
- Electronic voting machines
- Social Security checks with wrong amounts
- Oral Histories from U.S. Veterans
- Electronic health information
- 2006 Federal Information Security Management Act reports
- White House e-mails
- NARA films from Google
- Better collaboration among intelligence agencies?
- Lack of collaboration among DHS watch centers
- 100 Milestone Documents
- Your tax dollars at work, literally
Angie Cope, BOTM for May, 2007
From Angie:
I am a Senior Academic Librarian at the American Geographical Society Library at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. My duties include collection development, cataloging maps, atlases and digital data and assisting with reference and outreach. I have been at my current map library for almost six years and worked at a map and government depository library for 3 years as an undergrad student. I have a Geography B.S. and a Resource Planning M.S. from Southwest Missouri State University and an M.L.I.S. from UW-Milwaukee.Continue reading