Librarian who received a “National Security Letter” testifies before the Senate
Warning against government secrecy, by Andrew Miga, Associated Press, April 11, 2007.
A Connecticut librarian who fended off an FBI demand for computer records on patrons said Wednesday the government's secret anti-terrorism investigations strip away personal freedoms. "Terrorists win when the fear of them induces us to destroy the rights that make us free," George Christian told a Senate panel.Continue reading
Introducing Newkirk Barnes
April has certainly come in with a bang. I've fallen behind on my BOTM duties because of some computer issue (everyone take a minute and back up your data RIGHT NOW!). I'm back on the horse, and pleased to introduce Newkirk Barnes, our guest blogger for April, 2007. You can read more about Newkirk on her bio page. Newkirk comes to us from Mitchell Memorial Library at Mississippi State University (MSU). Take it away Newkirk!! Also, much thanks to Gary Price, our BOTM for March. Gary was one of our most prolific guest bloggers -- in fact he posted FGI item numbers 999, 1000, and 1001!!! -- and will continue to post to FGI when it strikes his fancy. In the meantime, don't forget to visit the ResourceShelf and DocuTicker! For those that may have missed some of Gary's posts, here's a list. Thanks again Gary!! We look forward to your informative posts in the future!!
- Need Some Planning Calendars
- A Quick Look at CapWiz
- CRS Updates
- Some Bits About Ask.com
- Digitized Newspapers: New from LoC and Other Resources
- Director of National Security Archive on C-SPAN; Rosemary Award Winner For Worst FOIA Performance Announced
- TerraFly's Data
- Sunshine Week: Charlotte Observer Info Pros Share Resources, Answer Questions About Public Records on New Blog
- The Washington Daybook
- More FOIA Resources Including a FOIA Quiz from the Associated Press
- IFLA Posts Country Reports From Committee on Copyright and other Legal Matters
- More than 1 Million Pages of Historical Government Documents Removed from Public View Since 9/11
- The Mobile Web in Action
- A Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Use of Section 215 Order for Business Records (Unclassified), March 2007
- Updated: Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons, March 2007
- In the News: Memorandum of Understanding Between the United States and Brazil to Advance Cooperation on Biofuels
- Near Real Time Info: Amtrak
- Near Real Time Info from the FAA
- New Statistical Reports: Business in Europe & Global Employment Trends for Women
- Website for National War Powers Commission Now Online
- Official U.S. House Committee Lists Released
- Census Bureau Accidently Places Data Online
- 2007 Congressional Pig Book Released and Online
- The DC Radio Dial for Federal Government News
- 2006 Annual Report on Human Rights Released by U.S. Department of State
- "Doing Business In" Country Commercial Guides for 2007 Continue Getting Released
- New PATRIOT Act Report to Congress from DOJ IG Now Available
- IFLA Posts Draft Guidelines for Libraries of Government Departments
- Recent Info Security Report, Walking Directions, Intro to Loki
- Hello from Washington D.C.
Newkirk Barnes, BOTM for April, 2007
Newkirk Barnes is an Assistant Professor and Government Documents Librarian at the Mitchell Memorial Library at Mississippi State University (MSU). She also serves as the Library Liaison to the MSU Departments of Communication and Foreign Languages. Her research interests include legal research instruction and reference services for non-law students, the effects of Internet migration on public access to U.S. government publications, and outreach programs in academic libraries. Barnes earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Tulane University in 2003, graduating magna cum laude. She earned her Master of Library and Information Studies degree from The University of Alabama in 2004. Barnes joined the faculty of the MSU Libraries in 2005 as an Assistant Professor/Reference Librarian. Continue reading
Your tax dollars at work, literally
Here are two news items for taxpayers to chew on:
Continue readingLunchtime Listens: Info Island Project on Second Life
A recent SirsiDynix Institute presentation by Michael Sauers and Rhonda Trueman titled The Info Island Project on Second Life is a hour long overview of Second Life in general and library/university activities in Second Life in particular. I was particularly surprised to find that the Kansas State Library has a Second Life branch. I'll try to check it out sometime this week and get back to you if there is a govdocs angle. This is a great presentation if you want to know what all the fuss is about. The talk even has a set of "reality checks" to help you decide whether you want to check out Second Life. If I haven't mentioned it before, I have to admit that I haven't been active in Second Life for quite awhile and only just recently reinstalled the software. But I'm glad to see people with more time than I exploring and using these kinds of technology. Continue reading