Nancy Kranich on Libraries as Universal Service Providers
This new 22 page report by Nancy Kranich, KS Consultants, Past President of the American Library Association, formerly associate dean of libraries at New York University, discusses the Universal Service provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the role of libraries in providing internet access to the public.
- Libraries as Universal Service Providers, by Nancy Kranich, Universal Service Project, Benton Foundation, December 1, 2006 [abstract]. Full text at http://www.benton.org/benton_files/kranich.doc
She says that libraries are now the number one point of access for the public outside the home, school, and work, leveling the playing field for those left behind in the digital age. But universal service programs need increased funding, better coordination, policy changes, and service improvements if every American is to have the opportunity to participate in the 21st century information society.
Continue readingNYU Libraries Hosts Live Webcast of National Event Exploring Government Secrecy and Openness During Sunshine Week
A live webcast of a discussion on the impact of government suppression and manipulation of scientific information on public health, safety, and accountability at national, state, and local levels, entitled “Closed Doors; Open Democracies?â€, will be hosted by New York University Libraries’ Business and Government Documents Center and the Coles Science Salon on Monday, March 12, from 1-2:30 p.m. The webcast will be shown at 19 W. 4th Street, room 101 in New York City. The event features Ira Flatow, host and executive producer of NPR’s “Science Friday†and two panels of experts in a national dialogue addressing issues of access to government information. The webcast is free and open to the public. Visit OpenTheGovernment.org for a list of venues, registration information, and more. The first panel will focus on national issues and will feature such speakers as Francesca Grifo, senior scientist and director of Scientific Integrity Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, presenting an overview on “how secrecy can make you sickâ€; Rick Piltz, whistleblower on the Bush administration’s manipulation of scientific reporting related to global warming; Susan Wood, former FDA official who quit over the delay of Plan B; and Jay Dyckman, director of The Knowledge Project. Panel 2 focuses on state and local issues. Speakers include Dorothy Biggs, former EPA librarian; Bill Wolfe, director, NJ Chapter of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility; and Mark Tapscott, editorial page editor of the Washington Examiner. The program originates from the National Press Club in Washington D.C. and kicks off Sunshine Week 2007. Continue reading
Congress Remix: OpenCongress.org Launched
The website OpenCongress.org was launched today by the Participatory Politics Foundation with help from the Sunlight Foundation. As stated on the website: "OpenCongress brings together official government data with news and blog coverage to give you the real story behind each bill" and also "OpenCongress is a free, open-source, non-profit, and non-partisan web resource with a mission to help make Congress more transparent and to encourage civic engagement." The site incorporates:
- Official Congressional information from Thomas, made available by GovTrack.us: bills, votes, committee reports, and more.
- News articles about bills and Members of Congress from Google News.
- Blog posts about bills and Members of Congress from Google Blog Search and Technorati.
- Campaign contribution information for every Member of Congress from the website of the non-profit, non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, OpenSecrets.org.
- Congress Gossip Blog: a blog written by the site editors of OpenCongress that highlights useful news and blog reporting from around the web. The blog also solicits tips, either anonymous or attributed, from political insiders, citizen journalists, and the public in order to build public knowledge about Congress.
Remix: Iraq Study Group Report
I'm sure every library in the country has a copy or three of the Iraq Study Group Report but here's a fascinating remix of the report by Lapham’s Quarterly in association with the Institute for the Future of the Book. The project brought together a "quorum of informed sources (historians, generals, politicians both foreign and domestic) to add marginal notes and brief commentaries at any point in the text seeming to require further clarification or forthright translation into plain English." Continue reading
Who do you think we are?
No this isn't a new FGI poll :-) In today's NY Times, there's an op-ed article entitled, "Op-Art: Who Do You Think We Are?" by Ben Schott (author of “Schott’s Original Miscellany†and “Schott’s Almanac,†a yearbook of American society, both must-have books for any serious trivia junky!). The article talks about the General Social Survey, which has been exploring the American psyche for 34 years. After the US Census, the GSS is the most frequently analyzed data source in the social sciences. The GSS is administered by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. Don't forget to check out the multimedia component of the article to see some of the questions that have been asked over the years (link opens a new browser window).
