Every once in a while we like to highlight government documents librarians who are engaging in creative documents outreach. One such person is Lori Smith of Southeastern Louisiana University. Lori has a MySpace profile complete with a fairly active blog. The profile and blog are very focused on government information and I think Lori has done a good job in selecting topics like to appeal to MySpace folks. Some of her recent topics have been:

• Acne or Staph?
• Still Missing
• Get Involved!
• Stingrays

It's not clear to me whether Lori is doing this on her own time or as part of her official duties. While the former would be great, the latter would be cooler. Thanks, Lori for breaking out of the "documents ghetto" and showing folks who might never walk into a depository library what their government is doing. Full Disclosure: I consider Lori Smith a friend and I collaborated with her on Tapping state government information sources. Do you know someone who is doing nontraditional documents outreach? Tell us! It doesn't have be something Web 2.0 - it could be someone handing out FDLP bookmarks at the mall, or GPO Access bumper stickers, or things I can't think of at the moment. Just something besides the traditional in-library promotions or depository flags on library web pages. While we need to keep doing those things, we need to promote outside our walls. Continue reading →

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Thanks to Patrice McDermott of Open the Government for passing along the following DVD announcement:

OpenTheGovernment.org Americans for Less Secrecy, More Democracy Contact: Emily Feldman or Patrice McDermott Organization: OpenTheGovernment.org Phone Number: (202) 332-6736 Email address: info@openthegovernment.org DVD on Government Secrecy Conference Released "Are We Safer in the Dark?" covers national discussion on right-to-know, access to information, and openness For Immediate Release Washington, DC, 28 September 2006 -- A DVD examining the issues of government secrecy is now available for purchase on the Special Libraries Association (SLA) website for the cost of $25 (USD). Titled, "Are We Safer in the Dark, A Sunshine Week National Dialogue On Open Government & Secrecy," the DVD is a recording of a national teleconference held during Sunshine Week and produced through a collaboration of national organizations dedicated to open government. The organizations sponsoring the event and DVD are OpenTheGovernment.org and American Association of Law Libraries, American Library Association, American Society of Newspaper Editors / Sunshine Week, Association of Research Libraries, Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, League of Women Voters, National Freedom of Information Coalition, National Press Club, and Special Libraries Association. "An open and accountable government is the hallmark of an informed and engaged citizenry," said Patrice McDermott, Director of OpenTheGovernment.org. "We believe that the American public is safer when we know the risks and threats we face and ensure our government is taking the steps to address them while respecting our rights and liberties. We cannot risk remaining in the dark." The DVD records the 90-minute national teleconference conducted on 13 March, during Sunshine Week 2006 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The distinguished speakers at that event addressed important issues and fielded questions that came in from audiences in sites throughout the U.S. The resulting DVD is a complete discussion on the hot-button issues surrounding open access to government information in the United States today. The DVD features speakers & video segments addressing the following issues: Do federal laws such as the Freedom of Information Act fulfill their promise to guarantee openness in government? How do laws passed and policies/regulations implemented since 9/11 encourage secrecy or openness? How does transparency affect the government's readiness and response to disasters such as Sago Mines and Hurricane Katrina? What about the public's ability to plan and respond - or to prevent disasters? What tools and resources work effectively in safeguarding the public's ability to hold government accountable? To order a copy of Are we Safer in the Dark? please visit the SLA website: http://www.sla.org/marketplace/stores/1/DVD_-_Are_We_Safer_in_the_Dark_P90.cfm. About OpenTheGovernment.org OpenTheGovernment.org is a coalition of consumer and good government groups, environmentalists, library groups, journalists, labor and others united to make the federal government a more open place in order to make us safer, strengthen public trust in government, and support our democratic principles. About Sunshine Week Sunshine Week is a national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Participants include print, broadcast and online news media, civic groups, libraries, non-profits, schools and others interested in the public's right to know. Sunshine Week is led by the American Society of Newspaper Editors and is funded by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation of Miami. Though spearheaded by journalists, Sunshine Week is about the public's right to know what its government is doing, and why. Sunshine Week seeks to enlighten and empower people to play an active role in their government at all levels, and to give them access to information that makes their lives better and their communities stronger.

Even without seeing the video, I think I can confidently say that the answer to the title question is a resounding no. But order the DVD anyway. It'd make a nice library addition or family conversation starter. Continue reading →

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I was recently asked to come up with a number of statistics about electronic state publications held by the Alaska State Library. I thought it was only fair to share the fruits of my labors with you. Facts about the e-documents collection: Cataloged Titles: 716 (614 books, 72 maps, 30 serials) These 716 titles live in 3,069 files using 3.9GB of storage space. Many documents are multi-part, especially maps. The average state documents file is then 1.3MB. Facts about the usage of Alaska e-docs during Jan-Jun 2006: Files downloaded - 687 files (all or part of a document) were downloaded 32,071 times between 1/1/2006 and 6/30/2006. Top Five Alaska e-docs (Jan-Jun 2006): 1) Area Management Report for Recreational Fisheries of the Prince William Sound Management Area, 2005 http://library.state.ak.us/asp/edocs/2006/01/ocm63149464.pdf Downloaded 247 times 2) A History of Organized Fire Suppression and Management in the Last Frontier http://library.state.ak.us/asp/edocs/2006/05/ocm69670021.pdf Downloaded 238 times 3) Assessment of Coho Salmon from the Kenai River, Alaska, 2000 http://library.state.ak.us/asp/edocs/2006/01/ocm63175374.pdf Downloaded 218 times 4) Alaska Public Transportation Management System (APTMS) Statewide Asset Inventory and Implementation Plan 2000 – 2006 http://library.state.ak.us/asp/edocs/2005/11/ocm62257140.pdf Downloaded 209 times 5) Patterns and Trends In Subsistence Salmon Harvests, Norton Sound and Port Clarence, 1994-2003 http://library.state.ak.us/asp/edocs/2005/10/ocm62122863.pdf Downloaded 205 times Organizations that have used Alaska e-docs: The stats below are based on a total of 835 visitor sessions initiated between 1/1/2006 and 6/30/2006. On average we had four visits a day, but that is still more than I notice people using state docs in the library. 1) Alaska based organizations - 153 visits or 18.3% of total. Alaska based organizations were: Alaska Communications Systems Group, Inc. Alaska Library Network First City Libraries (Ketchikan) GCI Communications Juneau Public Libraries State of Alaska Offices University of Alaska 2) Alaska State Library - 153 visits or 18.3% of total. When I get more time, it might be helpful to try and filter out our IP addresses so the report reflects outside activity only. 3) Non-Alaska government agencies - 23 visits or 2.75% of total. Non-Alaska government agencies were: State of Missouri Office of Administration State of Tennessee U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Dept. of Agriculture - NAL U.S. Dept. of Commerce - NOAA - NMFS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service IRM/BFO, HQ U.S. Geological Survey 4) Non-Alaska Universities - 283 or 33.9% of total. Non-Alaska universities were: Arizona State University Arizona Western College Auburn University Brigham Young University Columbia University Cornell University Georgetown University Georgia Institute of Technology Indiana University Michigan State University North Carolina State University Northeastern University Rice University Stanford University Network University of British Columbia University of California at Berkeley University of Connecticut University of Illinois University of Maryland University of Michigan University of Minnesota University of Notre Dame University of Pittsburgh University of Utah University of Wisconsin-Madison Vanderbilt University Wellesley College Wesleyan University Western Michigan University Yale University Some of these universities (at least Stanford) are LOCKSS caches. But some usage might be from actual human beings at these institutions. All of the above usage statistics were generated using a six month Web Trends report. If you are familiar with WebTrends, would you look through the report and let me know if you have suggestions for other statistics I could use or correcting my interpretation of the statistics I did use. I feel that I've been intellectually honest, but I welcome other interpretations. Also, if you know of other states with similar data, I'd be very interested in hearing about them! Continue reading →

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Thanks to a recent ALA e-mail, I learned about Alliance for Taxpayer Access. According to their web site, they are:

A diverse and growing alliance of organizations representing taxpayers, patients, physicians, researchers, and institutions that support open public access to taxpayer-funded research.

They also have a statement of principles that while focusing on scientific data, I think apply to all government data:

1. American taxpayers are entitled to open access on the Internet to the peer-reviewed scientific articles on research funded by the U.S. Government. 2. Widespread access to the information contained in these articles is an essential, inseparable component of our nation’s investment in science. 3. This and other scientific information should be shared in cost-effective ways that take advantage of the Internet, stimulate further discovery and innovation, and advance the translation of this knowledge into public benefits. 4. Enhanced access to and expanded sharing of information will lead to usage by millions of scientists, professionals, and individuals, and will deliver an accelerated return on the taxpayers' investment.

Their latest press release noted that under the voluntary medical deposit to the National Institutes of Health, less than five percent of federally funded research is being deposited. America can and should do better. Alliance for Taxpayer Access is just one of the groups we at FGI feel are fighting the good fight for information access. Check out our organizations page for more. Continue reading →

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Please respond to FGI's new poll in the left column of the homepage. This time we're asking for our readers' backgrounds so we can get a better sense of the demographics of our readership. Thanks for helping us out! Continue reading →

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