Digital Camera plus Flickr = rapid DIY digitzation of govdocs

July 27, 2006 / Leave a comment

With few exceptions, federal government records and publications (which are a form of record) are in the public domain and can be used without fear of the copyright police. Digital cameras have become relatively inexpensive and easy to use and photo sharing sites like Flickr are able to hold many images. This means we now live in a world where individuals, some of them librarians have the means to do very fast, though not necesarily high quality, digitization of government documents. The next time you, your library or organization notices you have a document that would contribute to a hot topic, why not take some quick images and post it to the web like I've done with the 1977 Army publication Your Conduct in Combat? Putting the page images on Flickr also potentialy opens up this publication to people who wouldn't go to a documents web site, let alone a physical depository. I'm NOT recommending this approach for preservation or even medium term access since documents done in this way aren't full text searchable and in some cases (see inside front cover) don't seem to photograph properly. But I think doing things like this could be a marketing tool for your depository or an aid in online discussions you might be having. And who knows, maybe it would help get you support for properly digitizing large volumes of materials, once your funders get a glimpse of the treasures you have. And assuming I'm not the first person to hit on this idea, I'd love to hear other examples of DIY personal digitization of government documents. We probably won't devote a whole page to it since we're busy with the best. titles. ever. page, but we at FGI are always interested in new things being done with government information. It's yours and it's copyright free - now use it! Continue reading →

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Two State Libraries Using News to Promote Documents

July 27, 2006 / 2 Comments on Two State Libraries Using News to Promote Documents

One clear benefit of having government information in electronic format is the ability to quickly and easily tie government documents to other material. With the large number of news stories involving government activities or government resources, tying government documents to news media seems like a natural. Two state libraries that I know of are taking this natural step:

New Mexico appears to highlight documents while Washington highlights the news stories. Both look like good approaches to me and I hope both institutions get a lot of thanks and praise for their creativity! While I know of a few universities who provide this kind of service, these are the first I've seen from State libraries. Anyone else have an example? Continue reading →

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State Government Digital Information – A 50 state report

July 27, 2006 / 2 Comments on State Government Digital Information – A 50 state report

The Center for Technology in Government released this new report based on a survey of all fifty states: Preserving State Government Digital Information: A Baseline Report By Theresa A. Pardo, G. Brian Burke, and Hyuckbin Kwon. According to the press release, the authors identify six major barriers to the sucessful preservation of state government digital data:

  1. Capability for preserving state government digital information is low.
  2. There is no consistent approach to addressing “at-risk” information.
  3. Authority for setting standards and responsibility for providing digital preservation services is dispersed.
  4. Executive, legislative, and judicial agencies operate parallel digital preservation efforts.
  5. Digital preservation and Enterprise Architecture initiatives are not well-connected.
  6. Efforts to develop strategic digital preservation programs are hampered by problem focused practices and funding and staffing models.
I look forward to reading the entire paper and might have some more to say about it. If you've read the paper, please leave a comment or drop us a line. In addition to the paper, the CTG staff also published a set of state profiles that includes information on specific projects. Hopefully in the coming weeks we'll be able to highlight some states whose initiatives seem especially promising. Continue reading →

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Peggy Garvin, Blogger-of-the-month for August, 2006 and September, 2009

July 25, 2006 / Leave a comment

Peggy Garvin is BOTM for August, 2006 and has returned for another round for September, 2009. Peggy is an independent information professional (aka librarian) based in Washington, DC. Her firm, Garvin Information Consulting, provides writing, training, and consulting on finding U.S. government information, web and database searching, and evaluating information products. Her 25-year career in DC -- both in the private sector and at the Library of Congress Congressional Research Service -- has focused on public policy information and electronic information products. She was chair of the Special Libraries Association Government Information Division in 2006-07. She is chief blogger for the SLA Government Information Division blog. Peggy has been a fan of the FGI site since its inception and is honored to be August BOTM. (Editor's note: Peggy's bio was updated on September 1, 2009) Continue reading →

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Title 44 Correction: Sales Program NEVER subsidized depository program

July 25, 2006 / Leave a comment

In my last installment of Nonlawyer's Journey through Title 44, I stated:

"In an age of paper, the Sales Program helped provide some of the funding needed to make publications freely available to the public through Federal Depository Libraries."
I was wrong about this. Thankfully Superintendent of Documents Judy Russell caught wind of this entry and sent me the comment below:
----- Original Message ----- From: "Russell, Judith C. (SuDoc)" To: "'Discussion of Government Document Issues'" Cc: Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2006 5:05 AM Subject: RE: New Discussions at FGI: July 24, 2006 In his most recent analysis of Title 44, Dan Cornwall states: "In an age of paper, the Sales Program helped provide some of the funding needed to make publications freely available to the public through Federal Depository Libraries." The GPO Sales Program is by statute a self-sustaining program. Revenue from the Sales Program has never been used to fund the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), which receives its funding from annual Congressional appropriations. By providing a means for individuals and organizations to purchase copies of Federal government publications, the GPO Sales Program complements free public access through tangible depository collections and free online access. It will continue to serve the public by providing an alternative to using tangible Federal publications in libraries or downloading/printing copies from the Internet. Judy Russell Judith C. Russell (jrussell@gpo.gov) Managing Director, Information Dissemination (Superintendent of Documents) U.S. Government Printing Office Phone: 202-512-0571 Fax: 202-512-1434
Judy also made a comment on the mistaken entry which I've now incorporated into my commentary as an update. I do regret the error and hope others will be as willing and quick as Judy to correct mistakes as they come up. Thanks Judy! Continue reading →

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