Choicepoint Helps Government Keep Tabs On People
One of the key issues we track here at FGI is privacy, particularly as it relates to the ability of citizens to read government reports and information without having their activities tracked and monitored. We are concerned that, if the only "authentic" copy of a government publication is one that is available on a government-controlled web server, the government has the potential for tracking reading habits of individuals and tracking who is reading particular documents.
We like to assume this would never happen, and GPO has assured us that "GPO follows Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recommendations and other suggestions regarding Internet privacy policy." Nevertheless, we are always intrigued by stories of the government skirting existing privacy laws and policies.
It is in that context that we call your attention to this story:
Continue readingFall 2005 DLC Meeting Content Watch: Three weeks w/o vision
The Fall 2005 meeting of the Depository Library Council closed three weeks ago today. While we commend GPO for posting many of the educational sessions from the meeting, they are being sluggish in posting Council Visioning materials and other Council related content. As of this writing, the following material was missing in action on their official proceedings page: Council Discussion, Questions and Answers Coming Soon! Sunday: Council Session: In the Age of Massive Digitization: Libraries, Government Information and the Public - Clifford Lynch, Coalition for Networked Information Monday: Council and FDLP Visioning Session GODORT Meeting Arlene Weible, GODORT Chair, University of North Texas Libraries Tuesday: Council and FDLP Visioning Session: Report from Breakouts GPO Access Open Forum / New Databases Council and FDLP Visioning Session, Wrap-up Continue reading
New page for information seekers
Based on some user comments and our search logs, we at Free Government Information have realized that a number of people come here to look for information FROM the government, while our emphasis is on information ABOUT government information policy. Don't despair, we listen! We have established a bare-bones Where to Find Government Information page that we hope will allow accidental visitors to find a place to start. You can also get to the page by clicking on "Find govt information" at the top of each FGI page. We probably WON'T add links unless they are really outstanding, since we don't want to replicate the outstanding work so many docs librarians have already done. Still, if you have a major suggestions for the page, please let us know. Continue reading
An open question on the open document format
What exactly are the preservation concerns for open source standards expressed by Massachusetts state supervisor of public records, Alan Cote? Are any of them legitimate concerns? from ZDNet:
"The rigid policy, such as the initiative before you that excludes any vendor or any process and relies on questionable, untested and unreliable practices or tools, does not suit the commonwealth well," Cote said in prepared remarks. "It may very well result in many electronic records being lost or destroyed." Cote added that the state's records management system renders what format a document is saved in as moot.Continue reading
Where to Find Government Information
If you are looking for information from the government, you are not quite in the right place. The Free Government Information site is devoted to raising awareness of issues related to government information policy, especially those regarding the easily restricted/malleable/trackable digital realm. But since FGI is run by volunteer librarians, we are happy to offer you some starting points for your government information resources:
- Places to Ask Questions
- Government Information Online - A free, real-time and e-mail service staffed by government information professionals.
- USA.Gov Question by e-mail - An offical gov't site to take your questions.
- USA.Gov hotline and phone directories - Pick up your phone and ask a question.
- Your local federal depository library - Use this page to find your nearest Federal Depository Library, who can help by phone, e-mail or in-person with your government information needs.
- Ask-a-Librarian on the Web - Use this link to find web-based librarians waiting to answer general reference questions.
- Try your local public library - It's always a good idea to give your own library the first crack at a question. After all, you pay for it! Use this link to find the nearest public library near you.
- Places to do your own research
- General GPO Federal Digital System - One stop access to thousands of publications from the Government Printing Office.
- General USA.Gov - Web portal with information by topic for citizens, researchers, government employees and others.
- Science Science.gov - a gateway to authoritative selected science information provided by U.S. Government agencies, including research and development results.
- Census American Factfinder - Where you want to go for population and demographic information and anything to do with Census EXCEPT Genealogy.
- Statistics Fed Stats - Numbers on nearly everything.
- Congress THOMAS - current federal legislation
- GAO Reports Government Accountability Office Topic Search - Nonpartisan reports on government operations browseable by topic.
- CRS Reports Open CRS - Brings together reports on many topics of interest done by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service.
- Directory US Government Manual - Learn more about the structure of our government and locate government contacts.
- National Security Archives Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Guide - Did you know that most government information is neither classified nor published? But you can ask agencies to provide unpublished information provided it isn't exempted from disclosure.
- List of Federal FOIA contacts - Once you learn how to make a FOIA request, find out where to file one. Site also has links to "FOIA Reading Rooms" where you can find previously disclosed information.
- Daniel Cornwall's guide to finding State government information.