Holiday closings

laster@uakron.edu — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I am very fortunate that my university closes from 25 December to 1 January, so I don't need to drain my vacation time dry in order to visit my family for the holidays. However, I got a reminder that I need to make this information public, so potential depository library users will know that we're closed.

Kathy Brazee from GPO says the following: "We encourage you to update the Public Notes field in the Federal Depository Library Directory with this holiday cl [...]

Government 2.0

reblakeley@mcneese.edu — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100

Dr. Mark Drapeau writes a wonderful series of posts on Government 2.0 ("from an insider's perspective") at Mashable.com.

Dr. Drapeau is the 2006-2008 AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the Center for Technology and National Security policy of the National Defense University in Washington. He also has his own fun blog and tweets at Twitter under the name "Cheeky_Geeky". How cute is that?

Tell Change.gov to Change

reblakeley@mcneese.edu — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

UPDATE: 12/3/08 Change.gov has changed their copyright statement to a Creative Commons attribution license. Read more about it here at FGI.

There is discussion going on at the FGI website about the copyright status of the President-elect's website, Change.gov, as well as the vanishing contents of the website, among other concerns. We at FGI created a standard letter for you to use (see below) if you wish to contact Change.gov and let them know your concerns.

Presidential Transition

reblakeley@mcneese.edu — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100
There are some great discussion going on at the FGI (Free Government Information) website about the Presidential Transition, civic engagement in librarianship, and a series of posts from John Schuler called "75 Days" to Government Information Liberation. Check it out and join in on the conversation!

Using government information to encourage civic engagement

harrisri@gvsu.edu — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

(Reposted from Free Government Information.)
On Tuesday, I received several exhortations to vote – via e-mail, Facebook, and other social networking sites. I found it somewhat amusing – since I received most of these exhortations after I voted. I also found it somewhat frustrating, because while voting is arguably the most powerful tool citizens have to engage with their governments, I think people are often ignorant of other ways to be civically engaged.

I should cl [...]

Inauguration 2009: A New Birth of Freedom

april.gilbert@sjsu.edu — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

If you're planning on being in Washington, D.C. for Inauguration Day, you might want to start booking that trip now.
Th [...]

Change.gov

april.gilbert@sjsu.edu — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

Via Huffington Post:
President-elect Barack Obama has launched the website change.gov, where one can find news about the transition and inauguration and information about his agenda. The site also has a place for people to share their ideas for government and their stories about the campaign.
According to DemConWatch, the site change.gov is slated to go live later today.
UPDATE: The site is now live and includes a link to the GSA's Presidential Transition Resources we [...]

CRS Reports to the People!

reblakeley@mcneese.edu — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

This post is the same as my original post at FGI:
Now that a new administration will be coming into office soon, it is more important than ever to encourage our Government to make Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports publicly accessible online. Here at FGI, the topic of CRS Reports has been written about often, but I was inspired to create this blog post and take action after seeing Starr Hoffman’s DLC conference presentation last week (click on "Search Document [...]

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

lsmith@selu.edu — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

Since we might possibly be electing our first African-American president today, I thought this would be a good time to look at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights:
http://www.usccr.gov/index.html
One part of the Commission's mission is "To investigate complaints alleging that citizens are being deprived of their right to vote by reason of their race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin, or by reason [...]

Government Widgets for Your Websites

reblakeley@mcneese.edu — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 05:00:00 +0100
I've caught the widget bug, thanks to Daniel Cornwall, who mentioned on Twitter that he found some nifty EPA Widgets.

So, out of curiosity, I did a search for other Government Agency widgets and widgets that use government information (such as those found on Govtrack.us or the Sunlight Foundation website). I found quite a few but I know there must be more out there.

I've compiled a "government widg [...]

EconomicRecovery.gov

reblakeley@mcneese.edu — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 05:00:00 +0100
EconomicRecovery.gov is a new interagency website from the Commerce Department that acts as a resource for the "latest information from government agencies on America’s economic recovery for people to keep their homes, find jobs and protect their savings".

It includes an interactive online forum, "Ask the White House." Various help guides include: "Guide to Avoiding Foreclosure" or "Eating Right When Money is Tight". Good to know!

Bats!

lsmith@selu.edu — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 05:00:00 +0100

Bats are indeed scary, night-flying, house-invading, sometimes rabid, and generally Halloween-y little critters. They're also bug-eating, very beneficial, and some are almost cute.
To learn more about bats, see these sites:
Introduction to Bats (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/bats/bats.htm
Bats and Rabies (Centers for Disease Control)

Fashion

lsmith@selu.edu — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 05:00:00 +0100

If you're a person who's always careful to make sure your couture is haute, you may be aware that fashion critic Mr. Blackwell passed away recently. In his honor, here are some government sites devoted to fashion and the fashion industry:
Fashion Designers (Occupational Outlook Handbook - Dept. of Labor)
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos291.htm
Textile, Textile Product, and Apparel Manufacturing (Ca [...]

Follow the Debates at C-SPAN's Debate Hub

april.gilbert@sjsu.edu — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 05:00:00 +0100

C-SPAN is incorporating the power of YouTube, Twitter, and blogs to provide a rich site where you can follow the presidential (and vice-presidential) debates. The site, called Debate Hub, launched today, just in time for tonight's first round. There's even a timeline where you can follow the transcript as the evening unfolds.
Via Mashable

Blog Entries

Holiday closings

Government 2.0

Tell Change.gov to Change

Presidential Transition

Using government information to encourage civic engagement

Inauguration 2009: A New Birth of Freedom

Change.gov

CRS Reports to the People!

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

Government Widgets for Your Websites

EconomicRecovery.gov

Bats!

Fashion

Follow the Debates at C-SPAN's Debate Hub