NARA Press Release:
The development of the Electronic Records Archives (ERA) system has passed a significant milestone, with the successful completion of government testing of the first delivery of software from the developer, Lockheed Martin Corporation. ERA is the National Archives and Records Administration’s strategic initiative to preserve and provide long-term access to uniquely valuable electronic [...]
Archive of entries posted on December 2007
Successful Test for First Phase of National Archives Electronic Records Archives System
Group urges US challenge Chinese censorship at WTO
From The Guardian:
A California free speech group whose board of directors includes Google and Yahoo said on Monday it had asked U.S. trade officials to challenge China’s Internet restrictions as a violation of global trade rules.
The issue threatens to further strain U.S.-China trade relations if the U.S. Trade Representative’s office decides to take on the [...]
Sandia Allows Access to Books After Outcry
From the Albuquerque Journal: (Subscription required)
The books have been given a reprieve.
In response to outrage from scientists, books may once again be checked out from the Sandia National Laboratories library. . .
. . . Restoring access to the library books will cost Sandia about $500,000 per year, Williams said. Given rising costs and budgets that [...]
Lewisville warehouse is new site for Bush records
From the Dallas Morning News:
Millions of records, photos and artifacts tracing the presidency of George W. Bush will move from the White House to a white North Texas warehouse by early 2009 under a recently awarded government contract.
The six-year, $12.7 million contract, overseen by the National Archives and Records Administration, will turn Lewisville’s 1725 Lakepointe [...]
Montana State Library delays digital switch
From the Billings Gazette:
The Montana State Library is going to slow down its transition to a digital library, but it still aims to phase out the type of walk-in access it now has, the library commission was told Wednesday.
The library says its mission can best be met with a digital library, and only a few [...]
Canadian Government retreats on copyright reform
From the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation:
A controversial bill that seeks to reform Canadian copyright laws will not be introduced this week, federal officials confirmed on Thursday.
A spokesperson for Minister of Industry Jim Prentice said he would not be introducing the bill either Thursday or Friday. The House of Commons goes into recess for the holidays at [...]
Issues and Advice for Officials Looking to Remove Social Security Numbers and Other Personal Information from Public Records
From Government Technology:
A new white paper designed to help public officials develop policies for removing Social Security numbers and other sensitive information from public documents is now available online. The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), in collaboration with the National Electronic Commerce Coordinating Council (eC3), today released a joint white paper on redaction [...]
Ontario archives lost hundreds of items
From The Globe and Mail:
Hundreds of items of historical significance, including a valuable Group of Seven painting, have gone missing over the years from the province’s archives, the Auditor-General noted in his annual report yesterday.
The report found a number of weaknesses in the Archives of Ontario’s inventory control that may have resulted in the losses.
“While [...]
OMB Offers an Easy Way to Follow the Money
From the Washington Post:
Robert Shea is a Republican insider with a head for business and a yen for federal program performance standards. Gary Bass is a government watchdog with a mean bite who wants openness and knows how to get it.
Official antagonists, political opposites, brought together by a wild, crazy idea: federal budget transparency. Online [...]
Pooling Scholars’ Digital Resources
From Inside Higher Ed:
The various and competing efforts to digitize university libraries’ vast holdings have no lack of ambition, but access to documents and copyright issues have been two factors slowing the development of online scholarly repositories. Now, an effort at George Mason University seeks to bypass libraries entirely and delve into scholars’ file cabinets [...]