National Library of Australia Press Release:
More than $800,000 has been allocated in the federal Budget to the National Library of Australia, the National Film and Sound Archive and the National Archives of Australia to help collect and preserve huge volumes of digital information.
This will also assist in progressing towards the digitisation of our important cultural [...]
Archive of entries posted on May 2009
Budget helps to deal with the ‘digital deluge’
New Online Forum Promotes Transparency and Openness in Government
EPA Press Release:
The eRulemaking Program, a federal-wide E-Government project led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has launched Regulations.gov Exchange. Regulations.gov is the one-stop, online source for citizens to search, view and comment on regulations issued by the U.S. government.
In the past, the paper process limited the public’s ability to find rules and comment. Today, [...]
Review of Government Secrecy Ordered
From the Washington Post:
President Obama directed his national security adviser and senior Cabinet officials yesterday to examine whether the government keeps too much information secret.
In a memo, Obama acknowledged that too many documents have been kept from the public eye for years and affirmed that he remains “committed to operating with an unprecedented level of [...]
Letter Sent to Congress Requesting Investigation into Use of USA Patriot Act Authorities
From SLA’s Public Policy blog:
On 21 May, SLA signed on to a letter sent to members of Congress urging a comprehensive investigation into the use of the authorities granted under the USA Patriot Act and additional surveillance legislation and guidelines.
Tehran blocks access to Facebook
From the BBC:
Iran has blocked access to social networking site Facebook ahead of June’s presidential elections, Iran’s Ilna news agency and web users say.
Ilna says the move is aimed at stopping supporters of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi from using the site for his campaign.
SLA Meets with Google Regarding Book Settlement
From SLA’s Public Policy blog:
Last week, Derek Slater, Policy Analyst with Google, met with staff at SLA headquarters to discuss and address various concerns that have been voiced by SLA members over the [Google Book Settlement]. Though we discussed many issues, the conversation focused on four primary areas: institutional subscription pricing, privacy, intellectual freedom, and [...]
EU governments urge Google Books caution
From EurActiv.com:
EU countries want the European Commission to investigate the economic implications of Google’s book search project amid fears that it will harm the European publishing industry, it emerged on Tuesday (26 May).
EU competitiveness ministers meeting in Brussels tomorrow and Friday (28-29 May) are likely to ask the Commission to launch an investigation into the [...]
Federal Guidelines – Agencies Collaborate on Digitization
From the Library of Congress:
Saving the nation’s cultural heritage is an increasingly important matter for government agencies that hold large amounts of material documenting the national record. While saving traditional printed archival materials continues to be important, the exponential growth of digitization projects has created a new set of challenges related to producing and preserving [...]
Organizations Request OSTP provide a Formal Process for Public Input
From SLA’s Public Policy blog:
On 18 May 2009 numerous organizations, including SLA, signed on to a letter written to the Dr. Beth Noveck, Office of Science and Technology Policy. The letter requests that she announce a formal process for public input on developing recommendations to make government transparent, collaborative, and participatory as well as [...]
Administration Creates Interagency Review Teams for Overclassification and CUI
From OMB Watch:
Today, the Obama administration released a memo requiring reviews of overclassification and the current Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)/ Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU) process. The memo does not dictate any new procedures on how agencies must handle such designated material. However, it does establish an interagency 90-day review process to advise the [...]