Sebastopol man puts code manuals online

Matthew B. Stannard, Chronicle Staff Writer

Saturday, September 27, 2008

From a paper-choked sublet office in Sebastopol, Carl Malamud is operating a kind of nonprofit Napster, with offerings a little less sexy than the music of Metallica, Dr. Dre and Green Day.

Example: 404.1. All plumbing fixtures, other than water closets and urinals, shall be equipped with approved strainers having an approved waterway area.

That's a snippet of the 2007 California Plumbing Code, a print version of which might cost $125. But Malamud purchased the code and placed it on his Web site - and now anybody can download all 526 riveting pages free.

Or the building codes, fire codes, or mechanical codes from California, San Francisco or Los Angeles. Or millions of pages of other codes, all legally obtained by Malamud, who then uploaded them to public.resource.org for anybody to take, even though many of them are copyrighted.

"Not everybody is going to read the building code, but everybody who wants to should be able to without putting 100 bucks in the slot," Malamud said. "Primary legal materials are America's operating system."

His actions perturb government agencies, technical organizations and publishers who create, maintain and sell books of codes. While some say they do not plan to oppose Malamud's efforts, others question the legality of his site and the wisdom of his actions.

Malamud says he believes that he's on solid ground if he is sued. Some legal experts agree.

Law belongs to all

"It's very clear in American law that you can't get intellectual property protection for law," said Pamela Samuelson, co-director of the UC Berkeley Center for Law and Technology. "Law belongs to everybody."

This year Malamud persuaded the Oregon legislature not to enforce its copyright claim to Oregon Revised Statutes - after he put them online. Now he'd like to see California - and other agencies that claim copyright over public codes and regulations - do the same.

"This stuff has been locked up behind a cash register," Malamud said. "(It's) way too important to just leave it there."

If Malamud is fishing for a lawsuit - something he denies - so far nobody is biting. Officials at the agencies whose codes Malamud has posted all say they are aware of his efforts but have no plans for legal action.

Which doesn't mean those agencies are giving up their copyright - especially if someone republishes the codes for profit, said Linda Brown, deputy director of the California Office of Administrative Law.

"If somebody is going to make commercial use of that, the people of California deserve to benefit," she said.

Brown said Malamud's rhetoric is misleading - many of the codes on his site are already available free online.

The state's administrative law office Web site, for example, allows users to search the California Code of Regulations. Many other state and federal agencies do the same.

But it's not enough, said Malamud. Many of the free codes carry notices banning downloading for commercial use or downloading, printing or more-complicated options.

Free codes in future

He envisions a future where government codes are freely available in computer-friendly form to be mashed up, cross-linked, debated and redrafted by the online community.

"By liberating it, we can begin making it more useful," Malamud said. "If it costs $6 million to buy a copy of federal law ... you're not going to get somebody like Larry Page in a Stanford dorm room downloading American law and making a better version of it."

But the organizations that oversee or publish the codes appearing on Malamud's site question that claim.

"The Internet really succeeds when it's used collaboratively," said Dexter Johnson, Oregon's legislative counsel. "When laws are created by elected people, I'm not sure that model works so well."

Call it the Brittanica vs. Wikipedia debate - can online crowds be as wise as one expert? Except this debate involves laws where small details can make a difference in whether a house is constructed safely.

Codes keep changing

What's more, said California's Brown, some codes - including the California Code of Regulations - change frequently. Those changes are pushed out to people who purchase official subscriptions, but republishing sites like Malamud's may not be up to date.

Creating and updating the codes that help build safe schools, homes and offices is enormously complicated, said Michael Colopy, spokesman for the International Code Council. And the money from selling codes pays for that process.

"It is ultimately a disservice to the public if in the name of access to so-called free codes the very process that develops and enhances public safety is undermined," Colopy said. "The public is the big loser."

Malamud said he is sympathetic and willing to work with the ICC. But he argued that the ICC must grapple, like many industries, with the way the Internet is disrupting its business model.

"I think there is a lot of ways to keep that going without taking it out on the back of the kid in the pickup truck studying for the plumber's license," he said.

E-mail Matthew B. Stannard at mstannard@sfchronicle.com.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/27/BAAH134FI4.DTL

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Check out Gambling on the Future: Managing the Education Challenges of Rapid Growth in Nevada
By Aaron Terrazas and Michael Fix
Nevada, the fastest growing state in the United States, is experiencing a population boom – driven in part by immigration – that has key implications for its school system and labor market. Immigrants represent one in five Nevada residents and their children account for one in three Nevadans under age 18. Yet even as schools have experienced a surge in enrollment, federal and state investments in the state's failing education system haven't kept pace at The National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy.

Access to Science Information Expands with Science.gov 5.0 Launch

 

200 Million Pages of U.S. Government Science Resources Now Available on the Internet

 

The latest version of Science.gov <http://www.science.gov/> -Science.gov 5.0-was launched Sept. 15th, allowing users to search additional collections of valuable science resources; more easily target their searches; and readily find links to information on a variety of science topics. Science.gov is a free, integrated single-search gateway to reliable science and technology information from 17 organizations within

13 federal science agencies.

 

Science.gov 5.0 improves upon the previous version, Science.gov 4.0, by offering seven new databases and portals which allow researchers access to over 200 million pages of scientific information. New information available includes thousands of patents resulting from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) research and development(DOepatents <http://www.osti.gov/doepatents> ); documents and bibliographic citations of DOE accomplishments (DOE R&D Accomplishments Database <http://www.osti.gov/accomplishments> ); millions of electronic scientific documents from around the world known as e-prints (Eprint Network <http://www.osti.gov/eprints> ); and comprehensive and peer-reviewed toxicology data for thousands of chemicals (HSDB Hazardous Substances Databank <http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?HSDB>

) as well as more than 3 million references to worldwide literature on the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms (TOXLINE Toxicology Bibliographic Information <http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?TOXLINE> ).  New information also includes a digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature (PubMed Central <http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/> ) and cancer-related information of all kinds for all audiences (Cancer.gov <http://www.cancer.gov/> ), including support and treatment resources for patients, comprehensive descriptions of research programs and clinical trials for healthcare professionals and the general public, and funding opportunities for researchers.

 

Another key feature of Science.gov 5.0 is a "clustering" tool which helps target searches by grouping results by subtopics or dates. This technology was recently developed through a DOE Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program award.

 

In addition to quadrupling the amount of searchable content and enhancing the search technology, Science.gov 5.0 now provides links to related EurekAlert! Science News <http://www.eurekalert.org/>  and Wikipedia, and provides the capability to easily download research results into personal files or citation software.

 

Science.gov is hosted by DOE's Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI), within DOE's Office of Science.  In addition to DOE, Science.gov is supported by contributing members of the Science.gov Alliance, including the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, and the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Government Printing Office, the Library of Congress, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation, with support from the National Archives and Records Administration.

 

WASHOE COUNTY APPROVES INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH CITY OF RENO FOR HOMELESS SERVICES PROVIDING MORE THAN $1 MILLION IN CASH AND IN-KIND SERVICES



Reno, Nevada. September 16, 2008. At their meeting today, the Washoe County Commission approved an interlocal agreement with the City of Reno for the operation and provision of homeless services at the Community Assistance Center (CAC) located at 315 Record Street.



The interlocal agreement is for $1,035,000 in cash and in-kind support ($240,000 in professional staff assigned to assist at the center) for fiscal year 2008-09. In addition to the $1 million-plus agreement, Washoe County had previously agreed to provide an additional $300,000 in cash for support of the construction of the Family Shelter/Resource Center Building for a total of $1,335,000 in homeless shelter support from Washoe County for fiscal year 2008-09. The $300,000 cash support is an annual commitment Commissioners made towards the Family Shelter/Resource Center Building construction and will be granted for four more years.



Key components of the agreement include:

Identifies the City of Reno as the lead entity responsible for oversight and implementation of the operation of the homeless shelters, community resource center and related services at the CAC;
Defines the term of the agreement through June 30, 2009;
Identifies that the cities of Reno and Sparks and Washoe County will cooperate in the research, planning and/or development of a 501©3 organization to take over management of the CAC;
Identifies the cooperative funding and in-kind contributions to support the CAC for fiscal year 2008-09 and any restrictions on the use of these funds.

The USCCR Report on the civil rights record of President Bush - Redefining Rights in America: The Civil Rights Record of the George W.
Bush Administration - that was mentioned in the NYT article on Saturday
- can be found on the Historical Publications of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. - http://www.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/usccr/

In Digital Age, Federal Files Blip Into Oblivion By ROBERT PEAR
Published: September 12, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/13/us/13records.html


WASHINGTON Countless federal records are being lost to posterity because federal employees, grappling with a staggering growth in electronic records, do not regularly preserve the documents they create on government computers, send by e-mail and post on the Web.

Federal agencies have rushed to embrace the Internet and new information technology, but their record-keeping efforts lag far behind. Moreover, federal investigators have found widespread violations of federal record-keeping requirements.

Many federal officials admit to a haphazard approach to preserving e-mail and other electronic records of their work. Indeed, many say they are unsure what materials they are supposed to preserve.

This confusion is causing alarm among historians, archivists, librarians, Congressional investigators and watchdog groups that want to trace the decision-making process and hold federal officials accountable. With the imminent change in administrations, the concern about lost records has become more acute.

We expect to see the wholesale disappearance of materials on federal agency Web sites, said Mary Alice Baish, the Washington representative of the American Association of Law Libraries, whose members are heavy users of government records. When new officials take office, they have new programs and policies, and they want to make a fresh start.



---------------------------------------




The complete article may be read at the URL above.

2008 FARM BILL SIDE-BY-SIDE The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, which governs Federal farm programs for 2008-12, was enacted into law in July 2008. ERS’ side-by-side comparison of this new Farm Act with previous legislation is now available at http://www.ers.usda.gov/FarmBill/2008/. Summarized but substantive, this comparison is a time-saving reference on farm bill provisions. In addition to key provisions and details by Title, the side-by-side includes links to related ERS publications and to analyses of previous farm acts. New features include a user's guide, an A-Z list of major provisions, and a search function. Released Friday, August 22, 2008You may browse or search by topic. You'll get a table with the provisions under the previous Farm Bill, and then the provisions under the current farm bill. Below are some examples. (A search for the National Agricultural Library did not yield anything!)Examples:Grants to Reduce Methamphetamine ProductionPrevious Legislation No similar provision.2008 Farm Bill Establishes agricultural producers, cooperatives, and chemical retailers as eligible for $40-$60 grants to install locks on anhydrous ammonia nurse tanks or to add a substance that reduces methamphetamine production efficacy.Pollinator ResearchPrevious Legislation No similar provision.2008 Farm Bill Authorizes annual appropriations of $10 million in research and extension grants for honey bees and other pollinators for FY 2008-12. Activities supported include:
data collection on bee colony production and health, and investigation of pollinator biology
research on factors that contribute to colony collapse disorder, including parasites and pathogens
development of mitigative and preventive measures for pollinator health
habitat conservation and best management practices
Authorizes annual appropriations of $7.25 million for FY 2008-12 for capacity and infrastructure spending to hire personnel and conduct research on pollinator issues at USDA facilities, subject to appropriations.
Authorizes annual appropriations of $2.75 million for honey bee pest and pathogen surveillance in FY 2008-12.
Requires Secretary to submit annual report to Congress on colony collapse disorder describing progress on research and strategies for reducing colony loss. Strategies include efforts supported under the Conservation Title in this Act. (See Title II, Encouragement of Pollinator Habitat Development and Protection.)
Bioenergy ResearchPrevious Legislation Sun Grant Research Initiative Act of 2003 established Research, Extension, and Educational Programs on Biobased Energy Technologies and Products. No funds were appropriated in FY 2004 and FY 2006. However, legislation authorized appropriations of $25 million in FY 2005, $50 million in FY 2006, and $75 million annually in FY 2007-10. 2008 Farm Bill Revises Sun Grant Research Initiative; authorizes grants to 5 regionally based Sun Grant Centers and 1 subcenter intended to:
develop, distribute, and implement biobased technologies
promote diversification and environmental sustainability through biobased energy and product technologies
promote diversification of rural areas through biobased energy
enhance efficiency of bioenergy and biomass research and development through collaborations among USDA, Department of Energy (DOE), and land grant universities
Directs centers to award 75% of funds to multi-institution and multistate research, extension, and education programs via competitive process:
30% of these funds to be used for technology development
30% of funds are for integrated programs for technology implementation
20% of project costs must be matched by non-Federal source, though this requirement can be waived
limits administrative overhead costs of centers to 4%, portion of which is used to coordinate plan for addressing bioenergy, biomass, and gasification priorities of USDA and DOE, and coordinated gasification research with land grant universities
remaining funds to be retained by centers to conduct research, extension, and education programs for technology development and implementation
Grant Information Analysis Center will support regional centers and produce annual report. Authorizes $75 million annually for FY 2008-12.

Hi Amy and Valerie,
(note: I am neither a dem nor a repub and this is not a flame :-) ) I would have to respectfully disagree with your analysis. It is clear that McCain will continue Bush policies on secrecy, net neutrality, and the hyper-corporatization of the entire spectrum at the expense of things like low power FM (LPFM). It's only natural since one of McCain's chief technology advisors (and drafter of his technology
position) is former FCC Chairman Michael Powell, who vigorously worked toward selling off large swaths of spectrum to large corporations and toward changing media rules to allow for large media companies to completely take over media markets at the expense of local voices.
Their stances on "sunshine" and network neutrality are night and day and Obama's got more interesting ideas like "open source government"
and having a chief technology officer (CTO). those are just a few of the issues in which they differ and which will have a huge effect on access to govt info (and libraries in general).
lessig has a fine video regarding the presidential candidates technology policies. Granted Lessig is pro-Obama and states that at the outset, but I think he makes some good points about where the US is at in terms of technology infrastracture and where each of the candidates will take the country.
http://lessig.org/blog/2008/08/me_on_mccain_on_technology.html
On the surface, the two candidates' technology policies may be similar, but looking beyond those policy statements to take into account the candidates' advisors and their past legislative stances shows that the two candidates are at completely different ends of the policy spectrum.
Regards,
James Jacobs
International Documents Librarian
Stanford University
jrjacobs@stanford.edu

Now that both presidential candidates have gone on record with campaign positions on access to government information, we were struck by the similarity in their stated technology positions. The biggest difference that we could see is in their positions on transparency - Obama's statements appear more sunshine-friendly. Below is a summary of relevant points. Complete policies are at
http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/cbcd3a48-4b0e-4864-8be1-d0456
1c132ea.htm
<http://mail.lib.ua.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.johnmccain.
com/Informing/Issues/cbcd3a48-4b0e-4864-8be1-d04561c132ea.htm> and
http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/cb15a056-ac87-485d-a64d-82989
bdc948c.htm

(McCain) and http://www.barackobama.com/issues/technology/
<http://mail.lib.ua.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.barackobama
.com/issues/technology/> and http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ethics/
(Obama).
Valerie Glenn & Amy West
Universal Service
-McCain: federal support for locally built broadband access (whether public, private or mixed) as well as incentives for private companies'
extension into rural areas, auction wireless spectrum for private company expansion of broadband access to rural areas
-Obama: encourage Universal Service reform, public/private partnerships, "unleash" wireless spectrum for private company expansion of broadband access to rural areas (possibly meaning to auction spectrum)
Network Neutrality
Network Neutrality is the unprioritized transmission of content across the Internet. Because many content providers are also service providers, there exists a potential conflict over whose content gets priority in transmission. The major players in this debate are gigantic companies with massive revenue streams, e.g. Google and Comcast.
Currently, network neutrality is in place. Content/Service providers would like to be able to charge content-only providers fees to guarantee equivalent transmission of content. Content-only providers would like FCC regulations prohibiting such fees. Questions for universal service and government information: if network neutrality ended, how likely would it be that content/service providers would provide equivalent transmission to _non_-commercial content? Further, how likely is it that content-only providers would advocate for equivalent transmission of non-commercial content when they themselves have to pay for similar treatment?
-McCain: "John McCain does not believe in prescriptive regulation like "net-neutrality," but rather he believes that an open marketplace with a variety of consumer choices is the best deterrent against unfair practices."
-Obama: "Barack Obama strongly supports the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet."
Government Information Online
-McCain: more information online; more business conducted electronically, more use of rich media, creation of Office of Electronic Government
-Obama: enforce universally accessible data formats, more business conducted electronically, more use of rich media, more use of participatory software to encourage citizen participation, creation of a Chief Technology Officer."
Sunshine
-McCain: greater transparency re: lobbyists, campaign funds, earmarks
-Obama: greater transparency re: lobbyists, campaign funds, earmarks, contractors; five-day public comment period (on the White House web
site) before signing any non-emergency bill; more timely release of Presidential records

Robyn Rassuchine and Liza Printz smile for "The Gov Doc" in the young people's area of the Downtown Reno Library.

WASHOE COUNTY COMMISSION VOTES TO PUT CITIZEN INITIATIVE REGARDING WATER RESOURCES FOR PLANNING ON 2008 ELECTION BALLOT


Reno, Nevada. August 19, 2008. At their meeting today, the County Commission unanimously voted to place the issue of identified and sustainable water resources for planning purposes on the 2008 Election Ballot. In making their decision, all Commissioners cited that an issue of this magnitude should be put before a vote of the people.

Additionally, County Commissioners declined to introduce an ordinance initiated through a citizens petition providing that, “The Truckee Meadows Regional Plan shall be amended to reflect and to include a policy or policies requiring that local government land use plans be based upon and in balance with identified and sustainable water resources available within Washoe County,” based on the legal analysis and advice of the District Attorney’s Civil Division.

Legal counsel cited the case of Horne v. City of Mesquite where the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that the citizen initiatives were invalid because they exceeded the limits of existing laws that applied to the city believing that the same case would exist in this instance, as well as concerns raised about meeting time requirements. By state law, if the County Commission fails to adopt the certified citizen initiative as an ordinance then it must appear as a proposed ordinance question to the registered voters.

From Bernadine Abbott Hoduski, 312 N. Howie, Apt 1, Helena, Mt ber@initco.net
See reference to the Bureau of Reclamation library below.
From: "Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)"
Sent: Aug 18, 2008 8:08 AM
Subject: PRESS RELEASE: Reclamation Jettisoning Environmental Functions

For Immediate Release: Monday, August 18, 2008
Contact: Carol Goldberg (202) 265-7337
RECLAMATION JETTISONING ENVIRONMENTAL FUNCTIONS
Lame Duck Reorganization Cutting Green Jobs to Promote Outsourcing
Washington, DC - The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is rapidly downsizing its environmental capabilities by forcing scores of Denver-based specialists to go into retirement under threat of layoff, according to documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). This massive lame duck restructuring will force the next administration to contract for the eliminated functions.
Reclamation manages millions of acre feet of water, primarily with dams and reservoirs, in 17 Western states. Job reductions are concentrated in its Technical Services Center (TSC) in Denver where nearly one-third of the 500 jobs are now or will soon be eliminated. Among the services being cut are -
a.. Drinking Water Protection. The Expeditionary Unit Water Purification program creates potable water following disasters, such as the Hurricane Katrina aftermath, but has lost key staff;
b.. Scientists, Laboratories and Library. The Center's world renowned library and laboratories are being drained of all employees. In addition, the ax is falling heavily on science positions, such as hydrologists, soil scientists and seismologists; and
c.. Environmental Studies. Reclamation is rapidly discarding both its capacity to assess environmental effects of its water projects and its ability to analyze impacts on recreation, historical and cultural resources, as well as the social and economic consequences of its actions.
"Reclamation is taking a wrecking ball to its own workforce," stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, whose organization is distributing employee petitions to Congress asking for intervention to stop the removals. "At this rate, Reclamation will not have enough expertise left to tie its own shoes."
In a chart since removed from the Reclamation website, a "Vision TSC Staff Attrition" shows plans to cut the Center workforce nearly in half by year's end. Earlier this year, Reclamation managers targeted selected TSC employees for early retirement; an estimated 100 staff took the buyouts. Currently, another 65 employees are being targeted for new "offers" of outplacements coupled with threats of removal.
As a rationale for its personnel moves, Reclamation points to its "management for excellence (M4E)" initiative, which appears to be a thinly disguised effort to force reliance on private consultants. This expensive initiative also appears to violate congressional bans on using funds to promote outsourcing. No explanation has been given to staff why certain people are selected and others spared or what state of "excellence" will be achieved by the ME4 exercise.
"This initiative will tie the hands of the next administration and should be halted immediately," Ruch added, noting that the managers pushing the plan will soon be gone. "Reclamation already has a hyper-active revolving door for its managers, including a special side door for coming back as consultants."
Adding insult to injury, this past Friday August 15, Reclamation Commissioner Robert Johnson came to Denver to celebrate "Employee Appreciation Day," but the only relief afforded the TSC staff was a guest speaker, the "Healthy Humorist" (Dr. Brad Nieder) to deliver his message that "Laughter is the Best Medicine."

The Vanderbilt University 2008 Election page now has a tiny URL:
http://tinyurl.com/62xdwy

FREE LEGAL SEMINAR: “A General Overview of Social Security and disability claims”, August 28, 2008, 5:00 PM, AT WASHOE COUNTY LAW LIBRARY

Reno, Nevada. August 12, 2008. The Washoe County Law Library will host the free public legal seminar “A General Overview of Social Security and disability claims”, August 28, 2008 on Thursday, August 28th, 2008. John Boyden, Esq. will present the seminar. The seminars are held from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Law Library, located at 75 Court Street. Space is limited. Please reserve your spot by contacting the Washoe County Law Library at (775) 328-3250. The presentation is part of an ongoing series of free monthly community service seminars for the public.

FIRST WEST NILE POSITIVE MOSQUITOES FOUND IN WASHOE COUNTY

Testing of pools of mosquitoes trapped at Damonte Ranch, have shown that West Nile Virus (WNV) has found its way to Washoe County this summer. Other locations in Nevada have also seen the appearance of the virus, and the Washoe District Health Department is urging residents of our county to take precautions against being bitten by mosquitoes.
“Practicing preventive measures to reduce the chance of being bitten by mosquitoes is the best way to prevent humans from contracting the virus, stated Mary Anderson, MD, MPH, District Health Officer. Remember to use mosquito repellent containing either DEET, Picaridin or Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus, be aware that mosquitoes are most active during dusk and dawn, remove standing water from around your house and check to make sure the screens on your windows and doors fit properly.”
West Nile Virus most often is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. Mosquitoes are WNV carriers, also known as vectors. Infected mosquitoes can then spread WNV to birds, horses, humans and other animals when they bite. West Nile Virus is NOT spread through casual contact such as touching or kissing a person with the virus.
Anderson also reminds local horse owners to get their animals vaccinated against WNV, if they haven’t done so as of yet. While pets like






dogs and cats CAN contract the virus, it is very unlikely. Do not use repellents meant for humans on pets. Check with your veterinarian for products that are pet specific. For more information, please go to our web site at www.washoecounty.us/health or to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at CDC.gov.

CACI International Inc (CACI) and the National Defense University (NDU) have released a report entitled " Dealing With Today's Asymmetric Threat to U.S. and Global Security: The Need for an Integrated National Asymmetric Threat Strategy"
The report is an executive summary of a May 2008 symposium. It is hoped the report will stimulate conversation about the need to develop a new national defense and homeland security strategy which will address the threats related to everything from Islamic extremism to natural disaster.
The report can be found at
http://www.caci.com/announcement/CACI_Asymmetric_Threat_paper.pdf

From Larry Romans at Vanderbuilt University


My colleague Brian Boling has created a webpage for "Statistics - National Agencies and Compendia" at http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/romans/natlstats.html
It's rather comprehensive and up-to-date.
If you have any additions or suggestions for his page, please contact
him:
brian.boling@vanderbilt.edu

Also if you have any additions or suggestions for our Election 2008 webpage (http://lib11.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib/godort.pl?searchtext=Electio
n2008&Type=Simple&Resource=DB&Website=FDTF),
Please send them to me:
larry.romans@vanderbilt.edu
Larry
Larry Romans
Vanderbilt University Libraries
larry.romans@vanderbilt.edu
(615) 322-2838


My colleague Brian Boling has created a webpage for "Statistics - National Agencies and Compendia" at http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/romans/natlstats.html
It's rather comprehensive and up-to-date.
If you have any additions or suggestions for his page, please contact
him:
brian.boling@vanderbilt.edu

Also if you have any additions or suggestions for our Election 2008 webpage (http://lib11.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib/godort.pl?searchtext=Electio
n2008&Type=Simple&Resource=DB&Website=FDTF),
Please send them to me:
larry.romans@vanderbilt.edu
Larry
Larry Romans
Vanderbilt University Libraries
larry.romans@vanderbilt.edu
(615) 322-2838

New Web Site Consolidates Access to
DoD Scientific and Technical Information
FORT BELVOIR, Va. - The Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC(r)) launches the new DTIC Online, a redesigned public Web site for Department of Defense (DoD) scientific and technical (S&T) information.
This new site integrates three of DTIC's public Web sites: DTIC Search, DTIC Home and its Public Scientific and Technical Information Network (STINET(r)).
R. Paul Ryan, DTIC's Administrator, said, "This consolidation provides DTIC customers with a single point of entry to S&T information. While the new site includes users' favorite products and resources, enhancements have been made to improve navigation and provide access to more resources in one location."
Two key features of the new site are (1) the ability to search more databases in one search and (2) Interest Area pages that provide links to pertinent information for specific S&T research communities.
With the release of DTIC Online, the MultiSearch tool has also been enhanced. This search feature assists the DoD community in accessing S&T information over a wide range of DoD, federal, commercial and international sources. DTIC customers are now able to access more than 50 database sources, from approximately 50 countries with an estimated number of 20 million documents. Sources include DTIC collections, Science.gov, the Library of Congress, World Wide Science.org, Scitopia.org and much more.
View DTIC Online at http://www.dtic.mil today. To submit feedback on the new Web site, please email: feedback@dtic.mil.
DTIC is a DoD Field Activity aligned with the Director, Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E). The premier provider of DoD scientific and technical information, DTIC has served the information needs of the defense community for more than 60 years.

The Commission to Assess the Threat to United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack has released their latest and it can be found along with related information at their website -- http://www.empcommission.org/index.php
Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack: Critical National Infrastructure can be found at http://www.empcommission.org/docs/A2473-EMP_Commission-7MB.pdf
The EMP Commission was established as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2001 and "reestablished via the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 to continue its efforts to monitor, investigate, make recommendations, and report to Congress on the evolving threat to the United States from electromagnetic pulse attack resulting from the detonation of a nuclear weapon or weapons at high altitude."
Duties of the EMP Commission include assessing:
1. the nature and magnitude of potential high-altitude EMP threats
to the United States from all potentially hostile states or non-state actors that have or could acquire nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles enabling them to perform a high-altitude EMP attack against the United States within the next 15 years;
2. the vulnerability of United States military and especially
civilian systems to an EMP attack, giving special attention to vulnerability of the civilian infrastructure as a matter of emergency preparedness;
3. the capability of the United States to repair and recover from
damage inflicted on United States military and civilian systems by an EMP attack; and
4. the feasibility and cost of hardening select military and
civilian systems against EMP attack.

The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point is pleased to announce the release of its second report of al-Qa'ida's foreign fighters in Iraq:
Bombers, Bank Accounts, and Bleedout: al-Qa`ida's Road in and Out of Iraq. The report expands on an analysis of al-Qa'ida in Iraq personnel records conducted by the CTC in December 2007. The report can be accessed at:
http://www.ctc.usma.edu/harmony/pdf/Sinjar_2_July_23.pdf
New Raw Data
Bombers, Bank Accounts, and Bleedout not only expands on the analysis of the Sinjar Records conducted in the first report, it also introduces a host of new data, including:
* Statistics on the exact number and nationality of foreign
fighters held by the US at Camp Bucca in Iraq.
* Contracts signed by AQI's foreign suicide bombers
* Contracts signed by AQI fighters entering and leaving Iraq
* Accounting sheets signed by various fighters that indicate
funding sources and expenditures
* Several narratives describing AQI's network in Syria, personnel
problems, and ties to Fatah al-Islam in Lebanon
* Weapons reports, etc.
Findings
The report has several major new findings:
* Foreign Fighters were an important source of funds for AQI;
Saudi Fighters contributed far more money than any other nationality
* Far more Syrians and Egyptians are held at Camp Bucca than were
listed in the Sinjar Records, which likely reflects the demographic shift away from those nationalities
* Approximately 75% of suicide bombings in Iraq between August
2006 and August 2007 can be attributed to fighters listed in the Sinjar Records.
* "Bleedout" of fighters from Iraq is occurring, but in relatively
small numbers. Nonetheless, these individual fighters will likely be well-trained and very dangerous. The primary threat from these fighters is to Arab states, Af-Pak, and perhaps Somalia.
* Smuggling of all kinds across the Syrian/Iraqi border has long
been linked to corruption in both Syria and Iraq, which limits both government's ability to crackdown.
* Fighters that contributed money to AQI were more likely to
become suicide bombers.

Stephen Platt, Henderson Public Library District's Government Documents Librarian amazes and astounds with his presentation at the Nevada Govdocs Training Day at the Nevada State Library & Archives.

Yet, another view of the beautiful quilts on display at the Downtown Reno Library.

The National War Powers Commission, co-chaired by Secretaries of State Baker and Christopher, was released yesterday. This commission report recommends that Congress repeal the 1973 War Powers Resolution and "substitute a new statute that would provide for more meaningful consultation between the President and Congress. In its final report, the Commission has recommended that Congress pass a new statute, the War Powers Consultation Act of 2009, establishing a clear process on decisions to go to war."
The main website is
http://millercenter.org/policy/commissions/warpowers/
The final report can be found through the link above or directly at http://millercenter.org/dev/ci/system/application/views/_newwebsite/poli
cy/commissions/warpowers/report.pdf
And the appendices to the report can be found at http://millercenter.org/policy/commissions/warpowers/appendices

A different view of the beautiful quilts on display in the Downtown Reno Library.

July is quilt month at the Downtown Reno Library.

From Melody Kelly, Associate Dean, UNT Libraries


Today's NY Times has a lead article "China Inspired Interrogations at Guantanamo" that has govdoc research challenges hidden within its text. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/us/02detain.html?th&emc=th
For those who teach docs classes and those who keep up with the interrogation methods used by the military and CIA this article is a gem.
Hearings are an obvious source but you can also find related technical reports by Biderman http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/prodsrvc/stinet.html
And the article specifically mentioned by Biderman using our old friend PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/
Don't you just love reading the newspapers!

Thank you, Melody

Rand has finally been able to release its report "After Saddam: Prewar Planning and the Occupation of Iraq."
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2008/RAND_MG642.pdf.
This report examined activities through June 2004 and part of an "eight-volume collection of reports that the RAND Arroyo Center undertook to prepare an authoritative account of the planning and execution of combat and stability operations in Iraq. Six of the volumes are classified. The other unclassified volume is being finalized."
Abstract: "This monograph begins by examining prewar planning efforts for postwar Iraq, in order to establish what U.S. policymakers expected the postwar situation to look like and what their plans were for reconstruction. The monograph then examines the role of U.S. military forces after major combat officially ended on May 1, 2003; the analysis covers this period through the end of June 2004. Finally, the monograph examines civilian efforts at reconstruction after major combat ended, focusing on the activities of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and its efforts to rebuild structures of governance, security forces, economic policy, and essential services prior to June 28, 2004, the day that the CPA dissolved and transferred authority to the Interim Iraqi Government. The authors conclude that the U.S. government was unprepared for the challenges of postwar Iraq for three reasons: a failure to challenge fundamental assumptions about postwar Iraq; ineffective interagency coordination; and the failure to assign responsibility and resources for providing security in the immediate aftermath of major combat operations."

The Defense Department released 2 reports yesterday related to Afghanistan which look at the progress related to the country's security and its national forces. The studies were mandated by Congress to analyze results of Operation Enduring Freedom through March and are intended to include semi-annual updates. Both reports are available from http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/
The "Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan"
looks at the security environment and describes is as very "fragile."
It can be found at
http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/Report_on_Progress_toward_Security_and_S
tability_in_Afghanistan_1230.pdf

The House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and House Intelligence Community Management (ICM) Subcommittee held a joint hearing today on the "National Security Implications of Global Climate Change." The prepared statements of the witnesses have now been posted and are available at http://globalwarming.house.gov/pubs/pubs?id=0046#main_content

Alternative Energy - the National High School Debate Topic,
2008/09 - is up and running on the web at:
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/debate08.html
The web site has annotated links to major global warming reports, the three fossil fuels and energy alternatives ranging from hydrogen, wind, and wave to fuel cells, plug-in electric cars, and various hyrids. There are articles, research reports, laws, and Congressional hearings in full text. The Department of Energy has a truly outstanding web site, which we analyzed and supplemented with those from think tanks, automakers, state government associations, and the OECD.
Given national interest in the topic and piecemeal coverage by the media, the web team attempted to create a broad picture of the energy/environment tension, evaluate potential short and long term fixes, and define mysterious terms such as carbon sequestration.
Ray Walling (Rozkuszka Scholarship), Todd Baker and Justin Joque (both SI students) were a dream team. We spent about six weeks throwing questions at one another, like the difference between the Toyota Prius and the newest hydrogen Honda. What does methane have to do with that commercial about cows? (Not much.)
While most of us have been worrying about gas prices, it turns out that Congress has been constantly trying to address the issues and private industry has made more progress than we realized.
Grace York, Coordinator
Documents Center
University of Michigan Library
graceyor@umich.edu
(734) 764-0410
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/

The BIA website has announced an order to reconnect to the Internet

Court Order Permitting Internet Reconnection

Indian Affairs is now on the path to full reconnection to the Internet.
In a major development with regard to the Cobell v. Norton litigation, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit on May 14, 2008, granted defendants' motion to vacate the December 17, 2001, Consent Order Regarding Information Technology Security and has given its permission for the information technology systems of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Office of Hearing and Appeals (OHA), the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST), and the Office of Historical Trust Accounting (OHTA) to be reconnected to the Internet. A copy of the Court Order is attached.
The Department, and Indian Affairs has worked long and diligently to resolve the IT security issues that have concerned the Court with respect to the Department's systems housing Individual Indian Trust Data (IITD). Indian Affairs is pleased that the Court has granted this opportunity to improve our level of service to the tribes and individual Indian trust beneficiaries and to demonstrate our commitment to the protection and preservation of the IITD.
Source: http://www.doi.gov/bia/

The House Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight released today the first of 3 reports on America's International Image (covering Decline, Impact on U.S. National Interests and Recommendations).
The Decline in America's Reputation Why?
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/110/42566.pdf
Related testimony
The Honorable Bill Delahunt,
Esther Brimmer, Ph.D., --
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/110/bri061108.htm
Scott W. Hibbard, Ph.D., --
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/110/hib061108.htm
John Tirman, Ph.D., http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/110/tir061108.htm
David Frum, Esq.
Webcast --
http://international.edgeboss.net/real/international/oi06112008.smi

The Rand counterinsurgency study reports are making the round and they have released another report in the series.
The report by Seth Jones is Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan: RAND Counterinsurgency Study - vol 4. The direct link is http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2008/RAND_MG595.pdf but the page with information about it and links to the other vols and papers can be found at http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG595/ or see the list below.
A related report of interest is Analytic Support to Intelligence in Counterinsurgencies
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2008/RAND_MG682.pdf
According to the summary for Vol 4 - "This study explores the nature of the insurgency in Afghanistan, the key challenges and successes of the U.S.-led counterinsurgency campaign, and the capabilities necessary to wage effective counterinsurgency operations. By examining the key lessons from all insurgencies since World War II, it finds that most policymakers repeatedly underestimate the importance of indigenous actors to counterinsurgency efforts. The U.S. should focus its resources on helping improve the capacity of the indigenous government and indigenous security forces to wage counterinsurgency. It has not always done this well. The U.S. military-along with U.S. civilian agencies and other coalition partners-is more likely to be successful in counterinsurgency warfare the more capable and legitimate the indigenous security forces (especially the police), the better the governance capacity of the local state, and the less external support that insurgents receive."

From Daniel Cornwall and FGI via usa.gov


" EPA's National Dialogue on Access to Environmental Information. EPA is holding an on-line discussion among its federal partners and the public to foster collaboration on information access. Everyone is invited to use this site to identify and share their best resources, tools, and ideas for improving access to EPA's environmental information. This blog will only be accepting comments for one week - from June 9-13, 2008 - so be sure to visit and add your comments and good ideas soon!"
This ONE WEEK ONLY blog can be found at http://blog.epa.gov/partners/. I hope that anyone with an interest in environmental information will try and use this venue. - Daniel

DOD has released its FY2007 DoD Statistical Report on the Military Retirement System. It can be found directly at http://www.defenselink.mil/actuary/statbook07.pdf or from their Actuary website http://www.defenselink.mil/actuary/ . Previous reports back to
FY2001 are also available along with other reports from that office.
If you are not familiar with this report, it is pretty comprehensive providing information on all kinds/levels of military retirement information. Most is available by service and rank. While most of the stats are for the current fiscal year, there is one table for the number of military retirees receiving retired pay by year going back to 1900.
Also included are stats such as:
by State
Military Retirees outside the US
by Zip Code
by rank and current age/age at retirement/years of service by gender

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has released its Phase II reports on administration misstatements on Prewar Iraq Intelligence and inappropriate intelligence activities by a Pentagon Policy Office. These reports are available from the Senate Intelligence page http://intelligence.senate.gov/pubcurrent.html or from the Chairman Rockefeller's page http://rockefeller.senate.gov/press/record.cfm?id=298774& or directly at indicated below. The press release is available at
http://intelligence.senate.gov/press/record.cfm?id=298775
Report on Whether Public Statements Regarding Iraq by U.S. Government Officials were substantiated by Intelligence Information http://intelligence.senate.gov/080605/phase2a.pdf
Report on Intelligence Activities Relating to Iraq Conducted by the Policy Counterterrorism Evaluation Group and the Office of Special Plans within the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy http://intelligence.senate.gov/080605/phase2b.pdf
The initial report is also available
Report on the Select Committee on Intelligence on Prewar Intelligence Assessments about Postwar Iraq.
http://intelligence.senate.gov/prewar.pdf

A review of the FBI's involvement in and observations of detainee interrogations... 438 pgs.
http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/s0805/final.pdf

Political Appointee Asserts Control over All Libraries, Repeals 30-Year-Old Manual
Washington, DC - Ordered by Congress to re-open its shuttered libraries, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is grudgingly allocating only minimal space and resources, according to agency documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). At the same time, EPA is issuing a series of edicts placing virtually every aspect of library operations under centralized control of a political appointee.
In a May 8, 2008 e-mail to EPA employee unions, the agency announced its plan for re-opening four of the closed libraries effective September 1.
The unions were given until May 22 to reply or object. The announced plan for the Chicago library, formerly the largest regional library serving the entire six-state Great Lakes area, stipulates:
* The re-opened library will be in a vacant reception area on the
16th floor of a federal building;
* The re-opened library will occupy less than one-tenth the area
of the closed library and will be only slightly larger than the typical men's restroom in that same building; and
* No provision is made to restore the unique Great Lakes
ecological collection or to recover any of the other holdings from the former library.
Similarly, the regional library in Dallas serving a five-state area will be reduced to "2 staff workstations and 1 patron workstation, each with a PC, desk, and chair". It will be open six hours a day for four days a week. The fate of its former collection also remains unknown.
"A library requires more space than a lavatory," stated PEER Associate Director Carol Goldberg. "These plans appear to violate the Congressional order that the agency 'restore the network of EPA libraries recently closed...' What part of 'restore' doesn't EPA understand?"
Adding to the disruption caused by its 20-month library closure campaign, EPA has installed one political appointee, Molly O'Neill, the Assistant Administrator for Environmental Information, as library czar, in charge of all library operations, including those serving laboratories and specialized programs.
New rules issued by O'Neill governing every facet of library operations, including detailed directives on handling research and information requests and priorities for materials disbursal or destruction, will go into effect next month. These new rules will repeal agency protocols that have been in effect since 1977.
"Even as many collections remain in crates, EPA has decided to micromanage what is left," Goldberg added, noting that the agency has still not accounted for many of the library holdings it had removed.
"Professional librarians should be making these management decisions, not political appointees."
More information available here, including the original memo, how libraries are suppose to respond to requests and more:
http://peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1051

Carol Lloyd, Head of Information Services at the Downtown Reno Library subs for storytime.

CLOSED EPA LIBRARIES TO RETURN IN LAVATORY-SIZED SPACES
Web page address: http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1051

Pew's State Management Report Card for 2008


http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/Grading-the-States-2008.pdf

Announcement: It All Started With Thomas Jefferson
Posted by: "Tom Peters" tapinformation@yahoo.com tapinformation
Date: Tue May 13, 2008 7:19 am ((PDT))
Greetings! Everyone worldwide is welcome to join the librarians at the Library of Congress for this free online program about the genesis of the Library of Congress. To learn more about all upcoming OPAL free online programs, please visit
http://www.opal-online.org/progschrono.htm
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 1:00 Central, noon Mountain, 11:00 a.m. Pacific, and 6:00 p.m. GMT/UTC/Zulu:
From Monticello to Capitol Hill: Thomas Jefferson and His Library
Host: Library of Congress
Online Location: OPAL Online Auditorium

After nearly two centuries, Thomas Jefferson¢s library has again been recreated at the heart of the Library of Congress for all to see. How did catastrophe vie with vision and innovation to transform Jefferson¢s library into the Library of Congress? Join us as we take you on a virtual journey across the Web, blending a nineteenth-century story with twenty-first-century technical innovation to bring you online resources that are both the oldest and the newest treasures the world¢s greatest library has to share.
Tom Peters, OPAL Coordinator
TAP Information Services
1000 SW 23rd Street
Blue Springs, MO 64015
phone: 816-228-6406
email: tpeters@tapinformation.com
web: www.tapinformation.com
Skype: tapeters4466
Maxito Ricardo in Second Life

The House Committee on Homeland Security Majority Staff have published a new report examining "Public Health, Safety, and Security for Mass Gatherings." This is a comprehensive report and it includes 30 recommendations for what should be done by levels of government as well as the private sector in the event of an act of terrorism or any other from of disaster. The report is available directly at
http://homeland.house.gov/SiteDocuments/20080513105623-98169.pdf .
The press release is available at
http://homeland.house.gov/press/index.asp?ID=373

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has released its majority and minority staff report entitled "Violent Islamist Extremism, The Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorist Threat."
It can be found at
http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/_files/IslamistReport.pdf or from the Committee's website http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/

Watching gas prices rise 15-cents overnight will frighten the hardiest of souls. Fight back with a little information.
The University of Michigan Documents Center has just launched its Gasoline Prices web page at:
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/dn08/dn08gas.html
The web page is filled with statistics on pump and crude oil prices, exchange rates, and oil reserves. Did you know there are 42 gallons to a barrel of oil? It is also addresses solutions to high prices from supply and demand to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a gas tax holiday, and regulating commodity exchanges. In case you are wondering, there IS no existing windfall profits tax!

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Majority Staff has released its report "Hospital Emergency Surge Capacity: Not Ready for the 'Predictable Surprise.'" The report is available at
http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20080505101837.pdf
For the links to the related snapshot reports for various hospitals as well as information about the hearings being held this week, go to
http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1929 .

The State Department has released its latest "Country Report on Terrorism." This report is required by law and until 2004 was called the "Patterns of Global Terrorism." The html version of the 2007 is now available at
http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2007/
Previous reports [2006-2000] can be found at http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt and the archive [1995-1999] of the earlier reports can be found at http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/annual_reports.html

Several recent reports on the status of reconstruction in Iraq have been released this week from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) and are in the news.
SIGIR Audit Reports [April]:
Main site -- http://www.sigir.mil/reports/audit.aspx
* 08-011 [April 29, 2008]
Review of Outcome, Cost, and Oversight of Electricity-Sector Reconstruction Contract with Perini Corporation http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/08-011.pdf
* 08-017 [April 28, 2008]
Transferring Reconstruction Projects to the Government of Iraq: Some Progress Made but Further Improvements Needed to Avoid Waste http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/08-017.pdf
* 08-013 [April 28, 2008]
Interim Report on Iraq Reconstruction Contract Terminations
http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/08-013.pdf
* 08-015 [April 25, 2008]
Interim Analysis of Iraqi Security Force Information Provided by the Department of Defense Report, Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq
http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/08-015.pdf
* 08-016 [April 24, 2008]
U.S. Anticorruption Efforts in Iraq: Progress Made in Implementing Revised Management Plan
http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/08-016.pdf
* 08-014 [April 24, 2008]
Progress on Recommended Improvements to Contract Administration for the Iraqi Police Training Program
http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/08-014.pdf
SIGIR Quarterly Reports
Main site http://www.sigir.mil/reports/Default.aspx
They just released its most recently quarterly report
http://www.sigir.mil/reports/quarterlyreports/Apr08/pdf/Report_-_April_2
008.pdf
Their summary of this report --
Since April 2003, the United States Congress has appropriated more than
$46 billion for the relief and reconstruction of Iraq. This Quarterly Report provides a comprehensive update on how that money has been spent, with information on the top five projects in each construction sector, the top contractors by income, an overview of reconstruction management, and SIGIR's new audits and inspections. In addition, with Iraq's oil revenue income on course to hit $70 billion for 2008 "twice what was expected" Iraq is in a position to take on more responsibility for its own reconstruction. The Year of Transfer in Iraq continues, with three major issues unfolding:
* Transferring funding responsibility
* Transferring reconstruction assets
* Transferring responsibility for security

The depository eagle was created by GPO staff and approved by the staff in the Office of the Superintendent of Documents and from the Joint Committee on Printing.
The logo was selected from 3 designs submitted by GPO Graphics Department. Jim Livesey, Director of Library Programs Service of the Superintendent of Documents Office and Bernadine Abbott Hoduski (retired professional staffer, U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Printing Helena, Montana ber@initco.net) as a JCP staffer decided on the winner.
The eagle logo was first used by GPO 9/30/1977. It was registered as a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 12/27/2005. S/N:
78503429
http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=78503429

Library of Congress Opens Main Reading Room to Researchers
Age 16 and Older


Library of Congress Opens Main Reading Room to Researchers Age 16 and Older The Library of Congress today announced that the minimum age for use of the Main Reading Room to access the Library's physical collections for research purposes has been lowered to 16. The previous requirement was that researchers be above high school age. "The Library of Congress is always looking for ways to create new lifelong learners, to expand access to knowledge and to spark the creativity of future generations," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. "We want people of all ages to be aware of the almost limitless resources that are available in libraries, including their de facto national library, especially at a time when the amount of information online still represents only a tiny fraction of the sum total of human knowledge." According to the U.S.
Census Bureau, there are more than 8 million 16- and 17-year-olds living in the United States.


http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2008/08-069.html

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has decided to not record a "snapshot" of government web pages at the end of the current Administration (as it did at the end of the Clinton Admin and of the 109th Congress). The letter below urges the Archivist to rescind that decision.
Background information is provided here:
http://www.dotgovwatch.com/?/archives/34-The-National-Archives-Is-Quietly-Destroying-Millions-of-Documents.html#contentStart
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9077158
NARA's response to the bad publicity is here: http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/memos/nwm13-2008-brief.html
The deadline is Monday, 28 April. If you want to sign your organization on, please let Vivek Shah know.
Thanks.
Patrice McDermott, Director
OpenTheGovernment.org
www.openthegovernment.org
202.332.OPEN (6736)
April , 2008
Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States National Archives and Records Administration 700 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20408
Dear Dr Weinstein,
We are writing to express our serious concerns about the National Archives and Record Administration's decision to not record a "snapshot" of government web pages at the end of the current Administration. Federal websites are federal records and, therefore, must be treated as such and preserved appropriately. As the site for the 2004 Presidential Term Web Harvest indicates, the first such snapshot was "intended to document Federal agencies' presence on the World Wide Web at the time that the Presidential Administration term ended in early 2005." Indeed, NARA also captured House and Senate public web sites as they existed prior to December 11 2006, at the end of the109th Congress (2006). A precedent, thus, has been clearly established for this important method of preserving a moment in our country's history.
It is our understanding that in NWM 13.2008, the reasons for this decision include that Existing, private entities such as the Internet Archive (archives.org) already record federal web pages; and NARA does not consider such a snapshot to possess enough historical value to warrant its recording.
The work of organizations like the Internet Archive, while valuable, does not supplant the responsibility of our national government to protect and document its own history and the NARA snapshot is the critical component of the Nation's historical record. No other agency has both the public mandate and the public accountability necessary for protecting historical records.
Moreover, depending on private, non-profit organizations to keep our Nation's digital history poses serious risks. What guarantee is there that the Internet Archive or any similar organization, and the records they keep, will still exist 10, 15, or a hundred years from now? How do we ensure that these records will be freely available and without limitations on their use?
A snapshot of federal web pages is, indeed, of great historical value. They provide the public with an image and understanding of the government at a particular point in time that can be then compared and contrasted with other such images over Administrations. Such comparison is of immense historical value because it allows the public direct access to federal digital records at a given time in history. As Congress and Federal agencies continue to move more and more of their work online, proactive and detailed digital archiving is essential for public awareness and government accountability.
We urge you to rescind your decision and continue NARA's web harvesting program by archiving a snapshot of all federal web pages at the end of the current presidential term. Not capturing federal websites now may mean losing millions of pages created during the Bush administration. Allowing such a loss is contrary to the trust in and the mission of the National Archives and Records Administration.
We would welcome the opportunity to meet and discuss our concerns with you. Thank you in advance for considering this request. Please contact Patrice McDermott at 202-332-6736 with any questions.
Sincerely,

From the top of de Young Museum in San Francisco -- a government building

The Second Judicial District Court - Family Division has been hosting monthly "service fairs" on the 3rd floor of One South Sierra Street, North Tower. Our next service fair will be held on Thursday, April 24, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. and will highlight services provided by the Adoption and Attachment Resource Center of Nevada and Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Northern Nevada.
The Adoption and Attachment Resource Center will be here from 9:00 a.m.
- 3:00 p.m. and Consumer Credit Counseling Services will here from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. The Adoption and Attachment Resource Center provides information about recruitment, training, and ongoing support for adoptive families. Consumer Credit Counseling Services provides free credit, debt, budget, housing, and family counseling. Please share this information with those who may be interested in such assistance.
Should you have any questions, please let me know. For your convenience I have also attached the event flyer. Thank you in advance for encouraging people to attend.
Joey A. Orduna, J.D.
Assistant Court Administrator - Family Court Second Judicial District P.O. Box 30083 Reno, Nevada 89520-3083
Phone: (775) 328-3467
Cell: (775) 250-2322
Fax: (775) 328-3469
Email: joey.orduna@washoecourts.us <mailto:joey.orduna@washoecourts.us>

John Califano , working the Periodical Desk at the Downtown Reno Library.

POPLINE


On April 2, controversy erupted when medical research librarians discovered that database administrators at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, took action to block the word 'abortion' as a search term for searches conducted on POPLINE, the 'world's largest database on reproductive health.'
Shortly after the news was made public, the ALA Washington Office approached officials at John Hopkins inquiring about the limitations placed on the database and demanding a full investigation into the matter. When informed about the administrators' decision, Dean of the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Dr. Michael J. Klag, reversed the decision to restrict the search term. Full access to the POPLINE database was promptly restored and Dr. Klag has since initiated an inquiry into why and how the block was established.

The Truth About Cell Phones and the Do Not Call Registry

A great article from The Federal Trade Commission

A Garden Within a Library

Downtown Reno Library

Country Pages for the World Completed


The Government Publications Library at the University of Colorado at Boulder is happy to announce that its country pages for ALL countries of the world are now complete. You can access the pages directly from the Government Publications website (http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/foreigngovt.htm) OR by searching the Research & Subject Guides Database (http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/research/guides/index.cfm) by country name.
For ease of use, each page is arranged in a consistent manner. A navigation menu at the top provides quick access to frequently-requested information:
Government Information Country Profiles Articles & Databases Diplomatic Relations Health Peacekeeping & Military Information Resources in the Catalog Related Topics.
Selecting one of the Resources in the Catalog links generates a live Chinook search for country-specific e-resources on economics, history, or politics. There's also an option to limit your search to government information only.
A number of instructors direct their students to use the guides. The country pages are also among the most frequently-searched-for items in the guides database.
Although some of the links are limited to CU-Boulder because of license restrictions, a majority of the links are to freely available resources.

Washoe County is surveying citizens for budget priorities and comments. If you, as a citizen, want to let your commissioner(s) know where you think County budget should be cut/spent/increased, what's important to you, etc., fill out their survey at:

http://www.washoecounty.us/index/surveys.html~survey_dept=&sid=5

Hint, hint - increase library budget

Kathryn Etcheverria, Head of Government Publications for the Nevada State Library and Archives and Lisa Printz, Washoe County Library Government Documents Division in Kathryn's office.

AARP Tax Help at the Downtown Reno Library

Volunteer Carol Gomez helps another satisfied client.

Iraqi Perspectives Project Saddam and Terrorism: Emerging Insights from Captured Iraqi Documents
Volume 1 (Redacted)
http://a.abcnews.com/images/pdf/Pentagon_Report_V1.pdf
The related article "Report Shows No Link Between Saddam and al Qaeda is available http://blogs.abcnews.com/rapidreport/2008/03/report-shows-no.html

Washoe County Government at Work

Arnie Maurins, Washoe County Library System Interim Director at his desk on a Sunday morning.

The Nevada Health Division has removed from its Web homepage a report detailing the status of its on-going inspections of 50 surgical centers in Nevada.Spokeswoman Martha Framsted said the division is working to make the report more user-friendly, concerned the public might not understand all of the terminology in it.She said the new report is expected to be posted to the web site by Thursday morning.

The report has been posted at Ambulatory Surgical Center Actions

Decisions of the Interior Board of Indian Appeals have been made available on the Internet again.
The new web site was originally set up by the now deceased Administrative Judge Anita Vogt of the Office of Hearings and Appeals last year. At the time it started, Judge Vogt felt strongly that these decisions should be made available to the public, despite the limitations involved with the Cobell case. As you know, the Cobell case had shut down access to the Office of Hearings and Appeals website several years ago, including access to a database that had been set up on their website of IBIA and IBLA decisions.
The new site ( http://www.ibiadecisions.com ) is now being regularly updated by another Administrative Judge in the Office of Hearings and Appeals and will continue to be updated by her for the foreseeable future. A librarian at the Office of Hearings and Appeals believes it is reliable and can be referred to when searching for these decisions.
This site contains decisions issued by the Interior Board of Indian Appeals (IBIA)
from its inception in 1970, and includes some decisions of the Interior Board of Land
Appeals, volumes 125-173, and Indian Self-Determination Act Decisions. It also
includes surveys of IBIA decisions on three subjects: Land Acquisition (Updated
version, April 1, 2004), Probate (August 22, 2000), and Tribal Government (July 13,
1998). These surveys were prepared by Interior Department Field Solicitor Priscilla
A. Wilfahrt, who has graciously permitted their inclusion here.




Judy Din
Technical Services and Systems Support Manager U.S. Dept. of the Interior Library MS 1151
1849 C. St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20240
(202) 208-3402
Judy_L_Din@nbc.gov

Downtown Reno Library Information Services librarians

Debbie Gunderman

Marc Tiar

Washoe County Quick Map Debut
A new simple Web search application has been added to the county’s GIS toolsets. It was developed to assist county front-line staff in answering questions from citizens, such as which Commissioner District, Precinct or General Improvement Districts they reside.
Users can search by address, parcel number or street intersection. The program will search the map layers related to that address and present results in a table format. The table lists planning area, Voter Precinct, Senate District, Assembly District, Board of Education, University Regent, Commission District, City Ward, Standard Trustee, General Trustee, General Improvement District, township and zip code. With one additional click, users can get detailed parcel information through Assessor’s Office Quick Info and map detail through the Map Warehouse. Here is the link to Quick Map: http://wcgisweb.washoecounty.us/website/QuickMap/. Or you can go to the GIS homepage and click the Quick Map icon. If you have any suggestions or run into technical problems, please contact Matt Lawton at mlawton@washoecounty.us. Happy Clicking!!

WASHOE COUNTY BUDGET HEARINGS TO BE BROADCAST LIVE ON CHANNEL 17 AND AVAILABLE ON VIDEO ON DEMAND
Reno, Nevada March 7, 2008. Washoe County Department budget presentations are scheduled for March 10, 17 and 24 and will be broadcast live on WCTV-17 as well as posted on the County’s video-on demand website by the next day at the latest. To get each Department’s live budget presentation date and time and video on demand schedule, go to www.washoecounty.us and click on the WCTV-17 online link for video on demand and www.washoecounty.us/finance/budget.html for budget information.
Washoe County elected officials and Department heads will present these strategies to the Board of Commissioners about how they will meet the projected $20.7 million deficit in the 2008-09 budget within their individual departments. Recommended reductions range from 2.5% for public safety, 5% for judicial/health/social services, 10% for administrative/executive/legal/operations and 15% for cultural/educational.
The spending reductions are necessary because sales tax revenues, which make up nearly 40% of the County’s general fund, are lower than projected. In fact, County Commissioners recently received a report from County Finance staff that 16 of the last 17 months have sales tax revenues lower than the same period a year ago—the longest sustained decrease in decades.

Related Links:
Budget Overview (http://www.washoecounty.us/finance/budget.html)

Census 2010 in Trouble


http://govexec.com/dailyfed/0308/030508n1.htm
Census Bureau facing huge cost increase, possible delays in 2010 effort By Gautham Nagesh *gnagesh@govexec.com* March 5, 2008
The 2010 Census is at serious risk of massive cost increases and delays caused by problems with a contract to develop handheld computers that the Census Bureau plans to use to collect data.
Because of the problems, costs for the decennial census could increase by between $600 million to $2 billion, according to testimonygiven by the Government Accountability Office Wednesday at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The increase would be on top of the $11.8 billion the bureau estimates the census will cost.
The problems with the contract are so great that the GAO took the unusual step of adding the project to its list of high-risk programs during mid-year. Typically, GAO adds programs to its risk list every two years at the beginning of new Congresses. GAO has added programs during mid-sessions only four times.
"So serious is the crisis that if it is not dealt with immediately, it could threaten the integrity of the 2010 count," said Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., in his opening statement at the hearing. "We now find ourselves facing a situation in which we might have to revert to conducting the census entirely by paper -- no differently than it was done in the 19th century."
The source of the trouble is the Field Data Collection Automation Contract, which the bureau awarded in 2006 to Harris Corp. for $595 million. Under the contract, Harris is developing handheld computers for 525,000 enumerators who will use them to collect data from Americans who do not send in their census forms. Since awarding the contract, the project has experienced problems <http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0108/010208h1.htm>, including changing system requirements, which have caused costs to increase and the bureau to miss deadlines.
At the hearing, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez acknowledged in blunt terms that "significant miscommunication concerning technical requirements between the Census Bureau and Harris" were a main reason for the failings.
David Powner, director of information technology management issues at GAO, said final requirements for the FDCA program were not delivered to Harris until Jan. 16.
For years, the bureau's top executives have downplayed any perceptions that the contract was in trouble. Most recently, at a Dec. 11 hearing of the House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives, former Census Director Charles Louis Kincannon blamed the delays on Congress' inability to pass the bureau's budget and downplayed the nature of the program's shortcomings.
However, at Wednesday's hearing, Gutierrez testified that "the problem was more significant than had been conveyed in the Dec. 11 hearing" and admitted that the Census Bureau and Harris "could have done things differently and better over the past couple years."
"This is a case of classic risk mismanagement," said Bob Charette, a risk management expert who consults with federal agencies. "Very early in the contract, [the Census Bureau] should have realized they did not do some of things they should have for a large-scale automation like this. Doing it now is like locking the barn door after the horse is gone."
Gutierrez and Steven Murdock, who recently replaced Kincannon as head of the bureau, offered four options to fix the contract's problems. Under one, called the baseline option, Harris and the Census Bureau would complete the FDCA project as planned, while each of the other options progressively remove a number of functionalities of the handhelds, with those functions being completed by paper. The $600 million to $2 billion estimate of the cost increase depends largely on which option is chosen. But sources expressed doubt about that estimate because the bureau cannot accurately predict the cost and timeframe of the 2010 census at this time.

Downtown Reno Library Information Services members

Lisa Printz

Aurora Partridge

The C-SPAN Campaign 2008 Bus will stop at two Washoe County libraries during its visit to northern Nevada. The 45-foot, mobile, multi-media demonstration center and TV production unit brings the world of public affairs to communities nationwide. Educators, media specialists, high school and middle school students, college students, legislators and voters are all welcomed aboard. The bus is intended to engage voters in the presidential election process.
The library schedule is as follows:
Saturday, March 15, 10 a.m.-noon
Spanish Springs Library (Lazy 5 Park)
7100A Pyramid Lake Highway, Sparks
424-1800
Saturday, March 15, 1-3 p.m.
Northwest Reno Library
2325 Robb Drive, Reno
787-4100

The purpose of the bus is to introduce students, teachers and bus visitors to C-SPAN as an educational resource. Visitors learn about the importance of media literacy and the historic 2008 presidential race. A typical visit to the C-SPAN Campaign 2008 Bus includes an interactive demonstration about C-SPAN programming, media literacy skills and the 2008 presidential election.
Everyone is welcome to visit the bus and enjoy a multi-media political experience. Please see www.campaign2008bus.org for more information on the C-SPAN Campaign 2008 Bus.

Based FY2000 National Defense Authorization Act (Section 1202) DoD is required to submit a report "...on the current and future military strategy of the People's Republic of China. The report shall address the current and probable future course of military-technological development on the People's Liberation Army and the tenets and probable development of Chinese grand strategy, security strategy, and military strategy, and of the military organizations and operational concepts, through the next 20 years."
The 2008 DoD Report to Congress on the Military Power of the People's Republic of China for has been released and is available at http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/China_Military_Report_08.pdf
Previous reports can be found at
http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/china.html

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