On a sad note from North Carolina State University:
Folks,
The time has come for me to end my employment at NCSU. Today is my last day of work. There are no plans to continue the Congressional Bibliographies. There has been but one nibble of a suggestion from another library to continue this work, and I have heard nothing from that institution since an initial exchange three months ago.
The Congressional Bibliographies has always been a one-person project (with a bit of occasional help from computing staff, and weekly assistance from work-study students). Its files are now static. How long NCSU will provide access to them, I do not know. Access to Congressional Bib pages via the Internet Archive is incomplete. I have requested that IA crawl the Congressional Bibs for the Wayback Machine.
My last updates are only these:
- 111th Congress (2009) House and Senate Digest files. Updated through April 29. I'm sorry that the site will not include today's Digest entries.
- 110th Congress (2007-2008) Hearings files. I added 298 hearings on April 8.
I urge you to look at the listing by Committee at http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/congbibs/senate/110hrc.html
and observe these matters:
Banking - 2 hearings reported
Commerce - 9 hearings
Environment - 1 hearing
What's going on here? These three committees aren't publishing their hearings. Why not?
I wish I could be encouraging about the future of the Congressional Bibs, but I can't. The NCSU Libraries is, I fear, in serious trouble.
Four reference librarians have been told their contracts will not be renewed in the coming fiscal year - 2 night reference staff, the Biology librarian, and myself. Instead of retaining experienced employees, the director prefers to hire "enthusiastic" new library school graduates.
Reference and instructional services, it appears, are among those the director has declared "dying or dead." She dismantled the government documents department years ago. It appears she will close the Natural Resources Library, and the main library's Media/Microforms room. She has reassigned supervisory staff from the Digital Media Lab to other departments. At the same time she has opened an ice cream parlor in the main library.
The time has come for me to leave what has become a sad, sick parody of a research library. This ship is sinking fast.
I opened my first depository box in 1965. It was like opening a Christmas present. I have not had a documents librarian's duties for ten years, and the Congressional Bibs has been the only way I've been able to contribute to the documents community. I'm sorry to leave this dedicated group of professionals.
Should anyone wish to contact me, this NCSU email address will remain active.
Best wishes.
Jack McGeachy
--
John A. McGeachy
Social Sciences Reference Librarian
Research & Information Services Department Campus Box 7111 North Carolina State University
Raleigh, N.C. 27695-7111
(919) 513-0444 phone
(919) 515-8264 fax
Jack_McGeachy@ncsu.edu
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/staff/jam3
Thursday, April 30, 2009
How has the current economic downturn changed what's happening at your library? Have your patrons needs changed? Staff needs? Your own personal/professional needs? The Library Research Service wants to know (and plans to share what they find). They just launched a 60-Second Survey - Libraries and the Economic Recession.
Please take a minute to respond at:
Thursday, April 23, 2009
"Digital Archives That Disappear"
Google purchased "Paper of Record," a Web site popular with historians and other scholars. Now the site is gone, and although it may be about to return, researchers are furious.
Google purchased "Paper of Record," a Web site popular with historians and other scholars. Now the site is gone, and although it may be about to return, researchers are furious.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
CIC-Google Government Documents Project
The libraries of the CIC universities are partnering with Google to digitize a comprehensive collection of U.S. Federal Documents. It is believed this collection will comprise between 1 and 1.5 million volumes.
The workflow and scanning process for the initiative is being tested by the University of Minnesota, which is sending Google a substantial number of duplicate holdings from its St. Paul campus. Digital facsimiles of successfully scanned Federal Documents from Minnesota -- and eventually other CIC institutions -- will be returned to the HathiTrust Digital Repository, where public domain material can be universally accessed.
This project is part of an overarching CIC Library Director-led initiative to assess the opportunities HathiTrust might provide for more cost-effective management of less frequently used print resources. With three CIC universities designated as comprehensive Regional Depositories for print documents (Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin), it is anticipated the Selective Depositories might be in a position to make coordinated decisions about print retention. The U.S. Federal Documents collection is one of several categories of material where our libraries believe they can achieve efficiencies by better managing the relationship between digital and print resources, with assurances that an adequate number of print copies are available for future use.
The CIC Library Directors have charged the CIC Steering Committee on Federal Documents Digitization with responsibility to plan this initiative.
A principles document has been developed to provide additional information on the project basics. Comments and questions are welcomed and may be directed to the Steering Committee co-chairs, Kirsten Clark
(clark881@umn.edu) and Marianne Ryan (marianne@purdue.edu), or other members of the committee.
The libraries of the CIC universities are partnering with Google to digitize a comprehensive collection of U.S. Federal Documents. It is believed this collection will comprise between 1 and 1.5 million volumes.
The workflow and scanning process for the initiative is being tested by the University of Minnesota, which is sending Google a substantial number of duplicate holdings from its St. Paul campus. Digital facsimiles of successfully scanned Federal Documents from Minnesota -- and eventually other CIC institutions -- will be returned to the HathiTrust Digital Repository, where public domain material can be universally accessed.
This project is part of an overarching CIC Library Director-led initiative to assess the opportunities HathiTrust might provide for more cost-effective management of less frequently used print resources. With three CIC universities designated as comprehensive Regional Depositories for print documents (Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin), it is anticipated the Selective Depositories might be in a position to make coordinated decisions about print retention. The U.S. Federal Documents collection is one of several categories of material where our libraries believe they can achieve efficiencies by better managing the relationship between digital and print resources, with assurances that an adequate number of print copies are available for future use.
The CIC Library Directors have charged the CIC Steering Committee on Federal Documents Digitization with responsibility to plan this initiative.
A principles document has been developed to provide additional information on the project basics. Comments and questions are welcomed and may be directed to the Steering Committee co-chairs, Kirsten Clark
(clark881@umn.edu) and Marianne Ryan (marianne@purdue.edu), or other members of the committee.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Urgent Call to Action!
Sign onto Dear Colleague supporting library funding by Congressman Grijalva!
Please contact your Representative and ask him or her to sign the "Dear Colleague" letter being circulated by Congressman Raul Grijalva in support of funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Program.
The deadline to sign the letter is Wednesday April 1! LSTA and Improving Literacy Through School Libraries are two of the most important federal programs for libraries today. The letter will not be taken seriously, and it will appear as if Members of Congress do not care about libraries if we don't have hundreds of signers on the letter.
Programs that don't have a vocal support network are in danger of being cut.
The letter is addressed to the House Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriation Subcommittees and requests that the House include $300 million for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and $100 million for the Improving Literary Through School Libraries program for FY 2010.
When you contact your Representative, you must ask him or her to call Joseph Mais in order to co-sign the letter at 202.225.2435.
http://capwiz.com/ala/issues/alert/?alertid=13037141
Sign onto Dear Colleague supporting library funding by Congressman Grijalva!
Please contact your Representative and ask him or her to sign the "Dear Colleague" letter being circulated by Congressman Raul Grijalva in support of funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Program.
The deadline to sign the letter is Wednesday April 1! LSTA and Improving Literacy Through School Libraries are two of the most important federal programs for libraries today. The letter will not be taken seriously, and it will appear as if Members of Congress do not care about libraries if we don't have hundreds of signers on the letter.
Programs that don't have a vocal support network are in danger of being cut.
The letter is addressed to the House Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriation Subcommittees and requests that the House include $300 million for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and $100 million for the Improving Literary Through School Libraries program for FY 2010.
When you contact your Representative, you must ask him or her to call Joseph Mais
http://capwiz.com/ala/issues/alert/?alertid=13037141
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
AARP free tax help at Washoe County's Main LibraryAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (stimulus) site recovery.gov has a 'new' map with links to each state's recovery web page that helps explain how they are spending funds allocated by the Recovery Act: http://www.recovery.gov/?q=content/state-recovery-page
Also
The Department of Education's Economic Stimulus webpage:
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/index.html
U.S. Department of Labor announced funding for employment and training programs under American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/eta20090249.htm
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and Wagner-Peyser funding under the Recovery Act: initial plans ETA has developed for implementing these programs under the Recovery Act. Formal guidance is forthcoming.
http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?docn=2717
Friday, February 20, 2009
Testing the Blackjack IIWednesday, February 18, 2009
From: Emily Sheketoff
Completing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was a long and arduous process for the Obama Administration and the new Congress. Now that President Obama has signed the bill into law, our nation can begin the journey of restoring our economic stability through the programs and initiatives this law will make possible.
Throughout the process of creating this law, the library community demonstrated a steadfast commitment to the American public by working to inform our leaders in Washington about the programs and services libraries across the country are providing to help America get back to work, such as assistance with resume building and online job searching as well as free classes to teach the public 21st century job skills.
With many opportunities available to libraries through the stimulus bill, the library community must continue our efforts to educate our elected officials on the benefits of investing in libraries - focusing now on the state level.
Implementing the law will no doubt be as complex a process as creating it, and for this reason the ALA Washington Office has created www.ala.org/knowyourstimulus as a one-stop source with resources on how to make sure libraries benefit from the package and the most up-to-date information on the stimulus. As information becomes available, the ALA Washington Office will post updates on this page with details, such as how funding will be distributed and how to apply.
We have compiled a list of the programs that libraries can benefit from included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. More information will be posted on each section as it becomes available.
$7.2 billion for Broadband
This includes $2.5 billion for Rural Utilities Service and $4.7 billion for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) broadband grant program to increase broadband access and usage in underserved areas of the nation. This includes $200 million in competitive grants for expanding public computer capacity at public libraries and community college libraries. Additionally, this includes $650 million for DTV, of which $90 million may be used by organizations, including libraries, for education and outreach to vulnerable populations including one-on-one assistance for box installation.
$53.6 billion for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund This program includes $48 billion in block grants allocated among the states. But of each state's allocation, 81.8 percent is reserved for education and 18.2 percent is reserved for the governor to use as he or she sees fit. $39.5 billion for education using existing funding formulas, which can be used for preventing cutbacks, preventing layoffs, school modernization (school libraries will benefit from this), or other purposes and $8.8 billion for state fiscal relief for high-priority needs such as public safety and other critical services (including public libraries), renovation and repairs of public school facilities and institutions of higher education facilities. Encouraging state officials to invest the funds they receive from Congress in public and school libraries will be critical. It is also important to note that with the billions of dollars states are receiving, there should be no need for drastic state cutbacks in services.
An additional $120 million for the Senior Community Service Employment Program This funding will provide community service jobs at nonprofit and public facilities, including libraries, for an additional 24,000 older Americans. The Senior Community Service Employment Program is a community service and work-based training program for older workers. Program participants are placed in a wide variety of community service positions at non-profit and public facilities, including daycare centers, senior centers, governmental agencies, schools, hospitals, libraries and landscaping centers. There are currently 74 grantees. Grant awards are made to 18 national nonprofit organizations and 56 state and territorial governments. In most states, the governor has selected the State Office on Aging to administer the program. The contact information for all existing grantees is available by going to www.doleta.gov/seniors. Click the contacts link on the right and on that page go to grantees PY 2007.
An additional $130 million for the Rural Community Facilities Program The Community Programs is a division of the Housing and Community Facilities Programs at the United States Department of Agriculture. Community Programs includes the Community Facilities Guaranteed Loan Program, the Community Facilities Direct Loan Program, and the Community Facilities Grant Program. These programs help develop essential community facilities for public use in rural areas. These facilities include schools, libraries, childcare, hospitals, medical clinics, assisted living facilities, fire and rescue stations, police stations, community centers, public buildings and transportation.
Completing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was a long and arduous process for the Obama Administration and the new Congress. Now that President Obama has signed the bill into law, our nation can begin the journey of restoring our economic stability through the programs and initiatives this law will make possible.
Throughout the process of creating this law, the library community demonstrated a steadfast commitment to the American public by working to inform our leaders in Washington about the programs and services libraries across the country are providing to help America get back to work, such as assistance with resume building and online job searching as well as free classes to teach the public 21st century job skills.
With many opportunities available to libraries through the stimulus bill, the library community must continue our efforts to educate our elected officials on the benefits of investing in libraries - focusing now on the state level.
Implementing the law will no doubt be as complex a process as creating it, and for this reason the ALA Washington Office has created www.ala.org/knowyourstimulus
We have compiled a list of the programs that libraries can benefit from included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. More information will be posted on each section as it becomes available.
$7.2 billion for Broadband
This includes $2.5 billion for Rural Utilities Service and $4.7 billion for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) broadband grant program to increase broadband access and usage in underserved areas of the nation. This includes $200 million in competitive grants for expanding public computer capacity at public libraries and community college libraries. Additionally, this includes $650 million for DTV, of which $90 million may be used by organizations, including libraries, for education and outreach to vulnerable populations including one-on-one assistance for box installation.
$53.6 billion for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund This program includes $48 billion in block grants allocated among the states. But of each state's allocation, 81.8 percent is reserved for education and 18.2 percent is reserved for the governor to use as he or she sees fit. $39.5 billion for education using existing funding formulas, which can be used for preventing cutbacks, preventing layoffs, school modernization (school libraries will benefit from this), or other purposes and $8.8 billion for state fiscal relief for high-priority needs such as public safety and other critical services (including public libraries), renovation and repairs of public school facilities and institutions of higher education facilities. Encouraging state officials to invest the funds they receive from Congress in public and school libraries will be critical. It is also important to note that with the billions of dollars states are receiving, there should be no need for drastic state cutbacks in services.
An additional $120 million for the Senior Community Service Employment Program This funding will provide community service jobs at nonprofit and public facilities, including libraries, for an additional 24,000 older Americans. The Senior Community Service Employment Program is a community service and work-based training program for older workers. Program participants are placed in a wide variety of community service positions at non-profit and public facilities, including daycare centers, senior centers, governmental agencies, schools, hospitals, libraries and landscaping centers. There are currently 74 grantees. Grant awards are made to 18 national nonprofit organizations and 56 state and territorial governments. In most states, the governor has selected the State Office on Aging to administer the program. The contact information for all existing grantees is available by going to www.doleta.gov/seniors
An additional $130 million for the Rural Community Facilities Program The Community Programs is a division of the Housing and Community Facilities Programs at the United States Department of Agriculture. Community Programs includes the Community Facilities Guaranteed Loan Program, the Community Facilities Direct Loan Program, and the Community Facilities Grant Program. These programs help develop essential community facilities for public use in rural areas. These facilities include schools, libraries, childcare, hospitals, medical clinics, assisted living facilities, fire and rescue stations, police stations, community centers, public buildings and transportation.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience Since the March 2003 invasion, the Congress appropriated about $50 billion in taxpayer dollars for Iraq's relief and reconstruction. This generous provision funded a continuously evolving rebuilding program that sought, among other things, to restore Iraq's essential services, establish new security forces, create a free-market economy, and put the country on the path to achieving an effective democracy. Some of the initiatives succeeded but others did not. Hard Lessons, the first comprehensive account of the Iraq reconstruction effort, reviews in detail the United States' rebuilding program, shedding light on why certain programs worked while others fell short of goals.
Full text pdf at URL http://www.sigir.mil or order in paper from GPO http://bookstore.gpo.gov/collections/hard-lessons.jsp
Full text pdf at URL http://www.sigir.mil or order in paper from GPO http://bookstore.gpo.gov/collections/hard-lessons.jsp
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Watching the inauguration at the Downtown Reno LibraryTuesday, January 13, 2009
A view of the Knowledge Center at the University of NevadaWednesday, January 07, 2009
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
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