Archive for the 'Government Information' Category

Scholarships for E-Government Librarians

Published on October 21, 2009 in Comments, Government Information and Ray Matthews. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

The Center for Library and Information Innovation at the iSchool at the University of Maryland College Park, in partnership with the Government Information Online Initiative and the University of Illinois at Chicago, is accepting applications for 20 Master of Library Science (MLS) scholarships. The scholarships are for a new online MLS program focused on e-government services and digital government information.

Applications are due by 1 February 2010, and the program is scheduled to begin in Fall 2010. For more information, see www.liicenter.org/libegov.

From Peggy Garvin, SLA/DGI Blog

Law Library Celebrates National Library Week

Published on April 9, 2009 in Events, Government Information, Ray Matthews and training. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

In commemoration of National Library Week, the Utah State Law Library will be offering a number of classes and tours at the Matheson Courthouse (April 13-16, 2009).

Introduction to Resources for Self-Represented Parties

The class introduces the resources available for people representing themselves in court, including how to find an attorney, legal clinics, forms, the Online Court Assistance Program and other resources. The presentation will be followed by a tour of the Utah State Law Library introducing the print and electronic resources available.

  • Monday, April 13th 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
  • Wednesday, April 15th 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Westlaw Basics
This class will teach you how to search for case law, statutes, and other information using specialized search techniques. You will also learn about the various options for printing and saving.

  • Tuesday, April 14th 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Introduction to HeinOnline
HeinOnline provides access to historic and current legal publications, including law reviews and Federal material, and includes content not available on Westlaw or LexisNexis. Learn how to access these documents and view, print, and download them in PDF form.

  • Thursday, April 16th 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Registration is required for all classes. To reserve your spot:

• Call 801-238-7990
• Email library@email.utcourts.gov
• Or, stop by the State Law Library

Where:
All classses will be held at the Utah State Law Library
Matheson Courthouse, 450 South State Street, Room W-13

For more information please visit the:
Utah State Law Library Blog

Using Maps to Access Library Resources

Published on January 28, 2009 in Comments, Government Information and Ray Matthews. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

The public has a great interest in being able to access information by typing in an address, entering a zip code, selecting a location on a map, or automatically receiving content via GPS detection in their mobile devices. Google Maps mashups are almost expected on every site.

Who represents me in the Utah Capitol?

http://www.scottriding.com/utahlegislators/Utah legislature interactive map
This extremely useful mashup by Scott Riding shows what is possible in combining Google Maps with geographic data from the Automated Geographic Reference Center and legislative directory information from Legislative Research and General Counsel. Just type in your address or select your community from a list to see who is representing you (thank you Phil Windley for the alert).

Mappify

http://lib.byu.edu/cdmmaps
Mappify is another truly wonderful mashup that Scott Eldredge at the BYU Harold B. Lee created and demonstrated to the UALC Digitization Committee on January 12. It uses the user-friendly geo-spatial browsing tool, Mappified to pull some test Savage collection photographs from their CONTENTdm repository. BYU intends on adding the Overlands Trail Collection in the future. Here are some things to try out:

  1. Drill down by Collection browse, by Geography browse, and by Chronology (date) browse. Then try the search feature for the word “canyon”.
  2. Then click “View Timeline” to view images in a Timeline.
  3. “Map Overlay” is one of the coolest features. Click “Go to Map Overlays”, then zoom in and click “High Res”. Use the Opacity slider to compare 1930s maps of the border between Denmark and Germany with the current map in Google satellite view. I can imagine that this application will be of tremendous interest to genealogists interested in comparing old maps with the modern landscape.

Continue reading ‘Using Maps to Access Library Resources’

Full-text of Inaugural Available Through FDsys

Published on January 22, 2009 in Comments, Government Information and Ray Matthews. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

The Government Printing Office (GPO) released FDsys to the public last Thursday  at the same time that Mike Wash, GPO’s chief technical officer, announced it in his Washboard blog.

FDsys: http://fdsys.gpo.gov/

One spankin’ new government publication it includes is the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents from The Office of the Federal Register (OFR). This publication appeared on January 20, 2009 to coincide with the incoming President’s term of office. The online Daily Compilation will replace the printed Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. The OFR has partnered with the Government Printing Office to make the Daily Compilation the first publication specifically engineered for the new FDsys platform. More new web services will be added throughout 2009 allowing FDsys to gradually replace GPO Access. For more information see the FDsys project website.

FDsys has the full-text of the presidential inaugural ceremony as printed in the Senate pages of the January 20, 2009 Congressional Record, pages S667 through S670 (PDF). Enjoy!   

Your Chance to Brief the President

Published on January 14, 2009 in Comments, Government Information and Ray Matthews. 2 Comments Tags: , .

This is the coolest idea I’ve seen from government in some time.  You’ve probably heard of the Daily Briefing Book that is prepared for the president by his experts and advisors.  The Obama-Biden Transition Team have created something better. It’s called the  Citizen’s Briefing Book.  It’s a collection of the best-rated ideas for the new president from ordinary citizens like you. 

Citizen’s Briefing Book:  http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov

Simply log-in and submit your idea.  Your fellow citizens will rate your idea, comment on what you’ve said, and the best ideas will float to the top.  These will be gathered and delivered to President Obama after he is sworn in.

For example: “Libraries of all types need our support”

The collection can be searched, browsed, and sorted by most popular and most recent submissions.

How about we implement something like this locally to gather the best ideas from our citizens for bettering library services?