Freedom of Information

In Year of Political “Big Data,” NationBuilder Makes Voter Data Free
“The team at NationBuilder announced Thursday that they were releasing API and limited bulk data access to a nationwide voter file with records on 170 million voters, for free. As NationBuilder co-founder Jim Gilliam explained in a blog post, data on voters is becoming increasingly important for campaigns, advocacy organizations and researchers hoping to understand the American electorate. At the same time, U.S. voter records have two crucial and widely accepted problems.”
http://techpresident.com/news/22856/year-political-big-data-nationbuilder-makes-voter-data-free

Open Government, Open Data, Open Source
“Thomas Jefferson once wrote that when you share an idea with someone, they receive that idea without taking it away from you, just, “as he who lights his taper (candle) at mine, receives light without darkening me.” Almost two hundred years later, that theory of openness is transforming how we think about government services.”
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/09/17/open-government-open-data-open-source

New Freedom of Information Guidance Advances Openness
“New guidance issued Friday by the Department of Justice (DOJ) will help to ensure that a little-known part of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) will not be inappropriately used to shield agency activities from public scrutiny.”
http://www.ombwatch.org/new-foia-guidance-advances-openness http://blogs.justice.gov/oip/archives/887

One Year Later, Delivering on the Commitments of the Open Government Partnership
“Sept. 20 marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of the global Open Government Partnership (OGP) and the release of the U.S. National Action Plan detailing the Obama administration’s commitments to strengthen transparency in the federal government. The partnership and the administration’s implementation efforts have both made significant progress toward their goal of more open and responsive governments in the U.S. and worldwide.”
http://www.ombwatch.org/one-year-later-delivering-on-open-government-partnership

Long Overdue Whistleblower Protections Finally Near?
“While the vast majority of public servants are competent and well-intentioned, problems can crop up in government (as in any large organization). To address those problems, we need strong transparency and oversight, including the courage of public servants themselves to step forward and blow the whistle. But currently, federal employees with knowledge of misconduct are discouraged from reporting it due to a lack of protections and fear of retaliation, including being fired. A whistleblower protection bill that would change this could be up for a vote in the House and Senate later today or tomorrow: the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act‎ (WPEA, S. 743).”
http://www.ombwatch.org/long-overdue-whistleblower-protections

Whistleblower Protections Under Federal Law: An Overview
“This report provides an overview of key aspects of the 18 selected federal statutes applicable to individuals in certain private-sector industries. It focuses on the protections provided to employees who believe they have been subject to retaliation, rather than on how or where alleged misconduct should be disclosed. In addition, the report also includes an overview of the Whistleblower Protection Act. While state law may also provide whistleblower protections for employees, this report focuses only on the aforementioned federal statutory provisions.”
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42727.pdf

Congress.gov Unveiled Today: Public Beta Site Provides Free, Fact-Based Legislative Information
“The Library of Congress, in collaboration with the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives and the Government Printing Office (GPO), today unveiled Congress.gov, a new public beta site for accessing free, fact-based legislative information. Congress.gov features platform mobility, comprehensive information retrieval and user-friendly presentation. Congress.gov, at beta.congress.gov, eventually will replace the public THOMAS system and the congressional Legislative Information System (LIS).”
http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2012/12-171.html http://beta.congress.gov/

Public Policy

Some Successes, Room for Improvement on E-Gov
“Ten years after the passage of the E-Government Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-347), a new GAO report finds federal agencies have yet to address key areas to improve citizen access to government information and services. While the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and other agencies have taken significant steps to comply with the act—including releasing guidance, coordinating reporting, and assigning leadership responsibilities—further action is necessary.”
http://aallwash.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/some-successes-room-for-improvement-on-e-gov/

Intellectual Property

Opposing Views: The Impact Of Canada’s Access Copyright Decision
“One of the five Canadian Supreme Court cases handed down in mid-July considered whether photocopying by kindergarten to grade 12 teachers constitutes fair dealing. Since then, opinions have varied on whether the decision represents a broadening of the fair dealing doctrine or simply fact-specific guidance.”
http://www.ip-watch.org/2012/09/21/opposing-views-the-impact-of-canadas-access-copyright-decision/

Copyright Issues on the Legislative Agenda for 2012-2013
“Back from its extended August recess, Congress has some unfinished business to settle before the end of the calendar year, such as funding the Federal Government for FY 2013 and addressing expiring Bush tax cuts.   Though they are unlikely to take center stage during the truncated session before elections or the post-election lame duck session, lawmakers will have to contend with several key copyright issues during the 113th Congress. Thus, no matter who wins on November 6, IP leaders in the House and Senate are likely to use the remainder of this calendar year to set the stage for next year’s copyright agenda.   The priority copyright issues for the remainder of 2012 and 2013 are: (1) Anti Piracy Initiatives; (2) Internet Issues; (3) International Agreements; (4) Music Licensing; (5) Book Licensing; and (6) TV Broadcast Issues.  Each is discussed more fully below.”
http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2012/09/18/copyright-issues-on-the-legislative-agenda-for-2012-2013/id=28130/

Authors, Academics and Students Protest Publishers’ Move in Delhi University Copyright Case
“If you have been following the recent copyright dispute between a group of publishers and Delhi University, you will acknowledge that the case primarily concerns three groups: (1) the publishers (2) authors, and (3) end users themselves (including universities, academics, research scholars, professors and students). But with the vehement objections from both authors and students to the publishers’ move against the university, raising concerns about restrictions on access to knowledge, perhaps it is time for the Government of India to seriously consider the potentially detrimental impact of this case on the future of Indian education and academia, and implead itself as a party to the suit immediately.”
http://spicyipindia.blogspot.com/2012/09/authors-academics-and-students-protest.html

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The Intersect Alert is a newsletter of the Government Relations Committee, San Francisco Bay Region Chapter, Special Libraries Association.