Freedom of Information

The war that never was: Most elaborate Wikipedia hoax ever as 4,500 word article on ‘Bicholim Conflict’ – a fictitious fight for Goan independence – fooled site for FIVE YEARS

It was voted a ‘good article’ – a Wikipedia badge of honor – and sat happily on the online encyclopedia for more than half a decade. But editors have lately discovered a small issue with the site’s meticulously written 4,500 word article detailing the 17th century Bicholim Conflict.
It was entirely made up.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2257482/The-war-Wikipedia-fooled-years-Bicholim-Conflict-article-elaborate-4-500-word-hoax.html

Report on NYC Public Libraries – Branches of Opportunity

Branches of Opportunity, January 2013, Center for an Urban Future – “As more and more New Yorkers turn to digital books, Wikipedia and other online tools for information and entertainment, there is a growing sense that the age of the public library is over. But, in reality, New York City’s public libraries are more essential than ever.
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/032346.html

US LIBRARY GIVES AFGHAN LEADER DIGITAL TREASURES

“The Library of Congress is using a $2 million gift to digitize cultural treasures and records from Afghanistan to give to that country’s libraries and universities. The gift was announced Friday at the U.S. State Department in a ceremony with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. A grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York will fund the project.”
http://www.librarystuff.net/2013/01/12/us-library-gives-afghan-leader-digital-treasures/

In this university’s laptop vending machine, the MacBooks are free

“Philadelphia’s Drexel University has installed a Macbook vending machine in the university’s Haggerty library. The kiosk dispenses MacBooks free of charge to Drexel students, staff, and faculty, who can use the machines for up to five hours at a time. The goal is simply to help students get better, safer access to technology. Students toting laptops are targets for muggers
http://www.librarystuff.net/2013/01/10/in-this-universitys-laptop-vending-machine-the-macbooks-are-free/

Public Policy

NYU Video At Risk Guidelines for Section 108 (c) Preservation

An exciting new resource developed by the Video at Risk team, this new report draws on the expertise of working video librarians, together with copyright lawyers Bob Clarida and Melissa Brown, to provide guidance on some of the thorniest questions surrounding application of Section 108 to decrepit video formats.
http://policynotes.arl.org/post/40102008798/nyu-video-at-risk-guidelines-for-section-108-c

National Cooperative Drug Discovery/Development Groups (NCDDG) for the Treatment of Mental Disorders, Drug or Alcohol Addiction (U19)

The purpose of the National Cooperative Drug Discovery/Development Group (NCDDG) Program is to create multidisciplinary research groups or partnerships for the discovery of pharmacological agents to treat and to study mental illness or drug or alcohol addiction. The objectives of this program are to: accelerate innovative drug discovery; develop pharmacologic tools for basic and clinical
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-13-086.html

White House – National Strategy for Information Sharing and Safeguarding

“This National Strategy for Information Sharing and Safeguarding (Strategy) aims to strike the proper balance between sharing information with those who need it to keep our country safe and safeguarding it from those who would do us harm.
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/032350.html

Digital Licenses Replace Print Prices as Accurate Reflection of Real Journal Costs

“Instead of purchasing subscriptions to individual journals, librarians are pursuing licensing agreements that provide perpetual digital access to a body of content. For major institutions with research needs across multiple disciplines, this means purchasing journal bundles or packages.
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/032345.html

Privacy Concerns

Privacy on the Go – Recommendations for the Mobile Ecosystem

“Today, 85 percent of American adults own a cell phone and over half of them use their phones to access the Internet. The mobile app marketplace is also booming with more than 1,600 new mobile apps being introduced every day.
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/032350.html

Intellectual Property

International Outlook

EU – Digital Agenda: Turning government data into gold

News release: “The Commission has launched an Open Data Strategy for Europe, which is expected to deliver a €40 billion boost to the EU’s economy each year. Europe’s public administrations are sitting on a goldmine of unrealised economic potential: the large volumes of information collected by numerous public authorities and services.
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/032352.html

U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health

“Although the United States spends more on health care than any other nation, a growing body of research shows that Americans are in poorer health and live shorter lives than people in many other high-income countries. U.S. Health in International Perspective synthesizes available research, taking an in-depth look at this disadvantage in health and lifespan.
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/032347.html

Please feel free to pass along in part or in its entirety.

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