Freedom of Information

US government sends itself a takedown notice

As you may know, works of the U.S. Government are not protected by copyright in the U.S. (17 USC §105), but we often discover copyrighted government publications that one would reasonably think would be in the public domain and, more recently, we see works that were treated as public domain in print suddenly being treated as copyrighted when they are converted to digital. No matter how clear the law is, this can lead to confusing situations.
http://freegovinfo.info/node/3920

Open access: four ways it could enhance academic freedom

The power of funding alone should not be enough to override academic freedom, argues Curt Rice, nor does open access automatically skew the world of scholarship
http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2013/apr/22/open-access-academic-freedom-publishing

Order and Liberty: The DPLA Launches

I wasn’t entirely sure what the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) would look like when the long-awaited launch date of April 18 approached. The suspense is finally over: it looks great.
The DPLA is an effort to unify access to cultural assets of the nation and make them free to all. We are not the first country to try this; in fact we’re a bit behind, perhaps because we have a tradition of local library planning and support and because we don’t have a true national library.
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/library-babel-fish/order-and-liberty-dpla-launches#ixzz2SBtsGG8R

Owner, new CEO of Powell’s Books see strength in brick and mortar

It’s tough to think about how people will read in 50 years when you’re worrying about what they’ll read tomorrow. So after just a couple of years as chief executive of Powell’s Books, Emily Powell — granddaughter of the bookseller’s founder — told employees last month she would step down and focus on the Portland company’s long-term strategy in a quickly changing market.
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2013/04/owner_new_ceo_of_powells_books.html

Public Policy

3D-printed guns are inevitable

NEW YORK–For months, a debate has raged in the media and on Capitol Hill about whether or not society (and the law) should allow 3D-printed guns. After listening to Cody Wilson speak for a few minutes, one can’t help but come away feeling that the national discussion is moot: 3D-printed firearms are inevitable.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57581053-76/3d-printed-guns-are-inevitable/

Privacy Concerns

The Dark Side of the Digital Revolution

How do you explain to people that they are a YouTube sensation, when they have never heard of YouTube or the Internet? That’s a question we faced during our January visit to North Korea, when we attempted to engage with the Pyongyang traffic police. You may have seen videos on the Web of the capital city’s “traffic cops,” whose ballerina-like street rituals, featured in government propaganda videos, have made them famous online.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324030704578424650479285218

Feds Push for Backdoor Wiretap Capabilities

Washington – The Washington Post reported today that the FBI is seeking authority to require surveillance backdoors in all popular Internet products and services.
“A wiretapping mandate is a vulnerability mandate,” said CDT Senior Staff Technologist Joe Hall. “The unintended consequences of this proposal are profound. At the very time when the nation is concerned about cybersecurity, the FBI proposal has the potential to make our communications less secure. Once you build a wiretap capability into products and services, the bad guys will find a way to use it.”
https://www.cdt.org/pr_statement/feds-push-backdoor-wiretap-capabilities

Intellectual Property

Human genome: US Supreme Court hears patents case

The US Supreme Court has heard arguments questioning whether the human genome can be claimed as intellectual property. The case relates to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in 2009, and centres on whether companies should be able to patent genes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22157410

International Outlook

World Book Night 2013: half a million free books to be handed out

20,000 volunteers will hand out half a million books tonight as part of World Book Night 2013. The event, now in its third year, aims to promote literacy and share the joy of books with people who might not normally read.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10011224/World-Book-Night-2013-half-a-million-free-books-to-be-handed-out.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.

Taxonomies: What are they and how are they useful

with Marjorie M.K. Hlava, President and Chairmanof Access Innovations, Inc.

An SLA-SF Professional Development Webinar

By Lisa Ngo

Margie Hlava makes the world better one search term at a time. If you’ve ever conducted a search online or tagged a photo in social media, you’ve likely taken advantage of our friend the Taxonomy. Taxonomies make information findable and direct users to consistently relevant search results, and Margie Hlava is one of SLA’s resident experts in taxonomies.

Margie, President and Chief Scientist at Access Innovation, was also founding Chair of the SLA Taxonomy Division. She took time from her busy schedule on March 12th to present an SLA-SF Professional Development Webinar on taxonomies, educating us on how to build and implement them, as well as the international standards applicable to developing taxonomies.

Though many of us may remember learning about them in library school, unless you work with them on a daily basis, you probably never think twice about taxonomies when you execute a search. But did you know that they’re now used for image databases, in data mashups, data visualizations, web crawlers, spam filters, and social networking sites? Margie explains that, at their core, taxonomies help us leverage our data and make it discoverable and findable, and are defined as “a collection of controlled vocabulary terms organized into a hierarchical structure” (ANSI/NISO Z39.19-2005).

So how do you build and implement a taxonomy?

First, you should know that there are standards that govern taxonomies; the ANSI/NISO Z39.19-2005 standard is one reference, but there are also standards from ISO and W3C.

Margie explains that it’s not scary at all to build a taxonomy; in fact, you may not even need to build it from scratch. There are term registries and taxonomy warehouses where you can find a base for the taxonomy you need and build out from there. You can also mix and match existing taxonomies; in the process, you need to organize and fill in gaps, and then flesh out and interrelate terms.

Margie has great advice about how to determine terms – for instance, be unambiguous with your vocabulary and only use one term for each concept. Relationships between terms are also important and need to be considered when building your term hierarchy. When you think you’re done, you’re not done! You must edit, test, edit, and test some more; taxonomies should evolve with usage and need to be maintained for them to remain relevant.

Lastly, taxonomies can be implemented in a myriad of ways, with search and websites being the most popular.

I am sure I have done Margie a disservice with my incredibly brief recap of her talk, but fear not. Margie is presenting an in-depth “Introduction to Taxonomies” workshop in June at SLA in San Diego – get your tickets now.

Thanks go to Information Express for their generous sponsorship of this event.

Taxonomies: What are they and how are they useful?

Online Webinar on Tuesday, March 12, 2013, 5:30 – 6:30pm (Pacific)

presented by Margie Hlava

Why:
Members of the SLA are perfect candidates to build and implement taxonomies. The oceans of data coming at us through the Internet portals need to be harnessed to power our research, development and management of existing knowledge as a foundation for growth and profitability. This webinar is a great introduction to a powerful skill that sets us apart from IT and adds value to our information systems.

Who:
Marjorie M.K. Hlava is President, Chairman, and founder of Access Innovations, Inc., in New Mexico. Very well known in the international information arena, she is the founding Chair of the SLA Taxonomy Division established in August 2009. She is past president of NFAIS (2002-2003), the organization of those who create, organize, and distribute information. Ms. Hlava is past president of the American Society for Information Science and Technology – 1993 (ASIST) and the 1996 recipient of ASIST’s prestigious Watson Davis Award. Ms. Hlava was also twice a member of the Board of Directors of SLA where she was awarded the President’s Award for her standards work. She has been granted 21 patent claims for her work.

When:
Tuesday, March 12, 2013, 5:30 – 6:30pm (Pacific)

Where:
By phone and online via GoToWebinar, hosted by SLA-SF. You will need a PC with internet access. You can use your computer audio or telephone (toll call). The link and call information will be provided after verification of registration payment.

Cost:
$25 for SLA members, $50 for non-members/guests, and $15 for students/retirees/unemployed.

Registration:
Registration is now closed.

Are you a current member of the SLA Taxonomy Division?
Taxonomy Division members may attend this webinar for free. Do not use the registration link shown above. Instead, send your name, email address and phone number with your interest in the webinar to Wendi Pohs, Taxonomy Division PD Chair: wpohs@infoclearonline.com. The deadline for this special offer is March 1, 2013.

Registration for SLA’s Annual Conference in San Diego, June 8-11, opens today! This is the first time the conference has been in our time zone since Seattle in 2008. Think about being able to make it to those 8:00 am sessions without the feeling that no amount of caffeine will keep your eyes open!

The conference schedule has changed this year; all CE programs will be on Saturday and regular sessions start on Sunday. The conference ends on Tuesday. The online conference planner is already up and running, so you can start choosing your sessions now.

Make sure to put the Western States Chapter Reception on your calendar for Sunday the 9^th at 7:30. This year’s reception is being planned by our neighbors to the east in the Sierra Nevada Chapter. I spoke with BJ Combs, of the Sierra Nevada Chapter, while at the Leadership Summit last week, and the food and beverages promise to be plentiful!

Get to know San Diego and all it has to offer by visiting the conference wiki. Keep an eye on the site leading up to the conference as it will be continually updated.

It’s a short, inexpensive flight down the coast to beautiful San Diego! More details will be coming soon, but you’ll even have a chance to win lunch on the beach with Deb Hunt, who, it seems, could be easily convinced to take you on a boogie boarding adventure!

Freedom of Information

Court Orders FBI to Release Withheld Information

As often happens, the Federal Bureau of Investigation invoked national security a few years ago to justify withholding certain information from a Freedom of Information Act requester named Deirdre McKiernan Hetzler.

But as rarely happens, a court last month critically assessed the FBI national security claim and ordered the Bureau to release some of the withheld information.
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2012/10/hetzler_fbi.html

Kiriakou Pleads Guilty in Leak Case

This morning former CIA officer John Kiriakou pleaded guilty to one count of disclosure of information identifying a covert agent, a violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act.

“When KIRIAKOU disclosed the identity of Officer A to Journalist A, KIRIAKOU acted willfully in that defendant knew the disclosure was illegal,” according to a Statement of Facts approved and signed by Mr. Kiriakou today.
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2012/10/kiriakou_plea.html

Stephen King’s ‘Different Seasons’: Banned, briefly, at Rocklin High School

“Think about Stephen King books with disturbing themes and the tale of the Overlook, a malevolent hotel, might come to mind, or Christine, a malevolent Plymouth. As a bestselling horror novelist, King made his bones and his fortune by frightening the wits out of readers. Yet it was his collection of non-horror novellas with themes more societal than scary that was briefly banned this month from a high school outside Sacramento.”
http://www.librarystuff.net/2012/10/28/stephen-kings-different-seasons-banned-briefly-at-rocklin-high-school/

Public Policy

DLC Annual Meeting and Conference

The Government Relations Office staff is attending the Depository Library Council Meeting and Federal Depository Library Conference this week in Arlington, VA!

In addition to educational sessions offered by government agencies and librarians, the Government Printing Office will be presenting the preliminary results from the FDLP Forecast Study, and you can tune in online. More information is available on the FDLP Desktop, and a transcript will be available after the event.
http://aallwash.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/dlc-annual-meeting-and-conference/

Conservatives’ Tax Strategy: Use Economic Fears to Cut Taxes for the Wealthy

Congressional conservatives have revealed their negotiating strategy for dealing with the fiscal cliff slope: scare the public and congressional Democrats into a deal that reduces the deficit through spending cuts alone. These fears have been blown out of proportion. A fiscal Armageddon will not happen on Jan. 1, 2013.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) tipped their strategy when they responded to a speech by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who called on Democrats to fight to retain Clinton-era income tax levels for upper-income households. Schumer urged Democrats to allow the top two income tax brackets to revert back to 36 and 39.6 percent (from their current levels – 33 and 35 percent) and to increase the capital gains tax rate to some level below 40 percent (from today’s 15 percent).
http://www.ombwatch.org/conservatives-tax-strategy-use-economic-fears-to-cut-taxes-for-wealthy

D.C. Council members push for longer library hour

“D.C. library advocates told D.C. Council members Thursday that they want libraries to be open longer, but are worried that extra hours would mean more staffing. “We want extended hours, but there needs to be funding to staff these hours,” said Susan B. Haight, president of the Federation of Friends of the DC Public Library. “My concern is that legislation will be passed and the funding will not follow. An unfunded mandate does not work for us.”
http://www.librarystuff.net/2012/10/26/d-c-council-members-push-for-longer-library-hours/

Privacy Concerns

Privacy & Civil Liberties Oversight Board Invites Public Input
The long-dormant Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) announced that it will hold its first public meeting next week and it invited members of the public to provide input to help shape the Board’s near-term agenda.
“In anticipation of setting the agenda of issues on which the Board will focus its attention, the Board would welcome the views of nongovernmental organizations and members of the public,” stated a notice in the October 23 Federal Register.
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2012/10/pclob_meeting.html

Open Access

Government Accountability Office Report Debunks Industry Criticism of New Federal Fracking Rules

As of Oct. 15, oil and gas operators must notify the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) via e-mail two days in advance of extracting natural gas from a hydraulically fractured or refractured well. This notification requirement is part of EPA’s new Clean Air Act (CAA) standards, which will reduce emissions from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released during natural gas production by requiring “green completions” after January 2015. Industry opposes the standards, but a new report shows they are crucial to protecting the public.

The oil and gas industry appears to be ramping up its lobbying efforts to dismantle the new rule, beginning with criticism of the advance notice requirement that went into effect last week. In particular, drillers are upset that they must send the advance notice to EPA, preferring state regulation of hydraulic fracturing.
http://www.ombwatch.org/gao-rpt-and-new-clean-air-act-fracking-rule

Fracking Continues to Expand Rapidly Despite New Evidence of Health Risks

Another public interest report has confirmed that shale gas extraction is creating new public health risks. However, the fracking boom grows unabated, and drilling is occurring near schools and other locations. This could lead to increased chemical exposures among children and other vulnerable populations.
http://www.ombwatch.org/fracking-expands-despite-health-risks

Scaling Up Transparency: New Approaches Could Yield Greater Openness

Two reforms launched by federal agencies this month represent new approaches to more efficiently releasing government information. New websites to publish declassified documents and records released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) could set new precedents and improve on older practices by making the information available to everyone online.
http://www.ombwatch.org/scaling-up-transparency

iPads set to take over from books in school libraries, principal says

“Principal of Madison Park Primary David Lawton said books would become a “thing of the past”. “The day has arrived – iPads are here … look out books,” Mr Lawton told the News Review Messenger. “School library budgets are being lowered and our budgets for technology are higher, so it’s only a matter of time before technology takes over from the traditional way of teaching. “IPads are increasing the rate and quality of learning and schools have to lead in this area.”
http://www.librarystuff.net/2012/10/26/ipads-set-to-take-over-from-books-in-school-libraries-principal-says/

International Outlook

Podcast: The Foreign Policy Auction with Ben Freeman
POGO’s Ben Freeman just released his book The Foreign Policy Auction, so we sat down with him to find out who is paying to change U.S. foreign policy and how.
http://www.pogo.org/pogo-files/podcasts/government-corruption/podcast-foreign-policy-auction.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.

Expanding Your Career Potential

Part 1 of 2

Tuesday, October 2, 2012, 6:00 – 7:30 PM

a webinar presented by
SLA President-Elect Deb Hunt and David Grossman

TThese are tough times, but librarians, archivists and other information professionals possess many marketable skills that may be easily adapted to access, organize and unlock the value within the paper, digital and knowledge information assets for their organization or their clients.

The workshop offers practical advice to help information professionals assess and expand their existing skill sets and develop new areas of expertise to broaden their career potential, maximize their earnings in their current position or gain that competitive edge for landing their next job.

You will learn how to:
Plan and jump-start your next career move
Acquire 33 essential skills for career growth
Create a dynamite resume
Develop YOUR own personalized road map for career advancement

Our presenters have designed their material to allow each webinar session to stand alone and provide value for those who can attend only one session while not duplicating material for those who are able to attend both sessions. [The second session will be held on November 13. See the SLA-SF Events web page for separate registration.]

SLA Program Costs:
$35 for SLA members, $70 for non-members/guests, and $30 for students/retirees/between jobs members.

Where:
GoToWebinar, hosted by SLA (You will need a PC with internet access and a phone. The link and call information will be provided after registration payment.)

Registration:
REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.

Mail-In Registration

Expanding Your Career Potential

Part 2 of 2

Tuesday, November 13, 2012, 6:00 – 7:30 PM

a webinar presented by
SLA President-Elect Deb Hunt and David Grossman

These are tough times, but librarians, archivists and other information professionals possess many marketable skills that may be easily adapted to access, organize and unlock the value within the paper, digital and knowledge information assets for their organization or their clients.

The workshop offers practical advice to help information professionals assess and expand their existing skill sets and develop new areas of expertise to broaden their career potential, maximize their earnings in their current position or gain that competitive edge for landing their next job.

You will learn how to:
Plan and jump-start your next career move
Acquire 33 essential skills for career growth
Create a dynamite resume
Develop YOUR own personalized road map for career advancement

Our presenters have designed their material to allow each webinar session to stand alone and provide value for those who can attend only one session while not duplicating material for those who are able to attend both sessions. [The first session will be held on October 2. See the SLA-SF Events web page for separate registration.]

SLA Program Costs:
$35 for SLA members, $70 for non-members/guests, and $30 for students/retirees/between jobs members.

Where:
GoToWebinar, hosted by SLA (You will need a PC with internet access and a phone. The link and call information will be provided after registration payment.)

Registration:
Please register online or ensure your mail-in registration form and check are received no later than Friday, November 9, 2012.

Mail-In Registration

Rediscovering the New Deal — In Libraries and in the Field

Presented by Dr. Gray Brechin
Author, Historian, and Lecturer

Thursday, September 13, 2012, 5:30 – 8:00 PM

Berkeley City Club

2315 Durant Avenue, Berkeley

The Living New Deal Project has, for eight years, been inventorying and mapping the vast legacy of New Deal public works first in California and then in the United States. Project founder and scholar Dr. Gray Brechin will describe the unprecedented effort to locate the innumerable artifacts left by the WPA, CCC, PWA, and other alphabet soup agencies that helped to lift the nation out of the last depression as well as the invaluable role that librarians and archivists have played in exhuming a lost civilization built by our forebears.

In addition to his work with the Living New Deal Project, Dr. Brechin is currently a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley’s Department of Geography.

Dr. Brechin will have his award winning book “Imperial San Francisco” on hand to sell and sign.
http://graybrechin.net/

SLA Program Costs:
$25 for SLA members, $50 for non-members/guests, and $20 for students/retirees/between jobs members.

Menu:
A variety of hot and cold hors d’oeuvres will be served, as will non-alcoholic beverages. Beer and wine will be available for purchase from a no-host bar

Agenda:
5:30 – 6:30 PM Check-in and networking
6:30 – 8:00 PM Presentation by Gray Brechin, followed by Q&A

Registration: Registration for this event is closed.

Mail-In Registration

Quick & Dirty Strategic Planning

A Professional Development program
presented by
Eris Weaver

A good strategic plan is like a good roadmap; it helps you get where you want to go. Of course, you first have to decide on your destination in order to know whether you’ve arrived or not! A strategic plan doesn’t have to be a huge document that takes months to create – it’s better to have a one-page plan that is a living document, consulted and amended regularly as a guide for daily decisions. This workshop will provide guidance and a template for quick and dirty strategic planning that will help you get results.

Former SLA member Eris Weaver is a facilitator, consultant, and trainer known for her clarity, forthrightness, and humor. She became a facilitator because she has little patience for poorly run meetings – given how much of our work life is spent in meetings, it is important that we make the best use of our precious time!

Eris is deeply committed to the use of consensus and other cooperative decision-making processes to improve life within our communities and the world at large. She holds Masters degrees in Public Health and Library & Information Studies, both from University of California at Berkeley. She is a member of the International Association of Facilitators, the International Forum of Visual Practitioners. She is a Fellow of the Leadership Institute for Ecology & the Economy and an Ambassador for the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce.

Current and former clients include Stanford University Libraries & Academic Information Resources; California Center for Cooperative Development; University of Utah Medical School; Goldfarb Lipman LLP; Community Experience Partnership; Sonoma County Energy Independence Program; Affordable Housing Associates; Napa County Mental Health Services; and the American Medical Student Association.

When: Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Agenda:

8:30 AM – 9:00 AM Registration & coffee

9:00 AM – 12:00 PM Presentation

Where: Mechanics Institute, 57 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94104
http://www.milibrary.org/

Cost: $40 for SLA members, $80 for non-members, and $25 for students, retired, and unemployed.

Registration Deadline: Friday, February 24th 2012 – CLOSED

Registration Form: Mail-in Registration

View SLA-SF Professional Development in a larger map

If you missed the professional development session that chapter members Deb Hunt and David Grossman did for us last year, you can catch them online!

Click the link for information and registration:

Expand Your Career Potential: Increase Your Expertise, Compensation and Career Satisfaction
January 12 & 19, 2012

Mimi