Category Archives: Government Relations

The Government Relations Committee keeps apprised of library-related government activity and provides information to the CALL community. In particular, stays informed of the work of the AALL Government Relations Committee and the Washington Affairs Office.

Federal Government Information on the Web: Here Today … Where Tomorrow?

The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) devoted a recent two-day program to the vulnerability of digital government information, and one of the highlights was an important discussion of the special risks for “born-digital” information published online by the federal government, led by Jim Jacobs, Data Services Librarian Emeritus of the University of California at San Diego.

His presentation, “Government Records and Information: Real Risks and Potential Losses,” came on the second day of CRL’s April 24-25 conference, “Leviathan: Libraries and Government Information in the Age of Big Data,” held at the University of Chicago’s Gleacher Center.

“No one knows … how much has been created or where it all is”

Continue reading Federal Government Information on the Web: Here Today … Where Tomorrow?

IL Legislative Update: Senate Bill 3288

In Illinois, a version of the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act (“UELMA”) is currently working its way through the 98th General Assembly (as Senate Bill 1941), but UELMA isn’t the only pending Illinois legislation that could affect the  production and dissemination of government-produced legal information in electronic formats.

In February, Illinois Senator Pat McGuire introduced Senate Bill 3288, which, if enacted, would make two key changes to the Illinois General Assembly Operations Act (25 ILCS 10/10, hereinafter “The Act”). Continue reading IL Legislative Update: Senate Bill 3288

Kip Kolkmeier: Advocate for Illinois Libraries

Those of us who attended the November CALL business meeting were given a treat when our featured speaker, Kip Kolkmeier, provided a rundown on the situation in Springfield. Kip summarized the many issues facing the legislature – not only the usual budget woes and redistricting fights, but the enormous unfunded pension obligation that looms over the state right now. Kip managed to tell us the sad tale while making it extremely interesting and entertaining. Continue reading Kip Kolkmeier: Advocate for Illinois Libraries

Federal Depository Library Program still matters, still needs voices of libraries

The post below, reprinted from Kevin McClure’s blog, GovDocsGuy, is a challenge to library directors, so I want to highlight the post again in case you didn’t see it and take a moment to add a prequel that provides one director’s perspective. Now that I have given some thought to the matter, it occurs to me that I have never worked in a library that wasn’t a federal depository. Why does a depository matter now, in a world that shuns print? 

I can tell you why I think it matters. The law libraries in the depository program have managed to keep the United States Code and some other important legal titles in print. We are the ones who took to heart the user’s need to be certain that an online document is authentic and unaltered. Continue reading Federal Depository Library Program still matters, still needs voices of libraries