Government Issues of SLA interest

Freedom of Information

Transparency Recommendations for Congressional Joint Committee on the Deficit
“Over the past several weeks, it has been hard to avoid the drama of the debt ceiling negotiations. While default was avoided, the Budget Control Act settled the debt ceiling issue by pushing most of the tough decisions to a new joint committee of Congress (the “Super Committee”). The committee is tasked with producing another bill that will further reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion, which will likely result in deep cuts to public programs. Such significant cuts are sure to affect every American and every community. With so much at stake, the public deserves to know what the Super Committee is reading, who they are talking to, and what they are considering. Unfortunately, the debt ceiling legislation did not contain any significant transparency requirements that Americans expect and deserve. We need to inject openness and mechanisms for the public's voice into this important national debate. The stakes are high. Special interest lobbyists are already gearing up to defend their pet projects. They'd rather operate in the dark – and usually, Congress would, too. We have to make it clear that is not how democracy operates.”
http://www.ombwatch.org/supercommitteetransparencyasks

Pelosi calls for super committee transparency
“House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is calling on all sessions of the yet-to-be-named deficit super committee to be open to the public and aired online. A key feature of the debt ceiling agreement signed into law by President Barack Obama this week creates a committee of 12 members, divided equally between both parties and chambers, tasked with finding at least $1.2 trillion more in deficit cuts by Thanksgiving. The law doesn’t require the meetings to be public.”
http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0811/Pelosi_calls_for_supercommittee_transparency.html

California Legislature keeps its budget secret
“A run-of-the-mill spat between two lawmakers has escalated into a referendum on government secrecy, exposing the lengths to which the Legislature will go to hide details about how it conducts the people's business. Accused by Assembly Speaker John A. Perez (D-Los Angeles) of being a profligate spender, Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (D-La Canada Flintridge) last month had his office budget cut and was threatened with suspension of his staff. Portantino said he was being punished as the only Assembly Democrat to vote against the state budget in June, and invited the speaker to prove him wrong by releasing details of lawmakers' office allowances. That request was denied. Now several newspapers, including The Times, have gone to court to challenge the Legislature's refusal to turn over records about how leadership doles out taxpayer resources to the rank and file. The Legislature says those records are privileged.”
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/07/local/la-me-legislature-secrecy-20110807

Apps for the Environment: Mr. Dev Goes to Washington
“The environment is of concern to a lot of us. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched an Apps for Environment contest that gives developers a free reign to design and implement any application that addresses one or more of seven priorities that have been set by the EPA. The EPA Apps for Environment Challenge requires that your application use the EPA Environmental and Human Health data, is useful to individuals and communities and does addresses at least one of EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s Seven Priorities, some of which include improving Air Quality, Safety of Chemicals and Protecting America’s waters. You are free to combine other environment and health data to augment your application. The deadline for submissions is September 16, followed by a judging and public voting period. The winner will be announced on Oct 31.”
http://blog.programmableweb.com/2011/08/04/apps-for-the-environment-mr-dev-goes-to-washington/

Public Policy

Privatization of GPO, Defunding of FDsys, and the Future of the FDLP
“On July 22, the House passed a bill that would remove funding for FDsys, reduce funding for GPO by 20%, and reduce funding for the Superintendent of Documents by 16%. The House Report on the bill also directs the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on "the privatization of the GPO" and the transfer of the Superintendent of Documents and the FDLP to the Library of Congress (page 25). The bill includes many other changes that are relevant to the dissemination of government information, but the ones related to FDsys and the privatization of the GPO are the ones which, if ultimately approved, would have the greatest negative impact on long-term free public access to government information. Passage of only some of these bad ideas would almost certainly result in a catastrophic loss of long-term access to and preservation of government information. These bad ideas are, however, only symptoms of a still bigger problem. There is, luckily, an obvious, logical path around all these threats.”
http://freegovinfo.info/node/3416

DoD revises FOIA directive to include 'presumption of disclosure'
“A July 28 revision by the Defense Department to its Freedom of Information Act directive incorporates the "presumption in favor of disclosure" first called for by President Barack Obama on his first full day as president. DoD Directive 5400.07 now states that DoD policy is to "promote transparency and accountability by adopting a presumption in favor of disclosure in all decisions involving the FOIA; responding promptly to requests in a spirit of cooperation; and by taking affirmative steps to make the maximum amount of information available to the public" consistent with protections for national security and other sensitive information. The new directive also extends its applicability to the Joint Staff and says that the department will work with the Office of Government Information Services within the National Archives and Records Administration to resolve disputes between requesters and the DoD.”
http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/dod-revises-foia-directive-include-presumption-disclosure/2011-08-14

First federal CIO launched far-reaching changes, experts say
“Vivek Kundra, who leaves his post today as the nation's first chief information officer, deserves credit for pushing a grand and comprehensive vision for using information technology more efficiently, for making government more transparent, and for beginning the process of moving a large share of federal computing to the cloud, experts told Nextgov this week. He also deserves recognition for defining the CIO's role itself. He took what might have been a little-noticed backwater in the Office of Management and Budget and turned it into a bully pulpit for an efficient, centralized and open government approach to information technology, observers said.”
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20110812_6423.php

Information Sharing Still a Work in Progress
“While information sharing among government agencies has increased dramatically over the past decade, it still falls short in some areas. Due to “impediments to intelligence information sharing between U.S. forces and coalition partners,” information sharing with U.S. allies in Afghanistan has faltered to the detriment of the military mission, the Inspector General of the Department of Defense said in a mostly classified report last month. Continuing impediments have “resulted in information not being tactically useful by the time it is authorized for release,” the Inspector General said. See “Results in Brief: Improvements Needed in Sharing Tactical Intelligence with the International Security Assistance Force Afghanistan,” excerpted from DoD Inspector General Report 11-INTEL-13, July 18, 2011. The 2011 Annual Report on the DNI Information Sharing Environment (pdf) said that “steady progress has been made” in information sharing, especially with respect to homeland security and law enforcement.”
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2011/08/infosharing_progress.html

Privacy Concerns

Secret Watchlists: Don’t Ask, Because Uncle Sam Won’t Tell
“Starting last Friday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is operating a massive new database of personal information: names, birthdates, photographs, biometrics, and more. The information comes from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Terrorist Screening Database, the accuracy of which has been widely criticized. Scary stuff, since being listed in the database can mean nearly-endless hassles any time you try to board a flight or cross a border. But if you want to know if you're in the database, you'll be out of luck. A proposed rule by DHS would keep the database secret by exempting it from nearly every provision of the Privacy Act. Because the proposal challenges the fundamental tenets of government accountability and transparency, OMB Watch joined comments opposing the proposed rule, which were filed today by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and other groups.”
http://www.ombwatch.org/node/11802

Internet Access

BART Pulls a Mubarak in San Francisco
“This week, EFF has seen censorship stories move closer and closer to home — first Iran, then the UK, and now San Francisco, an early locus of the modern free speech movement. Operators of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system (BART) shut down cell phone service to four stations in downtown San Francisco yesterday in response to a planned protest. Last month, protesters disrupted BART service in response to the fatal shooting of Charles Blair Hill by BART police on July 3rd. Thursday’s protest failed to materialize, possibly because the disruption of cell phone service made organization and coordination difficult. Early reports indicated that BART cut off cell phone service by approaching carriers directly and asking them to turn service off. Later statements by James Allison, deputy chief communications officer for BART, assert “BART staff or contractors shut down power to the nodes and alerted the cell carriers” after the fact. AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile have not yet made comment as to whether or not they were complicit in the shutdown.”
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/08/bart-pulls-mubarak-san-francisco

UK Government Wants Police Empowered To ‘Close’ Twitter, BBM
“The UK’s Home Secretary will meet media and social media companies regarding blocking access during emergency situations, in the wake of England’s mass looting this week. Prime Minister David Cameron is also inviting police chiefs to tell him that they require the power to “close” services including Twitter and BlackBerry Messenger, the latter of which is this week being credited with having helped looters coordinate raids.”
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-uk-government-wants-police-empowered-to-close-twitter-bbm/

British Prime Minister Does a 180 on Internet Censorship
“After several days of destructive riots throughout the UK, British Prime Minister David Cameron is practically tripping over himself in his eagerness to sacrifice liberty for security. In a speech before an emergency session of Parliament today, Cameron highlighted concern over rioters’ use of social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter:
“...when people are using social media for violence we need to stop them. So we are working with the Police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality. I have also asked the police if they need any other new powers.””
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/08/british-prime-minister-does-180-internet

International Outlook

New Zealand Declaration on Open and Transparent Government
“The Declaration on Open and Transparent Government was approved by Cabinet on 8 August 2011. . . To support this declaration, the government asserts that the data and information it holds on behalf of the public must be open, trusted and authoritative, well managed, readily available, without charge where possible, and reusable, both legally and technically. Personal and classified data and information must be protected.”
http://ict.govt.nz/programme/opening-government-data-and-information/declaration-open-and-transparent-government

From the UK - Report on the future of libraries published by councils and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
“Community groups running libraries, private sector funding and self-service book borrowing points in shops and village halls can play a vital role in delivering a library service fit for the 21st century, council leaders have said. The Local Government Association (LGA) and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) today publish a joint report on the future of libraries. The publication, ‘Future Libraries: Change, options and how to get there', comes one year after the launch of an ambitious project to support 36 library authorities in developing innovative ways to modernise services. Four options for helping to ensure the survival of libraries in the 21st century have been identified by the Future Libraries Programme pilots.”
http://www.local.gov.uk/web/10161/home/-/journal_content/56/10161/88839/NEWS-TEMPLATE


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The Intersect Alert is a newsletter of the Government Relations Committee, San Francisco Bay Region Chapter, Special Libraries Association
http://units.sla.org/chapter/csfo/csfo.html

Courtesy of Sara Tompson

Nominations Open for Chapter Exec Board

Starting July 18 through September 16, your SLA Southern California Chapter is accepting nominations for the following Executive Board offices to serve in 2012:
* President-Elect
* Secretary
* Communications Director
* Director-at-Large

Take this opportunity for career advancement by developing your leadership skills; connecting with new and old friends; and, helping guide SLA into its next century. Office overviews are below along with links to the more comprehensive office descriptions available on the Chapter Practices. You may nominate others or yourself.
To nominate an individual, send a message to this year’s Nominations & Elections Committee members, Teresa Bailey teresa.r.bailey@jpl.nasa.gov or Sara Tompson sarat@usc.edu .

Nominees will be expected to provide a review of past service to SLA and other professional organizations, as well as a statement on why they are running for a Chapter office.

Please note: The final slate of candidates is determined by the Nominations & Elections Committee in consultation with the Executive Board. Nominations do not guarantee a place on the slate of candidates.

SLA Southern California Chapter’s Organizational Structure -
http://wiki.sla.org/download/attachments/25002295/SLA-SCC+Org+Chart+2009.pdf?version=3

OFFICE DESCRIPTIONS

President-Elect (currently held by Bill Lee): The President-Elect oversees Chapter programming during his/her term, and coordinates activities with the Chapter's Professional Development Program Chair and the Sternheim Scholarship Fundraiser Chair so as not to have conflicting programs for proposed event dates. The President-Elect also works with the Vendor Relations Chair who may be able to identify vendors to provide financial support for programs. The President-Elect is expected to participate in SLA’s Leadership Development Institute held each January and the annual conference held every June. The Chapter provides supplemental funding to help defray travel costs for the President-Elect to both the winter meeting and the conference.
Complete office description - http://wiki.sla.org/display/SLASCC/President-Elect

Secretary (currently held by Drea Douglas): The Secretary serves as a member of the Executive Board, and records and distributes minutes of the Chapter's business meetings, including the annual business meeting. Minutes are a record of the proceedings of a meeting. They should contain a record of actions taken at the meeting. Minutes are to be kept not only for the annual business meeting, but also for all Executive Board and Advisory Board meetings of the Chapter
Complete office description - http://wiki.sla.org/display/SLASCC/Secretary

Communications Director (currently held by Lesley Farmer): The Communications Director oversees the work of the Web Site Administrator, the Discussion List Administrator, who is responsible for the Chapter's discussion list, the Calendar Editor, the Blog - Newsletter Editor, and the Jobs Board Editor.
Complete office description - http://wiki.sla.org/display/SLASCC/Communications+Director

Director-at-Large (currently held by Cameron Trowbridge): The Director-at-Large is an elected office which regularly reports on Chapter membership; greet new members via a welcoming e-mail message; and, assists with Chapter surveys.
Complete office description - http://wiki.sla.org/display/SLASCC/Director-at-Large

Cohen Awarded SLA Scholarship -- Party to Give

Cynthia Cohen, a Northridge, CA resident currently entering her fourth and final year in the MLIS program at San José State University (SJSU) who is expected to graduate in May 2012, is selected as the 18th recipient of the Karen Gersten-Sternheim Memorial Scholarship. The Karen Gersten-Sternheim Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually by, and at the discretion of, the Southern California Chapter of the Special Libraries Association [SLA], to provide assistance to a student who seeks a career in special librarianship.

Celebrate Cynthia’s recognition – and make possible future scholarships by attending the Gersten-Sternheim Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser on August 21 at the LA County Arboretum.. There will be food and drink, raffles, fun and conviviality! You can get all the important details at http://www.sla-scc.org/scholarship/scholarship.html

Bill Lee (mmlee@flash.net) is taking RSVPs, and Robin Dodge (rdodge@fidm.edu)is collecting donations for the raffle/silent auction.