Government Information Round Table (GIRT)
The Best of Eagle PressNewsletter of the WLA Government Information Round Table April 2004From the ChairBy Michael WatkinsI wanted to start off the year as Chair of the Government Information Roundtable with a thank you to outgoing chair Nancy Mulhern. Over the past year several accomplishments have transpired in addition to the usual business. First, several Wisconsin documents received the distinction of being named notable documents by ALA's Government Documents Round Table's Notable Documents Panel. Also, this year, several applicants competed for GIRT's Scholarship to attend Wisconsin Library Legislative Day. GIRT also sponsored Government Information Day again this year, which I consider the premiere event for government information specialists in the state of Wisconsin. GIRT sponsored programs at each of the WLA Divisions major conferences. At the 2003 WLA conference in Milwaukee in October, I presented a program on the Millennial Census, and GIRT also cosponsored a speaker from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Our organization also sponsored speakers at the Wisconsin Association of Academic Librarians (WAAL) Conference and the Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries (WAPL) Conference. GIRT members Beth Harper and Nancy Mulhern will present a program at the WAAL Conference this spring on international documents collections in Wisconsin. As an organization we are always looking for ideas about what programs we could sponsor for the major conferences, so feel free to contact us if you have any ideas. We are currently in the process of planning for 2005. Government documents programs are in a state of flux on both the national and state levels. By that I mean there appears to be no consensus among the stakeholders about where the future of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) and the Wisconsin Document Depository Program (WDDP) are taking us. The FDLP has taken the Congressional mandate to convert to an eventual all-electronic program to the extreme. On the state level there is a lack of funding to harvest and catalog electronic information. One of my major concerns about digitized information is that the technology for presentation and storage of such information are market-driven and may in the future require conversion or reconversion to the format that is in vogue. The 5 ¼ floppy disk and the MS DOS program have already been abandoned. What will the Adobe PDF and other presentation software require library professionals to do in order to maintain the integrity of the information in the future? The conversion and reconversion of digitized information will be very costly and is an issue that seems to be overlooked in the enthusiasm to embrace digitized information. I am still a firm believer that a tangible paper copy is longer-lasting and more economical than any of the current digital technologies. I guess I am a Luddite and I hope I am wrong in my assessment, but it appears that the historical nature of government information may eventually be lost. The historical nature of government information cannot be overemphasized as currently we revisit political realities and issues that were addressed only a generation or two ago. The permanence of digitized government information and its attendant historical implications are issues that will not go away and will be contentious for some time to come. There will always be a need for government information specialists as intermediaries to help the public access information. Within the last year one of the faculty members on our campus was searching for some statistical information on the Census web sites for a project being conducted with one of his graduate students. He emailed me and said that he and the student had spent the whole day searching the Census web site and were ready to "smash the computer." I was able to find the needed information from the Census within a few minutes because, as a government information librarian, I keep abreast of the developments with the Census and other areas of government information. The same type of expertise is needed whether the information is in a tangible paper format, a government web site, or a digitized electronic document. On a more positive note I would like to extol the benefits of Government Information Day. In addition to stimulating programs the conference offers a chance to network with government information colleagues. This year we hope to present a program that includes the benefits of remaining a Federal Depository Library. It will also feature programs on statistical information. We will also be awarding the Distinguished Wisconsin Document Award at the conference. The first time I attended Government Information Day I was amazed to find such a useful program of events at such a reasonable cost. Do not underestimate the value of the conference because of the low cost! I urge everyone who is interested in government information to attend this year's conference, which will be held at UW-Madison's Memorial Library on June 4. See you there!!
Legislative Day ReportThis year the Government Information Round Table awarded its first Library Legislative Day scholarship. Applicants were required to: be employed in a library or information agency in Wisconsin, or attending library school; be involved in assisting library users in locating and using Wisconsin government information, or providing access to such information through technical services; and be WLA members. Applicants were evaluated on their desire to advocate on behalf of government information users throughout Wisconsin and their experience working with Wisconsin government information. In return, GIRT provided to the scholarship winner financial assistance for attending Library Legislation Day and background information on government information issues. This year's scholarship winner, Abbigail Swanton, provided this report on her experience. My name is Abbigail Swanton. I am a second-year student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS), with graduation on the horizon in May 2004. As a first-time participant in Library Legislative Day, I learned a valuable lesson about librarianship that makes me proud of the profession I have chosen. I learned the importance of librarians taking on the responsibility of advocacy in order to help maintain the level of service we all enjoy in Wisconsin. I have to admit that I was initially disappointed that Library Legislative Day happened to fall on the same day that the final vote on the concealed weapons bill was to happen. But there was no way to plan for that! However, what I soon realized is that every day of our careers is Library Legislative Day. It's not just once a year. Whether you are a cataloger or a reference librarian, whether you work in a special library or a school library, a career in librarianship comes with the responsibility of advocacy. It is our responsibility to have our voices heard. The legislation that affects how we serve our patrons is just as important as a piece of legislation that may get massive media attention. It is up to us to make the senators and representatives that work for us realize and recognize our needs and what an important role librarians in Wisconsin play in maintaining the quality of life we enjoy in the Dairy State. The most difficult part about learning advocacy skills is overcoming the fear of not knowing how to communicate your message. Since this was my first time attending Library Legislative Day, I wasn't sure what to expect or if I was really qualified to say anything. Swept up in the excitement and enthusiasm of those around me, I soon joined in the conversation. I had the opportunity to meet with Wendy Minick, one of Representative Eugene Hahn's staff members. She was welcoming and made me feel immediately at ease. She was very interested in my student status and the career path I had chosen as an information professional. Since I will graduate in May, I conveyed my concern about legislators recognizing librarians as educators and information professionals that help people find the best information. The Internet is not a replacement for librarians. Cutting librarian positions at any type of library diminishes the quality of and access to the collection. She was receptive and appreciated my input. But what put me over the top was the veteran librarians in my group nodding their heads in agreement with what I said about being recognized as a necessary group of professionals. I had successfully advocated and had the support of my fellow librarians! Our voices can be heard by having pride in our profession and by being a unified force with common goals that we all share--providing the best service and access to our patrons. One staff member my group met with recognized that librarians are one of the few groups that stick together in tough times in order to make things better instead of becoming divided. Our voices were heard on Tuesday, February 3, 2004. Let's keep being heard the other 364 days of the year!!
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