law libraries, government transparency, and the internet
TRANSCRIPT
Law Libraries, Government Transparency, and the Internet
Daniel Schuman, Policy Counsel @danielschuman
Policy AdvocacyTechnology Development
Journalism Press Outreach
Daniel Schuman, Policy Counsel
4 Arguments
3.The internet has changed public expectations on access to information.
4.Traditional institutions are struggling to keep up.
5.New information intermediaries and tools are emerging.
6.Libraries must be bold in this new era.
Daniel Schuman, Policy Counsel
-1-
The internet has changed public expectations on access to information.
Daniel Schuman, Policy Counsel
82 percent of adults use the internet.
- Pew Internet SurveyFebruary 2012
67 percent of internet users visited
gov’t websites.
- Pew, May 2011
Daniel Schuman, Policy Counsel
Pew, 2009 Study
Even in 2009, many Americans
turned to the internet for legislative
information, government data, federal spending information, and
campaign contribution
records.
Daniel Schuman, Policy Counsel
Private sector internet
adoption has raised public expectations
Daniel Schuman, Policy Counsel
-2-
Traditional institutions are struggling to keep up.
Daniel Schuman, Policy Counsel
Executive Branch
•Open Government Directive (and agency publication plans)
•Data.gov
•IT Spending Dashboard
•White House Visitor Records
•Ethics.gov
•Recovery.gov
•Open Government Partnership
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House of Representatives
•Webcasting hearings
•Leadership statement on bulk access
•Docs.house.gov
•3 transparency conference
•Madison Project (Issa)
•72-hour rule
•Statement of Disbursements
•Twitter/YouTube
•Earmark Requests
Senate
•Statement of Disbursements
•Votes in XML
•Twitter/YouTube
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U.S. Supreme Court
•Minor upgrades to website
•Release of audio of argument at end of week
•Small pilot with GPO to release opinions
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Unfortunately, government data often…
• Is unavailable or incomplete
• Is locked in unusable or difficult-to-use formats
• Is trapped in clunky or poorly-designed websites
• Is trapped behind pay walls or restrictive licensing
Daniel Schuman, Policy Counsel
For example:
PDFs are pictures of
information, useful for
humans to read but not for
computers to process.
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87% of adults feel it’s important or very important for the
government to provide general information to
the public on government websites
Source: Pew
Daniel Schuman, Policy Counsel
How can these rising expectations be met?
Daniel Schuman, Policy Counsel
-3-
New information intermediaries and tools are emerging.
Daniel Schuman, Policy Counsel
Case study: Legislative information and THOMAS
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THOMAS: Bare bones on HR 2146 (DATA Act)
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GovTrack.us: Side-by-side for HR 2146
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OpenCongress.org: Context, News, and Contact Info
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OpenSecrets.org: Who is lobbying on HR 2146?
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Scout.SunlightFoundation.com: DATA Act Alerts and Speeches
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CapitolWords.Org: Deep search for speeches
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Legislative info everywhere: Congress Android App
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“Call on Congress”: Access Legislative Info by Phone
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Legislation, Speeches, Regulations, and States
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Notable ongoing legislative activity around releasing data
•Bulk access to legislative data•The DATA Act•Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act (HR 1974, S 1411)•Public Online Information Act (HR 1349, S 717)•CRS Electronic Accessibility Act (H Res 727)•DISCLOSE Act•Lobbying Disclosure Enhancement Act (HR 2339)
Daniel Schuman, Policy Counsel
-4-
Libraries must be bold in this new era.
Daniel Schuman, Policy Counsel
Where do law
libraries fit into
this cycle?
Daniel Schuman, Policy Counsel
Law libraries fit everywhere.
• Inform government on how best to catalog, release information.
• Partner with technology developers to build websites and webservices.
• Original publisher of hard-to-find documents.
• Experts that point the public and researchers to the best sources of information.
• Collaborative gathering and online publishing of useful information (e.g. committee hearings, agency reports).
Thank you
Daniel Schuman, Policy Counsel @danielschuman
Photo Sources (those that aren’t credited on the page where they appear)
• Political leaders: http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/5641045140/sizes/l/in/photostream/• Obama: http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/6857417284/sizes/z/in/photostream/• Boehner: http://www.flickr.com/photos/speakerboehner/6883247500/sizes/m/in/photostream/• Reid: http://www.flickr.com/photos/senatorreid/5569541248/in/photostream/• Roberts: http://www.sdakotabirds.com/feathers_and_folly/?tag=john-roberts• This is not a pipe: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/6203803658/sizes/z/in/photostream/• Matrix: http://www.dan-dare.org/freefun/games/matrixwallpaper1024.htm