DGI Chair Kim Lyall Schultz just announced details on DGI conference programming via an email to all members on the DGI email discussion list. If you are a member of the division but have not joined the discussion list, please do! We have plenty of communications channels, but the list is the official channel for communications to membership.
And now, a word from Kim…

Greetings DGI Members,

Will we C U in Chicago?  We sure hope so!  The SLA Annual Conference is taking place in the Windy City July 15-18 and is shaping up to be a great event!

This year our conference programming features sessions on all aspects of government information, from conducting patent searches to exploring the recent open data movement, learning about the explosion in mobile apps for research, and discussing the thought-provoking Wikileaks controversy and its impact on government information security.

In addition to all of this great educational programming, DGI is the lead planner for the Joint Reception, co-hosted with the Solo and Transportation divisions.  This Tuesday evening cocktail reception at an upscale venue promises to offer an elegant escape from the hustle and bustle of the convention center.  More reception details to follow soon!

We would also like  to take a moment to thank all of our vendor partners who are helping to make this year’s conference such a success!  Please visit our Sponsorship page and say thank you to all of our amazing vendor partners. We truly could not offer this programming without them!

And finally, please don’t forget to register ASAP, early bird registration ends May 11!

C U in Chicago,

Kim Schultz, 2012 DGI Chair

DGI member Kathy Kelly checked out the U.S. Interior Department Library Open House and reports back:

The Department of the Interior (DOI) Library marked National Library Week this year with a full-day Open House on 17 April 2012, which included library tours, vendor demos, Park Ranger Speaker Series talks, and other forms of outreach to regular users of and visitors to its DC library. Library staff were available to provide overviews of the Library online catalog and various subscription electronic resources at public access PCs. The Library also had on display a variety of attractively formatted flyers promoting its services and collections, and announcements of upcoming training sessions in its popular training program. The DOI Library is well-known for its trainings on not only databases but research practices such as Legislative History research, and it had on display its useful “Worksheet for Legislative History Using Supporting Documents”.

The Open House ran 9 a.m. through 4 p.m., and featured database demonstrations on Lexis Advance, Proquest Congressional, WestlawNext, and the the Library’s subscribed EBSCOHost Online Databases. Representatives from DOI’s National Park Service presented sessions on the Doolittle Raid, the first air raid by American forces to strike the Japanese Home Islands during World War II; and another on Baseball and the Presidency, covering Presidential first pitches at Opening Day games, and the comments of presidents on the value of baseball. During the baseball session the speaker provided copies of President Franklin Roosevelt’s “Green Light Letter” to the Commissioner of Baseball voicing approval for continuing baseball during World War II.

The DOI Library is open to DOI employees and members of the public (with a photo ID), Mondays-Fridays, 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Federal holidays. Visit the DOI Library homepage to link to information on its resources, programs, and services: http://www.doi.gov/library/index.cfm

–Submitted by Kathy Kelly

From the Canadian GOVINFO list, via freegovinfo.info:

Government of Canada Publications – it’s about access, not format

On Friday the Depository Services Program of Canada (DSP) announced that, by 2014, it would, “no longer be producing, printing, or warehousing hard copies of publications.” (The announcement was distributed on INFODEP, a list for depository libraries, and appended to this post). The Library of Parliament will stop distributing paper publications with the end of September’s session. Library and Archives Canada will stop obtaining Government of Canada (GOC) publications in print format by 2014. Many GOC agencies have moved exclusively to born digital publishing.

For those of us on the privileged side of the digital divide, the main problem with the transition to digital is not format, it’s the absence of any comprehensive GOC policy on digital integrity, preservation, and long-term access. To make matters worse, the intellectual organization and capital of the GOC information landscape is increasingly fractured through policy decisions including, but not limited to, government cutbacks. …

Read the full post.