I know I’ve posted quite a few websites lately, but the Federal Government came out with another site that I’ll be using quite a bit today. From the Data.gov “About” page:

As a priority Open Government Initiative for President Obama’s administration, Data.gov increases the ability of the public to easily find, download, and use datasets that are generated and held by the Federal Government. A primary goal is to improve access to Federal data and expand creative use of those data beyond the walls of government by encouraging innovative ideas (e.g., web applications). Data.gov strives to make government more transparent and is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. The openness derived from Data.gov will strengthen our Nation’s democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.

While I’m not sure about how open datasets will increase government transparency – the general public don’t know jack about analytics – it certainly seems to be a useful tool for researchers, web-developers, and anyone who needs raw data. What is going to be really interesting is how the internet community takes advantage of this it. The Federal Government is the largest statistics keeper in the country, and this certainly creates plenty of opportunities for the library world.

So get out there folks!

Projects like this – even though there’s no chance that most libraries can build them – are sooooo cool. Ladies and Gentlemen, I introduce the World Digital Library. At $10 million dollars it’s proof that digital tools and information sources can be a form of entertainment in and of themselves.

World Digital Library: http://www.wdl.org/en/

My apologies for not being hurry-hurry with my next installment of the Flash series but yours truly is occupied with a full blown job search. That said, I think I have an a promising lead. Off in the far away land of Independence, Iowa a woman was recently arrested for not returning a library book. That’s right! She wasn‘t reported to a collections agency. She was flat-out arrested. Seeing as the city of Independence will no doubt be out of a Library Director – or more than likely a fall guy librarian – I propose that they select me as the next replacement.

I promise! I won’t arrest anyone for keeping inspirational books about a teacher’s quest to inspire students to write. Suddenly e-books sound a little more promising than usual.

On my way to work this morning I caught a section of the Diane Rehm Show discussing libraries and economic hard times. I didn’t have time to listen to it all, and can’t download the podcast until the cable company fixes my internet, but the link is available online. At it’s heart the topic is really interesting… are libraries more important than usual during economic downturns? Given that I don’t plan on buying any new CD’s (or books) soon I’m inclined to say, “yes.”

Segment Replay:

• Libraries and the Economy (Media Player)

• Libraries and the Economy (Real Player)