Government Information News Sources, Part One

This may or may not explain why I haven't posted to my LibGig blog in a while, but it does at least tie in to the theme: I recently began my job as a cataloger for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Central Library. It's a contract position through InfoCurrent, and it's my first job as a fully-licensed librarian. W00t!

On with the show. I am going write a few posts about where to find news about government information. The obvious first place to start is by looking at professional associations. (Yes, this is going to be a way for me to work in another plug for SLA's Government Information Division.)

If you are a member of ALA and are interested in government information issues, the Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) is the place for you. One of the perks of membership in GODORT is a subscription to its quarterly journal Documents to the People (DttP), which covers issues that affect government documents and government information access.

The Government Information Division (DGI) of SLA offers a couple resources that will be of use to government information news junkies. On the front page of the division website is the Government Information Division News Feed. Provided by LexisNexis, the News Feed provides the latest updates from government libraries and government information providers.

In addition, the DGI also offers a blog. While it is often used to announces news about the division, the blog also highlights key stories that affect government information users. I am one of the contributors to this blog, just to let you know, but a great deal of the content is posted by DGI Past Chair Peggy Garvin.

Speaking of Peggy Garvin, she also writes "The Government Domain" column for LLRX.com, a web-based magazine for legal information professionals. Even if you're not specifically interested in law and legislation, there is still quite a bit of generalizable information for librarians and information professionals on LLRX.com.

Coming up in part two, a surprising outlet for e-government news. Also, I won't shamelessly promote DGI, but I will shamelessly promote a DGI member.