Town Meeting to Feature E-Life Cycle Management of Government Information

By Bryan Stevens, AALL Advocacy/Communications Assistant

AALL has arranged a “Town Meeting” this morning at 10:15 a.m. to discuss E-Life Cycle Management of government information. The meeting, G1 in the events list, will be held in America's Center room 130. This informative session should be of particular interest to users of government information from all types of law libraries, as well as law librarians who manage and use electronic federal government information. All interested parties are encouraged to attend. The meeting will feature two speakers, Bruce James, Public Printer of the United States, and Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States. Each will give a brief synopsis of agency initiatives related to E-Life Cycle Management. A question and answer session will follow.

AALL advocates for government accountability in ensuring the life cycle of electronic government information through standards for the development of easy-to-use search mechanisms, providing permanent public access, and authenticating and preserving electronic publications and records.

The meeting will focus on progress made by the Government Printing Office (GPO) and the National Archives (NARA) with initiatives designed to meet their respective missions to “inform the nation” and “ensure ready access to essential evidence.” Both initiatives also promise to meet the electronic life cycle standards set forth by AALL and mentioned above. A policy level assessment of agency progress against its mission will help determine if each agency is meeting the digital information needs of the legal community and public users.

The meeting will be moderated by University of Richmond Associate Dean for Library and Information Services & Professor of Law Timothy Coggins. Coggins also serves as the chair of AALL's Government Relations Committee.

AALL warmly welcomes the two featured speakers for the event—Public Printer of the United States Bruce James and U.S. Archivist Allen Weinstein. Mr. James, making his third appearance at AALL conferences, will discuss the progress made by the GPO in its Future Digital System initiative (FDsys). The GPO envisions that FDsys “will allow federal content creators to easily create and submit content that can then be preserved, authenticated, managed and delivered upon request.”

James was confirmed as Public Printer by the Senate on November 22, 2002. Prior to this, James worked in the private sector where he founded, developed and managed technology-driven printing and publishing enterprises that operate throughout the country and around the world. In April 2006, James announced his retirement as Public Printer to pursue interests in higher education. James plans to remain in the position until a successor is appointed.

In his AALL conference debut, Dr. Weinstein, Archivist of the United States since February 2005, will similarly discuss progress made on NARA's Electronic Records Archive (ERA). NARA envisions a completed ERA will serve as a “comprehensive, systematic, and dynamic means for preserving virtually any kind of electronic record, free from dependence on any specific hardware or software.”

Weinstein's distinguished career has included serving as president of The Center for Democracy, a non-profit foundation that he created in 1985 to promote and strengthen the democratic process. He was also a professor of history at Boston University, University professor at Georgetown University, and professor of history at Smith College. Weinstein is an accomplished author, and has written numerous articles for scholarly journals.

Please join AALL in welcoming Dr. Weinstein and Mr. James.