Credible or Incredible? Sources of government information Presented by Ben Chiewphasa & Stephan Licitra

Agenda Reference question What are government documents? How do we evaluate government documents? Exploring government information sources Montana Library Association Conference, 2019

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Pause “Hi, welcome to the library, I can see this question is really important to you. We/I would be happy to help you find quality information about [_____]. However, you need to know that I am not a medical professional and I can not provide medical advice. We/I encourage you to talk to a medical professional for advice.” For more information visit. http://www.ala.org/rusa/resources/guidelines/guidelinesmedical

Montana Library Association Conference, 2019 https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vaccines/mmr-vaccine.html

Montana Library Association Conference, 2019 https://www.fda.gov/downloads/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/ApprovedProducts/UCM123789.pdf

Montana Library Association Conference, 2019 https://www.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/hrsa/vaccine-compensation/data/monthly-stats-march-2019.pdf

Montana Library Association Conference, 2019 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4599698/

So What is a government document? Fact Sheet Website Website So What is a government document? Report Peer reviewed article Montana Library Association Conference, 2019

Government documents are… Any publication produced by or for an: international, national, state, or local government. Montana Library Association Conference, 2019

Government documents are… Any publication produced by or for an: international, national, state, or local government. These documents may come in any format and can include:    Agency Brochures        Executive Orders            Regulations      Movies Reports & Studies        Judicial Opinions            Statistics            Tweets    Fact Sheets                Cookbooks                    Treaties              Blogs Catalogs                 Yearbooks                    Forms                Posters Periodicals                Budgets                    Laws                       Montana Library Association Conference, 2019

Fact Sheet Website Website Report Peer reviewed article Montana Library Association Conference, 2019

Reference Response That depends on the results of three questions: What information is the patron looking for? How do they want their information? Pictures? Videos? Which resources will credibly answer the question?

Evaluating government documents Purpose Accuracy Authority Timeliness Expertise Objectivity Audience Scope & Limits Reliability Source citations Relevant Montana Library Association Conference, 2019

Not all documents are equal Subject webpage Peer-review article Blog/Vlog/Tweets Cook Books landing page Fact Sheets News bulletins Databases Pamphlets Reports FAQs Book Montana Library Association Conference, 2019

What makes government documents credibility? “The credibility of our statistics, however, relies on more than just their technical qualities. We have to be transparent in describing our methods. To be credible we must describe both the strengths and weaknesses of our statistics. In a world filled with advertising that only describes the strengths of products and not their weaknesses, this is an unusual activity. However, this is important for us to do. None of the statistics that we deliver are perfect; we know that. So we tell users about their imperfections so that they can take those into account. By being completely honest about our data products, we hope to win the trust of the users and enhance the credibility of our statistics.” Robert Groves US Census Director https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/director/211/04/the-credibility-of-government-statistics-trust-in-their-source.html Montana Library Association Conference, 2019

Let’s explore some “credible” sources! Montana Library Association Conference, 2019

https://www.govinfo.gov/ Free access to official publications from the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches. Officially replaced GPO's Federal Digital System (FDsys) in December, 2018. Three components Public access Content management Digital preservation Montana Library Association Conference, 2019

Great starting point for tracking current legislation. Goes back to 93rd Congress (1973-1974) Easy to navigate bills, calendars, hot topics, congressional committees, laws, and congressional history. Good resources for understanding how a bill becomes a law. Montana Library Association Conference, 2019

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Provides authoritative and confidential research and analysis for Congress’ deliberative use. Members of House and Senate rely on CRS reports for policy-making decisions. Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 Reports must be made available for the public. Congressional Research Service (CRS) https://crsreports.congress.gov/ Montana Library Association Conference, 2019

December 2009: President Obama issued a directive requiring federal agencies to proactively publish government information online in open formats. Pushed for agenda to make progress towards building a culture of open data. Montana Library Association Conference, 2019

Why repositories, websites, and resources like Data.gov matter… Managing “endangered data”!

Our Sources Vaccines.gov. www.vaccines.gov Centers for Disease Control and prevention. www.CDC.gov Food and drug administration. www.fda.gov National vaccine injury compensation program. https://www.hrsa.gov/vaccine-compensation/data/index.html National Center for Biotechnology Information. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Reference and user services association. http://www.ala.org/rusa/ Montana Library Association Conference, 2019

Other Useful Resources Reminder: Use “site:.gov” in your Google searches! Other Useful Resources U.S. Census Bureau. www.census.gov Library of Congress. www.loc.gov U.S. Congress. www.congress.gov USA.gov. www.usa.gov Govinfo.gov. www.govinfo.gov Data.gov. www.data.gov Grants.gov. www.grants.gov Plainlanguage.gov. www.plainlanguage.gov Identitytheft.gov. www.identitytheft.gov Usability.gov. www.usability.gov MedlinePlus. https://medlineplus.gov/ Montana Library Association Conference, 2019

CONCLUSION & QUESTIONS Montana Library Association Conference, 2019

THANK YOU! Montana Library Association Conference, 2019