GSLIS 744 Summer 2003 The Nerves of Government John A. Shuler Documents Librarian University of Illinois at Chicago

GSLIS 744 Summer 2003 The Nerves of Government July 7, 2003 Course Ground Rules (and expectations) o Participation is crucial o Attendance is necessary o Flexibility and Nuance are essential o Completion of assignments is required o Resistance is futile o Asking (and challenging) questions a must o Understanding the web and understanding a library are one and the same thing

GSLIS 744 Summer 2003 The Nerves of Government July 7, 2003 Some of the underlying principles we will learn in class  Government Information Lifecycle (GIL)  Four basic processes that dominate GIL  Evolution of bibliographic structures  Revolution of electronic access and distribution  The ability to work in new forms of organizations  Seekers of Information, not keepers of Information  In today’s world, government information is no longer the province of a particular library perspective. The Web, E- Government Services, Homeland Security, and economic necessity – all demand a certain level of Government Information expertise from all librarians

GSLIS 744 Summer 2003 The Nerves of Government July 7, 2003 Structures of Government o Understanding the geographic perspective (local, state, regional, national, regional international, non- government organizations (NGOs) o Understanding the formal foundations of a government (i.e. constitutions) o Understanding how government information is simply a byproduct of process and policy formation

GSLIS 744 Summer 2003 The Nerves of Government July 7, 2003 Geographic Perspectives  The act of governance is really a complicated web of local, regional and national authorities. In some cases there are clear legal relationships that bind these authorities together; in others, they are independent on one another and cooperate in ways that serve their own self-interests.  Do not underestimate the power of geography (i.e. the span of control) and how it influences the development of information byproducts

GSLIS 744 Summer 2003 The Nerves of Government July 7, 2003 The Constitutional Foundations Of Government o How “enabling” constitutional documents create a government structure o The unique features of American government o Other government structures around the world o The connection between structure and information

GSLIS 744 Summer 2003 The Nerves of Government July 7, 2003 Policy formations of Government Information o You can’t have government information without understanding the policy and process that creates the information o In some cases, understanding the process is more important than understanding the bibliographic qualities of the information o Linking the concepts of “information lifecycle”

GSLIS 744 Summer 2003 The Nerves of Government July 7, 2003 Government Information Practice in Libraries o Historic relationships, or why librarianship is the oldest profession in the world o The Depository Library tradition o Beyond the Depository Library o Government Information Everywhere