In the spirit of Sunshine Week, I was glad to see that the State is looking for a web master to (according to Politics in Minnesota) “oversee the development of coordinated, information-generous state government websites and to make the data presented there more readily accessible and useable for the public.”
What a good idea! I love the idea of making information more accessible. I’ve searched some woeful sites for information and a concerted effort could really make a difference. It seems as if it might even open the door to greater use of new media tools that would allow citizens to track action in the State and communicate more directly with officials and maybe other citizens.
Unfortunately not everyone is so pleased. Again according to Politics in Minnesota…
The bill’s path through the Legislature has touched on a point of contention that is unique to the high tech industry. As the bill currently is written in the House version, the webmaster would develop “standards” for “enhanced public access to state electronic records.”
Some who have followed the bill say that the call for standards is controversial for software companies like Microsoft Corp., who are worried that governments might embrace open-source software solutions that would leave their proprietary products out in the cold. Mike Dean, the executive director of Common Cause — which supports the bill — said he’s observed that some software firms are concerned that the bill will steer the state toward open-source technology options.
So the Senate has changed standards to policies; but the House is not planning to make the change. It will be interesting see what happens.
Thanks for the heads-up on this Ann. I had no idea this was wending its way through the legislature.
Open formats and open standards are absolutely critical for future-proofing Minnesota’s data. There have already been battles with the State of Massachusetts vs. Microsoft (around XML standards) and there will be more. That’s why I’m keen on groups like the Open Group: http://www.opengroup.org/overview/vision-mission.htm
But experiencing the problems with proprietary standards and future-proofing really hits home since I’m the family archivist. In fact, I did a post about it that seems relevant to a goal for open standards at the State-level:
Will Your Photos & Digital Media Survive? http://iconnectdots.com/2010/03/will-your-photos-digital-media-survive.html
Steve,
Great article on the family archivist work; I have been thinking about the same issue with more recent history. I maintain a blog for my family (http://10questionsabout.com/). I’m actually pretty good about posting pictures, video and stories – but I live in mortal fear that WordPress will cease to exist. I know it would take all of an afternoon to at least move the files to my own server – but I wonder if that’s a fool’s mission. Is the issue really the server – or will it be the format? My plan is to get a print (or at least PDF) version of the blog together when we get back from this trip. (I’ll b using your advice with paper et al.)
What’s funny in library school I didn’t go for archival classes; I went for the tech classes. I suspect you can see the irony immediately! In my defense, I was younger.
I am hoping that the bill goes through and that the State web master thinks about access today and tomorrow – maybe even coming up with a foolproof (as foolproof as possible) plan for the rest of us!