Recent literature on government information

The purpose of this column is to provide government information scholars and students with a broad overview of recent publications about government information from the literature of librarianship, archives, information technology management, public policy, and law. Given the volume of literature produced in this field, a columnist cannot claim comprehensive coverage. This column seeks to provide a broad, representative survey of literature that illustrates significant trends in the field.Entries were identified through searches of bibliographic databases such as Library Literature, PAIS International, Ebsco Academic Elite, The Index to Legal Periodicals and Books, Science Direct, Westlaw's JLR database, WorldCat, and from manual scans of journals, newsletters, and Internet sites. Citations are to monographs and serials, journal and periodical articles, books, newsletters, and Internet sites. Coverage for this edition of the column includes items from both 2001 and 2002. Each citation is listed once under its primary topic and annotated if its content cannot be adequately determined from the title. Book reviews and Internet site reviews are generally excluded.     

Recent literature on government information

This column was prepared from a manual scan of library and information science journals, and manual or automated searches of sources including ERIC, PAIS International in Print, America: History and Life, Historical Abstracts, R.R. Bowker's Books in Print, Library Literature, Current Contents: Social and Behavioral Sciences, Government Reports Announcements & Index, EPIC, and the electronic discussion group GOVDOC-L. Citations are to items published or indexed from November 1993 through April 1994, including articles, books, reports, government publications, and chapters or essays in collected works. Reviews and short news articles are omitted. Each publication is cited once under its primary topic, and annotated if the content cannot be adequately determined from the title.Contributions of citations to this column should be addressed to the column editor, Susan M. Ryan, Government Documents Librarian, Stetson University, DeLand, FL 32720; Internet: ryan@-suvaxl.stetson.edu.     

Recent literature on government information

This column was prepared from a manual scan of library and information science journals, and manual or automated searches of sources including ERIC, PAIS International in Print, America: History and Life, Historical Abstracts, R. R. Bowker's Books in Print, Library Literature, Current Contents: Social and Behavioral Sciences, Government Reports Announcements & Index, EPIC, and the electronic discussion group GOVDOC-L. Citations are to items published or indexed from November 1994 through April 1995, including articles, books, reports, government publications, and chapters or essays in collected works. Reviews and short news articles are omitted. Each publication is cited once under its primary topic, and annotated if the content cannot be adequately determined from the title.     

What users want: Assessing government information preferences to drive information services

Access to government information has changed dramatically in the past 20 years. There are many indicators of information use, but it is challenging for service institutions to gain a current and comprehensive view of the research practices and preferences of their users. Information stakeholders must seek out current data to gauge the potential success of new initiatives and policies in order to meet user needs. To that end, a user study was conducted on the University of Montana campus in spring of 2006. The survey was sent to a random, stratified sample of the campus population. The instrument included questions on frequency of government information use, methods of locating and learning about government documents, awareness of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), and service and format preferences. The results show that the majority of researchers are using government information at least quarterly and that they most often use general search engines to find it. Respondents indicate a strong interest in alerting services, tutorials, virtual reference, and topic-oriented assistance. Although some respondents prefer printed materials for specific types of information, users generally want to find and access government information online. The results offer current data for program planning, collection development, and information policy creation.     

我国电子政务建设与政府信息公开的关系刍议

论文从几个不同的方面阐述了电子政务建设和政府信息公开这二者之间的关系，提出：我国的电子政务为政府信息公开提供网络平台；电子政务的制度建设与政府信息公开的制度保障密不可分；政府信息公开是我国电子政务建设的前提和基础；政府信息公开是我国电子政务建设的重要目标之一。     

User experience of government documents: A framework for informing design decisions

People still use documents in many everyday government processes. From tax payments to passport requests, citizens have to interact with low-interactivity information artifacts such as reports, maps and datasets, among many others. Despite efforts to improve information delivery in the public sector, effective information usage remains a critical topic of action and research. The user experience of government documents has rarely been assessed, despite them being regularly published and frequently used. Considering this, the two following research questions arise: 1) How can government documents be classified (or grouped) in terms of user experience? 2) How can the user experience of government documents be monitored over time in order to inform design decisions? Working with a public agency in Chile, we develop and test a classification and monitoring framework based on two online surveys (N?=?338 and N?=?298). We then propose a framework for understanding user experience of government documents in these three dimensions: interaction goal, volume of information and ease of understanding. Using a graphical representation to classify user experience provides greater visibility of the current status of information produced by a public organization. Furthermore, by monitoring the user experience of a government document at different times, organizations can understand the effect of their design decisions and improve their service quality by implementing user-centered processes.     

Political ideology and information technology in government online communication

Government agencies are directed to communicate objective and scientific information to the public, but studies show that political ideology may play a role in how much information governments provide. In this paper I argue that the ideology of a head administrator, and its alignment with agency mission, can restrict the kinds of information that government agencies provide, which may or may not amount to a type of regulatory capture. This impact may also be moderated by the specific media in which the communication takes place. I explore this theory via a case study of the United States Environmental Protection Agency online communication over a period of 32 months, during the years of 2013–2014, under the Democratic Administrator Gina McCarthy, and 2017–2018, under the Republican Administrator Scott Pruitt, via topical terms and document analyses of Twitter posts and web news releases. The information—topics, policies and issues—remain largely consistent across administrations and media channels, but notable distinctions are observed that point to the political ideologies of administrators in office, including a restriction of relevant scientific information on climate change during the misaligned administrator. Moreover, results show differences across media types which may reflect speed and popularity affordances of Twitter compared to website communication. I conclude by discussing the importance of policies to protect against ideological partisanship, and how social media may be better used as tools in government information policy and online communication.     

试论政府信息增值服务及其运行机制的创新

本文从分析政府信息增值服务的内涵入手,提出政府信息增值服务的深入应以机制创新为突破口。文章认为政府机制、社会机制和市场机制是政府信息增值服务运作机制的可能选择。文章对上述三种机制的内涵及其互补关系进行了论述。     

Flexible information infrastructures in Dutch E-Government collaboration arrangements: Experiences and policy implications

How can the flexibility of an information architecture in E-Government collaboration arrangements – defined as a set of multi-rational agreements – be achieved, if one acknowledges the fact that the use of ICT may automate the status quo between organizations which work together in a policy chain? Research shows that flexibility cannot be achieved by only looking at technological requirements and agreements. Other agreements should be considered which express multiple (political, legal and economic) design rationalities and values. Moreover, flexibility is also influenced by the structure and dynamics of the power and trustworthiness of the relationships between the organizations involved. This implies that E-Government policies should focus not only on the technical aspects of information exchange infrastructures, but on the politics of collaboration.     

Internet上政府出版物的查询技巧

首先简单介绍了政府出版物的概念、特征及其电子化网络化状况 ,然后着重阐述了在互联网上查找政府信息的五种途径和方法     

对我国情报学研究中三个重要问题的反思

对我国情报学研究中的情报、情报学和竞争情报三个基本问题谈了我的理解,以期促进我国情报工作和情报学研究的发展,推动中国情报界对这些问题的反思。     

电子政务环境下政府信息资源供给保障研究

论文从政府信息资源的有效揭示和长期存储两个方面，探索了电子政务环境下政府信息资源的有效供给保障机制。政府信息资源的有效揭示包括信息资源的目录体系和定位描述体系两方面内容；信息资源长期存储不仅涉及复杂的技术问题，而且是对国家行政的一种挑战。     

Collaborative digital government in Mexico: Some lessons from federal Web-based interorganizational information integration initiatives

The use of information and communication technologies in government has been characterized as one powerful strategy for administrative reform. From recent experiences around the world, it seems clear that in order to enjoy some of the greatest benefits of digital government, the integration of information across organizational boundaries is necessary. However, these digital government initiatives face additional challenges, since the required level of interorganizational collaboration and trust is often not supported by existing institutional arrangements, organizational structures, and managerial processes. In fact, many institutions and administrative structures found in government contexts offer incentives for single-agency work only, which produces stove-pipe systems. Based on an extensive case study in the Mexican federal government, this paper explores how certain institutional arrangements and organizational structures can enable or hinder cross-agency collaboration and consequently, interorganizational information integration.     

Lessons learned about access to government information after World War II can be applied after September 11

The cost of unrestricted dissemination of government information to Americans' safety and security has been a topic of heated debate since September 11, 2001. The risks of dissemination seem to have skyrocketed in this age of terrorist attacks. However, the United States faced similar risks after World War II, when the secret of the atom bomb required close protection. Congress can learn from the process that the U.S. government went through to pass the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 [Atomic Energy Act of 1946. Pub. L. No. 79-585, 60 Stat. 755] during a similar time of national stress and fear and work to pass laws regulating the dissemination of information to the public. In the absence of legislative guidance, agencies have been left to restrict information as they think is best, with inconsistent and disastrous results.     

Seeking electronic information from government resources: A comparative analysis of two communities' web searching of municipal government websites

This study examines queries submitted through two municipal government websites over a 3-year period to discover patterns in information seeking that current web log analysis literature have not discovered or addressed. The findings reveal: in spite of subtle differences strong similarities remain between two different communities' information needs from municipal government websites; demographic variables and close physical proximity do not appear to affect these similarities; there appears to be a belief that municipal government websites can deliver all types of information; and, using methods presented in this paper, municipal governments may better manage their online information resources.