Welcome to Rhonda’s Resource Blog.
This blog is an expression of two interests: information resources and government. The mission of this blog is to share good sources of information with an emphasis on government resources, although other subjects may also be included. This blog is U.S. based and its emphasis will reflect that.Why the emphasis on government resources? Democracies are dependent upon an informed citizenry. Government records are the threads that weave our communal and societal fabric together. They reflect our common struggles, triumphs, concerns, and values. Our archival heritage provides us with an understanding of where we have been and provides us with insights to where we are going. It is therefore, vitally important for a society to keep its archival heritage intact.
Examples of the destruction of a society’s archival and bibliographic record, sometimes as an intentional aspect of ethnic cleansing, can be found throughout history. Yugoslavia and Iraq are recent examples of cultures which have lost irreplaceable cultural and information resources. Not all compromises to a culture’s archival record come from outside the culture. Forces within a culture may also seek to alter the historic record. The U. S. Congress passed the Presidential Records Act of 1978 (PRA) in response to the mishandling of Presidential Records during the Nixon Administration. A former Clinton Administration official was caught trying to take public records from the National Archives. There has been much controversy during the Bush Administration regarding the scrubbing and mishandling of government information.
Not all government information and resources are political. The U.S. government is the largest publisher in the world. Much of the publications are a result of research conducted with public monies. Technology, medicine, and science are major subject areas in which government publishes information. Then, there are government information resources that are just plain fun. If like me, you enjoy history, government resources can be the granddaddy of gold mines. Just explore the Library of Congress' American Memory website.
When the Founding Fathers put forth their Declaration of Independence, the disconnection of the citizens to its public records was high on their list of grievances falling fourth on the list:
“He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.”
Jefferson, 1776, Declaration of Independence
Please feel free to share your thoughts and favorite resources.
Rhonda Super
