I just attended the Off-Campus Library Service conference in Salt Lake Cityand received many good ideas.  One session discussed using screencasting sofware (e.g. Adobe Captivate) and how the library can track usage with Google Analytics.  It appears the average time a student watches a library demo is about 2 minutes.  A few sessions discussed e-resources (proprietary e-books, e-reference, free e-books, government sites, etc).  Two of the session were trying to figure if students use e-resources and how to make student more aware of them.  Another tried a visual display to simulate “browsing” the reference stacks.   There is no doubt on and off campus want more access to electronic resources, but trying to figure out the best way for students to find and these resources is a challenge.

Last week was Sunshine Week, a week to celebrate and promote the idea of transparency in government (local, state, and federal). The idea is the more transparent the government the more the public knows what the government is doing in the public’s name and how the government is spending the public’s tax dollars. The information will help the public and other government officials make informed decisions and informed votes. There are definite issues dealing with privacy and security, and the issue is not black and white. The challenge is to define that line. Though it seems the presumption of openness is better than secrecy. Below are resources that may help one inform his/herself about the federal government and legislators. Plus, many state and local government sites are useful.

• OpenSecrets.org
• OpenCongress.org
• OMBwatch.org
• Project Vote Smart