Gov Info Mashups

With the new Presidential Administration, we are witnessing a historical transformation of civic engagement due to technological innovations that are changing both politics and the documentation that results. Obama's promise to have a more transparent and open government by using web technology is evident in a recent initiative called Data.gov, where government data is free for the taking and re-mixing.

Several organizations, such as The Sunlight Foundation and its Sunlight Labs, have taken advantage of social media tools and the increasing accessibility of government data online by creating APIs and Mashups to engage, educate, and empower citizens. Call it what you will, whether it be Government 2.0, Gov Info 2.0, or Geek Gov, but you have to admit that government information has never looked cooler!

In this presentation, we'll take a look at some of these "gov info mashups" and discuss how we as librarians can use them to engage our patrons or take advantage of government information and create our own mashups for patrons.

Download slides and notes w/links here.