The Government Information Days Spring 2024 event, held on May 9-10 in Vancouver, was a gathering for government information enthusiasts. Co-organized by Internet Archive Canada, Simon Fraser University, and the University of British Columbia Libraries, the event delivered two packed days of virtual and in-person sessions, exploring topics ranging from access to government data to web archiving.
If you missed it, don’t worry! The presentation slides are now available for those who want to dive deeper into the discussions or revisit key takeaways.
Day 1: Virtual Highlights (May 9th) brought us insightful discussions, streamed live from Simon Fraser University’s Harbour Centre. Some of the standout sessions included:
- Freedom of Information/Access to Information Panel: A thought-provoking panel with Nich Worby, Spencer Itzen, and Tom Cardoso, discussing the barriers and opportunities in accessing government information for data journalism projects.
- End-of-Term Crawls in the US: Experts James Jacobs and Mark Phillips shared their experiences with web crawling and archiving government websites, providing timely insights ahead of the US elections.
- Navigating Copyright for Crown-Published Works: Amanda Wakaruk and Graeme Campbell introduced the new CFLA code of best practices for managing Crown-published works’ copyright in libraries.
- Archive-It Workshop: Attendees had hands-on web archiving experience in this interactive workshop led by Bridget from the Internet Archive.
Day 2: In-Person Sessions (May 10th) at Internet Archive Canada building in downtown Vancouver was equally engaging, with sessions focused on government information preservation and access:
- Democracy’s Library: Brewster Kahle spoke passionately about preserving digital records for future generations.
- Navigating Archival Records and Indigenous History: Min Hannaford from Library and Archives Canada offered techniques for accessing Indigenous archival materials.
- Lightning Talks: Speakers Janice Banser and Katie Cuyler shared updates on collaborative archiving efforts and the work of the Canadian Government Information Digital Preservation Network (CGI-DPN).
- CivicInfo BC: Todd Pugh provided an overview of CivicInfo BC’s services, a critical hub for local government information in British Columbia.
- Digitization Projects: Marionne Cronin, Danielle Suter, and Charles Hogg shared exciting updates on digitization initiatives at the BC Legislative Library.
The event wrapped up with a roundtable discussion, tackling real-world challenges in government information management.
Government Information Days Spring 2024 was an inspiring and educational experience, continuing to build bridges across the government information community. We hope the presentation slides help you stay connected to the wealth of knowledge shared!