EDITOR'S NOTE
Uncle Sam Takes On Tech
by Donovan Griffin
While the U.S. government may be on the cutting edge of technology in certain sectors, high-tech hasn’t come to its every endeavor equally. This month, we’ll check out a few areas in which Uncle Sam is just catching up tech-wise—and in some spaces, it has been a long time coming.
Our resident legal guru George Pike takes a crack at the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the trade deal among 12 Pacific Rim nations, including the U.S. It features provisions that attempt to outline the future of trade in the modern era by dealing head-on with digital copyright issues, intellectual property, and ecommerce, among other topics.
And follow along with Corilee Christou as she traces the history of the Librarian of Congress back to its roots and then lays down a blueprint for the job skills the next Librarian of Congress will need to succeed in the digital age as head of the Library of Congress and more. Our last feature has Nancy Herther examining the new U.S. Web Design Standards, created in part to bring together the various online governmental sources of information via a user-friendly design and interface.
Finally, don’t forget to check out two of our annual traditions here at IT: Shirl Kennedy’s “By the Numbers” link roundup on page 8 and Mick O’Leary’s BUDDIE (Best Unknown Database) award for this year. Flip through the rest of the issue—there’s plenty to find.
— Donovan Griffin |
