Gov Docs

							21st Century Government
Documents
     Best Sources for Electronic
     Government Information
     OLA Superconference 2005
     Presenters:
     Mary Monteith, Kitchener Public Library
     Tom Bentley, Brantford Public Library
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E-Government Trends
   Canada rated number 1 for fourth year
    running in Accenture’s survey
    measuring E-government maturity
   Services and publications are shifting
    from physical to virtual formats
   Print collections shrinking; electronic
    access increasing
   All library staff working more with
    government resources online
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Best Sources
   Electronic government information proliferating
    at a rapid pace
   Wealth of information available but can be
    hard to find
   Google alone is not the answer
   What are some good starting points?
   How can I keep up with developments in
    government information?
   How can I keep track of government news?
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    Keeping Current
   Listservs
   GOVINFO – General discussion list for
    Canadian government topics
   GOVDOC-L – Discussion list for U.S.
    government information and the American
    Federal Depository Program – useful for
    announcements regarding significant new
    publications and web sites

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Keeping Current

   What’s New – everyone has news!
   One way of monitoring events is to
    read news directly from government
    web sites
   Decide what’s important to you
   Bookmark your news sites and monitor
   Being selective helps you cope with
    the overload
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      Keeping Current
   What’s new:
    Government
    of Canada




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    Keeping Current
   News Alerts
       Google has its place…
       Google News Alerts – keyword search of news
        and/or web
       Define frequency of updates – daily, weekly, as
        it happens
       Alerts are sent to your email as per your
        request
       CBC also offers news alerts and is an excellent
        source for breaking news and relevant links
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    Keeping Current
   RSS Feeds / Blogs
     Visit one site, instead of many

     News aggregators such as Bloglines let
      you keep up-to-date from a central
      forum
     Create custom feeds from Yahoo!
      News
     Government of Canada offers 35 RSS
      news feeds – national, regional, by
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Portals

   Gateways designed to give access by
    subject or by audience
   Government of Canada has designed
    many subject-specific portals
   Portals available for most major
    governmental organizations


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Portals – Government of Canada
        www.gc.ca




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Portals – Government of Canada




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Portals
   FirstGov – American government portal
       www.firstgov.gov




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     Portals
   FirstGov
   A-Z Agency Index
   Quick links to
    Executive Branch:
    President, Vice-
    President, Cabinet,
    Executive
    Departments,
    Agencies, Boards,
    Commissions, etc.

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    Portals
   FirstGov
   Legislative Branch:
   Senate
   Senators’ home pages
   House of
    Representatives
   Agencies that support
    Congress - Library of
    Congress,
    Government Printing
    Office, etc.
   A-Z index of all
    Government Agencies
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Portals
   Foreign Government Resources on the Web
        University of Michigan




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Health
   Canada Health Portal
       Shortcuts to provincial health sites
       Advisories and warnings
       Targeting Health: links by topic take you
        to publications, websites, news stories,
        reports, health-related legislation
       When in doubt, find the A-Z index, the
        site map or the site-specific search


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     Health
   HealthyOntario
   Consumer health
    focus
   Content by audience
   Conditions and
    diseases
   Prescription Drugs
   Health Services –
    find a doctor; locate
    community support
    and services
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    Health
   HealthyOntario –
    Community
    Support
   “I need to find
    support groups for
    Autism in Thunder
    Bay.”
   Services:
    Community
    Support Groups
   Drop-down menu –
    choose condition
   Click on Go!
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     Health
   Choose your
    community
   Note: there are
    also links to
    Internet-based
    support




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        Health

   Results listed
    include:
       Names
       Addresses
       Phone
       Email / website
        links



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     Health
   Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
    http://www.health.gov.on.ca/
   Many useful functions but some are hidden
   Long-term care facility locator:
    http://www.ltccareers.com/FacilityFrame/en
    glish/
   “I need to locate a long-term care facility in
    Bobcaygeon.”
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    Statistics
   Canada
       Statistics Canada: www.statcan.ca/
       The Daily – a first stop for current statistics
       The Daily is archived online to June 1995
       Consumer Price Index
       Economic Indicators
       Construction
       Employment
       Population
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     Statistics
   Statistics Canada – The Census
   http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/home/i
    ndex.cfm
   1996 and 2001 Census information
   Data can be searched by topic
   Community profiles give a snapshot of a particular
    area
   E-Stat is another source of Census data (1665-
    1871 and 1986-2001) - use is restricted to
    educational institutions and depository libraries
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Statistics
     Community Profiles




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Statistics

   Historical Statistics of Canada
       1983 issue available freely online
       Can be viewed in .html or .pdf format
       “What was Canada’s population in
        1947?”




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Statistics




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     Statistics

   Think about the origin
   Motor vehicle collision statistics –
    Transport Canada
   School bus collisions, heavy truck
    collisions, pedestrian fatalities and injuries
   Aircraft collisions, rail and marine
    accidents – Transportation Safety Board of
    Canada
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Statistics

   International Statistics
       FedStats – Stats from over 100 U.S.
        federal agencies
       U.S. Census information – Statistical
        Abstract of the United States
       National Statistics Office of the UK
       Eurostat – Statistical office of the
        European communities
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    Statutes and Regulations
   Canadian Federal Statutes – Department of
    Justice
       Basic search - keyword in title or text of statute
        or regulation
       Advanced search – Access by subject, keyword
        in title or text
       Search annual statutes from 1995 forward
       “I want to see Bill C-3 from 1998. It had to do
        with DNA”.

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Statutes and Regulations




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Statutes and Regulations




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Statutes and Regulations




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     Statutes and Regulations
   Index to Regulations (Statutory Instruments)
   Table of Public Statutes
   Table of Private Acts, 1867 – 2004
   Shortcuts to the Constitution, the Charter
   Frequently accessed – Criminal Code,
    Income Tax Act, Divorce Act
   Links to provincial, territorial legislation
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    Statutes and Regulations
   Federal Bills - Laws in the Making
       Parliament of Canada
           Current bills of the House and Senate
           Bills archive
           Debates and Journals – current and archived
       LegisInfo
           Bills text; progress of legislation
           Press releases and backgrounders
           Votes and Speeches
           Related links and reading suggestions
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        Statutes and Regulations
   Ontario Statutes and Regulations
       E-Laws – full text laws and regulations
       Content up to date within 10 business days of
        enactment
       Searchable; site has good help features
       Browsable by title
       Table of Public Statutes; Table of Private
        Statutes; Table of Regulations

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        Statutes and Regulations
   Ontario Bills
       Ontario Legislative Assembly
       Text of bills currently before the House; archive to Sept.
        1995
       *Bills Before the House Status Table: service of the
        Ontario Legislative Library
        http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/bills/statustable.pdf
       Hansard (Debates) archived to June 1985
       Current Hansard searchable by keyword, session, date,
        topic, speaker
       Committee debates
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        Statutes and Regulations
   Library pathfinders available on some sites
   KPL’s pathfinders:
      Researching Federal Legislation
       http://www.kpl.org/ylo_govsites.shtml#federal
     Researching Ontario Legislation
       http://www.kpl.org/ylo_govsites.shtml#ontario
    (specific to KPL’s resources and holdings)


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        Court Decisions

   Canadian Legal Information Institute
     Important site for legal resources
     Links to legislative materials federally and
      provincially
     Publicly available court decisions are searchable
      by keyword, phrase, name, date, docket number
     Full text of decisions with search terms highlighted

   Courts in Canada – Dept. of Justice – Court Sites:
    http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/dept/pub/trib/page5.html
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        Citizenship and Immigration
   Citizenship and Immigration Canada
       Forms and applications
       Immigrating to Canada
       Studying in Canada
       Working in Canada
       Online Services
       Citizenship and immigration statistics 1966-
        1996
       Annual reports, performance reports,
        citizenship test questions
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Citizenship and Immigration

   Constant referrals from local
    Citizenship office to the public library
    for forms
   “I want to sponsor my wife to come to
    Canada and they sent me here for the
    form.”


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Citizenship and Immigration




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       Citizenship and Immigration
   Find your member of Parliament
    http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/house/PostalCo
    de.asp?Source=SM


   Find your member of Provincial Parliament
    (Ontario)
    http://www.electionsontario.on.ca/fyed/en/form_page_en.jsp




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        Citizenship and Immigration

   Settlement.org
       Site designed for two audiences: newcomers to
        Ontario and those who work with newcomers
       Information and resources across the spectrum
        for people settling in Ontario
       Employment, Education, Housing, Health,
        Immigration and Citizenship, Language and
        Literacy, Legal Services, Consumer, Community
        and Recreation
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    Citizenship and Immigration
       Settlement.org
       Local information by community
           Immigrant services offices
           Education – school boards, education programs
           Health – local OHIP offices with local phone numbers
           Employment – local HRDC offices, job search
            workshops
           Housing – help centres, subsidized housing,
            homeless shelters
           Language & Literacy – where to take English
            classes, language assessment centres
           More topics
           Option to print out all local information for a particular
            area; option to get all information/crisis numbers
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    Citizenship and Immigration

   Municipal information
       City sites – ward maps, councillors, city hall
        officials
       Online “services” like paying your parking ticket!
       Council meeting minutes, annual reports,
        financial statements, budgets, municipal code,
        economic development


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        Consumer Information
   Canada Consumer Information Gateway
       Contributions from over 400 government
        departments and agencies and NGOs
       15 major topics with numerous links to online
        forms, services and publications
       Searchable by keyword and jurisdiction
       Sub-topics with each area – complaints, recalls,
        warnings
       “I need information on how to choose a funeral
        home.”
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    Consumer Information
   Ontario: Ministry of Consumer and Business Services
     Central site for consumer information

     Shortcuts to forms and online services – birth
      certificates; forms for business – dissolving corporation;
      ServiceOntario life events; E-Laws
     Consumer tips and warnings – Consumer Beat

     Newsroom

     Related sites – Comprehensive listing of consumer links
      including financial rating and counselling agencies;
      consumer associations; business agencies
   “I want to complain about a business.”
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