Johnson’s point, well stated, is the principle that librarians have stressed for decades, peaking  in the 1980’s with the launch of an energetic campaign to highlight “information literacy” as essential to the core curriculum from cradle through college.  For the outset branding of that worthy campaign was unfortunate – stuffy, pedantic, boring.  Though Clay Johnson’s food analogy is more catchy. the idea behind the information literacy brand is sound:  Just as the way to avoid obesity is to be a smart consumer of food, the way to avoid ignorance is to be a smart consumer of information.

Whether it’s food or information, the key player is the consumer.

Arguing that the media should “chase us” Johnson urges information consumers to “consume deliberately, consume locally, consume close to the original source, consume less and produce more.”  He also warns that given 21^st technology, every click counts as it whets the appetite and informs the next move of the junk producer.

Today’s advocates for healthy diets stress the need for consumers to examine sources, processes, economic and political factors that influence the food chain.  Consumer education is imperative.

Similarly information literacy proponents stress the need to educate information consumers at an early age to grapple with the media and info deluge that technology has wrought.  They stress that information literate must be educated to analyze not just the information product but the information chain itself – the complex networks through which information is gathered, analyzed, organized, distributed, preserved, financed and more.

On the production side it takes human beings with time, skills and incentive to forge the information chain upon which the consumer depends and to which the end user contributes.  Whether it’s junk food or junk info, the responsibility rests solely with the consumer.

At the consumer end,  learners must experience, master, experience, practice and dissect the information chain in a learning environment that immerses each consumer in a rich information literacy curriculum.

Caveat discupulo – Caviat civitas popularis

Over the decades, an image of Dorothy Burnett Porter Wesley has flitted through my mind.   A bit of research has awakened me to the spirit of this visionary librarian whose indefatigable efforts have played a major role in assuring that the recorded history of African Americans is collected and preserved for posterity.

I never knew Dorothy Porter, but I remember her well.  She was Curator of the Moorland-Spingarn Collection at Howard University while I was a fledgling librarian at the public college across the street, what was then District of Columbia Teachers College.  During the 1968 upheaval following the death of Martin Luther King we were all operating in an interim mode, classes canceled, libraries closed, protests on campus.  Though its status as a federal building – coupled with the fact that there was no campus – left DCTC a relative sea of tranquility Howard became a rallying ground for student protesters.

My clear recollection is of Dorothy Porter, all five feet of her, bustling about the Howard University campus snatching banners and bulletins and whatever memorabilia she could fetch to add to her massive African American history archives – books, photos, pamphlets, art and artifacts, whatever would preserve and share the stories.

Librarian that I am (it’s in the DNA) I googled to discover what had become of Dorothy Porter, that little dynamo etched in my memory as the quintessential librarian/archivist.  A quick search revealed that she had died in 1995, that her first husband, renowned artist and art historian James Amos Porter, died in 1970, and that later she married Charles H. Wesley, former dean of Wilberforce, who died in 1987.

More than this, I found exquisite quotes from Dorothy, snippets that verified my flashes of recall.  When Dorothy was first selected to compile the Howard collection in 1930 it was an unprecedented challenge to shape a library that reflected the lives and writings of Black Americans.  The need to capture the record, written and oral, was in its infancy.  Before Emancipation slaveholders forbade their slaves from speaking their own language and from learning to write or read.  As a result, most of Black history and stories was oral.

Pioneer librarian that she was, Dorothy began the process by rummaging through dusty old boxes that contained about 3000 books, pamphlets and other historical items that had been donated to the University in 1914 by Jesse E. Moorland, a minister and Howard alumnus and trustee.  She also dug through the 1600 piece Anti-Slavery collection donated to Howard in 1873 by New York abolitionist Lewis Tappan.

And thus was launched the first research library in an American university devoted to the history and culture of African Americans. The task of collecting written records of the Diaspora must have been daunting and dispiriting to young Dorothy Porter who is quoted as saying “I recall that not many years ago the African was said to lack all sense of history because African history was not available in the form of written language.”

Dorothy Porter seized the formidable challenge with gusto.  Later she admitted that she had to teach herself Black history.    Later she recalled:  I went around the (Howard) library and pulled out every relevant book I could find – the history of slavery, black poets – for the collection.  Over the years the main thing I had to do was beg – from publishers, authors, families.  Sometimes it meant being there just after the funeral director took out the bodies and saying, ‘you want all this junk in the basement?’

And thus began the story of Dorothy Porter Wesley who went on to become one of the most prominent curators and bibliographers of all that relates to Blacks in America and in the Caribbean.  The list of awards she received during her life and continues to receive posthumously is astronomical.  Among other tributes is the Dorothy B. Porter Reading Room in the Founders Library at Howard; during the dedication the presenter quoted historian Benjamin Quarles as saying “without exaggeration, there hasn’t been a major Black history book in the last 30 years in which the author hasn’t acknowledged Mrs. Porter’s help.”  Possibly the highlight of her professional career came in 1994 when President Clinton hosted a White House ceremony at which he presented her the Charles Frankel Award from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Though my heart told me that Dorothy’s legacy lives on I was overjoyed beyond words to learn that her lifetime of collecting African American history and culture is today preserved and shared at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) at the Broward County Library in the Sistrunk area of Fort Lauderdale, an area that was once the heart of the city’s African American community.

The AARLCC is an amazing resource built on the vision of Broward County Library Director Samuel F. Morrison who saw the need for a rich research facility, cultural center and historical archive.  The development of the AARLC is a great story in itself.

At the start, Constance Porter Uzelac, daughter of James and Dorothy Porter, took a lead role.  When she moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1990 she initiated efforts to preserve and provide access to what she called “Mama’s stuff.”   As lasting tribute to her parents Uzelac , a former medical librarian herself, was for a time the custodian of the of the Dorothy Porter Wesley Collection which houses and makes available the bibliographic collection of her mother and the art and research of her father.

Today, the work of curating the Dorothy Porter Wesley Collection resides with the Broward County Library.  Housed within the AARLCC the Dorothy Porter Wesley Collection is home to over five thousand bibliographic treasures and memorabilia spotted and saved by Dorothy Porter Wesley.

Little did I know back in 1968 that the powerhouse snatching the toss-aways of the protesters would leave the legacy that is the Dorothy Porter Wesley Collection at the AARLCC.  What I did recognize and remember so well is that Dorothy Porter was the diminutive model of a librarian.  Though the day-to-day of rummaging through basements, spotting what is rare, organizing, preserving, digitizing, cataloging is not dramatic, the results are a living legacy.  The record of human history and culture demands and deserves the sort of keen eye and intrepid stamina that Dorothy Burnett Porter Wesley demonstrated during those heated days in Washington, D.C.

Little wonder the memory was etched in my mind then and remains there now.

Well known to investigative journalists, attorneys of some persuasion and citizens who know and exercise their information rights, FOIA is the bulwark of the tools at the ready for any individual or organization that wants to know more by and about the federal government.

FOIA affirms with certainty that the burden is on the government, not the public, to justify the reason for any information to be withheld from the public; the underlying assumption of FOIA is a presumption of openness. The law, enforceable in federal court, requires that agencies of the government must disclose information unless that information is specifically withheld from disclosure under one of nine very specific exemptions to the law.

The problem is that interest in probing the power and procedures of FOIA is an acquired taste.  Though prime users of the tool are most often well compensated for their time mere citizens should reflect that the payoff for a FOIA quest is the potential of reliable information to solve a problem whether the issue at hand is an individual’s right to citizenship or an inventor’s patent or the location of a hazardous waste site in the community.

In real life, FOIA is the tool of last resort.  The vast network of government distribution systems, including individual agencies and depository libraries supported by public, academic and institutional libraries, meet most users’ needs Federal agency websites and other distribution systems, answer the majority of queries that individuals will ever encounter.

Recently word has come of a tool that promises to be a boon to information seekers floundering in the depths of the Capital information pool.  The National Archives has just produced  an online directory of the records managers in each federal agency whose responsibility it is to respond to requests for information by or about the agency.  The guide lists the name, email and phone number of a specific person, along with a date that the information was collected.  It’s organized alphabetically by agency with sub-agencies aggregated under the executive, legislative or jjudicial super-agency or independent agency.

Though I have not had a chance to use the guide, I trust that it works.  Even more, it bolsters my hope that the federal agencies, in particular National Archives, is taking seriously the commitment to open government.

FOIA sets out the principle of openness.  As a tool, it’s like using a bazooka to kill a fly.  FOIA is for the stuff that’s elusive, shared with greater reluctance on the part of the producing agency, or so specific you need to talk to an experienced pro who knows the agency and can match query with appropriate response.  FOIA is the sort of tool you reach for when all else fails – like a plumbing wrench or a kitchen tool used infrequently but absolutely essential when the occasion arises.

If information is power and if a democracy depends on an informed public, FOIA provides the solid base for the public and those who serve the public to create an open government and an informed public.  The ongoing challenge is to assure that 1) the law is monitored and enforced, and 2) that ubiquitous information and communication technology facilitates rather than impedes the free flow of information by and about the federal government.

Representative Diane Loeffler and newly-elected Senator Kari Dziedzic are planning a series of joint town meetings to hear constituents’ views and ideas.  The first sessions will be Saturday, February and Saturday, February at a variety of Northeast location yet to be determined.    Watch the Windom Park beat in the TC Daily Planet or neighborhood email networks for the details.

Or you may contact Representative Loeffler’s office.  Her legislatiave assistant, Charlotte Antin, can be contact by email (charlotte.antin@house.mn) or phone 651 296 5360.

And start keeping track of your complaints, questions and ideas – not necessariiy in that order!

• MAGIC at the State Capitol

During the interim Representative Diane Loeffler co-chaired the Bipartisan Redesign Caucus.  The Caucus just released a report on findings gleaned from meetings held throughout the state to engage school, city and county officials to identify ways in which the state could foster innovation at the local level.  The report has the support of the Minnesota School Boards Association, the League of Minnesota Cities and the Association of County Commissioners, an unlikely harmonic convergence of advocacy groups that are not always inclined to collaborate.

In her recent report to constituents Loeffler points to a Star Tribune article describing the work of the Bipartisan Redesign Caucus.   Referring to the Bipartisan Redesign Caucus the Strib reporter notes that “the group is pushing a piece of legislation with the catchiest acronym of 2012 — the MAGIC act – short for the Minnesota Accountable Government Innovation and Collaboration Act. Approved by the Senate last year, the bill would allow counties to sidestep regulations and legislative restrictions and come up with their own solutions to problems in a limited number of test cases.”

Watch the MAGIC happen when and if a divided Legislature takes time to listen to the bipartisan ideas for concrete steps that just might create a system that spurs collaboration and promotes inter-agency collaboration.

• Ashmores Tell Tales of Northeast History February 11

Kerry and Margo Ashmore, publishers of the Northeaster and North News, will team up to share the stories and history of Northeast with friends and neighbors, old-timers and recent arrivals to this promised land.  They’ll be walking through the history of the legendary Northeast community on Saturday, February 11, 1-2 p.m. at the Northeast Library, 2200 Central Avenue Northeast.

The talk is free and open to the public.  If you haven’t visited the library recently take time to explore what’s new – consider a good read about the city, the immigrants to Northeast or something appropriate to African American History Month to be celebrated all during the unusually long month of February.  You’ve got an extra day, use those 24 hours to spend time with a good book.

• Elementary Students to be Feted at Edison

Another fun evening at the Edison Community Gym, 700 22^nd Avenue Northeast.  It’s the 4^th Annual Elementary School Night, Thursday, February 9. Elementary schoolers (maybe especially Tommies) are welcome to a great basketball game matching the Edison girls against the team from St. Paul Academy and Summit.

Half time treats include the STEP team, dance team and cheerleaders along with the 2011 robot, musical performances and more.

There will be pre-game musical performances beginning at 6:30 with the game starting at 7:00 p.m.  Elementary school students in free – regular admission $6 for adults, $4 for students and free for kids under 7.  Raffle prizes throughout the evening.

Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Daniel Pierce Bergin worked with the University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC) and Twin Cities Public Television (TPT), to produce an hour-long documentary on just that topic.   The documentary “Cornerstones: A History of North Minneapolis” offers the viewer powerful stories of Northside life blended with themes of race relations, immigration and cultural changes through “place-based memories.”

Bergin will offer a public viewing and discussion of his documentary on Saturday, February 4, 2-3:30 p.m. at Sumner Library, 611 Van White Boulevard, at the intersection of Van White Boulevard and Olson Highway.  Bergin is a senior producer with a varied background including the documentary North Star: Minnesota’s Black Pioneers.  Other Bergin productions include Standing the Test of Time, the biography of architect Cass Gilbert, and a literary history documentary entitled Literature & Life: The Givens Collection.

Sumner Library opened its doors in 1915 is a vital player in the history of the Northside.   for nearly a century library has served the public through decades of change   Funded through the largesse of Andrew Carnegie, the Tudor Revival style building designed by architect Cecil Bayless Chapman was a showpiece as well as a citadel of learning in the working class neighborhood.

In the early days, the library served as unique place where the Jewish Community of the Northside congregated and came together to learn. The Sumner Library ensured the preservation of the Yiddish and Hebrew languages through their collection of books written in these dialects. This further enhanced the sense of community and oneness felt in the North Side neighborhood.  In time, the collection and the programs of Sumner have evolved with the changing demographics of the Northside.  The same spirit of service to newcomers is the distinguishing feature of Sumner today.Because Bergin will be on hand February 4^th to discuss and respond to viewers’ questions, prospective attendees may wish to preview the documentary in advance.  It’s been telecast and will be shown again on Sunday, February 26, 1:00 PM, and Wednesday, February 29, at 5:00 AM and 11:00 PM.  The documentary is also streamed on the web on several sites, including the TPT Cornerstones site.

Needless to say, the Brits are euphoric.  The story is that Dickens would have planned it that way.  According to Radhika Jones writing in Time Entertainment, Dickens had a hand in assuring that his works would endure.  Jones, managing editor of Time magazine and Dickens authority, writes that “I’m not just talking about writing great books, lots of people have done that.  It’s that he took a vested interest in his legacy and in the legacy of the publishing industry overall. “  Jones observes that Dickens anticipated “boom times” for fiction:

That was apparent just by virtue of the imitators, acolytes and outright plagiarists his writing inspired.  So it made sense that Dickens would do certain things to help keep himself at the forefront of the movement.  He cultivated an exceedingly local audience, across class lines; he fought for copyright and collective bargaining powers for authors; he managed his posthumous reputation to the extent that he could control it, by burning all his letters and by appointing a very close friend as his first biographer; he edited two consecutive weekly magazines and fostered rising talent, thus creating a circle of admirers and protégés (while effectively, self-publishing his own work, in the serial format that his success with Pickwick had made the standard for the era).

In an age of letter press Dickens addressed head-on a host of issues that plague the digital world today – his blog would have gone viral overnight.

Still, it’s just as well Dickens didn’t spend his time online.  He would not have had time or the mental focus to write fifteen major novels and countless short stories – or to reflect on the social conditions of the day, the experience of poverty, child labor, misers and murders and abandonment that shaped his youth and led him to create his own world through fiction which, in the end, became his chosen tool for expressing his passion for social reform.

If, perchance, you’re too busy managing your own blog to re-read the complete Dickens you might want to follow the aforementioned Radhika Jones’ blog to be announced in the January 26 issue of Time.   Jones, who has published a bookshelf of commentaries on Dickens, will be post her thoughts on Dickens’ “ten best books.”

One of the several ways to keep up with all things Dickens during the bicentenary and beyond is to check David Perdue’s Charles Dickens Page. Quick to point out that he is not a scholar, Perdue is a Dickens enthusiast who shares everything you don’t even know you don’t know about the bicentennial celebrations, Dickens’ life, Dickens’ places (museums, gravesite and more), a Dickens photo gallery and links to information and blogs about Dickens.

The pedagogues at Britain’s National Schools Partnership have created a delightful learning tool, a curriculum based on Dickens’ works entitled What the Dickens,  geared to middle school teachers inculcating the skills of English and creative writing in the middle grades.

Even the Wall Street Journal is caught up in the Dickens tide.  The WSJ editors offer a thoughtful observation that may give pause to some of their readers:

Dickens is not safe, he is not ‘heritage.’  He is fierce, ferocious and formidable. No one has depicted the homeless with more sorrow and pity and terror than Dickens.  He depicted them from both sides: from middle-class safety, looking outward, and from their own point of view, looking at a world that seems to offer such richness and happiness to everyone else.  And then, as an act of mediation, he moves us between the two worlds so that we understand both. (quoted in blog)

If you are willing to “see ourselves as others see us” you must read “Dickens in America.”   Dickens was at the peak of popularity when we ventured on a sort of exploratory mission in 1842.  He returned on a Reading Tour in 1868.  Though he was welcomed at the White House he moved on to explore the cities and the peoplefrom Boston to St. Louis, Baltimore to Cincinnati, and beyond.  He shared his views on international copyright, visited prisons, traveled to the South to learn more about slavery, and criticized the American press for the dearth of coverage of local news.  His experiences and impressions of his 1842 tour are recorded in American Notes, now readable online.

This great essay describes his travels, his off-the-highway stops, and his observations, visiting and writing about the renowned and the ordinary people he met en route.  There will no doubt be those Americans who jet off to London or Portsmouth or Bath to drink deep of the Dickensian stream.   For the rest of us, there are countless  options closer to home.  Libraries in particular are sponsoring exhibits, readings, film fests and other Bicentennial events that explore all things Dickensian.

If you would like to share your take on Dickens with British bibliophiles, you should know about the Dickens Book Club at Foyles Bookshop, 113 Charing Cross Road where  each month Londoners will be able to plumb the depths of a Dickens classic with Alex Werner, curator of the Charles Dickens Museum.  Yanks are welcome to join in the discussion on Twitter or Facebook.  Check the Museum of London for details and links – and start reading Bleak House to be up to speed for the first discussion on February 6.

Closer to home, the Friends of the University of Minnesota Libraries is sponsoring a Dickens’ Pageant.  Anatoly Liberman, U of M professor, linguist and literary scholar, will discuss Dickens’ most memorable characters, the features that make Dickens unique, and the reason he remains a universal favorite.  The event is February 23, 4:00-6:00 p.m. in the Upson Room, Walter Library.  The event is free and open.

Contact Lanaya Stangret, stangret@umn.edu  or RSVP online or at 612-624 9339, by February 16.

Time spent re-reading the classics or discovering Dickens’ lesser known works remains the ideal way to share Dickens’  thoughts and his bicentenary – for independent readers, and book clubbers who grapple with his issues or who just enjoy a good read.  A good place to start is the following list of Dickens’ books accessible on the shelves of libraries or available through inter-library loan.

Librarian and volunteer Ruthann Ovenshire who is preparing an exhibit of Dickens’ fiction at the Minneapolis Central Library has kindly provided this list of titles familiar and often new to readers who want to celebrate the Dickens Bicentennial in a proper way that would greatly please the author who cared a good deal about his legacy.

Fiction by Charles Dickens

Barnaby Rudge : a tale of the riots of ‘eighty

Bleak house.

A Christmas carol and other stories

David Copperfield

Doctor Marigold’s prescriptions

Dombey and Son

Great expectations

Hard times

The haunted house

Hunted down

Little Dorrit

Martin Chuzzlewit

Mrs Lirriper

The mystery of Edwin Drood

Nicholas Nickleby.

The old curiosity shop.

Oliver Twist

Our mutual friend.

The Pickwick papers

The poems and verses of Charles Dickens;

The poor traveller

The posthumous papers of the Pickwick Club

Short plays from Dickens for the use of amateur and school dramatic societies;

The signalman & other ghost stories

Sketches by Boz. Illustrative of every-day life and every-day people.

Somebody’s luggage

A tale of two cities.

The uncommercial traveler

Nonfiction by Charles Dickens

A child’s history of England.

Household words; a weekly journal 1850-1859

The life of Our Lord

Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi

Pictures from Italy with American notes (one volume)

Speeches.

Answer:  Because Saturday, February 18, 2012, is the 4^th Annual “We Love Our Presidents” Walk and Celebration!

It’s a time-honored tradition.

In Northeast Minneapolis most of the North-South running streets bear the names of presidents.  Starting with Washington Street on the West and continuing through Harding Street to the East it’s easy for folks in Northeast who know their nation’s history to check their internal GIS location.

The President’s Day Walk and Celebration is a tradition, a great way for neighbors young and old learn together, to enjoy their community,  and to honor the nation’s leaders.

Here’s the 2012 agenda:

10:00 a.m. Walkers gather at Edison High School, 700 22^nd Avenue, between Madison and Monroe (if you don’t count Howard….)

Walkers proceed along a route walking East on 22^nd Avenue to Central Avenue (don’t ask – there was no President Central) then North on Central for a Cocoa Break at the freshly-painted Eastside Food Coop on 25^th and Central.   Along the way walkers will stop at each corner where members of the Northeast Urban 4-H Club will relate a few interesting facts about that President.  Neighbors will be encouraged to share their memories of the neighborhood.

Next the intrepid walkers, warm and refreshed, will head East to Northeast Middle School, 2955 Hayes Street NE, just in time for lunch

Noon – Walkers and visitors will meet at Northeast Middle School for lunch and program.  Keynote speaker during lunch is Ginny Zak Kieley who writes and publishes stories about the neighborhood.  Ginny’s books, including three about Northeast, will be on sale.

The President’s Day Walk will wrap up at Northeast Middle School with a steaming hot chili lunch (donation requested), a trivia contest, awards for winners of the coloring contest, and the presentation of the distinguished Northeast Presidential Seal for the group that has gathered the most participants for the Walk.

For those who want to be mentally as well as physically prepared for the Walk, here’s a refresher President-named streets that walkers will travel on February 18.

• Madison St NE is named for James Madison
• Monroe St NE is named for James Monroe.
• Quincy St NE is named for John Quincy Adams
• Jackson St NE is named for Andrew Jackson
• Van Buren St NE is named for Martin Van Buren
• Harrison St NE is named for William Henry Harrison
• Tyler St NE is named for John Tyler
• Polk St NE is named for James K. Polk
• Taylor St NE is named for Zachary Taylor
• Fillmore St NE is named for Millard Fillmore
• Pierce St NE is named for Franklin Pierce
• Buchanan St NE is named for James Buchanan
• Lincoln St NE is named for Abraham Lincoln
• Johnson St NE is named for Andrew Johnson
• [Central Avenue is just an anomaly]
• Ulysses St NE is named for Ulysses S. Grant
• Hayes St NE is named for Rutherford B. Hayes
• Garfield St NE is named for James A. Garfield
• Arthur St NE is named for Chester A. Arthur
• Cleveland St NE is named for Grover Cleveland
• Benjamin St NE is named for Benjamin Harrison
• McKinley St NE is named for William McKinley
• [Stinson Parkway is named for a member of the Park and Recreation Board because it is part of the city’s Parkway system.  If you get to Stinson you’ve walked too far.]

Generous sponsors of the “We Love the Presidents Walk and Celebration” include Eastside Food Coop, Hennepin County Library, Minneapolis Public Schools Community Education, Minneapolis Park and Recreation, Northeast Bank, Northeast Minneapolis Royalty, Northeast Urban 4-H Club, NEMplsOnline.com and The Northeaster Newspaper.

The spirit, if not the letter, of the state statute that establishes state information policy is clear:

All government data collected, created, received, maintained or disseminated by a government entity shall be public unless classified by state, or temporary classification pursuant in section 13.6 (Discoverability of non-public information), or federal law, as nonprofit or protected nonpublic, or with respect to data on individuals, as private or confidential.  The responsible authority in every government entity shall keep records containing government data in such an arrangement and condition as to make them easily accessible for convenient use.  Photographic, photostatic, microphotographic, or microfilmed records shall be considered as accessible for convenient use regardless of the size of such records. Minnesota Statute 130.3 Access to government data: Subdivision 1. Public.

The twin pillars of access in Minnesota are the Data Practices Act and the Open Meeting Law.  Essential guides to each include these:  Open Meeting Law, Government Data Practices Act.  The Legislative Reference Library also offers a comprehensive list of guides and information about parallel laws and regulations in other states.

Still, in real life agencies have a way of setting their own procedures in light of the laws and regulations on the books. Concerned citizens need to be aware of the agencies’ responsibilities to assure compliance with the spirit and the letter of the law.  In this day of rapidly changing technologies access can be determined by everything from the assumption that everyone has web access to outright bureaucratic resistance to officials’ failure to know either their responsibilities or the public’s right to know.  Many local officials and state agency staff have had no orientation to the ways in which state access regulations relate to their work.

As the legislators unpack their laptops, there is talk among bureaucrats and advocacy groups of review and possible revision of state statutes relating to information practices.  A draft prepared by the Information Policy Advisory Division, the state bureaucracy that deals with such matters, is generating blog reaction before it goes on stage.

Prognosticating what will happen during any legislative session is ill-advised; this season it is downright foolhardy.  Still, open discussion of open government may shed light on the law, its implementation, the need for clarification, simplification or more stringent sanctions and ways to assure that Minnesotans know and exercise their information rights.

During the legislative session the place to go for information on the status of legislation relating to information policy and practice is the Bill Search and Status site fed diligently by overworked legislative staffers.  In addition to the latest information on the status of individual bills the site provides excellent guides including “How to Follow a Bill” and “How a Bill Becomes a Law” as well as a handy look-up feature if you want to reach your member.

Weary of the topic of access to government information I stepped back to “re-imagine” the playing field.  By today’s rules, government information providers are lined up on one side of a perceived line; the keepers are rich with data, overwhelmed by ubiquitous information and communications technology, and burdened with legal mandates.  On the other side the information seekers are lined up — parents, small business owners, health care planners, caregivers, homeowners worried about pollution in the neighborhood; the seekers are unfamiliar with the rules, the structures, the pathways to information, and their rights to access to information by and about the government. It’s a game that subtly pits keepers against seekers, a game in which neither the rules nor the goals are understood.

Imagine a Minnesota in which keepers and seekers joined forces to work in tandem towards a common purpose.  The rewards of collaboration in the information game are both unique and generous, precisely because the information rules of the game are antithetical to traditional zero sum thinking.  The unique character of the information resource are that:

• Information is not an end in itself but a means to an end — answering a health care issue, cleaning up a waste site, creating an arts community, selecting a school board member, building a transit system or managing a drug store on Main Street.  The product of good information is a wise decision, a new connection or a great idea.
• Information shared is information expanded (“like a kiss” as Harlan Cleveland told us long ago.)

Sharing a goal casts sharing information in a different light.  That shared goal ultimately, if implicitly, flows from the premise that the state will thrive if the people of Minnesota harness the power of good and accessible information to create a more vital economy, a first rate education system, affordable health care, a cleaner environment, livable communities, an electorate who know the issues and the options.

Though I’m still working on that user guide to state government information it’s with a re-kindled spirit that positions keepers and seekers on the same team aiming for a common goal.

On the way to learning more about the history of similar legislative turnovers I returned to my hands-down favorite legislative resource, the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.  Their resources and service are astounding – and the website supported by the LRL staff is a constant and totally reliable source of fascinating information.  Today I found this treasure I just have to share, partly to stem the free flow of misinformation and, even more, to share a good story about the Minnesota Legislature – a unique history that deserves to be known.

The following is taken directly from the Legislative Reference Library website,12/7/2011.  Though it was clearly posted before the final election, the facts are relevant, timely and prescient in light of the election results:

Minnesota Legislators of Native American Descent

Attorney Susan Allen won the DFL primary in District 61B. She will face Nathan Blumenshire in a special election on January 10, 2012, to fill the seat of Jeff Hayden, newly elected to the Senate. If elected, Allen would be the first woman of Native American descent to serve in the Minnesota Legislature.

Some news outlets have noted that Senator Skip Finn was the first Native American to serve in the Senate, and even the first Native American Minnesota legislator. Wrong on both counts!

There was at least one member of the Minnesota Legislature who was Native American who served in the Senate long before Skip Finn. Senator Henry G. Bailly served in the first state legislature (1857-1858). For years people have been inaccurately reporting that Sen. Finn was the first to serve in the Minnesota Senate. Bailly also served in the Minnesota Territorial Council, the predecessor to the Minnesota State Senate. 

In addition, there were a few House members who had Native American ancestry who also served before Finn. As we do more research, it’s more than possible that we will find other former members who had Native American ancestry. Here are the members we’ve found, so far, who are members of minority groups (there are probably more that we haven’t found yet). Self-Reported Minority Legislators Use the drop down box to limit the list to Native Americans.

Note:  If you do make your way to the LRL website, take a few minutes to poke around this digital treasure trove – you never know what you’ll need to know and share with your representative during the months to come – it’s likely accessible through LRL.