A New York Times editorial posted online today and published in Sunday’s newspaper titled, “Digital Neglect at the Library of Congress” shares the NYTs views about two Government Accountability reports that were released four days ago with details about a number of serious information technology management issues that GAO found at LC and the U.S. Copyright Office (a part of LC).
From the NY Times Editorial:
Mr. Billington, a respected scholar who has run the library for 28 years, has ignored calls first heard 20 years ago that he hire a chief information officer as required by law, according to a new, yearlong investigation by the Government Accountability Office. “The library does not have the leadership needed to address these I.T. management weaknesses,” the report concluded in urging Mr. Billington to “expeditiously hire” a permanent chief with the power to get a grip on the library’s assorted computer systems.
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Congress, well treated as the library’s prime client for its research services, has been far too lax over the years in reviewing Mr. Billington’s leadership because of his stature as a capital fixture. Lawmakers must hold him to his latest promises and much more if the institution is to not slip further behind in a world where smartly managed information should be the basic stuff of a library.
Read the Complete Editorial (Approx. 400 W0rds)
See Also: Copyright Office Needs to Develop Plans that Address Technical and Organizational Challenges
Released on May 31, 2015 and also mentioned in the NYT editorial.
Embedded below is the most recent budget justification document from LC. The section on information technology funding begins on page 69.
Library Of Congress Fiscal 2016 Budget Justification by LJ's infoDOCKET
About Gary Price
