UNC Symposium on Public Information in a Digital World

The School of Information and Library Science (SILS) and School of Government (SOG) at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) will hold a day-long symposium called "Preparing Stewards of Public Information in a Digital World" on January 15, 2010 from 8-5 in the Warren Jake Wicker Classroom of Knapp-Sanders Building on the UNC-CH campus. The symposium will include panel discussions and other interactive sessions related to lessons and strategies for professional preparation to engage in public information stewardship. Registration for the symposium costs $45 (or $25 for students) and can be done online.

The themes of the day will include persistent issues in the stewardship of electronic records; the "policy game" – what it is and how to play it successfully; advancing professional values through IT policies and systems; and professional education – context and strategies of SILS and the SOG at UNC.

The symposium is part of Educating Stewards of Public Information in the 21st Century (ESOPI-21), which is a three-year collaboration between SILS and the SOG at UNC-CH, sponsored by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

ESOPI-21 is based on the belief that the stewardship of public information is a fundamental responsibility of a democratic society. Public information (e.g. agency records, government publications, datasets) serves as evidence of governmental activities, decisions, and responsibilities at the local, county, state, and federal levels. Providing appropriate access to public information promotes accountability, rights of citizens, effective administration of policy, and social memory.