[NLA] big brother comes to the US DOE web site

[Deborah Stedman]

Won't ERIC Digests continue to be on the ERIC website?

----- Original Message -----
From: Daphne Greenberg
Sent: Friday, September 27, 2002 1:38 PM
To: nla at lists.literacytent.org
Subject: Re: [NLA] big brother comes to the US DOE web site

Thanks for sharing this. Does anyone know of any organization that is leading a fight/protest movement against this? ERIC Digests are a valuable resource!
Daphne Greenberg
Center for the Study of Adult Literacy
Georgia

>>> Elsa.Auerbach at umb.edu 09/27/02 06:03 AM >>>



-- NO URL LEFT BEHIND?  WEB SCRUB RAISES CONCERNS
(Source: Education Week, September 18, 2002)

The US Department of Education is in the process of a massive overhaul of its web site (www.ed.gov) to make it easier to use and to remove outdated data -- and ensure that material on the site meshes with the Bush administration's political philosophy. But some researchers and government watchdogs say the department's decision to scrap some information based on whether it comports with Bush administration initiatives could set an unsettling precedent. A housecleaning is overdue, said Mr. Bailey, a Bush appointee. A directive that went to senior staff members and the web site office at the end of May mapped out just how that sweep would take place. Some of the problems with the site, according to the memo, include difficulties with navigation, mediocre graphics, and information that is either outdated or "does not reflect the priorities, philosophies, or goals of the present administration."
The popular digests put out by the Educational Resources Information Center make up one big chunk of data that may soon disappear from ed.gov. ERIC, the 30-year-old data-collection center of the education world, produces about 160 digests a year from its 16 informational clearinghouses. The four-page briefing papers on "hot topics" address everything from class size to bilingual education. "I understand the ERIC digests are scheduled to be pulled," said Lawrence M. Rudner, the director of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation. "The digests are extremely popular and a very important product of the system." After ed.gov's home page and images, the ERIC digests are the third most popular item for visitors there, Mr. Rudner said. For Kate Corby, the education and psychology reference librarian at the Michigan State University Libraries, the idea that the Education Department would make it harder to access ERIC digests is "some crazy political gamesmanship."


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