The LIBRARY of CONGRESS

Government as a Participantin Social Networks

Adding Authority to the Conversation

Michelle Springer, Library of Congress

The LIBRARY of CONGRESS

Government has responsibilities not shared by the privatesector:

To protect public health and welfareTo ensure public safetyTo ensure national securityTo help the publicTo pursue diplomacy on the world stageTo be authoritative

Misrepresentation of government information when usedoutside of its original intent/context can result in severeconsequences.

The LIBRARY of CONGRESS

To integrate user-generated content withgovernment information without diluting theauthority or integrity of the information

To ensure the trustworthiness of informationgenerated by these interactions

To provide a conduit for content created outside ofthe agency while ensuring compliance withagency/government policies, procedure, laws,executive orders, etc.

Challenges:

The LIBRARY of CONGRESS

The LIBRARY of CONGRESS

The LIBRARY of CONGRESS

The LIBRARY of CONGRESS

The LIBRARY of CONGRESS

The LIBRARY of CONGRESS

The LIBRARY of CONGRESS

The LIBRARY of CONGRESS

THOMAS

The LIBRARY of CONGRESS

THOMAS

The LIBRARY of CONGRESS

Overview

• History of THOMAS

• Our audience and mission

• Challenges and strategies

• Solutions

• Looking forward