Today starting at 10 a.m. ET, the @librarycongress will hold a virtual forum on the Library's legislative information services. This is the *first* public forum of this kind the Library has ever held.

It's a big deal, and we thank Congress for asking the LOC to hold this event.

If you want to join the forum, follow the link on the @congressdata blog to RSVP. What makes this event notable is that all aspects of the Library are supposed to be represented and they are there to answer your questions and listen to your suggestions.

https://congressionaldata.org/library-of-congress-to-host-virtual-meeting-on-its-legislative-information-services/

But it's more than that. The @librarycongress will also present on their upgrade work. Just today, the @congressdotgov announced new website enhancements, including links to cmte transcripts, linking to archived cmte websites, and better CBO links. https://congressionaldata.org/library-of-congress-to-host-virtual-meeting-on-its-legislative-information-services/

The @congressdotgov has been doing a great job, especially since THOMAS's retirement, but Library Information Services are more than Congress-dot-gov, and some material on that website are maintained by other teams, like CRS. There's other leg info sites from the Library as well.

There's a lot we ( @CongressRadar & @congressdata) think the @librarycongress should be doing, so we wrote a report with 29 recs. It's everything from publishing CRS reports better to integrating info from the Library's silos working better with the public. https://congressionaldata.org/library-of-congress-to-host-virtual-meeting-on-its-legislative-information-services/

We understand that not everything should fall on the @librarycongress's shoulders, although we think it should allocate more of its $750m budget to improving the leg info svcs available to Members, staff and the public. It's data partners also have a significant role to play.

We expect to hear a lot today about the need for collaboration -- across the silos at the Library and across the entire Legislative Branch. Collaboration is hard, especially in political environments, but the possibilities are endless. Go here to RSVP https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2020/08/announcing-a-congress-gov-virtual-public-forum-on-september-10th/

If you cannot attend—b/c you're on the West Coast and 10 a.m. ET is too early, or distracted like me watching young kids at their first week of school—the @librarycongress set up a feedback page. It's @congressdotgov centric, but add anything you want. https://www.research.net/r/cdg-forum-feedback

(We should add that the *Legislative Branch* has been collaborating for years on improving its information services. In 2012 it formed a Bulk Data Task Force, which has been holding quarterly public meetings and has driven significant change. Today's event is Library-centric)