Library of Congress Creates Covid-19 Oral History Project

 

Oral histories, which record the intimate perceptions of people who have gone through a significant event, are a very important part of understanding history.  The goal of oral history projects is often to record the experiences of a group of people affected before they all pass away.  Some examples of these are the Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 collected by the Federal Government during the Depression, The Jeff and Toby Herr Oral History Archive held at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum which collects testimonies of Jews, Roma, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, political prisoners, liberators, collaborators, witnesses, and rescuers, and the Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation oral history collection of a series of interviews from 2011 called "500 Oral Histories Project" (the Houston area interviews are housed at Rice University’s Woodson Research Center in Fondren Library). 

However, the closer the collection of stories can be to the time the events took place the better for time always affects one’s perspective on events.  Therefore, the Library of Congress has recently partnered with the non-profit company StoryCorps to create an archive of stories from anyone effected by the recent Covid-19 pandemic in order to record these stories as soon as possible.  These stories will become part of the American Folklife Center collections and will be made available through StoryCorps archive.  Stories may be recorded at the Covid-19 Archive Activation website. 

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden stated “Curators and specialists at the Library of Congress are skilled at documenting history as it happens. Recording the voices and stories of Americans’ experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic for our national collections will honor this history and ensure these stories will not be forgotten. We are proud to collaborate with StoryCorps on this important work to build this archive of oral histories.”  Nicole Saylor, director of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress says “We are particularly interested in doing this work through people’s stories, as storytelling is a crucial medium of communication and central to the work of the American Folklife Center.”

The collection is meant to commemorate and honor those lost to the illness, those whose lives were unalterably affected by the pandemic and those who worked the front lines during the crisis.  Moreover, preserving the stories will be an essential primary source to future generations attempting to analyze and understand the events on a national level. 

Anyone and everyone are encouraged to participate in the project, for a variety of voices with a variety of experiences and a variety of perspectives will create the fullest resource from which historians, researchers, and others interested in the events can draw. 

No More Driving With Cake

You’ve probably seen a recent meme on Facebook directing drivers that, because of current winter conditions, they should “drive with cake.”  Or you’ve seen some of the Texas road signs such as “Only Rudolph Should Drive Lit” or “The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You, Buckle Up.”  These types of signs have been created by both the Texas Department of Transportation and/or the U.S. Department of Transportation to encourage drivers to be careful driving on state and federal highways. 

However, soon you will no longer be able to see these signs.  In the recently updated manual of the U.S. Federal Highway Administration , guidelines were published banning them.  Electronic signs with "obscure meanings, references to pop culture or those intended to be funny" are required to be phased out within the next couple of years and all signs must be "simple, direct, brief, legible and clear," to "relay important information."

These changes were released by the U.S. Department of Transportation on December 19, 2023 and published in the Federal Register on the same day.  (The Federal Register daily publishes changes to the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations.)  The regulations went into effect on January 18, 2024. 

Although these new regulations may make your driving experience less entertaining, the Houston Chronicle has reported that when electronic traffic signs report information other than current traffic situations or weather conditions, such as the number of fatalities on Texas roads up to a certain date, risk of traffic accidents increases. 

GovInfo Reaches Record Number of Hits

Since 1994 the Government Publishing Office or GPO (formerly the Government Printing Office) has been providing trustworthy government information online for free to anyone.  The GPO is a government agency falling under the legislative branch of government and by law provides free access to government documents produced by all three branches of government.  Until the onset of electronic access, the only way to accomplish this was through the Federal Depository Library Program whereby documents are sent to designated government libraries across the country.  Now, in conjunction with the FDLP, government information is widely available online through the site GovInfo.gov.

Last year a record number of 1.15 billion retrievals were accessed through GovInfo.  This is an increase of 32% over 2022 and an increase of 215% over 2018! The most popular source of information in 2023 was the Federal Register (the Federal Register is a daily compilation of documents produced by the Executive branch including changes to federal regulations, notices from federal agencies, executive orders and other presidential documents).

The GPO’s electronic dissemination of information began in 1994 with the creation of GPOAccess.  In 2009 the next generation system, the Federal Digital System (FDsys), was introduced.  In 2016, the current site GovInfo was launched.  But the GPO is not only assigned the duty of spreading government information; it is also given the responsibility to preserve government documents for future posterity, including those documents born digital.  In 2019 GovInfo was the first US digital depository, and the second in the world, to be certified as having the “highest global standard of excellence possible” in providing access and preservation to these important materials. 

Transition to EVs

On this date in 1996, GM announced the production and sale of it’s first mass produced electric vehicle, the EV1.  The EV1 would be produced from the fall of that year until the fall of 2003.  However, it was available only in Arizona and California and only as a lease vehicle. 

The EV1 was not the actual first electric vehicle.  Clara Ford, the wife of Henry Ford, herself drove a 1914 Detroit Electric, which got 80 miles a charge, until the mass production of gas-powered engines led by her husband drove the burgeoning electric vehicle industry out of business. 

Since 2003, all electric vehicles and hybrid gas/electric vehicles have grown in popularity in large part due to federal support of the industry.  Several US departments are involved in the funding of and financial incentives for electric vehicles and the infrastructure needed for them.  These include, the Department of Transportation (USDOT), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the Maritime Administration (MARAD), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Department of Commerce (DOC), the Department of Labor (DOL), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 

Some agencies may seem only tangentially connected to the shift to electric vehicles.  For example, the FAA is in charge of implementation of use of vehicles and creation of charging stations at airports while MARAD has the same responsibility at marine ports.  The USDA works with agricultural communities to transition to electric vehicles.  The FTA works specifically with transitioning public transportation, such as buses, including school buses, to EVs. 

Other agencies indirectly affect the use of electric vehicles through the support of business and commerce.  The DOC supports innovation and competition among companies in general while the SBA specifically supports small businesses in creating and supporting technology for EV infrastructure. The DOL supports research and development for the workforce in larger facilities with more workers.  HUD eases the expense of purchasing and installing chargers for renters, homeowners, and multifamily property owners.  And, of course, the IRS administers tax incentive programs for the purchase of EVs.    

Cooperation among the agencies directly involved in creation and maintenance of the infrastructure needed for implementation of a complete transfer to low or zero emission vehicles is essential and was the impetus behind the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) which created the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, a collaboration of USDOT and DOE.  The FHWA also works with these agencies on EV infrastructure across the US highway system.  Finally, the EPA, through its ENERGY STAR Program, develops energy efficiency specifications for charging equipment and helps the States with the purchase of ENERGY STAR certified chargers.

Information on the laws and regulations for incentives and tax credits for EVs may be found here. 

Environmental Statutes and Executive Orders Relevant to EVInfrastructure