Some answers to my Nevada online encyclopedia questions
A few entries ago (Gibbons asks agencies to cut 5%), I was wondering about the Nevada online encyclopedia. I came across a university job announcement today that answers a few of my questions. (I guess the answer to one of my questions is that the $150,000 budget is going to the university and whoever gets the job of managing editor.)
What is it? The job announcement says, "Nevada Humanities, the state program affiliated with National Endowment for the Humanities, is creating the Online Nevada Encyclopedia (ONE), which is the first and only comprehensive reference work on Nevada (my italics). The managing editor will work with an editorial board, section editors, copy editors, and contract entry writers." He or she will also work with a community advisory board and partner organizations and will be involved with fundraising.
OK, now I know what the ONE is and who gets the money. I'd still like to know why we need it.
And I have a couple more questions now. As of Oct. 16 the governor's budget director was saying the ONE budget could be cut by the governor to deal with the state budget shortfall. Why is the university trying to fill the position when there might not be funding for it? Will candidates be warned of this? (It's not mentioned in the job announcement.)
Maybe that's where the "involved with fundraising" part comes in. UNR seems to be pretty good at offering jobs that employees have to fund themselves. They're upfront about it in this posting for a "Manager, Evaluation" in the Human Development and Family Studies Department: "Continuation of this position beyond June 30, 2008 is contingent upon continued grant funding. The incumbent will be expected to participate in the process to secure funding for the continuation of the position." And people accuse university employees of being too secure!
What is it? The job announcement says, "Nevada Humanities, the state program affiliated with National Endowment for the Humanities, is creating the Online Nevada Encyclopedia (ONE), which is the first and only comprehensive reference work on Nevada (my italics). The managing editor will work with an editorial board, section editors, copy editors, and contract entry writers." He or she will also work with a community advisory board and partner organizations and will be involved with fundraising.
OK, now I know what the ONE is and who gets the money. I'd still like to know why we need it.
And I have a couple more questions now. As of Oct. 16 the governor's budget director was saying the ONE budget could be cut by the governor to deal with the state budget shortfall. Why is the university trying to fill the position when there might not be funding for it? Will candidates be warned of this? (It's not mentioned in the job announcement.)
Maybe that's where the "involved with fundraising" part comes in. UNR seems to be pretty good at offering jobs that employees have to fund themselves. They're upfront about it in this posting for a "Manager, Evaluation" in the Human Development and Family Studies Department: "Continuation of this position beyond June 30, 2008 is contingent upon continued grant funding. The incumbent will be expected to participate in the process to secure funding for the continuation of the position." And people accuse university employees of being too secure!
It really is pretty tough not to have the security most of the workers long for especially when you've given so much of your self to the organization/company.
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I don't think we need the ONE to be funded the way it is. Some grant money initially and someone to watch over the ONE (Wikipedia-style) is all that is necessary. The software is free, a vast majority of the material they have published is not new and/or original (it's been published elsewhere) and the community will make it happen if it's something important. I'm very disappointed at ONE's closed nature and elitist treatment of the history of Nevada. While they are very knowledgeable, they are not the only people who are, and having to submit content for review is a cumbersome and limiting procedure. It's also expensive. There are much better ways.
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