September 10, 2013 Library of Congress Announces Second Legislative Data Challenge

The Library of Congress, at the request of the U.S. House of Representatives, is again using the Challenge.gov platform to advance the exchange of legislative information worldwide.

Akoma Ntoso (www.akomantoso.org External) is a framework used in many other countries around the world to annotate and format electronic versions of parliamentary, legislative and judiciary documents. The challenge, “Legislative XML Data Mapping,” invites competitors to map the Akoma Ntoso schema to established U.S. and United Kingdom legislative markup languages to improve Akoma Ntoso’s support of U.S. and U.K. legislative data.

The mapping challenge results will complement those anticipated from a previously announced challenge, “Markup of U.S. Legislation in Akoma Ntoso”, which opened in July and closes Oct. 31, 2013.

“The Library works closely with the Congress and related agencies to make America’s federal legislative record more widely available through Congress.gov," said Robert Dizard Jr., Deputy Librarian of Congress. "Taken together, the information from these challenges will build on that accessibility goal by advancing the possibilities related to international frameworks. We are pleased to be cooperating with the United Kingdom on this effort.”

Challenge participants would attempt to map elements found in select U.S. and U.K. bill Extensible Markup Language (XML)—a flexible international format for structuring data—to the tags used to create Akoma Ntoso. Participants will be expected to identify any issues that appear when conducting the mapping, recommend solutions to resolve those issues and provide information on the tools used to process or map the bill information.

The new mapping challenge, which opened today and closes Dec. 31, 2013, is extended to participants 18 years of age or older. For the official rules and more detailed information about the challenge or to enter a submission, visit legislative-data-mapping.challengepost.com External.

The competition’s four judges are experts in either U.S. legislation XML standards, U.K. legislation XML standards, or the Akoma Ntoso legal schema. The Library of Congress will announce the winner of the $10,000 prize on Feb. 12, 2014.

Challenge.gov is an online platform administered by the U.S. General Services Administration in partnership with ChallegePost that empowers the U.S. government and the public to bring the best ideas and top talent to bear on our nation’s most pressing challenges. Submissions can range from simple suggestions to complex proofs of concept, designs or finished products that solve the grand challenges of the 21st century. The Library’s first legislative data challenge, Markup of U.S. Legislation in Akoma Ntoso is available at akoma-ntoso-markup.challengepost.com External.

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs, publications and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov.