The other day I was driving down I-35 towards San Antonio, Texas and made a mental note of some of the bilingual commercial billboards I was passing. These are examples of companies shouting out in all of their 14x48 feet enthusiasm, “Hey, buy my product or service.” Information presented in both Spanish and English is just part of everyday for a Texan.

Providing content in multiple languages is something the US government also does. It seems to bring out strong reactions in some people. Some folks consider the cost of translation and printing in anything other than English to be wasted money. One person told me, “If people want to live here, they should read/speak English or go back where they came from." Other people are just as outspoken about equal access and want the government to be fair by providing all documents in all languages. My friend has a coworker who argues that the government should pay him more for his bilingual language skills than his single-language counterparts.

Regardless of which side of the argument you are on, the US government increasingly produces hard-copy and electronic information in a variety of languages. The National Contact Center at 1-800-FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636) has bilingual operators to field calls and emails in Spanish. The Federal Citizen Information Center's online document ordering system has an Español section available to order/view items written in Spanish. Consumidor.gov is a website that helps Spanish-speaking consumers to cope with consumer related issues. All across the government, agencies provide a variety of information in Spanish and you can get access to them via the GobiernoUSA.gov portal. You may also check the multi-language gateway for links to a variety of documents in other languages.

Remembering that most Americans ancestors were once “foreigners” on this soil and many of them came here not speaking English helps me put the argument in perspective. If I could go back in the past and step into my great grandfather’s Prussian shoes for a moment, I know I would appreciate being able to read important/helpful government documents in my native language. I think the government should provide key information in multiple languages. What do you think?

In the spirit of the topic for this blog, Gov Gab is going to occasionally present posts written in both English and Spanish. We will soon introduce a new blogger who is a native Spanish speaker working on GobiernoUSA.gov. Check out the Spanish translation of my blog.

El otro día cuando iba manejando en la carretera I-35 hacia San Antonio, Texas me fijé en los enormes carteles comerciales que iba pasando. Los billboards, como les decimos en la jerga cotidiana, son reflejo del entusiasmado grito de tantas compañías, “Oye, compra mi producto o servicio”. Y que la información esté en español e inglés es algo cotidiano para los texanos.

Presentar información en varios idiomas es algo que el Gobierno de Estados Unidos también hace y esto parece causar reacciones intensas en algunas personas. Hay quienes consideran que el costo de traducir e imprimir en cualquier idioma que no sea inglés es un derroche de dinero. Una persona me dijo: “si la gente quiere vivir aquí, debe leer y hablar inglés, sino debe volverse a su país”. Pero también hay quienes muestran la misma convicción en la posición opuesta, es decir, que el Gobierno debe ser justo y ofrecer todos los documentos en todos los idiomas. Mi amigo tiene un compañero de trabajo que dice que el Gobierno debe pagarle más por sus habilidades bilingües que a los compañeros que solon hablan un idioma.

Independientemente de cuál sea la posición de una persona, cada vez más el Gobierno de los EE. UU. produce información—de forma impresa y electrónica—en una variedad de idiomas. El Centro Nacional de Información tiene operadores bilingües que contestan llamadas en el 1-800-FED-INO (1-800-333-4636) y e-mails en español. El Centro Federal de Información para el Público ofrece un sistema para ordenar documentos por Internet que permite al usuario ver/ordenar publicaciones en español. Consumidor.gov es un sitio web en español que ayuda a los consumidores. Diferentes agencias a través de todo el Gobierno ofrecen información en español y se puede acceder a todos estos recursos a través de GobiernoUSA.gov. También se puede visitar el sitio multilingüe para ver enlaces a una variedad de documentos disponibles en varios idiomas.

Recordar que la mayoría de los antecesores de los norteamericanos fueron alguna vez “extranjeros” en esta tierra y que muchos de ellos vinieron a este país sin saber inglés me ayuda a poner el argumento en perspectiva. Si pudiera volver al pasado y ponerme por un momento en los zapatos de mi bisabuelo prusiano, se que apreciaría poder leer documentos importantes/útiles del Gobierno en mi idioma. Pienso que el Gobierno debe proveer información esencial en varios idiomas. ¿Qué piensas tú sobre esto?

This essay marks the final text installment in our inauguration coverage. For a compilation of photos and videos, check out our Flickr photostream and YouTube account. Thank you for your comments and participation. We hope you enjoyed following our coverage as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you.

I am a proud witness of history. My husband and I attended the inauguration of our 44th president on Tuesday. It was an experience I will long remember for its cold weather, its beautiful music, its simplicity, and its monumental import.

I am lucky. We arose early Tuesday morning and caught the Metro before the crowds got too bad. We had a seat all the way in to town. We had tickets for the silver section, and although we stood in a line at least five blocks long, we only had to wait about 30 minutes before they opened the security gate. We passed through in mere minutes and eventually worked our way up to the Reflecting Pool just west of the Capitol. We stood right next to a woman from Las Vegas who’d waited since 4:30 a.m. to get in.

I am delighted that America takes its national celebrations as opportunities to revel in the arts. I will long remember the music I heard. A children’s choir singing of hope for the future, peace in our time, America the beautiful. A military band playing an 18th century Army marching song arranged by a 20th century American composer, Sousa’s marches, an achingly beautiful arrangement of “Amazing Grace”—iconic, American pieces all. The audience listening with rapt attention to the haunting strains of John Williams’ piece, “Air and Simple Gifts,” especially composed for the occasion.

I am in awe. On Tuesday, a simple ceremony shifted the leadership of our nation from one man to another in just 35 words. And as the oath of office was taken, a new era began. I wish I had been alive when Dr. King and the Freedom Riders and the Civil Rights workers fought for the freedoms of everyone so I could fully realize what it means for America and the world that we have an African-American president. I wish I personally knew the sense of triumph that swelled to cheers of “O-ba-ma” from so many African-Americans in the crowd with me on Tuesday.

I am hopeful. President Obama’s inaugural address was filled with soaring words of a new vision for America mixed with a sense of history’s weight and the challenge of working to make that new vision a reality. We humans are reluctant and slow to change, even if we know the change is good for us. I hope that the buoyant spirits which brought millions to brave a cold January morning, to wait in long lines with good will, to travel far distances in poor economic times, will convert into the energy and determination to do the hard work of making America a better place than it was on January 20th when history was made.

If there's one thing you can count on in life, it's change.

New job. New address. New Neighbors. A new baby.

The country is buzzing with change right now and Gov Gab headquarters is busy creating its own changes too. We're working on new ways like our Facebook page and Twitter feeds to get you the information you're looking for from and about the government.

Change is even happening with me. When my boss Mary retired last month, I inherited some new things around the office that I'm pretty excited about doing, in addition to the public service announcements that I've been producing for the last 18 years.

What I'm finding though, is that sometimes you have to set something down, even if it means a lot to you, so you'll have the free hands to grasp and embrace the new thing. And that's what I have to do today, as I write my last regular Gov Gab entry.

I'm grateful that Gov Gab's parent agency, the General Services Administration has supported Gov Gab since its start as one of the federal government's first blogs. And I'm even more grateful to have been able to exchange ideas, laughs and stories with you every Thursday.

Watch out for bats, and if you see George Clooney, please tell him hello for me. 

My colleague Jacqueline Snee went to the National Mall on Tuesday. I'll let her tell you the rest:

I am sure people at the swearing-in ceremony either took the day off or were given it off. Being a federal employee whose place of employment is located in D.C., it was nice to be the latter of the two. Since I am new to the area—2 ½ months here to be exact—and this was said to be one of the most exciting things to happen in American history, I thought it would be neat to experience. Was I prepared to watch it up close and personal with 1.8 million people? Not really!

It all started with the Metro ride. Getting on the train close to the start of the metro line gave me no indication of what was to come. Two stops closer to downtown I was pushed up against a window and realized that the amount of people attending this event was going to be astronomical. I got off at L’Enfant Plaza and to my astonishment we could barely get off of the train. People with signs chanting "Obama" got the crowd excited and the time seemed to pass quickly as we were herded out of the metro station and onto the street. Helpful volunteers with signs made sure the group was headed in the right direction. There were parked buses everywhere, barricades everywhere, and police everywhere with no moving cars in sight. Jumping over a couple barricades and walking what only seemed a couple blocks I was able to get through security swiftly and I ended up between the Washington Monument and the White House. There I was able to watch the festivities from the Gravitron.

At about the 4 hour mark, about an hour before the Swearing-In of our 44^th President people were starting to waver. Everyone was trying to keep their feet and hands warm. I overheard a young teenager telling her parents she was completely frozen. A guy walked over to our group and asked us if we wanted an American flag. People gave him little notice. I said sure! It just took me to take the bait to get everyone else to want a flag! For a brief moment we had forgotten about our frozen fingers and stiff limbs and were waving our flags high in the air. You might say we were practicing.

The buildup of energy right before the president–elect accepted the presidency was undeniable. With the American flags reminding us why we were there, the people who had taken a seat on the lawn were now standing and trying to get a glimpse of the Gravitron. They too wanted to see history being made. We all had our flags poised. As I got my camera out I was glad that I was on the National Mall to witness such a diverse crowd welcome a man who brought hope to many people. The video I took captures what it was like.