****Begin File******************Begin File*******************Begin File**** *************************************************************************** ALAWON ALA Washington Office Newsline An electronic publication of the American Library Association Washington Office Volume 1, Number 19 December 18, 1992 In this issue: (142 lines) FROM THE EDITOR NREN POLICY WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS ISSUED NCLIS FORUM ON NREN - REPORT ISSUED *************************************************************************** FROM THE EDITOR This is the last of three ALAWON issues distributed on December 18. The next issue of ALAWON will be distributed sometime in January. Happy Holidays to all, and we'll be back with Volume 2 next year. *************************************************************************** NREN POLICY WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS ISSUED ALA participated in a policy workshop on the National Research and Education Network designed to explore the issues surrounding six questions in the High Performance Computing Act of 1991 on which Congress requested a report. The workshop, held in Monterey, California, on September 16-18, 1992, was sponsored by the Institute for Electrical Engineering and Electronics (IEEE) U.S. Activities Board, EDUCOM, and the Computing Research Organization, and received support from the National Science Foundation. Over 80 attendees including representatives from higher education, the library community, the computing industry, federal agencies, telecommunications companies, network service providers, and K-12 education, met for two days to review the congressional questions and other key issues in the evolution of the NREN. The 225-page _Proceedings of the NREN Workshop_ was presented to the Office of Science and Technology Policy in order to assist it in developing the report on six major policy issues identified in the HPCA (PL 102-194). The report highlights the key policy issues discussed at the workshop and includes copies of the 18 position papers submitted. Because of the wide range of knowledgeable attendees, the workshop and report provide a unique opportunity for significant discussion on the policy issues which will affect the development of the NREN, and eventually, the national information infrastructure. The report summarizes the discussions and key issues that will affect the achievement of a congressional goal to "promote the more rapid development of an information infrastructure." Among the conclusions shared widely by the participants were that the NREN should be more than a program supporting high performance computing. The NREN has the potential to facilitate development of the National Information Infrastructure; provide tools for increasing the effectiveness of research, education, and technology transfer at all levels; and demonstrate network applications and technologies which can aid in addressing critical social needs. Among other possible congressional actions identified by workshop participants were establishment of a national commission to develop, with involved constituencies, a detailed NREN plan and program; inclusion of additional federal agencies in the NREN; creation of a public-sector governing body for the NREN; reaffirming and further defining the federal role in the development of the NREN system; and supporting NREN applications such as medical care and lifelong learning. Carol Henderson of the ALA Washington Office prepared a background paper and represented ALA at the Monterey workshop. Patricia Wand prepared a background paper for ACRL. Both the ALA and ACRL papers are included in the published proceedings. Copies of the report are available through EDUCOM at $10 per copy by contacting Elizabeth Barnhart, EDUCOM--Networks, 1112 16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Phone: 202-331-5342. Fax: 202-872-4318. E- mail: Barnhart@EDUCOM.EDU. *************************************************************************** NCLIS FORUM ON NREN - REPORT ISSUED A report summarizing the results of the July open forum on the NREN held by the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science was issued on November 13. Some 29 witnesses represented a broad spectrum of the library and information science community. The positions and recommendations are not always consistent, but reflect an underlying recognition "that NREN presents the potential for extending the range and the variety of information products and services offered to the research and education community." Witnesses also called for a process by which the diverse views, positions, and interests of different segments of the library and information services community can be shared and discussed. NCLIS summarized some of the underlying network environment concerns: - Demand for access to network services will extend beyond the research and education community to the primary and secondary education communities and to the consumer public; - A climate of continual change in network technology, regulations, practice, and policy will characterize the evolving network; - Resolution of intersecting issues and conflicting interests will require extensive and cooperative public, Federal, and private sector interaction; - Network use will be both institutional and personal, both high- end and occasional; - Networks highlight the need for a balance between competing economic, legal, and social interests in support of research, education, and information communication structures. The NCLIS report quite usefully summarizes the forum suggestions and comments under the six issue areas, identifies the witnesses and the organizations they represented, and provides selected quotes from the statements. ALA was represented by Elaine Albright, chair of the Legislation Committee's Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Telecommunications. Witnesses also testified for ALA's Association of College and Research Libraries and the Government Documents Round Table. The forum was created to provide a channel for the library and information service community to offer comments and suggestions relevant to the report that the Office of Science and Technology Policy was preparing for Congress, and the NCLIS report was shared with OSTP. The "Report to the Office of Science and Technology Policy on Library and Information Services' Roles in the National Research and Education Network" is available from the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, 1111 18th St. NW, Suite 310, Washington, DC 20036, 202-254-3100. *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** ALAWON is an irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office, 110 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC 20002-5675. Editor and List Owner: Fred King. Phone: 202-547-4440; Fax: 202-547-7363; Bitnet: NU_ALAWASH@CUA; Internet: NU_ALAWASH@CUA.EDU All or part of ALAWON may be redistributed, with appropriate credits. ALAWON is available free of charge and is available only in electronic form. To subscribe, send the message "subscribe ala-wo [your name]" to listserv@uicvm (Bitnet) or listserv@uicvm.uic.edu (Internet). Instructions on how to retrieve back issues of ALAWON will be published in future issues. *************************************************************************** ***End of file******************End of file******************End of file***