****Begin File******************Begin File*******************Begin File**** *************************************************************************** ISSN 1069-7799 ALAWON ALA Washington Office Newsline An electronic publication of the American Library Association Washington Office Volume 3, Number 3 January 22, 1994 In this issue: (264 lines) NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE - GORE'S JAN. 11 SPEECH NII ADVISORY COUNCIL NAMED OTHER NII ACTIVITY LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY SESSIONS AT ALA MIDWINTER *************************************************************************** NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE - GORE'S JAN. 11 SPEECH Vice President Albert Gore, Jr. provided further details concerning the Administration's upcoming legislative proposal to revamp telecommunications policy in a speech on January 11 in Los Angeles. Speaking at the Television Academy to an audience composed mainly of entertainment and industry representatives, Gore challenged "the people in this room to connect all of our classrooms, all of our libraries, and all of our hospitals and clinics by the year 2000. We must do this to realize the full potential of information to educate, to save lives, provide access to health care and lower medical costs." A white paper providing additional information about the proposal states twice that "it is a goal of this Administration that by the year 2000 all of the classrooms, libraries, hospitals, and clinics in the United States will be connected to the NII." However, nothing in the speech or background materials ensures that this will happen, beyond a reference to reduced universal service obligations for providers that offer to connect with schools, hospitals, etc. The Administration's proposal would open up the local telephone exchange to competition from others (such as cable, long distance, and electric utility companies) to offer two-way communications and local telephone service. Gore said the Administration endorses the basic principles of the Brooks- Dingell bill (H.R. 3626) which proposes a framework for allowing long- distance and local telcos to compete with each other. Regional telcos would be permitted to offer information services, but separate affiliates would be required for electronic publishing. Telephone companies would be allowed to provide video programming over new open access systems. The Administration would create an affirmative obligation to interconnect each carrier's network to other users and provide nondiscriminatory access to network facilities, services, functions and information. A new voluntary regulatory scheme would offer switched, broadband digital transmission services (which face the potential of being regulated under two different parts of the Communications Act) the option of symmetrical, unified, regulation. Gore said the proposal would avoid "a society of information 'haves' separate from a society of information 'have nots'." He spoke, as he has in many speeches over the past several years, about his vision of a schoolchild in his home town of Carthage, Tennessee, "being able to come home, turn on her computer and plug into the Library of Congress." All carriers would be obligated to contribute to preservation and advancement of universal service. The definition of universal service is still to be worked out, and would continue to evolve. *************************************************************************** NII ADVISORY COUNCIL NAMED On January 6, Secretary of Commerce Ronald Brown announced 27 appointments to the Administration's U.S. Advisory Council on the National Information Infrastructure. The one librarian appointed is Dr. Toni Carbo Bearman, Dean of the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh. A former Executive Director of the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, Toni has national level experience, and will be a strong voice representing the library and information science community. The ALA Committee on Legislation has invited her to speak on February 5 at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Los Angeles (see below). The Council also includes Bonnie L. Bracey, a teacher at Ashlawn Elementary School, Arlington County Public Schools, Virginia. No other education or library representatives were named among the heavily corporate group. Co- chairs are Delano Lewis, President, National Public Radio, and Edward McCracken, President, Silicon Graphics. During his speech announcing the appointments, Brown discussed the information marketplace, but also asked a series of questions: "If information technology is a key to economic growth and global competitiveness, then what will happen to those that are information- poor?...Will we become a nation in which some school children attend schools connected to the information highways, and some do not? Will we become a nation in which some communities have libraries connected to electronic job-training or continuing education programs, and some do not?...The answer must be 'no.' That is why the Administration will propose a renewal and re-invention of the concept of universal service." Brown said the Administration would "propose a structure to suit the new age of information--to build on past models, like telephone service and television broadcasting which has been freely available to all, and public education, which represents a commitment by this nation to an informed and well-schooled citizenry." He mentioned the new grant program at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to help "ensure that our hospitals, schools and libraries are not left on the side of the road while the rest of America goes speeding along the new information highways." *************************************************************************** OTHER NII ACTIVITY The Administration held a series of high-level briefings, involving Vice President Gore and Commerce Secretary Brown, on its NII proposals for representatives of interested organizations in early January. The ALA Washington Office participated in the briefing session on January 12, and also in a session on January 13 for public sector and public interest organizations organized by NTIA and its legislative working group, and chaired by Assistant Secretary of Commerce and NTIA head Larry Irving. The Administration's aim in these sessions has been to provide an opportunity for groups to ask questions and express any concerns about the upcoming legislative proposal, and to find out what's missing so far from the point of view of various constituencies. ALA's aim has been to assist the Administration to ensure that basic principles are incorporated in legislative language, including the Administration's stated goal of connecting libraries. The new electronic networked environment must include public spaces for essential services such as libraries provide; the concept of "public right-of-way" expressed by the Vice President in his December speech must be fleshed out to ensure library access and library services. The ALA Washington Office has also been involved in the activity of the many and varied working groups of the Administration's Information Infrastructure Task Force--through joint testimony, as at intellectual property hearings; through participation in meetings, such as on a government information locator service; and through suggesting possible witnesses from the library community, as for hearings on universal service and privacy issues. The Office has also been working with other groups on a public interest conference to be sponsored by NTIA in Washington on February 22. *************************************************************************** LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY SESSIONS AT ALA MIDWINTER All those attending the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Los Angeles are invited to participate in the following session: ALA Committee on Legislation INFORMATION UPDATE 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Saturday, February 5, 1994 Los Angeles Convention Center, Room 403-A&B Los Angeles, California AGENDA LSCA REAUTHORIZATION ISSUES, 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Introductions of Speakers E. J. Josey, Chair and Task Force Members ALA Committee on Legislation Task Force on Joan Ress Reeves, Co-Chair LSCA Reauthorization COL Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Wants Your Input LSCA Reauthorization LSCA History, Workings, Ray Fry, Director, Library Administrative Programs Environment Robert Klassen, Library Programs Chris Dunn, Library Programs Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U. S. Dept. of Education Political Context for Carol C. Henderson, Deputy Director LSCA Reauthorization ALA Washington Office Questions and Answers E. J. Josey presiding Task Force members assisting BUDGET AND INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. NCLIS Plans and Priorities Jeanne Hurley Simon, Chair U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science National Information Toni Carbo Bearman, Dean Infrastructure Advisory School of Library and Council, Input Invited Information Science University of Pittsburgh Budget Outlook; Government ALA Washington Office Information Policy Issues Staff Updates * * * * * All those attending the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Los Angeles are invited to participate in the following session: ALA Committee on Legislation Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Telecommunications TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND NII POLICY SESSION 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Sunday, February 6, 1994 Los Angeles Convention Center, Room 510 Los Angeles, California AGENDA Will the Old Models Work? A Technology and Policy Primer Frederick D. Weingarten, Executive Director, Computing Research Association, and former director of the information policy project at the congressional Office of Technology Assessment, will explain the mysteries of technological convergence and NII policy confusion. A Window of Opportunity: What's At Stake for Libraries and Information Access Andrew Blau, Coordinator, Communications Policy Project, a joint initiative of the Benton and MacArthur Foundations designed to involve nonprofits in shaping the NII, will discuss recent Administration and congressional policy developments, and the growing consensus that the next few months are critical. Principles for the Development of the National Information Infrastructure; Next Steps for Library Associations Elaine Albright, Subcommittee Chair, and Robert Gillespie, Consultant, will lead a discussion of the principles developed by representatives of 15 library associations at a policy forum on telecommunications and information infrastructure held September 8-10 in Washington, D.C. (Organizations participating in the September forum will be bringing the principles as a working draft to their governing bodies for review, development, and potential formal endorsement. Copies of the principles will be available at the February 6 session. To request copies of the principles or the forum proceedings, contact LITA at ALA, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago IL 60611-2795. Tel: 312-280-4270. Fax: 312-280-3257. Internet: u58552@uicvm.uic.edu.) *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office, 110 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC 20002-5675. Internet: alawash@alawash.org; Phone: 202-547-4440; Fax: 202-547-7363. Editor: Carol C. Henderson (cch@alawash.org). 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). Back issues and other documents are available from the list server. To find out what's available, send the message "send ala-wo filelist" to the listserv. The ALA-WO filelist contains the list of files with the exact filename and filetype. 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