****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 19 April 14, 1994 In this issue: (201 lines) DO THE "WRITE" THING; ASK YOUR LEGISLATOR TO SIGN A JOINT LETTER TO MAINTAIN FUNDING FOR LIBRARY PROGRAMS PRESERVING FEDERAL ELECTRONIC MAIL OPEN ACCESS AND THE NII HEARING WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES TASKFORCE BRIEFING *************************************************************************** DO THE "WRITE" THING; ASK YOUR LEGISLATOR TO SIGN A JOINT LETTER TO MAINTAIN FUNDING FOR LIBRARY PROGRAMS Four congressional library champions are spearheading a campaign to maintain funding for federal library programs. Reps. Major Owens (D-N.Y.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Pat Williams (D-Mont.), and Dale Kildee (D-Mich.) are asking their colleagues to sign a joint letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. The letter urges the subcommittee to maintain support for each of the currently funded library programs, and to provide a total level of funding in FY95 that is at least equal to FY94--$146,309,000. The four champions note in their letter: The library programs proposed for elimination in FY 1995 include all Higher Education Act library programs and Library Services and Construction Act programs which support construction and technology enhancement and literacy services. Targeted investment in these priority areas is critical. These funds help to assure that all Americans will be able to take advantage of the wide array of information resources available through the NII by enabling our libraries to retrofit and rewire for new technologies and to retrain librarians for the electronic networked environment. At the same time, these funds enrich the quality and quantity of NII resources by helping academic and research libraries to digitize their collections and put them "on-line" for use by our constituents. These funds also assist our libraries in providing access to individuals with disabilities and in providing instructional and other specialized services to adult illiterates. The Federal government spends $146,309,000 on library programs, less than one/one-hundredth of one percent of the Federal budget. That works out to $.57 per person, or about the cost of a ball-point pen. For this minimal investment, the Federal government generates enormous returns in expanding access by our constituents to a wealth of information resources, whether housed within the walls of their local branch library or located halfway across the world and accessible through new technologies. ACTION NEEDED: Reps. Owens, Reed, Williams, and Kildee hope to get as many of their colleagues' signatures on their letter as possible. The letter will be distributed on April 19, Library Legislative Day, so that library supporters can ask their own Representatives to agree to sign on. This will be a top priority action item for Library Legislative Day. Ball-point pens with the legend "Do the Write Thing for Libraries!" will be available. If you are not able to come to Legislative Day, contact your own Representative immediately and ask him or her to do the "write" thing for libraries by signing on to the Dear Colleague letter of Reps. Owens, Reed, Williams, and Kildee. As many signatures as possible are needed in the next few weeks. WHAT'S THE PROCESS? Your Representative is asked by a constituent (you) to sign the letter; your Representative's office calls either Rep. Owens' office (asking for Ann-Marie at 225-6231) or Rep. Reed's office (asking for Larissa at 225-2735) to say yes. Rep. Owens' or Reed's office later collects the member's signature. What often happens is that your Representative or the staff says yes to you, but in the press of business neglects to inform the letter's sponsors. Accomplishing the full process will require a follow-up call on your part. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? To achieve its purpose, this letter needs a large number of signatures from both parties. In addition, the library community needs to support the leadership efforts of our champions to show that we appreciate their work on behalf of libraries. Rep. Owens is the sole librarian in Congress and is a consistent champion on library programs and government information policy. Rep. Reed is the sponsor of school library legislation and testified at Senate hearings on April 12 in support of assistance for school library resources. Rep. Williams chairs the subcommittee with responsibility for LSCA and the Arts and Humanities Endowments, and has resisted censorship in arts funding. Rep. Kildee was the leader in reauthorizing HEA library programs and sponsored a successful Dear Colleague letter last year aimed at restoring library funding. Let's show these House champions that library constituents can follow through by securing agreement from hundreds of Representatives to do the "write" thing for libraries. Appropriators are faced with limited funds, as well as pressure from the Administration to cut libraries and increase funds in other areas. Requests from colleagues do influence the appropriators, and a major effort is clearly needed this year. Without dramatic evidence of support, these effective but small HEA II and LSCA II and VI library programs could be lost in the name of reinventing government. *************************************************************************** PRESERVING FEDERAL ELECTRONIC MAIL The National Archives and Records Administration has asked for public comment on proposed standards for management of federal records created or received on electronic mail systems. The proposed standards were published in the March 24 _Federal Register_, pp. 13906-10. When finalized, the standards are for all federal agencies on the proper means of identifying, maintaining, and disposing of federal records created or received on an E- mail system. The same standards the federal government applies to managing paper documents would apply to managing records created or received via electronic mail. The guidelines apply to electronic mail sent over networks like the Internet as well as within office systems. NARA has been working with the Executive Office of the President to develop specific records management policies and procedures for their E-mail records to comply with court rulings in _Armstrong v. Executive Office of the President_. In 1989, ALA joined a coalition of researchers and groups, including the National Security Archive, Public Citizen, the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Historical Association, in suing the government when the Reagan Administration tried to remove records from the computers of the National Security Council. The case has been working its way through the legal system during the Bush and Clinton Administrations. NARA's proposed rules are an outgrowth of the settlement negotiations in the case. Comments must be submitted by June 22, 1994 to: Director, Records Appraisal and Disposition Division, National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park MD 20740-6001. Comments may be sent by fax: (301) 713- 6852, or by e-mail: ooa@cu.nih.gov. For further information contact: James Hastings, Director, Records Appraisal and Disposition Division, (301) 713- 7096. *************************************************************************** OPEN ACCESS AND THE NII HEARING The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (Department of Commerce) and the North Carolina Utilities Commission have announced a public meeting to be held on April 27, from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. The hearing will take place at Duke University, Fuqua School of Business, Geneen Auditorium, Towerview Road, Durham, NC. The focus of the hearing will be on "Meeting the Information Needs of All Americans" and will examine the access that information providers and transport providers should have in order to meet the needs of consumers in an evolving information marketplace. The NTIA and NCUC are seeking public comment on three issues: (1) how is the information marketplace evolving; (2) how should an open access policy be shaped to accommodate the changing needs of the information marketplace; and (3) what legal and regulatory decisions need to be made to implement an open access policy that promotes the free flow of ideas and information. For further information contact the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration at 202-482-1866 or e- mail: nii@ntia.doc.gov. The hearing is open to the public at no charge, but registration forms must be submitted by April 25. Registration information is available from the IITF bulletin board through the Internet, gopher to iitf.doc.gov. *************************************************************************** WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES TASKFORCE BRIEFING The White House Conference on Library and Information Services Taskforce (WHCLIST) is meeting in Washington, D.C. on April 18. Jeanne Hurley Simon, the new Chair of the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, will speak to WHCLIS at 3:00 pm at the Library of Congress, in the Mumford Room of the Madison Building. WHCLIST welcomes observers. *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office, 110 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC 20002-5675. 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