ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 13, Number 15 March 12, 2004 In This Issue: [1] Amici Curiae Brief Submitted to US Supreme Court [2] Early Reading First Program Grant Applications [1] The U. S. Supreme Court Asked to Reject the Government's Claim That it May Conduct the Public's Business in Secret The U. S. Supreme Court should "reject the government's claim that it may conduct the public's business in secret" according to a "friends of the court" (amici curiae) brief submitted today by four leading library associations, a national archival association, and five public interest organizations in support of the Sierra Club and Judicial Watch, Inc. in the case of Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United States, et. al., v. U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The amici are the American Association of Law Libraries, the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, the Center for American Progress, Common Cause, the National Security Archive, People for the American Way Foundation, the Society of American Archivists, and the Special Libraries Association. A pdf version of the brief can be found at http://www.ala.org//ala/washoff/ogr/Cheneysuit.pdf [2] Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Overview Information; Early Reading First; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 The Early Reading First program supports local efforts to enhance the oral language, cognitive, and early reading skills of preschool-age children, especially those from low-income families, through strategies, materials, and professional development that are grounded in scientifically based reading research. Application details Applications Available: March 8, 2004 (pre- and full applications). Deadline for Transmittal of Pre-Applications: April 22, 2004. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: July 1, 2004 (for applicants invited to submit full applications only). Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: August 30, 2004. For detailed information, visit the U.S. Dept. of Ed. website at http://www.ed.gov/programs/earlyreading/index.html or contact Mary Anne Lesiak, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3W240, Washington, DC 20202-6132, telephone: (202) 260- 2195 or by e-mail: MaryAnne.Lesiak@ed.gov ****** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. To subscribe to ALAWON, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. To unsubscribe to ALAWON, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. ALA Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 403, Washington, D.C. 20004-1701; phone: 202.628.8410 or 800.941.8478 toll-free; fax: 202.628.8419; e-mail: alawash@alawash.org; Web site: http://www.ala.org/washoff. Executive Director: Emily Sheketoff. Office of Government Relations: Lynne Bradley, Director; Carol Ashworth, Camille Bowman, Don Essex, Joshua Farrelman, Patrice McDermott and Miriam Nisbet. Office for Information Technology Policy: Rick Weingarten, Director; Carrie Lowe, Kathy Mitchell, Carrie Russell. ALAWON Editor: Bernadette Murphy.