================================================================= ALAWON Volume 6, Number 105 ISSN 1069-7799 December 2, 1997 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (134 lines) -FRANCIS J. BUCKLEY, JR. SWORN IN AS SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS -NHPRC APPROVES GRANTS TOTALING $721,136 FOR ELECTRONIC RECORDS RESEARCH PROJECTS _________________________________________________________________ FRANCIS J. BUCKLEY, JR. SWORN IN AS SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS Francis J. Buckley, Jr., former director of the Shaker Heights Public Library in Shaker Heights, Ohio, was sworn in as the new Superintendent of Documents for the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) in Washington, D.C. on December 1. (See also ALAWON v6, n91, October 30, 1997.) Buckley underscored that he looks forward to the "challenges and opportunities" ahead. Several hundred people were present for the ceremony, including ALA President Barbara Ford and ALA President-elect Ann Symons. Public Printer Michael F. DiMario emphasized the importance of the position of Superintendent of Documents and noted that the genesis of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) dated from 1813 when Congress authorized additional copies of Congressional documents to be printed and distributed to colleges and libraries. DiMario observed that this Congressional resolution was the original Freedom of Information Act. The Superintendent of Documents keeps Americans informed about the activities of their government by providing free or low-cost access to information published by the U.S. Congress, federal agencies and the federal courts. For more information, visit the SuDoc home page at www.gpo.gov/su_docs/index.html. _________________________________________________________________ NHPRC APPROVES GRANTS TOTALING $721,136 FOR ELECTRONIC RECORDS RESEARCH PROJECTS At its meeting on November 18, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission recommended grants totaling $2,308,182 for 28 projects that will improve our understanding of America's past. NHPRC Chairperson John W. Carlin welcomed Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court David Souter as a new member of the Commission, and also welcomed Roger Bruns as acting executive director. The Commission recommended that the Archivist make grants totaling $721,136 for five electronic records projects (listed below). Nine state board planning grants and fourteen documentary editing projects also received grants. The next meeting of the Commission is scheduled for February 24, 1998. Application materials for all Commission grants, including fellowships, may be requested by telephone, fax, mail, or e-mail: NHPRC, NARA, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Room 106, Washington, D.C. 20408-0001, telephone 202.501.5610, fax 202.501.5601, e-mail: nhprc@arch1.nara.gov, www.nara.gov/nara/nhprc/. The electronic record projects recommended were: ASSOCIATION OF RESEARCH LIBRARIES, COALITION FOR NETWORKED INFORMATION, WASHINGTON, DC: A one-year grant of up to $20,000 for a project entitled "Improved Access to Electronic Records," to develop, offer, and evaluate a pilot workshop that will bring together teams of archivists and information technologists to explore electronic records issues. Regents of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI: A 30-month grant of $105,845 for a project entitled "Preserving Electronic Records of Collaborative Processes," to conduct an analysis of recordkeeping practices in six private-sector environments with the goals of producing case studies, assessing the degree to which functional requirements for electronic recordkeeping are applicable in settings without highly structured business processes, developing guidelines for electronic recordkeeping in such settings, and publishing a monograph based on this study. MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, ST. PAUL, MN: A two-year grant of $90,031 for the Society's electronic records project, to establish electronic records pilot programs with two state agencies in order to evaluate the metadata the agencies produce, determine the applicability of that metadata to archival concerns, and establish a set of "best practices" and guidelines that will provide incentives for other state agencies to document their information systems and provide the basis for a functioning, sustainable electronic records program within the state archives. THE RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, ALBANY, NY: A two-year grant of $381,332 for a project entitled "Secondary Uses of Electronic Records," to develop guidelines to support and promote long-term preservation of and access to public electronic records of value to secondary users, including historians and other researchers. The project will examine the factors that contribute to or impede secondary use of records, then use applied research methodologies to assess technology tools, management strategies, and resource-sharing models for their potential to facilitate such access. CORNELL UNIVERSITY, ITHACA, NY: A two-year grant of up to $123,928 for project entitled "Archival Electronic Records Practice," to study the types of archival electronic records produced on the college level within a large university. The goal is to initiate discussions and provide recommendations that will form the basis for future efforts to implement best practices for electronic recordkeeping for Cornell's centralized university information system (Project 2000). _________________________________________________________________ ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc @ala.org. To unsubscribe, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/ washoff/alawon. Visit our Web site at http://www.alawash.org. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 800.941.8478 (V) Lynne E. Bradley, Editor Deirdre Herman, Managing Editor Contributors: Carol C. Henderson All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================