_________________________________________________________________ ALAWON Volume 7, Number 131 ISSN 1069-7799 October 22, 1998 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (92 lines) [1] OITP DIRECTOR J. ANDREW MAGPANTAY RESIGNS [2] RICK WEINGARTEN TO SERVE AS OITP INTERIM DIRECTOR _________________________________________________________________ [1] OITP DIRECTOR J. ANDREW MAGPANTAY RESIGNS J. Andrew Magpantay, founding director of the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy, has announced his resignation effective Friday, October 23, 1998. He will be leaving to pursue other opportunities in the technology arena. In implementing this key ALA office and directing its first three and one-half years, Magpantay sought to increase awareness and knowledge of technology policy issues and raise ALA's visibility among librarians, other stakeholders, and the public. His efforts helped set a direction and foundation for OITP, which was established as part of ALA Goal 2000 to enhance the Washington Office's "ability to follow and influence national issues and legislation of importance to the library field and its publics." Magpantay helped bring a major victory -- universal service telecommunications discounts for libraries and schools -- through a complex and difficult regulatory, policy, and political process. He participated extensively and actively in EdLiNC, a coalition with elementary and secondary education associations, to ensure appropriate regulatory implementation of the e-rate telecommunications discounts for schools and libraries in the telecommunications Act of 1996. He also represented ALA on the Advisory Board of the Congressional Internet Caucus. He was instrumental in research projects that helped OITP identify and articulate the needs and role of the library field in the technology policy arena. In 1996 OITP and ALA's Office for Research and Statistics collaborated with staff at Florida State University and Colorado State Library to identify public library outlets serving rural and poverty areas in the United States. This work was ultimately used in universal service filings to the Federal Communications Commission universal service proceeding. OITP also worked with the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, a team from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, with support from ALA's Public Library Association and Office for Research and Statistics to produce "The 1997 National Survey of U.S. Public Libraries and the Internet." The report provided information on public library infrastructure costs associated with Internet-related services and technology in urban and rural areas in the United States. _________________________________________________________________ [2] RICK WEINGARTEN TO SERVE AS OITP INTERIM DIRECTOR Fred (Rick) W. Weingarten, currently a senior policy fellow at the ALA Washington Office, will serve as OITP interim director as of November 2, 1998. He will assist in a planning process and recruitment of a permanent director who will continue the evolution of OITP. Weingarten is the director of public policy for the Computing Research Association and is on the adjunct faculty of the College of Library and Information Services at the University of Maryland. Previously he was executive director of the Computing Research Association and manager of the communication and information technologies program at the congressional Office of Technology Assessment. _________________________________________________________________ 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, go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/ subscribe.html or 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. _________________________________________________________________