ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 8, Number 82 August 13, 1999 In this issue: [1] Department of Commerce Announces Intention to Close NTIS [2] Internet Content Update; Recess Action Needed [1] Department of Commerce Announces Intention to Close NTIS On August 12 Commerce Secretary William M. Daley announced his intention to work with Congress to close the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) at the Department of Commerce. NTIS' core business -- the sale of government documents in microfiche and on paper -- "is rapidly becoming less of the necessity it was as agencies and groups have begun to post their reports on the Internet for free," according to the press release. "We will propose legislation to Congress next month to achieve these ends." Established in 1950, NTIS has provided fee-based access to government scientific and technical reports. According to their fact sheet, the Commerce Department proposes to transfer NTIS archives to the Library of Congress and ensure that government agencies provide technical and business reports to the public for free via the Internet for "long periods of time." Almost immediately, Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), whose congressional district includes the NTIS headquarters in Springfield, VA, indicated in a news release that he would fight the closing. "This is an ill-conceived plan by the Administration that could have a significant impact on the technology resources our nation should have at its disposal," he said. Sec. Daley's announcement follows reports that Congressional appropriators decided not to fund an extra $2 million to supplement the NTIS budget. NTIS is supposed to be self- supporting through its sales, however, "changes in the information marketplace have made obsolete the need for NTIS to serve as a clearinghouse and, thus have in turn made it increasingly difficult for NTIS to maintain its operation on a self-sustaining basis, as established by Congress." The Department of Commerce press release and fact sheet are available at http://www.doc.gov or http://204.193.246.62/public.nsf/docs/FFF05791D63331D1852567CB0069 3643 and http://204.193.246.62/public.nsf/docs/EA7BD28117EEF74D852567CB006B 7D20 While Congressional supporters might yet come up with the supplemental funding, NTIS' long term financial prospectus would remain unresolved. Some observers note that there would have to be a further analysis of the various NTIS functions and a determination of where any continuing functions should be transferred. The Government Printing Office (GPO) would be one possibility. Whatever the outcome, Daley's remarks acknowledge the importance of preserving access to federal government information and having more government information available on the Internet without charge. ALA will continue to monitor and report on this situation. [2] Internet Content Update; Recess Action Needed Recess Action Needed: As Congress left for their August recess, developments occurred on Internet content restriction. Requiring filters in exchange for E-rate discounts or federal grants is likely to heat up as an issue again when legislators return to Washington, D.C. Library supporters should take advantage of their legislators' local appearances in home states and districts by continuing to make the case against federal mandated control of Internet content. Share with legislators the community processes and methods of addressing all the issues that arise from providing public access to the Internet. Recent Legislative Actions: On July 28 the Senate appointed Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Strom Thurmond (R-SC), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) as conferees on H.R. 1501, the Juvenile Justice bill. H.R. 1501 contains an amendment to eliminate E-rate discounts for libraries and schools that do not implement filtering or blocking technology on computers with Internet access. On July 30 the House followed by appointing Reps. Thomas Bliley (R-VA) and John Dingell (D-MI) as conferees to focus in particular on the Internet content issues in H.R. 1501. Additional House conferees include: Howard Berman (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Michael Castle (R-DE), Charles Canady (R-FL), Bill McCollum (R-FL), Bob Barr (R-GA), Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), John Conyers (D-MI), Dale Kildee (D-MI), Bill Clay (D-MO), Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Howard Coble (R-NC), George Gekas (R-PA), William Goodling (R-PA), Jim Greenwood (R-PA), Barney Frank (D-MA), Jim DeMint (R-SC), Lamar Smith (R-TX), Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Thomas Petri (R-WI). On August 5, S. 97, Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) bill, which would require the installation and use by schools and libraries of a technology for filtering or blocking material on the Internet on computers with Internet access to be eligible to receive E-rate discounts, was reported out of the Senate Commerce Committee (S. Rept. 106-141). It is now procedurally ready for the next step -- a debate and/or vote by the full Senate. On August 8, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) introduced S. 1545, a bill "to require schools and libraries receiving E-rate discounts to install systems OR implement policies for blocking or filtering Internet access to matter inappropriate for minors." The bill would also require a study of available Internet blocking or filtering software. Sen. Santorum's bill is seen by many as an alternative to the more restrictive S. 97 by Sen. McCain. For additional information see earlier ALAWON's at http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon or contact Claudette Tennant at 1-800-941-8478 or cwt@alawash.org ****** 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 or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. 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. Editor: Lynne E. Bradley; Managing Editor: Deirdre Herman; Contributors: Sally Benson, Mary Costabile, Carol Henderson, Peter Kaplan, Carrie Russell, Saundra Shirley, Claudette Tennant and Rick Weingarten.