ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 10, Number 5 February 2, 2001 In this issue: [1] UCITA is heating up around the country - and librarians are making a difference! As the new legislative year unfolds, librarians in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maine , Rhode Island, and Texas are sitting down with their legislators and forming statewide coalitions to discuss the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA). UCITA has been formally introduced in Arizona and is on the legislative agenda in Georgia, Maine and Texas. "Bomb shelter" legislation in Iowa will expire this year and some action is expected there. Signs of legislative interest in UCITA abound in other states, but grassroots action is making a difference! - recently, UCITA was facing impending introduction in Rhode Island but was withdrawn as a result of widespread opposition! The ALA UCITA Web site (www.ala.org/washoff/ucita) reports on the status of UCITA in the states and provides useful information for anyone wanting to get more involved in the fight against UCITA. We are happy to report that in Delaware, Hawaii, and Rhode Island, librarians have played a key role in discussions about UCITA and have been instrumental in pushing the legislation back. [2] ALA and the other major library associations launch AFFECT, a nationwide coalition to oppose UCITA On January 31, a nationwide coalition of libraries, industry leaders, computer professionals, and consumer organizations announced the formation of AFFECT (Americans for Fair Electronic Commerce Transactions), a coalition dedicated to educating the public and policymakers about the dangers of UCITA (the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act). The American Library Association is a founding member of the coalition, formerly know as 4CITE. AFFECT is working in states where UCITA is being proposed as a state contract law to regulate and standardize computer information transactions. The coalition has been a leading voice in alerting the business communities, library and educational institutions, and consumers to the dangerous implications of UCITA to consumer protections, First Amendment rights and copyright privileges. If passed, licensing terms permissible under UCITA would seriously impact a library's ability to conduct inter-library loan, distance learning, archiving, and preservation. For more information on AFFECT, visit the ALA UCITA Web pages (www.ala.org/washoff/ucita) or contact Carol Ashworth, UCITA Grassroots Coordinator at 800-941-8478. [3] UCITA Training Sessions have Reached Thousands! In response to the increasing need for education about UCITA, a number of training opportunities have been offered to librarians through the ALA Washington Office. The Washington Office UCITA team hosted two UCITA workshops at ALA's Midwinter Conference for those wanting basic information on the law and for those already involved in advocacy efforts in their states. The ALA Washington Office is also sponsoring a UCITA on-line tutorial. The tutorial, which began in November, has 3,000 subscribers. The UCITA Teleconference in December, 2000 was downlinked to 226 sites in 42 states. Plans are underway for more UCITA workshops at Annual. Stay tuned to ALAWON for news about UCITA workshops to be offered at Annual Conference, and contact Carol Ashworth, UCITA Grassroots Coordinator, for information. ****** 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; Mary Costabile, Peter Kaplan, Miriam Nisbet and Claudette Tennant. Office for Information Technology Policy: Rick Weingarten, Director; Jennifer Hendrix, Carrie Russell and Saundra Shirley. ALAWON Editor: Bernadette Murphy.