[SLA-SF] Intersect Alert, November 14, 2006

Tue Nov 14 20:31:21 PST 2006

Freedom of Information

FOIA Legislation On Senate Secret Hold

Misblog reports a secret hold on new FOIS legislation.

"Recently, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) improvement1 legislation was voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. However the needed legislation, "Open Government Act", is stalled by what some think is a "secret hold".

http://lunixdows.com/lunog/index.php/misblog/2006/11/07/foia_legislation_on_senate_secret_hold

TSA Secrecy Rules Eased

"Congress has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to ease secrecy rules at the Transportation Security Administration, helping families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks who have sued to unearth security practices before then. A $34.8 billion homeland security spending bill signed by President Bush last week requires the department to release "security sensitive information" that is more than three years old and is not part of existing plans or certain categories, barring "a rational reason" cited by Secretary Michael Chertoff that it should remain secret."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/11/AR2006101101741.html

Aliya Sternstein profiles Steven Aftergood in Federal Computer Week

A career as a secrecy watchdog - Steven Aftergood condemns the abuses of over-classification, excessive secrecy

"The attitude needs to be that the release of public information should be a function of the government," he said.

http://www.fcw.com/article96769-11-13-06-Print

Intellectual Freedom

Half of RCUKs opt for open access model

"Research papers sponsored by four RCUKs will be made available on an open access model. These are the Economic and Social Research Council, Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council, Medical Research Council and Natural Environment Research Council."

http://www.iwr.co.uk/information-world-review/news/2168441/eps-report-gets-mixed-reviews

Study Identifies Factors That Could Lead to Cancelled Subscriptions

"A major study of librarian purchasing preferences has shown that librarians will show a strong inclination towards the acquisition of Open Access (OA) materials as they discover that more and more learned material has become available in institutional repositories. The study, which took the form of conjoint and attitudinal surveys, shows that librarians are very sensitive to quality, content cost, the version of the content and how immediately the content is made available."

http://www.publishingresearch.org.uk/prcweb/PRCWeb.nsf/e637be326ce8018380256ad20058e462/8e87fcd6bb8573f680257220005836ee!OpenDocument

Full Report at: http://www.publishingresearch.org.uk/prcweb/PRCWeb.nsf/e637be326ce8018380256ad20058e462/8e87fcd6bb8573f680257220005836ee/$FILE/PRC%20Report%20SIS%2026.10.06.pdf

Intellectual Property Issues

Section 108 Study Group - Public Roundtable Announced for January 31, 2007, in Chicago 

"The Section 108 Study Group will host a public roundtable on Wednesday, January 31, 2007, in Chicago, Illinois (exact time and location to be announced). Exceptions in the Copyright Act applicable to libraries and archives will be discussed at the roundtable, specifically those pertaining to the making and distribution of copies of copyrighted works pursuant to a patron's request."

http://www.loc.gov/section108/docs/SavetheDate_FINAL.pdf

Public Policy

Senators call for delay in closing EPA libraries

"A group of senators has joined the fray over whether the Environmental Protection Agency should slow or stop a campaign to digitize materials in its technical libraries and close the facilities to agency researchers and the public. On Friday, 17 Democratic senators and one Independent wrote to appropriators (http://boxer.senate.gov/news/releases/pdf/2006/11/EPAlibrary.pdf) asking that EPA be directed, through the budget process, to maintain physical access to its libraries while the public is given an opportunity to comment on planned closures."

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=35419

Posted to STS-L - EPA Region 5 Document Giveaways

The dismantling appears to continue:

"Visit http://epa.gov/region5/library/dispersal to view and request giveaways of U.S. EPA documents from the Region 5 EPA collection. When you get to the page use the userid and password listed below.  You will be notified when more boxes of EPA items are added.   

id = epalibrary 

password = metcalfe 

For more information, contact: 

Patti Krause

U.S. EPA Region 5 

PH:  (312) 886-9506

FAX: (312) 353-2001

krause.patricia at epa.gov"

ALA's Sheketoff: New Congress Should Be Good for Libraries 

"The new Congress elected Tuesday-with a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives and a possible majority in the Senate-should bode well for libraries, according to Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the American Library Association's (ALA) Washington Office. "I think it's going to be a very exciting time in Washington," she told LJ. "The voters sent the message that they weren't happy with the way the government is running. So I hope that that means there will be real cooperation between both houses of Congress and the president in the future, and that's good for libraries." She noted that simple gridlock has slowed the approval of library appropriations bills that both parties have agreed on."

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6389668.html

Orwellian

Universities move to hide work from U.S. eyes

"Concerned about the U.S. government's prying eyes, a number of Canadian universities are changing the way their professors and students conduct online research. Many university libraries subscribe to RefWorks, a popular U.S.-based Internet tool that allows academics and students to create personal accounts and store research information, as well as generate citations and bibliographies. But the Patriot Act -- which grew out of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and which potentially allows U.S. authorities to sweep through databases such as RefWorks -- has prompted Canadian postsecondary institutions to abandon the American server for one housed at the University of Toronto."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061111.UNIVERSITIES11/TPStory/National

International Outlook

Google warns against changes to Australian copyright law

"Internet search-engine giant Google has warned that proposed changes to Australia's copyright laws could drive the country back to "the pre-Internet era". The warning came in a submission to Australia's senate on legislation Google said could open the way for copyright owners to take legal action against search engines for caching and archiving."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061107/tc_afp/australiagovernment_061107104851

Reporters Without Borders List of the 13 Internet enemies in 2006 published

"Three countries - Nepal, Maldives and Libya - have been removed from the annual list of Internet enemies, which Reporters Without Borders publishes today. But many bloggers were harassed and imprisoned this year in Egypt, so it has been added to the roll of shame reserved for countries that systematically violate online free expression."

See the countries listed in alphabetical order 

http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=19603

U.K. Government set to dilute freedom of information 

"The [U.K.] government has confirmed it is "minded to" introduce reforms to freedom of information legislation, which campaigners believe would curb the release of politically sensitive and controversial documents."

http://www.iwr.co.uk/information-world-review/news/2168445/government-set-dilute-freedom

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