[SLA-SF] Intersect Alert, October 28, 2006

Sat Oct 28 20:14:41 PDT 2006

Freedom of Information

Schwarzenegger vetoes open records law

"California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed a law that would have facilitated public records requests on the Internet and empowered the attorney general's office to mediate freedom of information disputes. The bill had passed both houses of the California State Legislature unanimously. The law would have required the state attorney general to review an agency's denial of a public record request and provide a written opinion on the validity of the denial within 20 days of being asked by the requester. Open government advocates had pushed for the measure as an alternative to costly litigation."

http://www.rcfp.org/news/2006/1012-foi-schwar.html

Attorney General Issues Report to the President Regarding the Administration of the Freedom of Information Act

"Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales submitted to President Bush today the Department's report regarding the government-wide administration of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Today's report is the result of the first of three Justice Department reviews required under Executive Order 13392 titled, 'Improving Agency Disclosure of Information.'"

http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2006/October/06_oip_706.html

Attorney General's Report to the President on FOIA Administration - http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/ag_report_to_president_13392.pdf

EFF Releases Bloggers' Guide for Investigating Government Agencies

"Bloggers across the Internet have shown that you don't have to be part of the mainstream media to uncover an important story and tell it to the world. But how do you start investigating a big story for your blog? Today, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has released tips for bloggers who want the inside story on government agencies. The Bloggers' FAQ on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) outlines how to use open government laws to get access to records kept by federal agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), or the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)."

For the Bloggers' FAQ on the Freedom of Information Act: http://www.eff.org/bloggers/lg/faq-FOIA.php

For the complete Legal Guide for Bloggers: http://www.eff.org/bloggers/lg/

http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2006_10.php#004970

Google seeks better access to government information

"Officials from the leading Internet search engine are working to remove barriers that prevent their technology from reaching vast troves of information buried in government databases."

http://govexec.com/dailyfed/1006/102506p1.htm

Underutilization Leads GSA To Close Library 

"In another case of a federal agency downsizing library service, the General Services Administration (GSA) closed its inhouse library in Washington, DC, on October 1, but in this case, GSA officials say there have been no complaints. "With Internet usage increasing, the utilization rate has diminished," Gail Lovelace, chief human capital officer, told LJ."

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6385236.html

Intellectual Freedom

Europe starts to build an Open Access information network

"The EU is to network research papers across Europe to create a free public information resource. The Driver project will use simple internet-based infrastructures to make accessible scientific and technical reports, research articles, experimental and observational data, rich media and other digital objects."

http://www.iwr.co.uk/information-world-review/news/2166631/europe-starts-build-oa-network

Academics line up against each other in US OA battle

"Universities in the US have become embroiled in a letter-writing war over a proposed public access research law."

http://www.iwr.co.uk/information-world-review/news/2167176/academics-line-against-oa

Intellectual Property Issues

Microsoft bows to the Belgians

"Microsoft said on Friday it would remove links to articles in Belgian newspapers rather than be sued for copyright violation like Google was. Microsoft received a cease and desist letter last week from Copiepresse, which represents French and German-language Belgian newspaper publishers, with complaints similar to a lawsuit the organization filed against Google and won. Copiepresse argues that posting article text violates copyright, even if the text is very short and the accompanying link drives traffic to the publisher Web site."

http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6128104.html

Copyright Jungle

Columbia Journalism Review: "Copyright in recent years has certainly become too strong for its own good. It protects more content and outlaws more acts than ever before. It stifles individual creativity and hampers the discovery and sharing of culture and knowledge. To convey all this to readers, journalists need to understand the principles, paradoxes, licenses, and limits of the increasingly troubled copyright system. Copyright is not just an interesting story. As the most pervasive regulation of speech and culture, the copyright system will help determine the richness and strength of democracy in the twenty-first century."

http://www.cjr.org/issues/2006/5/Vaidhyanathan.asp

Copynorms: Copyright and Social Norms

"Social norms regarding the copying, distribution, and use of expressive works (copynorms) are essential to understanding how copyright law affects society. By mitigating how stringently copyright owners and users actually enforce and observe copyright law, copynorms - whether those of librarians or file sharers - moderate, extend, and undermine the effect of copyright law. Yet, scholarship and public policy debates all too often overlook this phenomenon. This paper addresses this gap in the literature."

http://repositories.cdlib.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1027&context=bclt

Obstructive copyright slammed

"The law on copyright has come under attack from the British Academy , which says its misuse is impeding new ideas. A report on copyright from the scholarly body for the arts and humanities said copyright holders were obstructing many academic researchers by trying to stop them quoting from their work or demanding substantial payments. It accused commercial rights holders, particularly in the music industry, of being over-aggressive in defending their rights."

http://www.iwr.co.uk/information-world-review/news/2166981/obstructive-copyright-slammed

L.A. Boy Scouts new activity patch: 'Respect Copyrights'

"A Boy Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, etc., etc. If he's in the Los Angeles area, he also respects copyrights. Tens of thousands of Boy Scouts here will be able to earn an activity patch for learning about the evils of downloading pirated movies and music. The patch shows a film reel, a music CD and the international copyright symbol, a ``C'' enclosed in a circle. The movie industry developed the curriculum as a way of emphasizing the ills of piracy to a generation that has grown up finding free music and video clips on the Internet."

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/15809281.htm

Amazon won't give book-search details to Google

"As expected, online retailer Amazon.com Inc. has objected to providing details about its book search feature to rival Google Inc., which says it needs them to fight copyright infringement allegations from a group of authors and book publishers."

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/15838386.htm

Public Policy

EPA headquarters Chem Lib Closing

"EPA continues to put its libraries out of business but now tries to conceal the fact.  EPA did not announce the closure of this library. I got this information about the latest closure from someone at another agency.  

The Headquarters Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances Chemical Library is being shut down and the word is that the collection will be gotten rid of.  This includes the laying off of three librarians and two technical staff as of next Wednesday.  

I am not sure but I think the only headquarters libraries left are the Office of General Counsel Law Library and the Legislative Reference Library.  There is a collection of publications at headquarters considered a repository not available to the public."

http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0610c&L=govdoc-l&T=0&P=1404

International Outlook

Iran cuts Internet speeds to homes, cafes

"Iran's Internet service providers have started reducing the speed of Internet access to homes and cafes based on new government-imposed limits, a move critics said appeared to be part of a clampdown on the media. An official said last week that ISPs were now "forbidden" by the Telecommunications Ministry from providing Internet connections faster than 128 kilobytes per second (KBps), the Islamic Republic New Agency, Iran's official news outlet, reported. No reason was given for the restriction."

http://news.com.com/2100-1034_3-6127077.html 

China moves toward 'real name system' for blogs

"The Internet Society of China has recommended to the government that bloggers be required to use their real names when they register blogs, state media said on Monday, in the latest attempt to regulate free-wheeling Web content. The society, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Information Industry, said no decision had been made but that a 'real name system' was inevitable."

http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6128484.html

Vietnam cracks down on net 'subversives'

"Vietnam is controlling the use of the internet by encouraging providers and users to spy on each other and turn informant if they suspect politically 'subversive' activity, according to a report today by Amnesty International.

http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1928628,00.html

Transparency and Silence: A Survey of Access to Information Laws and Practices in 14 Countries

"This report details the results of a study undertaken by the Justice Initiative and its partners to discover how government offices and agencies in fourteen countries-Argentina, Armenia, Bulgaria, Chile, France, Ghana, Kenya, Macedonia, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Romania, South Africa, and Spain-respond to specific requests for information.

http://www.soros.org/resources/articles_publications/publications/transparency_20060928/transparency_20060928.pdf

Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2006

"New countries have moved ahead of some Western democracies in the fifth annual Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index, issued today, while the most repressive countries are still the same ones. "Unfortunately nothing has changed in the countries that are the worst predators of press freedom," the organisation said, "and journalists in North Korea, Eritrea, Turkmenistan, Cuba, Burma and China are still risking their life or imprisonment for trying to keep us informed. These situations are extremely serious and it is urgent that leaders of these countries accept criticism and stop routinely cracking down on the media so harshly.

http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=19388

Internet Access

'Net neutrality' would get warm reception in a Democratic Congress

"A Democratic takeover on Capitol Hill would be good news to those who say the government should prohibit telecommunications giants from playing favorites with Internet content."

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/15830373.htm

Take Action!

Save EPA Libraries! 

"Senators Barbara Boxer and Frank Lautenberg have drafted a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee stating their concern that EPA is dismantling their unique library system. 

Call your senators today and ask them to sign onto Boxer-Lautenberg "Dear Colleague" letter!  The letter asks the Appropriators to direct EPA to maintain access and research expertise at all of EPA's regional and headquarter libraries until the Agency solicits adequate public and Congressional input. 

The deadline for signing the letter is November 1st, so call today! Tell your Senator's Office that they can arrange to sign the letter by calling Grant Cope (4-7931) or Daniel Rosenberg (4-7225) and that they must do so before November 1st."

Status of EPA Regional Library Closures and Reductions in Service: 

(Specialized Libraries Not Included) 

1.  Closed 

    *     Region 5, which served Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.   
    *     Regions 6, which serves Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Iowa. 
    *     Region 7, which serves Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.   

2.   Closed to the Public with Reduced Hours to EPA Staff 

    *     Region 2 Library, which served New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. 

3.  Reduced Access to EPA Staff and the Public 

    *     EPA Region 1, which serves Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.   
    *     EPA Region 9, which serves Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, the Pacific Islands, and Tribal Nations. 
    *     EPA Region 10, which serves Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Native Tribes. 
    *     EPA Headquarters

http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/washnews/news.htm

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