From: Michele McGinnis (mm@kk.org)
Date: Wed Sep 01 2004 - 11:49:56 PDT
Message-Id: <a06110429bd5bb00ff2e4@[192.168.0.2]> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2004 11:49:56 -0700 From: Michele McGinnis <mm@kk.org> Subject: (SLA-SF) Public Policy News September 1, 2004
Hey Ya'll,
There is so much to report this week. I didn't hit the blogs for this
issue, but was able to go to some of the other sites I wanted to
monitor as well as include many stories that happened to pass my way
this week. I've attempted a partial categorization, with stories
that defy categorization, for now, at the top.
Thanks, Michele
Radical Reference
Radical reference is a service provided by volunteer library workers
from all over the United States. The main goal of this service is to
assist demonstrators and activists at the convergence surrounding the
Republican National Convention in New York City August 29-September
2, 2004. Library workers will utilize their professional skills and
tools to answer information needs from the general public,
journalists, and activists. Service will be provided via this web
site, blog, e-mail, chat, phone, in the street and Ouija board. (This
is a different group from the SLA/NYPD librarians providing reference
services to the media. MM)
http://radicalreference.info/about
SLA Members, NYPL Staff Helping Media at Republican Convention
Local members of the Special Libraries Association (SLA)and staff
from the New York Public Library (NYPL) are offering free research
services to the media gathered for the 2004 Republican National
Convention.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA449739?display=breakingNews
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR)
The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) is a prototype of
a currently updated version of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
The e-CFR prototype is a demonstration project. It is not an official
legal edition of the CFR.
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/ecfr/
Forty Projects Funded to Improve Access to Electronic Health
Information for the Public
The National Library of Medicine is pleased to announce that 40
projects to improve access to electronic health information for the
general public have been funded in 24 states. All projects will last
up to eighteen months. Funding for the projects was provided through
the National Network of Libraries of Medicine.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/nnlmelectronic04.html
Mayor Appoints New Chief for Public Library
Mayor James K. Hahn has tapped 30-year city librarian Fontayne Holmes
to head the Los Angeles Public Library and its 71 branches, a system
that serves a larger population than any library system in the
country.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-librarian19aug19,1,3956427.story?coll=la-headlines-california
THIRD TIME'S A CHARM - LIBRARY BOND PASSES ASSEMBLY
http://www.cla-net.org/legislation/082504_update.php
9/11 Commission Head Tells Congress to Fund Embassy Libraries
First the 9/11 Commission recommended rebuilding foreign library
programs , then co-Chairman Thomas Kean repeated the recommendation
in a hearing before the House Government Reform Subcommittee.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA448655?display=breakingNews
Open Access & Publishing
Open Access Now
A series of short guides to the players, stakeholders and technical
terms relevant to Open Access publishing. 'Who, What & Why?' will
help readers to become informed about the world of Open Access.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/openaccess/www/?issue=old
Lawsuit alleges fraud in sale of subscriptions
A federal judge has frozen the bank accounts of a Houston
subscription company in a lawsuit involving multimillion-dollar fraud
allegations and the arcane world of the $6 billion-per-year
scientific publishing industry.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2752815
Scientists want research papers freely available
Twenty-five Nobel Prize-winning scientists today are calling for the
government to make all taxpayer-funded research papers freely
available.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20040830/d_freeresearch28.art.htm
Internet publishing attracting academics
For more than 100 years, publication of major scientific and medical
breakthroughs has been concentrated in a handful of prestigious
journals. But the factors driving the shift to so-called open-access
journals, including the reach and power of the Internet, rising
subscription prices, and pressure from patients, are forcing changes
in the world of scientific publishing.
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/08/16/internet_publishing_attracting_academics/
Association of College and Research Libraries supports open access to
National Institutes of Health-funded research
CHICAGO-The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)
strongly supports reforms that will make federally funded biomedical
research openly accessible and available on line and at no extra cost
to the American public.
http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=news&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=74398
Digital Rights
Publishing industry tackles digital rights
There's no Napster for books yet, but creators of text and images
still have to deal with a lot of the same digital rights management
issues perplexing the movie and music industries.
http://news.com.com/Publishing+industry+tackles+digital+rights/2100-1025_3-5315467.html?part=rss&tag=5315467&subj=news.1025.20
Ashcroft Targets Illicit Distribution Of Movies, Music
Attorney General John Ashcroft announced what he called the first
federal law-enforcement action targeting distribution of copyrighted
materials over so-called peer-to-peer networks.
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109345404554600906,00.html
(subscription required)
New Front: Recording of Digital Broadcasts
Technologies that let people record satellite and Internet radio
broadcasts digitally are opening a new front in the recording
industry's war on music piracy.
http://news.findlaw.com/ap_stories/high_tech/1700/9-1-2004/20040901031504_5.html
Library Of Congress Invite Comments On Copyright Regulations
The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is proposing to amend
its regulations to permit the Library of Congress to record
unpublished radio and other audio and audiovisual transmission
programs.
http://www.managinginformation.com/news/content_show_full.php?id=2977
Freedom of Information
Defending Dusty Records
A follow-up article on the DOJ ordering and then rescinding the order
to destroy records. Highlights librarians in Texas who removed the
records from their shelves, but refused to destroy them.
http://www.fwweekly.com/issues/2004-08-25/metropolis.asp
Pentagon Censors 'Right to Know' Video
The Defense Department spent $70,500 to produce a Humphrey
Bogart-themed video called "The People's Right to Know" to teach
employees to respond to citizen requests for information. But when it
came to showing the tape to the public, the Pentagon censored some of
the footage.
Officials said they blacked out parts of the training video with the
message, "copyrighted material removed for public viewing," because
they were worried the government didn't have legal rights to some
historical footage that was included.
http://news.findlaw.com/ap_stories/a/w/1152/9-1-2004/20040901030003_25.html
Chilling Effects of Anti-Terrorism
This page attempts to convey the chilling effect that responses to
the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, have had on information
availability on the Internet as well as some sense of the effect on
people trying to provide this information.
http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Surveillance/Terrorism/antiterrorism_chill.html
Justice Department Censors Supreme Court Quote
http://www.thememoryhole.org/feds/justice_redaction.htm
Why Backlogs Matter
The Department of Justice recently posted comprehensive statistics
regarding FOIA requests for Fiscal Year 2003. Over 3.2 million FOIA
requests were logged by federal agencies, which was a new record.
http://www.llrx.com/columns/foia12.htm
**Copyleft: Please feel free to pass along in part or in its
entirety, giving credit or not. MM**
-- Michele McGinnis, MSIS Research Librarian to Kevin Kelly149 Amapola Pacifica, CA 94044 650-355-7676 650-359-9701 fax
mm@kk.org www.kk.org
"They are subversive. You think they're just sitting there at the desk, all quiet and everything. They're like plotting the revolution, man." --Michael Moore on librarians
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead
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