From: Michele McGinnis (mm@kk.org)
Date: Thu Dec 16 2004 - 11:17:07 PST
Message-Id: <a06110458bde781ff40a0@[192.168.0.2]> Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 11:17:07 -0800 From: Michele McGinnis <mm@kk.org> Subject: SLA-SF Public Policy December 16, 2004
Library stuff
South Dakota Library Sponsors A Cuban Library
The Vermillion, South Dakota, Public Library Board of Trustees took a stand
for intellectual freedom on November 18 when it voted to sponsor the Dulce
Maria Loynaz Library in Havana, Cuba. Cuba's Dulce Maria Loynaz
Library, an unofficial institution free of government control, is one
of approximately 250 independent libraries
founded since 1998 to challenge restrictions on freedom of information. The
goal of Cuba's independent library movement is to offer public access to
uncensored books reflecting all points of view.
http://www.managinginformation.com/news/content_show_full.php?id=3374
Good News for Many Libraries in 2004 Elections
Although there were some dramatic failures and near misses, voters in
many communities throughout the United States showed strong support
November 2 and the rest of the year for local library budget
increases and building projects.
http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=news&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=81846
Federal Library Funding Increases, but Below President Bush's Request
In an omnibus appropriations bill passed November 20, Congress
boosted funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services to
$207.8 million-$9.5 million more than FY 2004, but $12.7 million
below President Bush's request and $15.8 million less than the amount
approved by the Senate.
http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=news&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=81246
California Awards $80 Million in Library Construction Grants
Lafayette was one of the big winners in the latest round of grants
awarded by the California Public Library Construction and Renovation
Board November 29.
http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=news&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=81238
Government
Updated IMLS Grants Emphasize Partnerships
Guidelines for the updated National Leadership Grants for Libraries,
administered by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services
(IMLS), have now been posted .
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA483316?display=breakingNews
U.S. Slips to 13th in Broadband Service Worldwide and Digital Divide
Grows Under Bush Administration
The Bush Administration's Internet policy has resulted in high prices
that are retarding the spread of high-speed Internet service and
widening the digital divide, a report released today by the Consumer
Federation of America and Consumers Union concluded.
http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_telecom_and_utilities/001464.html
Orwellian
Treasury Department Removes Restrictions on U.S. Publications by
Authors in Embargoed Countries
The U.S. Treasury Department ruled on Wednesday that trade embargoes
do not restrict publishing, so American publishers, including
scholarly journals and university presses, do not have to apply for a
license if they wish to edit or publish works by authors in Cuba,
Iran, or Sudan. The ruling, which did not mention any other embargoed
countries, came two years after the department was first asked to
clarify whether trade embargoes apply to publishing, and seemingly
contradicts several interim decisions.
http://chronicle.com/temp/email.php?id=i225c61ud9pwqi1wqdm8ig3g5132ahd5
Libraries and National Security: An Historical Review
When, in the past, authorities called upon the library profession to
serve national security interests in these ways, individual
librarians and the profession as a whole have experienced an evolving
tension between their roles as guardians of public well-being and as
protectors of intellectual freedom.
http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_12/starr/index.html
ARL Joins Others in Supporting Public Access to Government Information
Public interest organizations, including library, archives and
journalists' groups, today filed an amici curiae brief with the
District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals. The amici support
public access to information about the makeup of the National Energy
Policy Development Group (NEPDG), convened by Vice President Cheney
in 2001. T
http://www.arl.org/arl/pr/cheney_log.html
U.S. Libraries and the "War on Terrorism"
Since the late 1960s and the founding of the Social Responsibilities
Round Table, the library profession has been divided between those
who believe librarians ought to be actively engaged in the society
they serve and those who think they should remain neutral on social
issues and focus exclusively on institutional objectives.
http://www.wpunj.edu/newpol/issue37/Hudson37.htm
Alabama Legislator Would Ban Gay Books from Libraries
Showing a tenuous understanding of the Constitution, an Alabama
legislator has proposed a bill that would block the use of public
funds for "the purchase of textbooks or library materials that
recognize or promote homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle." Rep.
Gerald Allen (R-Cottondale), who previously tried to ban gay
marriage, told the Birmingham News that he filed the bill to protect
children from the "homosexual agenda." If the bill passes, novels
with gay protagonists and college textbooks that suggest
homosexuality is natural would have to be removed from library
shelves and destroyed. "I guess we dig a big hole and dump them in
and bury them," he said.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA485356?display=breakingNews
Nuclear Commission Restores Portions of Online Library
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) restored portions of its
online reading room earlier this month shortly after security
concerns prompted the agency to block public access. Only selected
documents have been restored, although NRC asserts that the majority
will be accessible within several weeks.
http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleprint/2517/-1/1/
Information Commons
Omnibus Bill Funds Copyright Enforcement, 'Czar' Position
Congress's massive $388 billion omnibus spending bill contains a
small item that may have a disproportionately large impact--$2
million to fund what some press reports are calling a "copyright
czar."
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA487345?display=breakingNews
Open Access
International Libraries and the Internet Archive collaborate to build
Open-Access Text Archives
Today, a number of International libraries have committed to putting
their digitized books in open-access archives, starting with one at
the Internet Archive.
http://www.archive.org/iathreads/post-view.php?id=25361&PHPSESSID=f6190a2b85b6c9a0949a04fecf3650e3
Take Action!
Reply Brief of Petitioners--"Broadcast Flag" in the United States
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Several library groups (including SLA) and others, are challenging a
decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to require
consumer electronics and computer manufacturers to read and obey a
"broadcast flag" signal embedded in new digital television signals.
http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/advocacy/otherinitatives.cfm
**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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