[from Kevin Reynolds, Chair, Committee on Legislation Government Information Subcommittee] Below you will find the text of six resolutions resulting from the collaborative work of the ALA Committee on Legislation (COL) Government Information Subcommittee (GIS) and the GODORT Legislation Committee. These include: 1. RESOLUTION ON EPA LIBRARIES [link] 2. RESOLUTION ON SAVING FEDERAL LIBRARIES [link] 3. RESOLUTION ON THE FEDERAL RESEARCH PUBLIC ACCESS ACT OF 2006 (FRPAA) [link] 4. RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR PATRICE MCDERMOTT [link] 5. RESOLUTION CONCERNING ADVOCACY FOR FEDERAL LIBRARY AND INFORMATION PROGRAMS [link] 6. AALL RESOLUTION ON NO-FEE FDLP ACCESS TO PACER [link] The first four resolutions were adopted by the ALA Council. The Resolution Concerning Advocacy for Federal Library and Information Programs was endorsed by GODORT and GIS, but was not sent to Council as a resolution. Rather, the idea expressed in it was accompanied with a request to form an ad-hoc COL subcommittee to examine the situation of federal libraries and to recommend steps that ALA can take to improve the status of federal libraries and librarians. This was included in the COL report to Council, which was accepted. Finally, the AALL Resolution on No-Fee FDLP Access to PACER was forwarded to us by the American Association of Law Libraries. GODORT and GIS endorsed this resolution and it was also included in the COL report to Council. If you have any questions about these resolutions, please do not hesitate to contact me or Mary Mallory, GODORT Legislation Committee Chair. Many thanks to all of those who contributed to the crafting of the resolutions. Sincerely, Kevin Reynolds Chair, COL Government Information Subcommittee Assistant University Librarian for Learning and Access Services Jessie Ball duPont Library The University of the South Sewanee, TN 37383-1000 Phone: 931-598-1366 FAX: 931-598-1702 Email: kreynold@sewanee.edu ~~~~~~~ 2005-2006 ALA CD# 20.8 2006 ALA Annual Conference RESOLUTION ON EPA LIBRARIES WHEREAS, for more than 30 years, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its network of libraries have provided reliable, accurate information about sensitive environmental issues that affect the health and safety of our families and communities; and WHEREAS, these EPA libraries have provided access to vital information to researchers and to scientists, including EPA researchers investigating environmental issues that impact our Nation; and WHEREAS, the EPA Headquarters libraries and the 27 regional and laboratory libraries are staffed with experienced, professional librarians who facilitate access to information, fielding 134,000 research requests from EPA scientists and enforcement staff and others in the last year; and WHEREAS, the EPA Libraries house and catalog unique collections, including approximately 50,000 primary source documents not available elsewhere in any format, on vital environmental issues; and WHEREAS, the EPA Libraries serve as institutional repositories for internal documentation as well as commercially published literature about the topics agencies regulate, investigate, and research; and WHEREAS, the EPA Libraries operate public reading rooms, providing access to collections that are specifically tailored to meet the needs of constituents in their geographic region, at times specifically offering that access to comply with federal law; and WHEREAS, in 2003 the Business Case for Information Services: EPA's Regional Libraries and Centers prepared by Stratus Consulting for the EPA concluded that, "calculated conservatively, the benefit-to-cost ratio for EPA library services ranges between 2:1 and 5.7:1"; and WHEREAS, the Draft EPA FY 2007 Library Plan: National Framework (June 1, 2006), including the current proposal to move materials to the web, does not ensure satisfactorily that the public, researchers, scientists and policymakers will have continued access to the staff, services, and high quality, accurate information found in the EPA Libraries; and WHEREAS, the proposed FY 2007 budget for EPA Libraries contains a $2.5 Million cut which: ~has already resulted in the closure and imminent closure of some headquarters, regional and laboratory libraries and the reduction of staff at other EPA Libraries; ~will put the collections and services of the EPA Libraries at risk, causing essential information about the environment to be lost; ~would compromise the public's health and safety by making it difficult, even impossible, for the EPA staff and scientists, other scientists and researchers, the public, contractors and regulated industries, and federal, state, and local policymakers to find accurate and high-quality information upon which to base decisions about health and safety concerns; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the American Library Association (ALA) urge Congress to direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reprogram $2.5 Million of the EPA FY 2007 budget to fund EPA Libraries; and be it further RESOLVED, that ALA urge the EPA to restore funding to the EPA regional and laboratory libraries; and be it further RESOLVED, that the ALA urge the EPA to develop a responsible information and collections management strategy, and make it available for public comment, to ensure continued access for the public and other stakeholders to the collections and services of the EPA Libraries. Endorsed in principle by GODORT 06/26/2006 Endorsed in principle by FAFLRT 06/24/06 Endorsed in principle by SRRT 06/26/2006 ~~~~~ 2005-2006 ALA CD# 20.10 2006 ALA Annual Conference RESOLUTION ON SAVING FEDERAL LIBRARIES WHEREAS, federal libraries are essential in supporting government staff to develop informed policies, write regulations, take legal action against law breakers, and educate the public; and WHEREAS, these libraries have unique, historic and irreplaceable collections that are critical to achieving their agencies' missions; and WHEREAS, tax dollars have been spent to establish and maintain federal libraries and some agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Department of Energy, are dismantling these valuable libraries; WHEREAS, federal staff will be hampered in carrying out their responsibilities without the support of knowledgeable and skilled federal librarians who possess specialized subject expertise; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the American Library Association (ALA) urges Congress to affirm that the federal libraries are inherently governmental and the position of librarian is essential; and be it further RESOLVED, that ALA urges the United States Congress to hold oversight hearings investigating the ongoing destruction of federal libraries before they are lost beyond recovery; and be it further RESOLVED, that ALA urges Congress to adequately fund federal libraries so that they will be able to employ federal librarians with subject expertise to provide research services. Endorsed in principle by GODORT 06/26/2006 Endorsed in principle by FAFLRT 06/24/2006 Endorsed in principle by ACRL 6/27/06 ~~~~~ 2005-2006 ALA CD# 20.9 2006 ALA Annual Conference RESOLUTION ON THE FEDERAL RESEARCH PUBLIC ACCESS ACT OF 2006 (FRPAA) WHEREAS, government information and government-sponsored research are public resources collected at public expense; and, WHEREAS, access to information collected, produced, and sponsored by the government is essential to maintaining an informed citizenry; and WHEREAS, the American Library Association (ALA) has a long record of action in support of access to information, and believes that open government is vital to a democracy and that there should be equal, ready, and equitable access to information collected, compiled, produced, sponsored, and disseminated by the government of the United States; and WHEREAS, The federal government invests $55 billion annually in scientific research, with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) portion accounting for one-third of that, resulting in over 65,000 journal articles published annually; and WHEREAS, this information is not readily accessible to the general public; and WHEREAS, Senators John Cornyn and Joseph Lieberman have introduced S. 2695, the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2006 (FRPAA), which requires Federal agencies to develop public access policies relating to research conducted by employees of that agency or from funds administered by that agency; and WHEREAS, FRPAA would also require federal agencies with extramural research expenditures of more than $100 million to make electronic manuscripts of peer-reviewed journal articles resulting from their funded research publicly available via the Internet within six months of publication; and WHEREAS, FRPAA would also require agencies to produce "an online bibliography of all research papers that are publicly accessible under the policy, with each entry linking to the corresponding free online full text;" now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the American Library Association (ALA) supports S. 2695, the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2006, as introduced, in that it reflects ALA policy regarding access to Federal government information by providing for the long-term preservation of, and no fee public access to, government-sponsored, published research findings. Endorsed in principle by GODORT 06/26/2006 ~~~~~~ 2005-2006 ALA CD# 20.14 2006 ALA Annual Conference RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR PATRICE MCDERMOTT WHEREAS, Ms. Patrice McDermott has served the members of the American Library Association's (ALA) as the Deputy Director of the Office of Government Relations since 2001; and WHEREAS, Patrice has been a committed advocate for open access to federal government information and the public's right to know; and WHEREAS, Patrice has been a diligent proponent for privacy issues, including the protection of library records; and WHEREAS, Patrice has been a leader in ALA's efforts pertaining to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the U.S.A. PATRIOT ACT, and E-Government; and WHEREAS, Patrice has been a leader in the display of fashionable hats during conferences; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the American Library Association (ALA) congratulates Patrice in her new position as director of OpenTheGovernment.org; and be it further RESOLVED, that the ALA membership look forward to collaborating with Patrice on issues of mutual interest; and be it further RESOLVED, that the ALA membership extends its sincere appreciation for Patrice's tireless efforts on behalf of the Association and library users around the world and wish her continued success. Endorsed in principle by GODORT 06/26/2006 ~~~~~ RESOLUTION CONCERNING ADVOCACY FOR FEDERAL LIBRARY AND INFORMATION PROGRAMS WHEREAS, many libraries, scholars, and the public around the world depend upon the cataloging, authority files and subject headings produced by the Library of Congress, the Superintendent of Documents/Government Printing Office, the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the National Agricultural Library (NAL) and other federal libraries; and WHEREAS, librarians, researchers, government decision makers, and the public depend upon the unique collections of the Library of Congress, other national libraries, executive branch libraries, the Supreme Court Library, the Senate and House Libraries, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) and other information and data centers; and WHEREAS, librarians, researchers, government decision makers, and the public depend upon federal electronic publishing, dissemination, data collection, cataloging, indexing, and access services, such as GPO Access, Library of Congress's Thomas, NLM's PubMed, NAL's AGRICOLA, the NTIS Database, the ERIC Database, the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII), the Defense Technical Information Service, Department of Energy report databases, and federal libraries; and WHEREAS, some federal libraries have already been closed, others are under threat of closure by the end of this fiscal year, others are having their staff, budget and space greatly reduced, and WHEREAS, some federal librarians (contract and federal employee) are resigning in advance of the threatened closures resulting in loss of corporate memory and research expertise; and WHEREAS, the responsibilities of the ALA Washington Office include monitoring federal library data and information programs, consulting with the staff of these libraries and centers, organizing coalitions to defend these programs, working with the appropriate congressional committees to educate them about the importance of these programs, lobbying for sufficient funding, and to work with ALA membership to develop a plan to save federal libraries, data and information centers; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the ALA make support for federal library and information programs a priority; and be it further RESOLVED, that ALA Council call upon the ALA Executive Director to work with the ALA Washington Office Executive Director to devise the means by which this policy priority will be implemented. Endorsed in Principle by COL/GIS 06/26/2006 Endorsed in principle by GODORT 06/26/2006 Endorsed in principle by FAFLRT 06/24/06 ~~~~~ AALL RESOLUTION ON NO-FEE FDLP ACCESS TO PACER Whereas, The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOUSC) makes available for a fee electronic access to federal court information through its Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service that allows paying customers to obtain case and docket information from most Federal Appellate, District and Bankruptcy courts, and from the U.S. Party/Case Index; and, Whereas, The AOUSC has greatly increased court participation in its Case Management/Electronic Case Files program, thereby enhancing the value and utility of PACER to members of the public interested in legal research; and, Whereas, The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) is required under 44 U.S.C. § 1902 to make available through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) "Government publications, except those determined by their issuing components to be required for official use only or for strictly administrative or operational purposes which have no public interest or educational value and publications classified for reasons of national security" from all three branches of government; and, Whereas, The GPO recognizes the importance of their providing additional new services for depository libraries as incentives to keep them in the FDLP and, in addition, to provide the American public with enhanced access to government information and better services in their October 2005 "Progress Report 2: The Carrot Crop Is Still Growing" (available at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/proceedings/incentives_progress_oct2005.doc); and, Whereas, The first proposed incentive listed in "Progress Report 2" is to: "Provide depository libraries with access to fee-based government information database services and other government information products so-called cooperative publications which must necessarily be sold in order to be self-sustaining under 44 U.S.C. § 1903; and, Whereas, Depository libraries today have no-fee access to several agency fee-based government information databases, such as STAT-USA, USA Trade Online and the National Climatic Data Center Online Document Library, and the "Progress Report 2" notes that it would be appropriate for GPO to negotiate access to fee-based databases on behalf of the FDLP; and, Whereas, Providing PACER to users of depository libraries at no-fee will increase greatly access by the public to important federal court information and strengthen the collaboration between GPO, the federal courts, depository libraries and the public which is the very essence of the FDLP partnership; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the U.S. Government Printing Office should negotiate with the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to make the PACER system available at no cost to users of federal depository libraries; and be it further Resolved, That this resolution be forwarded to appropriate members of Congress, including the Joint Committee on Printing, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, and the Depository Library Council. Endorsed by the AALL Executive Board, April 1, 2006 Endorsed in Principle by COL/GIS 06/26/2006 Endorsed in principle by GODORT 06/26/2006 Continue reading →

Continue Reading →

According to Library Journal,

Mendell Morgan, Dean of Library Services at the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) in San Antonio, has canceled the library's subscription to the print version of the New York Times, citing "a change in quality and shift in coverage" and the importance of protesting the newspaper's decision to publish an article on how the government traces money transfers that can be used to fund terrorist activities.

This is a strange decision for a library to take -- and an act based on faulty research that any librarian worth their salt should be ashamed of! The administration's lashing out at the NY Times is largely a political red herring meant to cloud the fact that these types of programs have been publically known about since 2001 and that they are of dubious legality to say the least. Shortly after 9/11, President Bush announced the freezing of terrorist bank assets and the establishment of a "foreign terrorist asset tracking center at the Department of the Treasury to identify and investigate the financial infrastructure of the international terrorist networks." And on November 7, 2001, Secretary of the treasury Paul O'Neill announced that the "United States, along with an 'international coalition,' had begun to block assets, to seize books, records and evidence, and to follow audit trails to track terrorist cells poised to do violence to our common interests." The ALA should immediately denounce this action as both censorship and an overtly partisan political act unbecoming of a library. For more, see Media Matters Continue reading →

Continue Reading →

Although I don't believe in "virtual depositories" that do not locally store digital documents, I do believe there is a place for virtual government information services. In service to this belief, and to the believe that it isn't enough to put up well designed web pages, I have volunteered at the Second Life Public Library. In addition to doing two hours of reference a week, I am setting up their government documents department. If you already have a Second Life, please drop by the library and have a visit. And drop me a line. I am registered as Alaskan Nighbor. The govdocs department is kind of bare-bones at the moment, but it's growing. The rest of the library is well worth a visit too! If you work with govdocs and want to help -- PLEASE! If you haven't heard of Second Life yet, here are a few articles to get you up to speed:

• My Virtual Life - A journey into a place in cyberspace where thousands of people have imaginary lives. Some even make a good living. Big advertisers are taking notice (May 1, 2006 Businessweek)
• American Apparel's Virtual Clothes - The outfit has opened a virtual store in Second Life's online universe. Though items cost only $1, the company hopes to bolster real life sales (June 26, 2006, Business Week)
• BBC starts to rock online world (May 12, 2006, BBC News)

Certainly Second Life could be a fad, but if Business Week, the BBC and major retailers think Second Life is worth paying attention to, then maybe government information specialists should too. The challege is to pay attention to trends like these while not leaving the millions of un and underconnected behind. Continue reading →

Continue Reading →

The 50 state listing of "state blue books" and similar resources I originally prepared for the 2005 Nevada Library Association conference has been updated. This would not have been possible without the generous response of the State-GILS mailing list. There are still blank spots on the table, which I hope some of you will help me fill. Thanks! Continue reading →

Continue Reading →