SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATION ISSUES

A NEWSLETTER FOR THE UIUC COMMUNITY

Issue 6/05

April 1, 2005

Paula Kaufman, University Librarian, Editor

SECOND FOIA-RELATED BILL INTRODUCED

The Faster FOIA Act of 2005 - introduced by U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Patrick Leahy on March 10, 2005 - would establish an advisory Commission on Freedom of Information Act Processing Delays.  The Commission would be charged with reporting to Congress and the President its recommendations for steps that should be taken to reduce delays in the administration of the Freedom of Information Act.  The Commission would be comprised of 16 members.  Twelve of them would be appointed by members of Congress - three by the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, three by the chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, and three each by the ranking minority member of the two committees.  These four members of Congress would each be required to appoint at least one member to the Commission with experience submitting FOIA requests on behalf of nonprofit research or educational organizations or news media organizations, and at least one member with experience in academic research in the fields of library science, information management, or public access to Government information.  The remaining four positions on the Commission would be held by designees of the Attorney General, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Archivist of the United States, and the Comptroller General.  The Faster FOIA Act is the latest in a series of bipartisan efforts by Senators Cornyn and Leahy to promote accountability, accessibility, and openness in our federal government.  On February 16, the Senators introduced the OPEN Government Act of 2005.  And on the morning of March 15, during the first-ever national Sunshine Week, Senators Cornyn and Leahy will convene a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing to examine both the OPEN Government Act and the Faster FOIA Act.  ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 14, Number 22 March 11, 2005

DIGITAL MEDIA CONSUMERS RIGHTS ACT OF 2005

Congressmen Rick Boucher (D-VA), John Doolittle (R-CA) and Joe Barton (R-TX) on March 9 introduced a fair use bill, H.R. 1201, the "Digital Media Consumers Rights Act of 2005."  The bill is a new version of H.R. 107, which was introduced in the 108th Congress and which was the subject of a day-long hearing in May 2004.  The text of the bill will be available soon at

http://thomas.loc.gov  and on the ALA Copyright Web pages at www.ala.org/copyright.

FAMILY AND ENTERTAINMENT COPYRIGHT ACT OF 2005

On March 9 the House Judiciary Committee of the U.S. Congress passed S. 167, a copyright bill that had been approved by the Senate on February 1.  The full House is expected to pass the bill soon.  The text of the bill is available at http://thomas.loc.gov.

S. 167, the "Family and Entertainment Copyright Act of 2005," picked up a number of provisions that were included previously in Senate and House copyright bills in the 108th Congress that did not pass.  Libraries had supported passage of some of these provisions, though not others with which they were then joined, and are supporting the current bill.  Title I of the bill criminalizes the unauthorized recording of motion pictures in a movie theatre.  Title II makes clear that consumers who use technology in their homes to skip over offensive material in motion pictures are not infringing copyright. Title III reauthorizes the National Film Preservation Board and the National Film Preservation Foundation, and will help ensure the preservation of our national film heritage.  Title IV of the bill, the "Preservation of Orphan Works Act," would amend Section 108 of the Copyright Act to allow libraries to engage in preservation, scholarship and research of musical works, motion pictures, and other audiovisual works during the last 20 years of their copyright term.   ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 14, Number 21 March 11, 2005

CONSUMER SPENDING ON ONLINE CONTENT INCREASES

The Online Publishers Association reports that consumer spending on online content such as music, dating sites and business and investment information grew 14 percent last year to $1.8 billion. The biggest gain came in spending on entertainment, which jumped 90 percent over a year ago to $413.5 million, driven mainly by greater purchases of music.  BNA's Internet Law News (ILN) - 3/11/05   http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/11102372.htm

DISAPPEARING LINKS

Two scholars who analyzed citations to Web addresses in scholarly articles on communications studies found that a third of the links were no longer active. They are preparing a list of recommendations that will be presented at the International Communications Association conference in May.  Chronicle of Higher Education 3/14/05 http://chronicle.com/daily/2005/03/2005031402n.htm

COMPARING OPEN-ACCESS AND TRADITIONAL JOURNALS

The first large-scale survey comparing open-access journals with traditional journals has revealed evidence of a publishing industry in flux and at least one unexpected finding: Author fees were charged by a larger fraction of subscription-based publications than of open-access ones. Chronicle of Higher Education 3/15/05      http://chronicle.com/daily/2005/03/2005031503n.htm

TAKING SIDES ON OPEN ACCESS

Open access has evolved into one of the most contentious debates within the scientific community in recent years. During the past 18 months, the dialogue on how best to disseminate published research has been steadily gaining momentum.  Advocates of open access argue that the public should be able to access all online scientific literature for free. They maintain that the public has a right to access the results of federally funded research supported by their tax dollars. Opponents insist that the current subscription-based system does allow the public access to the literature, albeit not for free. They argue that subscriptions are needed to support the costs associated with journal publication and online archiving.  In October 2003, the Public Library of Science (PLoS) launched its first peer-reviewed, open-access journal, PLoS Biology. The new journal uses a publishing model in which authors, not subscribers, pay publication costs. While the journal's contents are freely available for anyone to view and use, authors must pay an article-submission fee of $1,500. PLoS has since launched PLoS Medicine and plans to launch three more open-access journals later this year: PLoS Genetics, PLoS Computational Biology, and PLoS Pathogens.  The National Institutes of Health heightened the open-access debate last year when it announced its draft open-access policy in September. During the review period, NIH received nearly 6,000 comments from publishers, researchers, and librarians, all stating their cases either for or against such a policy. Just last month, NIH revealed its final version of the policy after amending the draft based on the comments received. The policy strongly encourages—but does not require—scientists to submit peer-reviewed manuscripts resulting from NIH-funded research within 12 months to PubMed Central, the agency's free digital archive of biomedical research.  C&EN's third Point-Counterpoint brings together two of the voices in the open-access debate.  Richard J. Roberts, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, is the director of bioinformatics at New England Biolabs in Beverly, Mass. He is also a senior executive editor of Nucleic Acids Research, which is published by Oxford University Press. Roberts, along with 24 other Nobel Laureates, sent a letter to the members of Congress on Aug. 26, 2004, urging them to support free access to taxpayer-funded research.  Arguing the other side of the issue is Peter Banks, publisher for the American Diabetes Association. Banks is currently on the steering committee for patientINFORM, a project aimed at providing more biomedical research along with interpretation and context to patients. The project is set to debut this spring. Banks is also president of the Society of National Association Publications, composed of 300 nonprofit publishers.  Chemical & Engineering News 3/7/05 http://pubs.acs.org/cen/government/8310/8310openaccess.html

UNOPEN ACCESS TO CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE

When you can get at them, Congressional Research Service Reports are very useful.  Why aren't they all available, digitally, to taxpayers?  You never really know if you have the latest versions, or what topics are just plain not available.  You've got to wince at the irony of the CRS report on intergovernmental sharing of information that's not available online except by the good graces of the Federation of American Scientists. LibraryLaw Blog 3/13/05

REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE AMERICAN NEWS MEDIA

The Project for Excellence in Journalism has published the State of the News Media 2005 report, which reviews two distinct categories of media: the first is identified as text-based media, and includes newspapers and Internet news sites; the second is electronic media, inclusive of broadcast network and cable network news.  From the project overview: "For each of the media sectors, we examine six different areas - content, audience trends, economics, ownership, newsroom investment and public attitudes." From the conclusion: "Today, a host of new forms of communication offer a way for newsmakers to reach the public. There are talk-show hosts, cable interview shows, corporate Web sites, government Web sites, Web sites that purport to be citizen blogs but are really something else, and more. Journalism is a shrinking part of a growing world of media. And since journalists are trained to be skeptics and aspire at least, in the famous phrase, to speak truth to power, journalism is the one source those who want to manipulate the public are most prone to denounce."  Be Spacific 3/15/05 http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2005/index.asp

REGULATORY REFORMS TO BALANCE DOCUMENT SECURITY AND PUBLIC ACCESS

The University of Maryland Center for Public Policy and Private Enterprise announced the availability of a report, The Unintended Audience: Balancing Openness and Secrecy - Crafting an Information Policy for the 21st Century that addresses post 9/11 limitations on public access to unclassified but "sensitive" government documents, and the associated impact of such restrictions on various professional communities throughout the country. The authors, Jacques S. Gansler and William Lucyshyn, recommend that the president issue an executive order creating a procedure to identify and designate specific government documents as Controlled Unclassified Security Information (CUSI). This system would clearly define what documents were to be made available within and between government agencies on the federal and local levels, as well as permitted access to various combinations of the scientific, academic and business communities, and to the public.  Be Spacific 3/15/05 http://www.cpppe.umd.edu/Bookstore/Documents/UnintendedAudience_3.05.pdf

HATCH TO HEAD SENATE COPYRIGHT PANEL

US Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, one of the entertainment industry's most powerful congressional allies, will remain at the forefront of the national debate over copyright and illegal downloading after being named to head a new subcommittee on intellectual property. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter officially christened the panel, which will have jurisdiction over copyright, trademark and patent law, as well as treaties intended to protect American intellectual property overseas.   BNA's Internet Law News (ILN) - 3/18/05  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44361-2005Mar17.html

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE SUES GOOGLE OVER GOOGLE NEWS

Agence France Presse has sued Google, alleging the Web-search company includes AFP's photos, news, headlines, and stories on its news site without permission. The French news service seeks damages of at least $17.5 million and an order barring Google News from displaying AFP photographs, news headlines, or story leads.  BNA's Internet Law News (ILN) - 3/21/05 http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-5626341.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111136021496684578,00.html

AND IN RELATED NEWS….

The President of France has asked cultural officials in his country to develop a project to make millions of European literary works accessible on the Internet. The request follows concerns about whether Google's planned database of five American and British libraries' collections will dominate literary resources online.  3/21/2005 Daily Report from The Chronicle of Higher Education   http://chronicle.com/daily/2005/03/2005032101t.htm

PEW INTERNET REPORT ON MUSIC AND VIDEO DOWNLOADING

About 36 million Americans-or 27% of internet users-say they download either music or video files and about half of them have found ways outside of traditional peer-to-peer networks or paid online services to gather and swap their files, according to the most recent survey of the Pew Internet & American Life Project.  The Project's national survey of 1,421 adult Internet users conducted between January 13 and February 9, 2005 shows that 19% of current music and video downloaders, about 7 million adults, say they have downloaded files from someone else's iPod or MP3 player. About 28%, or 10 million people, say they get music and video files via email and instant messages. There is some overlap between these two groups; 9% of downloaders say they have used both of these sources.  In all, 48% of current downloaders have used sources other than peer-to-peer networks or paid music and movie services to get music or video files. Beyond MP3 players, email and instant messaging, these alternative sources include music and movie websites, blogs and online review sites.  Read the full report: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/153/report_display.asp

CANADIAN GOV'T RESTORES BALANCE WITH COPYRIGHT REFORM PLAN

The Canadian government last week announced its plans for upcoming copyright reform. The plans include a limited anti-circumvention provision linked to copyright infringement and an ISP "notice and notice" system. My weekly Law Bytes column assesses the proposal, noting that the government has soundly rejected the one-sided proposals raised by a parliamentary committee last fall in favor of a plan that attempts to balance the interests of creators and users. Toronto Star version at (registration required) http://tinyurl.com/5k8qs Non-registration, hyperlinked version at http://www.michaelgeist.ca/resc/html_bkup/mar282005.html

Government statement and FAQ http://pch.gc.ca/progs/ac-ca/progs/pda-cpb/reform/faq_e.cfm

http://pch.gc.ca/progs/ac-ca/progs/pda-cpb/reform/statement_e.cfm   BNA's Internet Law News (ILN) - 3/28/05

REAL TIME/REAL DATA II: GOOGLE BUYS WEB ANALYTICS FROM URCHIN

JUSTICES HEAR ARGUMENTS IN SUIT AGAINST FILE-SHARING COMPANIES                  

Scholars, college administrators, and students are closely following the file-sharing lawsuit argued Tuesday before the U.S. Supreme Court. In the case, MGM Studios Inc. vs. Grokster Ltd., movie and recording companies hope to put an end to the swapping of songs and videos online by holding the producers of peer-to-peer file-sharing software responsible for the copyright violations of users.  During a lively debate, the justices struggled with how to balance the competing interests of the entertainment industry and developers of new technology. A court ruling in favor of MGM would effectively shut down Grokster, StreamCast, and other companies that produce peer-to-peer software. Many computer users—and in particular, many college students—rely on the software to trade digital versions of popular songs, television shows, and movies in violation of copyright laws. The entertainment industry says the popular file-sharing services are costing it billions of dollars a year in music and movie-ticket sales lost because people are illegally exchanging songs and films online. Although recording companies have brought lawsuits against individual college students and others who trade music online, company executives say going after copyright violators one by one is time-consuming and costly. But the makers of peer-to-peer software say their systems are also used to swap texts, homemade video clips, and other material that can be legally distributed. The software makers are backed by an array of academic-library groups, law professors, computer scientists, media-studies professors, technology companies, civil libertarians, and consumer-rights activists. The pro-Grokster camp says a ruling that favors the entertainment industry and holds companies responsible for the misdeeds of whomever uses their products could thwart innovation, not only on the Internet but in the field of computing generally. Computer manufacturers are watching the case avidly, fearing that they, too, might be held responsible if consumers use their machines to violate copyright.  The court is expected to issue a decision in the case in June. Chronicle of Higher Education 3/30/05 http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2005/03/2005033001t.htm

TOKYO HIGH CT UPHOLDS RULING AGAINST P2P SERVICE

The Tokyo High Court has upheld a lower court ruling that MMO Japan Ltd violated the Copyright Law by providing an online service for swapping music files and ordered it to pay a total of 71 million yen in damages to a copyright association and 19 record labels. BNA's Internet Law News (ILN) - 3/31/05  

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=2&id=332532 

WRITERS REACH COPYRIGHT SETTLEMENT WITH DATABASE OPERATORS

A group of companies that operate electronic databases have agreed to pay freelance writers up to $18 million to settle copyright infringement claims brought under a class action lawsuit. The settlement covers claims brought against the companies by three groups representing freelance writers: the National Writers Union, the Authors Guild and the American Society of Journalists and Authors.  BNA's Internet Law News (ILN) - 3/30/05  

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/11259959.htm

DOW JONES EXECUTIVE FORESEES MORE PAID WEB SITES

More U.S. publishers likely will try to wean readers off free Internet versions of their newspapers by starting to charge online subscription fees, a Dow Jones & Co. Inc. executive said.  Charging for news that appears in print—and then giving it away over the Web—is "an unsustainable business model," said Gordon Crovitz, president of electronic publishing at Dow Jones. The company's Wall Street Journal is the only national U.S. newspaper to restrict access to virtually its entire Web edition to paid subscribers. "It would be good for the industry" for more publishers to follow suit, Crovitz said in an interview after a company presentation at the Banc of America Securities media conference in New York recently.  "Publishers in all mediums have tended to devalue their brands," he said. "I am very confident that other publishers will find ways to generate online subscription revenues." Converting free newspaper Web sites to a paid subscription business is a big issue in the publishing industry.  Paid Internet sites can help publishers bring in new subscription revenue from readers who want access to the online content, but free sites are attractive to advertisers because they attract many more readers. Internet advertising is growing much faster than traditional print advertising, although it still represents only a small amount of overall ad revenue. New York Times Co. has been reviewing whether to charge for its Web edition, but it has not made any announcement about its plans. The New York Times already charges fees for access to parts of its Web site, such as its daily crossword puzzle and news archives.  Other papers, like Tribune Co.'s Chicago Tribune, provide Web edition subscribers with access to things like archives and special offers from local businesses. Dow Jones, however, doesn't charge for all of its content on the Web. The company recently bought online financial news provider Marketwatch Inc., content of which is freely available on the Web. Crovitz said Marketwatch is expected to remain free because it is an Internet-only publication that does not compete with a print version of itself.  The Wall Street Journal's online edition has more than 700,000 paid subscribers. A subscription costs $79 a year or $39 for readers who already subscribe to the print edition.  Crovitz said it is possible the online Journal ultimately will raise its subscription price as it "adds value" to the site.  Several months ago, the online Journal began cracking down on subscribers who share their passwords with many other users. The newspaper started using software on the site to restrict the number of computers that can use a single password at the same time.  That move has led to a small increase in online Journal circulation among people "who wanted to be sure they had their own passwords," Crovitz said. Dow Jones competes with global news and information provider Reuters Group Plc in delivering news and other content; the two are joint owners of Factiva, a news archive. Dow Jones shares were down 20 cents at $37.17 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.  Reuters 3/31/05 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=8026971

PUBLIC LIBRARY OF SCIENCE
The Public Library of Science has launched PLoS Pathogens, the newest peer-reviewed, open-access journal in its line-up. The journal is accepting submissions at www.plospathogens.org, and commences publication in September 2005. PLoS Pathogens aims to address research on pathogens including bacteria, fungi, parasites, prions, and viruses. PLoS Pathogens is accessible to all, and immediately searchable via PubMed. In addition, the authors retain the copyrights, and give scientists all over the world immediate free access to all content. http://www.plos.org/ SPARC e-news/February-March 2005

ACLS HISTORY E-BOOK PROJECT EXPANDS
The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) History E-Book (HEB) project has added over 100 new titles in African History, Asian Studies, and Comparative/World History. With this addition, the ACLS History E-Book Project now includes over 1,000 fully searchable, high-quality books recommended and reviewed by historians, featuring multi-user access, downloadable MARC records, and links to online reviews. The collection is available 24/7, on- and off-campus, and also includes titles in the fields of American History, European History, Middle Eastern History, and the History of Technology. The History E-Book Project will continue to add 250 titles each year, expanding into the fields of Latin American History, Australasia and Oceania, Byzantium, Methods and Theory, Native Peoples of the Americas, and Women's Studies. The Project is distinguished by the depth of its collection, its powerful search engine, and the quality of its title-selection process. In related news, the ACLS History E-Book Project recently launched its new Print-on-Demand (POD) Program, making 250 hard-to-find and out-of-print books readily available to students, scholars, and the general public. Working with the University of Michigan's Scholarly Publishing Office (SPO) and the POD vendor, Lightning Source, HEB uses its own digital files and digital printing techniques to produce standard print books in a rapid and cost-effective process that approaches the quality of the original print editions. For a complete list of current POD titles, go to: http://historyebook.org/pod-titlelist.html. A complete list of titles is available at: http://historyebook.org/titlelist.html. SPARC e-news/February-March 2005

WHY FCCS BROADCAST FLAG HURTS LIBRARIANS, COMPUTER HOBBYIST
Lawyers for librarians and consumer groups are attempting to buttress their lawsuit challenging anti-piracy technology imposed by the Federal Communications Commission. Right now, they're at risk of losing the case http://news.com.com/Court+questions+FCCs+broadcast+flag+rules/2100-1030_3-5585533.html?tag=nl because of a potential lack of "standing"—particularized harm that they would suffer as a result of the FCC's broadcast flag rules http://news.com.com/Are+PCs+next+in+Hollywood+piracy+battle/2100-1028_3-5103305.html?tag=nl. According to a new brief librarians, academics and computer hobbyists have standing to sue because they will no longer be able to make certain uses of digital TV broadcasts after the FCC's rules take effect in July. To wit:

- North Carolina State University won't be able to use broadcast clips for "distance learning" courses that use password-protected Web sites.

- The Vanderbilt Archive (at Vanderbilt University) will no longer be able to record television newscasts without anti-copying restrictions. It's archived over 400,000 hours of television news broadcasts so far.

- Manufacturers of HDTV tuner cards for PCs will be barred from selling them unless they're redesigned to include anti-copying restrictions.

A decision from the federal appeals court in Washington, DC that's considering the case is expected before July.

Posted by Declan McCullagh CNET blog 3/30/05 http://news.com.com/2061-10796_3-5647652.html

ABANDONING THE NEWS
What's the future of the news business? This report to Carnegie Corporation of New York offers some provocative ideas. There's a dramatic revolution taking place in the news business today and it isn't about TV anchor changes, scandals at storied newspapers or embedded reporters. The future course of the news, including the basic assumptions about how we consume news and information and make decisions in a democratic society are being altered by technology-savvy young people no longer wedded to traditional news outlets or even accessing news in traditional ways. In short, the future of the U.S. news industry is seriously threatened by the seemingly irrevocable move by young people away from traditional sources of news. Read the entire report at http://www.carnegie.org/reporter/10/news/index.html

VIRTUAL LIBRARY MODEL
Carnegie Corporation of New York has developed a model virtual library to demonstrate one method of supplementing collections in African universities where Internet connectivity is limited and expensive. Scholarly articles free of both charge and copyright were downloaded from the Internet, sorted by subject and stored in a hard drive, later to be copied and housed in a server. Should the virtual library project be implemented, the server could be copied and exported to the beneficiary universities and operate at the center of a local area network. The report

   * outlines the technological and ethical issues encountered during
     the two-month collection phase of the project
   * identifies and describes other initiatives addressing issues of
     free access to scholarly research and low Internet connectivity or
     bandwidth
   * offers suggestion to make the project design both more efficient
     and effective

http://www.carnegie.org/sub/pubs/virtlibreport.html

THE ACCESS PRINCIPLE
John Willensky, The Access Principle: The New Economics of Knowledge as a Public Good http://open.utoronto.ca/johnwillensky.html, a public lecture at the University of Toronto lecture series on Open Source and Open Access http://open.utoronto.ca/lectures.html, March 31, 2005. Abstract: 'This presentation approaches open access and open source by returning to first principles. At issue today in scholarly publishing, Willinsky posits, is an access principle, that speaks to how a scholarly commitment to knowledge entails a responsibility to see to that knowledge circulate as widely as possible. Against growing restrictions on access to the growing body of scholarship and research over the last few decades, a broad range of practical and sustainable approaches has begun to emerge that utilizes new Internet technologies to improve access to the periodical literature. This presentation will outline ten new economic models of scholarly publishing, each of which is contributing to greater access, across the academic disciplines and involving the cooperation of private and public interests. The presentation will describe how this renewed realization of the access principle has immediate and direct consequences not only for scholarly works very claim to knowledge but for the quality of people’s lives. This presentation will draw on the research conducted by the Public Knowledge Project, as well as its experience in developing Open Journal Systems and Open Conference Systems, two of the open source solutions for open access publishing, now being used around the world in a variety of languages.' Open Access News 3/31/05

 

The scholarly communications are also on line at http://www.library.uiuc.edu/administration/scholarly_communication/UT