Date: August 10, 2005     Issue: #31

Congratulations To:

Becky Smith (Business and Economics) was elected Secretary of the SLA Leadership and Management Division at the Annual Conference June 6th. Her term began June 8th and will continue until 2007.

The Research and Publications Committee is pleased to announce the funding of an RPC grant to Paula Carns (Modern Languages and Linguistics) for a project entitled: "Costume as a Storytelling Device on an Ivory Casket with the Old French Floire et Blanchefleur"

 

 

Communications from Library Committees:

Minutes:

Administrative Council

Cataloging Policy Committee

Collection Development Committee

Electronic Resource Work Group
Executive Committee
Integrated System Coordinating Committee
Library Faculty Meetings

Staff Development and Training Committee

Staff Development & Training Calendar

User Ed Committee

 

 

News & Announcements from Library Administration:

 

Academic Search Position Update

 

 

News from the Field:

ARL

 

Governance and Membership Activities

ARL Membership Discusses Strategic Directions for Research Libraries
Implementing ARL's Strategic Plan
ARL Board of Directors Actions
ARL Bylaws Amended

Scholarly Communication

Faculty Senates Speak out on Scholarly Communication
Google Print Launches Beta Site
SPARC and University of Michigan Launch Publisher Assistance Program
SPARC-ACRL Forum at ALA

Information Policies


ARL Defends PubChem from American Chemical Society Challenge
Update on Canadian Information Policy Activities

Teaching, Learning, and Research

Symposium on Future of Government Documents in ARL Libraries Scheduled for September
Scholars and Librarians Examine the Global Record at Yale
Digital South Asia Library Awarded TICFIA Grant
May 2005 GRN Update Report Issued
ARL Special Collections Task Force Meeting Summary Now Available
ARL Directors Forum on Portal Applications Identifies Common Challenges
CNI Update
CARL Forms E-Learning Work Group

Other Items of Interest to ARL Directors

The Future of Human Resources in Canadian Libraries
Status of Annual Statistics Surveys
Fourth Annual ARL Service Quality Evaluation Academy Hosted by University of Texas
LibQUAL Update
Making Library Assessment Work
ARL Task Force on New Ways of Measuring Collections: Update
Diversity Program Update
ARL at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, June 24-28
ARL Transitions
Other Transitions
Honors

ARL

Federal Relations E-News for ARL Directors


I. Copyright and Intellectual Property
A. US Supreme Court Rules in P2P File-Sharing Case

    Additional Background Material
B. LCA Files Reply Comments on Orphan Works
    As the joint filing stated, "Individual copyright owners and users, small not-for-profit organizations, and large        commercial interests alike came forward with proposals that had remarkable similarities."

   Additional information on orphan works and the streaming PowerPoint from the ARL, AALL, and MLA Online Conference on Orphan Works are available


II. Government Information
A. ARL Files Comments on NGA Proposed Withdrawal of Geospatial Information

III. Anti-Terrorism Measures, Homeland Security, Civil Liberties, and Related Policy
A. USA PATRIOT Act Update

1. House Vote Overwhelmingly Supports Freedom to Read Protection Amendment - On June 14, in a vote of 238 to 187, the House of Representatives showed strong support for the Freedom to Read amendment that would prohibit the Department of Justice from using appropriated funds to search library and bookstore records under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act. The FBI would still be able to obtain access to these records based on a court-ordered search warrant. The amendment to the Science, State, Justice Appropriations Bill, H.R. 2862, was sponsored by Rep. Sanders (I-VT). It is expected that the House leadership will not support the inclusion of the Sanders amendment when the House and Senate meet to resolve their different versions of the legislation.


2. USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization Bills Debated - Congress is poised to reauthorize the USA PATRIOT Act. There are 16 provisions of the Act that expire at the end of 2005 thus the press to reauthorize the Act. Two of these provisions, Sections 215 and 505, are of particular concern to the research library community as they pertain to the privacy of user records.

On July 21, the House of Representatives debated H.R. 3199 which was approved by a vote of 257 to 171. Of the 16 expiring provisions, the House made 14 permanent. The provision allowing the government to access library and business records was extended for review in 10 years. Although the House did not permit consideration of many amendments that the library and civil liberties communities supported, the House did adopt several amendments actively supported by the library community. These include:

   * a provision that requires that the FBI director approve any FBI request for library or bookstore records under Section 215 and
   * a provision that allows a recipient of a National Security Letter the right to challenge the order and to consult an attorney in order to challenge the order.

In the Senate, there are two bills under consideration that take very different approaches in reauthorizing the Act. On July 13, S. 1389, the "USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005" was introduced by Sen. Specter (chair, Senate Committee on the Judiciary and R-PA) and co-sponsored by Sen. Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen. Kyl (R-AZ). Provisions in the legislation provide additional congressional oversight of law enforcement and would curb some current governmental authorities. The Senate Committee on the Judiciary unanimously approved S. 1389 on July 21.

A second bill, S. 1266, introduced by Sen. Roberts (Chair, Select Committee on Intelligence and R-KS) would make those provisions that are set to expire permanent and would provide additional authority to the FBI to issue subpoenas and engage in surveillance activities. ARL will continue to engage on issues surrounding reauthorization of the USA PATRIOT Act.

IV. Telecommunications Policy
A. Community Broadband Bill Introduced - Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) introduced S. 1294, the "Community Broadband Act of 2005." The legislation seeks to promote the deployment of broadband throughout the United States and to ensure that municipalities can offer a wide variety of broadband services. ARL joined with a diverse coalition of public and private sector interests, including EDUCAUSE and Internet2, in support of S. 1294.

V. Other Issues
A. Update on NIH Initiatives

1. House and Senate Appropriators Provide Guidance on PubChem - The House and Senate reports accompanying the FY 2006 Committee on Appropriations, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bills provide guidance to NIH vis-a-vis PubChem and its relationship with the private sector. PubChem is a publicly available database that includes information about the biological activities of chemical compounds. PubChem is an integral part of the NIH Molecular Libraries initiative. The American Chemical Society (ACS) has challenged the direction and scope of PubChem, claiming that it unfairly competes with an ACS service, CAS.

The report language as approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee modified the House report language, indeed improved upon it. While the House Appropriations Committee report language notes that the Committee is concerned that "NIH is replicating scientific information services that already exist in the private sector and urges NIH to work with the private sector providers to avoid unnecessary duplication and competition with private sector chemical databases," the Senate report calls upon NIH to "work with the private sector chemical information providers, with the primary goal of maximizing progress in science while avoiding unnecessary duplication and competition with private sector databases." The difference between the two, namely the focus on advancing science not competition, is notable.

A conference to resolve differences between the two bills is expected in the fall. ARL will continue to work in support of a fully functional PubChem.

2. Update on the NIH Public Access Initiative - House and Senate reports accompanying the FY 2006 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bills include a focus on implementation issues associated with NIH's Public Access policy. The policy requests that NIH-funded investigators submit an electronic version of the author's final manuscript upon acceptance for publication, resulting from research supported in whole or in part, with direct costs from NIH. NIH encourages authors to post for public accessibility as soon as possible (within twelve months of the publisher's official data of final publication.)

The House Committee on Appropriations, noting its support for NIH's policy, directed the Office of the Director to submit by March 1, 2006,

   * the total number of applicable peer-reviewed articles deposited in PubMed Central;
   * the embargo period requested by the author for each deposited work; and
   * NIH's best estimate of the total number of applicable articles available for deposit.

In addition, the Committee also directed NIH to engage in an aggressive education and outreach campaign on the public access initiative.

The Senate, building on the House Committee report language, requested that NIH provide a report by February 2006 with the following additional information:

   * an assessment of the extent to which the implemented policy has led to improved public access and
   * an assessment of the impact of the policy on the peer review system.

On July 11, NIH convened the NIH Public Access Working Group of the NLM Board of Regents. The Working Group, comprised of key stakeholder interests, discussed the final NIH public access policy and implementation issues. In a presentation to the Working Group, Dr. D. Lipman noted that approximately 3% of the total number of articles that could have been submitted to PubMed Central have been placed on deposit. Approximately 65,000 journal articles are published each year based on NIH funding. Since May 2, when the public access policy was initiated, 340 articles accepted for publication have been deposited out of a possible 11,000 peer reviewed articles that could have been submitted. Ann Wolpert, ARL President and Director of Libraries, MIT, is a member of the NIH Public Access Working Group. ARL will continue to be actively engaged in implementation issues associated with NIH's public access policy.

B. Appropriations Update

1. Senate Acts on FY 2006 Funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services
2. Senate Acts on FY 2006 Funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities

 

 

ARL Bimonthly Report on Research Library Issues and Action from ARL, CNI, and SPARC

 

Current Issues
The Global Record: Understanding Its Use and Ensuring Its Future for Scholarship - by Ann Okerson, Associate University Librarian, Collections & International Programs, Yale University
  
Strategic Directions for Research Libraries
ARL Membership Convenes in Philadelphia

Statistics & Measurement
ARL Salary Survey Highlights - by Mark Young, ARL Research Assistant for Statistics & Measurement /
 
The Future of Human Resources in Canadian Libraries

Making Library Assessment Work
 

 

Comings & Goings:

AUGUST 2005 LIBRARY EXHIBITS

 

Summer Survival:  Hot Tips From Your Government - Government Documents – Main 
Hall Wall Display Cases 

 

Latin American Countries, and Popular Culture: Colombia - Latín American and 
Caribbean Library Display
 
Emblems in the Twenty-First Century: Materials and Media- Main Hall Display 
Cases, July – August 2005
 
A Choice of Emblem Books: An Exhibit in Honor of the Seventh International 
Conference of the Society of Emblem Studies - Rare Book and Special Collections 
Library, 346 Library

 

 

Send items to Kim Reynolds
Library OnLine Notes
230 Library, MC-522
ksreynol@uiuc.edu
Fax – 217-244-4358