--- Begin Forwarded Message --- Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1998 18:16:03 -0700 (PDT) From: GOVDOC-L <[log in to unmask]> Subject: ALAWON v7, n90: ACTION ALERT: URGE PASSAGE OF S. 2288 (fwd) Sender: GOVDOC-L <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Reply-To: GOVDOC-L <[log in to unmask]> Message-ID: <[log in to unmask]> Hello, Please pass this action alert to your subscribers. Thanks, Aimee Quinn GOVDOC-L Moderator ---------- Forwarded message ---------- American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (129 lines) ACTION NEEDED: URGE CONGRESS TO PASS S. 2288 TO IMPROVE PUBLIC ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS; AUGUST RECESS GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO CONTACT MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN HOME DISTRICTS ALA AND LIBRARY COLLEAGUES TESTIFY IN FAVOR OF S. 2288 _________________________________________________________________ ACTION NEEDED: URGE CONGRESS TO PASS S. 2288 TO IMPROVE PUBLIC ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS; AUGUST RECESS GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO CONTACT MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN HOME DISTRICTS ACTION NEEDED: Library supporters should contact their Members of Congress and ask them to enact S. 2288, which should be a priority for them in the short time remaining in this congressional session. S. 2288, The Wendell H. Ford Government Publications Reform Act of 1998, is critical legislation that rewrites Title 44 and will make government publications in all formats easier to identify and locate and ensure continuous and permanent access to electronic government publications for future generations. The August congressional recess is an excellent opportunity to contact your Senators and Representatives in their local district offices to urge their support of S. 2288. This is also an opportunity to invite legislators to visit your library to see firsthand how the public uses government information in a variety of formats. Depository libraries have a special role in demonstrating the important role that they play in serving the public. THE MESSAGE: - Urge your Senators to cosponsor S. 2288 and support its passage in the Senate; - Urge your Representative to support S. 2288 when action on the bill is taken up by the House; - Emphasize the importance of enacting S. 2288 before the end of this Congress; - Stress the importance to the American public of passage of S. 2288 to assure for access to government information and publications already paid for by the public. _________________________________________________________________ ALA AND LIBRARY COLLEAGUES TESTIFY IN FAVOR OF S. 2288 Three librarians representing seven national library associations testified before the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration on July 29. The committee, chaired by Sen. John Warner (R-VA), is considering S. 2288, the Wendell H. Ford Government Publications Reform Act of 1998. The bill, introduced on July 10, would revise Title 44 of the United States Code to improve public access to government information in the 21st century, including strengthening the Federal Depository Library Program. Those testifying for the library community were: Barbara Ford, Virginia Commonwealth University and immediate past-president of ALA; Daniel O'Mahony, Brown University Library and chair of the Inter-Association Working Group; and Robert Oakley, Georgetown University Law Center and Washington affairs representative for the American Association of Law Libraries. Their testimony was presented on behalf of ALA, AALL, the Association of Research Libraries, the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, the Medical Library Association, the Special Libraries Association, and the Urban Libraries Council. All three library community witnesses reiterated the importance of enacting S. 2288 before the end of the 105th Congress in October to close loopholes in the current law and to improve and enhance public access to publications from all three branches of government regardless of format. "The reforms articulated by S. 2288 are critical to maintaining a viable system for public access to government publications and for enhancing that system to handle the challenges of new technologies in the 21st century," Ford testified. O'Mahony underscored the need for reform this year: "Every day that goes by that these provisions are not in effect, the American public loses access to information that they have paid for and that they have a right to, today and in the future." Oakley highlighted the government's partnership with the American people in making government publications accessible to all. Other witnesses included Michael DiMario, Government Printing Office; George Lord, Joint Council of GPO Unions; William Boarman, Communications Workers of America; Ben Cooper, Printing Industries of America; Dan Duncan, Information Industry Association; and Patrice McDermott, OMB Watch. All witnesses spoke in favor of the bill, although some raised questions about issues of concern or the need to clarify sections in the bill. The librarians' testimony is available from the Inter-Association Working Group on Government Information Policy Web site at http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/IAWG. Testimony of all the witnesses and additional statements are located on the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration Web site at http://www.senate.gov/~rules/hearings/72998.htm The bill is scheduled for mark-up when the Senate returns in early September. _________________________________________________________________ ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc @ala.org. To unsubscribe, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to [log in to unmask] ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/ washoff/alawon. Visit our Web site at http://www.alawash.org. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 800.941.8478 (V) Lynne E. Bradley, Editor <[log in to unmask]> Deirdre Herman, Managing Editor <[log in to unmask]> Contributors: Anne Heanue All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. ================================================================= --- End Forwarded Message ---