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AALL Washington Affairs Legislative and Regulatory Update 06/95
June 1995
Mary Alice Baish
Assistant Washington Affairs Representative
Georgetown University Law Library
111 G Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
202/662-9200 *FAX:202/662-9202
Internet:baish@law.georgetown.edu
Charting the Future of Federal Information
Dissemination and Access
On April 13, 1995, during the GPO Spring Depository Conference
here in Washington, AALL sponsored a meeting at Georgetown Law
Library for twenty-four representatives from AALL, ALA, SLA and
ARL. Bob Oakley and I initiated this meeting to refine earlier
discussions on the future of the Federal Depository Library Program
held by the Dupont Circle Group in April 1993 and the Chicago
Conference in October 1993. So much has developed in the growth of
the electronic dissemination of government information since these
earlier discussions that an update was clearly in order. AALL
members participating in this April meeting included Susan Dow,
Chair of the Government Relations Committee (GRC); Carol Moody,
Chair of the Government Documents SIS; GRC members Susan Tulis and
Cheryl Nyberg, and Sally Holterhoff.
Our major premise was that the federal information infrastructure
today employs several distinct dissemination channels. These
include the Government Printing Office, the National Technical
Information Service, the Library of Congress, and individual
federal agencies. Another area of agreement was that we, as
librarians, need to become more proactive so that we are not always
having to react to the various legislative proposals which come
along. Our ultimate objective of developing a model for enhanced
dissemination of government information led us to set the following
four strategic goals for this discussion:
* to identify the core elements of an effective federal
information program;
* to acknowledge the growth of electronic dissemination while
recognizing the viability of print;
* to prepare criteria by which to measure legislative
proposals regarding the Government Printing Office and the Federal
Depository Library Program in preparation for future hearings;
* and to build consensus among the four library associations
regarding these criteria.
We successfully worked through all four goals during the morning
session which was facilitated by Prue Adler, Assistant Executive
Director of ARL. As a test case, we measured the Dunn bill against
the yardstick criteria for an effective program which we had
developed. Following the meeting, a two-page summary was drafted
and we have continued our discussions through a special listserv
set up by Susan Dow.
Since many of us agreed that much still remains to be developed in
preparation for the upcoming hearings on the Dunn bill and other
amendments to Title 44, we have scheduled a follow-up meeting to be
held here at Georgetown Law Library on May 10, 1995. The goal of
this second meeting is to further develop the concept for a
"Federal Information Dissemination and Access Program." We are now
debating in our listserv discussions whether there needs to be some
kind of "central authority" to administer the program. And if so,
how should it be organized, as an independent agency or perhaps as
a board or commission, and how far-reaching should its authority
extend?
With answers to these complex questions, and hopefully consensus on
the part of the four library associations, we will be able to
present to members of Congress a model dissemination and access
program for government information that will carry us well into the
21st century.
Legislative Update
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995--The PRA was part of House Speaker
Newt Gingrich's "Contract with America" and thus was on a
legislative fast track. The Conference Committee met just prior to
the April recess to reach consensus on differences between H.R. 830
and S. 244. Members of the committee agreed to a 6-year, rather
than a permanent, reauthorization of the PRA. In addition, the
waiver clause language of H.R. 830, by which agencies could
potentially charge excessive user fees, was stricken from the bill
by the conferees. We had lobbied in support of both actions and
were pleased with this outcome. The bill is being held up in the
Senate but will be sent to the White House following President
Clinton's summit trip to Russia later this month. AALL took a
leadership role in responding to the PRA legislation with each of
our letters being co-signed by ALA, ARL and SLA.
H.R. 1024, the Dunn bill--Hearings have not yet been scheduled on
the Dunn bill or other amendments to Title 44. We see this as a
plus particularly in light of the discussions described above to
reach consensus among library associations on an enhanced model
program. On the afternoon of April 13th, a meeting was arranged for
GRC members with Susan McColley, Legislative Assistant to Rep.
Jennifer Dunn (R-WA). Since McColley expressed a desire to visit a
depository library, a tour of the documents department at Seattle
Public Library was set up for her during the April recess. Seattle
Public, a GPO access gateway site, has been a depository library
since 1908. We are also scheduling a visit to the documents
department at Georgetown University's Lauinger Library for
McColley, and perhaps Rep. Dunn as well, once exams have concluded.
It is clear that few members of Congress have firsthand knowledge
of depository libraries and that we are faced with the critical
need to educate them as they weigh the future of the program.
Telecommunications Competition and Deregulation Act of 1995--S.
652, the telecommunications deregulation bill, may go to the Senate
floor for a vote as early as next week. On the House side, Rep.
Markey (D-MASS) has recently distributed a draft copy of a House
telecom bill to members of the House Commerce Committee. We hope
that this draft will be made available to the public soon. AALL
sent a letter last week to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) commending him
for introducing S.714, the "Child Protection, User Empowerment, and
Free Expression in Interactive Media Study Bill." This legislation
authorizes the Dept. of Justice, assisted by the Commerce Dept, to
study and report back to Congress on technological alternatives to
control information on online communication systems. Unlike the
Exon amendment of S. 652 which would hold authors of "obscene,
lewd, lascivious, filthy, indecent" materials criminally liable, S.
714 does not attempt to control the content of information
available through networks. In our letter, we urged the removal of
the Exon amendment from S. 652 and we endorsed Sen. Leahy's
alternate legislation. Copies of the letter were sent to the co-
sponsors of the Leahy bill, Senators Bob Kerrey (D-NEB) and Herb
Kohl (D-WIS); to Sen. Larry Pressler (R-SD), Chair, Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; as well as to
Senators Exon (D-NEB) and Gorton (R-WA) who introduced the
"Communications Decency Act."
And Now, A Note of Thanks
My first three months as Assistant Washington Affairs
Representative have been a most positive although hectic experience
for me. Looking back at those first few days and weeks, with
Legislative Branch downsizing hearings threatening to dismantle
several agencies and controversies arising such as the so-called
"West provision" of the PRA, I was certainly thrown into a
maelstrom of legislative activity. Few of us had envisioned the
frenetic pace of the first 100 days of the 104th Congress. Now, as
our representatives return from the April recess, let us hope that
a semblance of thoughtful restraint descends upon Capitol Hill and
that the impact of legislation is carefully considered by members
of Congress.
I would like to take the opportunity in this, my inaugural column,
to thank all of you who have offered me very kind words of welcome
and support. In March, I had the fortunate opportunity to meet
members of the Executive Board during their Chicago meeting, and I
have very much enjoyed working with members of the Government
Relations Committee. I look forward to meeting many of you at the
Legislative and Regulatory Update on Tuesday, July 18th, in
Pittsburgh. Hope to see you there!
© 1996, American Association of Law Libraries
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