LCA Makes Statement on Orphan Works
The Library Copyright Alliance, of which SLA is a member, has released an overview statement reviewing the Orphan Works issue. Orphan works are works whose copyright owners cannot be identified and located. Libraries and archives possess millions of orphan works in their collections, in the form of photographs, letters, manuscripts, drawings, and older books. These works often have great historic and cultural significance. Read More. 

SLA Supports Fair Use Act
SLA and other organizations strongly support the introduction of the Freedom And Innovation Revitalizing U.S. Entrepreneurship (FAIR USE) Act of 2007, H.R. 1201. At the end of 2006, Dr. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, approved six exemptions from the prohibition on circumvention of technological measures contained in section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. These exemptions will sunset in three years. The FAIR USE Act makes these six exemptions permanent. Two of these exemptions are particularly important to the library community: for screen readers for the visually impaired and for film clip compilations for college media studies classes. Read letter.

NHTSA Reading Room Threatened
In late February, SLA learned that The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Reading Room was being threatened with downsizing and/or closure as part of NHTSA's planned relocation to a new building. In March SLA and other organizations wrote a letter to the (NHTSA) expressing the importance of individuals having access to this information to research on a daily basis. On 2 April 2007, SLA and several organizations met with NHSTA's Chief Information Officer Margaret O'Brien to get more detailed plans on the proposed changes and schedule. At that time it was assured that there would be a reading room in the new space. O'Brien requested a list of important reading room issues, and specific examples of materials which were no longer available. Safety Research & Strategies, Inc. compiled a list of this information, and provided it to NHSTA on 11 April 2007.

SLA Voices Concerns about CRS
SLA and other organizations wrote letters to Speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, Rep. Vernon Ehlers, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and Sen. Robert Bennett to urge a ensure no-fee online public access to all Congressional Research Services (CRS) reports. Read Related Article. Read Memo.

U.S. Military Library Closings
During the past several months, there have been several rumors of potential military library closings, and some actual library closings. It appears that the military may be running “what if” scenarios if additional funding is not received from the government. If funding is not received, the different branches may start to cut social programs, which include funding for base libraries. If these libraries close a number of services they offer will affect many military communities. SLA will continue to monitor this issue as more information becomes available. Please share any relevant information you may have with Doug Newcomb, Chief Policy Officer, at SLA. Related Article.

Microsoft Still Too Big for E.U.
European Union officials are discussing their discontentment with Microsoft's market position and possible antitrust issues. In the meantime, the legal case is going through the courts with key rulings from Europe's Court of First Instance possibly coming to a decision by end of the year. Read More.

Powers of Patriot Act Abused
In March it was reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was underreporting National Security Letter requests and has repeatedly violated federal law and agency policies in collecting personal information. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at the Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that the report unleashed a firestorm on the Hill, with calls for reform of the USA PATRIOT Act. Read more.

Organizations Comment on Possible DRM Legislation in Israel
Several organizations, including SLA , composed a letter to the Head of the Law, Information and Technology Authority Ministry of Justice of Israel. The letter addresses several issues involving Digital Rights Management (DRM), including the controversial issues surrounding anticircumvention rules. Read Letter.

Missouri House Introduces Computer Spyware Act
The Missouri House has introduced the Consumer Protection Against Computer Spyware Act. This bill makes it illegal for an unauthorized user to intentionally modify the settings of a computer belonging to a consumer, collect personally identifiable information from the computer, prevent an authorized user's reasonable efforts to block the installation of or disable installed software, remove or disable security software installed on the computer, or take control of the consumer's computer by transmitted commercial electronic mail or a computer virus from the consumer's computer. Read More.

YouTube Lawsuit
Viacom executives have filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Google and YouTube. The conglomerate claims that YouTube, owned by Google, has infringed on the company's content by allowing people to "steal" and post countless hours of their content. The issue is whether YouTube is protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Read Article.

Support for a more Open Government
The U.S. House of Representatives introduced a bill to target government foot-dragging in answering the millions of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests it receives every year. This legislation would require government agencies to adhere to the 20-business-day deadline for responses. It also allows for requesters a means to track the status of their requests. Read Article.

FCC Takes Another Look at Net Neutrality
The Federal Communications Commission is beginning an inquiry into how broadband providers are behaving in providing access to the Internet to subscribers. The inquiry notice was given at the 22 March commission meeting. The purpose of this inquiry is to find out 1). whether providers are restricting access to sites on the Internet, 2). if they are giving some sites favorable treatment, and 3). if the companies are charging extra for that. Also this looks into how consumers are affected by these three issues. Read Article.

New Copyright Renewal Database Developed
Stanford University has developed a new database that can search copyright-renewal records for books published in the United States between 1923 and 1963. This new database was developed by Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources. Read Article.

European Publishers Express concern over Open Access
Scientific publishers in Europe are worried that the European Commission is planning to support online open access to scientific information. They claim this will undermine their businesses. A study released last year on the European scientific publishing market, showed an analysis of the market and made a series of recommendations for policy which the scientific community welcomed but criticized by the publishing industry. Read Article.

If you have any questions or comments about Public Policy Connections, we would like your feedback. Please share your comments with dnewcomb@sla.org.