In this issue...
1. SLA Continues to meet with EPA on Library Closures
2. Organizations Submit Letter Supporting FOIA Bill
3. Organizations Provide Statement on WIPO Broadcast Treaty
4. LCA Issues Statement on WIPO Broadcast Treaty
5. SLA Supports NHTSA TIS Reading Room
6. Oral Statement Given to the GPO
7. Court Rules Clickwrap Contract Enforceable
6. Orphan Works Deal in European Union
9. German Information Platform on Open-Access Launched
10. Directory of Open-Access Journals
11. Proposed TVNZ News Reference Library Closure in New Zealand
12. U.S. Government Reports Call for Access to Agency-Funded Research
13. ERIC Microfiche Digitization Project Moves Forward
14. The SLA Blog Debuts for Annual Conference
SLA Continues to meet with EPA on Library Closures
SLA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continue to meet and discuss the EPA's library closures. Recently officials from both organizations met in an effort to bring some understanding about recent media reports that libraries were closing and materials discarded within the EPA's regional library network. An EPA representative will provide a status update on the EPA's plans for its library network on Tuesday, June 5, 2007 9-10:30 a.m. as one part of SLA's Public Policy Update at the SLA Annual Conference in Denver, CO. Read Press Release.
Organizations Submit Letter Supporting FOIA Bill
A letter supporting the OPEN Government Act of 2007 (S. 849) and requesting co-sponsorship was sent to members of the U.S. Senate. Signatories included SLA. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is meant to ensure the public's access to government records. Many agencies employ stalling tactics and do not appear to take the mandates of the law seriously. The public has indicated it wants transparency and accountability from the government. Read Letter.
Organizations Provide Statement on WIPO Broadcast Treaty
Several organizations, including SLA, provided a statement outlining concerns with the WIPO Treaty on the Protection of Broadcasts and Broadcasting Organizations and how it could harm important economic and public policy interests. Members the group also submitted a statement in connection with a forum held at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on September 5, 2006--and the issues identified in that earlier statement largely remain relevant. The more recent statement, dated May 9, offers preliminary comments regarding the chair's "Non-paper on the WIPO Treaty on the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations" issued by WIPO on May 1. Read Statement.
LCA Issues Statement on WIPO Broadcast Treaty
The Library Copyright Alliance, of which SLA is a member, submitted a statement outlining concerns with the WIPO Broadcast Treaty. The U.S. libraries' position is that there is no compelling reason for the broadcast treaty, given the existence of the Rome Convention and the absence of any evidence of harm suffered by broadcasters. The statement also addressed why the U.S. should not support adoption of this treaty until a compelling case is made for its existence. Read Statement.
SLA Supports NHTSA TIS Reading Room
SLA, AALL, and ALA have written to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in support of NHTSA's Technical Information Services (TIS), Reading Room and to request an update on missing resources reported in a letter from April 11. The Reading Room provides important highway safety resources, especially those of historical nature, that are used by various groups within our communities: journalists, researchers, corporations, and the public. Though only a few individuals per day may visit the Reading Room, these individuals represent larger constituencies, and the information retrieved is compiled and disseminated to the population at large for public safety purposes. Read Letter.
Oral Statement Given to the GPO
An oral statement was given by AALL on behalf of AALL and SLA in support the full FY 2008 appropriations request of the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). The statement also appealed to members of congress to support the GPO and the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), as well as issues relating to a successful transition to a more electronic FDLP. Read Statement.
Court Rules Clickwrap Contract Enforceable
A Federal Court ruled in Pennsylvania that a Clickwrap contract is enforceable in Feldman v. Google Inc. The ruling finds that so long as a forum selection clause in the terms of the contract are readily accessible and clear, requiring users to scroll down or print the contract to see it and other terms is acceptable, and will not absolve a party who clicks "I Agree" without taking the time to view the whole agreement. The court determined that Google's AdWords contract, a "clickwrap" contract, was enforceable in its entirety. Read Blog. Read Court Ruling.
Orphan Works Deal in European Union
In a breakthrough deal, an E.U. group on digital libraries has agreed to a basic model for handling copyrights for digitalized cultural publications in libraries. The model--agreed on by organizations such as the British Library, the German National Library, the Federation of European Publishers, and Google--covers only orphan works and out-of-print works, but it does have built-in elements that could be adopted for commercial publications in the future. Read News Article.
German Information Platform on Open Access Launched
Researchers in Germany can now go to a central DFG-supported Web site to find information on open-access related issues. The Universities of Bielefeld, Goettingen, and Constance, and the Free University of Berlin jointly operate the platform and have received funding from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG). The site also offers advice for authors, journal editors, and other stakeholders, and will be extended to include services such as discipline-specific information. Read Article. Read Press Release-1 Read Press Release-2
Directory of Open-Access Journals
Since its beginning in 2003, the Directory of Open-Access Journals (DOAJ) service has grown expansively. The Open Society Institute, The Royal Library of Sweden, SPARC, SPARC Europe, and many others have all contributed making it possible for the Lund University Libraries to make the DOAJ an authoritative listing of peer-reviewed scholarly open access journals. Read More.
Proposed TVNZ News Reference Library Closure in New Zealand
In a letter to Television New Zealand (TVNZ), SLA urged TVNZ officials not to close the TVNZ News Reference Library. The News Reference Library is a crucial resource to staff, journalists, and overseas correspondents who rely not only on timely access to information, but also on the professional librarians who collect, analyze, and disseminate information necessary for accurate decision making. Read Letter.
U.S. Government Reports Call for Access to Agency-Funded Research
The Alliance for Taxpayer Access (ATA), of which SLA is a member, released a media advisory about recent reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) highlighting the need for public access to taxpayer-funded research. Read More.
ERIC Microfiche Digitization Project Moves Forward
The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is undertaking an initiative to obtain permission from copyright holders to convert, archive, post, and disseminate an electronic copy of full-text microfiche documents indexed from 1966-1992. The digitization project includes about 340,000 documents currently available only in microfiche format due to the specific language of the permission forms and the technology available at the time of indexing. This initiative will continue until March 2009. Read More.
Read SLA Eric Update
The SLA Blog Debuts for Annual Conference
If you're going to SLA's Annual Conference and Exposition--or just want to know what's going on? -- the SLA Blog is up and running. New content will be added daily. The blog has a more general name this year because SLA wants to keep it going on more general topics after the conference ends. Check it out at http://slablogger.typepad.com/sla_blog/.
To subscribe to SLA's Public Policy Connections and other SLA e-newsletters, go to: http://www.sla.org/content/Shop/enewsletters/index.cfm
If you have any questions or comments this newsletter, we would like your feedback. Please share your comments with Doug Newcomb.
Feedback form
