2005 ALA Legislative Day Report
LACUNY Legislative Action Committee
Report of LACUNY Legislative Action Committee Participation in ALA National Library Legislation Day, May 4th, 2005.
Shelly Warwick of Queens College Library School attended ALA National Library Legislative Day event representing LACUNY.
Since the delegate had participated in the event before she did not attend the Monday program for first timers, but arrived in Washington early Tuesday, May 3rd, for the briefing sessions which began at 10:15 with an overview of appropriations issues, followed by simultaneous sessions on Copyright and the USA Patriot Act. See appended copy of National Library Legislative Day Checklist of Issues. Since the delegate is highly conversant with copyright issues she attended the session on the USA Patriot Act. (Briefing papers on the issues addressed in the ALA sessions can be found at http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/washevents/nlld/nationallibrary.htm).
At 12:00 pm the ACRL provided a luncheon featuring a presentation on how to advocate entitled "Don't Let Democracy Get You Down" by Stephanie Vance. (Ms. Vance's presentation and a presentation she later delivered to a breakout session open to all delegates can be accessed at http://www.advocacyguru.com/2005/ala-acrl/dc.htm). The ACRL Legislative Agenda was distributed (briefings on the issues can be found at http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlissues/washingtonwatch/washingtonwatch.htm).
The agenda focuses on:
Intellectual property & Technology
Anti-circumvention – need to modify the DMCA
Database Protection – prevent new laws that will protect facts
Digital Rights management – need prevent legislation granting copyright holders downstream control over how works are used
Government Information
Presidential records – seeking to amend the Presidential Records Act (PRA) to reaffirm that all Presidential records be available after 12 years (in short to negate Executive Order 13233 issued by President Bush that allows former presidents to veto the release of some records even after the 12 year period provided in the PRA.).
Freedom of Information – supports legislation to speed the response of FOIA requests and to decrease the amount of information that has been added to a new category "sensitive but unclassified.".
Government Printing Office – supports increased funding to allow preservation of government documents and the creation of a national bibliography.
Funding – support for bills funding the Library Services and Technology Act, the Federal Depository Library Program and Government Printing Office, Library of Congress, National Agricultural Library, National Library of Medicine.
Intellectual Freedom and Privacy
USA Patriot Act – Issue of Section 215 which allows FBI to get library records – support legislation to amend the Act. This includes support for the Freedom to Read Protection Act H.R. 1157, The Library Bookseller and Personal Records Privacy Act (S.317), the SAFE Act (S.373 and H.R. 1526).
After lunch the delegate attended a general ALA briefing on Government Information and then one on LSTA.
Following the briefing sessions the LACUNY delegate met with the other delegates from New York State to discuss legislative visits for the next day. NYLA distributed packets showing how LSTA had been distributed in New York, including funds to support NOVEL and METRO. NYLA had arranged a meeting with a staffer from Senator Schumer's office at 11:00 a.m., which unfortunately conflicted with a meeting scheduled with Anthony Weiner. On Wednesday the LACUNY delegate met with staffers to bring academic library issues to the attention of a majority of the delegates with CUNY colleges in their district: Gary Ackerman at 10:00 am., Anthony Weiner (staffer Daniel Greenspahn) 11:00 a.m.; Gregory Meeks (staffer Sophia King) 12:00 noon; Jerold Nadler (staffer Maximiliano Sevillia) 1:30 p.m.; Eliot Engle (staffer Joanna Serra) 2:30 p.m.; and Charles Rangel (staffer Jonathan Sheiner) at 3:45 p.m. Since the visits were concluded by 4:15 this year the delegate elected not to stay for the final wrap-up reception and took an early train home.
In general the staffers met with had responsibility in education and library areas and not those related to judiciary issues (such as privacy and copyright) though all expressed strong support for libraries and library issues. In arranging the meeting with the Nadler staffer the person responsible for judiciary issues was met with. Nadler has been a strong supporter of libraries and introduced the Freedom to Read Act. The staffer, who has just taken on this responsibility this year, reiterated this support but was unfamiliar with some copyright and database protection issues and asked to be updated on the library point of view when legislation is introduced.
National Library Legislative Day 2005 Issue Checklist
Last Update: 28.04.2005 13:54
The topics of discussion this year will include:
Appropriations
Ask Congress to Support:
$221.33 million for the LSTA and $100 million for the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program.
Inclusion of Libraries in the Head Start Reauthorization
Copyright
Ask Congress to support/cosponsor:
HR 1201, The Digital Media Consumers Rights Act of 2005
Access to Government Information
Ask Congress to support:
Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National (OPEN) Government Act of 2005 (S. 394).
Restore FOIA Act (S.622)
Faster FOIA Act (S.589)
Privacy (Patriot Act)
Ask Congress to Support:
The Freedom to Read Protection Act (H.R. 1157)
Library Bookseller and Personal Privacy Act (S.317)
The Security and Freedom Enhancement (SAFE) Act (S. 737 & H.R. 1526)
Ask Congress to Oppose:
Real ID Act (HR 418)
Telecommunications E-Rate
Ask Congress to Support:
S.241 A bill to exempt Universal Service from the Antideficiency Act.
Submitted by
Prof. Lisa A. Ellis
Assistant Professor/Information Services Librarian
Newman Library of Baruch College, CUNY
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