ALAWON v4n76 (August 9, 1995)
URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/alawon/alawon-v4n76

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                                                             ISSN 1069-7799
                                  ALAWON
                      ALA Washington Office Newsline
                     An electronic publication of the
              American Library Association Washington Office

                            Volume 4, Number 76
                              August 9, 1995

   In this issue: (187 lines)
     ALA ISSUES RESULTS OF FORUM ON GOVERNMENT INFORMATION POLICY -
          FULL TEXT FOLLOWS IN NEXT ALAWON ISSUE
     ALA PRESIDENT TUROCK TESTIFIES ON GOVERNMENT INFORMATION POLICY
     SENATOR FORD PROMOTES DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES

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      ALA ISSUES RESULTS OF FORUM ON GOVERNMENT INFORMATION POLICY -
                  FULL TEXT FOLLOWS IN NEXT ALAWON ISSUE

ALA has issued a press release highlighting ALA President Betty Turock's
recent congressional testimony (see article below) and the results of an
ALA sponsored Forum on Government Information Policy.  The Forum, held on
July 20-21 in Washington, DC, was initiated and chaired by Turock, and
brought together leaders from ALA and other national library organizations.

The Forum built on a "Framework" document, "Enhanced Library Access and
Dissemination of Federal Government Information: A Framework for Future
Discussion," developed by individuals from several library associations,
and endorsed by several, including ALA.  Forum participants then developed
a "Model for 'New Universe' of Federal Information Access and
Dissemination" as a working document for further discussion among the
library groups, and as a work-in-progress proposal in Turock's August 1
congressional testimony.

The model would (1) place responsibility for dissemination of government
information with a Chief Federal Information Dissemination Officer (evolved
from the current Superintendent of Documents) responsible to a Coordinating
Council Steering Committee with representatives from the three branches of
government; and (2) reinvent the Depository Library Program as a flexible
federal/state/local partnership.

The full text of the "New Universe" Model working document dated August 4
will follow immediately in the next issue of ALAWON.

Copies of the "Framework" and "New Universe" documents are also available
on the ALA gopher and from the ALA Washington Office, 110 Maryland Ave.,
NE, Washington, D.C. 20002, telephone:  202-547-4440.

AFTER AUGUST 23:  1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20004.  New
telephone:  202-628-8410.

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      ALA PRESIDENT TUROCK TESTIFIES ON GOVERNMENT INFORMATION POLICY

ALA President Betty J. Turock, speaking on behalf of seven national library
associations, testified August 1 before the Committee on House Oversight.
The hearing focused on how to increase the use of electronic technology for
government information access and on several pending measures to
restructure the current government printing system.  Her testimony was
presented on behalf of ALA, the American Association of Law Libraries, 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.

During the hearing, Chair Representative Bill Thomas (R-CA), compared the
37 volumes of the US Code on a cart to a single CD held in his hand.  He
questioned why the printed version is still the "official" one.  Thomas did
not give an indication of the direction the Committee is likely to take in
its quest to reform government printing.

The first panel consisted of Representatives Jennifer Dunn (R-WA) and Scott
Klug (R-WI).  Dunn suggested that the Government Printing Office continue
to be the government's print procurement agency, while eliminating most in-
house printing capacity.  She emphasized that her bill would bring many
fugitive documents from the executive branch into the depository program.
Klug, leader of House privatization efforts, asserted that all GPO printing
should be privatized.

Testifying on a second panel were Public Printer Michael DiMario and Sally
Katzen, Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
in the Office of Management and Budget.  DiMario emphasized that with the
requirements of the GPO Access Act, the Government Printing Office today
provides a full range of multi-media information services to Congress,
federal agencies and the public.  Katzen said that reinventing efforts need
to be comprehensive, and all interested parties need to be involved.

Betty Turock and Superintendent of Documents Wayne Kelley were on the third
panel.  The library associations' testimony was developed as part of a
forum convened by Turock had to discuss a framework and potential working
models for public access to government information.

Turock made three points: (1) Change is necessary in the face of scarce
resources and evolving technology.  She summarized innovative proposals
suggested by the library groups.  (2) Improvements must build on current
strengths.  Turock said that through the Depository Library Program,
Congress is "leveraging an enormous contribution from libraries to better
serve constituents." (3)  Costs and implications of proposed changes must
be known.  Turock cautioned that an immediate switch to all-electronic
distribution would shift major costs to libraries an the public.  Wayne
Kelley cautioned that changes to Title 44 must include certain safeguards
and that there are some "perils"--authenticity, preservation, for example--
in the use of electronic technologies.

The final panel consisted of Raymond Lawton, Chairman of the Board of the
Printing Industries of America; Fred Antoun, GPO Contractors Coalition; and
David Mason, Heritage Foundation.  They agreed that all government printing
should be performed by the private sector.  Lawton stated that an
open-procurement, centralized system like GPO should be retained.  Mason
recommended that GPO be abolished, and the indexing and depository
libraries functions moved to the Library of Congress.

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                SENATOR FORD PROMOTES DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES

Legislative language directing executive branch agencies to make
information available to the public through the GPO Access  electronic
directory was added by Senator Wendell Ford (D-KY) as the Senate considered
S. 1026, Department of Defense Authorizations for FY96 (see August 4
Congressional Record, pp. S11392 and S11469).  Explaining his legislative
language, Ford said:

          ...an executive agency will continue to determine when
          it will make information available to the public.  But
          once that decision is made, regardless of whether the
          information is reduced to printed form or posted on an
          electronic database, the public will be able to find it
          through the GPO access system.  The public is entitled
          to that information and should not have to own a
          computer with a link to the specific agency, or any
          other database, to find it.  My language ensures that
          they will not.  A simple trip to their library to
          access the GPO system is all that is required.

Ford praised the depository library program "as a system that is working
and working well.  It simply makes no sense in these times of fiscal
restraint to reinvent the wheel when it comes to a system by which the
public will locate and access government information."

The GPO Access provision was added to S. 1026 when the Senate approved an
amendment sponsored by Senators Cohen (R-ME), Levin (D-MI), Roth (R-DE),
Glenn (D-OH), and Bingaman (D-NM) to change the way the government buys and
manages information technology.  This section of the bill, the "Information
Technology Management Reform Act of 1995," is a modified version of S. 946

S. 1026 would amend the Paperwork Reduction Act, expanding the authority of
the Office of Management and Budget by giving it responsibility for
evaluating agency information systems as part of the annual budget process.
The bill would create a chief information officer within each agency and an
interagency Chief Information Officers Council.  Senator Ford's amendment
to the bill requires the Council to consult the Public Printer regarding
implementation of the GPO Access provision.

The Senate had not adopted S. 1026 at this writing.  The President has
threatened to veto the final Defense bill because of provisions relating to
a ballistic missile defense system that he says violates United States
treaties.

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ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the American Library
Association Washington Office, 110 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC
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Fax: 202-547-7363.  Contributing to this issue:  Carol C. Henderson and
Anne A. Heanue;  Editor: Lynne E. Bradley (leb@alawash.org).

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