Annual Report 2000 Public Policy Committee

ARLIS/NA Public Policy Committee
Annual Report for 2000

Submitted by:
Roger Lawson, Chair
r-lawson@nga.gov
T: (202) 842-6529
F: (202) 408-8530

Membership (2000):
Roger Lawson, Chair (National Gallery of Art Library); Jonathan Franklin (National Gallery of Canada); Roberta Geier (National Gallery of Art Library); James Mitchell (Frick Art Reference Library); Margaret Webster (Cornell University); Barbara Rockenbach (Yale University). Executive Board Liaison: Pat Lynagh (Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American Art/National Portrait Gallery)

Activities: The committee continued to monitor relevant legislative and copyright issues in 2000. ARLIS/NA's maintained membership in the Digital Future Coalition (DFC), with the committee chair serving as liaison. Pertinent information from the DFC listserv was forwarded to ARLIS-L on a regular basis. Information from the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH) list was also reviewed and posted to ARLIS-L as appropriate.

In March, committee member James Mitchell prepared a statement of ARLIS/NA's position on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act Section 1201a, which prohibits the circumvention of technological protection measures. The Society joined the American Library Association, the Special Libraries Association, and other professional organizations in urging the Librarian of Congress to exempt all classes of works from this prohibition. President Karen McKenzie signed for the society and the letter was posted on the U.S. Copyright Office's Web site.

On September 11 and 12, 2000 Roger Lawson and Barbara Rockenbach attended the Intellectual Property Symposium of the Americas held at the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Arlington, Virginia. Their report on the meeting was distributed to the ARLIS/NA membership on ARLIS-L.

Review of UCITA (Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act) developments in the individual state legislatures is ongoing. James Mitchell prepared a draft letter for use by ARLIS/NA chapters to urge state legislators to oppose adoption of UCITA. Through the DFC, ARLIS/NA is a member of AFFECT (Americans for Fair Electronic Commerce Transactions, formerly 4CITE), an interest group formed in November 1999 to coordinate opposition to UCITA.

2000-2005 Strategic Plan action items:

1. Establish guidelines for kind and quantity of involvement in political action and lobbying allowable under IRS 501(c)(3)-tax status.
   Status: ON-GOING: DFC membership and annual contribution.
2. Identify other agencies and associations with shared interests in legislative / policy matters; link with groups, as appropriate, to co-author and/or co-sign position statements; provide descriptive annotations on other groups' committees, working groups, etc.
   Status: ON-GOING. DFC membership; AFFECT membership.
3. Create, disseminate, and update regularly a list of legislative topics and issues of a particular concern to arts and image professionals; draft position statements consistent with ARLIS/NA interests; publicize endorsed statements or other documents describing the Society's position on legal issues and legislation via the ARLIS/NA Web Site and Society publications.
   Status: PLANNED. Devise survey of ARLIS/NA membership via ARLIS-L; evaluate; create prioritized list of topics/issues; determine status of committee's proposed Web site and presence on ARLIS/NA Web site.
4. Assign individual committee members to monitor specific web sites and listservs and report activities to membership via the ARLIS/NA Web site and ARLIS-L; refer items requiring action/responses to Executive Board.
   Status: ON-GOING. In addition to membership in the DFC, committee members monitor Web sites and publications of affinity organizations (such as ALA, SLA, AAM, CAA) and report to membership via ARLIS-L.
5. Create a "recommended reading" list on topics such as intellectual property, telecommunications, censorship and make available via the ARLIS/NA Web Site.
   Status: PENDING. Updated bibliographies will be made available on the committee's or ARLIS/NA Web site.
6. Create communication links and define responsibilities shared among Public Policy Committee, Diversity Committee, Collection Development Committee, and ARLIS/NA Chapters to identify issues and topics with legislative agendas.
   Status: ON-GOING. March 5, 2001