Annual Report 1999 Public Policy Committee

February 4, 2000

ARLIS/NA Public Policy Committee
Submitted by: Roger Lawson, Chair
r-lawson@nga.gov
T: (202) 842-6529
F: (202) 408-8530

Membership (1999):
Roger Lawson, Chair (National Gallery of Art Library); Roberta Geier (National Gallery of Art Library); James Mitchell (Frick Art Reference Library); Katherine Poole (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); Maryly Snow (University of California, Berkeley); Iris Snyder (University of Delaware); Margaret Webster (Cornell University) Executive Board Liaison: Pat Lynagh (Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American Art/National Portrait Gallery)

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). Executive Board Liaison: Pat Lynagh (Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American Art/National Portrait Gallery)

Activities: The committee continued to monitor relevant legislative issues in 1999. Through the Digital Future Coalition, the committee recommended society endorsement of H.R. 1858 "Consumer and Investor Access to Information Act" and opposition to the alternative, H.R. 354 "Collections of Information Antipiracy Act." The 105th Congress shelved this bill and it was expected to be revisited early in 2000.

ARLIS/NA's membership in the Digital Future Coalition (DFC) continued, with the committee chair serving as liaison. Pertinent information from the DFC listserv was forwarded to ARLIS-L on a regular basis.

Review of UCITA (Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act) is ongoing. In early 2000, the act will be sent to the individual state legislatures for action. Through the Digital Future Coalition, ARLIS/NA joined the group 4CITE ("For a Competitive Information and Technology Economy"), a broad-based coalition of developers and users of computer and information technology formed in response to the passage of UCITA. The group supports the development of high-quality computer and information technology and the growth of fair and competitive markets in technology licensing and electronic commerce. ARLIS/NA joins the American Library Association, the American Association of Law Librarians, the Association of Research Libraries, the Special Library Association, and the Virginia Association of Law Libraries among the coalition's charter members.

The committee also prepared a press release supporting the Brooklyn Museum of Art's defense of First Amendment rights in keeping the exhibition "Sensations" open despite efforts by the Mayor of New York City to withdraw city funding unless certain works in the exhibition were removed from view.

Strategic Plan action items:

137. 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.

138. 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. working on policy and legislative concerns, and report on Web Site. Status: ON-GOING. DFC membership; 4CITE membership.

139. Publicize, and make copies available, ARLIS/NA's position papers and all signed and co-signed documents or letters stipulating the Society's official stance on legal or legislated issues. Status: ON-GOING. ARLIS-L postings of ARLIS/NA letters and statements.

140. Assign individual committee members to monitor specific web sites and listservs; report activities to membership, and refer items requiring action/response 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.

141. Create list of legislative topics/issues of particular concern to arts and image librarians; create procedures for updating and disseminating the list; set priorities for items on the list; draft position statements consistent with ARLIS/NA's interests. Status: PLANNED. Devise survey of ARLIS/NA membership via ARLIS-L; evaluate; create prioritized list of topics/issues; determine status of committee's Web site and presence on ARLIS/NA Web site.

142. Create a "recommended reading" list on topics of intellectual property, telecommunications, censorship, etc.; report to members. Status: PENDING. Updated bibliographies will be made available on the committee's or ARLIS/NA Web site.

143. Create communication links and define responsibilities shared among Public Policy C., Diversity C., and Collection Development C. to identify issues and topics with legislative agendas. PLANNED.