ALAWON v5n84 (December 6, 1996) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/alawon/alawon-v5n84.txt ------------------- ALWN584.ASC follows -------------------- ================================================================= ALAWON Volume 5, Number 84 ISSN 1069-7799 December 6, 1996 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (94 lines) SUPREME COURT ACCEPTS ALA'S CHALLENGE TO CDA FINAL REPORT TO CONGRESS ON PERMANENT PAPERS ISSUED _________________________________________________________________ SUPREME COURT ACCEPTS ALA'S CHALLENGE TO CDA ALA has just received word that the Supreme Court has accepted ALA's challenge to the Communications Decency Act for full review. We will post more information as it becomes available. _________________________________________________________________ FINAL REPORT TO CONGRESS ON PERMANENT PAPERS ISSUED In January 1988 ALA passed its first resolution on permanent paper. In spring 1988 the Association of American Publishers gave its endorsement to a New York Public Library campaign, begun jointly with well-known authors, to get book publishers to use alkaline or permanent paper. After Senator Clairborne Pell's (D-RI) first bill was introduced in October of that year, it was promptly endorsed by another ALA resolution in early 1989. This led to similar resolutions by other U.S. organizations and then by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions [IFLA] and the International Publishers Association later in 1989. On October 12, 1990 Congress passed P. L. 101-423, legislation establishing a national policy on permanent paper. The policy stated that it is the policy of the United States that Federal records, books, and publications of enduring value be produced on acid free permanent papers. To be permanent a paper must conform to additional technical specifications, the most widely recognized of which is designated as the American National Standard and often referred to by the acronym ANSI/NISO. An important feature of P. L. 101-423 was the requirement that three progress reports be made to the Congress on December 31,1991, 1993 and 1995, by the Librarian of Congress, the Archivist of the United States and the Public Printer. The last of these reports, reporting developments through 1995, received the authority to print as a Senate document (see the Congressional Record, September 25, 1996, S11326-8). Pell, co-sponsor of the law, referred to progress in the permanent paper campaign in the federal government, private sectors, states and international. For example, he cited the increase in the availability of permanent and alkaline paper for federal government use in the National Archives and Records Administration and the General Services Administration. The National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Historical Records Commission mandate the use of permanent and alkaline papers in projects they fund. Also, the National Library of Medicine campaigns to ensure that the world's biomedical journals are printed on alkaline or permanent paper. Pell added that enormous progress has been made in the United States, in Canada, in much of Europe, and in Japan in the production of books, other publications, and documents on paper which should endure for several centuries, instead of self-destructing in less than a century. Although the 1995 report is the last to be required by law, the Librarian of Congress, the Archivist of the United States and the Public Printer have stated their intention to continue to monitor progress in achieving the goals of the legislation on an ad hoc basis. Pell noted this is a welcome decision and a sentiment shared by the many members of Congress who have taken an interest in this matter, as well as those in the library, archival, scholarly and historical professions throughout the world. _________________________________________________________________ ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message "subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname]" to . ALAWON archives gopher.ala.org; select ALA Washington Office Newsline. Visit our Web site at . ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 Lynne E. Bradley, Editor Contributors: Deirdre Herman All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================