ALAWON v6n117 (December 18, 1997) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/alawon/alawon-v6n117 ================================================================= ALAWON Volume 6, Number 117 ISSN 1069-7799 December 18, 1997 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (200 lines) -ACTION ALERT: PRESIDENTS OF MAJOR LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS ISSUE JOINT APPEAL FOR IMMEDIATE CONGRESSIONAL CONTACTS IN SUPPORT OF PENDING DIGITAL COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION -AN OPEN LETTER TO THE LIBRARY COMMUNITY . . . _________________________________________________________________ NOTE: This message, and important supporting material, has been transmitted in 3 parts. This ALAWON is part 1 of 3. ACTION ALERT: PRESIDENTS OF MAJOR LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS ISSUE JOINT APPEAL FOR IMMEDIATE CONGRESSIONAL CONTACTS IN SUPPORT OF PENDING DIGITAL COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION As detailed in the unusual letter that immediately follows this alert, ALA President Barbara Ford and her counterparts at three of the nations other major library associations have jointly called upon librarians to act **immediately** in support of two pieces of landmark copyright legislation now pending before Congress. Specifically, the presidents of AALL, ALA, ARL and SLA are jointly urging each of their 75,000 combined members to encourage both of their Senators to cosponsor Sen. John Ashcroft's (R-MO) "Digital Copyright Clarification and Technology Act" (S. 1146) and their House Representative to cosponsor the "Digital Era Copyright Enhancement Act," introduced by Reps. Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Tom Campbell (R-CA) (H.R. 3048). ALAWON readers will recall substantial activity in Washington (and last winter in Geneva, Switzerland) directed toward updating the nation's copyright laws for the digital age. The introduction of the separate Senate and House bills cited above constitutes tremendous legislative progress toward ALA's goal of preserving the current balance in copyright law between protecting information and affording access to it. This progress is attributable in large measure to the work of the Digital Future Coalition (DFC), which ALA helped to found and in which it takes an active role. (DFC summaries of both S. 1146 and H.R. 3048 are included in the third part of this transmission.) Both Sen. Ashcroft's bill (S. 1146) and the Boucher/Campbell proposal (H.R. 3048) would affirmatively modify current law to make clear that Fair Use fully applies in the networked environment and that preservationists may use the latest technologies and methods. In addition, Rep. Boucher's bill would extend the First Sale Doctrine -- the basis of all library lending -- to the electronic environment. All three bill sponsors also have demonstrated their commitment to assuring that no library or librarian should be legally liable for any copyright infringement committed by a library user acting independently. The presidents make clear in their letter that they view S. 1146 and H.R. 3048, taken together, as the best approach to updating the Copyright Act to meet the challenges of the digital environment while, at the same time, preserving the critical balance between copyright owners and users in the electronic age. ACTION ALERT: Your help is needed in the next several weeks in assisting Sen. Ashcroft and Reps. Boucher and Campbell to persuade other members of the Senate and House to cosponsor S. 1146 and H.R. 3048, respectively. All ALA members -- and library supporters or all kinds -- are urgently requested to: -- study the attached fact sheets detailing the intent and provisions of S. 1146 and H.R. 3048; -- write to your House and Senate delegations requesting co-sponsorship of these bills (separate sample letters for the Senate and House are included in part 2 of this message); and -- call and visit the members of your Congressional delegation before January 25, 1998 and ask them specifically to "cosponsor" S. 1146 or H.R. 3048, as appropriate. Let Congress know that you care about updating copyright law for all Americans. Libraries' effectiveness and vitality in the 21st century depends on them...and on you. For information about contacting your Senators and Representatives and further background on this critical legislation, please consult the ALA Washington Office website at http://www.ala.org/washoff or the Digital Future Coalition's home page at http://www.dfc.org. Inquiries also may be directed to Adam Eisgrau, legislative counsel for the ALA Washington Office, at 800/941-8478. ________________________________________________________________ AN OPEN LETTER TO THE LIBRARY COMMUNITY . . . December 5, 1997 Dear Library Supporter: As the presidents of four of the nation's major library associations, we write to ask for your assistance in garnering support for two pieces of federal legislation of critical importance to the library community, indeed to libraries in every community. These bills are Sen. John Ashcroft's (R-MO) "Digital Copyright Clarification and Technology Act" (S. 1146) and the "Digital Era Copyright Enhancement Act," jointly introduced by Representatives Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Tom Campbell (R-CA) (H.R. 3048). In our view, these proposals present the best approach to updating the Copyright Act to meet the challenges of the digital environment while, at the same time, preserving the critical balance between copyright owners and users in the electronic age. Both bills include provisions which are essential to libraries if we are to effectively serve our patrons, scholars, researchers, and students in the networked environment. We seek your immediate help in assisting Sen. Ashcroft and Reps. Boucher and Campbell to persuade other members of the Senate and House to cosponsor S. 1146 and H.R. 3048, respectively. WHY THIS EFFORT IS IMPORTANT TO ALL LIBRARIES Each year, millions of researchers, students, and members of the public benefit from access to library collections -- access that is supported by fair use, preservation programs, interlibrary loan, and more. We must ensure that the Copyright Act continues to serve the public who rely upon these collections and services. The Ashcroft and Boucher-Campbell bills seek to update the Copyright Act by extending the balance that we currently enjoy so that owners, creators, and users alike may benefit fully from the opportunities of the digital environment. These bills appropriately extend the balance by clarifying or updating selected privileges granted to libraries, researchers, educational institutions and others under current law. ACTION IS NEEDED NOW! Accordingly, we are asking the members of our Associations -- and all other library supporters -- to: -study the attached fact sheets and sample letter detailing the intent and provisions of S. 1146 and H.R. 3048; -write to your House and Senate delegations requesting co-sponsorship of these bills; and -call and visit the members of your Congressional delegation and ask them to cosponsor S. 1146 or H.R. 3048, as appropriate. Senator Ashcroft, and Representatives Boucher and Campbell, would appreciate our help in achieving passage of this potentially landmark legislation. The most critical first step in this process is to engage members of Congress and seek their endorsement of these bills. Let Congress know now the importance of updating the Copyright Act for your institution, your users, and of ensuring that libraries will be able to effectively serve the nation in the information age. Thank you. Our associations stand ready to assist you in any way that we can. Please do not hesitate to call upon us and to let us know of your efforts. Sincerely, Judith A. Meadows, President American Association of Law Libraries Barbara J. Ford, President American Library Association James G. Neal, President Association of Research Libraries Judith J. Field, President Special Libraries Association _________________________________________________________________ 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 listproc @ala.org. To unsubscribe, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/ washoff/alawon. Visit our Web site at http://www.alawash.org. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 800.941.8478 (V) Lynne E. Bradley, Editor Deirdre Herman, Managing Editor Contributors: Adam Eisgrau All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================