The Strengthening Kids’ Interest in Learning and Libraries Act, or the SKILLs Act, was re-introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this week with support from both sides of the aisle. This legislation is intended to ensure that all students will have the support and resources they need for a quality education by establishing a goal that all public school libraries employ no less than one highly qualified school library media specialist.
H.R. 3928 was introduced by Representatives Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-7) and Vernon Ehlers (R-MI-3) and was referred to the House Education and Labor Committee.
In 2007 the SKILLs Act was introduced in the 110th Congress by both Reps. Grijalva and Ehlers and received 30 cosponsors. This SKILLs Act was also introduced in the U.S. Senate in the 110th Congress by Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and received bi-partisan sponsorship from Senators Thad Cochran (R-MS), John Kerry (D-MA), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). There is no Senate legislation yet in the 111th Congress. In the 110th Congress, the SKILLs Act failed to be reported out of committee.
Jeff Kratz
Assistant Director, OGR
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Call your member in the House of Representatives and urge her/him to reform the USA PATRIOT Act now! Please ask your representative to co-sponsor the USA PATRIOT Amendments Act of 2009 (H.R. 3845), introduced by Rep. Conyers (MI-14) and others on October 20, 2009.
Mr. Conyers and the other cosponsors should be thanked for introducing H.R. 3845. To access the bill text, please click here:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.3845
A mark-up in the House Judiciary Committee is currently scheduled for Wednesday, November 4. Your calls are urgently needed before this mark-up! Call your individual representative’s office or the U.S. Capital switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
BACKGROUND: Three PATRIOT Act provisions are set to expire on December 31, 2009. This is the best chance we have had in the last eight years to get significant reforms to Section 215, often called the “library provision,” and to national security letters (NSLs).
The USA PATRIOT Amendments Act of 2009 protects constitutional speech and privacy rights by:
- Amending the NSL statute to ensure that the government only obtains financial, communication and credit records of people believed to be terrorists or spies;
- Requiring the government to convince a court that a national security gag order is necessary; and
- Ensuring that Section 215 does not authorize collection of library and bookstore records if they contain individualized information on the patron.
To find out who your member of Congress is, please go to the Legislative Action Center: http://capwiz.com/ala/home/
Library grassroots advocacy efforts have helped lead to the introduction of this strong Conyers bill to bring balance back to our civil liberties while allowing law enforcement to fight terrorist threats. We must do everything we can to ensure that the House of Representatives passes H.R. 3845, a bill that can lead to genuine reform of the deeply-flawed USA PATRIOT Act.
This is especially so because the Senate is set to pass a bill with far, far weaker reforms. Also, as expected, there is significant opposition to these reforms, including from the White House, the Department of Justice and the House Intelligence Committee. Many calls from library supporters and others will be needed to overcome this opposition. Call now with the following message:
THE MESSAGE:
- Pass H.R. 3845 to protect reader privacy and other First Amendment activities in libraries and bookstores;
- Reform Section 215 and national security letters so that a higher legal standard is required to obtain these types of orders;
- Ensure and maintain the legal right to challenge gag orders and require judicial review and reassessment to continue such gag orders;
- Continue the required audits and public reports so that Congress and the public can assess the impact of these laws; and
- Maintain the sunsets so that there can be regular Congressional and public oversight to protect against abuses of law enforcement powers.
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Contact: Jenni Terry
Press Officer
ALA Washington Office
(202) 628-8410
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, D.C. – The American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) is calling for nominations for the 2010 L. Ray Patterson Copyright Award. This annual award honors individuals or groups who embody the spirit of the U.S. copyright law as voiced by the framers of our Constitution: “to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts” (U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8).
Please send letters of nomination outlining a candidate’s qualifications for this award to Carrie Russell, Director, Program on Public Access to Information, ALA OITP, 1615 New Hampshire Avenue NW, First Floor, Washington, DC 20009, or to crussell@alawash.org. Include examples of how the nominee has contributed to the pursuit of the fundamental tenets of copyright law. Nominees who have worked or collaborated with libraries will be given special consideration. Nominations will be accepted through January 15, 2009.
Patterson was a foremost legal thinker, writer and champion of users’ rights. He was a pioneer who exposed the restrictive nature of new interpretations and unnecessary expansions of contemporary copyright law. For librarians, Patterson was a key legal figure who articulated how corporate interests have sidetracked the true purpose of copyright – to advance learning and to ensure that knowledge is broadly disseminated to the public. Through numerous books, articles, and briefs, Patterson highlighted and justified the importance of the public domain and fair use.
The award was founded by the ALA in 2002; a list of past awardees can be found on OITP’s Web site.
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As one of the founding members of the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition, the American Library Association’s (ALA) Washington Office has actively participated in communicating the role of anchor institutions in national broadband build-out to members of Congress, the National Telecommunications and Information Association (NTIA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Our messaging is finding its way into the formal discussions, as many leaders in Congress are now carrying the torch.
Senators send letter to NTIA
On Monday, October 26, Senator Kerry (D-MA), along with five of his colleagues including Sens. Warner (D-VA), Gillibrand (D-NY), Dorgan (D-ND), Udall (D-CO) and Landrieu (D-LA) sent a letter to Assistant Secretary Larry Strickling at the Department of Commerce.
In their letter, the senators express their concerns about the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) that was created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. They explain, “…the ARRA specifically states that BTOP is to provide greater broadband coverage not just to residences and businesses, but also to community anchor institutions such as schools, health care providers, and libraries. These critical institutions are included as a priority for funding because they provide essential educational and medical services to millions of Americans every day, and building these anchor broadband connections would help lay the infrastructure to connect surrounding communities.”
The senators continue by expressing their disappointment that, “…it has come to our attention that many of the community anchor institutions believe that the current BTOP application process does not consider their broadband needs and does not reflect the priority assigned to these institutions in the ARRA. There is concern that the application rules discourage community anchor institutions from applying for funding due to a definition of broadband that falls far short of the kind of high-capacity broadband often needed by these institutions. Additionally, we have heard that some of those that did apply found the application process to be complicated, discouraging, and largely unfocused on the needs of anchor institutions.”
The senators conclude their letter by urging Mr. Strickling to “…consider the priority and accessibility of funding for high-capacity community anchor institutions in future funding rounds.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. The ALA applauds Sen. Kerry and his colleagues for raising libraries’ concerns and articulating the challenges we’re facing along with other anchor institutions.
Libraries emphasized in Senate oversight hearing
On Tuesday, October 27, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing on the “Oversight of the Broadband Stimulus Programs in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).” (The archived webcast of the hearing is available here.)
This hearing was of particular interest to ALA as Assistant Secretary Strickling was a key witness. Mr. Strickling is responsible for NTIA’s distribution of $4.5 billion of the $7.2 billion designated for broadband programs. The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is responsible for distributing the other $2.5 billion. With the first-round Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) behind us and with more than 2,200 applications submitted (many of which included libraries in their applications), the complex review process for those applications is still ongoing. We are particularly interested in learning all we can about how applications are fairing and how the application guidelines are being applied or interpreted.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Strickling stated, “…we want to make broadband more widely available, especially to community anchor institutions such as hospitals, schools, and libraries.” It is worth noting that in his prepared remarks Mr. Strickling referenced “anchor institutions” and “libraries” three times each – for a total of six such references.
During the Q&A portion of the hearing in response to a question from Sen. Kerry, Mr. Strickling indicated that the first- and second-round NTIA funding will be targeted at anchor institutions. Of course, that caught our attention! While it is unclear exactly what that means, we are encouraged that the value of community anchor institutions is being recognized as part of the national broadband infrastructure.
Keeping the momentum up
Our work as part of the SHLB Coalition is a great example of how the ALA partners and works with others “inside the Beltway” and beyond to advocate for libraries. We look forward to weighing in on NTIA’s request for information on the first-round NOFA as soon as it is posted with the hopes of effecting changes to the second round.
Also, if you haven’t read it yet, my colleagues John Windhausen (ALA consultant) and Marijke Visser (ALA policy analyst for the Office for Information Technology Policy) make a great case for why fiber optic connectivity (where appropriate) is the best forward-looking solution for libraries as community anchors in their policy brief, “Fiber to the Library: How Public Libraries Can Benefit from Using Fiber Optics for their Broadband Internet Connection.”
Corey Williams
Associate Director, Office of Government Relations
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Believe it or not, Twitter, Facebook, Linked In and other Web 2.0 applications are becoming more and more effective tools for library advocacy efforts. Join Dr. Curtis Rogers (South Carolina State Library), Kristin Murphy (ALA Washington Office) and Stephanie Vance (Advocacy Guru), for this session on how libraries can use social media techniques to capture the attention of policymakers and the public they represent — from townhall to Washington, DC! If you’re wondering how to use Web 2.0 to get heard on issues that matter to your library, this is the place to be!
When: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 – 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM EDT
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