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CONTACT YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IMMEDIATELY AND URGE THEM TO SUPPORT S.
2288 TO IMPROVE PUBLIC ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS
S. 2288, the Wendell H. Ford Government Publications Reform Act of 1998, was
introduced on July 10, 1998, by Senator John Warner (R-VA) and Senator
Wendell Ford (D-KY). The bill revises Title 44 of the United States Code to
improve public access to government publications and includes key provisions
to strengthen the Federal Depository Library Program.
ACTION NEEDED NOW: Phone or fax your Members of Congress immediately. Urge
your Senators to co-sponsor S. 2288 and support its passage in the Senate.
Urge your Representative to support S. 2288 when action on the bill is taken
up by the House.
Be sure to take advantage of the August congressional recess to visit your
Senators and Representative at their district offices to follow up on your
phone call or fax.
TALKING POINTS: Tell your Members of Congress that S. 2288 must be enacted
this year because:
(1) the notification provisions in S. 2288 will make publications in all
formats from all three branches of government easier to identify and locate;
(2) the enforcement mechanisms in S. 2288 will close the loopholes in the
current law that lead to "fugitive documents," and will ensure agency
compliance with Title 44; and (3) the permanent public access provisions in
S. 2288 will ensure continuous and permanent access to electronic government
publications for future generations.
Tell your Members of Congress that S. 2288 will make it easier for the
American public--their constituents--to access government publications.
Tell your Members of Congress that S. 2288 will make it easier for you, as a
law librarian, to provide better services to the public in meeting their
government information needs.
BACKGROUND: There is very little time remaining since the 105th Congress
will adjourn in early October. S. 2288 is the culmination of 20 years of
examination and discussion on the need to reform Title 44. Over the past 19
months, Senate staff have worked with the library community and other
stakeholders to develop this bill, which includes important changes to
Chapter 19 of Title 44, the law governing public access to government
publications and the Federal Depository Library Program.
On July 29, three librarians--former ALA president Barbara Ford, IAWG chair
Daniel O'Mahony, and AALL's Washington Affairs Representative, Robert
Oakley--representing seven national library associations--testified before
the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration in support of S. 2288.
Copies of their testimony, along with other background information about the
bill, are available from the Inter-Association Working Group on Government
Information Policy website: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/IAWG. All three
library community witnesses reiterated the importance of enacting S .2288
this year to close loopholes in the current law and to improve and enhance
public access to publications in all formats from all three branches of
government.
Others testifying at the hearing on July 29 in support of S. 2288 included
representatives from the Government Printing Office, the Printing Industries
of America, the Information Industry Association, OMB Watch, the Council of
GPO Unions, and the Communications Workers of America. Statements from all
witnesses are available at the Rules Committee website:
http://www.senate.gov/~rules.
For the past year and a half, I have represented AALL on the
Inter-Association Working Group on Government Information Policy (IAWG).
Enactment of S. 2288 to critically important to the future of the Federal
Depository Library Program and to the public's ability to access government
publications. Every call, fax, and office visit is important so please join
our library colleagues across the nation in lobbying for the enactment of
this legislation.
Thank you very much,
Mary Alice Baish
AALL Assistant Washington Affairs Representative
202.662.9200
baish@law.georgetown.edu
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