Attached is an introductory e-mail from the Special Libraries Association's
Director of Government Relations and a letter to the Commerce Secretary from
SLA's Executive Director regarding NTIS. In light of recent discussions on
the list, I thought I'd take the liberty to re-post it to AALL folks.
Steve
Steven Anderson
Librarian
Gordon Feinblatt Rothman Hoffberger & Hollander, LLC
233 East Redwood Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
Phone: 410.576.4255
Fax: 410.576.4246
E-Mail: sanderson@gfrlaw.com
Web: http://www.gfrlaw.com
attached mail follows:
Folks,
My apologies for the delay in responding to your many inquiries about this
issue. Our new electronic mail server has been installed recently, so we
have been experiencing some "growing pains" and thus, unable to communicate
electronically.
Below you will find the text of a letter sent to William M. Daley, Secretary
of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, and cc'd to appropriate members of Congress.
I would provide some links to appropriate press releases, etc., but I do not
have Internet access right now. So, a brief synopsis is in order.
A study conducted by the Dept. of Commerce (DOC) found that NTIS was losing
money, and that a dramatic shift to electronic distribution of NTIS's
products would help to save money. The DOC decided last week to recommend
to Congress that legislation be passed that would eliminate NTIS, with
archival responsibilities going to the Library of Congress. It is not yet
clear what would happen to availability of printed versions of NTIS reports
and other products.
Senator John Warner and Congressman Tom Davis, both of Virginia, have
sounded their concerns. NO ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN, AND NOTHING IS OFFICIAL.
This action by the DOC is a recommendation to Congress, and will undergo
scrutiny by the relevant oversight committees prior to any action being
taken. The letter below expresses SLA's viewpoint GIVEN THAT WE ARE UNAWARE
OF ALL THE DETAILS AND POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS. We will share with you any
and all information as we receive it. If you have any questions, please
contact me at your convenience.
¯-------------------------------------------------------
August 17, 1999
The Honorable William M. Daley
Secretary
United States Department of Commerce
14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20230
Dear Mr. Secretary:
On behalf of the nearly 15,000 information professionals who are members of
the Special Libraries Association (SLA), I write to express concern over a
recently-announced proposal to close the National Technical Information
Service (NTIS).
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Special Libraries Association is an
international association representing the interests of over 15,000
information professionals in 60 countries. Special librarians are
information resource experts who collect, analyze, evaluate, package and
disseminate information to facilitate accurate decision-making in corporate,
academic, and government settings. The Association offers a variety of
programs and services designed to help our members serve their customers
more effectively and succeed in an increasingly challenging environment of
information management and technology.
Our primary concern with the proposal to close NTIS lies in the availability
of present and future publications in printed format. SLA agrees with the
shift in focus to electronic availability of NTIS products, and we applaud
you for seeking to save the taxpayers money while ensuring delivery of
information. However, special librarians and information professionals
believe that their users will always require hardcopy products to meet
certain needs. The proposal in question allows for archival of NTIS
products through the Library of Congress. We are not aware of any
recommended procedure to ensure that printed products will continue to be
available to the public.
Also of concern to SLA is the fact that the interested non-governmental
stakeholders were not given an opportunity to engage in the development of
the proposal. Many in the U.S. library community consider the resources
produced by NTIS to be incredibly valuable. Elimination of the source of
these publications -- without alternatives for printed access -- should not
be taken lightly.
While the outcome of this matter is unclear right now, SLA believes that the
products generated by the National Technical Information Service are of
great value to information professionals worldwide and their users.
Implementation of this proposal without the involvement of all stakeholders
would be an unfortunate mistake. We look forward to working with you, the
White House, and the oversight committees of the Congress in order to reach
an appropriate resolution that will benefit all Americans.
With kindest regards, I am
Sincerely,
David R. Bender, Ph.D.
Executive Director
david-b@sla.org
cc: The Honorable Tom Bliley
The Honorable John Dingell
The Honorable Tom Davis
The Honorable James Moran
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