Tag Archives: access

FASTR is the new FRPAA

Posted on February 21, 2013 by | 3 Comments

On February 14, 2013 the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act (FASTR) was introduced in both the House and Senate – Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and cosponsor Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the Senate bill, S. 350  and Rep. Michael Doyle (D-PA) and cosponsors Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Kevin Yoder (R-KS) introduced  the House bill, H.R. 708.

While this bipartisan legislation has a new name, the language of the bill is almost identical to that of Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA), introduced in the last congress.

If passed, the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act (FASTR) would:

  • Require federal departments and agencies with an annual extramural research budget of $100 million to develop a policy to ensure researchers submit an electronic copy of the final manuscript accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
  • Ensure that the manuscript is preserved in a stable digital repository maintained by that agency or in another suitable repository that permits free public access, interoperability, and long-term preservation.
  • Require that each taxpayer-funded manuscript be made available to the public online and without cost, no later than six months after the article has been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
  • Require agencies to examine whether introducing open licensing options for research papers they make publicly available as a result of the public access policy would promote productive reuse and computational analysis of those research papers.

In essence, this legislation would advance and expand the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy implemented in 2008 which requires public access to taxpayer-funded research to an additional 11 agencies.

In his press release, Congressman Doyle stated that “This bill will give the American people greater access to the important scientific research results they’ve paid for”. To thank Congressman Doyle, the ALA signed on to a letter (pdf) expressing gratitude for his “leadership in introducing the Fair Access to Science and Technology Act, and for [his] long-standing commitment to the success of crucial public access policies”.

The ALA has long supported greater access to non-classified government information and these bills would make it possible for librarians and the public at large to view greater amounts of government research at no additional cost.  ALA is working with Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) and the Alliance for Taxpayer Access (ATA), (for which ALA is a member) to advocate on behalf of legislation that calls for expanding public access to federally funded research.

Please take the time to thank those who have already signed on to support FASTR and use the ALA’s Legislative Action Center to ask your representatives to cosponsor the bills.

About Jessica McGilvray

Jessica McGilvary is the Assistant Director of ALA Washington Office's Office of Government Relations (OGR).

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Posted in Accessibility, Library Advocacy, OGR, Open Access

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New GPO report suggests charging taxpayers twice for government info

Posted on February 12, 2013 by | 3 Comments

Rebooting the Government Printing Office: Keeping America Informed in the Digital AgeThe National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) recently released their congressionally mandated report, Rebooting the Government Printing Office: Keeping America Informed in the Digital Age.  NAPA’s five-member panel spent ten months conducting an audit of the Government Printing Office (GPO). The panel’s lengthy 166 page report does present some interesting, and at times, troubling thoughts.

On one hand the panel definitely grasps the difficult position that GPO is in considering that, with 97% percent of today’s federal documents are born digital, the GPO has had to make many changes over the past two decades.  With the advent of GPO Access and later the Federal Digital System (FDsys), GPO has made strides in continuing to be America’s go to place for authentic government information.  However, finances have become a problem.  The change of providing access to materials that were primarily available in print to what is now primarily digital information comes at an increased cost.

The report contains 15 recommendations that “are designed to position the federal government for the digital age, strengthen GPO’s business model, and continue to build the GPO of the future.”  The recommendations, among other things, suggest that GPO expand its services and the report points out the value of GPO’s relationship with depository libraries and the need for appropriated funds to catalog, digitize, and preserve government documents.

While much of the report is reasonable and responds to the needs of libraries, the public, and GPO itself, the section in Finding III-5, Government Information Dissemination and Access, is cause for concern.  This section describes the history of FDsys and the costs associated with ensuring that it is continually up-to-date, future proof and, a usable resource for the public.  It also gives some ideas on how GPO might ensure funding for FDsys in the future.  One of these ideas is that “now might be the time to revisit charging the public for access to FDsys content.”  NAPA recognizes that FDsys would still be available free of charge via depository libraries, however considering that the public has already paid for this material via their tax dollars, the government should not ask for them to pay a second time.

The report states that “free access of government information is an important tenet of a democracy.”  They include a ‘however’ after that statement.  The American public deserves access to the documents of their federal government without an additional cost.  The American Library Association supports and will continue to advocate for funding for the GPO to provide access to government works at no additional cost to the public.

About Jessica McGilvray

Jessica McGilvary is the Assistant Director of ALA Washington Office's Office of Government Relations (OGR).

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Posted in Government Information, OGR

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Defining Digital Literacy – guest post from Renee Hobbs

Posted on June 14, 2012 by | Leave a comment

What is digital literacy? The term has been rising in visibility since 2009 but it has been used quite differently by a variety of stakeholders including policy makers, educators, and business and technology professionals. Next week, at the American Library Association’s annual conference, I’ll be moderating a discussion about four distinct but interrelated definitions and and uses of this important term. Sharing ideas with me will be Judy Kleinberg of the Knight Foundation, Roseanne Cordell, a librarian at Indiana University South Bend, and Laurel Felt, a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism.

Depending on what group of people you talk to, the term ‘digital literacy’ might suggest one or more of these meanings. Which of these definitions are most (and least) useful to your work? For school, academic or public librarians, which of these terms is most important and relevant?

Computer Skills and Access Issues. Having broadband access and knowing how to use the Internet enable full participation in society. For some, basic keyboard and mouse skills are essential skills while others may benefit from a greater understanding of file management and browsers. For example, websites like DigitalLiteracy.gov emphasize the value of using the Internet to find a job, create a resume and for career exploration.

Issues of Authorship. People are creating and sharing more than ever. The concept of digital literacy reflects the growing importance of user-generated content and the changing role of authorship in a digital age. Digital literacy programs like YouMedia empower people with easy access to powerful tools of expression and communication using social media, images, language, music, sound, and interactivity.

Issues of Representation.  How do you decide what to believe? Librarians who value information literacy note the important skill of being able to evaluate the credibility of information sources. Credibility assessment websites like Politifact and FactCheck.org offer an examination of the relationship between the symbol and the thing symbolized. Determining what’s more accurate or less accurate (or what a “quality” source is) is a judgment about issues of representation.

Online social responsibility. How do people learn to integrate ethics in both their online and offline lives? Many people have real concerns about how people behave in online social relationships. The immediacy and instantaneousness of digital media may promote cyberbullying, sexting, disrespect for copyright, privacy violations and inappropriate information sharing. Groups like Common Sense Media provide guidance for helping young people develop the knowledge they need to make appropriate choices about how to manage their digital life.

If you’re coming to the American Library Association’s Annual Conference in Anaheim, California, please join us to discuss the concept of digital literacy in what is sure to be a dynamic, lively and provocative discussion. If you can’t attend the event, please follow and contribute to the conversation through Twitter with our hashtag, #digilit12.

Saturday, June 23
4:00-5:30
Anaheim Convention Center
Room 206B

Renee Hobbs is the Founding Director of the Harrington School of Communication and Media at the University of Rhode Island.  She is co-editor of the open access peer review Journal of Media Literacy Education and the Founder of the Media Education Lab, a research center that improves the practice of media literacy education through scholarship and community service. Hobbs also currently serves as an OITP Fellow. This post originally appeared on Renee Hobb’s blog at the Media Education Lab.

About Marijke Visser

As Assistant Director of OITP, Marijke’s responsibilities include primary management of OITP’s E-rate activities, working in collaboration with Larra Clark and Alan Inouye. In addition, Marijke’s policy portfolio includes projects focused at the intersection of children and youth and information technology policy as well as broadband adoption issues including digital literacy and challenges for diverse populations. As Assistant Director, Marijke also has responsibility for OITP communications and other office-wide activities.

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Posted in Copyright, Digital Literacy, Events, OITP, Telecommunications

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New ALA Report Explores Challenges of Equitable Access to Digital Content

Posted on May 23, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The American Library Association (ALA) today released a new report examining critical issues underlying equitable access to digital content through our nation’s libraries. In the report, titled “E-content: The Digital Dialogue,” authors explore an unprecedented and splintered landscape in which several major publishers refuse to sell ebooks to libraries; proprietary platforms fragment our cultural record; and reader privacy is endangered.

“Broad information access is essential for communities to compete in the global knowledge economy,” said ALA President Molly Raphael. “As more and more content is delivered digitally, we simply cannot afford to lock down books and lock out readers. This timely supplement addresses the need to protect fair and reasonable library access to digital information.”

The report, published as a supplement to American Libraries magazine, explores various licensing models and the state of librarian-publisher relations. Additionally, the report provides an update on the ALA-wide effort to promote access to digital content (co-chaired by Robert Wolven, associate university librarian at Columbia University, and Sari Feldman, executive director of the Cuyahoga County Public Library). The effort includes meeting with publishers, distributors and other important stakeholders; championing public advocacy, and writing position papers that advance practical business models without compromising library values.

E-content: The Digital Dialogue identifies a number of ways libraries and publishers can collaborate to lessen the digital content divide.

the spectrum of interests and perspectives on ebooks“Publishers, distributors and libraries must accept that new models of lending will not look like the old print model,” writes Robert C. Maier, director of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, and Carrie Russell, director of the ALA Program on Public Access to Information. “We are not just trying to solve a library lending problem, although that is the current emergency.”

After detailing his conversations with a reader, writer, publisher and bookseller, Douglas County Public Library Director James LaRue also asks librarians to “rethink,” and lays out directions to pursue, including an updated legal framework, new content management models and partnership opportunities with other stakeholders in the reading ecosystem.

“Libraries will have to transform into places that help citizens become full-fledged creative members of their communities, both producing and archiving personal stories,” writes Peter Brantley, director of the BookServer Project at the Internet Archive.

Lisa Long Hickman, sales and marketing manager of Dzanc Books, argues for open lines of communication to enable fair play, and Deborah Caldwell-Stone deputy director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, urges proactive steps to protect library users’ privacy rights.

“This report reflects both the here and now, and what is to come down the digital road,” said Alan Inouye, director of the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy, and editor of the publication.

View the supplement (PDF). For more information about the ALA’s efforts on digital content and libraries, visit the American Libraries e-content blog.

About Jazzy Wright

Jazzy Wright is the Press Officer of the American Library Association's Washington Office. Email her at jwright@alawash.org.

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Posted in Accessibility, Digital Divide, e-books, Public Libraries, Telecommunications

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Petition the White House to Open Access to taxpayer-funded research

Posted on May 21, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Click to sign!Who:
You! And anyone you know who supports libraries and supports increasing access to information – especially research that you (the public) helped fund.

What:
A petition is posted at “We the People” asking the White House to require the published results of taxpayer-funded research be made available via the Internet (without having to pay an additional fee to access the research).

When:
Now! 25,000 signatures must be secured by June 19 to ensure the White House will respond.

Where:
Go to wh.gov/6TH electronically sign the petition. It’s that easy!

Why:  Why not?! The petition asks the White House to build upon the tremendously successful National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy implemented more than four years ago and now has 500,000 users accessing and downloading two million articles a day.

But wait, there’s more! The petition’s request to the White House essentially mirrors active legislation – the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2012 (FRPAA) (S. 2096, H.R. 4004) – that would extend the NIH model to make available taxpayer-funded research of an additional 11 federal departments and agencies! Increased access would allow librarians the ability to better assist patrons with their information and research needs as well as allow direct access by the public.

Please spread the word by forwarding, posting and tweeting (#openaccess), etc.!

Corey Williams
Associate Director, Office of Government Relations
American Library Association

About Corey Williams

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Posted in Higher Education, OGR, Open Access, Public Libraries, School Libraries, Telecommunications

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