ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


2 4  /  C&RL News

Washington
Hotline

 

Lynne E. B ra d le y

A cadem ic lib raria n s 
and the 105th Congress
R e a u th o riz a tio n  o f  th e 
Higher Education Act CHEA) 
and new initiatives on intel­
lectual property and copy­
right legislation will be criti­
cal legislative issues impor­
tant to academic librarians to 
be addressed by the 105th 
Congress when it convenes 
this month.

R eau th orization  o f  the 
H ig h e r  E d u c a t i o n  A ct 
(HEA). HEA reauthorization is a critical legis­
lative initiative for higher education advocates 
and academic librarians. Congress is expected 
to begin its work on HEA immediately though 
some predict it will not be completed until 1998. 
Two key issues for debate are the costs of higher 
education and the future o f various student aid 
programs.

The U.S. Department of Education has re­
quested public comments regarding reauthori­
zation o f HEA. As published in the F ed e r a l Reg­
is te r  (N ovem ber 19, 1996, 5 8 9 3 7 -4 0 ), the 
Department’s initial questions for public com ­
ment deal almost exclusively with student aid 
programs and related management issues. ALA 
has been in contact with other higher educa­
tion groups that also seem to be focusing on 
the cost and finance issues. However, this is 
still an excellent opportunity to weigh in on 
important issues.

Academic librarians are encouraged to re­
spond to Secretary of Education Richard Riley’s 
request for comments, suggestions, or ideas 
regarding reauthorization proposals. Write to: 
Adam Ochlis, 600 Independence Ave., SW, 
ROB-3, Room 4050, Washington, DC 20202 or 
to the following e-mail address created specifi­
cally for reauthorization: reauth_l@ed.gov. Com­
ments must be received on or before January 
31, 1997.

New initiatives o n  intellectu al p ro p e rty  
an d  co p y rig h t legislation. Intellectual prop­
erty and copyright legislation will continue to 
be a critical issue before the 105th Congress.

L y n n e E . B rad ley  is depu ty  ex ecu tiv e d irector of 
A L A  ’s W ashington O ffice; e-m ail: leh@ alaw ash.org.

Legislation that would have 
fundamentally upset the cur­
rent balance in United States 
copyright law was rejected 
in the last Congress because 
o f its potentially negative 
effects on American indus­
try, education, and public 
access to the Internet. Simi­
lar international proposals 
were debated— and poten­
tia lly  a d o p te d — by th e 
World Intellectual Property 
Organization (WIPO) during 
a th r e e -w e e k  D e c e m b e r 

Diplomatic Conference in Geneva, Switzerland. 
Just prior to international copyright negotia­
tions at WIPO, five major library associations 
urged U.S. delegates to reconsider their posi­
tions and not to negotiate on issues on which 
there is no consensus. In addition to ALA, the 
other four associations were the Association of 
Research Libraries, the American Association 
o f Law Libraries, the Medical Library Associa­
tion, and the Special Libraries Association.

S ta y  inform ed of leg islative initiatives
There are a number o f resources available to 
you to keep up-to-date on these and other is­
sues. ALAWON, the ALA Washington Office 
Newsline, is a regular e-mail publication. To 
s u b s c r ib e  e l e c tr o n ic a lly  v is it http:// 
www.ala.org/washoff/subscribe.html or send 
th e  m e s s a g e : s u b s c r ib e  a la -w o  [y o u r_
firstnam e][your_lastnam e] to listp ro c@ a la l. 
ala.org. ALAWON is also available at http: 
//www.ala.org/washoff/alawon/. The monthly 
ALA W ashington News, fact sheets, and other 
updates on key federal legislative issues cov­
ered by the ALA Washington Office and the 
Office for Information Technology Policy are 
also found at http://www.alawash.org.

The monthly ALA W ashington News is also 
published in paper form for $35/year. Contact 
the ALA Washington Office at (800) 941-8478 
for subscription information.

The ALA Washington office welcomes your 
ideas on other ways to communicate with aca­
demic librarians and how ALA can be of fur­
ther support on legislative issues. We look for­
ward to working with ACRL and its members 
on these and other critical issues during the 
105th Congress. ■

mailto:reauth_l@ed.gov
mailto:leh@alawash.org
http://www.ala.org/washoff/subscribe.html
http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon/
http://www.alawash.org