may06c.indd


Ber nadette Murphy W a s h i n g t o n  H o t l i n e  

Librarians, others oppose 
“Smithsonian Networks” venture 
Early in April, the Smithsonian Institution 
announced the creation of “Smithsonian 
Networks,” a joint venture between the 
Institution’s Smithsonian Business Ventures 
Unit and Showtime Networks. 

According to Jeanny Kim, vice president 
for media services at Smithsonian Business 
Ventures, filmmakers and researchers who 
wish to have “more than incidental” access to 
Smithsonian archives or Smithsonian curators 
or scientists would have to offer their project 
to this new business venture. Librarians and 
other groups believe that this policy will dis­
courage independent filmmakers from creat­
ing projects for other media outlets. Further, 
the policy will discourage an independent 
filmmaker from making a documentary and 
releasing it on the Internet or on a noncom­
mercial basis. 

ALA has several concerns about this new 
venture. First and foremost, the Smithsonian 
Institution has refused to disclose any details 
of the agreement. In a letter to members of 
the Smithsonian Institution, a spokesperson 
states: “This is a business contract that does 
not involve federal funds. Such contracts 
are confidential as they contain proprietary 
information that no company should have to 
share publicly.” 

But the Smithsonian Institution is not 
merely a business venture. It is a publicly 
chartered guardian of America’s national 
heritage, created by the U.S. Congress “for 
the increase and diffusion of knowledge 
among men.” The Smithsonian Institution’s 
FY2005 Annual Report noted that the Institu­
tion receives 75 percent of its revenue from 
federal appropriations, government grants, 
and government contracts. The Institution is 
governed by a Board of Regents appointed 
from all three branches of government. The 

Bernadette Murphy is communications specialist at ALA’s 
Washington Offi  ce, e-mail: bmurphy@alawash.org 

Smithsonian is a public trust in the truest 
sense of the term. 

The Institution, as a public trust, operates 
as custodian of this country’s shared heritage. 
Because the arrangement with Showtime 
Networks has raised grave concerns among 
the public, ALA believes it is imperative that 
the Institution disclose the details of this 
agreement. The Smithsonian Institution, by 
subscribing to the “intent and spirit” of the 
Freedom of Information Act, should keep in 
mind that the aim of the law is “a general 
policy of full agency disclosure.” 

While disclosure of the terms of the 
contract is our first concern, our broader 
concern is the troubling principle established 
by the venture of a “right of fi rst refusal.” 
The prospect of potentially requiring that an 
independent filmmaker, a video blogger on 
the Internet, a historian, or educator who 
makes “non­incidental” use of the Smith­
sonian collections or needs access to staff 
first present their project for commercial 
exploitation by this new business venture is 
an anticompetitive practice that is extremely 
troubling. 

The Center for American Progress has 
spearheaded a campaign—in which ALA is 
participating—to ask the Smithsonian Institu­
tion to do the following: 

• Disclose the terms of the contract with 
Showtime Networks and any other commer­
cial agreements that limit access or use of 
the collections. 

• Annul the contract with Showtime 
Networks, as it was awarded without public 
comment and without a competitive procure­
ment process. 

• Hold hearings to gather comment from 
a broad cross section of the public before un­
dertaking any further actions that limit access 
to the collections for which the Smithsonian 
acts as guardian or limit access to the talented 
and highly capable staff of the Institution. 

Please stay tuned to ALAWON for further 
developments on this issue. 

May 2006  315 C&RL News 

mailto:bmurphy@alawash.org