Library Juice 1:40 - November 11, 1998
Contents: 1. Intellectual Freedom Quotes at the FAIFE website 2. Intellectual Freedom Action Network 3. Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report (South Africa) 4. South African Place Names 5. LATINO PERIODICALS: A SELECTION GUIDE just published! 6. Latino Children's Literature Awards 7. The MIT Encyclopedia of Cognitive Sciences [Frames] 8. National Reference Center for Bioethics Literature 9. Internet Use Policies of State Library Associations 10. ALCTS publishes Standardized Handling of Networked Resources bibliography 11. E. J. Josey Scholarship Award for 1999 12. PLA Allie Beth Martin Award 13. LAMA/YBP STUDENT WRITING AND DEVELOPMENT AWARD COMPETITION 14. The ALA Elizabeth Futas Catalyst for Change Award: Call for nominations 15. Barnes & Noble To Buy Ingram For $600 Million 16. Bag Day - NATIONWIDE PROTEST AGAINST BARNES & NOBLE 17. MAI Not Dead Yet! Important information. 18. A Crash Course for Citizens on the MAI [RealPlayer] 20. AALL PRESS RELEASE: Ruling on Amicus Brief in Hyperlaw case Quote for the week: "The computer is here to stay, therefore *it* must be kept in its proper place as a tool and a slave, or we will become sorcerer's apprentices, with data data everywhere and not a thought to think." -Jesse Shera, "Librarianship and information science," in Fritz Machlup and Una Mansfield, _The study of information: interdisciplinary messages_ (NY: John Wiley and Sons, 1983) Note: Library Juice ends its hiatus from publication one week earlier than announced. The inbox couldn't take another week of buildup, and certain items seem to be time-sensitive. Welcome new subscribers! Subscriptions have gone up dramatically since the back issues were put into html format. Search engines seem more likely to pick up html pages than ascii text documents. Publication is back on its weekly schedule until further notice. ____________________________________________________________________________ 1. Intellectual Freedom Quotes at the FAIFE website >>> ALAUser <dwood[at]ala.org> 11/07 8:59 AM >>> http://www.faife.dk/litter/Quotes.html ____________________________________________________________________________ 2. Intellectual Freedom Action Network The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom has developed the Intellectual Freedom Action Network (IFAN). Those who join--and joining is free!--are asked to act as "eyes" and "ears" for intellectual freedom. IFAN members are expected to do one or more of the following: Read the newspaper and watch your local TV programs for incidents of censorship, and report them to OIF. (You can report to OIF by e-mail, fax, phone, or U.S. mail.) Send us any information you come across. Monitor lists and computer bulletin boards looking for incidents of censorship and information on pressure groups that are forming in your area. Report this information to OIF. Attend library board, school board, and local government meetings. On average, more than two-thirds of the materials challenged were in school libraries or school curricula. Don't wait for a controversy to erupt; make your views known before this happens. Be willing to lend your support to someone who is facing a challenge and to respond to requests for support from OIF on controversies in your area. Tell others about the Intellectual Freedom Action Network. If you would like to join the Intellectual Freedom Action Network, send your Name, Address, City/State/Zip, Phone, Fax, and Email to: Intellectual Freedom Action Network American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom 50 East Huron Street Chicago, IL 60611 IFAN members receive the Intellectual Freedom Action News free. (Issues of this publication are available online at http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/ifan_pub.html.) IFAN members also are subscribed to the IFACTION list and receive up-to-the-minute news, action alerts, and other information from OIF. ________________________ Don Wood American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom 50 East Huron Street Chicago, IL 60611 800-545-2433, ext. 4225 Fax: 312-280-4227 dwood[at]ala.org ____________________________________________________________________________ 3. Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report (South Africa) http://www.truth.org.za/final/index.htm Truth and Reconciliation Commission Official Homepage http://www.truth.org.za/ Archbishop Desmond Tutu, chairman of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), presented the long-awaited 3,500 page report to President Mandela, on October 29. The TRC was established in 1995 to investigate human rights violations committed by all sides during the apartheid era. After two-and-a-half years and the testimony of over 21,000 victims, the TRC has produced a report which accuses leading figures from all political parties of human rights violations. The controversial nature of the report led to two legal challenges prior to its publication. The first, by former President F W de Klerk, was successful, and sections relating to him have been removed. The other challenge, by the ruling African National Congress (ANC), failed, and the report contains multiple accusations of ANC wrongdoing in its long fight against apartheid. The harshest criticism, however, is reserved for the senior figures of the apartheid system. The TRC site provides the full text of the final report in five volumes, totalling over ten megabytes. The TRC homepage offers information on the Commission, its legal background, the work of its various committees, an Amnesty Database, recommended reading, and suggested links. [MD] >From the Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-1998. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ ____________________________________________________________________________ 4. South African Place Names From: "Erik P. Mansoor" <mansoor[at]FLASH.NET> Subject: GEOGRAPHIC NAMES X-To: ANS-L[at]BINGVMB.CC.BINGHAMTON.EDU To: Multiple recipients of list ANS-L <ANS-L[at]BINGVMB.CC.BINGHAMTON.EDU> http://www.anc.org.za:80/ancdocs/briefing/nw19981106/62.html GEOGRAPHIC PLACE NAMES BILL WILL CREATE CULTURAL AWARENESS: MTSHALI NATIONAL ASSEMBLY November 5 1998 The South African Geographical Names Council Bill would contribute to an awareness of the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of South Africa's place names, Arts and Culture Minister Lionel Mtshali said on Thursday. Introducing debate on the bill, he said it established a permanent geographical names council to advise on names to be used for official purposes. Standardisation of place names would be an important feature of the council's work. "We believe that standardisation can prevent unnecessary conflict and misunderstanding, especially in a multicultural and multilingual country such as South Africa, where different groups traditionally use different names for a place." Up to now, the National Place Names Committee had performed this function, but its too-narrow mandate - excluding, for example the names of topographical features such as mountains and rivers - had hampered its effectiveness. Wide representation of all the language and cultural groups of South African society and the particular expertise of its members would ensure that the commission was acceptable to all groupings within the South African community. ____________________________________________________________________________ 5. LATINO PERIODICALS: A SELECTION GUIDE just published! Edited by REFORMISTAS Salvador Guerena and Vivian Pisano, _Latino Periodicals_ is a collection development tool for librarians who need information on Latino periodicals suitable for public, school and academic libraries. The nearly 300 titles, which are described and evaluated by specialists, include general interest and popular magazines, newspapers, fotonovelas and newsletters that will appeal to Spanish-speaking, bilingual and English-speaking library patrons, as well as the more specialized journals appropriate for the larger public and academic libraries. The entries are arranged by subject or type of publication. Title and topic indexes are provided and an appendix gives addresses for vendors and distributors. 159 pp. $30 sewn softcover ISBN 0-7864-0540-6 McFarland, 1998. ____________________________________________________________________________ 6. Latino Children's Literature Awards To: Multiple recipients of list EQUILIBR <EQUILIBR[at]CMSA.BERKELEY.EDU> Thanks to the foresight and hard work of children's literature advocates from three distinct places, there are now three children's book awards in the United States that honor books by Latino authors and/or illustrators, or that honor works about the Latino children's experience. All three awards are different and distinct from each other. For more information, see the web sites for each award. . When selecting the books for children, may I suggest you check out these award winning books. Help promote quality Latino children's books by urging schools, book stores and the public library to get these titles and to highlight appropriate titles during Dia de los Muertos, Navidad,April 30th Dia de los Ninos: Dia de los Libros during Hispanic Heritage Month, and year round. 1. Pura Belpre Award. Given by REFORMA the National Association to provide Library Services to the Spanish Speaking and ALSC, the Association for Library Services to Children, a division of the American Library Association. http://www.ala.org/alsc/belpre.html The 1998 winners are Victor Martinez for Parrot in the Oven - text and Stephanie Garcia for Snapshots of a Wedding- Illustration Also includes honor book winners. Tomas Rivera Award- Given by Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos,Texas. http://edtech.ci.swt.edu/Rivera/mainpage.html The 1998 winner is Pat Mora for Tomas and the Library Lady. Illustrated by Raul Colon. The Americas Award Sponsored by CLASP,the Consortium of Latin American Studies Program, the University of Wisconsin, Madison. http://www.uwm.edu/dept/grad-sch/ The 1997 winners are Francisco Jiminez for The Circuit and The Face at the Window by Regina Hanson, Illustrated by Linda Saport Also includes honor winners. Disfruten. Oralia Garza de Cortes REFORMA Children's Services Committee ____________________________________________________________________________ 7. The MIT Encyclopedia of Cognitive Sciences [Frames] http://mitpress.mit.edu/MITECS/ The MIT Encyclopedia of Cognitive Sciences (MITECS), an electronic publication of the MIT Press, is a new comprehensive reference work that encompasses the diverse theories and methodologies of the cognitive and brain sciences. The encyclopedia contains 471 specialized articles by preeminent researchers and scholars; articles include extensive bibliographies and provide multiple cross-references. MITECS spans six major topics: Philosophy; Psychology; Neuroscience; Computational Intelligence; Linguistics and Language; and Culture, Cognition, and Evolution. The introductory essays that precede each major section discuss topics within the larger framework of the cognitive sciences. The encyclopedia may be browsed by an author or a topic index, and the entire work is searchable by keyword. Please note that first-time users of the encyclopedia are required to register at the site; necessary registration information includes email address, full name, and research interests. [AO] >From the Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-1998. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ ____________________________________________________________________________ 8. National Reference Center for Bioethics Literature http://adminweb.georgetown.edu/nrcbl/ The National Reference Center for Bioethics Literature (NRCBL), located at Georgetown University's Kennedy Institute of Ethics, maintains the "world's largest collection related to ethical issues in medicine and biomedical research." Among other services, the NRCBL's Website helps researchers, teachers, and students find resources on bioethics topics. Bibliographies of recent literature cover special topics such as Assisted Suicide/Right to Die and Cloning, materials in the NRCBL's Kampelman Collection of Jewish Ethics, and more general resources. A series of Scope Notes (accessed through the Ethics and Human Genetics section) provides background notes and citations to literature on selected topics. Visitors to the site can also link to universities with programs in Bioethics, the Bioethicsline bibliographic database, a catalog of course syllabi available for purchase through the Center, and other Internet resources. [GW] >From the Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-1998. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ ____________________________________________________________________________ 9. Internet Use Policies of State Library Associations Internet Use Policies/Internet Filtering Statements of State Library Associations located on the Office for Intellectual Freedom site has been updated. It can be found at http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/intr_inf.html#iupifs As of October 28, 1998, links are provided to statements from Georgia, Kansas, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Virginia. OIF has received filtering resolutions from California Library Association Georgia Library Association Kansas Library Association Minnesota Library Association Montana Library Association Academic Special Libraries Division Montana Library Association Public Library Directors New Hampshire Library Association New Jersey Library Association North Carolina Public Library Directors Association Rhode Island Library Association Tennessee Library Association Virginia Library Association Illinois Library Association has not passed a resolution on filtering, but rather has endorsed the ALA policy on filtering. OIF would appreciate your sending paper copies of filtering resolutions from other state associations. OIF also would appreciate knowing which other associations, if any, have endorsed the ALA policy without passing its own resolution on filtering. Thank you. ________________________ Don Wood American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom 50 East Huron Street Chicago, IL 60611 800-545-2433, ext. 4225 Fax: 312-280-4227 dwood[at]ala.org ____________________________________________________________________________ 10. ALCTS publishes Standardized Handling of Networked Resources bibliography The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS), a division of the American Library Association, has published Standardized Handling of Networked Resources: An Annotated Bibliography. It can be found on the ALCTS Web site at http://www.ala.org/alcts/organization/div/nrmc/bib_main.html. The bibliography is the work of the ALCTS Networked Resources and Metadata Committee's Subcommittee on Standards. The subcommittee's intent is to provide a source of relevant information as it pertains to the issues facing ALCTS members as they address the collection, cataloging and provision of access to networked resources. It contains sections on transport, markup, display, identifiers, metadata and ratings, as well as a glossary of acronyms. The bibliography is linked to a variety of online resources and is intended to serve as a starting point for exploring standardized handling of networked resources. This publication is part of the subcommittee's ongoing work and will be updated regularly. Other sections are being developed. The Networked Resources and Metadata Committee was established in June 1995 as the ALCTS Digital Resources Committee. Its name and charge were changed to their present form in June 1998. For more information, see the committee's Web page at http://www.ala.org/alcts/organization/div/nrmc/nrmc.html. ---------------------------- ALA NEWS RELEASES American Library Association Public Information Office News Releases Vol. 4, No. 6 For Immediate Release November 9, 1998 Contact: Joyce Kelly, Press Officer Linda Wallace, Director 312-280-5043 or 5042 E-Mail: pio[at]ala.org ____________________________________________________________________________ 11. E. J. Josey Scholarship Award for 1999 The Black Caucus of the American Library Association is announcing the E.J. Josey Scholarship Award for 1999. Three Scholarship Awards of $2,000 will be given to three graduate students in an ALA accredited Library and Information Science program in the USA or Canada. Persons wishing to apply must: * Be an African American Citizen of the United States or Canada. * Be enrolled in a graduate program leading to a degree in library and information science at the time of application. * Submit an essay of 1,000 - 2,000 words discussing "Challenges and Opportunities Facing African American Librarians in the New Millenium" * Essays will be judged on the basis of good argument development and critical analysis, clear language, conciseness, and creativity. Submitted essays will not be returned. Special Instructions: Include a cover letter providing the applicant's name, address, phone number, graduate program, name of school and anticipated date of graduation. Double-spaced typing on all pages. Deadline for submissions: December 15, 1998. The recipient of the award will be notified by March 1, 1999. Submit your essay for the award to: E.J. Josey Scholarship Committee Att. Dr. Ismail Abdullahi Clark Atlanta University School of Library and Information Studies James P. Brawley Dr. at Fair Street, S.W. Atlanta, Georgia 30314 ____________________________________________________________________________ 12. PLA Allie Beth Martin Award ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1998 14:28:52 -0800 (PST) From: Pilsitz, June <JPilsitz[at]city.newport-beach.ca.us> To: Multiple recipients of list <web4lib[at]sunsite.berkeley.edu> Subject: [WEB4LIB] PLA award Do you know a librarian with an extraordinary range and depth of knowledge about books, electronic resources, and other library materials? Does that person possess outstanding communication skills as well--through booktalks, presentations to community or professional groups or in written reviews? The Public Library Association's Allie Beth Martin Award honors such a person every year. The Award provides recognition and a $3,000 honorarium which are presented at the PLA President's Reception at the summer ALA annual conference. Nominate a deserving colleague today. The deadline for nominations is December 1, 1998. Nomination forms are available from the PLA office in Chicago or on the PLA Web site: http://www.pla.org/awards/index.html June Pilsitz Electronic Resources Librarian Newport Beach Public Library jpilsitz[at]city.newport-beach.ca.us ____________________________________________________________________________ 13. LAMA/YBP STUDENT WRITING AND DEVELOPMENT AWARD COMPETITION Students in ALA-accredited library and information studies programs are invited to submit articles in the second annual Student Writing and Development Award competition sponsored by LAMA and YBP, Inc. (formerly Yankee Book Peddler). The deadline for entries is March 31. The topic for the 1999 competition is technology's impact on leadership, encompassing such issues as competition and new opportunities. The LAMA president will notify the selected applicant by May 1, 1999. The winning article will be published in the fall 1999 issue of _Library Administration and Management_, (_LA&M_), the LAMA magazine. The award recipient will receive a travel grant of up to $1,000 funded by YBP, Inc., to attend the 1999 ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans. The winner also will be recognized at the LAMA President's Program and at the first meeting of the LAMA board of directors. Selection criteria include relevance to the announced theme, applicability to a variety of library settings, originality of ideas, persuasiveness of arguments, quality of writing, clarity of presentation, and contribution to the continuing education of the LAMA membership. This LAMA/YBP leadership initiative is designed to stimulate authorship in the areas of library administration and management, to encourage professional development and enable participation in ALA and LAMA activities. The award recipient must be a current student member of ALA and LAMA. For more information, article guidelines, criteria and an application form, consult the LAMA Web page at www.ala.org/lama/awards or call LAMA Publications Assistant Beatrice Calvin at (800)545-2433, ext. 5036. ____________________________________________________________________________ 14. The ALA Elizabeth Futas Catalyst for Change Award: Call for nominations Sender: owner-member-forum[at]ala.org CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: The ALA Elizabeth Futas Catalyst for Change Award The Futas award, $1,000 and a formal certificate, recognizes and honors a librarian who invests time and talent to make positive changes in the profession of librarianship, by * taking risks to further the cause * helping new librarians grow and achieve * working for change within the ALA or other library organizations * inspiring colleagues to excel or make the impossible possible. Liz Futas was a dynamic librarian, library educator, mentor and ALA leader whose untimely death in 1995 motivated an outpouring of donations and a desire to do something to continue the high standards she set. This award is one of the results. Liz was interested in all areas of the profession and all types of libraries; what she wanted most was for librarians to be active in promoting their services, in challenging the status quo, in seeking equity within library services and the profession, while maintaining the highest level of quality and integrity. Do you know a librarian who exemplifies these kinds of qualities? The first two winners of this award were Camila Alire (1997) and Kathleen de la Pena McCook (1998). The Futas Award jury for 1999 seeks nominations for the next award. Nomination letters should describe specific actions and activities of the candidate and should be accompanied by supporting documentation. There is an official form that must be submitted. DEADLINE: December 1, 1998. For more information, contact the jury chair: Sarah Pritchard Smith College Libraries Northampton, MA 01063 (413) 585-2902 spritchard[at]smith.edu Or the ALA Awards Program: ALA Awards Program Member Programs and Services 50 E. Huron Street Chicago, IL 60611 ____________________________________________________________________________ 15. Barnes & Noble To Buy Ingram For $600 Million Sent to srrtac-l by Fred Stoss ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1998 15:14:53 -0500 From: "William C. Robinson" <wrobins1[at]UTK.EDU> Reply-To: UTK School of Information Sciences <UTKSIS-L[at]UTKVM1.UTK.EDU> To: Multiple recipients of list UTKSIS-L <UTKSIS-L[at]UTKVM1.UTK.EDU> Subject: B&N to buy Ingrams Barnes & Noble To Buy Ingram For $600 Million NEW YORK (Reuters) - Barnes & Noble Inc. said Friday it agreed to buy Ingram Book Group, a leading wholesaler of trade books, in a $600 million stock and cash deal that would greatly expand the distribution network of one of the world's biggest booksellers. Barnes & Noble will pay $400 million in stock and $200 million in cash for Ingram Book Group, a unit of privately held Ingram Industries Inc. The acquisition would provide 11 shipping points that would enable overnight delivery to 80 percent of Barnes & Noble's online and retail store customers. ``Not only will we be capable of quickly delivering every book in print, but through Lightning Print Inc., and through our network of affiliates, we intend to facilitate rapid deliveries of millions of titles which are now out of print,'' Barnes & Noble Chairman Leonard Riggio said in a statement. Ingram Book Group will continue to supply books to current customers including independent bookstores, specialty retailers, and libraries, in the United States and abroad, Barnes & Noble said in a statement. John Ingram, chairman of Ingram Book Group, will continue to serve as chairman of Ingram and will be vice chairman on Barnes & Noble's board. New York-based Barnes & Noble Inc. operates 504 Barnes & Noble bookstores and 507 B. Dalton bookstores and sells books online through America Online and the Internet at http://www.barnesandnoble.com. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: William C. Robinson (wrobins1[at]utk.edu) Associate Professor, School of Information Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville 37996-4330 Voice: 423.974.7918 Fax: 423.974.4967 http://web.utk.edu/~wrobinso :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ____________________________________________________________________________ 16. Bag Day - NATIONWIDE PROTEST AGAINST BARNES & NOBLE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 10, 1998 Contacts: RTMARK mailto:bagday[at]rtmark.com American Booksellers Assocation mailto:info[at]members.bookweb.org Friends United mailto:friends[at]fringeware.com (512-494-9273) NATIONWIDE PROTEST AGAINST BARNES & NOBLE Destruction of neighborhoods by corporate chains is target of bag-wearing "billies" AUSTIN - A nationwide coalition that includes recording artists Negativland, the estate of Terry Southern, and others is declaring November 23 to be "Bag Day," and asking that at noon on that day, people all over the U.S. protest the homogenizing and destructive effects of corporate chains, by browsing in Barnes & Noble bookstores--with paper bags on their heads. RTMARK is channeling $1200 in anonymous donations to aid with promotion of Bag Day. RTMARK has helped sponsor two other mass-action protests, both tremendously successful: last April's Phone In Sick Day, which was deemed responsible for the "sickout" of 80% of the Irish police force, and September's Zapatista FloodNet, which the Pentagon called "immoral" and attempted unsuccessfully to repel, and which the FBI called an example of "worldwide electronic insurrection" (another FloodNet action, also sponsored by RTMARK, is scheduled for November 22; see below). For press reports on these and other RTMARK actions, see http://rtmark.com/faq.html. The choice of Barnes & Noble as Bag Day's primary target is due in part to a lawsuit filed in March by the American Booksellers Association along with two dozen independently-owned bookstores. The lawsuit contends that the enormously successful chain, whose legal worth has nearly doubled in the past year, has "engaged in a pattern and practice of soliciting, inducing, and receiving secret, discriminatory, and illegal terms from publishers and distributors," and that much of the chain's expansion "can only be profitable if the chains receive illegal deals and existing independent booksellers are driven out of the marketplace." (See http://www.bookweb.org/pressroom/ for more on this lawsuit.) The broader purpose of Bag Day is to call attention to similar behavior by other corporate chains that results in the destruction of small businesses, and with them the individuality and character of whole neighborhoods (see for example http://rtmark.com/walmart.html). The bag is also meant to be evocative of the Old West bandit's stereotypical facial covering; November 23 is Billy the Kid's putative birthday, and bag-wearers will be known as "billies" to commemorate this figure who primarily attacked corporate entities that had stepped out of line. The idea for this national protest was conceived and launched by an Austin-based activist group (http://www.fringeware.com/friends/). In recent weeks, many other groups and individuals have joined in to help promote the event, including recording artists Negativland, the estate of Terry Southern, Alt-X/Black Ice, the AK Press, the Church of the SubGenius, and others. For more background, please see: http://www.bookweb.org/pressroom/ (above suit against B&N) http://rtmark.com/walmart.html (related issue) http://www.bookweb.org/news/pressroom/ (Dept. of Justice inquiry into B&N; includes models for letters to Janet Reno) http://www.booksellersunion.org/B&N.htm (another suit against B&N) http://rtmark.com/faq.html (RTMARK press page) http://www.fringeware.com/friends/ (Friends United) http://www.ratical.com/corporations/ (corporate monitors) http://www.essential.org/monitor/ (corporate monitors) http://rtmark.com/bringing.ram (RTMARK video) RTMARK was established in 1991 to further anti-corporate activism, often by channelling funds from donors to workers for the sabotage of corporate products. Recent and upcoming acts of RTMARK-aided subversion are documented on RTMARK's web site, http://rtmark.com/. ____________________________________________________________________________ 17. MAI Not Dead Yet! Important information. Reply-To: srrtac-l[at]ala.org Sender: owner-srrtac-l[at]ala.org I am forwarding this message on the MAI. I have removed the part that relates only to Canada so that it is not overly long. From: Jos.Anemaet[at]orst.edu To: akagan[at]uiuc.edu Subject: MAI info. of interest Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 11:30:16 -0800 Status: Hello Al, This was on our Faculty/Staff/Students for Peace (FSSP) listserv at Oregon State University. I thought you might be interested. It is very long so I did not want to send it to the SRRT Action Council list. Jos Anemaet, Oregon SRRT jos.anemaet[at]orst.edu ######################### This is a cleaned-up (so as to be readable by persons with non-graphics browsers like me) version of a post whose antecedents are included. Apologies if you've already seen it. MichaelP ================================ Received: from bernie.compusmart.ab.ca From: Orlando Books <orlando[at]compusmart.a> Subject: MAI is moving ! CHANGE OF ADDRESS: MAI IS MOVING! THE MAI (Multilateral Agreement on Investment) IS NOT DEAD! IT IS MOVING AND WE NEED TO FOLLOW. PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS MESSAGE WIDELY!!! WHAT HAPPENED AT THE OECD (OCT. 20)? The OECD's (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) two day formal negotiating group meeting was restricted to a one day informal affair which unfortunately (fortunately for us!) produced no helpful, defining answers as to what should be done with the MAI. According to Maude Barlow, Canadian journalists left the OECD press conference at the end of the day frustrated at the ambiguity and non-answers they were given. The OECD is in a muddle! Donald Johnston stated that the French government's withdrawal from negotiations is something the European Union should 'handle'. This indicates that there will most likely be political pressure placed on France to get back in line. The negotiating group will meet again in 3 months time (December, 1998) in Paris to continue discussion. It is interesting to note that at the last OECD meeting in April, 1998, each of the 29 member countries committed to consult with their own citizens about the MAI. Many did nothing and a few (like Canada) went through a cursory consultation process more like a PR campaign. The French government was the only one that engaged in consultations in any depth, so it's no surprise that they withdrew from negotiations! Most citizens oppose the agreement when they understand the clauses and implications of the MAI. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE MAI? * The MAI is NOT dead yet! It will be transferred over to the World Trade Organization next fall, 1999 (though probably under a different name). There are plans already being laid within the OECD for this transference to happen. This transference will require the WTO to add investment regulations to its millennium agenda. Although the WTO is not a usual forum for trade issues, it is really the only existing international body through which multinational regulations for trade and investment can be passed. * There is still going to be a push to get as much agreement as possible on the MAI through the OECD. The US particularly is advocating this as they believe it will be easier to gain agreement through the OECD than the WTO (which has a membership of ~129 organizations rather than a select 29) TRACKING THE MAI Major benchmarks to watch for in the foreseeable future of the MAI: * December, 1998- OECD Negotiating Group Meeting (Paris, France): Negotiating group meeting again in Paris to discuss how to move the MAI to the WTO. * April, 1999- OECD Ministerial Meeting (Paris, France): All 29-member countries meeting to generate as much enthusiasm as possible about the MAI as they move it over to the WTO. An attempt to mask their failure at ratifying the agreement. * Fall, 1999- WTO Ministerial Meeting (Washington, DC): A big rah-rah session for the WTO. Will discuss adding trade and investment to their millennium round agenda, which means that the MAI is resurrected at the WTO. Also Clinton's last year in office so the success of the WTO meeting will be of major importance to the US government. * Fall, 2000- WTO Ministerial Meeting- Millennium Round (Washington, DC): Will be discussing the new MAI. Al Kagan Africana Unit, Room 328 University of Illinois Library 1408 W. Gregory Drive Urbana, IL 61801, USA tel. 217-333-6519 fax. 217-333-2214 e-mail. akagan[at]uiuc.edu ____________________________________________________________________________ 18. A Crash Course for Citizens on the MAI [RealPlayer] http://www.workingtv.com/real/realMAIclip.html [real video, acceptably viewable at 28.8] On the wonderfully rad website workingtv.com, worth a looksee on its own. (Contributed by Jessamyn West) ____________________________________________________________________________ 19. Hyperlaw wins copyright case - published court opinions are public domain ------------------------------------------------------------ Info-Policy-Notes | News from Consumer Project on Technology ------------------------------------------------------------ November 3, 1998 Hyperlaw wins copyright case -- Court rules published court opinions are in the public domain Alan Sugarman, the owner of Hyperlaw, just called. Hyperlaw was just won a very important copyright suit in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The Hyperlaw/West suit concerned two issues. 1. Does West Publishing have a copyright on the citations to published court opinions? 2. Does West Publishing have a copyright on the published corrections to court opinions. Hyperlaw, a small NYC firm that publishes court opinions on CD-ROM, argued that the published court opinions were in the public domain. Today the 2nd Circuit agreed. Background on this case is found at: http://www.hyperlaw.com/hlvwest.htm This has been a closely watched case. At stake is the public's right to publish the text of court opinions, including corrections often only found in West's bound volumes of court opinions, with citations based upon the page numbers in the West bound volumes. West is the only comprehensive publisher in paper of federal district court and circuit court opinions, and the body of legal scholarship and court opinions rely upon West's citations and the corrected versions of court opinions that appear in the West books. The case is a major blow to West Publishing and Lexis, the two members of the so called Wexis cartel, and it is a major victory for citizen access to legal information. This dispute is also the driving force behind Congressional efforts to create new legislation that would create new property rights in data. The federal legislation, which was defeated this year, would protect the Wexis cartel from competition. (see: http://www.cptech.org/ip/database/) This is my quote: "Alan Sugarman, the owner of Hyperlaw, has fought long and hard to protect the public's rights in the most public of all data -- the law. If Hyperlaw had lost this suit, 75 years of published federal court opinions would be owned by West Publishing. For every citizen that is expected to obey the law, this is good news. It means the law belongs to the people, not a private monopoly. " CPT has long supported efforts to broaden public access to legal information. Jamie Love <love[at]cptech.org> 202.387.8030 ------------------------------------------------------------- INFORMATION POLICY NOTES: the Consumer Project on Technology http://www.cptech.org, 202.387.8030, fax 202.234.5127. Archives of Info-Policy-Notes are available from http://www.essential.org/listproc/info-policy-notes/ Subscription requests to listproc[at]cptech.org with the message: subscribe info-policy-notes Jane Doe To be removed from the list, the message should read, unsub info-policy-notes ------------------------------------------------------------- ____________________________________________________________________________ 20. AALL PRESS RELEASE: Ruling on Amicus Brief in Hyperlaw case [This message has been sent to AALL members and the Law-Lib listserv; please excuse the duplication] CONTACT: Margaret Barge or William P. Figel Figel, Inc. tel. 312/223-9536 fax: 312/223-9553 email: figelinc[at]earthlink.net FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE US COURT OF APPEALS UPHOLDS ARGUMENT RAISED BY AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF LAW LIBRARIES AMICUS BRIEF IN MATTHEW BENDER & CO. V. WEST PUBLISHING CO. CHICAGO, NOVEMBER 4, 1998 -- Yesterday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on Matthew Bender & Co. v. West Publishing Group, impacting the future of free public access to public information. The finding for Matthew Bender & Co. follows the recommendations raised by The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) and five major library associations in their amicus brief filed in the first of these cases, which urged the court to uphold the important right of access to public information. "This is an important victory for the access to government information, and in this particular situation, to judicial decisions," said AALL President Jim Heller. "The American Association of Law Libraries believes that the public must have free access to state and federal court decisions, legislative, administrative regulations and other information that is produced by governmental agencies at taxpayers' expense." In the first case, the Court was asked to consider whether court opinions, as edited by West Publishing Co., were copyrightable. West argued that they were protected based on the creativity inherent in the editorial enhancements they make to the opinions. The amicus brief filed by AALL and the library associations disagreed, noting that the opinions are public information and the other enhancements are not protected. A two judge majority of the Court found that the opinions themselves, not including the syllabi, headnotes, and Key Numbers, are not copyrightable. The Court held that West's other editorial enhancements, including, among other things, the selection and arrangement of attorney information, the arrangement of information relating to subsequent developments, and the selection of parallel and alternative citations, are not sufficiently creative to warrant protection under the Copyright Act. In a separate issue raised during the second case, the Appeals court rejected West's claim that competing publishers insertion of page numbers from West reporters into a CD-ROM version of court opinions amounted to a copying of West's arrangement of the opinions. The Court specifically indicated its disagreement with an earlier opinion from the 8th Circuit: West Publishing Co. v. Mead Data Central, Inc. 799 F.2d 1219 (8th Cir.1986). The Second Circuit explained: "[t]he Eight Circuit ... adduces no authority for protecting pagination as a 'reflection' of arrangement, and does not explain how the insertion of star pagination created a 'copy' featuring an arrangement of cases substantially similar to West's .... It is true that star pagination enables users to locate ... a piece of text within the West volume. But this location does not result in any proximate way from West's original arrangement of cases (or any other exercise of original creation) and may be lawfully copied." About AALL: The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) was founded in 1906 to promote and enhance the value of law libraries to the legal and public communities, to foster the profession of law librarianship, and to provide leadership in the field of legal information. To learn more about AALL, contact Executive Director Roger Parent, 312/939-4764 or visit AALL's web site, www.aall.org. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ L I B R A R Y J U I C E | http://www.libr.org/Juice/ | | Except where noted, items appearing in Library Juice | are copyright-free, so feel free to share them with | colleagues and friends. Library Juice is a free weekly | publication edited by Rory Litwin. Original senders | are credited wherever possible; opinions are theirs. | Your comments and suggestions are welcome. | mailto:Juice[at]libr.org
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Date: Tuesday, November 24, 1998 05:01 PM