ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries April 1 9 9 2 /2 6 7 Policy debate o n th e pro­ vision o f b ro ad b an d telecom ­ m unications capacity an d the delivery o f electronic infor­ mation services is heating u p again in the w ake o f recent court decisions, Federal Com­ W ashi m u n ic a tio n s C o m m is s io n proposals, an d p ending leg­ H ot islation. A series o f ad s in major daily n e w sp a p e rs by th e n e w s p a p e r a n d t e l e ­ Carol C. phone industries (specifically by the Regional Bell O p erat­ ing C o m p an ies o r RBOCs) have raised q uestions am ong librarians ab o u t ALA’s position concerning the issues addressed by the ads. In o n e ad, ALA w as listed as a p o ­ tential inform ation provider. The issue prom pting this cam paign for p u b ­ lic attention is u n d e r w h at conditions the re­ gional p h o n e com panies sho u ld b e allow ed to provide inform ation services. T he issue itself dates b ack to the b reak u p o f the Bell system in 1982 thro u g h an antitrust decision (the Modi­ fied Final J u d g m e n t o r MFJ). Ju d g e H aro ld G reene o f th e U.S. District Court for th e Dis­ trict o f C olum bia, w h o has co n tin u ed to p re ­ side over issues resulting from divestiture, p ro ­ hibited the RBOCs, new ly created in 1984, from entering un reg u lated businesses such as elec­ tronic publishing b ecau se o f th e RBOCs’ d om i­ nant p o w e r in their local service areas. While this dominance over local telephone service is erod­ ing, most telephone customers are still able to ob­ tain local service from only one company. Judge Greene last year reluctantly lifted the restrictions. T h e RBOCs n o w h a v e w h a t th e y w a n t through th e courts a n d o p p o se an y legislation to u n d o the court decision or to im pose restric­ tions o n their provision o f inform ation services, but they w o u ld like to get into o th e r areas still off limits to th em — provision o f cable TV sig­ nals an d program m ing, an d provision o f long distance service. T he regional telcos claim they n eed to carry TV signals as econom ic incentive to replace c o p p e r w ire w ith high-capacity fi­ ber to the hom e. T he cable industry w o u ld like to get into th e p h o n e business. The n e w sp a ­ per publishers are the m ost vocal o p p o n e n t of H RBOC entry into inform a­ tion services, fearing loss of classified ad revenue. A dd­ ing to th e policy ferm ent are ngton FCC proposals to further d e ­ regulate th e telecom m uni­ cations industry, including line allow ing the p h o n e co m p a­ n ie s to p ro v id e a “v id e o d ia lto n e ” service. V arious bills (am ong them , HR 3515, S. 2112, HR 2546, S. 1200, enderson an d HR 3701) are pen d in g in C ongress s u p p o rte d by o n e industry g ro u p o r an ­ other, an d hearings have b e e n h eld o n m ost o f them . Public interest, consum er, a n d education g ro u p reactions have b e e n mixed. ALA’s C om m ittee o n Legislation, active in recent years o n telecom m unications issues such as o p p o sin g access charges o n en h a n c e d ser­ vice providers, a n d prom oting library interests in legislation to establish the National Research an d E ducation N etw ork, has n o t y et reco m ­ m e n d e d an ALA position o n th e issue o f RBOC p rovision o f inform ation services. T he arg u ­ m ents for o p p o sin g p h o n e com pany provision o f inform ation services are strong. T he RBOCs, w h ic h o fte n h av e m o n o p o ly p o w e r in their local service areas, w o u ld h av e th e incentive a n d th e ability to d iscrim inate against co m ­ p e tin g in fo rm atio n p ro v id ers o r to subsidize th e ir o w n info rm atio n services w ith reg u lated re v e n u e s, d e sp ite statu to ry p ro tectio n s. For p ro te c tio n o f free e x p re s sio n , th e co m m o n carrier c o n tro llin g th e local c o n d u it sh o u ld hav e n o c o n tro l o v e r th e c o n te n t carried over th at conduit. H ow ever, som e librarians have arg u ed that sophisticated inform ation services will never reach rural libraries or residents o f rural and sparsely p o p u lated areas until the p h o n e com ­ p an ies are perm itted to provide them . Some have suggested that libraries sho u ld w o rk w ith p h o n e com panies a n d negotiate favorable ar­ rangem ents to m ake library services available to the public via p h o n e com pany gatew ays. T h e C o m m ittee o n Legislation d iscu ssed th ese issues recently, felt that further informa- ( Cont. on p age 269) Carol C. Henderson is deputy executive director o f the A m erican Library Association ’s Washington Office; 202) 547-4440 (Bitnet: NU_ALA WASH@CUA)( “Far and away the best mutual fund coverage ever.” K enneth L. Fisher, Forbes Magazine M o rn in g s ta r M u tu a l A n Easy-To-U se U p d a te s E very T w o Funds has become what many R esearch T oo l W e e k s believe to be the most compre­ Take a look at the sample page. W hen you order, you’ll get a hensive, timely, and useful At your fingertips are 13 years hardcover binder filled with source for mutual fund of historical performance infor­ reports on 1,240 funds. Then, information. 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T o order, or for a free brochure, call: 800-876-5005 W hen ordering, please m ention code 9 K E 53 W. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604 April 1 9 9 2 /2 6 9 v w ed Stanford develops preservation fact sheet for scholars Stanford University Libraries has d ev elo p e d a fact sheet on w hat scholars can d o to prom ote preservation o f li­ Preser brary m aterials. It w as dis­ tributed by Stanford staff at N e the M odern Language Asso­ ciation A nnual C onvention in D e c e m b e r 1991. F re e Jane H copies are available from the Commission o n Preservation and Access, 1400 16th Street, N.W., Suite 740, W ashington, DC 20036-2217; (202) 939-3400. D uplication o r ad ap ta tio n is encouraged. Clareson reports on highlights of three ALA preservation meetings The ALA M idw inter activities o f th ree groups, the C ooperative P reservation Program s D iscus­ sion G roup, th e Preservation o f Library Materi­ als Section (PLMS) T ask Force o n Preservation E ducation N eed s, a n d th e PLMS D iscussion Group, have b een summarized in AMIGOS Agenda & OCLC Connection by Tom Clareson, AMIGOS preservation service manager. For free copies con­ tact Tom at AMIGOS, 12200 Park Central Dr., Suite 500, Dallas, TX 75251; (800) 843-8482. NARA publication provides infor­ mation on preservation photo­ copying A National Archives a n d R ecord Adm inistration 1990 publication, A rch iva l Copies o f Therm ofax, Verifax, a n d O ther Unstable Records (T echni­ cal Inform ation P aper, no. 5), contains valu­ able inform ation o n p h o to co p y in g a n d p h o to ­ copiers, according to th e Science Panel o f the C om m ission o n P re se rv a tio n a n d A ccess. It covers th e p h o to co p y in g process, its suitability for archival purposes, h o w to test for “archivally acceptable c o p y ,” a n d a n u m b e r o f practical suggestions to im prove any preservation p h o ­ tocopying program . T he 31-page publication (order n u m b e r PB90-171836/GAR) is available from NTIS, 5285 P ort Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161; (703) 487-4650. Copies cost $17.00 in paper or $9.00 in microfiche, plus a $3.00 handling Prepared by Jane Hedberg f o r the College Libraries Committee, Commission on Preservation a n d Access fee. Orders not charged or pre­ paid are subject to an additional $7.50 fee. ation CPA plans preserva­ tion management seminar for 1993 s T he College Libraries Com­ m ittee o f th e C om m ission on Preservation an d Access, in co o p eratio n w ith SOLINET, Inc., is p lan n in g to offer a berg second Preservation Manage­ m en t Sem inar in 1993- T he first sem inar w as held at W ashington & Lee Uni­ versity from July 20-27, 1991, an d w as judged b y th e 16 participants to b e an overw helm ing success. The 1991 program was designed to pro­ vide librarians w ho have part-time preservation re­ sponsibilities with strategies for preserving general collections. For more information contact SOLINET, 1438 W. Peachtree St. NW, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30309-2955; (800) 999-8558. Subm issions f o r this co lu m n m a y be m a d e via: Internet: JHEDBERG@LUCY. WELLESLEY. EDU; F ax: ( 6 1 7 ) 2 3 9 -1 1 3 9 ; o r m a il: J a n e Hedberg, Wellesley College Library, 1 0 6 C en­ tral Street, Wellesley, M A 02181-8275. ■ (W ashington c o n t.fro m p age 2 6 7 ) tio n is n e e d e d by the ALA m em bership, an d th at the com m ittee n e e d e d w id er ALA in p u t into its deliberations o n h o w to p ro tect basic principles an d library interests as policy evolves. Steps tak en by com m ittee chair E. J. Jo sey at th e ALA M idw inter Meeting in Jan u ary include: ■ Establishing an a d h o c subcom m ittee o n telecom m unications, chaired b y Elaine Albright o f th e University o f Maine. (Albright is chair o f th e Legislation A ssem bly.) ■ Focusing the C om m ittee o n Legislation’s Inform ation U pdate Session o n these telecom ­ m unications issues at th e ALA A nnual C onfer­ e n c e in San Francisco. T he tim e slot is Satur­ day, Ju n e 27, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ■ Holding a hearing at the ALA Annual Con­ ference to solicit opinions from ALA members and units o n Sunday, June 28, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. An issues b ack g ro u n d p a p e r an d inform a­ tion a b o u t the conference activitieswill b e dis­ t r i b u t e d to ALA u n it s th is s p r in g . C a ro l H en d erso n is staff liaison to th e com m ittee. ■