ALAWON, Vol. 3, No. 14 (fwd)

[Peter Milbury <pmilbur@EIS.CALSTATE.EDU>]

Here is the latest on laws that affect LM_NET members and their programs
dearly.  Peter Milbury

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 1994 16:09:14 -0500
From: ALA Washington Office <alawash@alawash.org>
To: Multiple recipients of list ALA-WO <ALA-WO%UICVM.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu>
Subject: ALAWON, Vol. 3, No. 14

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                                                             ISSN 1069-7799
                                  ALAWON
                      ALA Washington Office Newsline
                     An electronic publication of the
              American Library Association Washington Office

                            Volume 3, Number 14
                              March 23, 1994

   In this issue: (223 lines)
     TELECOMMUNICATIONS BILLS APPROVED BY HOUSE COMMITTEES
     SENATE PASSES S. 4, NETWORKING APPLICATIONS BILL
     NTIS CLOSES ADVISORY MEETING
     A NOTE FROM THE NEW EDITOR

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           TELECOMMUNICATIONS BILLS APPROVED BY HOUSE COMMITTEES

On March 16, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved two bills
designed to rewrite the regulatory framework for telecommunications.  HR
3636, the National Communications Competition and Information
Infrastructure Act of 1994, would allow local telephone and cable companies
to enter each others' lines of business.  HR 3626, the Antitrust and
Communications Reform Act of 1994, would allow the regional Bell telephone
companies to enter currently forbidden lines of business--long distance
service and the manufacture of phone equipment.  The House Judiciary
Committee on the same day approved a different version of HR 3626 which
would require the Bell companies to secure Justice Department permission
before entering long distance markets.

The stated purpose of the bills is to remove regulatory barriers and
encourage competition in order to promote development of advanced
communications networks combining voice, data, and video services.  Several
amendments to HR 3636 developed by various members of the
Telecommunications Policy Roundtable, which ALA helped to form, were
adopted in the markup session.  This article does not attempt a full
analysis, but reports on developments related to preferential rates for
libraries.

Section 103 of HR 3636 would add a new section to title II of the
Communications Act headed "Telecommunications Services for Educational
Institutions, Health Care Facilities, and Libraries,"  which calls for the
Federal Communications Commission to promote the provision of advanced
telecommunications services by wire, wireless, cable, and satellite
technologies to educational institutions, health care institutions, and
public libraries.

As revised by Telecommunications and Finance Subcommittee Chairman Edward
Markey (D-MA), the section would require a nationwide survey of the
availability of such services to these institutions.  The results are to be
publicly released within a year of enactment and updated annually.  The
survey is to be prepared by the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration in the Commerce Department, "in consultation with the
Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, and such
other Federal, State, and local departments, agencies, and authorities that
may maintain or have access to information" relevant to the survey.

Within a year of enactment, the FCC is to issue a notice of proposed
rulemaking for the purpose of adopting regulations that:

       "(1) enhance, to the extent technically feasible and economically
     reasonable, the availability of advanced telecommunications services
     to all educational institutions and classrooms, health care
     institutions, and public libraries by the year 2000;
       "(2) ensure that appropriate functional requirements or performance
     standards, or both, including interoperability standards, are
     established for telecommunications systems of facilities that
     interconnect educational institutions, health care institutions, and
     public libraries with the public switched telecommunications network;
       "(3) define the circumstances under which a carrier may be required
     to interconnect its telecommunications network with educational
     institutions, health care institutions, and public libraries;
       "(4) provide for either the establishement of preferential rates for
     telecommunications services, including advanced services, that are
     provided to educational institutions, health care institutions, and
     public libraries, or the use of alternative mechanisms to enhance the
     availability of advanced services to these institutions; and
       "(5) address such other related matters as the Commission may
     determine.

Educational institutions are defined as solely elementary and secondary
educational institutions.  The term "public libraries" is not defined.
ALA, the Association of Research Libraries, and a number of higher
education organizations recommended an expanded definition of public
libraries to encompass the full range of mechanisms through which service
is delivered; recommended inclusion of postsecondary educational
institutions to reflect current federal definitions of educational
institutions; recommended that the term "classroom" encompass all areas and
facilities where student learning takes place, including school library
media centers; and recommended clarification that states could offer
preferential rates for intrastate services.

The one change adopted by the committee was an amendment offered by Reps.
Mike Kreidler (D-WA) and Scott Klug (R-WI) that added a feasibility study
to the FCC rulemaking procedure:  "The Commission shall assess the
feasibility of including post-secondary educational institutions in any
regulations promulgated under this section."  Rep. Kreidler indicated he
was introducing the amendment "out of a concern that some educational
institutions will be disadvantaged when the FCC promulgates regulations to
promote access to the advanced network."

Although the results do not yet address the full needs, the many
communications with committee members resulting from the ALA and other
action calls on these recommendations were very helpful and did much to
increase awareness of how libraries and educational institutions use
telecommunications services, and how all types of libraries and educational
institutions must be linked together electronically for communications and
resource sharing.  This consciousness-raising will be useful in future
stages of House and Senate action on telecommunications legislation.

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             SENATE PASSES S. 4, NETWORKING APPLICATIONS BILL

The Senate on March 16 passed S. 4, the National Competitiveness Act, by a
vote of 59-40.  The Senate technically passed HR 820, the House conterpart,
substituting the text of S. 4, in order to facilitate a House-Senate
conference with the House-passed bill.  House conferees are also expected
to factor in HR 1757, the House-passed counterpart to title VI of S. 4.

The final Senate vote came after several days of sometimes contentious
debate over industrial policy, although little of the contention related to
title VI, the Information Technology Applications Act of 1994.  A
filibuster led by Sen. John Danforth (R-MO) was defeated on March 15,
paving the way for Senate passage the following day.

The Senate-passed title VI would authorize advanced computing and
networking technology applications in education at all levels, digital
libraries, manufacturing, government information, energy, and health care.
Several federal agencies are involved including the National Science
Foundation, the Department of Education, and the Department of Commerce.
In the government information area, consultation with the Superintendent of
Documents is required.  Research and training programs would be authorized,
including training of librarians, and for librarians to train the public.
A connections program would help connect educational institutions,
libraries, state and local governments, and depository libraries to each
other and to other networks.

The bill would also create the National Research and Education Network
Program with four components:  (1) research and development, (2) support of
experimental test bed networks, (3) provision of support for researchers,
students, libraries, and others to ensure access and use of networks, and
(4) federal networks for linking agencies to each other and to non-federal
networks.

Funds are to be used for commercially available communications networking
services, or for customized services under certain circumstances.  However,
the earlier restrictive language to which library and other groups objected
was removed in a compromise version worked out earlier among interested
parties.  The title VI applications areas are more abbreviated than the
comparable language in the House-passed HR 1757, but are expanded from the
extremely brief version proposed at one point by the Administration.

Title VI of S. 4 also includes a section authorizing support for state-
based digital libraries.  The National Science Foundation is to work with
the Superintendent of Documents on this competitive merit-based program
based on Sen. Robert Kerrey's (D-NE) S. 626, the Electronic Library Act.

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                       NTIS CLOSES ADVISORY MEETING

The National Technical Information Service has announced a partially closed
meeting of the NTIS Advisory Board to be held on the afternoon of March 24.
The closed session discussion is scheduled to begin at 1 pm and end at 4
pm.  The session will be closed "because premature disclosure of the
information to be discussed would be likely to significantly frustrate
implementation of NTIS' business plan, and thereby cause a significant
adverse effect on the Government financial interests."  The Advisory Board
will meet on March 24 from 9 am to 4 pm, and on March 25 from 9 am to 3 pm
in Room 1412, Department of Commerce, Herbert C. Hoover Building, 14th
Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230.  NTIS published a
notice of the meeting in the March 10 _Federal Register_, pp. 11254-5.

The Advisory Board is composed of five members appointed by the Secretary
of Commerce after soliciting recommendations from the major users and
beneficiaries of NTIS' activities and selecting individuals experienced in
providing or utilizing technical information.  The purpose of the meeting
is to review and make recommendations regarding general policies and
operations of NTIS, including policies in connection with fees and charges
for its services.  The agenda includes presentations on NTIS'
implementation of the regulations under the American Technology Preeminence
Act, NTIS plans to assist Depository Libraries, a review of the progress
with FedWorld, and a discussion of the support services that NTIS provides
to other agencies.

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                        A NOTE FROM THE NEW EDITOR

Many thanks to Carol Henderson for taking over as editor during the past
several months.  I will be the new editor and list owner.  Keep your
comments and feedback coming as they are helpful to the ongoing improvement
of ALAWON.  Lee Enyart

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ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the American Library
Association Washington Office, 110 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC
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