Maine Library Association

At ALA Midwinter meetings, LITA (the ALA Library Information and Technology Association) conducts a panel on Top Technology Trends that are already, or soon soon will be, affecting libraries. The panel from the 2010 Midwinter meeting in Boston is online and available for viewing. You can get up to date at: http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2010/03/archive-techtrends-midwinter-2010-webinar.html.

The FCC’s draft National Broadband Plan is a lot to digest at one (or maybe even several) sitting(s). While the focus is on how to expand and upgrade broadband access in this country, there are some surprises as well. One of those is found in Section 11-D in which a suggestion is offered that there be Congressional action to take “legislative action to encourage copyright holders to grant educational rights of use, without prejudicing their other rights.” The impetus, it seems, is to make clear when educational uses are permitted. While Fair Use and other provisions of copyright law already permit many educational uses, it is not always clear when those provisions come into play. Lawrence Lessig once remarked that “your Fair Use Right is a right to hire a lawyer.” Not surprisingly, educational institutions are not anxious to make a mistake and so often forego using materials which they might have a perfect right to use but don’t want o take a chance on having to hire lawyers to assert that right. Stay tuned. The FCC’s National Broadband Plan is available at www.broadband.gov

For those who may be wondering what may become of the printed book as today’s digital natives grown into tomorrow’s consumers, you may enjoy this very clever video produced by DK publishing in the UK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Weq_sHxghcg

MLA is a member of the The Maine Freedom of Information Coalition (MFOIC), a broad based group of individuals and organizations advocating for open government. This press release was issued during Sunshine Week in March, 20101.

MFOIC is pleased to announce that its third annual Maine Sunshine Award is awarded to Sen. David R. Hastings III for his steadfast support of open government.

“Senator Hastings has been the go-to member of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee as they review proposed exceptions to the state’s public records and open meetings laws,” said Mal Leary, President of the MFOIC. “He has kept the committee on track as they review proposals to make sure exceptions are as narrowly crafted as possible and that the public’s right to know is protected.”

The award was presented to Hastings at a State House news conference.

In addition to his work on the Judiciary Committee implementing the review process, the MFOIC cited the legislation Hastings sponsored and successfully got enacted into law that allows a judge to award legal fees in cases where government agencies are found to deliberately violate the state right to know laws.

“As an attorney, Sen. Hastings understands how reluctant some people can be to assert their rights because they cannot afford the legal costs associated with a civil case,” said MFOIC Vice President Judy Meyer. “His diligence in pursuing some financial relief for people who have been denied access to public records or meetings provides a fair and meaningful process for Mainers to assert their right to know.”

The MFOIC Sunshine Award is intended to honor citizens, journalists, media organizations, or community groups that have, during the past year, championed, protected, and promoted public access to government meetings, public records, and court proceedings, or otherwise promoted the public’s right to know and to publish, broadcast, and speak freely about issues of public concern.

March 14-20 is national Freedom of Information Week. By proclamation of Gov. John Baldacci, it is also Sunshine Week in the State of Maine.

The nationwide observance of FOI Day on March 16 commemorates the birth date of President James Madison, a strong advocate of the public’s right and duty to know what its government is doing.

The Maine Freedom of Information Coalition is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation representing individuals and organizations committed to open access to public information in print, electronic and digital formats. The Coalition involves media representatives, attorneys, librarians, state and local government officials, educators and others who care about transparency in government, information access and the role of an informed citizenry in a democracy.

By now, you have probably heard that Congress extended the sunsettng provisions of the PATRIOT Act without any changes for a year. ALA and many individual librarians lobbied heavily for changes to the three expiring provisions but Congress was too busy with other matters and the parties too unwilling to compromise to make any changes, and so simply extended the provisions for a year. for the ALA position on the extensions, see http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=4458.

As libraries come under more and more budget pressure, some are beginning to experiment with new procedures that are designed to reduce staff time but which may have unintended consequences. One such new process is putting books that are on hold in a public area so that patrons can pick them up rather than asking a staff person at a desk to go and find them. Efficient and convenient? Yes? Troubling from a privacy perspective? Probably. Here is an interesting discussion about such a program at the Chicago Public Library: http://infinitemonkeys.tumblr.com/post/450789162/self-service-hold-systems-and-patron-privacy.