NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 12, #41; 26 October 2006)

1. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS REVERSES PLANNED CONSOLIDATION OF AFRICAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN READING ROOMS
2. ARL CONVENES "OPEN ACCESS" FORUM
3. BILLS PASSED: THE WOODROW WILSON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY ACT
4. BITS AND BYTES: Gilder Lerhman Summer Institutes Announced; Elaine Wrisley Reed to Retire; Darwin Evolves on the Web
5. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: "The Nutty Professors" (New Yorker magazine)

1. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS REVERSES PLANNED CONSOLIDATION OF AFRICAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN READING ROOMS Last week we reported that Library of Congress (LC) officials had decided to move, effective December 2006, the African and Middle Eastern Reading Room (AMED) from its present location to make room for a new permanent exhibition gallery of the Jay I. Kislak Collection of early Americana ("Library of Congress to Consolidate African and Middle Eastern Reading Rooms" in NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE; Vol 12, #40; 19 October 2006). News of the proposed closure resulted in a flurry of protests to the LC by scholars and historians of Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.

The LC has now reversed its plan to consolidate the AMED reading room with the European Division Reading Room. According to the official LC statement, "The Library of Congress' plans for new exhibits in 2007 will not affect the readings rooms in the Thomas Jefferson Building. The statement that was issued to that effect was inaccurate and the African and Middle Eastern Reading Room will not close."

While the statement dealt with the issue of possible closure of the reading room, it did not address where the Kislak Collection would be displayed, nor did it put to rest the concern that "consolidation" of the reading room still may take place, but at some future time.

When contacted by the NCH, library officials seemed unusually careful in avoiding off-the-cuff statements and declined to elaborate on the issue or the discuss specifics. According to a clarifying statement provided to the NCH (the statement ignored specific questions posed to library officials), the LC spokesperson issued a three-line statement: "The Library of Congress is now working on plans for improving visitors' and scholars' experiences. We do not expect the space for exhibits to affect any of the reading rooms. More details will be made available as plans are developed."

It is apparent that the library was caught off guard by the fervent outrage coming from the scholarly community when the LC's plans for the reading rooms were leaked by a library insider a week or so back. Clearly, the LC has yet to definitively decide how it will proceed in the future. At this juncture, all that can be said is, for the time being, the African and Middle Eastern Reading room and other reading rooms will not be closed or consolidated to make room for exhibits in 2007. But vague assurances by LC officials that "we do not expect them [the reading rooms]" to be impacted in the future (beyond 2007) give scholars good reason to keep the LC's development plans under close scrutiny.

2. ARL CONVENES "OPEN ACCESS" FORUM The Association of Research Libraries, in conjunction with several other co-sponsoring organizations, convened a forum titled "Improving Access to Publicly Funded Research Policy Issues and Practical Studies" on 20 October 2006 in Washington D.C. Balanced and thoughtful presentations characterized the forum which was attended by a large audience generally friendly to the concept of "open access." Nevertheless, concerns of scientists and academics, publishers and non-profit professional organizations resonated and challenged the viewpoints of open access supporters.

Simply put, "Open Access" (OA) refers to the notion that research (within the framework of discussion for the forum, the term was narrowly restricted to mean "federally funded peer-reviewed research") should be available to researchers, students, and the public in a digital format, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. OA is a complex subject that impacts subscriptions and fees that publishers normally charge for access and use, and it impacts so-called permission barriers such as copyright and licensing restrictions. The library community generally supports a broad interpretation of OA while publishers, some scientists, academics and non-profit organizations (especially those that produce peer reviewed professional journals) have reservations about implementing aspects of OA.

The conference began with an overview of the OA by Norka Ruiz Bravo, Deputy Director of the National Institutes of Health -- one of the federal agencies in the forefront of the OA movement. Her presentation, "Improving Access to Improve Research" focused on OA as a worldwide trend. She stated that from her perspective, OA is "mission critical." Bravo also outlined stakeholder concerns that she characterized as ranging from the fear that with OA "professional journals would disappear" to issues arising out of "the economics of publishing" such as OA's potential detrimental impact on peer review. Bravo reviewed aspects of current legislative efforts -- most importantly the "Federal Research Public Access Act" of 2006 (S. 2695) -- legislation introduced by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) that is the most aggressive in promoting OA within the confines of federal agency research.

Bravo's talk was followed by presentations by John Vaughn, Executive Vice President of the Association of American Universities and Sudip Parikh, the Science Advisor and Professional Staff member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Parikh's presentation can be summarized in one line -- "The Senate hasn't made any decisions about anything" though he anticipated Congress would ultimately come up with a "pragmatic" solution.

John Vaughn's presentation took some in the audience aback with its bluntness. Vaughan stated that there were unresolved "concerns in the non-profit and commercial sectors" and that he was concerned by the "rush to a legislative proposal" when "non-profit publishers, many academics, are profoundly concerned." In a nutshell, Vaughn argued, "legislation is premature."

Afternoon sessions focused on presentations that explained how the community of OA supporters could engage and support faculty and how universities were rethinking publishing. The forum concluded with a plea for making the case for OA by Dave Shulenberger, Vice-President of Academic Affairs with the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grand Colleges.

3. BILLS PASSED: THE WOODROW WILSON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY ACT On 28 September 2006 the House of Representatives passed a bill "to authorize grants for contributions toward the establishment of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library" -- legislation (H.R. 4846) introduced by Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and co-sponsored by eleven of his colleagues.

The bill in essence authorizes a future Congressional appropriation that directs the Archivist of the United States to contribute funds toward the establishment of a private presidential museum-- the Wilson Presidential Library in Staunton, Virginia which is owned by the Wilson Library Foundation. Specifically, the legislation "requires non-federal matching funds of at least double that of the grant" and stipulates that no grant funds can be used for the maintenance or operation of the library. In other words, while federal funds would be contributed, the library would not be made a part of the NARA administered, presidential library system. The legislation creates a precedent for what some would perhaps like to see a new NARA administered program of pass-through grants for private presidential libraries and museums.

However, in the floor debate prior to enactment of the bill, Congressman Danny Davis (D-IL), a member of the Government Reform committee that considered the measure stated, " I want to make it clear that we are not establishing a precedent here...the Federal government simply does not have the resources to support all private Presidential libraries." However, by enacting this legislation that is exactly what Congress is doing. Davis also expressed concern "that this grant would cut into the operating funds of the [National] Archives" a viewpoint shared by other members of the committee.

In part to address that latter concern, the bill as passed is slightly different from the version that was first introduced. The most significant difference is that the House-passed bill includes a provision that provides that the grant funds may be made "only from funds appropriated to the Archivist specifically for that purpose." In other words, the bill sanctions a future appropriation earmark: National Archives officials declined to comment on the proposed legislative initiative.

The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration and possible action.

4. BITS AND BYTES Item #1 -- Gilder Lehrman Summer Institutes Announced: The Gilder Lehrman Institute has announced the 2007 Summer Seminars schedule. These seminars afford educators an opportunity to study an important topic in American history with an eminent scholar in the field at major institutions including Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, and the University of Virginia. These week-long seminars provide educators with intellectual stimulation and a collaborative context for developing practical resources and strategies to take back to the classroom. Six new seminars are available this year. To see the schedule and apply online, visit: http://www.gilderlehrman.org/teachers/seminars1.html

Item #2 -- Elaine Wrisley Reed to Retire: The National Council for History Education (NCHE) has announced that after 21 years of championing the cause of history education, Elaine Wrisley Reed, Executive Director of the Westlake, Ohio based organization will be retiring at the end of the year. For the press release announcing her retirement go to: www.history.org/nche and clickon "Breaking News."

Item #3 -- Darwin Evolves on the Web: Charles Darwin's handwritten journals -- in fact his complete works are now posted on the web. Some 50,000 pages and 40,000 images have been digitized by the University of Cambridge; much of the material has never been published before. To visit the site, to to: www.darwin-online.org .

5. ARTICLES OF INTEREST One article this week...One posting this week. In "The Nutty Professors" in the 23 October issue of the New Yorker magazine, Anthony Grafton reviews William Clark's "Academic Charisma and the Origins of the Research University" -- a new book that traces the origins and development of the modern university and all its twisted charms. "The lecture, like the sermon, had a liturgical cast and aura...one must be authorized to perform the rite, and must do it in an authorized manner" writes Clark. Anyone associated with a university will find this posting amusing and insightful. For the article go to: http://www.newyorker.com/ .