NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 12, #47; 8 December 2006)

1. BATTLE LOOMS OVER EPA LIBRARY CLOSURE
2. HISTORIANS ACCEPT KLUGE AWARD
3. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE RECORDS OF CONGRESS APPROVES REPORT
4. STATE DEPARTMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETS
5. BITS AND BYTES: The Civil War Seminar; Call for Reviewers TAH Grants; Teaching with Historic Places Lesson Plan Released; Fordham Foundation Conference
6. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: Ranking the Presidency of George W. Bush (History News Network)

1. BATTLE LOOMS OVER EPA LIBRARY CLOSURE The battle in Washington is escalating over a move by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to close its nationwide network of scientific libraries. EPA began closing some of its regional branch libraries and one at its Washington, D.C. headquarters earlier this fall. The agency is not only closing the facilities, but also has reportedly begun to destroy documents or shipped them to repositories where they are uncataloged and inaccessible to EPA employees, scientists, and the general public. In addition, EPA has authorized the U.S. General Services Administration to begin selling off library equipment.

This week, four Democrats who will likely chair key House committees in the 110th Congress sent what amounted to a cease and desist letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson urging him to halt the library closures. In the letter, Ranking Members Reps. Bart Gordon (D-TN), John Dingell (D-MI), Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) and James Oberstar (D-MN) expressed their serious concerns over the current implementation of "library reorganization" plans and the "destruction or disposition" of library holdings. "It is imperative that the valuable government information maintained by the EPA's libraries be preserved," wrote the Ranking Members.

In September, the four Democrats asked the Government Accountability Office to initiate an investigation of the impact of EPA's proposed library closures. They want Johnson to halt his reorganization until the GAO issues its report. The closure of the libraries was included in the administrations' proposed FY 2007 budget for EPA. The initiative is estimated to save EPA $2 million annually. However, since the federal government is operating under a continuing resolution, Congress has not technically signed off on the proposed cuts.

2. HISTORIANS ACCEPT KLUGE AWARD The 2006 John W. Kluge Prize was awarded on 5 December 2006 to historians John Hope Franklin and Yu Ying-Shih. They were honored at a ceremony held at the Library of Congress hosted by the Librarian of Congress James H. Billington.

Endowed by Library of Congress benefactor John W. Kluge, the Kluge Prize recognizes lifetime achievement in the wide range of disciplines not covered by the Nobel Prizes, including history, philosophy, politics, anthropology, sociology, religion, criticism in the arts and humanities, and linguistics. First awarded in 2003, the Kluge Prize is international in scope; the recipient may be of any nationality, and may write in any language. The two award winners will split the $1 million prize.

John Hope Franklin, 91, is considered to be the leading scholar in the field of African-American history. During his 70-year academic career, Franklin has produced numerous works that redefined the role of African-Americans in shaping American history. His landmark survey, "From Slavery to Freedom," first published in 1947, has gone through numerous editions and is still considered the preeminent introduction to the African-American experience for students and general readers. Franklin's most recent book is his autobiography, "Mirror to America," that was published in 2005.

Franklin currently serves as the James B. Duke Professor of History Emeritus at Duke University. He served as the president of the American Historical Association in 1979, the president of the Organization of American Historians in 1975, and the president of the Southern Historical Association in 1970.

Yu Ying-Shih, 76, has been described by his peers as "the greatest Chinese intellectual historian of our generation." He has written more than 30 books which span more than 2,000 years of Chinese history. His fields of study include early and medieval Chinese history; intellectual and cultural history of the late imperial periods; and studies of intellectuals and intellectual problems in the modern period. Yu is an Emeritus Professor of East Asian Studies and History at Princeton University.

3. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE RECORDS OF CONGRESS APPROVES REPORT On 4 December 2006, the Advisory Committee for the Records of Congress conducted its last meeting of the 109th Congress.

Following opening comments by Clerk of the House Karen Hass and Secretary of the Senate Emily Reynolds, and after the update report by the Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein, the committee addressed the principal agenda item -- approval of the 4th report of the Committee for transmission to Congress. The report is mandated by Congress to be issued every five years.

This year's report highlights four critical developments relating to Congressional records: it details the progress being made in providing guidance in records management and support for the preservation of official and personal papers of members; it discusses recent advances in electronic record keeping; it describes the activities of the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress; and it discusses the effort to complete the Capitol Visitor Center, a project that seeks to make the Capitol building a much more visitor-friendly environment. The full report will be accessible at the Archives.gov website where it will be posted early in the 110th Congress.

The committee also discussed various initiatives relating to the preservation of the records generated by the 109th Congress. NARA representatives reported that committee records were being transferred to the archives and that a concerted effort was being made to see to it that departing members' papers were being preserved in various private repositories. The committee learned, for example, that all but one outgoing senator has already made arrangements for preservation of personal and political papers. Center for Legislative Archives director Richard Hunt added that action had been taken to capture Congressional websites as they appeared at the end of the 109th Congress and that these "snapshots" of websites would be preserved and made available to scholars for research purposes.

A good deal of the meeting was devoted to reflections of the various committee members who, now that the Democrats have captured control of the House and Senate will rotate off the committee. When the 110th Congress convenes, a new House Clerk and Secretary of the Senate will also be appointed to lead the advisory committee next Congress. One can only hope that the next committee will be as productive as this one was.

4. STATE DEPARTMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETS On 4 December 2006 the Department of State's Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation conducted its usual hour-long "public session" that included reports on the status of the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series, and sundry activities of the State Department History office.

The first order of business was election of a chair for the Advisory Committee for calendar year 2007. Wm. Roger Louis was unanimously re-elected. In his report to the committee, historian Marc Susser highlighted a variety of public outreach events that the history office participated in since the last meeting, including a multi-day conference in Mexico hosted by the Mexican Foreign Ministry. Susser reported that the Interagency Working Group on Nazi War Crime Records was in the process of drafting its final report and that it is expected to be released in March 2007. Susser also stated that the vacancy announcement for the joint State/CIA historian position was posted on USA Jobs and that applications would be accepted until 13 December. Susser concluded his report by discussing the highly successful training program that the history office gave to incoming Foreign Service Officers; course evaluations revealed that 40 percent of the participants felt they wanted more than the approximately 10 hours of history classes that were presented to them.

FRUS General Editor Ted Keefer reported that 2006 was a particularly productive year for the release of FRUS series compilations; some four volumes will be released before the end of year, bringing the total number of released FRUS volumes in 2006 to eleven. Keefer expressed his usual optimistic prediction that by 2010 the publication of FRUS volumes will reach the targeted 30 year release date as mandated by law for the issuance of official volumes documenting the nation's diplomatic history.

The last order of business was a screening of the history office's newest outreach video titled "Today in Washington: The Media and Diplomacy" of which some 15,000 copies were being distributed to history teachers throughout the country. The committee then provided the history office with constructive criticism. Following its traditional coffee break the committee resumed its deliberations in closed session.

5. BITS AND BYTES Item #1 -- The Civil War Seminar: A seminar cosponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and the Council of Independent Colleges titled, "The Civil War in Global Contest" will be held at New York University 24-25 June 2007. It is open to faculty members in history and related fields. Thomas Bender, professor of history and director of the International Center for Advanced Studies at New York University, will lead the seminar. For the faculty members who are selected to participate in the seminar, there will be no expense whatever for room, board, books, or the seminar program itself. The only expense will be transportation to and from New York. The selection process will be based on nominations by chief academic officers, not direct application by faculty members. The deadline for nominations is 16 February 2007. Guidelines, nomination forms, and additional information can be found online at http://www.cic.edu .

Item #2 -- Call for Reviewers: TAH Grants: The Department of Education is soliciting qualified persons to serve as grant reviewers for the 2007 "Teaching American History" (TAH) grant competition. The department is reaching out to numerous historical councils, societies, and agencies hoping to establish a new pool of grant reviewers. If you or someone within your organization is interested in serving as a grant reviewer, please forward a resume to Mia Howerton at mia.howerton@ed.gov by 15 December 2006. For an overview of reviewer qualifications, as well as what is expected of each reviewer, please visit: http://www.oah.org/teaching/tah_reviewers.html .

Item #3 -- Teaching with Historic Places Lesson Plan Released: The 130th Online Lesson Plan focusing on New Philadelphia, Illinois, in the mid-1800s has been released by the National Park Service. New Philadelphia was not a typical pioneer town. It was the first town platted and registered by an African American before the American Civil War. The lesson plan draws on recent archeological investigations that reveal clues about the development, life, and eventual decline of the town. The online lesson plan, the 130th in the series from the National Park Service's Teaching with Historic Places program, is based on the National Register of Historic Places nomination for the New Philadelphia Town Site. To access the lesson plan go to: http://www.cr.nps.gov

Item #4 -- Fordham Foundation Conference on "No Child Left Behind": On December 12, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute is hosting a probing symposium titled "Moving Beyond the Basics" which will address how best to ensure that all young Americans receive a proper education during the K-12 years and what that goal means for education policy and practice. Some on Capitol Hill are promising fast, bipartisan action on the "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) Act in 2007. This conference will focus on the NCLB Act and curriculum needs of students. Among the questions the conference will address is: are reading, math, and science truly sufficient for a 21st century education? Confirmed participants include: Dana Gioia, Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts; Kati Haycock, Director, Education Trust; Diane Ravitch, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Chairman, Core Knowledge Foundation; Toni Cortese, Executive Vice President, American Federation of Teachers; and Jay Mathews, a reporter for the Washington Post. The conference will be held at the Hotel Washington, on 12 December 2006 from 8 AM to 5 PM. To register and reserve a space, visit: http://www.edexcellence.net/images/CCSaveTheDate.jpg . For further information, contact Sarah Kim at 202-223-5452 or email rsvp@edexcellence.net.

6. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: One posting this week. This last weekend, the Opinion Section of the Washington Post (3 December 2006) included a series of articles in which historians such as Michael Lind, Eric Foner, David Greenberg, Douglas Brinkley, and Vincent J. Cannato assessed where President George W. Bush ranks as president compared to his predecessors. Thanks to History News Network, these and other related articles have been compiled and are accessible at: http://hnn.us/articles/32514.html .