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(FWD) NCC Washington Update, Vol. 6, #6, February 24, 2000



NCC Washington Update, Vol 6, #6, February 24, 2000
   by Page Putnam Miller, Director of the National Coordinating
      Committee for the Promotion of History <pagem@capaccess.org>

1.  Supreme Court To Decide On March 3 Whether
          To Consider Electronic Records Case
2.  White House Appoints John Roberts As
          Deputy Chairman of NEH
3.  Sheila Burke Named to a Key Under
          Secretary Position at the Smithsonian
4.  Update on Nazi War Criminal Records
          Working Group and Panel

1.  Supreme Court To Decide On March 3 Whether To Consider Electronic
Records Case - On March 3 the Supreme Court will be deciding whether to
review the petition to reverse a recent Court of Appeals ruling in case
number 97-5356 on electronic records policy.  On November 4, Public
Citizen -- joined by the American Historical Association, the
Organization of American Historians, the National Security Archive, the
American Library Association, the Center for National Security Studies,
and several researchers - filed the petition with the Supreme Court
urging the reversal of the Appeals Court ruling that upheld the National
Archives' regulations that allow agencies to routinely destroy word
processing and electronic mail records of historic value if an
electronic, paper or microform copy has been made for recordkeeping
purposes.

In the October 22, 1997 District Court decision, Judge Freidman took a
broad view that looked at the big picture of how electronic records of
historical value should be preserved and set timetables for agencies to
set up new systems.  The August 6, 1999 Appeals Court decision, however,
reversed the lower court's decision and took a very narrow view in which
they focused on specific words in the current law and concluded that
agencies had the flexibility to choose in what "form," paper or
electronic, they wished to preserve records.

The Justice Department filed its response to Public Citizen's petition
to the Supreme Court on February 4.  On February 15, Public Citizen
filed a reply to the government's opposition to the petition.  The first
date that there may be an announcement on the Supreme Court's
deliberations on whether to consider this case will be March 6.  The
petition and reply in this case may be seen on Public Citizen's Web site
by going to <http://www.citizen.org/litigation/briefs/> and then
clicking on "Electronic Records,"  and then clicking on "Public Citizen
v. Carlin."

2.  White House Appoints John Roberts As Deputy Chairman of NEH - At the
end of January William Ferris, the Chairman of the National Endowment
for the Humanities (NEH), announced that the President had selected and
the White House had fully approved the nomination of John W. Roberts to
serve as the new Deputy Chairman of NEH.  Roberts, who will undertake
his duties at NEH on February 28, has been a professor in Ohio State's
African American and African studies department since 1996 and
department chairman since 1998.  Previously he served as director of the
Afro-American studies program and associate professor in the folklore
and folklife department at the University of Pennsylvania.  A recognized
scholar, teacher, and administrator, Roberts has published widely in the
fields of literature, folklore and African American studies.  He is
currently a member of the advisory board of the Smithsonian
Institution's Folklife and Cultural Studies Program and is past
president of both the American Folklore Society and the Association for
African and African American Folklore.

3.  Sheila Burke Named to A Key Under Secretary Position at the
Smithsonian - Lawrence Small, the Smithsonian's new head, announced on
February 11 a major new reorganization of the management of the
Smithsonian.  Small has eliminated the position of "Provost" and is
replacing it with five under secretaries, one of whom will be Sheila
Burke.  The five components that the under secretaries will head are:
units dealing primarily with science, museums and programs dealing with
American history and social and cultural heritage, art museums with an
international orientation, financial and administrative services, and
business ventures.  Burke's title will be Under Secretary for American
Museums, Programs, and National Outreach.  The relevant museums for
which she will have responsibility are - Air and Space, American
History, American Art, American Indian, the Anacostia and the Center for
African American History and Culture, Cooper-Hewitt, Portrait, and
Postal.

Having served for many years as the senior aide to Senator Bob Dole,
Burke as considerable experience with Congress.  She is currently the
executive dean at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
The creation of Burke's position reflects an effort to centralize under
one person those museums and programs that deal with American history
and culture, which Small views as a key part of the Smithsonian's role.

4.  Update on Nazi War Criminal Records Working Group and Panel - A year
ago President Clinton issued Executive Order 13110 that established the
Nazi War Criminal Records Interagency Working Group.  The order charged
this group with locating, identifying, inventorying, recommending for
declassification and making available all classified Nazi war criminal
records, subject to specified restrictions.  As a part of the this
initiative, the Working Group has appointed a seven-member panel
consisting of university professors, historians and experts on Nazi
German to advise them.  Noted historian Gerhard Weinberg, professor
emeritus at the University of North Carolina, will serve as the Chair of
this Historical Advisory Panel.  In a news release issued by the
National Archives on February 24, Dr. Michael Kurtz, Assistant Archivist
at the National Archives and the chair of the Interagency Working Group,
applauded the appointment of the distinguished panel and said that he
looked forward to working with them.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** *  * * * * * * * * * *
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