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NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 7, #19, May 11, 2001



NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 7, #19, May 11, 2001
by Bruce Craig <rbcraig3@juno.com> of  the National Coordinating Committee
for the Promotion of History
*****************

1.  $50 Million History Grant Update
2.  Congressional Representatives Request Larger NHPRC Appropriation
3.  Smithsonian Regents Approve  Reorganization Plans
4.  Florida Ballot Controversy Update
5.  Advocacy Groups Gather in Washington D.C.
6.  News Bits and Bytes: E-Book Court Case; Oral History Transcripts;
Controversial $38 Million Smithsonian Donation

1. $50 MILLION HISTORY GRANT UPDATE
The Department of Education (DOE) has informed the NCC that while the
Department originally hoped to publish the application forms for the
"Teaching American History" grants in the May 7 edition of the Federal
Register, that target date has been moved back to "around May 21."  The
closing date for the applications will be 60 days from the date of
publication in the Register.

Readers may wish to monitor the DOE website for more information. Go to
http://www.ed.gov and click on "Funding Opportunities" and then click on
"Discretionary Grant Application Packages." This page not only lists grant
competitions that are currently open, but it provides links to downloadable
application packages, various forms, and other information that entities
will need in order to apply for grant funds. A one-page information summary
of the Teaching American History grant program is also available. To get on
the list to receive grant applications materials from the DOE, please write:
teachingamericanhistory@ed.gov

2.  CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES REQUEST LARGER NHPRC APPROPRIATION
Following up on a request in a recent NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 6, #17,
April 25, 2001) in which we asked readers to contact their congressional
representatives to ask them to urge "full funding" for the National
Historical Publications and Records Commission(NHPRC), according to Capitol
Hill insiders, the ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Treasury,
Postal Service and General Government, Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and
his colleague Representative David Price (D-NC), both submitted "members
requests" for $10 million in the FY 2002 federal appropriation for the
NHPRC.  Led by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), democrats on the Senate
Subcommittee on the Treasury, General Government, and Civil Service also
made members requests for an NHPRC appropriation of $8 million.  Both
requests are substantially higher than the $4.436 million funding level
requested in the President's FY 2002 federal budget.

3.  SMITHSONIAN REGENTS APPROVE REORGANIZATION PLANS
As reported in recent NCC WASHINGTON UPDATEs (see Vol. 7, #15, April 11,
2001 and Vol. 7, #18, May 3, 2001) Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small
plans to move forward with a controversial reorganization of  the
Smithsonian Institution's scientific research programs.  Small originally
called for the closure of various offices and facilities including the
National Zoo's Conservation and Research Center (which studies the behavior,
reproductive biology and preservation of endangered and threatened species)
in Front Royal, Virginia, the Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and
Education, an art conservation laboratory, Smithsonian Productions (the
center for the Institution's video, audio, and multi-media productions) and
three offices in the Smithsonian libraries and the Museum Support Center
Branch in Suitland, Maryland.

Bowing to pressure from scientists, members of Congress and the public, just
prior to the meeting of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, Secretary Small
withdrew his proposal to close the National Zoo's Conservation and Research
Center in Front Royal.  However, the Smithsonian Board appears to have given
Small a free hand to move forward with the reorganization proposals
presented to them. During their closed to the public meeting, the Board,
headed by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, approved the Secretary's plans
to close other highly respected but relatively unknown facilities and
operations.

Of primary concern to the historical/archival community is the proposed
closure of the Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education in
Suitland, Maryland.  The Center was founded in 1963 at the urging of an
international group of museum officials and performs conservation research
on historic and natural history specimens including such items as
prehistoric era ceramics to the plants collected by American explorers Lewis
and Clark.

Small argues that because many museums within the Smithsonian have their own
conservation labs, the Materials Research Center has become redundant.
Proponents of the Center argue though that caring for artworks (work usually
carried out in conservation labs) is very different from scientifically
studying how to care for them (which is the mission of the Center). The fate
of the Center now rests with Congress which will consider the closure along
with the entire proposed Smithsonian budget of $494 million.

4.  FLORIDA BALLOT CONTROVERSY UPDATE
There has been a recent flurry of press reports discussing who really won
the disputed presidential election of 2000 based on an analysis of ballots
cast.  As various media organizations continue to examine the ballots, the
state of Florida has begun to assess what should be done to insure the
proper preservation of the ballots and related documentary evidence that
collectively tells the story of the contested 2000 presidential election.

As a follow-up on the NCC's call to preserve the Florida ballots and related
materials for future historical study (see NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol 6,
#44, December 15, 2000), at this writing, the Florida Elections Supervision
Association has recently created a committee to survey the record types and
formats of information, analyze the documentary record and make
recommendations for disposition and retention of the ballots. Sitting on the
committee are several state archivists and historians including Dr. Julian
Pleasants, Director of the Proctor Oral History Program at the University of
Florida and Dr. Patrick Riordan, Director of the Resource Center for Florida
History and Politics at the University of South Florida.

The committee met for the first time earlier this month and plans to meet
again in late June. For the time being the ballots remain in the
jurisdiction of Florida's 67 county governments which are mandated by law to
retain them for a minimum of 22 months. About 18 months remain before
disposition decisions will need to be in place.

5.   ADVOCACY GROUPS GATHER IN WASHINGTON D.C.
The American Library Association (ALA) and the Federation of State
Humanities Councils both conducted advocacy efforts in late April and early
May that reached hundreds of Congressional offices. On April 30-May 1, 2001,
the ALA sponsored its annual "National Library Legislative Day."  Over 650
librarians, and library supporters from practically all 50 states visited
hundreds of congressional offices to voice support for higher appropriations
for libraries and to educate lawmakers on key issues impacting the library
community.

Similarly, on May 2-3, 2001, the annual "Humanities on the Hill" advocacy
effort sponsored by the Federation of State Humanities Council in
cooperation with several other humanities organizations (including the NCC)
also took place in Washington D.C.  The annual breakfast event and
subsequent Hill office visits offered and opportunity for members of the
humanities community to demonstrate the importance of the humanities in the
lives of American across the nation.  This year, the breakfast briefing was
held at the historic Sewell-Belmont House. There were 47 state humanities
councils represented whose members later visited over 300 congressional
offices. According to Gail Leftwich, President of the Federation, "It was a
wonderful program, a glorious site, and a glorious day."

6.  NEWS BITS AND BYTES:
Item #1 - E-Book Court Case: "Show me why an e-book is a book" asked U.S.
District Judge Sydney H. Stein as publishers, literary agents, and First
Amendment lawyers argued a case that pits publishing giant Random House
against Internet start-up RosettaBooks. Stein's request set off three hours
of oral arguments on whether electronic versions of books fit the definition
of a book in contracts with authors signed by Random House prior to 1994.
Today, Random House and virtually every other publisher include clauses in
book contracts to secure the rights of electronic versions.  However, absent
such language in contracts made prior to 1994, RosettaBooks secured separate
agreements with authors such as Kurt Vonnegut and William Styron and began
to sell electronic versions of their works. Random House sued.  In court,
lawyers for RosettaBooks argued that authors should have the right to choose
who sells the electronic version of their books. In the effort to define
what a book is, attorneys for Random House argued that "the e-book
experience is very similar to the reading experience" and hence should be
viewed as a book within the definition of "in book form" - a contract term
commonly referenced in the publishing business. The case should be decided
in several months.

Item #2 - Oral History Transcripts: The Senate Historical Office has posted
on its Web site three lengthy oral history transcripts with the staff
directors who headed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1947 to
1977: Francis Wilcox (the committee's initial staff director, who organized
its first professional staff), his successor, Carl Marcy (who headed the
committee staff from 1955 to 1973), and Pat Holt (who served as staff
director from 1973 to 1977). For more information on these and other
interviews in the collection, see this web site:
http://www.senate.gov/learning/learn_history_oralhist.html

Item #3 - Smithsonian Donation: Through her foundation, Catherine B.
Reynolds, a Northern Virginia businesswomen, has donated $38 million to the
Smithsonian Institution to start a hall commemorating American achievers.
The permanent display is tentatively titled "The Spirit of America" and is
to take up 10,000 square feet at the National Museum of American History.
The Reynolds Foundation will also fund an annual "Achievement Award" for
individual accomplishment in the arts, science, or public service.
According to Reynolds, the exhibit that is scheduled to open in 2004, will
provide an opportunity for  "prominent Americans in their own words [to
bring] to life their personal stories of achievements." Behind the scenes,
however, the donation has set off rumblings within the ranks of professional
staff that donors with large gifts and strong ideas are exerting too much
control over the museum's content. Museum officials defend the acceptance of
the gift on the basis that "the concept of honoring great Americans" through
a museum exhibit at the Smithsonian is an idea that "has been discussed for
some time" and that Reynold's gift fits into the overall scheme of
modernizing the museum and engaging younger visitors. At present there is no
overall development plan for the 300,000 square feet of exhibit space (of
which The Spirit of America display is to be a part) that is currently
slotted for redesign.

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