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FW: [NCCmailings] NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 8, #34, August 21, 2002



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From: rbcraig@nccph.org [mailto:rbcraig@nccph.org]
Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2002 7:33 AM
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Subject: [NCCmailings] NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 8, #34, August 21, 2002


NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 8, #34, August 21, 2002
by Bruce Craig <rbcraig@nccph.org>
National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History (NCCPH)
*****************

1.  Update: Legislative Branch Appropriations
2.  Under Secretary at Smithsonian Appointed
3.  NARA Electronic Records Archives Project Seeks Private Sector Input 4.
News Bits and Bytes: Connecticut Historical Commission Gets Funding
Restored; New on the Web
5.  Articles of Interest:"Education After the Culture Wars" in Daedalus
magazine (Summer 2002); "Students Take History Into Their Own Hands" (The
Christian Science Monitor; August 13, 2002)


1.  UPDATE: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS
In March and April 2002, officials of various legislative branches
including the Library of Congress (LC), Congressional Research Service
(CRS), and Government Printing Office (GPO) testified on their agency's
needs.  The LC, for example, requested $572.7 million (a net increase of
$56.3 million over fiscal 2002 levels) while the CRS hoped to see a slight
increase over the enacted level of $81.454 million.  The GPO asked for
$129.3 million, a net increase of $14.7 million over FY 2002 levels.

Shortly before their recess, both the House and Senate announced their
recommendations for the FY 2003 Legislative Branch appropriations. The
House version of the appropriations act (H.R. 5121; H. Rept 107-576) calls
for $508.484 million for the LC and $86,241 million for the CRS -- less
than the request but nearly $5 million above the current year.  On the
Senate side, legislation (S. 2720; S. Rept. 107-209) provides $496.920
million for the LC; the CRS would see $86.952 million.  Funding for the GPO
is at the requested level.

In the House report, the committee questioned the LC's implementation of
its new hiring system; the committee requested "further management review"
of the request for an increase of 169 staff positions and ordered that a
GAO report be prepared. On the positive side, the Committee was
particularly impressed with the "Joining Hands Across America" initiative
that seeks to teach educators how to incorporate the LC's digital
collections into school curricula. The House report also provides an
extension of the grant deadline (to March 31, 2005) for $75 million for
necessary salary and expenses of the National Digital Information
Infrastructure provided matching grants from non-federal sources can be
obtained.  There is also a provision for the LC to transfer $500,000 to the
Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. Finally, there is clarifying
language relating to the House History Project that provides for posting on
the Internet  "excerpts" rather than the full text of the proposed "History
of the House of Representatives" once that book is completed.

On the Senate side, the committee recommended $1.5 million above the budget
request for the "Joining Hands Across America" program as well as an
increase of $200,000 for a Lewis and Clark Bicentennial exhibition to a
total of $989,000.  The Senate fully supported the Veterans History Project
and recommended a significant increase to the National Digital Library
Program.  The committee did, however, express concern over the LC's retail
operations and requested marketing and other product development studies be
prepared and provided to the committee prior to the FY 2004 budget request.

Library and archives insiders have expressed concern over some of Congress
and the Administration's plans for the Government Printing Office. On the
House side, for example, the Office of the Superintendent of Documents is
slotted for a $2.641 million cut from the budget request of $32.302
million.  In the Senate version there is report language directing the GAO
to "conduct a comprehensive review and assessment" of the current state of
printing and dissemination of federal government information.  The report
calls for the GPO to "enhance the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of
printing and disseminating Federal Government information to the public"
raising the concern that the depository library program may be endangered.

The Senate also included language that "strongly opposes" the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) plan to disregard the statutory requirement
that printing and publishing of government publications must be conducted
through the GPO. Mitch Daniels, director of the OMB, has been advocating a
revision to Federal acquisition regulations that would allow private
companies to compete with the GPO, raising fears that the public may find
it harder to gain access to government information. The Committee directed
the administration "to abide by the statutory requirement" (U.S.C. Title
44, Section 501).  However, with the issuance of a recent memorandum (OMB
Directive M-02-07, "Procurement of Printing and Duplicating through the
Government Printing Office," dated May 3, 2002) the Bush Administration is
blatantly disregarding the existing statutory requirement that all
government printing be channeled through the GPO as well as Congressional
report language in various appropriations bills.

2. UNDER SECRETARY AT SMITHSONIAN APPOINTED
On August 19, 2002 Smithsonian Secretary Laurence M. Small announced the
appointment of David L. Evans as Under Secretary for Science at the
Smithsonian Institution. This appointment will be effective September 9,
2002. According to Small, "David Evans' considerable experience as a leader
of complex, federally-funded science research organizations and his passion
for communicating about science to the general public are exactly what we
need."

Evans is an oceanographer and has been the National Oceanographic and
Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Assistant Administrator for Research
since 1998.  According to a Smithsonian statement, he was the "clear
choice" of the Smithsonian Science Leadership Search Committee after "an
intense, nationwide search."  Evans has considerable background in federal
science research administration and reportedly "is widely known as a strong
long-term strategist who knows how to garner support for Federal science
programs."  Of particular interest to the historical and research
communities, Evans will be responsible for working closely with the
blue-ribbon science commission appointed by the Smithsonian regents to
assess the Smithsonian's science and research programs.

In previous assignments at NOAA, Evans was Deputy Administrator for
Fisheries (1997-1998) and Senior Scientist and Deputy Assistant
Administrator for Ocean Services (1993-1997). He served earlier as Program
Manager for Physical Oceanography at the Office of Naval Research
(1988-1992) and Assistant and Associate Professor, University of Rhode
Island (1976-1988). He holds a B.A. degree in mathematics from the
University of Pennsylvania (1968) and a Ph.D. in oceanography from the
University of Rhode Island. His areas of specialty include physical
oceanography, small-scale dynamics, and the climate.

3.  NARA ELECTRONIC RECORDS ARCHIVES PROJECT SEEKS PRIVATE SECTOR INPUT
According to an article that appeared in "Federal Computer Week" ("NARA
Seeks Ideas for E-Records Archive" by William Matthews; August 19, 2002),
the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is asking private
companies to submit ideas they might have for a workable way to save
electronic records.  The tone of the article suggests that the electronic
archives project may be stymied and that there is a need for an influx of
ideas if NARA is to meet its five-year target to build a state-of-the-art
Electronic Records Archive (ERA). In fact, the requirement for seeking
private sector input does not originate with NARA, rather it is mandated by
Congress.

To date, NARA has spent over $20 million over a three-year period to build
some of the basic components of an ERA. The ERA is envisioned to be a
comprehensive, systematic, and dynamic means for preserving any kind of
electronic records, free from dependence on any specific hardware or
software.

To this end, NARA faces at least two major obstacles: first, electronic
files created just a few years ago quickly become obsolete because of
fast-changing technology and information may no longer be retrievable;
second, the sheer volume of e-records -- 36.5 billion a year in e-mail
messages alone -- is daunting.  According to Reynolds Cahoon, NARA's chief
information officer, in issuing the Request for Information (RIF) to
vendors, NARA officials are open to any suggested solutions. "We want to be
sure there isn't something else out there that we should be looking at,"
said Cahoon; "We're vitally interested in seeing what the vendor community
has to offer."  But, according to Michael Tankersley of Public Citizen, "I
do not know why anyone would give very meaningful information at this point
since it might benefit competitors."

Though according to Deputy Archivist Lew Bellardo, NARA is already involved
in "a number of research activities and prototypes" for long-term e-records
storage systems this does "not necessarily translate into a commitment to
those technologies and architectures."  Instead, says Bellardo, "We want to
get as many creative ideas coming forth as possible" and do  "not want to
constrain the responses we might get" by listing system requirements
specific to the prototypes NARA has already developed.  NARA hopes to award
two or three system design contracts that will lead, after 18 months, to a
single system designer.

For more on the ERA, tap into
http://www.archives.gov/electronic_records_archives;  for the RFI (Issued
August 14, 2002; Reference number: NAMA-02-R-ERA) tap into the Federal
Business Opportunities web site at: < http://eps.gov>.

4.   News Bits and Bytes:
Item #1 -- Connecticut Historical Commission Gets Funding Restored:  A
little bright spot in our day!  Readers may recall the NCC story,
"Connecticut Historical Commission Funding Slashed" (NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE,
Vol. 8, #23, July 19, 2002) which reported on a drastic funding cut that
threatened the existence and independence of the Connecticut Historical
Commission. Executive Director John W. Shannahan faced either laying off
nearly half his staff or closing some if not all of the six historic sites
operated by the historical commission. Also, the independence of the agency
was threatened as the legislature was considering consolidating the
commission with an arts organization in order to save money. Shortly after
posting the story in this publication, a special "NCC Action Alert" was
electronically sent to nearly 500 historians in Connecticut asking them to
contact their state representatives and the governor to take action to
address the twin issues. Director Shannahan reports that thanks to the
actions of many people, the general assembly voted to restore $350,000 to
the commission's budget and decided not to merge his organization with
another state entity. Thanks to all in Connecticut and elsewhere who took
action on behalf of history!

Item #2 -- New on the Web: Several new web sites may be of interest to
readers: "North American Slave Narratives" is a collection of more than 250
memoirs,
autobiographies, & narratives from individuals who were slaves.  These
firsthand accounts describe the conditions of slavery and a number of slave
escapes to freedom; tap into: <http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/neh.html>.
"A Visual Sourcebook of Chinese Civilization" features 10 units on Chinese
history, culture, and society.  Each unit organizes photos, maps, and art
around themes including China's geography, archaeology, religion,
calligraphy, military technology, painting, homes, gardens, clothing, and
the graphic arts.  Questions highlight key facets of Chinese culture; tap
into: <http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/>.
"Women's History Month" showcases historic properties listed in the
National Register, National Register publications, and  National Park units
commemorating the events and people, designs, and achievements that help
illustrate the contribution of women to our nation's history; tap into:
<http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/feature/wom/>.
"The Enola Gay Controversy" references more than 900 documents covering the
entire vigorous and nationally publicized controversy over a proposal by
the Smithsonian to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II in
1995 with an exhibit examining the consequences
of atomic warfare; tap into: <http://www.lehigh.edu/EnolaGay>.

5.   Articles of Interest:
Two postings this week: first, Diane Ravitch, in an article, "Education
After the Culture Wars" in Daedalus magazine (Summer 2002) imagines a
future in which history and literature are absent from American schools in
her opening article to the issue's forum on education. She states that
"cultural amnesia" is a frightening prospect, but that is exactly the
direction that the nation's schools are headed in light of the censorship
and sensitivity standards that permeate the educational publishing
industry. The present "regime of censorship" explains why many American
students enter college without having been exposed to the works of major
writers and historians.   For the article, tap into:
<http://daedalus.amacad.org/issues/summer2002/ravitch.pdf >. Second,
"Students Take History Into Their Own Hands" by Shira J. Boss (The
Christian Science Monitor; August 13, 2002) discusses an innovative
teaching technique using games to teach history. For the article, tap into:
< http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0813/p14s02-lecs.htm>.

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