See forwarded mail from another list, below.  Note that #1 and especially #2 should be of interest to museum-l.


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From:   [log in to unmask]
To:     <[log in to unmask]>
Date:   3/1/02 9:47AM
Subject:        NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 8, #8, March 1, 2002

NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 8, #8, March 1, 2002
by Bruce Craig <[log in to unmask]>
National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History (NCCPH)
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1.   Supreme Court to Hear Copyright Extension Case
2.   National Museum of American History Job Posting
3.   New Annual FOIA Request Record Set
4.   More Nixon Tapes Released
5.   News Bits and Bytes: LC Web Sites
6.   Articles of Interest: Various Postings on "official secrecy"


1.   SUPREME COURT TO HEAR COPYRIGHT EXTENSION CASE
On February 19, 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that when its term
begins next October, it will take up the case, Eldred v. Ashcroft and
decide whether the 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act that grants protection
of existing copyrights by an additional 20 years is constitutional.

The case is perhaps the most important copyright matter the Court has taken
up in decades in part due to the ramifications that the decision will have
on the distribution of creative and historical works in the digital age. In
particular, the Court's decision may have broad implications for historians
and archivists: It could result in thousands of classic films, books, and
music that first appeared in the 1920s and 30s becoming freely available on
the Internet and elsewhere.

When Congress enacted the nation's first copyright act in 1790, the law
protected written works of authors up to 28 years.  That protection
remained in effect until 1909 when Congress doubled the limit to a possible
56 years.  Since the 1960s, Congress has repeatedly extended the maximum
term, largely because of pressure from music and movie industry media
giants.  In all, Congress has extended the period of copyright protection
some 11 times over the last four decades, thus, in the words of one
copyright expert, "transforming a limited monopoly into a virtually
limitless one."

In 1998, Congress passed yet another copyright extension bill -- the Sonny
Bono Copyright Term Extension Act. That law added 20 more years to most
copyrights thereby preventing a large range of works from falling in the
public domain. Under the Bono Act, films are protected for 95 years after
their release, and works by authors and composers are covered for 70 years
after the death of the individual creator.

Proponents of the Bono Act believed it was necessary to put the United
States on equal footing with European law and to assert that Congress has
the right to set the terms of copyright coverage. But some small
publishers, archivists, librarians, and other Internet based businesses,
filed suit arguing that by passing extension after extension Congress
undermined the vision of the framers of the Constitution who did not intend
copyright to extend indefinitely. Opponents of the Act, like University of
California, Berkeley law professor Mark Lemley believe that "without some
check on congressional power, it is unlikely that any of the cultural and
historical works of the first half of the 20th century will ever enter the
public domain."

Statistics provide some ammunition for those seeking to overturn the Bono
Act. Millions of original works are copyrighted each year.  However, after
the passage of time, few works actually remain in circulation. In 1930, for
example, 10,027 books were published in the United States, yet today only
174 of them remain in print. Opponents of the copyright extension see a
potential market for some of these works, but current law prevents anyone
but the original copyright holders from reprinting them or otherwise making
them available in digital or other formats.

Shortly after the Bono Act went into effect, Eric Eldred, an individual who
runs an Internet library that posts works in the public domain, brought
suit. His case, known as Eldred vs. Ashcroft (01-618) challenges the
constitutionality of the new copyright act. Eldred believes that old books,
songs and movies should flow continuously into the public domain and that
the present law prevents published material from entering that domain.

Thus far, Eldred and his supporters have not fared well in court; in
rulings by both a federal district and an appellate court, Congress's right
to extend copyright laws has been upheld. Most recently, in a 2 to 1
decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
found that Congress indeed had the authority to extend copyright and found
that the law actually gave copyright holders "an incentive to preserve
older works."  The Court held that retroactive term extensions clearly are
within congressional authority under the copyright clause and that the
20-year term extension did not violate the First Amendment.

On December 13, 2001, the American Library Association, the American
Association of Law Libraries, the Association of Research Libraries, the
Digital Future Coalition, the Medical Library Association, and the Society
of American Archivists filed an amici curiae brief in support of a request
that the U.S. Supreme Court exercise its discretion to take the case. They
urged the Supreme Court to hear and to overturn the decision by the federal
appeals court for the D.C. Circuit.

The brief to the Supreme Court argues that the practical result of
copyright term extension is that it "diminishes the ability of the public
to be educated, to be entertained, and to engage in debate. Through
excessive copyright extension, copyright owners will continue to restrict
access to and exert censorial control over millions of works, thereby
chilling discourse and cultural development long after incentives for
production have ceased to operate."

The opponents to the copyright extension are represented by Lawrence
Lessig, a Stanford University law professor considered one of the foremost
legal experts on the Internet and the law.  The government is represented
by Justice Department lawyers. Opponents, as they did in their brief to the
high Court, are expected to argue the intent of the founding fathers has
been subverted.  Government lawyers will probably assert that there is no
legal precedent restricting Congress's ability to extend existing
copyright. Court insiders believe the Justices will decide the case by
focusing narrowly on the question of whether Congress exceeded its
authority when it passed the most recent copyright extension.

Mark Greene, a member of the Society of American Archivist's (SAA) Council,
and, with Peter Hirtle and Bill Maher, of Council's working group on
Intellectual Property, note that the stakes for archivists in this case are
very high: "The growing reluctance of publishers to risk printing even
excerpts from unpublished material without clear copyright permission has
begun to significantly hamper scholars' ability to use archival sources.
The last Civil War veterans died in the 1950s; under CTEA copyright,
protection in unpublished letters from that war could endure until 2030.
How such ever-lengthening copyright protection helps 'to promote the
Progress of Science and useful Arts,' as the Framers intended, is anyone's
guess."

The SAA and others are urging archival and historical organizations to file
(or sign on to) briefs supporting Eldred.  They assert that this case
presents "an opportunity for archivists, librarians, historians, and others
to explain their view on the importance of the public domain and the harm
that flows from keeping works almost perpetually locked up."

Amicus curiae ("friend of the court" briefs) in support of Mr. Eldred's
challenge to the current law will have to be filed by April 5, 2002. The
oral argument before the Supreme Court is expected to take place next fall.

2.   NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY JOB POSTING
Normally, this newsletter does not post job openings. Once in a while,
however, there is an announcement of such importance that there is a need
to make readers aware of unique opportunities for history and archive
professionals.  This is one such posting.

At long last, through a management/executive search firm Korn/Ferry
International, the Smithsonian Institution has begun to circulate a
position announcement for the Director of the National Museum of American
History recently vacated by Spencer Crew. When this job announcement was
forwarded to me by a reader it had the following attached message:
"Recruiting announcement for Director, National Museum of American History
-- no degrees, no scholarly work, no museum experience, no problem."  The
online summary proves rather accurate, hence the need to distribute this
announcement far and wide so that truly qualified candidates can at least
apply and be considered.

The search is being conducted by Korn/Ferry International, one of the
world's leading management search firms.  Based on a review of its online
job postings the company appears to focus on corporate rather than on
non-profit recruitment.  In addition to the Smithsonian position the firm
is currently trying to fill positions such as director of corporate
accounts for a major New Jersey based pharmaceutical company and
Vice-President for Latin America for Starbucks Coffee Company.

The stated objective of the American History museum director search is to
find an individual who will "provide creative leadership and an inspiring
vision for the National Museum of American History." According to the
posted announcement, the new director "will oversee the Museum's
significant investment to transform the current space into a newly
designed, renovated facility with world-class exhibitions and
programs.  The Director will provide ongoing leadership and support for the
staff of 300 people responsible for scholarly research and care of more
than three million artifacts."

In the "Experience and Qualifications" statement there are no requirements
for an advanced degree ("though an advanced degree in history or social
science is highly desired"), no need for any museum management experience,
or any need to provide evidence of a scholarly track record. However, ideal
candidates should have "a demonstrated interest in and passion for the
subject of American History."  Required qualifications are "proven dynamic
leadership and the ability to successfully manage large complex
organizations...strong ability to raise funds...ability to provide
intellectual leadership and inspiration...[ability to be a] compelling
communicator...[and] marketing and promotional experience."

To be considered for the position, it is necessary to register with
e-Korn/Ferry but readers can review the job posting without registering by
following these instructions: Tap into the web page:
http://www.kornferry.com; click on the box labeled "Executive
Opportunities" -- this brings you to a page where you will see a box
entitled, "Region" where you will type in "North America"; at the box "job
categories" scroll down to "Government, Education, and Not-for-profit"; hit
return; When the announcement pages come up scroll down to the posting for
"Director, National Museum of American History" and hit the return button.
Only qualified candidates need apply.

3.  NEW ANNUAL FOIA REQUEST RECORD SET
According to a summary analysis entitled "Summary of Annual FOIA Reports
for Fiscal Year 2000" released by the Department of Justice, the total
number of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests in FY 2000 reached a
record annual high. For the first time in history, an excess of 2 million
requests were received by all federal departments and agencies.

According to the report, the 2,235,201 requests are more than 13.5 percent
greater than the number of requests received during FY 1999.  The analysis
also states that expenditures on processing requests also set a record high
--  $253,049,516.37.  This is the first time that the reported cost figure
for FOIA processing passed the quarter-billion-dollar level.

To access the report tap into:
http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/foiapost/2002foiapost3.htm.  In addition, an
independent analysis of the "State of Freedom of Information" report based
on prior year data is available from the National Security Archive. The
report is available at: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB51/.

4.  MORE NIXON TAPES RELEASED
On February 28, 2002, in accordance with the Presidential Recordings and
Materials Preservation Act of 1974, the National Archives and Records
Administration opened approximately 500 hours of White House tape
recordings from the Nixon presidency.  This release -- the ninth set of
Nixon White House tape materials released since 1980 --  constitutes the
largest release of tapes from the National Archives at any one time.
Included are approximately 426 hours of conversations that were recorded at
the White House from January to June 1972.  With this release, to date,
NARA has opened 1,779 hours of tapes from the Nixon presidency.

The 4,127 tape segments in this release are reproduced on 1,100 cassettes.
NARA has designated approximately 154 hours as personal and returnable to
the Nixon estate. Approximately 4 hours are restricted for national
security, as provided for in Executive Order 12958.  Approximately 30
minutes are restricted for invasion of privacy, 7 ½ hours as
unintelligible, and 7 ½ hours have been deemed "non-historical."

The tapes cover a wide variety of domestic and foreign topics.  Of
particular interest are recordings discussing the President's trip to the
Peoples Republic of China, the war in Vietnam, the Watergate break-in, and
a number of domestic issues including the retirement of John Mitchell, the
possibility of Henry Kissinger becoming Secretary of State, John Connally's
future in the Nixon Administration, and J. Edgar Hoover's successor.  There
is also a discussion of the assassination attempt on Governor George
Wallace with H.R. Haldeman, Charles Colson and John Connally.

To assist researchers in locating conversations on the tapes, free finding
aids on disc are available. The aids includes the date, time, location, and
an outline of conversations, and names of participants -- vital information
that will help researchers locate conversations. The discs may be obtained
from the Nixon Project staff at the National Archives at College Park by
calling (301) 713-6950.

5.  NEWS BITS AND BYTES:
Item #1 - LC Web Sites:  The Library of Congress has several web sites
worth taking a look at :
"All History is Local: Students as Archivists" tells how students at the
Arkansas School for Mathematics and Sciences analyzed archival materials,
developed digital collections, and made their projects available online in
the Arkansas Memory Project. This learning activity is designed so that
teachers and students from other states & communities may adapt it to
create their own local history Memory  Projects.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/98/local/intro.html "
"The Constitution: Counter Revolution or National Salvation?" casts
students in the role of politically active citizens in 1787, when the
Federal Convention in Philadelphia presented the nation with a new model of
government. Students, using primary documents from American Memory, produce
a broadside in which they argue for or against replacing the Articles of
Confederation with the new model -- the Constitution.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/broad/intro.html
"The Frederick Douglass Papers" presents the papers of the 19th- century
African-American abolitionist who escaped from slavery and then risked his
own freedom by becoming an outspoken antislavery lecturer, writer, and
publisher. The first release of the Douglass Papers contains 2,000 items
(16,000 images) that span the years 1841 to 1964 & relate to Douglass's
life as an escaped slave, abolitionist, editor, orator, and public
servant.  http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/doughtml/doughome.html

6.  ARTICLES OF INTEREST:  This week we have a series of articles focusing
on the Bush Administration's efforts to expand the scope of official
secrecy.  For several authors, official secrecy seems to be a "defining
characteristic of the Bush presidency." A special thanks to the Federation
of American Scientist's "Project on Government Secrecy" for these postings.
"More than any of its recent predecessors, this administration has a
penchant for secrecy," writes David E. Rosenbaum in the New York Times
(February 4, 2002): see
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/03/weekinreview/03ROSE.html
"The Bush team has already established a record on secrecy that makes
Richard Nixon, just to take a random example from our presidential past,
look like a boy scout," according to Russ Baker in The Nation (February 25,
2002): http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020225&s=baker

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