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Hello --
Below you will find Macie Hall's summary of the Nov. 25 CONFU meeting. As she
notes, this was to be the final meeting, but a review of the process has
altered the time table delaying it until May 1997. I believe you will find her
succinct write-up helpful in understanding where the CONFU process now stands.
You may also be interested to note newly proposed changes regarding the issue
of "endorsement vs. participation" in response to concerns voiced recently by
several participants including ARLIS/NA.
The Public Policy Committee is currently working on its recommendations to the
ARLIS/NA Executive Board and, as noted previously, we would very much welcome
input and comments from ARLIS/NA members on this critical issue.
Thank you,
Katherine Poole & Hinda Sklar
Co-Chairs, Public Policy Committee
------- Forwarded Message
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 1996 09:44:36 -0500
From: "Virginia M.G. Hall" <[log in to unmask]>
To: Multiple recipients of list VRA-L <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: CONFU Meeting
TO: VRA LIST
FROM: MACIE HALL
RE: CONFU MEETING
DATE: NOVEMBER 26, 1996
Yesterday (Monday, November 25) Kathe Albrecht and I attended what was to
have been the final CONFU meeting. However, early in the day it was
recognized that in order for the process to conclude in a proper manner, the
report to be published now needed to be an interim report, and that a
reasonable amount of time was needed in order for the proposed drafts for
fair use of Image Archives, Distance Learning and Multimedia to be
circulated, discussed and endorsed or not by affected organizations. It was
proposed that CONFU be reconvened on May 19, 1997 so that the endorsements
and non-endorsements for each proposed draft could be reviewed and a
consensus reached as to what would be an appropriate next step.
In addition, the term "guidelines" is being replaced by "proposals" which
Kathe and I (and other representatives of "user" oriented organizations)
feel is an important step. I believe that it is a more accurate description
and will help prevent misunderstandings of what these are, and where we are
in the process. There was much discussion about the endorsement procedure,
and it was agreed that in order for a set of proposals to become
"Guidelines," a broad consensus in the form of endorsements would be
required. It seems important that the VRA as an organization look at all
three sets of proposed drafts and make decisions about endorsement or
non-endorsement of each one individually. I believe that our constituency
will be affected by all three. It is crucial that if a decision is made not
to endorse, that a letter is written expressing concrete reasons for
non-endorsement for the record. A vote of silence in this case will not be
effective as a written negative statement.
Further, all of the recommended language changes to the (now) interim report
have been incorporated. In addition, a statement to the effect that
participation by an organization does not mean that the organization
endorses the draft will be added above the lists of participants. We feel
these changes and additions help to clarify the status of the proposals. A
copy of the interim report with links to the Proposed Drafts for Fair Use of
Image Archives, Multimedia, and Distance Learning can be found at
http://www.uspto.gov. The VRA website also will have appropriate links in
place: http://www.vra.oberlin.edu.
For those of you interested in the political nitty gritty of the meeting
please read on. Although we did accomplish a linear read-through of the
report it was a highly charged meeting with much debate and dissension. The
two problematic issues are the Multimedia Guidelines and the draft proposal
for Electronic Reserves. In the first case there are some who feel that as
the CCUMC (Consortium of College and University Media Centers) pursued a
separate course and has in effect gone outside of the CONFU process, that
these guidelines should not be included in the report. Others felt strongly
that the group had presented their drafts for comment at each CONFU meeting
and were very much a part of the process. The result at the end of the day
was that the guidelines/proposals will be included and endorsements invited
in the same manner as for the other proposals. It was decided that the
Nonlegislative Report on the Educational Multimedia Fair Use Guidelines,
originally Appendix K in the report, be omitted. The situation for the
Electronic Reserves was that at one point a draft proposal did exist, but
were so disputed that a decision was made that no further progress could be
made. Although some felt that a copy of the proposed draft should be
appended to the report, there was considerable opposition to this proposal.
In the end it was decided that the report would not contain the draft, but
merely a statement as to the events that transpired in the working group.
I spoke this morning with Joe Romano about the meeting and what will happen
next. Kathe and I will be making a formal recommendation to the VRA Board
before the end of January about whether or not to endorse the proposals.
Frankly, we have not made a decision at this point about our
recommendations. The draft proposal and the VRA position statement which
Joe Romano released last week will be published in the Winter Issue of the
VRA Bulletin which will be mailed before the end of January. At the VRA
Annual Meeting in New York in February, we hope to make time for an informal
session for members to meet with us for questions, discussion, and comment.
The VRA will have until May 1, 1997 to decide about endorsement of the
proposals. I understand that Joe Romano's position statement distributed
last week was taken by some to be a statement of non-endorsement. Although
the distinctions may be subtle, it is important to understand that the VRA
has not made a formal statement about endorsement or non-endorsement of the
proposals.
Virginia M.G. Hall, Curator
Art History Visual Resources Collection
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD 21218
Tel: 410-516-7122
Fax: 410-516-5188
[log in to unmask]
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