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The ARLIS Visual Resources Advisory Committee would like to add another
voice in urging your support for these bills. We would also like to thank
the Public Policy Committee for the wonderful work they have done in
publicizing the legislation and letting ARLIS members know how to
participate in this process of support.
If you have not yet contacted your legislators, please consider doing so now.
From the Public Policy Committee:
As you may be aware, landmark legislation to update the nation's copyright
laws for the digital age--including the Fair Use Doctrine-- is now pending
in both chambers of Congress. The ARLIS/NA Executive Board has endorsed
these watershed bills: S. 1146, Sen. John Ashcroft's (R-MO) Digital
Copyright Clarification and Technology Act, and H.R. 3048, the Digital Era
Copyright Enhancement Act, introduced by Reps. Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Tom
Campbell (R-CA).
ACTION ALERT
The second session of the 105th Congress recently opened and it is crucial
that all librarians, educators, trustees, parents, and friends of libraries
ask both of their Senators to cosponsor S. 1146 and ask their member of the
House of Representatives to cosponsor H.R. 3048.
These bills represent a positive approach to updating the Copyright Act to
meet the challenges of the digital environment while, at the same time,
preserving the critical balance between copyright owners and users in the
electronic age.
All ARLIS/NA members and library supporters are urgently requested to write
or call your House and Senate delegations specifically requesting
"cosponsorship" (not merely "support") of these bills.
Why is this urgent now? First, these bills may be taken up in committee
as soon as the end of February. Second, most members will not sign on as
the cosponsor of a bill unless a constituent requests it.
To facilitate your review of the specifics of these bills and your
communication with your Congressional representatives, the Public Policy
Committee has mounted a Web page providing an array of information and
links to Web resources including:
- brief reviews & in-depth analysis of S. 1146 and H.R. 3048
- endorsements & legislative alerts from organizations such as ALA
and the Digital Future Coalition (DFC) of which ARLIS/NA
is a member
- Congressional directories with mail, e-mail, tele. & FAX numbers
- sample letters & guidelines
>
This page is available directly at
<http://libraries.mit.edu/rvc/arlisna/digital.html>; at the ARLIS/NA Web
site, "News" or on the Public Policy Committee Web page, "Committees."
We think you will agree that this is the pivotal moment to contact those in
Congress who have been elected to represent your interests. Please take the
time now to write, e-mail, call or FAX your Senators and House
Representatives to urge their support and, specifically, co-sponsorship of
these two bills. Your timely
>communication, in concert with others, can have a truly powerful impact!
>
>Thank You,
>
>Katy Poole & Hinda Sklar
>Co-Chairs, Public Policy Committee
Trudy Jacoby
Trinity College
Hallden Hall, Visual Resources Collection
Hartford, CT 06106-3100
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860-297-2194
