Washington Watch
To increase ACRL's visibility and influence in the arena of higher education policy development and legislation, the ACRL Government Relations Committee (in consultation with the ACRL Board and staff) takes a direct and active role in formulating the ACRL legislative agenda including objectives for legislative action at the national level on issues which may affect the welfare of academic and research libraries. Find out more below:
ACRL Legislative Update Electronic List
Tips for Communicating with Legislators
ACRL Legislative Agenda 2010
Printable pdf version of agenda.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
ACRL’s Legislative Agenda includes objectives for legislative action at the national level on issues that affect the welfare of academic and research libraries. These are in a rough priority order and include the following issues that ACRL will focus on in 2010:
1. Public Access to Federally Funded Research
2. Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act
3. Network Neutrality
4. Government Information
5. Orphan Works
6. Fair-Use and Anticircumvention
7. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (Lead in Children’s Books - U.S.C. 15 1278a)
8. SKILLs Act
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ACRL Legislative Advocates
Are you interested in federal legislation and policy affecting libraries? Are you connected in your campus community? Are you willing to work with your members of Congress for change? ACRL needs you! Become an ACRL Legislative Advocate. We’re seeking to expand our group of ACRL Legislative Advocates and invite you to join.
Read more about the responsibilities and duties of being an ACRL Legislative Advocate and hear what it means from current advocates.
ACRL Taking Action
See Library Copyright Alliance for joint work with ALA and ARL on copyright issues such as fair use, trade agreements, and Google Book Search settlement.
Letters to Reps. Clay and McHenry thanking them for hearing on Federal Research Public Access Act (PDF) (July 2010)
As part of its ongoing support of FRPAA, ACRL thanks the Chairman and Ranking member of the Subcommittee on Information Policy, the Census and National Archives of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for scheduling an open hearing on H.R. 5037Letter to Rep. Towns encouraging hearing on Federal Research Public Access Act (PDF) (June 2010)
As part of its ongoing support of FRPAA, ACRL encourages Chairman Towns to hold an open hearing before the House Committee On Oversight and Government Reform on H.R. 5037. The bill was introduced on April 15 by representatives Doyle (D-PA), Waxman (D-CA), Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL), Harper (R-MS), Boucher (D-VA) and Rohrabacher (R-CA) and has been referred to that committee for consideration. We believe a hearing is an important step toward giving this bill full consideration. The bill balances the needs of all stakeholders in the research community and helps to create a level playing field where all interested citizens can access the results of publicly funded research equally. We are enthusiastic about an open hearing as it would allow an opportunity for all stakeholders to express their views.
Letter to Sens. Lieberman and Cornyn on Federal Research Public Access Act (July 2009)
In late June, Senators Lieberman and Cornyn reintroduced S. 1373 the Federal Research Public Access Act. This much-anticipated bill (which was previously introduced in 2006) would ensure free, timely, online access to the published results of research funded by 11 U.S. federal agencies. Essentially, the bill would advance and expand the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy -- which requires public access to taxpayer-funded research -- to additional agencies. ACRL strongly supports this legislation, a priority on our legislative agenda.Letter to House Judiciary opposing Fair Copyright in Research Act (February 13, 2009)
ACRL joined nine other library, publishing and public-interest groups in writing an open letter to the House Judiciary Committee, supporting the NIH policty and opposing the bill Mr. Conyers reintroduced in the 111th Congress.Overview of Public Access to Obama Transition Team (January 2009)
As part of the Open Access Working Group, ACRL joined 9 other library and public interest groups in sending a one-page overview "Public Access to the Published Results of Publicly Funded Research Will Benefit the Economy, Science, and Health" to the Obama transition team.Letter to House Judiciary opposing Fair Copyright in Research Act (September 5, 2008)
ACRL joined nine other library, publishing and public-interest groups in writing an open letter to the House Judiciary Committee, supporting the NIH policty and opposing the bill Mr. Conyers introduced.Letters to US Senator Harkin, Representative Obey and HHS Secretary Leavitt on NIH public access policy implementation (February 2008)
ACRL joined with 7 other national organizations to thank these key members of Congress and the Secretary of Health and Human Services for their support of the NIH Public Access Policy. The letter also reiterates our commitment to the policy and its timely implementation.Letter to US Senators opposing Inhofe amendments (October 2007)
ACRL Joined with 7 other national organizations to urge Senators oppose both of Senator Inhofe's amendments (to the FY 2008 Senate Labor, Health and Human Services and Education and Related Agencies Appropriations bill (S.1710). These amendments would severely curtail the ability of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to effectively make the results of the research it fundsLetter to Representative Miller supporting Higher Education Sustainability Act (October 2007)
HESA amends the Higher Education Act to authorize a new $50 million grant program at the Department of Education that will annually support between 25 and 200 sustainability projects by individual higher education institutions and higher education consortia/associations. Funds can be used to establish multidisciplinary sustainability education, research, and outreach programs; and to conduct energy management, green building and purchasing, waste and toxics management, transportation, and related sustainability initiatives. Since this bill is wide open about on-campus entities who could receive grants, libraries likely would be involved.Letter to US Senators supporting NIH policy (September 2007)
ACRL joined with 6 other national organizations to affirm our support language in the FY08 Labor/HHS/Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill (S.1710) that directs the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to strengthen its Public Access Policy and require NIH-funded researchers to deposit copies of NIH-funded research articles into the online archive of the National Library of Medicine.Letters to the US Senate and US House supporting NIH public access policy (July 2007)
ACRL joined with 6 other national organizations to support language on the NIH Public Access Policy included in the FY08 Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bills.ACRL support of GPO guidelines for shared regional depository libraries (June 2007)
ACRL strongly supports the draft GPO guidelines for shared regional depository libraries, and feels they offer the kind of flexibility libraries seek as they develop models for cooperation.Letter opposing "student bill of rights" in Higher Education Act (April 2007)
As part of the Free Exchange on Campus Coalition, ALA and ACRL joined 9 other national organizations in urging the Senate to keep "student bill of rights" language out of the Higher Education Act. Such language would, in fact, "stifle the open debate and free exchange of ideas between students and teachers so fundamental to higher education."Comments on single firm conduct (November 2006)
The Information Access Alliance (IAA) — representing ACRL and 6 other national library associations — submitted comments for the ongoing Joint Hearings on Single-Firm Conduct and Antitrust Law being held by the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. The IAA has focused on activities it believes are reducing effective competition in scholarly publishing and creating barriers to new entrants into these markets. The IAA believes that single-firm anticompetitive conduct accounts at least in some part for the serious problems confronting libraries today.Letter encouraging hearings on the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2006 (July 2006)
PDF of a letter submitted by the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries, the American Association of Law Libraries, ACRL, ALA, the Association of Research Libraries, the Medical Library Association, the Special Libraries Association, and SPARC to Senator Collins encouraging the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs to hold hearings on the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2006.Resolution in Support of Academic Freedom (January 2006)
ACRL endorsed the resolution, which ALA Council subsequently passed, reaffirming the principles of academic freedom and opposing any legislation or codification of documents like the “Academic Bill of Rights” that undermine academic and intellectual freedom, chill free speech, and/or otherwise interfere with the academic community’s well-established norms and values of scholarship and educational excellence.World Law Bulletin (January 2006)
ACRL joined dozens of organizations and individuals in requesting that the Joint Committee on the Library encourage, if not direct, the Law Library of Congress to publish the World Law Bulletin on the World Wide Web for unrestricted public access.Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) (November, December 2005)
ALA and ACRL along with ARL filed comments before the FCC seeking exemption for libraries from the extension of CALEA. ACRL, ALA and ARL as part of a coalition of business and public interest groups, signed on to a motion to stay the 18 month CALEA compliance date.Statement on NIH Public Access Working Group (November 2005)
The Alliance for Taxpayer Access, a national coalition of over 60 library, non-profit, and patient advocacy groups – including ALA and ACRL – praised the NIH PAWG for recommending that researchers be required to deposit published articles resulting from NIH funding in PubMed Central, NIH's online database of journal literature.Statement on Fair Use and Electronic Reserves (November 2003)
Statement endorsed by ACRL, ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP), the Association of Research Libraries, the Association of American Law Libraries, the Medical Library Association, and the Special Libraries Association, in response to confusion about the TEACH Act and ongoing uncertainty regarding e-reserves and fair use.ACRL Responds to Recording Industry Letter (December 2002)
Learn about ACRL's letter to academic library directors regarding peer-to-peer networking file sharing.
ACRL Legislative Update Electronic List
ACRL Legislative Update is an e-mail notification service that provides current news on public policy topics relevant to academic libraries and librarians, including information from the ALA Washington Office, and a variety of library and higher education publications.
First-time ALA list users should go to the ALA Mailing Lists Service Web page and click on the "Send me a password" link near the bottom of the page. Once the password has arrived, return to the ACRL Legislative Update List Interface Web page and log-in.
Current ALA list users subscribe by going to the ACRL Legislative Update List Interface Web page and clicking the red "subscribe" link on the left hand side of the page. That's it! You'll receive confirmation of the subscription via email.
Manage your subscriptions by logging in to the ALA Mailing Lists Service Web page and clicking the "Your subscriptions" link in the top-right of the page. From here, click on the name of the list you wish to administer.
Tips for Communicating with Legislators
Lobbying to win the support of legislators is part of our great democratic tradition. Smart legislative advocates know which lawmakers are most important. They also know the names of those who are in a position to influence the legislator. The most important person to any elected official is a voting constituent. Other influential people are: campaign donors, civic and business leaders, editors of local media, friends or family member and others whom they know and trust.
To be effective, library advocates must present themselves as credible, knowledgeable and articulate. They must have a working knowledge of the political process and their role in it.
Whether you do it in person, by phone, e-mail or letter, communication is the key to building good relationships with your legislators—not just when library funding comes up for a vote, but on a regular basis. But don’t wait for a crisis.
- Tips for success
- Framing the message
- Ways to communicate
- Winning champions for your library
- On Capitol Hill
- Pocket Checklists
- Using Effective Stories
- ALA's Legislative Action Center
Selected Sites & Resources
ALA Washington Office
ALA's Legislative Action Center
ACRL's Scholarly Communication Page
The American Association of Law Libraries: Washington Affairs Online
The Association of Research Libraries: Federal Relations and Information Policy
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
Library of Congress
United States National Commission on Libraries and Information Science
LIS News: Library and Information Science News
Congress.Org
Educause: Policy Initiatives
FirstGov: Your First Click to the U.S Government
GPO Access: Official Federal Government Information at Your Fingertips
Thomas: Legislative Information on the Web
The United States House of Representatives
The United States Senate
The White House
Supreme Court of the United States