NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 11, #45; 23 NOVEMBER 2005)
2. NARA FUNDING BILL ON ITS WAY TO THE PRESIDENT FOR SIGNATURE
3. ROSA PARKS STATUE AUTHORIZED
4. CONGRESS AUTHORIZES BATTLEFIELD STUDY ACT
5. BITS AND BYTES: History Coalition Joins Call for Posting of Katrina Documents; Early American Collections Digitized
6. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: No Closer to Cracking the Kennedy Case” (Washington Post) 1. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ADVANCES PLAN TO CREATE A WORLD DIGITAL LIBRARY The Library of Congress is launching a campaign to create the World Digital Library, an online collection of rare books, manuscripts, posters, and other materials that would be freely available for viewing to Internet users. Because the goal is to bring materials together online from the United State and Europe, the Islamic world, Africa, and Asia, this appears to be the most ambitious effort ever undertaken in the realm of digital access.
According to Librarian of Congress James H. Billington, “We are aiming for a cooperative undertaking in which each culture can articulate its own cultural identity within a shared global undertaking.” He added that he envisions the initiative as a public-private partnership. Billington stated that already Google Inc. has become the first corporate contributor with a $3 million donation toward the project. The money will be used to develop the details of the project and to pay for global outreach.
The Library of Congress will most likely be working closely with the United States Copyright Office in order to avoid any legal issues. Allan Adler, the vice president for legal and government affairs at the Association of American Publishers noted, “It is unlikely that publishers and authors and creators of other copyrighted works will have much to fear in this kind of project.” The LC has assured possible critics that the materials digitized will only be works that are in the public domain and therefore not subject to copyright protection.
In addition to announcing the LC initiative, in a speech delivered to the newly established U.S. Commission for UNESCO, Billington proposed that since the United States has rejoined UNESCO, “The time may be right for our country’s delegations to consider introducing to the world body a proposal for the cooperative building of a World Digital Library.” In an attempt to disarm possible critics of his proposal Billington argues, “An American partnership in promoting such a project for UNESCO would show how we are helping other people recover distinctive elements of their cultures through a shared enterprise that may also help them discover more about the experience of our own and other free cultures.” A Washington Post Op-Ed version of Billington’s speech can be viewed here.
2. NARA FUNDING BILL ON ITS WAY TO THE PRESIDENT FOR SIGNATURE On 18 November 2005, just before adjourning for its Thanksgiving recess, the United States Senate joined with the House of Representatives and passed by voice vote the conference report accompanying H.R. 3058 (H. Rept 109-307) the Treasury/Transportation appropriations bill for FY 2006. By agreeing to this report, Congress has agreed to appropriate funds for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). The legislation is on its way to President Bush for his signature.
Funding for NARA was set at just over $283 million. Congress also appropriated $7.5 million ($5.5 million for grants and $2 million for administration and staffing) to the NHPRC. Additionally, the bill provides $37.914 million for the Electronic Records Archives (ERA) project, which includes $22 million in multi-year funds that must be spent by September 2008. In the construction line item, $9.8 million will go for the LBJ presidential library plaza renovation, the next phase of the construction of the Alaska regional archives facility, and for redesign planning for the JFK presidential library. In addition, $4 million will go to the Nixon Library: $2 million for the moving of papers to its California location and $2 million for the construction of the archival facility to house them.
As regular readers of this publication are aware, the history coalition’s advocacy effort on behalf of the NHPRC this year was something of a challenge for the history and archives community. Now that all is said and done, a special thanks goes to NCH member organizations and others (most notably the National Humanities Alliance) for signing on to a letter forwarded to all the conferees urging them to adopt the House budget recommendation ($5.5 million in grants; $2 million for administration and staffing) for the NHPRC. A special-SPECIAL recognition for all the efforts throughout the year especially by NCH member groups the Association for Documentary Editing, Council of State Archivists, and the Society of American Archivists for their sustained effort to see that the NHPRC was not zeroed out this year as recommended by the White House.
While work on the Treasury/Transportation appropriations bill is now finished, there remain several other appropriations matters of interest to the history/archives communities that have yet to be completely resolved by Congress. Of greatest concern to the history community is the fate of H.R. 3010, the appropriation bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education which includes funding for several history initiatives, including the $120 million “Teaching American History” initiative.
Congressional observers were stunned when a few days before the Thanksgiving recess, 22 rank-and-file Republicans joined with every Democratic member of the House and defeated the $142 billion conference report by a vote of 209 to 224. It was the first time since 1995 that the final version of a spending bill was defeated on the House floor. Of central concern was nearly $1 billion worth of pet projects and four additional earmark projects that had been added to the Health and Human Services side of the bill. The bill has been sent back to the conferees with additional instructions though Hill insiders report that one solution being discussed is that a Continuing Resolution (CR) would be passed that would fund government programs covered by the bill in 2006 at the 2005 spending levels. Congress is adjourned until early December when once again lawmakers will struggle to finish the remaining appropriations bills by 17 December, when the latest continuing resolution expires. Some expect that all the remaining bills may be lumped together with the defense-spending bill that will serve as the catch-all omnibus bill for end-of-the-year legislative priorities.
3. ROSA PARKS STATUE AUTHORIZED On the eve of the 50th anniversary of Rosa Park’s refusal to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, The United States Senate and House of Representatives unanimously approved legislation that would authorize the Architect of the Capitol to commission a statue of her likeness to be placed in National Statuary Hall. The move will make Parks the first African-American women to be represented in this place of honor where states have placed statues depicting notable people in their history. Ironically, Parks’ likeness will be placed not just among statues of former presidents of the United States but also individuals who played a prominent role in the former Confederacy, such as Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee. The bill gives the Architect of the Capitol two years to obtain a suitable statue.
The House version of the bill (H.R. 4145) was introduced by Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) and attracted a bi-partisan group of more than 200 co-sponsors. The Senate version (S. 1959) was introduced by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) with 19 co-sponsors. The legislation has been sent to the White House, where it is expected to be signed into law by President Bush.
Rosa Parks died of natural causes 24 October at her home in Detroit. She was 92 years old. In addition to being honored in National Statuary Hall, she was the first woman to lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda.
4. CONGRESS AUTHORIZES BATTLEFIELD STUDY ACT On 16 November 2005, Congress approved the Franklin National Battlefield Study Act, legislation (H.R. 1972) introduced by Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), that authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the suitability and feasibility of including in the National Park System certain sites in Williamson County, Tennessee, relating to the Battle of Franklin.
On 30 November 1864, the Battle of Franklin became one of the bloodiest fights of the Civil War as well as one of the most significant. The ensuing battle resulted in 9,000 casualties, including the deaths of six Confederate generals, the largest number of generals ever lost in an American battle. More men died in the 5 hours of this engagement than in the 19 hours of the D-Day invasion. Eleven Congressional Medals of Honor were awarded for acts of bravery and heroism at the Battle of Franklin.
According to Rep. Blackburn, “This bill is a first step toward preserving and protecting sites that contributed to this important Civil War landscape and achieving a solution to save the area as a national heritage through partnerships with the local communities.”
The legislation has been cleared for action by the White House and is expected to be signed into law by President Bush.
5. BITS AND BYTES Item #1 – History Coalition Joins Call for Posting of Katrina Documents: The National Coalition for History joined with OpenTheGovernment.org and over fifty other organizations to request that President Bush post online all Katrina-related spending documents. The letter is consistent with provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) which mandates the posting of any document that has broad public interest. In this instance the posting of spending documents would advance public disclosure and speed the governments ability to track down and stop abuses. The letter will be posted at http://www.openthegovernment.org .
Item # 2 – Early American Collections Digitized: Readex, a leading publisher of historical collections available online, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its partnership with the American Antiquarian Society (AAS). Since 1955, Readex has used the AAS’s print collections and the expertise of their staff to create microfilm and now fully searchable digital facsimiles of important American historical collections. Both organizations have been credited with the democratization of Colonial and Early American historical scholarship for providing libraries and other educational institutions with access to primary source materials in both microfilm and digital format. In December, Readex will publish two additional digital collections in cooperation with the AAS, which will feature full-color facsimiles of more than 30,000 items published between 1760-1876. Additionally, the second series of Early American Newspapers, which includes more than 300 historical newspapers from the 19th century including titles from all 50 states. For more information, please visit http://www.americanantiquarian.org and http://www.readex.com .
6. ARTICLES OF INTEREST One posting this week: In “No Closer to Cracking the Kennedy Case” (Washington Post; 21 November 2005) special correspondent George Lardner Jr. reports on a recent three-day conference entitled “Cracking the JFK Case” in which historians and researchers met to discuss their latest findings on “the greatest mystery of the 20th century” – the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. For the article, tap here.