NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 12, #29; 30 JUNE 2006)
2. SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE ANNOUNCES BUDGET RECOMMENDATION FOR NEH AND OTHER INTERIOR FUNDED AGENCIES
3. COMMISSION ON FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION DRAFT REPORT DRAWS CRITICISM
4. MOREHOUSE COLLEGE PURCHASES KING PAPERS – AUCTION CANCELLED
5. SMITHSONIAN GETS KATRINA DONATION FROM NOAA
6. BITS AND BYTES: ABC CLIO Becomes NCH Institutional Supporter; Map Dealer Admits Library Theft
7. ARTICLES OF INTEREST:"What is Going on at the Library of Congress?" (AFSCME webpage)
1. D.C. CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS CLOSED – SIGNIFICANT WATER DAMAGE REPORTED For much of this last week a relentless rain drenched much of the East Coast prompting power outages, flooding, and building closures. What is considered by the National Weather Service as “the most intense rainfall in a 24-hour period in the history of Washington, D.C.” has left the National Archives (NARA) and several Smithsonian museums, including the National Museum of American History, closed.
The National Archives building lost power when eight feet of water flooded the building and covered two transformers in the sub-basement. Readers of the New York Times (28 June 2006) were distressed to see the dramatic picture of the opulent McGowan Theater in the Main Archives building under several feet of water that reaches over the top of the stage and covers the two front rows of the theater’s plush chairs.
NARA informs the National Coalition for History that neither agency records nor any of the charters of freedom, including the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, were damaged by rising waters. Some 50 of 250 NARA employees are temporarily working in Archives offices in College Park, with the others being told to stay home.
Other building closures in the D.C. metropolitan area include the National Gallery of Art (here again there is no danger to artworks), and the National Zoo.
2. SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE ANNOUNCES BUDGET RECOMMENDATION FOR NEH AND OTHER INTERIOR FUNDED AGENCIES On 27 June 2006, the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee made its budget recommendations for the federal agencies under its jurisdiction for FY 2007. As was the case for many other Interior agencies, the subcommittee recommended flat funding – $141 million – for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). As it presently stands, the Senate recommendation is $5 million below the amount approved by the House of Representatives – $146 million – a few weeks back.
The FY 2007 budget proposed by the Administration for NEH would cut funding for NEH grant programs across the board by approximately $1.3 million in order to offset mandated salary and overhead cost increases. Humanities advocates note that core NEH program funds have been eroding in recent years due to the combined pressures of inflation, mandated increases, and budgetary rescissions. Adjusted for inflation, total funding for NEH is still only about 60% of its level 10 years ago and 35% of its peak in 1979 of $386.5 million (in adjusted 2005 dollars).
3. COMMISSION ON FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION DRAFT REPORT DRAWS CRITICISM In its 27 June 2006 posting to subscribers, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that the draft report of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education calls for a substantial overhaul of the way that colleges and universities operate, but that members of the commission are not thrilled with the “substance and tone of the preliminary report.” In a subsequent posting by the Chronicle (29 June 2006) that reported on the outcome of the commission meeting, participant discussions were characterized as “cordial and constructive” though it is evident that some recommendations have yet to be fully vetted.
The commission, established by Education Secretary Margaret Spellings last April, was to devise a “comprehensive national strategy” on higher education’s future. Most of the issues the commission is addressing relate to federal student aid, accreditation systems, and the process of transferring credits from one institution to another. But a handful of recommendations may have direct impact on how college and university teachers perform their jobs in the future.
Among the recommendations in the draft report are: a call for a major overhaul of K-12 teacher preparation; creation of a federal fund to provide incentives for effective teaching; a call for more to be done in the realm of distance learning; and a truly innovative idea – consideration of a proposal to establish a nationwide pilot program for Lifelong Learning Accounts established through tax credits that would benefit employees and lifelong students who wish to upgrade their skills. Naturally, as it is a major thrust in the education program of the Bush Administration, there also are recommendations calling for an enhancement of accountability of higher education institutions and the students who attend them.
The Chronicle states that the report remains a “work in progress” and that it will now be turned back to commission staff and an outside writer for revision.
4. MOREHOUSE COLLEGE PURCHASES KING PAPERS – AUCTION CANCELLED Following up on a recent posting on the scheduled auction of Martin Luther King’s papers (“Sotheby’s To Auction King Papers” in NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE; Vol. 12 # 27; 15 June 2006), Sotheby Auction House announced that the upcoming auction has been cancelled.
The collection of more than 10,000 handwritten documents and books from the King estate were purchased by Morehouse College in Atlanta. A successful effort, coordinated by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, apparently brought together a coalition of individuals, businesses, and philanthropic leaders who were able to make the purchase.
The collection was expected to bring more than $30 million had it gone to auction; the Morehouse College offer, however, exceeded the estimated
auction value. “I can’t imagine a better home than the home of Dr. King
for this collection...It was there for years; it’s going to be there forever,” stated Sotheby’s Vice Chairman David Redden.
5. SMITHSONIAN GETS KATRINA DONATION FROM NOAA The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History has received a donation of Hurricane Katrina-related materials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
This donation includes a dropwindsonde – a scientific instrument used to measure and track tropical storm conditions as well as replicas of maps and in-depth weather charts used by hurricane specialists. The museum will also receive a copy of the urgent weather message compiled and issued by NOAA on 28 August 2005, the day before the storm hit the Gulf region, accurately predicting the catastrophe and its aftermath.
These objects will join a recently established permanent collection of Hurricane Katrina related materials documenting this natural disaster. The museum is working to build this collection by focusing on objects and photographs that reflect specific aspects of Hurricane Katrina’s impact along the Gulf Coast, the rescue and recovery, and the long-term effects on local communities and the nation.
“By preserving these objects, we will help historians of the future to understand this natural disaster and the detrimental affects of its aftermath on the nation,” said Brent Glass, director of the National Museum of American History.
“The NOAA team played an especially important role in this historical national event and I am pleased that these objects will be preserved for the future as part of the national collections at the Smithsonian,” said retired Brig. Gen. David L. Johnson, U.S. Air Force, director of NOAA’s National Weather Service.
NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is charged to predict and research weather and climate-related events. The National Museum of American History collects preserves and displays American heritage through exhibitions and public programs about social, political, cultural, scientific, and military history.
6. BITS AND BYTES
Item # 1 – ABC-CLIO Becomes NCH Institutional Supporter: The Board of Directors of the National Coalition for History are pleased to announce that ABC CLIO, a Santa Barbara, California, based publisher of educational and reference products has doubled its annual donation to the history coalition and is now classified as an “Institutional Supporter” of the organization. Thank you ABC-CLIO for your continued dedication to history advocacy! Other organizations interested in joining the National Coalition for History may contact the Executive Director for information:
rbcraig@historycoalition.org .
Item # 2 – Map Dealer Admits Library Theft: E. Forbes Smiley II, a leading dealer in rare maps, this week admitted in federal court that over the years he had stolen nearly 100 maps worth an estimated $3 million from libraries in the United States and Britain. Smiley, whose crimes started in 1998, had a particular interest in maps relating to exploration and colonization of the Americas. To this end, he targeted libraries at Yale and Harvard universities, the New York Public Library, and the British Library in London. He was caught last year when he dropped an X-Acto blade on the library floor of the reading room at Yale’s Beinecke Library. Authorities found a 390-year old map worth $50,000 stuffed in his blazer pocket – it was found missing from a book in the library collection. Smiley faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine that could exceed $1.6 million.
7. ARTICLES OF INTEREST
One posting this week. Colleagues at the Library of Congress (LC) report that LC administrators are seeking to scale back cataloging and as a result there has been a firestorm of protest within the national library community. In his essay, "What is Going on at the Library of Congress?"
reference librarian Thomas Mann argues that systematic subject access to book collections available on site remains an essential mission to support scholarship, despite the unsound claims that the "digital age" is rendering books and catalogs obsolete. To access Mann's essay on the website of the Library of Congress Professional Guild, AFSCME 2910 go to http://guild2910.org/AFSCMEWhatIsGoingOn.pdf