NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 13, #10; March 23, 2007)
2. CHECKING THE "SMALL" PRINT; SMITHSONIAN SECRETARY QUESTIONED ON EXPENSES
3. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AND NEH LAUNCH DIGITAL NEWSPAPERS SITE
4. NEH NAMES POLITICAL SCIENTIST HARVEY MANSFIELD AS 2007 JEFFERSON LECTURER
5. LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS DETAILS DIGITIZATION EFFORTS
6. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: "History Lessens," New York Times, March 19, 2007
1. NEH CHAIRMAN COLE TESTIFIES BEFORE HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE ON FY '08 BUDGET
On March 20, 2007, Chairman Bruce Cole testified on the proposed fiscal year (FY) 2008 budget for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) before the House Appropriations' Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies.
In his prepared testimony, Dr. Cole said that under the President's FY 2008 request, NEH would receive $141.4 million, a slight increase over the amount it received in FY 2007. The NEH's flagship "We the People" program would be flat funded at $15.2 million. Dr. Cole noted the detrimental impact increased costs for overhead and travel were having on NEH's budget.
Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks (D-WA) began the question-and-answer period by asking what NEH could accomplish if it were to receive an increase in base funding. Dr. Cole stated that the current FY '08 budget was lean, but it did allow NEH to fund, "the best of the best." He went on to say that he preferred that the NEH allocate its limited resources to core programs, and to do those programs well. Dr. Cole added that increased funding would allow additional activities under the "We the People" program, the Digital Humanities Initiative, and by State Humanities Councils.
Ranking Minority Member Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) asked whether NEH coordinated with the Library of Congress on its digitization efforts. Dr. Cole highlighted the unveiling this week of the "Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers" web site, an Internet-based, searchable database of U.S. newspapers. (See related story below)
Representative James Moran (D-VA) began his round of questioning by noting that 13 years ago, before the Republican Party took control of the House, the NEH's budget was actually more than it is today. Moran said that if the NEH's funding had kept up with inflation over that time, its budget would be $265 million, not the current $141 million. Moran sharply criticized the Republicans for spreading "disinformation and prejudice against the humanities" during their tenure and said the cuts NEH had endured over that time "were an embarrassment to our nation." Moran complimented Chairman Cole by saying that he did not know how NEH accomplished as much as it did with the limited funds available to it.
When asked by Representative Moran what he would do with $265 million, Dr. Cole, without specifically supporting an increase, deftly responded that all NEH programs could be scaled up if "in its wisdom" Congress were to provide additional funding. Chairman Dicks quipped that the Office of Management and Budget would be happy with Cole's response.
2. CHECKING THE "SMALL" PRINT; SMITHSONIAN SECRETARY QUESTIONED ON EXPENSES
In a front page story this week, the "Washington Post" continued its expose on questionable expenses incurred by Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small. But perhaps most damaging to Small was an allegation made to the Post by the former Smithsonian inspector general Debra S. Ritt. She alleged that Small tried to steer her audit of Smithsonian financial dealings away from his own compensation, and the controversial Smithsonian Business Ventures operation, towards construction programs. The Post detailed lavish expenditures such as a $13,000 conference table, two $2,000 chairs, and $31,000 for upholstery during renovations of Small's office at the Smithsonian. Small also received over $1 million in reimbursement over a six-year period for use of his home for Smithsonian-related activities.
The "Washington Post" articles can be accessed at:
The Smithsonian Board of Regents this week announced the appointment of an Independent Review Committee to reevaluate the Smithsonian Inspector General's audit of Secretary Small's compensation and expenses. The Review Committee is to report back to the Regents within 60 days.
On Capitol Hill, the response to the revelations in the "Washington Post" articles prompted outrage and swift action. On March 22, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved an amendment to its budget resolution freezing the proposed $17 million increase in federal funding that the Smithsonian was slated to receive in fiscal year 2008. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) introduced the amendment which ties the release of the funds to a series of operational changes at the Smithsonian. First, no employee of the Smithsonian can be compensated more than the $400,000 salary paid to the President of the United States. Currently, Secretary Small's annual compensation is over $900,000, or a half-million dollars more than the president makes. The other requirements are that the Smithsonian follow the same travel expenditure and ethical guidelines as federal employees, and that spending priority be given to repairing and maintaining Smithsonian facilities.
Secretary Small has been called to testify in both the House and Senate in April, so it remains to be seen whether he will be able to survive this firestorm.
3. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AND NEH LAUNCH DIGITAL NEWSPAPERS SITE
This week, the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities unveiled their "Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers" joint venture which debuted on-line with more than 226,000 pages of public-domain newspapers from California, Florida, Kentucky, New York, Utah, Virginia and the District of Columbia published between 1900 and 1910. The fully-searchable site is available at www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/
"Chronicling America" is produced by the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), a partnership between the NEH and the Library of Congress created to develop an Internet-based, searchable database of U.S. newspapers with select digitization of historic pages as well as information about newspapers from 1690 to the present. Supported by NEH's "We the People" program and Digital Humanities Initiative, the digital resource will continue to be developed and permanently maintained at the Library of Congress.
Over a period of approximately 20 years, NDNP will create a national, digital resource of historically significant newspapers published between 1836 and 1922 from all U.S. states and territories. Also on the Web site, an accompanying national newspaper directory of bibliographic and holdings information directs users to newspaper titles in all formats. The information in the directory was created through an earlier NEH initiative. The Library of Congress will also digitize and contribute to the NDNP database a significant number of newspaper pages drawn from its own collections during the course of this partnership. For the initial launch the Library of Congress contributed more than 90,000 pages from 14 different newspaper titles published in the District of Columbia between 1900 and 1910.
4. NEH NAMES POLITICAL SCIENTIST HARVEY MANSFIELD 2007 JEFFERSON LECTURER
Political scientist Harvey Mansfield will deliver the 2007 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced this week. The annual NEH-sponsored Jefferson Lecture is considered the most prestigious honor the federal government bestows for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities.
"With a distinguished career of thoughtful, and thought-provoking, discourse on political theory and higher education, Harvey Mansfield has captivated his readers and students with the strength of his convictions and the depth of his courage," said NEH Chairman Bruce Cole when announcing the selection. "This prolific author and engaging teacher offers a truly distinctive perspective on political thought and practice."
Mansfield, the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Government at Harvard, will present the 36th Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities on Tuesday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m. at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C., on "How to Understand Politics: What the Humanities Can Say to Science." Attendance at the lecture is by invitation and free. Those interested in receiving an invitation should call (202) 606-8400 or send an e-mail message to info@neh.gov
5. LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS DETAILS DIGITIZATION EFFORTS
On March 22, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Legislative Branch regarding how the Library is transforming itself to accommodate the digital age. The Librarian's full testimony is available at www.loc.gov/about/welcome/speeches/digital/digitalage.html
Dr. Billington emphasized that digital materials, contrary to some assumptions, are less stable than analog materials, because digital content is easily altered, corrupted, or even lost. He noted that the average Web site's life span is between 44 and 75 days. He used as an example important materials relating to Hurricane Katrina that were used by Congress, which are no longer available on-line.
According to Dr. Billington, the Library of Congress has been preparing for the digital age since the 1960s, when it used early technology to create and share bibliographic information in electronic form. In 2000, Congress asked the Library to lead a national strategic program to collect and preserve the burgeoning amounts of digital content. The National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program www.digitalpreservation.gov is building a nationwide network of partners to select and preserve critical materials at risk of loss if they are not saved now. Dr. Billington expressed hope that Congress would continue to support the program.
6. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: "History Lessens," 'New York Times' March 19, 2007. An op-ed by historian Dr. David Kahn in support of increased funding for the National Archives.