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Library of Congress Update for 2008 ALA Annual Conference: January-May, 2008

Deanna Marcum, Associate Librarian for Library Services Library of Congress

Service units, divisions, and offices within the Library have submitted the information in this briefing document for the attention and use of Library of Congress staff who will attend the American Library Association Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif., June 27-July 2, 2008. The document covers initiatives undertaken at the Library of Congress since the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, Pa., in January 2008.

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Library of Congress Exhibit Booth

Visit the Library of Congress Exhibit Booth #2270 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. The exhibit booth coordinator is Jane Gilchrist. Exhibit hours are:

Saturday, June 28: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Sunday, June 29: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Monday, June 30: 9:00am -5:00pm
Tuesday, July 1: 8:00am - 12:00pm

Deanna Marcum will make two presentations in the booth theater on Saturday, at 11:00 and 2:00, on the Library’s response to On the Record, the report of the Library of Congress Working Group on Bibliographic Control.

Library of Congress staff making presentations in the Booth theater will include: Colleen Cahill, John Cole, Cheryl Cook, Margaret Kruesi, Guy Lamolinara, Everette Larson, Deanna Marcum, Gabrielle Sanchez, Teri Sierra, Michelle Springer, and Barbara Tillett. On Sunday, June 29, from 10:00 to 11:00 am, John Cole and National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Jon Scieszka will appear together in the booth theater.

Of special note are the Webcasts planned for the booth theater. On Saturday, June 28, theater webcasts will be: “Environmental Writing Since Thoreau” - Bill McKibben (9:00-10:00 am); and “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food” - Jennifer Lee (4:00-5:00 pm). On Sunday, June 29, the webcasts will be “The Parking Garage and Its Impact on Urban Planning” - Shannon McDonald (9:00-10:00 am); Terry Pratchett at the 2007 National Book Festival (3:00-3:30 pm); and the Gandydancer Stringband (4:00-5:00 pm). On Monday, June 30, Barbara Tillett will speak via webcast on RDA - Resources, Description, and Access (9:00-10:00 am); also shown will be M. T. Anderson at the 2007 National Book Festival (11:30 am -12:00 noon); David Baldacci at the 2007 National Book Festival (1:30-2:00 pm); and “Steven King and Family Speak at the Library” - Steven King, Tabitha King, Owen King (3:30-5:00 pm). On Tuesday, July 1, the booth theater will feature webcasts of “Classics for Pleasure” - Michael Dirda (8:00-9:00 am); Ken Burns and Geoffrey Ward at the 2007 National Book Festival (9:00-10:00); and “Cartographia: The Library Map Treasures” (11:00 am-12:00 pm).

A complete schedule of booth theater presentations, including perennial favorites, is found on the Library of Congress at ALA Annual Web site at URL <http://www.loc.gov/ala/an-2008-booth.html>.

Incentive give-away items at the booth include, from the Cataloging Distribution Service, Class Web keyboard brushes and copy holders; copies of What Is FRBR?, Understanding MARC Bibliographic, and Understanding MARC Authority Records; LC Classification Poster and Pocket Guide; the CDS Catalog of Bibliographic Products and Services; and assorted brochures from other Library of Congress units. The 2008 National Book Festival poster will also be available. The popular children’s illustrator, Jan Brett, created this year’s painting, which imaginatively combines both the festival’s theme and its national scope with a delightful portrayal of the state birds or animals from all 50 states, celebrating books and reading.

U.S. COPYRIGHT OFFICE

see also under OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN/ CONGRESSIONAL RELATIONS OFFICE

Orphan Works Legislation

Over the past 18 months, the Copyright Office has facilitated numerous and ongoing meetings with diverse members of the copyright community on the topic of “orphan works” for the purpose of advising the 110th Congress on statutory language. Orphan works include, for example, photographs, writings, sound recordings and other materials that are protected by copyright law but for which a user cannot identify or locate a legitimate copyright owner. Potential users of orphan works include commercial publishers and filmmakers who wish to salvage and transform the works into new, valuable formats at their own cost, as well as museums, libraries and archives that collect, and wish to publish or otherwise make available, thousands of culturally important materials in accordance with their noncommercial, educational missions. The Copyright Office has concluded that orphan works are a real problem and that legislative relief is in the public interest.

The Office’s work over the past two years follows the 2006 publication of its comprehensive study, “Report on Orphan Works,” which included recommended language for a new Section 514 in Title 17 of the U.S. Code. The proposed section provided a statutory framework in which a good-faith user could proceed to use an orphan work after first searching for the copyright owner in a reasonably diligent manner, with the reasonableness of the search being judged on a case-by-case basis. A copyright owner who later emerged would be assured reasonable compensation from the user, except in limited circumstances where certain noncommercial users elected to expeditiously cease use of the relevant content. A bill introduced by Subcommittee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) in the House of Representatives was not enacted during the 109th Congress.

On March 13, 2008, the House Subcommittee held a hearing at which the Register testified, as did representatives of the publishing sector (the Association of American Publishers), the technology sector (image recognition company “PicScout”), the museum sector (the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum), the textile industry (Schumacher and Company) and the photography sector (American Society of Media Photographers). On April 24, 2008, bipartisan bills were introduced in the House of Representatives (H.R. 5889) and in the Senate (S. 2913). The bills introduced would amend the Copyright Act to limit remedies in copyright infringement cases in which the users of orphan works have conducted diligent, good-faith searches for the copyright owner, but were unable to identify or locate the owner. Libraries, publishers, filmmakers, museums, and others reported abandoning projects when they were unable to identify or locate the copyright owner. Without a license or permission to use the work, some users fear liability for statutory damages that could be assessed for up to $150,000 per work infringed. For other users, liability may be too much in aggregate, even where statutory damages are not at issue.

Both bills require users of orphan works to document their searches for copyright owners, provide attribution to owners whose identity the search uncovers but who are unlocatable, and employ a symbol prescribed by the Register of Copyrights on any orphan works used. To provide guidance for searches, the bills require the Register to maintain and make publicly available statements of best practices for different categories of works. Best practices have been the focus of many, recent discussions among stakeholders. Part of the challenge is how to prescribe some minimum steps applicable to all works while allowing for flexibility and accommodating particular unique facts of any one work. Additionally, under both bills, the Register is required to certify at least two independent, comprehensive, and searchable databases of pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works on the basis of whether they meet certain objective criteria. The effective date of the legislation is linked to such certification (Under the House bill, the date on which users could use PGS works is delayed until certification or 2013. Under the Senate bill, all works are off the table until certification or 2013.)

Owners who resurface after a work has been used can collect reasonable compensation from qualifying users under both bills. Reasonable compensation would approximate the market value of a work that a user would have had to pay for a license fee had the copyright owner been found.

Both bills also exempt nonprofit educational institutions, libraries, archives, public broadcasters, and museums from compensating copyright owners who come forward after their works are used as long as the nonprofit users meet certain conditions. They must have conducted diligent, good faith searches for the copyright owners, not have benefited commercially from the use, used the works primarily for educational, religious, or charitable purposes, and promptly ceased use after receiving notice from the owners.

Also, to the extent a particular use generates proceeds, the House bill offsets the safe harbor by requiring nonprofit users to account for and share any proceeds directly attributable to the use with the copyright owner of the work.

The House bill also has an extra condition of eligibility: it requires prospective users to file a notice with the Copyright Office before using an orphan work as a condition of eligibility for the limitation on remedies. The Copyright Office would be required to create and maintain a database of these intent-to-use notices. Many nonprofits have indicated that the House language would negate the usability of the safe harbor. Similarly, they have stated that the House notice requirement, particularly with respect to multiple works, could make the legislation impractical, in part because of the filing fees that would be required. The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has approved S. 2913 and the bill now awaits consideration by the full Senate. A subcommittee of the House Committee on the Judiciary has similarly approved H.R. 5889 and referred it to the full committee.

Section 108 Study Group

The Section 108 Study Group, convened under the aegis of the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP), and co-sponsored by the U.S. Copyright Office, began its work in the spring of 2005. The goal of the group, named after the section of the U.S. Copyright Act that is commonly known as the “library exception,” was tasked with preparing findings and making recommendations to the Librarian of Congress on possible revisions of the law that reflect reasonable uses of copyrighted works by libraries and archives in the digital age. The Group’s objective was to find the appropriate balance in the law between copyright holders, on the one hand, and libraries and archives, on the other hand, in a manner that best served the public interest.

Section 108 of the Copyright Act permits libraries and archives to make certain uses of copyrighted materials in order to serve the public and ensure the availability of works over time. Among other things, section 108 provides limited exceptions for libraries and archives to make copies in specified instances for preservation, replacement and patron access. These provisions were drafted with analog materials in mind, and, as has been observed, do not adequately address many of the issues unique to digital media, either from the perspective of rights owners or libraries and archives.

The Section 108 Study Group was made up of copyright experts from various fields, including law, publishing, libraries, archives, film, music, software and photography, and was co-chaired by Laura Gasaway, associate dean for academic affairs and professor of law at the University of North Carolina, and Richard Rudick, former vice president and general counsel of John Wiley and Sons. The Committee met fourteen times over the course of almost three years.

On March 31, 2008, the Section 108 Study Group delivered its Report to the Librarian of Congress and the Register of Copyrights. The Executive Summary and the full Report are available on the Study Group’s Website at: URL <www.section108.gov>.

Among the recommendations in the final report are:

— Museums should be included for Section 108 eligibility, as they perform many of the same functions as libraries and archives.
— A new exception should be added to Section 108 to permit certain qualified libraries and archives to make preservation copies of at-risk published works prior to any damage or loss. Access to these "preservation-only" copies will be limited.
— A new exception should be added to Section 108 to permit libraries and archives to capture and reproduce publicly available Websites and other online content for preservation purposes and to make those copies accessible to users for private study, research or scholarship. Rights holders would be able to opt out of this provision.
— Libraries and archives should be permitted to make a limited number of copies, as reasonably necessary, to create and maintain a single replacement or preservation copy. This alteration to the current three-copy limit would, among other things, enable libraries to more securely preserve digital materials, which often involves making copies.
— The television news exception should be amended to allow libraries and archives to transmit view-only copies of television news programs electronically by streaming and similar technologies to other section 108-eligible libraries and archives for purposes of private study, scholarship, or research under certain conditions, and after a reasonable period has passed since the original transmission. Any amendment should not include an exception permitting libraries and archives to transmit downloadable copies.

For some additional issues, the Study Group had substantive discussions and reached consensus that a legislative solution might be appropriate, but did not make specific recommendations. Topics such as the expansion of inter-library loans and the elimination of the exclusion of non-text-based works under §108(i) fell into this category.

Finally, the Report covers a number of other issues that the Study Group discussed, but in which no consensus was reached. These include issues relating to virtual libraries, the display and performance of unlicensed digital works that libraries and archives have lawfully acquired, the effect of § 108 on licensing and contractual issues, the circumvention of technological protection measures, the preservation of pre-1972 sound recordings, liability for attorney’s fees in suits against libraries and archives, and the possible inclusion of e-reserves within § 108.

The Copyright Office is currently reviewing the Report of the Study Group and will ultimately provide its legislative recommendations to Congress regarding the amendment of Section 108.

Cambridge University Press v. Patton

The Copyright Office is monitoring developments in a copyright infringement suit instituted on April 15, 2008 by a group of academic publishers against Georgia State University. The complaint was filed by Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and SAGE Publications and was supported by the Association of American Publishers and the Association of American University Presses. In addition to bringing the action against the President and Provost of the university, the complaint also names the Dean of Libraries and the Associate Provost for Information Systems and Technology in their official capacities.

The suit seeks a declaration from the federal district court that the e-reserve operations of Georgia State University (GSU) constitute copyright infringement and asks the court to enjoin this allegedly infringing activity. The suit does not seek monetary damages except for the remedy of attorney’s fees. The suit alleges that GSU has engaged in “systematic, widespread, and unauthorized copying and distribution of a vast amount of copyrighted works, including those owned or controlled by Plaintiffs, through a variety of online systems and outlets utilized and hosted by the University for the digital distribution of course reading material.” The complaint also claims that GSU “has facilitated, enabled, encouraged, and induced Georgia State professors to upload and post to these systems – and Georgia State students simultaneously to download, view, print, copy, and distribute – many, if not all, of the assigned readings for a particular course without limitation, without oversight, and without the requisite authorization and appropriate compensation to the copyright owners of such material.”

The complaint states that the Plaintiffs attempted to reach an “amicable and mutually acceptable solution without the need for litigation,” but that such efforts were “flatly rebuffed” by GSU. In particular, the complaint alleges that GSU uses Blackboard/WebCT Vista electronic course management system, departmental Web pages and hyperlinked course syllabi on Websites and servers controlled by GSU. The complaint also claims that the digital distribution of course reading materials – often containing an entire semester’s worth of reading – vastly exceeds the amount and type of copying that might credibly be justified as fair use in an educational setting and depriving Plaintiffs of the payment of the customary licensing fees due to copyright holders.

This suit is the first copyright infringement action addressing university reserve operations and the first suit following the precedents of the “copy-shop” cases in the 1990s to be brought against a non-profit educational institution.

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OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN

CONGRESSIONAL RELATIONS OFFICE (CRO)

Appropriations
Librarian of Congress Dr. James H. Billington appeared before the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 5 and in the Senate on April 30 to request a modest and restrained budget for Library Operations in fiscal year 2009.

The FY09 request totaled $645.8 million, a 5.3 percent increase over the current fiscal year. The requested funding would support a total 4,133 full-time employees (FTEs), 58 FTE below the 2008 authorized level. The FTE reductions are connected to the merger of Library of Congress Police with the U.S. Capitol Police and the conclusion of a collections stabilization project scheduled to end in fiscal 2008.

The requested funding increase includes $26.5 million for mandatory salary and price-level increases, and $11.8 million in additional funding for Library programs, including:

- $6 million to sustain and continue the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP);

- $3 million to cover security costs for the Library’s overseas field offices assessed by the Department of State;

- $910,000 for the final increment of a five-year adjustment for inflationary cost increases in the Library’s GENPAC fund to build and sustain the Library’s general collections; and,

- $1.8 million to restore salary funding for 22 positions at the Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation (NAVCC) in Culpeper, Va.

The budget proposal appeared to be well received by both Appropriations Subcommittee chairs, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz commented that the request was “very reasonable and sound,” and Senator Landrieu commended Dr. Billington for submitting a practical proposal and, “mak[ing] our jobs a little easier.”

The Appropriations Subcommittees have not yet prepared or considered a draft FY09 funding bill for the Legislative Branch. The House subcommittee is scheduled to hold a markup hearing on June 20, followed by the full committee on June 26. The Senate Appropriations Committee has not announced a hearing schedule.

Law Library
As has been reported in the Capitol Hill press, the Library has been engaged in discussions with Members of Congress, the American Bar Association and the American Association of Law Libraries regarding the Law Library of Congress. All parties are interested in working out an effective mechanism for public/private support for the Law Library’s collections and programs. The Library has been consulting on a legislative initiative, as well as on creating new fellowship opportunities for individuals with legal/librarian training to assist in the massive “K reclassification” project to reclassify the law collections to the updated schedules of the Library of Congress Classification system.

Future of THOMAS
The Library is engaged in an internal review of the public face and back-end processes of THOMAS, the public legislative information Website launched in 1995, in response to public and Congressional requests for certain enhanced or added services. This review includes a close examination of resources shared with LIS, a similar resource run by the Congressional Research Service for use by Congress, and integration with Government Printing Office data and documents. The review will identify opportunities for improvement in functionality, efficiency, and services and ultimately lead to upgrades of the THOMAS Web site.

Section 108
see under U.S. COPYRIGHT OFFICE

Other Legislation
Film/Sound Recording Preservation. Legislation reauthorizing the National Sound Recording Preservation Program and the National Film Preservation Foundation was unanimously approved by the House of Representatives on June 4, 2008. At the request of the Librarian of Congress, Rep. Robert Brady, Chairman, Committee on House Administration, introduced H.R. 5893. The bill synchronizes the authorization periods for the programs, extending them through fiscal year 2016. The Film Preservation Foundation would receive an increase in authorized appropriations under the bill, rising from $530,000 in fiscal year 2009 to $1,000,000 in fiscal years 2012-2016. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and is awaiting consideration.

Orphan Works. see under U.S. COPYRIGHT OFFICE

Civil Rights Histories. The ‘Civil Rights Histories Project Act of 2007’ (HR. 998), sponsored by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), would establish a cooperative project at the Library and the National Museum of African American History to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of participants in the Civil Rights movement. The legislation continues to attract cosponsors, with 83 Members now signed on in support, but has not yet been considered by the Committee on House Administration.

CRS Reports. Two items have been introduced in the 110th Congress to make Congressional Research Service (CRS) products available to the public over the Internet. ‘The Congressional Research Accessibility Act’ (H.R. 2545), sponsored by Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT), would require the Director of CRS to make available through a centralized, searchable, electronic database, for purposes of access and retrieval by the public, selected information (issue briefs, reports, appropriations information, etc.) available through the Congressional Research Service Website. This bill has two cosponsors and awaits consideration by the U.S. House Committee on House Administration.

Similar legislation in the Senate (S. Res. 401), sponsored by Sen. Lieberman (I-CT), would direct the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate to make similar products publicly available, including CRS issue briefs, reports, authorization of appropriations, and appropriations products. The Senate proposal would distribute the products through the Websites of Senators and Committees. The resolution has 8 cosponsors and awaits consideration by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.

Nondiscrimination - Sexual orientation. The ‘Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2007’ (H.R. 3685), sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), would prohibit employers, including federal agencies, from failing or refusing to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to the compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment of the individual, because of such individual's actual or perceived sexual orientation. The bill, which expressly applies to the Library, passed the House on November 7, 2007. No action has been taken on the legislation in the Senate.

Intellectual Property Protection. The ‘Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property (PRO IP) Act of 2007’ was approved by the House of Representatives on May 5, 2008. The PRO IP Act, sponsored by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), would enhance intellectual property enforcement and penalties. The bill would establish within the Executive Office of the President the Office of the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative to formulate a strategic plan for combating counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property and for coordinating national and international enforcement efforts to protect intellectual property rights. An Intellectual Property Enforcement Division would also be created within the Department of Justice. The bill currently awaits consideration by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

Several other bills relating to intellectual property enforcement (H.R. 3155, H.R. 3578, S. 522, S. 2317) have also been introduced but have not been acted upon.

Library of Congress Caucus
In late January 2008, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL) formed the Library of Congress Congressional Caucus to, “draw Members’ attention to the nation’s library and its unparalleled collections and knowledgeable curators and to encourage further use of these extraordinary resources.” With the strong support of Congressmen Blumenauer and LaHood, the Caucus has attracted a bipartisan membership of more than 30 Members of Congress, including the following (as of June 10): Robert Aderholt, Shelley Berkley, Earl Blumenauer, Michael Conaway, Vernon Ehlers, Mary Fallin, Bob Filner, Jeff Fortenberry, Virginia Foxx, Charles Gonzalez, Bart Gordon, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Michael Honda, Dale Kildee, Ron Kind, Ray LaHood, John Larson, Barbara Lee, John Lewis, Donald Manzullo, Betty McCollum, Jim McDermott, Jim McGovern, Mike McIntyre, Candace Miller, Jim Moran, Thomas Petri, Lamar Smith, Todd Tiahrt, Edolphus Towns, Chris Van Hollen, Zach Wamp, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

OFFICE OF SECURITY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS (OSEP)

The Office of Security and Emergency Preparedness (OSEP) continues developing the Library’s security program, focusing especially on building the emergency preparedness program and expanding staff security awareness.

OSEP’s Emergency Preparedness Office continues to conduct training and exercises in emergency preparedness, with a focus on building-wide Shelter-in-Place (SIP) drills for each of its facilities. The Library’s new Emergency Public Address System has been installed in the Madison and Adams buildings, with completion in the Jefferson Building expected by the end of June 2008. The Emergency Preparedness staff continues to review and revise Continuity of Operations Plans for anticipated training and internal exercises.

OSEP and the Collections Security Oversight Committee (CSOC) continued strengthening the Library’s collections security program through the Strategic Plan for Safeguarding the Collections. The first phase of the Library-wide staff collections-security-awareness campaign, launched in April 2007, was completed in March 2008 with distribution of the last of four posters, articles, and updates to the staff collections-security-awareness Website. In April 2008, the next phase of the program began. Senior managers from the CSOC have begun to conduct a series of focus-group sessions with select staff members to solicit their ideas on ways the Library can further enhance security practices to safeguard the collections. Participants are to include first-line supervisors, librarians and other professional staff, and technicians and other support staff.

NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL

Roberta Stevens, Outreach Projects and Partnerships Officer for the Library, will interview Khaled Hosseini, who is appearing in ALA’s Auditorium Speaker Series on Tuesday, July 1, from 8:00 to 9:00 am in Anaheim Convention Center Arena. Khaled Hosseini, who appeared at the 2006 National Book Festival, is the author of the best-selling books The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.

The eighth National Book Festival will be held on September 27th. Among the many well-known authors who will appear at the Book Festival are Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine Brooks, Philippa Gregory (The Other Boleyn Girl), Salman Rushdie, Alexander McCall Smith, Kimberly Dozier (the CBS news correspondent who battled her way back from injuries suffered in a Baghdad bombing), Bob Schieffer, Daniel Schorr, Paul Theroux, Eleanor Clift, Arthur and Pauline Frommer, and the Food Network’s Warren Brown and George Duran. Famous children’s authors and illustrators appearing at the festival will include Kadir Nelson, Betsy Lewin, Marc Brown, Joseph Bruchac, R. L. Stine, and the first Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Jon Scieszka.

LAW LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Dr. Rubens Medina, Law Librarian of Congress, has announced his intention to retire on June 30. Charles Doyle, senior specialist in American public law with the American Law Division, will serve as interim Law Librarian while a nationwide search is conducted for a new Law Librarian of Congress.

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LIBRARY SERVICES

Personnel Changes

Sandra Lawson was appointed Director for Administrative Services, Library Services, on January 11.

Ruth Scovill was appointed Director for Technology Policy, Library Services, on February 4.

Mary Anne Sheridan was appointed special assistant to the Associate Librarian for Library Services on May 11.

Jeffrey Heynen, chief of the History and Literature Cataloging Division, retired on February 29. Randall Barry is serving as acting chief.

Hwa-Wei Lee, chief of the Asian Division, retired on March 31. Judy Lu is serving as acting chief.

Georgette Magassy Dorn, Chief of the Library's Hispanic Division, continues serving as Acting Chief of the European Division.

Library of Congress Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control

Associate Librarian for Library Services Deanna Marcum issued the Library of Congress’s response to On the Record, the report of the Library of Congress Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control, on June 1. The working group offers more than one hundred specific recommendations, organized under five general recommendations: (1) Increase the efficiency of bibliographic production and maintenance for all libraries through cooperation and sharing; (2) Enhance access to rare, unique, and other special hidden materials; (3) Position our technology for the future; (4) Position our community for the future; (5) Strengthen the library and information science. The Library of Congress embraces the Working Group’s recommendations, which were submitted to Dr. Marcum in final form on January 9, 2008, just prior to the ALA 2008 Midwinter Meeting. Members of the Working Group met with Dr. Marcum and Beacher Wiggins, director for Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access, on June 6 at the Library of Congress to discuss the Library’s response. Members agreed, at Dr. Marcum’s request, to continue as informal advisors to the Library as it follows up on the recommendations in the report.

Dr. Marcum convened the Working Group in November 2006 to examine the future of bibliographic description in the 21st century. More information on the Working Group, including the Library’s response to the report, is available at a special public Website, URL <http://www.loc.gov/bibliographic-future>. Dr. Marcum will speak on the LC response to On the Record at the LC exhibit booth theater on Saturday, June 28, at 11:00 and again at 2:00.

Joint Statement of U.S. National Libraries on RDA Development

The Library of Congress has been very active in development of Resource Description and Access, the planned successor to the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd Ed. Concerns raised by the LC Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control led to a joint meeting of managers of LC and the two other U.S. national libraries, the National Library of Medicine and the National Agricultural Library, on March 10, 2008. The representatives of the three national libraries agreed that the development of RDA is an important international initiative that has involved the resources of libraries in many countries for the past several years. The three U.S. national libraries agreed on a joint commitment to the further development and completion of RDA, with decisions on implementation to be made jointly after review and testing of the completed code. The text of the three libraries’ joint statement is available online at URL <http://www.loc.gov/bibliographic-future/news/RDA_Letter_050108.pdf [PDF: 52k] >

Representatives of NAL, NLM, and LC met on June 9 to begin to define the scope and nature of the testing of RDA that will be conducted as part of this agreement.

ACQUISITIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHIC ACCESS DIRECTORATE (ABA)

Recruitment
The Library has posted vacancy announcements to fill the positions of chiefs for the following ABA divisions: European and Latin American Acquisitions Division (vacancy announcement no. 080120), History and Literature Cataloging Division (vacancy announcement no. 080122), and Regional and Cooperative Cataloging Division (vacancy announcement no. 080121). More information is available at URL <http://www.loc.gov/hr/employment/index.php?action=cMain.showJobs>. The deadline for applications is June 30, 2008.

Bibliographic Enrichment Activities Team (BEAT)
The Bibliographic Enrichment Advisory Team (BEAT) initiates research and development projects to increase the value of cataloging products to library users. The team’s best-known project is the enrichment of online catalog records by providing electronic table of contents data (TOC). In the fiscal year that began October 1, 2008, BEAT-developed software has supported the inclusion of TOC in approximately 28,500 records for Electronic Cataloging in Publication titles and enabled links to and from another 11,228 Library of Congress catalog records to D-TOC, or digital tables of contents, which reside on a server.

The BEAT ONIX projects link LC catalog records to tables of contents, publishers’ descriptions, sample text, and author information provided by publishers in ONIX (Online Information Exchange), the standard for communicating book industry product information in electronic form. The Library of Congress now receives ONIX data for more than half of all publications issued commercially in the U.S. In this fiscal year to date, more than 101,000 links have been added from Library of Congress catalog records to ONIX-derived enhancements, bringing the total number of such links to more than 738,000, including links to 40,000 sample texts, brief biographies of more than 147,000 authors, 14,000 book reviews, and publishers’ descriptions of more than 340,000 publications.

The D-TOC project scans and links the tables of contents to catalog records for publications not already covered by BEAT’s ECIP or ONIX TOC projects. All cataloging production divisions now select publications for the D-TOC project, to ensure coverage in all subject areas. BEAT has added publications in Chinese, German, Japanese, and Korean to its TOC projects in addition to English-language materials. The D-TOC project has also increased its coverage of specific LC collections, beginning with materials in United States history, as they are processed in the Library’s long-term inventory program, the Baseline Inventory Program. Additionally, BEAT continues its collaboration with the Library of Congress Local History and Genealogy Reading Room, providing TOC links for family histories in class CS71 of the Library of Congress Classification. Another initiative provides TOC links for publications listed in the Library's exhibition catalogs and bibliographies.

The newest BEAT projects link English-language summaries to catalog records for legal materials and for titles in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean.

As of March 3, 2008, the chair of BEAT is David Williamson, cataloging automation specialist. David also continues as BEAT’s principal software developer and Webmaster. More information about BEAT and all of its projects may be found at URL <http://www.loc.gov/catdir/beat>.

Cataloging Distribution Service (CDS)

CDS Products

Cataloger’s Desktop. This CDS Web-based service features more than 250 resources. For a free 30-day trial subscription visit URL <http://www.loc.gov/cds/desktop/OrderForm.html> . Product demonstrations can be seen throughout the day at the booth and at scheduled LC booth theater presentations. A brochure about the product is available at the booth.

Classification Web. This is CDS’s best selling Web-based product. For a free 30-day trial subscription visit URL <http://www.loc.gov/cds/classweb/application.html>. Product demonstrations can be seen throughout the day at the booth and at scheduled LC booth theater presentations. A brochure about the product is available at the booth.

Cataloger Training Products. Two new cataloger training workshops are imminently available, Principles of Controlled Vocabulary and Thesaurus Design and Digital Project Planning and Management Basics. One newly-revised course will also be available shortly: Serial Holdings Workshop, 3rd edition, 2008. A brochure that describes the courses in some detail is available at the booth. Visit URL <http://www.loc.gov/catworkshop> for updates on course development status and URL <http://www.loc.gov/cds/training.html> for updates in course materials availability status.

Classification & Shelflisting Manual is now available. This new publication combines and updates the now-out-of-print Subject Cataloging Manual: Classification and Subject Cataloging Manual: Shelflisting in one convenient loose-leaf volume. Although this combines two publications in one, the price is lower because binders are no longer supplied with CDS loose-leaf publications. However, separate binders are available.

See also under Cataloging Policy in this document.

LC Classification Schedules. Since ALA midwinter 2008, 17 new classification schedules have been published in print: A (General works), B-BJ (Philosophy. Psychology), C (Auxiliary sciences of history), J (Political science), KD (Law of the United Kingdom and Ireland), KE (Law of Canada), KDZ, KG-KH (Law of the Americas, Latin America and the West Indies), KF (Law of the United States), KJ-KKZ (Law of Europe), KJV-KJW (Law of France), KK-KKC (Law of Germany), KL-KWX (Law of Asia and Eurasia, Africa, Pacific Area and Antarctica), L (Education), PR, PS, PZ (English and American literature, Juvenile Belles lettres), S (Agriculture), and U-V (Military science. Naval science).

Available later in 2008 will be new print editions of BL-BQ (Religion (General). Hinduism. Judaism. Islam. Buddhism), BR-BX (Christianity. Bible), DS-DX (History of Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, etc.), and R (Medicine). These will be the last of the 41 classification schedules to be published in the new-style editions with gray and blue covers. In the future, new editions of schedules will be published as inventory of a current schedule is exhausted. Since each new edition is being produced in a relatively small quantity, it is expected that future print editions of any given schedule will be produced quite frequently and that no print edition of a schedule will ever be more than two to three years out of date.

Visit URL <http://www.loc.gov/cds/classif.html> for the latest information on LC Classification.

Library of Congress Copyright Data as Distributed in the MARC 21 Format was published soon after Midwinter ALA 2008. This documentation describes the format of the data as adapted for copyright information and would be useful to users of the Copyright MARC Distribution Service.

Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Serials), 2008 Edition. This is a new publication rather than a new edition and will be available in early Fall 2008. It replaces Appendix C of Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Books, 2nd Edition, 1991. The publication is a collaboration between LC and the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of ACRL. Other publications in this series are also being planned for future publication.

Free-Floating Subdivisions marks its 20th edition with the now-available 2008 edition.

MARC 21 Documentation. Concise Formats, 2007 edition, is newly available.

FREE PDF Versions of Selected Publications

The latest issues of the following publications are available at URL <http://www.loc.gov/cds/freepdf.html> as they are published: Cataloging Service Bulletin, updates to Library of Congress Rule Interpretations, updates to Subject Cataloging Manual: Subject Headings, updates to CONSER Cataloging Manual, updates to CONSER Cataloging Manual, updates to Descriptive Cataloging Manual, and updates to MARC 21 format documentation.

Library of Congress Subject Headings. Because of to production problems, the 31st edition of the five-volume printed edition of the Library of Congress Subject Headings, commonly referred to as the “Red Books,” will not be available until the spring of 2009. The data cutoff date for the 31st edition will now be December 31, 2008.

Customers who have already placed a paid order for the 31st edition have the option of leaving their payments in their deposit accounts or requesting a refund.

CDS apologizes for this late notice. It was hoped the production problems would be resolved in time to publish in 2008.

To request a refund, email: <cdsinfo@loc.gov>. Please include your account number in your email.

For information concerning this notice, contact: Loche McLean, Assistant Chief, CDS
lmcl@loc.gov; or phone: 202-707-1285; or fax: 202-707-3959.

CDS Promotions

The newly revised Summer/Fall 2008 CDS Product Catalog will be available at the exhibit booth. A new, free publication will also be on hand: “Library of Congress Controlled Vocabularies and Their Application to the Semantic Web”—an award winning article coauthored by Barbara Tillett and Corey Harper, reprinted from Cataloging and Classification Quarterly. Also available at the booth will be a new flyer announcing two new publications: Classification and Shelflisting Manual and Subject Headings Manual (the latter to be published early Fall 2008). In addition, promotional items will continue to be available at the CDS portion of the booth.

Cataloging in Publication (CIP)

The CIP Advisory Group will meet on Saturday, June 28 from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm at the Hyatt Regency Orange County , Salon IV. Maureen Landry, who will be the chief responsible for CIP operations beginning this fall, will discuss ABA’s plans for implementing the recommendations of the CIP Review Group, which reported to CAG at ALA 2007 Annual Conference.

The libraries of Stanford and Texas A&M universities are now partnering with LC and five other research libraries (NAL, NLM, Cornell, Northwestern, and Wisconsin) in the Electronic Cataloging in Publication (ECIP) program. The new partners catalog titles from the Stanford University Press and Texas A&M University Press before the books are published and enter them in the LC Online Catalog (http://catalog.loc.gov). As with other CIP records, the resulting catalog records are printed in the published books, and the LC Cataloging Distribution Service distributes the records for use by other libraries. Stanford is the first ECIP partner that does not use the same commercial cataloging software as LC. LC programmers worked with Stanford librarians from October through December 2007 to adapt LC’s in-house ECIP software for use with Stanford’s system. Stanford submitted its first ECIP record on Dec. 17, 2007. Texas A&M joined the program on Feb. 1, 2008. Their participation strengthens the ECIP cataloging program’s coverage of topics such as Asian studies, art, business and management, anthropology, history, literary theory, and the social sciences.

Cataloging Policy

Resource Description and Access (RDA). Work continues to develop the new international cataloging code. The full draft will be out for review approximately August 8-October 8, 2008. Watch for announcements posted to various mailing lists and on the Website of the Joint Steering Committee for Development of RDA at URL <http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/jsc/rda.html>. The RDA Online product is expected in early 2009. Some libraries have already started implementation plans. Within the United States, the text of the Joint Statement of the Library of Congress, the National Library of Medicine, and the National Agricultural Library on Resource Description and Access, dated May 1, 2008, is available at URL <http://www.loc.gov/bibliographic-future/news/RDA_Letter_050108.pdf [PDF: 52K]>.

Non-Latin scripts. The Library of Congress is working on many fronts to bring more non-Latin script data into cataloging products.
Name authority records: With the major authority record exchange partners (British Library, Library and Archives Canada, National Library of Medicine, and OCLC), LC is working to add non-Latin script support to authority records that form the LC/NACO Authority File. The partners have agreed to a basic outline that will allow for the addition of non-Latin script characters in references and notes on name authority records, starting no earlier than mid-July 2008. Rather than using 880 fields that parallel 'regular' MARC fields as has been the practice for bibliographic records, non-Latin script references in authorities will be added following MARC 21's "Model B" for multi-script records. Model B provides for unlinked non-Latin script fields with the same MARC tags used for romanized data, such as authority record 4XX fields. A link to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on non-Latin Script Data in Name Authority Records is available at the home page of the Library of Congress Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access Directorate at URL <http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/nonlatingeneral.html>.
Bibliographic records: In addition to efforts for authority records, LC is exploring a number of avenues that may result in additional non-Latin script data in bibliographic records. One exploration is with regard to minimal or incidental occurrences of non-Latin scripts in otherwise Latin script records (e.g., a single word or phrase in non-Latin script). Current policy has been to fully romanize this incidental data, but LC is re-examining that approach. LC is also looking to expand the languages and scripts provided. The Library currently provides non-Latin script data in book and serial bibliographic records in Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Persian, Hebrew, and Yiddish, but is expanding to the rest of the MARC-8 Repertoire, i.e., Cyrillic and Greek. (Note that LC already distributes serial records with Cyrillic and Greek script added by CONSER participants in OCLC.) LC is also exploring the feasibility of providing non-Latin scripts beyond book and serial records--several non-book cataloging divisions at LC are interested in pursuing this avenue. Finally, LC is studying the issues related to expanding the provision of non-Latin scripts to languages and scripts beyond the MARC-8 repertoire. This involves the exploration of complex technical issues related to fonts, input method editors, cataloging client software, etc., the availability of staff resources with language/script expertise, and the impact on distribution products.
LC Classification Records. For several months LC has added Chinese, Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, and soon Cyrillic captions to the classification authority records. The results appear in the new editions of the printed Library of Congress Classification schedules and are also searchable in Class Web.

Spacing in Korean Records. The Library of Congress has decided that spacing of Korean text (hangul and/or Chinese characters) on records created or updated in its own bibliographic database supported by the Voyager software from the Ex Libris Group, will continue to match the spacing in the parallel romanized field, following the guidelines that are found in the ALA-LC romanization tables. By taking this approach, spacing in nonroman fields in the Korean records that are created or updated today will be consistent with the spacing found in the thousands of existing Korean records. This familiar spacing convention will be convenient for both users and catalogers to learn and follow. A title search in LC’s Voyager system will then result in a display in which all Korean records will file in a predictable manner. Efforts will be made to bring this sort of consistency to Korean records throughout the LC database. In the coming months, LC catalogers will add spaces to Korean serial records so that they will file in a manner consistent with Korean monographs. Catalogers will also review all LC Korean bibliographic records that were created since August 20, 2007 and will adjust spacing in those records, where necessary, to assure that it is consistent with the parallel romanized field. The Library considered input on its proposal from the ALA Committee on Cataloging Asian and African Material, the Council on East Asian Libraries, and OCLC.

LCSH: Pre- vs. Post-coordination. In response to a request from the Director of Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access (ABA) for a review of the pros and cons of pre- versus post-coordination of Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), CPSO prepared a report, “Library of Congress Subject Headings: Pre- vs. Post-Coordination and Related Issues.” In addition to a review of the issue of pre- versus post-coordination, CPSO made recommendations to reduce the costs for and further automate the process of subject cataloging while retaining the benefits of the pre-coordinated strings of LCSH. The report was approved by ABA management on June 13, 2007, with annotations on CPSO recommendations added in October and December 2007. The 50-page report final report, dated February 2008 and including eight appendices, is available on the Library’s Cataloging and Acquisitions home page at URL <http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/pre_vs_post.html>.

LCSH Subject Validation Records and Classification Web. In May 2007, the Cataloging Distribution Service (CDS) began distributing a series of subject authority records that were created solely for the purpose of allowing for machine validation of commonly used subject strings consisting of established headings combined with free-floating subdivisions. (Further details about these records can be found in the CDS announcement at URL <http://www.loc.gov/cds/notices/2007-05-25-Subject_Authority_Validation_Records.pdf [PDF: 36K]>. As of June 2008, over 29,000 of these so-called "validation records" have been distributed, and they are continuing to be distributed at an accelerated pace. The LC Subject Search screen in Class Web was recently restructured to allow users the option of excluding or including the validation records in their search results.

LCSH and SKOS. LC is working with the Semantic Web Deployment Working Group of the World Wide Web Consortium to develop SKOS, the Simple Knowledge Organization System, which will support the use of classification systems and thesauri in the World Wide Web. The SWD Working Group met at LC on May 7 and 8. Member Alistair Miles of the University of Oxford addressed interested LC staff on possibilities for publishing the Library of Congress Subject Headings, the world’s largest and most widely used general subject terminology list, as linked data on the Web in SKOS, greatly increasing the potential for reuse and interoperability with other subject vocabularies. The LC Office for Strategic Initiatives has developed a prototype.

Subject Cataloging Manual: Subject Headings. With the 2008 update, the Subject Cataloging Manual: Subject Headings is current through the end of February 2008. This is the final update to the 5th edition of the manual. In autumn 2008, a new edition of the manual will be published under the title Subject Headings Manual. The new edition will consolidate the previous updates and complement the Classification and Shelflisting Manual, published in May 2008.

Classification and Shelflisting Manual. In 1992, a classification manual consisting of individual instruction sheets on the application of Library of Congress Classification in specific cataloging situations was published under the title Subject Cataloging Manual: Classification. The first edition of a shelflisting manual was published in 1987 as Subject Cataloging Manual: Shelflisting, followed by a second edition in 1995. Because classification and shelflisting are such closely related processes, for this new 2008 edition the two manuals were combined into a single loose-leaf volume with the title Classification and Shelflisting Manual. The shelflisting portion of the manual in particular has been extensively revised and reorganized, and many of the instruction sheets have been assigned new numbers. The 2008 edition of the Classification and Shelflisting Manual is available from the Cataloging Distribution Service.

Genre/Form Authority Records. The Library of Congress is continuing its efforts to develop genre/form headings (MARC tag 155), and is currently active in two areas: moving images (films, television programs, and video recordings) and radio programs. The Cataloging Policy and Support Office has submitted a report to the Director for Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access, recommending that further projects, e.g., genre/form authority records for music and law headings, be investigated and undertaken.

Cooperative Cataloging Programs
Several Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC)-related meetings at Anaheim will deal with cataloger training. The BIBCO-At-Large meeting (Sunday June 29 at 9:30 am in the Disneyland Hotel) will have demos of a “Fundamentals of Cataloging” course developed by Policy Committee member Robert Ellett for ALCTS (Association for Library Collections and Technical Services, a division of ALA), and of a “Medical Cataloging Course” that National Library of Medicine staff is developing.

The Catalogers’ Learning Workshop, URL <http://www.loc.gov/catworkshop> is going through organizational changes. The posting this summer of four new courses will fulfill the requirements of a Memorandum of Understanding among LC, ALCTS, and the PCC to develop training materials. The final four courses are Digital Project Planning and Management Basics; Principles of Controlled Vocabulary and Thesaurus Design; Basic Creation of Name and Title Authorities; and Fundamentals of Series Authorities.

The PCC Participants’ Discussion Group meeting will take place Sunday, June 29, 4:00—6:00 pm, in the Anaheim Convention Center, Room 204C. The featured speaker will be Barbara Tillett, chief, LC Cataloging Policy and Support Office, on RDA.

Elections to the PCC Policy Committee have resulted in three new members: Philip E. Schreur of Stanford University as a NACO representative; Dianne McCutcheon of NLM as a CONSER representative; and Magda El-Sherbini of Ohio State University for BIBCO

The PCC Steering Committee will discuss the recommendations of a PCC Task Group on Series Policy and finalize task groups on non-roman data in bibliographic records, “provider-neutral” records for online monographs, and the internationalization of the authority files.

CONSER, the cooperative serials cataloging component of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) is celebrating its 35th anniversary and ten years of the Serials Cooperative Cataloging Training Program (SCCTP) this year. The University of California (UC) CONSER Funnel Program, the first PCC funnel program that involves bibliographic records, also celebrates its 2nd anniversary this year

CONSER is interested in working with e-journal publishers, hosting services, and other content providers to develop a NISO (National Information Standards Organization) best practices proposal for title and ISSN presentation on provider Websites, title lists, and other journal listings. The aim is to be sure that users of services derived from these title listings are able to accurately identify and access journal content. Content providers interested in collaborating with CONSER in this effort may contact Les Hawkins, CONSER Coordinator, at email <lhaw@loc.gov> or by phone: 202-707-5185 for further information.

Mid-year statistics for the PCC as a whole are running ahead of fiscal year 2007. Members contributed 98,754 new name authority records and revised 97,018 name authority records. They created 6,189 new series authority records and revised 2,974. New LCSH records totaled 1,576 with revisions to 881 subject authority records. CONSER members produced 14,180 authentications and 18,655 maintenances. BIBCO members created 38,437 new bibliographic records and changed 5,246 records.

Electronic Resources Cataloging B see Electronic Resources Management System under ILS Program Office

Shelf-Ready Projects
The Library is in the fourth year of its program to obtain LC core-level bibliographic records and shelf-ready services from its Italian book dealer, Casalini libri. LC now distributes the Casalini records via CDS immediately rather than embargoing them for a period of time. Law materials continue to be excluded from the Casalini agreement.

The Library continues its small pilot project with Kinokuniya, one of its Japanese book dealers. Explorations are ongoing for projects with the Japan Publications Trading Corp., the Korean vendor Eulyoo, and vendors for Latin America.

Bibliographic Access Divisions and Serial Record Division Production

Bibliographic Records Completed	Fiscal 2008 Oct.-April	Fiscal 2007 Full Year
Full/Core Original	111,994	212,552
Collection-Level Cataloging	1,924	3,433
Copy Cataloging	37,730	71,317
Minimal Level Cataloging	13,402	48,853
Total Records Completed	165,050	336,155
Total Volumes Cataloged	169,774	363,064

Authority Work	Fiscal 2008 Oct.-April	Fiscal 2007 Full Year
New Name Authority Records	47,145	98,717
New Library of Congress Subject Headings	31,570	9,206
New LC Classification Numbers	942	2,129
Total Authority Records Created	79,657	110,052

COLLECTIONS AND SERVICES DIRECTORATE

American Folklife Center (AFC)/Veterans History Project

Sarah Rouse, program specialist in the Veterans History Project, retired on February 29.

In the spring of 2008, the American Folklife Center (AFC) hosted official visitors from Belarus, South Africa, Wales, Scotland, China, and the Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico, among other places. AFC Director Peggy Bulger participated in "America's Image Abroad: The UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity and US Motion Picture Exports," a forum sponsored by the Curb Center for Art, Entertainment and Public Policy. AFC staff took part in the Department of State's "Speaker and Specialist" program, presenting talks on the Alan Lomax Collection at fifteen locations in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in February 2008.

The Center continues to produce a monthly radio show for Bob Edwards’ program on XM Radio. It features audio selections from the Archive of the American Folklife Center. Excerpts of interviews from the StoryCorps project, which are archived at AFC, are broadcast each Friday morning on National Public Radio. We are seeing increasing researcher interest in the StoryCorps collection of more than 10,000 oral interviews, which was begun in 2003 and now comprises narratives from residents of nearly every state in the nation.

AFC presented the symposium “Art, Culture, and Government: The New Deal at 75” on March 13-14, 2008. A product of this symposium of interest to librarians is the Web Guide “New Deal Programs: Selected Library of Congress Resources,” which is an online portal to the Library’s varied collections of New Deal materials. (See URL <http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/newdeal/>). AFC conducted a field school at the University of Mississippi, in May. Participants learned how to do ethnographic field research and conducted a study of local gospel-music traditions. The Center’s recent acquisitions include an important collection of field recordings of oral history and storytelling from Afghanistan; the Fay Vincent Oral History Project Collection from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, which consists of interviews with professional baseball players; the George Pickow and Jean Ritchie Collection of recordings of traditional Appalachian music; the Audrey R. Duckert Collection of linguistic research recordings; and the Surviving Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Project Collection.

AFC’s digitized card catalog is being integrated in the Library’s Voyager online catalog using METS and MODS. For a demonstration, stop by the Library of Congress’s exhibit booth at ALA and ask for the American Folklife Center staff member. You may also contact the American Folklife Center at 202-707-5510 or folklife@loc.gov, and visit the AFC Website at URL <http://www.loc.gov/folklife/>.

Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center. This unique, congressionally mandated public outreach/collection development project, now in its eighth year, continues to thrive. Last year, over 12,000 collections were donated; more are received daily. Over 100 new organizations nationwide, including many public libraries, have joined the effort to help gather oral histories of American war veterans for the Library’s collection. The project’s affiliation with the Public Broadcasting System and filmmaker Ken Burns’ 2007 TV series The War sparked tremendous interest from the public, local public TV stations, and, notably local cultural and historical organizations, and high schools across the country. Currently, the project’s collection includes the personal narratives of nearly 60,000 individual veterans. As they are processed, descriptions of the collections can be searched at the VHP’s Website, URL <http://www.loc.gov/vets>. More than 5,000 selected narratives are fully digitized, and 20 percent of these have transcripts of the interviews that are viewable at the project’s Website. The Website also includes a series of themed presentations in a section called “Experiencing War.” All collections can be served in LC’s American Folklife Center Reading Room. Many of the oral histories are complemented by veterans’ wartime photographs, letters, diaries, and memoirs.

The Veterans History Project continues to rely on a nationwide network of individual volunteers and organizations to collect interviews with veterans. Libraries are among the project’s most important helpers. They distribute information, sponsor VHP events, coordinate VHP interviewing events, and make their facilities available to local VHP volunteers. For additional information, see the project Website at URL <http://www.loc.gov/vets>, or phone 202-707-4916.

Collections Access, Loan and Management Division (CALM)/Digital Reference Team

In addition to answering reference queries about the Library's digital collections, the Digital Reference Section inaugurated two new series of Web guides to provide access to the Library's millions of digitized items. A series on the presidents is well underway with Web guides for the first five presidents, and for James K. Polk, Abraham Lincoln, and Andrew Johnson accessible at URL <http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/bibguide.html>. State Web guides start with Washington, D.C. and Illinois with more in draft. A major portal for poetry resources, including the Poets Laureate, can be used at URL <http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/poetslaureate/>.

Presentations, whether on-site or via the Web, continue to provide a venue for the digital reference specialists to reach an audience outside the DC area. Virtual attendance at video and Web conferences reached the 10,000 mark in 2008. Web conferences via OPAL (Online Programming for All Libraries) continue to focus on special digital collections. A new Web presentation, "Introducing loc.gov”, is offered every second Wednesday of the month directly from the LC Website at URL <http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/orientation.html>. Registration for the latter Web conference is limited to 15 seats; thus, prior contract from participants is necessary.

European Division
Grant Harris was named Head of the European Reading Room in January 2008.
Mirjana Morisini-Dominick is the Library’s new Italian Area Specialist, effective January 14. She has completed a Ph. D. program at Georgetown University in European history with an emphasis on Italian minorities. In addition to covering Italy, she will work with materials from and about The Netherlands, Denmark, and the Flemish publications from Belgium.

David Morris, German Area Specialist, European Division, will represent the Library at the meeting of the German-North American Resources Partnership Project of the Center for Research Libraries.

New additions of digitized works to the European Reading Room Website include "Eighteenth Century Russian Publications in the Library of Congress" and "The Polish Poster: From Young Poland through the Second World War."

Federal Research Division (FRD)
FRD Military Legal Resources Website. Continued funding from the Army Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School has allowed FRD to significantly increase the size of the Military Legal Resources Website at URL <http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/military-legal-resources-home.html>. As of May 31, 2008, the site has 1,139 documents with 211,092 full-text, searchable document pages relevant to U.S. military law. The 42-volume collection, “Trial of the Major War Criminals Before the International Military Tribunal, Nuremberg, 14 November 1945–1 October 1946, Nuremberg, Germany, 1947–1949" was completed and is now available in full text on the Website. The two companion series, the 8-volume “Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression” and the 15-volume “Trials of War Criminals Before the Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10,” both in English and German, were also completed and uploaded to the Website. With the permission of the Regional Delegation for the United States and Canada of the International Committee of the Red Cross, FRD has now added to the site several major collections related to the Geneva Conventions. These include the 4-volume Pictet “Commentary” on the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the 8-volume “Conference of Government Experts on the Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law Applicable in Armed Conflicts” (Geneva, 1971), the “Commentary on the Additional Protocols of 1977,” and all the issues of the “International Review of the Red Cross” from 1961 through 1998. Other additions to the site include international and operational law materials, a legislative history of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, and war crimes trials materials from World War II, as well as the Korean and Vietnam wars. The most recent document launched was the “Reno Court of Inquiry: Proceedings of a Court of Inquiry in the Case of Major Marcus A. Reno Concerning His Conduct at the Battle of the Little Big Horn River, June 25–26, 1876.”

FRD Country Studies. Five new country studies are under way (Colombia, Iran, Indonesia, North Korea, and Sudan), in various stages of completion. Iran will be published by the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) in mid-summer 2008. North Korea should be published by GPO in late summer or early fall 2008. The remaining three books will be published in late 2008 or early 2009. Funded by the Department of Defense, the new books will no longer be Army publications but rather publications of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

FRD Country Profiles. Funded by the Department of Defense, the FRD Country Profiles Website at URL <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles.html> has 49 profiles, three of which have been updated during 2008.

Hispanic Division
Volume 63 of the Handbook of Latin American Studies, covering Social Sciences, will be published in August 2008 by the University of Texas Press. The Handbook, an annotated annual scholarly bibliography/database, is compiled in the Hispanic Division by an editorial staff with the assistance of 140 contributing editors. The Handbook is available in print form and also online at URL <http://loc.gov/rr/hispanic>. Open URLs link bibliographic citations to related Web servers such as full text databases.

Everette Larson, Head of the Hispanic Reading Room will give presentations in the Library of Congress Booth, as will Marisa Grijalva, Assistant to the Editor, Handbook of Latin American Studies.

The Hispanic Reading Room Website added these resources: the cybercast versions of the "Jay I. Kislak Symposium on Pirates and Corsairs of the Americas" (December 8, 2007), "The Spanish-American Poetry Marathon" (April 18, 2008), and the English-language symposium "Celebrating Octavio Paz" (May 23, 2008).

Humanities and Social Sciences Division (HSS)
Web Archiving. The Humanities and Social Sciences Division is again sponsoring the creation of an Election Web Archive for the Presidential, Congressional and Gubernatorial races. The Election 2008 Web Archive will be a selective collection archived between April, 2007 and December 1, 2008. The sites will be those produced by presidential, congressional and gubernatorial candidates. The Web archive will also include Websites for national political parties, federal, state, territorial and district governments, advocacy, blogs, research, and miscellaneous sites related to the 2008 elections. The Library has created Election Web Archives since the 2000 elections. Web archives are available at the Library of Congress Web Archives Website, URL <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/lcwa/html/lcwa-home.html>.

Outreach. HSS has implemented new outreach strategies and built upon established ones. The emphasis on Semester in Washington Programs has been continued and additional schools have brought students to LC for Research Orientation classes. The outreach program with the University of Maryland was strengthened by the faculty commitment to supporting student research at LC. George Mason University has benefited from HSS staff visits to its campus. HSS also provides Saturday and special evening sessions to accommodate class schedules.

Main Reading Room. The Main Reading Room arch repair and cleaning project begun in 2004 is in its final phase with expected completion in the fall of 2008. Scaffolding now extends more than 100 feet above the floor to permit work on the two remaining arches. The work has been intermittent with many months when no scaffolding was present due to budgetary constraints. Access to the reading room and the collections has been continuously maintained.

Interns. The Main Reading Room hosted a student in the History of the Decorative Arts, Corcoran/Smithsonian Masters Degree program during winter/spring. Two interns from Brigham Young University are serving in the Local History and Genealogy Reading Room this summer.

Collection Development and Acquisitions
The Sports and Recreation Recommending Officer for the General Collections was instrumental in arranging the receipt of the Fay Vincent Oral History Collection from the library at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. It is comprised of video interviews with thirty-five former players from both the Major and Negro Leagues, as well as broadcaster Chuck Thompson and Marvin Miller, the influential former president of the players' union. The collection is now held by the American Folklife Center.

Growth of the Microform Custodial Collections. After the receipt of 49,201 items from December 2007-May 2008, HSS had custody of 8,080,875 microform items at the end of May 2008.

Growth of the Machine Readable Custodial Collections. After the receipt of 2,594 items from December 2007-May 2008, HSS had custody of 82,435 machine-readable items at the end of May 2008.

Prints and Photographs Division (P&P)
The Prints and Photographs Division offers a Web home page at URL <http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/>. For ongoing information about newly available collections and recent and upcoming activities, see the "What's New" page at URL <http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/whatsnew.html>.

Flickr Commons Pilot Project. In early 2007, the Library’s Office of Strategic Initiatives and the Prints and Photographs Division initiated a pilot to explore user-generated content related to Library digital resources. A year later, the Flickr project launched at URL <http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress>. Approximately 3,100 photographs and records were uploaded to a Library account on the popular photo sharing Website, and the public was invited to comment, tag and add notes to the photos. As of April 29, 2008, a total of 4,766 comments had been posted by 1,831 different account holders, with 59,193 tags added by the community by mid-May. The pilot project adds 50 new photos each week. Users have contributed a variety of information such as place and event names, rich personal histories, more precise dates, and hyperlinks to relevant Web resources. Verified data is being incorporated back into the Library’s own bibliographic records, with the Flickr community credited as the source. The project has resulted in a higher profile for the Library’s image collections and has helped establish the Library’s visibility in the Web 2.0 community. FAQs and a link to the Webcast about the project are available at URL <http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/flickr_pilot_faq.html>.

Graphic Materials 2nd Edition with RBMS sponsorship. The Association of College and Research Libraries/Rare Book and Manuscript Section (ACRL/RBMS) Bibliographic Standards Committee has agreed to develop a second edition of Graphic Materials as part of the Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials suite. It will provisionally be known as "Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Graphics)," or DCRM(G). This work-in-progress can be seen at URL <http://dcrmg.pbwiki.com>.

Collections Recently Processed and Made Available Online
National Child Labor Committee/Lewis Hine photographs - subject access at URL <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/nclchtml/nclcsubjindex1.html>. Thanks to the work of library school interns, these evocative photographs of working and living conditions of children in the U.S. between 1908 and 1924 are more readily retrievable by their subject matter. Students from The Catholic University of America, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and other colleges and universities trained in subject indexing with a P&P cataloger over a period of four years, adding subject headings to more than 5,000 catalog records.

Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War is considered one of the most significant photographically illustrated books of the 19th century. The two-volume set includes 100 mounted albumen photographs of the Civil War with prints by Alexander Gardner, Timothy O'Sullivan, and others. View online at URL <http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.12834>.

The Turkestanskii Al’bom (Turkestan Album) provides a visual survey of Central Asia from the perspective of the Russian imperial government, which took control of the area in the 1850s and 1860s. About 1,200 photographs, with some architectural plans, watercolor drawings, and maps, are arranged in four parts. View online at URL <http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/coll/287_turkestan.html>.

Kate Williams photo album. This unusual illuminated European travel album is attributed to impressionist painter Kate Williams, who died in 1939. She belonged to the National Arts Club and to the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors, American Federation of Artists. The U. S. Post Office donated the album to the Library in 1952, perhaps because it had been lost in the mail system. View online at URL <http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.12915>.

National Photo Company glass negatives. The scanning of 34,600 glass negatives from this news photo service, which operated in Washington, D.C., between 1909 and the 1940s, is wrapping up. The scans offer glimpses of the political, social, and sporting scene, particularly in the capital city, from the 1910s to 1930s. View online at URL <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/npcohtml/npcoabt.html>.

Master Drawings Collection, URL <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/drwgmahtml/drwgmaabt.html>. Descriptions for these 5,000 original drawings can now be searched in the LC online catalog. The drawings represent diverse styles and media, primarily dating between 1830 and 1930. Most are by American artist Joseph Pennell, with notable work by James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), Rockwell Kent, Jean François Millet, and many other artists. Some records have digital images.

Online Reference Aids
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Selected images from the Library of Congress, URL <http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/599_linc.html>.

Photographic Print Processes. Illustrated descriptions of photographic print processes represented in P&P Division holdings, with links to further examples and information resources, URL <http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/coll/589_intro.html>

Women Photojournalists. Overview highlighting the work of women photojournalists represented in the Library’s collections, URL <http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/coll/596_womphotoj.html>.

Pictorial Americana Additions. Twenty-seven more chapters are available showing images originally chosen for a 1955 publication, Pictorial Americana: A Select List of Photographic Negatives in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. Recent additions feature pictures relating to: U.S. Congress, Uniforms, Waterworks, and views of locations in the United States, organized by state. The lists include suggestions for locating additional images on the topics, URL <http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/picamer/toc.html>.

Publications
Eero Saarinen: Buildings from the Balthasar Korab Archive. Ed. by David G. De Long and C. Ford Peatross. New York: W. W. Norton, 2008. More than 700 photographs by Balthasar Korab document nineteen architectural master works.

Helen Tangires. Public Markets: A Norton/Library of Congress Visual Sourcebook. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008. This richly illustrated compendium of the wide variety of buildings and spaces devoted to the urban marketplace offers more than 800 historical and contemporary photographs, architectural drawings, maps, and posters.

Acquisitions
Autochrome by Arnold Genthe, URL <http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/caption/captionautochrome.html>. This 2007 acquisition celebrates the 100th anniversary of the commercial availability of autochromes, the first practical process for color photography. It is a portrait of Percy MacKaye playing the role of the poet Alwyn in The Bird Sanctuary, 1913.

Children’s book illustrations by Jerry Pinkney for DryLongSo by Virginia Hamilton (1992), URL <http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/caption/captiondrylongso.html>. Through richly detailed watercolors, artist Jerry Pinkney conveys the essence of the young girl Lindy and the folk hero Drylongso.

Portraits of Charlotte Cushman, URL <http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/caption/captioncushman.html>. A unique half-plate ambrotype and the only known vignetted daguerreotype of a famous actress.

Spider-Man, URL <http://www.loc.gov/blog/?cat=29>. In a deed of superheroic proportions, an anonymous donor has given the Library of Congress the original artwork by Steve Ditko for Marvel Comics' "Amazing Fantasy #15"--the comic book that introduced Spider-Man in August 1962. View online at URL <http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.18747>.

Serial and Government Publications Division

National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP – Chronicling America). The National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Library of Congress (LC), is a long-term effort to develop an Internet-based, searchable database of all U.S. newspapers with descriptive information and select digitization of historic pages through the Website Chronicling America (URL <http://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/>), hosted by the Library of Congress and freely available to the general public. Supported by NEH, this rich digital resource will be developed and permanently maintained at the Library of Congress and eventually include content contributed by, eventually, all U.S. states and territories.

Through the Website Chronicling America (URL <http://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/>), LC currently makes available over 568,000 newspaper pages, digitized by 6 states and the Library of Congress. These historic newspapers, over 60 titles published in California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Kentucky, New York, Utah, and Virginia, represent the early stages of the program, which is intended to grow over several decades. The site also includes an extensive Newspaper Directory of US newspaper titles published between 1690 and the present (over 138,000 bibliographic records) as well as associated library holdings information, and linked to digitized pages, when available. Features of the site include full-text search across all historic newspaper pages, the ability to view, magnify and manipulate newspaper pages with highlighted keyword search results, navigation between pages and issues, a quick calendar view of all digitized issues for a particular title, links to descriptive records for each digitized titles, a downloadable "See All" list of available digitized page content, as well as contextual essays regarding the historical significance of the digitized materials. The next update (early July) will include more newspaper content from current states, expand chronological coverage to 1890-1910, and include contributions from new 2007 awardees in Minnesota, Nebraska and Texas.

Additional information about the program is available from the NDNP Website at URL <http://www.loc.gov/ndnp>, which describes the scope of the program, current awardees, selection guidelines, technical conversion specifications for historic newspapers, and sustainable development plans. In addition, the site provides access to the program and technical guidelines for the annual NEH program competition currently underway. NEH is expected to announce the awardees for 2008 later this month. In August, NEH will announce new program guidelines (deadline November 2008) for NDNP awards up to $400,000, which will be announced in June 2009.

Collection Activities. The Serial and Government Publications Division continued to support a wide-range of preservation activities for newspapers and comic books in its custody in concert with other cultural heritage organizations. Several historically important Latin American newspaper files were made available to the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) for cooperative microfilming under the NEH funded International Coalition on Newspapers (ICON) program. Similar in kind contributions were made by other Association of Research Libraries (ARL) in order to compile the most complete files for preservation.

Deacidification of the Serial and Government Publications Division’s gold collection of more than 120,000 comic book issues continues. Under a contract to begin this fiscal year, the division intends to fully inventory all deacidified issues and create publicly available summary holdings statements in the Library’s integrated library system (ILS).

Two large scale newspaper inventory contracts are in process, the Print Newspaper Inventory and the Newspaper Master Negative Microfilm Inventory. Both will result in publicly available summary holdings statements in the Library’s integrated library system (ILS). In late 2007 the Library began an inventory of its 35,000-volume print newspaper collection in preparation for transfer to a specially designed high-density storage module at Ft. Meade, Md. The contractor has identified over 1500 newspaper titles that have never been cataloged by the Library. In late 2006 the Library began an intensive effort to fully inventory its newspaper master negative microfilm collection, consisting of over 240,000 microfilm reels, in order to prepare the collection for transfer to a specially designed cold storage facility. The project is on schedule for completion by the close of 2008.

Veterans History Project
see American Folklife Center (AFC)/Veterans History Project

PARTNERSHIPS AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS DIRECTORATE

Kathryn Mendenhall is now as the permanent director for Partnerships and Outreach Programs.

Center for the Book

The Center for the Book is the reading, literacy and library promotion arm of the Library of Congress; it also encourages the scholarly study of books and print culture. The center frequently hosts public programs at the Library of Congress and has stimulated the creation of two national reading promotion networks: affiliated centers in 50 states and the District of Columbia, and a coalition of more than 80 non-profit organizations. It plays a major role in the annual National Book Festival, and works with libraries and academic and research organizations around the world. The center’s program, publications, and projects must be supported by tax deductible contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations, or by funds transferred from other government agencies. The Library of Congress supports its four staff positions.

The center’s Website at http://www.loc.gov/cfbook/ provides information about its projects, forthcoming events at the Library of Congress, including the National Book Festival; state center affiliates and their programs; organizational partners in the U.S. and overseas; community “One Book” reading and discussion programs; and other literary events taking place across the United States. Specifics also are included about projects such as Letters About Literature and River of Words. The center works closely with the Public Affairs Office and OSI’s Educational Outreach Division on the Library’s Lifelong Literacy initiative.

Kluge Center/Office of Scholarly Programs

The John W. Kluge Center will welcome twelve new Kluge Fellows this summer and fall for periods of study ranging from six to eleven months. All are recipients of the most advanced degree in their fields of study within the past seven years. Supported by an endowment from Library benefactor John W. Kluge, their fellowships will enable these scholars to use the Library of Congress’s collections to pursue postgraduate research. The twelve new Kluge Fellows come to the Library from Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.

PRESERVATION DIRECTORATE

Outreach and Leadership Updates

To inform scholars about the material composition and care of the Library’s collections, Preservation Directorate staff reported research findings at the Annual American Institute for Conservation Meeting, covering 10 topics. Presentation reports ranged from investigations and treatment of Ethiopic bindings, Hindu portraits on mica, and the Gandhara scroll, to iron gall ink treatments, the argon encasement of America’s birth certificate Waldseemueller Map, and classification and treatment of foxing. Posters featured advances in CD (compact disc) longevity research, 2D imaging of laterally grooved sound recordings, 3D imaging of vertically grooved sound recordings, and Haptic technology transfer for training conservators.

To inform librarians and the general public about current scientific research at the Library, the Preservation Research and Testing Division has launched a new Website featuring the current status of selected investigations. This site provides updates on environmental and materials science studies on the nature, composition, stability, durability, longevity, treatment and care of traditional, audiovisual and digital collections. Sample topics include advances in the treatment of corrosive iron gall ink and in understanding the causes of "sticky shed" in deteriorated magnetic media. To see more about the studies and their findings, see URL <http://www.loc.gov/preserv/rt/projects/index.html>. Other leadership initiatives include the following:

Invitational Preservation Research and Education Symposia (PRES). To address future directions in the preservation of document collections, the Directorate has developed a series of symposia (URL <http://www.loc.gov/preserv/symposia/schedule.html>). Two have already occurred this year (one on emergency preparedness and one on preservation education), and a third will take place this summer (on preservation research):

– On February 25 the Preservation Directorate and FLICC hosted a collections emergency mitigation workshop for over 30 FLICC member libraries in a program entitled "Safety Net", to develop a network of regional responders to provide mutual assistance in salvage of collections in the event of a disaster. This workshop followed salvage training offered previously by the Directorate for federal and other libraries. Associated with the program, on May 1, as a MayDay Emergency Preparedness Initiative, the LC homepage featured a newly developed "Model Charter of Library Mutual Disaster Assistance" developed by FLICC and the Preservation Directorate as an aid to librarians interested in collaborating with other institutions to prepare for and cope with disasters affecting collections. (See URL <http://www.loc.gov/flicc/preservation/Model_MutualAssistanceCharter.pdf [PDF: 24K]>). A signing ceremony for the Charter for FLICC members will occur June 25. In a separate but related initiative, in response to the damage to personal and public collections caused by the outbreak of fires in California, the Library of Congress updated the Preservation Directorate Web page on emergency care for collections. Information about whom to contact for guidance, as well as how to protect and salvage collections, and most importantly, where to go for supplies and aid, can be found at URL <http://www.loc.gov/preserv/emergprep/prepare.html>. Additional information for collections salvage following earthquakes, such as the recent one in China, has been prepared for addition to LC’s Website soon.

- On May 15-16 seventy senior preservation, conservation, and related education professionals met at the Library of Congress to examine needs, solutions, and priorities for education and training to assure that library, archives, and museum document collections are preserved to meet users’ needs through the 21st century. The symposium was funded in part by a $60,000 grant from the Getty Foundation. Challenges identified by the group included the recent tendency to focus on virtual access initiatives and to de-emphasize the physical vulnerability of machine-dependent records. Potential solutions include supporting the need for increased resources to preserve increasingly complex collections, as well as developing new and hybrid professional specializations, elective courses and workshops on emerging topics, more and better-funded post-graduate fellowships; senior scholar initiatives to preserve expert knowledge, and new technology-assisted education and training resources. For more information please visit URL <http://www.loc.gov/preserv/symposia/preseduc.html>.

Public Programs on Topics in Preservation Science (TOPS). To update the public and colleagues on recent trends and developments in preservation research, the Directorate also hosted the following public programs:

December 12, 2007, AMS Radiocarbon Dating of Museum Objects - Greg Hodgins discussed how accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is used at the National Science Foundation-University of Arizona (NSF-Arizona) AMS Laboratory to perform radiocarbon (14C) dating of museum objects, including the detection of 20th Century forgeries purportedly created before 1955.

March 14, 2008, Hyperspectral Imaging of the Waldseemueller 1507 World Map - The development of hyperspectral imaging and its application to preservation issues: Roger Easton and Dr. Fenella France discussed established and innovative conservation-safe hyperspectral imaging techniques used on the Waldseemueller 1507 World Map.

May 8, Preservation Tools and Training in the Digital Age: NEDCC in the 21st Century - Ann Russell, Director, Northeast Document Conservation Center, Andover, MA, discussed new training and tools to address current challenges in the preservation field.

May 20, Recent Trends in Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage - Chandra Reedy, Professor, University of Delaware Center for Historic Architecture and Design and Director, Laboratory for Analysis of Cultural Materials discussed UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and its context within overall preservation efforts of UNESCO.

On May 22, Dr. Reedy taught a course on "Research Design for Preservation Science", attended by dozens of scientists from the Smithsonian Institution, National Archives, and Library of Congress.

New Developments, Collaborations, and Media Attention

The Foundation Grants for Preservation in Libraries, Archives, and Museums (URL <http://www.loc.gov/preserv/foundtn-grants.pdf [PDF: 2.44MB]>). This guide is a collaborative project of the Library of Congress and the Foundation Center. The publication lists 1,725 grants of $5,000 or more awarded by 474 foundations from 2003 through 2007. It covers grants to public, academic, research, school, and special libraries, and to archives and museums for activities related to conservation and preservation. The publication includes a statistical analysis of grant funding in the area of preservation and a list of all foundations that have donated to preservation with their contact information and limitations.

Directorate staff were interviewed on the care of collections, including spectacles, clippings, and currency found in Lincoln's pockets at the time of his assassination, as part of a podcast series about historical and cultural attractions showcased in the movie National Treasure: Book of Secrets.

Staff were interviewed and filmed on several occasions in conjunction with the argon encasement of the 1507 Waldseemueller World Map.

On March 27, the Directorate’s collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, to develop technology to image grooved audio recordings for digital conversion to sound, resulted in reports in the New York Times and other media of the successful playback of one of the earliest sound recordings ever made. The recording, which dates from 1860 and predates Edison by 17 years, was made by a “phonautograph”. The phonautograph, a scientific instrument developed in France in the 1850’s, recorded using paper covered with lamp soot scored by a stylus in response to sound, and was meant to visualize sound, not to play it back. The LC/LBNL imaging technology, currently being tested by LC preservation specialists for use at the Library’s Packard Campus (National Audiovisual Conservation Center) for reformatting fragile audio discs and for automated mass digitization, was able to extract sound from an early phonautogram, as reported at the annual Association for Recorded Sound Collections meeting.

Workforce and Operations

In its ongoing efforts to develop staff and tools needed for increasingly complex preservation issues facing traditional, audiovisual, and digital collections, the Preservation Directorate continues to progress toward benchmarks throughout this year, including: hiring four new science PhD staff; expanding programs for visiting scholars and scientists (URL <http://www.loc.gov/preserv/visiting.html>) and multicultural science students (URL <http://www.loc.gov/preserv/interns/multi.html>); developing a new Website with continual updates on research projects (URL <http://www.loc.gov/preserv/rt/projects/index.html>); convening a symposium of leading national and international research scientists, supported by funding from the Kress Foundation, the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation, and NCPTT (URL <http://www.loc.gov/preserv/symposia/researchsum.html>); reopening PRTD's optical properties lab, which will have new capabilities to track changes in optical properties of materials (with a new environmental scanning electron microscope and other imaging systems); reopening PRTD's chemical and mechanical properties laboratory, which will have new capabilities to track changes in chemical and mechanical properties (including a new TAPPI Standards room); establishing a new materials science reference collection, with the rare and valuable Barrow Books Collection, the Forbes Pigments Collections (URL <http://www.loc.gov/preserv/rt/pigments/pigments.html>) and TAPPI Paper Collections (URL <http://www.loc.gov/preserv/rt/tappi/>) at the core.

New Scientists

The following four new scientists have been hired in the Preservation Research and Testing Division (PRTD) to extend the Library’s quality control and research programs for traditional, audiovisual, and digital collections:

Christopher S. Coughlin received a PhD in Polymer Science from the University of Southern Mississippi. He has wide experience in synthetic organic polymers and polymer engineering, which will support the Library's programs in the preservation of audio-visual and digital media, working with PRTD's thermal analysis and gel-permeation chromatography instruments.

Lynn Brostoff received a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, following a Masters degrees in Polymer Materials Science and in Art History. She worked at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum Conservation Institute for four years, and previously at the National Gallery of Art. She has wide experience in materials analysis and coatings science, which will support the Library's program in the preservation of traditional library materials, working with PRTD's infra red spectroscopy and x-ray fluorescence instruments.

Fenella France received a PhD in Textile Science from the University of Otago, in New Zealand. She worked as the Smithsonian Institution Preservation Scientist on the Star-Spangled Banner for the past decade, as Scientific Analyst and Project Manager for the World Trade Center 9/11 Project since 2002, and as Conservation Scientist and Environmental Consultant with the American Museum of Natural History in New York for the past three years. She has wide experience in preventive conservation and the testing of natural organic materials, and will support the Library's programs of environmental research and the transfer of technology to preservation research, working with PRTD's environmental sensing (heat, humidity, light, oxygen) and hyper-spectral and other imaging instruments.

Jennifer Wade received a PhD in Earth Sciences from Boston University. She previously worked as a Physical Scientist in PRTD for one year. She has wide experience in the micro-analysis of inorganic materials, which will support the Library's programs of quality assurance of library materials and the preservation of digital media, working with PRTD's environmental scanning electron microscopy and inductively-coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy instruments.

Visiting Scientists and Scholars (URL <http://www.loc.gov/preserv/visiting.html>):
Karen Motylewski is detailed to the Preservation Directorate by the Institute of Library and Museum Services (IMLS) to develop partnership activities to meet complementary goals of the IMLS Connecting to Collections initiative and the Library of Congress Preservation Directorate strategic plan, with particular emphasis on preservation and conservation education and outreach.

In PRTD, Jae R. Anderson, who has a B.S, Mathematics, University of Arizona and an A. S. in Computer Science, Pima Community College, and who has been a contract researcher, Smithsonian Institute National Museum of the American Indian, has been conducting comparative deterioration studies on an array of media undergoing various aging protocols.

Six New Interns (URL <http://www.loc.gov/preserv/servpubs.html>):
In PRTD, new HACU (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities) Fellows are Adam C. Coffman, a Senior at Virginia Tech, and Jose A. Martin, a Senior at Texas A & M University-Kingsville. They are working on projects related to preservation of iron-gall inks with mass spectrometers.

The Binding and Collections Care Division’s summer intern is LeChele Gishi from University of Texas at Austin, where she is completing her M.S. in Information Studies, specializing in Preservation Administration. She is updating BCCD's binding preparation manual.

In the Conservation Division, the Harper-Inglis intern is Tonia Grafakos from the University of Texas at Austin, where she is a candidate for a M.S. in Information Studies with a Certificate of Advanced Study in Conservation. She will be conserving books from the Rare Books, Law, African and Middle Eastern, Geography and Maps, Asian, and Music Divisions, a well as creating enclosures for items from the Rosenwald Collections and researching pigment consolidation of illuminated manuscripts. The Pulitzer intern is Kaori Uchida from Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, U.K., where she received an MA in the Conservation of Fine Art, Works of Art on Paper. She is undertaking treatment and rehousing of color silkscreen prints by Shokler, Japanese woodblock prints by Shinsui, Vicente Pintado manuscript maps, and an oversized Italian poster.

TECHNOLOGY POLICY DIRECTORATE

Integrated Library System Program Office (ILS PO)

Integrated Library Management System. The Library upgraded its integrated library system to the Voyager 6.5.2 release in May, 2008. All Voyager databases were upgraded, including the LC Database with 15 million records; the Copyright Database with 20 million records; and the Cataloging Distribution Service (CDS) Database with 8 million records. All Library of Congress OPACs were upgraded: the Library of Congress Online Catalog (catalog.loc.gov); Library of Congress Authorities (authorities.loc.gov); the U.S. Copyright Office Public Catalog (cocatalog.loc.gov); the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped Catalog (nlscatalog.loc.gov); and the Handbook of Latin American Studies (hlasopac.loc.gov).
These new features are now available to public users:1) keyword indexing of access points on authority records and bibliographic records with results delivered in a heading browse display; 2) keyword indexing of the 15 million holdings records in the LC Database; 3) wildcards for left and internal truncation in keyword searches; 4) searching of older, 10-digit ISBNs using the number structure for 13-digit ISBNs. Chief among the new features that are now available to LC staff is functionality that provides greater efficiency for staff who check in approximately 6,000 serial issues per week.
Increasing Access. In November 2007, the Library installed new hardware with greater capacity in order to support the continued increase in demand by users of the LC ILS Since the beginning of this year, the Library has raised the limits on simultaneous external sessions for the LC Online Catalog and LC Authorities. The Library plans to continue to increase external access for users after collecting more data and monitoring system performance with the new software.

Some system performance problems prevented users from accessing the LC Online Catalog and LC Authorities immediately after the ILS upgrade. These issues have been resolved and these services are available to public users.

LCCN Permalink: LC Persistent Identifiers Using info: LCCN. In February 2008, Library Services launched LCCN Permalink -- a new service that allows users to create permanent URL links to records in the Library's Online Catalog (URL <http://catalog.loc.gov/>. These links provide a simple way for researchers to reference materials from the Library's collection in their blogs, reference guides, Web pages, emails, bibliographies, databases, and more. Researchers can now link seamlessly between their Web resources and the rich content of the Library's Online Catalog. LCCN Permalink is completely standards-based, leveraging widely used XML technologies, Z39.50/SRU, and metadata schemas. For more information see URL <http://lccn.loc.gov/>. The service has been popular, receiving approximately 10,000 requests daily.

LC EAD (Encoded Archival Description) Archival Finding Aids. In 2008, LS Collections and Services divisions created over 100 new EAD archival finding aids, bringing the total number of LC EAD finding aids to 550. Users are now able to access to more than 19 million archival items in LC’s collections through these documents. LC collection-level MARC data is extracted from the LC Online Catalog using SRU/MARCXML to incorporate collection summaries and controlled names and subjects into each EAD. Browse lists are automatically generated for names, subjects, collection titles, collection dates, and LC repository. The PDF versions of these LC XML documents are prominently indexed by Google and Yahoo, providing increased visibility to LC’s archival collections. In 2007, RLG also smoothly transitioned to OCLC the regular harvesting of LC EAD finding aids into ArchiveGrid, a "union catalog" of finding aids.

LC Persistent Identifiers: Handle Server Support. To persistently identify LC-managed e-resources, Library staff registered more than 300,000 handles in 2008. As the year ended, the Library’s handle server contained 1,905,630 handles. Several thousand handles were registered as part of a joint Information Technology Services/Library Services project to create sitemaps for American Memory resources. XML sitemap documents enable crawlers from Google and other search engines to find and index digitized content formerly accessible only through database searches. Use of Library handle technology expanded in 2007 to include digital books from the National Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. The Congressional Research Service also initiated a successful pilot to assign handles to legislative content in the Thomas and Legislative Information Service databases.

Electronic Resource Management System (ERMS). In January the Library subscribed to a service that allows for receipt of SUSHI usage statistics for the Library's subscriptions to electronic resources that are covered by Scholarly Statistics, an organization owned by the Swets organization. Scholarly Statistics works with content providers able to communicate COUNTER compliant usage statistics using the SUSHI protocol. A library subscriber is able to access the server at Scholarly Statistics and download all data pertinent to its specific accounts. In the Library's Electronic Resource Management System (ERMS) from Innovative Interfaces, Inc. (III), in production, autoconfiguration files on the ERMS server issue monthly requests to the server at Scholarly Statistics and collect usage data for thousands of the Library's subscriptions. This data is downloaded and can be viewed at the resource and title level within the ERMS. It can be exported into Excel spreadsheets and distributed to collection development personnel. A variety of reports based on usage can be generated.

The production version is limited to the capabilities of the .1 version of SUSHI. However, the 1.0 version of SUSHI is now operational on the 2007 version of ERMS that resides in the Library's TestLab. Some experimentation with SUSHI version 1.5 is expected this summer. The newer version greatly increases the variety of usage reports available. This SUSHI usage data is married to acquisitions data on the Library ERMS test version so that cost per usage can be calculated. Moreover, the later version of the software can also produce cost/use data by subject based on LC class numbers. The more recent version of SUSHI currently remains in test while final testing is completed on the ERMS 2007 version. A feature of the new version includes the ability to take data extracted from the Library's Voyager Acquisitions module that relates to those purchase orders, invoices and payments connected to the Library's subscriptions for electronic resources and put that data into the ERMS. Extractions of Voyager acquisitions data pertinent to e-resources can be run weekly (or nightly if it proves useful) to extract the payment data from Voyager and then down load it to analogous ERMS records that contain the usage information. An additional load program from III allows vendor name, address and telephone information extracted from Voyager to be added to the ERMS vendor records. By virtue of activating these loads, this data created in Voyager will not need to be re-keyed into the ERMS, saving valuable staff time. The ERMS then enables the Library to evaluate its e-resource usage while considering the amount of money expended to acquire access to the material. Testing should complete this summer and the newer version will be migrated to production.

A team of public service personnel are working closely with LC's WebOPAC designer and the project team to improve the OPAC interface and tailor it to the Library's specifications. The team has studied comparable OPAC interfaces at leading universities to evaluate various approaches and finalize the presentation of OPAC information originating from ERMS. An OPAC from III directly interfaces with the ERMS and is able to produce current holdings, URLs, bibliographic descriptions and the licensed terms of usage that pertain to LC's electronic resources. A fall introduction of the OPAC to Library staff is planned.

Network Development and MARC Standards Office (NDMSO)

METS and Digital Library Standards Prototyping. NDMSO continued support for the digital performing arts site called the Performing Arts Encyclopedia and the American Folklife Center including especially the Veterans History Project. The work involved use and development of standards such as METS (Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard, URL <http://www.loc.gov/mets>), MODS (Metadata Object Description Schema), and TEI (Text Encoding Initiative). METS development work for the Performing Arts Encyclopedia included new METS Profiles for encyclopedia-type articles and biographies. These articles and biographies were written by LC curators who have special expertise on the subjects.

A new METS-based project for multivolume monographs was launched this spring with 2 titles, New York daily tribune index (URL <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vols/loc.gdc.sr.12037148/>) and N.W. Ayer & Son's American newspaper annual (URL <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vols/loc.gdc.sr.sn91012091/>). The process takes bibliographic data from the Library's Catalog, plus holdings information including barcodes for volumes, and matches that data up with file system data to create a title-level METS object describing the collection of volumes, plus a METS object for each volume, with the printMaterial profile to describe the volume and its contents. This structure allows navigation between and among volumes and up and down between title and volume levels, which had not been possible in the previous American Memory model.

MARC 21 and MARCXML. The full version of the MARC 21 documentation <URL http://www.loc.gov/marc> was published on the Web in April, following a lengthy process to convert it to XML and merge the SGML file of the concise format into the same XML file <URL http://www.loc.gov/standards/marcxml/>. Now all MARC 21 versions–full, concise, lite and field list--are produced from one file. The online full format has been greeted enthusiastically by the community. MARC 21 Update No. 8 was released in PDF and made available from CDS, along with the printed version. It is incorporated into all of the online versions of the format, with new specifications highlighted in red.

NDMSO formed and participated in the RDA/MARC Working Group to develop proposals and discussions papers on accommodating the new cataloging rules, Resource Description and Access (RDA), in the MARC 21 formats. In addition it worked with members of the MARC community to develop other papers to be considered by the MARC Advisory Committee. These include some elements needed by the international MARC 21 community, particularly Spain and Finland, for their use of MARC 21. The MARC 21 Website (http://www.loc.gov/marc) was updated with these and other Discussion Papers and Proposals for the ALA 2008 Annual Conference MARBI (Machine-Readable Bibliographic Instruction, the MARC formats governance committee) meetings.

All of the major code lists used with MARC, MODS, and other formats (e.g., language, country, etc.) now use XML and are made available for download in XML for system use. The office has been working on also releasing these in Semantic Web syntaxes such as RDF/SKOS (resource Description Framework/Simple knowledge Organization System).

NDMSO continued to maintain MARCXML, an XML version of the traditional MARC 21 record, with the goal to maintain stability and upward compatibility in the record interchange environment while providing a tool to enable the community to move forward to new technologies. XSLT transformations are provided on the MARC Website for download and use in converting data from MARC 21 to MARCXML, MODS, MADS, and DC.

Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS). Version 3.3 of the Metadata Object Description Standard (MODS), URL <http://www.loc.gov/mods>, was finalized in January 2008 after a six month review period. This upward compatible version includes an expanded capability for holdings information. There have been calls for a modest increase in the “native” MODS holdings tagging. The additions took into account the local additions that were developed for Copac (the union catalog in the U.K.), compatibility with MARC 21 Holdings, but most importantly, compatibility with the ISO holdings schema currently under development. MODS can now accommodate very simple holdings or more detailed holdings using MODS defined tags. If very detailed holdings or a different schema are required, they can be included in the MODS record through an extension mechanism. MODS is widely used for rich descriptive metadata in digital library projects, and many METS profiles are including MODS for their descriptive metadata component. In early 2008 NDMSO also completed updating the crosswalk between from MARC to MODS for new features of MODS version 3.3.

PREMIS. The PREMIS Editorial Committee completed the revision of the PREMIS Data Dictionary for Preservation Metadata and issued version 2.0 in April 2008 - URL <http://www.loc.gov/premis>. This revision was developed from comments from users during a 2 year trial use period The PREMIS schemas were also revised based on the new data dictionary. The PREMIS Implementors Group (PIG) listserv was used for broader discussion during the revision process, especially for more complex issues. A working group has developed draft guidelines for implementing PREMIS in METS.

Information Retrieval with SRU and Z39.50. SRU (Search and Retrieve via URL), URL <http://www.loc.gov/sru>, is an XML protocol that complements Z39.50. The SRU evolves Z39.50 to a Web platform protocol attractive to information providers, vendors, and users. SRU is not intended to replace Z39.50 as currently defined and deployed, but to parlay experience to Web-based end-user activities. A number of vendors and organizations now offer a range of products and services related to SRU and the Common Query Language (CQL) as open source as well as commercial products, including the Indexdata proxy server which runs as a front-end to any Z39.50 server to provide SRU services, OCLC's open source SRU server that interfaces to DSpace's Lucene implementation, and the VTLS SRU open source interface to FEDORA repositories.

An OASIS Technical Committee, named Search Web Services, was formally announced and began work in June 2007. It has the mandate to use SRU version 1.2 and Amazon’s OpenSearch as input, to produce SRU version 2.0. The OASIS Search Web Services Technical Committee has been working steadily for several months and will soon release a set of draft documents, including an Abstract Protocol Definition providing the framework for the definition of "Application Protocol Bindings". Examples of these bindings are SRU 1.2, SRU 2.0, and openSearch. These are "static" bindings-- human-readable document (essentially profiles)--but the framework also provides for the definition of a "dynamic" binding--a machine-readable file describing a server, the description provided according to a description language that the committee is also developing.

The premise behind dynamic bindings is that any server, even one that existed prior to development of the standard, need only provide a dynamic binding, that is, a self-description. It need make no other changes in order to be accessible. A client will be able to access any server that provides a description, if only it implements the capability to read the description file and interpret the description and based on that description to formulate a request (including a query) and interpret the response.

The Z39.50 Maintenance Agency continues to maintain the Z39.50 Website which is essential to implementors. Several new implementors have been added to the implementor list, which is extensive, and new Z39.50 software, both free and commercial, continues to be listed on the software page, as well as hosts available for testing and profiles.

URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers). NDMSO staff continue the work on identifiers within the URI framework. The URI Resource Pages Website, URL <http://www.loc.gov/standards/uri>, which provide basic definitions and concepts for URIs and their schemes, were updated with detailed description of the 'info' URI scheme, and news about URI development. Recently an article about "Identifers for Non-information Resources " was added and articles about "Uniform Access to Metadata" and "XRI" (Extensible Resource Identifier) will follow soon.

Semantic Registry. A registry is under development for vocabularies and data elements used by the bibliographic community. The scope at present is to represent concept values used in standards promulgated at LC, such as those for element sets like MARC21 format and PREMIS. The registry will also allow for exposure of authority concept values from the Thesaurus of Graphic Materials and other thesauri local to LC. The registry is informed by principles of ISO 11179, which is the international standard for metadata registries. The registry content includes the Thesaurus of Graphic Materials I and II, Geographic Area Codes (GACs), ISO 639-1 (2 character codes) and ISO 639-2T and 2B (3 character codes) (the ISO 639-2B being the same as the MARC Language codes), Relators, and MARC resource type lists. Several PREMIS element lists are currently in the process of being added. Any institution interested in testing with this resource should email Clay Redding at <cred@loc.gov>.

The registry is built upon a variety of open source components for processing RDF and XML, and uses the Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS) to express the concepts. SKOS is based on RDF and the Ontology Web Language. Web services built on top of the registry will allow concept values to be accessed in Web service environments and returned back to users in numerous formats, which will enable experimentation with semantic Web technologies.

New Web Resources
LC Presents/Performing Arts Encyclopedia merger. The Performing Arts Encyclopedia (PAE) (URL <http://www.loc.gov/performingarts/>) had several new releases, including American Choral Music, 1870-1923, a collaboration with the American Choral Directors Association featuring printed scores and music manuscripts by notable American composers including Mrs. H.H.A Beach, Horatio Parker, and George Chadwick. The PAE also released digital facsimiles of some of the Library's greatest musical treasures including music manuscripts by Beethoven, Mozart, and Brahms. Work has begun on new sites for the Library’s historical instruments collection and for the Martha Graham collection.

In February, a new version of the Performing Arts Encyclopedia (PAE) was launched which now encompasses all of the content of the digital library formerly known as LC Presents: Music, Theater, Dance. The full site uses the Library’s standard design, but retains all of the system’s former functionality and flexibility. During the conversion and merger, many of the existing presentations were simplified and standardized, and former static "framing" materials and essays were converted to digital objects, such as articles and biographies.

Veterans History Project releases. NDMSO launched two new releases of Experiencing War for the Veterans History Project. In February, a special feature on Women of Four Wars featured 19 collections of women veterans from the Korean, Vietnam, Persian Gulf and Iraq/Afghanistan conflicts (URL <http://www.loc.gov/vets/stories/ex-war-women4wars.html>). In May, the release focused on a study of the National Guard’s role in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq written by Larry Minear and featuring the collections of 16 veterans (see URL <http://www.loc.gov/vets/stories/ex-war-waronterror.html>). For Jewish American Heritage Month a special feature was created highlighting the collections of 10 Jewish veterans of World War II, at URL <http://www.loc.gov/vets/stories/ex-war-jewishveterans.html>.

Voyager Web Interface for Online Catalog Upgrade. NDMSO planned and presented several sessions in January and February for Library staff on potential new searches possible with the upgrade of the Voyager software undertaken in May 2008. Feedback from these sessions resulted in the addition of new keyword headings searches to the LC Online Catalog and LC Authorities as part of the upgrade. In addition, many searches were renamed based on feedback and suggestions from LC staff.

OFFICE OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

During 2008, the Office of Strategic Initiatives (OSI) continues to advance and maintain its digital programs, albeit at a reduced funding level, especially for the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program.

To help address OSI’s rapidly changing programs and mandates, Laura Campbell, Associate Librarian for Strategic Initiatives, established the new position of Deputy Associate Librarian for Strategic Initiatives. The deputy reports directly to Campbell with delegated and full responsibility for the direction and management of OSI programs and operations, working closely with the incumbent OSI managers. Jim Gallagher, Director of Information Technology Services, has been named acting Deputy Associate Librarian. While he is on assignment, Al Banks, Assistant Director for Research and Development in ITS, serves as acting Director of Information Technology Services.

OSI’s longtime experience in the creation and dissemination of digital content, combined with its national program to preserve digital materials, gives it a unique perspective that is essential to the Library’s continued ability to meet the needs of the U.S. Congress, students, teachers, scholars, researchers and lifelong learners. This experience is rooted in oversight of the National Digital Library Program, which provides access to millions of digitized materials from the Library of Congress’s collections and those of its partners. The NDL Program began in 1994 (before the establishment of OSI in 2000) and led to the creation of one of the most extensive educational Websites on the Internet, at URL <http://www.loc.gov/>.

In December 2000 Congress asked the Library to lead a national program to collect and preserve important digital content--the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program--and the Librarian of Congress created the Office of Strategic Initiatives. Information Technology Services, a directorate of OSI, supports not only these programs but also the technology needs of the entire Library.

National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP)

Early in 2008, awards totaling $2.25 million were made to four consortial projects comprising 23 states to help them collect and preserve important state-government digital records.

The awards, made on Jan. 7, were to four multistate projects led by Washington, Arizona, North Carolina and Minnesota. The projects are intended to catalyze collaborative efforts and serve as demonstration models to other states facing similar archival issues. States face formidable challenges in caring for digital records with long-term legal and historical value. A series of Library-sponsored workshops held in 2005 and involving all states revealed that the large majority of them lack the resources to ensure that the information they produce only in digital form, such as legislative records, court case files and executive agency records, is preserved for long-term access. The workshops made clear that much state government digital information—including content useful to Congress and other policymakers—is at risk of loss if it is not now saved. Following are the projects, their lead agencies and participating states:

Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, "Persistent Digital Archives and Library System." Arizona is leading this project to establish a low-cost, highly automated information network that reaches across multiple states. Results will include techniques for taking in large quantities of state data as well as developing a strong data-management infrastructure. Content will include digital publications, agency records and court records. States working in this project are Arizona, Florida, New York, South Carolina and Wisconsin.

Minnesota Historical Society, "A Model Technological and Social Architecture for the Preservation of State Government Digital Information." The project is working with legislatures in several states to explore enhanced access to legislative digital records. This will involve implementing a trustworthy information management system and testing the capacity of different states to adopt the system for their own use. Content will include bills, committee reports, floor proceedings and other legislative materials. States working in this project are Minnesota, California, Kansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Illinois and Vermont.

North Carolina Center for Geographic Information and Analysis, "Multistate Geospatial Content Transfer and Archival Demonstration." Work is focusing on replicating large volumes of geospatial data among several states to promote preservation and access. The project will work closely with federal, state and local governments to implement a geographically dispersed content-exchange network. Content will include state and local geospatial data. States working in this project are North Carolina, Utah and Kentucky.

Washington State Archives, "Multistate Preservation Consortium." The Washington State Archives is using its advanced digital archives framework to implement a centralized regional repository for state and local digital information. Outcomes will include establishment of a cost-effective interstate technological archiving system, as well as efforts to capture and make available larger amounts of at-risk digital information. Content will include vital records, land ownership and use documentation, court records and Web-based state and local government reports. States working in this project are Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, California, Indiana and Louisiana.

NDIIPP currently has more than 130 partners, both in the U.S. and overseas. The Library is a charter member of the International Internet Preservation Consortium and maintains affiliations with over ten US government agencies to develop and promote standards for digital information.

A monthly online newsletter highlighting the important work that the Library of Congress’s digital preservation program is performing launched in March. The Newsletter of the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program offers a digest of recent news related to the program’s activities. The newsletter contains short descriptions of each news item, with links provided to the full story on the NDIIPP Website at URL <http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/>.

To subscribe to the newsletter, go to URL <http://service.govdelivery.com/service/subscribe.html?code=USLOC_13>. The aim of this new publication is to provide easy access to the latest news from NDIIPP and its more than 100 partners, which include government agencies, educational institutions, research laboratories and commercial and nonprofit entities. News items of interest will include key milestones from the many digital preservation projects, partnership news, events and other new material added to the NDIIPP Website.

Preserving Creative America

The Preserving Creative America awards were one of NDIIPP’s major achievements in 2007. These awards drew the private-sector entertainment community into the program with funding to preserve such digital content as films, sound recordings, pictorial art, video games and virtual worlds. The NDIIPP awards went to eight lead institutions and their partners.

Partnership with Stanford University-CLOCKSS

The Library of Congress entered into a three-year cooperative agreement in June 2006 with Stanford University to provide approximately $700,000 in support of Stanford’s CLOCKSS (Controlled Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) digital archive pilot and related technical projects. Stanford is matching the award dollar-for-dollar.

Since 1999, Stanford has been developing preservation software as part of its LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) program. The LOCKSS program, initiated by Stanford University Libraries, is open-source software that provides libraries with an easy and inexpensive way to collect, store, preserve and provide access to their own, local copy of authorized content. The CLOCKSS program (see URL <http://www.lockss.org/clockss>) is a collaborative, community initiative to build a trusted, large-scale, dark archive (an archive that is accessible only in case of emergency, such as a loss of data at another site). CLOCKSS is intended to provide a decentralized and secure solution to long-term archiving, based on the LOCKSS technical infrastructure. Its governance and administration structure are distributed to ensure that no single organization controls the archive or has the power to compromise the content’s long-term safety or integrity.

Partnership with SCOLA

In June 2006, the Library of Congress entered into a cooperative agreement that will ensure that high-interest foreign news broadcasts such as those from Al-Jazeera, a news and current affairs television channel based in Doha, Qatar, and from Pakistan, Russia and the Philippines are archived and available for future research. These broadcasts are of special interest to Congress. The agreement is with SCOLA, a nonprofit educational corporation that receives and retransmits television programming of long-term research value from around the world in native languages. Under this cooperative agreement, a minimum of 3,750 hours of programming in digital form is being archived by SCOLA and made available to the Library of Congress and its researchers.

SCOLA (see URL <http://www.scola.org>) has agreements with approximately 90 countries to obtain and disseminate copies of foreign television programs. While in the past SCOLA has retained broadcast material for only a brief period, it is developing a capability to archive the programs it now transmits digitally.

Partnership with San Diego Supercomputer Center

The aim of the 2007 NDIIPP partnership with the San Diego Supercomputer Center was to build and measure trust and utility in a third-party bit-storage and preservation facility. Two content types, namely digital photographs and Web content, were used as test data in this project.. The final SDSC project report has been issued and is available from the NDIIPP Website. A collaborative project between SDSC and several NDIIPP partners continues to build upon the experiences of the first project.

Section 108 Study Group
see under U.S. COPYRIGHT OFFICE

National Digital Library Program

In 1994 the Library established its National Digital Library (NDL) Program, following a five-year pilot in which digitized versions of rare Library materials were distributed on CD-ROM to 44 schools and libraries nationwide. With the advent of the public Web in 1994, the Library was able to distribute these materials more widely and at less cost. By 2000, more than 5 million historical items were offered in American Memory, the NDL Program’s flagship Website at http://memory.loc.gov. During the next decade, the Library’s Website has grown into one of the largest repositories of noncommercial high-quality content online.

Partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities: The National Digital Newspaper Program

In April 2005 the Library and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced that six institutions had received more than $1.9 million in grants from NEH in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), a long-term effort to develop an Internet-based, searchable database of U.S. newspapers now in the public domain. The NDNP Website, called Chronicling America, was launched in March 2007 at URL <http://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/>. This is a cooperative project between NEH and OSI and Library Services. In June 2007, it was announced that eight awards to institutions, totaling $2,577,666, were made to continue and expand the program.

Educational Outreach

The Office of Strategic Initiatives is expanding the use of the Library’s collections by educators and their students. Several OSI programs and services have made the Library’s online primary sources important tools for teachers who want to incorporate these materials into their classroom activities.

Teaching with Primary Sources Program/Adventure of the American Mind Transition. At the request of Congress, the Library was authorized to develop and administer a professional development program for educators based on the pilot An Adventure of the American Mind (AAM) program, which was active in seven states. OSI has expanded and transitioned the AAM program into the new national Teaching with Primary Sources Program.

Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) was officially launched with the first consortium meeting in Washington and a new Website (URL <http://www.loc.gov/teachers/tps>). An advisory board was also formed.

One of the TPS initiatives will be a “virtual institute,” an online program that will provide programming to educators not currently in TPS partner areas. The Library has also contracted with the Center for Children and Technology for a research study of the best practices of the current AAM national program.

Institutions that are part of the Teaching with Primary Sources consortium are: Southeastern Louisiana University, Metropolitan State College of Denver, the University of Northern Colorado, Barat Educational Foundation, DePaul University, Eastern Illinois University, the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities, Governors State University, Illinois State University, Loyola University of Chicago; Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and Edwardsville, Quincy University, the Center on Congress at Indiana University, California University of Pennsylvania, Waynesburg College, Middle Tennessee State University and the Northern Virginia Partnership.

Learning Page. The Learning Page Website ( URL <http://memory.loc.gov/learn>) was specifically created for teachers and their students and features educational ways to se the Library’s online primary sources in the classroom. All lessons in the site are aligned to meet National Teaching Standards. A “Library of Congress News for Teachers” RSS feed is now available, which offers information on new Library content and professional development opportunities for educators.

OSI Strategic Plan

The Office of Strategic Initiatives unit issued its Strategic Plan for 2008-2013 outlining how OSI will meet the ever-increasing demands of a general public that wants access to information at the touch of a mouse. The Strategic Plan is online at URL <http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/library/reports.html>.