I have updated the ALA webpage on FDLP issues to include information about today's House Administration Committee hearing on the GPO.  Of particular interest to our members, the Public Printer includes this statement in her testimony,

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In case you missed this on the District Dispatch this morning:

Today there is bill language making the rounds in Congress that would delay public access to federally-funded research. The Frontiers in Innovation, Research, Science and Technology Act of 2013 (FIRST) would restrict public access to articles reporting on federally-funded research for up to three years after initial publication. This delay is  two years longer than what is stated in the White House’s Office of Science Technology Policy memo Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research and two and a half years longer that what is proposed in the bicameral, bipartisan Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act (FASTR).

ALA has joined in a letter (pdf) with 10 other national and regional library, publishing, and advocacy organizations expressing our strong opposition the current language in FIRST. We would encourage you to also contact your representatives; remind them that “Section 302 of the FIRST Act would turn back the clock on the substantial progress already made towards meaningful public access by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), undermine the widely-supported White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Directive on Public Access to the Results of Federally Funded Research, and put the U.S. at a severe disadvantage with the rest of the world in terms of policies that promote innovation and competitiveness.”

Please take a moment and use the Legislative Action Center to ask your representative to:

• Oppose Section 302 of FIRST, and
• Support FASTR!

The government is reopening today! Here is a Washington Post article by Lori Montgomery and Rosalind S. Helderman discussing what happened.

Government reopens after Congress passes budget deal, raises debt limit

Copied from an email on govdoc-l:

As you know, Congress has not yet passed funding legislation for FY 2014 that will allow Government agencies to continue normal operations. Therefore, like all other Federal agencies, the Government Printing Office (GPO) had no recourse but to shut down Tuesday, October 1, 2013. As it stands today, Federal agencies are facing the very real possibility of what could be a prolonged shutdown. Therefore, GPO is forced to make very difficult decisions.

With the continuing funding uncertainty, and after serious discussions with Public Printer Davita Vance-Cooks and Arlene Weible, chair of the Depository Library Council (DLC), we determined the need to cancel the 2013 Depository Library Council Meeting and Federal Depository Library Conference (scheduled for October 21-23) and reschedule it for spring 2014. A letter <http://www.fdlp.gov/home/repository/doc_download/2360-message-from-the-superintendent-of-documents-2013-dlc-meeting-and-fdl-conference > from the Superintendent of Documents, Mary Alice Baish, provides more information.

Cynthia Etkin | Sr. Program Planning Specialist | Office of the Superintendent of Documents | ph 202.512.1180 | mb 202.425.0041

Federal Depository Libraries and the Affordable Care Act

As libraries look ahead to the October 1 open enrollment date for the health insurance marketplace, there is an abundance of information about the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and many opportunities for libraries. IMLS is working with the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare and with WebJunction and ZeroDivide to provide library staff with the online resources and community contacts they will need to respond to questions about the Marketplace. One of the key roles that Federal Depository Libraries can play is to maintain an awareness of available resources in your area, and develop an approach for connecting patrons to those resources in the way that makes the most sense for your community.

Please join this interactive session, where we will discuss strategies for libraries to identify ACA resources, hear from a Federal Depository member library that is working to prepare for patron requests, and obtain key policy and resource updates from ACA experts.

Presented by:

• Susan Hildreth, Institute of Museum and Library Services
• Susie Butler, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• Kendra Morgan, WebJunction
• Robbie Sittel, Tulsa City/County Public Library (FDL member)

*Closed Captioning will be provided for this event.

Date: Monday, September 23, 2013

Start time: 2:00 Eastern / 11:00 Pacific

 If you cannot attend this live session, a recorded archive will be available to view at your convenience. Please sign up here if you’d like to receive notifications about this project, including when the archive is available.

 Please note that this is session is geared towards Federal Depository Libraries and the ACA. If you are a public library, archived webinars that highlight options and information for public library engagement are available on WebJunction.