Public Policy Connections

School Spying on Students through Laptop Webcams?

A federal class action suit claims a suburban school district in Pennsylvania has been spying on students and families through the "indiscriminant use of and ability to remotely activate the webcams incorporated into each laptop issued to students," without the knowledge or consent of students or parents.

Read full story from Courtroom News: Big Brother Is Here, Families Say

Read: Class Action Lawsuit 

IMLS Symposium Spotlights the Power of Museums and Libraries to Change Lives

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) annually awards the National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation’s highest honor for museums and libraries that make extraordinary civic, educational, economic, environmental, and social contributions. I was able to attend the award presentations today and hear the impressive stories of many whose lives have been changed by these institutions.

The IMLS Awarded National Medal for Museum and Library Service to Ten Institutions across the United States. Organizations honored for 2009 are: 1) Braille Institute Library Services, Los Angeles, CA; 2) Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA; 3) Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal, Cincinnati, OH; 4) Gail Borden Public Library, Elgin, IL; 5) Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN; 6) Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR; 7) Museum of Science & Industry, Tampa, FL; 8) Pritzker Military Library, Chicago, IL; 9) Stark County District Library, Canton, OH; and, 10) Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, TN

Read More:

IMLS 2009 National Medal Brochure

IMLS Fact Sheet on the National Medal

View Video Highlights:  2009 National Medal for Museum and Library Service

The German Digital Library in Competition with Google?

The German Digital Library wants to make millions of books, films, images and audio recordings accessible online. More than 30,000 libraries, museums and archives are expected to contribute their digitized cultural artifacts. The idea, in part, is to compete with Google Books. But will it work?

Read news story: A German Library for the 21st Century

No Ruling on Google Book Settlement….yet.

Media outlets went into overdrive yesterday and today as Judge Denny Chin, of the Southern District of New York, heard closing arguments in his New York courtroom. Overall the Fairness Hearing Settlement message was clear: a broad and diverse collection of stakeholders have major objections to the Google Book Settlement. Judge Chin announced early in the Google Fairness Hearing that he would not make a ruling yesterday, “There is just too much to digest. And however I come out, I want to write an opinion that explains my reasoning.”

The Associated Press summed up the day, noting that Judge Chin: “(Q)uestioned whether Google and lawyers for authors and publishers went too far when they struck a deal that would let the gigantic search engine make money presiding over the world’s largest digital library.”

Read more:

Library Journal: Objectors Outnumber Supporters in First Half of Google Settlement Fairness Hearing 

Associated Press: NYC judge expresses some doubts about Google deal

Main Justice (blog): Selected Comments from the Google Books Court Hearing

Washington Post: Judge puts off ruling on Google's proposed digital book settlement

Publishers Weekly: At Google Fairness Hearing, DoJ Justice Slams Settlement

Boston Globe: NYC judge expresses some doubts about Google deal

New York Times: Judge Hears Arguments on Google Book Settlement

$460M Requested for U.S. National Archives FY2011 Budget

On 1 February 2010, President Obama sent Congress a proposed Fiscal Year 2011 budget request for the Federal Government that calls for $460,287,000 for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The requested amount for NARA is a two percent decrease from the FY 2010 appropriated funding levels of $469,870,000.

Read U.S. National Archives Press Release

Copyright Law Principles: Course begins 16 February 2010

U.S. Copyright Law Principles (CCM 200), from SLA’s online Click University, is a primer on U.S. copyright law. The course, which begins next week, is the second of seven required courses for the SLA/Click University Certificate in Copyright Management: Principles and Issues. At the end of this course, participants will understand the background of U.S. copyright law and what the law consists of, explain how a work is protected by copyright, what works are protected, and for how long. The participant will be able to assess ownership in a copyright work, and what rights are protected by the law. Participants will be able to describe how rights are exploited, how copyright law is infringed and the remedies for copyright infringement. 

Register for Copyright Law Principles (CCM 200),  

Justice Department Submits Views on Amended Google Book Search Settlement

On 4 February 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice advised the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that despite the substantial progress reflected in the proposed amended settlement agreement in The Authors Guild Inc. et al. v. Google Inc., class certification, copyright and antitrust issues remain. The department also said that the United States remains committed to working with the parties on issues concerning the scope and content of the settlement.

Read U.S. Justice Department Press Release

Despite Changes, Many Still Oppose Google Books Deal

The New York Times reported that Google faced a tidal wave of opposition last year in its landmark class-action settlement in 2008 that would have paved the way to create a huge digital library and bookstore.  In November, Google and the other parties to the case, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers, made revisions to the agreement. 

But version 2.0 of the settlement has failed to placate many of the critics who opposed the original agreement. With a 28 January deadline last week, several parties rushed to file a new round of objections to the settlement, which still requires court approval.

Read New York Times article: Despite Changes, Many Still Oppose Google Books Deal by Miguel Helft.