Author archives

Website That Monitors Campaign 2004 Spam

Spam and political campaigns are developing a synergy, to which the growing number us who have been on the receiving end, through no effort on our part, can attest. So I was quite interested when I learned about a new website, Political Spam. This independently operated site, from Richard Paul Welty, was launched in early …

Subjects: E-Mail

State & Local Gov’t Operating Without Critical Homeland Security Info

Press release from the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, announcing a new report: “State and local homeland security officials – the first responders and preventers in the war on terror at home – have not yet been fully integrated into the Bush Administration’s national strategy on homeland security and continue to operate without critical information …

Subjects: E-Government, Freedom of Information, Government Documents

Libraries and Fair Use

From Library Journal (reg. req’d): Fair Use Under Fire – ALA’s copyright expert gives her take on the challenges digital rights management presents for end users – and librarians: “In the digital realm, DRM technologies are changing the ways in which information is accessed and experienced, and they are undermining fair use. If content providers’ …

Subjects: Copyright, Digital Rights, Libraries

Digital Records Preservation

The Cost to Preserve Authentic Electronic Records in Perpetuity: Comparing Costs across Cost Models and Cost Frameworks: “This paper explores issues of cost modeling and proposes a possible methodology to evaluate costing frameworks and models to preserve authentic electronic records. The methodology could be adapted by institutions interested in the costs of the preservation strategy …

Subjects: Libraries

Sen. Coleman Releases RIAA Response To File Sharing Inquiry

From the August 18 press release: “Acknowledging the recording industry’s cooperation in his inquiry into its wide-ranging crackdown on illegal file-sharing, Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN), Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, released the Recording Industry Association of America’s response to his request for subpoenas and other documents related to his concerns that the industry …

Subjects: Copyright

Report on Children’s Internet Protection Act

Report to Congress, Children’s Internet Protection Act, Pub. L. 106-554, Study of Technology Protection Measures in Section 1703, August 15, 2003, Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration. From the report’s Conclusion: “In summary, existing technology protection measures have met many of the needs of educational institutions. While the education community has had success …

Subjects: Freedom of Information, Internet, Libraries

Patriot Act Facilitates Increased Gov’t Demand for Customer Data

Although there has been considerable focus on the Patriot Act as it impacts libraries, this Atlanta-Journal Constitution article details the wider impact of law enforcement’s significantly increased demand for customer data from businesses that range from scuba shops to telecommunications companies. Examples from the article include the following: “Last year, before the Memorial Day weekend, …

Subjects: Patriot Act, Privacy