Happy 2013, San Francisco Bay Region Chapter of SLA!

Last week, the chapter’s Executive Board and Advisory Council had our 2013 turnover meeting; this is the time that outgoing Chairs officially hand their duties over to the new incoming Chairs. This also marks the start of my term as chapter President and I am both thrilled and humbled by this opportunity.

Once again, I would like to thank the many chapter members who have volunteered their time to serve as Board and Council members. None of the many fantastic chapter events and resources available to you would exist without their efforts. I would like to ask all of our members to think about some of the chapter benefits that have been made possible by their efforts. Maybe you love to attend the informative speaker programs, tours, and professional development events organized throughout the year. Perhaps you are drawn more to the social nature of the neighborhood dinners and holiday party. Or maybe you look forward to reading Bayline articles posted on the chapter website, or are kept informed of government activities that impact our access to information by the Intersect Alert. When you see a chapter Council member, take a moment to thank them for their efforts.

Now think about how lucky we are to be members of a chapter that has all of this to offer in a relatively compact geographic area. It is true that many of our programs are held in San Francisco, although there are events annually in the East Bay, and neighborhood dinners several times a year in Marin. But consider the SLA chapters which encompass entire states; for example, the Nebraska chapter with its 21 members. Or entire regions, like our neighbors to the north in the Pacific Northwest chapter, which covers members in Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Alaska. Or entire continents, like the Europe chapter, home to SLA’s current President-Elect. It may seem difficult to make it to a chapter function 20 or 30 miles from home, but consider how much easier that is relative to negotiating state and country borders?

Like so many of the San Francisco Bay Region chapter presidents before me, I’ve selected a theme for my term; that theme is Investment. Whether you are brand new to the chapter or a long-time member, this is the year I want to challenge you to get invested.  If you’ve never been to a chapter event, come out to a program, and introduce yourself to me. Is there a topic about which you are knowledgeable, perhaps digitization technologies, social networking strategies, or business research resources and techniques? Share it in an article for Bayline. Is there a skill set that you would like to develop? Look at the various Advisory Council committees and select the one that you think would have a volunteer opportunity that would facilitate that growth. Throughout the year, I will be sending notices to the discussion list asking for volunteers to help with discrete, focused projects. Take me up on it.

Maybe you’re hesitant to come to events because you don’t know anyone there, or you just haven’t seen how SLA can impact your career. Well, here’s the thing about volunteering: you get to know people. Last year, an SLA task force surveyed 527 association members about volunteering with SLA. When asked how their volunteer experience paid off:

• 35% said they got new job because of the volunteer experience
• 30% said they built professional connections
• 30% said the volunteer experience helped with their career development and professional growth

Think about all that your San Francisco Bay Region chapter can offer you, and then think about how you can maximize those benefits. During my years volunteering with the chapter, I have known several people on the chapter’s Executive Board and Advisory Council to get both internships and full-time jobs as a direct result of their networking with others in the chapter. However, it’s difficult for chapter members to be of assistance if we don’t know you, that you’re looking for a job, or what you’re interested in. The best way for SLA to benefit you is by giving you the networking opportunities and professional development tools you can use to broaden your prospects.

Your SLA leaders work throughout the year to provide our members with programming and information to help you grow as a professional. We are invested in you. This is the time for you to invest in your career and your profession. It’s time for you to invest in SLA. Just ask me how.

By Anne N. Barker
Chapter President

Freedom of Information

Is It Illegal To Unlock a Phone? The Situation is Better – and Worse – Than You Think

Legal protection for people who unlock their mobile phones to use them on other networks expired last weekend. According to the claims of major U.S. wireless carriers, unlocking a phone bought after January 26 without your carrier’s permission violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) whether the phone is under contract or not. In a way, this is not as bad as it sounds. In other ways, it’s even worse.
https://www.eff.org/is-it-illegal-to-unlock-a-phone

January 18th: Internet Freedom Day

Today, on the anniversary of the massive protests against the Internet censorship bills SOPA and PIPA, a broad network of individuals and organizations are joining to celebrate Internet Freedom Day. The website InternetFreedomDay.net lists a variety of actions in support of the open Internet, including a new tradition asking Internet users to share something they love that should never be censored.
https://www.cdt.org/pr_statement/january-18th-internet-freedom-day

CDT Statement on Changes FTC Made to Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule

Washington, DC — Today, the Federal Trade Commission unveiled its modifications to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) mandated by Congress in the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998. The new rules are scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2013. CDT supports the FTC’s effort to update COPPA to address the more sophisticated data collection practices on the modern Web. We also appreciate the careful balancing the FTC did to try to reconcile a wide array of concerns from civil society and industry.
https://www.cdt.org/pr_statement/cdt-statement-changes-ftc-made-childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule

Twitter’s New Transparency Report Shows Increase in Government Demands, Sheds Light on Copyright Takedowns

Yesterday, Twitter released its second semi-annual transparency report, which details the numbers behind every user data demand, censorship order and copyright takedown request that the micro-blogging site received in the second half of 2012.

As with Google’s transparency report last week, there was a clear increase in government demands for user data, with the United States leading the way by far. Censorship requests from around the world also increased. In addition, the report shed valuable light on the copyright takedown procedure that also often results in undue censorship.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/01/google-twitters-new-transparency-report-shows-increase-government-demands-sheds
 

Public Policy

EPA’s New Soot Rule Will Save Lives, Health Care Costs, and the Environment

In December 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a new national clean air standard for fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), commonly referred to as soot. These microscopic particles are often emitted from diesel engines and power plants. When inhaled, the particles lodge deep inside the lungs and can cause asthma, acute bronchitis, heart attack, stroke, and even premature death, especially in vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly. EPA moved forward to strengthen the standard after new data confirmed that the standard set in 1997 did not adequately protect the public.
http://www.foreffectivegov.org/new-soot-rule-will-save-lives-health-care-costs-and-environment

Congress Sets Stage for Second Budget Showdown

On Jan. 23, the House of Representatives sidestepped a battle over the debt ceiling and prepared itself instead for a coming fight over sequestration and a possible government shutdown. The No Budget, No Pay Act (H.R. 325), passed by the House, suspends the debt ceiling until May 18 and ties congressional pay to passage of budget resolutions in the House and Senate by April 15.
http://www.foreffectivegov.org/congress-sets-stage-for-second-budget-showdown

Small Businesses, Public Health, and Scientific Integrity: Whose Interests Does the Office of Advocacy at the Small Business Administration Serve?

This report examines the activities of an independent office within the Small Business Administration: the Office of Advocacy. The Office of Advocacy has responsibility for ensuring that federal agencies evaluate the small business impacts of the rules they adopt. Scientific assessments are not “rules” and do not regulate small business, yet the Office of Advocacy decided to comment on technical, scientific assessments of the cancer risks of formaldehyde, styrene, and chromium. By its own admission, Advocacy lacks the scientific expertise to evaluate the merits of such assessments.
http://www.foreffectivegov.org/office-of-advocacy-report

Privacy Concerns

Facebook Graph Search: Privacy Control You Still Don’t Have

Facebook’s Graph Search has certainly caused quite a stir since it was first announced two weeks ago. We wrote earlier about how Graph Search, still in beta, presents new privacy problems by making shared information discoverable when previously it was hard—if not impossible—to find at a large scale. We also put out a call to action—and even created a handy how-to guide—urging people to reassess their privacy settings.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/01/facebook-graph-search-privacy-control-you-still-dont-have

Critical Fixes for the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

In the wake of Aaron Swartz’s tragic death this month, EFF has been working with a coalition of legislative staffers and experts on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) to finalize a proposal for changes that would make major improvements to the law. We’ve written a series of posts outlining our ideas as they’ve developed, but that analysis has built on the foundation of the intricacies of the law. Here are the three areas of the CFAA that we’ve zeroed in on. We believe it’s critical to fix them
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/01/these-are-critical-fixes-computer-fraud-and-abuse-act

International Privacy Day: Anti-Surveillance Success Stories

January 28 marks International Privacy Day. Different countries are celebrating this day calling attention to their own events and campaigns. This year, EFF is honoring the day by sharing some advocacy strategies utilized by human rights advocates and activists from Argentina, the UK, Canada, and the United States, that have helped to defeat overreaching surveillance proposals that threaten civil liberties.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/01/international-privacy-day-anti-surveillance-success-stories https://www.eff.org/is-it-illegal-to-unlock-a-phone

Intellectual Property

Lenz v. Universal: This Baby May Be Dancing To Trial

After years of litigation, it appears Stephanie Lenz may have a chance to tell her story to a jury. Back in 2007, you’ll remember, she posted a video to YouTube of her children dancing and running around in her kitchen with Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” playing in the background. A few months later, Universal Music Corp. used the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s rapid-fire takedown process to get the video removed from YouTube, claiming that it infringed copyright law. With help from EFF and Keker & Van Nest, Lenz fought back. She filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to hold Universal accountable for misrepresenting that her fair use video violated copyright law. Late last week, Judge Jeremy Fogel issued a ruling in the case that sent contradictory signals on the future of fair use under the DMCA.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/01/lenz-v-universal-baby-may-be-dancing-trial-0 https://www.eff.org/is-it-illegal-to-unlock-a-phone

International Outlook

Please feel free to pass along in part or in its entirety.

The Intersect Alert is a newsletter of the Government Relations Committee, San Francisco Bay Region Chap

Joint Meeting with BayNet Featuring Tasha Bergson-Michelson

January 30, 2013, 5:30-8:00 pm

Elephant and Castle Pub and Restaurant, 424 Clay St, San Francisco, CA 94111

Please join us at our annual joint meeting with BayNet featuring Tasha Bergson-Michelson of Google’s Search Education Team.

Ms. Bergson-Michelson will share her searching expertise in this presentation: “Bookends: Bringing together the basics and the advanced; a look at how the simplest of search skills helps improve the complex research undertakings.”

Tasha Bergson-Michelson is a Search Educator at Google. Drawing on nineteen years as a librarian and research skills trainer in K-20 and corporate settings, Tasha collaborates with librarians and other educators who want to integrate research skills into their classes and reference interactions to help their patrons access the most relevant, highest-quality sources available today. Tasha creates training resources that she shares through the Search Education hub and the Power Searching with Google massive open online courses, in posts for MindShift, on Google+, and on Twitter as @ResearchWell.

Where:
The event will be held at the Elephant and Castle Pub and Restaurant.
424 Clay St, San Francisco, CA 94111

When:
January 30, 2013
5:30 – 6:30 Registration, networking and appetizers
6:30 – 7:00 SLA-SF and BayNet announcements
7:00 – 8:00 Program with Q&A following

Cost:
$25 for BayNet/SLA members
$50 for non-members
$20 for students, retired, or unemployed

Seating at the restaurant is limited, so register soon!

Thanks go to Information Express for their generous sponsorship of this meeting.

Freedom of Information
LCA Releases First Sale Fast Facts for Libraries

Have you heard of the “first sale doctrine?” You’ve likely heard (if you’re a District Dispatch subscriber) about the Supreme Court case Kirtsaeng v. Wiley & Sons, and that it might affect library lending. However, the details of the case about a student lawfully importing textbooks into the U.S.  and then selling them on eBay are seemingly complex and technical. The Library Copyright Alliance has published a one-page summary, “First Sale Fast Facts for Libraries,” that provides you key information to understand the first sale doctrine and what is at stake in the Kirtsaeng case.
http://www.districtdispatch.org/2013/01/lca-releases-first-sale-fast-facts-for-libraries/
Public Policy

Library Copyright Alliance Comments on Orphan Works and Mass Digitization

On Monday, January 14, 2013, the Library Copyright Alliance (LCA) (whose members are the American Library Association, Association of Research Libraries and Association of College and Research Libraries) filed comments (PDF) with the U.S. Copyright Office in response to their October 22, 2012, Notice of Inquiry about the current state of play with orphan works and mass digitization.
http://policynotes.arl.org/post/40533384230/library-copyright-alliance-comments-on-orphan-works-and

Republicans had some sincerely nice things to say about President Barack Obama’s second inaugural address.

It was delivered flawlessly. The president mentioned God and the republic. You certainly can’t top Beyoncé’s rendition of the national anthem as the coda to the ceremony.
Read more:
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/republicans-fighting-words-from-obama-in-inaugural-speech-86514.html#ixzz2Ifie0DTZ

EKU libraries puts old newspapers, yearbooks online

“For alumni, current and former faculty and staff and others with a connection to Eastern Kentucky University, memory lane is now just a mouse click away. EKU Libraries boasts a growing digital repository of the student-produced campus newspaper, The Eastern Progress, as well as the campus yearbook, the Milestone, all easily viewable, fully searchable and free, by anyone with Internet access.
http://www.librarystuff.net/2013/01/20/eku-libraries-puts-old-newspapers-yearbooks-online/

Privacy Concerns

Homeland Security Has Too Many Definitions, Says CRS

The existence of multiple, overlapping and inconsistent definitions of the term “homeland security” reflects and reinforces confusion in the homeland security mission, according to a newly updated report from the Congressional Research Service.
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2013/01/many_definitions.html

Strategy Lacking for Disposal of Nuclear Weapons Components

There is a “large inventory” of classified nuclear weapons components “scattered across” the nation’s nuclear weapons complex and awaiting disposal, according to an internal Department of Energy contractor report last year.
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2013/01/disposal_strategy.html

Sandia Scientists Model Dynamics of Social Protest

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have been studying the ways that information, ideas and behaviors propagate through social networks in order to gain advance warning of cyber attacks or other threatening behavior.
hhttp://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2013/01/social_diffusion.html

Intellectual Property

International Outlook

Please feel free to pass along in part or in its entirety.

The Intersect Alert is a newsletter of the Government Relations Committee, San Francisco Bay Region Chapter, Special Libraries Association.

Freedom of Information

The war that never was: Most elaborate Wikipedia hoax ever as 4,500 word article on ‘Bicholim Conflict’ – a fictitious fight for Goan independence – fooled site for FIVE YEARS

It was voted a ‘good article’ – a Wikipedia badge of honor – and sat happily on the online encyclopedia for more than half a decade. But editors have lately discovered a small issue with the site’s meticulously written 4,500 word article detailing the 17th century Bicholim Conflict.
It was entirely made up.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2257482/The-war-Wikipedia-fooled-years-Bicholim-Conflict-article-elaborate-4-500-word-hoax.html

Report on NYC Public Libraries – Branches of Opportunity

Branches of Opportunity, January 2013, Center for an Urban Future – “As more and more New Yorkers turn to digital books, Wikipedia and other online tools for information and entertainment, there is a growing sense that the age of the public library is over. But, in reality, New York City’s public libraries are more essential than ever.
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/032346.html

US LIBRARY GIVES AFGHAN LEADER DIGITAL TREASURES

“The Library of Congress is using a $2 million gift to digitize cultural treasures and records from Afghanistan to give to that country’s libraries and universities. The gift was announced Friday at the U.S. State Department in a ceremony with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. A grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York will fund the project.”
http://www.librarystuff.net/2013/01/12/us-library-gives-afghan-leader-digital-treasures/

In this university’s laptop vending machine, the MacBooks are free

“Philadelphia’s Drexel University has installed a Macbook vending machine in the university’s Haggerty library. The kiosk dispenses MacBooks free of charge to Drexel students, staff, and faculty, who can use the machines for up to five hours at a time. The goal is simply to help students get better, safer access to technology. Students toting laptops are targets for muggers
http://www.librarystuff.net/2013/01/10/in-this-universitys-laptop-vending-machine-the-macbooks-are-free/

Public Policy

NYU Video At Risk Guidelines for Section 108 (c) Preservation

An exciting new resource developed by the Video at Risk team, this new report draws on the expertise of working video librarians, together with copyright lawyers Bob Clarida and Melissa Brown, to provide guidance on some of the thorniest questions surrounding application of Section 108 to decrepit video formats.
http://policynotes.arl.org/post/40102008798/nyu-video-at-risk-guidelines-for-section-108-c

National Cooperative Drug Discovery/Development Groups (NCDDG) for the Treatment of Mental Disorders, Drug or Alcohol Addiction (U19)

The purpose of the National Cooperative Drug Discovery/Development Group (NCDDG) Program is to create multidisciplinary research groups or partnerships for the discovery of pharmacological agents to treat and to study mental illness or drug or alcohol addiction. The objectives of this program are to: accelerate innovative drug discovery; develop pharmacologic tools for basic and clinical
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-13-086.html

White House – National Strategy for Information Sharing and Safeguarding

“This National Strategy for Information Sharing and Safeguarding (Strategy) aims to strike the proper balance between sharing information with those who need it to keep our country safe and safeguarding it from those who would do us harm.
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/032350.html

Digital Licenses Replace Print Prices as Accurate Reflection of Real Journal Costs

“Instead of purchasing subscriptions to individual journals, librarians are pursuing licensing agreements that provide perpetual digital access to a body of content. For major institutions with research needs across multiple disciplines, this means purchasing journal bundles or packages.
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/032345.html

Privacy Concerns

Privacy on the Go – Recommendations for the Mobile Ecosystem

“Today, 85 percent of American adults own a cell phone and over half of them use their phones to access the Internet. The mobile app marketplace is also booming with more than 1,600 new mobile apps being introduced every day.
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/032350.html

Intellectual Property

International Outlook

EU – Digital Agenda: Turning government data into gold

News release: “The Commission has launched an Open Data Strategy for Europe, which is expected to deliver a €40 billion boost to the EU’s economy each year. Europe’s public administrations are sitting on a goldmine of unrealised economic potential: the large volumes of information collected by numerous public authorities and services.
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/032352.html

U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health

“Although the United States spends more on health care than any other nation, a growing body of research shows that Americans are in poorer health and live shorter lives than people in many other high-income countries. U.S. Health in International Perspective synthesizes available research, taking an in-depth look at this disadvantage in health and lifespan.
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/032347.html

Please feel free to pass along in part or in its entirety.

The Intersect Alert is a newsletter of the Government Relations Committee, San Francisco Bay Region Chapter, Special Libraries Association.

Freedom of Information

Library of Congress has archive of tweets, but no plan for its public display

In the few minutes it will take you to read this story, some 3 million new tweets will have flitted across the publishing platform Twitter and ricocheted across the Internet. The Library of Congress is busy archiving the sprawling and frenetic Twitter canon — with some key exceptions — dating back to the site’s 2006 launch. That means saving for posterity more than 170 billion tweets and counting, with an average of more than 400 million new tweets sent each day, according to Twitter.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/2013/01/03/e4db1c24-55d4-11e2-bf3e-76c0a789346f_story.html

Old school bookstore thrives in NYC

http://money.cnn.com/video/smallbusiness/2012/12/07/sbiz-old-bookstore-the-strand-new-york.cnnmoney

Rapid DNA: Coming Soon to a Police Department or Immigration Office Near You

In the amount of time it takes to get lunch, the government can now collect your DNA and extract a profile that identifies you and your family members.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/12/rapid-dna-analysis

Extension Gives You More Control Over Your Facebook Privacy

Facebook Messages has a feature that tells you when a chat recipient has seen a message. This “read receipt” is, in true Facebook fashion, both nifty and unsettling. And it brings with it tons of potential for abuse. Unfortunately, there’s no built-in method to opt out.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/01/extension-gives-you-more-control-over-your-facebook-privacy

2012 in Review: Digital Rights Activism Around the World

Just as in the United States, where a multi-pronged campaign against SOPA and PIPA killed the freedom-restricting bills, activism for digital rights saw great successes—and innovations—in 2012. While not every campaign was as successful in quashing efforts to restrict rights, it was nonetheless a great year worldwide for digital activism. Here are a few highlights:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/12/2012-review-international-digital-activism

Public Policy

Libraries See Opening as Bookstores Close

At the bustling public library in Arlington Heights, Ill., requests by three patrons to place any title on hold prompt a savvy computer tracking system to order an additional copy of the coveted item. That policy was intended to eliminate the frustration of long waits to check out best sellers and other popular books. But it has had some unintended consequences, too: the library’s shelves are now stocked with 36 copies of “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/28/us/libraries-try-to-update-the-bookstore-model.html

Privacy Concerns

Alan Moore’s Neonomicon censored by US library

The removal of Alan Moore’s graphic novel Neonomicon from the shelves of a library in South Carolina has been described as “censorship” by free speech campaigners.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/dec/06/alan-moore-neonomicon-censored-library

Intellectual Property

Scanning Documents? Patent Trolls Want You To Pay Up

Earlier this week, Ars Technica profiled a particularly atrocious group of patent trolls who are demanding payments from small businesses for committing the egregious, shameful act of… scanning documents to email? Yes, the latest in a string of absurd patent-related stories involves the everyday act of using a networked scanner.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/01/scanning-documents-patent-trolls-want-you-pay

International Outlook

Google backtracks on Chinese anti-censorship feature

Google appears to be backtracking on its once unshakeable anti-censorship stance, after removing a feature from its Chinese site designed to help users avoid getting cut off from the internet. The feature — which flagged up a warning message whenever a user began typing a censored word, then redirected them to a help page that explained how to avoid being cut off from the web — appears to have been disabled some time between 5 and 8 December 2012.

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-01/04/google-china-anti-censorship-fail