THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

A periodic report from

THE NATIONAL DIGITAL LIBRARY PROGRAM

MARCH 1996 • NO. 6

Flanked by monitors

that displayed the

historic signing in real

time on the Internet, the

President addressed

witnesses gathered in

the Main Reading

Room. Fellow infonaut

Vice President Albert

Gore looks on.

Library of Congress photo by Erica Wissolik

President Clinton signs Telecommunications Act of 1996

in Library’s Main Reading Room—and in cyberspace

continued on page 2

I

n an event that brought together the leader of the

free world, the Librarian of Congress and the titans of the communications industry, President

Clinton, on Feb. 8, signed the Telecommunications

Act of 1996 into law in the Main Reading Room of the

Library.

During the ceremony, Dr. Billington was acknowledged for the pioneering role the Library is playing as a

major intellectual-content provider on the Internet.

“It is fitting that we mark this moment here in the Library of Congress,” said President Clinton. “It is Thomas Jefferson’s building. Most of you know Jefferson

deeded his books to the Library after our first Library

burned in the War of 1812. The volumes that line these

walls grew out of Jefferson’s legacy. ...Today the information revolution is spreading light—the light Jefferson

spoke about—all across our land and across the world.

It will allow every American child to bring the ideas

stored in this reading room into his or her own living

room.”

Vice President Albert Gore, who in 1993 came to the

Library to join Dr. Billington in hosting a conference on

the Information Superhighway, said, “This legislation will

expand and strengthen universal service. ...It allows

open access to the pipelines of knowledge.”

Also delivering messages were Speaker of the House

Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.); Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.); Sen.

Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.); Rep. Thomas J. Bliley Jr. (RVa.); Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.); and Ron Brown, the

Secretary of Commerce.

The event was historic in two ways: The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first bill to be signed into

law at the Library of Congress and the first to be signed

in cyberspace. After the president signed the bill on paper, he also “signed” it electronically—the entire event

was available in real time over the Internet using a high-
THE NATIONAL DIGITAL LIBRARY PROGRAM

2 MARCH 1996

speed, fiber-optic synchronous optical network

link.

Lily Tomlin, playing Ernestine the phone

operator, brought her own brand of levity to

the august occasion. “Have I reached the party

to whom I am speaking?” she asked Mr. Gore,

who was trying to reach Washington’s Calvin

Coolidge High School to speak with students

about their use of the Information Superhighway.

Ms. Tomlin appeared on a monitor via the

Internet connection. “Oh, Mr. Veep. Surfing the

‘Net, downloading images of global climate

change again? You crazy guy. It’s true what I’ve

been telling my friends. You’re not stiff, you’re

just a techno-nerd.

“Hold on to your semiconductor. I’ll load the

software right away. ...You and the president

are infonauts,” she said as she placed the call

and signed off.

 “How do you think this bill will have an

impact on your lives?” the vice president asked

the students.

“Thanks to the telecommunications bill, I

believe that it will open up new horizons for

international access for cultures all over the

world,” said one student.

“I’d like to thank you for signing the telecom

bill. It will make advances in technology readily

available to a diverse group of people,” another

one said.

President Clinton began his remarks by

thanking the Library for hosting the signing.

“My understanding is this may be the first time

in three decades when a bill has been signed

on Capitol Hill.”

The event was fraught with symbolism, from

the setting—the Main Reading Room, which for

many is the heart of the Library and a symbol

continued on the next page

Telecommunications bill, from page 1

With the help of

Ernestine (Lily

Tomlin), the

quintessential

telephone

operator from

the beginnings of

telecommunication, Vice

President Al

Gore reached the

party to whom

he was speaking,

Calvin Coolidge

High School

students.

of learning—to the pen used for the signing:

the same one President Eisenhower used when

he signed the Interstate Highway Act of 1957,

“which met the challenge of change...and literally brought Americans closer together,” the

president said. “That same spirit of connection

and communication is the driving force behind

the Telecommunications Act of 1996.”

The chief sponsor of the 1957 law was Albert

Gore Sr., the vice president’s father, who received the pen from Eisenhower. “His son is in

many ways the father of this legislation because

he’s worked on it for more than 20 years, since

he first began to promote what he called, in the

phrase he coined, the Information Superhighway.”

One provision of the bill mandates that

schools, libraries and hospitals receive telecommunications services at reduced cost. “This

simple act will bring us one giant step closer to

realizing the challenge I put forward in the

State of the Union [address], to connect all our

classrooms and libraries to the Information

Superhighway by the year 2000.”

President Clinton also said he was “very

proud” that the bill requires use of the so-called

V-chip, which will screen out television programming that parents want their children to

avoid.

Speaker Gingrich acknowledged Dr.

Billington as “a leader on a world basis in knitting the world together” through the Library’s

National Digital Library Program. Speaker

Gingrich also praised the Library for its THOMAS on-line legislative system, which he announced to the public at a ceremony at the Library in January 1995.

Secretary Brown, who is chairman of the

National Information Infrastructure Task Force,

introduced Dr. Billington as someone who is

“bringing the Library of Congress into the In-
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

MARCH 1996 3

formation Age. Through the National Digital

Library Program, the Library of Congress is creating on-line access to its catalog, its exhibitions

and its unique American collections, as well as

to congressional information.”

“As an avid inventor and educator,” said the

Librarian, “Jefferson, were he here today, would

surely be intrigued with this new world of computer and telecommunications technology—

and glad to see so many entrepreneurial forces

gathered together with national political leaders in the building that bears his name.”

Those entrepreneurial forces were well represented in the reading room by Ted Turner,

whose Turner Classic Movies channel helps

support the Library’s National Film Registry

Tour. The tour was funded by the Madison

Council, the Library’s private sector advisory

group, several of whose members are in the

communications industry and were present:

John Hendricks of the Discovery Channel,

Glenn Jones of Jones Intercable, Jean Monty of

Northern Telecom, Donald Newhouse of Advance Publications, William O’Shea of Reuters

Ltd. and Ray Smith of Bell Atlantic. Also among

the more than 300 in the audience was Jack

Valenti of the Motion Picture Association of

America.

“We like to think that [Jefferson] would also

be pleased to see the Library launching through

a new kind of public-private partnership: an

ambitious program to digitize 5 million items

from our unique collections of Americana for

educational and inspirational use in schools,

libraries and homes all over America,” Dr.

Billington continued.

concludes on page 8

Those atttending the American Library

Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting

in San Antonio expecting to encounter

warm temperatures were in for something of a

shock. On Friday, Jan. 19, the day before exhibits opened, thermometers were registering

in the teens, and only the following morning

did the mercury edge up past the freezing

point.

But this city, known for its temperate climate,

didn’t disappoint for long. By the afternoon,

crowds of people were strolling along the picturesque Riverwalk in shirtsleeves, dining at

the many restaurants with tables set along the

banks of the narrow San Antonio River or window shopping for souvenirs and Southwestern artifacts.

Texas

Nor did the conference itself disappoint —

at least not judging by the paid-attendance figures and number of exhibitors, both of which

set records.

The Library’s exhibit booth in

the convention center experienced heavy traffic from visitors

wanting to see the latest offerings

from the National Digital Library

(NDL) Program, among other Library initiatives.

New Library digital collections, such as the Nation’s Forum

Sound Recordings and photographs by Carl Van Vechten, were available for

viewing, as were the other collections that have

helped to make the Library’s World Wide Web

continued on the next page; see ALA

Have digital library, will travel:

LC takes its NDL Program on the road
THE NATIONAL DIGITAL LIBRARY PROGRAM

4 MARCH 1996

The Library of

Congress ran a

busy booth at

the ALA

Midwinter

Meeting of the

American

Library

Association in

San Antonio.

Visitors could

see the

Library’s latest

NDL offerings

and other

initiatives.

ALA, continued from page 3

homepage (http://www.loc.gov) one of the premier providers of intellectual content on the

Internet. Already more than a million transactions per day are handled by the Library’s online systems.

 Want to know what Calvin Coolidge or

Warren G. Harding sounded like? The Nation’s

Forum offers digitized versions of their

speeches. The photographs of Carl Van Vechten,

shot in 1932-1964, are especially strong in the

arts, with portraits of singer Ethel Waters,

bandleader Cab Calloway, actor-director Orson

Welles and artist Diego Rivera, among many

others. New collections are scheduled to go online later this month (a full report will be published in next month’s issue).

Suzanne Thorin, associate librarian and coordinator of the Library’s NDL Program, delivered a preconference talk on copyright in the

digital age, an issue of special importance to

LC, not only because it is placing intellectual

content on the Internet but also because it is the

home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Her speech

was part of a symposium sponsored by OCLC

Online Computer Library Center.

“If the Internet is a new publishing tool, and

we believe that it is, what are the new rules?”

she asked. “How will the copyright law respond

to the digital age? How can we as librarians facilitate access and at the same time protect the

prerogative of rights holders to receive compensation?

 “The intent of copyright is to encourage creativity by guaranteeing credit for original

work.”

During the President’s Program at the conference, the NDL Program garnered praise from

Delano Lewis, chair of the National Information Infrastructure Advisory (NIAA) Committee and president of National Public Radio.

 Keeping with the program’s theme, “information equity,” Mr. Lewis discussed his work

on the NIAA Committee and its focus on universal access to information. “Universal access

is a big issue,” he said, “and libraries have a

key role to play. Not every home can afford the

hardware and link” necessary to access the

Internet.

 According to Mr. Lewis, National Public Radio has formed “partnerships and alliances” to

help it achieve its mission. “We have learned

from our success. A program illustrative of [a

public-private partnership] is the Library of

Congress,” with its National Digital Library

Program, he said. (So far, the program has raised

more than $21 million from private sources.)

“You are the trailblazers of a new frontier in

the information revolution. I look forward to

working with you as we chart America’s future

together.”

 —Guy Lamolinara

 Public Affairs Office
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

MARCH 1996 5

mailed to the Library. At the end of the cataloging

process, the Cataloging in Publication Division mails

a bibliographic record to the publisher to be printed

on the copyright page of the book. The bibliographic

record, and any authority records created to support

it in the LC database, are also distributed to recipients of the Library’s MARC (machine-readable cataloging) tapes.

Because the current manual CIP processing system depends on mailing bulky manuscripts and CIP

data between publishers and the Library, it is subject to limitations in timeliness and to the occasional

uncertainties that result from basing the catalog

record on incomplete manuscripts. An electronic system therefore greatly expedites the receipt of complete galleys, speed transmission of completed CIP

data to the publisher, increase productivity and efficiency of cataloging by utilizing data available in

machine-readable form and reduce costs for both

publishers and the Library. Furthermore, it enables

catalogers to enrich bibliographic records by the addition of table-of-contents notes, abstracts and author notes from the galleys, with little additional expenditure of resources.

Library staff have developed a World Wide Web

form that enables publishers to call up an on-line

version of the CIP Data Sheet. This offers several

advantages, including help screens that enable the

publisher to obtain up-to-date information on the

Library’s policies regarding the CIP program. The

University of South Carolina Press was the first publisher to use the World Wide Web form to apply for

CIP data for its forthcoming title, Understanding

Ingeborg Bachmann, by Karen Achberger.

Last April the CIP Division mailed an informal,

one-page survey to publishers who participate in the

CIP program. Of the 512 respondents, 55 percent indicated that they currently have access to the Internet

and 77 percent indicated that they would have access by 1997. Thirty-eight percent of all respondents

said they could submit texts electronically now, and

a total of 67 percent could submit texts electronically

within three to four years.

Judging by the response, the Electronic CIP Program is a success. “Great idea!” “Hurry up!” and “Go

for it!” were just some of the comments.

 —Susan Morris,

 Assistant to the Director for Cataloging

Electronic cataloging

speeds procedure

Open just about any book and you’ll see the

familiar wording and information: “Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data.” Previously, providing that information—

including the LC catalog number and the International Standard Book Number—required publishers

to deliver galleys to the Library via the mail.

But about 2 1/2 years ago, the Library initiated a

research and design project to develop an electronic

system for producing Cataloging in Publication (CIP)

data. The system is enabling the Library to obtain

galleys and manuscripts of forthcoming publications

electronically and catalog these forthcoming titles entirely in an electronic environment.

The Library then transmits the completed bibliographic records via electronic mail to the publishers

so that the records can be readily photocomposed

and appear on the copyright page of the printed

books. Twenty-six publishers are now participating

in the ECIP (Electronic CIP) Pilot Project, which has

produced cataloging for 375 titles as of January. At

the same time, the ECIP Group is working to develop

a large-scale production system, with the first phase

scheduled for completion by this fall.

The CIP program at the Library has been a mainstay of U.S. library service for more than 20 years.

The program provides prepublication cataloging

records, or “CIP data,” for monographs published

in the United States and deemed most likely to be

widely acquired by the nation’s libraries. CIP cataloging is produced by the same expert Library staff

who catalog published books and meets the same

exacting standards of quality and authority control.

All CIP records include both Library of Congress and

Dewey Decimal classification numbers, so both academic and public libraries can use them in local catalogs with little or no adaptation. During fiscal 1995,

the Library provided cataloging in the CIP program

for 49,557 titles submitted by 3,878 publishers and

imprints.

Cataloging staff base the descriptive and subject

cataloging of a CIP title on an examination of front

matter and excerpts from the galley or manuscript

of the forthcoming book, which at present must be
THE NATIONAL DIGITAL LIBRARY PROGRAM

6 MARCH 1996

Aproject of the Law Library will soon

be available not only in cyberspace

but in space itself, thanks to a colNASA and the Library

of Congress—strange

bedfellows in space

laboration with the National Aeronautics and

Space Administration (NASA).

The Global Legal Information Network

(GLIN), currently available to its members via

the Internet, will be accessible

using a satellite dish in nations

not wired to the Internet. “Wireless GLIN” would require a satellite dish about the size of a

pizza.

The agreement will present a

win-win situation for the Library and NASA,

says Nick Kozura, GLIN program manager,

who is working under the direction of Law Librarian and GLIN Program Director Rubens

Medina. “NASA has large bandwidth for delivering information around the globe,” he says.

“And the Library has tremendous content but

requires bandwidth connections.”

Rubens Medina,

right, Law

Librarian and

GLIN Program

Director, and

Nick Kozura,

GLIN program

manager, discuss

upgrades to the

network. Their

work with

NASA’s satellite

technology will

bring the GLIN

program to

locations not yet

wired to the

Internet.

GLOBAL LEGAL

INFORMATION

NETWORK

that GLIN has the most current hardware and

software combination available. Phase 2, Enhance, will run in parallel to Phase 1, and “is a

plan for how to move beyond making hardware

and software state-of-the-art. We also want to

introduce new software, hardware and telecommunications capabilities developed by NASA

and the Library,” says Mr. Kozura.

“We are getting access to some of the best

minds in advanced technology, with no monetary cost to the Library,” he added. “The partnership benefits both organizations by joining

resources, and we won’t just be producing

theory but ‘deliverables.’”

 As part of Phase 1, NASA is

helping the Law Library redesign

the GLIN homepage, which

should be finished sometime in

March. “The new homepage will

be elegant and graphics-oriented,” Mr. Kozura says. “But there will also be

a text-only version for those GLIN users without the recommended World Wide Web browser

technology.”

Speaking of technological requirements, Mr.

Kozura says that a nation can meet “minimum

GLIN client status requirements” for less than

$5,000 per client station. The World Bank has

agreed to work with the Law Library to help

continued on next page

Phase 1 of the plan, called Upgrade, will

make sure, with technical support from NASA,

Library of Congress photo by Yusef El-Amin
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

MARCH 1996 7

California

I

n “What Have We Learned? Where Are We

Going?” Suzanne Thorin, Associate Librarian and Coordinator of the National Digital Library Program, spoke about the program

she oversees during the opening plenary session of the third International Conference on

Hypermedia and Interactivity in Museums in

San Diego.

Ms. Thorin discussed how electronics, especially the Internet, have changed the way the

nation’s library does business and how its mission often overlaps with that of museums.

“Museum and library professionals and their

constituents often focus on institutional differences,” she said. “Traditionally, we hold museums responsible for acquiring, presenting and

interpreting objects that reflect a culture, and

we depend on libraries to acquire and disseminate information to individuals who must interpret the information for themselves or to others.”

Organized by an international committee

headed by David Bearman from the Archives

and Museum Informatics and Katherine Jones

Garmil from the Peabody Museum at Harvard

University, the October conference drew more

than 600 museum and library professionals as

well as representatives of the Ministries of CulAssociate Librarian speaks in San Diego

ture and Education

from 40 countries.

Eight individuals from

28 nations gave technical presentations, and

more than 50 museums and libraries

worldwide demonstrated multimedia

systems.

“Today, as we enter the electronic world, the

similarities between our organizations may be

more remarkable than the differences. Both museums and libraries collect and preserve objects

for society; we educate through interpretive

programs such as exhibitions; and we are both

custodians of culture for posterity.

“Museums and libraries are called upon to

defend their relevance to the administrations

and boards that give us operating funds and

to donors who can add critical financial support to our shrinking budgets,” she added.

 “When people can learn about our society

and its history and culture through collections

made available electronically, I believe we will

have taken a big step in showing our relevance

to society and to our democracy.”

 —Guy Lamolinara

 Public Affairs Office

The museum-library connection

Perhaps more

alike than

different,

museums and

libraries are

“both custodians

of culture for

posterity,”

according to

Suzanne Thorin,

Associate

Librarian.

ture, including hardware, software, telecommunications and skill levels and make recommendations.” Third, the nations send representatives from their GLIN team, including a lawyer and an information technology professional, to the Law Library for training, which

typically lasts four weeks.

According to Mr. Kozura, the partnership

with NASA will make it much easier for technologically underdeveloped nations to join

GLIN—helping the project achieve its “global”

promise.

 —Guy Lamolinara

 Public Affairs Office

fund GLIN projects in other nations. Negotiations are under way with the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and Islamic

Development Bank to achieve the same goal.

So far, 10 nations have been trained at the

Law Library and about 12 more are waiting for

training. Steps to GLIN membership include

requesting participation — “We haven’t had to

market GLIN,” says Mr. Kozura. Next, the Law

Library sends an “assessment team” to the interested country to look at its legal materials

for content, completeness and organization.

“We also look at their technological infrastruc-
THE NATIONAL DIGITAL LIBRARY PROGRAM

8 MARCH 1996

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

A PERIODIC REPORT FROM

THE NATIONAL DIGITAL LIBRARY PROGRAM

Reports will be published about 12 times a

year, using gift funds. Comments and

suggestions are welcome.

Editorial Direction

Suzanne Thorin, Associate Librarian

Office of the Librarian

202/707-5220; SUTH@LOC.GOV

Laura Campbell, Director

National Digital Library Program

202/707-3300; LCAM@LOC.GOV

Managing Editor

Caroline Krewson

202/707-5220; CKRE@LOC.GOV

Associate Editor

Guy Lamolinara

202/707-9217; GLAM@LOC.GOV

* World Wide Web Access

URL: http://lcweb.loc.gov/ndl/per.html

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In the Main

Reading Room

of the Library of

Congress—for

many the heart

of the Library—

Librarian of

Congress James

Billington

officially

welcomes

President

Clinton as he

prepares to sign

the historic

Telecommunications Act of

1996. Story

starts on page 1.

“Inventing a new nation required studying

a lot of past history in Jefferson’s time, and new

technologies can help us in our own time to

rediscover the old records and values that can

lead us on to new creativity. America’s free libraries keep democracy dynamic by using new

means to give more people more access to the

ever expanding body of human knowledge.”

Ending the proceedings with an inspirational message, Dr. Billington pointed to the top

of the dome in the room, nearly 160 feet above

his head. “There is a lovely lady looking down

on us today—as she has on readers for 100

years—from inside the cupola at the highest

point in this room. She is lifting back the veil

of ignorance and is called simply Human Understanding. May we and all our communications serve her well in the years that lie ahead.”

 —Guy Lamolinara

 Public Affairs Office

Telecommunications, from page 3

THIS REPORT

IS ON THE WEB*

Library of Congress photo by Erica Wissolik