NCC News, March 1987

Selection of Archivist

As we go to press, the White House Personnel Office has not forwarded to the Senate the name of a nominee for US Archi­vist. Since there is a possibility that the selection process may be beginning anew, the NCC member organizations have formed a special seven-member committee to produce a short list of persons who would be of the calibre appropriate for US Archivist.

While the NCC member organiza­tions during the past two years have discussed names of possible candidates for Archivist, the major initiative of the NCC on the issue of the selection of an Archivist has been the development of a position paper on the desired qualifica­tions for US Archivist. The members of the NCC special committee to consid­er suggestions for the position of US Archivist are: Stanley Katz, president, American Council of Learned Societies; Rabbi Malcolm Stern, representative of the genealogical community on the Blue Ribbon Panel that recommended Rob­ert Warner as US Archivist; Shonnie Finnegan, university archivist at SUNY at Buffalo and past president of the Society of American Archivists; Richard Leopold, former chair of the Archives Advisory Council; Philip Buchen, a member of the Committee on the Rec­ords of Government and former chief counsel to President Ford; Ernest May, history professor at Harvard and chair of the Committee on the Records of Government; and Robert Middlekauff, director of the Huntington Library.

Nixon Papers

On January 30 the Federal Register published a notice an­nouncing the proposed opening on May 4 of the Nixon White House Special Files. The files consist of 1.5 million pages of staff and office files as well as selected subjects from the Confidential Files of the White House Central Files. The President’s Office and Personal Files are included in their entirety. This is the same body of records that the National Archives tried unsuccessfully to make available to the public in 1983. A suit filed by twenty-nine members of the Nixon Administration halted the opening.

Federal Depository Librar­ies Face Crisis

Fourteen hundred libraries participate in the Depository Library Program. The program serves as an effective way of ensuring that there are collections of government doc­uments geographically dispersed throughout the country. A cooperative program, Congress appropriates money to the Government Printing Office to reproduce extra copies of publications for the depository libraries. The librar­ies contribute space, staff, and equip­ment to house and service the collection.

Last fall, however, the head of the Government Printing Office announced that due to budgetary restraints, a large portion of the material previously sent to depository libraries in a paper format would now be available only in micro­fiche. The material for the depository libraries targeted for the shift to micro­fiche included the frequently used Fed­eral Register and the Congressional Record. There has been a strong negative reac­tion from the depository community to the particular material targetted, to the short notice given, and to the lack of consultation with the depository librar­ies. Due to a strong outpouring of oppo­sition, the plan is now on hold.

For some time the depository libraries have had problems with omitted publi­cations and significant delays in getting materials. Thus the conversion from paper to microfiche is viewed as simply a part of escalating problems. Congres­sional hearings later this month on the appropriation for the Depository Li­brary Program will address the issues of alternative formats of deliveries and the future of the program. It should be noted that the Administration’s budget request for the Depository Library Pro­ gram is less for FY’88 than it was in FY’87.

Hearings Scheduled on Computer Security Bill

Last fall John M. Poindexter, then National Se­curity Adviser, signed policy guidelines, to be implemented immediately by fed­eral agencies, to restrict the release of a broad range of government informa­tion that is unclassified but considered “sensitive.” The directive specifically at­ tempts to restrict access to government and commercial electronic data bases. Data-base services that would be affect­ ed  by the directive  include Mead Data Central’s NEXIS, which provides online searches of texts of several hundred newspapers and magazines. The Poin­dexter directive states: “sensitive, but unclassified information, is information the disclosure, loss, misuse, alteration, or destruction of which could adversely affect national security or other federal government interests.”

Representative Jack Brooks (D-TX), chair of the House Committee on Gov­ernment Operations, will be holding hearings at the end of February on H.R. 145, a Computer Security Bill, which would place oversight for control of electronic data-base security with the National Bureau of Standards and not the National Security Council or the Defense Department.

Administration Proposes Cuts for Student Aid in FY ’88

The proposed budget of the Adminis­tration recommends cuts of almost 50 percent in student aid programs, in­cluding abolition  of   College Work­ Study, Supplemental Educational Op­portunity Grants, National Direct Student Loans, and State Student Incentive Grants. Additionally, Pell Grants would be restricted primarily to students with family incomes under $15,000.

Women’s History Month

This year instead of Congressional resolu­tions to commemorate “Women’s His­ tory Week,” the focus is on “Women’s History Month.” On January 8 Repre­sentative Barbara Boxer (D-CA) intro­duced H.J. Res. 79 and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) followed suit on January 20  with  a  parallel  resolution, S.J. Res. 20. After recalling numerous aspects of women’s contributions to the growth and strength of the nation, these resolu­tions conclude: “Whereas, despite these contributions, the role of American women in history has been consistently overlooked and undervalued in the body of American history: Now, there, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled, that the month of March 1987 is designated ‘Women’s History Month,’ and the Pres­ident is requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe such month with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”