From Reuters:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday criticised the efforts of Google Inc to build a massive digital library, saying the Internet should not be exempt from copyright laws.
In her weekly video podcast, before Tuesday’s opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair, Merkel appealed for more international cooperation on copyright protection and said her government opposed [...]
Archive of entries posted on October 2009
Merkel criticises Google for copyright infringement
New York Time Op-Ed Column by Sergey Brin – A Library to Last Forever
From the New York Times:
There has been some debate about the settlement, and many groups have offered their opinions, both for and against. I would like to take this opportunity to dispel some myths about the agreement and to share why I am proud of this undertaking.
States urged to create data catalogs
From Government Computer News:
Federal agencies shouldn’t be the only ones to open their data for the public — states and local governments should also be ramping up efforts to become more transparent, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) contends in a newly published report.
The first thing a state should do is create [...]
New SPARC Guide Reviews Income Models for Supporting Open Access Journals
From the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition:
“Who pays for Open Access?” is a key question faced by publishers, authors, and libraries as awareness and interest in free, immediate, online access to scholarly research increases. SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) examines the issue of sustainability for current and prospective open-access publishers in [...]
Legal delays have blown a hole in UK’s digital heritage
From the Guardian:
. . . Digital literature, online scientific research and internet journalism that should have been saved in the nation’s main libraries over the past five years may have been lost because ministers have failed to give them the legal power to copy and archive websites, the Guardian has learned.
Senior executives at the British [...]
Obama Sides with Republicans; PATRIOT Act Renewal Bill Passes Senate Judiciary Committee Minus Critical Civil Liberties Reforms
From the Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Well, it looks like most of the Senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee weren’t swayed by this morning’s New York Times editorial, which cited this morning’s Committee meeting to consider USA PATRIOT Act renewal as a “critical chance to add missing civil liberties and privacy protections, address known abuses and trim [...]
Google Books and Copyright: The Status Conference (Oct 7, 2009)
Kenneth Crews, Director of the Copyright Advisory Office at Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, attended the hearing. Read his account.
Amended Google Deal Targeted for November 9
From Publishers Weekly:
At a status conference held in a crowded New York courtroom this morning, lawyers representing the AAP and Authors Guild told judge Denny Chin they will file an amended agreement with the court by November 9 to address the many concerns raised by the original Google Book Search Settlement.
The new agreement will include specific [...]
OMB Launches Opening Salvo on Performance Overhaul
From OMB Watch:
OMB Director Peter Orszag released a memo to the heads of executive departments and agencies this morning announcing a new initiative in the FY 2011 budget process that seeks to bring increased emphasis and resources for program evaluation within agencies. The memo outlines three parts to this initial effort.
White House, GPO and NARA Collaborate on Release of XML Version of Federal Register
From AALL’s Washington Blawg:
On Monday, the White House announced the official launch of the XML version of the Federal Register (FR), now available from 2000 to the present through GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys), the Federal Register Web site and Data.gov. . .
. . . There are important distinctions between the XML versions available on [...]