- Email: [email protected]
Information policy
INFORMATION POLICY edited by Peter Hernon
and Robert E. Dugan
A Review of a Resource about the Emerging Information Infrastructure: Or, Documents the Old Fashion Way-Printed by Robert E. Dugan and Joan Cheverie
nformation Infrastructure Sourcebook, edited by Brian Kahin. version 4.0, three volumes. Cambridge, MA: Information Infrastructure Project [of the] Science, Technology and Public Policy Program [in the] Center for Science and International Affairs [at the] John F’.Kennedy School of Government [at] Harvard University, August 15, 1994. The Information Infrastructure Sourcebook is a three volume cumulating compilation of printed resources written or otherwise developed by the major public and private sector players in the emerging digital information infrastructure. It is a useful, but difficult to use, resource; while many of the sources included may be found elsewhere, it would take considerable effort to re-gather the contents of these volumes.
I
The Information Infrastructure Project at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and its director, Brian Kahin who also serves as editor for this resource, may be little known to some in library and information science. As an introduction (stated in each of the three volumes), the Project “explores and elucidates issues around the emerging digital information infrastructure.” “The Project works to increase issue awareness and understanding among policymakers, executives, economists, lawyers, scientists, and others who can contribute to constructive debate and policy development.” In addition to this publication, the Project holds workshops and symposia on issues such as state-level strategies for building information infrastructure; intellectual property in a networked environment; and public access to the Internet. Furthermore, “the Project has developed a Kennedy School course on information infrastructure, and it convenes the bimonthly Information Infrastructure Forum in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Annenberg Washington Program.” “Areas of work in progress include policy design and strategic framework for the National Information Infrastructure initiative, standards development and information infrastructure, the role of the Internet in the NII [national information infrastructure], the economics of information infrastructure, comparative national policy initiatives, international issues in the development of the Global Information Infrastructure, and digital libraries.” Support for Project activities is received from Robert E. Dugan is Associate
Librarian, Lauinger Library,
University, 3 700 0 Street, NW. Government
200
Documents
The Journal
loan Cheverie
and Microforms,
of Academic
Georgetown
Washington, D.C. 2005 7
Librarianship
Lauinger
is Head of Library
foundations, several information technology corporations, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), among others. The Resource Volume I (692 pages) is divided into four sections: “Official Documents,” “Vision Statements and Position Papers,” “Program & Project Descriptions,” and “Directories.” “Official Documents” is inclusive of federal government documents from the executive and legislative branches. Apparently the editor’s intent of this section is to identify/define the federal government’s role in information infrastructure via the documents included. Several are excerpts from the full document; all are arranged chronologically from the most recent to the earliest. Documents hail from the Executive Office of the President and Office of Science and Technology Policy, and include Presidential documents such as the budget, executive memoranda, and executive orders; circulars from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); and public laws such as 102385, Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992. After a blank transitional page, the next section broadens the federal government scope found in “Official Documents” to “Vision Statements and Position Papers” from information technology and communications corporations such as AT&T, Cable Television Laboratories; and the Regional Bell Operating Companies. Associations and councils such as Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility; Computer Systems Policy Project; Council on Competitiveness; Information Industry Association; American Library Association; and the Information Technology Association of America, among others, are also included. The federal government is represented in this section by white papers, such as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce’s Administrative White Paper on Communications Act Reforms. Inclusion of this particular document in the “Visions” section rather than in the “Official Documents,” illustrates that the editor thought carefully while assigning a source’s location among the varying sections of the three volumes. Another blank transitional page precedes “Program & Project Descriptions:” information infrastructure projects undertaken and/or sponsored or solicited by the source’s author/ organization. This section is unique among the three volumes for its inclusion of sources from state government (Iowa) and international organizations (European Council, Canada, and Singapore). Federal projects described are from the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), NIST, the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), and the Department of Commerce. Other descriptions are from
such entities as the American Enterprise Institute, the National Science Foundation, and Smart Valley, Inc. The final section of Volume I includes two directories: an alphabetical listing of several (but not all) of the contributors to the sourcebook and participants in the Harvard Information Infrastructure Forum; and a state-by-state directory of public service/utilities commissions and the title of the report (if any) published by states related to telecommunications and information infrastructure. Reports Volume II (“Reports”591 pages) is inclusive of studies and reports of federal government legislative committees, task forces and commissions, and one private association (EDUCOM). Federal entities represented include the Information Infrastructure Task Force (in the Department of Commerce); Congressional Budget Office; Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress; OTA; Department of Commerce; National Commission on Libraries and Information Science; and the Federal Communications Commission. Many of the reports are the minutes of committees which in most cases add little to the Information Infrastructure Project’s mission of “increasing issue awareness” other than to identify who attended the meetings. Long reports, such as OTA’s Informing the Nation and Critical Connections: Communication for the Future are represented by executive summaries and excerpts of report chapters. Someone perusing Volume II may conclude that only the federal government had written any reports about information infrastructure; reports from technology corporations such as Bell Atlantic and IBM are not included. Sources Sources in Volume III (508 pages) as in Volume II, are representative of a single genre: in this volume, it is “Proposed Legislation.” The only source in this volume which is not “federal legislation” is the report from Library of Congress Selected Legislation in the 103rd Congress Related to Electronic Information Delivery It summarizes federal legislation as identified and included in the contents of the report. The volume is heavily populated with legislative committee reports which are useful in understanding the legislative intent of the committee. Organization and Layout of the Resource While this is a valuable compilation inclusive of many sources, its organization has some inadequacies which can be addressed by the editor in subsequent versions. For example, the editor does not define the criteria or discuss the intent for inclusion (or exclusion) of sources in each section, especially in Volume I. It would be helpful if the editor explained why the volumes and sources are organized as they are. Also unexplained is how the editor compiled the sources; did the Project identify important sources and solicit their inclusion from the authoring entity, or did the authoring entity forward the source to the Project for inclusion? A more serious problem is the lack of organized access to the sources among the three volumes. A table of contents serves as the only access point for each volume; there is no unified table of contents for all three volumes. The resource also lacks an index or any appendices which may have been included to assist the compilation’s users locate a source. It may have been the editor’s intention that each volume stand alone. Each volume has separate page numbering (located at bottom center on a portrait-oriented page); that is, the contents for Volume II start at page 1 rather than continuing the page numbers from Volume 1.
Other than referring to the compilation’s page numbers, there is little, if any, transition between individual sources, especially in Volume I. A change in typeface or font point size provided a visible clue that one source had ended and another begun. The occasional bibliographic citation or other information inserted by the editor to identify the source was noticeable only because it appeared in a different font or its page orientation was different than that of the source. Fortunately, the practice of including the cover pages from the sources increased in Volumes II and III. Physically, it appears that each source compiled into this resource is a photocopy of the original document; photographs and charts and graphs are included as are the original page layouts of each source. The page numbering system used in the original source remains; therefore, a reader may find two page numbers (the original source’s and the compilation’s) on each page. Retaining the original’s format makes it easier and more enjoyable to peruse the compilation. Unfortunately, dark photographs from the original sources did not photocopy well; they became even darker. Therefore, in some cases, the photographs and charts are difficult to read. Most, if not all, of the sources have been photocopiedreduced in size so that the compilation’s pages are often laid-out in a “landscaped-oriented” format (11’ by 8.5”). As a result, two pages of the original source appear on one page of the compilation. This layout may be the effort of the editor to include as many sources in this compilation as possible. Most of the time the photocopied-and reduced source documents are still very readable (font and point size still acceptable). So, Could I Find These Sources Elsewhere? In short, yes and no. Many, but not all of the sources found in the sections, “Official Documents,” “Reports,” and “Proposed Legislation,” could also be found in one of the nearly 1,400 federal depository libraries located throughout the country. This is especially true if the U.S. Government Printing Office is listed in the imprint portion of the citation. These Federal depositories provide free and open access to such documents as the congressional bills and laws, the Federal Register, and agency publications from OTA, the Department of Commerce, and the Congressional Budget Office. Likewise, these legislative and executive branch documents could also be found in the LexisLVexis system, especially the Legislative documents. However since LexisLVexis is an expensive system, most subscribing libraries restrict access to their primary clientele only. A search of FedworZd, the National Technical Information Service’s (NTIS) database, yielded a few citations. However, full texts would need to be ordered from NTIS for a fee. The sources included in the “Vision Statements and Position Papers” and the “Program & Project Descriptions” are more elusive. These various documents from information technology and communications corporations do not appear to have been officially published and, most probably, exist as either white papers or internal use documents. A search of several electronic sources such as the Information Infrastructure Task Force gopher and the gopher put up by the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility yielded disappointing results. For these sections, the Informatibn Infrastructure Sourcebook provides unique access to these documents. Summary Despite the organizational problems identified concerning this resource (lack of access because of the lack of a unified
May 1995
201
table of contents), it would be even more difficult to identify, locate, and retrieve from elsewhere the documents and other sources compiled into these three volumes. Knowledge of the existence of this resource may not be widespread; this three volume set was not found in Books in Print (BIP+) as of February 1995; it has no ISBN or LCCN. The frontispiece states only that single copies are available for $85 [but it is unclear as to from whom] and “also” available from Computer Literacy Bookshops in San Jose, CA and Tyson’s Comer, VA. The contents of the versions up through and including 4.0 have cumulated: sources have not been dropped from succes-
202
The Journal
of Academic
Librarianship
sive versions. Therefore, it is not necessary to acquire versions 1.0 through 3.0. The editor’s letter at the beginning of each of the three volumes state that the “Sourcebook is designed to document policy development for information infrastructure and to serve as a compact reference for planners and policymakers in all sectors.” This “compact” three volume resource of almost 1,800 pages is not going to easily fit into but the largest of briefcases. But it should be considered for inclusion in any collection which intends to provide its users with sources of, and about, the nation’s information infrastructure.
and Robert E. Dugan
A Review of a Resource about the Emerging Information Infrastructure: Or, Documents the Old Fashion Way-Printed by Robert E. Dugan and Joan Cheverie
nformation Infrastructure Sourcebook, edited by Brian Kahin. version 4.0, three volumes. Cambridge, MA: Information Infrastructure Project [of the] Science, Technology and Public Policy Program [in the] Center for Science and International Affairs [at the] John F’.Kennedy School of Government [at] Harvard University, August 15, 1994. The Information Infrastructure Sourcebook is a three volume cumulating compilation of printed resources written or otherwise developed by the major public and private sector players in the emerging digital information infrastructure. It is a useful, but difficult to use, resource; while many of the sources included may be found elsewhere, it would take considerable effort to re-gather the contents of these volumes.
I
The Information Infrastructure Project at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and its director, Brian Kahin who also serves as editor for this resource, may be little known to some in library and information science. As an introduction (stated in each of the three volumes), the Project “explores and elucidates issues around the emerging digital information infrastructure.” “The Project works to increase issue awareness and understanding among policymakers, executives, economists, lawyers, scientists, and others who can contribute to constructive debate and policy development.” In addition to this publication, the Project holds workshops and symposia on issues such as state-level strategies for building information infrastructure; intellectual property in a networked environment; and public access to the Internet. Furthermore, “the Project has developed a Kennedy School course on information infrastructure, and it convenes the bimonthly Information Infrastructure Forum in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Annenberg Washington Program.” “Areas of work in progress include policy design and strategic framework for the National Information Infrastructure initiative, standards development and information infrastructure, the role of the Internet in the NII [national information infrastructure], the economics of information infrastructure, comparative national policy initiatives, international issues in the development of the Global Information Infrastructure, and digital libraries.” Support for Project activities is received from Robert E. Dugan is Associate
Librarian, Lauinger Library,
University, 3 700 0 Street, NW
200
Documents
The Journal
loan Cheverie
and Microforms,
of Academic
Georgetown
Washington, D.C. 2005 7
Librarianship
Lauinger
is Head of Library
foundations, several information technology corporations, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), among others. The Resource Volume I (692 pages) is divided into four sections: “Official Documents,” “Vision Statements and Position Papers,” “Program & Project Descriptions,” and “Directories.” “Official Documents” is inclusive of federal government documents from the executive and legislative branches. Apparently the editor’s intent of this section is to identify/define the federal government’s role in information infrastructure via the documents included. Several are excerpts from the full document; all are arranged chronologically from the most recent to the earliest. Documents hail from the Executive Office of the President and Office of Science and Technology Policy, and include Presidential documents such as the budget, executive memoranda, and executive orders; circulars from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); and public laws such as 102385, Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992. After a blank transitional page, the next section broadens the federal government scope found in “Official Documents” to “Vision Statements and Position Papers” from information technology and communications corporations such as AT&T, Cable Television Laboratories; and the Regional Bell Operating Companies. Associations and councils such as Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility; Computer Systems Policy Project; Council on Competitiveness; Information Industry Association; American Library Association; and the Information Technology Association of America, among others, are also included. The federal government is represented in this section by white papers, such as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce’s Administrative White Paper on Communications Act Reforms. Inclusion of this particular document in the “Visions” section rather than in the “Official Documents,” illustrates that the editor thought carefully while assigning a source’s location among the varying sections of the three volumes. Another blank transitional page precedes “Program & Project Descriptions:” information infrastructure projects undertaken and/or sponsored or solicited by the source’s author/ organization. This section is unique among the three volumes for its inclusion of sources from state government (Iowa) and international organizations (European Council, Canada, and Singapore). Federal projects described are from the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), NIST, the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), and the Department of Commerce. Other descriptions are from
such entities as the American Enterprise Institute, the National Science Foundation, and Smart Valley, Inc. The final section of Volume I includes two directories: an alphabetical listing of several (but not all) of the contributors to the sourcebook and participants in the Harvard Information Infrastructure Forum; and a state-by-state directory of public service/utilities commissions and the title of the report (if any) published by states related to telecommunications and information infrastructure. Reports Volume II (“Reports”591 pages) is inclusive of studies and reports of federal government legislative committees, task forces and commissions, and one private association (EDUCOM). Federal entities represented include the Information Infrastructure Task Force (in the Department of Commerce); Congressional Budget Office; Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress; OTA; Department of Commerce; National Commission on Libraries and Information Science; and the Federal Communications Commission. Many of the reports are the minutes of committees which in most cases add little to the Information Infrastructure Project’s mission of “increasing issue awareness” other than to identify who attended the meetings. Long reports, such as OTA’s Informing the Nation and Critical Connections: Communication for the Future are represented by executive summaries and excerpts of report chapters. Someone perusing Volume II may conclude that only the federal government had written any reports about information infrastructure; reports from technology corporations such as Bell Atlantic and IBM are not included. Sources Sources in Volume III (508 pages) as in Volume II, are representative of a single genre: in this volume, it is “Proposed Legislation.” The only source in this volume which is not “federal legislation” is the report from Library of Congress Selected Legislation in the 103rd Congress Related to Electronic Information Delivery It summarizes federal legislation as identified and included in the contents of the report. The volume is heavily populated with legislative committee reports which are useful in understanding the legislative intent of the committee. Organization and Layout of the Resource While this is a valuable compilation inclusive of many sources, its organization has some inadequacies which can be addressed by the editor in subsequent versions. For example, the editor does not define the criteria or discuss the intent for inclusion (or exclusion) of sources in each section, especially in Volume I. It would be helpful if the editor explained why the volumes and sources are organized as they are. Also unexplained is how the editor compiled the sources; did the Project identify important sources and solicit their inclusion from the authoring entity, or did the authoring entity forward the source to the Project for inclusion? A more serious problem is the lack of organized access to the sources among the three volumes. A table of contents serves as the only access point for each volume; there is no unified table of contents for all three volumes. The resource also lacks an index or any appendices which may have been included to assist the compilation’s users locate a source. It may have been the editor’s intention that each volume stand alone. Each volume has separate page numbering (located at bottom center on a portrait-oriented page); that is, the contents for Volume II start at page 1 rather than continuing the page numbers from Volume 1.
Other than referring to the compilation’s page numbers, there is little, if any, transition between individual sources, especially in Volume I. A change in typeface or font point size provided a visible clue that one source had ended and another begun. The occasional bibliographic citation or other information inserted by the editor to identify the source was noticeable only because it appeared in a different font or its page orientation was different than that of the source. Fortunately, the practice of including the cover pages from the sources increased in Volumes II and III. Physically, it appears that each source compiled into this resource is a photocopy of the original document; photographs and charts and graphs are included as are the original page layouts of each source. The page numbering system used in the original source remains; therefore, a reader may find two page numbers (the original source’s and the compilation’s) on each page. Retaining the original’s format makes it easier and more enjoyable to peruse the compilation. Unfortunately, dark photographs from the original sources did not photocopy well; they became even darker. Therefore, in some cases, the photographs and charts are difficult to read. Most, if not all, of the sources have been photocopiedreduced in size so that the compilation’s pages are often laid-out in a “landscaped-oriented” format (11’ by 8.5”). As a result, two pages of the original source appear on one page of the compilation. This layout may be the effort of the editor to include as many sources in this compilation as possible. Most of the time the photocopied-and reduced source documents are still very readable (font and point size still acceptable). So, Could I Find These Sources Elsewhere? In short, yes and no. Many, but not all of the sources found in the sections, “Official Documents,” “Reports,” and “Proposed Legislation,” could also be found in one of the nearly 1,400 federal depository libraries located throughout the country. This is especially true if the U.S. Government Printing Office is listed in the imprint portion of the citation. These Federal depositories provide free and open access to such documents as the congressional bills and laws, the Federal Register, and agency publications from OTA, the Department of Commerce, and the Congressional Budget Office. Likewise, these legislative and executive branch documents could also be found in the LexisLVexis system, especially the Legislative documents. However since LexisLVexis is an expensive system, most subscribing libraries restrict access to their primary clientele only. A search of FedworZd, the National Technical Information Service’s (NTIS) database, yielded a few citations. However, full texts would need to be ordered from NTIS for a fee. The sources included in the “Vision Statements and Position Papers” and the “Program & Project Descriptions” are more elusive. These various documents from information technology and communications corporations do not appear to have been officially published and, most probably, exist as either white papers or internal use documents. A search of several electronic sources such as the Information Infrastructure Task Force gopher and the gopher put up by the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility yielded disappointing results. For these sections, the Informatibn Infrastructure Sourcebook provides unique access to these documents. Summary Despite the organizational problems identified concerning this resource (lack of access because of the lack of a unified
May 1995
201
table of contents), it would be even more difficult to identify, locate, and retrieve from elsewhere the documents and other sources compiled into these three volumes. Knowledge of the existence of this resource may not be widespread; this three volume set was not found in Books in Print (BIP+) as of February 1995; it has no ISBN or LCCN. The frontispiece states only that single copies are available for $85 [but it is unclear as to from whom] and “also” available from Computer Literacy Bookshops in San Jose, CA and Tyson’s Comer, VA. The contents of the versions up through and including 4.0 have cumulated: sources have not been dropped from succes-
202
The Journal
of Academic
Librarianship
sive versions. Therefore, it is not necessary to acquire versions 1.0 through 3.0. The editor’s letter at the beginning of each of the three volumes state that the “Sourcebook is designed to document policy development for information infrastructure and to serve as a compact reference for planners and policymakers in all sectors.” This “compact” three volume resource of almost 1,800 pages is not going to easily fit into but the largest of briefcases. But it should be considered for inclusion in any collection which intends to provide its users with sources of, and about, the nation’s information infrastructure.