In comments submitted April 7, 2014, the Alliance for Excellent Education called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to modernize the federal E-rate program in order to lay the foundation for expanding the program through increased funding. These comments are in response to an E-rate Public Notice issued by the FCC on March 6, 2014…

This hearing before the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventh Congress, focuses on the e-rate and filtering, on the Children's Internet Protection Act, otherwise known as "CIPA" or "CHIPA." On April 20, CHIPA is to be…

The roles of libraries in providing access to the Internet are still evolving, but such roles raise policy issues that are both significant and complex. A flexible and dynamic policy is needed to respond to the different access needs of various users. Market forces alone will not provide equal access to the Internet, and many public institutions…

This hearing focused on S. 2195, the National Public Telecommunications Infrastructure Act of 1994, which would guarantee that noncommercial and public interest groups would have a place reserved on the information superhighway for the provision of free educational, informational, cultural, civic, or charitable services to the public. It was noted…

The purpose of this congressional hearing was to determine how libraries fit into the emerging national information infrastructure (NII). Testimony and prepared statements include those from Howard F. McGinn, Director, Emporia Public Library, Emporia, Kansas; James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.,…

Explores several issues involving provisions of the Australian copyright law that allow for "fair dealing for the purpose of research and study" in the use of copyrighted materials. Discusses liability of libraries for improper oversight of illegal photocopying of books and other copyrighted materials. Reviews recent efforts to improve…

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) appointed a Joint Board to recommend changes in existing FCC rules to fulfill the regulatory mandates of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The Joint Board, which consists of three FCC commissioners, four State commissioners, and one consumer advocate, issued its recommendations to the FCC in a 500-page…

This Congressional hearing transcript presents testimony on how to best combat the risk of copyright infringement facing content providers on the Internet. The Internet enables users to reproduce perfectly and distribute globally copies of the digital works that represent some of the most valuable products of American creativity. While some of…