Second Section
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1988
A question of power and knowledge
Easy access to public information being limited to those with money
"A popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Faree or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own Governors must arm themselves with power which knowledge gives."
1895: Printing Act makes it possible for additional categories of information to be distributed to depository libraries. 1962: The Depository Library Act strengthens the relationship between the government and the libraries.
1869: Superintendent of Documents position established to distribute public documents.
1812: Congress proposes a Federal Depository Library Program.
1859: Congress formally authorizes the depository 1869.
History of Public Access to Government Information
1985: The Office of Management and Budget directs government agencies to rely more on the private sector to distribute government information.
1980: Privatization begins with the Paperwork Reduction Act. 1984: Presidential Counselor Edwin Meese III announces the elimination of more than 1,800 government publications.
depository program.
"We have a depositary program through the Government Printing Office that sends us documents free," Koepp said. "The more information that is taken over by private companies, the more we will have to buy."
1986: OMB solicits comments on the privatization of the National Technical Information Service; 88 percent of the responses are negative.
LeAnn Weller, head of the Engineering Library, said privatization inverably raises the price of information because companies repackage it and sell it for profit, much as a commercial publisher does. NTIS operates on a cost-recovery basis.
Two students are doing research. One can afford the $10-80 computer service that allows him to quickly search files for government information. The other can't afford the service, so must manually search a printed index for the same information.
recovery basis.
Weller objects to paying for information she has already paid for as a taxayer.
Librarians say it's a situation that could result if government information that was previously free in the public is privatized.
same information.
The result: The student with more money has easier and quicker access to information.
"If it's electronic information, we need hardware to have access to it. Smaller colleges and public libraries might not be able to afford that hardware, so they may charge user fees.
tions to the private. However, librarians fear that privatization could result in less available information, information in less convenient formats, fewer breakthroughs in technology and the undermining of the democratic process.
By Barbara Joseph Kansan staff writer
The move toward privatization began in the early 1980s as an effort to reduce government paperwork, save space, cut costs and shift more government functions to the private sector.
Privatization is when a private company takes over a government function for profit — in this case, distributing government information.
—James Madison,
in a letter to W.T. Barry, Aug. 4, 1822
Government information includes everything from such commonly used items as U.S. Census Bureau data to such esoteric items as assets, it is. It is handled on labor and it is the Smithsonian Institute studies and maps put out by the U.S. Geological Survey.
1987: Reagan recomends NTIS be privatized.
change us. Our users won't be able to afford the fees. Then we have a situation in which only the rich can afford information. It would further divide our society between rich and poor."
U. S. Geological "It is information by anywhere from two to 2,000 people." said丹 Barkley, assistant librarian at the Government Documents and Maps Library.
Donna Koepp, head of the Government Documents and Maps Library, further explained privatization.
ret and po- KU librarians wrote close to 100 letters during the last two years protesting a proposal to privatize the National Technical Information Service, which distributes governmental scientific and technical studies.
On Aug. 23, the U.S. House and Senate enacted legislation preventing the privatization of NTIS.
1988: August, Reagan signs the Trade Bill, NTIS is prevented from becoming privatized.
Historically, NTIS has distributed some government information free to federal depository libraries, companies and individuals. The KU Government Documents and Maps Library is the only regional federal depository library in the State. It receives all information published for the public. The Law Library is a federal depository library without the regional status. Librarians there receive only selected government documents.
The cost generated by privatization is one of the prime concerns of librarians.
librarians.
Barkley cited as an example a Presidential Commission Study on Overseas Life in America. Previously the government distributed that report free; now it is available only through Island Press for $35
not as she was, following the example:
The Department of Education does a study of schools which it sells to a private vendor. The vendor attaches a preface and a cover, then sells that repackaged information to libraries and other interested parties at a public support studies bureau tax payee. But because the Department of Education with their tax dollars, they are paying twice to receive that information.
by islanders through Ireland.
The effect of prior information availability is also represented by the LEGI-SLATE system at the Government Documents and Maps Library. LEGI-SLATE is owned by The Washington Post, which buys information about legislation and White House briefs, then sells it in computer format. The library has the system on a pilot project basis until Dec. 31. The cost for a year's subscription? $2,000.
ans fear private sector. "It's scary to think the private sector may give us less information than the government does because it may not be profitable," Koeppe said.
Kevin Shea said private companies may not want to publish and distribute some highly technical information if only a few people need it.
Decreasing availability of information is another reason librarians fear privatization.
"GPO generally makes materials less available than they used to be and in formats that give the public tess access." Schanck said.
If University privatization may also affect the firm that information comes in, said Peter Schank, director of the Law Library and professor of law. Schank cited as an example the Congressional Record and the Code of Federal Regulations now on microfiche. Not only is format not as easily used, but special equipment is required. Both items are basic to the study of law.
It's not always easy to link decreased availability of information to privatization. Koepp said. For example, government agencies have been instructed to cut down on paperwork to save money, so they generate fewer reports.
Stephen Kline/KANSAN
Nor is it easy to say how much privatization is costing libraries, Koepp said. This is a transition period where information that is free from the government one dav
process to work, people need as much information as possible about their government."
about trusts.
Robert D. Hanson, vice president of LEGI SLATE, Inc., in Washington, D.C. agrees that government information should be free to the public. But the issue is not privatization. It is whether the
may be privatized the next day.
For Barkley, privatization of government information threatens
the entire democratic process.
"The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 eliminated a lot of government documents completely." Barkley said. "It runs counter to the National Information Policy on which this country was founded, which says that for the democratic
Please see FREE, p. 9B, col. 1
Librarians: No change is expected under Bush
By Barbara Joseph Kansan staff writer
Unless President-elect George Bush reverses the trend, most librarians believe government will continue to privatize information.
"I think there is a philosophy in the Reagan Administration since 1980 that the federal government is too big and that some things could be done by the private sector," said LeAnn Weller, head of KU's Engineering Library. "That's fine, but when you apply that to the information field, it's a bad philosophy."
Weller assumes that philosophy will remain in effect with Bush in power.
Donna Koepp, head of the Government Document and Maps Library, agrees.
"As long as the economy is in this state, privatization will be a problem," Koepp said. "A lot of impetus for privatization comes from the Office of Management and Budget. We'll have to see what new officers we get in there with the election."
Harold B. Shill, head librarian at Evansdale Library at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Va., and associate professor of library science is more hopeful about privatization of information.
"My guess is Bush will back off in pushing privatization," said Shill.
But he said libraries weren't the only agencies involved in privatization.
There is a trend toward privatizing prisons, liquor stores and city-run airports and sanitation services.
"You're going to continue to see a lot of privatization because the assumption is that the private sector can do it better than government," Shill said.
Lawrence lawyer fights for a better society
His cause is the American Indian
By Debbie McMahon Kansan staff writer
Lance Burr doesn't like a lot of things that are going on in the nation and the world. But he uses his concerns as fuel to try to change things.
"Nobody cares that I can't go out and hear the wolves and see coyotes." Burr said. "If you bring those things up, they think you're some kind of kook. Do we have the right to exterminate a whole species of animals?"
A member of the Lawrence Separate Our Recyclable Trash Committee, the 46-year-old Lawrence lawyer said respect for "Mother Earth" was an inherent part of the Indian way, which he has made part of his life.
His interest in American Indian cultures also spurred his action in protecting the sanctity of an Indian burial ground in Salina. Burr said the owner of the land dug the soil away from the bodies, shellacked them and charged people $1.50 to view the skeletons.
animals' and again the white culture has come in and created a situation which will produce our own doom"
will be passed in the 1896
He called the centralization of burial grounds a
"terrible aberrant thing."
"It is indicative of the callousness that mainstream America has expressed toward the Indian people," he said.
Lance Burr
Mike Elwell, a former judge in the District Court in Lawrence and Burr's friend and colleague, said that although Burr was emotional about some issues, society needed more people like him.
them and the man. During the 1985 legislative session, Burr proposed a bill that would, among other things, prevent someone from making money from human remains. He hopes it will be passed in the 1989 session.
He needed more people like him. "Too many of us get too busy with what we're doing." Elwell said. "He takes time to do the things he cares about."
"I like before they even broke ground at Wolf Creek
he was telling everybody that they'd be sorry, that the company wasn't telling the truth, that the consumer would have to pay for it (the plant) in their utility bill.
we have to pay for it the player in that game. "
'A lot of he's proven to be right, and we were just slow.'
just slow to catch on.
Although the demands of his profession don't allow Brentany to have he wants to devote to concerns such as the environment and American Indians, he considers himself lucky to be alive.
"I'm living on borrowed time anyway." Burr said. "I could have been killed in Vietnam like a lot of people
Burr was able to attend KU's School of Law instead of going to war after receiving his bachelor's degree in 1963. During his undergraduate years, he was captain of the KU tennis team that won two Big Eight Championships, and he was voted "Outstanding Senior" by his classmates.
my age. So every day is gravy for me."
by his clerk. From 1974 to 1976, Burr served as an assistant attorney general and chief of the state's consumer protection division. From 1974 to 1978, he was director of the Douglas County chapter of The Villages Inc., a.
non-profit organization founded by Karl Menninger. Burr helped start the Villages' first homes in Lawrence for dependent or neglected children.
lawrence for dependence of legal representation. He was defeated in his bid for state attorney general in 1962 but said he probably would run for public office again.
"I think it's every citizen's duty to be involved in their government," Burr said. "I'd rather not if I could get someone in office who would voice my views. I've always thought it would be a lot better if everyone got involved."
involved.
His private practice has been his full-time job since 1975, but Burr tries not to let the "rat race" of his legal career rule all his time.
His law office at 16 E. 13th St. is in one of the many houses in Lawrence he has saved from demolition and has renovated.
Gary Adams, a long-time friend of Burr's, said preserving historic Lawrence was one way Burr converted caring into action.
"Everything is kind of a hobby for him, even his work. He's a door; he's a leader." Adams said. "He's got principles, and he believes in them. He doesn't just speak about them; he acts upon them."
Fred Sik, a justice on the Kansas Supreme Court, has seen Burr work with people at the Capitol.
has been. I would listen to other friends and colleagues when they were in situations where they needed a good ear." Six said. "He has the wonderful quality of showing a sincere interest in you.
"He is quite sensitive and cares about the issues he involves himself in."
involves him in this.
One of those issues is the rights of American Indians. His work for their defense illustrates one of the reasons he is still practicing law.
"I practice law because I don't like bulles." Burr said. "The Indians have been grossly bullied. I don't think this country will ever truly be a great nation until it apologizes for destroying a culture.
"And civil poverty is alleviated on reservations, it's a hollow claim that America is the greatest country in the world. You're only as strong as your weakest link," he said.