What Do We Want From the Next Librarian of Congress? | Electronic Frontier Foundation

"There's a reason 'librarians everywhere' were singled out for an EFF Pioneer award in 2000. Time and again, in fights against censorship and intrusive surveillance laws, librarians have been allies of the public, serving as the institutional representation of the ideals of intellectual freedom, unfettered speech, and reader privacy. Outgoing Librarian Dr. James Billington examines a rare book. Users need allies like that in the federal government—and they now have a chance to get a new one. The position of Librarian of Congress—the United States' top librarian role—has opened up for the first time in 28 years. President Obama should fill that spot with a candidate that has a strong record of supporting core library values and can help ensure that those values are fully realized in the digital age. Unfortunately Dr. James Billington, who's been in that office for nearly three decades, has not been that kind of librarian. He’s come under heavy criticism in recent years, in part because he has not provided the technical leadership to bring the library into the 21st century. That criticism is likely underscored by his personal technological preferences, such as communicating with his staff largely via fax. A re-energized, 21st century Library under a new Librarian could do all kinds of practical good. For example:    [1] It could redouble its efforts to digitize its collection and make it accessible online. The Library of Congress has an amazing collection, including vast stores of public domain works, but you still have to go to DC to explore most of it ... [2] It could do a better job of overseeing and supporting the Copyright Office, which is responsible for maintaining records of copyright registrations and is an influential voice in the crafting, and even interpretation, of copyright policy ...[3] It could improve access to the Congressional Research Service, which produces non-partisan informational reports for legislators. Those reports are tremendously valuable to the public, but they are only inconsistently available—there is no centralized public collection or catalog ..."