In a message dated 4/19/2006 10:12:25 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
gjohnson@... writes:

Sent by the Library of Congress Guild to highlight the risk of
quasi-privatization of some of the LOC image archives.
- Greg Johnson



Your point is well taken, Greg, but we need to also to recognize that there
is another side of the coin. The article you cited was only one of many
articles on different aspects of SI _http://www.si.edu/_ (http://www.si.edu/)
(where you can sign up for a free e-letter or membership), including the debate
on the Showtime Deal, that have appeared in recent editions of
washingtonpost.com such as those listed at the bottom of this post. At least
one other
should also be read to place this particular debate in context:
"Washington's Museums: Worth the Price of Admission?"

_http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/12/AR2006041202127\
.html_
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/12/AR2006041202127\
.html)

The fact is that the Smithsonian, so far as I am aware, is the only museum
-- and it is MANY museums -- that is totally free to anyone. It is an
incredible national treasure and resource. And it isn't just museums but very
specialized research centers around the world, exhibits that travel around the
country _http://www.si.edu/exhibitions/traveling.htm_
(http://www.si.edu/exhibitions/traveling.htm) , affiliate museums around the
country that benefit from SI
_http://affiliations.si.edu/Default.asp?bhcp=1_
(http://affiliations.si.edu/Default.asp?bhcp=1) , etc. I don't know of another
one anywhere in the world
like it. Since we live inside "the Beltway" we frequently take visitors to the
Smithsonian and -- especially foreign visitors who really appreciate it --
are always amazed to learn that it is free. As I understand it, SI is funded by
a combination of ordinary membership fees, large organizational donations
and other philanthropists, and by Congress. With the current state of the
national budget -- we are all aware that the President's budget in the past 2
years has zeroed out any budget for NHPRC, a research funding arm of NARA that
does much in the area of electronic records research -- Congress is getting
stingier and stingier with the Smithsonian Institution. Not surprisingly, the
management of SI is constantly seeking ways to offset its operating needs with
ways to increase its revenue base.

Everybody loves free, and no one wants to see services diminished in any
way, but in tight budget times, something has to give somewhere. Perhaps if
more
of us became members ($29p.a. _http://www.si.edu/membership/_
(http://www.si.edu/membership/) ) it wouldn't be necessary to raise funds in
other ways.

Regards,

Rick

Rick Barry
_www.mybestdocs.com_ (http://www.mybestdocs.com/)
Cofounder, Open Reader Consortium
_www.openreader.org_ (http://www.openreader.org)


1. _Smithsonian Investigating Its Sales Division's Salaries _
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/AR2006041801944\
.html)
Jacqueline Trescott, C01 (Post)...Smithsonian's Office of the Inspector
General is looking into the executive compensation and accounting practices of
Smithsonian Business Ventures, the division of the institution that operates
its retail and publishing enterprises.Inspector General Debra Ritt notified
SBV Chief Executive Officer...
2. _Ken Burns Gives Voice to Filmmakers' Concerns _
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/AR2006041801882\
.html)
C03 (Post) ...conference room of a Washington think tank yesterday,
filmmaker Ken Burns passionately described his affection for the Smithsonian
Institution and the vast array of historical materials in its archives. Then he
just
as sternly rebuked the Smithsonian for developing...
3. _End Smithsonian-Showtime Deal, Filmmakers and Historians Ask _
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701820\
.html)
Jacqueline Trescott, C02 (Post) More than 200 filmmakers and historians
asked the Smithsonian Institution yesterday to abandon its production deal with
Showtime Networks and reconsider a recently imposed policy that limits access
to...
4. _To Bring a Touch of the Great Outdoors Inside, Consider a Cutting Garden
_
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/14/AR2006041400759\
.html) Joel M. Lerner, F16 (Post) ...flowers in her house at all times
was so important that when she bequeathed Hillwood, her Washington estate, to
the Smithsonian Institution in 1973, she stipulated that fresh flowers
should always be on display. So the gardens at Hillwood continue to grow...
5. _Smithsonian-Showtime Deal Worries Groups _
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/14/AR2006041401191\
.html)
DERRILL HOLLY (AP Online) WASHINGTON -- A television deal between the
Smithsonian Institution and Showtime Networks has alarmed some leading
independent
filmmakers and research groups, who worry they will have less access...
6. _Washington's Museums: Worth the Price of Admission? _
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/12/AR2006041202127\
.html) DeNeen L.
Brown, C01 (Post) ...without children, his estate should go "to the United
States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian
Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men."You don't wish bad on anybody, but the nephew...
7. _arts in brief _
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/12/AR2006041200837\
.html) VA33 (Post)..will close the festival with a
one-time showing at the Jewish Community Center. Max Alvarez, a film historian
with the Smithsonian Institution, will conduct a post-film discussion.For
information, call 703-323-0880 or visit http://www.jccnv.org .Marine Reserve...
8. _Potomac Confidential : Washington's Hour of Talk Power _
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/07/DI2006040701\
495.html)
Marc Fisher (washingtonpost.com)..fees: As someone who attended college in
D.C. and has lived here for many years since, I strongly believe that the
Smithsonian museums should be free. There is something very democratic about
these institutions, in the shadow of the Capitol, being open to everyone. I
know
it amazes my European friends, who have to shell out...
9. _American History Museum to Close for Nearly Two Years _
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/12/AR2006041201278\
.html)
Jacqueline Trescott (Edition) The National Museum of American History will
close
for almost two years, the Smithsonian Institution announced this morning. The
shutdown will allow the museum -- keeper of items ranging from the gunboat
Philadelphia to Dorothy...
11. _New Fossil Links Up Human Evolution _
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/12/AR2006041201151\
.html) SETH BORENSTEIN (AP
Online) ...of Penn State University, who found the first anamensis and is not
part of White's team.Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian Institution's
Human Origins Program, agreed: "For those people who are tied up in doing the
whole human family tree, being able...
12. _Boeing Donates $15 Million to Expand Smithsonian Aviation Annex at
Dulles _
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001772\
.html) Jacqueline Trescott, C01 (Post) The Boeing Co. and the
Smithsonian Institution announced yesterday that the aviation giant is giving
$15
million to the National Air and Space Museum.The gift, the largest corporate...




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