Librarian Makes Organizational, Personnel Changes
Dr. Billington Accepts Copyright Register's Resignation
Dr. Billington has accepted the resignation of Register of Copyrights Ralph Oman, effective Jan. 8, 1994. In a letter to the Register, the Librarian noted Mr. Oman's contributions to the Copyright Office and to the international copyright community, and offered him best wishes as he moves on to other endeavors.
Until Jan. 8, Mr. Oman will continue to hold the title of Register of Copyrights, but will be responsible for international copyright matters. Mary Berghaus Levering, executive director of the Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC), will be detailed to the Copyright Office and will be responsible for the operation of the office in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Code. She will work with acting Deputy Librarian of Congress Daniel Mulhollan in advising Congress on the need for changes in legislation and will serve on the Management Team.
All managers and staff in the Copyright Office will report to Ms. Levering, who has agreed to serve in this capacity until Jan. 8, by which time, the Librarian announced, he hopes to have named a new Register of Copyrights. If he has not, he will appoint an acting Register. A nationwide search will be conducted for a new Register of Copyrights.
Ms. Levering is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and a member of the D.C. bar and the Supreme Court bar. She is also a professional librarian and information specialist, a graduate with distinction from the University of Washington's Graduate School of Library and Information Science, which in 1986 chose her as its Distinguished Alumnus. During the past 28 years, she has worked in four major areas at the Library --Collections Services, the Congressional Research Service, the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and FLICC.
Mr. Oman was named Register of Copyrights by Librarian of Congress Daniel J. Boorstin on Sept. 23, 1985. He was formerly chief counsel of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks.
Mr. Oman received a bachelor of arts degree in history from Hamilton College in 1962 and a doctor of laws degree in corporate and international law from Georgetown University in 1973. From 1962 to 1964, he served as a foreign service officer with the State Department. He served in the Navy as a flight officer from 1965 to 1970. He was a press aide to Sen. Hugh Scott in 1970 and a legislative aide to Sen. William Roth in 1972. He was a trial attorney from 1974 to 1975 and again in 1977 with the Justice Department Antitrust Division.
In announcing his resignation to the staff of the Copyright Office, Mr. Oman stated his intention to return to the private practice of law.
The U.S. Copyright Office is responsible for administering the copyright law in the public interest, advising Congress on copyright matters, serving as principal advisory to the federal government on national and international copyright matters, accepting or rejecting claims to copyright and managing the Copyright Office, one of the principal elements of the Library of Congress. Copyright deposit is a major source of the Library's vast collections. The estimated value of the materials received annually through copyright deposit is $12 million.
In other changes, the Librarian:
Will close the National Translations Center (NTC) on Sept. 30. In spite of intensive marketing and a great deal of staff effort, sales have remained very low, and cost recovery, required for this program, does not appear to be attainable. Although recipients of the service have reported it to be useful, they are too few in number to continue it on a cost recovery basis.
The NTC, an international depository and referral service, helps users locate unpublished translations of foreign- language literature in the natural, physical, medical and social sciences. The NTC files hold information on the location of about 1 million translations, of which about 400,000 are held directly at the center.
The National Translations Center was formally organized in 1953 and located at the John Crerar Library in Chicago. From 1953 until 1968, it was under the auspices of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Then it became an independent department of the Crerar Library at the University of Chicago with NSF support continuing through 1973. It moved to the University of Chicago as a part of a merger in 1984 and became part of the Library of Congress in 1989.
The Library of Congress may be able to sustain availability of the documents cited in the MARC files beyond Sept. 30. However, final disposition of the collections, card files, machine-readable bibliographic records and the software developed to create them has not been determined. All reasonable suggestions are welcomed.
For information on the National Translations Center at the Library of Congress, contact Karl R. Green, Head, National Translations Center, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20541-5215; telephone (202) 707-2803; fax (202) 707-6147.
Will abolish both the Special Projects and Science and Technology Information service units. The units were abolished, according to the Librarian, "to implement funding limitations directed by the ... legislative appropriations bill for fiscal year 1994 and to eliminate duplicative functions.
Has named Lloyd Pauls as associate librarian for Human Resources. "His long-term experience in the Library and broad knowledge of personnel issues guarantee a knowledgeable and steady hand to guide Human Resources in implementing the steps to ensure equity and in dealing with our many other challenges," said Dr. Billington.
Mr. Pauls has been with the Library since October 1961, having started in the Stack and Reader Division. From 1981 to 1991, he served as assistant chief of the Equal Employment Opportunity Complaints Office and from 1991 to 1992, as the director of the Dispute Resolution Center. Most recently he has been acting associate librarian for Human resources.
A graduate of Howard University in 1962, Mr. Pauls earned a master's degree in labor relations and equal opportunity law in 1981 from Antioch Law School. he has received numerous awards for performance at the Library.
Will reorganize the Office of the Librarian to add a Congressional Relations Office, which will replace the former Legislative Liaison Office and the temporary Congressional Services Team.
Has approved a new senior-level position in the Office of the Librarian, a cultural diversity adviser, who, according to Dr. Billington, "will be responsible for providing me with a broad overview of diversity within our programs and service units. The person will work closely with the director of affirmative action and special programs."
