Librarians making noise over printing chief's speech distribution (R)

[NVMojo]

WASHINGTON - It's not much in the big picture, the $28,000 the Government Printing Office spent to print up and mail a speech given by its boss, Nevadan Bruce James.

But for librarians across the United States struggling to keep government documents accessible to the public, that $28,000 would sure help.

Emily Sheketoff, associate executive director of the American Library Association, said librarians nationwide are fighting for funds to smooth the transition as the Government Printing Office puts more documents online instead of on library shelves. Librarians have little hope that Congress will grant their request to boost the printing office's budget by $10 million this year to help with that mission.

So it hurt to see the 12-page, slick reprint of the speech land on her desk last month, with a color cover featuring a full-length photo of James in front of a portrait of Benjamin Franklin.


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"If I were asked how I want their money spent, I would want their money spent making information available to the public," Sheketoff said. "I don't see why any information has to be spent on promoting Bruce James."

James is a millionaire Republican and former printing executive who President Bush tapped four years ago to head the printing office. Its $880 million annual budget goes to print federal documents and make them accessible to the public.

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http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-other/2006/oct/28/566680844.html