Creating a Digital Preservation Network with Shared Stewardship and Cost: The Experience of Partnerships in the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program

The National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) was initiated in December 2000 when the U.S. Congress authorized the Library of Congress to work with a broad range of institutions to develop a national strategy for the preservation of important at-risk born digital content. Guided by a strategy of broad collaborations and iterative learning, the Library of Congress began catalyzing a national network of partners dedicated to collecting and preserving important born-digital information. Over the last six years, the Library and its partners have been engaged in learning through action. Our investments in preservation partnerships, public policy deliberations related to intellectual property challenges, basic technical research, and network architecture models have increased our understanding of the sustaining roles and functions for a national network of diverse stakeholders. The emerging network of networks is complex and inclusive of a variety of stakeholders: content producers, content stewards and service providers from the public and private sectors.     

Science in American Life,National Identity,and the Science Wars: A Curators View

The simmering controversy over the Smithsonian's Science in American Life exhibition that led to the ensuing visitor study by the Institutional Studies Office is reexamined in terms of issues of American identity. A brief historical overview reveals that, for most of the twentieth century, the American scientific community received enthusiastic public support for its perceived service to national goals and ideals. In the past decade, however, after experiencing unexpected budget cuts to research, scientists have questioned the depth of that public support in what has become known as the Science Wars. Science in American Life was soon engulfed by that broader, often acrimonious debate about science and society which involved notions of pure and applied science. The role of American identity in the dispute over the exhibit is analyzed in terms of scientists' criticisms of three of the exhibition's case studies.     

The Effects of Anxiety on Recall in Self Versus Other-Model Observation

To determine whether differential levels of anxiety and recall occur during vicarious modeling or self-observation, six counselor trainees were shown five videotaped segments of counselor-client interactions—two of a different counselor and client and three of themselves counseling (one of which was viewed in the presence of the trainees' supervising professor). Anxiety was measured by self-reports and hand temperature and recall was assessed by several questions regarding the verbal and nonverbal behaviors demonstrated in each segment. Although a significant negative correlation was found between the physiological measure of anxiety and recall (ρ = –.90), no significant differences were revealed in the amount of anxiety relative to other-model versus self-observation. Trainees recalled a significantly greater amount of verbal behaviors during other-model observation than in self-observation conditions, whereas the reverse was found for nonverbal behaviors. Additionally, the presence of the supervising professor effected a dramatic increase in anxiety and decrease in recall.