prior history of key player Rivkah Sass MARYLAND OFFERS FREE INTERNET

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

Date: Sun, 26 Jun 1994 20:38:49 -0400
Sender: roundtable () cni org
Precedence: bulk
From: Peter Marshall <rocque () connected com>
To: Multiple recipients of list <roundtable () cni org>
Subject: Re: MARYLAND OFFERS FREE INTERNET - but EFF Opposes






As the rah-rah language of the AP piece on this development seemed to
echo some of the prior history of key player Rivkah Sass in similar
areas when she worked for the WA State Library here, seemed some local
background might be helpful.


Ms.Sass' recent boss, the WA State Librarian, has presided over attempts
by this state library to institute a fee-based electronic information
service which occurred outside of public view in an agency budget process;
over an alleged "pilot" project, using federal funds via DO Ed. to
provide Internet access to WA state libraries, with access via a
sole-sourced contract with Western Lib. Network, on whose board the State
Librarian sat; and over attempts to influence proposed legislation here
that was opposed by public interest groups.


At or near the center of a good number of these any other such examples
was the division of the WA State Library in which Ms. Sass worked until
recently; and along most of way, there was the same sort of hyperbolic,
rhetorical cheerleading reflected in the AP's example of press-release
reporting.


During the latter period of her tenure here in WA, Ms. Sass also
consistently managed to avoid dealing with the realm of relevant public
policy issues when she served as Pres. of the PNW chapter of ASIS.


On the other hand, Ms. Sass did purport to be interested in information
policy issues, and accordingly, participated for a time in an interest
group here called the WA Information Policy Forum. Trouble was, she ended
up exiting this interest group having transgressed a policy involving
re-use of mail-list material without permission.


In short, Ms. Sass seemed to be interested primarily in what she could
exploit, and for one purportedly so interested in the Net and the public
interest, as in the current and ballyhooed instance, she presented a
picture full of not a few holes.


But that was Washington, and this is Maryland, isn't it?


Peter Marshall
Co-Producer, KSER Community Radio,
 Lynnwood, WA
Co-Organizer, WA Info-Policy Forum