the educational community to find a workable system of payments for the photocopying and other uses of copyrighted works," says Dr. Richard L. Kenyon, director of ACS's Division of Public, Professional, and International Communication. He adds that "unrestrained single copy republishing without payment obviously could lead to bankruptcy of the system." And he points out that ACS already provides a service for making available copies of all scientific papers published in its journals and a license to copy is an integral feature of the ACS journals-on-microfilm program. D
ACS urges big NSF information budget
viability, and much additional effort will be required to bring users to the point where they use and rely on automated information services in their regular work." Further, ACS points out that "this can only be accomplished with continuity of OSIS encouragement and support." In essence, no other federal agency now is providing supportive funding for such vital R&D efforts. And scientific societies such as ACS who have the know-how simply don't have the resources to do the R&D. ACS points out that the governments of West Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union have "initiated major programs of support directed both at rapidly increasing the efficiency of industrial utilization of published information and at underwriting much, if not all, of the routine production expense for the necessary data bases." And ACS says, "If the U.S. does not exercise leadership in this area, there is every evidence that the U.S.S.R. will invest large sums of money in the development of competitive information systems." G
For the second year in a row, the American Chemical Society has submitted testimony to the House Subcommittee on Science, Research & Technology recommending that the budget for the National Science Foundation's Office of Science Information Service (OSIS) be boosted to $8.5 million (C&EN, Student assistants March 25, 1974, page 6). And ACS recommends that over the next continue strike several years, the OSIS budget grow to 3 to 5% ($22.6 million to $37.8 A strike by graduate teaching assismillion) of the total NSF budget. tants and research assistants at the The Ford Administration has University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, requested $6 million for OSIS in was still going on at press time, alfiscal 1976. For fiscal 1975 the though prospects for an early settleNixon Administration requested ment appeared fairly promising. $5 million—NSF asked the White The strike began Feb. 11, after House for $8.5 million—and Con- negotiations between the university gress ended up agreeing to the $5 and the Graduate Employees Organmillion amount. Pragmatically this ization broke down. GEO was certiresulted in termination of OSIS fied last April as the bargaining funding for R&D by Chemical Ab- agent for the university's 1600 teaching assistants and 600 research assisstracts Service. In a statement submitted for the tants, of whom more than 1200 are subcommittee hearing record on GEO members. Negotiations had the NSF authorization bill, ACS, been going on since last summer. "on behalf of the U.S. chemical According to university and union science community, " recommends spokesmen, three issues are holding that the OSIS budget be specifically up a settlement: economics, class identified in the NSF authoriza- size, and what the GEO executive tion act for fiscal 1976 at the $8.5 committee calls "union security." million level—"a level consistent The university has offered an with its [fiscal] 1974 obligations— economic package that includes a and that NSF be instructed to rein- 5.6% salary increase (on top of an state the long-established OSIS pro- 8% increase already scheduled for gram for support of the develop- the current year) and reduced ment of discipline-based informa- tuition rates for graduate student tion accessing systems for science assistants. GEO wants more. But and technology that was dropped university president Robben W. from the [fiscal] 1975 budget by Fleming replies that the university, direction of the Office of Manage- already faced with a $4 million ment & Budget." budget cut for the coming year, ACS notes that "four or five years simply can't afford more. Under the more will be required to develop the proposed settlement, the univerdiscipline-oriented processing sys- sity's teaching assistants would tems to the point of operational rank sixth and research assistants
Graduate student assistants picket at University of Michigan's Mason Hall
would rank second, compared to their counterparts in 22 "representative institutions" surveyed by the university and by GEO, Fleming notes. GEO has asked for assistanttaught classes to be limited to a maximum of 20 or 25 students, depending on the type of instruction. Class size is important in terms of both work load and quality on instruction, GEO maintains. The university doesn't disagree, and says it is willing to consult with GEO on matters of class size. But it also says the issue is "loaded with educational policy implications" and that it will not agree to a union "veto" on class sizes. Paradoxically, setting upper limits on class size could lead to the elimination of very small classes, Fleming comments. Regarding union security, GEO demands an "agency shop," covering all persons holding graduate student assistant appointments. The university says it could agree in principle to an agency shop—but not in departments where a majority voted against the provision. Also, it would exempt those student employees who were teaching or doing research in fulfillment of a degree requirement. The dispute was to have gone to a fact-finder last Wednesday, but that move was postponed in favor of further direct negotiations. Meanwhile, the university has kept on operating, after a fashion, although GEO members have been picketing since the walkout began. Many undergraduates have supported the strike; class attendance has varied between 20 and 80% since it began. But attendance lately has been edging upward, strike leaders admit, because of "academic pressures." • March 3, 1975 C&EN
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