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Even as American citizens took to the polls in this past fall's historic national presidential election, our own NASW members were casting ballots for our organization's new slate of officers and the members at large of the board of directors. To some people, the U.S. presidential election felt overdue. In NASW's case, the 2008 election really was overdue — and that flawed timing is something that we need your help to rectify in yet another membership vote; you'll be able to cast ballots electronically from mid-May to the end of June.
If you have ever written anything published in book form, you need to check the terms of the Google Book Settlement. Unfortunately, the documentation is about as user-friendly as an income tax return, and time is running out for opting out of the settlement. Help is now available. Kristine Smith, chair of the digital rights management committee of Novelists Inc., has compiled a nice set of examples of how to fill out the Google Book Settlement claims, which covers books and articles published in the past, sometimes the distant past. Read them here (PDF).
For her first review of a writer's website, Nancy Allison talks with NASW member Emily Sohn, a versatile science writer with an intriguing site, TidePoolsInc.
Science Writers in New York (SWINY) recently hosted a panel discussion on social media. Videos of the event are now available on YouTube.
The administrator of the Google settlement has asked NASW, through the Authors Coalition, to distribute the following notice to all our members. It contains important information about the rights of authors and other copyright owners under the settlement. Please give it your careful attention.
BY ZOE MACINTOSH
Three days after the U.S. House of Representatives renewed a 2003 bill that promotes exploration into the adverse health effects of nanoparticles, scientists convened to debate what form that assessment should take. The symposium, "Driving Beyond Our Nano-Headlights?", took place on 14 February at the AAAS meeting in Chicago.
I won't try and sell you on Twitter, but I'll tell you how it's useful to me as someone who produces a web site about space.
NASW and three other journalism organizations have submitted a joint letter to The Honorable John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and The Honorable Lamar Smith (R-TX), Ranking Republican of the House Judiciary Committee, urging them to reject a recently introduced bill that would severely limit public access to taxpayer-funded scientific research.