HIGHLIGHT STATEMENT

Senator BARTLETT. Will you please proceed with your presentation, Dr. Mumford.

Dr. MUMFORD. Yes, sir. Thank you.

This preliminary statement is a summary statement which touches upon some of the high spots of our request. First I would like to express my opportunity to appear in behalf of the Library's 1969 budget estimates. Last fall when I appeared before the House Appropriations Subcommittee I was asked to suggest ways in which the 1968 budget could be reduced. Some of the reductions I suggested at that time are now being applied to finance the pay raise increase. To contribute what we could, certain types of programs, although worthwhile and important, were stretched out and deferred to subsequent years.

REDUCED BUDGET REQUEST

I have reexamined the 1969 estimates which were made last October and which are now before you. As presented, the total request under all appropriations is $41,780,000, which is an increase of $3,883,600 over the 1968 level, inclusive of the supplementary pay raise. I can now suggest two additional items which may be deferred for the time being. They are $100,000 of the $200,000 requested in the copyright office budget for a microfilming project, and $477,947 requested for the special foreign currency program, making a total reduction of $577,947.

COPYRIGHT OFFICE MICROFILMING PROJECT

I had requested $200,000 in the copyright office to begin a project of microfilming unique and irreplaceable copyright records from 1870 to date to make them secure against loss. With one-half of this amount we could make a start on this important program in 1969 and would hope to complete it in subsequent years.

REDUCTION IN SPECIAL FOREIGN CURRENCY PROGRAM

In the special foreign currency program some reductions are alo possible because of changes in conditions that could not be anticipated when the estimates were prepared. The request for a new program in the Congo must be deleted because the Congo is no longer on the excess currency list. For Poland, the authorizations previously allowed can be carried over because negotiations for a program there have not yet been completed; it will therefore not be necessary to ask for additional funding in fiscal year 1969. We are continuing the program in the United Arab Republic but with local employees only, and at a reduced level. Some foreign currency balances are accumulating there and by using these balances we can reduce our 1969 request by $116,000 in foreign currency and $10,000 in U.S. dollars. Through these changes, the entire increase of $436,500 in foreign currencies will be dropped and the U.S. dollar request will be reduced by $41,447.

This reduces the request for increases for the entire budget to $3.305,653 and the total requested to $41,202,053.

DISTINCTION BETWEEN TRADITIONAL AND SPECIAL SERVICES

In presenting the Library's budget I think it is useful to draw a distinction between the traditional Library services-which are comcerned with the acquiring, cataloging, and servicing of library materials and the specialized services, which are not ordinarily considered part of traditional library services.

This division is useful because the traditional services usually grow slowly and steadily as the collections and the demands for service increase. A steady growth in this kind of operation is almost inevitable. On the other hand, the special services often develop in a much less predictable way, as new national problems and programs create special requirements.

PERCENT BREAKDOWN OF REQUESTED INCREASES

Of this year's requested increases only 18 percent is for traditional library services, including Legislative Reference Service and the poolpurchase fund. Another 28 percent is for built-in additional costs, such as ingrade and price increases. The other 54 percent is for specialized services.

IMPACT OF INFORMATION EXPLOSION

Again this year, as in previous years, increases requested can be directly related to the impact of the information explosion. This explosion has been increasing in intensity, especially since World War II, as the place of science and the application of new information in our lives has become more and more important. It has been estimated in the past that the fund of human knowledge, and the printed record of it, has doubled about every 15 years. This increase is a mathematical progression. The increase in complexity of this material imposes one mathematical progression upon another. This is manifested in many ways, particularly in the growing demand for materials in foreign languages, the greater reliance of the scientific community on serial publications, which are more difficult to control than monographs, and the growing interdependence of libraries and other data centers on each other.

AUTOMATION PROGRAM

Several items in the budget stem directly from this information explosion, such as the need to turn to the science of automation to meet the challenge of the proliferation of scientific data, the need for the libraries of the country to attack problems through computerized networks of libraries and by developing referral services to locate data sources in other libraries, and the need to do a more thorough job of collecting and controlling the publications of our Government, which are very valuable for research.

This budget requests an increase of $400,000 for the automation program which holds the greatest hope for controlling this mass of material and of making it useful to the Nation. Some elements of our operations are already computerized, while the larger, long-range, comprehensive automated system is being developed. The increase requested will allow us to continue to work toward a total system, while

applying computer technology to some parts as feasible and as available equipment permits.

REFERRAL SERVICES

In addition to these technical considerations, a vital part of the library and information network development is the identification and description of the Nation's multitude of information resources and the services and the conditions of service they offer.

INFORMATION RESOURCES

The objective is to direct to the most effective information resource the individual, or Government agency, or other user who has a specialized information problem. Demand for these directory or referral services has steadily increased over the past several years, demonstrating that this form of service-which, within their limited capacities, libraries have always provided-is a basic and integral element of library and information service. This budget includes a request for 10 positions in the Science and Technology Division to continue the development of a national inventory of information resources and the provision of referral service.

CONTROL OF SERIAL PUBLICATIONS

Another pervasive problem for the Library of Congress, and indeed for all libraries and information services, is the control of periodical and other types of serial literature. Unlike monographs, serials are a highly changeable form of literature, in which titles, frequency of publication, sponsorship, subject coverage, price, and availability are all liable to rapid change. Serials are therefore extremely difficult to control, and without adequate control their utility for research and other purposes is greatly reduced.

Application of computer technology to the problem offers the best solution, and there is therefore included in the request for automation funds an amount for the development of a comprehensive, national serial data program. A closely related area needing special attention, and which was alluded to earlier, is the collection and control of the publications of the Federal Government and five new positions are requested for this purpose.

EFFORT TO SIMPLIFY ACCOUNTING STRUCTURE

In order to simplify the accounting structure, a comparative transfer from "Organizing and microfilming the papers of the Presidents" to the appropriation for " Salaries and expenses, Library of Congress" in the amount of $112,800 is requested. This is the same amount as that allowed in 1968.

COPYRIGHT OFFICE AND CARD DISTRIBUTION SERVICE RECEIPTS

In fiscal year 1967 the Copyright Office and the Card Distribution Service between them accounted for receipts of $7,512,100, or 24 percent of the entire direct appropriation to the Library. The receipts