Mr. MUMFORD. We have some figures on page 86 which show the marked increase in production of publications. Mr. KIRWAN. Insert pages 85 and 86 in the record at this point. (The information referred to follows:) CURRENT MATERIALS The increasing number of books and periodicals published throughout the world necessarily requires the Library to increase its purchases of material needed for the Government. The publication of scientific and technological books and journals has grown markedly in recent years, for example, and promises to continue to increase rapidly. Statistics on periodical production in the U.S.S.R. demonstrate this growth: Periodicals in the field of science have increased over 12 percent a year since 1954 and in the field of technology over 44 percent a year during that same period. Statistics of commercial production in the United States also reflect this growth: Scientific books published during 1957 rose 25 percent over the number published in 1956, and in 1958 increased 11 percent over 1957; technical and military books published in 1958 showed an increase of 30 percent over 1957 with the great majority being technical rather than military; scientific and technical journals have increased about 4 percent a year over the preceding year. Moreover, an examination of international book statistics involving 19 of the largest book-producing countries over a 2-year span (1955 and 1957) indicates a rise of about 10 percent, from 161,444 to 177,700 titles. This increased publishing activity is indicative of the necessity of a proportional increase in the Library's acquisitions activities. The additional sum of $15,000 is requested to enable the Library to broaden its coverage of the important current materials in the field of science and technology and to acquire more of the necessary current materials in other fields. INCREASE TO COVER PRICE RISES Mr. KIRWAN. Proceed to the third item. Mr. MUMFORD. This is concerned with the price increases of material which we buy. On page 87 we have some figures which show the sharp increases that are taking place in the cost of books, periodicals, and newspapers. I think if we were to insert this page into the record it would tell the story, also. Mr. KIRWAN. Very well. (The information follows:) PRICE INCREASES Concurrently with the increase in publishing activities, increased costs of brary materials cited in the Library's justification of its 1958 estimates matinue unabated. When its estimates were submitted for fiscal year 1959, the Library considered it possible to compensate for the increase in costs by being more selective in its acquisitions and, therefore, no request for additional fands in this appropriation was made for fiscal year 1959. Illustrative of the price increase factor is the Library's experience with the cost of German Federal Republic, British, Italian, and Japanese books which show an average torrease of 22 percent in 1958 over 1955 prices. Moreover, an examination of the cost of U.S. books purchased by the Library in 1958 indicates the average est to have been $3.36 per title as compared with $2.68 per title in 1957, an crease of 25 percent. The additional sum of $10,000 is requested to enable the Library to restore some of the buying power which it has lost over the past several years due to the increased cost of library materials. Mr. MUMFORD. The increases have been going on for a number of Tears. While we have tried to hold our own against those increases, Eventually you reach a place where you play a losing game. You just cannot acquire the materials that are needed. Mr. KIRWAN. We will proceed to "Increase of the Law Library." The item is $90,000. There is no change from 1959. Tell us briefly about your need. Mr. MUMFORD. The statement on page 89 indicates how the appropriation for the purchase of materials for the Law Library is used. It shows a sizeable proportion of this is necessary for the purchase of foreign law books, and the Congress, executive departments and agencies, and the Federal courts are dependent upon the Law Library as the most complete and most accessible source of legal information on all subjects for all countries of the world. Continued development of the foreign law collections is imperative for the protection and advancement of Government interests in foreign activities and international relations. Continued preeminence of the Law Library in all fields of law, domestic as well as foreign, prevents wasteful duplication in the working libraries of many Government agencies. I would like to stress that point in particular. The Law Library of the Library of Congress is the only general law library-large law library-in our Government and all Departments of Government, units, and agencies turn to it for its resources, and particularly in the area of foreign law. We try to acquire such materials from all portions of the world. Mr. KEITT. As stated here, approximately 70 percent of this appropriation is necessary to purchase lawbooks from foreign countries. We have the only foreign law library in the Government of comprehensive size. We are the foreign law library for every agency of the Government. In American law every agency has to have a working collection of the Federal law, and in many instances State law, but they do not have books in foreign law. There has to be one place in Government where all libraries and all users of foreign lawbooks can come, and we are the only place they can go for the great bulk of material in foreign law. We feel this a justifiable appropriation. Mr. MUMFORD. We are not asking for an increase here. Mr. KIRWAN. I noticed you are not. Mr. MUMFORD. Mr. Keitt can check me on this, but I think the main reason we decided not to ask for an increase here might be stated in terms that over the years the Law Library has acquired more of the available material. Mr. KEITT. As we fill in gaps over the years it becomes unnecessary to buy this retrospective material, the older material. The older material is necessary, mind you, to find out what the law is today, but as years go by and we complete what we do not have, the opportunities to purchase material, the missing material, of the past has grown less and less. Mr. KIRWAN. How many items do you have in the library now? Mr. KEITT. We have nearly 1 million in the Law Library itself. Under the classification scheme of the Library, a large number of lawbooks, estimated at around 300,000, are not within the custodial jurisdiction of the Law Library but most of them are serviced by the Law Library even though they are not classified as lawbooks within the meaning of the term adopted many years ago. For example, international law is outside the Law Library. It is serviceable by the Law Library. It is shelved on a deck between two decks occupied by the Law Library, but it is not in our total count of books. So when you ask about the number of lawbooks in the Law Library we have to give you two answers-lawbooks which are classified as law under the classification scheme now in effect, and lawbooks which are called lawbooks in most libraries of the country. A new classification scheme is being worked on by a special committee and in time we hope we can add the 300,000 now outside the Law Library to our total and have all lawbooks unified in one collection. As it is, those 300,000 are scattered all over parts of the Library. For more efficient administration of the law collections, it is desirable that they all be concentrated in one place and be under the development of legal specialists rather than left to the acquisition policies of other parts of the Library. Mr. MUMFORD. Mr. Keitt has recently prepared a statement on the foreign law collection and I wonder whether you would wish to insert any of this in the record. Mr. KEITT. I will submit this tomorrow and the committee can deeide whether it wishes to insert it in the record. Mr. KIRWAN. Very well. Mr. HORAN. These foreign lawbooks are printed in the country of origin, are they? Mr. KEITT. Yes, sir; and sometimes you will find some translations iz English. That, however, is a very rare thing. We have to have a aff which is able to read languages in order to properly service the books. If you have a question in French law or German law, the book is a cret unless someone can read it and interpret it and give you an Answer which might be quite important to you in the matter of legisiation. Mr. HORAN. They are printed in the native tongue? Mr. KIRWAN. We take up next the item for books for the Supreme Court. Mr. MUMFORD. As you know, though the library of the Supreme Court is administered under the direction of the Chief Justice of the United States, funds for the purchase of books and periodicals are appropriated to the Library of Congress. The librarian of the Supreme Court library has indicated no requests for an increase. I would like to request that page 91 be placed in the record, and } have a letter here from Miss Newman, the librarian, you may wish to place in the record, also. Mr. KIRWAN. All right, insert those. (The information follows:) GENERAL STATEMENT Although the library of the Supreme Court is administered under the direction of the Chief Justice of the United States, funds for the purchase of books and periodicals are appropriated to the Library of Congress. The request for thi appropriation item is transmitted to the librarian of Congress by the Chie Justice of the United States with his endorsement. The librarian of the Supreme Court submits the following breakdown of th appropriation request for 1960: -Continuations: Citators, codes, congressional hearings, court reports, digests, encyclopedias, legal periodicals, looseleaf services, pocket sup plements, session laws, statutes, etc--. New books and additional materials___ Total____. No increase is requested at this time. $25,00 5,00 30,00 STATEMENT OF HELEN NEWMAN, LIBRARIAN OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES With the approval of the Chief Justice, we are asking for $30,000 for 1960, which represents the same amount requested and appropriated for the fiscal year 1959. While no increase is requested at this time, we are now making a study to select important recently published sets of State digests, encyclopedias, and practice books which are needed for the members of the Court and their staffs as well as for the lawyers who come from all parts of the country to argue cases before the Supreme Court. Many of these are multivolume sets and costly. The rise in costs will no doubt affect our purchases in 1960, but it is our intention to absorb such increases for 1960, and report to you further after completion of the pending study and its approval by the Chief Justice. We shall include any indicated needs in our 1961 request. Thank you very much for the privilege of making this statement. Mr. KIRWAN. How were you able to obligate right down to the last dollar in fiscal 1958? Mr. MUMFORD. These funds are spent by the staff of the Supreme Court library and not by us. |