there ought not to be any necessity for any additional large group of personnel within the next 10 years. Mr. STEFAN. Of course, with the elimination of these emergency agencies that we now have, we ought to have a cut in these appropriations, ought we not? Dr. PUTNAM. I think perhaps I did not make clear what I meant by the emergency agencies. That has only to do with their use of books. Mr. STEFAN. That adds to your work, does it not? Dr. PUTNAM. Yes, but that is all. That is why I explained about the service to Congress and the Government agencies limping. I meant that we do not have sufficient personnel to cover all the points of contact. Those establishments draw on us, those 60 or 70 emergency agencies, but they represent only a fraction of the demand. In brief, the answer to the question is that these estimates, if these chiefs of these divisions have been conscientious, and I think they have been-I know that they tried to be reasonably moderate ought to carry us along normally for the next 10 years. JUSTIFICATION OF 1940 ESTIMATES May I call attention to the letter of estimates and ask that, as usual, it be inserted in the record? It gives the justifications for these estimates. Mr. RABAUT. Yes; that may be inserted in the record at this point. (The justifications referred to are as follows:) THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ESTIMATES OF APPROPRIATIONS, FISCAL YEAR 1940 The following table compares, in summary, the annual appropriations for the fiscal year 1939 with estimates of appropriations for the fiscal year 1940. The increase in the above estimate for 1940 over the appropriation for 1939 is $354,405. Of this sum: $5,380 is to cover the increases occasioned by the reallocation of certain positions in the Library by the Personnel Classification Division of the Civil Service Commission. $3,185 is to restore certain deductions made in the 1939 estimates. $317,780 is for 181 new positions, 15 of which are resubmitted from last year. The additional positions included in the estimates for 1940, aside from those repeated from last year (15 for the regular service, and the balance of $128,060 submitted for the routine work of the annex) are based upon (1) the normal growth of the Library and the necessity for clearing arrears, and (2) on the future needs of the several divisions as seen by the chiefs of those divisions. The new positions, in detail, exclusive of those required for the Annex Building are as follows: Librarian Emeritus.- Office of the Librarian Emeritus In accordance with the provisions of the act approved June 20, 1938 (Public, No. 686, 75th Cong.). Office of Chief Reference Librarian Professional 6: 1 chief reference librarian (request for the salary $5, 600 1, 620 The title was approved by the committee last year, but not the salary, it being expected that this could be temporarily met out of accumulations from "lapses." As the estimated amount of these was deducted in advance from the appropriations actually granted, there has been difficulty in meeting it. $5,000 7,220 Subprofessional 3: 1 assistant (included in the estimates for last year, as CAF-2, but not granted). Subprofessional 3: 2 assistants at $1,440 each. $4,000 2,000 1,800 3, 240 1, 440 2, 880 2, 520 Since 1927 only four positions have been granted to the Division of Accessions. These positions, however, have been quite inadequate to enable the Division to cope with the ever-increasing number of books received annually by purchase, gift, deposit, transfer, and exchange. In addition, many new gift and endowment funds have been established in recent years for the purchase of books. This has greatly added to the work of the Division. It has been equally difficult to give adequate service in the numerous other rapidly growing activities. To enable the Division to function efficiently, the additional positions indicated above are considered indispensible. The explanation of the need of these positions, in detail, is as follows: 1. With the constantly increasing activities of the Division, it is necessary that the assistant chief, who supervises the various sections in matters concerning the maintenance of functional pro 17, 880 cedure and technical processes, be relieved of routine duties and be free to devote more time to the duties of coordinating the work of the various sections. An assistant (professional 1) to aid in this work is therefore requested. 2. An additional assistant (professional 1) is needed in the Evaluation and Information Service of the Division, to aid in the work of meeting readers and investigators, and of answering the mass of correspondence calling for bibliographical information, much of which requires exhaustive research; also to enable the Division to institute a more prompt and systematic checking of catalogs of new and second-hand books. 3. Another assistant (subprofessional 6) is needed to aid in the administrative work in connection with the ordering of books, a responsibility which is becoming constantly more varied and detailed. In 1927 the number of books and pamphlets purchased totaled 24,161, as against 55,641 in 1938. 4. The appropriation for the purchase of books and periodicals for the Law Library was increased from $3,000 to $50,000 in 1930 and for several years has been $70,000 annually. It is essential that legal material, much of it of special interest to Members of Congress, should be handled expeditiously, but the single assistant responsible for this work is greatly overburdened. We are therefore requesting for the Law Section two new positions, one assistant (subprofessional 5) and one typist (subprofessional 3). 5. The Voucher Section is understaffed. All material, received by purchase, passes through this section and must be carefully checked before, it is accepted, after which vouchers are prepared for payment. To avoid delay in payment of the vouchers and to keep complaints at a minimum, two additional assistants (subprofessional 4) are urgently needed in the section. 6. An assistant (subprofessional 3) is needed to help in the Gift Section, which is charged with acknowledging and recording all gifts of material received by the Library from individuals and nongovernmental sources. In 1927 this Section acknowledged the receipt of 14,491 books and pamphlets, as compared with 25,047 in 1938, with no increase in personnel. Courtesy to donors demands prompt acknowledgment of gifts, but because of the great increase of material received by gift during the past few years it has become impossible to give prompt service with the small staff of only two assistants assigned to this work. 7. An assistant (subprofessional 3) is needed in the Exchange Section so that we may build up a more active exchange of duplicate copies of books and pamphlets with other libraries, thus adding to the resources of the Library of Congress at comparatively little expense. 8. With the increase in the activities of the Division it is necessary that the telephone service be supplemented by messenger service. Two additional assistants (subprofessional 2) are therefore requested to relieve members of the staff, assigned to more responsible duties, from the necessity of performing routine messenger service. The Chief of the Division is prepared to submit further particulars. Division of Aeronautics Professional 2: 1 assistant (repeated from last year).... The Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics presented to the Library, in October 1929, the sum of $51,000 for the acquisition of literature in that field; and also an endowment of $75,000 for the establishment of a "chair" of aeronautics. As in the case of other "chairs" (American history, music, the fine arts), the endowment assumes that the Government will provide reasonable auxiliary assistance. Since the fiscal year 1931 an appropriation has been made each year for but two positions, the Chief and one assistant. Two assistants are needed, one to do the indexing and cataloging which is necessary to keep the literature instantly available, the $2,600 other to perform the reference service for Congress, Government departments, and the public. One of these positions (P2-$2,600) was granted for 1931 and each year thereafter. The second has been provided heretofore at the expense of other divisions of the Library. As both assistants are now fully occupied at all times, it is obvious that in the future, with the immense growth of aeronautics and greater demands upon the Division resulting from better knowledge of its facilities, two assistants will be indispensable. The chief of the Division is prepared to submit further particulars. Binding Division Subprofessional 5: 1 assistant.. $1, 800 1, 440 1, 200 The Binding Division serves as a clearinghouse for all books, pamphlets, newspapers, etc., sent to the bindery for binding and repairs. At present there is but one full-time assistant in the Division in addition to the assistant in charge, who gives only part time to the work of the Division. With the removal of the Division to the Annex Building, together with the removal of the branch bindery, the work will be greatly increased. The following additional positions are considered essential: One assistant (subprofessional 5) with experience in binding and a knowledge of foreign languages will be needed to supervise the work of the Division; One assistant (subprofessional 3) will be needed to keep an accurate check as to lettering, etc., of all volumes passing between the Government Printing Office and the various divisions of the Library; One messenger (custodial 3) will be required to carry books to and from the several divisions of the Library. With the removal of the Division to the Annex, the messenger work will be greatly increased. The chief of the Division is prepared to submit further particulars. The activities of this project are as follows: 1. To provide books in raised characters (Braille, annual appropriation $100,000); and sound-reproduction records (talking books, annual appropriation $175,000) for use of the adult blind residents of the United States, under the act approved March 3, 1931, as amended. This involves the selecting of titles of books, seeing them through the press, and lending them to the blind through 27 distributing libraries. 2. The sponsorship of the manufacture of talking-book machines (20,150 manufactured to date) made possible by Emergency Relief funds and the supervision of lending them through State commissions to individual blind borrowers throughout the United States. These activities are mandatory upon the Library. The assistants now engaged on this project are at present paid from the appropriation for providing books for the blind. $4, 400 17, 560 In addition, considerable aid including the general supervision and direction is rendered by certain members of the reading room staff carried on the regular Library-proper pay roll. Until now, the project has been passing through an experimental period. Now that the project, with its recent increased appropriation, has been placed on a permanent basis and will, normally, increase in importance and in volume of its activities each year, it seems desirable to accord it the same treatment as is accorded the appropriation for the "Increase of the Library," i. e. provide for the necessary personnel on the regular Library-proper pay roll. This will permit the utilization of the present annual service charge ($12,960) for acquiring additional titles of Braille books and talking-book records which will mean an increased service to the blind. The director of the project is prepared to submit further particulars. Catalog Division Professional 3: 2 assistants at $3,200 each. Professional 1: 1 assistant (repeated from last year). $6, 400 2, 100 8, 100 1, 440 2,520 For the past 3 fiscal years (1937, 1938, and 1939) 14 new positions have been requested, 9 of which were granted for 1938 and 3 for 1939, to provide for (1) the enlargement of our small staff of law catalogers in order to cope with the considerable increases in the recent purchases of law material; (2) the establishment of a mimeograph section to run off, for our own use, many entries for which there is too slight a demand by subscribing libraries to justify resort to printing; and (3) a necessary increase in our filing staff. In order to make the understaffed sections fully effective, we repeat the request for the two positions not granted; and in addition request the following new positions: 2 copy editors (professional 3) at $3,200 each. 2 proofreaders (subprofessional 4) at $1,620 each. 3 assistants (subprofessional 4) at $1,620 each to care for in- 1 filer (subprofessional 3) at $1,440. 1 messenger (subprofessional 2) at $1,260. The Catalog Division prepares and issues annually about 40,000 printed catalog cards in many languages and in all fields of knowledge. (These cards, purchased by subscribing libraries everywhere, constitute the basis of virtually all the public-library catalogs of the United States.) Work so diversified in character is of necessity divided among specialized sections which, although operating under uniform rules and principles, tend in practice to diverge in some details. To coordinate the mass of copy (which if published in book form, would fill, annually, 10 or 12 volumes of about 400 pages each) it would be desirable and economical to have two copy editors (of professional 3 grade) read all cards for uniformity before these are sent to the printer. Two additional $20, 460 |