MATERIAL SUBMITTED SUBSEQUENT TO HEARINGS

[CLERK'S NOTE.-By direction of the chairman, the following material was submitted subsequent to the hearing and placed in the record at this point.]

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

LETTERS FROM AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

May 28, 1982

The Honorable Mack Mattingly, Chairman

Legislative Branch Subcommittee

Committee on Appropriations

U.S. Senate

Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Mattingly:

On behalf of the American Library Association, I request that this letter be made part of the hearing record on the FY 1983 appropriations for the Library of Congress. The American Library Association, founded in 1876, is the oldest and largest national library association in the world. A nonprofit educational organization of almost 40,000 librarians, library trustees and other friends of libraries, the Association is dedicated to the improvement of library and information service for the American people.

The American Library Association strongly endorses the request of the Library of Congress for an appropriation of $223,760,000 for fiscal 1983. A modest $2,925,249 of this amount is requested to cover the growing workload of the Library including funds for 60 new positions. The 32 percent increase in readership between fiscal 1979 and 1981 is dramatic testimony to Congress' foresight in providing for their own and the public's expanding needs in the Madison Building.

Members of the Association have always maintained a strong interest in the Library of Congress which provides essential services to researchers and to users of school, public, academic and special libraries throughout the United States, as well as critical information for members of Congress. The nation's libraries look to the Library of Congress to serve as both a national and international leader in the preservation of the human record and the adaptation of expanding technologies to the library and information needs of the nation.

We fully concur with the two priorities stated by the Librarian of Congress in his testimony before the Subcommittee earlier this month: improving services to the increasing number and variety of the Library's users and improving urgent measures to preserve the Library's deteriorating collections. As Dr. Boorstin pointed out both priorities are measures of economy. The increased staff positions appear to be those most urgently needed to complete occupancy of the Madison Building and essential to make effective use of the Library's outstanding collections and services.

-

It is noteworthy that the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped has managed to expand their program to meet increased reader requirements with little growth in staff. We would like to support the NLS/BPH request for six positions to meet the needs of the Service's readers. For many of the people who use NLS/BPH, the tapes and flexible disks provided are their only source of reading material and thus a whole world of knowledge and information. The NLS/BPH pays many dividends in meeting the basic human needs of a significant segment of our population.

(355)

Preservation of library materials is a topic that will become more prominent as we move through the 1980s. Library collections throughout the world are deteriorating at an alarming rate, with millions of books, manuscripts, maps, films and photographs endangered. Research on the topic struggles forward with only meager support. The failure of the machine-made paper of the last 150 years to endure has been a disaster for the records of this civilization. The Library of Congress has provided leadership in the field of preservation through its staff and laboratories, developing new ways to prevent or delay deterioration not only for the Library but for all the nation's libraries. ALA strongly endorses Dr. Boorstin's request for $350,000 to begin large scale application of the new diethyl zinc process developed by chemists of the preservation staff. This cooperative effort with NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center can be a breakthrough in the deacidification process for preservation in all libraries, museums, and other institutions of learning. Considering the great masses of acid paper currently deteriorating on library shelves, the library community is waiting for and needs an operational mass deacidification method.

An additional $160,000 for supplies, repair and conservation of rare materials, $225,000 to begin a three-year program to preserve the collection of County Atlases, and $400,000 to begin a five-year acquisition program to acquire the most intensely · used periodicals in microform format are also important components of the Library's preservation and conservation efforts,

In its dual role of serving Congress and the public, the Library of Congress makes many contributions to the nation's libraries. A few examples show how the users of many different kinds of libraries benefit from LC programs:

The most obvious and direct service the Library of Congress provides to
other libraries is through cataloging. Since 1901, librarians have been
able to purchase cataloging cards from LC, freeing librarians at the local
level from duplicating cataloging at the Library of Congress and bringing
revenue to LC from subscribers. Automation has meant that vital cataloging
information is available quickly through MARC computer tapes and through
the Cataloging in Publication program, through which cataloging information
is actually printed in a book. Cooperative cataloging efforts involving
other large research libraries and the Government Printing Office have
made important contributions to reducing duplication in the development of
the nation's data base of bibliographic records.

Meetings at the Library of the chief officers of the state library agencies
from most of the states and the District of Columbia have set the stage
for a series of cooperative efforts between the Library of Congress and
state libraries in the areas of reference correspondence, name authority
in cataloging, and local and ethnic history collections. Through the co-
operative reference correspondence project, incoming reference letters
which do not require the unique resources of the Library of Congress for
response are immediately forwarded to the cooperating state or regional
library for attention. The correspondent is thus assured a more timely and
complete response than LC is able to provide, state and local libraries are
acknowledged for providing direct service to their constituents, and LC's
other users benefit from more prompt attention to those questions which
only the Library of Congress is equipped to handle.

"Read More About It," a project cosponsored by the Library's Center for the
Book and CBS Television encourages viewers of dramatizations of CBS specials
to patronize their local libraries and bookstores to read books relating to
the program.
The Center for the Book serves as a focal point for private

sector contributions for such projects.

Another project of the Center for the Book, "Books Make A Difference," also
stimulates an appreciation for books and reading.. Interviewers have visited
communities throughout the United States to talk to people about books
which helped to shape their lives. Excerpts from the interviews will be
made available to libraries, bookstores and radio stations.

The Federal Library Committee, headquartered in the Library of Congress, promotes more efficient use of federal library resources. One example of its efforts is the Intergovernmental Library Cooperation Project, established in 1980 with the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, to study governmental library resources and services in order to determine ways to improve coordination among federal libraries and between federal and nonfederal libraries.

The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped operates a reading program that provides free braille and recorded books and magazines to more than seven hundred thousand visually and physically handicapped individuals through a nationwide network of 160 cooperating libraries.

On behalf of the American library community and the users of libraries nationwide, we would like to commend the staff of the Library of Congress for their continued pursuit of excellence. In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, we ask that the Subcommittee approve the full request of $223,760,000 for the Library of Congress.

Sincerely,

Millent looke

Eileen D. Cooke
Director

ALA Washington Office

June 17, 1982

The Honorable Mack Mattingly, Chairman

Legislative Branch Subcommittee

Committee on Appropriations

U.S. Senate

Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Mattingly:

This letter is submitted on behalf of the American Library Association, a nonprofit educational organization of almost 40,000 librarians, educators, trustees and other friends of libraries, dedicated to the improvement of libraries and information services for all citizens. We request that it be made part of the hearing record on appropriations for the Government Printing Office.

We look forward to working with the Public Printer in what promises to be a dynamic marketing program for government publications and the depository libraries. It is because of our intimate knowledge of the usefulness of government publications, as well as our belief that the citizenry should have access to materials printed at public expense, that we supported the Public Printer's original FY 1983 budget request of $28,889,000 for the various programs of the Superintendent of Documents and the $303,000 pay raise supplemental for FY 1982 for the Office of the Superintendent of Documents. When the Public Printer, Mr. Sawyer, testified before your subcommittee last month, he stated that the pay supplemental for fiscal 1982 would not be needed and requested $550,000 less in the salaries and expenses appropriation for FY 1983. In light of Mr. Sawyer's proposal to furlough GPO employees, the American Library Association is surprised at his request for less funding. ALA is concerned that the furloughs may disrupt the operations of the Superintendent of Documents whose office receives appropriated funds to cover statutorily mandated services. ployees whose salaries are covered by appropriations should not be furloughed for lack of business when the Monthly Catalog is seriously behind in providing access to documents already distributed. The furloughs are also likely to delay the timely distribution of government documents to Depository Libraries.

Em

Indeed, we think that there is an urgent need to provide more funds for the Government Printing Office in order to keep unique and indispensible government documents like the Federal Register and the Congressional Record widely available to the public. A year's subscription to the Congressional Record increased last year from $75 to $208 a year. We deplore the skyrocketing 300 percent increase in the price of the Federal Register, from $75 to $300 a year, which took effect on March 29. While the Public Printer has stated that the approved increases to the subscription rates for the Congressional Record and the Federal Register have eliminated the need for subsidies for these publications, full cost recovery means that small businesses, hard-pressed public, college and school libraries and many of the public at large will not be able to afford these essential government documents. Only those willing and able to pay high prices or to go to a depository library will be able to keep abreast of the proposed and promulgated policies of the various agencies of the federal government. We recommend that the cost of subscriptions to the Congressional Record and the Federal Register be restored to their previous, affordable levels, at least for nonprofit institutions, and that cost recovery be achieved by increasing charges to the government entity placing the notice. This would be consistent with the current deregulation fervor and would place the cost at the source.

The philosophy behind our position has been expressed on numerous occasions. ALA believes that a democracy has an obligation to make available to its citizens the results of its actions, including its information collecting activities and its research and development efforts. It simply makes good sense to encourage citizen

awareness of fundamental government policies and activities. ALA urges that government publications not be priced out of the reach of nonprofit libraries whose users often have no other access to these fundamental tools of democracy. American libraries are being hit on many fronts in the current budget blitz. The President's FY 1983 budget has recommended zero funding for the Library Services and Construction Act, Title II of the Higher Education Act which funds academic library programs, and reduced funding for the education block grant which could provide assistance for school libraries. When these proposed federal cuts are combined with state and local cuts and escalating postal rates, the cumulative effect on libraries is devastating. Fewer than 8 percent of the 18,000 public libraries, branches and college libraries in the United States are eligible to receive one copy of the Congressional Record, Federal Register and other basic publications free through the depository library program. ALA endorses the attached resolution of the 1979 White House Conference on Library and Information Services which urges the U.S. Congress to continue to foster broad public participation in the federal government by substantial subsidies on the sale of basic federal documents and to continue to maintain a system of regional depository libraries.

At the end of fiscal year 1981, 1,353 depository libraries, most of them designated by members of Congress, made government doecuments freely available to the general public in a joint venture between the Government Printing Office and the depository library. No more than two libraries in each state are designated as regional depositories which have additional responsibilities to retain one copy of all government documents made available and to provide interlibrary loan, reference service, and assistance to regular depositories in their region. All other depository libraries are selective depositories; they choose from a classified list of series and groups of publications those which best meet the needs of their users, subject to space and service limitations. The average number of libraries which choose a particular depository item is from 300 to 400.

The depository library system provides a bare minimum of public access across the country to those publications produced at taxpayer expense. It is a cooperative system with costs distributed among the issuing agencies, the Government Printing Office, and the individual libraries, and the institutions and local and state governments of which they are a part. The publications themselves range from basic documents about federal government activity such as the Congressional Record, the Federal Register, and Supreme Court decisions, to pamphlets on child development and energy conservation, to multi-volume census reports and technical publications. They are used heavily by the public and require a major commitment from depository libraries in terms of personnel requirements, staff training, space and equipment costs, and access tools. In an effort to cut costs on the state level, depository libraries are working out cooperative arrangements for acquiring and sharing government documents more efficiently and cost-effectively. We encourage GPO to do whatever it can to promote these efforts and to maintain the high level of service to the depository libraries.

Thousands of non-depository libraries, like depository libraries, spend large sums of money acquiring and processing government publications, as well as assisting users in identifying appropriate sources of information and making the most efficient use of them. In short, libraries make a substantial investment when making federal publications available. Any increase in the price of these materials further shifts the responsibility of the federal government to keep the public informed to the local library.

The depository library program has improved a great deal in recent years, but the job is not complete and needs strong Congressional support. In recent years, the number of publications distributed under the program has increased substantially thanks to improved GPO and agency procedures which ensure that their publications are made available for distribution. However, in the past year, government documents librarians have been concerned about Department of Energy publications which have not been distributed through the depository system, resulting in many DOE publications being available only by purchase.

In an effort to hold down costs, more than half of the 55,600 titles distributed to depository libraries in fiscal 1981 were distributed in microform. While we recognize GPO's need to reduce costs, ALA is concerned that the trend to convert more and more titles to microform could limit accessibility to government documents. libraries do not have funds to buy more microform readers to serve their users. government's move to new technology should not lead to even more limited access on the part of the public.

Many
The

ALA commends the cataloging and indexing program which produces the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications. The Monthly Catalog provides researchers, students, librarians and all citizens with an organized guide to government publications. The library community also greatly appreciates the high caliber professional assistance provided in the GPO library and hopes that GPO will conue the library's high level of staffing and service.

We are pleased with the February 9 action of the Joint Committee on Printing reaffirming congressional support for the distribution of publications through government bookstores and directing the Public Printer to include them in GPO's new marketing program. We await with interest the General Accounting Office analysis of the General Sales Program and the bookstores.

Concerned that the sudden closing of 23 of the 27 GPO bookstores, as proposed by the Public Printer, would leave an access and service vacuum, ALA's Government Documents Round Table developed several recommendations for service improvements which it submitted to the Joint Committee on Printing and the Public Printer. your information, the recommendations are as follows:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

For

Establish a nationwide toll-free telephone line with an adequate staff
to handle calls from the public and libraries on the availability, price,
payment procedures, ordering procedures, etc., for GPO sales publications.
This staff should also be familiar with the depository library system and
with other sources of government publications.

Work toward distributing to depository libraries all sales items listed on the Publications Reference File. Currently there are numerous titles listed on the PRF which the public can buy, but which are not available for examination at the local depository library. It should not be too difficult to program a computer to do this cross-checking.

Initiate a massive ongoing publicity campaign to alert the public to both the depository library program and the sales program.

Distribute the Publications Reference File on a weekly basis to depository libraries, since their need for an up-to-date sales file would dramatically increase as they take inquiries formerly handled by GPO bookstores.

Arrange for a taped message for callers to closed bookstores explaining the store has been closed, giving the toll-free ordering number, and information about the closest depository library where publications may be consulted. (Since a few depositories do sell government publications, these taped messages should be prepared in consultation with local depositories.)

Provide 24-hour turn-around time within GPO for processing all orders.
(We were very pleased to hear formerly Superintendent of Documents
William Barrett announce this goal at the ALA Midwinter Meeting.)

Provide alternatives to the U.S. Postal Service when faster delivery is
needed for sales items and depository shipments. At present, mail delivery
from Washington, D.C. to Houston, for example, is 15 days. Service to the
West Coast and Hawaii takes considerably longer. Businesses, law firms,

and other users often have an urgent need for government documents and
two-week mail order deliveries are unacceptable.

8. Make provision for regional and possibly other depository libraries to receive second copies of selected titles to help cope with the added demand caused by bookstore closings.

Many of these recommendations are consistent with the Public Printer's announced plans to improve the marketing of government publications. The American Library Association supports such improvements, and is very appreciative of the Public Printer's enthusiastic support of the depository library system. Our concern in the matter of the GPO bookstores is that convenient public access to government information of public interest and for which public tax monies have been expended be maintained.

At its Midwinter Meeting in January, the Council of the American Library Association passed a resolution on the sale of GPO publications which is attached. In conclusion, we wish to express our appreciation for this opportunity to present our views to the Subcommittee on Legislative Branch Appropriations. We offer our assistance should the members of the Subcommittee need it. As the public's window on government, we consider the effective and efficient operation of the Government Printing Office a high priority on Congress' agenda.

Sincerely,

Eileen D. Cooke

Director

ALA Washington Office