****Begin File******************Begin File*******************Begin File**** *************************************************************************** ALAWON ALA Washington Office Newsline An electronic publication of the American Library Association Washington Office Volume 2, Number 32 July 30, 1993 In this issue: (187 lines) NETWORKING APPLICATIONS BILL PASSES HOUSE GPO APPROPRIATIONS BILL READY FOR CONFERENCE LC APPROPRIATIONS BILL READY FOR CONFERENCE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR LITERACY GRANT AVAILABLE UPCOMING MEETINGS NCLIS MEETING IN PENNSYLVANIA NCLIS OPEN FORUM IN SACRAMENTO NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR LITERACY ADVISORY BOARD *************************************************************************** NETWORKING APPLICATIONS BILL PASSES HOUSE On July 26, the House passed HR 1757, the National Information Infrastructure Act of 1993, by a vote of 326-61. The bill supports networking applications in education, health care, libraries, and government information. The bill's provisions were summarized in earlier ALAWON issues. Concerning applications for libraries, the House report (H. Rept. 103-173) on the bill states: The Committee calls particular attention to the need to develop common standards and formats...to permit users to identify, locate, and access needed resources in a consistent fashion, and the need to provide training for librarians...to facilitate use of digital libraries by the public. Managing network access to information in electronic form calls for the development of new standards through the collaborative efforts of librarians, information scientists, and sophisticated users to realize fully the benefits of digital libraries. In addition, as less technically sophisticated users seek access to digital libraries, support services and training programs will be essential for ensuring effective use of information resources available on Internet. In the Senate, the networking applications legislation is in Section 6 of S. 4, the National Competitiveness Act. The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee has not issued its report on S. 4, so the bill is not yet scheduled for floor action. *************************************************************************** GPO APPROPRIATIONS PASSED HR 2348, the Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill for FY94, includes $29,082,000 for the Salaries and Expenses Appropriation for the Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, as passed by the House on June 10 and the Senate on July 23. Funding for the Depository Library Program is included in this amount, the same level Congress approved for FY93. At a time when the budgets for most legislative branch agencies are being cut, holding the line for GPO is an achievement. The bill provides that funds, not to exceed $2 million, are authorized for producing and disseminating Congressional Serial Sets and other related publications for 1991 and 1992 to depository and other designated libraries. House report language (H. Rept. 103-117), in which the Senate committee concurred (S. Rept. 103-103), specifies that the Superintendent of Documents can allocate funds for "the maximum benefit of the depository library program." *************************************************************************** LC APPROPRIATIONS BILL READY FOR CONFERENCE The Senate passed its version of HR 2348, the Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill for FY94, on July 23. As approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 20, the bill includes the same amount for the Library of Congress as passed on June 10 by the House--$331,276,000. Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Harry Reid (D-NV), after spending some time relating the significance of the Library, advised his colleagues that "we have had to cut and hack the Library of Congress' budget. There are programs that we have had to eliminate. That is tough when we are dealing with an institution that is so significant and so important to this country." The Senate bill includes $431,000 less than the House amount for LC's National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. During floor consideration, the Senate approved an amendment by Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-OR) to restore $1,073,595 to LC ($1,018,595 for the American Memory project and $50,000 for administrative support for Librarian Emeritus Daniel Boorstin). As a result, the total available to LC under the Senate- passed bill would be $331,918,595, $642,595 more than the House bill, but less than the FY93 level. The Senate bill removes House language specifying that all LC activities and expenditures would be subject to approval in the annual appropriations measure, and instead adds report language requiring approval of the appropriations committees for new projects or programs. House-Senate conference on HR 2348 is expected before Congress recesses on August 6. *************************************************************************** NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR LITERACY GRANT AVAILABLE The National Institute for Literacy is inviting applications for an award to establish and develop a National Center for Adult Literacy and Learning Disabilities. The Center will help NIFL enhance the capacity of all literacy service providers to identify and teach adults with learning disabilities. Funds will be awarded for up to three years, with an option for two additional years, subject to program authorization and availability of appropriations. The appropriation for FY93 is $500,000; one grant will be awarded. The deadline for submitting applications is August 16, 1993. For further information and a complete application package, see the _Federal Register_, July 8, 1993, pp. 36782-36799. *************************************************************************** UPCOMING MEETINGS NCLIS MEETING IN PENNSYLVANIA The National Commission on Libraries and Information Science will meet on August 5 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Northwest Regional Library, 68 West Chelten Avenue, Philadelphia, PA. The meeting features a presentation by Sara Parker, Commissioner of Libraries, State Library of Pennsylvania. On August 6,, NCLIS will meet from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Free Library of Pennsylvania, Skyline room, 1901 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA. The meeting will include a tour of the Special Collections of the Free Library, an update on the Children's and Youth Literacy Initiative, and a presentation by Charles M. McClure, NCLIS Distinguished Researcher. Both meetings are open to the public. For more information, contact Barbara Whiteleather at 202-606-9200. NCLIS OPEN FORUM IN SACRAMENTO On September 2, the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science will hold an open forum on Children and Youth Services: Redefining the Federal Role for Libraries. The forum will take place at the California State Library, Room 500, 1001 6th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814, from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. The forum will provide an opportunity for representatives from elected officials; community advocacy groups and organizations; school library media centers; public libraries; academic libraries, educational, literacy, and information services organizations and others to offer comments, observations, and suggestions related to Federal roles and responsibilities for library and information services, and literacy programs offered to children and youth. Anyone interested in presenting oral or written statements should notify Kim Miller or Peter Young at NCLIS, 1110 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 820, Washington, DC 20005-3522, 202-606-9200, by August 16. Written statements must be received at the NCLIS office by October 15. For further information, or to make arrangements for disabled persons, contact Kim Miller at NCLIS. NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR LITERACY ADVISORY BOARD The Advisory Board of the National Institute for Literacy will meet on August 12 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and on August 13 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. The meeting will be held at the National Institute for Literacy, 800 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20006. The agenda includes briefings on current and upcoming program activities. For further information, contact Thomas R. Hill, Executive Officer, at the address above or at 202-632-1500. *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** ALAWON is an irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office, 110 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC 20002-5675. Phone: 202-547-4440; Fax: 202-547-7363; Internet: alawash@alawash.org. Editor and List Owner: Fred King (fdk@alawash.org). All or part of ALAWON may be redistributed, with appropriate credits. ALAWON is available free of charge and is available only in electronic form. To subscribe, send the message "subscribe ala-wo [your name]" to listserv@uicvm (Bitnet) or listserv@uicvm.uic.edu (internet). Back issues of ALAWON are available from the list server. To find out what's available, send the message "send ala-wo filelist" to the listserv. The ALA-WO filelist contains the list of files with the exact filename and filetype. 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