****Begin File******************Begin File*******************Begin File**** *************************************************************************** ISSN 1069-7799 ALAWON ALA Washington Office Newsline An electronic publication of the American Library Association Washington Office Volume 3, Number 38 July 27, 1994 In this issue: (192 lines) LIBRARY OF CONGRESS FINANCIAL REFORM BILL INTRODUCED SENATE HOLDS OVERSIGHT HEARING ON LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SENATE FLOOR ACTION STILL PENDING FOR ESEA REAUTHORIZATION *************************************************************************** LIBRARY OF CONGRESS FINANCIAL REFORM BILL INTRODUCED Rep. Charles Rose (D-NC), chair of the House Administration Committee, introduced H.R. 4736, the Library of Congress Financial Reform Act of 1994, on July 13. The bill was drafted by Library of Congress officials as a minimal and remedial financial reform bill to replace the Library of Congress Fund Act (S. 345). The bill addresses accounting weaknesses identified by the General Accounting Office, the need for revolving fund authority, and other technical amendments. A draft of this legislation was analyzed by the ALA Committee on Legislation during the recent Annual Conference. The Committee on Legislation concluded that the new draft focused only on current operations and services and removed the issues which had caused concern in the library community relating to S. 345. The ALA committee recommended, and the ALA Council adopted on June 29, a resolution supporting the proposed LC Financial Reform Act and encouraging prompt enactment by Congress. A summary of the resolution can be found in ALAWON Vol. 3, No. 32. Librarian of Congress James Billington, in an appearance on July 14 at an oversight hearing before the Senate Rules and Administration Committee (see the following article), appended a copy of the ALA resolution to his testimony. The resolution is also being transmitted to appropriate congressional committees directly by the ALA Washington Office. The Librarian said the bill sets up a revolving fund with improved accountability of funds, and updates gift funds and Economy Act transactions. (Economy Act transactions involve services for other federal agencies.) The bill is focused only on current services, such as the Cataloging Distribution Service, and modernizes authority for LC to recover distribution costs of CDS information products and services. Other provisions include authority for LC to retain damages paid to the Library (such as for lost or stolen items), the authority to sell the surplus remaining at the end of the gift and exchange process, additional authority for the Trust Fund Board, and authority for a mechanism to pay arbitrators for Copyright Royalty Tribunal panels (a follow-up to recent legislation transferring this responsibility to the Librarian). *************************************************************************** SENATE HOLDS OVERSIGHT HEARING ON LIBRARY OF CONGRESS The Senate Rules and Administration Committee held an oversight hearing on July 14 on the Library of Congress. Chair Wendell Ford (D-KY) indicated the hearing was one of a series on Legislative Branch agencies. Librarian of Congress James Billington provided three-part testimony in which he discussed (1) services to Congress, (2) services to the nation, and (3) internal operations. Services to Congress are provided through the Congressional Research Service, the Law Library and electronic information initiatives. Billington noted that CRS has 15 percent fewer staff than in 1980, but congressional requests increased more than 75 percent during that time. The average tenure of Senate staff is currently 3.5 years, according to the LC testimony, so CRS helps provide an institutional memory. One of the electronic information initiatives is the Global Legal Information Network (GLIN) through which foreign national institutions contribute their statutes to a database at LC's Law Library, thus providing instant access to current laws of foreign nations. Under services to the nation, the Librarian described numerous activities in acquisitions, cataloging, preservation, public service, books for the blind and physically handicapped, and cultural affairs. A new initiative is a National Digital Library, which LC sees not as a single entity, but as many libraries linked electronically throughout the nation and the world. LC is attempting to define its own roles and responsibilities in this new digital environment. The NDL will include significant digital collections, some digital in origin and some converted from library collections in traditional formats. Several planning meetings with national groups are being scheduled, including meetings with technical experts, cataloging specialists, library and education community leaders, and the copyright community, to discuss the issues involved. The Library will launch a pilot project to test collective licensing mechanisms for schools and libraries. LC is also developing an Electronic Copyright Management System. Acknowledging that cutbacks in public services and hours and increased security measures have not been popular with researchers, the Librarian said no further reductions in hours will be needed in 1995. General reading rooms are open 64.5 hours per week; special reading rooms, 51 hours per week. Under internal operations, the Librarian discussed collections security measures, secondary storage plans, reopening of the Jefferson and Adams Buildings, and personnel operations. He introduced Hiram Logan Davis, who was scheduled to become Deputy Librarian of Congress on July 18. According to the testimony: "As the Library's chief operating officer, Dr. Davis will supervise the Library's day-to-day internal operations, and the Library's seven service units will report to him. Dr. Davis will head the Library's Management Team, oversee the budget, and supervise the implementation of the Library's 1994-2000 strategic plan." The Librarian also discussed the Library of Congress Financial Reform Act of 1994. See the previous article. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) testified on his bill, the Library of Congress Book Protection Act (S. 1900), to authorize the Library to impose fines for overdue books. Asked by Committee members about the bill, the Librarian replied that extended loan is available only to Congress and federal agencies. The proposed remedy, he felt, would be cumbersome and costly to administer for very little return. Further, very few legislators kept items for an undue length of time. Committee members seemed to feel the bill was not an urgent need at this time. McCain said he hopes to work with the Library on the issue. The Senate panel, while expressing support for many of the services the Librarian mentioned in his testimony, raised questions in several areas. These areas included the concerns of researchers about cutbacks in service; digitization and coordinating the now separate legislative databases; the status of deacidification efforts; and whether small libraries, isolated areas, and groups such as Eskimos and Indians were well served by electronic information initiatives. The Librarian, in responding to the latter concern, said that electronic information was a great equalizer, especially for those at a long distance. At the same time, LC would continue to sell catalog cards and operate its surplus book program and books for the blind. Both Senators Ford (D-KY) and Stevens (R-AK) asked about intellectual property issues related to electronic information. Former Register of Copyrights Barbara Ringer said she felt publishers and librarians and educators were now ready to address these issues, and the Library would like to provide a forum and some pilot projects so that something like blanket licensing could evolve. Stevens assured LC officials that they were "going into never-never land." He thought the copyright law might need major revision. Sen. John Warner (R-VA) said that as he looked at what LC was doing, a name change might be in orderūperhaps a Library of and for the United States. He thought CRS was the single most valuable tool he had to serve his constituents, but that service to Congress represented a disproportionately smaller portion of LC activity. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) indicated that he felt the quality of CRS responses to routine congressional requests was declining, and wondered whether Library attention to electronic initiatives was detracting from the basic mission. The Librarian responded that over its history, the expansion of LC's mission had been legislatively directed to serve both Congress and the people who elected them. Service directly to Congress represented about 30 percent of LC's budget. However, he pointed out that Congress would have a very different kind of CRS without ready access to the Library's entire collections. *************************************************************************** SENATE FLOOR ACTION STILL PENDING FOR ESEA REAUTHORIZATION The Senate has not yet considered the Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization, although S. 1513 was ready for floor action before the July 4th recess. The schedule has been crammed with appropriations bills, and other pressing legislation. *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office, 110 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC 20002-5675. Internet: alawash@alawash.org; Phone: 202-547-4440; Fax: 202-547-7363. Editor: Lee G. Enyart (lge@alawash.org). 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