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                                                             ISSN 1069-7799
                                  ALAWON
                      ALA Washington Office Newsline
                     An electronic publication of the
              American Library Association Washington Office

                            Volume 3, Number 44
                              August 25, 1994

   In this issue: (86 lines)
     LIBRARY POSTAL RATE INCREASE STILL PENDING - ACTION NEEDED

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        LIBRARY POSTAL RATE INCREASE STILL PENDING - ACTION NEEDED

The 73.7 percent increase proposed by the U.S. Postal Service for the
fourth-class library rate is still pending.  The library rate makes
possible the mailing at less than commercial rates of books and other
library and educational materials among libraries, schools, colleges,
museums, and other nonprofit entities.  Publishers and distributors use the
library rate to deliver materials ordered by schools and libraries.  The
library rate is used heavily by many libraries for books-by-mail programs
to reach isolated and homebound users, for delivery of books reserved by
users, and for interlibrary loans.

ALA has become a limited intervenor in the general postal rate case, and
filed a limited request for discovery.  These efforts have elicited no
plausible evidence from USPS to explain the huge increase proposed for the
library rate, compared with the 10 percent average increase proposed for
all rates.  

Furthermore, the general quality of cost data underlying the Postal
Service's rate proposals in this case is highly suspect.  Costing errors
discovered by other parties have forced USPS to withdraw a 34 percent rate
increase proposed for second-class in-county newspapers, and have prompted
the Postal Rate Commission to strike the Postal Service's cost data for
business reply mail.

The Postal Rate Commission, an agency that is independent of the Postal
Service, must decide later this fall whether to approve the proposed rates. 
If approved, the rates would take effect in early 1995.

In several previous rate cases, the Commission has rejected far smaller
rate increases because of similar questions about the supporting cost data.
Similar relief is warranted in this case.  Library rate mail accounts for
only 0.02 percent of all mail volume, and sampling error may well be
responsible for the absurdly high cost changes reported by the Postal
Service.  The tiny share of mail volume that uses the library rate also
means that a reduction in the proposed library rate would have little
effect on other rates.


ACTION NEEDED:  Increasing the level of protest and making more visible the
impact on library services without affordable alternatives may have the
most impact at this point in the rate case.  Libraries concerned about the
impact of the proposed 73.7 percent increase for the library postal rate
should write to their congressional delegations and ask these legislators
to appeal to the Postal Rate Commission on behalf of library constituents. 

Request that your Senators and Representatives ask on your behalf that the
Postal Rate Commission reject the proposed 73.7 percent library rate
increase as unduly burdensome on the nonprofit libraries and educational
institutions that depend on it.  Points to make could include:

     1.  The extraordinary size of the rate increase would have a
     devastating impact on the fixed budgets of publicly-funded and
     nonprofit libraries and educational institutions.

     2.  The USPS cost data used to justify this huge increase is of
     questionable value.

     3.  The Postal Rate Commission has in the past taken into account the
     impact of out-of-proportion rate increases and adjusted the proposal
     accordingly.

     4.  Give examples of the specific kinds of library services dependent
     on the library rate, and the nature of the users dependent on these
     services.

Ask your legislators to write to the Honorable Edward Gleiman, Chairman,
Postal Rate Commission, 1333 H St. NW, #300, Washington, DC 20268-0001, and
suggest that they enclose your letter.  Ask them to keep you informed. 
Send blind copies of your correspondence and any congressional replies to
the ALA Washington Office, 110 Maryland Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20002.

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ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the American Library
Association Washington Office, 110 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC
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