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                                                   ISSN 1069-7799
                             ALAWON
                 ALA Washington Office Newsline
               An electronic publication of the 
         American Library Association Washington Office
                                
                      Volume 4, Number 104
                        December 9, 1995
                                
In this issue: (116 lines)
     HEARING HELD ON LIBRARY OF CONGRESS MANAGEMENT
     CONGRESS CONSIDERS NTIS PRIVATIZATION
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         HEARING HELD ON LIBRARY OF CONGRESS MANAGEMENT

On November 29, the Joint Committee on the Library, chaired by
Senator Mark Hatfield (R-OR), held the first in a series of 
hearings on oversight of the Library of Congress.  The hearing
was held in conjunction with members of the Senate and House
Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittees. The four-and-
one-half hour hearing focused on collection security, and
financial and general management issues.  The Library's use of
"fitness for duty" tests will be covered at a subsequent hearing.

Legislators suggested that the Library of Congress reorganize its
financial system and reexamine its management structure after
hearing testimony from the Library of Congress Inspector General,
John Rensbarger, and his deputy that the Library has not allowed
them the independence needed to conduct their work.  Additional 
concerns about thefts and mutilations of books and documents were
raised during the hearing.  Several lawmakers emphasized that
other libraries and federal agencies had similar problems. 
Librarian of Congress James Billington said he welcomed
Congressional oversight, but insisted "there has not been a
recent outbreak" of thefts at the Library, saying that most of
the $1.8 million in damages took place before 1992.   He
presented a strong defense, pointing out that the Library had
dramatically increased its cataloging productivity, reached out
to citizens through electronic technology, and raised millions of
dollars from the private sector during his tenure.

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             CONGRESS CONSIDERS NTIS PRIVATIZATION

When the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2586, the Debt
Limit Extension Act, on November 9 it included language that
would have abolished  the Department of Commerce and, among other
things, privatized the National Technical Information Service.   
Title II of H.R. 2586, sec. 2202 (c), provided that all functions
of NTIS  "are transferred to the Director of Office of Management
and Budget for privatization" within 18 months of enactment.  The
bill also appeared to contain two alternatives if an appropriate
arrangement for the privatization of  NTIS' functions has not
been made within 18 months: 1) NTIS would be transferred to the
National Scientific, Oceanic, and Atmospheric Administration the
bill also established; 2) the Director of OMB would submit to
Congress a proposal for legislation to establish NTIS as a wholly
owned government corporation.  The proposal should provide for
the corporation to perform substantially the same functions as
are performed by NTIS.   Further, the bill specified that no
funds would be authorized to be appropriated for NTIS or any
successor corporation.

When H.R. 2586 went to the Senate later on November 9, an
amendment by Senator Spencer Abraham (R-MI) was accepted that
struck the part of the bill abolishing the Department of Commerce
(see November 9 Congressional Record, pp. S16893-08).  He said
that "this is not the right time and this is not the right
vehicle for us to consider this important question of the
Department of Commerce."  Abraham hoped that soon the Senate
would have the opportunity to look either at the bill he
sponsored, S. 929, or some combination of that bill and the one
that was included in H.R. 2586.  S. 929 is the Commerce
Department Termination and Government Reorganization Act of 1995
(S. Rept. 104-164), as reported by the Senate Governmental
Affairs Committee on October 20.  That bill would terminate NTIS
and transfer its assets to the General Services Administration
for disposition.

Pending in the House is H.R. 1756 that would also attempt to
privatize NTIS and sell its assets.   The Clinton Administration
opposes any action to dismantle the Department of Commerce.

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ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the
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Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004.  Internet:
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Contributing to this issue: Anne A. Heanue and Claudette W.
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