================================================================= ALAWON Volume 6, Number 70 ISSN 1069-7799 August 7, 1997 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (93 lines) U.S. POSTAL SERVICE REQUESTS STEEP INCREASE IN LIBRARY RATE; ALA TO PARTICIPATE IN RATE CASE _________________________________________________________________ U.S. POSTAL SERVICE REQUESTS STEEP INCREASE IN LIBRARY RATE; ALA TO PARTICIPATE IN RATE CASE The U.S. Postal Service has proposed a 28.57 percent increase for the first pound in the library rate as part of its July 10 request to change postal rates, fees and classifications. On August 6, ALA filed a legal notice to challenge the proposed increases in the library rate. About 50 organizations have signed up as intervenors in the Postal Service's rate case. The increases for the library rate are much higher than the adjustments USPS says average 4.5 percent across all types of domestic mail. USPS anticipates the new rates would be effective in April or May 1998. The library rate is used for mailing books and other library and educational materials among libraries, schools, colleges, museums and other nonprofit entities at less than commercial rates. This same rate is used by libraries for interlibrary loans, delivery of books reserved by users, and books-by-mail programs which provide books for isolated and homebound users. The full current and proposed USPS rate schedules and classification changes were published by the independent Postal Rate Commission in the July 23 Federal Register, pp. 39660-709. In addition to rate and fee changes, USPS is also proposing changes in classification and rate design. Both types of changes can have a significant effect on postage and mailing requirements. Although a table in the Federal Register (p. 39661) states the library rate increase at 13.1 percent, the proposed rate changes are much higher in the standard mail rate schedules for the library rate (p. 39695): Library Rate Current Proposed % increase First Pound $1.12 $1.44 28.57% Each additional pound through 7 pounds .42 .52 23.81% Each additional pound over 7 pounds .22 .25 13.64% DATA NEEDED: In order to document the impact and effect of steep increases in the library rate, please send information on the likely results by Monday, September 15 to Anne Heanue, ALA Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 403, Washington, D.C. 20004-1701; fax, 202/628-8419; or aah@alawash.org. Needed are examples of anticipated changes to library services and/or cost increases likely to result from the proposed library rate increase. Examples of changes in services might involve books-by-mail service or library rate delivery of reserve library materials. Also, if the large increases in the library rate two years ago resulted in discontinued services or the use of alternate delivery mechanisms, please provide information on these examples as well. _________________________________________________________________ ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc @ala.org. To unsubscribe, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/ washoff/alawon. Visit our Web site at http://www.alawash.org. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 800.941.8478 (V) Lynne E. Bradley, Editor Deirdre Herman, Managing Editor Contributors: Carol C. Henderson Anne Heanue All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================