ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 8, Number 16 February 18, 1999 In this issue: Wand, Kessler Testify on Behalf of LC and GPO Appropriations On February 10 Patricia Wand, university librarian at American University in Washington, D.C. and Ridley Kessler, Jr., regional documents librarian at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, testified on behalf of FY2000 funding for the Library of Congress and the Government Printing Office before the Subcommitte of the Legislative Branch of the House Committee on Appropriations, chaired by Rep. Charles Taylor (R-NC). Kessler's written testimony included the ALA Resolution on Government Printing Office FY2000 Salaries and Expenses Appropriations passed by ALA Council on February 3. Appearing on behalf of ALA, the Association of Research Libraries, the American Association of Law Libraries, the Medical Library Association and the Special Libraries Association, Wand testified that the Library of Congress' digital initiatives demonstrate the enormous value of and demand for providing public access to the growing body of digital resources. She highlighted the Library's $48 million budget request for Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, $8 million for the Library of Congress Law Library, proposed technology initiatives, and the enhancement of security measures. The Library's FY2000 budget request of $383.7 million, she said, would allow the Library to maintain current programs while continuing to make investments in networked-based projects. Wand added that libraries will join in the Library of Congress's bicentennial celebration in 2000 by highlighting local legacies and the role of libraries in communities throughout the nation. Dr. James Billington, the Librarian of Congress, and several staff members from the Library of Congress, testified earlier in the afternoon of February 10 on FY2000 appropriations for the Library of Congress of $383.7 million, a 5.5 percent increase over FY1999. Dr. Billington explained that an increase of $4.2 million would support technological expansion of the Integrated Library System, which coordinates cataloguing and acquisitions for the Library, and the Electronic Resources Information Project, which will explore new approaches to handling digital materials. The Congressional Research Service budget request for FY2000 is $71.3 million, an increase of $4.1 million from FY1999. Ridley Kessler, also testifying on behalf of the five library associations, spoke in strong support of the Public Printer Michael DiMario's FY2000 budget request of $31.245 million for the Superintendent of Documents Salaries and Expenses appropriations. Kessler stressed the importance of access to government materials through the Federal Depository Library system to the citizens of North Carolina and across the country. Future development of GPO access, he said, depended on the requested budgetary increase. He cited the 10-15 million downloaded documents per month as example of the increased demand and need for support. Kessler also described the contributions made by depository libraries to catalog, bind and provide computer access to the materials, saying that some regional depositories can spend up to $1 million per year to support collections and services. He stressed his concern and that of fellow librarians with governmental lack of compliance with Title 44 of the U.S. Code. Rep. Ed Pastor (D-AZ), a new member of the Subcommittee, followed up those remarks with questions and concern about fugitive documents. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) described the attempt to pass new legislation in the last Congress and the de-funding of the Joint Committee on Printing. Kessler told the Subcommittee about his attempt to retrieve the electronic copy of Military Specifications and Standards, a manual used by many small independent producers of materials. The manual cannot be printed out because, according to Kessler, it requires a fee to subscribe. On February 3 GPO Public Printer Michael DiMario testified on behalf of the Government Printing Office appropriations request for FY2000 of $128.5 million. This request includes $82.2 million for the annual Congressional Printing and Binding Appropriation and $31.245 million for the annual Salaries and Expenses Appropriation of the Superintendent of Documents. The request also includes $15 million for GPO's revolving fund, to remain available until expended for extraordinary expenses associated with the replacement of the air-conditioning systems, elevator renovation and Year 2000 compliance in the computer systems. Copies of the testimony by Patricia Wand and Ridley Kessler, Jr. are available at http://www.ala.org/washoff/statements.html. The Resolution on Government Printing Office FY 2000 Salaries and Expenses Appropriations is available at http://www.ala.org/washoff/resolutions.html. ****** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. To subscribe to ALAWON, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. To unsubscribe to ALAWON, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. ALA Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 403, Washington, D.C. 20004-1701; phone: 202.628.8410 or 800.941.8478 toll-free; fax: 202.628.8419; e-mail: alawash@alawash.org; Web site: http://www.ala.org/washoff. Editor: Lynne E. Bradley; Managing Editor: Deirdre Herman; Contributors: Phyllis Albritton, Mary Costabile, Adam Eisgrau, Carol Henderson, Peter Kaplan, Claudette Tennant and Rick Weingarten.