ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 9, Number 22 March 17, 2000 In this issue: [1] House Budget Resolution Mark-up Held [2] Rep. Holt Hosts New Jersey Librarians [3] Public Printer Names Five to Depository Library Council [1] House Budget Resolution Mark-up Held The House Budget Committee approved its FY2001 budget resolution on March 15. The budget would provide a total spending level of $596.5 billion, which is $10 billion above a freeze at last year's level. The total increase for Function 500, the section of the budget that includes Education and related programs was $2.2 billion above last year's level. The majority of the increase was in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) at $2 billion. The total funding level for Function 500 was $4.7 billion below the Administration's budget request for FY2001. The budget plan would set aside the Social Security surplus but would use $10 billion of the on-budget surplus for tax cuts in FY2001 and more tax cuts to be spread out over five years. During the mark-up, Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) offered an amendment to shift $15.2 billion for a proposed tax cut to hiring new teachers, school construction and renovation and to increase the maximum Pell grant to $3,500. The amendment failed 18-23. Action is expected in the Senate Budget Committee after their recess is over on March 20. The deadline for completion of the Budget Resolution is April 15. --Mary Costabile [2] Rep. Holt Hosts New Jersey Librarians On March 15, Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) hosted a group of nearly 50 librarians from New Jersey school public and academic libraries. "Libraries really are the community centers," Rep. Holt said. In his welcoming remarks, he vowed that this was "the start of an ongoing relationship." Holt expressed interest in helping secure federal funds for libraries. He said he had visited more than half of the 67 town libraries in his jurisdiction and intended to visit the rest. He said libraries had given him "a wonderful platform." He introduced Michelle Farrell and Margo Huber from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, who discussed the IMLS programs and the new IMLS Web site. Mary Costabile and Claudette Tennant, from the ALA Office of Government Relations, briefed the attendees on library issues and suggested that they approach Rep. Holt to co-sponsor H.R. 3008 and H.R. 3249. H.R. 3008 is the school library media resources bill; H.R. 3249 is a bill to amend the IRS Code to provide that a deduction equal to fair market value be allowed for charitable contributions of literary, musical, artistic or scholarly compositions created by the donor. The attendees also received a tour of the Library of Congress and Smithsonian Libraries that was arranged by Rep. Holt. --Mary Costabile, Claudette Tennant [3] Public Printer Names Five to Depository Library Council Note: The following is a March 15 press release from the Government Printing Office. For more information, contact Andrew M. Sherman at 202/512-1991. Public Printer Michael F. DiMario has named five new members to the Depository Library Council. The Council advises the Public Printer and Government Printing Office (GPO) officials on issues related to public access to Government information products through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). Administered by GPO, the FDLP is a nationwide system comprising more than 1,300 libraries acting in partnership with the GPO to provide the general public with local access to Federal Government information products at no cost. The newly appointed members bring diversified experience to the Council. They are: Charlene C. Cain, Associate Librarian/Government Documents Librarian, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA; Cathy Nelson Hartman, Documents Librarian, Electronic Resources Coordinator, University of North Texas, Denton, TX; Dena Hutto, Documents/Social Science Librarian, Reed College, Portland, OR; Greta E. Marlatt, Head, Information Services, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA; and John A. Stevenson, Coordinator, Government Documents and Maps Processing Unit, University of Delaware, Newark, DE. The Depository Library Council consists of 15 representatives of the Government information community who serve for a term of three years. Each year, the Public Printer appoints five members. The newly appointed members will be introduced to the Council activities and procedures at the fall 2000 meeting in Arlington, VA, to be held October 22-25. Often called America's first "freedom of information" program, the FDLP ensures that the American public has access to its Government's information. Depository libraries safeguard the public's right to know by collecting, organizing, maintaining, preserving, and assisting users with information from the Federal Government. GPO disseminates Government information at no cost to designated depository libraries throughout the country. These depository libraries, in turn, provide local, no-fee access to Government information in all formats in an impartial environment with professional assistance. There are 53 "regional" depositories that have agreed to receive all the materials distributed by GPO and retain them for permanent public access. The remaining "selective" libraries choose the materials they receive based on the demands of their constituencies and have limited retention responsibilities. Any member of the public can visit these depository libraries and use the Federal depository collections, in which they will find information on careers, business opportunities, consumer information, health and nutrition, legal and regulatory information, demographics, and countless other subjects. In 1999, GPO distributed over 16 million copies of 40,000 tangible products to depository libraries. GPO Access, the agency's acclaimed Web site at http://www.access.gpo.gov, provides free online access by depository libraries and the public to more than 170,000 individual publications from all three branches of government, including the Congressional Record, the Federal Register, Commerce Business Daily, through information hosted on its own servers as well as links at various agency and official partner sites. GPO Access currently averages approximately 21 million document retrievals monthly. The Depository Library Council meets twice a year: in April at various sites around the country, and in October in the Washington, DC, area. The current Chair is Duncan M. Aldrich, Head, Business and Government Information Center, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, and the Chair-elect is Maggie Farrell, Associate Dean of Libraries, Roland R. Renne Library, Montana State University - Bozeman, Bozeman, MT. ****** 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. 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. Executive Director: Emily Sheketoff; Editor: Deirdre Herman. Office of Government Relations: Lynne Bradley, Director; Mary Costabile, Peter Kaplan, Miriam Nisbet and Claudette Tennant. Office for Information Technology Policy: Rick Weingarten, Director; Jennifer Hendrix, Carrie Russell and Saundra Shirley.