ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

1970 Census Data Access Program

The Center for Research Libraries has announced that it has been awarded a grant of $225,000 by the Ford Foundation for support of a program to provide the widest possible access to machine-readable forms of the 1970 Census Summary Data and public use samples on magnetic tape, and to reduce the cost of using these data for research purposes.

The program for which the grant has been given was developed according to the recommendations of representatives of the major universities that are members of The Center for Research Libraries and other experts in electronic data processing and social science research. Although the program will be administered by The Center for Research Libraries any academic nonprofit research institution or organization is eligible to participate and secure matching funds, whether it is a member of the Center or not. Other institutions may participate in the program but will not receive matching funds.

The program provides for compacting the 1970 Census Data on Magnetic Tape, provides programs for reading and using the tape, makes available expert advice on the data base and the research utilization, and provides a clearinghouse operation to encourage further sharing of programs and of special data arrangements. Computer programs are available for delivery now, and the compacted tapes will also be available as soon as the basic summary tapes are released by the Census Bureau.

The funds from the Foundation are divided into two parts. One part is an outright grant of $125,000 to help subsidize the cost of acquiring a complete set of magnetic tapes from the Census Bureau, making from these a master set in compressed form, and providing basic computer programs and other fundamental services. The remaining $100,000 is available for matching grants to participants in the program. If a participant elects the START-1 program, the matching grant is $2,500, leaving $5,000 to be paid by the participant. If the START-REGULAR program is elected, the matching grant is $5,000, with $19,000 to be paid by the participant. START-1 participants will have the right to buy magnetic tapes included in the program, to gain access to special computer programs for use of the tapes, to acquire staff training through regularly scheduled seminars, and to receive copies of the materials explaining the program and its use.

START-REGULAR participants will have the rights of START-1 participants with the following additional benefits: the right to the File Analysis System, a computer system specifically designed for use of the 1970 Census Data; the right to stated personal and individual training of staff members; regular individual training of staff members; and, regular individual review of the participants’ Census Data requirements.

To provide the services required The Center for Research Libraries has contracted with the National Data Use and Access Laboratories, Inc. (DUALabs), Arlington, Virginia, as the agency whose experience and existing capabilities will enable it most quickly and most efficiently to satisfy the program objectives. (National Data Use and Access Laboratories, Inc., is incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia as a nonprofit corporation.)

College & Research Libraries is published by the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, 17 times yearly—6 bimonthly journal issues and II monthly, combining July- August, News issues. Subscription, $10.00 a year or, to members of the division, $5.00, included in dues. Circulation and advertising office: American Library Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, III. 60611. Second-class postage paid at Fulton, Missouri 65251.

News editor: Michael Herbison, Casper College, Casper, Wyoming 82601. Editor: Richard M. Dougherty, School of Library Science, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y. 13210. President. ACRL: Anne C. Edmonds. Executive Secretary, ACRL: J. Donald Thomas, ALA.

NOW YOU CAN GET JANE EYRE ON THE SHELVES AS FAST AS WINNIE THE POOH.

After years of supplying LJ Cards for children's books, we've now grown to adults'.

LJ catalog card sets are now available for all English language adult titles published from 1969 on.

Our adult card sets are designed to accomplish the same thing as LJ processing kits for juvenile titles—namely, to get new acquisitions on the shelves while they're still new.

So, as with all LJ Cards, we guarantee to fill your order within 10 days after receiving it—provided, of course, the book has been published. If we fail, return the order and we’ll return your money. (To make sure we don’t have to return any money, we’ve recently increased our orderhandling staff by 250%. And our facilities by 300%.

You can order adult card sets three ways: with standard Library of Congress order slips; copies of multiple order forms; or any 3"by 5"slip listing author, title, publisher, date of publication, and edition. The price is $.35 per set.

And no matter how you do it, you can now have what elementary and high school librarians have had for some time.

An up-to-date reading room. Instead of just an up-to-date storage room.

XEROX® BiblioGraphics

2500 Schuster Drive, Cheverly, Md. 20781

XEROX IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF XEROX CORPORATION

Participating institutions will sign an agreement directly with DUALabs since the participants will receive all services directly from DUALabs in accordance with the agreement and the supporting contract between the Center and DUALabs.

In outline, participants will receive the following benefits:

1. The right to buy at marginal cost (approximately $35 to $40 per reel) reproduction of the 1970 Census data in compacted form. In this form the data will occupy about 300 reels instead of the approximately 2,000 issued by the Census Bureau.

2. Programs usable on any IBM computer model 360-30 or larger for reading, tabulating, and summarizing the data.

3. A master index to the complete count data base and full technical documentation.

4. Training sessions and seminars from the DUALabs staff covering the census data base and research of the data program.

Questions about any phase of the program outlined above should be directed to the Center for Research Libraries and marked to the attention of Gordon Williams, Director. ■ ■