ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

From Inside the DLP

By Dr. Katharine M. Stokes

College and University Library Specialist, Library Planning and Development Branch, Division of Library Programs, Bureau of Libraries and Educational Technology, U.S. Office of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202.

By the time you read this report of the 1970 Title II-A (HEA) program of grants for library resources, you will have heard about your individual awards. The reduction of the appropriation from the expected $12,500,000 to $9,816,000 made possible only 18.4787 percent funding of the supplemental grants for which your libraries qualified.

Out of 2,309 applications for basic grants of $2,500, approximately 68 were disapproved. For supplemental grants, 1,910 applications were received and all those coming from institutions approved for basic grants were, of course, likewise approved. The amounts requested in the supplemental applications totaled $24.6 million in addition to the basic grants requested, which totaled $5.7 million.

In scoring the supplemental applications it was gratifying to find that a few of you could no longer earn points on deficiency of volumes according to the minimum ALA standards for colleges and junior colleges. I am sure you are all trying to build up your media resources in addition to your volume count, however, so I know how disappointed you will be with the 18.5 percent of the supplemental awards for which you were eligible.

We were pleased to be able to award basic grants this year for the first time to colleges and junior colleges opening by September 1970. Judging from the many junior colleges in which the libraries are unable to meet minimum ALA standards in volume count for their enrollment even after several years of operation, the need for starting with a good core collection is very evident. In some cases the rapidly increasing student bodies in the junior colleges have no more than one or two books apiece available in their library collections. In many cases, too, community colleges report that they are sharing high school library collections which are not adequate for post secondary curriculums.

Looking forward to the possibilities of federal support for higher education in 1971, you will find in the Congressional Record for March 25, page S4491-2, Senator Javits’ introduction of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 1970. On the previous day, March 24, page H2424-5, Congressman Quie introduced the same administration bill to the House, along with his own bill (H.R. 16622), the Higher Education General Assistance Act of 1970, a copy of which is available on request to your Congressman. The administration bill is H.R. 16621. The Senate bill is S. 3636, copies of which are available on request from your Senators. ■ ■