ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

From Inside the DLP

By Dr. Katharine M. Stokes

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

On June 25, 1970, the members of Congress were notified by the Office of Education that 279 basic and supplemental grants had been made to 169 applicants for the purchase of library materials under Title II-A (HEA). On April 30, 2,032 applicants had been approved for awards, but it must have been a pleasant surprise to the institutions on the second list to learn that their applications had also been successful. The delay in their approval occurred because their replies to inquiries from the Accreditation and Eligibility Staff of the Bureau of Higher Education had not been received in time for the April list. It was thought best to notify the large group and hold back funds to cover the grants for which some 200 institutions might later qualify.

When the determination of eligibility was completed, not all of the funds retained were needed to fund the approved institutions at the level of those on the April list. The extra money was divided among the thirty-five junior colleges and colleges serving only undergraduates which had rated highest in deficiency of size of collection. Since the Higher Education Act of 1965 allows no more than $10 to be awarded for colleges’ library resources for each full-time equivalent student enrolled in an institution, the amount already awarded to each of the thirty-five libraries per FTE student was subtracted from $10 and the difference multiplied by its FTE figure. The resulting sum was added to the supplemental award about which the individual institutions had been notified in May. Although the amounts were rather insignificant for colleges with small enrollments, for a few junior colleges with large enrollments they could mean a substantial improvement in the size of the library collection available to their students. ■ ■