ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Lynne E. Bradley is deputy executive director of ALA's Washington Office

Lynn E. Bradley

Two academic librarians 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 Subcommittee on Legislative, House Committee on Appropriations, chaired by Rep. Charles Taylor (R-North Carolina). 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’s 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 Libraiy, 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.

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 to 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-Arizona), a new member of the subcommittee, followed up those remarks with questions and concern about fugitive documents. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) 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.

(Copies of the library group testimonies available at http://www.ala.org/washoff/ statements.html.)

Copyright primer now available on the Web

“The Primer on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act” by Arnold P. Lutzker is now available on the ALA Web site at: http:// www.ala.org/washoff/copyright.html.

Lutzker is an attorney hired by ALA and several other library associations to work on intellectual property issues and is a recognized expert on the new intellectual property legislation. His primer is subtitled: “What the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Copyright Term Extension Act Mean for the Library Community.” ■

Lynne E. Bradley is deputy executive director of ALA's Washington Office; e-mail: leb@alawash.org