ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


5 3 4  /  C&RL N e w s

W ashington
Hotline

 

H earin g  held on LC fee 
legislation
O n July 22 the Senate Com- 
mittee o n  Rules and Admin- 
istration held a hearing on S. 
2748, the Library of Congress 
Fund Act of 1992. Librarian 
of Congress Jam es Billington 
said the bill was n eeded to 
perm it LC to m eet needs for 
specialized products and ser- 
vices w hich go beyond the 
library’s tax-supported basic 
functions.

 
 
 

Patricia Glass Schuman, 
immediate past-president of ALA, said the leg­
islation, while including som e ALA suggestions, 
still has problem  areas. The placem ent o f “elec­
tronic access to the contents of the collections” 
in the specialized full-cost-recovery category 
intensifies the problem  o f w here to draw  the 
line betw een core and fee-based services. An­
other problem  is w hether core services will be 
frozen in time rather than evolving. Her testi­
m ony w as based on a resolution passed by the 
ALA Council on July 1 in San Francisco. Lee 
Anne George, G eorge W ashington University 
Library, spoke about the dem and for fee-based 
services in libraries based on her ow n library’s 
experience and as immediate past-chair o f the 
Fee-based Information Service Centers in Aca­
dem ic Libraries, an ACRL discussion group. 
Barbara Markuson o f INCOLSA, w ho chaired 
an ALA task force o n  LC’s earlier licensing pro­
posal, urged Congress to pass the legislation 
prom ptly and to resist any attempts to place 
further restrictions on the library.

LC has since offered to reopen discussions 
with the library community, and ALA has agreed 
to continue to w ork w ith LC officials and other 
library groups to improve the legislation.

NCLIS holds open forum  on NREN
The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and 
Information Science on July 20-21 held an open 
forum on library and information services’ roles 
in the National Research and Education Net­
work. The findings will be m ade available to 
the Office o f Science and Technology Policy 
prior to its D ecem ber report to Congress on

Carol C. Henderson is deputy executive director, ALA 
W ashington Office, NUALAWASH&CUA

Carol C. Henderson

several NREN policy issues 
specified in the High-Perfor­
m ance Computing Act.

ALA w itn e s s  E la in e  
A lb rig h t, U n iv e rs ity  o f 
Maine and ALA Committee 
pn Legislation Ad Hoc Sub­
committee on Telecom mu­
n ications chair, cited th e 
n e e d  fo r low -cost, u ser- 
friendly access to the net­
w o r k  f o r  li b r a r i e s  a n d  
schools in every part o f the 
c o u n try . P a tric ia  W and, 
ACRL, said that the library 

and education communities, including the De­
partm ent o f Education, must have a voice in 
NREN developm ent. Jack Sulzer, speaking for 
GODORT, discussed the role that the nation’s 
1,400 depository libraries could play in the 
developm ent o f the NREN. O ther w itnesses 
from academic and research entities included 
Richard Dougherty, University o f Michigan; Dan 
Mulhollan, Acting D eputy Librarian of Congress; 
Paul Evan Peters, Coalition for N etw orked In­
formation; and D uane Webster, Association of 
Research Libraries.

G PO W IN D O /G a te w a y  bills have 
lib ra ry  support
O n July 23 the Senate Committee on Rules and 
Administration and the Committee on House 
Administration held a joint hearing on S. 2813, 
the GPO Gateway to Governm ent Act, and HR 
2772, the GPO WINDO Act.

The tw o similar bills w ould establish an elec­
tronic gateway at the G overnm ent Printing Of­
fice to w hich users could connect via com puter 
netw orks to gain access to dozens of databases 
containing federal governm ent inform ation. 
Senate Committee Chairman Wendell Ford (D- 
Ky.) concluded the standing-room-only hear­
ing by stating his intention to move the legisla­
tion this session.

ALA Immediate Past-President Patricia Glass 
Schuman urged speedy passage of the legisla­
tion. Public printer Robert H ouk stated that the 
bills w ere an idea w hose time has come. Wit­
nesses from academ ic institutions included Ri­
chard West, University o f California, for the 
Coalition for N etw orked Inform ation; Brian 
Kahin, Harvard University; and William Graves, 
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. ■