ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries June 1989 / 507 WASHINGTON HOTLINE Carol C. Henderson Deputy Director, A LA Washington Office (202) 547-4440; (ALA0025) The rapid deterioration of paper, the need to promote permanent paper, paper and preservation technology, and recycled paper requirements were explored at a hearing May 4 by the House Subcommittee on Science, Research and Technology. Lead-off witnesses Kurt Von- negut and Barbara Goldsmith were among 86 authors and publishers who signed a declaration to use acid-free paper recently at the New York Public Library Commitment Day organized by Goldsmith. She brought testing pens for subcommittee members. "Sometimes even toilet paper is acid-free," according to Goldsmith, and she recommended a more systematic approach, using it where it is most needed. Jeffery Denit, Deputy Director, Office of Solid Waste, Environmental Protection Agency, described Section 6002 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act which re­ quires EPA to develop procurement guidelines to encourage federal agencies to use products containing recovered materials to the maximum extent practicable. For book papers, EPA recommends at least 50 percent waste paper. Exceptions are possible, but reasons must be documented. Denit said EPA recognized that for some purposes, achieving extended lifetimes for paper is essential, but felt that need was small enough compared with all government use of paper to be the exception rather than the rule. He said EPA stands ready to work cooperatively with agencies with more expertise in permanent paper such as GPO, GSA, and JCP. Questioning of Denit and representatives of Glatfelter and International paper com­ panies made clear that recycled paper can be either acidic or alkaline depending on the materials and processes used. Recycling and permanence are not mutually exclusive goals. Both companies make alkaline paper from high-quality recycled paper. However, a percentage of mass consumer waste (such as carelessly separated newspapers with plastic and other con­ taminants) higher than 20 percent causes problems in producing copier, OCR and printing papers. Acting Public Printer Joseph Jenifer said in response to questions that GPO will begin to segregate the alkaline paper they procure, and will use it where GPO thinks it is appropriate. Thus GPO has taken two steps: (1) to advise and encourage agencies to specify permanent paper in accordance with JCP standards where appropriate, and (2) to make decisions at GPO to use alkaline paper where appropriate. Sen. Claiborne Pell (D-RI) testified in support of S.J.Res. 57, his pending measure (now with 38 cosponsors) to establish a national policy to promote use of permanent paper. Other witnesses included Librarian of Congress James Billington; Charles Kalina, Special Projects Officer, National Library of Medicine, and consultant, National Information Standards Organi­ zation (NISO) Standards Committee II; and Lawrence Hughes, Chairman of the Association of American Publishers. Hughes said that by 1991 he expected the availability of alkaline paper to be sufficient to meet publishers’ requirements, and no reason to believe it will cost more for hardcover books. There seemed to be a consensus among the expert witnesses that about 30 percent of uncoated fine papers were alkaline in 1988, and that the percentage is growing. With some booksellers, a small answ er all your questions. And an ongoing evaluation of library customer doesn’t ra te quite the your very own shelf reserved needs so rigorous, it’s given us consideration th a t a large custom er in our w arehouse to g uard the in d u stry ’s low est overall might. But a t Ballen, the single against shipm ent and inventory re tu rn ra te - less th an 1%. book custom er receives the sam e mix-ups. All of w hich we provide w ith service and services th a t a It also m eans access to our the understanding th a t w h at are thousand book custom er does. online, interactive BallenNet small fish today, m ight one day W hich m eans no m atter w hat system for order en try and be big ones. size your library, you can expect current status. The ability to For information or our new to have your v ery own custom er reach a Ballen company officer brochure, call (800)645-5237. service representative to help just by picking up the phone. And In New York, call (800)832-4552. June 1989 / 509 The Robert Vosper IFLA Fellowships The International F ederation of Library Associ­ ations and Institutions has established the IFLA Fellowships to be aw arded on a com petitive basis to outstanding librarians w ith an interest in and com m itm ent to the international aspects of library service. F unding for these fellowships for a three- year period has been provided by th e Council on Library Resources, w hich has requested th a t the Fellowships be nam ed for R obert Vosper in recog­ nition of his long and effective com m itm ent to the cause of international librarianship. Robert Vosper has h ad an exceptional profes­ sional career th a t has included the adm inistration of im p o r ta n t acad em ic a n d research lib raries (Kansas, UCLA, and th e C lark L ibrary); a profes­ sorship at th e UCLA G rad u ate School of L ibrary and Inform ation Science; and leadership and ser­ vice to the profession a t large through th e most im ­ p o rta n t U.S. professional associations. B ut it is Vosper’s contributions to international librarian- ship th a t support this designation of th e IFLA Fel­ lowships. T he arena for libraries and librarians is, in the final analysis, not defined by geography. Recognizing this fact, R obert Vosper m ade the cause of effective international collaboration by li­ braries a targ et for his attention d u rin g m uch of his professional career. Introduced to IF L A in 1960, Vosper soon found ways to encourage the Association of Research L i­ braries and the Am erican L ibrary Association to take an active and constructive p a rt in IF L A activi­ ties. And, as a m em ber of the Board of D irectors of the Council on L ibrary Resources, Robert Vosper joined w ith other internationally m inded m embers of th e Board to encourage C LR support for IFLA , the most recent example being these fellowships (although w ith o u t knowledge of the C LR intent to m ake this use of his n am e). Robert Vosper has served IF L A in m any ways over th e years, and his interest continues still. His first IFLA m eeting (1960, Sweden) established a pow erful respect for th e professional and hum ane aspirations th a t are IF L A ’s foundation, and he was from th a t tim e on an enthusiastic p articip an t. He served th e o rganization as vice-president from 1971-1976; chaired the Steering C om m ittee for Universal Bibliographic Control; edited th e p ro ­ gram p a p ers of th e 1974 IF L A C o n feren ce in W ashington, D .C .; and was program chairm an for th e Fiftieth Anniversary C elebration in Brussels (1977). M ost of all, h e has been an a rtic u la te spokesman for th e cause of international librarian- ship. In a recent biographical study of Vosper’s profes­ sional career, a 1980 letter from M argreet W ijn- stro o m , th e n IF L A ’s S e c re ta ry G e n e ra l, w as quoted: “R obert Vosper’s im pact on international lib rary affairs has been very considerable, m ainly through th e strength of his personality. He was ex­ trem ely perceptive and a splendid m ediator and politician.” C LR hopes th a t the IFLA Fellows will one day serve their profession and the international w orld of librarianship w ith the skill, wisdom , and grace of R obert Vosper. For m ore inform ation on th e IF L A Fellowships, contact: IFLA H eadquarters, PO D 95312, 2509 C H T he H ague, N etherlands (Telex 34402). ■ ■ News from the Field Acquisitions • Amherst College’s R obert Frost L ibrary, Mas- sachusetts, has acquired, w ith the assistance of the Julia A. W hitney Foundation, the personal papers and library of th e late poet, critic, and professor of Russian literature, Yuri Pavlovich Ivask. The a r­ chive consists of approxim ately 5,000 letters, m an ­ uscripts, unpublished works, translations, p h oto­ graphs, fam ily m e m o ra b ilia , a n d o th e r item s. There are also 250 books of Russian em igre poetry published in sm all editions in W estern E u ro p e, C anada, the U nited States, and L atin America. • The A rt Institute of Chicago’s Ryerson and B urnham Libraries have acquired a m ajor collec­ tion of docum entary m aterials on th e Barcelona a r­ chitect Antoni G audí i C ornet (1852-1926) and his circle. T he gift is a personal collection compiled by George R. Collins, professor of a rt history a t Co­ lum bia University from 1946 to 1986, th e leading G audí scholar in America. G audí, a contem porary of Chicago’s Louis Sullivan, is best know n for the C hurch of th e Sagrada F am ilia in Barcelona, be­ gun in 1883 and still in progress. The Collins Ar­ chive contains published books, periodicals, photo­ graphs, clippings and eph em era, an d specially