ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


153

From Inside the DLP
By Dr. K a t h a r i n e  M. S t o k e s

College and University Library Specialist, L i­
brary Planning and D evelopment Branch, Di­
vision of Library Programs, Bureau of Adult,
Vocational, and Library Programs, U.S. Office
of Education‚ Washington, D.C. 20202.

For those of you who are not avid readers of
the Congressional Record, I would like to rec­
ommend the February θ, 1969, issue, pages
H  823 to H 838, as very informative reading.
On th at date Congressman Reid of New York
and Congressman Brademas of Indiana intro­
duced HR 6535, T he Higher Education Bill of
Rights of 1969. Both Congressmen made state­
ments of their own and then had read into the
Record the text of the report ol the Carnegie 
Commission on the F uture of Higher E duca­
tion, “Quality and Equality: New Levels of
Federal Responsibility for Higher Education,” 
popularly known by th e name of the Commis­
sion’s Chairman, Dr. Clark Kerr.

The Kerr report recommended increased li­
brary support as follows:

“A basic goal of any college or university is 
its library. The current expansion of knowledge, 
with the resultant massive explosion in litera­
ture in all fields, has sharply increased the cost 
of even the minimal library for an undergradu­
ate college. Major universities with their heavy 
emphasis on graduate education and research, 
face even greater increases in their annual li­
brary expenditures. The higher education law 
does provide support for college and research 
libraries, b u t the level of funding has been 
low. In 1966, although $50 million was au­
thorized, only $10 million was appropriated. In 
1967 and 1968 the appropriation was increased 
to $25 million. The commission recommends 
that the full authorization of $50 million be 
m ade available in 1970-71 and be increased to 
$100 million by 1976, and th at libraries which 
serve a regional need be given a high priority 
for grants under this program.”

In introducing HR 6535 Congressman Reid 
stated that it implemented many of the recom­
mendations of the Kerr report. He also stated 
that the bill was influenced by the Rivlin report 
and had read into the Record th at report’s 
“Summary of Major Recommendations.” Dr. 
Alice Rivlin, Assistant Secretary for Planning 
and Evaluation of the D epartm ent of HEW, 
was appointed during Secretary Gardner’s in­
cumbency to chair the advisory committee th at 
prepared a document titled Toward a Long- 
Range Plan for Federal Financial Support for 
Higher Education. Just before President John­
son left office, H EW  Secretary W ilbur J. Cohen 
submitted this report to him.

 
 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

It is encouraging to find among the major 
recommendations of the Rivlin report under 
“Improving the Quality of Higher Education,” 
a mention of libraries, as follows:

“W hile it is difficult to define 'quality’ pre­
cisely in higher education, it is clear th a t in­
creasing the effectiveness of the higher educa­
tion offered to students necessitates increasing 
the resources available to institutions to attract 
qualified faculty and to improve facilities, li­
braries, and teaching methods.”

Congressman Reid’s comments on HR 6535 
include a reference to another recommendation 
in the Rivlin report which would direct the 
Commissioner of Education “to make a study 
of the desirability of legislation consolidating 
various categorical programs of support for 
higher education.” The full text of that recom­
mendation from the report is not included in 
the Congressional Record, b u t is quoted below 
because of its possible future implications for 
academic libraries.

“Over the next several years, categorical aid 
programs related to specific items should be 
consolidated whenever possible and th e defini­
tion of categories should be broadened.

“Specifically, an institutional block grant pro­
gram is recommended that would provide in­
stitutions w ith funds for any or all of the fol­
lowing purposes:
—Construction, renovation, and rental of any 

type of facility
— Establishment and improvement of library re­

sources
—Acquisition of instructional equipment
— Funds for planning and evaluation of the 

functions and operations of the institution 
“This program should have a liberal Federal 

share of at least 50 percent, and adequate 
maintenance of effort provision, and should re­
place a series of existing categorical programs 
in the Office of Education.… ”

Another issue of the Congressional Record of 
particular interest for community college li­
brarians is the one for February 17, 1969, 
pp. S 1554--S 1558. On th a t day Senator Wil­
liams of New Jersey introduced the Compre­
hensive Community College Act of 1969,
S 1033. The proportion of Title II-A (H E A ) 
funds for college library resources distributed 
to community college libraries is noted in the 
Senator’s comments.

One final reference to th e Congressional Rec­
ord of March 12, 1969, pp. H 1658-H 1667, 
“The Report of President Nixon’s Task Force 
on Education,” will surely interest academic 
librarians as well as their institutional admin­
istrators. ■ ■