ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


213

faculty about library matters. Henry Stewart, as­
sistant dean, Old Dominion University Libraries, 
surveyed the role and makeup of faculty library 
committees in Virginia academic libraries.

In November the chapter will meet with the 
Virginia Library Association at the Homestead. 
David Kaser, professor o f library science, Indiana 
University, will speak on the subject “The Two 
Faces of Librarians in the Twentieth C entury.”

• T h e  W i s c o n s i n  A C R L  C h a p t e r  held  a 
w inter conference at Mount Telem ark, C able, 
Wisconsin, on February 15-16. The conference 
th em e was “ Your Jo b , How to Love I t — Not 
Leave I t .” Dennis Mannering, president of Op­
tions Unlimited, G reen Bay, gave a keynote ad­
dress entitled “Attitude Assessment and Job Satis­

Inside Washington
J a m e s  D. L o c k w o o d  
A ssistant D ire cto r  
ALA W ashington O ffice

The process of amending the public printing 
and documents portion of the U nited S tates C o d e  
(Title 44) will have passed the hearing stage by 
the time this issue of the N ews reaches the mails. 
The current review of Title 44 may lead to the 
single biggest change in federal publishing laws 
since their inception in 1895.

Revision of Title 44 raises a number of funda­
mental questions. What should be the role of the 
federal government in generating, producing, and 
d isse m in a tin g  in fo rm a tio n ? How c e n tr a liz e d  
should the federal printing and publishing capa­
bility be (i.e ., should there be a central Govern­
ment Printing Office)? Who should pay for gov­
ernment information (should it be supported by 
tax monies or user fees)? What should be the bal­
ance betw een government-supported and com­
mercial services relating to federal documents? 
What should be the future of the Depository L i­
brary System?

A key question for libraries is federal support 
for the depository libraries program. T hirteen 
hundred libraries serve as depositories for federal 
documents. The selection and processing of fed­
eral publications on a monthly basis usually en­
tails a sizable commitment of staff time and effort 
for these libraries. Providing access to the docu­
ments often requires additional expenditures for 
bibliographical assistance, supplemental indexes 
and re s e a rc h  aids, m icroform  p rin te r s , and 
readers. If  the federal government has an obliga­

tion to make the information it generates widely 
available, should it not go beyond merely provid­
ing “free” publications and help underwrite the 
expenses of the depository operation? In other 
w ords, sh o u ld n ’t th e  g ov ern m en t provide 
additional assistance to depository libraries in the 
form of training, equipment, toll-free access to 
government agencies, etc.?

The government’s role in printing and publish­
ing is another issue Congress must face. Is there 
a need for a massive government printing and 
publishing complex? Some argue that government 
publishing should be contracted out to commer­
cial firms by competitive bidding or the like. This 
alternative is not necessarily incompatible with 
the depository program, since the government 
could furnish libraries with book coupons re ­
deemable for commercially published government 
materials (along the lines of the food stamp pro­
gram).

“ P o litic a l” fa c to rs, as w ell as co m plex 
philosophical issues, make the jo b  of revising 
Title 44 a tough one. C hief among the political 
factors is the sheer size of the revision effort re­
quired. T h e more complex the bill, the more 
difficult it is to get interested parties to agree. 
Among the interested groups are: libraries, the 
information and printing industries, federal de­
partments and agencies, the Government Print­
ing O ffice, g o v ern m en t p u b lic is ts , th e  J o in t 
Committee on Printing, and comm ittees in the 
Senate and House. To arrive at a major legislative 
package that accommodates the needs of such 
diverse groups is the challenge.

By late Se p tem b e r we should have a much 
clearer idea of how the political and policy issues 
were resolved in the final version o f the bill 
placed before the House and Senate. ■■

faction.” Mannering also conducted a “hands on” 
workshop on the factors that influence employee 
morale. Don L. Tolliver gave a sneak preview of 
the now classic University of Wisconsin System 
Library Study.

On Septem ber 2 7 -2 8  the chapter will hold its 
fall conference at the Quality Inn, Madison. The 
theme will be “Evaluation of Library Services.” 
Featured speakers will be Thomas Galvin, Uni­
versity of Pittsburgh; Michael Gorman of AACR 
2; Arthur Tannenbaum , New York University; 
C aro ly n Sn y d e r, In d iana U n iv e r sity ; J e f f  
Gardiner, ARL office; and others. Contact Linda 
Olson or John J. Jax, Pierce Library, University 
of W isconsin-Stout, Menomonie, W I 54751; (715) 
232-2128. ■■