ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 77 ACRL Rare Books and Manuscripts Section Preconference The ACRL Rare Books and Manuscripts Sec tion will hold its fifteenth annual preconferenc at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville from June 30 to July 2, 1974, prior to the AL Annual Conference in New York City. Specia Collections—Their Conservation and Preserva tion is the theme for the preconference. An all-day tour to the W. J. Barrow Researc Laboratory and the W. J. Barrow Restoratio Shop, in Richmond, Virginia, will highlight th preconference. Meetings will feature the prob lems and solutions of repairing and conservin special collections materials. Among the speak ers will be Bernard F. Walker, Barrow R search Laboratory; George M. Cunha, Ne England Document Center; Jean Gunner, Hun ­ Institute for Botanical Documentation; William e Spawn, American Philosophical Society; and , Lawrence Towner, Newberry Library. C. Waller Barrett, noted collector and former l president of the Bibliographical Society of ­ America, will host a dinner for the conferees at his home. James Bear, Jr., curator and director h of Monticello, will speak on the assembling of n the Monticello Library. e Vesta Lee Gordon, of the Manuscript De­ ­ partment at the University of Virginia Library, g is serving as chairman of the preconference ­ planning committee. Further information and e­ registration materials may be obtained from w Beverly P. Lynch, Executive Secretary, ACRL, t 50 E. Huron S t, Chicago, IL 60611. ■■ A Inside Washington Christopher W right Assistant Director A L A Washington Office No funds have been requested in the 1975 budget for the college library re­ sources program, under-graduate instruc­ tional equipment, and library training and demonstration. This is consistent with the Office of Educations general higher education policy of moving away from institutional support toward student support. . . . — from “The Fiscal Year 1975 Budget,” The Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Academic librarians may be enjoying their last fling with federal money this year if the ad­ ministration refuses to fund college and univer­ sity library programs next year. While Washington has never squandered much largess on academic libraries, federal funds this year have already been pared to the lowest amount since 1970 and in next year’s budget the White House (for the second year in a row) has requested no money at all for long-standing programs—the $5,000 basic grants, the special purpose grants, library train­ ing programs and research and demonstration grants included under Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965. To add to this picture of fiscal misery, the Higher Education Act, itself a bare toehold on Capitol Hill for academic librarians, expires in 1975 and will need new authorization or rewrit­ ing. But congressional education staffers are busy this session wrestling with a new elemen­ tary and secondary education act and have few thoughts to spare on higher education. Many staff people would seem to agree with the HEW conclusion that federal assistance has been “marginal” and colleges probably won t miss it. Few have heard the plea of the univer­ sity library director who moaned, * if nothing else, it kept me from falling any further be­ hind.” Academic libraries are thus in danger of be­ ing caught in midstream. While few would quarrel with the judgment of economists Wil­ liam J. Baumöl and Matityahu Marcus that the evidence shows clearly “the past rates of expan­ sion in library expenditures, like those of educa­ tional institutions in general, could not have been expected to continue indefinitely,” a con­ sensus of where to turn next is needed.1 'William J. Baumöl and Matityahu Marcus, Economics of Academic Libraries (Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education, 1973), p .l. While library educators have for years be­ moaned the dearth of accurate data about li­ brary performance and needs, hard thinking on the role of academic libraries will be more es­ sential than ever in the next two years. Guide­ lines for performance such as ACRL’s upcom­ ing standards for academic libraries, evidence of technological experimentation such as that sponsored by the Council on Library Resources, and demonstration of innovative approaches be­ ing taken by library administrators will be what turns the tide of disinterest on Capitol Hill. Money in this year’s budget was finally re­ leased in December after months of standoff be­ tween Congress and the administration, which budgeted zero funds for all library programs. But the fiscal year 1974 grants are extremely limited, with little chance of special purpose awards which have spurred library cooperation in the past. For this year the Office of Education has $9,975 million to spend on basic $5,000 grants (compared with $12.5 million in fiscal year 1973) and $2,850 million for library training (compared with $3,572 million in fiscal year 1973), so the academic community is already feeling the pinch. Money for research and dem­ onstration has also been reduced to $1,425 mil­ lion (from $1,785 million in fiscal year 1973). Notices and application forms for the first FACTS A B O U T FACS Fact 1: FACS stands for Faxon’s Automated Claim System Fact 2: FACS is a new automated system intended to make life a lot easier for you. Fact 3: To place a claim, all you do is complete and return our claim notice form. We then acti­ vate our computer to process the claim to the publisher with com­ plete order and payment informa­ tion included. Fact 4: You receive a quarterly report of all your claim request activity. Fact 5: This is only one reason, among many, why you should choose Faxon, the world’s only fully automated library magazine subscription agency. For partic­ ulars, write for a copy of our Service Brochure and annual Librarians’ Guide to Periodicals. Or call toll-free: 1-800-225-7894. two programs have been mailed to every insti­ tution which ever applied for money, whethei successful or not, according to OE officials. Forms for basic grants went out to 3,000 possible applicants this year. Last year 2,100 institutions received grants. However, this year there is only money for 1,995 institutions to re­ ceive a full $5,000 each and the funds will have to be prorated if more eligible institutions apply; officials say. With inadequate funds for basic grants, there seems to be little hope this year of special purpose awards which came mainly from impounded money last year. Application forms for the $2.85 million in library training funds were sent to more than 800 institutions which had previously partici­ pated in these programs either through fellow­ ship programs or institutes. Last year OE offi­ cials estimate more than 1,500 individuals in 57 institutions benefitted from some aspect of the program. Included in these are 145 library master’s degree candidates who will finish their work this August, 24 Ph.D. candidates who be­ gan programs last year and need two years further funding, 20 Indians in their third year of library bachelor’s degree training, and 50 paraprofessional library students. This year’s $2.85 million allocation means the program must be cut back approximately 20 percent. OE officials say ongoing programs will be continued, however, and reductions will be made in new grants. Applicants for research and demonstration grants should write to Mr. Paul Janaske, USOE, Division of Library Programs, Depart­ ment of HEW, Washington, DC 20202. Last year twenty-four projects were funded under this program, most of them aimed at providing opportunities for the disadvantaged. Several projects did involve networking and innovations in the use of academic library resources. The program will continue with this same approach in fiscal year 1974. Academic librarians will have to evaluate the importance of government programs such as these to their operations. Are these the pro­ grams they want continued, or what new ones should be designed? In their analysis of library costs, Baumöl and Marcus concluded, “these trends indicate . . . th at this cost increase for services is not a for­ tuitous phenomenon whose effects can be ex­ pected to be transitory nor one ascribable to peculiar circumstances within one or a few ac­ tivities.”2 The crunch is with us to stay. In the new age of austerity, what role will Washington play for higher education? ■■ 2Baumol and Marcus, Economics of Academic Libraries, p.56. 78