ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 565 W ashington Hotline Carol C. Henderson Reinventing government The Sep tem b er report o f V ice-President G o re ’s Na­ tional Performance Review, “From Red Tape to Results: Creating a Government That Works Better & Costs Less,” described hundreds of actions and recom m endations d e­ signed to cut red tape and produce better government for less cost. Inform ation technology and electronic governm ent w ere em pha­ sized. Details are gradually becoming known, and supplementary reports are expected. This column highlights two areas o f recommendations that would have a pro­ found effect on library services and on public access to government information. Library program eliminations The report recommends elimination or consoli­ dation of more than 40 Department o f Educa­ tion programs and freeing up resulting savings for use in other educational programs. The re­ port cites the HEA Act II-C research library pro­ gram as an example o f a program that has served its original purpose, and says university endowments should be used to build library collections. In fact, the II-C program is designed to help major research libraries make their re­ sources more accessible to users outside their own primary clientele— an appropriate federal role. The administration was poised, as this col­ umn was written, to submit a request to Con­ gress to rescind or defund all FY94 funds just appropriated for a number o f ED programs. The six library programs on the rescission list include, in addition to LSCA public library con­ struction and library lit­ eracy programs, all cur­ rently funded HEA II programs (see table). The administration is highlighting libraries as a key element in its “Na­ tional Information Infra­ structure: Agenda for Action” (see Pat Wand’s article in this issu e). However, the National Performance Review would eliminate most programs tar­ geted to assist libraries to use electronic technologies and networks to develop, access, and share resources. The re­ qu ested library program eliminations, proposed ear­ lier in Clinton’s FY94 bud­ get, have already been re­ jected by Congress. These proposals are not a new “reinventing governm ent” idea, but a resurrection of previous adm inistrations’ unsuccessful attempts to eliminate libraries from Department of Education priorities. The ACRL Legislative Network was among the groups being called to action. Government printing & depository library program The report’s recommendation to “Eliminate the Government Printing Office’s Monopoly” is a continuation o f a long-standing controversy over government printing policy. Implementa­ tion would require Congress to amend Title 44 printing requirements, and ignores the fact that the GPO already contracts out most executive- branch printing. Following a recommendation to assure public access to federal information, the report states: “Give the executive branch agencies responsibility for distributing printed federal information to depository libraries. Re­ quire agencies to inventory the federal infor­ mation they hold, and make it accessible to the p u b lic .” A fter s e e in g a draft o f the “reinventing support services” section, ALA (Cont. on page 591) HIGHER EDUCATION ACT FY 1993 FY 1994 FY 1994 (amounts in thousands) APPROPS. HOUSE SENATE II-A, College Library Technology and Cooperation Grants $ 3,873 $ 3,873 $ 3,873 II-B, Library Education and Human Resource Development 4,960 4,960 4,960 II-B, Library Research and Demonstrations 2,802 2,802 2,802 II-C, Improving Access to Research Library Resources 5,808 5,808 5,808 5 6 6 591 Training Program. T he awards will support a year o f full-time study for seven doctoral stu­ dents and six m aster’s degree students. Recruit­ ing for the m aster’s fellow ships will em pha­ size three specialty areas— cataloging, systems analysis, and children’s services. T h e profes­ sional school currently offers two m aster’s d e­ grees, a post-m aster’s certificate o f advanced study, and a doctoral degree in information and library science. The U n iversity of W est Flo rid a L ib ra ry , P ensacola, has received a $9,976 grant from the Florida State Historical Records Advisory B oard to com pile and publish a new com pre­ hensive guide to Special Collections and West Florida Archives. Virginia Commonwealth University Librar­ ies, Richmond, have b e e n awarded a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Com mission to process the manuscript collec­ tion o f a prom in ent Virginia suffragist. T he $30,720 grant will fund a full-time, on e-year position to process the Adele Goodm an Clark papers. Items in n eed o f preservation treat­ m ent will b e identified and a guide to the col­ lection will b e produced. The W ayne State University Library Sys­ tem, Detroit, has b e e n awarded a $90,000 grant from the U.S. Departm ent o f Education to add records o f manuscript collections and oral his­ tory holdings o f the W alter P. Reuther Archives o f Labor and Urban Affairs into the OCLC data­ b ase. T h e archives con tain o n e o f the most im portant archival collectio n s in the United States on the history o f the North American labor m ovem ent. T h e Reuther Archives and W ayne State University Library System are part­ ners in this venture and will share staffing and expertise to com p lete the project. A cq u isitio n s A collection of more than 8 ,5 0 0 books, 1,100 periodicals, personal papers, and other materials has been acquired by Abilene Chris­ tian University Library, Texas, from the fam­ ily o f Dr. LeMoine G aunce Lewis, a biblical stud­ ies professor at the university from 1949 to 1985. An om nivorous reader and collector, Lewis specialized in early church history. His collection includes materials written in a variety o f lan­ guages, am ong them German, French, Hebrew, and Latin. The p a p e rs an d p ro fessio n al lib ra ry of Jo h n Eliot Allen, professor emeritus o f geology and author o f m ore than 240 m onographs and articles, have b e e n acquired by the Branford Price Millar Library at Portland State Univer­ sity. Allen’s library consists o f over 9 00 pieces, including books, serials, pam phlets, and maps. Among the papers are geologic field manuals, typescripts o f Allen’s articles and books, and his professional and personal correspondence. The book collection of John Beaufort, for many years the international drama and film critic for the Christian Science Monitorh as been acquired by Teikyo Post University’s Traurig Library and Learning Resources Center in Water- bury, Connecticut. T h e collection, consisting o f approxim ately 1,900 volum es o f drama and lit­ erature, w as d on ated by B ea u fo rt’s widow, Francesca Bruning. An ex ten sive collection of litera ry and historical first editions in English and American literature has b e e n acquired by the University o f Delaware Library. An e sp ecially rare item is the Audubon edition, The Birds o f America fro m Original Drawings‚ published in 1860. It has chrom olithography b y Julius B ien and c o n ­ tains 105 double elep hant plates depicting 150 sp ecies o f birds. O nly 49 cop ies o f the volum e are know n to exist. T he gift was given by C. Porter Shutt o f Montchanin, Delaware. ■ (Washington cont.from page 565) President Hardy Franklin w rote to Vice-Presi d ent G ore to tell him o f ALA’s con cern s about the printing recommendations. Franklin said the radical restructuring o f the D epository Library Program called for requires evaluation and thor­ ough exam ination before going forward, and pointed out that the proposed decentralization would result in increased costs and less effi­ c ien cy for all participants: “T here w ould b e neither a single point o f access to publications for depository libraries, n or a single m echa­ nism for administering the Depository Library Program .” ■ Carol C. Henderson is deputy executive director o f ALA’s Washington Office; bitnet: cch@alawash.org mailto:cch@alawash.org