ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 4 6 / C&RL News Washington Hotline Carol C. Henderson, D eputy Director, ALA W ashington Office (202) 547-4440; (ALA0025) Land grant institution libraries will be particularly interested in the 1990 farm bill, which consolidates and expands the statutory authority o f the N ational A gricultural L ibrary to serve “as the prim ary agricultural inform ation resource of the United States.” In addition to basic library functions, the N A L director is to “cooperate with and coordinate efforts am ong agricultural college and university libraries, in conjunction with private industry and other agricultural library and inform ation centers, toward the developm ent o f a com prehensive agricultural library and inform ation netw ork.” The library is also to “coordinate the developm ent o f specialized subject inform ation services among the agricultural and library inform ation com m unities.” The NA L director m ay “(1) m ake copies o f the bibliographies prepared by the National A gricultural Library; (2) m ake m icroform s and other reproductions o f books and other library m aterials in the Departm ent; 3) provide any other library and inform ation products and services; and (4) sell those products and services at such prices (not less than the estim ated total cost of dissem inating the products and services) as the Secretary m ay determ ine appropriate.” This rather open-ended authority for fee-based services also allows N A L to collect and retain funds from these transactions, and to enter into agreem ents to receive funds from non-federal entities. The library requested the enhanced authority, as well as establishm ent o f a B oard of Regents. H ouse-Senate conferees generally follow ed the Senate N A L language and dropped the Board o f R egents, which had been included in the H ouse-passed bill, HR 3950. S. 2830, the Food, A griculture, Conservation, and T rade A ct o f 1990, was given final approval by Congress in late O ctober and signed into law (PL 101-624) by President Bush on N ovem ber 28. Section 1606 o f PL 101-624 amends the National A gricultural R esearch, Extension, and Teaching Policy A ct o f 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) by adding a new section 1010A, “National A gricultural L ibrary.” Title XX III o f PL 101-624 is Rural D evelopm ent, and contains several provisions relating to im provem ent o f rural telecom m unications, econom ic developm ent, and information dissem ination. A National Rural Inform ation Center Clearinghouse is established at NA L to provide and distribute inform ation and data about program s and services available to rural areas, w ith $500,000 per year authorized from FY 1991-95. T he C learinghouse is to work cooperatively w ith the E xtension Service in each state, use telecom m unications technology to reach rural areas to the extent possible, and develop and m ake accessible a catalog o f rural developm ent program s. T he Rural Electrification A ct definition o f telephone service is updated to include reception as well as transm ission, data as well as voice, and by expanding the conduit to encom pass “wire, fiber, radio, light, or other visual or electrom agnetic m eans.” The Rural Electrification A dm inistration, in acting as an inform ation clearinghouse for electric and telephone borrowers on rural developm ent, is to use N A L resources to the extent practicable. (continued on next page) January 1991 / 47 W ashington H otline (cont'd) In section 2078, the bill also instructs the congressional O ffice o f T echnology A ssessm ent to (in the w ords o f the conference report, H. R ept. 1 0 1 -9 1 6 ) “analyze the e ffect o f new inform ation technology on rural A m erica, the ability o f rural citizens to acquire advanced technology, and recom m end w ays in w hich the L ibrary o f C ongress m ay c o nnect w ith rural citizens by com puter to share inform ation in the national library.” P R E S E R V A T I O N N E W S Prepared by Barbara Brown College Libraries Committee Commission on Preservation and Access • E v a n s to n , I llin o is , T he C om m ittee on Insti­ tutional C ooperation (CIC) Libraries (University of Chicago, University o f Illinois, Indiana Univer­ sity, University of Iowa, University o f Michigan, Michigan State University, University o f M inne­ sota, N orthw estern University, Ohio State Univer­ sity, P urdue University, University o f Wisconsin- Madison, and Pennsylvania State University) have begun a one-year program at N orthw estern U ni­ versity to investigate the im plem entation of mass deacidification. T he project is funded in p art by the Council on Library Resources. T he goal of the project is to provide th e C IC libraries with a fram e­ work for im plem enting mass deacidification w hen it becom es technically and economically feasible. For m ore information about the project, contact: Sue H. Nutty, C IC Mass Deacidification Coordi­ nator, N orthw estern University Library, Preserva­ tion D epartm ent, 1935 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, phone (708) 467-1379. • L e x in g t o n . V ir g in ia . T he one-w eek preser- vabon m anagem ent sem inar developed by the Col­ lege Libraries C om m ittee o f th e Commission on Preservation and Access and S O L IN E T for college librarians with part-tim e preservation responsibil­ ity will b e offered for th e first tim e on the W ashing­ ton and L ee University cam pus, July 20-27, 1991. The cost of tuition, room and board, and materials will be $1,200. A ttendance is open to librarians throughout the nation, b u t registrants will be se­ lected on an application basis. T he deadline for receipt o f applications is M arch 15, 1991. Applica­ tion inform ation and description of the curriculum are available from: Lisa Fox, SO LIN ET , 400 Col­ ony Square, Plaza Level, Atlanta, GA 30361-6301, p hone (800) 999-8558, fax (404) 892-7879. • W a s h in g to n , D C . T he Association o f Phvsi- cal Plant Adm inistrators of Universities and Col­ leges has announced th e schedule and speakers for the course it is offering in cooperation with the Commission on Preservation a nd Access, “P reser­ vation o f Library and Archival M aterials,” F e b ru ­ ary 28 -M arch 1, 1991, at the Holiday Inn Capitol, in W ashington, DC. T he keynote speaker will be Billy Frye, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at E m ory University. O th e r speakers are D onald G. Kelsey, University of M innesota; M au­ re e n Sullivan, Yale University; and R obert Burke, C harles D unn, Nancy Gwinn, M ichael Legue, Law rence Stuebing, J. Andrew Wilson, and How­ ard Wink, all from the Smithsonian Institution. T he purpose o f the p rogram is to foster b e tte r working relationships and an understanding of needs b e ­ tw een librarians/archivists and physical plant ad­ m inistrators in an effort to improve th e environ­ m ental conditions o f library and archival materials. Registration is $325 before F eb ru ary 1, $375 after. Registration inform ation is available from: APPA Sem inars, 1446 D u k e S tre e t, A lexandria, VA 22314-3492, (703) 684-1446, fax (703) 549-2772.