Library Programs and Special Libraries! Ray M. Fry AIUwugh most of the programs administered in my Oflice primarily benefit public and academic libraries*, several of our programs can significantly benefit special libraries and school l ibraries. I do realize also that mru1y of U1e libraries represented in U1e Education Division are in academic libraries. Of course, in U1is day of electronic resource-sharing, strengU1ening any library of an y type that is connected to a major network such w; U1e Internet strengU1ens all libraries of ru1y and every type Uutt are also connected to U1e Internet. The programs we administer are all, witll one exception, autlwr­ ized by the Higher Education Act and the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA). Three of the progrruns are state fornlUia programs and the oU1er six are discretionary prognuns. States apply to the Department formula grant funds which U1ey ·u1en administer. Libraries ru1d other eligible entities apply directly to U1e Department for discretionary grant funds. State fonnula progrruns are administered by the state library agencies, and U1e discretionary prognuns are administered directly be­ tween my office ru1d libraries and other eligible institutions or agencies. The one state fonnula progrrun Uwt can strengthen all types of libraries is the LCSA Title III program which establishes and maintains cooperative activities among all typcsoflibraries. Any project to be eligible for funding must involve at least two types of libraries. You should know U1is program and what it can do for your library. Contact your state library agency to lind out how you can participate in U1is effort. Since the mid sixties, approxi­ mately one quarter of a bil l ion dollars have gone into this progrrun. Today more Uwn half of the state agencies have Internet-related proj ects funded under Title III. Only public libraries are eligible for Title I (Services) and Title II (Contruction) funds under LSCA. Public and state library agencies are U1e eligible recipients for LSCA Title VI (Literacy) funds. Recognized Indian Tribes and Hawaiiru 1 Natives arc eligible for grants to improve publi c library services under LSCA Tille IV programs. However, as I have just stated, stronger public l ibraries can, U1rough networking, benefit al l types of libraries. Under U1e Higher Education Act (1-!EA), Title II-A, U1e college technology program, and Title Ii-C, U1e strengthening research libraries programs support academic and research libraries. The one I-lEA program U1at you should give special attention to is U1e I-lEA 11-B training program, boU1 the fellowship and institute components. We have just :mnounced 1 8 new doctoral fellowships and 47 masters. A list of U1ese fellowships is at Ule back of U1e room. These fellowships are in addition to Ule approximately IOO continuing doctorates. Priority at Ule doctoral level is given to students who want to teach in schools of l ibrary and information science. We will be announcing soon grant awards of $ 1 .5 million for institutes to retrain librarians in support of Ule education reform movement and U1e National In formation Infrastructure. I f you have interest in either U1e institutes or fellowships consult the library schools receiving the awards. Institutions receiving U1e grants have sole autlwrity for selecting Ule participants. In March of U1is year U1e President signed into law the "Goals 200: Educate America Act" which, in addition to formalizing the educational reforth movement, reautlwrizes ti1e Office ofEduca­ tional Research and Improvement. Under Ule "new OERI five National Research Institutes, an Office of Educational Reform and Dissemination, and a National Library of Education (NLE) have been created. The NLE is to become a "central location witi1in tile federal government for infonnation about education." Later Ulis year a national search will be undertaken to recruit a director for Ule NLE. 1l1e law stipulates ti 1e formation of a "Task Force" to assist in ti1e planning of tile NLE. The Department of Education will announce in August or Sep­ tember ti1e funding of one of U1e most significant projects ti1e Office of Library Programs has initiated in several decades. It is an assessment of the role of school and public libraries in supporting ti1e education refonn movement. The stimulus for the project grew out of a seminar at ti1e University of California at Berkeley entitled "Libraries and ti1e Learning Society" spon­ sored by the U.S. Department of Education. Alliance for Excel­ lence: Librarians Respond to "A NationalAt Risk" contained ti1e recommendation growing out of ti1e Berkeley Seminar. In closing, I would like to corrunent quickly on the efforts already underway in the library world and soon to be launched by ti 1e Department, to reautiwrize LSCA. The Department is pleased to see the interest in ti1e National Education Goals, at-risk youti1, and Ule National Information Infrastructure that is rejected in ti1e American Libary Association Task Force' s recommendations on tile reautiwrization of LSCA. In addition to those areas of concern, we believe ti1ere is great I The following is the actual text of a presentation made at th� Sp�cial Li braries Association 85th Annual Conference. Atlanta, June 1994. Education Libraries • Vol 1 8, No. 3 1 9 - need for professional development. You should be concemed with U1is reauthorization. Undoubtedly U1ere will be programs U1at can benefit your libraries. I would urge you to get involved and to be especial ly alert to the resource­ sharing potential and to U1e opportunities for profesional devel­ opment. We are so busy wiU1 our ongoing responsibilities U1at we seldom stop to iliink of "what we are all about." When Diane Ravitch was still our Assistant Secretary in OERI, she told U1e directors at a weekly meeting U1at if she had only Uuee words to express her - 20 vision or OERI U10se three words would be "All Kids Learning." She U1en tossed U1e ball to us saying "what is your vision to match my vision?" Since I was second in line to "report my vision," I had U1ree to live minutes to U1ink. I said my vision to match your vision, "All Kids Learning," would be Ulat "All Libraries as Dynamic Learning Centers supporting a Nation of Students." *Since U1is speech was given U1e HEA Title II-A College Library Technology and Cooperation Grants Program and U1e HEA Title 1 1-C Improving Access to Research Library Resources Program have been phased out. Education Libraries • Vol 1 8, No. 3