ALAWON v4n81 (September 11, 1995)
URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/alawon/alawon-v4n81

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                                                             ISBN 1069-7799
                                  ALAWON
                      ALA Washington Office Newsline
                     An electronic publication of the
              American Library Association Washington Office

                            Volume 4, Number 81
                            September 11, 1995

   In this issue: (208 lines)
     SENATE COMMITTEE ISSUES REPORT ON LSTA BILL, S. 856

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           SENATE COMMITTEE ISSUES REPORT ON LSTA BILL, S. 856
A report issued by the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee on August 30
 provides additional
background on S. 856 and on Committee intent regarding the proposed Library
 Services and Technology Act
and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  The Senate Committee approved
 S. 856 on a bipartisan vote
of 12-4 on July 19, but its report (S. Rept. 104-135) has just become available,
 a necessary step before floor
action can occur.

The report includes a fairly full  explanatory section about Title II, the
 Museum and Library Services Act, of S.
856.  Since, as the report notes, no hearing was held on the structural and
 administrative changes recommended
to library programs, the section is reproduced here in full:

                 Title II--Museum and Library Services Act

          The legislation calls for a merger of the Institute of Museum Services
 and the Library
     Services and Construction Act into the Institute of Museum and Library
 Services.  Provisions
     relating to the Institute of Museum Services have been maintained from
 current law while many
     of the provisions relating to the Library Services and Construction Act
 have been changed to
     reflect the prevailing needs and concerns of the American public as they
 relate to library services.
     The concentration of the library programs has been shifted to access and
 technology.  The
     committee, in merging these programs, has noted the benefit to be gained by
 the American public
     through this closure [sic] association.  The programs will also be
 strengthened from collaboration
     and partnership in the critical areas of technology and access.  The
 committee believes that
     support for museums and libraries is vital as they are institutions which
 have proven effective in
     enhancing educational opportunities for all. By uniting the forces of
 libraries and museums in
     local communities, the committee believes that learning opportunities will
 be enhanced for
     individuals in those communities.

          The Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services shall be
 appointed by the
     President, with the advice and consent of the Senate for a term of 4 years.
  The Director will
     oversee the Office of Museum Services and the Office of Library Services.
 The expertise of the
     Director shall rotate each term between an individual who has special
 competence with regard to
     library and information services and an individual who has competence with
 regard to museum
     service in order to ensure a balance in administering these programs.  The
 museum services
     program remains as it is now, with a Museum Board advising the director on
 museum policy,
     while the library program will be advised by the National Commission on
 Libraries and
     Information Science.

          The library program under S. 856, referred to as the Library Services
 and Technology
     Act, represents a marked departure from the current administration and
 focus of the program.
     The Library Services and Technology Act consolidates, streamlines and
 simplifies administration
     of the current library program with the intent of providing services more
 efficiently.  The focus
     and priorities of the act have been changed to library and information
 access through technology
     and access to libraries and information through the provision of special
 services.  In addition, the
     committee mandates a national leadership program designed to enhance the
 quality of library
     services nationwide.  Funds have been specifically reserved to provide
 assistance for children in
     poverty, Indian tribes and for the national leadership program in library
 science.  Administration
     of the Federal program has been capped at 10 percent of authorized funds
 and administration at
     the State level has been capped at 5 percent of authorized funds.  Such
 provisions have been
     incorporated to ensure that the bulk of the money is available to State
 library administrative
     agencies to serve the local community's needs.

          The committee, in highlighting the importance of information access
 through technology,
     has sought to afford States the ability to improve library and information
 service by providing
     access to information delivered by libraries.  The committee intends for
 funds to be used to
     support the development and improvement of the technology infrastructures
 of libraries.  In
     addition, the committee has sought to assist States in improving library
 and information services
     for those of all ages and cultures who have difficulty getting to a
 library, need special materials
     or services, or would benefit from outreach service.  In providing funds to
 State library
     administrative agencies, the committee intends for them to focus on
 initiatives such as increasing
     literacy and lifelong learning, providing services and materials to special
 populations, and
     providing services and outreach to people in rural or urban areas.  The
 bill provides for a
     reservation of funds to be distributed to the State agency for children in
 poverty, based on a
     formula of $1.50 for each preschool aged child and $1.00 for every school
 aged child.  Priorities
     for the use of such funds include the development of after school homework
 support and summer
     and vacation reading programs, family literacy programs, extension of
 branch hours to provide
     resources for homework, peer tutoring programs, training programs involving
 library and other
     service providers and the hiring of outreach staff.  The committee
 recognizes the importance and
     value of enhancing library services in the area of technology as the nation
 moves into the 21st
     century and has, therefore, shifted the focus of our national library
 program from construction to
     information technology.  In addition, the committee agrees that the
 provision of special services
     and outreach to underserved communities benefits the nation by increasing
 the educational
     opportunities available to those who might not otherwise receive it.

          It is the committee's intent that the National Commission on Libraries
 and Information
     Science serve as an advisory board to the Director of the Institute for
 Museum and Library
     Services with respect to general policies.  The Director of the Institute
 of Museum and Library
     Services has been included as an ex officio, non voting, member of the
 Commission.  The
     committee does not intend for the Commission to have the responsibility to
 advise or direct State
     administrative agencies on matters of State or local administration of
 funds awarded under this
     Act.

          Since the committee held no hearing on the recommended changes in both
 the structure
     and the administration of the library program, some additional background
 is provided.  Over the
     years LSCA has evolved and changed significantly to meet the needs of the
 Nation.

          In response to the library community's work to consolidate, simplify,
 and update LSCA,
     the committee made significant changes in an effort to continue its spirit
 but tailor it to reflect the
     information needs of the American people into the next century.

          A number of factors came together to provide the momentum for change
 within the
     library community, including the impending sunset of the existing LSCA; the
 recommendations
     of the 1991 White House Conference on Library and Information Services; the
 emphasis within
     both branches of government on reexamining Federal priorities, increasing
 government
     accountability, and reinventing Government and  the evolving information
 superhighway and
     changing technologies.

          Spearheaded by the American Library Association (ALA),  a Task Force
 on LSCA
     Reauthorization was established in 1993 with representatives from ALA, the
 Chief Officers of
     State Library Agencies, and the Urban Libraries Council.  The groups also
 opened their
     deliberations to participation or observation from the National Commission
 on Libraries and
     Information Science, and the Office of Library Programs in the Department
 of Education.  The
     result was a proposal in late 1994 for a Library Services and Technology
 Act to replace current
     law.  The committee has included a modified version of this proposal in the
 legislation.

          The committee bill states that strong library services are essential
 to empower people to
     succeed in our Nation's increasingly global and technological environment.
 Most library funding
     is local, but federal stimulus funds are concentrated on certain critically
 important and
     appropriate national goals.  The State-based programs under LSTA sharpen
 the focus on two of
     these goals: to adapt new technologies to identify, preserve, and share
 library and information
     resources across institutional, local, and State boundaries; to ensure that
 all Americans have
     access to the information superhighway; and to extend outreach to those for
 whom library service
     requires extra effort or special materials (such as new readers, the
 geographically isolated,
     children in poverty, or people with disabilities).

          The committee is also concerned with additional national goals: to
 ensure that the
     existing information infrastructure of libraries is technologically
 equipped to perform public and
     governmental functions cost effectively, such as supporting literacy and
 lifelong learning;
     organizing and providing access to Federal, State, and local government
 information;
     undergirding economic development by providing jobs information and
 supporting small
     businesses; and providing consumer health information; and to support
 education and training in
     library and information science, research and demonstrations relating to
 improvement of library
     services, and preservation or digitization of library materials and
 resources.  To provide national-level attention to these goals, the committee
 bill establishes a National Leadership Program to
     enhance the quality of library services nationwide.  Of funds appropriated,
 8 percent is reserved
     to carry out a national leadership program in library science.  The
 committee expects that, subject
     to the availability of funds, activities each year under this program would
 include education and
     training programs, research and demonstration projects, and preservation or
 digitization of
     library materials and resources.

          The committee bill places the administration of library programs in an
 independent
     agency rather than in the Department of Education, as is currently the case
 with LSCA.  The
     independent agency is a combined Institute of Museum and Library Services.
 This step has been
     taken for a number of reasons.  The committee believes that in moving the
 library programs from
     the Department of Education, it will provide an opportunity for enhanced
 stature and stability in
     this newly consolidated Institute of Museum and Library Services.   The
 committee notes that
     fewer than half of the State library administrative agencies that
 administer LSCA funds in the
     States are located in a state department of education.  Libraries and
 library agencies,
     cooperatives, and networks are engaged in information infrastructure
 initiatives, economic
     development initiatives, digital library and preservation initiatives,
 archival and government
     information activities, and many other State and local  partnerships that
 extend beyond libraries'
     educational role.  The committee intends that the Department of Education
 should continue its
     historic role in the collection and compilation of data about libraries and
 their users; and its
     support of libraries in connection with educational research, information
 dissemination, and
     education and training activities, as well as in other assistance to
 educational institutions and
     programs at all levels.

          However, the committee sees great potential in an Institute that is
 focused on the
     combined roles that libraries and museums play in our community life, in
 support of research,
     learning, and entertainment, and in support of American culture and
 history.  The joint museum-library projects called for in the committee bill
 could include projects in which libraries and
     museums cooperate in helping children learn and discover; coordinate
 related preservation
     projects; make use of electronic networks and digital media; or develop
 joint exhibits, to cite just
     a few examples.

          The committee recognizes that the Institute will need staff
 experienced in, and capable of,
     administering State-based and national library programs.  The committee
 intends that the
     Director of the Institute should give serious consideration to candidates
 who are currently or
     recently employed in the Office of Library Programs at the Department of
 Education.  It is the
     committee's intent that current Federal employees with appropriate
 qualifications be given every
     consideration in the staffing of the Office of Library Services at the
 Institute.

          In taking this step to integrate these two agencies, the committee has
 also made an effort
     to preserve the mission and integrity of each.  The committee intends for
 the museum program
     and the library program to be equal partners in this newly constituted
 Institute.  Museums and
     libraries are institutions that make enormously significant contributions
 to the community, and
     the committee believes strongly that an understanding of this balance with
 regard to their benefit
     and utility continue to be recognized and respected.

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