▸ Planning and Support for the 103rd Congress - The Congressional Research Service (CRS) met the challenge of orienting 129 new members of Congress while at the same time maintaining support for all of the important issues before Congress. Orientation for the new members included briefings on issues related to budget and the economy, defense and foreign affairs, and domestic issues; introduction to CRS specialists; and courses through the Public Policy Institute on major issues facing the 103rd Congress. CRS staff wrote reports and provided consultations on many diversified topics concerning NAFTA and prepared Info Packs which were sent to more than 2,000 requesters in September 1993 alone. Working closely with Members of Congress and committees, CRS kept them informed about the complex issues contained in the various health care alternatives, and analyzed the potential impact of the plans. CRS analysts developed a health information on the premium costs of health benefits. benefit simulation model, which was shared with CBO analysts, to respond to the numerous congressional requests for

► Copyright Reform - The Library worked extensively with Congress during 1993 to accommodate the legitimate concerns for fair treatment for American authors while at the same time assuring that acquisitions through copyright registration and mandatory deposit are maintained at least at their present level. The Library established an Advisory Committee on Copyright Registration and Deposit (ACCORD), chaired jointly by former Register of Copyrights, Barbara Ringer, and Interim University Librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Robert Wedgeworth. Recommendations developed with the assistance of ACCORD were incorporated into proposed legislation and would provide alternative inducements to registration, improve registration and mandatory deposit systems, and provide for a review of the effects of legislative changes on the collections of the Library and the registration system. A separate legislative proposal also eliminated the Copyright Royalty Tribunal (CRT), transferring its functions to independent ad hoc arbitration panels overseen by the Copyright Office. The Library has incorporated plans to assume this responsibility as part of the fiscal

Collections Development and Important New Acquisitions The Library receives millions of pieces each year, from copyright deposits, from Federal agencies, and from purchases, gifts and exchanges. The Library took several important steps during fiscal 1993 to be more selective in its acquisitions without compromising the quality of its unparalleled, universal collections. These steps include initiating projects to update collection policy statements, reviewing the serials acquisition process, and evaluating ways to reduce the receipt of unwanted materials. These projects are a critical part of the Library's efforts to maintain a universal collection in an environment of diminishing resources. Notable acquisitions during fiscal 1993 include: the John Rubens Smith Collection of almost 700 watercolors documenting the American scene from 1809 to 1844 (the 100 millionth acquisition of the Library); the Italian Americans in the West collection, created by the American Folklife Center; the Women's Music Acquisition Project, a long-term effort inaugurated this year to acquire by purchase and copyright demand musical works composed and performed by women; and the Truckee River/Pyramid Lake Project Collection, a photoarchive dealing with environmental and social issues by photographers Robert Dawson and Peter Goin.

► Blind and Physically Handicapped Program - The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) continued refinement of the national reading program for blind and physically handicapped persons during fiscal 1993. In the technology area, NLS initiated a wide-ranging study to evaluate current technology and identify applications to NLS audio products and services. The study includes NLS staff members and participants from sister organizations (e.g, Royal National Institute for the Blind (UK), Canadian National Institute for the Blind) and representatives from consumer groups. In the network library service area, NLS developed guidelines to improve library services to Native Americans through a 12-member network committee.

safeguards to ensure equity in hiring experts and consultants. Major steps accomplished during implementation of the new selection process include: developing and putting in place training (job analysis and interviewing techniques) for more than 600 staff in critical parts of the new process; developing detailed procedures for rating applications against minimum qualifications requirements; conducting more than 72 job analysis panels with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs); instituting affirmative action reviews and analyses at five critical stages of the competitive selection process; conducting impact analyses of proposed reorganizations; conducting a Library-wide needs assessment and cultural audit; and developing affirmative action recruitment plans for all competitive selections in professional and administrative occupations. The Library also issued a policy statement on sexual harassment and interim guidelines on the Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance Program.

▸ Taking Automation to the Nation and the World - On-line access via Internet to the Library of Congress Information System (LOCIS) became a reality in April 1993. Internet is a vast global network of many interconnected networks with an estimated 20 million users. LOCIS files contain over 35 million records including cataloging information, copyright registrations, and status of Federal legislation. Other Library systems available on the Internet provide documents and images from recent exhibits and basic information about the Library's services. In June, the Library enhanced Internet access by implementing LC MARVEL (Machine-Assisted Realization of the Virtual Electronic Library) a user friendly software tool that makes it easier to conduct Internet searches or perform commands. Opening access to the Library's rich resources via Internet has been overwhelmingly acclaimed by people all over the nation and the world. A small sampling of comments received include:

♦ Nelson Hinman, UCLA - "I am immensely grateful to those responsible for the on line search capability."

♦ Elizabeth Fry, Arlington County Public Library - "I appreciate having access to the LC catalog through the Internet. I use it to get the text of bills and to identify books on subjects requested by my patrons. Thank you very much."

♦ Diana Kirby, University of Miami Librarian - "Wow, I'm impressed. I'm a librarian and I'm thrilled because I have just retrieved a bill for a student and it was as easy as 1-2-3."

◆ Barrie Hiern - "The database that you-all are maintaining is superb. I work as the reference librarian in the Henderson District Public Library, Nevada and turn to LOCIS when I have a legal question to answer. I sincerely hope that with all

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▸ Vatican Library Exhibition - The first of a planned series of shows at the Library featuring the great libraries of the world was held from January 6 through April 30, 1993. The spectacular exhibition, Rome Reborn: the Vatican Library and Renaissance Culture, was made possible by $2.2 million in private gifts. Most of these treasures had never before left Rome, and many of them had never been publicly exhibited even in Rome. Viewed by a record 230,000 people, the exhibition was comprised of rare books, manuscripts, and maps from the Renaissance period. A ten-week public lecture series and a renaissance music conference for music scholars accompanied the exhibit. The exhibit set the stage for the reopening of the newly renovated Great Hall and Southwest Curtain and Pavilion of the Jefferson Building and provided innovations for future Library endeavors. Mrs. Charles W. Engelhard provided funding for fabrication of permanent display cases for special exhibits in the Jefferson Building. The display cases, which were first used for the Vatican exhibit, were designed to meet the environmental and security requirements of the Vatican treasures, thereby contributing to future Library exhibitions. In addition, for the first time at the Library, exhibit visitors had the option of renting an audio guided tour of an exhibition.

► Bringing Treasures to the People - The Library's collections were shared with hundreds of thousands of Americans
through local exhibitions, travelling exhibits (in a half-dozen cities), and major publications. The Library has become the
first major institution to make its major exhibitions available remotely through electronic on-line access.

♦ The exhibitions included: "Landsat: Monitoring Earth's Environment" (a map/photo display); "I Do Solemnly Swear"
(linked to the 1993 inauguration); "An Uplifting Tradition: Graduates of Historically Black Colleges" (a display
celebrating the role of black colleges in the development of American scholarship); "The Articulate Traveler: Johann
Georg Kohl" (the German map maker of America); "Language of the Land: Journeys into Literary America"(featuring
writers of each state); and "Old Ties, New Attachments: Italian American Folklife in the West" which opened in Santa
Clara, California, and travelled to Los Angeles and Reno.

Some 30 books and other items were produced and distributed, including Volumes 20 and 21 of Letters to Delegates of
Congress, 1774-1789, Scrolls from the Dead Sea, and Rome Reborn.

Millions of Americans had new accessibility via the Internet and America OnLine to major Library exhibits including the

► Preservation Improvements - The Library took action during 1993 to improve the preservation of its vast collections by: (1) procuring and strategically storing supplies and equipment for use in disaster situations and training staff in disaster response and recovery procedures; (2) procuring a state-of-the-art box-making machine to augment and expand its preventive preservation program for the general collections; and (3) initiating a series of tests to evaluate deacidification processes.

▸ Financial Management Improvement Project - During 1993, the Library moved closer to its goal of a modern financial system that complies with the General Accounting Office (GAO) and the Department of Treasury accounting and control standards that will facilitate the preparation of audited financial statements. On November 30, 1993, the Library purchased the Federal Financial System (FFS), an off-the-shelf software package developed by American Management Systems, and is installing FFS with a planned implementation date of October 1, 1994. FFS will correct problems identified in the GAO audit and will improve accountability to the Congress.

► Parliamentary Assistance Program The Congressional Research Service continued to implement the program of the House of Representatives Special Task Force on the Development of Parliamentary Institutions in Eastern Europe, chaired by Representative Martin Frost. Since April 1990, the Task Force has provided significant assistance to six Eastern European countries and the three Baltic States; the Task Force program has now trained more than 380 Members and parliamentary staff and has provided more than 920 pieces of automation equipment and 6,000 books and serials. These programs are funded outside the Legislative branch appropriations process by the Agency for International Development and by private foundations. With the approval of the Joint Committee on the Library, CRS undertook, at the end of September 1993, a similar 3-year program of assistance for Ukraine. The parliamentary assistance program has increased the capacity of new parliaments to sustain themselves and has stimulated a comparative approach to law-making. In addition to the institutional ties between the U.S. Congress and each parliament, Congress has benefitted from improved access to information about each of these countries.

The Library's fiscal 1995 request represents an increase of $26.1 million (including $1 million in new receipts), virtually all of which is required to meet mandatory cost changes in personnel compensation and benefits and unavoidable price-level changes in costs for existing levels of service. Major elements of the Library's budget request include: