Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

sources locally on line, and then to develop a kind of national network, if this appropriation is authorized.

We don't foresee a very large annual subsidy, but there will be some funding needed, and we think that one part of it certainly the part that involves dealing with the productive private sector, there should be some kind of return.

I would stress that charging fees is not new-we have always charged fees of a pretty bare-bones nature for catalog cards, for example, but we do need modern legislation not as a major revenue generator, but simply to expand the service possibilities of the institution without compromising any of the customary free services. People will still be able to make inquiries and use the collections, but what we are talking about is a customized search service, and we think it is time to expand the service. It is not to generate reve

nues.

Mr. FAZIO. Reinvesting.

Dr. BILLINGTON. And it is also an equity question, because when you have a productive private sector benefiting from customized information delivery, it ought to be able to pay some of the costs, rather than the general taxpayer.

Mr. FAZIO. Sure.

Dr. BILLINGTON. But I would stress this, we are not going to compromise our traditional free services, which we have itemized on this map and told you about.

SAVINGS TO THE NATION

What we save the Nation through the cataloging service alone, in semi-invisible subsidy for cataloging, is greater than the entire appropriation we are asking for this year.

Mr. FAZIO. That is a good point.

Dr. BILLINGTON. It is a fairly in ortant subsidy. It would be noticed if we had to cut it back.

This science and technology initiative-a very modest investment, will also help CRS staff as well as the broader scientific and business community to find the information they need in key areas at relatively low costs.

This particular effort, is designed to make the Library's resources available to more Americans and will complement and reinforce other efforts already underway throughout the Nation in schools, libraries, businesses and research institutions.

Our objective is to get more organized information and knowledge out to more people at less expense, and to use the local institutions, the already existing network of institutions around the country, to reinforce them and to be a kind of "vitamin enrichment.'

For instance, our American Memory project, which makes unique Library collections available in electronic formats, is now being tested in 44 schools and libraries across the country.

LC DIRECT, which delivers the Library's complete card catalog online to remote locations, is also being pilot tested in 27 State libraries. The science and technology initiative will bring other assets of the Library on line to enhance American learning and

ARREARAGE

Since I appeared last before you, Mr. Chairman, the Library has made major progress, I am happy to report, in reducing its unprocessed arrearages. We are grateful to this Committee for its interest and support.

Under our pilot program, we are on track toward meeting our three-year target of reducing our total arrearages by 11.3 million unprocessed items.

During the past year, the arrearages were cut by 4.2 million to a new low of 36.4 million items.

Our progress to date and detailed plan for accomplishing our larger goal by the end of 1993 are illustrated on this chart. We have, so far, hired the 164 new cataloging personnel authorized by Congress in the fiscal year 1991 budget, and trained them. They are all now on the job. In the Manuscript Division alone, these new staff members accounted for more than 400,000 items removed from the arrearages.

[Three year arrearage reduction pilot program chart follows:]

[graphic]
[graphic]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

12/91

6/92 12/92 6/93

PROCESSING PROCEDURES

Dr. BILLINGTON. We improved our processing procedures in response to committee concerns. We have begun a process called copy cataloging, using catalog records which already exist on bibliographic utilities such as OCLC and RLIN. In the first three months of using this approach, the Library produced records for 2,000 books and 4,000 sound recordings, and we expect to increase this production greatly during the coming year.

We also separated out some items that don't deserve cataloging— this is always a painful thing for librarians to do, since we tend to be very possessive. But we have, for instance, archives donated by several major professional organizations, which while worthy records, have proven but of marginal usefulness to researchers. We have stopped processing them or accepting them, and have given some of them back to the donors; that has amounted to about 1.1 million items.

We redeployed an entire unit of 70 staffers, who now call themselves the "arrearage busters", to help process the backlog.

I really would like to give the staff credit, because we had asked a number of employees in that unit to transfer to the arrearages. They were concerned about this, and through a process of dialogue and meetings, they said the whole unit will transfer. The spirit is catching. We look forward to its continuing.

As you see, we committed ourselves to some fairly drastic action-you have the bigger version of this.

COLLECTIONS STORAGE REQUIREMENTS

Now, gaining control over the collections reinforces the need for space in which to store and preserve them, which has become a really serious matter. Our general collections are expanding at the rate of about 300,000 volumes each year, even as we reject thousands of books which do not meet our selection criteria.

Approximately one million books using 100,000 linear feet of shelf space will be added to the general collections through fiscal year 1994. The book stacks in the Jefferson and Adams Buildings are reaching capacity, and our chart indicates our shelving capacity will reach gridlock by the end of 1994.

Library of Congress
General Collections Space

Without Additional Collection Space

[graphic]

Millions of Items

1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 200

With Additional Collection Space

[graphic]
« ZurückWeiter »