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COLLECTIONS SPACE NEEDS CONTINUED

Dr. BILLINGTON. Even before gridlock is reached, you start spending immense amounts of time and money shifting books around to gain ever smaller amounts of shelf space. So, for fiscal year 1993, we propose to convert our current Landover, Maryland, warehouse space to collection storage.

Moving conventional warehousing activities currently housed at Landover to new rental space and installing multi-tier shelving in the vacant Landover space will accommodate collections growth over the next five to seven years. It will meet our needs until the Architect of the Capitol gains the capability to store Library collections or until alternative long-range plans can be developed.

The top part of the chart shows that without new storage facilities, we will run out of space in 1994.

The bottom part of the chart shows that the additional space requested would tide us over until the end of the decade. We would move little-used volumes out to storage, but we could still find and retrieve them. That is the not quite so gray stuff you see at the top of the chart.

We are now almost out of space for some of our special collections, such as motion pictures and sound recordings. Storage needs for all our nonbook format materials, including personal papers, grow at the rate of 15,000 to 20,000 square feet each year.

We have, in the past year, acquired outstanding special collections, such as the papers of Averell Harriman.

That is one of the most heavily used collections in the Library. Without additional space, we will have to forgo such opportunities in the future, and the ability of Americans to examine their past will suffer.

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Date of Gridlock

1993

Geography and Map

1993

2000

2000

Technology Reports

PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE ASSISTANCE ON SPACE

Mr. FAZIO. Jim, there is a question about the Architect being authorized to go out and help you find this space. We determined, it would have been much cheaper. The Public Works Committee, I believe, needed to take up this issue. Have you been pursuing it with them?

Dr. BILLINGTON. Yes. We pursued it.

Mr. FAZIO. In order to have the legal ability to step in front of GSA and take over the role.

Dr. BILLINGTON. We have pursued this. They looked into additional space needs for the Library, but they did not approve of or propose any new legislation. They directed the Library to continue to satisfy any new space needs through the GSA.

Mr. FAZIO. They went with GSA.

Dr. BILLINGTON. Yes. I thought we made a fairly persuasive case. Mr. FAZIO. Well, let's see what we can do to help here a little bit. It obviously wasn't our intent that that decision come out of the Committee. Of course, we are pleased a decision finally came out of the Committee.

However, we will work to see whether we can reopen the question again; maybe once and for all.

Dr. BILLINGTON. Yes, but I think the way we worked it out this time is going to basically solve the problem for this decade and give us a little breathing space.

GSA SPACE COSTS

Mr. FAZIO. I don't fully appreciate, even now, why the costs are so much greater with GSA versus some of the estimates we received from the Architect. Is anybody capable of speaking to that? Dr. BILLINGTON. Mr. Trew.

Mr. TREW. Good morning. They tell us that they spread costs broadly across their real estate across the United States. They have some properties that make money, so to speak, and they have some properties that don't make money.

And so, they impose what amounts to administrative surcharges, if you will, and sometimes they can be rather significant. I can remember several years ago at Landover, for instance, when the building owner was getting roughly $800,000 a year from GSA for his rental payment, we were paying something like $1.9 million. Mr. FAZIO. More than twice.

Mr. TREW. More than twice. That doesn't happen with each property you have. They seem to pick on one every year where they make up this additional cost, if you will. Some of our others were closer to what the building owners were really getting. There were still surcharges, but they weren't nearly double what the price was. Mr. FAZIO. You say $1.9 million.

Mr. TREW. $1.9 million. That is not true now, but that was at one point in the past. That actually happened. It was more than double.

Mr. FAZIO. I understand that these charges, in some cases, can be justified and documented, but that seems awfully excessive. I don't know why this branch of government wouldn't be allowed to have

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BILLINGTON. Also, there is

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SECONDARY STORAGE FACILITY

Gucation Last year, the Public Works Committee promised to move, on a timely dla the galation necessary to help you acquire additional storage space. Trealize That had been done what is the curent status?

Response Senate Report No. 112-5, dated June 12, 1991, stated that funding for
dcndary durage facility was
peted a study of legislative needs The 400 completed the study om
amature until the Architect of the Capitol (ACC
ker IF, 16th, and we await a beson on its recommendations to determine
central legislative brason Serity will be obtained.

rary met with Public Works staff on February 6, 1992 to discuss the cur dest farment and clarify the need for space and available options. Since the the Library's unique storage requirements (eg environmental specifica neta, shelving criteria, etc the Library conveyed to the Public he advantages of the AOC controlling the storage of all of the Library's just irama stored in Capitol Hill buildings

aling for 33.8 million for high density storage. Is this primari
westent we had last year or have you revised your approach?
The is not the same request

goat in fiueal 1991 was to obtain 100,000 sq ft of secondary storage
would have been used for arrange processing. This request was
gey of Legislative Branch warehouse space needs by the Archi

the Library requested funding for $2,000 sq ft of temporary stor
arranrage reduction support and 25,000 to support general col-
aquest was also denied as the AQC continued his study
Library la asking for funding to locate its warehousing oper
and convert the approximately 70,000 sq ft to collections
malidating the bulk of the Library's remoted collections in
wine will service the
orige plan is developer
collections storage needs until a
Concert with the AOC

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could lease warehouse space for $4-$6 per square foot. GSA, our current leasing agent, quoted us prices ranging from $8.92-$10.41/sq. ft.

COPYRIGHT OFFICE

Dr. BILLINGTON. Just briefly to conclude on other items, Mr. Chairman, the Copyright Office is requesting a total increase of $1.3 million, offset by our request to use $738,000 of increased receipts, for a net increase of $585,000. Congress enacted a revised copyright fee schedule that went into effect last January.

As a result of this committee's approval to use additional fee revenue, the Copyright Office has been able to reduce the time required to process routine claims from a high of 12 weeks to an average now of six weeks. Ralph Oman, our Register, will expand on these points in his testimony.

CRS

CRS has an additional $4.7 million requested, composed of $3.8 million for mandatory pay increases, $412,000 for price level changes, and $500,000 for increased access to commercial data bases, which is critical to the timeliness of responses to Congressional inquiries. Mr. Ross will elaborate on this requirement.

BOOKS FOR THE BLIND AND PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED

Finally, we are asking for an increase of $3.8 million in order to continue the Library's free national reading program for the blind and physically handicapped. The increase reflects the nature of the program, in which actual production costs dictate budgetary requirements. The increase is not represented in any new program; rather, it permits maintenance at a constant level of service to approximately 700,000 people, and Mr. Cylke can expand on this, if you like.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, the Library of Congress, we believe, is in a very special position to help the Nation move ahead in the decades to come. It can enrich and foster in many ways the pursuit of truth, as Jefferson foresaw it, making our unmatched collections and knowledgeable staff a ready and increasing source of information for Congress, and a focus of creativity for the Nation.

This is really the only place in the world, Mr. Chairman, where basically everything important that is produced by the human mind is actually read by other human beings.

Mr. FAZIO. At least once.

the people who

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Dr. BILLINGTON. That produces not only the bibliographic record, but an immense s* fedom. Part of our challenge is to free up to apply automation more usefully, service to Congress and the Nation. c technology, the Library can enorge available to the Congress and to munities; in schools, colleges, librar

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