ALAWON v3n16 (March 25, 1994) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/alawon/alawon-v3n16 ****Begin File******************Begin File*******************Begin File**** *************************************************************************** ISSN 1069-7799 ALAWON ALA Washington Office Newsline An electronic publication of the American Library Association Washington Office Volume 3, Number 16 March 25, 1994 In this issue: (128 lines) CORRECTION TO ALAWON VOL. 3, NO. 7 LIBRARY POSTAL RATE MAY JUMP 74% - DATA ON IMPACT NEEDED HOUSE PASSES MAJOR EDUCATION LEGISLATION *************************************************************************** CORRECTION TO ALAWON VOL. 3, NO. 7 In ALAWON Vol. 3, No. 7, we erroneously published a dollar amount in the table for FY 1994 Appropriation under Library Services and Construction Act, title II public library construction. The dollar amount should be $17,792 (in thousands). *************************************************************************** LIBRARY POSTAL RATE MAY JUMP 74% - DATA ON IMPACT NEEDED The fourth-class library rate would increase 73.7 percent under a U.S. Postal Service proposal to increase all postal rates. The proposed rates, if approved by the Postal Rate Commission, would not take effect until 1995, but information on the impact of such a major jump is needed immediately to enable the ALA Washington Office to do its best on your behalf in this rate proceeding. The library rate makes it possible for the mailing at less than commercial rates of books and other library and educational materials among libraries, schools, colleges, museums, and other nonprofit entities. Publishers and distributors use the library rate to deliver new materials ordered by schools and libraries. Libraries use it for interlibrary loan, for film rental circuits, for books by mail programs, etc. The general rate increase was filed on March 8 by USPS, together with a request for settlement negotiations. On March 18, the Postal Rate Commission announced that it was allowing USPS to schedule an off-the- record initial settlement conference on March 24. USPS and some mailers would prefer an early and simplified settlement of the proposal (which would otherwise be a formal 10-month process). The desire for settlement is not expected to affect the effective date of new rates, but it means there is a brief window when the Postal Service is receptive to concerns expressed informally and to exploring with affected communities whether there is any basis (such as a data error) for adjustment in the USPS proposal. The 73.7 percent rate increase proposed for the library rate seems way out of line with the 10 percent average increase proposed for all rates. The reason given is that mailing costs attributable to this rate have increased substantially. In comparison, a first-class stamp would go up from $.29 to $.32; the third-class bulk nonprofit rate would increase an average of 1.6 percent. The proposed library rate is shown below. FOURTH-CLASS LIBRARY RATE CURRENT PROPOSED First Pound $ .65 $ 1.14 Each addit. lb. thru 7 lbs. $ .24 $ .42 Each addit. lb. over 7 lbs. $ .12 $ .21 See the March 18 _Federal Register_, pp. 12996-13016. The full current and proposed rate schedules are appended to this Postal Rate Commission notice. IMPACT DATA NEEDED: The ALA Washington Office has two requests. (1) How important is the library rate to your library operations? What will be the impact on your library of a 73.7 percent increase in the fourth-class library postal rate? If the major impact will be on a particular library service, such as Books-by-Mail, please describe it or append any descriptive, statistical, or annual report data. Data on volume of mail, average weight of package, distances sent, trends, would all be helpful. PLEASE SEND SUCH INFORMATION BY APRIL 1. (2) If you are a major library rate mailer, or a representative of a group of such mailers, and would be interested in joining ALA and representatives of publishing groups in an informal meeting in DC with USPS officials, please contact the ALA Washington Office. Such a meeting may take place on April 1. Contact the ALA Washington Office at alawash@alawash.org or by fax at 202- 547-7363, or by phone at 202-547-4440. *************************************************************************** HOUSE PASSES MAJOR EDUCATION LEGISLATION H.R. 1804, GOALS 2000: EDUCATE AMERICA ACT The House passed the conference report on the bill (H. Rept. 103-446) on March 23, by a vote of 306-121. The conference report is scheduled for further action in the Senate today. H.R. 6, IMPROVING AMERICA'S SCHOOLS ACT On March 24, final action occured on H.R. 6 with a final vote of 289-128. The House reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 for the next six years. *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office, 110 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC 20002-5675. Internet: alawash@alawash.org; Phone: 202-547-4440; Fax: 202-547-7363. Editor: Lee G. Enyart (lge@alawash.org). ALAWON is available free of charge and is available only in electronic form. To subscribe, send the message "subscribe ala-wo [your name]" to listserv@uicvm (Bitnet) or listserv@uicvm.uic.edu (Internet). Back issues and other documents are available from the list server. To find out what's available, send the message "send ala-wo filelist" to the listserv. The ALA-WO filelist contains the list of files with the exact filename and filetype. To get a particular file, issue the command "send filename filetype" to the listserv. Do not include the quotes in your commands. All materials in the newsletter subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. For other reprinting or redistribution, address requests to the ALA Washington Office (alawash@alawash.org). *************************************************************************** ***End of file******************End of file******************End of file***