ALAWON v4n55 (June 9, 1995) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/alawon/alawon-v4n55 ****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 4, Number 55 June 9, 1995 In this issue: (218 lines) ENDANGERED: PUBLIC ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFORMATION ACTION REQUIRED IMMEDIATELY: INFORMATION MUST BE RECEIVED BY MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE PRIOR TO THURSDAY, JUNE 15th *************************************************************************** ENDANGERED: PUBLIC ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFORMATION On June 8, the House Appropriations Legislative Branch Subcommittee agreed to a major policy change in the way the American public obtains government information produced at taxpayer expense. This policy change was voted on without Congressional hearings to determine how the new system would work and whether public access to government information would be ensured as it has been for more than a century. Marking up the FY96 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill, the Subcommittee voted to slash in half the appropriation that pays for the Depository Library Program--from $32 million to $16 million. The big cut is in the funds available to produce and distribute publications to depositories--the nearly 1,400 Congressionally designated libraries that provide no-fee public access to government information. Currently, Congress pays for copies of all publications that the Government Printing Office sends these libraries so the public can use the information for their own needs and hold the government accountable for what it does in the public's behalf. The remaining $16 million in the appropriation also would have to cover the International Exchange Program, bylaw distribution, and cataloging and indexing government publications. In a major policy shift, publishing agencies would be required to reimburse GPO for the cost of producing and distributing their paper and microfiche documents to depositories. Yet, few agencies comply now with the law to provide depository copies when they produce publications outside GPO, making it highly unlikely they will meet greater requirements. The Subcommittee intends to encourage electronic dissemination of government information. At the same time, they voted to eliminate the print distribution of the daily Congressional Record to constituents, such as public libraries, schools and hospitals. Depository libraries would receive the bound Congressional Record and the Serial Set only in an electronic format. The Library of Congress is to initiate a study to determine if its National Digital Library project could be applied to the federal documents program. What Could Happen? - Public access to government information would be severely restricted, as less information is available through the Depository Library Program. - The current nonpartisan, apolitical, organized system of publications distribution could be changed to one where agencies could avoid disseminating information because it could be embarrassing, controversial or politically expedient. - The funding for the Depository Library Program's transition to electronic formats would be jeopardized. - The amount of fugitive information would skyrocket, as agencies would have reduced incentives to bring their work to GPO. Elimination of the Joint Committee on Printing, approved by the Subcommittee, would remove effective enforcement. - No fee public access would depend on the ability of agencies--already under severe financial constraints--to pay for paper depository copies. The payment requirement is an unfunded mandate to agencies. - The ability for many public, community college and state libraries to serve users would be diminished unless they have easy electronic access to information; the ability to download, print, and store government publications; and big budgets to buy materials. - Libraries would have an unfunded mandate to provide electronic access to government information. Library costs to acquire and catalog fugitive information would increase. - GPO would no longer have the funds to convert paper documents to microfiche (more than 60 percent of all copies distributed now go to libraries in microfiche). - When agencies were required to reimburse GPO for publications distributed through the International Exchange Program, the administrative costs of running the program ate up most of the available funds. - Taxpayers would realize no savings; in reality, the "savings" would show up as increased costs to other publishing agencies, resulting in no overall savings for the taxpayers. In 1994, GPO acquired, cataloged, and distributed nearly 21 million copies of publications to depository libraries--for about $1 a copy. GPO distributed nearly 65,000 titles, only 306 of them in electronic format. Before making major changes in information policy through the appropriations process, Congress should conduct a study to determine the feasibility, costs, and benefits of on-demand delivery of publications to depository libraries. A study examining alternatives is necessary before deciding on a course of action that will determine the methods used for document distribution for years to come. It is in the best interests of the government, library users and libraries to ensure public access to government information essential in a democracy. Time is short to change this House Subcommittee action. The full Appropriations Committee meets on June 15 to consider the FY96 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill (no number yet). House Appropriations chair, Rep. Bill Livingston (R-LA) plans to bring the bill to House floor on June 20. Multitudes of individuals and organizations need to contact Congress to protect no fee, equitable public access to government information. Please repost this message widely. ACTION NEEDED: It is critical that librarians in all types of libraries, users, trustees, friends of libraries contact Members of Congress to ask them to continue to fund the Depository Library Program so that public access to information in our democracy can be assured. 1) Constituents of members of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee should contact them immediately to tell them how disappointed they are in the 50 percent reduction in appropriations for the Depository Library Program, explaining the vital services provided to their constituents with these funds. Ask them to support an amendment that would restore $16 million to the Superintendent of Documents Salaries and Expenses Appropriation for FY96. (Reps. Packard, Young (FL), Taylor, Miller, Wicker, Fazio, Thornton, Dixon) 2) Constituents of members of the House Appropriations Committee should immediately contact them and ask them to support an amendment like the one described above. 3) Constituents of other Representatives should ask their legislators to request their colleagues on the Appropriations Committee to restore the $16 million described above. 4) Constituents of the Senate Legislative Branch Subcommittee [Senators Mack (R-FL), Chair; Bennett (R-UT), Jeffords (R-VT), Murray (D-WA), Mikulski (D-MD)], should ask them to approve the $30.3 million GPO requested for the Superintendent of Documents Salaries and Expenses Appropriation for FY96. House Appropriations Committee ST Representative (Party) Phone Fax E-Mail == ========================== ======== ======== ============ Area Code 202 @hr.house.gov Chairman LA Livingston, Robert (R) 225-3015 225-0739 AL Bevill, Thomas (D) 225-4876 225-1604 AL Callahan, Sonny (R) 225-4931 225-0562 AR Dickey, Jay (R) 225-3772 225-1314 jdickey AR Thornton, Raymond (D) 225-2506 225-9273 AZ Kolbe, James T. (R) 225-2542 225-0378 CA Dixon, Julian C. (D) 225-7084 225-4091 CA Fazio, Vic (D) 225-5716 225-0354 CA Lewis, Jerry (R) 225-5861 225-6498 CA Packard, Ronald (R) 225-3906 225-0134 rpackard CA Pelosi, Nancy (D) 225-4965 225-8259 sfnancy CA Riggs, Frank (R) 225-3311 225-7710 CA Torres, Esteban E. (D) 225-5256 225-9711 CO Skaggs, David E. (D) 225-2161 225-9127 skaggs FL Miller, Dan (R) 225-5015 226-0828 FL Young, C. W. (R) 225-5961 225-9764 GA Kingston, Jack (R) 225-5831 226-2269 IA Lightfoot, James R. (R) 225-3806 225-6973 IL Durbin, Richard J. (D) 225-5271 225-0170 IL Porter, John E. (R) 225-4835 225-0157 IL Yates, Sidney R. (D) 225-2111 225-3493 IN Myers, John T. (R) 225-5805 225-1649 IN Visclosky, Peter J. (D) 225-2461 225-2493 KY Rogers, Harold (R) 225-4601 225-0940 MD Hoyer, Steny H. (D) 225-4131 225-4300 MI Knollenberg, Joe (R) 225-5802 226-2356 MN Sabo, Martin O. (D) 225-4755 225-4886 MS Wicker, Roger (R) 225-4306 225-3549 NC Hefner, W. G. "Bill" (D) 225-3715 225-4036 NC Taylor, Charles Hart (R) 225-6401 225-0519 chtaylor NJ Frelinghuysen, Rodney (R) 225-5034 225-0658 NM Skeen, Joseph (R) 225-2365 225-9599 NV Vucanovich, Barbara (R) 225-6155 225-2319 NY Forbes, Michael 225-3826 225-3143 mforbes NY Lowey, Nita M. (D) 225-6506 225-0546 NY Walsh, James T. (R) 225-3701 225-4042 OH Hobson, David L. (R) 225-4324 225-1984 OH Kaptur, Marcy (D) 225-4146 225-7711 OH Regula, Ralph (R) 225-3876 225-3059 OH Stokes, Louis (D) 225-7032 225-1339 OK Istook, Ernest Jim (R) 225-2132 226-1463 istook OR Bunn, Jim (R) 225-5711 225-2994 PA Foglietta, Thomas M. (D) 225-4731 225-0088 PA McDade, Joseph M. (R) 225-3731 225-9594 PA Murtha, John P. (D) 225-2065 225-5709 TX Bonilla, Henry (R) 225-4511 225-2237 TX Chapman, Jim (D) 225-3035 225-7265 TX Coleman, Ronald D. (D) 225-4831 225-4825 TX DeLay, Thomas (R) 225-5951 225-5241 TX Wilson, Charles (D) 225-2401 225-1764 cwilson VA Wolf, Frank R. (R) 225-5136 225-0437 WA Dicks, Norman D. (D) 225-5916 226-1176 WA Nethercutt, George (R) 225-2006 225-3392 WI Neumann, Mark (R) 225-3031 225-3393 WI Obey, David R. (D) 225-3365 na WV Mollohan, Alan B. (D) 225-4172 225-7564 All e-mail addresses end with suffix at top of e-mail column. *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** 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. Contributing to this issue Anne A. Heanue and Claudette W. Tennant. Editor: Lynne E. Bradley (leb@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. 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