Those problems stated in fiscal years 1978, 1979, and 1980 still exist. Space remains decentralized making larger and more economical purchases impossible. There also will be a need in the very near future for an upgraded computer system with additional hardware and software modifications. This is necessary to expand the operation to handle the extra sales and stock items when we relocate in a consolidated facility in the Hart Building. This must take place before any thought can be given to taking over those items stocked by the Sergeant at Arms' Service Department, i.e., file folders and related filing supplies, batteries, mag tapes, etc. We estimate that the cost of new hardware (disk drive, high-speed printers, terminals, bar code readers, etc.) for the expansion of the existing computer system will be $60,000, and that the modifications to the software will run about $13,500. Our current system has been in place since 1979 and has performed fairly well. Attached at the end of my statement is a more detailed listing of the hardware and software modifications we believe are necessary to make the automated system more responsive to our needs. SENATE LIBRARY Bill Status Service The four people in the Bill Status Unit answered over 61,500 inquiries from Senate offices about the status of legislation. This is the second highest total of transactions recorded since the service was initiated in 1975. It can The chart below reflects the pattern of growth of this service. be seen that the second session of a Congress is typically busier than the Another evident trend is the increase shown when comparing a. session first. of one Congress to the same session of the previous Congress. *Terminals were installed in the Library in April 1975 Percentage of Change N/A N/A N/A +73% +20% +40% +32% April. The terminals double the number of lines of data on the screen over those previously in use and permit the operators to scan more information at a time. The printer operates at 400 lines a minute, five times faster than the one it replaced. Several long-standing requests for programming improvements in LEGIS were implemented by the Computer Center in July. Reference Services The staff responded to over 12,000 reference requests, almost keeping pace with the record-breaking totals recorded in fiscal year 1980. The chart below reflects the growth in reference requests from year to year and from session to corresponding session of the previous Congress. *Recording of reference statistics began in August 1976. Reference capabilities were improved by additional services offered by commercial data base vendors: (1) Mead Data Central added a number of new publications to NEXIS including the Federal Register and the Congressional Quarterly; and (2) New York Times Information Service made available the New York Times Online, providing the full text of the Times since June 1980, and the capability ›f free text searching. A significant advance was achieved when the Rules Committee authorized he Library to acquire a legal information retrieval system, a goal of the Library for the last several years. This system is Mead Data Central's LEXIS. Arrangements for access through the Federal Library Committee were completed in September and began in November 1981. Our use of commercial data bases has increased 12 percent from the previous fiscal year and increased 127 percent since fiscal year 1979. In order to keep pace with the requests from Senate offices, we have tried to subscribe to services which both have the information we need and allow us to maximize the funds allocated for this purpose. However, at this time, we are requesting a $3,000 increase or 10 percent more for these services. Micrographics Center The Center was used 627 times during the year, a decrease of 12 percent from the previous year. A major improvement was achieved by the relocation of the Center to Room S-418, which had been acquired the previous year and renovated specifically for its present use. Planning also included six new microform storage cabinets which were acquired and installed. As a result, the Library has obtained both a more convenient and secure location and a needed expansion of storage space. Collection Development Book Collection: The Library ordered 697 books in fiscal year 1981. Over 1,393 new items were received and processed, and 1,015 old titles were recataloged, requiring the preparation of 1,617 new sets of catalog cards. The book ordering program initiated in fiscal year 1980 with Blackwell North America has been working very satisfactorily. The dealer automatically notifies us about the availability of newly-published books on American government, politics, history and economics and sends us those we select. Periodical Collection: During fiscal year 1981, the Library investigated the services of three periodicals, jobbers and selected F. W. Faxon Company to handle virtually all of its subscriptions. This program is expected to result in the elimination of purchase orders and in vastly reduced invoicing and vouchering. We placed our order with Faxon in September, and service began in January 1982. Microform Collection: Two major microform acquisitions were added during the year. The first was a set of Congressional committee prints not previously available in either the Senate Library or the Library of Congress, obtained from Congressional Information Service. A comprehensive index to these prints was included. The second was the proceedings of Congress from 1789 to 1978 as recorded in the Annals of Congress, the Register of Debates in Congress, the Congressional Globe, and the Congressional Record. This set was received from Information Handling Service in exchange for using our volumes for filming. We also entered a standing order with CIS for a microfiche collection of previously unfilmed Congressional committee hearings which were not in the collection of either the Senate Library of the Library of Congress. In addition, we ordered the CIS U.S. Congressional Committee Hearings Index, which will provide for the first time a comprehensive subject and witness index from the mid-1800's to 1970. Government Documents Collection: In August 1979, the Library was designated as a Government Depository Library, and the program has been working satisfactorily. We have systematized the selection of publications, and materials have been arriving reliably. We now feel we can eliminate our traditional sources of acquiring Executive Branch publications. We recently began to convert this collection to a SuDocs classification arrangement which we expect to be a long-term project. LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENTS This year I am presenting some of the more significant accomplishments of our legislative staff. Calendar of Business The Senate Calendar of Business is continually being revised to provide more concise information for those who follow the Senate floor operations. new section was added to the Calendar this past year. This new section is entitled "Bills and Joint Resolutions Read the First Time." Items are placed here after being read for the first time and objection is made to the second reading. Being listed in the Calendar calls attention to these particular measures which must be dealt with on the next legislative day. Lights and Bells Another important change, relative to the Legislative Clerks, is the designation of six lights and bells (buzzers) that tells that the Senate is in a temporary recess period within the confines of the daily session. The original six bell signal that shows that morning business has been concluded is still used, but these six lights then cut off immediately. The six lights showing a temporary recess stay on for the period of the recess and then cut off. This change has been well received by everyone in the Senate. Senate Journal The year 1981 has seen a gradual improvement in the composition of the Senate Journal. The turnaround time for the printing of galleys and page proofs has been shortened, both by the elimination of the printing of revised galleys, and by a commitment on the part of the Government Printing Office toward processing and returning all materials (manuscripts and galleys) on a fairly regular basis. A printed form has been devised to notify the Chief Reporter and Bill Clerk of the addition of cosponsors to amendments when requested verbally by a Senator at the rostrum (rather than in debate or in writing), thus ensuring the information being shown both in the Congressional Record and in the LEGIS system. During this current year, the Journal has been able to offer an additional service, namely, the furnishing of certain statistics to the Majority Leader. He frequently cites the time consumed during the consideration of a major piece of legislation, along with other information, such as the number of amendments considered together with their disposition, roll call votes, etc. Printing of Bills With respect to GPO, our most outstanding problem over the years has been the turnaround time on our "hot list" items. In the past, it has been inadequate, and our worst response from GPO has seemed to come when we have been most pressed to get material to the floor. This year, however, the problem has been less serious, and the turnaround time on "hot" items has been much improved. The reasons for this include better communication between this office and GPO, and our attempt to limit the number of items placed on the list to those which are truly important. We have tried to be realistic in our requests and have tried to cut down by about half on the number of items which we consider to be priority matters. This has required a great deal of communication with the Republican Scheduling office so that we are aware of those matters which they (rather than à reporting committee, for example) consider to be important. Generally speaking, only matters that are scheduled for imminent floor action are placed on the list. Furthermore, GPO knows we are |