Moreover, at a time when the Congress is appropriating billions of dollars in support of education and the President and Congress are placing a special emphasis on international studies, it would appear to be eminently sensible to maintain intact this important instrument for studying Soviet affairs. For over a quarter of a century the American Council of Learned Societies has been active in promoting the development of Soviet studies. Its Joint Committee on Slavic Studies, which has worked for years to enable this country to acquire a depth of understanding of the USSR, has already expressed its deep conviction about the importance of the "Monthly Index of Russian Accessions." In addition, the Coordinating Committee of Slavic and East European Library Resources is on record in vigorous support of MIRA. This Committee is composed of representatives of the Joint Committee on Slavic Studies and the Association of Research Libraries. Its primary function is to insure that libraries acquire and make available to government and academic specialists of Soviet affairs the raw materials of their profession. It is therefore in a position to know the importance of the Monthly Index and the extent to which it helps us to keep abreast of Soviet developments. For these reasons I respectfully request, in the absence of the President of the American Council of Learned Societies, that your Committee act to preserve the "Monthly Index of Russian Accessions" when the Library of Congress budget comes before you. Sincerely yours, GORDON B. TURNER, Vice President. Senator A. S. MIKE MONRONEY, SOCIETY OF FEDERAL LINGUISTS, Chairman, Senate Committee on Legislative Appropriations. DEAR SENATOR MONRONEY: It was with great regret that we learned of the termination of the Monthly Index of Russian Accessions of the Library of Congress because of deletion of funds from the legislative budget by the House of Representatives. However, in its recommendations, the House committee did leave the door open for consideration of whether the national value of the Index justifies the cost. The Monthly Index of Russian Accessions represents a uniquely valuable bibliographic tool relied upon by many researchers in the United States and, indeed, in the western world. According to the National Science Foundation, not more than five percent of U.S. scientists understand Russian. Therefore, at least ninety-five percent of U. S. scientists who need information available in the U.S. in their subject fields do not have any other source of the existence of information published in the U.S.S.R. except MIRA. At the recent Special Libraries Association Convention in Minneapolis, many officials representing all types and locales of private, semiprivate, and Government research institutions, including Southern Methodist Research Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cincinnati Public Library, National Security Agency, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Department of Defense, John Crerar Library, and many others, testified without exception to their use of and need for MIRA. Everyone was dismayed at the idea that the Index might not be continued, using such terms as "incredible", "catastrophe", and "What can we do to stop it?” Those employed in the preparation of this publication possess skills which are classified as desirable and rare in the U.S. information-processing community. But now, because of a budgetary reshuffle, the publication will cease, and a team of sixty-four persons will be dispersed, many undoubtedly assigned to tasks which will make little use of their valuable skills. We hear so much of manpower management in industry and Federal agencies. Are the MIRA employees transferred to other jobs? Are they appropriately placed? Did anyone even think of aiding them in finding new jobs? The Society of Federal Linguists is very much perturbed by this state of affairs since it discourages people from going into Government work where language skills are a major requirement. We seem to rely on our political adversaries to supply us with scientific information rather than support S and T capabilities here in the United States. The use of PL 480 funds bought from the Treasury by National Science Foundation and then granted to government institutions in Poland and Yugoslavia for making translations is a prime example of this practice which seems to us to be tantamount to placing our intelligence sources in the hands of unfriendly governments. Everyone talks about the importance of information processing and the growing contribution of applied linguistics, but we do not seem to be able to cope with our manpower. We respectfully ask the Senate committee and yourself to give careful consideration to the restoration of the appropriation for the Monthly Index of Russian Accessions. Rather than discontinue the Index, the logical procedure would be to incorporate the publication into the Library of Congress, proper, because the work done there is used to great advantage in other divisions of the Library, including Descriptive Cataloging, Aerospace Technology Division, and other places. We hope that you will take steps to change obsolete ideas which are detrimental to the best interests of the United States! Sincerely yours, MURRAY L. HOWDER, President, BLOOMINGTON, IND., June 14, 1966. Senator MIKE MONRONEY, Chairman, Committee on the Legislative Branch, U.S. Senate Office, Washington, D.C.: Strongly urge that your committee provide support for the monthly index of Russian accessions prepared in the Library of Congress. The index is an invaluable tool for students and researchers throughout the country and it would be an expensive tragedy to end its publication. Hon. A. S. MIKE MONRONEY, HERMAN B. WELLS. BERKELEY, CALIF., June 16, 1966. Chairman, Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, As a member of the coordinating committee for Slavic and East European library resources, I strongly urge that funds be reinstated in the Library of Congress budget for continuance of the monthly index of Russian accessions. The loss of this tool would handicap research in Slavic area studies. DOROTHY KELLER, Head, Acquisition Department, University of California Library. A. S. MIKE MONRONEY, CAMBRIDGE, MASS., June 15, 1966. Chairman, Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, I urge most strongly that provision of the 1966-67 budget for the Library of Congress include funds for the monthly index of Russian accessions. The value of this index is beyond question as an aid to the Library of Congress in furthering Government research and is indispensable to scholars throughout the country. Respectfully yours, DOUGLAS W. BRYANT, University Librarian, Harvard University. Hon. A. S. MIKE MONRONEY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, Chairman, Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, DEAR SENATOR MONRONEY: I am writing on behalf of the Coordinating Committee for Slavic and East European Library Resources, to urge that your Subcommittee preserve the item in the budget of the Library of Congress relating to the maintenance of the "Monthly Index of Russian Accession." The Coordinating Committee for Slavic and East European Library Resources is composed of representatives of the Joint Committee on Slavic Studies (of the American Council on Learned Societies and the Social Science Research Coun cil) and of the Association of Research Libraries. Since its establishment in 1959 this Committee has been giving thought to the development of research tools relating to Russia and the Soviet Union, and it regards the maintenance by the Library of Congress of the "Monthly Index of Russian Accessions" as a matter of highest importance. The value of the "Monthly Index of Russian Accession" lies in the fact that it provides an indispensable guide to the large volume of Soviet published materials acquired by the Library of Congress. The Russian accessions of the Library of Congress are the largest in the world outside of the U.S.S.R., and the monthly Index comprises a key instrument of research that is widely used by our government and by scholars in universities. In an era in which concern with Soviet institutions and interest in Russian culture continue to grow rapidly, it is a matter of greatest importance to the study of Soviet affairs that the Library of Congress be enabled to maintain the "Monthly Index of Russian Accessions." I therefore urge that provision for this index be preserved in the budget of the Library of Congress. Sincerely, CYRIL E. BLACK, Chairman, Coordinating Committee for Slavic and East European Library Resources. SALARIES AND EXPENSES Senator MONRONEY. Were there any further questions on this, Senator Proxmire? Senator PROXMIRE. No, no questions. Senator MONRONEY. Senator Yarborough? Senator YARBOROUGH. No questions. Senator MONRONEY. Before we conclude the discussion on the Russian accessions Iwould like to insert for the purpose of the record the main appropriation of the Library and its breakdown on salaries and expenses for which you requested $14,342,000. This is an increase of $2,347,300 over the 1966 appropriation. Í ask that pages 4 through 14 of the justification be inserted in the record at this point. (The justification follows:) 1966 regular bill______ Supplemental due to pay increase_ 1966 adjusted.. 1967 estimate_____ Net increase_- 1 Includes $880,000 budget amendment as contained in H. Doc. 431. Analysis for increases and decreases DECREASES 1. Accident compensation-Reimbursement to Bureau of Employees' Compensation___ The Library's reimbursement to the Bureau of Employees' Compensation for benefits and other payments for fiscal year 1965 are less than that required for fiscal 1964. -$528 INCREASES 2. Ingrade increases and other anticipated increases in salary costs-- +$183, 824 Funds are requested to cover the cost of within-grade increases, reallocations, and wage board increases as follows: To absorb this amount would mean that the equivalent of approximately 24 positions could not be filled. 3. To provide for full-year cost for the pay raise enacted under Public Law 89-301___ Pay increases for Government employees were granted effective on the first day of the first pay period beginning after Oct. 1, 1965. The Library's first pay period began Oct. 11, 1965, and the computation for the supplemental to cover these pay costs was based on this beginning date. This increase is necessary to provide for the pay raise for a full year covering 7.2 pay periods (July 1 through October 10 inclusive) : Salaries___ Personnel benefits. Total_. 4. Automation study.. $130, 810 137, 970 Request is made to continue and expand the long-range development of a program to automate the central bibliographic control functions of the Library through the use of contractual services for system design, administered by a staff of specialists and supported by staff studies, and to complete an experimental machine-readable catalog project. 5. Rental of space- Request is made for approximately 220,000 square feet of rental space at $4 per square foot. This request results from the fact that each year approximately 44,000 square feet of space is needed to accommodate expansion of the Library's collections. The Library's third building will not be available for at least 5 years thereby making it imperative that the Library acquire this rental space to provide for the expansion of its collection over this period of time. 6. Supplies, postage, and telephone-- +137, 970 +475,000 +880, 000 +19,000 Increased costs, additional personnel, and expanded pro- Re 7. Printing and reproduction__ Pay increase of the Government Printing Office, $4,700: Bookbinders (men) at the Government Printing Office received a salary increase of 20 cents an hour in October 1965. Bindery women were granted an increase of 7 cents per hour in May 1965. The Government Printing Office estimates that these raises will result in an annual increase of approximately $4,700 in binding costs to the Library. Binding, $60,000: The growth of Library's collections and the increased use of Library materials makes it necesary to request funds for binding. It is estimated that $60,000 will provide for binding of an additional 26,200 volumes. Publications, $10,000: Request is made to increase the funds available for printing of publications for which no increase has been requested since 1954. Printing costs have risen since that time to such an extent that it is impossible to schedule the printing of necessary publications which are tools in the trade much less new bibliographic materials. Forms, $6,000: Continued expansion of the acquisition and processing of library materials, of personnel, services, and operations of the Library creates greater use of printed forms. In addition inceased prices due to pay increases at the Government Printing Office make it necessary to request this increase for printed forms. Photoduplication, $10,000: The need for this increase is twofold. First, the Photoduplication Service increased its prices by 15 percent effective in October 1965, and secondly, the use of Xerox as a copying device continues to expand. 8. Financing of the Monthly Index of Russian Accessions__ In fiscal year 1966 one-third of the financing of the Monthly Index of Russian Accessions project was provided by direct appropriation to the Library of Congress and two-thirds by transfer from the National Science Foundation. Request is made to provide full financing of this important project by direct appropriation. 9. New positions required (58). Processing department (32).—To provide for in crease in binding requirements: 1 GS-5 and 2 GS-4_ To augment the staff applying class K (Law) to the legal collection in the Library: $14, 457 940 150 48 15, 595 207,857 223, 361 +$90, 700 +162, 200 +399. 134 |