to extend my hearty congratulations to you for the excellent job done on it. Such a Commission should ensure that the widest possible attention is focused at the Federal level upon the structure and development of the kind of library resources and information network which is essential to our nation. The Commission's proper role, as I see it, is in an advisory or staff capacity; in reporting to the President and the nation at large on the status, the needs, and the responsibilities of library and information system development. I am, therefore, anxious that its relationship to the Office of Education of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare be as explicit as possible. I assume it is not intended that the Commission diminish the line responsibilities of the several offices within that agency which are devoted to library matters, such as the Division of Library Services and Educational Facilities, and the Library Studies Branch of the National Center for Educational Statistics. To lessen the duties of these agencies in the areas of planning, evaluation, research, promotion, and dissemination of information would be unfortunate, I feel, and the wording of the proposed bill could, perhaps, be clarified in this regard. Subsection (6) of Section 5. (a) should be rewritten, I feel. from the standpoint of syntax: "essential links in the national communications networks" would seem to modify "capability", as now worded. I would suggest correcting and expanding this subsection to read: "(6) promote research and development activities which will extend and improve knowledge of the status of the nation's libraries and information centers, and will foster its library and information-handling capability through the development of these essential links in the national communications network." Insertion of the phrase, "improve knowledge of the status of the nation's libraries and information centers," is meant to reflect directly the concern of the National Advisory Commission on Libraries that: The pitiful incompleteness and tardiness of library statistics, and their lack of comparability, make it impossible to give specific quantitative responses to this series of questions (p. 7, 323-763-14919). the National Center for Educational Statistics must be in a position to collect on a continuing basis the pertinent and adequate library dataurgently required and not now available for an appraisal of present programs and formulating plans for the future (p. 20, ibid.). I hope the foregoing will be helpful to you in reviewing the proposed bill. I am anxious, as I know you are, not only to see the Commission established on a permanent basis, but to see that its charge is clear, strong and as comprehensive as required. Your efforts on behalf of this legislation are deeply appreciated. DEAR MR. BRADEMAS: Thank you for your letter and the enclosure on the subject of a proposed National Advisory Commission on Libraries. We are much indebted to you for your interest in this subject which is of such vital concern to higher education in America. The libraries of metropolitan New York City are hard pressed to meet the increasing demands which they experience daily. We take hope from the expression of national interest which your bill constitutes. My position as chairman of the Library Use and Resources Committee of the New York Metropolitan Reference and Research Agency, Inc., has shown me above all else that our problems require the attention of the Federal Government if ever they are to be properly solved. My warmest good wishes and gratitude to you! Yours sincerely, DAVID R. WATKINS, Director. Hon. JOHN BRADEMAS, BUFFALO AND ERIE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY, Congress of the United States, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. BRADEMAS: I thank you very much for your communication of March 12 in which you informed me of the bill which you plan to introduce in the House of Representatives to create a National Commission on Libraries. I heartily endorse this step, and when it comes to a vote, I shall be glad to use my influence with our Congressman from Western New York. Sincerely yours, Hon. JOHN BRADEMAS, JOSEPH B. ROUNDS, Director. YORK COLLEGE OF THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, New York, N.Y., March 27, 1969. Chairman, Select Subcommittee on Education, DEAR MR. BRADEMAS: I was very pleased to receive your letter of March 12, indicating that you had planned to introduce, together with several other members of the House of Representatives, a bill to create a permanent National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. Having served in various positions in academic libraries across the country and in the national membership organization of libraries, the American Library Association, I am very much aware of the role which such a Commission can play in meeting the needs not only of academic libraries with which I am directly concerned, but with all types of libraries. I believe the need for this permanent commission was rather adequately pointed out in the report of the National Advisory Commission on Libraries, published late in 1968, and for Higher Education institutions the need is further emphasized in th Rivlin Report, developed by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, at the request of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The proposed National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, as you have pointed out in the bill which you are introducing, will be able to very effectively carry out many activities as a new structure of the United States government, but also could provide the supporting strength which is so very much needed by the U.S. Office of Education in implementing its existing and planned library program. The commission would also be able to provide a great deal of information which would be valuable for national library organizations and the different types of individual libraries around the United States. I am sending a copy of this letter to my congressman, Seymour Halpern, 6th District, New York, and would be very pleased to supply any additional information, if desirable. My best wishes to you on the success of this bill. Libraries have benefited greatly from the support which has been provided by federal legislation during the last decade, but with this legislation we are hardly maintaining the status quo, and as has been suggested by the Rivlin Report, federal support must be doubled during the next decade for higher education, and that must include support directly to libraries if they are to provide the kind of service which is going to be demanded by the exploding student population, resulting in many curriculum additions and faculty increases. Sincerely yours, GEORGE M. BAILEY, MILLERTON, N.Y., March 15, 1969. Representative JOHN BRADEMAS, Chairman, Select Subcommittee on Education, DEAR MR. BRADEMAS: Creation of a permanent National Commission on Libraries and Information Science will be a giant step forward in the development of good library service in this country. I have read the proposed legislation carefully and have this suggestion: I should like to see a clause emphasizing the role of informed trusteeship in the development of library service. It has often been said that the quality of library service depends upon the quality of the board of trustees. However, here in New York State and in other states, little or nothing is done to improve the quality and knowledgeability of citizen representatives who are supposed to control the library operation. Unless local trustees of libraries or of library systems are alert and responsible, unless they reflect local needs, contribute to the direction and purpose of the program, and really understand the scope of their duties, the library operation drifts into staff parochialism and bureaucratic self-interest. The view that librarians can be the greatest stumbling block to library development is the thesis of the lead article in the February, 1969, issue of the American Library Association Bulletin,-written by a librarian. The usefulness of trustees could be greatly improved if, before taking office. they were required to attend seminars and orientation courses as to the full scope of their responsibilities. I am enclosing reprints of two articles touching on these topics which were published in The Bookmark published by the New York State Education Department. If these thoughts seem pertinent to you, I can speak in much greater detail on the need for informed trustees. Yours truly, Mrs. GERALD CARSON. Hon. JOHN BRADEMAS, THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. SIR: I write in support of H.R. 8839, "A bill to establish a National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, and for other purposes," and to compliment you and your colleagues for its introduction. It is clear to me from the commendable work of the President's National Advisory Commission on Libraries, which recommended the formation of a permanent National Commission, and from my involvement in library affairs pertaining to various types of libraries, that a National Commission is highly desirable for the purpose of providing sustained focus on library needs and developments affecting the entire educational process and research and scholarly enterprise. This is a pervasive and complex field and the national interest would be well served by an adequately staffed independent commission responsible for recommendations based on careful analysis of needs, opportunities for coordination of effort and planning, and the identification of priorities. It is a pleasure to endorse the bill with the functions and responsibilities of the Commission as indicated. Sincerely yours, Hon. JOHN BRADEMAS, EDWARD G. FREEHAFER, Director. NEW YORK UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES, Chairman, Select Subcommittee on Education, U.S. House of Representatives, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. BRADEMAS: I am grateful for your letter of March 12, and pleased to see the copy of the bill which you have introduced for a National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. I am very favorably impressed with the intent of this bill, and will study it in detail. Yours truly, CHARLES F. GOSNELL, President. WESTCHESTER LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, Hon. JOHN BRADEMAS, DEAR CONGRESSMAN BRADEMAS: Thank you very much for the information about the bill to create a permanent National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. Our society today rests on its ability to move information. We have generated this fantastic explosion of information which now threatens to drown us in its fall out. This vast reservoir has existed up till now in a myriad of fragmented, small pools. If we are to gain control of it, leadership and direction must come from the Federal Government. There must be no geographical or political boundaries for information. The development of coordinated and cooperative system is already too long delayed. Local agencies have not been able to carry the burden. Large consortiums are the urgent need and for this Federal leadership is an absolute necessity. Library service is no longer a nice frill for the culturally and socially ambitious, it is the very life blood of modern America. Please accept the congratulations of the Westchester Librarian Association on your perceptiveness in seeing so clearly a paramount need of our society. DEAR CONGRESSMAN BRADEMAS: This is the follow-up note that I intimated in my letter to you of March 28th, I might send you after having given your Bill H.R. 8839 (a Bill to establish a National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, and for other purposes) careful study. Again let me say I write not in my official capacity as President of the New York State Library School Association, Inc., but as a concerned citizen who has had a long career in library administration and service in several different areas of librarianship. There is so much to praise in your bill that any suggestions may see out of place, but I think I see at least two areas where discussion might work improvement. Quite possibly you have both such areas in mind for further consideration. (1) I definitely believe your bill should be re-examined with a view to seeing whether or not it would produce conflicts in jurisdiction with some of its identical functions and responsibilities already assigned specifically to the U.S. Office of Education, such as National planning, consultative services, Research statistical compilations, grant administration, etc. I have not reread the existing legislation (H.E.W. and O.E.) recently enough to be more precise in this matter, but your technical staff can easily look into that. (2) While I agree with you that a majority of members of the Commission should not be librarians, I do believe that in view of the unusual variety of types of libraries important in their respective fields to many segments of our people, an increase from five to seven members experienced in librarianship itself would give the Commission a wider and more desirable perspective. I am now retired (and have been for some years) from actual participation in the administration of libraries, library associations and documentation organizations, but my opinions above expressed are based on a wide experience as a career librarian, library administrator, and library association executive covering some fifty years. In conclusion, may I express appreciation for your personal interest in this vital concern important to so many millions of our citizens. Sincerely yours, JOHN B. KAISER, L.H.D. Retired. Representative JOHN BRADEMAS, NEW YORK, N.Y., April 10, 1969. House Select Subcommittee on Education, As a member of the National Advisory Commission on Libraries, I strongly urge the passage of H.R. 8839, the bill to establish a National Commission on Libraries and Information Service. From the standpoint of making the best use of our cultural heritage, I know of no problem requiring more urgent attention than that of our libraries. The report of the National Commission on Libraries was only a beginning. Its work and recommendations can be effective over a longer period of time only through a permanent National Commission on Libraries and Information Service, as envisioned in H.R. 8839, which I earnestly hope can be brought into being in the near future. Regards. ALVIN C. EURICH. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, Chapel Hill, N.C., March 17, 1969. Hon. JOHN BRADEMAS, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. BRADEMAS: Thank you for your letter concerning your bill for obtaining a National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. I hope it will pass. I shall be glad to write my Congressman urging his support. May I call attention to the error in the proposed appropriation. I imagine the amount inserted, $500,00 was intended for $500,000. Sincerely, LOUIS R. WILSON. PUBLIC LIBRARY OF CHARLOTTE AND MECKLENBURG COUNTY, Hon. JOHN BRADEMAS, Chairman, Select Subcommittee on Education, DEAR MR. BRADEMAS: You were kind to send me a copy of the Bill to establish a National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. I have read the Bill with interest both as a public library director, and as a member of the Advisory Committee to the Commissioner of Education on Library Education and Research. I have also read the 1968 Report of the National Advisory Commission on Libraries. It is my firm conviction that a National Commission on Libraries and Information Science is needed as a coordinating agency to perform such functions as you have outlined in the Bill. The Bill, therefore, has my endorsement and I am grateful to you for giving the leadership needed to start consideration of the proposal in the Congress. Very truly yours, HOYT R. GALVIN, Director of Libraries. Hon. JOHN BRADEMAS, WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY, Winston-Salem, N.C.. March 14, 1969. Chairman, Select Subcommittee on Education, Congress of the United States, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. BRADEMAS: Thank you for your letter and for the copy of your bill which would provide for a "National Commission on Libraries and Information Science." The whole library profession is of course delighted that this step is being taken to implement a very important recommendation of the National Advisory Commission on Libraries. I note one provision of the bill which must have been based on thinking that is not clear to me. That is the provision which limits rather sharply the number of professional librarians and information specialists who may be members of the Commission. While everyone would grant that a substantial portion of the Commission should be composed of people having expertise in assessing social values and needs, it would seem to me that librarians and subject specialist would at least be represented in equal proportion instead of third proposed. It is the latter who will be needed to describe, analyze, and evaluate existing facilities, to say nothing of proposing the approaches which might satisfy needs as identified by the Commission. It is my hope that further consideration will be given to this limitation of that part of the membership which may be drawn from the library and information science professions. Sincerely yours, CARLTON P. WEST, |