I. We think of the Union Catalog as essentially a tool for locating booksany book, in any library of the United States, for which an investigator has. need. It is basic to interlibrary loans or to the supplying of photographiccopies. 1. The Union Catalog is extensively used by Government agencies. May I present a few examples? The Harvard University Library acquired promptly after publication in 1941 Wilfred G. Buchett's Pacific Treasure Island: New Caledonia; voyage through its land and wealth, Melbourne, 1941. A card was sent to the Union Catalog. There it came to the attention of a United States Army officer. The book was borrowed from Harvard by the Army and it is understood that it proved very useful after Pearl Harbor when up-to-date information on New Caledonia was required. The School of Military Government at Charlottesville borrowed 76 titles on. the Ottoman Empire, Siam, Africa, European, and Slavic countries. The Library of Congress itself recently borrowed 62 volumes including books. on Germany, Slavic countries, Africa, Pacific Islands, Japan, and India; and some time ago borrowed 68 Burma Gazetteers. The Office of Strategic Services, eight Chinese or Japanese titles, a foreign language grammar, a book on Africa, and a book on modern Greece. Office of Emergency Management, three titles, one of them a Japanese work in eight parts. All of the above examples are from one university, Harvard, which has also lent books in recent months to the Military Intelligence Service and the Services of Supply of the War Department; the Department of Interior; the Department of State; National Bureau of Standards; United States Naval Academy; United. States Naval Training Station, New York. Similar experience could no doubt be reported by many other libraries. 2. The Union Catalog is also used extensively by libraries as a means of locating books for research workers who use those libraries. Again examples will indicate the importance of such use. The Harvard Library reports that it is constantly lending to university and college libraries throughout the country books that are needed for research work on Government projects. In most cases information that the book is to be found at Harvard comes from the Union Catalog. Princeton now has on loan from another university 44 volumes of the 1931 census of India which is being used in the Office of Population Research where a job is being done for one of the Government departments. The University of Chicago Library reports (for 22 months) 185 titles sought,. 151 located, through the Union Catalog. This in spite of the fact that the University of Chicago makes a practice of writing first to a library likely to have the books desired and uses the Union Catalog only for the most difficult items. Eight titles, urgently needed for a secret Government research project, have just been sent to the Union Catalog for location after the libraries known to be strong in the subject had been unable to produce them. A large percentage of present use is naturally related to the war effort.. The demand on the Union Catalog, as on libraries, always reflects current interests and emphasis. After the war the subjects will probably change, but the demand may be expected to keep up as long as men continue to investigate. and experiment. The use of the Union Catalog for locating an unusual book, available perhaps in only one library in the U. S., and for making that book or a copy of it available to a research worker wherever he is, must have saved thousands of man-hours on war-related research projects throughout the country since the beginning of the national defense effort. But its lack of completeness is a handicap. The Iowa State College Library at Ames reports frequent requests for books which can not be found through the National Union Catalog. After some weeks of correspondence the books: may be discovered, but the delay hinders research. The specific examples given: were of books needed for military officers and for professors working on Government projects. To be a more nearly perfect tool the Union Catalog needs to be completed. It must have one location for every important book in the country. And, as soon as feasible, it should contain one location in each section of the country for as many important books as possible. II. The Union Catalog is also an essential part of the mechanism for the economical expansion of the total library research facilities of the United States.. . Librarians and scholars are convinced that at least one copy of every important publication issued anywhere in the world should be found in an American library. In order to achieve this objective, or at least to approximate it in the major fields, as economically as possible, librarians are now engaged in an effort to bring about a large measure of library cooperation. One element of the plan is to have each research library commit itself to the acquisition of all useful, current materials in selected fields of its special interest. It is also a part of the plan to have the participating libraries file cards for such acquisitions in the Union Catalog without delay and to make all these publications, in whatever library, immediately available to scholars throughout the United States. Essential to the success of this enterprise also is the completion of the Union Catalog. We must know what books we have before deciding what books we still need to buy. In a recent study by the American Library Association it was estimated that there are about 4,000,000 books in American libraries which have not yet been recorded in the Union Catalog. The immediate task, as I see it, is to get cards for these books into your files. The method devised by the Library of Congress for getting these new entries into the Union Catalog will also give new locations for many thousands, probably for many hundreds of thousands, of books already included in the Union Catalog-a byproduct of very great value. III. The Union Catalog greatly increases the economy and effectiveness of the technical services in many great libraries, including the Library of Congress, through its use an aid in cataloging and in the preparation of bibliographies. IV. For the reasons given, librarians of our great libraries are now joining forces to complete the Union Catalog as quickly as possible. They will check their holdings against the Library of Congress printed catalog and furnish cards for the books not in the Library of Congress. This is estimated to represent an investment-for from 150 to 200 libraries--of perhaps $300,000. I am quite certain that librarians of those libraries-and most others—would wish me to urge on their behalf that you make it possible for the Library of Congress to do that comparatively small part of the job which they cannot do themselves the part without which their own investments will be ineffective. FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 1943. LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE SERVICE, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. STATEMENT OF HON. EVERETT M. DIRKSEN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. Mr. DIRKSEN. Mr. Chairman, I am deeply grateful to the subcommittee for the privilege of addressing a few words to the committee in behalf of an increased appropriation for the Legislative Reference Service in the Library of Congress. For 140 years there has been a Library of Congress and compared to other great libraries of the world we can take a fine and righteous pride in our institutions. It is one of the great repositories of the world containing more than 5,000,000 books and pamphlets and more than two and one-half million maps, charts, and manuscripts. Only a generation ago did the Congress make a beginning in utilizing this vast acquisition of data and information for legislative purposes by the creation of a Legislative Reference Service to aid Ĉongress in discharging its responsibilities. That Service has steadily grown in extent and usefulness since its inception. But it is only the beginning. This great array of books, charts, manuscripts, and other material is of little value to the Congress in dealing with problems of tremendous scope with the formulation of new Federal policies and the efficient operation of Government and governmental functions unless this great storehouse of information can be made truly available to members and committees of Congress as they labor in the public field. It is simply impossible for a Member of Congress to fully and properly discharge his responsibility except as aid and assistance is made available. When one considers the vast amount of departmental work that he must do, the volumes of mail which issue forth from his office daily, the letters which must be read, the routine business which must be discharged, the conferences, committee meetings, and consultations with people who journey to the seat of government which he must attend, there is to say the least an inadequate amount of time at his disposal in which he can accurately and truly inform himself of the proposals which he is called upon to enact into law. Yet this is the major part of his responsibility because he is called upon to vote intelligently on matters of great variety and importance which constantly affect the lives, the welfare, and the future of all the people in this country. Considering the immensity of his task, he must be equipped as must the committees with available experts who can do research work and bring to him in digest form the information and data which is so necessary for him to predicate and form sound intelligent judgment. The Legislative Reference Service made up of experts can, therefore, be of immense assistance in enabling a representative of the people to do more work and to do better work. This service has done excellent work, it needs enlarging, and its functions must be expanded to maximum usefulness. These were the considerations which I had in mind when on January 18, 1943 I introduced H. J. Res. 57 to provide adidtional research personnel for the Legislative Reference Service to serve both Members and the committees of Congress. I realize, of course, the limitations of an appropriation bill in dealing with this matter and know quite well that legislative provisions cannot be incorporated in the pending bill. There is, however, one thing which this subcommittee can do and that is to include additional funds for the Legislative Reference Service so that they might engage adidtional experts to serve in a research capacity. Let me propose, therefore, Mr. Chairman that this sub-committee undertake in this bill to expand the Legislative Reference Service by increasing the appropriation by the sum of $100,000. This in my judgment is a modest request when measured against the amount of constructive work which such experts can do in enabling the Congress to have before it all the facts on a given proposition. I feel impelled to say that for every dollar expended on this service, there will be returned not only substantial economies but improved public service as well. Today we deal with vast operations of government involving hundreds of billions of dollars. It thus becomes an almost staggering responsibility for members of the legislative branch and they cannot be too informed on every aspect of governmental operation. People expect them to know, the people expect from them intelligent and dispassionate judgment based upon facts and it takes time to develop all the facts in relation to a given proposition which may be pending before this body. We have been so generous and so lavish with other 84459-43- -15 agencies of government and the time has come for Congress to expend some additional funds on research facilities that will enable it to do more work and better work and to that end I am suggesting that this appropriation be increased for the Legislative Reference Service. THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 1943. PRESS AND RADIO CORRESPONDENTS' GALLERIES STATEMENTS OF NED BROOKS, CHAIRMAN OF STANDING COMMITTEE CORRESPONDENTS; AND CECIL B. DICKSON, SECRETARY, STANDING COMMITTEE CORRESPONDENTS; AND FRED W. MORRISON, CHAIRMAN, AND EARL GODWIN, SECRETARY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, RADIO CORRESPONDENTS' ASSOCIATION Mr. O'NEAL. The members of this subcommittee would like very much, for our own education, and for the purpose of the record, to have a statement from the representatives of the Press Gallery and the Radio Gallery, as to how you gentlemen operate; whether you are adequately or inadequately manned, or whether you are overmanned. There are some members of this committee who are new to the legislative appropriation bill, and what we are looking for is a general statement and some information concerning your activities. We appreciate very much your coming before us to tell us about it, and we would like to have you understand that we are in no sense critical in our attitude. This is a subject that we do not know very much about. Mr. DICKSON. We shall be very glad to give you any information we have, Mr. Chairman. GENERAL STATEMENT Mr. BROOKS. I have a short statement, Mr. Chairman, that I should like to make, representing the standing committee of correspondents. Mr. O'NEAL. We shall be glad to have it at this time, Mr. Brooks. Mr. BROOKS. The business of the press galleries has increased tremendously, due largely to the war, as indicated by the large listing of accredited correspondents in the Congressional Directory of the Seventy-eighth Congress. The House and Senate galleries are open from 9 a. m. until 7 p. m., or later, every day in the year, with the exception of two holidays, Christmas and New Year's. DUTIES OF PERSONNEL OF HOUSE PRESS GALLERY The House Press Gallery personnel consists of the superintendent, two assistants, and one messenger. The gallery now has 15 telephones, and we are averaging something more than 200 calls per day. The Superintendent and his assistants are required to take care of all calls to and from correspondents and be informed on the legislative program and parliamentary procedure. Members of Congress, employees of the war agencies, and other Government departments continually call the press galleries for information concerning committee meetings and other activities of the Congress. The superintendents of the Senate and House press galleries are constantly engaged in research work for correspondents. The superintendents themselves, and their chief assistants, are career men, and their long experience in legislative matters is invaluable to members of the press galleries. In addition to the regular gallery duties, both superintendents assist with the President's press conferences twice a week, working with the White House Secret Service on identification of newspaper men. These men also are charged with the arranging and supervision of press requirements for all important news events in Washington, away from the Capitol, especially events where the President is expected to be present. This particular phase of their duties includes the handling of all press arrangements for both political conventions, which is quite an undertaking, inasmuch as there are usually something more than a thousand newspapers represented at those conventions. The standing committee of correspondents has had this responsibility at these conventions since 1904, and it is the committee which supervises the activities of the paid staff. In the early 1920's, the personnel of the galleries consisted of 4 employees, and there were 4 telephones at that time. From year to year the facilities in the galleries have increased, but the number of employees has remained the same. The Superintendent of the House Press Gallery at present receives $3,660 per year; his first assistant receives $2,820, his second assistant, $2,400, and one messenger gets $1,560. Here are some figures which show the growth of membership. The newspapermen in the press galleries from 1920 to 1940 rose in number as follows: In 1920 we had 235 members; in 1930, 349; in 1940, 524. And the latest issue of the directory will show more than 560, which indicates a steady increase through the years. The work of the galleries has increased probably 50 percent as a result of war activities, and over this period there has been little change in the personnel of the galleries with the exception of the messengers, who are usually younger men, and some of whom have gone into the service. The turn-over among these messengers has been very large, but the career men have held on for quite a considerable time. For the benefit of the correspondents, the personnel of both galleries keep a daily check of the congressional committee meetings, making press arrangements, supplying correspondents with copies of prepared testimony, posting the names of witnesses and keeping themselves generally informed on any information that would be useful to correspondents. Members of Congress, war agencies, and governmental departments frequently call on the gallery staffs for information and assistance of the same character, although the primary responsibility of the employes is to their press duties. As the activities of the Federal Government have been greatly enlarged, newspapermen have a larger territory to cover, and the serv |