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Mr. TAYLOR. I also have a question regarding the Copyright Office that I submit to be answered for the record.

[The question and response follows:]

COPYRIGHT OFFICE

The biggest program increase for the Copyright Office is a request for $2.6 million dollars for the Copyright Office electronic registration, recordation, and deposit system (CORDS) full large scale production system. These funds will be used to transform the presently limited small-scale system into a full large-scale production system during fiscal 2003.

Question. To date what has been the total expenditures for the CORDS system? What are your estimates of the additional costs to bring the system up to full production? What are your estimates of savings achieved from the CORDS system?

Response. The Library has withdrawn the Copyright Office CORDS request of $2.6 million. The request would have accelerated development of CORDS, which is now processing 30,000 of 600,000 copyright registrations annually.

The Copyright Office re-engineering team recommended that the accelerated development be delayed until further evaluation of the Office's overall information technology requirements were completed. Since 1993, approximately $6.5 million has been spent on the CORDS project. Projected costs and savings will be determined once we complete the full evaluation and the technology requirements of the Copyright Office.

MBRS EQUIPMENT REQUEST

Mr. TAYLOR. In the furniture and furnishings request, there is a $3.2 million request for the purchase of preservation equipment for the Motion Picture Broadcasting and Recording Sound Program. Would you explain, Dr. Billington, the need for such a large requirement in a single year, and could this equipment be procured over several years?

Dr. BILLINGTON. Mr. Chairman,-the big expense, is for a machine called a Telecine, which is not something that is mass produced or you can buy off the shelf. It has to be custom made. It is essential for converting movies into usable videotape or video format that researchers and other people can make use of. In other words, you can't use these old fragile films; we need to convert them into a usable format for a reader or for a user. The Telecine is basic equipment, and the whole audiovisual world is-like the National Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, very equipment-intensive. We have no capital budget to handle these very large and expensive pieces of equipment. These machines were acquired way back in the early 1980s. They are old, worn out, and barely function. The two other processing machines, which are also essential, are not functioning at all. So if we are going to make video material usable for viewers, this equipment is really essential. They are particularly essential as the Culpeper audio visual center becomes available. The Telecine, which is the most expensive piece, has to be specially crafted and made. It is very important that we get a functioning machine, or we are going to have a situation where we have material, but it is virtually unaccessible. Those are big capital items that have just worn out and have lasted actually longer than their normal life.

Mr. TAYLOR. Dr. Billington, could you for the record provide us with all the reprogramming documents and the other committee approval actions.

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

BICENTENNIAL
1800-2000

November 18, 1999

Dear Mr. Chairman:

I am writing to request authority to reprogram up to $420,000 of funds within the Copyright Office's approved fiscal 2000 budget to initiate a critical collections security effort -item-level inventory control and tracking of copyright materials.

A basic requirement of the Library's Security Plan is to establish accountability for all copyright materials via an item-level inventory and to track these items through all processing stages from initial receipt through secure storage. Material would also be tracked when temporarily withdrawn from secure storage. With Committee approval, the Copyright Office will implement this basic collections security control over the next three fiscal years. In fiscal 2000, the reprogrammed funds would be used for one-time start-up costs including software development and acquisition of equipment. In fiscal 2001, the Copyright Office would begin implementation with full operation by fiscal 2002.

Savings realized on the current collections marking and tagging security initiative are available to fund the item-level inventory system implementation. In effect, we are able to fund two important collections security initiatives for the amount of funds originally approved for only one initiative.

In June 1999, the Library reported to the Committee that a more cost-effective process would be used to implement the approved marking and tagging collections security initiative, and the Committee approved a fiscal 1999 reprogramming request. At that time, the Library also projected fiscal 2000 savings of $419,256. The Library requests permanent reprogramming of these savings to fund the implementation and ongoing operation of the item-level inventory control and tracking of copyright materials. We are taking positive steps to improve the security of our priceless collections in a cost-effective manner and ask that you support this next critical

initiative.

The Librarian of Congress

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Your favorable consideration of this reprogramming request would be deeply appreciated. Please let us know if you need further information on this matter.

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The purpose of this letter is to request your approval to transfer up to $200,000 from the Library's restoration and renovation funds to the Architect of the Capitol's accounts for structural and mechanical care of the Library's buildings and grounds in accordance with P.L. 103-69, approved August 11, 1993.

As you know, a Bicentennial gift to the nation of $60 million from John W. Kluge, chairman of the James Madison Council and the Library's leading benefactor, has established The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress and The John W. Kluge Prize in the Human Sciences. In the Kluge Center, top scholarly minds from across the country and around the world will assemble in Washington to conduct their own research, to interact informally over time with political Washington, and to strengthen the connections among the Library's collections, scholarship, and the work of the Congress. The Kluge Center will occupy the first floor north colonnade of the Thomas Jefferson Building, and space changes are required to make the Center operational by not later than June 2001.

Staff from the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) developed a preliminary estimate of $100,000 for costs to renovate the Kluge Center space, including electrical and mechanical utilities, additional lighting, painting, and other miscellaneous items. To provide for unforeseen contingencies, we request your approval to transfer up to $200,000 from the Library's no-year Furniture and Furnishings restoration and renovation fund to the AOC's accounts to renovate the Kluge Center. P.L. 103-69 (107 Stat. 706) authorizes that "amounts not to exceed in the aggregate $3,200,000" may be transferred, "subject to approval by the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate," "to complete the renovation and restoration of the Thomas Jefferson and John Adams buildings." To date, the Library has transferred $483,000 to the AOC using this authority. The proposed work will be done as part of the occupancy of the renovated space in the Thomas Jefferson Building.

To make the Library's restoration and renovation fund whole, the Library will charge the Kluge Trust Fund for the cost of the Center's furnishings and furniture installed during the renovation of the Thomas Jefferson Building, up to the amount transferred to the AOC. The budget for the Kluge Center includes funds to pay for these costs.

Your favorable consideration of this important request would be deeply appreciated. Please let us know if you need further information on this matter.

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CLOSING REMARKS

Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Moran, do you have other questions? Mr. MORAN. No. I am fine. I think we have been fully informed during our meetings prior to the hearing.

Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Wamp. Mr. LaHood. Thank you.

Doctor Billington, we certainly appreciate you, General Scott, Mr. Mulhollan and all of your staff and the work you do and your presentation today, we thank you for being with us.

Dr. BILLINGTON. Thank you, sir, for your support and help. Thank you all.

Mr. TAYLOR. We will be in recess a moment while the Government Printing Office is preparing to come to the table. Also, I have an additional question for the Library that I submit to be answered for the record.

[The question and response follows:]

NLS-UPDATED STATISTICAL TABLES

Question. Please update, for the record, the annual statistical tables on the Library of Congress Blind and Physically Handicapped Program.

Response. Updated charts attached.

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