ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 218/C&RL News W ashington Hotline Carol C. H enderson O nce again, the H igher Education Act (H E A ) library programs have all been rec­ om m ended for elim ination in President C lin to n ’s F Y 1995 b u d get request. T h e only Department o f Educa­ tion library program s sup­ ported by the administration are titles I and III o f the Li­ brary Services and Construc­ tion Act. Recommendations for these and other programs o f interest are show n below . The rationale for H EA II elimination is the same disappointing rhetoric o f last year— that libraries can use their institu­ tions’ budgets to share resources b eyo n d their o w n campuses. Further, “there is n o need for additional support fo r training o f library per­ sonnel that cannot be met through other forms o f financial assistance, such as student financial aid.” Re­ search and dem onstration grants w o u ld b e zero ed out because “funds are available for this activity from other sources, such as the National Endowment for the Humani­ ties an d p riv a te fo u n d a ­ tions." T he threat to continued funding o f HEA II is serious because o f the severe bud­ get constraints under which Congress must operate this year, the commitment o f many n ew er m em ­ bers to cut programs no matter what their mer­ its, and the fact that the Clinton Administration has put its o w n stamp on these recom m enda­ tions through its “reinventing govern m ent” re­ port w h ich singled out HEA II and other small programs for elimination. H ow ever, the administration is highlighting libraries in other ini­ tiatives such as its National Infor­ m ation Infrastructure proposals. Vice-President G ore continues to call for connecting schoolchildren to the information superhighway so that they can tap larger libraries. Y et bringing a fiber optic p ip e to the library d o o r does not ensure that research resources are auto­ m a tica lly a v a ila b le . It req u ires much time, effort, and resource deploym ent on the part o f the li­ braries to make this happen. The library field needs precisely the as­ sistance o f H E A II p rogram s to m ake the con ten t o f library re­ sources electronically available and to educate and retrain librarians and library educators in n ew kinds o f expertise. Action n eed ed Th e help o f the ACRL legislative netw ork and o f every reader o f this (Washington cont. on page 226) Carol C. Henderson is executive director of ALA'S Washington Office; e-maihcch@alawash.org A dm inistration funding re q u e sts: Library p ro g ra m s P ro g ra m F Y 9 4 F Y 9 5 a d m in. (amounts in thousands) fund ing req u e st Higher Education Act $ 17,443 0 II-A, college library tech. 3,873 0 II-B, library education 4,960 0 II-B, research & demonstrations 2,802 0 II-C, research libraries 5,808 0 VI sec 607, foreign research mat. 0 0 Library Services & $128,866 $102,976 Construction Act I, public library services 83,227 83,227 II, pub. lib. construction 17,792 0 III, interlibrary cooperation 19,749 19,749 IV, Indian library services 2% o f LSCA I, II, and III V, foreign language materials 0 0 VI, library literacy programs 8,098 0 G PO Superintendent o f Documents 29,082 33,900 Natl. Center for Educ. Statistics 77,850 103,200 NCLIS 904 904 Library o f Congress 331,864 358,000 National Agricultural Library 18,255 19,720 National Archives 195,482 200,898 (incl. NHPRC) (5,250) (4,000) Natl. Endow, for the Arts 170,229 170,229 Natl . Endow, for the Humanities 177,491 177,491 National Library o f Medicine 119,981 135,330 (incl. Medical Lib. Asst. Act) Postal revenue forgone 91,434 92,317 mailto:e-maihcch@alawash.org 226/C&RL News librarians w ill be selected for the first year o f the tw o-year program and w ill arrive at the university in May 1994. The University o f Sa s k a tch e w a n Librar­ ies, Saskatoon, Canada, have received a grant o f $16,000 from the Social Sciences and Hu­ manities Research Council o f Canada in sup­ port o f their agricultural collection. The award w ill be used to purchase the Food and Agricul­ tural O rganization documents collection in full- text microfiche from 1988 to the present. A cquisitions The Hancock Family Papers, the business papers o f Boston merchant Thomas Hancock and his neph ew John, the revolutionist, have been acquired by the Baker Library at Har­ vard University. T he papers w ere on loan to the library from the Historic G enealogical Soci­ ety and w e r e a cq u ired in h o n o r o f M ary Chatfield, former librarian o f Baker Library. The collection, which also includes the papers o f publisher Daniel Henchman (father-in-law o f John Hancock) and the business records o f Peter Faneuil, contains a range o f information on the social, econom ic, and material culture o f co lo ­ nial N ew England, com plem enting other col­ lections on 18th-century life in the library’s His­ torical Collections Department. The preparation of photographer Harold Edgerton’s papers for access has been com ­ p leted b y the M assach u setts In stitu te o f (Washington cont.from page 218) column is urgently needed. I f you are not part o f your state’s library delegation to Legislative Day on April 19, then write to your representa­ tive and senators in support o f restoration o f funds for HEA II college library technology, re­ search library resources, and research and edu­ cation programs. Libraries are the infrastruc­ ture for education and research. The federal stimulus for HEA II activities is needed to make meaningful the goal o f connecting every school and library to the information superhighway. Please send a blind cop y o f your letter to the A LA Washington O ffice so w e can make use o f your examples. ■ Technology (M IT ) Archives. The core o f the collection documents Edgerton’s research ac­ tivities in his laboratory at MIT, his research and developm ent w ork for the U.S. military in W orld W ar II, and his field w ork applying flash photography and sonar techniques to under­ water exploration. His laboratory notebooks are a consistent record o f his research at the insti­ tute from 1930 to 1990 and are a valuable re­ source for learning h o w advances in science and te c h n o lo g y are m ade. T h e y illustrate through notes, diagrams, data, and photographs the step-by-step evolution o f his ideas. The archives o f the National Network of Hispanic W om en, a national resource center that links professional w o m en with on e another and strives to provide role m odels for young Hispanics, have been acquired by the Califor­ nia Ethnic and Multicultural Archives (CEMA), part o f the University o f California, Santa B arbara’s Special Collections. The collection records the accomplishments o f Chicanas in the areas o f education, politics, and the arts, and provides a substantial addition to the Chicano/ Latino com ponent o f CEMA. A gift o f 5 7 3 historical children's b o o k s ; 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century fin ely printed books; and m odern w orks on the history o f children’s literature has been received by the University o f Arizona from Margaret Maxwell, recently retired professor o f library science, w h o taught award-winning cataloging classes. High spots in the collection include a representative sampling o f late-19th-century textbooks, sev­ eral 19th-century chapbooks, a 1650 Elzevir im­ print, and an Isaiah Thomas printing o f the Holy Bible dated 1793. A collection of 2 5 ,0 0 0 item s related to the Equal Suffrage League o f Virginia and its suc­ cessor, the Virginia League o f W o m en Voters, has been accessioned by the Virginia State Library and Archives and is n o w available for use by researchers and historians. The col­ lection was originally given to the library in 1942 by Ida Mae Thom pson, a clerk with the W o rk s P ro gre s s A d m in istra tio n H isto rica l Records Survey. It contains correspondence, or­ ganizational records, newspaper clippings, but­ tons, postcards, and other items documenting the League’s efforts to w in the vote, as w ell as to pass child labor law reform and fo o d and drug regulations. ■