Mr. BRADEMAS. The Select Subcommittee on Education will come to order for the purpose of consideration of the Library Services and Construction Amendments of 1970. National concern for the development of good library services was demonstrated by the 84th Congress which passed the Rural Library Services Act of 1956. The act authorized an annual appropriation of $7.5 million for 5 years to assist the States and territories in extending and developing libraries in areas of under 10,000 population. In 1960, Congress extended the act for an additional 5 years. In 1964, the programs changed and expanded with amendments to the basic law which extended participation to libraries in urban areas and made available for the first time Federal funds for the construction of public library facilities. The Library Services and Construction Act has had a record of steady success. Through the funds appropriated under this act, an estimated 85 million people have benefited from library services. The program has grown by 45 million books; 650 bookmobiles have taken library services to people outside the reach of existing library facilities, and some 1,500 library construction projects have been undertaken to serve an estimated 50 million people. Today, we are very pleased to hear testimony from individuals concerned with libraries at the local, State and Federal level. The Chair is pleased at this time to recognize his distinguished colleague on the subcommittee and of the full committee, the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Daniels, for the purpose of presenting our first witness. Mr. Daniels. Mr. DANIELS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the fact that you called upon me to present the first witness this morning. I would like to say, at the outset, I regret very much that I shall be unable to stay and listen to the testimony of the witness I am about to introduce because of the fact that, as chairman of the Subcommittee on Insurance and Health Benefits of the House Post Office and Civil Service, I have called an executive session of my subcommittee at 10 a.m. Consequently, I must be there because we have important legislation under consideration which I would like the subcommittee to consider and report favorably so that some action may be taken on this legislation in this session of Congress. Mr. McDonough is from the Garden State of New Jersey, a man well known to this committee, who has testified innumerable times, whose testimony has been most important in framing the library legislation. His interest in this field dates back a number of years. In fact, he testified on the Library Services Act of 1956 which, as you recall, was a landmark piece of legislation. I would like to present to the subcommittee Mr. Roger H. McDonough, director of the State library of New Jersey, and director of the division of State library of arts and history of the New Jersey Department of Education. I might also point out that he was also past president of the American Library Association. Undoubtedly he will refer to his background in his testimony. I would also like to request, Mr. Chairman, that I may move at this particular time to insert in the record a statement by William J. Roehrenbeck, director of the Jersey City Library. I believe the statement will be very interesting to you and members of the subcommittee because it sets forth a particularly innovative program introduced in Jersey City, my hometown, which program is referred to as Outreach. (The statement referred to follows:) LIBRARY OUTREACH PROGRAM, 1970 A REPORT BY WILLIAM J. ROEHRENBECK, DIRECTOR, JERSEY CITY (N.J.) During the summer of 1970, the Jersey City Public Library received Federal funds granted by the New Jersey State Library under the provisions of the Library Services and Construction Act to initiate a special "Outreach" program focused on the Bergen-Lafayette section of the city-a predominantly black, low income, densely populated area. The basic purpose of the program is to reach out beyond the walls of the Library to non-users with books, records, programs, and information which can be of practical value to them, to demonstrate that the Library can provide enjoyment and recreation, and to dissipate any negative attitudes toward the Library as a middle-class institution intended only for the better-educated or more affluent. Two methods are being used: sidewalk service in the target area provided by a small Volkswagen bus, the "Mini-Mobile"; and a corps of community aides working out in the neighborhoods from the two storefront branches in the area. The most colorful feature of the Outreach program is the red-and-white "Mini-Mobile", whose function is to carry library materials out of the building into the streets of the target area and to provide sidewalk service for people who are not normally library users-who are either unaware of the Library's existence or who feel it has no relevance for them. The Mini-Mobile carries a collection of paperbacks for all ages: picture and easy books for younger children, a wide range of recreational and informative reading for older boys and girls and teen-agers, and practical, easy-to-read books for adults on consumer education, vocational guidance, self-improvement, child care, health and hygiene, sports, home decoration, drug addiction, etc. There is special emphasis on black history and achievement. All titles have been heavily duplicated, and several supplemental orders have been placed for easy books, and for such items as Soul on Ice, Manchild in the Promised Land, Down These Mean Streets, and Autobiography of Malcolm X, which are in constant demand. Phonograph records, pamphlets on subjects of current interest, and magazines are also carried on the Mini-Mobile. Materials are not cataloged, but are simply stamped with Library ownership and given a book pocket and charge card. No library cards are required, and people may borrow all materials on their names. Fines are not charged. The Mini-Mobile went into service on July 1, 1970. During its first six weeks of operation, the Mini-Mobile provided approximately 90 hours of service at 60 stops, and loaned a total of 4,029 items. Four hundred and eighty-five adults and 2,183 children were contacted. This, despite the fact that two full days were lost because of rain, and that operations were seriously hampered on several other days by showers and/or intense heat. Cold figures present an inadequate picture of the Mini-Mobile operation, since much time is spent by staff in just talking with people, telling them about the Library and its services, listening to them, hearing about their problems and "gripes," and discovering their interests, attitudes, and hopes. The approach of the Library staff has been warm, friendly, and service directed. When the Mini-Mobile parks at a stop, a small table and chairs are set out on the sidewalk. Portable book racks are set up with a variety of books of interest to the people in the area, and the staff goes to work, in a "soft-sell" manner, speaking to people as they pass by, telling them about the Library and its services, asking about their interests, answering questions, filling requests for subjects and titles, giving impromptu story hours for children, etc. Flyers about the Library are distributed, as are applications for library cards. Public reaction is encouraging and ranges from overwhelming enthusiasm from children to open-mouthed amazement from adults who had no idea that the Library had books they might like or phonograph records they could borrow. The lack of red tape and complete informality of the service has proven beneficial in attracting patrons. The following are representative comments made by patrons : This is wonderful. When are you coming back? Hey, man, look at all the books! You mean I can take it without a card? You trust me? Are these books for sale? I thought it was just for kids. Hey, records too! The Library had a good idea. Return visits to stops are always greeted with great enthusiasm. When the children hear the distinctive Mini-Mobile horn they come running from all directions, books in hand. As part of its service, the Mini-Mobile staff has presented film programs at a housing project, and many impromptu, on-the-spot story hours and record programs at various locations. The Library has also been carried outside the walls into the community by "Project Outreach", a corps of work-study students from Jersey City State College who have been working out of the two branches in the target area under the direction of a Program Coordinator. Their primary objectives are to make the initial contact with potential users of the library, to inform them about its materials and services, focusing on its relevance in their lives, and to break down barriers which may exist in their minds about the use of a public institution. These community aides are all thoroughly familiar with the target area and have been able to establish excellent rapport with both adults and children. They interpret the Library to residents and provide helpful feedback on community reactions, opinions, and needs. The community aides have made face-to-face contact with individuals on the streets, in the parks, at housing projects, and with established groups such as churches, schools, the housing authority, municipal community relations councils, family guidance centers, etc., with whom they have cooperated in arranging and presenting programs, supplying books, records, and films, and offering story hours and cultural programs of all kinds in and outside the Library. They are working in the two branches in a variety of book-oriented activities for neighborhood children, including story hours, film programs, creative writing, dramatics, black history, poetry reading, etc. Adult activities have included programs on consumer education and family guidance, and a seminar for minority businessmen. Elderly residents of the target area's two housing projects have been visited with large print books, magazines, and records. The aides found that while many of the old people enjoyed books and magazines, some were unable to read. For these, the visit itself and the genuine, friendly interest displayed by the young aides, did much to brighten an otherwise dreary day. Phonograph records which were brought and played, especially gospel songs and spirituals, were much enjoyed and repeatedly requested. Portable libraries of fifteen or twenty paperbacks, stressing black history and experience, have been deposited in some 18 neighborhood barberships and laundromats as a result of contacts made by aides. The books are set up in small racks or "shoe boxes", with signs inviting customers to read while they wait, and suggesting that they visit the neighborhood branch for other good books. These deposits have been very successful. Several field trips have been arranged by the Program Coordinator for adults and children, including visits to the Schomburg Library and the Studio Museum in Harlem, the United Nations, the Bronx Zoo, and a special performance of "Cinderella" at Jersey City State College. It is too early to evaluate results, but it is evident that many people in Jersey City have already acquired a new image of the Library—not as a remote, stodgy, forbidding city institution-but as a group of friendly, enthusiastic people with exciting, interesting books, records, films, and activities to share with them and their children. Mr. DANIELS. I think Mr. McDonough will describe that program and I believe it is a fine program which will do a great deal of good, particularly in the ghetto sections of the urban areas. Without any further ado, I would like to present Mr. Roger McDonough. Mr. BRADEMAS. I thank you, my colleague from New Jersey. The chairman hopes Mr. McDonough will not mind if the Chair asks unanimous consent that we just allow a minute to our colleague, also a member of this committee, the gentleman from Maine, Mr. Hathaway who, I know, has other committee engagements also, to present a short statement, after which we will be glad to hear from Mr. Daniels' constituent. Mr. Hathaway. STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM D. HATHAWAY, A REPRESENTA- Mr. HATHAWAY. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and members of the subcommittee. I apologize to the gentleman for interrupting. I am simply going to ask the subcommittee to put my statement in the record along with several letters from archivists throughout the country in support of my amendment to the Library Services Act to include State archives to the tune of $11 million over a 2-year period, an amendment I have discussed with the chairman and other members of the committee. Thank you very much. Mr. BRADEMAS. Without objection, the statement of the gentleman from Maine and other materials to which he has made reference will be inserted in the record, and Mr. McDonough, we will be glad to hear from you. (The statement and other materials follow :) STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM D. HATHAWAY, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today in support of my bill, H.R. 12637, which would amend the Library Services and Construction Act to include funds for the establishment and improvement of State archival programs. Since State archives are an important library-related institution, I believe my proposed amendment is entirely consistent with the intent of the Library Services and Construction Act, and, specifically, with the provisions of Title IV which relate to specialized areas of service. Funds authorized under the bill could not be used for the acquisition or construction of buildings, or for the acquisition of land. Proper archival and records management systems are vital to historical research and the effective functioning of state and local governments. The importance of adequately administered state archival agencies to the government, to the citizen, and to the researcher has been ably stated by Dr. Ernest Posner in his study, American State Archives (1964): "As the role of government in the life of the nation has increased, as its activities have expanded, and as the points of contact between the state and the citizen have multiplied, the importance of public records for both the gov ernment and the people has become increasingly clear. For the government official, records are a major source of 'intelligence,' enabling him to base his action on precedent and to develop and maintain consistent policies; for the people, records constitute the basis of their rights and privileges. Indeed the modern state can carry out neither its day-to-day nor its long range activities without making and having recourse to records, whole its citizens must have access to them whenever their rights are jeopardized. In addition, records have become an important source to which the social scientist must turn in his attempt to diagnose and interpret the past for the benefit of the present and the future." Yet Dr. Posner's report on the status of the fifty State archives, as well as more recent critical studies of public archives in particular states, reveal that State archives are among the most impoverished and deficient cultural institutions in the Nation. Unfortunately, in most States the archival enterprise has had low priority which is reflected in inadequate financial support, and consequently, in inadequate staff, in cramped and improper facilities, and in the thoughtless destruction of important archival materials. Today it is estimated that no less than sixty percent of the States have substandard archival programs. These States need the same type of assistance that libraries have received through the Library Services and Construction Act if they are to meet a responsibility in the preservation and proper administration of the State's, and therefore the Nation's, documentary heritage. H.R. 12637 authorizes $11 million over a two year period to fund plans for "establishing and improving State archival programs." State archivists with whom I have been in contact have indicated that these funds could be of great value in creating necessary inventories, guides and indexes to state and local records, and in planning for the preservation of records of value for all types of research and historical uses. The financial assistance authorized in the bill would be particularly valuable at this time as States prepare, to play roles in the activities which will mark the bicentennial of the American Revolution. Mr. Chairman, I believe that H.R. 12637 will go far towards promoting the effective development and administration of State archives throughout the United States, and I urge favorable consideration of the bill by the Subcommittee. Thank you. STATE OF MAINE, Hon. WILLIAM D. HATHAWAY, DEAR SIR: The Maine State Archives shares the problem, common to State archival agencies, of securing adequate funds to provide for a professionally recognized program to select, preserve and service the permanently valuable records of the State. The responsibility for providing adequate funds for this purpose is unquestionably the State's, and Maine has given initial recognition to this by the enactment of the Archives and Records Management Law, establishing the Maine State Archives, and the authorization of the construction of modern archives facilities in the Maine State Cultural Building scheduled for completion during April, 1971. The development of the comprehensive State-wide, government-wide program contemplated in the Archives and Records Management Law will necessarily depend on available funds and priorities which means that various areas of the program will not receive the level of funding required for immediate or effective implementation. The proposed amendment to Title IV of the Library Services and Construction Act will materially assist in the overall development of the program by providing a means of implementing these areas until State funds become available. The amendment appears consistent with the intent of the Library Service and Construction Act and the provisions of Title IV as a specialized area of service. The Maine State Archives supports the expansion of the provisions of Title IV as a means of providing for State archival services. Sincerely yours, SAMUEL S. SILSBY, JR, |