many experiments, must be tried if this Nation is to harness the information explosion so that such information is readily available to all segments of society, young and old, students, adults, scientific research and other specialists. H.R. 11823, it seems to me, is a beginning in that area. I urge this committee to consider it favorably and recommend that the Congress enact it speedily into law. I appreciate the opportunity of appearing before this committee to present the endorsement of the American Association of State Libraries Mr. BAILEY. Dr. Brahm, since you are the State librarian in Ohio, to what extent do you administer the present statute in the field of libraries? Mr. BRAHM. The State library in Ohio is the State library administrative agency referred to here earlier in Ohio for the present Federal Library Services Act. Mr. BAILEY. And if this legislation is passed you would continue to act in that capacity? Mr. BRAHM. For the titles that deal with the State library. For the training program in colleages and the programs for schools it would go to other agencies. Mr. BAILEY. What is the extent of your authority in the selection of books under this program? Mr. BRAHM. We exercise no authority in terms of the use of money by local libraries unless agreed to by them in terms of contract. Mr. BAILEY. Is the selection in most cases made by the local communities? Mr. BRAHM. That is right. The local librarians use the standard guides and their professional judgment for good book selection. Mr. BAILEY. Are any prescribed standards set up by the library unit of the State of Ohio for use by the local library? Mr. BRAHM. We set no State standards for the selection of books. Mr. BAILEY. Since this legislation is a grant-in-aid for each State to administer in terms of its own needs there is nothing that could be written into the bill to set up standards without imposing Federal controls. You understand why I was asking my question? Mr. BRAHM. That is right. Mr. BAILEY. Do you think we should have within the States, as they will be the chief administrative source, some standards? Should there be some requirements on the State level as to the types of books that should be in those libraries? Mr. BRAHM. No; I do not think so. I think the present Library Services Act program, in which the U.S. Office of Education approves a plan presented by the State and local libraries, has been working very well in Ohio, with a minimum of control from the Federal Government, the State government, and down to the local level. I think that the present freedom we enjoy is worth while. Mr. BAILEY. The standards are set up by the Library Association, are they not? Are they State or National? These associations have certain standards, have they not? Mr. BRAHM. The national association has formulated standards. In our library association in Ohio we have no standards at the present time. Mr. BAILEY. Ohio has no official standards? Mr. BRAHM. We have no prescribed standards on the amount to be spent per capita, the type of book, or anything of that sort. We have no such standards in Ohio; such determinations are made locally. Mr. BAILEY. It occurs to the Chair that we should give some thought to the type of literature going into libraries. Of course I am not suspicious that anyone would fill his library with unsuitable books but there is always a possibility that some books that are in a library should be replaced by others that are more modern and more in keeping with the age in which we are living. Mr. BRAHM. May I say, Mr. Chairman, that I think generally speaking that the library boards and the library administrators have sound judgment and are very responsive to enlightened public opinion. I do not think in Ohio we have had too much trouble with censorship or with the public feeling their libraries do not have the proper types of materials. That may not be true in other States, but I would be inclined to say that the present controls and standards for the Library Services Act have worked very well in Ohio. Mr. BAILEY. Thank you, Doctor. I am sorry we do not have more time to go into other phases of this problem. You have made a valuable contribution to the data this committee will have in its files. We hope to have your support and that of all other people interested in improving our libraries in an effort to do something about a problem that should have been handled a decade or two ago. Thank you very much. (Letter from Mr. Brahm follows :) Hon. PETER FRELINGHUYSEN, Jr., Member, House General Subcommittee on Education, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. JUNE 28, 1962. DEAR MR. FRELINGHUYSEN: I was pleased to be at the hearing on H.R. 11823 before the General Subcommittee on Education of the House Education and Labor Committee. I am sorry I did not get to talk with you personally after the hearing about your concern that rural library service programs, particularly the bookmobile, might be diminished. I would share such a concern myself if I felt that would happen. My experience with State librarians over the country is that universally they are the most "rural-minded" and "bookmobile-minded" of all the librarians, and that all are likely to go to great lengths to insure the fullest use of funds for rural service. I think if you were to try to protect rural library service by earmarking the funds in amounts for rural and urban that you would not only be making the legislation inflexible, but you would be putting a ceiling on the development of rural library service, with the results just opposite of what you wish. With kindest personal regards, Sincerely yours, WALTER BRAHM, State Librarian. Mr. BAILEY. Since we have a regular full committee meeting scheduled tomorrow, the hearings will be adjourned until 9:45 o'clock, Friday, June 29, in room 429, the regular hearing room for the General Subcommittee on Education. LIBRARY SERVICES ACT FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 1962 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, GENERAL SUBCOMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to recess, at 10 a.m., in room 429, House Office Building, Hon. Cleveland M. Bailey, chairman of the subcommittee, presiding. Present: Representatives Bailey, Brademas, O'Hara, and Frelinghuysen. Mr. BAILEY. The subcommittee will be in order. We have met this morning to resume hearings on the pending library legislation, H.R. 11823. In keeping with the policy of the committee, we will hear our colleague, the Honorable Clem Miller from California. STATEMENT OF HON. CLEM MILLER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA Mr. MILLER. Mr. Chairman. Mr. BAILEY. Be seated, Mr. Miller, and proceed with your testimony. Mr. MILLER. Mr. Chairman, it is a great honor to appear before this committee and I do so because I feel so very strongly about the need for this legislation which the committee is considering. Libraries in my congressional district are wonderful proof of the greater book usage due directly to the Library Services Act and I know of few Federal programs that have more support and approval than this program does. It has meant much to me, obeserving the way it is working out in my congressional district. As a person who regards books as one of the most important single influences on my life, anything that will help libraries in the wider distribution of books has my most ardent support. Most of my district is rural in nature. This has meant that those who hunger for books simply have not been able or are not in a geographical position to see this need fulfilled, so this act means a chance to get books to read. Some of these areas do not have adequate facilities under any cri teria. The Library Services Act has furnished a basis for hope of improvement that every librarian I know enthusiastically endorses. The librarians are selfless people who are in the field because they love it. They see tax money going for every other purpose under the sun while they wait for the marginal crumbs which may be left over. 103 The Library Services Act is the new departure that spells the difference and points the way to adequate financing, as well as adequate service. I am happy to have this opportunity to say a few words in support of H.R. 11823, introduced by the chairman of this subcommitee and of which I became a cosponsor this week. Others appearing before this subcommittee have presented the facts and figures on a nationwide basis. As a means of giving specific examples, I would like to tell you what these proposed amendments to the Library Services Act would mean in my congressional district, the north coastal area of California. Under the present act, two library_improvement projects are now underway in the First Congressional District of California. One has been in operation only a few weeks. It is known as the Mendocino County library demonstration. This county by the way, is one of the intensely rural areas of my district that I alluded to previously. This 2-year project will receive Federal assistance until June 1964. Shortly before the demonstration ends, Mendocino County voters will be asked to choose whether or not they will continue the service as a permanent Mendocino County Library, supported through local tax funds. Although three cities in the county have their own public libraries, the many small communities scattered throughout the county have been without any library service. The new demonstration project culminates 42 years of efforts by Mendocino County citizens to obtain county library services. Project headquarters are located at Ukiah, the county seat. It opened this month with 7,000 new volumes, plus gift materials, in the collection. These include current books, reference materials, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, Government documents, and films. The collection will be enlarged later, as funds permit, and phonograph records are to be added in the fall of 1963. The most important part of the Mendocino County library demonstration is that it includes both countywide bookmobile service and a reference and request service by mail. Both will help get books to readers in the many small, isolated communities in Mendocino County. The second project made possible by the present Library Services Act is the North Bay Cooperative Library System. The system includes 17 libraries in the 5 southernmost counties of my district plus 1 adjacent county outside the district. It is a banding together of small community libraries in order to pool their resources. The results, the techniques, should be useful to many other areas. Salaries consume twice as much of a library's budget as all other items combined. Much staff time in each library is spent in evaluating books, in placing orders and checking shipments, in cataloging and classifying the books for easy use, and in covering, marking, and otherwise physically preparing them for the shelves. By establishing a processing center in the Sonoma County Library, the system has been able to employ mass production techniques. This means a saving in time equivalent to at least eight full-time people. The time re |