Mr. LANDRUM. Without objection, that may be inserted in the record. (The letter referred to follows:) Hon. PHIL LANDRUM, ANTIOCH COLLEGE, Yellow Springs, Ohio, May 20, 1955. Chairman, Subcommittee on Library Services Bill, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: For a number of reasons I am impelled to send you a statement about the library services bill. Our public-library system is an integral part of American education; as a resource for both practical and liberal learning, it puts a floor under many of our most important educational enterprises. In a system of equal opportunity it is important that all our citizens, those living in rural communities and small towns as well as elsewhere have good access to the materials of knowledge and better understanding. The problems facing us today are no smaller on the farm or in the village than they are in the metropolis. The number of counties without library service or with inadequate service indicate that we have not taken this fact into account. Education is a lifelong process. It continues beyond grade school, beyond high school and beyond college. This process is sometimes called adult education. But although there are many adult-education programs throughout the country, not many appear in rural areas. To operate most effectively, such programs depend upon materials available chiefly through public library service. It can be said in part that in rural areas where citizens are accustomed to using their own initiative and self-help, public library service is or may become in itself an effective form of adult education. Where the opportunity for such self-education is not available, we should see that it is made possible through a more widespread and adequate library service. The library services bill offers not Federal control but an incentive for States and local communities to improve their educational resources. Ohio is often accounted a comparatively rich State, primarily industrial. Yet 85 percent of its total area is in farmland. We have a number of excellent county and metropolitan public libraries, and we have a fine State library. Yet 44 counties, exactly half of those in the State, have an income for library services of less than $1 per capita, and of these, 15 have less than $0.50 per capita. A study by the American Library Association shows that minimum public library service requires $1.50 per capita income. The library services bill rightly puts the burden of effort to improve and extend library services on the State library agency and the local communities. Librarians assure me that the bill would make possible more books, an increased personnel, possibly regional or multicounty libraries-all resulting in much broader and more adequate rural service. I respectfully urge your support of the library services bill. Sincerely yours, SAMUEL B. GOULD, President. Mr. HUSSEY. Also a statement from the chairman of the Government Relations Committee, State of Rhode Island. Mr. LANDRUM. That may be inserted in the record without objection. (The statement referred to follows:) STATEMENT OF SALLIE E. CoY, CHAIRMAN, GOVERNMENT RELATIONS COMMITTEE, AND WALTER W. CURLEY, PRESIDENT, RHODE ISLAND LIBRARY ASSOCIATION The passage of the library services bill is important to Rhode Island because of the need of strengthening the rural library services throughout the State. 1. A large percentage of the schoolchildren are transported by bus to consolidated schools. Except in very few instances the school libraries are inadequate, and since the school buses leave immediately at the close of the afternoon session, pupils from the rural areas have no opportunity to make use of the larger public libraries. The rural libraries which these schoolchildren must depend upon are open few hours per week and the book collections are inadequate for reference service, or for reading assignments. 66 2. The development of adult education programs in the rural town is seriously handicapped by lack of up-to-date information through books, periodicals, films, and other resources which should be available from the public library. 3. Programs for senior citizens groups which are being vigorously promoted at present will deteriorate to a low level of unintelligent planning without available resource material from the local public library. PRESENT RHODE ISLAND RESOURCES 1. Public libraries with adequate resources are concentrated within a 15-mile radius of Providence. There is but 1 public library outside this area containing a collection of more than 50,000 volumes. 2. Rhode Island State library extension services are far from adequate to meet the needs. There is a lack of trained personnel, practically no advisory service, an overburdened staff, and inadequate appropriation of funds for carrying out the extension program. PROPOSED USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS Should the bill pass, the plan of procedure is : 1. Establishment of a central office at the State library with— (a) One trained supervisor (d) Two clerical assistants 2. The purchase of 1 large bookmobile and 2 small trucks in addition to the 2 presently State-owned trucks, to operate from the central office. 3. The development of 5 regional library centers-3 of them in agriculturaltype areas, 2 in rural industrial areas. To each of these areas at least $4,000 per year would be allotted for the purchase of books, $500 for processed cards, and $1,000 per center for records, films, pictures, and music scores. 4. Plans for developing a better trained personnel to administer the services of the smaller the State, preferably at the State university. center under the supervision of the State supervisor. 5. Four regional institutes or workshops per year to be established at each AFTER 5 YEARS Should this program be carried out as planned, at the end of 5 years there should be an excellent basic collection of books in every part of the State, a better trained personnel for administering the collection, and an awakened group of citizens determined to keep the library services at a higher level even after Federal aid had been withdrawn. Mr. HUSSEY. Also one from the American Association of School Librarians, American Library Association. Mr. LANDRUM. Without objection, that may be interested in the record. (The statement referred to follows:) STATEMENT OF MAE GRAHAM, REPRESENTATIVE OF AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL LIBRARIANS, A DIVISION OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION This is a statement from the American Association of School Librarians, a division of the American Library Association. There are 9,3631 full-time school librarians in the United States; there are probably that many more, unaccounted for in any statistical report, who work as part-time subject matter teachers and part-time as school librarians. As school librarians, we are concerned with all of the educational programs and problems of the school. We are first of all teachers, teachers whose special function it is to know the materials that will enrich the lives of boys and girls and the school program and to stimulate other teachers and the pupils to use these materials. 1 American Library Association. A. L. A. Bulletin, October 1954, p. 521. We know that there is no synthetic substitute for human resources and we believe that it is the function of the schools to develop our human resources. Our children and young people must be given opportunities to acquire knowledge, understandings, and attitudes that will enable them to develop into mature individuals and that will enable them to cope with the world in which they will live. We believe that in order to accomplish these aims that varied and accurate sources of information must be available for schoolchildren at all reading levels and for all levels of maturity. Our children and young people must be acquainted with the rich heritage that has made the United States a great Nation; our history, our culture, our folklore, the lives of the people who have made our country strong and good; with our conservation problems and practices; with our scientific contributions to the health, wealth, education, and welfare of the world and the implications of these contributions. They must know how people of other lands live, how they differ from us and how they are alike, and what common problems we have. They must learn to discriminate: to listen to all the forms of communication-radio. television, live lectures, personal conversations-and be able to judge the merits of a cause and act in accordance with that judgment. They must learn to live with themselves: to develop inner resources that will help them to become strong individuals. As school librarians, we come from the large cities, the small towns, and the hinterlands. We are among that great group of the American public often disrespectfully referred to as grassroots. The need for materials we have described above is not limited to any one area any more than the wealth of our human resources is limited to any one area. Our political, economic, scientific, or military leaders are as apt to come from a one-room school as from a large metropolitan school. It is for these reasons that we respectfully urge the passage of the library services bill. 3 In 1951-52 there were 13,1422 public secondary day schools with an enrollment of less than 200 pupils; in 1949-50 there were 128,225 elementary schools with 3 teachers or less. It is financially impossible for any one agency-school or public library-to provide these small schools with the variety of materials we have described above. And yet no one of us-or of you-would deny any pupil in any of these schools the same right to become an educated person as is given a child in a large school. The only practical method that has been found to provide adequate materials for these small schools is through a supplementary materials service; i. e., materials from a large pool which can be lent from 1 school to another as the needs arise; which can be used in 1 school and then moved to another; a pool from which teachers and pupils may draw to supplement the small collections of materials permanently in the schools. This requires both an administrative setup for acquiring and distributing the materials and a budget to pay for it. The public library has the administrative setup. There are in the United States a total of 3,069 counties; of this total 1,876 *— or over half-are without complete countywide library service, and 4045 of them have no libraries within their borders. Studies have shown that it is the degree of urbanization that is apt to determine whether or not there is county library service with the more rural counties less apt to have them. We know it is the more rural counties that have the largest percentage of the small schools. The passage of the library services bill would make possible in many rural areas a 5-year demonstration of library service. This would be a way of providing a supplementary materials service to the boys and girls about whom we are here concerned. It would have three advantages: 1. Providing enriched materials for pupils and teachers to supplement the meager ones usually found in the small schools. 2. Demonstrating to both the school board and the library board the effectiveness of a central pool of materials that could be distributed to the small schools. 3. Giving citizens in these rural areas an opportunity to know what an enriched materials program means to their children. 2 U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. of Public Secondary Day Schools, 1951-52. p. 42. 3 Federal Security Agency. Office of Education. 1949-50, p. 60. Office of Education. Statistics Statistics of State School Systems, Warncke, Ruth, Public Libraries in Rural Systems and Adult Education, J. A. Beegle, ed., Lansing, Mich. Michigan State College Press, 1953, pp. 174-175. 5 American Library Association, ALA Bulletin, October 1954, p. 521. There is no doubt in our minds that if such services were offered, but what the citizens in the communities would insist that the services be continued at the end of the demonstration. As school librarians we know that the development of human resources does not end with the formal school. We know that a public library makes a community a better place in which to live. We know that many of the boys and girls about whom we have been talking will continue to live and work in rural areas. We would like for them to have, as adult citizens, the same avenues for finding information and for leisure-time reading as the urban citizen has. We sincerely believe that a demonstration of the advantages of the strengthening of the presently poorly supported small public library and of the establishment of libraries in rural areas now without them will give to both children and adults increased opportunities for better citizenship and enriched personal living. It is for these reasons that we urge you to support the library services bill. Mr. HUSSEY. And a letter from the Iowa Library Association, Decorah, Iowa. Mr. LANDRUM. Without objection, that may be inserted in the record. (The letter referred to follows:) Representative PHIL LANDRUM, IOWA LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. HON. MR. LANDRUM: On behalf of the Iowa Library Association I would urge favorable action on the library services bill. Better than 39 percent of the people of Iowa are without public library service of any kind. A good percentage of the remaining 60 percent have inadequate service. In many of the counties of Iowa from 50 to 80 percent are without library service. Passage of the library services bill will enable the establishment of several county library systems in Iowa. Only 4 of the 99 counties maintain county library systems. We hope that some, if not all four, might expand into regional libraries servicing more than the one county. For Iowa, passage of the library services bill is urgent and of utmost importance. Sincerely yours, O. M. HOVDE, President. Mr. HUSSEY. And a statement from the Maryland Library Association of Baltimore, Md. Mr. LANDRUM. That may be inserted in the record, without objection. (The statement referred to follows:) STATEMENT OF MARY L. HUBER, PRESIDENT, MARYLAND LIBRARY ASSOCIATION The Maryland Library Association, composed of over 500 librarians, trustees, and citizens interested in library development, urges your support of the library services bill which we believe will be an invaluable stimulus to the development of good public library service throughout all of Maryland. In Maryland the establishment of public libraries has been rapid during the part 8 years, the use of public libraries is 5 times greater than it was 8 years ago, and a few areas in the State are now enjoying good, sound, and vital public library service. In 1945 Maryland, like many of her sister States, made the first move toward the assumption that public libraries, like education, health, welfare, and other public services, were both a local and a State responsibility. This library law falls short of its goal because it does not require enough financial support to provide for adequate public libraries. Inequalities of income throughout our State, comparable to those which exist between the wealthy and the more disadvantaged States in the Nation, have resulted in inequalities in library income and service. In 1954 income in the 14 Maryland counties which have county libraries ranged from a low of 37 cents to a high of $1.58. Nine counties provide no library service for their rural people. About 200,000 persons have no public libraries within their area, another 35,000 have only limited service from small libraries with few books and open a few hours weekly, and in at least half of the 14 county libraries book stock and staff are too small to provide the material and the services that are needed. The legislative and planning committee of the Maryland Library Association has made a careful study of existing standards for public libraries throughout the United States and also of economic conditions and patterns of living in Maryland. On the basis of this study the association has set for its goal library support ranging from a minimum of $1.50 per capita to a maximum of $2.50. We believe that good libraries should be available to every citizen in Maryland regardless of where he lives. If the library services bill becomes law, it will permit the establishment of libraries in rural areas now without service, it will provide the means to strengthen the weak and inadquate services now being given in many areas, it will help us to demonstrate good library service and its value to citizens who have not yet had an opportunity to experience such service. A good library can provide for the homemaker materials on house decoration, budgeting, and meal planning; for the farmer information about markets, produce, stockraising, and crop rotation; for the parent guidance in infant care and child training; and for the child a whole new world in which to grow in knowledge and understanding. It can contribute to the growth and well being of citizens and the betterment of communities. Maryland is financially able to support good libraries. Once people have received the benefits of good library service they will not be willing to accept less. The stimulus which the funds provided for in the library services bill will give to Maryland libraries will have far reaching and rewarding results. It will enable us to develop and, we believe, to maintain a reasonably adequate and equitable system of libraries throughout the State. Mr. HUSSEY. And a letter from the Washington Library Association of Seattle, Wash. Mr. LANDRUM. Without objection, that may be inserted in the record. (The letter referred to follows:) WASHINGTON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, Seattle, Wash., May 20, 1955. Hon. PHIL LANDRUM, Chairman, House Education and Labor Committee, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: The following statement concerning the library situation in Washington is submitted with the thought that it may prove useful as part of the record of the hearings on the library services bill scheduled for May 25, 26, and 27. In 1953, the Washington State library reported that approximately 10 percent of this State's population, 237,603 persons, were not served by public libraries. Twenty-two of the State's 121 public libraries had an annual income of $500 or less. Eighty-two of these libraries serving 163,457 persons operated on incomes of under $10,000. The population pattern of Washington is such that it seems peculiarly advantageous for our counties and smaller cities to pool their financial and book resources and operate under the form of administration popularly known as the regional library. State laws have been passed to this end allowing wide latitude in such contractural agreements as may be necessary. Half of Washington's 245 incorporated communities are towns with fewer than 1,000 population. It is obvious that towns of such size must look to other than their own financial resources to afford anything approaching modern library service. Sixty-nine of these communities have now contracted with county or regional libraries for library service through fixed outlets or bookmobile stops. The 1955 State legislature appropriated $50,000 for the State library commission to use to further library development in the State. The plan is to use these funds in the form of establishment grants to new libraries during the difficult days of first organization before tax funds are available, and for integration grants to cover the cost of merging smaller existing units with regional or county library systems. |