THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING, Hon. LISTER HILL, Senator from Alabama, Chairman, Senate Labor and Public Welfare DEAR SENATOR HILL: The mountain-plains regions of the United States have a few large cities on the east borders, in what is known as the humid area, and up against the mountains to the east and west of the Rockies. In between, and over most of the level areas, are great stretches of farmland, both irrigated and dry-farming, which have so far not been reached by adequate library service. You have been told the exact totals of rural people in the United States who are not reached by library service, so these facts need not be repeated. But I should like to comment on the rural peoples of the Northern Great Plains and the intermountain area which is covered by the membership in the Mountain-Plains Library Association. In not part of the United States are the distances greater between farms and the trading centers, and it is even farther to adequate library service. Yet the rural dwellers of this whole region are not unlike people everywhere they need books in order to have the information they need to be good citizens whether they are dealing with local, State, national, or international problems. They already read, but it is largely of agricultural bulletins, their newspapers, and some magazines. None of these sources give them the wider background, or the fullness of coverage, that they need as good citizens. Blessed with a capacity for handling their own farming business, since in most of the region at least 90 percent of the farms are classed as "commercial," they are also intelligent and capable of a better understanding of things which lie beyond the horizon of their own experience, but the sources of information are not available to them. What they need is a demonstration of what library service can do for them. Hard-headed and practical, they are not interested in stories of successful rural library practices in other States where conditions are so different. They want to see for themselves, in some area that they recognize as typical of their own, what library service can mean to rural people. So far there are no such examples that they can turn to, or that can be brought to their attention. It is for that reason that the Mountain-Plains Library Association has repeatedly over the years gone on record as favoring the library services bill because it would make it possible for demonstrations to be set up in each of the various States where the rural people could see for themselves how effective library service can be. Once there are such demonstrations it will be much easier for other localities to make their own plans for developing an adequate library service. It would be appreciated if this letter which represents the view of librarians in the States of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, which make up the Mountain-Plains Library Association territory, could be placed in the record of the hearings on the library services bill. Sincerely, N. ORWIN RUSH, President, Mountain-Plains Library Association. STATEMENTS AND CORRESPONDENCE STATEMENT OF SENATOR J. W. FULBRIGHT, OF ARKANSAS Mr. Chairman, I appreciate being given this opportunity to make a statement in support of the library services bill, which is designed to promote the further development of public library service in rural areas. I have requested that my name be added as a cosponsor of the bill, S. 205, which was introduced by Senator Lister Hill, the distinguished chairman of this committee, and I wish to assure the entire committee at this time that I support wholeheartedly the objectives of the bill. In reading the testimony of some of the witnesses who appeared before the subcommittee of the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives when this bill was being considered, I was impressed by some of the facts presented, and should like to call some of them to the attention of this committee. The hearings revealed that about 27 million persons in this country are without access to local public libraries of any kind, and 90 percent of this group live in rural areas. In addition, about 53 million other persons have available only inadequate library services. These figures reflect that over half the people of the United States, the majority of them in rural areas, do not have access to adequate public library facilities. These figures mean that in a period when we are appropriating vast sums of money-billions of dollars-for national defense and foreign military and economic aid in an attempt to preserve and promote our way of life, we have neglected to provide over half the people of this country with the basic implements of education which would enable them to develop into informed and enlightened citizens. This is, in my opinion, regrettable, and I think the library services bill, providing Federal aid to the States on a matching basis for a 5-year period, is a measure which is long overdue. It is designed to stimulate the States to greater efforts in providing adequate library facilities for their rural people. The bill has been approved by the House of Representatives, and similar measures have passed the Senate in previous Congresses. I most strongly urge the distinguished members of this committee to take favorable action on this bill. STATEMENT OF NATIONAL FARMERS UNION SUPPORTING S. 205, LIBRARY Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, the library services bill to extend library facilities to rural areas without such service or with inadequate services is fully supported by the National Farmers Union. Our interest in this piece of legislation is patent in that we represent many of the rural areas which will be helped directly by this bill. However, we support this bill, believing it is not only in the interest of those living in rural areas, but in the interest of the Nation as a whole. It is imperative today that farm families have as much opportunity as urban dwellers to use modern information facilities. But the facts show that they do not. In North Dakota, for instance, 59.1 percent of the total population is any sort of local library service. There are only 13 States in the entire Nation in which there is less than 10 percent of the population without local libraries. This measure of our quantitative lack of library facilities is shocking enough. But, when we consider that included in these services statistics is every sort of inadequate, old-fashioned, and obsolete library imaginable, the need for Federal aid to insure equal opportunity for all our people, regardless of where they live, becomes more urgent. There are only three States in the Union which provide per capita expenditures of the level recommended by the American Library Association to meet maximum standards. The significance is that many States and local areas have limited funds with which to extend library service to rural areas. When money is available, it is spent in highly populated localities and rural people get no library service facilities at all. The overwhelming majority of counties which lack an adequate library service are in rural areas. Rural districts traditionally suffer from the lack of educational facilities in general. Rural areas, because of the sparse population and inadequate funds from taxation, are unable to provide libraries necessary for their culture, social and economic development. The library services bill is urgently needed if a solution to this problem is to be found. Part of the oldest American tradition has been our belief that everyone should have the opportunity to participate fully in our society. Out of this concept has come our greatest strength. But the times are changing and today we are living in a vastly more complex world, where interest and ambition alone are not enough in order to succeed as citizens or as a nation. It is more important than ever that all our people have access to a maze of information not only on technical subjects, but also on social changes, foreign developments, historical trends, political and economic conditions. The chance to learn has always been of greatest importance to us and wherever Americans have settled they have built schools so that their children might be educated. But today it is more necessary than it has ever been to recognize that we must extend the means of continuing to learn to our adult population. The average American both in the city and on the farm today has the prospect of a longer and more productive life due to scientific advances of the past and the present. However, the average American also faces a more difficult situation than did his fathers. The education that is obtained during a man's first 20 years must be constantly adapted today if we are to have an informed public. Countries such as Korea or Indochina, phrases such as radioactive fallout, and even the term "automation," looms large in all of our lives. Improved communication via the press, radio, and television brings news of these events into our lives. But in the interest of our Nation as a whole we must not fail to provide opportunities for people, whether they live in the city or the country, to explore further and to evaluate what they hear or read upon the basis of wider knowledge. We feel that development of rural libraries is necessary for the technical progress of the country. We feel, also that it is even more necessary for social and economic development. Understanding of our social and economic system generally lags far behind technical develpment. Such understanding is absolutely necessary if we are to maintain our democratic society. National Farmers Union favors provisions of the bill under which each State is to work out a rural library service program tailored to fit its particular needs. We think it is important that selection of books, material, and personnel be left to people within the respective States who are most familiar with local problems and needs in the educational sphere. We hope that the Senate will be able to act promptly on S. 205, so that the library service program can finally be put into action. Hon. JAMES E. MURRAY, THE NATIONAL GRANGE, Washington, D. C., May 22, 1956. Chairman, Education Subcommittee of the Senate Labor and Public Welfare Committee, Senate Office Building, Washington, D. C. DEAR SENATOR MURRAY: Passage of H. R. 2840 by the House of Representatives was a very important accomplishment in the eyes of the Grange members. We sincerely hope that the Senate will also pass the library services bill, S. 205, this session of Congress, in order that this very important bill can become law soon, and also to insure that this very important program will not languish further in the committees of the Congress. We are very encouraged to hear that hearings are set on S.205 on May 23. In order to expedite action on the bill we are not requesting time to be heard. We would, however, greatly appreciate your including this letter in the record of hearings on the bill. At the last annual session of the National Grange the following statement was adopted: "We urge the extension of public library facilities to rural people. We approve the principles of the present bill and endorse the proposal to limit such Federal aid to a 5-year period. We feel that bookmobiles are one of the most practical means of such library extension." As you may know, the National Grange has 7,200 subordinate granges and each of these have set aside in their bimonthly meetings an hour for the lecturer's program. These programs may deal with cultural matters, domestic and world affairs, local problems such as schools, or farming. Adequate library service is quite essential to our lecturer's program, but, of course, the library services program has even wider significance than this. Many individuals would, through a good library-service program, be able to advance their own professional or vocational know-how, would become better informed citizens, and would have an opportunity to share in the cultural amenities of our American society. The library services bill was very carefully considered by the Education and Health Committee of the National Grange, and also by the delegate body of the National Grange when the statement came to the floor for final action. We hope that your committee will not only give this bill its approval, but also that you will use your influence to get this bill voted on by the Senate at the earliest possible time, and before this Congress adjourns. Respectfully yours, LLOYD C. HALVORSON, Economist. STATEMENT OF WM. G. CARR, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, WASHINGTON, D. C. The National Education Association is a voluntary organization of 650,000 members of the teaching profession. Affiliated with it are 66 State education associations and 5, 542 local education associations. The policy of the association is set forth in its platform and resolutions which, in turn, are subject to review and change by the annual representative assembly of 5,000 delegates elected from the State and local associations. The 1955 NEA Representative Assembly meeting in Chicago unanimously adopted the following resolution: "Rural Library Service.-The National Education Association believes that farm and other rural families should have the same access as urban dwellers to books, newspapers, magazines, audiovisual materials, and other sources of information which our well-developed city library systems now provide. The The association believes that a strong public library system is a vitally necessary adjunct to the operation of our public schools, especially in our rural areas. "The association urges the adoption for Federal legislation to provide grantsin-aid to the States for the development of rural library services. Funds for this purpose should be channeled through the United States Office of Education to State agencies responsible for public library services and should be apportioned among the States on an objective basis." The subcommittee has before it S. 205, introduced by the distinguished chairman of the full Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, Senator Lister Hill. The NEA is pleased to note that Senators from both political parties have joined Senator Hill as cosponsors of the bill. Thus, S. 205, as should be the case with all soundly conceived educational legislation, has bipartisan support. The subcommittee also has before it H. R. 2840 which was recently passed by the House by a substantial voice vote. Although the bills differ in detail, the basic provisions are alike. Both bills authorize a $7.5 million program of Federal grants to the States over the next 5 years to encourage them to develop and extend public library services in rural areas. Funds will be allocated to the States on the basis of an objective formula. Administration at the Federal level will be through the United States Office of Education, but the State agency responsible for public library services will administer the program at the State level. Both bills provide for matching of Federal funds so that the States and localities will be stimulated over the next 5 years to provide adequate financing. for their rural public libraries. The free public school and the free public library have grown up side by side in the United States. They stand together as symbols of our determination that the accidents of geographical location or economic circumstances shall not impede an individual American's opportunity to make his way in the world. There are many sections of the United States where this ideal of equality of educational opportunity has been but imperfectly realized, both in terms of public-school facilities and public-library facilities. The National Education Association is hopeful that in the 2d session of the 84th Congress action will be taken on both the library services bill and a school construction bill. It is not a question of priorities; good schools and good libraries are both essential to the development of a responsible and productive citizenry. The association accordingly urges the subcommittee to report promptly a library services bill embodying the best features of S. 205 and the bill already passed by the House (H. R. 2840). Senator LISTER HILL, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN, Senate Labor and Public Welfare Committee, United States Capitol Building, Washington, D. C. DEAR SENATOR HILL: For many years the American Association of University Women has supported legislation to authorize Federal funds for the extension of library services. To that end, the association testified in favor of the library services bills on May 27, 1955, when the House Committee on Education and Labor was considering the bills. The AAUW has a membership of over 135,000 college-trained women and is organized into more than 1,300 branches located in all 48 States, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the District of Columbia. The association has an active study program in the field of education which is the basis for the association's support of the library services bills now being considered by this committee. Guided by local study groups throughout the United States, the biennial convention at its most recent meeting in Los Angeles in June 1955, adopted the following legislative item: "Support of measures to *** promote the development of Library Services." Our members work in communities at the grassroots level, many of them in the very fringe areas around urban centers and in or near the rural areas where no libary services exist. Many local leaders report that it is exceedingly difficult to arouse interest sufficient to obtain local financial support to establish a library in the very areas where the need is the greatest. The reluctance of many rural communities to support local libraries often stems from their lack of understanding of the value of a library. Experience shows that after communities become accustomed to library services they are quick to continue them by local financing. We believe that a demonstration of such a service in every one of the 404 counties in this country now without any library services whatever would provide the impetus needed to bring to rural areas educational services now for the most part available only to citizens in centers of population. Dissatisfied with the progress they are able to make on their own to establish libraries where they are needed most, the members of AAUW are actively supporting the passage of the library services bills. To this end, members of the Kansas division of AAUW have written a skit on the community library which describes the services a library can give, relates the need for housing and finance, and then explains the provisions of the bills and how Federal funds will establish and stimulate the library services in rural areas. AAUW has printed this script and made it available nationally. As chairmen of the AAUW education and legislative committees we earnestly urge favorable committee action on the library services bills, and speedy Senate approval of these bills which will bring a new concept and appreciation of educa tion to many rural areas of the United States. Sincerely, KATE HEVNER MUELLER, Education Committee Chairman. Mrs. JAMES W. KIDENEY, Legislative Program Committee Chairman. COUNCIL OF NATIONAL LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS, Hon. LISTER HILL, Chairman, Labor and Public Welfare Committee, DEAR SENATOR HILL: The Council of National Library Associations, as the accompanying list of its members indicates, represents broadly the thinking of the library profession. At its annual meeting on April 14 last, attention was given to the progress of the library-services bills, H. R. 2840 and S. 205. The representatives who took part in the discussion cited the following three points about the bill as vitally important to library service in the United States: 1. The 5-year terminal provision of the grant to insure its use for stimulation of continuing programs. 2. The fact that it aims to give library service to the 27 million citizens of the United States who do not now have any service. 3. The fact that programs will be continued by States and localities. On behalf of the council, I urge you to support the passage of this muchneeded grant. Yours respectively, ELIZABETH FERGUSON, Chairman. |