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IR 051 620

The Library of Congress, 1985. A Brief Summary of theMajor Activities for the Fiscal Year Indiag September30, 1985.Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.8635p.; For the summary report for 1984, see ID 261706; for the complete 1985 report, see IR 051 616.Photographs will not reproduce.Library of Congress, Central Services Division,Washington, DC 20540.Reports - Descriptive (141)

MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.Annual Reports; *Library Administration; LibraryAutomation; Library Collection Development; *LibraryRole; *Library Services; *National Libraries;PreservationCopyright Office; *Library of Congress

ABSTRACTThis booklet summarizes fiscal year 1985 activities

of the Library of Congress (LC) in eight areas: (1) collectiondevelopment, activities of the Copyright Office, housing, and access;(2) automation; (3) preservation, notably the Mass BookDeacidification Facility and the Optical Disk Pilot Program; (4)services to Congress performed by the Congressional Research Service;(5) Law Library services; (6) services provided to other branches ofgovernment; (7) services to the public, includiag the NationalLibrary Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped; and (8)public programs such as exhibits, symposia, dramatic readings, mmsicperformances, lectures, motion picture screenings, and folk artdemonstrations. Photographs accompany the test throughout thepublication. (KM)

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Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.

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The Library of Congress 1985U.& DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office ol Educational Research and improvement

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTE R (ERIC)

ATMs document has been reproduced asseemed from the person or orosnasnon

originating it0 Minor changes have been made to IMINOW

reproduction duality

N.: Points of visSi Of opinions stated in this &mu-mint do not necessarily represent official

L1.1 OERI position or policy

-"MMIMMIL

The Library of Congress 1985A Brief Summary of the Major Activitiesfor the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1985

Library of Congress Washington 1986

3

International Standard Serial Number 0162-6426

Prepared by the Infbrmation Office, Library of Congress

Available from the Library of Congress, Central ServicesDivision, Washington, D.C. 20540

Corer: The Thomas Jeerson Build* of the Libra?). of Cowen.Photograph by Stephen Shore.

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CONTENTS

The World's Largest Storehouse of Knowledge 1

The Collections 1

Copyright and the Collections 4

Housing the Collections 7

Access to tbe Collections 9

Automation 10

Preserving the Library's Treasures 11

Serving the Congress 13

The Law Library 15

Serving Other Branches of Government 16

Serving the Public 16

Bringing the Collections to Life 18

5

The Year at a GlanceIn fiscal 1985 the Library of Congress:

Welcomed 2,806,111 library users and visitorsHad a total of 83,770,703 items in its collections, including-

13,757,631 books in the classified collections8,388,818 nonclassified books, pamphlets, technical reports,and other printed materials3,694,256 musical works1,091,732 recorded discs, tapes, and audio materials in otherformats36,154,097 manuscripts3,830,566 maps6,297,601 microfiche, microfilms, and micro-opaques10,556,002 motion pictures, photographs, posters, prints,drawings, videotapes, and other visual materials

Prepared 844 bibliographies containing a total of 121,902 entriesAided scholars and researchers by circulating 3,339,677 volumes

for use within the LibraryAnswered 1,008,488 inquiries in person, 124,823 by mail, and

522,807 by telephone through reference specialistsCompleted 457,837 research assignments for the Congress through

the Congressional Research ServiceMaintained an automated copyright monograph file of 4,394,725

index terms in addition to the 45 million cards held in the copyrightcatalog

Had a total of more than 12 million records in computer databases,with seventy-one computer terminals accessible to the public at variouslocations in the Library

Employed a staff of 5,274Operated on a budget of $228,242,000 from the Congress in direct

appropriations, $10,300,000 in fees from the Cataloging DistributionService and Copyright Office, and $7,461,664 in obligations from giftand trust funds.

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The World's Largest Storehouse of KnowledgeThe comprehensive collections policy and vast holdings of the Libraryof Congress have brought it to a position of world preeminence as astorehouse of knowledge. It is the only institution that has attemptedto collect the critire record of man's intellectual and cultural achieve-ments in all laoguages and throughout all periods of history

The Library's collections number more than 81 million items inover 470 languages and occupy more than 535 miles of bookshelves.Once a visitor has pondered these staggering statistics for a fewmoments, he or she frequently asks such questions as: How do youdecide v. hat to collect? How do you store and preserve it all? How doyou find a specific book in the collections? How long does ir take for areader to obtairi material? Who can use the collections?

This brief report will answer some of these questions and highlighta variety of the Library's programs, with particular emphasis on fiscalyear 1985. Since the Library is supported by public money and isaccountable to the Congress and the nation, the Librarian of Congressis required by law to issue a detailed annual report of activities andexpenditures. For those who wish to know more about the Library, thefull report is m-ailable from the U.S. Government Printing Office.

The CollectionsThe Library of Congress does not collect indiscriminately. Its Col-lections Development Office exercises leadership in formulating poli-cies and coordinating activities for the acquisition, selection, control,and custody of-the collections, Since acquisitions are affected by world-wide economi<, political, and social transitions, these policies andpractices are ander constant review by the Library administration.Acquisitions policy must also take into consideration the increasingvariety of availzble media.

In carrying; out its task this year the Collections DevelopmentOffice confirmed its seminars on acquisitions from China, Hong Kong,Taiwan, and Mongolia, held a seminar devoted to the five southern-most countries of South America, and conducted seminars coveringMexico, Spain, and Portugal and the Arabic-speaking countries ofNorth Africa and the Middle East. Six additional seminars will com-plete the offke's worldwide review.

1

Restoration of the Statue of Libcrty mu photographed by Jet Loot in May 1984* the Historic AmericanEttaimcrity Record The HA ER collection BM tranyerred to the Library of Congress this year from theDepartment ql the Interior

Available funds have made it possible for the Library to purchasean impressive selection of rare books, fine prints, antique maps, musi-cal and literary manuscripts, and outstanding foreign television pro-ductions. Notable acquisitions from various sources include an

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important group of early letters by Walt Whitman, a gift of 315original caricature drawings and prints from the Alfred BendinerFoundation of Philadelphia, and a browse file for Landsat and aerialphotographic images taken by the National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration, the U.S. Geologic Survey, the National Ocean Serv-ice, and the Department of Agriculture Stabilization and Conserva-tion Service. The Library also received the papers of Patricia RobertsHarris, former cabinet officer and ambassador to Luxembourg; cata-logs of the Bibliotheque Nationale needed to complete its series; and100 reels of microfilm reproducing the Chicago Yiddish newspaperJewish Daily Courien 1893-1947. Newspaper microfilm agreementswere made with the national libraries of Brazil and Venezuela for fourmajor newspapers in each country. And, as a footnote to our techno-logical age, the Library is now receiving 600 computer periodicals.

Exchange programs constitute the greatest single source of newmaterials for the Library of Congress. In addition, the CopyrightOffice provides the Library's custodial divisions with an opportunityto select materials for addition to the collections from among thoseregistered for copyright.

The Overseas Operations Division also adds substantially to theLibrary's collections through its suppliers in Brazil, Egypt, India,Pakistan, Indonesia, Kenya, and elsewhere. A meeting of the fielddirectors of the Library's overseas offices was held in New Delhi thisyear, the first such meeting since 1977 and the fifth since the pro-gram began. The topics discussed included automation of the fieldoffices for administrative and bibliographic functions, the gradualshifting of responsibility for particular cataloging functions to the fieldoffice staff, and administrative procedures. The participants were ableto tour the Library facilities in India and observe the operation of theOverseas Data Entry System, installed last year to provide machine-readable-cataloging data for library materials processed in India. TheCairo office has begun to process Turkish acquisitions, which areshipped directly to that office from Turkey Iranian publications areshipped to the Karachi office from blanket-c rder vendors in Iran.

The Library's Exchange and Gift Division -eported that exchangeand purchase receipts from the Iberian Peninsula, Latin America, andthe Caribbean show,:d a healthy increase this year. Intensive acquisi-tions fieldwork is under way in Ecuador, northern Mexico, andVenezuela (for legal materials) through arrangements with area spe-cialists. Special attention has also been given to the acquisition ofnonbook materials such as videotapes, sound recordings, posters, andpolitical and counterculture publications. Among other countriesfrom which publications have been received, the Library was pleasedto extend the experiment with the National Library of China for sixmonths, during which bound copies ofChinese materials were receivedin official exchange.

9 3

In A must the Deputy Librarian of Owns welcomed a delegation led by the Deputy Director of theNational Library of China. Shown herr are (left to right) Warren Tsuneishi, Director for Area Studies,LC; Qiao Linq, Deputy Chid; Fore* Relations Section, NLC; John C. Broderick, Assistant LibrarianJbr Research Services, LC; William J. Welsh, Deputy Librarian of Cowers; Henriette D. Avram,Assistant Librarian Jor Process* Services, LC; Hu Sha, Deputy Director; NLC; Li Daolore, DeputyChief Automation Development Department, NLC; Zhu Nan, Chid; Professional Mancoement Divi-sion, NLC; Li Rennian, Chief Department of Acquisitions and Cataloging firr Western-Lan...owBooks. NLC; and Tao-tai Hsia, Chief Far Eastern Law Division, LC.

Copyright and the CollectionsFor 115 years the Copyright Office has been vital to the Library ofCongress, providing the backbone of the Library's collections. Undera law enacted in 1870, authors are -equired to submit samples of theirwork as part of the process of registering the work for copyrightprotection. These materialsbooks, music, plays, motion pictures, andall manner of other created worksnow come to the Library at the rateof more than half a million a year. The Library selects thousands ofcopyright submissions for its general collections. The volume andcomplexity of the copyright operation are such that a wide variety ofspecial procedures have been developed to ensure maximum efficiency.This year, in addition to a new telephone answering system to deal withits hundreds of daily incoming calls, the office also initiated a fullyautomated tracking system, making it possible to provide an officewide4

1 0

The Copyright gjfice, a department of the Libnoyof Cougress, is a source of many materials * theLibrary's collections. Selections arc nude from thethousands of items that come in daily fbr copyrightregistration, The mem 'mins in the Public Infer.motion (Vice, where this motion picture is beimpresented * migration.

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A technician in the beaming& Division inspectsnewly arrived motion pictures.

Each application for copyright migration is given a sequential number

1 15

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Specialists examine erny item submitted.* reflUtration, includikg motion pictures and oideocassettes.

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For each item copyrighted, a certificate of roistration is prepared and sent to the remitter

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The tillyMOU (Writy ahrl panotypates on Ow Petmanent Programkw Deseloprowto timperamon of the %Viscid lmellectual Pmpern-Otpanwastoi llor work (*the organoration n to Amu lefty developedsaimm on estaltinhotog ellettne methods kor admmostenng tht it ops-nobe lam Odin ~mammal mows g* concern to Ow Cops/ight410Ikt OM swat 'WV twisted to toptenthr pmeecoon 4 daulsaso.?maw oviinit r4 twilit*, suleo and audio rental. and tomputerwilds AO'

Hareks the CaladiumTlw nusins of Ow !Abram of Cowes* os a tiimpks of three largeboklionin aims. fnwn Ow U.S. 4 apotol 11w pren mw tithe Thomaskilovolt Ilsookhs g. trompleted on I pr n a landmark in Washington.and an hotrod haw mimed WO% Main Reading Room. surroundedIsikonws and nthh doinested. as one uS the naflim rcat spacrt."111( buoklong n a fisonte ate hot mown tot general and pbusuçaphcnws parmulat The holm Adam Budding. &Opted at the he*Iit of thean dims period . was opened in 1939, And the lames Madison Memo-nal No4. the laspis sit Ow t4rar0 three buddinp and, in fact

dw larva Wan buskhns in the world, opened its &on todoe pultiit in 19140,

In addition sts ors Capitol HON buildings Ow Library has satelliteWham at a number otridser kwatiosns. The National Uttar,. Servicekit thc Nod and libracally Handicapped is hooted in a kssed build-

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ing on Taylor Strcct NW, thc Fcdcral Rcscarch Division is at thcWashington Nmy Yard, a film preservation facility is at Wright-PattersonAir Force Base in Ohio, and warchousc facilities and Procurement andSupply Division offices arc in Landovcr, Maryland. Altogcther, theLibrary occupies ncarly four million squarc feet of space.

Renovation plans for thc Thomas Jcffcrson Building and thc JohnAdams Building procccdcd on target this ycar, beginning a phascdprogram of relocation of scrviccs. Work was complctcd on reconstruc-tion of thc foundation and restoratiln of the stone paving of theNeptunc Plaza and thc adjaccnt fountain, and dcmolition and con-struction work wcrc initiatcd on the fourth floor of the Adams Build-ing. Somc staff mcmbcrs and scholi.s wcrc rclocatcd so that workcould begin in thc upper dcck areas of thc Jefferson Building.

Scgmcnts of thc Gcneral Rcading Room Division, Loan Division,and Collections Managemcnt Division have been relocated within theJcfferson Building in preparation for the renovation and restoration ofthc building. In thc Adams Bui!ding, technical rcports were relocated.Hcavy winds and rains gencrated by Hurricane Gloria damaged theLibrary's Navy Yard Annex, delaying a scheduled expansion of theFcdcral Rescarch Division.

8 14

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The Collections Manngement birision is responsible.* organizing and maintain* the Libraycgen-on! book collections and * pnwiding requested materials to traders as expeditiously as possible. Rooks aremoved limn the stacks to the Jeffteion Build* Control Room on the book conveyer shown here in the back-

ground. A vertical conveyer is then used to transport the books to the circulation desk in the Main Read*Room. After use the books arc returned to the stacks on book carts far rechelvika.

As the buildings underwent necessary renovation, restoration, andmodification to improve services, the skill of the staff who design thelandscaping and maintain the grounds of the Library's Capitol Hillbuildings continued to be evident in the superb appearance of theproperty. During the year the plantings around the Jefferson Buildingwere adjusted to create better balance in relation to the building.

To increase efficiency and make it possible to offer more diversifiedfoods, an important behind-the-scenes modification was made in thekitchen area of the attractive glass-walled cafeteria on the sixth floor ofthe Madison Building. Improvements were also introduced in thefood facilities in the three buildings.

Access to the CollectionsWhen a researcher enters the Library of Congress for the first timehe or she usually feels a great sense of being engulfed by its immensityThe miracle of the collections is that, in the main, they are organizedand cataloged. There are people who know how to locate materials forthe reader, usually in less than an hour from the time a request isreceived. Using the Library has not always been so easy, however.By the 1870s the Library had outgrown its rooms in the Capitol and

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was in dire need of additional space. Librarian Ainsworth Rand Spof-ford repomd in 1877 that "nearly seventy thousand volumes . . . arenow piled upon the floors in all directions" and that "students, andespecially ladies, are deterred from frequenting the Library of Congress,because of the difficulty of procuring seats therein."

Today, with tremendous assistance from state-of-the-art technol-ogy, the Processing Services department provides cataloging expertisethat serves the public and library constituents throughout the world.This year has seen strategic planning through which appropriate proc-essing goals were defined for a period of fiscal austerity. Action plansare to follow which will project objectives, products, and services forthe next five years.

The Library of Congress and the Research Libraries Group agreedto plan a nationwide program for coordinated cataloging that wouldinclude other research libraries as participants. The goal will be toenhance access to library materials and rationalize shared cataloging inorder to enhance processing efficiency The optimal interrelationshipof collection development, preservation, and cataloging will also bestudied. Cooperative efforts with divisions elsewhere in the Libraryproduced the Serials Location System (sERLoc.)an online serials appli-cation that contained approximately twenty-five thousand contractor-input records by the end of the year. Core data elements from SerialRecord Division check-in records are being converted to machine-readable form for initial use by Library staffand for later use in buildingthe serials management system. Othcr cooperative efforts within theLibrary will aid in finding audiovisual materials and materials from thePrints and Photographs Division. Processing Services also continuedto work on the development of an online system for the production ofthe National Union Catalog of Manuscript Colkctions.

AutomationThe serious researcher visiting the Library will need to search someof the more than seven million records in the computer databases inaddition to conventional card catalogs and indexes. The AutomatedSystems Office operates one of the largest computerized informationservice centers in the world and serves as a nerve center for all automa-tion throughout the Library.

Online availability of the central processing units averaged 99percent by the end of the fiscal year. The various online systems, whichare supported 96.5 hours per week, processed approximately fourmillion transactions each month while servicing 2,217 terminals locatedon Capitol Hill and at other sites. By the end of the year the ComputerService Center had replaced 250 Four Phase terminals with newComterm devices to support online cataloging and searching of thevarious Library databases. The remaining older terminals are due to be

10 16

,._

. tConferees at the American Libraly Association 1985 midwinter meet* karn more about automation atLC thsnugh handpon cyperience at terminals located in the Information Place, a facility set up in tbeMadison Building fbr the occasion.

replaced beginning in January 1986.

In addition to the many direct benefits that automation has broughtto researchers at the Library of Congress, the public has benefitedindirectly from the efforts of advances in automation in such special-ized units as the National Library Service for the Blind and PhysicallyHandicapped, the Music Division, and the Copyright Office.

Preserving the Library's TreasuresAnnual loss of the Library's valuable materials through deteriorationcan be as high as 77,000 volumes, according to Deputy Librarian ofCongress William J. Welsh, who has played a leading role in theLibrary's preservation efforts. The problem is created by acid used inthe papermaking process which causes the paper fibers to becomeweak after twenty-five to a hundred years. Eventually the paper crum-bles to dust.

The problem of preserving the collections is being addressed in anumber of ways, the most dramatic of which is the planned Mass BookDeacidification Facility at Fort Detrick, Maryland.

The years of planning and testing that will culminate in the opera-tion of the new facility began in the 1970s, when the Library's preser-vation research staff began tests with seven or eight volumes using anordinary kitchen pressure cooker. They developed a diethyl zinc (DEZ)treatment process that restored the alkaline content to the paper andretarded embrittlement. Their research was eventually tested in 1982with five thousand volumes in a huge vacuum chamber previously used

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I'm testing materials for outer space. The large-scale tests, accom-plished in cooperation with Goddard Space Flight Center andNorthrup, Inc., were followed by twelve smaller tests to obtain data onoptimizing process conditions. Paper materials given the DEZ processare estimated o have an extended life of up to six hundred years.

Preservation of materials is proceeding on other fronts as well,some of which are as revolutionary for libraries as the DEZ process.The Optical Disk Pilot Program, which began three years ago, isdesigned to study the expediency of transferring print and graphicimages to disks and supplying them to the user on screens, withon-demand printout capability

The system has the advantages of compact storage, preservation,and immediate user access. The Library's first optical (video) disk userstation opened in 1984 in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room,where eight collections of rare print material consisting of a total offorty thousand images were available on a single side of a twelve-inchdisk. Later, digital optical disks were produced for storing printedlibrary materials, including periodicals, maps, manuscripts, and sheetmusic. A one-sided digital disk can store up to fifteen thousand pagesof text. This year saw great progress toward providing the publicwith a full-text retrieval system. The first phase of the program, whichincluded obtaining the hardware and sofhvare needed to scan andwrite optical disk images, was completed. Following installation, testing,and achievement of stability, existing inhouse indexing sources wereused to scan documents associated with those systems; documentpreparation procedures were developed, input scanning and qualityreview Nvere implemented, and staff were trained to utilize the proce-dures on a daily basis. Over thirty-one hundred documents from theCRS bibliographic database (1983-85), for whicli LC has receivedcopyright permission or which belong in the public domain, weregathered to create a database. Research librarians who were involved inan evaluation of the system found no major flaws and advised that theoptical disk's primary usefulness may be as an access tool. The durationof the pilot program was extended to December 1986, in order tocreate a larger database before opening the system to the public. TheLibrary's pioneering work in optical disk storage continues to provokewide interest and bring visitors to the Library from government agen-cies, corporations, and universities.

Preservation copying programs, which have been in operation forover twenty years, were also reviewed in fiscal 1985. Besides use of thenew technologies such as the optical disk, the Library will continue itsinvolvement in interlibrary cooperative preservation efforts, since it isunlikely that adequate funding will ever be available to preserve every-thing in the Library's collections by current methods.

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Serving the CongressThe Library of Congress was established in 1800 for the exclusive useof the United States Congress, but by midcentury, noncongressionalusers were permitted in the 'Abram On June 12, 1858, Sen. JamesAifred Pearce, Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library, notedthat visitors "are, in fact, allowed the use of books by reading themwhile there, and the means of making notes of what they read arereadily furnished. They are also cheerfully aided by the Librarian andassistants in making researches." Although the collections of theLibrary of Congress remain highly accessible to the public, the Librarystill recognizes its responsibility to serve the Congress for which itwas created.

The expertise of the staff of the Library's Congressional ResearchService is a key element in the orientation of new Members of Con-gress. This year CRS again teamed up with the Brookings Institutionand the American Enterprise Institute to cosponsor a seminar for newMembers of Conress in Williamsburg, Virginia. In addition, lists ofsubjects suitable for policy analysis by committees of the 99th Con-gress were prepared. A major project involving all CRS researchdivisions was the preparation of 7 frie 99th congress: Selected EmergingLegislative Issues.

Orienting new lawmakers is only the beginning, ofcourse. Through-out the year CRS held individual and group briefings, institutes for

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The Inquiry Section ofthe Cokaressional Research Serrke maims, records, and distributes requests fivmMembris of Coltyrss and their staffi for information and research on issues of kaislatiw interest. During

fiscal 1985 the section paxessed 251,384 inquiries.

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Member and committee staffs and for field office staff's, informationseminars, and special programs on such topics as the future of Medicare,agricultural food policy, and the federal budget.

Many noncongressional visitors were also given briefings on themission of CRS and its services. Among them wele more than 300Members of Parliament and parliamentary librarians, as well as 141cabinet-level officers of foreign governments. Visitors from abroadoften find the presence in a national library ofa department such as theCongressional Researen Service to be a new concept.

In March the Congressional Reading Room in the Madison Build-ing was officially renamed the La Follette Congressional ReadingRoom in honor of Senators Robert M. La Follette and Robert M. LaFollette, Jr., of Wisconsin. A daylong symposium on the importanceof legislative research preceded the renaming ceremony, which wasattended by Members of Congress as well as members of the La Fol-lette family.

During 1984 the demand for CRS's popular Info Packs broke allrecords. The packets provide regularly updated information on morethan three hundred current issues for Members of Congress and theirstaff's. Some of the most popular topics this year were tax reform issues,legislative procedures, grants and fundraising, financial aid to under-graduates, and the federal budget process. More than fifteen thousandInfo Packs were distributed monthly.

A more substantial, multidisciplinary report was prepared on pov-erty among children. Produced at the request of the House Ways andMeans Committee, the 670-page volume, entitled Children in Povert);received front-page cowrage in the New York Times, Washington Post,and Wall Street Journal. CRS studies on recent advances in plantsciences, information technology, and energy management, amongother topics, were published as committee prints.

A major two-volume work, Legislation on Foretgn Relations through1984: Current Legislation and Related Executive Orders, was compiled atthe request of the pertinent House and Senate committees.

As a service to school systems throughout the nation, CRS againproduced the annual high school and college debate manuals. Thisyear's topics were "What is the most effective water policy for theUnited States?" and "Should more rigorous academic standards beestablished for all public elemental.), and/or secondary schools in theUnited States?," respectively.

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The Law LibraryThe Law Library, which serves Congress as well as many other users,houses the world's largest and most comprehensive collections oftbreign, international, and comparative law When legislation is beforethe Congress, requests from Member and committee staffs requireimmediate responses. Among the topics covered in recent cor yes-sional requests for information were the ways in which other countriesregulate hazardous waste, foreign Individual Retirement Accounts orsimilar mechanisms for sheltering income, how other nations controlhostile corporate takeovers and mergers, restrictions placed on cam-paign financing in foreign countries, and legal mechanisms used aroundthe world to either encourage or discourage foreign investments.

In addition to report writing, legal interpretation and analysis, andreference assistance, the Law Library staff provided a number of otherservices to users. Law Library specialis:s served as expert witnesses inCuban and in English law, various special briefings were conducted,and work on matters relating to extradition agreements was under-taken for the Congress.

The Law Library hosted a reception for the Association of Ameri-can Law Schools in January, with the Justices of the Supren e Court ashonored guests among the more than two thousand persons whoattended.

A twelve-minute film about the services and resources of the LawLibrary, Legacy of Lena produced with a grant from Mead Data Cen-

Annie

A sampliug of the miniature and small lawbooks that were on display in the Law Libra'', Reading Roomfrom August 5 through October 3.

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tral, Inc., was completed in time to premiere at the uly meeting of theAmerican Bar A.isociation in Washington, D.C. The film was used at aworkshop fbr teachers of legal research and was selected for worldwidedistribution by the United States Infinmation Agency. It was alsonominated for a Council on International Non-Theatrical Events(CINE) Golden Eagle Award. The film is available for purchase orrental.

The Law Library also hosted symposia on comparative libel law atAmerican Bar Association meetings in Washington and I Amdon.

Serving Other Branches of GovernmentLike the Congressional Research Service, the Library's Federal Re-search Division is stafkd by experts who know how to tap the vastresources of the collections for specific information.

The Federal Research Division is devoted exclusively to perform-ing fbreign-language and international research and analysis for othergovernment agencies and is largely supported by supplying contractedservices in the form of reports and analyses to these agencies. Its staffofmore than two hundred is divided into live areas of expertise: WesternEurope/Latin America, Middle East/Africa, Asia, USSR/EasternEurope (military, political, econonlic), and USSR/Eastern Europe(scientific and technical). The division staff are competent in somethirty languages.

Serving the PublicThe Library's reading rooms are living testimony to the years ofcollecting, cataloging, binding, preserving, and shelving that havebuilt the world's largest library. An interesting trend in the use of thereading rooms was revealed in figures which indicated that, althoughpeak periods of use during the year remained the same, the valleysceased to he as obvious. In other words, use over the year graduallyseems to he evening out.

The Library of Congress is the most "open" of the national libr .r-ies, ofkring exceptionally broad services to scholars and the gen. ralpublic alike. During fiscal 1985 the General Reading Rooms and theLaw Library were open Monday through Friday from 8:30 A.M. to 9:30p.m.. Saturday from 8:30 A.M. to 5:00 r.m., and Sunday from 1:00 r.m. to5:00 nxi. Moss: of the special mading rooms were open Monday throughFriday from 8:30 A.M. to 5:00 RM.

Another advance in reader service, and an indication of the closeworking relationship between the Library of Congress and otherlibraries, occurred when Arizona became the thirty-eighth state to jointhe reference correspondence referral program adopted by the LibratyThe program refers appropriate correspondence back to libraries within

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the state from which a letter of inquiry is written. This approach givesthe correspondent, who often is not .aware of gate resources, anopportunity to become acquainted with and consult authorities withinhis or her own state and at the same time provides recognition andinvolvement for state library systems.

Reader services at the Library of Congress were enhanced duringthe .)'ear by a joint Processing Services and Research Services projectwhich detailed eight cata: )gers to the Computer Catalog Center for afour-month period. The project, which at the end of the year hadenrolled another eight participants, gave catalogers an opportunity tomeet and work with users whose research depended upon the catalog-ers' skills. Interdepartmental exchanges such as this have been found tobenefit not only the Library and its users but also the staff.

A special service for blind and physically handicapped readers hasmade it possible for all who wish to read to be served by the Library ofCongress. The National Library Service for the Blind and PhysicallyHandicapped can trace its origins back to the opening of the ThomasJefferson Building in 1897, when a special reading room for blindpeople was established. In 1931 President Herbcrt Hoover signedinto law an appropriation bill creating the Books for the Adult BlindProject, to be operated by the Library of Congress. Today NLS/BPHnot only is the publisher of a wide variety of materials distributedby regional libraries throughout the country but also has pioneered

In the reconling studio of the National Libmay Service for the Blind and Physically Handicappe4 avolunteer narrates a book on audio tape. The service offers books and periodicals for fire circulation on disc

and cassette and in braille to more than 600,000 people annually

2317

in producing tape players and other equipment that is circulatedwithout charge.

This year the fiftieth anniversary of the Talking Book was cele-brated at a ceremony and reception in New York City. More than twohundred guests paid tribute to the American Foundation for the Blindtir developing the technology fin the first Talking Book, to theNational Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped fordistributing the earliest recorded books, and to the American PrintingHouse tbr the Blind for helping produce them.

A high-visibility label with tl. word "Blindpost" printed in blackover an orange background has been distributed to libraries andagencies around the world who serve blind and physically handi-capped individuals. The label is designed to speed the passage ofbrailleand recorded books across international borders, through customsand international mail. Most countries carry the material tariff-free.

Among new printed materials are a reference circular, Parents'Guide to the Development of Preschool Handicapped Children: Resources andServices; a new catalog of foreign-language books; and an InternationalDin.cany of Tactik Map Colkctions. The directory contains a comprehen-sive list of tactile maps available for use, loan, or sale throughout theworld.

The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handi-capped has launched a yearlong study to reconsider the reading needsof visually handicapped children, reevaluate the service's materials inrelation to those needs, and recommend a plan of action. Largelybecause of the emphasis on mainstreaming in the schools, there isincreasing concern that the reading needs of visually handicappedchildren be stimulated and met.

Bringing the Collections to LifeThe collections of the Library of Congress are not only under constantuse by researchers but are often the basis for public programs as well.Exhibits, symposia, dramatic readings, music performances, lectures,motion picture screenings, and folk art demonstrations regularlybring the Library's vast and diverse resources to the attention of thegeneral public.

The music programs, including concerts by the Juilliard StringQuartet playing the Library's priceless .Stradivarius instruments, arerecognized as being among the finest chamber music presentations inthe nation. Musical highlights during fiscal 1985 included the SecondFestival of American Chamber Music in the spring as well as theJuilliard Quartet's performance of Bach's The Art of the Fugue andHaydn's The Seven Last Words. The Beaux Arts Trio played all elevenBeethoven trios in February and March. On February 11 AndrewPorter discussed his new translation of Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot

18

24

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The Ana Martim% flamenco dancers pnformed on the Neptune Plaza in front of the Thomas JeffersonBuild* in September Part of the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Week, the program was one of a seriesof American Folklifi Center outdoor elynts held throughout tbe summer months on the plaza.

Lunaire, which was then featured in a concert on February 12. TheBach and Handel tricentennials were celebrated in a concert by theAulos Ensemble.

Robert Fitzgerald, Consultant in Poetry for 1984-85, was unableto assume his duties due to illness and Reed Whittemore was appointedinterim consultant to complete the year. Mr. Fitzgerald died in Januaryand a program of poetry, translations, and music was held in hismemory on April 30. Gwendolyn Brooks, who was appointed Con-sultant in Poetry for 1985-86, opened the fall literary program with a

1925

Gurndo lyn Brooks, Pulitzer Prize-Trim:hp poet, uns

named Consultant in Portly fir 198.5-86. Theconsultants/tip was established in the Libnity ofCoTurss in /936 withjimds donated by Archer M.Huntikaton. Miss Bnit,gs is the twenty-ninth per-son appointed to the position.

It

reading from her work. The program attracted an audience of morethan six hundred, filling the Coolidge Auditorium and Whittall Pavil-ion, while some two hundred others had to be turned away. MissBrooks, a Pulitzer Prize winner, is the twenty-ninth person to beappointed to the consultantship, which was established in 1936 througha gift by the late Archer M. Huntington.

Other notable literary programs during the year included a readingby poet, playwright, and performer Maya Angelou, a lecture by RichardEllmann on Samuel Beckett, a musical-dramatic program on the workof Bertholt Brecht, and a discussion and reading of contemporaryIsraeli poetry.

A Saturday afternoon series of movies for children was presented inthe sixtv-four-seat Mary Pickford Theater in the Madison Building.Other series of presentations from the collections were "From Silenceto Sound, 1923-30," neglected films selected by Washington filmreviewers, "American Screenwriters," and a festival of recent Braziliantelevision productions. The second anniversary of the theater wascelebrated with a special invitational program on Ginger Rogers's filmsthat included a discussion by Miss Rogers and Charles (Buddy) Rog-ers. The theater's summer program featured a Jason Robards retro-spective. Mr. Robards, appearing in person at the opening of theseries, delighted an overflow audience in the Mumford Room with adiscussion of his work on the stage and in films and television, aprogram to which director Jose Quintero also contributed.

20

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Okimarts w. bie bpi mid ir summoul lip kr And stodearMimi MO * Moo* liftemot boo Aammo. Whim Mow Alm

In cooperatinn with the Caner for tbc Rook the Georaphy andMap ()moan anangol a milt", mamma entitled "Imago of theWorld an October to coincide with a maim exhibition (Abe Library'sMai collection, la Mardi a tiao.day international conkirtice, Inno-vation and %ilium in the Ant* Science": was iponsoied by the

4 1

Or Limn pansnomi I le * Famed Wwhiftri startmelle. ea askshare madVionsmip Iladas -*AL pram imaps. arrafork ad miff ism jIme at maw* ow to&Oa sollrisp pommy d a irmairrMais

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27 21

African and Middk Easwrn Division's Near East Section, The exhibit"Discovering India" opened in June.

Thc American Folk life Center sponsored a wide variety of pro-grams this year. The Kakrala, Finland's national folk epic, and Finnishidentity in Finland and America were discussed at a symposium arrangedwith the assistance of the Embassy of Finland in January. A glimpse ofanother culture was provided in the program "Tops/Trompos" inOctober. Preparation of dough ornaments and festive cookies wasdemonstrated in November, and the culture of cranberry-growingregions of Ncw Jersey was explored in December. The Folklifc Centerreceived a grant of over S118,000 from the Ford Foundation for atwo-year project to distribute previously prepared tapes or disks ofearly wax cylinder recordings. The funds will make it possible for thccenter to make thc recordings available to American Indian tribalarchives and cultural organizations for educational purposes. A recordof Omaha Indian music from a wax cylinder was placed on sale to thcpublic this year. Thc Amcrican Folklifc Center continued with itsGrouse Creek Cultural Survey in northwestern Utah and its documen-tation of the Pinclands Folklifc Project in Ncw Jersey.

One of the Library's most active offices is the Center for thc Book,which continued its promotion of books and reading through a varietyof projects, lectures, symposia, and special events. Private contribu-tions support the center's programs, which this year included a dinnerin thc Great Hall in December to celebrate the completion of a reportto the Congress by Librarian of Congress Daniel J. Boorstin entitled

MINIO

Sena r Chad e s MeC Math* It, Chairman etbdointCottunitte e the Lilmsrx accepting tbe reportBooks in Our Future from Librarian eConglas Dank 1 J. &with, at a pros confemsce on December 7,1984.

2228

Books in Our Future and the opening of a special exhibition entitled"The Book and Other Machines." A six-color silkscreen poster createdfor rhe center by artist Lance Hidy was unveiled on the occasion. Thecenter also sponsored a reception and program on U.S. books abroadduring the midwinter American Library Association meeting. In addi-tion to a program presented in cooperation with the Geography andMap Division, mentioned previously, the center cosponsored a sympo-sium entitled "Stepping Away from Tradition: Children's Books of the1920s and 1930s" with the Children's Literature Center. The Centerfor the Book continued its cooperation with commercial televisionnetworks to promote reading through "Read More About It" and"Storybreak" messages ofencouragement and booklists on CBS as wellas Cap'n 0. G. Readmore's rhymed boost to reading for youthfulviewers of ABC Television. In addition, CBS Radio is using "ReadMore About It" messages. The slogan "A Nation of Readers," whichwas used on a U.S. postage stamp with an etching from the Library'scollections, was also adopted by the American Library Association asthe theme for National Library Week. State Centers for the Bookmodeled after the Library's Center were opened this year in Floridaand Illinois.

The Library's Children's Literature Center reaches out not onlythrough such programs as the symposium on children's books of the1920s and 1930s and the booklists it supplies to CBS's "Storybreak"and other programs but is constantly serving children's book editors,librarians, curators, writers, and illustrators. Under the direction of thecenter, a consultant has begun surveying the rich holdings of children'sbooks and nonprint materials that are in the custody of the Rare Bookand Special Collections Division and the Arca Studies divisions ofResearch Services. During the year the center has advised users fromthe news media, government agencies, publishing houses, libraries,cultural institutions, and foreign governments, as well as individualresearchers. The center has also been host to numerous distinguishedwriters, some of whom have read from their books for audio tapes tobe placed in the Library's archives.

The Educational Liaison Office works directly with the public,conducting tours and arranging appointments with Library staff.Almost five thousand distinguished visitors were received during fiscal1985, including the wife of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Ambas-sadors from Chile, Egypt, the Netherlands, St. Lucia, Venezuela,Yugoslavia, Greece, India, and Ecuador, delegations from the People'sRepublic of China, and Members of the Parliaments of Argentina,Jordan, Australia, Spain, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Uruguay, the Nether-lands, Sudan, Thailand, Sierra Leone, and the Federal Republic ofGermany. The office also arranged a U.S. itinerary for a Chinese studygroup on computers led by the Deputy Director of the NationalLibrary of China. The Library's Special Events Office coordinated

2329

arrangements for many official functions and meetings, includingreceptions held in connection with the White House News Photog-raphers Association's exhibition, the "Discovering India" exhibition,and the "Evening with Jason Robards."

The Council and General Conference of the International Federa-tion of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) was held in theUnited States for the first time in eleven years, and delegates fromaround the world took the opportunity to visit the Library ofCongresson their way to the meeting in Chicago. Deputy Librarian William J.Welsh hosted national librarians for two days in his capacity as Chair-man ofthe Conference ofDirectors of National Libraries. Special toursand other events were planned for members of IFLA committees forparliamentary librarians and librarians serving the blind and physicallyhandicapped.

The Exhibits Office mounted eleven major exhibits and six smallerexhibits this fiscal year. In addition, the office worked with the Copy-right Office in setting up a permanent copyright exhibit and with theLaw Library in prcparing a display of miniature lawbooks. Ofparticularinterest were exhibitions of English caricatures from 1620 to thepresent, American art posters from 1962 through 1984, and itemsfrom the Prints and Photographs Division that had been acquired

0

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M FIS l(F..;Mary 4

24

3 0

One of the mos t popular and critically

acclaimed actresses on the Americanage in the late nineteenth and earlytwentieth centuries, Minnie MaddernFiske (1864-1932) was the su*ct ofan achibition at the Performing ArtsLibrary at the Kennedy Center inApril. Included in the exhibit, a jointprtOct of the Library of Congress andthe Kennedy Centel; was this posterfrom the Librar)q collections.

during the past five years. "Mrs. Fiske!"a show mounted at thePerforming Arts Librarydrew on materials from the theater collec-tions to tell the story of American actress Minnie Maddern Fiske. TheLibrary also circulated eight traveling exhibits to thirty-four institutions.

The Federal Library and Infomution Center Committee arrangedfor workshops, conferences, and publications in which federal librari-ans could share information and technical expertise. The Microcom-puter Demonstration Center served a steadily increasing number ofvisiting individuals and small groups who wished to discuss their plansfor the use of microcomputers in their libraries. The Federal Libraryand Information Network (FEDLINK) grew to some seven hundredagency libraries, becoming one of the top three library networks interms of membership. It is the only library network operatingnationwide.

The amount of information about the Library of Congress carriedin the press, on radio, and on television reached an all-time high thisyear. Stories about Library activities were carried by every majornational newspaper, news magazine, and television network and in theforeign media as well. The media showed particular interest in theLibrarian's Books in Our Future report, in an evening honoring Georgeand Ira Gershwin, and in the appointment of Gwendolyn Brooks asConsultant in Poetry.

7111k.

Actress Shelley Duvall visited the Main Read* Room on July 30 t o tape a series of public serviceannouncements concerning reading for her "Faerie Tale Theater" The television spots will suAgest related

book titles supplied by the ChildretA Liurature Center

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The Information Office initiated reading promotion messages byactress Shelley Duvall that will follow her popular "Faerie Tale Thea-tre" series. The messages are the first oftheir kind to be carried on cabletelevision. The office also worked with CBS Television News on"American Treasury," a series of a hundred one-minute programspresenting interesting facts from the Library's collections. In a pro-gram entitled "Reading Rainbow," Public Television will take chil-dren behind the scenes to see how the Library delivers books to readersand how the Library's preservation specialists are v rking to preventdeterioration of the collections.

In addition to the collection and storage of materials, the Librarymust create "finding aids" that will make those materials accessible topotential users. Publications arc one of the most important ways inwhich information about the collections is made available to the public.Every department of the Library carries on some type of publishingactivityfrom the highly specialized materials produced by the Proc-essing Services divisions to publications of more general interest pre-pared by custodial divisions and produced through the PublishingOffice.

A publication that drew particular attention this year was Halky'sComet: A Bibliography by Ruth Frietag. This definitive guide includes3,235 entries, encompasses several languages, and reaches as far back asthe fifteenth century Volume II of Letters of Dekgates to Congress,

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This year the Publish* Office brought out facsimiles of nineteenth-cent:0y childrenl`Yhape books,"basedon the original die-cut editions in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division. The facsimiles were apopular sales item in the Libraty gift shop.

26

1774- 1789 continued an important historical series, while WonderfulInventions: Motion Pictures, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound at theLibrary of Congress documented revolutionary discoveries in the morerecent past. Another valuable book for film scholars is Early MotionPictures: The Paper Print Collection in the Library ofCongress, by Kemp R.Niver, which describes three thousand early films that the authorrecreated from paper contact prints submitted to the Library as copy-right deposits.

In another major new work, Slavery in the Courtroom: An AnnotatedBibliography of American Cases, based on the Library's collection ofpamphlet literature on the law of slavery, Paul Finkelman analyzesmore than fifty cases, discussing ,he historical and legal significance ofeach.

Although the Library has an extensive internal program to pre-serve and publish selected collections and materials in microform,efforts are continually under way to work with commercial micro-publishers to further the Library's aims. Recent cooperative projectsincluded micropublication of city directories for eleven large U.S.cities for 1902-35, with work having begun on the filming of directo-ries of fifty-five additional cities covering the same period. A secondproject will involve the production of a microfiche publication of theRecords of the Federal Wrimrs' Prlict: Printed and Mimeograph Publica-tions, 1933-43. The Photoduplication Service published free circulars

-1, LI

Library of Co linas employees and their fismilies welcome Santa to the annual carol shy in the Gnat Hall,sponsored by the Welfare and sacreation Association.

27

33

on significant research collections available on microfilm.Materials published by the American Folk life Center included

American Folk Music and Folklore Rccordirgs 1983: A Sekctcd List. Amongthe publications sponsored by the Center for the Book were Books inAction:The Armed Services Editions and the texts of a number of lecturespresented by the center. New Technologies in Book Distribution: theUnited States Experience was published for the center by Une3co, andan abridged edition ofBooks That Made a Difference was published anddistributed by the Book-of-the-Month Club.

On April 10 Mary Trottier (Mini fivm left), winner of the 1985 "Books Make a Difference essay contestsponsored by the Xerox Education Corporatism, toured the Library of Congress. Here Miss Thottier, aneighth-grade student fivm Kennebunk, Maine, ahoy with her finally and Scott Irwram (ftsr left), associateeditor of Xerox* READ mrtwazine, meet with Librarian of °ogress Daniel J. Boorotin.

28 34

THAT MADE THEDIFFERENCEWHAT PEOPLE TOLD US

Gordon and Ritricia Sabine

It'ith a Foreword byDANIEL J. BOORSTIN

..... .

mutkilvtit44.1.44.tvi°

ii:111714141.4474.1."

Books That Made the Difference, the Book-of-the-Month Club edition of the repom by Gordon andPatricia Sabine, included more than 200 readers' anSWers to the quark= 'What book made thegreatestdifference in your lift?" and "What difference did it maks?"

35 29