ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries June 1991 / 377 W a s h i n g t o n H o t l i n e Carol C. Henderson Deputy Director, ALA Washington Office (202) 547-4440 (A LA 0025) HEA. With a full hearing room o f Library Legislative Day participants in attendance, the House Postsecondary Education Subcommittee held a hearing on April 16 on reauthorization of Higher Education Act Title II library programs. Witnesses were: ALA President Richard M. Dougherty o f the University of Michigan School o f Information and Library Studies; Legislation Committee Chair E. J. Josey of the University o f Pittsburgh School o f Library and Information Science; A C RL Government Relations Committee Chair Hiram Davis, Michigan State University Director o f Libraries; Legislation Assembly Chair Elaine Albright (also LITA Legislation and Regulation Committee Chair), University o f Maine Library Director; and Martha Bowman, Director o f Libraries, University o f Missouri-Columbia. E. J. Josey also represented the Association for Library and Information Science Education, and Hiram Davis also represented the Association of Research Libraries. Richard Dougherty provided an overall view o f HEA Title II, and concentrated on research needs and the continuing need for the II-B research program. E. J. Josey documented the shortages o f minority and other librarians, plus the crisis in the dwindling supply of graduate library school faculty as reasons to continue II-B fellowship assistance. Hiram Davis discussed an A RL study which assessed the effects o f the II-C program to strengthen major research libraries, and recommended reauthorization with future grants prompting use of and experimentation in electronic technologies to promote enhanced access to research resources. Elaine Albright discussed the II-D technology and cooperation grants, a recent and popular program for which the need will be even greater as the National Research and Education Network is implemented. She also told how II-D funds helped make university library resources available to students o f the Community College o f Maine, a recently developed “campusless” system supporting distance learning at locations throughout the state. Martha Bowman outlined the benefits to Missouri of all parts of the HEA title II programs, testimony o f particular interest to ranking minority subcommittee member Tom Coleman (R-MO). A couple o f themes emerged from the question and answer session. One was the concern across all the witnesses for the next generation o f professionals in light o f the growing shortage o f librarians and library faculty members. The other was the implications o f the NREN for libraries and education. Witnesses emphasized that libraries should be part of the NREN and that HEA II should help provide resources to make that possible. Subcommittee members complimented witnesses on an excellent hearing. Chairman B ill Ford (D-MI) said the fact that there was very little repetition showed the witnesses did their homework, and that the large audience showed strong interest. The prepared statements, he concluded, were more than ample to defend reauthorization o f these programs for the next decade. (continued on page 379) June 1 9 9 1 / 3 79 ture is the foundation upon which the new growth industries can be built.” Issues B riefin gB ook was writtenin April 1991 by ten Topics Committees brought together in Wash­ ington, D.C., for the express purpose of defining and explaining ten topics that have been most often named during the pre-WHCLIS activities. The topics are: access, networking, technologies, per­ sonnel, national information policies, preservation, training of end users, marketing, services/pro­ grams, and governance. Topics Committee members consolidated 1,100 recommendations received from state and terri­ tory pre-WCHLIS events into 150 suggested solu­ tions. The recommendations are preserved and indexed by their originating state or territory. Is­ sues Briefing B ook will be published in early June and will be distributed to delegates before the White House Conference. Copies of Discussion Papers and Issues Briefing B ook may be requested from the office of the White House Conference on Library and Informa­ tion Services, 1991, 1111 8th Street, N.W., Suite 302, Washington DC 20036, Telephone (202) 254- 5100. ■ ■ (Washington Hotline con’tfrom page 377) On April 8, ALA and A R L jointly submitted specific legislative amendments and rationale to the House subcommittee as requested by its chair and ranking minority member. Recommen­ dations were based on the work of the A CRL Government Relations Committee. The American Council on Education and 11 other higher education associations endorsed the ALA/ARL recommendations for HEA II. The recommendations proposed: reauthorization o f HEA Title π with a new name, “Academic Libraries in an Electronic Networked Environment,” to reflect the changing roles of libraries and librarians in response to new ways o f providing information; deletion o f the current II-A grants for college library resources (unfunded since F Y 1983) and replacement with an updated II-D technology assistance program; and continuation with minor amendments o f the II- B program o f research and education and the II-C grants to major research libraries.