C:Onference on libraries and information science is planned for 1976 or 1977, but waiting appropriation (rom Congress. The Library of Congress was recentlr.. awa~~ed a $52,000 grant to pinpoint the role of the Library of Congress in the National Commission on Libraries and Information Sciences proposal for a National Library Network. Another grant will be administered through the NCLIS to update the ALA's "National Inventory of Library Needs." The federal money that goes directly to the state library systems comes from the Library Services and Construction Act, which was passed for FY 1976 at the 1975 level, $49,155,000 (Title I money, for library services, not new construction); and $2,594,000 for inter-library cooperationthis in spite of advice by President Ford to do away with library cooperation funds and cut the $49 million to $10 million. The state library systems, as administrators of LSCA money for local libraries, must submit a long-term plan each year in order to receive money. How the money is dispersed on the local level depends a lot on the state of local financing. Oregon's state money has always been miniscule, so, unlike our neighbor Washington, very little money has been appropriated to library networking. The money is being spent to help maintain existing services, providing book access for the blind and handicapped, and administering the state library (through which people living in areas without libraries can borrow materials). Washington, on the other hand, has a library network figured to be one of the most advanced in the country. Individual libraries are hooked together into regional consortiums, which then are being related to a common bibliographic base, which will eventually allow anyone anywhere to be plugged into state-wide library resources, which will include academic as well as public library resources. One of the larger undertakings in the Western States along the lines of the Washington State Library Network is being coordinated by WICHE (Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education) under two grants: from Council on Library Resources ($79,325) and U.S. Office of Education Research and Development ($65,135). Ms. Maryann Duggan, with WICHE, explained to a gathering at the Oregon State Library recently how the planned library network would be similar to the Pacific Northwest Bibliographic Center in Seattle, the Bibliographic Center for Research in Denver, and the California State Library in Sacramento, which together include the holdings of 1,150 libraries and 2,515,000 title entries. She also spoke of two very advanced, very complete machine-readable bibliographic data base programs now available at the Washington Library Network in Olympia and with California Ballots in Palo Alto. These programs have online access and permit search by title, author, subject and call number. It is the intent of the network planning task force that these two computer and three bibliographic systems be utilized to build the Western Interstate Bibliographic Network, thus making it possible for librarians anywhere in the region to participate. If we ask something without knowing what the possible answers are, then we have not really posed a question; we have instead requested help in formulating a question. How to Keep Track of Them Things Bowker, a Xerox company (1180 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036), is the McDonalds of the book world (my mind gives up its metaphor searches after three minutes). They publish the Library Journal, Publishers Journal, Books in Print, Literary Marketplace, School Library Journal, Previews (audio-visual publishers' weekly), and many directories. The Bowker Annual of Library and Book Trade Information gives Nov 1975 RAIN Page 7 what seems like the most complete summary of the library of Babel, though of course not complete. Things like the Annual Review ofInformation Science and Technology, and innumerable other annuals, periodicals, proceedings, published by groups such as ALA Information Science and Automation Division (50 East Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611), Special Libraries Association (235 Park Avenue S., New York, NY 10003), Council of National Library Associations, Bibliographical Society of America (P.O. Box 397, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10017), The American Society of Indexers ... HCL Bulletin • Hennepin County Library 7001 York Ave. S. Edina, MI 55435 The way We index things, as Don Juan points out, circumscribes, perhaps even literally makes, the world we live in. The HCL Bulletin attempts to analyze the way we catalog books in order to locate prejudices, mind sets, misdemeanors, etc. Book/egger Booklegger Press 5.55 29th St. San Francisco, CA 94131 $8/yr. A continuation of the style started by Synergy (published by the Bay Area Reference Center). Access/review, touching and going publication. Celeste West and Elizabeth Katz, who worked with Book/egger several years ago, published Revolting Librarians, an eclectic collection of essays on libraries struggling to change their images, and librariesfrom archives to information centers. Book/egger makes a good supplement to RAIN. Young Adult Alternative Newsletter 37167 Mission Boulevard Fremont, CA 94536 $3/yr. Reviews of books, etc. for "children's" librarians. Tall Windows Topeka Public Library 1515 W. 10th Topeka, KS 66604 $5/yr. A literary magazine for librarians. continued on page 8
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz