The Federal Role in Developing Libraries in the United States: Opportunities for Collaboration
Second China U.S. Conference on Libraries
Queens, NY
August 12, 2001
Robert S. Martin, Ph.D.
Institute of Museum and Library Services
I am very pleased and deeply honored to represent the United States at the opening of this important Conference today. The People's Republic of China and the United States of America are among the largest and most dynamic nations on the face of the earth. Although we have very different languages, cultures, traditions and histories, there is much that we can learn from each other. I hope that this Second China/U.S. Conference on Libraries can continue the spirited dialog that began in 1996 in Beijing, and can lead to ever more fruitful collaborations between the librarians in our two nations.
I took on the responsibilities of the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services only three weeks ago, so I am very new in this role. The Institute, in its current conformation, dates only to 1996, so the agency itself is also a relative newcomer to the scene. I hope that this audience will take into account my lack of experience at the national level, and understand that most of my remarks express my own personal opinion. They should not be construed as statements representing the policy of the national government.
I would like to thank my colleagues at the Library of Congress for inviting me to participate today. Also I would like to take a moment to draw a distinction between the work of the Library of Congress and the work of my agency the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The Library of Congress holds vast collections and provides unparalleled library services. While it often functions as a de facto national library, its primary mission is to serve the United Stated Congress. Its mission does not extend to working directly with local library agencies in developing their services to their publics. The primary purpose of my agency is to foster the development of, and collaboration among, the Nation's 122,000 libraries and 15,000 museums. We do this by providing funding for state and local libraries through the state library agencies, as well as by funding leadership projects through grants, by fostering the development and dissemination of best practices, and by convening conferences to explore new ideas and publishing their proceedings.
In my remarks that follow, I will try to give a brief historical overview of the role of the federal government in library development in the United States, briefly outline the current federal programs for supporting library services, and then describe what I see as the future directions for these programs. I will conclude with some rumination about possible avenues for collaboration between the United States and China.
Brief Historical Overview
Although in terms of funding the federal role in library development the United States has been limited, the impact of these small allocations has been significant well beyond their size. Federal funds leverage state and local dollars, and federal programs foster development of standards and best practices and support leadership and education for the profession of librarianship. It is fair to say that without the federal programs I will describe, library development in the United States would have progressed much more slowly.
The history of direct federal involvement in libraries is relatively recent, dating from 1956 when Congress enacted the Library Services Act (LSA). The purpose of this initial legislation was to bring public library services to rural areas and to stimulate use of state and local funds for library improvement. The program was housed at the Department of Health, Education and Welfare under the Commissioner of Education, reflecting a firm understanding of the educational function of the public library.
What prompted this innovative intrusion of the federal government in what had heretofore been viewed as a local issue? In the language of the Senate debates, it was the recognition that, "In our complex society, democracy must, if it is to survive, have educated citizens who are aware of the issues facing their country and the world and understand those issues. Public library facilities are fundamental in providing our citizens with a means of continuing their education after they have left school, and… serve as a basic instrument or forum for developing intelligent understanding on national issues." This is the simple principle that underlies all federal support for libraries in the U.S.-that for a democratic society to survive and thrive, citizens must be educated and informed. Over the past four decades the federal role has evolved to meet the changing needs of the public we serve.
For example, in 1964, Congress amended the Library Services Act and renamed it the Library Services and Construction Act This Act expanded the Federal library program by providing special grants to urban and rural areas that did not have libraries or did not have adequate library service. It also provided Federal grants for construction of library buildings. Congress passed the legislation to respond to the fact that of the 178 million people living in the United States, 18 million people were still without public library service and 110 million only had limited access to libraries. In signing the Library Services and Construction Act, President Lyndon B. Johnson said: "The central fact of our times is this: Books and ideas are the most effective weapons against intolerance and ignorance."
In subsequent years the Act was often amended and its scope expanded. In 1966, the Act was expanded to include interlibrary cooperation and library service to the handicapped and the institutionalized. In 1977, additional emphasis on strengthening major urban resource libraries was added. In 1984, the law was changed again to provide library services for Indian Tribes, to enhance the acquisition of foreign language materials, and to develop library literacy programs. Finally, in 1990, language was added to enhance library technology, literacy and child-centered activities, preservation, and the evaluation of programs.
However, the Library Services Act and the Library Services and Construction Act, have not been the only vehicles through which Congress has funded America's libraries. From the mid 1960's through the early 1990's, Congress also provided funds to school, college and university libraries in the United States through a variety of Department of Education programs under the Higher Education Act and/or the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
The Higher Education Act, enacted in 1965, provided funds for college library resources and, as later amended in 1992, assisted college and university libraries in acquiring technical equipment and conducting research in information technologies. The act also provided funds to colleges and universities for library education programs, especially student financial assistance and authorized funding of college and research libraries. From 1987 through 1983, Congress provided funding to promote "college library technology and cooperation."
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, enacted in 1965, also provided grant funding to libraries. From 1966 to 1975,Title II provided funding for school library resources.
In 1996 Congress repealed the Library Services and Construction Act altogether, along with several titles in the Higher Education Act and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and replaced them with the Library Services and Technology Act, part of the Museum and Library Services Act of 1996. The new law consolidated many library programs and moved them from the U.S. Department of Education to another federal agency, the Institute of Museum Services, to form a new agency, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). In this new structure the Congress recognized the "great potential in an Institute that is focused on the combined roles that libraries and museums play in our community life." It is my job to implement this new legislation and to use this national platform to speak about the role of libraries and museums in our society.
The Library Services and Technology Act streamlined and consolidated federal library programs. The law outlines two broad priorities for this funding. The first is for activities using technology for information sharing among libraries and between libraries and other community services. The second is for programs that make library resources more accessible to urban, rural, or low-income residents, and others who have difficulty using library services. Many of the elements that were highlighted in previous library legislation over the years are reflected in the new law.
The new law supports all types of libraries including public, college and university libraries, research, school libraries and archives. It supports urban as well as rural libraries and enhances Native American Library Service. It upholds the principle of local control by strengthening the states role in library service decision making. And it supports leadership activities in research, education and training, preservation, digitization and encourages interlibrary cooperation and partnerships between libraries and museums and other organizations.
Current Programs
Future Directions
The principal focus of our attention today is to articulate the primarily educational mission of museums and libraries, and to express our vision of the important role that these agencies play in developing a new learning society for the twenty-first century. A primary thrust of our current programs stresses development of digital resources and linkages among and between libraries and museums. Another issue of utmost importance is to assist museums and libraries in evaluating their programs and assuring that we are accountable to the public we serve. Service to the public is at the heart of public funding and it is also at the heart of library service.
It is my firm belief, supported by historical analysis, that libraries in the United States have always had a tripartite function in society. Libraries of all types have focused their collections and services for addressing the educational, informational, and recreational needs of the public that they seek to serve. From the beginning of the modern library movement in the United States, in the middle of the nineteenth century, library leaders articulated a vision of libraries as primarily educational institutions, "the people's university." George Ticknor certainly held to this vision when he advocated the enactment of the Massachusetts library legislation in 1850. Melville Dewey strongly articulated the educational role of the library in the very first issue of the Library Journal in 1876. Generations of American librarians firmly held to the education mission of the library and saw it as a means of social amelioration as well as democratization.
All that changed rather perceptibly in the post-World War II era. The elevation of science in the public's view, particularly after Sputnik, led to a massive shift in our perception of the library's most important role. Library professionals became energized by the idea of the library as an "information place", and the development of "information science" displaced library science as the model for professional attainment. While continuing to provide services informed by the educational role, we somehow decided that if we spoke more softly about our educational mission and more loudly about our role as information scientists public support would grow and professional status would be enhanced.
I firmly believe that we have gone far enough in this direction and a reintegration of our educational role must emerge. I encourage my colleagues to re-institute a profound respect for the educational function of libraries. The importance of the science of information must never distract us from our core educational mission. For libraries, information science exists not as master but as method… a tool to be used to acquire and organize knowledge for use. Our most important role is in supporting and enhancing the transfer of knowledge. There are many agencies and many professions that can make a valid claim to at least a segment of the information domain-Libraries and librarians have no claim of exclusivity there. But while the role of the library in support of lifelong learning and the self-directed learner is shared with other social agencies and professions, few can claim that mission as fundamentally, as deeply, as essentially, as libraries can.
In recognition of this, the IMLS will be a constant leader in articulating this vision to Congress, to our various publics, and to the museum and library professions.
This fall, on November 7-9, IMLS will host a groundbreaking conference on the Twenty-First Century Learner. Its purpose is to address the need for bold new models of integrated action among formal and informal educational institutions in meeting the demands and interests of 21st Century learners. The conference will focus on the particular potential for museums and libraries to inspire such action in their communities. At the heart of this discussion is a central thesis: The learning age requires a daring new vision. The responsibility for learning is not the exclusive preserve of formal educational institutions and training centers. It is a community-wide responsibility. Lifelong learning should be a continuum - with formal and non-formal learning opportunities complementing one another.
As this project has developed within the Institute of Museum and Library Services, it has been based on this central vision and built on a ladder of premises that directly affect our work with museums and libraries. They are:
I invite you all to join us in Washington in November for what is certain to be a stimulating and challenging discussion.
Opportunities for Collaboration
It appears to me that the richest potential for such collaboration in the future will be in the arena of digital resource sharing. Information and knowledge no longer recognize geographic boundaries-with the explosive growth of digital libraries, we need to establish global partnerships to bring the world's information resources within the reach of all information seekers. Nor must digital information resources be bound by the type of institution in which it resides-we need to recognize and understand the differences in descriptive practices among libraries, museums and archives, and we need to find ways to accommodate those differences while overcoming the challenges they pose to interoperability and seamless access to information resources wherever they reside.
We have not always enjoyed the high level of interaction between our two countries that prevails today, but there is no doubt that we have each had an important influence on the other. Libraries, museums and archives in both China and the U.S. have a wealth of materials that document the history and cultures not only of our own nations, but of each other's as well. One example that comes to mind is the extensive materials in U.S. repositories documenting the experience of Chinese immigrants to this country. On the other hand, I believe that in China there are similarly rich resources documenting the activities of American missionaries in China in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The materials, collections and resources that document the rich interchange between us could be easily shared by the development of digital surrogate collections.
Later in this conference we will have the opportunity to examine at first hand the important developments at the Library of Congress in this area. These initiatives can serve as models for future collaborations. Some of the projects funded by the IMLS also demonstrate the rich potential for such trans-border collaborations.
Conclusion
For further information on the Second China US Conference on Libraries, please visit their website:
http://www.worldlinq.org/us_china_conf2001/
About IMLS | IMLS News | Apply for Grants and Awards
HOME | CONTACT IMLS | SEARCH | SUBSCRIBE | SITE MAP Questions, comments, or problems? Contact IMLS via email imlsinfo@imls.gov or call (202) 606-8536.
In the United States, the role of the federal government is limited by the Constitution. The framers of the Constitution explicitly reserved for the states all of the powers and responsibilities not specifically vested in the federal government. Consequently, the federal role in support of libraries historically has not been great. In the United States, the vast majority of all funding for libraries-school, public and academic libraries-is local. For public libraries, typically eighty percent of the funding for library services comes from local sources, fifteen percent comes from states sources, and only five percent comes from federal sources. For school and academic libraries the federal role is even smaller.
The IMLS library program provides funding to all types of libraries to improve access to information through technology, to ensure equity of access and to help bring resources to underserved audiences. In the current year total funding for library programs is $207,469,000. The majority of those funds ($149 million in 2001) are dispatched directly to the state library agency in each state. The amount of the grant is calculated based on the number of people living in the state.
Museums and libraries meet real community needs, offering everything from economic development incentives to community meeting spaces and from literacy efforts to after-school programs. They are havens for community engagement for children, families and adults, for scholarly research, for recreation, and for quiet contemplation. Increasingly, people are searching for high-quality educational content online, and IMLS supports the development of tools and resources to provide seamless access to the digital holdings of collecting institutions regardless of type or physical location.
As we usher in the 21st century, libraries (and museums) are responding to the rapid changes brought about by new technologies, growing population diversity, and new educational initiatives. In short, the needs and expectations of the American public are different than they were even five years ago. This change requires investment. As a responsive, flexible federal agency IMLS is uniquely positioned to help museums and libraries to serve the public. Using IMLS support libraries and museums can:
In looking beyond the boundaries of our own nation and out into an increasingly global society, it seems to me that collaboration among libraries around the world is not only desirable, it is essential. We have many opportunities at hand for sharing and aggregating our resources and developing synergies that truly will make the whole greater than the mere sum of the parts.
Libraries and museums cultivate minds, and therefore are indispensable elements in a comprehensive system of public education. The primary mission of libraries and museums is to support education in the broadest sense. Collaboration between China and the U. S. can foster the development of significantly enhanced resources to support learning and enhance knowledge. Based on that foundation, we can look for increased understanding and cooperation in other spheres of activity.
Publications, Conferences & Resources | A Closer Look
ADOBE ACROBAT READER
