NATIONAL COMMISSION ON LIBRARIES AND STATEMENT OF CHARLES BENTON, CHAIRMAN ACCOMPANIED BY: BESSIE B. MOORE, VICE CHAIRMAN TONI CARBO BEARMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DOUGLAS S. PRICE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR MARY ALICE HEDGE RESZETAR, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR SUBCOMMITTEE PROCEDURE Senator RUDMAN. The subcommittee will now be in order. We will now hear from Mr. Charles Benton, Chairman of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. We would appreciate it very much if you would provide us with a capsule summary, if you would like, and also, if you would care to introduce those who are with you today. Senator PERCY. Mr. Chairman, would it be possible for me to introduce Mr. Benton to you? Senator RUDMAN. I think that would be fine. INTRODUCTION OF THE CHAIRMAN Senator PERCY. And I regret I will not be able to stay because of my departure for Germany. Mr. Chairman, I am really very honored and privileged to have an opportunity to introduce Charles Benton. His father and I have worked together probably for 35 years. He was former Senator Benton, founder of Benton and Bowles, a distinguished American whom we all loved and respected very much indeed. Mr. Benton is a private industrialist. He was in the same business that I was in. I made projectors and he distributes the films. He is chairman of the board and essential owner of Public Media, Inc., one of the largest 16-millimeter distributors in the world. They distribute many fine products throughout the world. He is doing this voluntary work as the Chairman of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, appointed in 1978 and reappointed in 1980. He probably looks to this as one of the most powerful but one of the smallest, a small, but powerful, permanent agency in the executive branch of the Government. It has a total staff of nine. It is lean and hard, and yet it services the libraries across the country. Severe budget cuts are being made even in this area, which again I think is an example of where we can be pennywise and pound foolish. The amount of good that they have done is immense. Every single town in America which has a public library feels the impact of their work. They have a totally dedicated staff and an outstanding board, an executive director who has a very outstanding record of leadership and accomplishment. So I take great pleasure in introducing Charles Benton to you, not only as a lifelong friend, but as a friend who greatly admires his contribution and that of his entire family, including his wife, who is the U.S. representative to UNICEF, serving the children of the world. So whether it's the young people or the old people who develop their minds, it's very much the responsibility of the entire family. And I might say, as the 32-year trustee of the University of Chicago, the Rockefellers, the last witness who appeared just before us, is from that family, gave $92 million to the University of Chicago. They were always looked to as the founders. But the Benton family made a gift to the university of the income of Encyclopedia Britannica. That gift alone has now exceeded the entire Rockefeller gift. It has enabled one of the great universities in this country to maintain itself in its traditionally high standards. So it is with that background that I express appreciation for his serving in the capacity of Chairman of NCLIS and the contribution that he and his staff make. Thank you. Senator RUDMAN. Senator Percy, thank you very much for introducing the witness. We appreciate your being with the panel this morning. INTRODUCTION OF THE VICE CHAIRMAN And I would now ask Senator Bumpers of Arkansas to introduce another witness. Senator BUMPERS. Mr. Chairman, the woman in the plum-colored coat is probably the most worthy adversary I ever ran into when I was Governor. As a matter of fact, one of my first commitments to the State was to reorganize State government. And so as part of that reor ganization effort I was going to put the Arkansas Library Commission into the Department of Education, and Dr. Moore didn't want me to do that. And I don't know to this day how I ever won her over because she was about to torpedo the whole reorganization effort, and she had more clout than I did as Governor. She has been on the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science now through four Presidents. She has served nine Arkansas Governors on the Arkansas Library Commission. She feels, as you and I and Senator Percy feel, that libraries are the bulwark along with education between what would otherwise be a tyrannical government and an enlightened people. I forget who it was who said you can tell more about a civilization by how many libraries they have than anything else. And Dr. Bessie Moore is a firm believer in that. She has dedicated her entire life to libraries and making education and reading available to everybody. She is a brilliant woman. She commands as much respect in Arkansas, and maybe more, than any other person down there. The reason I say that is so you'll pay close attention when she's talking. [Laughter.] And if you don't, she will probably tell you to. And the fact that the President is trying to eliminate this entire program-I forget what the amount is, it's an insignificant amount—it's peanuts, really, in a sense-but I could have told President Reagan that he ought not to do that because Dr. Moore wouldn't like it. And, as I say, all the fights that I ever had with her are just like the fights that I have with my wife: The ones I win just aren't over. [Laughter.] So with that, you can proceed to listen to these witnesses. Senator RUDMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Bumpers. I expect that you know whereof you speak because last evening I received a call from a very dear friend who told me I'd be hearing a lot of witnesses today and there was one I ought to listen to, and that was the lady from Arkansas. So I guess she has a few thoughts. Senator BUMPERS. Indeed. PREPARED STATEMENTS Senator RUDMAN. Would you like to proceed, Mr. Benton. [The statements follow:] STATEMENT OF CHARLES BENTON My name is Charles Benton. I am the Chairman of the National Commission Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS). The Commission is a permanent independent agency established to advise the Congress and the President on research, planning, and national policies for libraries and informati science. The Commission's appropriation request for fiscal year is for $700,000, which is $2,000 less than fiscal year 1982. We had considered requesting our full authorization of $750,000, but felt that we should d our share to help trim the budget. I am very pleased to be here today to report on what I believe is the mo productive year in the history of the Commission, and to present our pla to you for fiscal year 1983. In this fiscal year alone, the Commission, through the donated services more than 6,200 hours from 61 top-level experts in the country has compl the work of three major task forces, all outgrowths, in one way or anoth of the first White House Conference on Library and Information Services. A fourth task force is drafting its final report this month. In additio we have completed a major project with the Federal Library Committee and the Library of Congress on Intergovernmental Library Cooperation. We ha also taken significant steps to bring together key officials to improve the dissemination of Federal information. We estimate that through our work plus the contributed efforts of the private sector, we have saved government and the taxpayers several times our total budget. I would 1: to take a few moments to review some of our major activities and plans with you. We are unique in the Federal Government; the only independent agency to advise both the Executive and Legislative Branches on information policy We play very significant roles for the government and for the library ar information users of this country: (1) We serve as a resident expert for all branches of the government in the library/information field. information activities comprising almost half of the Gross National Prod W |