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TESTIMONY
EMILY
SHERETOFF
ON BEHALF
AMERICAN
OF
LIBRARY
OF
ASSOCIATION
Please address communications
about this document to:
David M. Levy
Christopher Shenk
Sidley & Austin
1722 Eye Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 736-8000
[email protected]
Counsel for American
Asson’ation
May 22,200O
Library
PM ‘00
My name is Emily Sheketoff.
1
American
Library
I am the Associate Executive Director
2
of the
3
Washington
4
before Congress and the Executive Branch to fund libraries.
5
initiatives
6
public
7
and intellectual
6
work done by the Office for Information
9
office that promotes the development
(“ALA”)
important
to the library
access to government
to information
11
information
property
community,
information,
manager
and copyright
I work on
such as youth
issues.
of its
relations efforts
first amendment
literacy,
protection,
I also oversee the policy
Technology
and utilization
Policy (YOITP”), an
of electronic
access
as a means to ensure the public’s right to a free and open
society.
Before coming
to the ALA Washington
13
Coordinator
14
labor
15
strategies to communicate
16
Deputy
17
operations
16
rapid response team to answer congressional
19
and
Office. In that capacity, I direct government
10
12
Association
Office, I was the Budget
for the Secretary of the U.S. Department
agencies
on
Assistant
budget
of the Government
My previous positions
White House Liaison
21
Director
22
Personnel
23
Director
24
Administration.
25
former Connecticut
26
Committee,
and
developing
their ideas more effectively.
Secretary
20
initiatives,
in the Clinton
of the White
institutional
Prior to that, as
of Labor for OSHA, I ran the day-to-day
Enforcement
include
Agency, where I created a
inquiries.
Director
of Interagency
for the Office of Personnel
for the Office
of Labor, advising
of Priority
Placement,
Administration,
Affairs and
Management,
Deputy
Office of Presidential
and Special Assistant
House Office of Administration
In the U.S. Senate, I was a researcher
to the
in the Carter
and aide to
Senator Lowell P. Weicker on the Senate Watergate
and also served as an investigator
-l-
and aide to the Staff
1
Director
on the House Intelligence
2
intelligence
4
Channel
5
during
6
assigned
7
scheduled
6
commentaries.
9
in its Washington
of the Christian
the Gulf War.
stories
Washington
for
and covered the Pentagon
editor with World Monitor,
and 30 producers
broadcast,
as
I also worked for the Canadian
worldwide,
well
as
Broadcasting
I
and
producing
Corporation
Bureau and a booker and producer.
a Bachelor’s
Degree in American
studies
from
George
University.
13
libraries.
For more
14
promoting
library
15
defended
intellectual
16
librarians,
but
17
publishers,
vendors,
16
charitable
Library
than
Association
a century,
and information
our
freedom.
and other
is the voice
ALA
has
for America’s
provided
Most
of our
also
friends
59,000
includes
members
trustees,
of libraries.
and
are
libraries,
ALA is a 501(c)
organization.
here concerns
the rate increases
20
Postal Service in this case for library
21
Service is proposing
22
implemented
23
in turn represented
24
library
25
approximately
26
R90-1.
rate mail.
an average increase
proposed by the
In this case, the Postal
4.5 percent
over the rates
less than 18 months ago in Docket No. R97-1.
an increase of approximately
rates established
leadership
services of the highest quality,
membership
and educational
My testimony
19
As an assignment
pieces
The American
12
the U.S.
Bureau Producer for the Monitor
Science Monitor,
to 20 reporters
taped
I hold
10
investigating
community.
I also served as the Washington
3
11
Committee
in Docket
No. R94-1,
Those rates
14 percent over the
and an increase
90 percent over the library rates established
of
in Docket No.
The rate increases in Docket No. R97-1 forced the Commission
-2-
1
effectively
to merge the library
2
Standard
3
Congress for library rate mail.
(B) “book” rate, eliminating
5
volume
of mail entered
6
libraries
and publishers
7
commercial
counterpart,
at the library
by
have been devastating.
rate has plummeted,
have converted
The
as many
to the book rate, or even to
alternative
and library
programs
modes of shipping-most
cannot
notably
that
serve
convert
11
communities-have
12
represent an enormous percentage of their total budget.
13
library
14
volumes,
15
month-sending
16
cost of postage was nearly $7,000. Approximately
17
$4,000, represented postage on interlibrary
been especially
Martinsburg,
West
small
and
hit,
because
hard
Virginia,
has
While
an increase
the financial
in the library
loan and
isolated
140,000
loan transactions
a
In the last fiscal year the
60% of that cost, or
loans alone.
postal
rate will
libraries,
20
cost of shipping
21
have no choice but to cut back on the number
22
librarieemany
23
the most need of books for education
24
Mail by Book coordinator
25
Dodge City, Kansas, explained this in a recent letter to me:
harm
blow to smaller ones will be even greater.
larger
As the
increases, the larger ones will
of books sent to smaller
of which serve poor and isolated communities
and recreation.
for the Southwest
-3-
costs
For example, a
19
books to smaller libraries
rural
postage
approximately
and does an average of 300 interlibrary
and receiving loaned books.
to these
the interlibrary
books-by-mail
in
programs
that
10
16
the
carriers like UPS.
Libraries
6
its regular
the rate preference contemplated
The effects of these rate increases
4
9
rate with
that are in
Loretta Cecil, the
Kansas Library
System in
6
7
“I am responsible for mailing paperback books to rural
and homebound
readers in twelve southwest
Kansas
counties. The Mail a Book program has been a lifeline to our
sparsely populated counties since 1972. Many of these
counties have very small libraries, with short hours of daily
operation. It is an understatement
to say many of our
readers are geographically remote.
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
In recent years, the Mail-a-Book
Service has been
dropped by two of the five systems that provided service in
For
Kansas.
This is largely due to postage increases.
example: In 1990 it cost an average of 45 cents to mail one
book. In 1999, that average cost is 96 cents. This causes
the entire service to suffer terribly. Book inventory is cut to
meet the budget restrictions, and the quality of service is
reduced. I feel another postal increase would create such a
negative effect that this rural service would be lost.
17
Perhaps the most vulnerable
1
2
3
4
5
to increases in the library
18 America’s elderly, physically disabled, and other individuals
Library programs like the interlibrary
with limited
19
mobility.
20
are a lifeline
21
programs,
22
information
23
eldercare,
24
the North County Library System in Watertown,
25
me about the impact of a postal rate hike for these programs:
for housebound
including
on
large
citizens.
print
preventative
and other care-giving.
loan and “Book by Mail”
Books circulated
and
health
audio
care,
Mary Bidwell,
rate are
through
books-provide
financial
outreach
facilitator
New York, has written
“Outreach Services through the North Country Library
System (NCLS) in Watertown, New York, provides materials
28
29
to
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
physically
disabled, visually
impaired/blind,
and/or deaf/hearing impaired patrons. We
provide large print books, audio books, closed captioned &
educational videos, as well as paperback or regular print
books. Our service area includes four counties: Jefferson,
Lewis, St. Lawrence and Oswego. Many areas where our
patrons reside are rural areas; therefore, most of the
material that is sent to patrons is through the postal system.
We provide ALL postage. When material is sent to
Some patrons
patrons, we provide the return postage.
-4-
vital
management,
26
27
homebound, elderly,
these
for
to
2
3
qualify for the “Free Matter” status and there is no postage
involved. The majority of our 575 patrons do not receive
materials ‘Free Matter.’
4
5
6
7
8
9
IO
11
12
13
Our Outreach budget is stretched as far as it can go:
Salaries, clerical supplies, materials, and postage. If there is
another postal increase, the money for increased postage will
be taken from materials.
Therefore, we will be purchasing
less and less new materials for patrons to enjoy.
If the
library rate is increased dramatically,
the expense to send
materials would be so great that the materials-by-mail
program would suffer dramatically.
In fact, NCLS might not
be able to continue to absorb postage costs for returning as
well as sending materials to Outreach patrons.
14
A recent letter from Mary Hedrick of the Harrison
1
15
in Columbiana,
16
programs:
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
Alabama,
illustrates
the human
Regional Library
dimension
of these
“[Ojur homebound patrons . are the most vulnerable
of all American citizens. The few pleasures they have are so
limited that each one takes on enormous importance in their
daily lives. The Shelby County Public Libraries Books-By
Mail program serves homebound Library users. Often times
the bags of large print books or books on tape are the only
contacts the patron may have with the ‘outside’ for days.
*
24
*
*
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
One of our Books-By-Mail patrons has been receiving
materials for over 10 years. First she needed large print
books, then books-on-tape.
Now she receives talking books.
We have come to know her well and in return she depends
on us. She will call to find out if the weather is getting bad
or if we know who was injured in a local automobile
accident. She has no family living near. She looks forward
32
to the mail and her Books-By-Mail bag. Can we say to her
33
34
35
36
37
that we are sorry but postage costs increased and there will
be no more bags? Could you say that to this eighty-year-old
lady who worries if the bag is just one day late? She is doing
the best she can just to get by, how can we take away her
Books-By-Mail?
30
The Commission,
39
1, emphasized
in its recommended
that its merger of library
-5-
decision in Docket No. R97-
and book rates in that docket
1
was a temporary
solution to the Postal Service’s skyrocketing
2
cost estimates,
and “should
3
Library
4
Recommended
5
case, the Postal Service and others have proposed legislation
6
establish a permanent
7
Enactment
a
America’s libraries and their patrons if the costs attributed
9
mail-along
10
not be considered
Mail as a recognized
Decision
attributable
a proposal
mail classification.”
to abolish
R97-1 Opinion
(May 11, 1998), p. 509 7 5749.
During
and
this
that would
rate preference of five percent for library rate mail.
of the bill
as law, however,
will
with other parcel and flat-shaped
provide
little
solace to
to library rate
mail-continue
to outpace
inflation.
The Commission
11
has repeatedly put the Postal Service on notice in
12
recent rate cases about the inadequacy
13
rate mail, other small mail subclasses, and other subclasses of non-letter
14
mail.
15
to its burden
16
systems to library
17
increasing
18
guesswork.
For this reason, I urge the Commission
of demonstrating
to hold the Postal Service
that the costs attributed
rate mail will actually
mail
is “special”-different
by its costing
occur, and to reject claims of
costs that rest merely on unreliable
Library
19
of existing cost data for library
data or unsubstantiated
from
other
regular
20
because of the importance
21
books and other informational
material
to the public
which
22
serve.
An unjustified
rate hike
for library
rate mail
23
effectively
24
elderly,
25
citizens in their own country,
strip
that this nation puts on giving equal access to
postal
it of that
homebound,
mail-
“special”
disabled,
classification,
and regionally
unworthy
-6-
reducing
isolated
libraries
would
the poor,
to second class
of the same opportunities
and
1
privileges that others in our society enjoy.
2
and need not, acquiesce in this outcome.
3
4
I want to thank the Commission
testify on this very important
issue.
This Commission
should not,
for giving me the opportunity
to
CERTIFICATE
1
OF SERVICE
2
3
I hereby certify that I have this day served the foregoing document
4
on al1 participants
of record in this proceeding in accordance with section
5
12 of the Rules of Practice.
6
7
a
9
May 22,200O
-8-