I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4736
To establish in the Treasury of the United States the Library of Congress
Revolving Fund, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 13, 1994
Mr. ROSE (by request) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly
to the Committees on House Administration and the Judiciary
A BILL
To establish in the Treasury of the United States the Library
of Congress Revolving Fund, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Library of Congress
Financial Reform Act of 1994’’.
TITLE I—LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
REVOLVING FUND
SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this title:
(1) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Li-
brary of Congress Revolving Fund.
(2) 
LIBRARY
OF
CONGRESS
REVOLVING
FUND.—The term ‘‘Library of Congress Revolving
Fund’’ means that fiscal resource established in the
United States Treasury to enable the Library of
Congress to conduct a cycle of operations in which
expenditures generate income, which is then credited
directly to that resource.
(3) FUND
SERVICE
ACTIVITIES.—The term
‘‘Fund service activities’’ means the library informa-
tion products and services authorized by section 102.
(4) FUND SERVICE UNITS.—The term ‘‘Fund
service units’’ means those organizational entities
that, at the direction of the Librarian of Congress,
are partially or fully sustained through the collection
of fees credited to the Fund.
SEC. 102. FUND SERVICE ACTIVITIES AUTHORIZED.
The Fund service activities that are authorized by
this Act and that may be conducted by Fund service units
are limited to the following:
(1) Research reports, translations, and analyt-
ical studies, where such materials are prepared for
Federal agencies.
(2) Centralized acquisition of publications, in-
formation services, and library materials, and train-
ing in library and information services, for Federal
agencies.
(3) Decimal classification development.
(4) Gift shop activities involving sale of items
associated with Library collections, exhibits, per-
formances, or special events.
(5) Document location, copying and delivery
services, and international interlibrary lending.
(6) Centralized acquisition activities for librar-
ies participating in the Library of Congress overseas
programs.
(7) Special events and programs, such as per-
formances, exhibits, workshops, and meetings.
SEC. 103. OPERATION OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS RE-
VOLVING FUND.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the
Treasury of the United States the Library of Con-
gress Revolving Fund. The Fund shall be available
to the Librarian, without fiscal year limitation, for
use as a revolving fund to carry out Fund service ac-
tivities.
(2) RESTRICTION.—Obligations for Fund serv-
ice activities are limited to the total amounts speci-
fied in the appropriation Act for any fiscal year.
(b) FUND CAPITAL.—The capital of the Fund shall
consist of the aggregate of—
(1) appropriations made to provide capital for
the Fund which appropriations are authorized under
this Act; and
(2) the difference between—
(A) the sum of the fair and reasonable
value of such supplies, equipment, and other as-
sets as the Library from time to time transfers
to the Fund, including the amount of the unex-
pended balances of gift funds relating to activi-
ties the financing of which is transferred to the
Fund, and
(B) the sum of the amounts of related li-
abilities and unpaid obligations, and the value
of accrued annual leave of employees, which
amounts and value are attributable to those ac-
tivities whose financing is transferred to the
Fund.
(c) CREDITING TO THE FUND.—The Fund shall be
credited with—
(1) all fees, advances, and reimbursements re-
ceived from any source for products and services fur-
nished or to be furnished by the Fund service units
as authorized Fund service activities under this Act,
including transfers of monies received during the
year by Fund service units for services and products
furnished under Economy Act agreements;
(2) receipts from sales or exchanges of prop-
erty, and payments for loss or damage to property,
accounted for under the Fund;
(3) all receivables, inventories, and other assets
associated with Fund service activities;
(4) any sums appropriated by law for the con-
duct of Fund service activities; and
(5) any sums accruing from interest paid on
Fund investments.
(d) AUTHORITY TO SET AND CHARGE FEES.—With
respect to the Fund service activities authorized by section
102, the Librarian of Congress is authorized to set fees
to recover the production and distribution costs of library
products and services provided by each Fund service unit,
to charge those fees to the institutions and individuals
purchasing the products and services, and to furnish said
products and services. The activities of each individual
Fund service unit shall, to the maximum extent feasible,
be conducted on an actual cost basis over a reasonable
period of time.
(e) AVAILABILITY OF FUND.—The Fund shall be
available to the Librarian of Congress for the payment of
all costs of conducting Fund service activities, including
the payment of any financial obligations related to these
activities that were undertaken by the Librarian before the
establishment of the Fund and that were later transferred
to the Fund by law or in conjunction with any reorganiza-
tion authorized by law.
(f) RESPONSIBILITIES OF FUND SERVICE UNITS.—
The nonappropriated capital of the Fund shall be ac-
counted for by Fund service units. Any unobligated and
unexpended balances of these Fund service unit accounts
shall be available to provide reserve accounts and to sup-
port research and development activities of that Fund
service unit. Fund service unit accounts shall not be com-
mingled with other Fund service unit accounts.
(g) INTEREST ON APPROPRIATED CAPITAL.—An an-
nual interest charge shall be paid by the Fund to the gen-
eral fund of the Treasury for appropriations made to pro-
vide capital for Fund service units that predominantly sell
library products and services to non-Federal customers.
The interest rate used to calculate an annual interest
charge shall be determined by the Secretary of the Treas-
ury taking into consideration average market yields on
outstanding marketable obligations of the United States
with approximately one year remaining to maturity during
the month preceding each fiscal year.
(h) INVESTMENT OF FUNDS.—Upon the request of
the Librarian of Congress, the Secretary of the Treasury
shall invest such portion of the Fund, except for amounts
appropriated to the Fund, as is not in the judgment of
the Librarian of Congress required to meet current with-
drawals. Such investments shall be in public debt securi-
ties with maturities suitable to the needs of the Fund, as
determined by the Librarian of Congress, and bearing in-
terest at rates determined by the Secretary of the Treas-
ury, taking into consideration current market yields on
outstanding marketable obligations of the United States
of comparable maturity. The income on such investments
shall be credited to and form a part of the Fund.
(i) MISTAKEN PAYMENT OR OVERPAYMENT FROM
FUND.—The Librarian of Congress shall make provisions
for the refund from the Fund of any fees paid by mistake
or overpayment.
(j) EXCESS FUNDS.—Any unobligated and unex-
pended balances of the Fund that the Librarian deter-
mines to be in excess of amounts needed for activities fi-
nanced by the Fund shall be deposited in the Treasury
of the United States as miscellaneous receipts.
(k) AUDITS.—The General Accounting Office shall
audit the financial activities of the Fund pursuant to the
regulations of the Comptroller General and shall furnish
reports of such audits to the Congress and to the Librar-
ian.
TITLE II—CATALOGING
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
SEC. 201. DEFINITION.
For the purposes of this title, the term ‘‘cataloging
products and services’’ means those information products
and services, in any format now known or later developed,
that are used by libraries and library organizations, in-
cluding bibliographic products and services, other Library-
created data bases, and related technical publications.
SEC. 202. FURNISHING CATALOGING PRODUCTS AND SERV-
ICES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Librarian of Congress is au-
thorized to furnish cataloging products and services to in-
stitutions or individuals for purchase.
(b) CHARGING
FOR CATALOGING PRODUCTS
AND
SERVICES.—The Librarian of Congress may charge a
price for products and services referred to in subsection
(a) that is limited to the distribution costs of the products
and services. All monies received through the distribution
of cataloging products and services shall be deposited in
the Treasury and shall be credited to the Library of Con-
gress salaries and expenses appropriation to remain avail-
able until expended for necessary distribution of such
products and services of the Library.
TITLE III—RETENTION OF PRO-
CEEDS BY LIBRARY OF CON-
GRESS
SEC. 301. SALE OF EXCESS MATERIALS.
(a) SALES AUTHORIZED.—Except as provided by
subsections (b) and (c), personal property, including
books, periodicals, phonorecords, and other material, that
the Librarian of Congress determines to be excess to the
collections of the Library of Congress or the exchange and
donation programs of the Library may be sold by the Li-
brarian pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Ad-
ministrator of General Services for the disposal of per-
sonal property by sale.
(b) COPYRIGHT DEPOSITS.—
(1) SALES NOT AUTHORIZED.—The Librarian
shall not be authorized to sell copies, phonorecords,
or identifying material deposited in the Copyright
Office under title 17, United States Code, in cases
where—
(A) the work was unpublished at the time
of deposit;
(B) the work is subject to a request for re-
tention under section 704(e) of title 17, United
States Code;
(C) the articles deposited are still under
the control of the Copyright Office, and the
joint decision as to their disposition required by
section 704(d) of title 17, United States Code,
has not been taken by the Librarian of Con-
gress and the Register of Copyrights;
(D) the articles deposited under section
407 of title 17, United States Code, in response
to a demand specifically identifying the work in
question; or
(E) the Library and the depositor of the
articles deposited under title 17, United States
Code, have entered into a written agreement
that addresses disposition of said articles, and
the sale would not be authorized under such
agreement.
(2) SALES AUTHORIZED IN CERTAIN CASES.—
Subject to the provisions of subsection (a) and of
paragraph (1), the Librarian shall be authorized to
sell copies, phonorecords, or identifying material de-
posited in the Copyright Office under title 17,
United States Code, where—
(A) the articles are sold exclusively as
scrap for purposes of recycling, under an agree-
ment with the purchaser that they will not be
resold or used for any other purpose; or
(B) the Library of Congress has owned the
articles for at least 5 years, or there is no rea-
sonable likelihood that their later resale or com-
mercial use by the purchaser or the purchaser’s
successors in title would materially impair the
market value of the work.
(3) 
SALES
AUTHORIZED; 
EXPIRED
COPY-
RIGHTS.—Notwithstanding the provisions of para-
graphs (1) and (2), the Librarian shall be authorized
to sell any articles deposited under title 17, United
States Code, when the term of copyright in the work
has expired.
(c) OTHER SALES NOT AUTHORIZED.—The Librar-
ian shall not be authorized to sell—
(1) materials received by the Library under a
written deed of gift, a license, or other contractual
agreement signed by the Library, where the agree-
ment expressly precludes the transfer of ownership
or possession by the Library of such material, or the
proposed sale is not authorized by the terms of the
agreement;
(2) audio books, braille books, and sound pro-
duction equipment distributed by the National Li-
brary Service for the Blind and Physically Handi-
capped; or
(3) products of the Congressional Research
Service, unless approved by Congress.
SEC. 302. ACCEPTANCE OF PAYMENTS OR RESTITUTION.
The Librarian is authorized to accept all sums ten-
dered as payment or restitution for lost, stolen, damaged,
or destroyed books, periodicals, newspapers, phonorecords,
or other materials from the Library’s collection if such
sums are—
(1) ordered by any judicial or administrative
authority to be paid to the Library; or
(2) received from a borrower or other Library
user.
SEC. 303. RETENTION OF PROCEEDS OF SALES, PAYMENTS,
OR RESTITUTION.
(a) ACCOUNT ESTABLISHED.—There is established in
the Treasury of the United States an account consisting
of the proceeds of any sale described in section 301 or
of any payment or restitution described in section 302.