An Act to provide for the establishment of an American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress, and for other purposes.
PL 94-201 (H.R.6673), enacted 01/02/1976

PUBLIC LAW 94-201—JAN. 2, 1976 
89 STAT. 1129 
Public Law 94-201 
94th Congress 
An Act 
To provide for the establishment of an American Folklife Center in the Library 
of Congress, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted hy the Senxite and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That this Act may 
be cited as the "American Folklife Preservation Act". 
DECLARATION OF FINDIXGS AND PURPOSE 
SEC. 2. (a) The Congress hereby finds and declares— 
(1) that the diversity inherent in American folklife has con-
tributed greatly to the cultural richness of the Nation and has 
fostered a sense of individuality and identity among the American 
people; 
(2) that the history of the United States effectively demon-
strates that building a strong nation does not require the sacrifice 
of cultural differences; 
(3) that American folklife has a fundamental influence on the 
desires, beliefs, values, and character of the American people; 
(4) that it is appropriate and necessary for the Federal Gov-
ernment to support research and scholarship in American folk-
life in order to contribute to an understanding of the complex 
problems of the basic desires, beliefs, and values of the American 
people in both rural and urban areas; 
(5) that the encouragement and support of American folklife, 
while primarily a matter for private and local initiative, is also 
an appropriate matter of concern to the Federal Government; 
and 
(6) that it is in the interest of the general welfare of the Nation 
to preserve, support, revitalize, and disseminate American folk-
life traditions and arts. 
(b) It is therefore the purpose of this Act to establish in the 
Library of Congress an American Folklife Center to preserve and 
present American folklife. 
DEFINITIONS 
SEC. 3. As used in this Act— 
(1) the term "American folklife" means the traditional expres-
sive culture shared within the various groups in the United 
States: familial, ethnic, occupational, religious, regional; expres-
sive culture includes a wide range of creative and symbolic forms 
such as custom, belief, technical skill, language, literature, art, 
architecture, music, play, dance, drama, ritual, pageantry, handi-
craft; these expressions are mainly learned orally, by imitation, 
or in performance, and are generally maintained without benefit 
of formal instruction or institutional direction; 
(2) the term "Board" means the Board of Trustees of the 
Center; 
(3) the term "Center" means the American Folklife Center 
established under this Act; 
Jan. 2, 1976 
[H.R. 6673] 
American 
Folklife 
Preservation Act. 
20 u s e 2101 
note. 
20 u s e 2101. 
20 u s e 2102. 
89 STAT. 1130 
PUBLIC LAW 94-201—JAN. 2, 1976 
(4) the term "group" includes any State or public agency or 
institution and any nonprofit society, institution, organization, 
association, or establishment in the United States; 
(5) the term "Librarian" means the Librarian of Congress; 
(6) the term "State" includes, in addition to the several States 
of the Union, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of 
Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands; and 
(7) the term "workshop" means an activity the primary pur-
pose of which is to encourage the development of skills, appre-
ciation, or enjoyment of American folklife among amateur, 
student, or nonprofessional participants, or to promote scholar-
ship or teaching among the participants. 
American 
Folklife Center. 
20 use 2103. 
Membership. 
Regional balance. 
Term. 
Compensation. 
ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTER 
SEC. 4. (a) There is hereby established in the Library of Congress 
an American Folklife Center. 
(b) The Center shall be under the direction of a Board of Trustees. 
The Board shall be composed as follows— 
(1) four members appointed by the President from among 
individuals who are officials of Federal departments and agencies 
concerned with some aspect of American folklife traditions and 
arts; 
(2) four members appointed by the President pro tempore of 
the Senate from among individuals from private life Avho are 
widely recognized by virtue of their scholarship, experience, crea-
tivity, or interest in American folklife traditions and arts, and 
four members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Repre-
sentatives from among such individuals; 
(3) the Librarian of Congress; 
(4) the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; 
(5) the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts; 
(6) the Chairman of the National Endowment for the 
Humanities; and 
(7) the Director of the Center. 
In making appointments from private life under clause 2, the Presi-
dent pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives shall give due consideration to the appointment of 
individuals who collectively will provide appropriate regional balance 
on the Board. Not more than three of the members appointed by the 
President pro tempore of the Senate or by the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives may be affiliated with the same political party. 
(c) The term of office of each appointed member of the Board shall 
be six years; except that (1) (A) the members first appointed under 
clause (1) of subsection (b) shall serve as designated by the President, 
one for a term of tAvo years, two for a term of four years, and one for 
a term of six years, and (Bj the members first appointed under clause 
(2) of subsection (b) shall serve as jointly designated by the President 
pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Repre-
sentatives, tAvo for terms of two years, four for terms of four years, 
and two for terms of six years; and (2) any member appointed to fill a 
vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term to which his 
predecessor was appointed shall be appointed for the remainder of 
such term. 
(d) Members of the Board who are not regular full-time employees 
of the United States shall be entitled, while serving on business of the 
Center, to receive compensation at rates fixed by the Librarian, but not 
PUBLIC LAW 94-201—JAN. 2, 1976 
89 STAT. 1131 
Chainnan. 
Vacancies. 
Director. 
exceeding $100 per diem, including traveltime; and while so serving 
away from their homes or regular places of business, they may be 
allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as 
authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for persons 
in Government service employed intermittently. 
(e) (1) The Librarian shall call the first meeting of the Board, at 
which the first order of business shall be the election of a Chairman 
and a Vice Chairman, who shall serve for a term of one year. There-
after each Chairman and Vice Chairman shall be elected for a term 
of two years. The Vice Chairman shall perform the duties of the 
Chairman in his absence. In case of a vacancy occurring in the chair-
manship or vice-chairmanship, the Board shall elect a member to fill 
the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term. 
(2) A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a Quorum 
quorum. 
(f) After consultation with the Board, the Librarian shall appoint 
the Director of the Center. The basic pay of the Director shall be at 
a per year rate not to exceed GS-18 of the General Schedule under 
section 5332 of title 5, United States Code. The Librarian upon the 
recommendation of the Director shall appoint a Deputy Director of 
the Center. The basic pay of the Deputy Director shall be fixed at a 
rate not to exceed GS-16 of the General Schedule under section 5332 
of such title. 
(g) (1) The Director shall be the chief executive officer of the 
Center. Subject to the direction of the Board and the general super-
vision of the Librarian, the Director shall have responsibility for 
carrying out functions of the Center, and shall have authority over 
all personnel and activities of the Center. 
(2) The Deputy Director shall perform such functions as the 
Director, with the approval of the Librarian, may prescribe, and shall 
serve as Acting Director during the absence or disability of the 
Director or in the event of a vacancy in the office of the Director. 
5 u s e 5332 note. 
FUNCTIONS OF THE CENTER 
SEC. 5. (a) The Librarian is authorized to— 
(1) enter into, in conformity with Federal procurement statutes 
and regulations, contracts with individuals and groups for pro-
grams for the— 
(A) initiation, encouragement, support, organization, and 
promotion of research, scholarship, and training in American 
folklife; 
(B) initiation, promotion, support, organization, and pro-
duction of live performances, festivals, exhibits, and work-
shops related to American folklife; 
(C) purchase, receipt, production, arrangement for, and 
support of the production of exhibitions, displays, publica-
tions, and presentations (including presentations by still and 
motion picture films, and audio and visual magnetic tape 
recordings) which represent or illustrate some aspect of 
American folklife; and 
(D) purchase, production, arrangement for, and support 
of the production of exhibitions, projects, presentations, and 
materials specially designed for classroom use representing 
or illustrating some aspect of American folklife; 
(2) establish and maintain in conjunction with any Federal 
department, agency, or institution a national archive and center 
for American folklife; 
20 use 2104. 
89 STAT. 1132 
PUBLIC LAW 94-201—JAN. 2, 1976 
(3) procure, receive, purchase, and collect for preservation or 
retention in an appropriate archive creative works, exhibitions, 
presentations, objects, materials, artifacts, manuscripts, publica-
tions, and audio and visual records (including still and motion 
picture film records, audio and visual ma'gnetic tape recordings, 
written records, and manuscripts) Avhich represent or illustrate 
some aspect of American folklife; 
(4) loan, or otherwise make available, through Library of 
Congress procedures, any item in the archive established under 
this Act to any individual or group; 
(5) present, display, exhibit, disseminate, communicate, and 
broadcast to local, regional, State, or National audiences any 
exhibition, display, or presentation referred to in clause (3) of 
this section or any item in the archive established pursuant to 
clause (2) of this section, by making appropriate arrangements, 
including contracts with public, nonprofit, and private radio and 
television broadcasters, museums, educational institutions, and 
such other individuals and organizations, including corporations, 
as the Board deems appropriate; 
(6) loan, lease, or otherwise make available to public, private, 
and nonprofit educational institutions, and State arts councils 
established pursuant to the National Foundation on the Arts 
20 use 951 note. 
and the Humanities Act of 1965, such exhibitions, programs, 
presentations, and material developed pursuant to clause (1) (D) 
of this subsection as the Board deems appropriate; and 
(7) develop and implement other appropriate programs to 
preserve, support, revitalize, and disseminate American folklife. 
(b) The Librarian shall carry out his functions under this Act 
through the Center. 
LIMITATIONS ON CONTRACTS 
20 use 2105. 
SEC. 6. (a) No payment shall be made pursuant to this Act to carry 
out any research or training over a period in excess of two years, 
except that with the concurrence of at least two-thirds of the members 
of the Board of the Center such research or training may be carried 
out over a period of not to exceed five years. 
(b) Assistance pursuant to this Act shall not cover the cost of land 
acquisition, construction, building acquisitions, or acquisition of major 
equipment. 
(c) No individual formerly in the employment of the Federal 
Government shall be eligible to receive any assistance pursuant to 
this Act, or to serve as a trustee of the Center in the two-year period 
following the termination of such employment. 
PUBLIC LAW 94-201—JAN. 2, 1976 
89 STAT. 1133 
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS 
SEC. 7. (a) In addition to any authority vested in it by other pro-
visions of this Act, the Librarian of Congress, in carrying out the 
Center's functions, is authorized to— 
(1) prescribe such regulations as he deems necessary; 
(2) receive money and other property donated, bequeathed, or 
20 use 2106. 
Regulations. 
Gifts and 
bequests. 
5 u s e 5101 et 
seq. 
5 u s e 5332 note. 
devised, without condition or restriction other than that it be 
for the purposes of the Center and to use, sell, or otherwise dis-
pose of such property for the purpose of carrying out its functions, 
without reference to Federal property disposal statutes; 
(3) in the discretion of the Board of Trustees, receive (and 
use, sell, or otherwise dispose of, in accordance with clause (2)) 
money and other property donated, bequeathed, or devised to the 
Center with a condition or restriction, including a condition that 
the Center use other funds of the Center for the purpose of 
the gift; 
(4) appoint and fix the compensation of such personnel as may eompensation 
be necessary to carry out the provisions of the Act in accordance 
with the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 
53 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule pay 
rates, except that the Librarian of Congress may appoint and fix 
the compensation of a reasonable number of personnel without 
regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of 
chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating to classification 
and General Schedule j)ay rates, but no individual so appointed 
shall receive compensation in excess of the rate received by the 
Deputy Director of the Center; 
(5) obtain the services of experts and consultants in accordance 
with the provisions of section 3109 of title 5, United States Code; 
(6) accept and utilize the services of voluntary and noncom-
pensated personnel and reimburse them for travel expenses, 
including per diem, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5, 
United States Code; 
(7) enter into contracts to carry oijt the provisions of the Act, 
and such contracts may, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the 
members of the Board, be entered into without performance or 
other bonds and in conformity with section 3709 of the Revised 
Statutes, as amended (41 U.S.C. 5); and 
(8) make advances, progress, and other payments which the Advances 
Board deems necessary under this Act in conformity with the 
provisions of section 3648 of the Revised Statutes, as amended 
(31 U.S.C. 529). 
Experts and 
consultants. 
eontracts. 
89 STAT. 1134 
PUBLIC LAW 94-201—JAN. 2, 1976 
Annual report to 
(b) The Director shall submit to the Librarian for inclusion in the 
Congress. 
annual report of the Library of Congress to the Congress an annual 
report of the operations of the Center under this Act, which shall 
include a detailed statement of all private and public funds received 
and expended by it, and such recommendations as the Center deems 
appropriate. 
AUTHORIZATION 
20 use 2107. 
SEC. 8. There are authorized to be appropriated to the Center to 
carry out the provisions of this Act $133,500 for the fiscal year 1976 
and for the period from July 1 through September 30, 1976, $296,000 
for the fiscal year 1977, and $349,000 for the fiscal year 1978. 
Approved January 2, 1976. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORT No. 94-273 (Comm. on House Administration). 
SENATE REPORT No. 94-527 (Comm. on Rules and Administration). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 121 (1975): 
Sept. 8, considered and passed House. 
Dec. 11, considered and passed Senate, amended. 
Dec. 19, House concurred in Senate amendments. 
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 12, No. 2: 
Jan. 3, Presidential statement.