COMMITTEE ON DOCUMENTATION TASK TEAM III - FOREIGN PUBLICATIONS BRIEFING ON ARMY PROCUREMENT OF FOREIGN PUBLICATIONS GIVEN BY R. BAUER ON 11 FEB 1965

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01139A000400240011-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 11, 2007
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: February 11, 1965
• Content Type: BRIEF

Approved For Release 2007/05/11: CIA-RDP80BO1139AO00400240011-2
UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE BOARD
COMMITTEE ON DOCUMENTATION
TASK TEAM III - FOREIGN PUBLICATIONS
Briefing on Army Procurement of Foreign Publications
Given by R. Bauer on 11 Feb 1965
The Army Library, which is the major library in the Pentagon pro-
cures publications primarily to meet its own needs but does procure a
limited quantity of monographs and periodicals for others. Virtually
all of Army Library's procurement of books and monographs is done through
commercial channels principally U.S. and British booksellers. Titles
wanted are contained in search lists sent to booksellers; each list is
sent to only one bookseller.
As many items as possible are included in each requisition to reduce
costs; and this is why Army Library tends to concentrate its procurement
on dealers who have provided good service in the past.
Ninety percent of periodical subscriptions are likewise procured
through commercial channels. These subscription requirements are con-
solidated whenever possible and are forwarded to Defense Supply Service
who then requests bids. Items bid on might be a single list of 100
periodicals; the subscriptions are then placed with the various dealers
according to costs.
The other ten percent of the periodicals are obtained through the
attache system, which while always dependable is normally used as a last
resort.
It is 3=mporbible to cite time lag in obtaining books as it varies in
each case. The following case of receipt of the December 1964 issue of
the Soviet magazine, Voyennyy Vestnik [Military Herald] may be taken as
an average: Air pouch in Acquisitions Branch, CIA on 21 December; Army
Library 8 Jan and ACSI on 9 Feb, the latter two by surface mail.
Soviet Newspapers such as "Red Star" which are received by Air
Mail in Army Library take an average of 4 days in comparison with a
minimum of 6 to 10 days of ACSI receipts by air mail pouch from Army
Attache from Moscow.
+ rmv Review Co
GROUP I
Excluded from automatic
downgrading
declassification
C-O-N-F-I-D-E Ic-T-I A-L
Approved For Release 2007/05/11: CIA-RDP80BO1139AO00400240011-2
 Approved For Release 2007/05/11: CIA-RDP80B0l139A000400240011-2
C-O-N-F-I-D-E-N-T-I-A-L
One major problem of using the Attache system arises when the party
that normally prepares shipments goes on leave; another man takes over
the job and he is not aware of what goes by surface and what goes by air.
The result is delay of priority items.
Basic costs vary by booksellers but include a mark up which covers
their overhead and profit and special costs tnvQlved in search. A Marine
Corps study was conducted on this subject in 1960 and they determined
that the average cost from the time a request is received for the purchase
order in Defense Supply to be $30 --435.
Questions and answers brought out information bearing on the subject:
In the matter of the $30 - $35 cost of Defense Supply it turned out
to be for the entire purchase order which might contain numerous items
such as the list of one hundred periodicals referred to earlier; on the
other hand a purchase order for one $10 dictionary will actually cost
$1+5.
Time delay from request of an item through Army Library until
receipt is at least two months. One statistic on a magazine from
Moscow to Acquisition Branch/CIA was 45 days. Other statistics^*
follows: Army Library by Air - 4 days; Attache Channels by Air - 6-10
days; Army Library by Surface - 3 weeks or more. It took longer to
get from Dulles Airport to our mailroom than it took to get from Moscow
to Dulles Airport.
Most of these foreign publications on book and periodical lists
from Moscow are available to commercial dealers in the U.S. except
military items and the Attaches can get these.
Where a full time PPO is on duty in the State Program, good
results are obtainable.
The 513th Intelligence Corps Group were able to get locally
many things that were not available in Moscow; they had very good
relationshipswith German book dealers.
C-O-N-F-I-D-E-N-T-I-A-L
Approved For Release 2007/05/11: CIA-RDP80B0l139A000400240011-2