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Appendix 4
Public Law 480
Translations
The National Science Foundation is responsible for conducting a
science-information program financed exclusively with excess
foreign currencies that have accrued to the credit of the U.S.
Government from the sale of U.S. surplus agricultural commodities
in a number of foreign countries. Title I of the Agricultural Trade
Development and Assistance Act of 19 54 (Public Law 480), as
amended, authorized the President to enter into agreements with
friendly nations for the sale abroad of U.S. surplus commodites for
foreign currencies. These currencies are inconvertible and may
not be used outside the country involved.
Under the law cited above, U.S. Government agencies are autho-
rized to use foreign currencies "to collect, collate, translate, ab-
stract, and disseminate scientific and technological information and
to conduct research and support scientific activities overseas in-
cluding programs and projects of scientific cooperation between the
United States and other countries." In January 1959, the President
assigned to the Foundation the responsibility for initiating a unified
coordinated program for meeting the requirements of the agencies
of the Executive Branch for translation and other science-information
activities authorized under Public Law 480.
The Foundation entered into contracts with Israel and Poland in
19 59 and with Yugoslavia in 19 60. Each contract provides for trans-
lation and publication of scientific literature and patents, translation
and preparation of abstracts (in cooperation with U.S. abstracting
and indexing services), publication of critical review papers, com-
pilation of bibliographies, and the preparation of guides to their
scientific institutions and information systems.
At the present time, the Foundation coordinates and administers
this program for the l:)epartments of the Interior, Agriculture,
Commerce, and Health, Education and Welfare, the Atomic Energy
Commission, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
and the Smithsonian Institution.
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The Foundation does not select the material to be translated.
The selection is done by research scientists in the participating
l federal agencies. In Poland, Polish scientific information is trans-
lated; in Yugoslavia, Yugoslavian material; and in Israel mainly,
although not exclusively, Russian scientific literature. Russian
books and monographs must have been published at least 1 year
before they are translated by the overseas contractor; Yugoslavian
and Polish journals only are translated on a current basis. The
translation programs overseas are supplemental to, and not com-
petitive with, the "domestic" translation program. In these pro-
grams no dollar expenditures are involved.
The combined efforts of the programs in Israel, Poland, and
Yugoslavia represent the translation and republication of about
250,000 pages of foreign scientific literature (95 volumes of scien-
tific journals, 374 books, 1,004 selected articles, 18,495 abstracts,
13,000 patents).* This covers the period from Fiscal Year 1959
through fiscal 19 65.
*The statement above was taken from "A Summary of U.S. Translation
Activities" (in Seminar on Technical and Scientific Translation Apr. 15-
,
17, 1965, Indian National Scientific Documentation Centre, New Delhi) by
Ernest R. Sohns of the Office of Science Information Service, National
Science Foundation. The Committee appreciates Dr. Sohns' cooperation
in providing this report.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
friendly nations
