The Commission The National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, (NCLIS) was created in 1970 by Public Law 91-345 as a permanent, independent Federal agency within the Executive Branch. The charge to the Commission contained in that law is to develop and recommend to the Congress and the President plans for the provision of library and information services and for the coordination of activities at the Federal, state, and local levels necessary to meet the library and information needs of the nation more effectively. The complete text of the enabling legislation that established the Commission can be found in Appendix I. The National Program for Library and Information Services Early in its history, NCLIS directed its energies toward the preparation of a document broadly outlining a National Program for Library and Information Services. The document, entitled "Toward a National Program for Library and Information Services: Goals for Action," seeks to provide a framework for the development of a cohesive pattern of library and information services for the people of the United States. The document reflects comments received by the Commission in hundreds of letters from organizations and private individuals, through testimony given at many regional hearings throughout the country, and from opinions gathered at seminars and open forums conducted through the professional societies. An understanding of the Program Document is essential to a full comprehension of the Commission's activities, and a summary of the Document is contained in Appendix II. The Program Document has been adopted as a basic policy statement of the Commission. But the document should not be thought of as "set in concrete." It is a flexible, dynamic, long-range plan which will undergo constant scrutiny and revision. When a modification of the Program Document becomes appropriate, the Commission will endeavor to change it. The Commission's Goal The Commission's current goal is to develop a plan for a flexible network of information services to meet the immediate and foreseeable information requirements of the greatest possible number of people. In pursuing this goal, the Commission is guided by the ideal adopted in the Program Document: To eventually provide every individual in the United States Members of the Commission The Commission is composed of the Librarian of Congress and fourteen members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. As of September 30, 1978 the Commission consisted of the following: Frederick Burkhardt (Chairman), President-Emeritus, American Council of Learned Societies, Bennington, Vermont (1980) Bessie Boehm Moore (Vice Chairman), Executive Director, State Council on Economic Education, Little Rock, Arkansas (1978) Joseph Becker, President, Becker and Hayes, Inc., Los Angeles, California (1979) Daniel J. Boorstin, The Librarian of Congress, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Robert W. Burns, Jr., Assistant Director of Libraries for Research Services, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado (1981)* Daniel W. Casey, Member, New York State Board of Regents Advisory Council on Libraries, and Past President of the American Library Trustee Association, Syracuse, New York (1978) Carlos A. Cuadra, President, Cuadra Associates, Inc., Santa Monica, California (1979) Joan H. Gross, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development/Region II., New York, New York (1982)* Clara Stanton Jones, Former Director, Detroit Public Library, and Former President, American Library Association, Oakland, California (1982)* Marian P. Leith, Assistant Director, and Federal Program Director, State Library, Raleigh, North Carolina (1980) Frances H. Naftalin, President, Minneapolis Public Library Board, Minneapolis, Minnesota (1982)* Horace E. Tate, Executive Director, Georgia Association of Educators, and State Senator, Atlanta, Georgia (1981)* John E. Velde, Jr., Hollywood, California, and Peoria, Illinois (1979) Julia Li Wu, Head Librarian, Virgil Junior High School, Los Angeles, California (1978) Mildred E. Younger, Member, Board of Directors, Los Angeles, Library Association, Los Angeles, California (1980) Members whose names are followed by an asterisk were appointed The appointments of Mr. Burns and Dr. Tate will run through July 19, 1981. They are replacing, respectively, Andrew A. Aines and Catherine D. Scott, whose terms have expired. The terms of the other newly appointed Commissioners will run through July 19, 1982. Mrs. Gross will replace Ralph A. Renick, Mrs. Jones will replace Louis A. Lerner, and Mrs. Naftalin will replace Martin Goland. Messrs. Renick, Lerner, and Goland's terms have expired. One other appointment is pending before Congress at this time. Charles Benton, Chairman of the Board of Films, Inc., of Wilmette, Illinois, has been nominated by President Carter to fill the unexpired term of Frederick Burkhardt, the current Chairman. Chairman Burkhardt has indicated his desire to step down from the Commission in order to dedicate more time to his pressing scholarly commitments. Upon his confirmation by the Senate, Mr. Benton will succeed Dr. Burkhardt as member and Chairman of the Commission and his term will run through July 19, 1980. The White House Conference on Library and Information Services One of the most important responsibilities of the Commission during the next two years is its coordination and management of the White House Conference on Library and Information Services. The Conference, to be held in the fall of 1979, will provide a unique opportunity to secure a renewed sense of direction from the citizenry for the delivery of library and information services at all levels. A substantial undertaking will be to assist delegates in obtaining this new sense of direction. The Conference must crystallize an awareness of major trends in our society generally and provide a means through which the delegates may clearly foresee both the developing role of libraries and the importance of information services. Only through an understanding of the nation's pressing information needs can the shape of new services to fill those needs emerge. Undoubtedly the Conference will provide new direction for the Commission as well and will give new focus to specific implementation plans which deserve greater emphasis. Origins of the Conference The idea of holding the White House Conference was first proposed in 1957. Library Trustee Channing Bete of Greenfield, Massachusetts, made the proposal to the American Library Trustee Association, a division of the American Library Association. Widespread public support for the idea resulted in Congressional passage of a joint resolution in December 1974, which was signed into Public Law 93-568 by President Ford on December 31, 1974. In May 1977, President Carter signed the FY 1977 supplemental budget request that provided a $3.5 million appropriation for the Conference itself. Presidential Support Four of our Presidents have given support to the concept of the White House Conference. Presidents Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter have all made public statements encouraging the Conference to closely assess the present and future needs of the people with respect to libraries and information services. In August 1976, Presidential Candidate Jimmy Carter issued a |