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that the literature on this subject does not adequately specify objectives for the design of future information-supplying systems. The Commission has suggested a program to fill this need. Two papers will be prepared as background for Commission work on user information needs. One will deal with a study of the 1975-1980 society as it will affect library and information system users. Dr. Edwin Parker of the Stanford University Institute for Communication Research will complete this report early in 1973. The other paper, identifying current groups of users and their needs for information, is being prepared at the Institute for Library Research, University of California, Berkeley. The principal investigator is Mr. Charles Bourne. This study, too, will be ready early in 1973. Appendix V lists all Commission contracts.

Other suggestions are being considered for examining the information needs of various user groups that have special requirements. Market survey techniques and social science polling methods are among the ideas proposed.

Financing of Libraries

All types of libraries seek additional funds to maintain and improve their services. Corporate, private, and public sources for these funds are under increasingly heavy demands from all quarters so the arguments for libraries must be eminently persuasive if they are to succeed.

Public libraries and public schools derive most of their money from local property taxes. The need for more money has attracted increasing attention from taxpayers who resist higher taxes and resent the wide disparity in services rendered in different areas. Court proceedings in California, Texas, and elsewhere are testing the legality of the property tax as the proper basis for educational funding; and public libraries, as an educational component, have a keen interest in the outcome of these cases. Should the present property tax collection and distribution system become an illegal basis for support, schools and libraries would need to substitute other funding sources without delay. As a matter of priority, the Commission has spoken out on the issue and begun a pilot study to identify present sources of funding and other sources that can be used.

The Commission has passed a resolution advocating equality of access to and payment for public libraries and information facilities:

The Commission has considered the implications of recent court decisions in California and elsewhere, holding that the local property tax is not the proper base for public school funding. The Commission believes that the same principle of equality in educational opportunity must be applied to the Nation's public libraries and other publicly-supported information facilities, whose resources and services are a vital part of the continuing educational process. If, as is possible under various legal challenges to the system, the current method of funding public schools is changed, library funding must change, too. It would be unfair to have schools operating on a broad tax base and libraries under a more restrictive one. The Commission calls upon public libraries and publicly-supported information facilities across America to watch these developments closely and to be sure that the target of national equality of access to information for all citizens is a priority, not an afterthought.

The pilot study to identify current funding sources being carried out by the Public Administration Service of Chicago, Ill., will be completed early in 1973. The study will involve the collection of data samples on local financing methods from all State libraries and from selected public libraries in 25 States. The sample will be evaluated for its content and for the adequacy of the collection method. Recommendations for the conduct of a more comprehensive study will be a part of the final report.

The Commission expects to use the study of public library financing to inform public libraries regarding the best ways to seek and obtain improved local and State funding. Further, the Commission is interested in the disbursement of Federal funds to public libraries through a variety of channels including revenue sharing. It will use its studies to plan for the more effective distribution and utilization of these moneys.

The problems of support for libraries of public and private educational institutions, particularly those associated with higher education, have been considered by the Commission. While there has been no action, the Commission has reacted favorably to the reinstatement of the basic annual Federal grant of $5,000 under Title IIA of Public Law 92-318 to qualifying college and university libraries.

The financial problems of independent research libraries have also been considered by the Commission. These libraries have in many cases become significant resources of national importance. Their survival and well-being is necessary to our understanding of the past and the present. Because these libraries are used for research, scholarship, and education by citizens from all parts of the country and because they contribute to the

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quality of life of all citizens, they should be eligible for government support.

Regarding the problem of funding for Federal programs in all subject areas, the Commission issued a resolution that could lead to programs particularly beneficial to academic and independent research libraries:

Resolved, that the need for appropriate documentation, bibli ographical, and other information resources should be recog nized in Federal programs, and that provision for support be included in executive orders and other implementing directives.

Adequacies and Deficiencies of Present
Libraries and Information Systems

The Commission is charged with appraising the adequacies and deficiencies in libraries and information resources and services. In its planning the Commission must endeavor to help overcome the shortcomings it finds in information delivery systems and libraries. It should not diminish this activity by attempting to upgrade services and systems that are already adequate. There is no guidance that the Commission has found as to which systems are adequate; several steps have been taken to fill this gap.

The chairman has appointed a committee to provide the Commission with an initial overview of current resources and services. The regional hearings, together with the testimony heard in Washington, will provide descriptions of deficiencies as they are perceived by others. Library publications and other literature are being searched and studied to add to the Commission's knowledge. From the adequacies and deficiencies enumerated, defined and measured, the committee and the Commission will develop priorities for planning and action.

In one area, that of interlibrary loan, the Commission has elected to begin specific planning at once. Because the need for improvement in this area was obvious, a contract was let to the Association of Research Libraries to determine whether a single national center or a system of regional centers should be established as a resource for users seeking materials not available locally. This contract was coordinated with one issued by the National Science Foundation to investigate other aspects of resource centers for interlibrary loan. The problems are not easy ones, and the complete planning for a solution may be some years away. Meanwhile, the Commission is observing the new developments in the Center for Research Libraries, Chicago, III., with keen interest.

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The Commission also recognizes other deficiencies that require immediate action. One of these is the copyright problem. Interlibrary loan, users' access to material, and the development of library networks are involved in the outcome of this issue. A case in point involves the claim of copyright infringement by a journal publisher against the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Library of Medicine. The Commission put its position in the following resolution:

The National Commission on Libraries and Information Science notes the report of Commissioner James F. Davis to the U.S. Court of Claims in the copyright infringement suit of Williams and Wilkins v. The United States.

Since the facts and opinions of the case are still before the Court, this Commission does not wish to comment upon the possible findings or actions. We recognize, however, that the findings in this case may have profound impact on the public's access to information.

The Commission believes that the necessary legal framework for resolving the issue of "fair use" by libraries and library users must be sought through legislation. To this end, the Commission strongly recommends that Congress enact a revision of the Copyright Act as soon as possible.

Later, the Commission appointed a committee to keep up with copyright legislative developments.

A Commission committee has been established to examine the specific adequacies and deficiencies of the services of the Library of Congress. The committee will examine all of the current service functions of the Library and give special attention to those that are used by other libraries and information services. The collection, loan, and publishing programs and policies of all service divisions will be carefully reviewed. As the largest U.S. library, the Library of Congress fulfills many of the functions of a national library. The Commission is eager to determine what the role of the Library of Congress could be in a national system and what obstacles preclude the fulfillment of that role. The members are fully aware of the Library's urgent need for added space that will be provided by the scheduled completion of the Madison Memorial Library in 1976. Commission planning in the next few years is likely to lean heavily on what can be done by the Library of Congress to meet the information needs of users directly or indirectly through other libraries and services.

Applications of New Technology

The technology of computers and communications, of reprography and photography, have already had a deep and lasting effect on libraries and information services. As the technology improves and as its application becomes less expensive, the impact will increase. Libraries and information services that have not yet begun to embrace the latest products or methods utiliz ing technology will be expected to do so. The Commission's role in the application of new technology is that of a cautious advocate. It appears likely that computers can offer benefits to information system users and that micromaterials can improve users' access to the published record. The Commission aims to understand more than the technical potential of these new forms of information and data storage and retrieval. It will also assess the utility to the user and the costs in terms of national resources involved in changing long-established methods to newer

ones.

The chairman has appointed a committee to lead this work. Awareness of the current situation in the use of new technology in libraries is one of the committee's tasks. More important, the committee will recommend for Commission action the reviews and studies that will provide necessary background for planning in this field.

Improved Staffing

Unless new technology provides information systems that do not involve the user with an intermediary human assistant in the form of a librarian or an information specialist, it is important that those giving assistance be qualified for their work. Poor help in identifying and locating information is bad for the user and will ultimately damage the organization that provides the inadequate service. The Commission's focus on the user makes it necessary to be concerned with the numbers, capabilities, and distribution of those who provide information service. In this matter, the Commission concurs fully with the library associations that have appeared at its meetings.

Selection, education, and re-education appear to be the primary needs to be met. While the Commission has not yet initiated detailed analyses in this area, it has begun to collect information on personnel in libraries, library schools, and related employment areas. Information on curriculum development and changes in training for information workers is also being collected for the Commission.

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