tion have been underway for better than ten years, and, in the recent litigation between Williams and Wilkins and the National Library of Medicine, the courts were careful to specify that the decision was based solely on the merits of the particular case, and was not a basis for a precedent. Both Congress and the courts have indicated that the two communities should work together to develop a solution acceptable to all. In order to provide a forum for such a cooperative effort, the Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Frederick Burkhardt, and the Register of Copyright, Ms. Barbara Ringer, jointly convened and chaired, beginning in November 1974, a continuing Conference on Resolution of Copyright Issues, to which representatives of virtually every conceivable constituency with an interest in the problem were invited. The level of participation was remarkable. At the first and two subsequent meetings so far, representation has approached 100 percent. In spite of basic differences among the participants, there was a clear consensus that something had to be done, and that unless the conference accomplished something, the results could be deleterious to all parties. Recognizing that so large a group was too unwieldly for creative deliberations, the conference divided itself into two groups representing, respectively, the producers and the users, for the purpose of appointing members of a Working Group of twelve (six from each group). This Working Group was charged with developing proposals for coping with the problems of library photocopying, with particular emphasis on the applicable provisions of the proposed revision to the Copyright Law, and with a deadline for reporting to the full Conference by February 5, 1975. After trying unsuccessfully to achieve a consensus by developing a definition of "systematic photocopying," either in words or by example, the Working Group reported back to the Conference at its second meeting with a recommendation that the Conference pursue the approach of "investigating the development of workable clearance and licensing procedures . . . applicable to library photocopying..." The Conference adopted this recommendation and the Working Group returned to its deliberations. At the third meeting of the Conference, the Working Group had prepared no less than nine substantive documents and proposals, the last of which was a recommendation that a study be performed in order to obtain solid experimental information on: (a) Actual volumes and patterns of library photocopying; and (b) the cost of administering a royalty payment mechanism. The Conference adopted this recommendation, and NCLIS agreed to sponsor such a study. As the year ended, NCLIS staff was working with a subcommittee of the Working Group to develop a suitable Request for Proposal for this study. White House Conference on Library and On December 31, 1974, President Ford signed into law Senate Joint Resolution 40 (93rd Congress), which had previously been passed by the Senate on November 20, 1973, and by the House of Representatives on December 12, 1974. This brought into being Public Law 93-568 (Appendix VI) authorizing and requesting the President to "call" a White House Conference on Library and Information Services to be held not later than 1978, and marked a major milestone in a project which has been in the making for better than fifteen years. Since the responsibility for planning and conducting the Conference is assigned to NCLIS, immediate steps were taken to obtain the appropriation and personnel authorizations necessary for the conduct of the Conference. In view of the planning and schedule requirements, this was not, by any means, undue haste. To ensure full participation and input from all concerned parties, the national conference is to be preceded by 56 state and territorial conferees, each partially funded from the Conference budget. To ensure productive state conferences, ten regional conferences to orient the respective state conference managers must be organized, coordinated, and held well in advance of the state conferences. With so much to be accomplished, three years is barely adequate for staffing, planning, preparation, and execution. Further, since the states must provide additional funding for their respective conferences, full funding is required at the outset, so that they will know how much Federal money will be forthcoming, and so that the legislatures will have time to appropriate the necessary additional funds. Because of extremely tight budget constraints, the NCLIS request for funding of the White House Conference was not forwarded to Congress by the Office of Management and Budget, but in response to widespread and intense interest of the library/information community, the authorization was added as an amendment to the fiscal year 1976 Education Bill in the Senate. However, it was deleted in conference with the House because there had been no Administration request. It is hoped that the request can be included in the first fiscal year 1976 The Commission considers the White House Conference to be a vital element in its plans for implementation of the national program. In order to accomplish a successful and timely implementation, it is necessary that both the library/information community and the citizenry at large be fully aware of and committed to the national program. The needs, perceptions, and priorities of the various states are different, and NCLIS must know these to work effectively toward the achievement of its goals. Further, there is hitherto untapped experience and expertise all over the country which can, by means of the state and national conferences, be brought to bear on the task of providing adequate library and information services to all citizens. Toward the end of the year, the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate joined the Chairman of the Commission in making their appointments to the Advisory Committee for the White House Conference, so that thirteen of the twenty-eight members have been designated, with only the President's appointments still to be made. ADMINISTRATION AND ORGANIZATION The membership of the Commission did not change during this year. All three of the members whose terms expired in July 1974– Messrs. Joseph Becker, Carlos Cuadra, and John E. Velde, Jr.—were reappointed by President Ford to full five-year terms. Mrs. Bessie Boehm Moore was re-elected by the Commissioners for her third term as Vice Chairman, and, of course, Dr. Frederick Burkhardt continues as Chairman. The staff, on the other hand, has undergone several changes. At the beginning of the year, the Executive Director, Charles H. Stevens, left the staff to accept an appointment with the Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET). His Deputy, Roderick G. Swartz, served as Acting Director until the new Executive Director, Alphonse F. Trezza, took the position on November 1, 1974. At the end of December, Mr. Swartz left for study in Europe under both a Fulbright Fellowship and a Council on Library Resources Grant. Mr. Trezza comes to the Commission staff from the position of Director of the Illinois State Library. He has had a distinguished career of library activities and was instrumental in the development of a network of public, academic, school, and special libraries in Illinois. He has served in several professional library association posts as an elected official and as an employee. He is widely known among professional librarians and is experienced in the development of legislative programs for libraries. On March 17, 1975, Douglas S. Price joined the staff as Deputy Director. Mr. Price, formerly Deputy Director of the ERIC Processing and Reference Facility, has had more than 20 years of experience in the design, implementation and operation of information systems, and has published and spoken extensively on a variety of subjects in the field. He has been active in a number of professional associations, and is currently treasurer of the American Society for Information Science. Public Law 91-345 91st Congress, S. 1519 July 20, 1970 As amended by Public Law 93-29, Section 802, May 3, 1973 An Act To establish a National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may National be cited as the "National Commission on Libraries and Information Commission on Science Act". STATEMENT OF POLICY SEC. 2. The Congress hereby affirms that library and information services adequate to meet the needs of the people of the United States are essential to achieve national goals and to utilize most effectively the Nation's educational resources and that the Federal Government will cooperate with State and local governments and public and private agencies in assuring optimum provision of such services. COMMISSION ESTABLISHED Libraries SEC. 3. (a) There is hereby established as an independent agency within the executive branch, a National Commission on and Information Science (hereinafter referred to as the "Commission"). (b) The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare shall provide the Commission with necessary administrative services (including those related to budgeting, accounting, financial reporting, personnel, and procurement) for which payment shall be made in advance, or by reimbursement, from funds of the Commission and such amounts as may be agreed upon by the Commission and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. CONTRIBUTIONS SEC. 4. The Commission shall have authority to accept in the name of the United States grants, gifts, or bequests of money for immediate disbursement in furtherance of the functions of the Commission. Such grants, gifts, or bequests, after acceptance by the Commission, shall be paid by the donor or his representative to the Treasurer of the United States whose receipts shall be their acquittance. The Treasurer of the United States shall enter them in a special account to the credit of the Commission for the purposes in each case specified. FUNCTIONS SEC. 5. (a) The Commission shall have the primary responsibility for developing or recommending overall plans for, and advising the appropriate governments and agencies on, the policy set forth in section 2. In carrying out that responsibility, the Commission shall Libraries and 84 STAT. 440 84 STAT. 441 Advice to (1) advise the President and the Congress on the implementation of national policy by such statements, presentations, and President and reports as it deems appropriate; Congress. (2) conduct studies, surveys, and analyses of the library and Studies, surveys, informational needs of the Nation, including the special library etc. and informational needs of rural areas, of economically, socially, or culturally deprived persons, and of elderly persons, and the means by which these needs may be met through information centers, through the libraries of elementary and secondary schools. and institutions of higher education, and through public, research, special, and other types of libraries; 38 |