developments in the area of copyright. There was a sharp increase in this last activity as a result of the passage early in the fiscal year of the first general revision of copyright law since 1909. In addition to these activities, NCLIS responded to several opportunities which provided occasions for significant contributions. As examples: NCLIS organized for the Committee on the Right to Privacy of the Domestic Council a conference to bring together a group of experts to assist them in developing their report to the President, National Information Policy; NCLIS published this report as well as a report of the Urban Libraries Council, Improving State Aid to Public Libraries, to make them widely available. All of these activities, and others, as well as plans for the future and recommendations for next year's activities are discussed herein. The National Program: Service An understanding of its National Program is essential to understanding the Commission's activities. Readers may wish to review the summary of that program in Appendix V. The citation and availability of the complete program document, Toward a National Program for Library and Information Services: Goals for Action, appear in Appendix VIII.A. The Goal in order to provide a long-term focus for its activities, the Commission has adopted the following ideal: To eventually provide every individual in the United States with equal opportunity of access to that part of the total information resource which will satisfy the individual's educational, working, cultural and leisure-time needs and interests, regardless of the individual's location, social or physical condition, or level of intellectual achievement. The Time Scale While the pressing need for substantial and immediate improvement in library and information services might appear to some to require a revolutionary approach, i.e., a grand systems design and a call for large and precipitate expenditures, practical considerations dictate the choice of an evolutionary approach. In the first place, even in the unlikely event that the money could be found, there simply is not enough information available upon which to base such a design. In the second place, technological, economic, and sociological changes are charging down upon us at paces which approach-if they have not already reached-exponential rates. By the time such a grand design could be developed, funded, executed and put in place, it would already be obsolete. Finally, such a grand design would certainly give the impression -if not the substance-of a massive, monolithic Federal presence 264-643 O-78-2 in library and information services, which is antithetical to the political and philosophical underpinnings of the Nation, and contrary to the expressed intent of the NCLIS to avoid any such authoritarian superstructure. It must be remembered that the National Program is a program, not a plan, and the objectives are not the concrete, milestone-related events which are usually identified as objectives in the customary planning process. On the contrary, they are fairly general, process oriented statements. Therefore, they are not subjects to rapid obsolescence. NCLIS has never considered the Program Document to be "set in concrete." In fact, it is under almost continuous examination as to its adequacy and completeness. The Program Document is the product of many months of hearings in all parts of the country, correspondence between the Commission and almost every conceivable constituency, and many hours of discussion, compromise and refinement. When it was adopted by the Commission and published, it represented, as nearly as could be achieved, a consensus -not just of the Commissioners, but of the affected communities. When modification of the Program Document becomes appropriate, the Commission will not hesitate to do so. Operations The same considerations which dictate an extended time scale. for implementing the National Program also dictate the modus operandi of NCLIS in working towards implementation. With our limited resources, we can neither hire the staff to work out all the details nor enlist contractors to do that for us. Furthermore, that approach would still leave the not inconsiderable task of convincing the library/information community, as well as the community at large, that the NCLIS solutions were the correct solutions. Therefore, NCLIS works toward implementation by enlisting the concerned constituencies in the task of developing a consensus, so that when a solution is reached or a course of action is recommended, those who must take action know that it will have community backing and the various constituencies, having been represented in the process, are more inclined to accept and/or support the recommendations. To achieve the consensus and attack the problem simultaneously, NCLIS uses the task force approach. We identify experts from the various concerned constituencies and invite them to participate in a series of meetings to develop specific detailed recommendations for further action. When a task force finishes its deliberations the voices of the concerned constituencies have been heard and heeded; the conclusions have been reached through discussion and compromise; and their report is sure to gain wide acceptance. Most of the task of persuading people to follow the recommendations has already been accomplished. With the broad support thus engendered, organizations and agencies who control the application of resources are also more willing to adjust their policies. When a study or survey is required, rather than a task force, a similar result can be obtained by including representatives of concerned constituencies on the advisory committee. Frequently, we can show another government agency or other organization that a given study or task force effort will redound to their benefit and thereby enlist their support in terms of both personnel and finances. Finally, we communicate in as many ways and as frequently as we can. We speak from podiums, in classrooms, and with individuals. We write in correspondence, in journals, and in yearbooks. Each of our publications and each significant action of the Commission is transmitted with a press release to a large selection of news media, including both specialized and general audience publications and activities. As a result of all of these activities, progress toward implementation is being made on a variety of fronts. White House Conference on Library and Information Services The Commission's quest for both more precise information and greater involvement from the grassroots was greatly enhanced by the announcement by President Ford in July 1976 that he was "calling" the White House Conference on Library and Information Services (WHCLIS) as authorized by P.L. 93-568 (Appendix VI, Part A) and submitting a budget request for the approporiation to fund it. The appropriation request was submitted in September and not acted upon before adjournment, but it was resubmitted by the new administration in January. Somewhat earlier, the Presidential appointments to the White House Conference Advisory Committee had been made to complete the roster of that body (Appendix VI, Part B). Early in the Spring of 1977, when the appropriation of funds for the White House Conference (WHC) seemed assured, it also became apparent that, if the Conference were to be held before the end of 1979, no time could be wasted. The two-year schedule was tight because in the interim, it would be necessary to plan, hold and report on preconferences in every state and territory and the District of Columbia. The state library agencies, which would be responsible for these conferences had to be informed quickly on what would be required and what resources would be made available. Further, if the program start-up were to be effective, the basic decisions on schedules, formulas, rules and guidelines would have to be made almost immediately, even before the appropriation process was completed. To this end, NCLIS, after obtaining appropriate clearances both from the Executive Branch and Congress, used its own funds to convene a meeting of the White House Conference Advisory Committee in late March. At this first meeting, the Advisory Committee discussed and adopted a schedule for the conference process, adopted a formula for grants to states and territories, adopted a logo, and recommended a preconference for Indians living on reservations. The next step was the selection and hiring of WHC staff. Six professionals were brought aboard, and Ruth Liepmann Tighe of the NCLIS staff was given a leave of absence to direct the WHC program planning effort. Alphonse F. Trezza, the NCLIS Execu |