bilities to its patrons. In the meantime, the Commission encourages efforts to clarify the distinction between copying that does not require permission and compensation and that which does. It also encourages efforts to establish means by which permission, when required, be readily obtained. Finally, it encourages efforts to establish cooperative arrangements between libraries and publishers, possibly with the use of computer networks for processing, for obtaining permission or licenses and accounting for usage.

The Rationale for Federal Involvement

While the Federal Government appears to be broadly aware of the part played by libraries and information centers in national growth and economic productivity, the Commission believes that now is the time for the Federal Government, in cooperation with state and local governments, to treat information as a national resource. The Commission believes that the concept of a National Program for Library and Information Services is a highly appropriate focus for governmental action because the concept is designed to blend:

user needs for information that are more pressing
than ever before; with

information technology that is nowhere more strongly
developed than in the United States.

It should be recognized that the United States, though it may now have an unusual opportunity to plan its “information economy," is not alone in this position. Japan, West Germany and other countries have published national papers which attest to the importance of national information policies and networks. Norway has been working effectively for the last few years through its National Office for Research and Special Libraries, and in Great Britain, the British Library Board has made remarkable progress under its recent charter. If we, in this country, fail to link our own resources together nationally so that all can use them, we will be neglecting a very significant contribution that we can make to the quality of our life and the productivity of our people. We may also be missing the opportunity to join other nations in sharing resources on an international level.

The implementation of a workable national program requires close cooperation between the Federal Government and the states, between state and local governments, and between the Federal and state governments and the private sector. Such cooperation is most appropriately fostered through Federal legislation that would adopt as its prime philosophical goal equal opportunity of access to the nation's library and information services. Practically, it would seek better organization, development, coordination and management of the nation's libraries and information facilities and services.

Chapter II

Current Problems of Libraries

The previous section addressed the urgency of dealing with the problems of information in the United States and described the Federal Government's responsibility for coordinating a nationwide program which would provide, as an ideal goal, that every individual in the country have equal opportunity of access to the information and knowledge he needs.

Any program of this magnitude, however, requires that the current situation be assessed and understood before specific recommendations are made for future improvement.

There are almost 90,000 libraries in the United States today.* They vary in size and complexity from small village facilities with only a few shelves of books for recreational reading to large research libraries with magnificent collections on many subjects. Collectively, they are the foundation on which a nationwide information network should be built. The fact that problems and deficiencies exist in no way denigrates the successes and achievements of the past. On the contrary, the purpose of presenting problems and deficiencies is to take stock and to build on the best of what is available.

Public Libraries

Public libraries in the United States are facing new problems with respect to their internal operations. Financial support is not keeping pace with increasing costs; and the libraries are under increased pressure to give service in more breadth and depth to a wide range of users who vary in age, education and interests. They are limited in their ability to tap new technological sources of information, and they are constrained from upgrading their present manual methods to automated systems. In many instances, these problems have caused the public library to extend its normal resource sharing activity by affiliating with technical processing cooperatives, depending on larger libraries for backup, expanding interlibrary relationships, and joining public library systems and networks outside their local jurisdictions.

More than any other type of library, public libraries are close to the people in the communities in which they exist. Each is governed and managed by a board of trustees which reflects the interests and needs of the residents of the library's service area. The strength of the public library is its democracy, its service to all the people across age, ethnic, economic and cultural lines. It caters to children, to young adults, adults, and to senior citizens; and it is a major educational force in American life. Public libraries, including the smallest, are the backbone of the library system in America, and are the potential windows on any future nationwide network. Therefore, a great deal depends on the strength of their human and material resources and on their ability to undertake new programs of value to their constituents. Most public libraries are well below the minimum American Library Association standards and are inadequate to meet the information needs of the public. The public library, particularly in large metropolitan centers, is in a state of flux, and major changes in its funding and operating philosophy must occur, if it is to serve its community effectively in the future. Financial studies indicate that local sources of revenue alone will be insufficient to meet the public's demand for new programs, new construction, and new staff. Moreover, recent developments give disturbing evidence that public libraries are seriously threatened by deficit budgets resulting from cuts in municipal budgets or failure to get Federal revenue sharing funds. Balanced intergovernmental funding at the local, state, and Federal levels is essential to achieve the content and quality of public library services commensurate with the needs of modern society."

Special Libraries and Information Centers

Special libraries and information centers make an important contribution by supplying information needed by Americans. Typically, they exist to serve the interests of the organizations of which they are a part, whether in the private or public

sector.

Special libraries are found in businesses, industrial corporations, government agencies, museums, hospitals, newspapers, radio and television stations, and professional and trade associations. Some concentrate on specific materials, such as maps or pictures. They vary in size from large installations compar

able to college libraries to one-person information services. Taken together, special libraries represent a collection of information resources which treat specialized subjects in depth, emphasize up-to-dateness in the information they collect and disseminate, provide a capability for quick response, and often use automated techniques for data storage and manipulation. Many special libraries in the United States have collections of material, or in-depth files of information, which are the most complete and the best organized of any resources on particular subjects in the country.

Because of their identification with their parent organizations, they may be less familiar to the general public than public and academic libraries. Lack of knowledge of the location and availability of these specific collections has been a barrier to their use beyond their own jurisdiction, as has the inclusion in them of certain materials proprietary to their respective organizations.

The Commission believes that a great many citizens with complex, work-related information problems are not now being served by such specialized information services. If meeting work-related information needs is as important as the Commission believes, then devising a mechanism by which selected holdings and services of special libraries can be made available to more people throughout the country would be extremely beneficial to the nation. Every effort must be made to include the resources of special libraries in the development of a nationwide network.

School Libraries and School Media
Programs

School libraries, public and private, are important in the personal, intellectual and social development of the American child. They house the many materials required by the child for formal teaching-learning activities, and they represent the primary access point in school to which the child comes to find recorded knowledge. The school library often gives the child the first exposure to information resources and molds the child's information behavior for the future. Thus, the school library plays an essential part in readying the child for an adult role in society.

In addition to acquiring and making available books and