INTRODUCTION

The National Commission on Libraries and Information Science is a permanent and independent agency within the executive branch, established by Congress and signed into law by President Nixon on July 20, 1970. The text of the act, Public Law 91-345, is reproduced as appendix I of this report.

In passing the act, Congress and the President affirmed that library and information services adequate to meet the needs of the people of the United States are essential in order to achieve national goals and utilize effectively the Nation's educational resources. The act recognizes inferentially that the collection, organization, preservation, and provision for use of the record of man's creativity and progress constitute a major national problem. Information systems and libraries designed for other times and conditions are no longer able to fulfill consistently or effectively personal, corporate, or governmental needs for information. In consequence, the national ability to accommodate changing environmental, societal, and political conditions is threatened. Without valid and timely information, the economy atrophies; without current and reliable information, society and government suffocate. The Commission was established to make studies and plans for the effective national library and information services needed to preclude such consequences. As it fulfills its charge, the Commission expects to exercise the leadership and foster the continuity of action that is required.

Passage of the act signaled a growing awareness of a problem that has been felt in public and private sectors for some years.

Variously labeled as the information crisis or the knowledge explosion, the problem is caused by rapid growth in the production of new knowledge and information and also by the rapidly changing information needs of society. Libraries and library associations, governmental bodies and professional associations in law, medicine, science, and engineering are alarmed by their rapidly deteriorating ability to obtain or to provide information necessary to themselves or to their members and users. In some areas, such as medical information, where the need is great and clearly understood, large sums of money have been spent to develop systems that have begun to provide solutions to specific information problems. In less favored areas, no action has been taken and where there has been activity, the programs to improve libraries and provide better information services are sometimes uncoordinated-lacking in continuity, overall leadership, and funding.

A significant aspect of the charge given to the Commission is to place the library and information problem in a national framework rather than in one that is local or topical.

The Commission is charged with the primary responsibility for developing or recommending overall plans for the provision of library and information services adequate to meet the needs of the people of the United States. The Commission will recom. mend the plans it develops to Congress, the President, and State and local governments. During the preparation of its recommendations, the Commission is authorized to conduct neces sary studies, surveys, or analyses. It may sponsor and promote research and development activities and conduct hearings to further its objectives. While the Commission must report annually on its activities, it may produce and publish reports, studies, findings, or recommendations at any time.

As specified by the enabling legislation, the Commission has been concerned in its initial year with every type of library and with all types of information resources and services. The Commission has deliberated on how it can best take cognizance of the library and information needs of persons in rural areas and those whose access to libraries has been limited for economic, social, or cultural reasons. The special library and information needs of children, handicapped persons, and older citizens are, implicitly, a Commission responsibility.

The permanency of the Commission reflects Congressional and Presidential awareness of the fact that this century is witnessing the dawn of the age of information, an age whose changing problems are expected to yield to social, scientific, and

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