(8) Plan, develop and implement a nationwide network of library and information service.

Meeting the above eight priority objectives constitutes the sum of the Commission's proposed program. In some instances, existing programs would be strengthened or reoriented. In other cases, the Commission would initiate new programs, such as the nationwide network. Only by the melding of present and future cooperative systems into a national structure can the rich resources of this nation be fully exploited.

The Nationwide Network Concept

Major Federal Responsibilities

The Federal Government would force no library or other information service to join the network, but would provide technical inducements and funding incentives to state governments and the private sector to strengthen their ability to become effective components of a mutually reinforcing program.

(1) Encourage and promulgate standards. The Federal Government has a major responsibility to encourage and support efforts to develop the standards required to assure interconnection between intrastate networks, multistate networks and specialized networks in the public and private sectors, i.e., the standards for: (a) computer software, access and security protocols, data elements and codes; (b) bibliographic formats, films, computer tapes and sound recordings; (e) literary texts in machine-readable form; and (f) reprography and micrographics.

(2) Make unique and major resource collections available nationwide. Institutions with unique resources of national significance, such as the Harvard University Libraries, the New York Public Library, the Newberry Library, the Glass Information Center in Corning, New York, and the Chemical Abstracts Service, would be provided incremental funding to help extend their extramural services to the whole country.

(3) Develop centralized services for networking. While many services can be better managed locally, others might be sponsored centrally in either the public or private sector, for example, a national audiovisual repository, a national system of interlibrary communication, a national depository for the preservation of microform masters and "best copies" of all works of research value, a national periodical bank, and machine-readable data banks of articles and abstracts in the fields of language, literature, or musicology.

(4) Explore computer use. Computers have become indispensable tools of network operations, not only for routine clerical tasks, such as the dissemination of bibliographic information, the acquisition of books, catalog card production, and the control of circulation and serial records, but also for the retrieval of knowledge resources in machine-readable form. In addition to dedicated minicomputers for local internal processing, a nationwide network might be expected to employ centralized computer installations (a) for production of bibliographic data for use by local agencies throughout the country, and (b) for searching the knowledge resource itself to learn what is available where, to record new holdings and to arrange interlibrary delivery. (5) Apply new forms of telecommunications. In order to place people in more immediate contact with the total national information resources, a future telecommunications system might eventually integrate teletype, audio, digital and video signals into a single system. The greatest boon to national access to the public knowledge resource would be free or reduced rates for educational and cultural use of the Federal Telecommunications System and satellite communication channels, at least until the traffic has reached an economically viable level.

(6) Support research and development. A Federal program of research and development, through grants and contracts, should address such problems as the application of new technologies, the relevance of services to different reader communities, the effects of new information systems on users, and the profession itself as it struggles with the dynamics of change.

(7) Foster cooperation with similar national and international programs. In order to tap the knowledge resources of the world, the national program should support such efforts as those of UNESCO'S UNISIST project, the International Standards Office, the International Federation of Library Associations, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Organizational Relationships and Supporting Responsibilities

In addition to the Executive Branch of the Federal Government, key components of the national program are the fifty states, the Library of Congress, and the private sector. Each of the levels in the nationwide program should bear its share of the total financial burden.

Responsibilities of State Governments

The Federal Government would fund those aspects of the network which support national objectives and stimulate statewide and multistate library development. The state governments would accept the

major share of the cost of coordinating and supporting the intrastate components of the network, as well as part of the cost of participating in multistate planning. The states could participate most helpfully by enacting or updating library legislation and by establishing or strengthening state library agencies to administer state programs in the context of the national program.

Some of the advantages that would accrue to a state from its participation in a nationwide network are: (1) more information for its residents than it could possibly afford to amass through its own capital investment; (2) reduced interstate telecommunication costs; (3) access to computer software, data bases and technical equipment; (4) compatibility with national programs; (5) matching funding for bringing state and local resources up to acceptable standards; (6) matching funding to initiate network operations; and (7) the ability to invest mainly in immediate state and local needs while relying upon the national network for specialized material and services.

Responsibilities of the Private Sector

The private sector, as a major producer of cultural, scientific, technical, and industrial information, must work closely with the public sector in order to make the national network both useful and costeffective. A new orientation to Federal funding and user economics might be required to harmonize the traditional library information systems with the newer commercial and other specialized information systems. The Commission believes that this area will require intensive study and full collaboration among many different organizations before a meaningful legislative recommendation can be developed.

Responsibilities of the Library of Congress

Although not so designated by law, the Library of Congress is de facto a National Library. The Commission believes that it should legally be so designated. In that role it should accept the following responsibilities in the national program: (1) expansion of its lending function to that of a National Lending Library of final resort; (2) expansion of coverage under the National Program for Acquisitions and Cataloging; (3) expansion of Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC); (4) the on-line distribution of the bibliographic data base to the various nodes of the national network; (5) an augmented reference service to support the national system for bibliographic service; (6) operation of a comprehensive National Serials Service; (7) estab lishment of a technical services center to provide training in, and information about, Library of Congress techniques and processes, with emphasis on automation; (8) development of improved access to state and local government publications; and (9) further implementation

of the National Program to preserve physically deteriorating library materials.

Proposed Legislation

Future legislation will have as its objective the nationwide network and will: (1) outline the role of the Federal Government, the national libraries, and the states; (2) specify the functions that should be performed centrally; (3) establish the basis for appropriate Federal-state and state-local matching funding; (4) establish a locus of Federal responsibility for implementing the policies and programs of the National Commission; (5) provide a framework for private sector participation; and (6) safeguard privacy, confidentiality, and freedom of expression.

Funding

Since 1956, with the passage of the Library Services Act, the Federal Government has provided funds for new services, library training and research, new building construction, aid to special groups, and interlibrary cooperation. In 1973 the Administration recommended the substitution of revenue sharing for categorical Federal grant programs. The preponderance of testimony to the Commission says that revenue sharing is not working for libraries. Recent actions by Congress have restored appropriations for many categorical aid programs, but, despite the proposed Library Partnership Act, the threat of discontinuance of those programs persists. Meanwhile, the Commission believes that the American public has not only accepted the principle of Federal funding for libraries, but has also equated it with Federal responsibility for education.

It is premature to stipulate criteria for requesting financial assistance from the Federal Government under the national program, but suggestions are herewith put forward for consideration. For example, each institution or agency wishing to participate in the network might be asked to:

(1) Request support only for programs that are consistent with national program aids and objectives;

(2) Be willing to subscribe to, and to utilize, national bibliographic, technical, and other standards;

(3) Provide assurance that successful programs basic to a library's mission and begun with Federal funds, will be sustained by the recipient for at least several years;

(4) Stipulate that Federal funds would not be used to offset or dilute financial responsibility at the local, regional, or state level;

(5) Match Federal funds with local or state funds according to a formula based on factors other than merely population or per capita income;

(6) Develop a mutually compatible formula for matching funds between the state and local governments similar to that between the state and Federal Government; and

(7) Adhere to the protocols and conventions of use established for a nationwide network.

Until a new funding policy for the national program is worked out and passed into legislation, the Commission strongly favors the continuation of categorical aid under existing titles.

Conclusion

The Commission believes that the country's library and information services are not yet organized to meet the needs of the Nation as a whole. The Nation must change direction by treating recorded knowledge as a national resource for the benefit of all people and the national welfare. The necessary changes in manpower development, in the application of technology, in Federal and state investment policy, in cooperative, interjurisdictional arrangements and in forms and styles of services will come about gradually; but the Commission is satisfied that the library and information communities are now prepared to work together in creating the strongest possible information services for the country. It urges the American people, through Federal, state, and local governments, and public and private institutions, to support a nationwide program of library and information service as a high-priority national goal.