this is the case, he observed, should the public revenues needed to secure this public good come by taxing private activity in this area? Many local libraries, for example, are funded primarily through property taxes. Are new funding mechanisms needed to ensure widespread public access to non-commercial information?

CONCLUSION

The digital revolution provides a unique opportunity for collaboration among Government, industry, the public, and the library and educational communities. Participants concurred that we need to learn more from models of collaboration that already exist, particularly those that add value and help generate new knowledge. Clear Government roles exist to ensure the public interest and to support private investment and innovation. The Internet serves as a key example of how Government can prime much broader activity. Collective action is also essential in developing standards and promoting systems interoperability.

Participants agreed on the critical importance of protecting intellectual property rights in the digital era in promoting the creation and dissemination of new knowledge. Also important, however, is accommodating the principles of fair and equitable use for scholars and the public.

Finally, policymakers must address social and educational equity and reach communities of need. Training people at all levels must be a central component of the national information infrastrucutre effort. Libraries have a key role to play in providing equitable access to information for all citizens.

Dr. BILLINGTON. Basically, no matter what is going to travel over the information superhighway, we will provide a lot of the freight, and we will provide the copyright mark that goes on it.

And we can also, I think, provide a neutral convening ground for the various parties. Everyone seemed to feel that way at the July meeting.

I might just add a couple of things. On the delivery to the Congress, of course, I think there is a great future, and Mr. Mulhollan will perhaps talk about this in greater detail. We are saving you the need to stockpile everything. If you can get what you need instantly, electronically from a central file, you don't need to keep as many files on basic matters of information.

And so as we perfect that system-and Mr. Becker may have more to say about that as well-I think we will save a lot of storage space over here and a lot of paper you won't need to keep because you will be able to get it here.

Mr. FAZIO. We are in a strange kind of time-warp. Sticking with our analogy, we don't know what is in the trunk of the Cadillac; we don't know what we have. Nevertheless, we are under tremendous pressure to make sure that everybody can have it.

Mr. TAYLOR. We know it is something good.

Dr. BILLINGTON. In the analysis of our American Memory Pilot, the 44 sites that we are now testing, we have four experiments with four different types of delivery systems.

The institution is responsible in this case, the Library of Congress-for assembling and preparing the material, sorting out what is good, bad, the way we do for everybody for this sort of thing.

The private sector is responsible for delivery. They are all experimenting with different methods of delivery and can take care of that entirely.

In between, though, there is a need to digitize the material which is not immediately commercially attractive but is educationally important or maybe important in the long run for the productive private sector but isn't immediately on anybody's front burner.

Digitization is where there is the need for some new creative mix. We hope for some philanthropic support for this, but it will have to be some public and private mix that is not yet lined up. And when that gets resolved, all of the rest can move very rapidly. We have assembled core collections that are ready to move. The private sector is working on distribution very rapidly.

So I think this is something that can happen, but I think no one distribution mode is likely to prevail. It likely will be several.

But I think ultimately the most exciting possibilities, which are not quite all technically solved lie in having everything on line. Just as we have our bibliographic records and bill digest on line, the content or at least important parts of the content of the Library of Congress and other major repositories can be put on line.

And Vice President Gore in his speech to the Press Club just a week or so ago said that the aim should be to get the Library of Congress in every home in America. That is a bit ambitious; and if one were to try to do that right now, you might risk just becoming part of the home entertainment center that is developing with these multiple cable channels.