can be achieved only by a substantial program of research and development. This Commission urges that the Federal Government should actively promote research and development in all aspects of technology as it relates to libraries and information transfer. To this end, the proposed National Commission on Libraries and Information Science should develop an integrated plan of support and cooperation involving the various Federal agencies now sponsoring such research and development work. Such a plan would greatly aid the continuation and strengthening of the current grant and contract program, which involves research and development projects at universities, private and public libraries, nonprofit research and development organizations, professional societies, and private companies. The major Federal Institute recommended by the National Advisory Commission on Libraries can play an important role in the over-all plan. This Institute should itself undertake multidisciplinary research, development, and prototype application of all types of new technology as they relate to library and information science activities. Its program should be built on a foundation of basic research efforts directed toward better tools for the analysis of library and information requirements, quantitative measures for judging the value of existing systems and services, and an understanding of the relative value of various information-transfer media and of the role of interactive systems. - Supported by such basic investigations, the major research and development activities of the program should aim for further multidisciplinary efforts to improve library work for example: (1) through applications of new technology for purposes of saving labor, improving speed and accuracy, maximizing convenience and dependability, reducing costs, and performing tasks previously impossible; (2) through more effective devices for organizing, storing, transmitting, displaying, and copying information; (3) through more effective organization of manpower and service units; (4) through superior understanding of the theoretical foundations of library work and of the storage, organization, and communication of knowledge; (5) through understanding, based on comprehensive studies of both users and nonusers of libraries, both as to their library requirements and also the reasons for nonuse; and (6) through the resolution of legal problems, such as those relating to the photocopying of copyrighted material. The apex of the overall plan for research and development should be a system of interconnected libraries, established as a prototype network, a model for information transfer by advanced techniques. Such a network, after attaining full operational success, would become the first step in the evolution of an integrated national library system. The National Advisory Commission on Libraries recommends that the proposed Institute should be given the system engineering and technical direction responsibilities for the design and implementation of such a system. In all planning of technological applications in library work, in all library network or systems planning, a crucial element is the development and application of national standards for the compatibility and convertibility of data systems and techniques among libraries. The proposed Institute should take a leading part in bringing about such standardization. Administratively and organizationally, the Government can choose among many different patterns in establishing a research and development Institute of the type here contemplated. It is recommended that this Institute be established within the Office of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. It may be helpful to point out that the models that were prominent in the Commission's thinking were the National Institutes of Health and the National Laboratories of the Atomic Energy Commission. United States Office of Education RECOMMENDATION: Recognition and full accept- Recent legislation and Federal appropriations providing for: (1) major research programs that greatly accelerate the growth of new knowledge and (2) additional massive support for education at all levels place new and large responsibilities on the Office of Education. Its task would become even greater with the adoption of the National Advisory Commission on Libraries' proposals for a National Policy on library services for the nation's needs, the creation of a nationwide library network, and the widespread use of technological aids to improve library services. The Commission recognizes the steps which the Office of Education has taken during this past year to strengthen and to increase the efficiency of its operations. The proposed organization of the Office's activities that affect libraries must focus on the most critical library problems: programs, professional education, facilities, research, planning, and development. In addition, the National Center for Educational Statistics must be in a position to collect on a continuing basis the pertinent and adequate library data -- urgently required and not now available for an appraisal of present programs and formulating plans for the future. But to carry out these key functions, the Office's staff must immediately be strengthened. The Commission urges the approval without delay of support for professionally trained, experienced people, with supporting staff, to serve in the library programs of the Office, particularly within its Division of Library Services and Educational Facilities. To provide the essential overall leadership, the National Advisory Commission on Libraries specifically recommends the appointment of an Associate United States Commissioner for Libraries, responsible directly to the Commissioner of Education. With its library and information services programs properly organized and staffed, the Office of Education would be in a far better position to administer present and impending Federal legislation and to conduct efficiently more extensive activities on behalf of the libraries. It could then plan, extend, and coordinate, at the national level, all types of library services for schools, colleges, continuing and adult education, public libraries, research, industry, government, and other agencies. In doing so, it would assist greatly in providing the service to libraries so vital in our time. The critically important role of the Office of Education in meeting the nation's need for services in support of libraries must be clearly recognized and fully accepted by the Federal Government. State Library Agencies RECOMMENDATION: Strengthening State library Because State library agencies are unable to fulfill their current role adequately, far less their participative role in new joint ventures toward the objectives discussed in Chapter 3, State library agencies must be strengthened. This can best be done at this time by amendment 28-638 - 69-5 of the Library Services and Construction Act (P. L. 88-269, P. L. 89511, P. L. 90-154) authorizing aid specifically for such agencies to enable them: (1) to overcome staff shortages, (2) to provide better consultative services to public libraries, (3) to offer special information and library services to State Government, (4) to insure that a full range of library services is offered to the handicapped and disadvantaged, (5) to initiate and encourage research into library problems, and (6) to coordinate library planning for total library service. These are the areas where serious deficiencies currently exist. In the long-range development of State-related library services, the principle of State matching should be retained. The National Advisory Commission on Libraries believes that Federal programs should give increasing attention to the building and strengthening of regional and interstate library programs where these appear to respond more effectively and efficiently to library needs. Conclusion The five recommendations discussed above are the result of the deliberations of the National Advisory Commission on Libraries from its establishment by Executive Order September 2, 1966, through June 1968. They are intended to provide structural innovations and realignments for a planned and coordinated approach to society's changing needs in the years ahead, as well as immediate actions to solve immediate problems. The order of presentation and relative length of descriptive text do not imply order of importance. All are major recommendations. Some relate to all the objectives discussed in Chapter 3; others relate more to one objective than another. All are aimed toward fulfillment of the National Policy presented in Chapter 2: RECOMMENDATION: That it be declared National SUMMARY OF OBJECTIVES AND RECOMMENDATIONS The fundamental recommendation of the National Advisory Commission on Libraries, on which further recommendations are based, is that it be declared National Policy, enunciated by the President and enacted into law by the Congress, that the American people should be provided with library and informational services adequate to their needs, and that the Federal Government, in collaboration with State and local governments and private agencies, should exercise leadership assuring the provision of such services. Objectives for Overcoming Current Inadequacies * * * * Provide adequate library and informational services for formal Provide adequate library and informational services for the Provide materials to support research in all fields at all levels. Provide adequate physical access to required materials or their texts throughout the nation. Provide adequate trained personnel for the varied and changing demands of librarianship. Recommendations for Achieving the Objectives 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Establishment of a National Commission on Libraries and Information Science as a continuing Federal planning agency. Recognition and strengthening of the role of The Library of Establishment of a Federal Institute of Library and Information Science as a principal center for basic and applied research in all relevant areas. Recognition and full acceptance of the critically important role the United States Office of Education currently plays in meeting needs for library services. Strengthening State library agencies to overcome deficiencies in fulfilling their current functions. 45 |