of industry, university, and government leaders and other key decision makers in both countries. A followup meeting has been held to monitor progress on the recommendations, and the report of the seminar will be published by the British Library Research and Development Department early in 1985. NCLIS will distribute copies of the report in the United States and will take responsibility for implementing certain recommendations. WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE The final report of the September 1983 White House Conference on Productivity appeared in 1984. Recommendations #1 and #3 from the conference placed particular emphasis on information concerns: 1. Private sector organizations should focus more attention on improving technology, quality, and information resources. 3. Private sector organizations should establish productivity measures and improvement goals for all employees, especially for information and service workers who constitute the growing majority of the workforce, and for all other measurable capital and materials resources. Throughout FY 1983 the Commission assisted the Executive Office of the President with the planning and coordination of the White House Conference on Productivity and helped make the participants aware of library and information concerns in relation to productivity. NCLIS was responsible for providing a briefing paper on the information component of productivity for distribution to all participants in the preconferences and national conference. The Commission also provided a liaison between the White House Conference and the October 1983 Annual Conference of the American Society for Information Science, that had as its theme, "Productivity in the Information Age." IFLA INFORMATION CENTER The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) will hold its 1985 conference in Chicago. This represents the first time in over a decade that the IFLA conference has been held in the U.S. The conference is expected to attract 2000 leaders in the library/information field from all over the world. NCLIS has been asked to coordinate a combination theme exhibit/working information center for the IFLA conference. As an exhibit, the center will demonstrate a wide range of existing technologies appropriate to a small information center. As a working information center for the conference, it will offer access to a variety of resources to benefit the attendees. These include: local databases with information about the conference; a core reference collection of journals and monographs in the field of library/information science; a wide range of commercial databases in the field; and the means of access to journal texts, holdings of other libraries, and professional expertise. One part of the exhibit will demonstrate the potential for direct access to a range of information resources in the workplace, and another will feature an audiovisual presentation about the Commission. In constructing the information center, the Commission has requested and is receiving extensive support and cooperation from the private sector, both for-profit and not-for-profit. After the conference, the information center will be housed at NCLIS headquarters in Washington, D.C. to serve as the agency's working information center and a permanent exhibit for interested visitors. IV. Library/Information A fourth area of Commission concern is best expressed by its statutory mandate (P.L. 91-345) to advise the President and the Congress on ways to reinforce the concept that "library and information services adequate to meet the needs of the people of the United States are essential to achieve national goals and to utilize most effectively the Nation's educational resources." In carrying out this mandate, NCLIS works closely with the entire library/information community. TECHNICAL ADVICE AND ASSISTANCE TO MEMBERS AND COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS AND WORK WITH THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH Legislative Assistance Throughout the year, NCLIS provided technical assistance to Congress on the reauthorization of three major pieces of legislation: the 25-year old Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA); the Higher Education Act; and the Older Americans Act (OAA). Amendments to LSCA and OAA were passed by the Congress and signed into law by the President during 1984. The Congress will continue to work on HEA during 1985. Over the past few years, the Commission has provided technical assistance to the Congress on the reauthorization of LSCA by gathering information from members of the library/information community regarding their needs and ideas for the new legislation. NCLIS assisted the House Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education with a series of hearings held across the country, during which more than 200 witnesses testified on the needs of libraries for federal assistance and encouragement through LSCA. The |