lacking. Therefore, the early emphasis has been on acquiring this There data. In the second instance, in order for the National Program to be implemented effectively, it is imperative that citizens at large as well as the library and information science community, become familiar with the program and understand its recommendations. fore, a secondary--but significant--effort has been to increase awareness and understanding of the National Program. Surprisingly, this has not required a great deal of initiative on the part of the To the contrary, since the publication of the National Program Document, NCLIS has been deluged with invitations from national, state and local library and educational associations and institutions, and others for Commissioners or staff to attend their meetings to discuss the National Program and describe the implementation projects. Commission. The Commission's quest for needed information has been pursued primarily through the use of studies and task forces. Frequently, this has been done in cooperation with or with support from other One of the early pro Government agencies or private institutions. jects was a study of the near-term role in the national network of the Library of Congress, which, because of the size and generality of its collection and the magnitude of the services that it already provides to the Nation, must be considered a keystone of any national library and information services endeavor. More recently, another study has been initiated to define the role of authority files Another early and crucial study was an updated inventory of library 5% (10 million) of the citizens of this country still do not have access to public library service. This is a great improvement over 1955, the year the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) was enacted, when that figure was more like 20%, but that still leaves over 10 million people without public library service. Even when some kind of service is available, it is frequently woefully inadequate, with the estimated cumulative resources some 40% below needs. This study provides fundamental information for Commission planning and for developing the agendas for the state and territorial conferences which will precede the White House Conference on Library and Information Services. As stated in the Program Document, the Commission has been "firmly committed to the continuation of categorical aid..." In order to assess the validity of this position, NCLIS commissioned a study of the impact and effectiveness of federal funding programs for public libraries. The final report of this study, also just recently received, shows that, indeed, libraries have not fared well in the competition for General Revenue Sharing funds. Less than 2% of available funds are being allocated to library services, with much of that simply substituting for local or state funds, which are then diverted to other agencies, rather than providing additional support for libraries. Two additional studies are underway. The first of these is a survey to determine the actual volume and characteristics of library photocopying in the United States, and includes a test of a means of royalty payment. This study is being done with the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works (CONTU). The second is an inventory of bibliographic resources for nonprint media as a basis for the development of functional specifications for a unified data base. This study is being done in cooperation with the Association for Education Communications and Technology (AECT). Task forces currently operating include one working on the development of a national periodicals access program and another which is developing computer-to-computer protocols for communication of bibliographic information between different library computer systems. Neither a study nor a task force, but, nonetheless, an essential activity for implementation is the series of management institutes for chiefs of state library agencies and their principal staffs being underwritten by NCLIS. Since state library agencies must serve as the focal points for library and information service coordination in their states, it is important that the agency heads be thoroughly familiar with the National Program and with the latest techniques of planning, evaluation benefit-cost budgeting and management. Later this year and in early 1978, several additional task forces will be constituted, including a task force on the public/private interface, which will attempt to define the respective roles of the government and private sectors in terms of the Program Document, one on the role of the school library/media centers in the National Program and still another on library services for Native Americans. We also expect to take the first steps toward implementing a national periodicals access program, based on the soon-to-be-released report of the task force referred to above. Fiscal year 1977 and early 1978 will also see us in the start-up phases for the White House Conference on Library and Information Services and the preceding state and territorial conferences. While this Conference will have its own budget and staff, hiring and orienting that staff will make demands on the NCLIS staff and Commissioners, and, of course, the responsibility for continuing oversight will also occupy some of our resources. ( During fiscal year 1978, we will be continuing our support (in cooperation with the National Science Foundation and the Council on Library Resources), of the Committee for the Coordination of National Bibliographic Control, working with the Conference on Resolution of Copyright Issues (a group representing virtually all parties with an interest in the photocopy question, which is jointly chaired by the Chairman of the NCLIS and the Register of Copyright), and closely monitoring the effects of the new Copyright Act (which goes into effect January 1, 1978 and the working of the guidelines for library photocopying prepared by the Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works (CONTU). With such a broad range of responsibilities and limited funds, NCLIS policy has been to maximize the use of available talent and to emphasize practical, readily implementable projects, particularly in areas in which support from other agencies can be obtained. Το |