be integrated, starting at the local, state and regional levels and building upward. It is important to point out that the concept of a "nationwide network" does not imply the absurd notion that only one copy of a particular book or publication will be sufficient for the entire country to use. People need material at the most immediate and most accessible level, and the Commission believes that a national plan must, therefore, be built upon strong local resources. An ideal nationwide network requires provision of local holdings of sufficient scope and quantity to satisfy the immediate needs of local users. In the same vein, the concept of a nationwide network does not imply a substitution of computer technology for human resources. As in the past, the bulk of user services would be delivered at the local level, but the network would provide the additional back-up resources as well as the communication directions for reaching specialized materials and information in other libraries and information centers when these are needed locally. The Commission's National Program, as described in this document, is intended to provide the general basis for new Federal legislation. It will help to focus public and professional attention on the critical library and information problems facing the nation today, and it will lay the foundation for a major upgrading of library and information activities, an expansion of cooperative services throughout the nation and planned system development. Chapter I The Need for a National In establishing the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (Public Law 91-345), Congress affirmed 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." It called on the Federal Government to "cooperate with state and local governments and public and private agencies in assuring optimum provision of such services." Furthermore, the law authorized the National Commission to "promote research and development activities which will extend and improve the nation's library and informationhandling capability as essential links in the national communication networks." The Resources Information, whether in the raw form of empirical data, or in the highly processed form we call "knowledge," has come to be regarded as a national resource as critical to the nation's well-being and security as any natural resource, such as water or coal. The wealth of popular, intellectual, scholarly and research resources in the libraries and information facilities of the United States is one of the great strengths of the nation. But like many natural resources, knowledge resources, uncoordinated in growth and usage, are in danger of being wasted and inefficiently utilized. In advanced societies, a substantial part of the culture is handed down to successive generations in the form of recorded knowledge. This resource consists of books, journals, and other texts; of audio and visual materials; and of smaller units of information or data that can be separately manipulated, as by a computer. In recent years, these records have become increasingly varied-through technological extensions of written words, pictures and sounds. For example, a significant part of the country's information resource is now on film, on video tapes and in computer files. As the nation's knowledge grows and the number of records increases, our dependence on them increases, and the need to gain access to them becomes more crucial. "No society can advance beyond a certain point without effective access to its collective memory of record, or conversely, an advanced society that loses control of the record will regress." 1 In the United States information is created, stored, processed and distributed by a vast array of diverse information activities in the private and public sectors, employing millions of people and dealing with billions of dollars, using widely varying technologies to achieve equally widely varying objectives. The publishing industry, indexing and abstracting and other access services, the communications media, and private and public information services are just a few of the many and varied elements that make up the rich mosaic of the contemporary information scene. The more than 8,300 public libraries, thousands of school libraries, libraries in colleges and universities, armed forces, law, medical and religious libraries, special libraries, and information analysis centers, as well as other information facilities in the public and private sector, serve as custodians and dispensers of recorded knowledge in every form. Libraries and other information facilities are the custodians of that part of our cultural heritage which is recorded. They must be adequately equipped, organized, financed and interconnected if their resources are to be made available to all the people of the United States. This, the Commission feels, can only be brought about with the help of the Federal Government, in full cooperation with state and local governments, and related public and private agencies and institutions. The Federal Government has a continuing responsibility to implement innovative, flexible measures that will ensure the continuing development of libraries and information services. The Need for Access Ready access to information and knowledge is indispensable to individual advancement as well as to national growth. The right information provided when it is needed, where it is needed, and in the form in which it is needed, improves the ability of an individual, a business, a government agency, or some other kind of organization, to make informed decisions and achieve particular goals. Users are individuals, each with unique informational, educational, psychological, and social needs. A person may need "practical knowledge" to solve immediate problems in his daily life and work. There may be a need for "professional knowledge" to further his continuing education. Or there may be a need for “intellectual knowledge," the kind that furthers his understanding of the arts, humanities, and sciences, and which enriches the individual's personal life. Reading for pleasure, pursuing an innovative idea, or exploring knowledge just to satisfy one's innate curiosity, are other valid motives for reading, listening or looking. In addition, people feel the need for ethical, religious and philosophical insights. Organizations, like individuals, need information and knowledge. Business organizations need facts and data to forecast a market, develop a new product, or adapt a new technology. Schools need information to improve and extend the learning process. Research organizations need information to synthesize new data with known facts as part of the creative process. Government needs information at every level to formulate plans, refine decision-making, and help government workers to anticipate and resolve problems. 66 The 93rd U.S. Congress accurately described the character of the national information need in Senate Joint Resolution 40 (P.L. 93-568) which authorizes a White House Conference on Library and Information Services. The law states that access to information and ideas is indispensable to the development of human potential, the advancement of civilization, and the continuance of enlightened self-government." It is almost impossible to generalize in assessing user needs. To understand the variety of user needs for library and information service and the extent to which they are being met, the Commission has conferred with many individuals and groups representing different constituencies. It is clear that library and information needs are felt at all levels of society, regardless of an individual's location, social condition, or level of intellectual achievement. Although library and informa tion needs are not the same in all parts of the country, and although they vary widely among people by age, ethnic origin, educational achievement, work assignment, geographic location, and many other factors, most people feel some dependence on the availability of accurate and useful information. User needs can be described from several perspectives. For example, the retarded, the illiterate, the blind, the visually handicapped, the physically handicapped, and the institutionalized require highly specialized resources and services. The immediate informational and library needs of young adults include easy access to library materials such as paperback books, phonograph records, reference materials, and audiovisual materials. Various ethnic groups, such as American Indians, Asian Americans, Black Americans, and Hispanic Americans require not only the traditional level of library and information service, but also various kinds of special help. For example, they need materials and services in their own language, or help in reading English, or specific knowledge such as where to go for a job. Users in the professions, such as the scientist, the researcher, the scholar, and the lawyer, require information for increasing their own productivity and for their continuing education. They often need information quickly, and some of them are accustomed to using computers, telecommunications, and other technology, if necessary, to get it. In addition, there are those whose information needs are affected by their location—the rural population and others in remote areas who do not have direct access to major resources as do their counterparts in metropolitan areas. Other user groups, such as senior citizens, the very young, and the poor, need still other kinds of services and resources. The Commission is keenly aware that much more must be done to develop systematic understanding of the information needs of various special constituencies in the United States such as the economically disadvantaged, the uneducated and the handicapped. We need to know who they are, where they are, what they need, how fast they need it, and the cost and value to them and to society-of increasing their access to information and knowledge. We also need to know who the nonusers are, what information services are important to them, why they do not use the existing facilities, and how to motivate and educate them so they will make use of such facilities. |