the Federal Government to provide incentives for bringing state and local collections and services up to national standards.

(6) It would enable a state to receive matching funding from the Federal Government to initiate network operations within the state at levels consistent with the time-frame and scope of the national network.

(7) It would enable the state to spend its library dollars optimally by investing mainly for general state and local needs and relying on the nationwide network for additional specialized materials, for interstate services, and for other services of common concern.

Multistate groups are forming in different parts of the country to provide a mechanism for planning a regional network program among several states. Such groups are usually organized when two or more states decide to pool their financial and other resources for a specific purpose, i.e., for developing an all inclusive library and information program. Some multistate groups are created by interstate compact, some are incorporated, and others function less formally. Where a legal entity does exist for a multistate group, the participating states must decide how financial support from the Federal Government can be channeled to the new organization.

Figure II is a table comparing the National Program responsibilities of the Federal Government and state govern

ments.

Responsibilities of the Private Sector. The private sector is defined as organizations (either for-profit or not-for-profit) which are not directly tax supported. Success of a National Program depends on the degree to which the private sector of the nation carries out its responsibilities toward the growth and coordination of libraries and information centers. As a major producer of cultural, scientific, technical, and industrial information, the private sector must take on greater responsibility toward developing the information resources of the nation.

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tion resources. Without support from parent organizations, without establishment of new special libraries where series gaps are apparent, the private sector will not only shirk its responsibilities, but will diminish its credibility as an interested participant in the National Program. Special libraries are a peculiarly American invention; and it is hoped that the leaders of business and industry who employ professional personnel as an investment to put knowledge to work for them will encourage shared resources through the National Program as a reasonable response to a national need. The private sector should work closely with the public sector in order to produce materials and provide services which will make the national network both useful and cost-effective. The private sector is already contributing toward improved products on the basis of competition in the marketplace.

FIGURE II. FEDERAL AND STATE RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE NATIONAL PROGRAM

FIGURE II. FEDERAL AND STATE RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE NATIONAL PROGRAM (Cont.)

Facilitating the active participation of the private sector in the development of a national information system may require legislative authority. A new orientation to Federal funding and user economics may also be required to harmonize the traditional library information systems with the newer commercial and other specialized information services.

The exact role of the private sector in a national information program is not yet known. The Commission believes that this area will require intensive study and full collaboration with many different organizations before a meaningful legislative recommendation can be developed.

Responsibilities of the Library of Congress. Among the national facilities with which the Commission is concerned, the largest and the most important to the success of the proposed National Program is the Library of Congress. Because of its size, stature, and comprehensive collections, the Library of Congress is the hub of the nation's bibliographic apparatus for

monographs and serials. The National Library of Medicine and the National Agricultural Library complement the Library of Congress by specializing in their respective fields. All three libraries play a vital role in the library and information programs of the nation. Although the Library of Congress is not officially designated as a national library, it is de facto a national library; it performs many common processing services, and provides many user services for libraries throughout the country. It receives and catalogs the bulk of the same titles received by other American libraries, and the intellectual work which it does centrally obviates the need for local duplication. The National Union Catalog, the Card Distribution Service, and the MARC (Machine Readable Cataloging) Program, which includes making current cataloging information available on magnetic tape, are prime examples of the central work done by the Library of Congress which accrues to the benefit of most American libraries.

The participation of the Library of Congress is crucial to the development of a National Program and to the operation of the nationwide network because it has the capacity and the materials to perform many common services in both the areas of technical processing and reference and because it can set national bibliographic standards for the program. New legislation may be needed to designate the Library of Congress as having responsibilty for integral aspects of the National Pro

gram.

The Commission believes that the Library of Congress should be designated as the National Library. In its role as a National Library it should accept the following responsibilities in the National Program:

(1) Expansion of the lending and lending-management function of the Library to that of a National Lending Library of final resort. The Library of Congress has been interlibrary lending a variety of its materials to other libraries for many years. In the development of a national system of information resources, there will be complexes of collections organized for sequential service levels. Loan of library and information materials will, in some cases, have to come from the most comprehensive collection, that of the Library of Congress. To fulfill this requirement for backstopping the other significant resources in the nation, and to do so

without infringing on the need to protect its collections for future use, will require extended new arrangements. Such arrangements will incorporate the purchase of some materials for loan and, in some cases, the use of microforms to produce, simultaneously, a preservation copy and a print copy for loan. Development and management of the components of this extended service, including arrangements for added collections, a new system of interlibrary communications, a new mechanism for obtaining copyright permission, and improved document and text delivery techniques, will be required.

(2) Expansion of coverage of the National Program for Acquisitions and Cataloging (NPAC). This program, to acquire, catalog quickly and disseminate cataloging data rapidly for all current works of research value, has been progressing for over six years. In that time, the percentage of materials acquired and cataloged from all sources, to meet the expressed needs of the library and research community of the United States, has climbed from fifty percent to seventy-five percent. The Commission believes that the Library of Congress should seek to acquire, catalog and process for current and future use, a larger percentage of the world output. With the expenditure of approximately $15 million per year by the Library of Congress for such a purpose, it is estimated that there would be a fourfold national saving for research libraries alone, as well as additional significant national benefits. This is the kind of economy of scale that a coordinated National Program could bring about. (3) Expansion of Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC) to include cataloging in substantially all languages of current monographic, serial, and other significant library and information materials being acquired by the Library of Congress; distribution of this data base, perhaps to state and regional centers and other national network nodes for library and information service. This project, to extend what has already become a landmark service for the public, university and research libraries, and information centers of the nation, is essential for the effective operation of the bibliographic apparatus of the Library of Congress and other research libraries and information agencies. The task of maintaining bibliographic control of the increasing amount of significant library and information materials