Office of Science Information Service of the National Science Foundation (OSIS/NSF) is the principal component of government responsible for information science research in the field of science and technology. Its research programs are carried out in close cooperation with higher education, industry, and professional associations. Although OSIS/NSF research programs are generally concerned with the investigation of problems in the field of science information and problems of research libraries, methodologies and techniques developed for these specific purposes could be transferred to and used to good advantage in other fields. If the OSIS/NSF research and development programs were further strengthened and conducted in close collaboration with the Commission, they would most certainly yield many new insights into network organization standards, economics, technology, access, and use that would help accelerate the implementation of a national network of library and information service activities. Research and demonstration in library and information science and library training rests with the U.S. Office of Education, Library Research and Demonstration Program. Since its inception, this program has provided funding to organizations for the improvement of libraries and information. science. Current focus is on consortia building, more efficient use of resources, and on groups with special or unmet needs (such as the economically disadvantaged, ethnic minorities, senior citizens, women) and on improvement of training in library and information science. Heaviest program emphasis has been on networks to be used by-and which are designed to serve as bases for-state, regional, and national networks.

(7) To foster cooperation with similar national and international programs. In recent years, computer and communications technology have made the concept of a worldwide information network a practical reality. As a result, many countries are trying to articulate their plans for national information programs with broader international plans.

Through the good offices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), productive efforts are underway to achieve technical compatibility among national information systems in order to

ensure that future international exchange of information will occur efficiently.

The United States, through the National Science Foundation already supports UNESCO's UNISIST (an acronymic term which stands for the feasibility study on the establishment of a world science information system) program, which is directed toward the more systematic development of international information services. The United States also participates actively in the information activities of the International Standards Office (ISO), the Universal Copyright Convention (UCC), the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), including its principal objective of Universal Bibliographic Control, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Federation Internationale de Documentation (FID), and other related programs.

There are also some new developments in international standards which hold great promise for electronic processing of original input of bibliographic data, such as International Standard Bibliographic Descriptions for monographs and serials, proposed by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Committee on Cataloging. Final agreement on the precise terms of these standards should bring about substantial benefits to both libraries and users.

Americans need access to foreign publications and information, and vice versa. A worldwide network may, someday, enable people of any country to tap the knowledge resources of the world. A step closer to the attainment of this ideal can be taken if the proposed National Program supports a strong leadership role for the United States in the evolution of compatible information systems and networks throughout the world.

Organizational Relationships and
Supporting Responsibilities

Figure I depicts the organizational relationships among government agencies and the private sector as envisioned for the National Program by the Commission.

FIGURE I. THE PROPOSED NATIONAL PROGRAM OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICE

In addition to the Executive Branch of the Federal Government, there are three other key components in the proposed national network which are crucial to its success. First, there are the fifty states, all of whom have resources to contribute to the network and requirements to be filled by the network. Second, there is the Library of Congress, which is the keystone of the nation's bibliographic system and is uniquely able to perform centralized services vital to the network. Finally, there is the private sector, which contains a multitude of old and new information services which fulfill a large part of America's daily demand for information.

Responsibilities of State Governments. National goals in the field of library and information service cannot be achieved unless there is careful articulation between local, state, multistate, and national planning. It is the Commission's view that each of these levels in the nationwide program should bear its share of the total financial burden. For example, the Federal Government would fund those aspects of the network which support national objectives, and stimulate statewide and multistate library development needed to support the national

program. The state government would accept the major share of the cost of coordinating and of supporting the intrastate components of the network, as well as a part of the cost of participating in multistate planning operations. Each state must recognize its responsibilty to develop and sustain its own statewide program of library and information service. Such a program must commit the state to provide funding or matching funding for development of resources and services, including special forms of statewide network assistance and specialized services.

If this type of quid pro quo philosophy were adopted, and if incentive formulae were worked out to make local, state, multistate, and national financing mutually reinforcing, then a nationwide network could grow from the bottom up. Το achieve this goal, however, requires that the responsibilities of the various levels be well defined, that financial obligations be clearly recognized and that legal commitments be made possible through appropriate statutes. Some states may decide to provide funding for the further development of library and information services within the state, while other states may elect to share funding with local governments.

It would be an important advance if the states would elect to prepare and/or update corresponding legislation setting forth statewide programs of library and information services, and specifically committing individual states to provide direct and matching funding.

Responsibility for fostering the coordination of library resources and services throughout a state has usually been assigned to a state library agency or to another agency with the same legal authority and functions. This agency is the natural focus for statewide planning and coordination of cooperative library and information services and for coordinating statewide plans with those of the Federal Government. Such agencies should solicit the widest possible participation of library, information, and user communities. Several states such as Illinois, New York, and Washington already have operational systems or networks which are in harmony with the Commission's program. The fifty states, however, must make a firm commitment to continuing support and funding of library and information activities at a level commensurate with the needs of their constituents.

State library agencies have a major role to play in the development of a nationwide program of library and information service. Many of these agencies now serve a significant planning and coordinating function in their respective states or in a multistate complex. Therefore, they should be considered partners by the Federal Government in developing and supporting useful patterns of service. Among the benefits which could accrue from such a partnership are greater possibilities for compatible programs and sustained funding through mutually-supportive efforts.

Proposed Federal legislation in support of library and information services must recognize that the states are at varying stages of developing their services; some states have not yet initiated plans, and others are in the early stages of planning, while still others are already implementing sophisticated programs. Some states have networks organized by type of library, others have networks that include all types of libraries, and still others have networks that include information agencies as well as libraries. Federal-state funding formulae must, therefore, be devised which will take into account these differences among the states and provide the means for supporting various levels of development.

Some of the advantages which would accrue to a state through its affiliation with, and participation in, a nationwide network are as follows:

(1) It would enable a state to get more information for its residents than it could possibly afford to amass through its own capital investment by providing them with access to the total information and knowledge resources of the country.

(2) It would enable a state to receive reduced-rate interstate telecommunications services through the Federal Telecommunications System or commercial channels. This asset alone would repay participation because it represents a share in a very sizeable Federal investment.

(3) It would enable a state to receive computer software, computer data bases, technical equipment, and other materials which derive from the Federal Government's library and information science research and development programs. (4) It would ensure that the state's internal network plans are