The National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) was an agency in the United States government between 1970 and 2008. The activities of the Commission were consolidated into the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Records of NCLIS are held at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and the University of Michigan Library, Special Collections as part of the Power Collection for the Study of Scholarly Communication and Information Transfer.

National Advisory Commission on Libraries

President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed a National Advisory Commission on Libraries in 1966 to appraise the role and adequacy of the nation's libraries and recommend ways of improving them. Members of the Commission appointed: Dr. Douglas Knight, president, Duke University, as Commission chairman; Verner W. Clapp, president, Council on Library and Information Resources; Carl Overhage, director of Project INTREX, M.I.T.; Herman H. Fussler, director of libraries, University of Chicago; Theodore Waller, president, Grolier Educational Corporation; Wilbur Schramm, director, Institute for Communication Research, Stanford University; Launor Carter, System Development Corporation; William N. Hubbard, Jr., chairman, Educause (then EDUCOM); Caryl P. Haskins, Carnegie Institution for Science; Alvin C. Eurich, president, Aspen Institute; Stephen J. Wright, former president of Fisk University; Harry Ransom, University of Texas at Austin; Carl Elliott, former Congressman from Alabama; and Estelle Brodman, National Library of Medicine. The National Advisory Commission was appointed to "make a comprehensive study and appraisal of the role of libraries as resources for scholarly pursuits, as centers for the dissemination of knowledge, and as components of the evolving national information systems." The Commission report, Libraries at Large: Tradition, Innovation, and the National Interest; the Resource Book Based on the Materials of the National Advisory Commission on Libraries, provided documentation for legislation. Other responsibilities included the appraisal of public agency programs and library funding. The Commission also had the task of making recommendations for government and private agencies to "ensure an effective and efficient library system for the Nation." After Hearings before the United States House Committee on Education and Labor, Select Subcommittee on Education The Advisory Commission ultimately recommended "the establishment of a National Commission on Library and Information Science as a continuing Federal Planning agency." The recommendations of the National Advisory Commission were incorporated into legislation (PL 91-345) that established the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) as a permanent, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States in 1970.

NCLIS Purpose

Activities

Government information

Studies making recommendations on the dissemination of federal government information, including:

White House Conferences on Library and Information Services

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter opened the first White House Conference on Library and Information Services stating that "libraries must be strengthened and the public made more aware of their potential: Libraries can be community resources for the consumer and small business on matters such as energy and marketing and technological innovation." The National Commission on Libraries and Information Science sponsored two White House Conferences in 1979 and 1991. The 1979 conference focused on "Elements of a Comprehensive National Library and Information Services Program"; "Legislative and Administrative Initiatives"; and a proposed National Library and Information Services Act. Sixty-four resolutions were passed in five areas: services for personal needs, lifelong learning, organizations and the professions, social government, and international cooperation and understanding. "The resolutions asked that libraries serve people in better ways, that local control of these services be maintained, and that institutions providing the services be accountable." Attendance was 3,600. The 1991 Conference held July 9–13, 1991, brought more than 900 delegates representing all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and six U.S. territories. Resolutions included Access, Governance, Marketing, Networking, National Information Policy, Preservation, Services to Diverse Populations, Technology, Training of End Users, and Personnel. Hearings were held on recommendations. The lasting effects of the two White House Conferences on Library and Information Services were assessed by Virginia Mathews for the Center for the Book in 2004. The records of the state-level White House pre-conferences are held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Archives. Some states, like Alabama and North Carolina, published state proceedings; Other states, like Arkansas and Massachusetts, included coverage in state association journals.

Other activities

Strategic Goals

In 2004, the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) announced three strategic goals to guide its work in the immediate future.

NCLIS executive directors

NCLIS chairs

Brief biographies and photographs of NCLIS chairs are provided in Meeting the Information Needs of the American People: Past Actions and Future Initiatives Appendix B.

NCLIS publications

The Commission issued a comprehensive list of publications in Appendix F of its final (March 2008) report, Meeting the Information Needs of the American People: Past Actions and Future Initiatives. The report documents the history and accomplishments of the Commission and provides a compelling future agenda for information policy research and development. Among its notable publications was Pathways to Excellence: A Report on Improving Library and Information Services for Native American Peoples

Closing

In Fiscal Year 2007–2008 appropriations, the Commission received limited funding and instructions to terminate its operations. Activities were consolidated under the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Commission office closed on March 30, 2008.

Footnotes