SPECIAL REPORT: 

THE NEW NCLIS 

JANUARY 2005 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................1 

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND...........................................................................2 

THE ROLE OF NCLIS IN AMERICAN SOCIETY ............................................................2 

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS.........................................................................................5 

THE COMMISSION’S PLANS ......................................................................................8 

THE COMMISSION’S CHALLENGE ............................................................................12 
The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science 

Special Report: The New NCLIS / December 2004 Page 1 

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) is a 

permanent, independent agency of the United States government. 

The purpose of the Commission is to advise the President and Congress on the 

implementation of national policy with respect to libraries and information science. 

In January 2004 twelve Commissioners were appointed to the Commission and 

confirmed by the U.S. Senate, bringing the Commission to its full strength. 

The Commissioners have chosen three goals for the Commission 

 To appraise library and information services provided to the American people 

 To strengthen the relevance of libraries and information science in the lives of the 

American people 

 To promote research and development for extending and improving library and 

information services for the American people 

To achieve these goals, the Commission has undertaken the following initiatives. When 

realized, these initiatives will generate findings for providing background information 

supporting the advice the Commission is obliged to provide to the President and to 

Congress, thus addressing the library and information science needs of the American 

people: 

 Emergency preparedness and the role of libraries as community distribution centers 

for emergency preparedness and disaster response information 

 Health communication and the role of libraries in the distribution of consumer health 

information and in promoting healthy lifestyles for all Americans 

 Adequacies and deficiencies of current library and information resources and 

services, and the effectiveness of current library and information science programs 

 Information dissemination about the relationship—based on scientific research and 

evidence—between school libraries and educational achievement 

 Library services for the aging 

 International library and information science issues 

The Commission’s present challenge is funding, since appropriation funding is 

insufficient for supporting the Commission’s work. The initiatives and other programs of 

the Commission are hampered by a lack of resources, and efforts are being made to 

identify strategic partners, sponsors, collaborating organizations, and other government 

agencies to work with the Commission, to ensure that the Commission continues its 

leadership role, and continues to provide advice to the President and Congress that is 

sound and authoritative and of benefit to the American people. 
The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science 

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INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) was 

established as a permanent, independent agency of the United States government with 

Public Law 91-345 (20 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.), signed July 20, 1970. The law includes the 

following statement of policy: 

SEC 2. The Congress hereby affirms 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 and that the Federal Government will cooperate with State and local 

governments and public and private agencies in assuring optimum provision of 

such services. 

It is the Commission’s responsibility to develop and recommend plans that will enable 

the American people to have adequate library and information services. In carrying out 

this responsibility, the Commission is directed to advise the President and Congress on 

the implementation of national policy with respect to libraries and information science. 

The Commission includes the Librarian of Congress, the Director of the Institute of 

Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and fourteen Commissioners appointed by the 

President and confirmed by the Senate for terms not to exceed five years. The law 

requires that five of the appointees be librarians or information specialists. At least one 

Commissioner must be “knowledgeable with respect to the technological aspects of 

library and information services and sciences” and one must be “knowledgeable with 

respect to the library and information service and science needs of the elderly.” The 

Commissioners are listed at the end of this document. 

THE ROLE OF NCLIS IN AMERICAN SOCIETY

From its beginnings, the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science 

has played a significant role in addressing the library and information science needs of 

the American people. By its second year of operation the Commission had put forward a 

draft of a new national program of library and information services, culminating in the 

1975 publication of Toward a National Program for Library and Information Services: 

Goals for Action. A second major publication, following soon after, was Library and 

Information Service Needs of the Nation, a seminal document in the development of this 

critical societal element. 

While the present document cannot provide an in-depth review of the Commission’s past 

work, some highlights of the Commission’s history can be mentioned: 

 Influencing authorization legislation for a White House Conference on Library and 

Information Services 

 Studying the role of Library of Congress in the national network 
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 Surveying the impact of federal funding programs on public libraries 

 Compiling an inventory of national library needs 

 Examining the volume and characteristics of library photocopying 

 Surveying the role of school libraries in a national network 

 Examining continuing library and information science education 

 Sponsoring research in the coordination of bibliographic control 

 Organizing the first White House Conference on Libraries and Information Services, 

resulting in the development of task forces to examine such issues as 

 community information and referral services 

 library and information services for cultural minorities 

 the role of the special library in nationwide networks and cooperative programs 

 Studying the adequacy of library and information services to the Native American 

population 

 Reacting to the Office of Technology Assessment's report, Informing the Nation: 

Federal Information Dissemination in an Electronic Age

 Establishing recognition awards, honoring initiatives taken by individuals (not 

librarians) and organizations (not library-related) to promote and improve library and 

information services 

 Organizing a second White House Conference, with the three conference themes of 

library and information services for literacy, democracy, and productivity. 

 Developing and adopting the Principles of Public Information 

 Organizing and collecting the first public library data from all states, based on 

standard data elements and definitions 

 Investigating public libraries and the Internet, resulting in the publication of Internet 

Costs and Cost Models for Public Libraries and The 1996 National Survey of Public 

Libraries and the Internet 

 Publishing The NCLIS Assessment of Standards for the Creation, Dissemination, and 

Permanent Accessibility of Electronic Government Information Products 

 Advising the director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) on 

policies and financial assistance for library services 

 Providing information related to a variety of proposals for federally mandated use of 

filtering software for schools and libraries 

 Organizing discussions with stakeholders about the Department of Commerce’s 

intention to close the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) and the future 

of NTIS 

 Continuing participation (since 1985) with the Department of State to coordinate the 

library and information aspect of the International Contributions for Scientific, 

Educational and Cultural Activities (ICSECA) program 

 Partnering with the National Center for Educational Statistics (since 1987) in 

implementing a formal collaborative activity for library statistics 

 Responding to an invitation from the Congress to refute an OMB proposal to 

eliminate the Commission 

 Organizing and developing the research studies that culminated in the publication of 

A Comprehensive Assessment of Public Information Dissemination
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 Organizing the Sister Libraries program—White House Millennium Project—created 

to provide a framework for the international sharing of mutual interests between 

libraries 

 Sponsoring the production of Trust and Terror, an audio-visual briefing on the role 

libraries can take to provide needed information to the citizenry in the immediate 

aftermath of a man-made or natural disaster 

 With UNESCO and the National Forum on Information Literacy, organizing and 

conducting the Information Literacy Meeting of Experts in Prague, the Czech 

Republic, in September 2003, resulting in the publication of The Prague Declaration: 

Towards an Information Literate Society

 Serving as delegates to the 2003 World Summit on the Information Society in 

November 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland 

This overview of the Commission’s work makes clear the grand scale of the NCLIS 

mission. No other government agency, professional association, trade association, 

research and development organization, academic institution, or philanthropic 

organization has the statutory responsibility that is the Commission’s very reason for 

being, to provide policy advice to the President and the Congress with respect to libraries 

and information science. Of course such other organizations are involved in these 

matters, and these organizations are earnestly invited, encouraged, and indeed must 

advise, partner with, and collaborate with the Commission in developing the knowledge 

that—by definition—informs the Commission’s recommendations to the President and 

Congress. And certainly all such organizations—American and international—are 

sincerely solicited to join with NCLIS in sharing this knowledge in the larger society, 

since such knowledge development and knowledge sharing is for the common good. But 

only the Commission has the statutory responsibility to provide policy advice. 

The elements for success are there. As noted, the Commission exists to play a national 

and—when appropriate—international role in addressing the library and information 

science needs of the American people. Its influence is or can be (certainly should be) 

without bounds. Commission members, whose role and influence far exceeds that of 

library trustees, scholars, committee members, community leaders, and others who work 

with libraries, have the additional and distinctly advantageous connection to the larger 

construct of knowledge services. By its very definition the Commission is expected to 

address issues that go beyond librarianship, to connect to the larger and broader field of 

information science. In the 21st century’s knowledge-based environment, librarianship, 

information management, knowledge management, and learning are all intrinsically 

connected, and only NCLIS has been authorized to provide the advice and direction that 

leads to the establishment of policy for these intimately connected disciplines. 
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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

In January 2004 President George W. Bush appointed and the U.S. Senate confirmed 

twelve new Commissioners, bringing the Commission to full strength for the first time in 

several years. Dr. Beth Fitzsimmons, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, was designated Chairman. 

After their appointment and confirmation, the Commissioners drew up a strategic plan to 

guide the Commission’s deliberations and actions. One consideration had to do with the 

role of the Commission and the variety of expectations that are held, by people in many 

different walks of life and at all levels of society, about libraries and the role of libraries, 

information management, knowledge management, and learning in today’s world. 

At their first official meeting, in April 2004, the Commissioners gave attention to the 

Commission’s vision, mission, and values. The vision statement, which for any 

organization is a description of what success will look like, is clearly spelled out for 

NCLIS; the legislation that created the Commission states plainly and unambiguously 

what American policy with respect to libraries and information science is to be, as noted 

earlier. With that policy statement in mind, a vision statement for the Commission 

declares that: 

y “...library and information services adequate to meet the needs of the people of 

the United States” will be provided, and 

y “the Federal Government will cooperate with State and local governments and 

public and private agencies in assuring optimum provision of such services.” 

As for the Commission’s mission statement, describing why the Commission exists and 

what it is to do, that language, too, is clearly stated in the legislation that created the 

Commission: 

SEC. 5 (a) The Commission shall have the primary responsibility for developing 

or recommending overall plans for, and advising the appropriate governments and 

agencies on, the policy set forth in section 2. 

The Commission’s current mission statement, published on the NCLIS Web site, 

identifies the Commission as “a permanent, independent agency of the Federal 

Government charged with advising the executive and legislative branches and other 

public and private organizations on national library and information policies and plans.” 

The current mission statement also describes some of the Commission’s history, noting 

that NCLIS 

“...was established in 1970 with the enactment of Public Law 91-345. Technical 

amendments in 1991 (Public Law 102-95) clarified terms of membership and the 

Commission's international authority and responsibility. The Museum and Library 
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Services Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-208) established that the Commission shall 

have the responsibility to advise the Director of the Institute of Museum and 

Library Services (IMLS) on general policies with respect to the duties, powers 

and authority of the IMLS relating to library services.“ 

The methodology for accomplishing the NCLIS mission and achieving its vision is 

recorded in the functions that NCLIS is expected to perform, as listed in PL 91-345: 

In carrying out [its] responsibility [to address the library and informational 

needs of the American people], the Commission shall— 

(1) advise the President and the Congress on the implementation of national 

policy by such statements, presentations, and reports as it deems appropriate; 

(2) conduct studies, surveys, and analyses of the library and informational needs 

of the Nation, including the special library and informational needs of rural areas, 

or economically, socially, or culturally deprived persons, and of elderly persons, 

and the means by which these needs may be met through information centers, 

through the libraries of elementary and secondary schools and institutions of 

higher education, and through public, research, special, and other types of 

libraries; 

(3) appraise the adequacies and deficiencies of current library and information 

resources and services and evaluate the effectiveness of current library and 

information science programs; 

(4) develop overall plans for meeting national library and informational needs and 

for the coordination of activities at the Federal, State, and local levels, taking into 

consideration all of the library and informational resources of the Nation to meet 

those needs; 

(5) be authorized to advise Federal, State, local, and private agencies regarding 

library and information sciences; 

(6) promote research and development activities which will extend and improve 

the Nation’s library and information-handling capability as essential links in the 

national and international communications and cooperative networks; 

(7) submit to the President and the Congress (not later than January 31 of each 

year) a report on its activities during the preceding fiscal year;∗

 and 

(8) make and publish such additional reports as it deems to be necessary, 

including, but not limited to, reports of consultants, transcripts of testimony, 

∗

 This requirement has been changed, and annual reports are no longer required (Federal 

Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995/Public Law 104-66. December 21, 1995.) 
The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science 

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summary reports, and reports of other Commission findings, studies, and 

recommendations.... 

As for the Commission’s values, an organization’s values statement or philosophy is 

usually thought of as those beliefs and principles that guide the organization’s members 

as they do their work, the core values that inspire everything the organization does and 

how it is done. A statement of shared values for the successful realization of the NCLIS 

vision and the achievement of the NCLIS mission might be phrased as follows: 

The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science intends to 

serve the people of the United States efficiently and effectively while striving to 

achieve the highest levels of performance in an atmosphere of mutual trust, 

honesty, and integrity. These values are important to the present Commission as it 

seeks to fulfill the NCLIS vision and accomplish the NCLIS mission: 

y Leadership: Recognizing the Commission’s statutory responsibilities, NCLIS 

plays a leading national and (when appropriate) international role in addressing 

the library and informational needs of the American people and ensuring that 

libraries and other information services organizations are able to support the 

intellectual and learning needs of Americans. In carrying out this leadership 

responsibility, NCLIS is not aligned with any specific agenda put forward by any 

societal, political, or professional entities. 

y Collaboration and Strategic Partnering: The Commission continually seeks 

opportunities to meet, communicate with, collaborate with, and partner with 

stakeholders in the knowledge services community (that is, all people working in 

the disciplines of librarianship, information management, knowledge 

management, and learning) 

y Communications, Visibility, and Ongoing Relevance: The Commission’s efforts 

are communicated within the larger societal framework so that its leadership role 

is visible to and understood by the American people, thus ensuring library and 

information services adequate to meet the needs of the people of the United 

States. 

y Innovation, Education, and Continuous Strategic Learning: In addressing the 

library and informational needs of the American people, all NCLIS 

stakeholders—including Commissioners, staff, and all strategic partners—

continuously strive to seek and share knowledge with others. 

y Superior Customer Service: NCLIS provides the highest levels of service 

delivery, recognizing that the Commission’s “customers” are the President and 

the Congress and through them (as NCLIS policy and advice are received and 

accepted by the President and the Congress), to the American people.1

 

1 Executive Order No. 12862, September, 1994, and later documentation. 
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y Superior Product Delivery: NCLIS conducts the highest caliber research studies, 

analyses, and appraisals of library and information services, recognizing that the 

Commission’s “products” are policy advice and guidance provided to the 

President and Congress and, through them, to the American people. 

y Results and Accountability: Recognizing its leadership role and the expectations 

of all parties for the highest standards of performance from the Commission, 

NCLIS delivers measurable results in all activities it undertakes, including the 

establishment of performance goals, the development of performance indicators, 

and the publishing of a benefits statement for each program affiliated with 

NCLIS.2 The Commission and all NCLIS stakeholders—including 

Commissioners, staff, and all strategic partners—are expected to operate with the 

highest levels of ethics and honesty. 

THE COMMISSION’S PLANS

With the appointment of the new Commissioners, NCLIS has been considerably 

strengthened in the specialized qualifications required for enabling the Commission to 

achieve its mission, and to fulfill its statutory responsibility of advising the President and 

the Congress about policy with respect to library and information science. NCLIS 

members now include: 

 Two library managers 

 A former school librarian and school board member 

 A former state official and state librarian 

 A government executive (who also serves as a library trustee) 

 A historian 

 Two scholars in library and information science 

 A scholar in public health and community medicine 

 Two executives in the information services field 

 A retired judge and former U.S. Congressman 

 A former syndicated columnist and community health leader 

After their appointment and confirmation, the Commissioners met together to consider 

their first steps, and they drew up a strategic plan to guide their deliberations and actions. 

They adopted in principle a plan that describes the Commission’s goals and objectives 

and incorporates three complementary points of view: for fulfilling the Commission’s 

statutory function, for addressing presidential initiatives, and (since the Commission is a 

federal agency) for meeting the requirements of the President’s Management Advisory 

Initiatives. 

2 USC 1115, January 12 2002
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The Commission’s three goals are: 

 To appraise library and information services provided for the American people 

 To strengthen the relevance of libraries and information science in the lives of the 

American people 

 To promote research and development for extending and improving library and 

information services for the American people 

To achieve its goals, the Commissioners also set a number of objectives. These objectives 

will be accomplished through specific strategic initiatives, and each initiative in turn will 

result in specific policy advice to be delivered to the President and to Congress as 

required by law: 

 Emergency preparedness and the role of libraries as community distribution 

centers for emergency preparedness and disaster response information: This 

NCLIS initiative seeks to identify how libraries can participate in disaster 

preparedness and serve as their communities’ “knowledge nexus” for emergency 

preparedness and disaster response information. The initiative encompasses the entire 

range of emergency public information: alert and warning information provided 

before the disaster, information provided during the disaster, and where to get 

additional information after the disaster. A specific product of the initiative will be 

the development of a recommended statement of policy on the subject of libraries as 

distribution centers for emergency preparedness and public warning information, to 

be delivered to the President and Congress as required by PL 91-345. 

 Health communication and the role of libraries in distributing consumer health 

information and in promoting healthy lifestyles for all Americans: This NCLIS 

initiative seeks to expand the role of libraries in addressing the health information 

needs of the American people and in doing so, to enable libraries to play a key role in 

encouraging the development of healthy lifestyles for all American citizens. The 

overarching objectives are to identify methodologies and strategic partners for 

working with the Commission, to ensure that all libraries in America are empowered 

to respond to citizens’ health communication needs. The Commission will publish 

reports of best practices for the benefit of all library managers and information 

providers, and meeting its statutory responsibility, provide specific policy advice to 

the President and Congress as required by PL 91-345. 

 Adequacies and deficiencies of current library and information resources and 

services, and the effectiveness of current library and information science programs: 

This NCLIS initiative seeks to identify methodologies and to determine how to 

prepare a “report card” on American libraries, a national assessment of our nation’s 

library and information services. The law which created NCLIS specifically charges 

the Commission to “appraise the adequacies and deficiencies of current library and 
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information resources and services and evaluate the effectiveness of current library 

and information science programs.” 

In order for the Commission to make informed policy recommendations to the 

President and Congress, a uniform assessment of the condition of the national library 

system is required, and it must give attention to not only the current measurement 

rubric (generally focused on statistics), but to technology, materials turnover, 

programming, staffing, age and currency of collections, archival integrity, and 

reference and information services benchmarks. Equally important and essential, the 

national assessment will contextualize the conditions of these institutions in their 

community’s quality of life and productivity, with an assessment matrix that 

correlates the success of these institutions in the quality of the community’s 

education, public safety, health, economic development, and public policy. The 

assessment will focus first on public libraries, to be followed by school, academic, 

and special libraries, using instruments developed in the initial study. 

A specific product of the initiative will be the development of a recommended 

statement of policy, probably delivered in several stages and over a period of time, 

providing an assessment of American libraries and recommending specific actions for 

improving libraries where they require improvement, to be provided to the President 

and Congress as required by PL 91-345. 

 Information dissemination about the relationship – based on scientific research 

and evidence – between school libraries and educational achievement: This NCLIS 

initiative seeks to identify how school libraries affect the achievement of excellence 

in learning and to disseminate this information to community organizations, school 

administrators, local politicians with funding authority, the media, the larger 

educational community, and all others who have an interest in the role of libraries in 

educational achievement. The purpose of the initiative is to raise the awareness of 

community leaders and other influential citizens about the value of school libraries 

and to provide them with scientific-based evidence that can be used as they address 

funding issues. A specific product of the initiative will be the development of a 

recommended statement of policy on the subject of school libraries and their role in 

educational achievement, to be delivered to the President and Congress as required by 

PL 91-345. 

 Library services for the aging: This NCLIS initiative, a specific statutory 

responsibility for the Commission, seeks to identify opportunities for improving 

library services for the elderly. At the same time, the initiative supports economic 

development by identifying how libraries might use the skills and experience of older 

workers as employees. It has been well documented that librarianship is a “graying” 

profession, as librarians and other library/information science workers retire. This 

initiative not only seeks to examine library services for the elderly but to give 

attention to how aging Americans can be employed in libraries. A specific product of 

the initiative will be the development of a recommended statement of policy on the 
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subject of library services for the elderly, including a statement about the employment 

of older workers as library employees, to be delivered to the President and Congress 

as required by PL 91-345. 

The particular methodology for this initiative will link the several initiatives being 

implemented by the Commission, with attention to how those initiatives relate to 

productive aging. 

 International library and information science issues: Among its statutory 

responsibilities, the Commission is expected to “promote research and development 

activities which will extend and improve the Nation’s library and informationhandling capability as essential links in the national and international communications 

and cooperative networks....” In giving attention to this responsibility, the 

Commission has participated in a number of international activities in the past and 

expects to continue to do so in the future, as the Commission’s work in this area has 

contributed significantly to the development of policy with respect to library and 

information science. This NCLIS initiative looks at two areas, information about 

America and the role of libraries in describing the United States to citizens of other 

countries, and the role of libraries (however-defined) and library-like organizations as 

distribution centers for HIV/AIDS information for citizens of developing countries. 

Other subject areas of interest and concern to the Commissioners include the following, 

which are being considered for attention and in-depth study when resources are available: 

 Economic development, job creation, and the role of libraries in influencing 

economic development 

 The current status of and an assessment of the Universal Services (Section 245) 

Telecommunication Act of 1996 

 Digitized information and the role of libraries 

 Scholarly publishing and non-U.S. ownership of scientific/technical/medical (STM) 

research conducted in the United States and, related to this, open access to published 

STM research 

The Commissioners have determined that these strategic initiatives are necessary to 

enable NCLIS to achieve its goals. All of these initiatives are being implemented through 

the Commissioners’ efforts, working as volunteers, and with staff as required. These 

initiatives have been chosen because they support objectives that will enable NCLIS to 

achieve its goals and because they address a number of important issues having to do 

with the information needs of the American people. In meeting its statutory 

responsibilities, as is noted throughout this report, the Commission’s findings from each 

of these initiatives will result in specific policy advice that will be delivered to the 

President and Congress, as required by law. 
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THE COMMISSION’S CHALLENGE

Because NCLIS has gone through a recent period of uncertainty, with its very existence 

brought into question more than once, much momentum in the effort to carry out its 

functions has been lost. These functions are clearly described in the law, as noted 

previously, but the Commission’s ability to conduct business and provide for the delivery 

of services has been severely compromised. That particular danger is now past, and the 

Commission no longer faces the threat of elimination, now strengthened with the 

appointment of a full roster of Commissioners. Its work can begin again. 

However the Commission’s present role is assessed, though, it is clear that funding will 

continue to be a major concern, at least for the foreseeable future. In FY 2001, the 

Commission’s appropriation was reduced by one-third to $1.0 million, and has remained 

at that level since FY 2002. Requests to increase the Commission’s appropriation have 

been made to appropriate government authorities, but at least through September 2005 

the funding level will remain where it is. 

So appropriation funding is a problem, and despite the Commissioners’ desire to move 

forward with the Commission’s work, NCLIS is severely hampered in attempting to fund 

its operations solely through its appropriation. At the same time, the Commissioners’ 

initiatives are unfunded, as there are no appropriated funds currently available to support 

them. As the Commission attempts to carry out its work in the remainder of FY 2005 

(that is, through September 30 2005), the grim reality is that none of these initiatives can 

be undertaken without an infusion of funds, and the Commission’s work is limited to 

informal planning. 

In the case of the Commission, however, non-appropriated funds are acceptable to the 

federal government. In fact such funding might have been in the minds of those who were 

involved in the creation of the Commission, since the law (as noted, Public Law 91-345 

(20 U.S.C. 1501 et seq., signed July 20, 1970) states, under a section titled 

“Contributions,” 

SEC 4. The Commission is authorized to solicit, accept, hold, administer, invest in 

the name of the United States, and utilize gifts, bequests, and devises of services 

or property, both real and personal, for the purpose of aiding or facilitating the 

work of the Commission. Gifts, bequests, and devises of money and proceeds 

from sales of other property received as gifts, bequests, or devises shall be 

deposited in the Treasury and shall be available for disbursements upon the order 

of the Commission. 

So while the Commission’s programs and projects described in this report demonstrate a 

level of commitment and interest that could lead to unparalleled attention to the library 

and informational needs of the American people, additional energies will be required for 

identifying and working with strategic partners, sponsors, collaborating organizations, 

and other government agencies, to ensure that these ambitious initiatives are realized for 
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Special Report: The New NCLIS / December 2004 Page 13 

 

the benefit of the American people. In fact, wider and more substantial collaboration with 

other organizations and the development of strategic partnerships will be a feature of 

NCLIS activity for the remainder of the current fiscal year, into FY 2006, and continuing 

into the foreseeable future. The Commissioners sincerely desire to continue working 

toward fulfillment of the proactive leadership position envisioned in the NCLIS statute, 

and called for by the unprecedented rate of change in the library, information science, 

knowledge management, and knowledge services arenas. They are determined to take the 

Commission forward in an environment that seeks and supports the leadership that 

NCLIS provides. Collaboration and the development of partners, sponsors, and 

enthusiastic cooperative associates—already recognized as critical characteristics in any 

successful organization—will become critical for NCLIS as well. 

The appointment and confirmation of the full Commission has stimulated an 

extraordinary burst of enthusiasm about the Commission, and about what it can 

accomplish in addressing the library and informational needs of the American people. 

This enthusiasm and the Commissioners’ individual expertise in their professional lives, 

as well as their personal interest in the larger library and information science sphere, have 

well equipped the Commission to continue its move forward and to regain its understood 

role as the nation’s principal advisory agency on policy with respect to library and 

information science. Under the aegis of the “new” NCLIS and with the enthusiasm of 

member Commissioners who sincerely wish to see the Commission continue its 

leadership role, the advice provided to the President and Congress for the benefit of the 

American people will continue to be sound, authoritative, and for the common good. 
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THE U.S. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION SCIENCE

COMMISSIONERS

C. Beth Fitzsimmons, Ph.D., Chairperson 

Ann Arbor, MI 

Bridget L. Lamont, Vice Chair 

Springfield, IL 

José Antonio Aponte 

Chipita Park, CO 

Sandra F. Ashworth 

Bonner’s Ferry, ID 

Edward L. Bertorelli 

Milford, MA 

Joan R. Challinor, Ph.D. 

Washington, DC 

Carol L. Diehl 

Neenah, WI 

Allison Druin, Ph.D 

University Park, MD 

Jack E. Hightower 

Austin, TX 

Patricia M. Hines 

Mayesville, SC 

Colleen E. Huebner, Ph.D., MPH 

Bainbridge Island, WA 

Stephen M. Kennedy 

Dunbarton, NH 

Mary H. (Mitzi) Perdue 

Salisbury, MD 

Herman L. Totten, Ph.D. 

Denton, TX 

STATUTORY COMMISSIONERS

James H. Billington, Ph.D. 

The Librarian of Congress [Ex-Officio] 

Washington, DC 

Carolyn T. Brown, Ph.D. 

[Serves for The Librarian of Congress] 

Washington, DC 

Robert S. Martin, Ph.D. 

Director, U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services [Ex-Officio] 

Washington, DC