National Center on Education Statistics
Summer Data Conference: Learning From Each Other

1. Introduction

Thank you. I am delighted to be included on this distinguished panel. I'm also glad to be the last speaker this afternoon. As the final speaker I can react and respond to panelists' comments about what education program changes we can expect from the 104th Congress. {Congressman Goodling, Emily, and Pam}.

2. NCLIS

I'm going begin my remarks this afternoon by talking briefly about one of my favorite topics: NCLIS. The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science was established by Public Law 91-345. It was signed into law on July 20, 1970. That's right, NCLIS will be 25 years old, tomorrow!

NCLIS is a fifteen-member, independent Federal agency which functions as a citizens' advisory panel. Fourteen Commissioners are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for five-year terms. Only five NCLIS members are professional librarians or information specialists. The majority are not librarians, but, like me, are all citizens with a special interest in the needs of our society for library and information services.

We advise the President and the Congress on national and international library and information policies and plans. The National Commission represents citizens' needs for library and information services by developing plans and recommendations.

With the Commission's broad statutory mandate, we seek out cooperative opportunities with other Federal agencies like NCES. Because we are among the very smallest of the federal agencies, we focus attention on those few critical issues that are likely to have the greatest impact on improving the effective use of our Nation's educational resources. The Commission very pleased to cooperate with NCES in collecting library statistics for public, academic, school, and special libraries.

Over the last year-and-a-half, since the President appointed me Chairperson of NCLIS in November 1993, I have had the opportunity to learn more about libraries and information science than most non-librarians encounter in a lifetime. It has been fascinating, but, since January 1994, with the advent of the 104th Congress, life in the policy lane has gotten faster and more hectic. Recently, the Commission has been caught up in a whirlwind of Congressional activity directed toward changing the nature and scope of Federal programs.

Today, we are inundated with calls for radical and fundamental "re-invention", "re-definition", "re-positioning", and "re-ducing" of government programs. Many of these proposals, [as we have heard] involve the elimination of agencies, programs, and functions from Federal responsibility. Many proposals call for devolving Federal program responsibilities to State and local government levels.

[As we have heard,] Some of these proposals call for abolishing or dismantling the Department of Education and major National education programs that have been in existence for many years.

The National Commission is right in the midst of the policy discussions that are sweeping the Federal sector. Let me talk briefly about several topics with which the Commission is involved at present.

A. Congressional Reauthorization of Library Programs:

Since the spring of 1994, the Commission has worked to help shape Congressional proposals for changing and reauthorizing the major Federal support program for libraries: the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) We are currently following the progress of two bills, one in the House (H.R. 1617) and the other in the Senate (S. 856) that propose radically different futures for library support programs from the Federal sector.

Whether the future lies in block grants as the House bill proposes, or whether the future lies in moving responsibility for library support programs from the Department of Education to a newly created Institute of Museum and Library Services under the National Endowments, the Commission is working to assure that the Federal sector continues to provide leadership and incentives for America's library community.

Both legislative proposals in the House and the Senate promote the application of information technology in libraries. Many in the U.S. library community support the Senate proposal to house library support programs in an Institute for Museum and Library Services, rather than to maintain administration of these programs as the Department of Education. The Senate bill includes provisions for improving library and information services to children and young adults.

B. Library Statistics Program:

As I mentioned earlier, NCLIS works closely with NCES in collecting descriptive statistics about our Nation's libraries. In addition, the Commission performs studies of specific issues related to our mission. Last month, NCLIS issued a study on Internet Costs and Public Libraries. The report serves as a guide for public libraries and communities planning to take advantage of the Internet in providing information to the public.

This Commission report resulted from work done in 1994 by NCLIS consultants on Public Libraries and the Internet: Study Results, Policy Issues, and Recommendations that showed that only 20.9 percent of public libraries in the U.S. were involved with the Internet.

C. Downsizing/Reinventing: Appropriations vs. Authorization?

A variety of other Congressional proposals are currently pending which could have a significant impact on the way that the Federal government relates to the Nation's programs for education, libraries, and schools. Some of these proposals follow:

• S.652 Telecommunications Competition and Deregulation Act of 1995 and H.R. 1555 Communications Act of 1995 propose restructuring regulations for cable, telephone, and electronic information services. The Senate bill includes an amendment giving preferential telephone rates to schools, libraries and health clinics that use electronic networks.
• S.929 Department of Commerce Dismantling Act of 1995 and (H.R. 1756) propose cuts in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) grants programs for schools, libraries, and community centers to connect to electronic networks.
• The Republican budget blueprint calls for reduced spending on student loans by $10 billion over seven years. That savings would be achieved by reducing the subsidies on interest paid by graduate students.
• Rep. Steve Gunderson R/WI has proposed a merger of the Departments of Education and Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission which would produce a savings of about $1.6 billion, primarily by eliminating more than 4,000 federal jobs according to a GAO study.

I hope that this brief review of current concerns has been helpful to you.

If there is time I would be pleased to take a few questions. Thank you.