I GENERAL GUIDELINES

1. The public has a right to government information.

2. The government should maximize the availability of its information to the public, and minimize information withheld from the public, subject to the appropriate safeguards, restrictions and protections relating to national security, privacy, confidentiality, and so forth.

3. The public has a right of easy, fair, and equitable access to government information. This includes the further harmonization of the bibliographic control systems (LC/MARC & COSATI) used to catalog, organize, and disseminate scientific and technical information.
4. The government should ensure the integrity, authenticity, and preservation of its information.

5. The government should develop and put in place as quickly as possible a comprehensive and authoritative locator and finding system for use by the public to access Government information regardless of its location.

6. Individual Federal agency dissemination initiatives are very commendable, but are insufficient by themselves without strengthened coordination and augmentation.

7. The public and private sectors should work together to facilitate multiple and diverse public information sources, products, and services.

II SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION GUIDELINES

1. Scientific and technical information (STI) produced or acquired by the government is a strategic and critical national asset.

2. The cost of the life cycle management of STI, including dissemination and permanent public access, should be an integral cost of research and development.

3. The American economy benefits substantially from the diffusion of R&D STI.

4. The government should avoid the unnecessary proliferation of new agencies or other entities in reaching a satisfactory resolution of the NTIS matter.

5. STI collections must be made permanently publicly accessible.

6. Scientific and technical official records must be scheduled and retained permanently.

7. Scientific and technical data and documents must be preserved regardless of media and format, and protected from loss, including technological change.

III THE ROLE AND MISSION OF NTIS

1. The statutory mission of NTIS is fundamentally sound because foreign and domestic STI is critical to the advancement of science, and the growth of the U.S. economy.

2. Some NTIS functions are inherently governmental in nature, should be considered a public good, and therefore funded by Congressional appropriations. This includes the acquisition, storage, bibliographic control and archiving of Federally-funded R&D information and data.

3. Some NTIS functions could be self-supported or privatized. This includes such activities as sales, marketing and order processing for value-added services.

4. The current NTIS business model is flawed and needs to be reconfigured and modernized, taking into account greater utilization of the full range of World Wide Web and Internet features and capabilities.

5. Changes to the NTIS business model should take into account consultations with stakeholders both inside and outside of government.

IV ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES NCLIS WILL FOLLOW IN PRESENTING ITS RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE PRESIDENT AND THE CONGRESS

1. Based on consultations with stakeholders, NCLIS will narrow as much as possible the number of alternatives to be presented in its final report.

2. Pros and cons for evaluating and comparing alternatives will be based on specific criteria agreed upon by the stakeholders.

3. The assessment of the final alternatives presented will also take into account the explicit assumptions and constraints agreed upon by the stakeholders.