"A democratic society depends upon an informed and educated citizenry." - Thomas Jefferson
In 1776, one of the pillars
upon which the
emerging Nation of the United States was founded was the recognition that freedom
to pursue knowledge, express values, and achieve personal goals
was the path to national independence and greatness as a people.
Making these points clear in the Bill of Rights, the Constitution
succinctly underscores that visionary ideal through provisions
guaranteeing freedom of expression and inquiry.
Thomas Jefferson focused on it with eloquent simplicity when he wrote, "A democratic society depends upon an informed and educated citizenry." If schools and teaching institutions are the fertile ground for the birth of knowledge through education, then libraries and information services, which collect, preserve, and disseminate the fruits of that knowledge, are the backbone of lifelong learning experiences.
This precept has been laced through the fabric of national leadership by Presidents, other elected representatives of the people, and educators throughout the Nation's history. In the last 50 years, and particularly the last decade, the quickening pace of information creation, technological innovation, and global interdependence has brought the information world and this Nation to a crossroads. It is a time made crucial by the microchip revolution of the 80s which ushered in personal computers, digital electronics, fiber optic transmission, and a myriad of other information processing and handling advances.
Thus, a full-scale national review of library and information needs comes when a blueprint for the future is not only essential but now possible given the perspective of more than a decade of experience with the information explosion.
Against this backdrop, the 1991 White House Conference on Library and Information Services convened July 9-13 in Washington, D.C., focusing on three fundamental themes: literacy, productivity, and democracy. It culminated a process that began - appropriately for this Nation - at the local level, with preconference forums in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, seven U.S. Territories, and Native American tribes, and within the federal library and networking community. More than 100,000 Americans, including the general public from virtually every walk of life and all segments of the library and information services community, joined in these meetings, writing more than 2,500 proposals for consideration in a national forum.
This Summary Report reflects
the mandate of the White
House Conference process as set forth by the President and the Congress. That
process mirrors our democratic precepts - to gather the interest
and concerns of a diverse citizenry at the grassroots level and
meld their input to formulate solutions to issues confronting
the United States. It is democracy at work, befitting a time
when the country reflects on the bicentennial commemorations of
key events in the founding of the Nation.
This document reflects the work, energy, and commitment of thousands of Conference participants, from the local to the national level. This synopsis of their proposals, along with the record of their recommendations, frames the best and most promising pathway to vitalize our Nation's libraries and information services as "schools for life" on the threshold of the 21st Century.
This report also presents an opportunity for government at all levels to strengthen its empowering influence for every man and every woman to be in touch with and a part of the solutions to social needs - to help connect government and institutions to their choices of real life.
We invite the President, the U.S. Congress, and all who share an interest in shaping the future of this Nation to consider these contents with purposeful resolve to ensure the continued contribution of libraries and information services to advancing literacy, productivity, and democracy in this great Nation and in our world.
