NATIONAL COMMISSION ON LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION SCIENCE TO MEET IN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
Washington, DC. The Members of the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) will meet in Kansas City, MO, on April 7 and 8, 1998.
"The law requires us to provide citizen input to the President and Congress concerning library and information services for the public," said NCLIS Chairperson Jeanne Hurley Simon. "We need to familiarize ourselves with the broad range of libraries in this Nation, and Kansas City provides us an opportunity to see and learn about a number of important institutions."
Most of the meeting will take place at the Linda Hall Library. However, on the morning of April 7 the Members will visit the Truman Library in Independence and discuss presidential library collections and research with library director Larry Hackman. Also on April 7 the Commission will hear updates on NCLIS programs, projects and plans. "The Commission is working on a number of important projects," according to Bob Willard, a Member of the Commission and currently Acting Executive Director. "One, for example, deals with a study of the formats and standards government agencies are using as they change their publication practices from ink on paper to electronic distribution." Also on the agenda is an update on the Commission's continuing efforts to measure the availability of Internet access in public libraries.
On April 8 a session will be held with directors of libraries of the Big 12 Plus (Libraries in the Heartland) Library Consortium. Discussions will include the role of academic libraries in serving the general public, cooperative activities with public and school libraries, scholarly communication issues that affect all libraries, and statistics collection and usefulness.
As a Federal agency, Commission meetings are open to the public.
A list of Commissioners with brief biographical information is attached. Commissioners are staying at the Raphael Hotel. To schedule interviews, please contact Bob Willard or Barbara Whiteleather at the Raphael (816-756-3800) or the Linda Hall Library (816-363-4600).
The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science is a permanent, independent agency of the Federal government charged by Public Law 91-345 to advise the President and Congress on national and international library and information policies and plans.