NCLIS's Final Report Recaps 37 Years of Meeting the Information Needs of the American People

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, H.R.2764, provided funds for the Commission on Libraries and Information Sciences (NCLIS) to be consolidated with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).  In its final report “Meeting the information needs of the American people: past actions and future initiatives” the NCLIS provides a historical overview of the accomplishments of a small and modestly funded Commission.  The report also summarizes the results of a survey of opinion leaders in the fields of library and information science, who offered their advice on the most important issues that should be addressed in the next twelve to eighteen months. These topics included:

• Public Libraries, Their Changing Role in U.S. Society and Measuring Their Societal Value
• Digital Libraries
• Building and Sharing Collections
• Disaster Planning and Relief Efforts

[RJ]