ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


162

N a tio n a l I n f o r m a tio n  P o licy  

U r g e d  in  N e w  G o v e r n m e n t R e p o rt

Development of a coordinated information 
policy for the nation is urged in an official re­
port made available by the National Commis­
sion on Libraries and Information Science.

The 233-page report, National Information 
Policy, details the findings of a year-long study 
by the Domestic Council’s Committee on the 
Right of Privacy.

Principal recommendations of the report are 
that an Office of Information Policy be estab­
lished in the executive office of the president, 
to be assisted by an interagency council of of­
ficials of federal agencies and an advisory com­
mittee of representatives of the private sector, 
local government, and concerned academic and 
professional disciplines.

The report says advances in computer and 
communications technology, the shift in the 
U.S. economy from a manufacturing to an in­
formation base, plus the demands of citizens for 
clarification of their rights to have and control 
information have generated many public policy 
questions.

Among questions addressed in the study are 
those of privacy, freedom of information, and 
“sunshine” concerns, and their effect on govern­
mental and private sectors of information.

“A key question,” says the report, “is how to 
structure the policymaking process so that the 
country can begin to develop a national infor­
mation policy that is comprehensive, sufficiently

sensitive to new technology, and responsive to 
the implications of the Information Age.”

The National Commission on Libraries and 
Information Science, which published the re­
port on behalf of the Committee on the Right 
of Privacy, also announced that it will convene 
a special task force to consider the committee’s 
recommendations.

Alphonse F. Trezza, executive director of the 
commission, said the task force will include rep­
resentation from the Congress, government 
agencies, the private sector, and the library and 
information services community.

“The questions addressed in this report have 
long been of concern to the library and infor­
mation services community,” said Trezza. “We 
believe this report represents an important 
milestone in bringing the issues to public atten­
tion. The task force will carefully weigh the 
recommendations and also consider problems 
of implementation.”

Last summer the commission conducted a 
two-day conference for the privacy committee, 
to assist in the study and analysis of the issues 
addressed in the report.

Single copies of the report, National Informa­
tion Policy, are available at the commission’s 
offices, 1717 K St. NW, Washington, DC 
20036. It will also be on public sale through 
the Superintendent of Public Documents, U.S. 
Government Printing Office, at $4.65 a copy.

■ ■

CLENE Prepares to Publish Directory
The Continuing Library Education 

Network and Exchange (CLENE) is in 
the process of gathering data for the sec­
ond edition of the Directory of Continu­
ing Education Courses and Programs for 
Library, Information, and Media Person­
nel. First published in January 1976, the 
Directory gives detailed information about 
courses and programs in continuing edu­
cation for library, information, and media 
professionals, paraprofessionals, and tech­
nicians throughout the country.

All information for the Directory is en­
tered in an on-line data bank where it 
can be accessed upon request. The pub­
lished Directory includes such items of 
information as: category, address of in­
stitution or organization giving and/or 
sponsoring the course or program, date 
of the course or program, mode of in­

struction, methods employed, teacher/ 
leader, method of evaluating the course 
or program, and objectives to be accom­
plished by the participants.

The Directory also includes cross- 
references by geographical location, lead­
ers, methods of instruction, and primary 
sponsors. An added feature of the 1977 
Directory will be the referencing of 
courses and programs under one main 
heading, and if the institution/organiza­
tion so desires, up to three additional 
headings for cross-reference purposes.

Anyone interested in supplying data 
about continuing education courses of in­
terest to professionals, paraprofessionals, 
and technicians in the library, informa­
tion, and media fields may send for forms 
to CLENE, Box 1228, 620 Michigan 
Ave., N.E., Washington, DC 20064.