Cross-Cutting Recommendations

Certain recommendations of the National Library of Education Advisory Task Force affect all the issues addressed in other domains. These cross-cutting issues include resource sharing and collaboration through the development of a national information services network; research and development on important topics ranging from user needs to improved applications of information technology; and the organization and management of the Library.

Collaboration

The National Library of Education should be the coordinating hub of a nationwide network of cooperating partners engaged in providing information about education and related subjects in all formats and to all customers.

The National Library of Education should organize and activate a U.S. Education Information Network composed of libraries, archives, schools, colleges and universities, professional organizations, private sector businesses and non-profit corporations, and other organizations involved in the provision, coordination, or oversight of information about education.

Other National Libraries, the National Archives, and the National Commission on Libraries and Information Services (NCLIS);
Libraries, clearinghouses, and information centers of other federal agencies involved in education and related activities;
Departmental contractors and grantees engaged in providing research and assistance to practitioners and the public in the field of education, including the Regional Education Laboratories and Assistance Centers and the National Education Research Centers;
State, public, and school libraries and archives;
Special research, academic, and professional libraries and archives with collections related to education, including libraries serving schools of education;
State, local, and private education agencies;
National organizations and professional associations in the fields of education and information services, including such organizations as professional associations; subject-specific organizations; parent organizations; PK-12, postsecondary, and adult education organizations; and organizations representing the providers of education information;
National organizations representing parents, students, policymakers, and citizens concerned about education;
Information providers, publishers, information technology innovators, and interested corporations in the private sector; and
Other organizations involved in the provision, coordination, or oversight of information about education.

The National Library of Education and its partners in the U.S. Education Information Network should define and establish agreements for: (a) cooperation in the provision of services; (b) sharing non-electronic resources; (c) coordination among distributed electronic repositories, including Internet and World Wide Web sites and shared databases; and (d) cooperation on projects and operational matters such as catalog building, research and development activities, special publications and products, designated collection responsibilities, conservation and preservation of historical resources, and common standards and policies.

The National Library of Education should have a specific budget to support the network of cooperating partners and the authority to spend funds for this purpose.

The collaborative roles of the National Library of Education should include:

Coordinating the development of improved technology to provide high quality education information to all, using the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) as the model;

Ensuring that the use of technology by education information providers serves all users, both "high tech" and "low tech," and ensuring the provision of information in traditional formats to users who lack access to any technology, need information in non-electronic formats, or need information not available electronically;

Playing a leadership role in the provision of government information on education and related subjects, and the coordination of information and services intended to improve the quality of American education at all levels; and

Maintaining an active presence in appropriate organizations and consortia within the broad fields of library and information services, information technology, and education information.

The National Library of Education should be provided with the authority to accept gifts and undertake exchanges in order to effectively carry out its mandates to share resources within a national network of cooperating libraries, archives, and other education information providers.

At the federal level, the National Library of Education should assume the leadership role to manage and coordinate federal information about education and related subjects and should cooperate actively with all federal agencies and all federal libraries and information centers in providing such information to policymakers, agency staffs, and the public.

The National Library of Education should collaborate with other offices within the U.S. Department of Education. Specifically, it should:

Continue to provide Department-wide assistance and guidance in the use of the Internet, World Wide Web, and related technologies;

Work with the U.S. Department of Education's Chief Information Officer (CIO) and the Department's principal offices to ensure sound stewardship and effective dissemination of the Department's information products and services; and

Continue to provide leadership and expertise in the Department's reinvention and improvement of its customer service.

Research and Development

The National Library of Education should conduct an active research and development program with emphasis on regular and systematic studies of the information use patterns and needs of its users; education information services; technologies for electronic networking; and the use of information systems and services for resource sharing and information access and delivery.

Additional research and development activities should be conducted by the National Library of Education in conjunction with its contractors and partners in support of its programs of information service and assistance, particularly in regard to the development of directories, lists, guides, databases, catalogs, and bibliographies to assist users with access to information on special topics.

The National Library of Education should be provided with a discretionary grant and contract budget, together with the necessary authority, to support a targeted program of research and development.

Organization and Management

The National Library of Education should have a permanent advisory body including representatives of the U.S. Education Information Network, customers, peer national libraries, the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agencies involved in education services, and state and local education and information agencies. This body should work in liaison with other national educational advisory groups.

Such as:

National Commission on Libraries and Information Services (NCLIS);
Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC); and
National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board (NERRPB).

The Structure of the National Library of Education should enhance its ability to function as a virtual library. Providing information services through a geographically dispersed network of partners may require a nontraditional organizational approach.

The U.S. Education Information Network should be considered an integral part of the National Library of Education's organization, and the Library should work closely with its national partners and the Chief Information Officer of the U.S. Department of Education in organizational and management matters.

The Executive Director of the National Library of Education should have regular access to the Secretary of Education and other senior U.S. Department of Education leadership as well as to the Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement, in order for the Library to assume its leadership role in coordinating education information services and bibliographic management within the agency.

The Executive Director of the National Library of Education should have direct access to heads of principal offices and information centers in other federal, state, and local agencies in order to carry out the collaborative, coordinating, and leadership roles for the Library at the federal level.

The U.S. Congress and the U.S. Department of Education should integrate into the National Library of Education those existing programs and activities, including the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) and the Institutional Communications Network (INet), that are either libraries or provide bibliographic or electronic library services, together with the necessary resources and support.

Such as:

The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) program;
Other information clearinghouses operated or sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education that perform functions similar to those of ERIC Clearinghouses;
The Institutional Communications Network (INet) program, which operates the U.S. Department of Education's World Wide Web sites and the online virtual library;
The U.S. Department of Education's law library; and
Any other information services or activities that relate to or duplicate the mission and functions of the National Library of Education or, if made part of the Library, could be managed more efficiently and serve one-stop information customers more effectively.

The National Library of Education should propose and undertake new initiatives that are within its mission and functions and that support the mission and priorities of the U.S. Department of Education. Examples of such initiatives would be cooperative provision of education information services with other federal agencies, state and local agencies, and the private sector; shared activities suggested or requested by network partners; and special information service requests made by the Executive Branch, the Congress, and other users.

The National Library of Education should be provided with the regular budget and necessary authority to operate its programs, build its collection and services, support its staff and expenditures, and improve its customer service.

The National Library of Education should have the physical presence and space adequate to fulfill its legal mandate to serve as the leading federal center for information on education; to serve effectively as the coordinating hub of a national information network; and to serve the needs of agency staff, contractors, and grantees as well as external users. To this end,

The U.S. Department of Education should take immediate steps to ensure that the physical space and facilities of the Library are improved over current conditions, with adequate room for projected collection growth; and

Priority should be given to providing the National Library of Education the equipment, including but not limited to electronic devices, to enable it and its programs to maintain and improve the high standard of user service already being provided.

The National Library of Education should be given the means to improve its human resources and their ability to serve Library users, including the training of existing staff, the addition of new staff, and the replacement of departing staff with critical expertise

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[The Charge: A New Library for the Twenty-First Century]

[Awareness Recommendations]