President Johnson appointed Dr. Bessie Boehm Moore, of Little Rock, Arkansas, to the National Advisory Commission on Libraries in 1965. Presidents' Nixon, Carter and Reagan appointed her to serve four terms as an NCLIS member from 1972 through 1988, when she was made Vice Chairman Emeritus. She also served on the 1979 and 1991 White House Conference on Library and Information Services Advisory Committees.

Dr. Moore was widely recognized for her distinguished career and her dedicated service, advocacy and contributions to libraries, education and services for senior citizens. With degrees in education, Dr. Moore received many awards and honors during her career as a teacher, library board member, school and school library supervisor, and director of the Arkansas State Council on Economic Education.

In 1989 NCLIS honored Dr. Moore with a Distinguished Lifetime Service Award. The American Library Association's Bessie Boehm Moore Award is made annually for an outstanding and creative program for public library service to the aging.

On August 1, 1992, the Mountain View Public Library in Mountain View, Arkansas, was renamed the Bessie B. Moore Public Library in her honor.

Dr. Moore died October 24, 1995. In an October 27, 1995, letter to the family and friends of Dr. Moore, President Clinton wrote, "She was truly one of Arkansas' greatest treasures, and we shall miss her."