Consolidation of Library Services

The President’s Budget Request for FY 2007 states:

“The Administration proposes the consolidation of the National Commission on Library and Information Science (NCLIS), as well as the current National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) programs for public and state library statistics into the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), beginning in 2008. The Administration believes that this move will strengthen federal library policy efforts and enhance our national research capacity on domestic and international library trends.”

We support the Administration’s position that consolidating grant making, data collection and policy advice in one agency will strengthen federal library and information policy efforts and enhance our national research capacity on domestic and international library trends.

This policy is an opportunity to build a stronger more powerful single agency that will support and raise awareness for library, culture and information services. It will create greater efficiency of operations and enable enhanced coordination and synergy that will more effectively advance the role of libraries and information policy in the United States.

Enhancing library service in the United States continues to be a priority of the Bush Administration. The current fragmented approach to library statistics collection and analysis, grant making, and policy advice is not optimal. A more coordinated approach would maximize federally-supported efforts to address the library service and information needs of Americans. The merger will create greater efficiency through strategic alignment of federal efforts in library data collection, grant making, and policy.

Because the Department of Education is increasing its focus on school-related data, the Administration is moving responsibility for the collection of state library and public library data to IMLS.   IMLS is the appropriate agency to collect these data because it has the core responsibilities in the area of state and local libraries.  Furthermore, the change will allow the Department of Education to increase its focus on school and academic libraries data.

With the emergence of the Institute of Museum and Library Services the U. S. government has two independent agencies with responsibility for library policy. Moving functions of the NCLIS into the Institute of Museum and Library Services would allow enhanced focus on library and information policy and provide a sustainable and stable environment for this important work

Over the next few months the Institute of Museum and Library Services will work with the NCLIS and the NCES to evaluate models of consolidation to ensure that the level of public service provided under the current system is not diminished and that all potential benefits of enhanced coordination are maximized in service to the American people.

Questions and comments should be directed to Mamie Bittner, Director of Public and Legislative Affairs, Institute of Museum and Library Services, 1800 M St., NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20036, mbittner@imls.gov, (202) 653-4630.