[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992, Book I)]
[March 6, 1992]
[Pages 400-403]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Message to the Congress Transmitting the Report of the White House 
Conference on Library and Information Services

March 6, 1992
To the Congress of the United States:
    I am pleased to transmit to you the Summary Report of the 1991 White 
House Conference on Library and Information Services and my 
recommendations on its contents as mandated by the Congress in Public 
Law 100-382, section 4.
    The world has changed dramatically since the last White House 
Conference on Library and Information Services. The thirst for freedom 
has swept aside the acceptance of tyranny. New and amazing technologies 
have made ideas accessible to everyone. Books, faxes, computer disks, 
and television and news broadcasts have ended the reign of ignorance and 
helped create a whole new world of enterprise, competition and, with it, 
intellectual growth.
    Library and information services are vital because they help ensure 
a free citizenry

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and a democratic society. It was appropriate that the 1991 Conference 
addressed three major themes of great concern to our own society: 
literacy, productivity, and democracy. These three issues are now more 
important than ever as we work to raise our Nation's educational level, 
to make the American work force preeminent in the world, and to serve as 
an example to the rest of the world regarding the benefits of a 
democratic society. We live in exciting times with our world changing 
daily. Not only are we on the verge of revolutions in educational 
practice and workplace improvements, but technology is helping to change 
the very way in which we learn and work. Library and information 
services are at the center of this change with new sophisticated 
technologies that not only improve the quality of information but 
actually make it more accessible to the people who need it. It was the 
realization that library and information services are in a period of 
rapid change that prompted the establishment of the 1991 White House 
Conference on Library and Information Services.
    Participants at the White House Conference considered the themes of 
literacy, productivity, and democracy, and how library and information 
services can contribute significantly to the achievement of those goals. 
The 984 delegates to the Conference included librarians, information 
specialists, and community leaders. They represented all the States and 
territories and the Federal library community. Prior to the Conference, 
there had been innumerable pre-Conference forums involving more than 
100,000 Americans. These meetings produced 2,500 initial proposals 
regarding library and information services. The Conference delegates 
deliberated on 95 consolidated proposals before making their final 
recommendations. I wish to commend the National Commission on Libraries 
and Information Science for its key role in making the Conference a 
success. The recommendations, thoughtfully considered by the delegates 
to the Conference, are intended to help frame national library and 
information service policies for the 1990s.

The Importance of Library and Information Services

    Library and information services have always played a significant 
role in our society. From colonial times forward, our libraries have 
acquired, preserved, and disseminated information to Americans. Today 
libraries and information services are expanding their roles and, with 
the advent of new technology, changing the ways in which we use and 
share information. As we move toward the new century, we should 
acknowledge the contributions that libraries have made and will continue 
to make in the years ahead.
    A particular strength of our libraries and information services is 
that they are locally controlled. Whether in the public or private 
sector, these services are best maintained at the local level where they 
can be most responsive to citizens and where they can adapt to new local 
needs. Likewise, the States have a long tradition of fostering the 
development and expansion of library services to all citizens. In 
combination, both local and State governments are the primary supporters 
of our Nation's libraries and information services. The Federal role in 
library and information services has been one of encouraging and 
leveraging State and local support to expand the availability of library 
services to all Americans.

Literacy

    The quest for the future begins with literacy. Literacy is a goal 
that we must make every effort to achieve. It has been estimated that 23 
million adult Americans are functionally illiterate, lacking skills 
beyond the fourth-grade level, with another 35 million semiliterate, 
lacking skills beyond the eighth-grade level. The effects of illiteracy 
in this Nation are staggering as people find themselves shut out of 
opportunities and as our governments struggle to find ways to assist 
these disadvantaged individuals.
    My Administration is committed to improving education for all 
Americans. With broad bipartisan support, we are moving rapidly to 
implement strategies to achieve our six National Education Goals. These

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Goals, developed cooperatively with the Nation's Governors, address 
critical education issues ranging from ensuring our children start 
school ready to learn and attaining a 90 percent high school graduation 
rate, to being first in the world in math and science, demonstrating 
competency in core subject areas, and ensuring safe, disciplined, and 
drug-free schools. Goal five states that by the year 2000, ``Every adult 
in America will be literate and will possess the skills necessary to 
compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities 
of citizenship.'' As we pursue education reform across America, one of 
our emphases must be on a literate America. To that end, I have 
consistently worked for an increase in Federal efforts for literacy 
programs. Our national education strategy, AMERICA 2000, is designed to 
help achieve all of the goals, and libraries, serving as community 
centers, can therefore play a major role in helping communities and 
schools across the country reach the goals.
    The Conference recommendations include several statements that also 
address the literacy issue. I would urge the Members of Congress to 
review these suggestions carefully and to consider them in any future 
deliberations regarding literacy and library and information services.

Productivity

    Today's workplace demands a new definition of the term productivity. 
Rather than a traditional perspective that measures the production of 
items, we must recognize that we now live in an Information Age. In 
today's Information Age, many of our workers are knowledge workers who 
create and use information in totally new environments and in totally 
new ways. What we must do is to ensure that these workers achieve 
maximum productivity in their efforts.
    The White House Conference recommendations regarding productivity 
are varied and far-reaching. Of perhaps greatest significance is the 
support shown for a national network for information sharing. The recent 
passage of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 responds directly 
to this recommendation and is a major step in the direction of increased 
productivity for American workers. Other recommendations address 
copyright statutes and business information centers, both of which would 
have a positive impact upon the efforts of American business and 
employees.
    My Administration is committed to the full employment and increased 
productivity of the American work force. We can, and we must, become the 
most skilled work force in the world if we are to remain preeminent in 
today's global economy. Throughout the Federal Government, efforts are 
being made to bring to Americans the kinds of resources that they need 
to improve their on-the-job effectiveness. For example, within the 
Department of Education, an information resource for teachers, parents, 
and communities is being developed. To be known as SMARTLine, this data 
base will contain the best of education research and practice. This 
resource will be available locally--through schools and community 
libraries--to educators and parents who want to improve classroom 
instruction methods and to raise the education levels of our children.

Democracy

    An informed populace is a great guarantee that our democratic way of 
life will continue and flourish. Recent events have shown us that people 
in other countries are struggling to emulate what we have known for the 
past two centuries. The free flow of information in countries all over 
the world and especially in Eastern Europe has played a strategic role 
in releasing people from the bondage of ignorance.
    Library and information services provide an infrastructure by which 
we can obtain information and can contribute to our democratic way of 
life. In our country, there are more than 30,000 public, academic, and 
special libraries, and there are an estimated 74,000 school libraries 
and media centers. These library and information centers are the links 
between our citizens and the information that they need. These libraries 
provide the kind of ongoing education that each man, woman, and child 
will need in order to remain a fully productive and fully participating 
citizen.

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    The 1991 White House Conference on Library and Information Services 
has generated many worthwhile recommendations. Clearly these ideas 
illustrate not only the changing role of libraries, but also the 
revolutionary changes affecting our own society. As our culture changes, 
so must the institutions that serve it. The Conference Report makes it 
clear that library and information services are changing rapidly in 
response to an increasingly complex and global society. As we strive for 
a more literate citizenry, increased productivity, and stronger 
democracy, we must make certain that our libraries and information 
services will be there to assist us as we lead the revolution for 
education reform. As I stated in my speech at the White House 
Conference, ``Libraries and information services stand at the center of 
this revolution.''

                                                             George Bush

The White House,
March 6, 1992.