The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science on March 30 released the results of a nine-month survey on the capability of federal agencies to supply information electronically to depository libraries. The report, commissioned by the Government Printing Office, was prepared for NCLIS by Westat, an independent contractor.
The report noted “an overall lack of government information policy guiding electronic publishing.” While some agencies had already established guidelines for presenting documents on the Web, in most cases the responsibility for electronic publishing is “decentralized, diffuse, and unclear.”
NCLIS is planning a third and final study phase this summer to formulate recommendations to the President and Congress on how public access can be improved.
Posted April 12, 1999.