ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


C on ference
C ircu it

Ja n u a ry 1994 / 2 3

NASULGC m eeting 
explores technology

By Barbara J. Ford

Inform ation technology m ust be 
p a rt o f  the mission

N early 100 mem bers (including about 25 
librarians) of the National Association of 

State U niversities a n d  Land-Grant C olleges 
(NASULGC) Commission on Information Tech­
nology (CIT) met at the 106th NASULGC an­
nual m eeting in Washington, D.C., on Novem­
ber 11, 1993. The CIT has over 180 members 
and is an important voice for higher education 
as one o f six NASULGC policy commissions. 
The following report highlights the activities 
of CIT’s boards.

The Board on Distance Education and Tele­
communications Policy had a panel discussion 
regarding distance and higher education and 
the national agenda. The board will move into 
a strategic planning process that will enable it 
to include more effectively higher education in 
the national discussions on telecommunications.

The B oard on  D istance T echnology and 
Learning developed a iistserv for board mem­
bers and is developing a brochure on com ­
pressed video and satellite systems that includes 
a directory of program s and products in the 
area. The Board on Technology Infrastructure 
reported on netw orking activities in various 
states. A discussion was held on drafting a state­
ment on the importance of networking to higher 
education.

The Board on Library Resources and Ser­
vices reviewed the status of legislation dealing 
with access to governm ent information and 
networking developm ent. Issues of particular 
interest to the board include intellectual p rop­
erty in the electronic environment, coopera­
tion using electronic systems, preservation in 
the electronic environment, networking and the

global or virtual library, and public and private 
responsibility for the Internet. Discussions were 
held on how  library services can be used to 
help support university distance learning pro­
grams by giving students library access elec­
tronically. There was also a discussion on us­
ing NASULGC to begin a dialogue with the 
cooperative extension community on establish­
ing a role for libraries in providing electronic 
information to extension offices. CIT plans to 
develop a conference for university presidents 
on the impact of the national information in­
frastructure.

Michael Nelson, senior policy advisor for 
information technology, Office of Science and 
Technology Policy, provided som e insight on 
the Clinton administration’s national informa­
tion infrastructure agenda. He made clear that 
the information highways will not be paid for 
by the government. The governm ent’s role was 
defined as research and developm ent support 
for new  technologies, support for pilot projects, 
servicing as a custom er for electronic informa­
tion, developing policy for intellectual p rop­
erty protection and privacy rights, and rewrit­
ing the existing federal regulations to facilitate 
a more productive telecommunications policy.

EDUCOM’s Teaching and Learning Initiative 
was the focus of part o f the afternoon program. 
Four presidents of NASULGC m em ber institu­
tions spoke on the importance o f information 
technology and higher education. It was noted 
that the information technology revolution is 
the biggest factor affecting the future o f educa­
tion and that the rapid spread of technology is 
transforming traditional m ethods of teaching 
and learning. They stressed that higher educa­
tion administrators must make information tech­
nology a part o f a student’s education and a 
part o f the land-grant mission of outreach and 
service. ■

Barbara J. Ford is director o f  university library services a t Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond; 
e-mail: Bjford@vcuvax