T h e  N ational Library of Ed ucation 

by Nancy L. Floyd 

Abstract 

The National Library of Education is the largest federally funded library in the world devoted 
entirely to education. In March 1994, Congress created this new national library, bringing 
together the former U.S. Department of Education Research Library; the 1-800 user service; 
INet (ED/OERI's Internet site and services); and the Technology Resources Center. These 
units now operate in partnership with the ERIC to carry out reference and referral services; 
collection and technical services; resource sharing and cooperation, including Internet Services 
(INet); and marketing/public relations. 

NLE is planning a network of national education technology and related resources. The 
network will promote greater cooperation and resource sharing among education and library 
professionals, policymakers, the public and other providers and repositories of education 
information in America.  It will also apply information science, computer and 
telecommunications technologies for the enhancement of education information dissemination. 

In March 1 994, Congress authorized a new national 
library-the National Library of Education. The legislation 
creating this national library was proposed by U.S. Congressman 
Major Owens (D-NY), a former librarian. On behalf of the 
Library, he said, 

As the U.S. Department of Education strives to fulfil its 
mission to reform and improve American schools, it must 
have the expert assistance that only the National Library of 
Education can provide to make the latest knowledge about 
the best educational practices coherent and readily accessible 
to teachers, parents, school administrators, and educational 
researchers. 

He also noted, 
The U.S. Department of Education is our national engine 

for educational excellence, and we look to the National 
Library of Education to provide the fuel. 

Mission 
The new National Library of Education is to be a one-stop 

shop for all information and referral on education in the country. 
Its customers-students, educators, and researchers at all 
levels-will benefit from the Library's collection, preservation, 
and use of research and other education-related information. The 
Library will promote widespread access to its materials and 
expand its coverage. With other major libraries, schools, and 
educational centers across the United States, it will provide a 
network of national education resources. 

Education Libraries • Vol 20, No. 1/2 

History 

The new library had a head start. The U.S. Department of 
Education already had an Education Research Library. In fact, 
the Research Library was the largest federally funded library in 
the world devoted entirely to education. This collection on 
education began a century ago with Henry Barnard's private 
collection of American schoolbooks and was nurtured by 
Commissioner John Eaton during his tenure (1870-1886). 
Several private donors further enriched the collection. 

More recently, other special collections were added to the 
Library. Material from the former National Institute of Education, 
the former U.S. Office of Education, and the U.S. Department 
of Education, including reports, studies, manuals, and other 
documents, and archives of the former U.S. Office of Education 
and National Institute of Education, including speeches and 
policy papers, were added. 

Collections 
Today, the National Library of Education houses onsite more 

than 200,000 books and about 900 periodicals in addition to 
studies, reports, Educational Resources Information Center 
(ERIC) microfiche, and CD-ROM databases. Currently, it holds 
books on education, management, public policy, and related 
social sciences; dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, 
directories, abstracts, indexes, and legal and other research 
sources in print and CD-ROM; current and historical journals 
and newsletters; and more than 450,000 microforms. The Library 
also has a legislative reference service that maintains the 
Department's historical record oflegislation affecting education. 

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Special Collections. The earliest volumes of the Library's 
special collections date to the fifteenth century and include early 
American textbooks, children's books, and books about 
education. Other special collections include rare books published 
before 1800, mostly in education; historical books ( 1800-1964 ), 
early American textbooks (1775-1900), modem American 
textbooks (1900-1959), U.S. Department of Education reports, 
bibliographies, and studies; archived speeches, correspondence, 
policy papers, and reports; and children's classics. 

Since its establishment, NLE has rewritten its Collection 
Development Policy, as mandated by the legislation, to reflect 
the expanded scope of the Library. The Policy outlines the scope 
of the collection, describes in detail how priority levels will be 
assigned in future book selection, defines the Library's users, 
and designates what services are appropriate to a National 
Library. Along with this, procedures are well on the way for 
setting up an online public access catalog, essential if the Library 
is to reach out to a larger audience like its models, the National 
Library of Medicine and the National Agriculture Library. 

Services 
In a recent reorganization of the Office of Educational 

Research and Improvement (the unit of the Department in which 
the Library is organizationally located), consolidations were 
made, greatly expanding the available resources of the Library. 
The legislation had mandated that the Education Information 
Branch, which operated a toll-free information and free 
publications line, be merged with the new Library. This merge 
brought to the Library additional staff with a wide range of 
educational subject expertise. At the same time, the Department's 
!Net (Internet/World Wide Web) system and the Educational 
Resources Information Center (ERIC) came on board. The ERIC 
unit includes 16 Clearinghouses specializing in all aspects of 
education, adjunct clearinghouses, and support components 
(ACCESS ERIC, AskERIC, ERIC Document Reproduction 
Service, and ERIC Processing and Reference Facility). 

All these new resources have enhanced the Library's services 
to its customers. In its Reference and Information Services 
Division, the Library now fields more than 200 phone calls, up 
to 500 letters, and hundreds of electronic queries daily. This 
increased volume is being handled by staff rotation. Also due to 
the reorganization a Technology Resources Center has become 
part of the Library. This Center is one of the best kept secrets of 
the educational technology world. Here, hundreds of CD-ROM 
and other educational technology media, equipment, and 
software tools are on loan from vendors. Library staff 
demonstrate the programs and equipment to Department staff 
and visitors from outside, ranging from local school personnel 
to officials of foreign governments. 

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Task Force 

In the summer of 1995, a National Library of Education 
Advisory Task Force was named by the Secretary of Education. 
This has met twice in Washington, DC, and a third meeting took 
place at the end of July 1996 in Los Angeles. These meetings 
will result in a set of recommendations outlining the future 
direction of NLE. 

Public Relations 

Early on, the Library's management knew that for the new 
Library to fulfil its mission, it first had to let people know that it 
was there. So they effected a strong marketing and public 
relations plan. This included publishing its own products such 
as posters and bookmarks. Also, as part of its public relations 
plan, Library staff began giving monthly orientation talks, 
including overhead charts and informative handouts, for all new 
Department employees. 

By the end of January 1995, staff published its first bi­
monthly newsletter. The newsletter includes not only recent book 
acquisitions but also sections on new technology, online 
resources, new sources from ERIC, bibliographies, on topics of 
current interest ,  maps, and other use ful or newsworthy 
information for users, such as parental involvement in education, 
family literacy, and at-risk students. The newsletter is distributed 
Department wide and to a selected mailing list. Copies are also 
available at the circulation desk in the Library. A series of Fact 
Sheets on a variety of library-related topics are also available by 
phone, fax, and e-mail. These can also be found on NLE ;s World 
Wide Web Home page (http://www.ed.gov/NLE). The Library 
has also published the U.S. Department of Education World Wide 
Web Server Standards and Guidelines and will soon begin 
publishing a series entitled Advances in Education Research. 

During National Library Week 1995, the National Library 
of Education celebrated its official inauguration with an Open 
House celebration where the Assistant Secretary for the Office 
of Educational Research and Improvement Sharon P. Robinson 
unveiled the commemorative poster. Secretary Robinson spoke 
to a gathering of Department staff, public, and press, saying 
"There 's a pretty well-established appreciation for a federal role 
in education to provide knowledge and equal access to 
information . . .  the library's future is secure." 

Library staff followed the Open House with the first in a 
series of quarterly lectures featuring notable speakers on libraries, 
information, and technology. The lectures informed educators, 
teachers, researchers, librarians, and parents on issues of concern. 
Angela Gasparro from the Division of Libraries in the 
Philadelphia School District spoke on "Libraries, Technology, 
and Vistas ofTomorrow;" Dr. William G. Durden of the Institute 
for the Academic Advancement of Youth at Johns Hopkins 

Education Libraries • Vol 20, No. 1/2 



University discussed ''The Optimal Match: Common Sense in 
an Uncommon Environment," and Cheryl Graunke from the 
Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress 
talked about "Cybrarianship : The Internet Revolution in 
Libraries." The fall lecture featured Dr. Galen Godbey, Executive 
Director of Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges, 
who spoke on "The Agility P aradigm :  How business, 
government, and industry must and can change to adapt to the 
global economy." This summer, Dr. Carolyn Sumners, Director 
of Astronomy and Physics for the Houston Museum of Natural 
Science, spoke on "Making Space for the Girls, or Finding 
Physics for Females." 

To reach out to the education community, the Library has 
put itself at the forefront of the Department's strategic partnership 
with the Philadelphia city schools. Library staff have been 
working with the city's school library personnel on developing 
in-service training for librarians. In addition, Library staff have 
formed a partnership with a Baltimore school district to enhance 
teacher training. The Library has also made a special effort to be 
represented at library and information technology conferences 
and exhibits. Furthermore, the Library has been proactive in 
emphasizing customer service, developing a Customer Service 
Survey to provide feedback on what services are being used, 
what is needed, and how services can be improved. 

Networking 
A Division of Resource Sharing and Cooperation has been 

established in the Library that handles INet (the DepartmP,nt's 
public access Internet site), the toll-free electronic Bulletin Board 
System, and data tape sales. This Division has liaisons with a 
number of other information technology groups both in and 
outside the Department. The task for this Division will be to 
expand the Library 's cooperative partnerships and resource 
sharing. Staff will look into ways to incorporate electronic 
resources and access to information, laying the groundwork for 
NLE to become a part of a major network of education resources 
nationwide. 

Education Ubreriea • Vol 20, No. 1/2 

NLE is in the planning stages of setting up a network to bt. 
known as the U.S. Education Information Network (USEIN) to 
provide a forum for discussion of education issues, to take a 
leadership role in forming a national information policy as related 
to education, and to make· recommendations to NLE on 
information matters. The Network will attempt to strengthen 
education libraries and information services of all types and to 
promote cooperation and communication among its members. 

For Your Information 

The National Library of Education offers its customers a 
CD-ROM catalog of the Library's collection, individual study 
rooms, self-service photocopier, microform reader printers, and 
group and individual orientation seminars. Located on the street 
level, it is easily accessed by the physically disabled. The Library 
is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday except 
federal holidays. 

The Library is located in Washington, DC, two blocks west 
of Uriion Station, Red Line Metro stop. The mailing address is 
National Library of Education, U.S. Department of Education, 
555 New Jersey Avenue Nw, Washington, DC 20208-5721. 

The views expressed in this article are part of ongoing research 
and analysis at the Office of Educational Research and 
Improvement and do not necessarily reflect the position of the 
U.S. Department of Education. 

Nancy Floyd is the writer, editor and Public Relations 
D i rector of the Nat ional Lib rary of Educat ion,  U . S .  
Department of Education, Washington, D.C. She has 
previously taught French in high school and has worked 
as a school and special librarian, newspaper columnist and 
magazine editor. 
nfloyd@inet.ed .gov 

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