 
                  CHAPTER 68--NATIONAL EDUCATION REFORM
 
Part A--General Provisions Regarding Office of Educational Research and 
                               Improvement
 
                  Part E--National Library of Education
 
Sec. 6051. Establishment within Office of Educational Research 
        and Improvement
        

(a) In general

    There is established within the Department of Education a National 
Library of Education (hereafter in this section referred to as the 
``Library''), which shall be maintained by the Department of Education 
as a governmental activity.

(b) Functions of Library

    The functions of the Library are--
        (1) to provide a central location within the Federal Government 
    for information about education;
        (2) to provide comprehensive reference services on matters 
    related to education to employees of the Department of Education and 
    its contractors and grantees, other Federal employees, and members 
    of the public; and
        (3) to promote greater cooperation and resource sharing among 
    providers and repositories of education information in the United 
    States.

(c) Mission

    The mission of the Library shall be to--
        (1) become a principal center for the collection, preservation, 
    and effective utilization of the research and other information 
    related to education and to the improvement of educational 
    achievement;
        (2) strive to ensure widespread access to the Library's 
    facilities and materials, coverage of all education issues and 
    subjects, and quality control;
        (3) have an expert library staff; and
        (4) use modern information technology that holds the potential 
    to link major libraries, schools, and educational centers across the 
    United States into a network of national education resources.

(d) One-stop information and referral service

    The Library shall establish and maintain a central information and 
referral service to respond to telephonic, mail and electronic and other 
inquiries from the public concerning--
        (1) programs and activities of the Department of Education;
        (2) publications produced by the Department of Education and, to 
    the extent feasible, education related publications produced by the 
    Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and other Federal 
    departments and agencies;
        (3) services and resources available to the public through the 
    Office, including the Educational Resources Information Center 
    Clearinghouses, the research institutes, and the national education 
    dissemination system;
        (4) statistics and other information produced by the National 
    Center for Education Statistics; and
        (5) referrals to additional sources of information and expertise 
    about educational issues which may be available through educational 
    associations and foundations, the private sector, colleges and 
    universities, libraries and bibliographic databases.

The Library shall maintain and actively publicize a toll-free telephone 
number through which public inquiries to the Library may be made.

(e) Comprehensive reference services

                           (1) In general

        The Library shall, to the extent feasible, provide for the 
    delivery of a full range of reference services on subjects related 
    to education to employees of the Department of Education and such 
    Department's contractors and grantees, other Federal employees, and 
    members of the general public. Such services may include--
            (A) specialized subject searches;
            (B) search and retrieval of electronic databases;
            (C) document delivery by mail and facsimile transmission;
            (D) research counseling, bibliographic instruction, and 
        other training services;
            (E) interlibrary loan services; and
            (F) selective dissemination of information services.

                            (2) Priority

        The Library shall first give priority in the provision of 
    reference services to requests made by employees of the Department 
    of Education.

(f) Cooperation and resource sharing

    The Library shall promote greater cooperation and resource sharing 
among libraries and archives with significant collections in the area of 
education through means such as--
        (1) the establishment of information and resource sharing 
    networks among such entities;
        (2) the development of a national union list of education 
    journals held by education libraries throughout the United States;
        (3) the development of directories and indexes to textbook and 
    other specialized collections held by education libraries throughout 
    the United States; and
        (4) cooperative efforts to preserve, maintain and promote access 
    to items of special historical value or interest.

(g) Administration

    The Library shall be administered by an Executive Director who 
shall--
        (1) be appointed by the Assistant Secretary from among persons 
    with significant training or experience in library and information 
    science; and
        (2) be paid at not less than the minimum rate of basic pay 
    payable for GS-15 of the General Schedule.

(h) Task Force

                           (1) In general

        The Assistant Secretary shall appoint a task force of 
    librarians, scholars, teachers, parents, and school leaders 
    (hereafter in this paragraph referred to as the ``Task Force'') to 
    provide advice on the establishment of the Library.

                       (2) Preparation of plan

        The Task Force shall prepare a workable plan to establish the 
    Library and to implement the requirements of this section.

                       (3) Certain authorities

        The Task Force may identify other activities and functions for 
    the Library to carry out, except that such functions shall not be 
    carried out until the Library is established and has implemented the 
    requirements of this section.

                             (4) Report

        The Task Force shall prepare and submit to the Assistant 
    Secretary not later than 6 months after the first meeting of the 
    Task Force a report on the activities of the Library.

(i) Transfer of functions

    There are hereby transferred to the Library all functions of--
        (1) the Department of Education Research Library;
        (2) the Department of Education Reference Section; and
        (3) the Department of Education Information Branch.

(j) Collection development policy

    Not later than 180 days after March 31, 1994, the Assistant 
Secretary shall promulgate a comprehensive collection development policy 
to govern the Library's operations, acquisitions, and services to users. 
Such collection development policy shall--
        (1) be consistent with the functions of the Library described in 
    subsection (b) of this section;
        (2) emphasize the acquisition and maintenance of a comprehensive 
    collection of reference materials; and
        (3) avoid unnecessary duplication by putting a priority on 
    meeting the information needs of the Library's users through 
    cooperation and resource-sharing with other entities with 
    significant collections in the field of education.

(k) Arrearage and preservation

    On the basis of the collection development policy promulgated under 
subsection (j) of this section, the Executive Director shall develop a 
multiyear plan which shall set forth goals and priorities for actions 
needed to--
        (1) eliminate within 3 years the arrearage of uncataloged books 
    and other materials in the Library's collections; and
        (2) respond effectively and systematically to the preservation 
    needs of the Library's collections, relying, whenever possible, upon 
    cooperative efforts with other institutions to preserve and maintain 
    the usability of books and materials in the Library's collections.

(Pub. L. 103-227, title IX, Sec. 951, Mar. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 260.)

                       References in Text

    The General Schedule, referred to in subsec. (g)(2), is set out 
under section 5332 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
