How The Annual Report Program Began
Background of the Federal-State Cooperative System
(FSCS) for Public Library Data
from WinPLUS User's Guide, Version 2.6 (NCES, U.S. Census
Bureau, NCLIS)
The U. S. Department of Education's National Center for
Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for the collection,
analysis, and reporting of educational statistics in the United States
. In 1985, NCES and the American Library Association (ALA ) conducted
a pilot project in 15 states to assess the feasibility of a federal-state
cooperative program for the collection of public library data. The project
was jointly funded by NCES and the U.S. Department of Education's former
Library Programs (LP) office. In 1987, the project's final report recommended
the development of a nationwide data collection system. The Hawkins-Stafford
Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Amendments of 1988 (P.L.
100-297)1 charged NCES with developing a voluntary Federal-State Cooperative
System (FSCS) for the annual collection of public library data. A task
force was formed by NCES and the U.S. National Commission on Libraries
and Information Science (NCLIS) to carry out this mandate, and the FSCS
was established in 1988. The 1988 NCES-NCLIS task force evolved into
the FSCS Steering Committee as we know it today. This Committee is integral
to the design and conduct of the survey. Its membership includes State
Data Coordinators (SDCs) and representatives of the Chief Officers of
State Library Agencies (COSLA), NCLIS, ALA , the Institute of Museum
and Library Services (IMLS), the U.S. Census Bureau (the data collection
agent), and NCES. SDCs (appointed by COSLA) submit data for NCES's annual "Public
Libraries Survey" for the universe of over 9,000 public libraries
in the 50 States, the District of Columbia , and the outlying areas.
NCES releases an annual data file (the only national
database on public libraries) and survey report based
on the survey. The data are used for planning, research,
evaluation, and policymaking decisions by federal, state, and local
officials, professional associations, researchers, educators, local
practitioners, and other interested users.
YOUR INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT
NO MATTER HOW SMALL YOUR LIBRARY IS, HOW MANY
HOURS IT IS OPEN,
OR HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU SERVE!
PLEASE COMPLETE YOUR
ANNUAL REPORT
DEADLINE: APRIL 1, 2008
