Reviews the mandate and mission of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) and describes its successful initiatives supporting library issues and community library programs. Excerpts from a letter written by Marilyn L. Miller, president of the American Library Association, in support of NCLIS are included. (EA)

Argues that, in spite of the financial burden on local, state, and federal justice systems, prison libraries must be transformed from access-to-the-courts programs and emerge as community information and cultural centers that provide both electronic and book formats. (AEF)

Discusses areas of confusion concerning the role of public libraries that endanger the existence of public libraries. It is argued that the future of the public library depends on its responsiveness to the needs of the people that such libraries were created to serve, and suggestions for achieving this state are offered. (CLB)