Affiliations: Consumer Interest Research Institute, 1819 H Street NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20006, USA
Note: [*] Based on a presentation delivered at the 26th Annual Conference of the National Federation of Abstracting and Information Services (NFAIS), Arlington, Virginia, on 5 March 1984. ISU acknowledges gratefully the cooperation of the Federation in assisting in the publication of this paper.
Abstract: Information as a critical policy resource for effective government and an essential tool for efficient institutional management is widely recognized. The value of scientific and technical information to the flourishing of the US economy, both domestically and internationally, is agreed to by all. Much less widely discussed, although equally critical, is the value of information to individual citizens to enable them to cope effectively with their day-to-day activities and to be effective participants in our political and economic systems. Yet as a nation we are doing very little to coordinate and promote the generation and dissemination of information in any of those areas as a national resource. If anything, the current US administration seems to be retrenching on its information activities, placing renewed emphasis on the marketplace to develop our information resources, and increasing user fees for the information it continues to provide. This paper examines very briefly some of the principal policy decisions affecting the government's information activities, and explores the applicability and impact of the government's policy on the generation and dissemination of information. It summarizes the types of information resources which individuals need to function effectively as consumers and citizens, and the extent to which the private sector is serving these needs. Finally, the author outlines some of the steps which she believes government should be taking if we are to maximize our human resources on which every nation's survival depends.
