NC Commission for the Future of Libraries and the Book
Report to the NCLA Executive Board
April 25, 2003

Since our last report, the Commission has held four meetings:

· September 16, 2002, in Winston-Salem
· November 18, 2002, in Burlington
· January 13, 2003, in Apex
· March 10, 2003, in Winston-Salem

The Commission has focused its efforts on three areas:

· January 2004 issue of North Carolina Libraries. Elizabeth Skinner (Forsyth County Public Library) and Deana Astle (East Carolina University) are co-editors for the issue and have posted a call for papers. Potential authors should contact Skinner and Astle by May 1.

· Programs for the Biennial Conference. We will be co-sponsoring Walt Crawford (senior analyst at the Research Libraries Group and author of a column in American Libraries) for the Thursday Ogilvie Lecture. We also anticipate a table talk session and another small session on topics related to the charge to the Commission.

· A Web-based survey of librarians in North Carolina. The Commission wants to conduct a survey of professional and paraprofessional librarians in the state regarding their thoughts on the future of libraries and the book. A preliminary draft of the questionnaire has been written, and this will be reviewed at the Commission's next meeting in May in Raleigh.

Robert Burgin, Chair