Peter R. Young served as the Executive Director of NCLIS from 1990 to 1997, and now is the Chief of the Cataloging Distribution Service at the Library of Congress. During his seven-year tenure as NCLIS Executive Director, Young directed and administered numerous Commission programs and drafted legislation, policy recommendations, and congressional testimony. He also directed he Commission's program for U.S. library statistics in cooperation with the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), and helped coordinate and support the Federal-State Cooperative System (FSCS) by which annual public library statistics are collected and published. He also managed the Commission's program by which the Department of State provides NCLIS funding in accordance with the International Conventions and Scientific Organizations Contributions (ICSOC) to support U.S. involvement in international information, libraries, and archives activities.
One of his significant accomplishments at NCLIS was his successful administration, planning and implementation of the 1991 White House Conference on Libraries and Information Services. His other accomplishments include NCLIS activities related to the National Research and Education network (NREN), directing three national surveys of public library Internet connectivity, holding regional hearings on the reauthorization of the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) by which the federal sector provides over $150 million in support of U.S. libraries. In addition, he led the NCLIS effort to provide Federal Communications Commission (FCC) discounts for Internet connections in public schools and libraries. He also worked closely with library representatives, Congressional sources and Administration officials in assuring passage and enactment of legislation resulting in the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), and amalgamation of Federal library funding programs within the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Young is also actively involved with ALA. He is current an elected member of the ALA Councilor and served on LAMA, LITA, PLA and ALCTS committees. He also served on the Section on Statistics of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, was the U.S. representative to the International Standards Organization (ISO) library statistics and performance indicators working groups, and was President of the Chinese American Librarians Association. Young is a veteran of the U.S. Army and was awarded three bronze stars for his meritorious service in the Republic of Vietnam from 1969 to 1970. In 1996, Young was recognized on the ALA Washington Office 50th Anniversary Honor Roll. (From Mengxiong Liu, "The History and Status of Chinese Americans in Librarianship", Library Trends, v. 49, n. 1 , 2000).
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