This ninth annual report of the Committee on Scientific and Technical Information (COSATI) contains summary reports of COSATI and its Panels and Task Groups for the calendar year, 1971. This 1971 COSATI report reflects the initiatives taken by the Federal agencies not only in insuring to the scientific and engineering publics the prompt communication of the specialized knowledge, but also in applying new communications technology to the improved performance of their statutory program responsibilities. COSATI is dedicated to the orderly and coordinated development of Federal agency information programs in the public interest. As the communications revolution expands, it has special responsibilities for insuring that the technological innovations undertaken by the Federal agencies are communicated not only to each other, but to the public at large. This is the burden of the 1971 Annual Report. Reports submitted by member and observer agencies are followed by a retrospective bibliography of COSATI sponsored publications, a COSATI membership roster, a glossary of acronyms used in the report, and an index. (Author/SJ)