The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) is a permanent, independent agency of the United States government, whose task is to advise the President and Congress on the implementation of national policy with respect to libraries and information science. To achieve its goals of appraising library and information services provided, strengthening the relevance of libraries and information science, and promoting research and development for extending and improving library and information services, the Commission has undertaken six initiatives: (1) Emergency preparedness and the role of libraries as community distribution centers for emergency preparedness and disaster response information; (2) Health communication and the role of libraries in the distribution of consumer health information and in promoting healthy lifestyles for all Americans; (3) Adequacies and deficiencies of current library and information resources and services, and the effectiveness of current library and information science programs; (4) Information dissemination about the relationship between school libraries and educational achievement; (5) Library services for the aging; and (6) International library and information science issues. The initiatives and programs of the Commission are hampered by a lack of resources, and efforts are being made to identify strategic partners, sponsors, collaborating organizations, and other government agencies to work with the Commission. (Contains 2 footnotes.)