1012 



S-58 



coordinating programs, and dealing with international issues in the 

 area of STI. 



Serious attention should be given to examining the international 

 aspects of STI policies, programs, and needs (including the work of 

 UNESCO and other international bodies) with regard to U.S. national 

 interests in this area. It is in the national interest to promote a 

 stable period for international scientific communication during the 

 decades ahead. To achieve this, an assessment or blueprint should be 

 prepared, whether the United States withdraws from UNESCO or not, to 

 clarify U.S. objectives and the appropriate role it should play in 

 international STI. The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) 

 or NSF might be called upon to convene a meeting where the interests of 

 technical agencies and departments, as well as those of the private 

 sector, could be assessed. The U.S. National Commission on Libraries 

 and Information Science with the cooperation of nongovernmental 

 organizations could also contribute to this process. 



Alternatives 



UNISIST is an important area of UNESCO's work that needs to be 

 addressed in the context of overall international scientific and 

 technological information programs and clarified U.S. objectives. 

 Selected science information activities should be supported in the 

 light of this assessment through funds administered by NSF and/or the 

 U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. 



Notes on Major Program VII: 



Information Systems and Access to Knowledge 



with respect to scientific and technological information activities 



VII. 1 Improvement of Access to Information; Modern Technologies, 

 Standardization, and Interconnection of Information Systems 



refers to work on: 



• UNISIST Guide to Standards for Information Handling. 



• UNISIST Reference Manuals for Machine-Readable Bibliographic 

 Descriptions and for Description of Research Projects and 

 Institutions. 



• UNISIST normative texts and materials for improving the com- 

 patability and interconnection of UN information systems and 

 services. 



• Networks for the exchange of information and experience in 

 science and technology, for example, in Asia and the Pacific 



(ASTINFO) . 



