THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                         (Aboard Air Force One)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                    August 28, 2000

PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES MARILYN MASON TO THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON

LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION SCIENCE

The President today announced his intent to nominate Marilyn Mason to serve as a member of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science.

Ms. Marilyn Mason, of Tallahassee, Florida, served as the Director of the Cleveland Public Library for thirteen years and as Director of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library for four years before that. In 1979, she was the Director of the White House Conference on Library and Information Service, the largest White House Conference ever held in one place. Ms. Mason has written extensively about libraries and information science and their importance. She has received numerous awards for her work in this field.

Ms. Mason received her B.A. from the University of Dallas, a Master of Library Science degree from North Texas State University, and a Master of Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science is a permanent, independent agency of the federal government composed of fourteen members, serving five-year terms, and two ex officio members. NCLIS is charged by law (P.L. 91-345) to advise the President and Congress on national and international library and information services policies and plans.

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