ANALYSIS BY OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT.

SEC. 2385. ANALYSIS BY OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT. (a) In General.— The Office of Technology Assessment shall include, in a study of the effects of information age technology on rural America, an analysis of the feasibility of ensuring that rural citizens in their homes and schools have the ability to acquire, by computer, information in a national library. (b) Contents.— In conducting the analysis under subsection (a), the Office of Technology Assessment shall— (1) evaluate, in consultation with the Librarian of Congress, the costs and benefits of establishing a national library whose volumes, periodicals, instructional materials, sound and video resources, and other data are accessible to individuals through their personal computers; (2) assess the technological, regulatory, or other impediments to the establishment of the library and information retrieval system described in paragraph (1), and the length of time required to establish such a library and retrieval system; (3) describe the potential for the library and information described in paragraph (1) to provide rural citizens the opportunity to study and explore foreign languages, geography, math, science, history, or other interests, and to exchange scholarly information and ideas with other users, and otherwise to engage in interactive study; and (4) recommend to the Congress the measures that should be taken to establish the library and retrieval system described in paragraph (1).