United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Information Resources
Management
(3404)
SEPA INFO ACCESS
EPA 220-N-95-006
Issue Number 51
March 1995
THE IMPORTANCE AND BENEFITS OF NETWORKING
by Jonda Byrd, IMSD, Manager, National Library Network Program
When the Environmental Protection
Agency was formed in December
1970, there were nearly 40 libraries
serving Headquarters, the ten Regional
Offices, and the Environmental
Research Centers. Collections from the
U.S. Public Health Service, the Federal
Water Pollution Control
Administration, and the Department of
the Interior were combined to establish
the Collections of the EPA Libraries.
Those 40 libraries were consolidated to
make the 28 libraries in the EPA
Library Network, including those
located at the Headquarters Office in
Washington, ten Regional Offices, and
specialized scientific laboratories
located throughout the country. In
addition to these libraries there are
several information centers, such as the
Water Resource Center, affiliated with
the EPA Library Network.
IMPROVING
ACCESS TO INFORMATION
The goal set in 1971, to improve access
to the library collection for the EPA
staff and to expand the field of access
to other users, has changed little. Our
current goal is to improve access to
information. In the early 70's, the
Agency recognized the need to share
its resources among the EPA Libraries
and develop automated systems. That
was. and still is the backbone of the
EPA Library Network. The ability to
know what each library has in its
collection is an invaluable resource.
But we in the network know that this is
only one of the benefits of the EPA
Library Network. We also share
knowledge in subject areas, expertise
in technology, lessons learned during
the implementation of systems and
services, and program successes. We
effectively communicate within the
network through monthly
teleconferences, the bimonthly
INFO ACCESS bulletin, and through
E-mail distribution lists. In addition,
the libraries call on other network
libraries daily to obtain reference and
research assistance.
NETWORKING WITH OTHER FEDERAL
AGENCY LIBRARIES
Since the EPA Library Network was
established in 1971, the EPA Libraries
have also established partnerships with
regional, state, and local libraries. In
1992, EPA libraries shared an annual
meeting with the NOAA Libraries.
Networking continued on page 12
IN THIS ISSUE
PASES 2
PAGE 3
RSKERL's SUBSURFACE REMEDIATION
INFORMATION CENTER, RSKERL LIBRARY, ADA
PAGES
TIP OF THE HAT
PAGE 4
A PROFILE OF THE LIBRARY OF THE NATIONAL
ENFORCEMENT INVESTIGATIONS CENTER
PAGE 5
GILS is COMING! ?y >
PAGE 6-7
LANWORKS: MAXIMIZING
INFORMATION SERVICES IN REGION 4
PAGE 8-9
A PROFILE OF THE OFFICE OF WATER s
RESOURCE CENTER, HEADQUARTERS \
PAGE 9
WATER QUALITY VIDEOS : >?"
PAGE 10
A SPECIAL INFO ACCESS REF<^CREATING
AN ENVIRONMENTAL LIBRARY FOR BAPEDAL
PAGE 10
POLLUTION ,
PAGE 1 1
SLA MEETING ON INFORMATION, TECHNOLOGY
PAGE 12
AROUND THE NETWORK
' ;
PAGE 13
IT'S STARTING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE
CHRISTMAS AT THE REGION 8 LIBRARY
PAGE 15
3 DAYS ONLY
Printed on Recycled Paper
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INFO ACCESS MARCH 1995
GATEWAYS TO INFORMATION, APRIL 3-5, 1995
Staff from EPA's Information
Management and Services Division are
working with three "sister" agencies to
plan the Gateways to Information
library meeting in Denver. The purpose
of this joint meeting is to
Strengthen cooperation.
Foster communication.
Identify information sources.
Determine common needs.
Discuss topics of concern.
The agencies participating in the
library meeting, the Environmental
Protection Agency (USEPA), National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NO A A), U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS) and
National Biological Service (NBS), all
create and manage environmental data
and information, along with
information about similar fields of
study.
The meeting organizers, Jonda Byrd
from USEPA, Janice Beattie from
NOAA, Judy Buys from NBS, and
Barbara Wagner from the USGS, have
tailored the agenda to meet the needs
of library managers, librarians, and
information specialists in all four
agencies. Attendees will discuss a wide
range of topics including networking,
technical information, CD-ROM
products, collection organization and
sharing, in-house databases, and the
Internet. Donald King, formerly of
King Research and a renowned name
in field of special libraries, was
selected as the keynote speaker.
SPECIAL LIBRARIES:
INCREASING THE INFORMATION EDGE
Donald King is considered to be a
pioneer in the development of
evaluation methods, measures and
models. He has conducted several
landmark studies that have helped the
library and information community
interpret information transfer systems
and environments. On the second day
of the meeting, April 4th, Mr. King
will speak about the usefulness and
value of special libraries. His
presentation is based on 15 years of
research in special library operations
and services. This research reveals how
library services contribute to users'
productivity, quality of work, and other
performance indicators. The results of
his research illustrate that it costs
government agencies far more not to
have libraries than to have them.
MORE ABOUT THE AGENDA
The meeting will include several
presentations selected for their
pertinence to the special interests of the
participating agencies. The first day of
the meeting will begin with welcoming
addresses from the meetings
organizers. Following the welcome
statements, the attendees will hear
about specific systems, projects, and
applications:
Using ProCite at the National Park
Service, Diane Mallos Woods
Full-text BASIS Plus Application,
Bob Wooley, National Renewable
Energy Lab
Geographic Information Systems,
John Kineman, National
Geophysical Data Center.
Next there will be a panel discussion
on public access to information, with
representatives from the US
Department of Agriculture (USDA),
USEPA, and the National Biological
Information Infrastructure (NBII)
debating the issues and fielding
questions from the group. In the
afternoon, speakers from the USGS,
NBS, NOAA and EPA will discuss
agency home pages.
Donald King will start off the day on
April 4th, the second day of the
meeting. After his talk, Gladys Cotter,
Assistant Director of Information
Technology Services at the National
Gateways continued on page 3
INFO ACCESS
INFO ACCESS, a forum to provide information and report on progress in
information management across the Agency, is produced by the Information
Access Branch (IAB) of the Information Management and Services
Division (IMSD), Washington, D.C., under the direction of Jonda Byrd,
National Library Network Program Manager. Please send comments and
suggestions to: Mary Hoffman (contractor), Network Coordinator,
1521 East Franklin Street, B300, Chapel Hill, NC 27514. Telephone:
(919) 968-3849. Electronic mail: Hoffman.Mary.
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INFO ACCESS MARCH 1995
RSKERL's SUBSURFACE REMEDIATION
INFORMATION CENTER, RSKERL LIBRARY, ADA
The Subsurface Remediation
Information Center (SRIC), housed
within the Robert S. Kerr
Environmental Research Laboratory
Library, is a component of the
Technical Support Center located at
Kerr Lab in Ada, Oklahoma. The SRIC
distributes highly specialized and
technical information and publications
developed by and through RSKERL
relating to ground-water protection and
remediation. The SRIC maintains a
bibliography of citations with abstracts,
and a repository of RSKERL
publications for distribution to EPA,
government, contractors, universities,
environmental consultants and the
public.
The SRIC also distributes
information packets containing
Gateways from page 2
Biological Service, will discuss federal
scientific information and the virtual
library. The concluding session that
morning will be one in which the
participants share information about
frequently asked questions fielded by
their agencies. Tuesday afternoon
Carol Watts, Director of Library and
Information Services at NOAA, will
talk about global change data and
information. Her presentation will be
followed by sessions on collection
development and document delivery in
the electronic era. The last session of
the day will cover integrated library
information and publications on
research completed by RSKERL.
Packets are available on a variety of
topics including: Bioremediation,
Ground Water Sampling,
Hydrogeology, Land Treatment, Low
Flow Sampling, Nitrate, Pump and
Treat Remediation, Soil Vacuum
Extraction/Bioventing, Total Carbon
Analysis and Underground Storage
Tanks (UST).
Requests for information can be
submitted to Kay Cooper (contractor)
at the Subsurface Remediation
Information Center, P.O. Box 1198,
Ada, Oklahoma 74820. Kay can also
be reached by phone at (405) 436-
8651, by fax at (405) 436-8503, or by
electronic mail at Cooperฎ ad3100.
ada.epa.gov.
systems, and will feature several
speakers from the participating
agencies.
The third day of the meeting, April
5th, has been reserved as an agency
day. In other words, the participants
will meet in four separate groups to
discuss agency-related issues and
concerns. EPA's proposed agenda for
the day features a long morning session
on information sharing, at which the
EPA librarians will be asked to talk
about special projects,
accomplishments, and plans in their
libraries. Other sessions scheduled for
TIP OF THE HAT
Rebecca Kemp, Region 4
Information Management
Branch, who has been the Project
Officer for the Regional Library
and several other records and
information projects for several
years, has accepted an
Intergovernmental Personnel
Agreement (IPA) assignment.
She will be working on a
geographic initiative called the
Southern Appalachian Mountains
Initiative (SAMI) with the air
division for the next 2 years.
Rebecca asked us to share the
following message with the
network: "I have certainly
enjoyed working with you all.
I'm excited about new
opportunities and challenges, but
I will miss the people I've been
working with all these years."
And we will all miss Rebecca's
participation in network
teleconferences and meetings.
We wish her luck in her new
endeavor.
Wally (Walton) Jones, the
Regional Public Access
Coordinator, has taken over as
the Project Officer of the Region
4 Library. Welcome to the
network, Wally!
that day will cover agency LAN
services, cooperative collective
development, cataloging standards, and
the Online Library System. We hope
that many of you will be able to join us
at the meeting!
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INFO ACCESS MARCH 1995
A PROFILE OF THE LIBRARY OF THE NATIONAL
ENFORCEMENT INVESTIGATIONS CENTER
by Dorothy Biggs, NEIC Library, Denver, Colorado
The following quotes provide the framework for understanding the NEIC Library. The first quote is from NEIC's Functional
Statement, and the second quote is from the Vision Statement.
"The National Enforcement Investigations Center (NEIC)...serves as the principal source of
expertise involving civil and criminal litigation support for complex investigations and other
support having national and/or significant regional impact on EPA and State regulatory
programs for air, water, toxics, pesticides, radiation, and solid wastes pollution control."
"The (NEIC) is a unique investigative organization responsive to EPA enforcement needs,
providing new and innovative approaches for meeting Agency initiatives and priorities. "
HISTORY AND
ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND
A short history will add substance to
the framework: the NEIC Library was
established in 1972, soon after the
founding of the National Field
Investigations Center (NFIC), as we
were named until 1975. The NFIC was
a field operations unit of the
enforcement program of the Federal
Water Quality Administration until
transfer to EPA's Office of
Enforcement in 1970. In July the NEIC
will be consolidated with the Office of
Criminal Enforcement of the
reorganized Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance (OECA) to
become what is tentatively called the
Office of Criminal Enforcement/
Forensic Services. NEIC will continue
to provide forensic services to both
civil and criminal enforcement.
NEIC is comprised of three
divisions: Planning and Management,
Operations, and Laboratory Services.
Planning and Management, including
the Information Management Branch,
facilitates the work of the engineers,
technicians and scientists who gather
evidence in field operations and the
sophisticated team of chemists who
provide analytical support, often
developing new techniques for unusual
problems.
ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT
INFORMATION
The need for current, accurate
information to support investigations,
case preparation or settlement
negotiations was recognized early in
NEIC's history and continues to be
critical to the success of EPA's
enforcement program. The NEIC
Library supports the Agency's
enforcement mission as a unit of the
Information Services Section in the
Information Management Branch. The
Information Services Section includes
information specialists who identify,
retrieve and integrate data from EPA
and commercial databases to provide
enforcement tools such as financial
analyses, facility/corporate compliance
profiles and targeting strategies.
NEIC's Library is specialized to
support the information needs of the
environmental enforcement
community. The library collection
features not only legal and regulatory
materials but scientific and technical
publications, such as materials on
industrial processes, methods of
analyses, and sampling techniques. A
few highlights on the legal/regulatory
side include the Hazardous Waste
Litigation Reporter, The Chemical
Regulation Reporter and 40 CFR from
1975 to present. The scientific/
technical part of the collection includes
all editions of the Kirk-Othmer
Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology
and many books on statistics and
chemometrics. The Library also houses
the Agency's consent decree
repository.
The Library's primary clientele is
the NEIC staff, but we also serve
Regional and Headquarters offices, and
federal, state and local agencies
working for environmental
enforcement and compliance
assurance. We provide research
assistance to our primary clientele,
gathering materials from the collection,
and searching online systems such as
LEXIS, Datatimes, DIALOG, STN and
WestLaw. We supply materials for this
A Profile of NEIC continued on page 7
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INFO ACCESS
MARCH 1995
GILS is COMING!
Headquarters, Public Information Center
On December 7, 1994 the Office of
Management and Budget announced
the establishment of the Government
Information Locator Service (GILS).
Envisioned in "The National
Information Infrastructure: Agenda for
Action," and authorized by OMB
Circular A-130, GILS is intended to
improve public access to government
information by providing an on-line,
"virtual card catalog" of government
information holdings.
By December 31, 1995, all Federal
Agencies are required to make their
GILS Core Locator records available
on-line. Currently, there is no single,
one-stop location for finding
government informationelectronic or
otherwise. Instead, one must either
struggle through print indexes such as
GPO's Monthly Catalog, NTIS's
"Government Reports and
Announcements Index," or EPA's
"Publications Bibliography," among
others. Internet users are confronted
with an even greater variety of
information resources including:
gophers, wais servers, library catalogs,
World Wide Web home pages, and a
host of others, comprising a broad
range of standards and formats.
FINALLY, A UNIFORM STANDARD
GILS will provide a uniform standard
which all Federal Agencies must
conform to. It will be Z39.50
compliant, so anybody with access to
the Internet, regardless of the
specifications of their local client
software, will be able to access the
GILS server. Standardization also
applies to the bibliographic records on
the GILS servers. The data elements
which each record must contain have
been outlined by the National Archives
and Records Administration.
Additionally, they have been mapped
to the corresponding MARC record
fields.
UPDATING ACCESS EPA
As many of you know, we are
currently in the process of updating the
"Access EPA" directory. Some of you
may have already seen the "Access
EPA" update form, and noticed it's
quite different from those of previous
years. Since the records contained in
"Access EPA" will form a major
component of EPA's GILS server, we
must collect the required information.
The soon-to-be-updated "Information
Systems Inventory" will also conform
to the new GILS requirements.
This is all new, even for us, and if
you can imagine those old "Airport"
movies where somebody in the control
tower had to help a passenger who had
never piloted a plane, to land an
airliner, then I think you can picture the
process we're going through. So far,
we've received only a few frantic calls
and E-mail messages, and the update
forms we've received so far have
required very little editing. We hope
that with a little diligence on our part,
and some patience and understanding
on your part, we can create an updated
edition of "Access EPA" which will
become a vital component of EPA's
GILS servera server which will
benefit both the information-seeking
public, and the Environmental
Protection Agency.
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INFO ACCESS
MARCH 1995
LANWORKS: MAXIMIZING INFORMATION SERVICES IN REGION 4
Part II: Technical, Management & Operational Issues, Region 4 Library
Selecting and disseminating
information via regional LANS is
expanding throughout the Agency. This
is the second in a three- part series of
articles on how EPA libraries use LAN
technology to burst electronically
through traditional walls and
innovatively enhance information
services for EPA personnel.
With the growth of environmental
bulletin boards and Internet usage,
depository libraries and the distribution
of government information via a
variety of electronic means should
increase proportionately. Previously, in
Part I: Developing LAN Information
Services (INFO ACCESS, January
1995, p. 12), we discussed categories,
information products, and how Region
4 set up a LAN Pathfinder to help users
ctsily navigate the LAN and access
essential resources. This process has
generated several technical and
management issues and inspired the
following suggestions for handling old
challenges in a new form.
What tools should be used to
evaluate library electronic products?
As electronic products are installed on
the LAN, clients use the product and
respond to an electronic survey
available on the LAN. Figure 1 is an
example of a simple survey used on
Region 4's LAN.
Vendor product demonstrations of
CD-ROMs and online services also
provide opportunities for the library
staff and EPA personnel to evaluate
electronic products. The library has a
checklist for selecting electronic
products which includes criteria for
FIGURE 1EXAMPLE OF A SIMPLE SURVEY USED ON REGION 4's LAN
10 - Excellent 8 - Superior 6 - Very Good 4 - Good 2- Poor
9 - Outstanding 7- Prominent 5 - Average 3 - Fair 1 - Inferior
1. How easy is this service to use?
2. How useful is the service for your specific needs?
3. How sufficient is the information provided by the service
4. How would you rate the potential, i.e. future use of the service?
5. Results of uses or, did the service do what you wanted it to do?
6. How accurate was the information provided?
7. Finding out what I wanted to know, or in certain situations finding out
whether the information was available? (This is slightly different than
Question #5)
8. How do you rate the value of the product, or benefits versus costs?
9. How do you rate the service versus other similar services?
10. Overall opinion of this service?
Please make comments, recommendations, or suggestions
information category, technical
capabilities or limitations, projected
number of users, format-bibliographic
or full text, and update frequency.
Library staff try to obtain a demo if the
vendor permits.
/ Will the cost for electronic products
decrease the funds available for
books and documents?
A separate budget is more
appropriate for electronic products.
Budgetary and access issues are
considered when determining whether
to purchase a database, or an
information source in hardcopy or
microform format. In some instances
the library may have the same
information in all three formats.
Without hardcopy versions of
information sources and without
Access to agency electronic resources,
the general public and the regulated
community may have difficulty
obtaining certain information. One
example is BNA Environmental
Reports, which is used extensively by
the regulated community. Most
libraries have dropped their hardcopy
subscription and switched exclusively
to the CD-ROM which limits access.
Region 4 Library staff have found that
the public's response to the switch to
CD-ROM products was varied. Some
purchased their own copy of the
source, others asked the library to print
out the pages they required, and some
went to state environmental agencies
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INFO ACCESS MARCH 1995
and state libraries to get the
information.
Copyright compliance also limits
access. For example, the CFR 40 on
CD-ROM in Region 4 is purchased
from Counterpoint Publishing. The
Regional FOIA Office frequently
receives requests for portions of the 40
CFR 40 on disk. Supplying disk copies
from the Counterpoint version would
clearly be a violation of copyright.
Library staff are investigating the
possibility of using an Agency-
generated CFR 40 disk to respond to
FOIA inquiries and avoid copyright
concerns.
/ How do we track the growing
number of electronic products and
ensure we get timely updates?
A few regions are using a CD-ROM
vendor to purchase electronic products,
others are using or plan to use serials
vendors. The problems inherent in
keeping track of electronic products
can be resolved if one person gets all
the products and checks them in using
the same system used to track journals.
/ Do all electronic products need to
go on the LAN?
Because of a limited number of
drives or other technical and licensing
considerations, it may not be cost
effective to put every electronic
product the library or Region purchases
on the LAN. Also, recently division
personnel have requested to borrow or
use a CD player in their office. For the
past year in Region 4 EPA personnel
who do not have access to a CD player
in their section check out CD-ROM
products from the library and use a CD
Player available in the Information
Center. Members of the regulated
community also frequently ask to
borrow a CD-ROM for several days.
Because of these demands, the Region
4 Library is considering developing a
CD ROM/Disk collection which would
circulate as books, documents, reports,
and other materials do.
/ Are there enough drives to install all
the new CD ROMs that have been
purchased?
Working closely with technical
personnel and providing a written list
of projected purchases and drives
needed for them as early as possible in
the budget year is essential.
As emerging technology changes
the way we do business, creating new
service strategies for disseminating
information and resolving management
and technical issues today, it can also
help ease our transition to the digitized
and virtual library of tomorrow. The
Region 4 Library maximizes the
LAN's capabilities to enhance
operations and adhere to Carol
Browner's paperless office initiative in
several ways. For example, the Library
generates electronic overdues via
ccrmail and compiles a new materials
list for the Library's section of the
LAN "Daily News." Library staff will
continue to work with EPA staff in the
Region to investigate, develop, and
implement other LAN-based
information tools.
'A Profile of A/f/Cfrom page 4
clientele through book acquisitions,
interlibrary loan, and document
delivery. The NEIC library arranges
access to CD-ROM information
including TOMES, MSDS, and the
BNA Environment Library. Another of
our information delivery services is
routing of 130 subscriptions to NEIC
staff. Library staff scan incoming
literature and are proactive to alert
NEIC staff to items relevant to their
projects and interests.
The resources of the NEIC Library
are also available to the broader
enforcement community at appropriate
levels of service. We disseminate
compliance information to the
regulated community and distribute
enforcement publications, for example,
NEIC reports and OECA's annual
Enforcement Accomplishments Report.
LOCATION, COMMUNICATION AND
HOURS
After years of operating in what was
appropriately called "the swamp", the
NEIC Library is now in renovated
space that is adjacent to our old
location in Building 53 of the Denver
Federal Center, but is "worlds apart" in
ambience! For a year now, we have
enjoyed the compressed shelving,
refinished parquet flooring and flowing
open floor plan we helped to design.
The Library is in secured space but is
accessible between 8 in the morning
and 4 in the afternoon. We are
currently adjusting to voice mail,
which has caused our phone number to
change to 303-236-5111. The Library
reference desk extension is 287 and
Dotty Biggs' extension is 254. Dial
245 for Char Moss (contractor) or 246
to reach Kazuko Uchida (contractor).
The fax number is still 303-236-3218
and the E-mail address is
Library .NEIC.
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INFO ACCESS MARCH 1995
A PROFILE OF THE OFFICE OF WATER RESOURCE CENTER, HEADQUARTERS
"Can you send me all the information
you have on water? I'm doing a school
project on water pollution and I want
to learn all I can about how to keep
our water clean."
The Water Resource Center (WRC)
staff are uniquely able to respond to
requests like this, as they sit
surrounded by 2,000 square feet of
information about water quality
standards, effluent limitations, drinking
water regulations, combined sewer
overflows and other water quality
issues. Just one copy of each water
document would require a truck for
delivery. The WRC receives over
1,500 calls each month from school
groups, the regulated community,
industry, and law firms, resulting in
more than 3,500 document requests.
ARCHIVES
Over the past three years, the WRC has
become the focal point for collecting
and distributing documents for several
divisions of the Office of Water: the
Immediate Office; the Office of
Ground Water and Drinking Water
(OGWDW); the Office of Science and
Technology (OST) and the Office of
Wastewater Management (OWM). The
WRC acts as a centralized archives for
these divisions, currently housing
permanent file copies of over 4,000
Office of Water publications. While
these file copies do not circulate
outside EPA, they are available for
viewing by visitors to the WRC. One
of the goals of the WRC is to identify
and acquire copies of all water
publications from these offices.
nn
n
DOCUMENT DISTRIBUTION
The WRC stores onsite small quantities
of 1,000 water publications, for
distribution to Agency staff and
visitors. Other document needs are met
through a partnership with EPA's
National Center for Environmental
Publications and Information (NCEPI)
in Cincinnati. The WRC stores the bulk
of its documents at NCEPI and places
orders, via an electronic link, directly
into the NCEPI ordering system.
NCEPI staff then fill the requests and
mail the publications to the requestors.
The WRC also has a partnership
with the Safe Drinking Water Hotline
(1-800-425-4791). Hotline staff answer
callers' technical questions and suggest
appropriate EPA drinking water
publications for them to read. Hotline
staff relay these document requests to
the WRC to be filled.
Because the EPA cannot continue to
reprint popular documents indefinitely,
the WRC handles sending water
publications to alternate resources,
ensuring that they will continue to be
available to the public. WRC staff
submit water documents to the
National Technical Information
Service (NTIS), the Educational
Resource Information Center (ERIC)
and the National Small Flows
Clearinghouse.
VIDEO LOAN SERVICE
A fairly unique service the WRC
provides is the loan of copies of 9
water quality videos (see sidebar) to
public requestors. These tapes are
available to absolutely anyone and are
loaned for a period of 4 weeks. There
is no charge for the service. These
tapes cover various issues of water
quality and can be copied by the
borrower. A planned service of the
WRC will be a video viewing area for
EPA staff and visitors.
CATALOGS AND DATABASE
There are currently four reference tools
that WRC staff use and produce to help
EPA staff and the public locate water
documents. Staff maintain an inhouse
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INFO ACCESS
MARCH 1995
database, which is the master file of all
documents in the WRC master files.
The Catalog of Office of Science and
Technology Publications and the
Office of Ground Water and Drinking
Water Publications List include all
OST and OGWDW documents known
to the WRC. Some documents are no
longer in print and are only available
from fee-based services like NTIS and
ERIC. The catalogs provide NTIS and
ERIC ordering numbers, and include
title and subject indexes. A fifth tool is
the Directory of Drinking Water
Training Materials, which includes
abstracts and ordering information for
drinking water training documents
produced by OGWDW since July
1992. Work is underway on the first
Office of Wastewater Management
publications list.
The Water Resource Center is happy
to provide multiple copies of these
catalogs to the EPA Network libraries
and information centers, to be
distributed to EPA staff and visitors in
their regions. The WRC may also be
able to help with bulk orders for
display at conferences.
WATER QUALITY VIDEOS
The Office of Water Resource Center has a collection of water quality
videos that can be borrowed by public requestors. The tapes are available to
absolutely anyone and are loaned for a period of 4 weeks. There is no
charge for the service. These tapes cover various issues of water quality and
the agency grants the borrowers permission to copy them. The WRC is
planning a video viewing area for EPA staff and visitors to further enhance
access to this valuable resource.
Antidegradation Policy: A Means to Maintain and Protect Existing
Uses and Water Quality. EPA 823/V-90-003. 1990. 13 minutes.
Development of Biological Criteria for use in Water Quality Standards.
EPA 823/V-92-003. 1992. 20 minutes.
Development of Water Quality Criteria and Its Relationship to Water
Quality Standards. EPA 823/V-90-002. 1990. 14 minutes.
Economic Considerations in Water Quality Standards. EPA 823/V-90-
001. 1992. 15 minutes.
Enumeration Methods for E. Coli and Enterococci. EPA 823/V-86-001.
1986. 30 minutes.
Introduction to Water Quality Standards. EPA 823/V-92-001. 1990. 14
minutes.
Water Quality-Based Approach to Pollution Control. 1991. 16 minutes.
Water Quality Standards and 401 Certification. EPA 823/V-91-001.
1991. 16 minutes.
Water Quality Standards on Indian Lands. EPA 823/V-92-002. 1992.
19 minutes.
CONTACTING THE WRC
Telephone: 202-260-7786
Fax: 202-260-0386
Internet/E-mail:
waterpubs@epamailepa.gov
Mail:
EPA Water Resource Center,
RC 4100
401 M Street, SW
Washington, DC
OBTAINING OTHER WATER-RELATED
INFORMATION
A fourth division of the Office of
Water, the Office of Wetlands, Oceans
and Watersheds (OWOW), has a
document distribution system separate
from the Water Resource Center.
Callers interested in wetlands issues
may call the Wetlands Protection
Hotline at 1-800-832-7828 to ask for
information and to request wetlands
documents. Callers interested in other
OWOW documents may contact
NCEPI at 513-569-8190 to discuss
document availability.
D
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INFO ACCESS MARCH 1995
A SPECIAL INFO ACCESS REPORT: CREATING AN
ENVIRONMENTAL LIBRARY FOR BAPEDAL
In September 1994 Karen Sundheim
(contractor) took a leave of absence
from her position as manager of the
Pollution Prevention Resource Center
here at EPA Region 9, and took up
residence in Jakarta, the capital of
Indonesia with a swelling population of
9 million. EPA staff were enthusiastic
about this temporary assignment, since
there is increasing interest in pollution
prevention in developing nations, and
EPA is involved in some of those
efforts through US AID's EP3
Program.
Her assignment was to create a
technical library and records
management system as part of a
contract with the Indonesian
Environmental Ministry, Badan
Pengendalian Dampak Lingkungan
(BAPEDAL). This reference library
was to support the Technical
Assistance Unit, which evaluated loan
applications from Indonesian industries
seeking funds to purchase pollution
control equipment. Applications from
companies who had created a pollution
prevention plan were awarded extra
points in the evaluation process.
The need for environmental
protection and information is urgent in
Indonesia, and obvious to one
accustomed to living in a country with
some evidence of environmental
controls. There are few environmental
regulations at all, and virtually none
regulating motor vehicle and other
emissions to the air. Karen reports that
she never saw a blue sky while in
Jakarta (or on the entire island of Java,
for that matter), but a brownish haze
with a faint hint of pink hovered just
above the growing skyline and
surrounding tea plantations.
Indonesia is an industrializing
nation, and in Jakarta one can clearly
see both progress and tension inherent
in a traditional society struggling to
compete in a global economy.
Department stores and small
neighborhood shops sell overly-
packaged goods and merchants proudly
provide plastic bags and bags for the
bags; meanwhile trash lines residential
streets and nearly covers the urban
waterways as evidence of inadequate
waste management services. While
Karen had intentions of transporting
my waste-conscious lifestyle to Jakarta,
she found herself carrying her own
garbage for hours before finding an
appropriate container in which to
dispose of it. Another challenge was
leaping across the open trench in front
of her home in a middle class
downtown neighborhood, which was
filled with florescent-blue water. None
of the Indonesians she met ever drank
tap water, saying "you will get sick."
Water in her home was boiled daily,
and street vendors sell bottled water on
every block. She never did find out
what people drank in the a poor section
of North Jakarta, where health
problems run rampant.
Indonesia is looking to the United
States for guidance in developing
environmental regulations.
Government staff and contractors
routinely asked for EPA documents on
Special Report continued on page 11
POLLUTION
POLLUTION PREVENTION
IN INDONESIA
Like environmental agencies in
many industrialized nations,
BAPEDAL's efforts have
traditionally centered on the use
of "command and control"
strategies; however BAPEDAL
has recognized the need for
sustainable development, and
began promoting waste
minimization and source
reduction approaches in 1994
through its Cleaner Production
Program. One of the primary
goals of the Cleaner Production
Program is the development of
Information Systems to support
pollution prevention efforts.
These include collecting
information from international
sources which give source
reduction guidance to specific
industries; compiling information
into an electronic database which
can be accessed by government
staff; updating electronic
databases to make sure
information is current; and
producing and disseminating
information packages to
government staff, industry and
the public.
Other components of
BAPEDAL's Cleaner Production
Program are technical assistance
to industry, training and
awareness programs, and the
development of economic
incentives.
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INFO ACCESS MARCH 1995
SLA MEETING ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
"^Knowledge is the essential
ingredient upon which action
is based, and a knowledge
professional is essential to
interpret hardware/software
needs."
K.Gapen, at the
SLA Winter Education Conference
MANAGING
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
A Report from SLA's
Winter Education Conference
(January 29-31, 1995, Raleigh, NC)
The meeting was composed of several
simultaneous sessions on various
aspects of information technology,
including those featuring presentations
on electronic copyright issues,
communications, using LANs and
networks, implementing technologies
Special Report from page 10
pollution control technologies and
pollution prevention. During her stay
in Jakarta, Karen received requests for
information on building wastewater
treatment plants (especially for the
predominant textile and pulp and paper
industries). They were also interested
in controlling discharges from
electroplating and food processing
operations.
Since her return to the United States
Karen has gotten requests from Jakarta
for EPA guidance on managing
in libraries and information centers,
and the impacts of technology on
information services. Following are
summaries of three of the sessions.
RECREATING
INFORMATION SERVICES
Instructors: Stephen Abram,
Micromedia Limited, and Rebecca
Jones, Dysart & Jones Associates
In this session, Stephen Abram and
Rebecca Jones discussed the idea that
technology is a tool, an enabler of
change, and enabling force that creates
new options and opportunities. They
noted that the librarian's major
challenge in this era of information
overload is to sort through all the
information available, effectively
evaluate, and select the right
information tools for his or her needs.
Abram and Jones described how
various technologies can help
information professionals recreate the
information services required to meet
the needs of clients now and in the
hazardous and solid wastes from
hospitals, as well as regulations on the
handling of other hazardous substances.
Karen's experience in Indonesia gave
her both a deeper appreciation for the
progress the United States has made in
protecting and improving the
environment, and a renewed
commitment to providing information
to developing nations as they
industrialize with an environmental
consciousness.
future. They stated that librarians and
information specialists need to create
information services using the
following steps:
Re-view your business.
Re-focus your direction (planning
18 to 24 months ahead).
Re-define your needs.
Re-create.
KEYS TO RECREATING
INFORMATION SERVICES
Ms. Jones and Mr. Abrams outlined
the following keys to recreating
information services.
Concentrate on strategic areas in
your organization.
Focus on the clients needs.
Look for Opportunities.
Make sure clients have technology,
training, and understanding.
Form working relationships with
MIS and technology groups within
your organization.
Respond to your own organization
first.
Use just-in-time selection skills to
select technology tools.
Secure senior support.
Focus on content, not format.
In conclusion, Abrams and Jones
stated that the virtual library will
increase the need for information
professionals to help clients locate the
information they need and access it.
The future role of librarians, who have
high-level information literacy, will be
that of information counselor, and it is
essential that librarians identify their
special niche within the organization.
They proposed that librarians could
SLA continued on page 14
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INFO ACCESS
MARCH 1995
AROUND THE NETWORK
This section of INFO ACCESS is used to report on projects currently underway or recently completed in the
Regions, Laboratories, and Headquarters libraries. Contact Mary Hoffman (contractor) Library Network
Coordinator at (919) 968-3849 or at E-mail box Hoffman.Mary if you would like to contribute an item.
NETWORKING AT RSKERL
Cynthia Bruno (contractor), RSKERL
Librarian, makes the most of
networking to support the research of
her RSKERL clients. Her outreach to
libraries in the state and region expands
the universe of resources available to
support the work of EPA staff at the
lab. As a result of her networking, she
has established contacts in a wide
range of libraries, and is able to obtain
virtually every document and piece of
information required by RSKERL.
Cynthia is also a good Internet
resource for the library network. She
taught a segment of an informational
workshop at Oklahoma State
University on January 12. The
workshop, which included both
instruction and laboratory usage, was
entitled "Download Oklahoma."
Cynthia presented information about
environmental resources available
online, in electronic format, and via the
Internet, to other Oklahoma librarians.
A lot of wonderful hand-outs were
shared by EPA's Public Information
Center. Thanks to PIC for the
information! (The day the workshop
was delivered Murphy's Law was fully
realized. Midnet, our Oklahoma
Internet provider, was flooded and
down for the day and the OSU
mainframe crashed in the middle
of the afternoon!)
REGION 5's INTERNET NOTE
With questions about the Internet
becoming commonplace in the library,
last month the Region 5 Library
introduced a new feature on the
Regional LAN's Daily News, the
Internet Note. The feature will be
based on patron queries and include an
"Internet find of the month," whether it
be a database, a tip for searching, a
technical note or other related "virtual
library" information. It will also
include recommendations for reading
and "netiquette" updates. Please feel
free to offer suggestions for articles for
this new feature to Pat Magierski
(Contractor) at the Region 5 library.
(By internet: RTPMAINHUB.
INTERNET. "Library-Reg5.Group
@epamail.epa.gov.IN; By phone:
(312)886-7465.
REORGANIZATION AT THE ERL-
CORVALLIS MAP RESOURCE ROOM
The Map Resource Room at ERL-
Corvallis, with more than 32,000 maps,
air photos, and atlases, has undergone
a major reorganization during the past
six months. The collection had
Networking from page 1
previously slid into a state of disarray
after being unstaffed for nearly a year.
Reorganization has included the
rearranging of materials into a logical
geographical and topical order which
mirrors the Library of Congress "G"
schedule.
More than 30,000 USGS topo maps
have been carefully indexed in an
effort to make the collection's
resources more easily available for use
by lab staff. Also over the past six
months, 25,000+ items have been
property-stamped for the first time.
Future plans include cataloging the
collection and making this catalog
available to lab staff over the ERL-C
LAN, and organizing an index of
electronic maps being used and/or
created at the lab. If you'd like to know
more about the ERL-C Map Resource
Room, contact Donovan Reves
(contractor) at (503) 754-4351, send a
fax to (503) 754-4716, drop him an E-
mail line at donovan@mail.
cor.epa.gov., or write to him at the
USEPA ERL-C Map Resource Room,
200 SW 35th St. Bldg. JSB, Corvallis,
OR 97333.
This year we will renew our partnership with the NOAA Libraries and expand it
to include the libraries that support the National Biological Service, the U.S.
Geological Survey, and several other federal agencies. I am pleased to provide an
opportunity for the EPA Library Network to meet again this April (See article on
page 2). This joint meeting will give us the opportunity to develop new alliances
and reaffirm the Library Network's commitment to work together to support the
agency's mission.
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INFO ACCESS MARCH 1995
IT'S STARTING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS AT THE REGION 8 LIBRARY
It may be March, but at Region 8's
Technical Library it feels and looks a
lot like Christmas. Every day boxes of
fresh new books arrive. Every day the
staff waits for the mail and opens the
treasures with a booklover's delight.
Two, ten, twenty. Eventually there will
be hundreds of them.
The Library started the process of
updating its Library of Congress (LC)
Reference and Main collections in
December, when approximately
$25,000 was allocated for book
purchases. The library staff,
functioning as a self-directed work
team, identified approximately 380
new titles and revised editions
appropriate for adding to the
collections. The project had to be
completed quickly; the order had to be
placed by the end of December 1994.
IT TOOK A TEAM EFFORT
The staff invested approximately 250
hours compiling three lists: first,
second, and third priorities. Needs
were based on 1) the September 1994
inventory of the LC Collection; 2) EPA
staff and reference requests; 3)
interlibrary loan activity; and 4)
analysis of the non-circulating
reference collection.
The staff solicited EPA staff
recommendations and used the Core
List for an Environmental Reference
Collection, published bibliographies
from environmental sources, book
reviews from environmental journals,
Online Library System (OLS)
holdings, Books in Print and
Forthcoming Books in Print, publishers
catalogs, and the CARL database.
THE EXCITEMENT is CONTAGIOUS
Indeed, the library staff did make the
deadline with their recommendations,
and the order was placed with
Blackwell North America. The early
arrivals are already being cataloged
and processed, and the excitement is
spreading. EPA staffers are pleased to
see their suggestions heeded. The
librarians and the public are delighted
to have access to new and updated
ready-reference tools. The new non-
circulating materials include:
Encyclopedias
Almanacs
Yearbooks
Handbooks
Atlases
Directories
Dictionaries
Subject areas cover everything from
general fact guides, medical
information and legal materials to
statistical data.
In the circulating collection new
titles address environmental,
economics, ethics, history, justice,
policy and psychology. Other areas
include technology, conflict
management, human ecology, job
hunting, organizational change, total
quality management, self-directed
work teams, vocational guidance, and
Native Americans.
GETTING THE WORD OUT
To alert users to these new offerings, a
library-sponsored bulletin board
features colorful book jackets from the
new titles, selected shelves in the
library spotlight new additions, and
monthly articles in the Region 8
newsletter name the new materials.
What's being checked out? The
hottest item as of this writing is The
Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration
ofSustainability, by Peter Hawken.
The library has two copies and there is
a waiting list. Ghost Bears, Visionary
Leadership, and The Clean Water Act
20 Years Later are among other current
favorites.
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
In April the library will host an Open
House. In addition to promoting the
Region's tremendous collection
building effort, the library staff intends
to find out how "Libraries Change
Lives." It will solicit names of books
that have played a major influence in
the lives of EPA staff members and
staff-recommended current reading.
It may be only March, but we at
Region 8 are looking forward to
Christmas lasting well into
springtime.
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INFO ACCESS MARCH 1995
SLA from page 11
establish a reputation for "repairing"
information, that is, to evaluate the
quality and reliability of information,
and ensure that their clients consult the
best available sources.
CREATING
POSITIVE SOCIAL CHANGE
Speaker: D. Kaye Gapen, Director of
Research Services, Marino Institute
The message of Ms. Gapen's talk was
that the power of information and the
potential of electronic communications
offer communities new opportunities to
create positive social change, and that
special libraries can play key roles as
their clients take advantage of
information technologies. In this age of
the convergence of technological and
society change, computer mediated
communications are a powerful tool
that can be used to do many things,
including address social problems.
Special librarians are at the nexus,
with their
Tradition of using computers and
telecommunications;
A rich skills set in the utilization of
information;
Experience with cooperation and
collaboration;
A recognition of the importance of
helping people reach goals;
Experience in supporting decision-
making; and
A position in the forefront of action-
oriented systems.
WHAT CAN LIBRARIANS Do?
According to Ms. Gapen, librarians
have a uniquely integral skills set
relating to data, information, and
knowledge, the empowering tools of
computer-mediated communications
(CMC). They can make a difference
by:
Using their understanding,
competitiveness, skills;
Supporting fair and equitable access
to CMC approaches such as
networks and information systems;
Facilitate partnerships, teaming, and
similar activities; and
Encourage innovation in the
creation and use of information.
Ms. Gapen's address concluded
with the following message:
Librarians need to THINK
HIGHER, support organizations, and
coordinate action-oriented knowledge
management systems support decision
making, as framed by the mission and
problems faced by their organization.
COMMUNICATING
WITH USERS IN A CHANGING
TECHNOLOGY ENVIRONMENT
Instructor: Arlene Farber Sirkin,
President, Washington Resource
Consulting Group
Ms. Sirkin's presentation focused on
the use of effective communication
tools and new technology to reach
library clients. She noted that librarians
and information specialists may have to
use a combination of high-tech and
low-tech formats to reach their clients,
and reposition the library in the
technological age. She advised the
participants to focus on the content of
the message, not the delivery
mechanism, and to tailor the method of
communication to match the target
audience. The librarian should know
what is possible and what is not
possible, and be aware of
communication flow and patterns.
Perhaps the most important things to
remember is that you should do
something that fits into the corporate
culture and find a method that works
best for each client group.
GETTING THE
ATTENTION OF YOUR CLIENTS
Ms. Sirkin led a discussion about
persuading the technologically phobic
individuals in an organization to use
new technology available from the
library. Following is a list of things a
librarian can do to help clients who
fear, and therefore avoid new
technology.
Use peer pressure-have colleagues
talk to them.
Convince them that you can
improve their working process or
get them what they need.
Help them work in their own space;
offer to demonstrate a database or
online service from the client's
terminal.
Work within the corporate culture.
Give them something smaller to
work with.
Tell them that they do not have to
understand how it works, just that it
does.
In summary, Ms. Sirkin stated that
we as librarians should tell our clients
what's in it for thembe specific
about what your service will do for
them.
Make your marketing pitch benefits
oriented, not feature-oriented.
Become aware of communication
barriers and ways to work around
them.
Keep track of you communications.
Your records will be useful for
evaluating which users have and
should be targeted.
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INFO ACCESS
MARCH 1995
WHEN SEARCHING ENVIRONMENTAL DATABASESTHINK ENERGY
AWBERC Library
It's not widely known, or publicized,
but one of the most comprehensive
environmental databases available on
Dialog or STN is the Department of
Energy-sponsored Energy Technology
Data Exchange (ETDE) Energy
Database. While one might expect
ETDE's coverage of areas such as
hazardous waste, radioactive waste,
and coal-fired emissions to be
extensive; coverage of environmental
topics such as greenhouse gases, acid
rain, and global warming are
unparalleled in any other online
database*. Approximately 180,000
records are added each year to the
Energy Database, 10% of which are
assigned the environmental main
subject heading. The database
maintains comprehensive coverage of
all aspects of energy production,
storage, and use, as well as renewable
energy, conservation, and natural
resources. Additionally, energy-related
aspects of engineering, materials
sciences, and physical sciences are also
covered.
DOE's ENERGY DATABASE
The Energy Database's primary
purpose, for the Department of Energy,
is to serve as a mechanism for access
and control of the literature the
Department produces. Journal articles,
conference papers, and reports make up
the bulk of the records. Books, patents,
and computer software make up a
smaller percentage of the material. A
popular misconception is that by
searching the NTIS database you are
covering the information in the Energy
Database. While it's true NTIS picks
up DOE report literature and
conference papers performed under
contract to DOE, less than half of
records from the database make their
way to NTIS. Journal articles and most
of the international records never get
into the NTIS database.
International cooperation among the
16 ETDE member countries makes the
database truly unique and quite
comprehensive in its subject areas.
ETDE Members provide records of
scientific and technical literature
published-within their countries to the
U.S. DOE's Office of Scientific and
Technical Information (OSTI) in Oak
Ridge TN. OSTI in turn compiles all
the information from the members into
a database, runs quality control checks,
then provides the whole combined
database back to the members, as well
as to online information services such
as Dialog and STN.
Through an agreement with the
International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), records from the IAEA's INIS
database are provided from non-ETDE
member countries on the production,
utilization and waste management of
atomic energy. Thus making the scope
of coverage in this important subject
area truly world-wide.
* For a comparison of the Energy Database
with other environmental databases
available through Dialog, see: Youngen,
Gregory. The Energy Technology Data
Exchange: Providing Access to the World's
Energy and Environmental Information."
Proceedings of the 14th National Online
Meeting, New York, 1993. pp.431-438.
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