United States
                       Environmental Protection
                       Agency
                                    Information Resources  September/October 1996
                                    Management        EPA220-N-96-017 \ ""
                                    (3404)
v>EPA           The  Catalyst
B-   1
                       Information for Environmental Action
                       A Service for EPA HQ Staff from the Headquarters Information Resource Center

                                                       A New Day in the

                                                       Information Age

                                                             A new age is dawning at the
                                                       Headquarters Library. First, we are
                                                       happy to announce that effective
                                                       September 3, library hours were
                                                       expanded from 8 am to 5 pm! We
                                                       will be providing full service access
                                                       during those hours, including walk-
        in as well as telephone assistance. And don't forget, for those of you outside Waterside
        Mall, you can always reach us through email at library-hq.
              Secondly, we're-offering more services to Agency staff. We'still offer the more
        traditional services of interlibrary loan, document delivery, online searches and research
        assistance, but did you know we are also providing content and organizational
        consultation to EPA staffers related to their Internet web space? Our Internet Librarians,
        in concert with the graphical design provided by the Internet Services Center, can make
        recommendations on intellectual content and page flow, to help you get your information
        across more effectively to the public!
             Thirdly, we have added workstations with Netscape to provide even more access to
        information resources and databases for IRC visitors. We can help you navigate the Web
        and find what you're looking for. Or if you're not sure what all the excitement is about as
        far as the World Wide Web is concerned, we can give you a  tour. Call us about training
        opportunities.  We're excited about the changes taking place in the IRC and anticipate
        more to come. Stay tuned!     *
      New IRC Staff


 We welcome new staff to the IRC.
   " -      ' -           , • '   '>,',"jS",*
   ..,:•;•   , ,         , ,     •   *•• ",' f;l
 Ted Sherman - Reference Librarian,
Courtney Dallas - Internet Librarian
Richard Huffine - Internet Librarian
 Lucy Park -  Government Information
          Locator Service Librarian
  Carol Pak  - Library Technician
     On-Ramp Now Open:
     Internet Workstations
             Available
      The Headquarters Library has added
four Internet workstations to the suite of
services available in the Library. (Two of the
workstations will also access the library's CD-
ROM tower.)  Now library visitors can access
the myriad resources available through the
World Wide Web (WWW).  From regulations
(via the Federal Register and the Code of
Federal Regulations) to EPA databases (like
Envirofacts), the information is now at your
fingertips.
                EPA Information Resource Center (3404) WSM2904 202-260-5922

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      Library staff.can assist you in
finding information on the Internet and an
"electronic sources" Rolodex is being
developed to quickly find information.
You can also submit your research
requests to have a librarian hit the
Information Highway and report their
findings on  a given topic or area back to
you. If you have not done much
exploring on the WWW, we  can give you
some training to point you in the right
direction. For more information on using
the workstations or scheduling a training
session, call the Information Resource
Center reference desk at 202-260-5921.
The workstations are available during IRC
hours.  There is currently no time limit on
the individual stations but if users are
waiting, time may be limited to 1  hour.
Search the EPA Library
  Catalog from Your Desktop

      Agency employees with LAN access
can search the Online Library System (OLS)
EPA national library catalog from their
desktops. There are two data switch
options as well as telnet accessability:
Under Agency LAN Services choose the
icon for Site Services. From there choose
either the Gandalf 7 bits or the IBMPSI
icons. In either case, when given  the
menu of options:
      type IBMPSI, then  < enter >
      type D to select EPA OLS, then
        < enter >
      type N to access the National
        Catalog, then 
 [if you cannot see  what you are typing,
 click the mouse on "settings" at the top
 of your screen, click "terminal", then
 "local echo", then  "OK" if you are using
 Windows; otherwise choose a "local echo
      hit < enter> for the next two
       questions.
      You are now at the search menu.
If you have Internet access, you may also
be able to use Telnet.  If a Telnet icon is
available, choose it. If not, check with
your LAN administrator about your Telnet
access:
      Type the EPA catalog telnet
       address:  epaibm.rtpnc.epa.gov
      at the  first menu, choose Public
       Access
      at the  second menu, choose OLS
In either case, once you  are at the main
menu the search techniques are the
same.  Enter your selection for title,
keyword,author,report number, as
indicated on  the left side of the screen,
then hit . Type in your search
words, without any articles  ("a", "the");
there is no need to connect them with
"and" or "or", then . Your
results will appear on the right side of the
screen; to view, type d,  the .
You will be given  a list of titles in
numerical order; choose  the titles for
which you would  like to  see the records.
You can type a range (1-5), pick only
certain numbers (1,5,7,9),  or do a
combination of both (1-3,5,7,9-11) or
type all to view all records.
      To see a longer record of any items,
type "va", then choose the  numbers you
wish to view.
    When entering search terms, you can
use the truncation wild card  "*" to pick
up plurals or variations of spelling, i.e,
environ* for environment, environmental,
or environmentalist; or epa600r95* when
uncertain of the complete report number.
Typing h on most screens will also give
you online help for that  particular screen.
      Remember, this is the National
Catalog of all EPA library holdings, so
only those holdings beginning with EJB
will be found at Headquarters
Information  Resource  Center.
 ON" configuration for your system.]
                                     THE CATALYST SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1996
                                                                        PAGE 2t

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EJE indicates the Office of Pollution
Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) Library and
EJC, the Law Library.  Items held by
other EPA libraries may still be accessible
by InterLibrary  Loan.  A holding that does
not indicate a particular library but begins
with PB and a number, indicates NTIS
microfiche, many of which are available
at Headquarters IRC.
      If you have any questions about
your catalog search or its results, please
call the library at 202-260-5921  or
202-260-5922 during our regular hours,
8am to 5pm, Monday through  Friday.
More detailed instructions for OLS access
will soon be available on the
Headquarters IRC home page link from
the EPA home page.     *t«

      Internet Information on
        Recycling and Waste
            Management

EPA Information
WasteWi$e
http://.epa.gov/epaoswer/wastewis.htm
EPA developed the WasteWi$e program to
assist businesses in taking cost effective
actions to reduce solid waste in each of three
areas:  waste prevention, recycling collection,
and buying or manufacturing recycled
products. Many U.S. companies have
demonstrated that by reducing and recycling
materials that would otherwise become trash,
they can reap substantial savings,
somethimes millions of dollars per year.

Environmental Information
Cornell Composting
http://www.cals.cornell.edu/dept/
compost/
This site provides access to a variety of
composting educational materials and
programs developed at Cornell University.
They focus on the science and engineering
aspects of composting, present composting
programs and curricula for use in schools,
composting resources and  books, and further
contacts.
Government Information
United States Environmental/Recycling
Hotline: Earth's 911
http://www.1800cleanup.org/text/
main.htm
The Environmental/Recycling Hotline is a
public/private partnership between the United
States Postal Service and the Environmental
Protection Agency.  The Recycling Hotline
puts geographically specific information at
your fingertips nationwide.  You locate the
environmental information and recycling
centers "for all types on recyclables" by
typing in your zip code, and that will lead you
to the information you seek.

International Information
Recycling Council of Ontario
http://www.web.net/rco/intro/
background.html
The Recycling Council on Ontario was
established in 1978 to help facilitate the
marketing of recycled commodities collected
by volunteer, community-based recycling
programs around Ontario.  Over the years its
mandate has evolved to include research,
policy development, advocacy, public
education, and demonstration projects.


Business/Corporate Information
The Cygnus Group
http://cygnus-group.com/
The Cygnus Group Web site is designed to
provide individuals and  organizations with
information regarding the most efficient and
effective ways to reduce waste and conserve
resources. Thus, the focus is on source
reduction and reuse, rather than just
recycling.
              DISCLAIMER
The information provided in this article was correct,
to the best of our knowledge, at the time of
publication. It is important to remember, however, the
dynamic nature of the Internet Resources that are
free and publicly available one day may require a fee .
or restrict access the next, and the location of items
may change as menus and homepages are reorganized.
                                       THE CATALYST SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1996
                                                                            PAGE 3

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           Author, Author!
      Agency employees recently published
books and articles The authors and titles of
published works are listed below:
Boethling, Robert S., Chief, Environmental
Fate Section,Exposure Assessment Branch,
Economics, Exposure and Technology Division
(7406) and IMabholz, J. Vincent, Senior
Biologist, Environmental Effects Branch, Health
and Environmental Review Division (7403),
both part of the Office of Pollution Prevention
and Toxics, "Environmental Assessment of
Polymers Under the U.S. Toxic Substances
Control Act." This will be Chapter 10 of a book
titled Ecological Assessment of Polymers,
published by Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.
The book editors are J.D. Hamilton and R.
Sutcliffe. The item is still in press.
      If you have written or edited a journal
article or book, please let us know by sending
the information to The Catalyst, 3404 or email
Library-HQ.   <•
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
(3404)
Washington DC  20460

Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
Conferences, Meetings,
      Symposiums, Workshops
      This is a list of selected meetings and
conferences chosen for their potential interest
to EPA staff. If EPA staff wish to have an
EPA-sponsored event listed here, please
forward the information to The Catalyst, IRC,
401M St., SW-3404, Washington, DC 20460 or
email Library-HQ.
Fourth STORET Modernization Workshop.
December 3-5, 1996, Baltimore, MD.
Sponsored by US EPA Office of Water.  The
conference is free of charge. For more
information contact Melissa Bowen, Tetra Tech,
Inc.,  10306 Eaton Place, Ste. 340, Fairfax, VA
22030 or fax her at 703-385-6007 or via internet
http://www.epa.gov/OW/STORET/regform.html.
Reference Inquiries         202-260-5921
Circulation Inquiries        202-260-5922
Interlibrary Loan           202-260-1757
INFOTERRA-Reference     202-260-5917
Email                    Library-HQ
      The Headquarters IRC is contractor
operated and managed by the Office of
Information Resources Management (OIRM).
                                        THE CATALYST SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1996
                                                                              PAGE 4

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