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EPA
EPAX
United States
Environmental Protection
Information Services
and Library
Washington DC 20460
April 1986
Establishing a Special
Hazardous Waste Collection
for the EPA Library Network
A Guidance Document
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ESTABLISHING A SPECIAL
HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION
FOR THE EPA LIBRARY NETWORK
A GUIDANCE DOCUMENT
APRT'., 1986
Prepared by:
Information Services Branch
Information Management and Services Division
Office of Information Resources Management
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
II. MANAGEMENT OF THE HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION
Paae
I. BACKGROUND
III. HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION DATABASE
IV. COMMUNICATING AND MARKETING THE COLLECTION
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I. BACKGROUND
Introduction
The passage of the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of
1984, and the upcoming reauthorization of Superfund (CERCLA)
continue to increase the need for information by EPA, other
Federal agencies, States, local governments, industry, and
contractors involved in the hazardous waste protection and
cleanup efforts.
In January 1986, the Information Services Branch (ISB),
Office of Information Resources Management, in coordination with
the Headquarters library staff, began development of a special
hazardous waste collection for the EPA library network. The
purpose of the collection is to help provide hazardous waste
information to the Headquarters and Regional staff.
To identify documents for inclusion in the hazardous waste
collection, ISB used the following major subject areas:
o Superfund
Emergency response/removal procedures
Chemical emergency preparedness
R emt- i i a 1 res po n s o
National priority list sites
o Remedial Procedures/Act ions
RIF.S ( Reme .U -.\'. Investigations/Feasibility Studies)
Engineering designs
Construction
o Contract Lab Program
o RCRA (R.3.-,ource Conservation and Recovery Act)
RCRA authorization
Permitting procedures
Land disposal
Incineration
Storage and treatment facilities
o UST (Underground Storage Tanks)
o Hazardous Waste Enforcement/Compliance
o Ground Water Monitoring/Contamination
The initial collection, which opens in Headquarters on
May 21, 1986, will contain EPA reports, OSWER policy and guidance
directives, books, periodicals, and commercial databases. ISB
and the library staff identified these documents during the period
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January-March 1986. They were assisted by several Regional and
laboratory librarians and staff from the Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency Response (OSWER) and the Office of Research and
Development (ORD). Once the "skeleton" collection opens in May,
ISB will continue to work with program staff and other librarians
in the EPA network to fill in the information gaps. ISB will
also work with the Regional and laboratory libraries to help them
establish their collections.
The entire collection is being put on a database using an
IBM PC/AT. This database includes titles, authors, and abstracts
for "keyword" searching.
This guidance document gives suggestions on how to set up a
special collection. It describes methods for organizing the
collection and accessing the database, taking into consideration
the wide range of libraries' geographic, resource, and database
accessing capabilities.
Goals of the Collection
The goals of the hazardous waste collection are to:
o Develop a unified collection of major hazardous waste
reports, books, periodicals, and databases.
o Provide current information facilitating program staff in
making timely an'J effective technical and policy decisions.
o Increase EPA program staff's and the EPA library network's
access to the entire EPA hazardous waste collection.
o Use the EPA library network as a delivery mechanism for
the transfer of hazardous waste information among the
Regional Offices.
Objectives of the Guidance
The purpose of this guidance is to:
o Provide librarians with a framework for organizing the
special hazardous waste collection. The approach is
built upon existing library procedures.
o Set procedures for coordinating collection and dissemination
of hazardous waste materials in the library network to
avoid gaps in individual library collections.
o Document procedures for vna intaining the hazardous waste
collection with ongoing library activities.
o Describe methods for retrieving information from the
collection.
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II. MANAGEMENT OF THE HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION
This section describes procedures for development and
maintenance of the hazardous waste collection. It is divided
into three procedural areas: (1) collection development/update,
(2) collection operation, and (3) OCLC cataloging.
Collection Development/Update
Using the hazardous waste subject areas listed in the
Introduction, any EPA library can select documents for the hazardous
waste collection. Regions should pay particular attention to
including Region-specific documents that would be useful to the
entire library network.
When a library identifies a document for inclusion in the
collection, the library should prepare an input form and send it
to the Headquarters library. Headquarters will then edit the
form and enter the information into the hazardous waste database.
Attachment A contains sample input forms. Blank forms are
available from the Headquarters library (PM-211A).
The input form requires two types of information:
o Descriptive information which includes fields covering
call number, title, author, corporate source, contact
person, bibliographic information, acquisition information,
location, and document type.
o Abstract information which contains: (1) a summary
statement (abstract) tnat describes the basic subject
matter of the document; anj (2) a keyword field which
highlights the main thrust of each document. Keywords
are based on areas of importance to the hazardous waste
program (e.g., superfund, groundwater, RCRA Part 3
permitting).
Collection Operation Procedures
o Establishment of Special Collection
Designate an area in the library to house the most
current and important hazardous waste materials.
Approximately 5-20 shelves will be needed (depending
on the size of your collection). Locate the area near
a convenient work station (table/chairs) to allow the
user easy access to the collection. Over time, rotate
documents back to the main collection to make room for
more current material.
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Post a sign guiding the library patrons to the collection
area. It heightens awareness of the collection,
allows people to browse, and enhances access to the
documents.
- Develop a pathfinder to assist users in locating the
hazardous waste documents in the main collection,
where space and resource contraints impede the
establishment of a special area for the collection.
o Organization of Special Collection
Books
Place all hazardous waste books in the special
collection area and organize by the Library of Congress
classification system.
Where space is a constraint, limit the books in the
collection to the last two current publication years,
with a pathfinder to the remainder of the books located
in the main collection.
EPA Documents (NTIS/PBs) EPA Reports (numbered/unnumbered)
the
s
Place all hazardous waste documents and reports in th
special collection area and organize by your library1
existing classification system.
Where space is a constraint, limit documents and reports
in the collection to the last two current publication
years, with a pathfinder to the remainder of the
documents and reports located in the main collection.
OSWER Policy and Guidance Directives
Place all OSWER policy and guidance directives in the
special collection area and organize consecutively by
OSWER directive number. Unless cleared by OSWER, do not
place draft directives on the shelves. (Note: Most
draft directives are not ready for public review. They
can be used by EPA staff and contractors.)
- Maintain all final directives in the special collection.
Periodicals
- Place the current periodical issue, with a xerox of
the cover and table of contents of the previous issue,
in tne special collection area and organize alphabetically
by title.
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Where space is a constraint or you prefer maintaining
periodicals in one area, keep a pathfinder listing
hazardous waste related periodicals in the special
collection area.
Commercial Databases
Place a description of commercial hazardous waste
databases that can be accessed through the EPA library
network in the special collection.
Include sample searches in the collection to show the
retrieval capabilities of commercial databases.
o Document Labelling
Label the documents in the collection with special
markings to aid in guiding the user to the materials.
The markings will also assist in reshelving of materials.
The markings include the use of: (1) an "HW" label
over the call number; and (2) a colored dot on the
spine of a document. (Note: The Headquarter's library
is using "red glow" dots.)
Remove the dots when a document is placed in the main
collection, however, do not remove the "HW" label.
Place a shelf label or dummy document in the main
collection referring users to the special hazardous
waste collection. For example, "For journals on
hazardous waste, see HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION."
Likewise, there should be cross-references to refer
the library user from the special collection to the
main collection for related documents.
o Circulation
Where only one copy of a hazardous waste document is
available, reserve the document for reference.
Limit circulation of any documents in the collection
to five days.
o 3CLC Cataloging
The Headquarters library catalog staff will keep the
hazardous waste holdings up-to-date in the OCLC catalog
for all network libraries requesting the service. The
catalog staff will edit the holdings field to add "HW"
to signify the documents in the hazardous waste
collection.
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For those libraries requesting catalog assistance,
please note "HW" on the coding sheet or title page of
the document that you submit to the Headquarters
catalog staff.
For any library that wishes to do its own cataloging,
edit the catalog record to look like this:
EJBD DOCS EPAX 3603-0012
or
EJBM 3KS TD811.5.S53
HW
2 copies; c.2 HW
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III. HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION DATABASE
Organization of the Database
The collection is organized into three areas on the database.
It includes:
o Hazardous Waste Information from Commercial Databases.
This section of the database presents a guide to commercial
databases that contain information on hazardous wastes.
It consists of descriptive profiles of the databases
available in the EPA library network. After each database
description, there is a listing of all locations where
the database is available.
o Monographs.
This section of the database presents a guide to documents
and books held by EPA libraries on the topic of hazardous
waste. It also contains reference to materials that may
not have been cataloged into OCLC, such as OSWER policy
and guidance directives.
o Periodicals.
The section of the database presents a guide to periodicals
-- journals, newsletters, reports — that regularly
publish articles oa hazardous waste. These periodicals
were selected from among the collections of the entire
EPA library network.
Management of the Hazardous Waste Database
The entire cjllection is accessible on a database using an
IBM PC/AT. This database includes titles, authors, and abstracts
of the documents contained in the collection. Each file in the
database can be searched by keyword, title, author, corporate
source, project manager name, and contract number. Attachment B
provides a description of how to search the database.
The Headquarters library staff is responsible for developing,
distributing, and updating the database. This staff will work
with the library network to obtain future input of material which
may be located in individual libraries. This approach is to
ensure that the collection is developed in a uniform manner
throughout the library network. It will also help maintain the
integrity of the database holdings information, thus enabling a
user to locate and borrow an item from another network library
when the item is not available from his or her own library.
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The database will be distributed on a floppy disk to the
Headquarters library, the National Enforcement Investigations
Center, the 10 Regional libraries and the Ada, Cincinnati, Edison,
Las Vegas, and RTP libraries. All libraries will receive
a hard copy printout of the database.
Within the first six months of operating the hazardous waste
collection, the Headquarters library staff will update the database
as frequently as monthly. Thereafter, the staff will update the
database on a quarterly basis.
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IV. COMMUNICATING AND MARKETING THE COLLECTION
Marketing is essential to the successful use of the collection.
It will heighten patron awareness of the library's services and
encourage use among program staff. This section provides a few
suggestions for marketing the collection in your library. The
major thrust is to make program staff AWARE of what the library
has to offer.
Brochures/Letters
Prepare literature (brochure, pamphlet, factsheet) describing
the contents of the collection and the search capabilities of the
special hazardous waste database to help introduce the collection
to patrons. Attachment C contains a sample factsheet announcing
the Headquarters hazardous wast3 collection. In addition, prepare
special articles for any Regional and laboratory newsletters.
Special Tours
Announce the opening of the collection with a reception.
Send special invitations to key program managers inviting them to
attend the opening. A demonstration of the database should also
be part of your reception activities.
Provide a series of tours for key managers and program staff
to introduce the special collection and demonstrate the database.
You may also wish to give presentations about the collection at
staff meetings held by Division Directors and other senior staff.
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ATTACHMENT A
t
SAMPLE INPUT FORMS
Attachment A contains three sample input forms. They
represent:
o Monographs (EPA Report)
o Commercial Databases
o Periodicals
The input form requires two types of information:
o Descriptive information which includes fields covering
call number, title, author, corporate source, contact
person, bibliographic information, acquisition information,
location, and document type.
o Abstract information which contains: (1) a summary
statement (abstract) that describes the basic subject
matter of the document; and (2) a keyword field which
highlights the main thrust of each document. Keywords
are based on areas of importance to the hazardous waste
program (e.g., s-jper£jnd, groundwater, RCRA Part 8
permitting).
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S A M P L E
MONOGRAPH INPUT FORM
HAZARDOUS WASTE DATABASE
ATTACHMENT Al
CALL NUMBER EPAX 8602-0103
OTHERINFO (WHICH OTHER EPA LIBRARIES HAVE DOC. AND CALLNU IF DIFFERENT)
TITLE Land treatment of ignitable and corrosive wastes
__ EPA Code D001 and D002
AUTHOR George W. Reid
CORPORATE SOURCE Kerr Research Laboratory, Ada, OK
(NOTE; Abbreviations can be used when they are easily
recognizable by library users.)
CONTACT PERSON Don Clark
BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION (CITY, PUBLISHER, DATE)
Ada, OK; US EPA; 1985
ACQUISITION INFORMATION
LOCATION
TYPE DOCUMENT Report
KEYWORDS Ignitability, ICW, land treatment, D001, D002, land
disposal, treatment techniques, corrosion
(NOTE; Can only contain a maximum of 150 characters.)
GEOGRAPHIC CODE
ABSTRACT Provides information on existing current practices
relating to land treatment of ignitable and corrosive wastes.
Data is presented on disposal methods, characteristics and
quantities of ICW by EPA region, number of facilities generating
ICW and pre-treatment and post-treatment technology.
(MOTE; Can only containa maximum of 254 characters (letters,
and spaces). Excludes extra articles such as "the" and "an",
and introductory phrases such as "This book includes...)
SOURCE OF THE ABSTRACT (e.g., NTIS abstracts, summary statements
from documents)
NTIS NUMBER
EPA REPORT NUMBER
EPA CONTRACT NUMBER CR810882-01
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ATTACHMENT A2
COMMERCIAL DATABASES INPUT FORM
HAZARDOUS WASTE DATABASE
DATABASE NAME Enviroline
BIBLIOGRAPHIC X ABSTRACTS X NON-BIBLIOGRAPHIC_
PRODUCER Environment Information Center, Inc.
VENDOR(S) DIALOG
CONNECTION THROUGH (IF APPLICABLE) DIALNET, TYMNET, TELENETr UNINET
FILE COMPONENTS Environment Abstracts
SUBJECT COVERAGE (KEYWORDS) Chemical and biological contamination;
environmental design and urban ecology; land use and misuse;
radiological contamination; solid waste; renewable resources;
non-renewable resources; oceans and estuaries; transportation;
water pollution
SOURCES Periodicals, conference proceedings, research documents and
reports, congressional hearing jranscrij>ts, environmental project
reports, newspaper articles
UPDATE FREQUENCY Monthly
BEGINNING DATE 1971
NUMBER OF RECORDS IN FILE 81,000 (July 1980)
COSTS: CONNECT HOUR $95.00
PER RECORD PRINTED ONLINE $ .20
PER RECORD PRINTED OFFLINE $ .30
LOC ATI ON EHA, EIA, EIC, EJA, EJB, EJE, EKA, EKB ELA, ELB, EOA, ERA,
ESA
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SAMPLE
PERIODICALS INPUT FORM
HAZARDOUS WASTE DATABASE
ATTACHMENT A3
TITLE Bio-Cycle
ISSN 0276-5055
PREVIOUS TITLE Compost Science Land Utilization
CITY, PUBLISHER Enunaus, PA., J. G. Press
FREQUENCY 8 times a year
ABSTRACT, SPECIAL FEATURES Scholarly articles on waste recycling,
editorial, advertisements/ reviews of new literature, charts,
diagrams, book reviews. Indexed, cumulated annual (last issue).
INDEXED IN Chemical Abstracts,Eng Index, Excerpt Medica,
Energy Information, Biological Abstracts
LOCATION
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ATTACHMENT B
t
HOW TO SEARCH THE HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION DATABASE
o Boot up the dBase III package. Use capital letters to type in
your commands.
o The following instructions apply when using drive A:
Type: SET DEFAULT TO A
USE (name of the file)
SET PRINT ON (if you want the search results
printed)
LIST (field names, separated by a comma) FOR
(condition)
You can use Boolean operators to define your query.
You may search more than one field at a time.
Example: String search. Searches partial contents of a field.
Uses $ operator.
USL HAZARD
LIST CALLNU, TITLE, LOCATION! FOR ' SLUDGE' $KEYWORDS
or
LIST CALLMU, TITLE, AUTHOR FOR 'INCINERATION1$TITLE
.AMD. 'SLUDGE1$ KEYWORDS
or
LIST AUTHOR, TITLE FOR 'INCINERATION'$TITLE .OR.
1 SLUDGE1$TITLE
or
LIST CALLNU FOR 'ADAMS'$AUTHOR .NOT. 'ROBERT'$AUTHOR
Example: To search total contents of a field:
LIST CALLNU, TITLE FOR CORPSOURCE = 'MERL1
or
LIST TITLE, AUTHOR FOR CORPSOURCE = 'MERL' .AND.
AUTHOR = 'JONES, DAVID1
(NOTE: If you are using drive B, replace A with B.)
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o If you want the search results printed make sure you type
SET PRINT ON before you start the search.
o Do not forget to type QUIT when you are ready to exit the
system.
o Boolean operators are set off by periods:
.and. .or. .not.
o For any additional information consult your dBase III manual.
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ATTACHMENT C
SAMPLE FACT SHEET
SPECIAL NEW LIBRARY COLLECTION:
HAZARDOUS WASTE
PURPOSE OF COLLECTION:
The new Hazardous Waste Collection is designed to better meet the
information needs of EPA staff by making key documents and services
more readily available through the EPA library network.
GOALS;
Develop a unified collection of major hazardous waste reports,
books, journals, and databases.
Provide current information to program staff to make timely and
effective technical and policy decisions.
Increase the EPA program staff's access to the entire EPA Hazardous
Waste Collection, and assist in the transfer of information among
EPA Headquarters and Regional offices.
CONTENTS:
The collection includes key materials identified by the Office of
Solid Waste and Emergency Response and trie Office of Research and
Development. Hard copies of these documents are available in the
Headquarters and Regional libraries, the National Enforcement
Investigations Center, and the laboratory libraries in Cincinnati,
Edison, RTP, Ada, and Las Vegas. A list of the documents is
available in all other laboratory libraries. The collection will
contain: EPA Reports, Books, OSWER policy and guidance directives,
Periodicals, anl a listing of Commercial Databases containing
hazardous waste information.
DBASE III ACCESS;
The entire collection will be accessible on a database, using an
IBM PC/AT. The database provides automated search and retrieval
capability by the following access points:
o Keyword/Subject Heading
o Abstract
o Title
o Author
o Sponsoring Organization/Office
o Project Manager's Name
o Contract Number
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The database collection is organized into three areas:
o Periodicals
o Monographs: Books; Non-EPA Reports; EPA Reports; OSWER
policy and guidance directives
o Commercial Databases
LOCATION;
The collection is located in a separate area of the Headquarters
Library for easy access. Pathfinders are being developed to
supplement the collection and lead clients to related materials.
TO ASSIST YOU;
For further information or assistance, contact the EPA Headquarters
library reference staff, Room M2904, telephone 382-5922.
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