United States Environmental Protection Agency Information Resources Management (3404) EPA 220-N-95-012 Issue Number 57 September 1995 EPA INFO ACCESS Library Network Communications EPA's Libraries Provide Access to Sound Science and Data by Jonda Byrd, Manager, National Library Network Program This is the first in a series o/INFO ACCESS issues that will report on activities undertaken by the EPA Network Libraries to support the Agency's mission. This issue reviews library activities that support sound science and risk assessment. EPA's libraries ensure that EPA researchers have access to reliable scientific information by providing the knowledge base the Agency requires for its research and risk assessment activities. The libraries have supported many Agency research and response efforts over the years by identifying and locating scientific literature EPA staff for their review. The staff then used this information to assess risks to human and ecosystem health and set standards for continuing protection. The EPA libraries have frequently supported teams of scientists during environmental crises such as the dioxin contamination at Times Beach, the Valdez Oil Spill in Prince William Sound in Alaska and the outbreak of Cryptosporidium in Milwaukee's drinking water. The Agency's thirteen laboratory libraries support ongoing research by EPA scientists in a wide range of disciplines. These libraries have developed special collections based on the specific research in progress by EPA scientists at each facility. The information identified and organized by these specialized libraries is shared by libraries throughout the Network through its Online Library System. Working Together to Sustain the Knowledge Base The EPA Network Libraries are working together to ensure that we continue to provide scientific and technical information in a cost-efficient way by coordinating collection development and sharing resources. In 1993, we published the first draft of Core List for an Environmental Reference Collection, a publication that identifies key sources of environmental information. We plan to update this publication during FY 1996. This summer we began a project to develop a companion core list of journals that will identify key serial resources needed in each of the EPA Libraries. The Core List of Journals will become a valuable collection development tool for the libraries to use in making informed decisions about the acquisition of information. In This Issue ... Page 2 Value of Libraries Page 3 Sound Science and Data: A Guiding Principle Page 3 Coming in Future Issues of INFO ACCESS Page 4 EPA's Libraries Support Sound Science and Data Page 5 Examples of EPA Library Support of Sound Science Page 7 Cataloging EPA Resources on the Internet Page 9 Welcome to the EPA Library Network! Pages 10-11 Around the Network Page 11 ENVIRO$ENSE or The Rebirth of an Electronic Bulletin Board Printed on Recycled Paper ------- r , , INFO ACCESS ¦ SEPTEMBER 1995 a scientific and technical knowledge base for EPA staff. ¦ The EPA librarians have the necessary skills to identify and locate reliable, credible scientific and technical information sources, and to assist EPA staff in retrieving the resources they require. Future issues of INFO ACCESS will explore other guiding principles in EPA's strategic plan and illustrate EPA Library Network activities in support of those principles. * 1 ! 1 S Access from page 1 The Network will also identify key and unique resources held by each EPA Library in support of research in specific subject specialities. The establishment of these subject specialities will ensure that a broader spectrum of information sources is available to EPA staff through the libraries. At the same time, the libraries will use the information gathered in this effort to take steps in reducing duplication of costly marginally useful titles. Developing Electronic Access to Sound Science With the advancement of information technology our ability to share and disseminate information has vastly improved. Library services have reflected this by bringing more information to the desktop through CD-ROM networks and library LANs. The EPA Libraries will continue to develop mechanisms to assist EPA staff with the use of electronic sources of scientific and technical information. The strength of the EPA Library Network rests on these two pillars: ¦ The EPA Libraries have access to vast collections of information that provides 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. More on the Value of Special Libraries "... /tend oMifHfim' at/eyua/e w- ¦ John Blagden and John Harrington in How Good is Your Libraryi (As- sociation for Information Manage- ment, 1990) As a follow-up to Donald King's keynote presentation on the value of special libraries at the library meeting in Denver, we would like to note the availability of additional information on this topic. The Summer 1995 issue of Special Libraries contains an article by Alison M. Keyes that reviews literature on valuing libraries and evaluates techniques for determining their monetary value. Ms. Keyes presents a four-part approach to valuation, emphasizing the importance of identifying costs, estimating benefits from the users point of view, noting the positive impacts of library use, and analyzing the data to determine a fiscal conclusion. The article outlines areas for further research and includes an annotated bibliography with 24 references. Anyone who would like to review the article and can not locate a copy of this issue can contact Mary Hoffman (contractor), Library Network Coordinator, at (919)968-3849. "The Value of the Special Library: Review and Analysis," Alison M. Keyes. Special Libraries, 86(3): 1172-187, Summer 1995 Ik. _ 2 ------- INFO ACCESS ¦ SEPTEMBER 1995 Coming in Future Issues of INFO ACCESS Sound Science and Data: A Guiding Principle The "Introduction" to the summary of EPA s strategic plan, The New Generation of Environmental Protection, presents a set of seven principles to be applied to all agency programs and activities. Sound sci- ence and data is one ofthe guiding principles at the core of EPA's strategic plan and a key element in the EPA Library Network's sup- port of the agency. The following text was excerpted form EPA's strategic plan. The articles on thefollowing pages illustrate how the libraries support the guiding principle of sound science and data. Sound science and data provide the foundation for EPA's environmental protection programs. Science helps the Agency understand the processes and practices that cause pollution, evaluate the risks that pollution poses to humans and ecosystems, and develop technologies and policies to prevent or mitigate risks. Without a strong knowledge base, the Agency could not understand the causes and effects of pollution or solve environmental problems. Without the ability to access and integrate data and information from a variety of sources, advances in scientific understanding would be limited. Through the turn of the century strong science and data will continue to be critical to the environmental community. What are the best ways to protect and restore the necessary functions of whole ecosystems. What harmful pollutants are people exposed to, and how can these exposures be reduced? What technologies and other tools can be used to prevent pollution before it happens? How can people be motivated to adopt environmentally sound practices? These and other questions must be answered in order to develop and implement effective environmental policies. One of the EPA's objectives relating to this guiding principle is to ensure that the nation's environmental policies are based on the best science and information available.* The Agency will expand its scientific capability to study environmental problems, evaluate trends in environmental quality, and identify and analyze emerging environmental issues - 50% of EPA's research resources will be targeted toward long-term research efforts. EPA will improve the environmental information infrastructure to ensure that people both inside and outside EPA have access to timely, meaningful information. EPA will lead in the development of environmental technologies, methods, and innovative policy tools to enhance environmental quality. ^5* *from The New Generation of Environmental Protection; A Summary of EPA's Five-Year Strategic Plan. Office of the Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. July 1994. EPA 200-2-94-001. This issue o/lNFO ACCESS is the first in a series of issues that will address EPA Library Network participation in and support of the guiding principles outlined in the Agency's strategic plan. In the coming months, INFO ACCESS will focus on each of the following topics in turn, describing library activities and relevant resources: • Reinventing Environmental Management - Identifying EPA's primary customers and their needs; defining and setting customer service standards, and achieving greater customer satisfaction. ¦ Ecosystem Protection - a place-based approach - increasing the availability and facilitating the flow of information to empower individuals and communities. • Environmental Justice - ensuring improved public participation in and access to information on environmental and human health issues. • Pollution Prevention - providing information to the regulated community and the public about reducing and eliminating pollution at the source. • Partnerships - improving communications and data sharing among all partners, including other federal agencies, state and local governments, tribes, non- governmental organizations, the regulated community, and the public. • Environmental Accountability - providing information to inform the public and the regulated community to promote the kind of responsible behavior that leads to and beyond compliance with national environmental laws. ¦ National Environmental Indicators - supporting the inter-Agency development of a set of indicators to measure environmental quality. ¦ National Environmental Goals - supporting the Agency's work to develop measurable environmental goals. 3 ------- INFO ACCESS ¦ SEPTEMBER 1995 EPA's Libraries Support Sound Science and Data National Library Network Program Since the EPA Library Network was founded nearly 25 years ago, its mission has been to support the work of the Agency. EPA staff are involved in a significant amount of research and scientific study, and the libraries have become the knowledge base for sound science and data. They support EPA staff working on diverse projects across the nation, from air pollution control technology and hazardous waste site remediation to research into the effect of contaminants on marine life. Work done by EPA's researchers can involve basic sciences such as biology and chemistry, earth sciences such as geology, and applied sciences such as engineering. The diversity of this work is reflected in the collections that have been built by the EPA librarians at more than 28 sites around the agency. The libraries support sound science at EPA in a variety of ways. To explain it simplistically, one can say that they provide access to reliable sources of information. Over the last 25 years this has involved developing and maintaining collections of relevant materials in various formats, conducting subject searches in bibliographic sources, compiling and distributing current awareness updates to keep staff informed about scientific and technical developments, compiling customized bibliographies of citations and abstracts on topics of interest to researchers, assembling pathfinders to specific information sources, and preparing information packets to keep agency staff informed about information resources and services available through their library. See the box on page 5, Examples ofEPA Library Support of Sound Science, for several specific examples of library support. The EPA libraries also support sound science by helping to promote the use of Agency databases to EPA staff and other on-site visitors. They make the databases, and the environmental data compiled by EPA researchers, available in the library and assist EPA staff and other patrons with their use. For example, the EPA libraries added the Office of Health and i&leMtwU' infotonwUum/ in/ as mow cmcl/ (KMMifted/ ewwi/iorvffi&rvl: 3"hal' fwotect'owt&edwety and/ ou^clien^i fo&nvMw paa&affe/. " Herbert White, Library Journal, February 1995 Environmental Assessment's risk assessment and exposure models CD- ROMs to their collections, recommended their use to library clients when appropriate, and evaluated the effectiveness of the search software used to access the data. The EPA libraries provided a similar forum for the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database until other points of access were developed. In several EPA facilities, regional and program offices use the libraries as a central point of access for new databases and new formats. For example, in Region 4, the Library worked with agency GIS specialists to establish a GIS workstation to facilitate agency staff use of GIS information produced by and for the agency. Expanding Access to Resources In recent years, the EPA librarians have started to explore the vast resources of scientific and technical information available on the Internet. Their assistance in identifying and organizing access to these electronic storehouses of information will be invaluable to the EPA researchers and scientists. Not only will the librarians help them identify relevant sources of information, but they will also assist them with the use of Internet, through one-on-one and small group training sessions. Several of the libraries have established or are establishing Internet workstations in the library for agency staff who do not have access from their offices, and the public. Another of the many ways in which EPA libraries can expand or enhance their access to scientific and technical information is to establish agreements or partnerships with local university and technical libraries. Many of the EPA libraries are members of regional library networks, such as NELINET, SOLINET, AMIGO, and PACNET, which facilitate interlibrary loan and Support continued on Page 6 4 ------- INFO ACCESS ¦ SEPTEMBER 1995 Examples of EPA Library Support of Sound Science The EPA Libraries have assisted EPA researchers and scientists with a variety of information services for over two decades. Follow- ing are brief descriptions ofsome of the ways in which the libraries have supported EPA staff: ¦ At EPA research laboratories in Duluth, Corvallis, and Gulf Breeze, the librarians maintain reprint files of papers and articles produced as a result of research done at the laboratory, and coordinate their distribution. In addition they maintain publications databases to keep track of the research papers and periodically publish bibliographies of these publications for distribution to other EPA sites, as well as the greater scientific community. Through this activity, the libraries facilitate the exchange of scientific information within and outside the agency. ¦ The Region 1 Library which developed the Index to EPA Test Methods to help agency staff and the public identify test methods, continually updates the index and routinely provides copies of it to requesters from around the world. Librarians at the Headquarters and Cincinnati libraries used the Index as a guideline to establish test method collections to make these methods more readily accessible and to better support Agency scientists. ¦ Librarians in the Region 3 Library and the Hazardous Waste Technical Information Center provided information support for a mid- Atlantic environmental indicators project. They assisted toxicologists and hydrologists in the Hazardous Waste Management Division obtain information on chemicals, water quality and groundwater pollution for the states that comprise EPA's Region 3. ¦ At EPA's Environmental Research Laboratory in Gulf Breeze, the librarian worked with chemists to identify EPA test methods relevant to their research. During the course of the project, the chemists verified the validity of several test methods. ¦ At the OPPT Library at EPA Headquarters, staff routinely compile articles and background material to assist EPA scientists with their evaluation of pre-manufacturing notices for chemicals and determination of potential health effects of the products. ¦ Region 1 library staff supported researchers in the region's Wetlands Protection Section working on the Sears Island Project by assembling data on shellfish, finfish, birds and endangered species in Upper Penobscot Bay. ¦ At the Central Regional Library in Annapolis, the librarian assisted laboratory chemists with Earth Day outreach activities. The outreach team traveled to schools and other federal facilities to present information about agency research projects at the laboratory and answer questions posed by the participants. ¦ The Office of Water Librarian in the Headquarters Library assembled information on the Florida Biodiversity Project for staff in the Nonpoint Source Control Branch in the Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds. ¦ At EPA's Environmental Research Laboratory in Duluth, the librarian supports the researchers working with the ACQUIRE (Aquatic Information Retrieval Toxicity Database) project by identifying and obtaining research papers and articles about freshwater toxicity and related topics. ¦ The AWBERC Library at EPA's research facility in Cincinnati conducted extensive research and then compiled a bibliography of information about electromagnetic fields (emf), in response to increasing demands for information from EPA staff and the public. ¦ At EPA's Environmental Research Laboratory in Gulf Breeze, the librarian worked with the laboratory's senior scientist to prepare a presentation handout for a seminar on the environmental aspects of heavy metal pollution. ¦ Headquarters Library staff assisted staff in the Office of Water, Health & Ecological Criteria Division with the collection of research data on the effects of water contaminants. The researcher mentioned the Headquarters Library in his acknowledgments when the article was published in a scientific journal. ------- INFO ACCESS ¦ SEPTEMBER 1995 Support from page 4 document delivery activities between members. Several of the EPA libraries have also established special agreements with local non-EPA libraries in their area to support agency research, for example: ¦ The NHEERL/WED-Corvallis Library and the libraries at the Mark O. Hatfield Marine Science Center and Oregon State University. ¦ The ERL-Narragansett Library and the Pell Marine Laboratory. ¦ The AWBERC Library in Cincinnati and the University of Cincinnati. ¦ The SPRD Library in Ada and the Cline Library at Northern Arizona University, the Ralph W. Steen Library at Stephen F. Austin State University, and the Rice University Library. ¦ The NERL/CRD-LV Library and the University of Las Vegas. These special agreements can take a variety of forms, usually depending on the flexibility of the organizations involved. They can range from simple reciprocal borrowing agreements to more complex negotiations for resource sharing and cooperative collection development. Regional Activities As you might expect, the amount of level of support provided by the EPA libraries varies from one region to another, and from one laboratory to another, depending on the research conducted and the resources allocated to the library. Following are descriptions of library support for research-related projects in two regions, Region 4 and Region 9: Region 4—Atlanta Since 1990, the Region 4 library has provided support for several EPA science and research projects, including extensive research or consultant services. The library's contribution to the projects included the development of bibliographies, preparation of conference proceedings, online research, consultation of national/international experts and sources, and development and operation of clearinghouses. In addition, the library staff identifies and recommends Internet resources and services, and conducts information surveys and needs assessments. The librarians routinely develop and submit recommendations for new information technology for the Information Management Branch LAN, and for Internet and training initiatives. Region 4 Library support of sound science has included participation in the following research projects: Region 9—San Francisco In the Region 9 Library, the library staff provided extensive assistance to a Superfund staff member by identifying materials on trichloroethylene (TCE) for the creation of a TCE library. The TCE Superfund Information Library, located in Tucson, Arizona, is funded by a grant form the EPA and managed by the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center. It serves as the official Superfund document repository in Tucson, providing local citizens and other requesters with information pertaining to the clean-up of the TCE-contaminated Tucson International Airport Area Superfund Site. Region 9 Library staff first conducted searches on all available databases in order to find TCE-related documents, including books, reports, and journal articles. They then copies documents available in the Region 9 library and requested numerous other items through interlibrary loan. ¦ Development of standards for wetlands, for the review of the Regional wetlands policy; ¦ Investigation of landscape biology toxic fire hazards; ¦ Studying the long term health effects of radioisotopes; ¦ Establishment of EPA regulations based on ecosystem management; ¦ Studying the short-term or long-term effects of oil spills into lakes, rivers and oceans; ¦ Investigation into the efficacy of natural gas vehicles; ¦ Studying indoor air quality; ¦ Identifying and recommending GIS (Geographic Information System) and working with EPA GIS personnel to set up GIS information service; and ¦ Studying coral reefs. In Conclusion Without a strong knowledge base, the Agency can not analyze and understand the causes and effects of pollution or solve environmental problems. Without the ability to access and integrate data and information from a variety of sources, advances in scientific understanding would be limited. The EPA Library Network plans to continue to explore new and more substantive ways to provide access to reliable sources of sound scientific information. To ensure that they are providing high-quality relevant support, the libraries will continue to solicit feedback from agency scientists and researchers about their effective use of library resources and services. 6 ------- INFO ACCESS ¦ SEPTEMBER 1995 Cataloging EPA Resources on the Internet Headquarters Library, Washington, DC Identifying scientific and technical information resources on the Internet is becoming a significant part of the EPA libraries' support of sound science. The Headquarters Library is actively participating in Internet-related activities, including an OCLC-sponsored project to organize access to sources available on the Internet. Headquarters Library staff are also developing policies and procedures for orienting EPA staff to effective use of the Internet. On May 12,1995, the EPA Headquarters Library registered as a participant in OCLC's Internet Cataloging Project. The objective of this project is to create a database of bibliographic records that provide description, location, and access information (US MARC field 856) for electronic files accessible via the Internet. Project participants identify, select, and catalog Internet- accessible resources and contribute those machine-readable records to OCLC. EPA program offices have been putting lots of EPA publications and other hot information on the Internet, including many EPA documents, e-journals, reference sources, software and databases. However it is very difficult to search those electronic files. Despite the fact that there are some searching tools such as Veronica, WAIS, and Web Crawler to search the gopher and WWW sites, it is still a problem to find exactly what one wants in a timely fashion. The Internet Cataloging Project is designed to provide an alternative approach to enable users to search Internet resources in a better organized and structured way. The Headquarters Library's goal is trying to make EPA Internet resources searchable in the Online Library System (OLS), EPA's national library catalog. Building a Catalog of EPA Electronic Publications One may ask, "if the Internet is so big, how do you select and catalog the resources?" While this might be a big problem for Internet resources as a whole, it is not for EPA resources, because the number of EPA publications available on the Internet is at a manageable level. Take a look at the EPA gopher menu or EPA public access home page on the Web, and you will find a heading for "EPA Offices and Regions*. Most EPA publications are stored under this directory or linkage tree in various submenus. OCLC field 856 is designed specifically for Electronic Location and Access. It gives all the information you need, such as access method, URL, host name, file size, etc., to access the electronic document. After the electronic EPA publications are cataloged in OCLC, their bibliographic records are downloaded into OLS. In OLS, MARC field 856 is translated into a new field called "Internet/Access". OLS programmers are currently working on adjusting the system code, so that the screen display for the Internet/Access field looks better. Once this work is done, we will be ready to catalog a large amount of EPA resources that are available on the Internet, and hence build a catalog of EPA electronic publications. Then, instead of stumbling around on a huge "web" of the cyberspace and trying to find some specific EPA documents, you can just do a quick search on OLS, get the URL and/ or other access information, and directly access the full-text documents online. One of the Advantages: Improved Searchability The advantages of cataloging Internet resources lies in the better searchability provided by online library systems. In OLS, for instance, we can do a title search, a keyword search, an author search, an EPA report number search, a boolean logic search, a proximity search, and so on. None of the Internet search tools offers such rich searching functionalities. After the EPA electronic publications are cataloged, you will not need to browse the Internet menu by menu, link by link, or item by item when you want to find an EPA document. OLS will be the first place to check and it will give the necessary information for direct and easy access, particularly if you know the EPA document number, the title of a document, or want to find documents on a specific topic. OLS will be very effective in finding the answer quickly and leading you to the documents themselves. Another advantage of creating a bibliographic database for Internet resources is that it integrates electronic resources into libraries' information systems. Therefore, by searching one integrated system, patrons can retrieve essential information regardless of the medium or format of the information. Many EPA program offices are publishing Internet continued on Page 8 ¦ ------- INFO ACCESS ¦SEPTEMBER 1995 Internet from page 7 their documents both in book format and electronically on the Internet. When EPA electronic publications (and other multimedia materials) are cataloged, OLS will be turned into an integrated search engine for materials in any format, including Internet files (remote access), CD-ROMS, computer disks, audiovisuals, and printed books and journals. For an EPA document that is issued both in book format and as an Internet file, patrons could have the option of accessing the document in either format. If a printed document is not owned by a local library, which occurs very often, patrons can then use the electronic file accessible via the Internet. This will help to reduce the ILL requests among Agency libraries. Remote access of electronic files also allows patrons to get documents from their desktop computers, instead of coming to the libraries. Perspectives for Future Development Cataloging Internet resources is in its initial stage. There are many things to be done in the future. Some libraries are thinking of establishing a link between the URLs in the bibliographic records in online library catalogs and the real full-text files on the Internet. Now if you search OLS and find an URL for a document, you have to log off OLS first and then log on to the Internet to view the document. If we create links between OLS URLs and their full-text documents on the net, all patrons need to do is to click the mouse on the URL in the bibliographic record, and immediately the document itself is brought up on the screen. Of course this is not an easy work, it requires a coordination of efforts by system technical experts and librarians. A closer relationship between the librarians and the electronic publishing people needs to be developed. If EPA program offices could notify the libraries when they publish new documents, archive or delete old documents on the Internet, it would give librarians great convenience to build and maintain an up-to-date database. In addition to cataloging electronic resources published by EPA, we will also catalog other environmental related resources. The long term goal is to build a bibliographic database of EPA electronic publications and other major environmental resources that are available on the Internet. If you want to learn more about this project you can contact Ruihong Zhang (contractor), Catalog Librarian at the Headquarters Library, at (202) 260-5060. £ EPA INFO ACCESS D I 1 1 o o m m O Electronic Access to Info Access Later this fall you will be able to read an electronic version of Info Access. The newsletter will be posted on EPA's Gopher and under "NEWS" on EPA's Website at http:// www.epa.gov. Electronic copies of the September and October issues should be available at the end of October. For more information, please feel free to contact Jonda Byrd at 513-569-7183 or Mary Hoffman (contractor) at 919-968-3849 for assistance. 8 ------- INFO ACCESS ¦ SEPTEMBER 1995 New Contacts IN THE Network Libraries There are several new faces and voices around the network this month. Please note these changes on your contact lists. ¦ Sheila Denn (contractor) and Kristen Roland (contractor), new library technicians and ELL contacts for the RTP Library in North Carolina ¦ Rosemary Dumais (contractor), the new Head Librarian at the Region 10 Library in Seattle ¦ Tracy Dunkelberger (contractor), at the AWBERC National Center for Environmental Awareness in Cincinnati ¦ Frances Hitchon, the new ADOPO, for the Region 9 Library, San Francisco ¦ Jennifer Kaysak (contractor), the new EFIN Librarian at Headquarters ¦ Kay Klayman (contractor), a GILS Librarian at Headquarters ¦ Annette Lage, the new DOPO for the CRL-Annapolis Library and Denise Buckingham, the new ADOPO ¦ Rebecca Mazur (contractor), the newest GILS Librarian at the Headquarters Library ¦ Vivian Milczarski (contractor), the new Public Services/ Reference Librarian at the Region 2 Library in New York City ¦ Martha Miller (contractor), the new Library Technician and ILL contact in the Region 7 IRC ¦ JoAnn Peterson (contractor), new Library Technician and ILL contact at the Region 10 Library, Seattle ¦ John Shores (contractor), new manager of the Region 10 PIC, Seattle ¦ Doris Thomas (contractor), new Library Technician and ILL contact at the Region 6 Library, Dallas INFOTERRA/USA Six new staff members joined the INFOTERRA/USA team in July and August: Linda Nainis (contractor), Head Librarian Terri King (contractor), reference librarian Joy Siegel (contractor), reference librarian Dimity Smith (contractor), reference librarian"' Linda Tripp (contractor), reference librarian Dale Jachlewski (contractor), library technician * Until mid-May, Dimity was a member of the Headquarters Library staff. Superfund Information Center/HQ Library A new SIC team was recruited in early August: ¦ Jim Kirchner (contractor), the new Librarian ¦ Linda Gray (contractor), the new Library Information Technician 9 ------- INFO ACCESS ¦ SEPTEMBER 1995 Around the Network The materials will be entered into the library's OPAC with appropriate location headers and contact information. This is the first step in centralizing information access throughout the Region. It is estimated that every branch or division in the region has a collection of materials that could be useful to other divisions or the region as a whole. For more information about this project you can contact Eveline Goodman (contractor), the Region 2 Librarian. Internet End User Training in Region 4 Atlanta, GA. The Region IV Library has been offering Internet training to regional personnel for the past year and a half. The original training consisted of a basic course on how to join and participate on a listserv discussion group. This was a highly popular course, given in the Information Center Training Room and attended by over 150 EPA personnel. The Library has also just introduced Gopher training to the Region. After two successful classes, the Library will experiment with a "Gopher Open House", by inviting EPA personnel to come to the training room at their convenience, to get tips and practice. Of course, there are always some problems to work out. With the Internet Listserv course, the participants were required to have All-In-One accounts. Many EPA personnel who signed up did not have an account, a problem which was solved by directing future course notices only to personnel with accounts. There was also This section o/INFO ACCESS is used to report on library plans, activities, plans, outreach, and other projects. Contact Mary Hoffman (contractor), Library Network Coordinator, at (919) 968-3849 or on email at hoffman.mary, if you would like to contribute to Around the Network. Region 5 Library - Internet Demonstration Chicago, IL. The Head Librarian, Penny Boyle (contractor), conducted a presentation titled, "Internet: Plain & Fancy," for three groups of more than 100 persons. The presentation focuses on the Internet access that is available to each regional employee through CrossTalk, a communications software package. Region 5 Librarian Pat Magierski (contractor), prepared a template summarizing gopher and lynx access and commands for distribution to presentation participants. Ms. Boyle based the presentation on Ms. Magierski's Internet Note, which is routinely uploaded to the regional LAN and the template. The librarians also prepared a additional handouts and an evaluation form. For more information about the presentation or Internet Note, contact Penny Boyle (contractor) or Pat Magierski (contractor) at (312) 353-2022. INFOTERRA/USA - A Whole New Team Washington, DC. Six new staff members joined the INFOTERRA/USA team this summer. Linda Nainis (contractor), the new Head Librarian, moved to INFOTERRA after a brief stint at the OPPT Library. The other new INFOTERRANs are Terri King (contractor), an INFOTERRA reference librarian; J oy Siegel (contractor), theEP3 Librarian; Dimity Smith (contractor), the CONAMA Librarian; Linda Tripp (contractor), an INFOTERRA reference librarian; and Dale Jachlewski (contractor), the INFOTERRA technician. Remember to refer all international requests to Linda and the new INFOTERRA team. The main INFOTERRA/USA phone number is (202) 260-5917 and their email box is Library-Infoterra. Join us in welcoming them to the EPA Library Network! AWBERCs EMF Bibliography Cincinnati, OH. Librarians at the AWBERC Library in Cincinnati have compiled a bibliography on electromagnetic fields to respond to demands for more information on this topic, both from EPA staff at AWBERC staff and from the public. The bibliography, Electromagnetic Fields, is composed of citations from Enviroline, produced by Bowker, and NTIS, produced by Silver Platter. If you are interested in obtaining an electronic copy of the bibliography, contact Nancy Austin (contractor), at the AWBERC Library, via email at Austin.Nancy. Centralizing Information Access in Region 2 New York, NY. A new service is being offered by the Region 2 Library. At the request of a branch or division chief, library staff will go to the branch or division to organize and catalog materials. 10 ------- INFO ACCESS ¦ SEPTEMBER 1995 the problem of personnel taking the course, joining a listserv, then either becoming disinterested or never using All- In-One again. When the agency switched to integrated cc:mail, these people started receiving numerous messages, much to their dismay. This situation will be handled by scheduling another open house so EPA personnel can come to the training room for assistance in signing off. Over all, the Internet training has been a success. It has helped many EPA personnel discover new information sources and colleagues. Future training may focus on the World Wide Web through either Netscape or Mosaic. If you want to know about Internet end user training in Region 4, you can contact Priscilla Pride (contractor) at (404) 347- 4216 ext. 6046 or John Nemeth (contractor) at (404) 347-4216 ext. 6050. Making Lead Phasedown Information Accessible Washington, DC. As a follow-up to the 1994 Summit of the Americas, EPA is developing a WWW site on lead phasedown (phasing out the use of leaded gasoline) that is targeted toward developing countries in the Western Hemisphere. INF OTERRA/USA staff are assisting the Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation in an effort to identify EPA and other reports on lead phasedown or phaseout that can be placed at the website for broad access. During the first stage of the project, INFOTERRA librarians conducted extensive searches on several databases, including OLS, Environment Abstracts, Enviroline, and PAIS for review by OPPE staff. The INFOTERRA staff also contacted Cindy Livingston (contractor), NVFEL librarian, for assistance in identifying relevant titles. In the second stage of the project, the INFOTERRA librarians contacted the Society of Automotive Engineers, Motor Vehicle Association of America, World Bank and Inter-America development Bank to determine if they had produced any reports on the topic. The Society of Automotive Engineers provided a list of SAE reports on the topic. Efforts to contact appropriate contacts at the other organizations to assist with this project are continuing. For more information about this project, contact Linda Nainis (contractor) at (202) 260-5638. * ENVIRO$ENSE or The Rebirth of an Electronic Bulletin Board Pollution Prevention Resource Center, San Francisco For those of you who have been waiting for the PIES Electronic Bulletin Board System to rise from the dead...and for those of you who believed PIES' death was long overdue and longed for it to be taken out of its dysfunctional misery—and even for those of you who like machines better than people, and prefer the comforting murmur of data being captured to the frustrated start-and-stop gasps of paper struggling through the copier...a new electronic pollution prevention BBS has been born. Actually, that's a slight exaggeration. EnviroSense, up and running since early Spring, is in some ways a resurrection of the old PIES System; however it's new and improved. You can dial into EnviroSense from your cubicle, and view or download hundreds of files. There's a section on Presidential Executive Orders and another on Federal Laws, so you can quickly view the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, or the full text of E.O. 12873, The Federal Acquisitions, Recycling and Waste Prevention order. Y ou can also access policy and guidance documents, environmental justice fact sheets, or information on hotlines, equipment vendors, federal personnel training and a calendar of events. Technical information is also available. Through keyword searching one can view case studies on solvent substitutes and waste reduction measures for dozens of industries, and fact sheets ranging from reducing cardboard waste in the office to simple methods for maintaining a clean auto repair shop. Don't delay! Learn the easy way to access pollution prevention information. Through the Modem Pool on Lotus Notes dial 703-908-2092 and look around! And if you think you're a cybernetic neanderthal, your librarians are willing and eager to help you skip gracefully along the information highway. Call the Pollution Prevention Librarian, Karen Sundheim, at 415-744-1508 for a quick, individualized lesson. - reprinted from the May 1993 issue of Library Line, the bulletin ofthe EPA Region 9 Library ------- |