United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Information Resources
Management
(3404)
SEPA INFO ACCESS
Library Network
Communications
EPA 220-N-94-008
Issue Number 43
July 1994
Service Providers
For The EPA Library Network
by Jonda Byrd, IMSD, Manager, National Library Network Program
The mission of the EPA libraries is to
provide access to information for EPA
staff for decision making, and to
support scientific research. In order to
do this, we must have access to the
necessary information tools and
services.
How do we do this? As Federal
libraries there are three major service
providers that we rely on, FEDLINK,
NTIS, and GPO.
FEDLINK is a Library of Congress
program that provides procurement,
accounting, and training services to
federal libraries. They contract with a
variety of commercial vendors of
online, CD-ROM, and bibliographic
services as well as vendors for
acquiring books and publications.
National Technical Information
Services (NTTS) is a Federal Agency
within the Technology Administration
of the Department of Commerce. They
provide services including collecting,
abstracting, indexing, archiving,
reproducing, and disseminating the
governments collection of scientific,
technical, engineering and business
Information.
The Government Printing Office
(GPO) is the official printer of the
Nation and is part of the legislative
branch of government. GPO
disseminates information through the
Superintendent of Document sales and
the Depository Library Program.
These service providers have been
around for years and are well known
by most of us but with the advances of
new technology, the services they
provide are changing. To give us
information on how they are changing,
we asked each organization for an
overview of the services they now
provide.
I would like to thank each of the
Agencies for their contributions to this
newsletter.
Also included in this issue is a new
daily Federal Register service
described on page 2. The EPA
Network Libraries are listed as local
sources on this service. Any
corrections to the Library entries will
be coordinated by the Network
Coordinator who can be reached at
(202) 260-7762.
In This Issue . ..
Page 2
85TH Special Libraries Association
Conference
Page 2
Welcome To The Daily Federal Register
Tabu Of Contents
Page 3
Online Congressional Record,
Federal Register Service Debuts
Page 4
NPR Checkup: By NTIS
Page 5 _
FEDLINK Services For Federal Agencies-
Library Of Congress FEDLINK Program
Page 7
NTIS Directory Of services
Page 8-9
Page 10-11
Page 12
Page 12
OCLC Usage Files On ALIX-FS:
Important Update
FEDLINK FT94 END-OF-YEAR SCHEDULE
NTIS—Agency Partnerships
Printed on Recycled Paper
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INFO ACCESS ¦ JULY IW4
Welcome To The
Daily Federal Register
Table Of Contents
The electronic version of the Table of Contents
for the Daily Federal Register is designed to
give EPA staff timely access to each day's
listing. Each day's Table of Contents contains
all items published that day (rules, proposed
rules, notices, executive orders) by any federal
agency, as well as the Office of the President.
Each morning, you will find the current
day's Federal Register Table of Contents, plus
Tables of Contents for the proceeding 29
business days. The source of each day's listing
is FREND, the Office of Federal Register
Electronic News Delivery bulletin board.
Delivery of the daily electronic Federal
Register Table of Contents to your desktop via
the Agency LAN Services menu is cosponsored
by the Telecommunications Branch, National
Data Processing Division, OARM-RTP, which
maintains the "View Federal Register Table of
Contents" section and delivers daily updates via
NDPD's Agency LAN Services menu and the
Information Access Branch, Information
Management and Services Division, OIRM,
which maintains the information contained in
the "Local Sources for the Federal Register and
the Code of Federal Regulations" section.
To Search The Table Of Contents
The current day's Table of Contents is located
under the option "View Federal Register Table
of Contents", the third selection on the main
menu. You may scroll through today's Table of
Contents which is "posted" first, or you may
search through the 29 business days that follow
by pressing the key and entering a
keyword, such as INCINERATOR. Then press
the key to begin a search. If you have
any questions on this service contact Christine
Bradbury at (919) 541-2499. ¦
85th Special Libraries Association
Conference, Atlanta, GA.,
June 11-16, 1994
by Barbara Mackinnon (Contractor), Head Librarian Coordinator,
Headquarters Library
I always enjoy participating in the
SLA Conference; they stretch
your viewpoint a little each time.
This year's meeting was titled
"Information Vision" and both all-
Conference speakers focused on
the importance of a shared, easily
identifiable vision in getting
commitment and production from
a work team. In fact, both referred
to the same example. It must have
been the seed of all the current
"vision" research: NASA's
commitment to put a man on the
moon and return him safely to
earth by the end of the decade.
And, of course, NASA succeeded.
The distressing observation,
though, is the number of libraries
experiencing "down-sizing".
Nearly everyone is trying to do
more with less.
Then, of course, there is the
Internet—Everyone is talking about
it. One speaker said she has the
luxury of searching approximately
three hours/day—has been doing
this for nearly a year—and in the
last three months has finally been
successful in finding what she was
looking for. How many librarians
have that kind of time?
The title of the meeting was a
good one, throughout the sessions I
attended the "Information Vision",
there was a strong sense of looking
toward the future by exploring
electronic resources as tools for
providing more and better library
services. ¦
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 (1AB) 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: Ann
Dugan (contractor), Network Coordinator, 3404, EPA Public
Information Center, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20460.
Telephone: 202-260-7762. Electronic mail: Dugan. Ann.
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INFO ACCESS ¦ JULY 1994
Online Congressional Record, Federal Register
Service Debuts
Information Provided by Michael Bright, Electronic Products, Government Printing Office (GPO)
The official Government versions of
the Congressional Record and the
Federal Register are now available
online the day of publication via the
rapidly expanding information
superhighway.
Users connected to the Internet will
be able to access the full text and all
graphics of the Record and the
Register. Electronic versions of the
Federal Register are being produced in
a cooperative project by the Office of
the Federal Register (OFR) and the
Superintendent of Documents, U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO).
GPO's Production Department
normally will make the Federal
Register available online by 6 a.m.
EST on the day of publication. The
Congressional Record will be available
between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. depending
on when Congress adjourns the
previous day.
The public will have free access
through participating Federal
Depository Libraries. Organizations or
individuals may purchase a
subscription for access using their own
computer terminals.
The databases reside on a GPO
system using a Wide Area Information
Server (WAIS) providing search and
retrieval access over the Internet. The
Congressional Record dates back to the
beginning of the 2nd session of the
103rd Congress in January 1994. The
Federal Register includes all issues
beginning with January 4, 1994. The
Congressional Record Index (1992-94)
and all Enrolled Bills (bills passed by
both the House and Senate) of the
103rd Congress (1993-1994) also are
available.
The release of the databases on
June 8, 1994, marked the launch of an
online system of access to Government
information provided under the GPO
Electronic Information Access
Enhancement Act of 1993 (PL 103—
40). The GPO Access legislation had
bipartisan support. It was introduced in
the Senate by Sen. Wendell H. Ford
(KY) and co-sponsored by Sen. Ted
Stevens (AK) and Sen. Larry Pressler
(SD). In the House it was introduced
by Rep. Charlie Rose (NC) and co-
sponsored by Rep. Newt Gingrich
(GA), Rep. Sam Gejdenson (CT), Rep.
Gerald D. Kleczka (WI), Rep. Pat
Roberts (KS) and Rep. William M.
Thomas (CA). President Clinton signed
it into law June 8, 1993.
The Congressional Record is a
verbatim report of Congressional
debates and other proceedings. The
Federal Register is the daily "record"
of the executive branch of the Federal
Government. It allows the public to
follow regulatory activities of the
Government and to participate in the
development of rules and regulations.
The Register also includes Sunshine
Act meeting notices and Presidential
documents.
The GPO Access service is an
important step in providing public
access to the Government's growing
store of electronic information. The
Superintendent of Documents will add
appropriate online databases to expand
the system at the request of publishing
agencies.
Users with full Internet access and
WAIS client software will be able to
receive all charts and graphics in the
Record and Register. WAIS client
software will be available from GPO.
Those who do not have Internet
connections can access ASCII text files
without graphics through an Internet
Telnet session or by using a phone
modem to dial directly into GPO.
A subscription to either the
Congressional Record (including the
1992-94 Record Indexes) or to the
Federal Register costs $35 per month,
$200 for 6 months or $375 for 1 year
for one work station. The Enrolled
Bills database is available initially as a
1-year subscription for $60. Discounts
are available for multiple work
stations.
The WAIS databases will be
available for free public access at many
of the 1,400 Federal Depository
Libraries located tljroughout the United
States and its territories. The
Depository System includes academic,
public, law, and Federal libraries.
Congressional Record continued on page 4
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INFO ACCESS ¦ JULY 1994
NPR Checkup: By NTIS
The report of the National
Performance Review: Creating A
Government That Works Better &
Costs Less, stresses a whole new
approach to delivering services to the
public. . . No manager should be
confined to an agency monopoly . . .
Nor should agencies provide services
in-house unless the services can
compete with those of other agencies
and private companies."
Eleven questions for evaluating
your information program.
Congressional Record from page 3
There is at least one depository in
every Congressional District.
Information about how to subscribe
to the Record or Register is available
by calling GPO at 202-512-1530 or by
fax at 202-512-1262. Internet E-mail
should be sent to help@eids05.eids.
gpo.gov.
The WAIS server is the first phase
of development for the GPO Access
service. The agency plans to create the
Record and Register databases using
Standard Generalized Markup
Language (SGML) in January 1995.
This SGML based system will permit
more powerful search and retrieval
capabilities making it easier for users
to find specific information in the
databases.
Under the GPO Access Act the
Superintendent of Documents will
develop and maintain two other
Q. Is there a set of tools at NTIS
that agencies may access to meet their
unique NPR goals?
A. Yes. There are at least seven
different ways to tap into NTIS'
portfolio of services to enhance your
agency's productivity. They are
featured in the "NTIS Directory of
Services" in this newsletter.
Q. Over the years, our agency has
placed documents with NTIS for sales
and distribution. Under the NPR, our
goal is to increase our public profile.
How can NTIS help us meet this
objective?
components of the system. The first is
an electronic directory of Federal
electronic information designed to
assist the public in locating documents.
The second is an electronic storage
facility which will retain databases and
provide online access to them.
The Locator service uses natural
language queries by subject or key
phrase to identify and locate Federal
information. It will enable users to
order publications from the GPO Sales
Program, or to locate documents
available at Depository Libraries.
The electronic storage facility is
located at Owensboro, KY, and began
receiving data files from the WAIS
server on March 31, 1994. The storage
facility will be accessible over the
Internet through the Locator service.
The Federal Bulletin Board,
established by GPO in September
A. A number of factors should be
considered when deciding whether to
get into an NTIS service arrangement,
instead of in-house or other options.
They include:
¦ Can you quantify your volume of
information dissemination-related
services in some way?
¦ Can capital expenditures be
recouped through savings in labor
costs?
NPR Checkup Continued on page 8
1992, was designated part of the GPO
Access service by the new law, PL
103—40. The bulletin board currently
contains more than 5,000 files from
18 agencies representing all three
branches of the Federal Government.
Subjects included are the GATT and
NAFTA agreements, the National
Performance Review, and health care
reform.
Users may access the Federal
Bulletin Board via the Internet at telnet
Federal.access.gpo.gov 3001 (Port
3001) or dial-in at 202-512-1387
(modem settings 8,N,l,full duplex).
The Superintendent of Documents
is the official source for the sale of
information published by more than
100 Federal agencies. Some 12,000
books or documents, 600 periodicals,
and a growing number of CD-ROMs,
diskettes, and online services are
available. ¦
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INFO ACCESS ¦ JULY 1994
FEDLINK Services For Federal Agencies—
The Library Of Congress FEDLINK Program
Information Provided by James Oliver, FEDLINK Vendor Services Coordinator
The Library Of Congress
FEDLINK Program
If what's required of your agency
keeps increasing, while funding
decreases and staff and operations are
strained, let the Library of Congress
FEDLINK interagency cooperative
reduce the burden on your
administrative and program staff and
save overall costs for your agency.
FEDLINK provides:
¦ Procurement Services: simplifying
acquisition of information retrieval
services and publications, and
earning volume discounts through
group contracting.
¦ Accounting Services: processing
invoices from FEDLINK vendors,
and producing monthly statements
of account to enhance budget
control for agencies.
¦ Training Services: keeping agency
library and information service staff
up-to-date on library automation and
information resources such as the
Internet.
Rely On FEDLINK
FEDLINK is in full compliance with
the FAR, FIRMR, CICA, LC
regulations, and GAO fiscal policy and
procedure guidance;
Oversight for FEDLINK's program
is provided by the Library of Congress,
General Services Administration,
FLICC Executive Board, and a
FEDLINK Advisory Council
composed of elected FEDLINK
members.
Continuous service and experience
has been provided by FEDLINK since
1976; combined annual procurement
averaging over $100 million; 3,000
annual service orders placed for over
1,000 federal libraries and other federal
offices; over 100,000 vendor invoices
processed and 40,000 member
statements generated annually.
Keep Overall Costs Down
Through FEDLINK
¦ Agencies can save an estimated
$20-$25 thousand per negotiated
contract by using GSA's delegation
of procurement authority to the
Library of Congress.
Central contracts to allow agencies
to acquire books and subscriptions, and
have technical specifications developed
and monitored by information
professionals.
FedLink will also provide
centralized invoice processing which
will allow you to receive timely and
detailed usage and payment reports.
Fedlink provides ongoing
consultation, support and training from
expert staff committed to the mission
to increase federal agency effectiveness
and efficiency.
Save Time And Effort
LC/FEDLINK contracting officers and
professional librarians can assist you
by developing statements of work for
acquiring cutting-edge electronic
information services and traditional
print publications.
Formal negotiated procurements
establish basic ordering agreements
with multiple vendors. Individual
competitions are performed when
orders are over the small purchase
threshold, you will be kept up to date
on procurement and use of information
services.
LC/FEDLINK accounting
professionals prepare vouchers and pay
invoices, meet prompt payment
requirements, and report service usage
and account balances to you on
monthly account statements with daily
online updates.
FEDLINK information services
professionals can enhance the
productivity of your library and
information services staff through
training in the use of OCLC, other
library systems, and Internet. This will
help your agency keep in touch with
issues and developments in information
services through a monthly newsletter,
electronic bulletin board, and ongoing
educational events.
Save Money
By cooperating with other agencies
earn volume discounts and FedLink
eliminates costly redundant
procurements (estimated at $20,000-
Fodllnk continued on pag* 6
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INFO ACCESS ¦ JULY 1994
Fedlink from page 5
$25,000 savings per negotiated
contract).
Be Effective In Meeting Your
Agency's Information
Requirements
Comparison of commercial information
services is convenient and easy by
using FEDLINK's Services Directory,
and attending FEDLINK's annual
vendor fair.
Share and learn from the experience
of other federal information
professionals.
FEDLINK allows you to select the
combination of information providers
best suited to your agency's needs.
FEDLINK has agreements with
multiple online, CD-ROM, and
publications service vendors.
You can choose whether to handle
competition and invoices at your
agency or to transfer the responsibility
to LC/FEDLINK.
Your service funding levels can be
adjusted as needed by amending your
interagency agreement.
How Your Agency Can Join
FEDLINK
To join FEDLINK your agency will
establish an interagency agreement
with the Library of Congress under the
Economy Act (USC 1535) and pay an
administrative fee to LC. Any federal
library, information center, or other
federal office, or any organization
authorized to use federal sources of
supply is eligible for membership in
FEDLINK. The FY94 FEDUNK
Services Registration Package is
available from the: FEDLINK Fiscal
Hotline at 202-707-4900.
FEDLINK Fees
FEDLINK is a non-appropriated funds
program supported through service
fees. Annual fees are based on the size
of the member agency's procurement
and the invoice processing option
chosen (transfer pay or direct pay). For
FY94, the fee for transfer pay
customers is 8% of service dollars; the
fee for direct pay customers is $850 per
vendor account plus 1/2% of service
dollars over $25,000.
How To Get FEDLINK Services
¦ Register for FEDLINK, sign an
interagency agreement with the
Library of Congress and pay
FEDLINK administrative fees.
¦ Transfer funds to LC to establish a
transfer pay service account or
establish direct pay service by
forwarding your agency's purchase
orders to LC for authorization.
¦ The EPA process requires
establishing EPA's own Interagency
Agreement by completing EPA
form 1610-1 and processing it
through the Grants Administrative
Division.
¦ For transfer pay customers, LC will
place orders and compete individual
orders when necessary. For direct
pay customers, LC will authorize
orders based on your agency's
competitions and will forward your
order to the vendor.
¦ LC will pay invoices and provide
statements of account for transfer
pay customers. Direct pay service
customers will handle their own
invoices.
FEDLINK Commercial Vendor
Services
Information Retrieval Services: LC has
a delegation of procurement authority
from the General Services
Administration to contract for
information retrieval services and
products from commercial vendors of
online, CD-ROM, gateway and
bibliographic utility services on behalf
of member agencies.
Publications Acquisitions Services:
LC also establishes agreements for
acquiring publications through industry
wholesalers/agents. Members may
place orders for books (including
textbooks), periodicals/serial
subscriptions, microtilm/fiche
publications, and document delivery
service through FEDLINK.
Need More Information?
Contact FEDLINK Network
Operations to learn more about
FEDLINK's procurement, accounting,
and training services and to get detailed
information on the vendors and
discounts available through FEDLINK:
Phone: 202-707-4800
Fax: 202-707-4818
E-mail: flicc@mail.loc.gov
Call the FEDLINK Fiscal Hotline for
an FY94 FEDLINK Services
Registration Package:
Phone: 202-707-4900
Fax: 202-707-4999 ¦
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INFO ACCESS ¦ JULY 1994
NTIS Directory Of Services
Information Provided by Fran Roberts, EPA Specialist, Office of Acquisitions, NTIS
The National Technical Information
Service (NTIS) is a unique agency
within the Technology Administration
of the Department of Commerce. Why
unique? Because we are a self-
supporting Federal agency—sustained
only by our customers!
NTIS is the Nation's largest, central
source and primary disseminator of the
Government's scientific, technical,
engineering and related business
information. NTIS also handles a
substantial amount of foreign material.
Once a document is entered into our
system, it is permanently stored and
will always be available. Currently,
there are about 2-1/2 million
documents in our paper repository and
about 3,000 information packages in
computer form.
The types of support NTIS offers
fall into seven general categories:
1. NTIS Clearinghouse Services
NTIS delivers Government information
to over 60,000 customers each year.
The products and services take the
form of some 400,000 printed reports;
665,000 subscriptions; 23,300 software
packages; and 6,200 datafiles.
Handling this volume of business
requires a smoothly functioning
Customer Services operation.
Order Fulfillment
Need to reduce your staff workload?
Require flexibility in working with a
partner? Want the best possible service
for your constituents?
NTIS has an order fulfillment
operation that rivals leading mass
marketers. NTIS handles more than
2,000 inbound calls per day.
Implementing Total Quality
Management techniques, and installing
the latest equipment, have lowered our
dropped-call rate to less than one
percent. If an item is in stock, it is pulled
from our archives, duplicated, and in a
customer's hands within five days. All
orders are shipped first class. Customers
can order products and services in nine
easy ways.
Customer Services
Frequently, customers don't know the
complete title of a document or may be
unsure about what they're looking for.
The agency can refer the constituent to
NTIS, and we will gladly assist them.
NTIS specialized Research Services
can search the NTIS Bibliographic
Database to help locate the information
of interest.
Some of the many quality-oriented
customer services that can improve the
public image of your company are:
¦ A Customer Advocate is ready to
resolve any issues related to a
customer's order.
¦ Customer Case Profile Sheets are
checked for order accuracy.
Collection Management
NTIS' collection management services
can reduce your agency's costs and
ensure permanent availability of
information. When a new report or
product comes to NTIS, it is indexed
and catalogued, making it easy to
locate on a customer's behalf. Other
document management and inventory
control methods are described below.
Distribution And Marketing
By disseminating information through
NTIS, your agency can take advantage
of our growing worldwide audience.
We offer a variety of distribution
services to serve your constituents,
which are described below.
Exhibits, direct mail, fax, inserts,
newsletters, catalogs, and press releases
are some of the vehicles used to
announce your agency's information.
Another example is the NTIS Mail
List service. Some agencies have
entered into agreements with NTIS in
order to be able to refer requesters under
FOIA to NTIS to purchase mail list
labels.
2. Online Services
¦ NTIS is rapidly expanding its
services in this area.
Federal Database Lease Program
Since 1980, NTIS has managed a wide
range of bibliographic and other types
of databases developed by other
agencies. NTIS enters into agreements
with interested parties to make these
databases available, generally on a
continuing or subscription-type basis.
Our experience yields favorable
NTIS Directory continued on pag* 14
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INFO ACCESS ¦ JULY 1994
NPR Checkup from page 4
¦ Can your staff integrate the new and
rapidly changing technologies into
their work routines within a
reasonable time frame? What will
training costs be?
¦ Who will do the maintenance on
your information system?
¦ Take a look at your agency's
resources and see if they meet the
mark for what the NPR is trying to
accomplish.
Q. The NPR says agencies must
"...create a more productive
Government... Our reinvented
Government will be able to cut further
costs by using new ways to carry out
our traditional duties." How does
NTIS fit in?
A. With the advent of FedWorld
and its new capabilities, NTIS
simplifies the whole information
production and delivery process.
Q. I've received some material on
FedWorld and it's easy to see how it
relates to NPR's "electronic
Government." What specifically does
a listing on FedWorld involve?
A. An important fact about
FedWorld is that your agency can
retain full control of its data on the
system. You can upload new files,
update older ones and delete dated
information, as you wish. You have
basically two methods to do this:
¦ Library of Files. Places computer
files in an area where users can
transfer the files to their own
computers.
NPR Checkup continued on page 9
Around The Library Network
Region VIII Technical Library
Carol Browner Visits
The EPA Administrator, Carol Browner, accompanied by the Office of External
Affairs (OEA) Director, the Information Management Branch, Chief, and the
Library Project Officer toured the Technical Library. Ms. Browner met the LAI
Library staff and talked briefly about the Library and its services. The staff
expressed appreciation for the opportunity to meet the Administrator.
Open House
Regional Administrator, Bill Yellowtail, was among the 75-100 Region 8
distinguished guests who participated in the Technical Library's annual open
house, held in April.
The program, "Let's get technical. . .," offered Internet tours, guided tours of
the library, and a self-guided stroll aided by new signage and a map of
information locations. Handouts were available. These included user guides for
CD-ROM products, regulatory resources, nontechnical resources, LAN, and
Internet; lists of serials, tapes, and newspapers. Displays showed cultural diversity
journals, low profile products, and journals which are international in scope.
Those who signed the guest list walked away with the world (a ribbon-
trimmed earth bookmark). They were also promised a token of our appreciation to
be delivered at a later date. Then in June each registered guest received a
mountable clip-clock (small digital clock on a large plastic paper clip) inscribed
with "Capture Data at the Region VIII Library".
Each clip held a copy of a "thank-you" memo from the Information
Management Branch Chief and the Library Project Officer; a coupon good for
one of three free library services (15 minutes of database searching, or a 15
minute personalized/customized Library tour, or a 15 minute sight-seeing tour of
any topic on the Internet), plus a copy of each handout/guide produced by the
Library staff.
Washington, D.C.
A new information aide will be starting at the Public Information Center (PIC) on
July 25. Leah Smith joins the PIC staff of three other information professionals.
PIC's hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. for phone requests. The visitor center is
open from Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You can call the
PIC at (202) 260-2080 or (202) 260-7751.
Dallas
Effective August 1, 1994, the new phone prefix for Region 6 offices will be 665
not 655. The phone number for the Region 6 Library will be (214) 665-6424. The
fax number will be (214) 665-2146.
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INFO ACCESS ¦ JULY 1994
Around The Library Network (Cont'd)
RSKERL Library, Ada, Oklahoma
Through the month of June every Tuesday and Thursday at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. the
head librarian has been conducting library orientation for interested RSKERL
staff. The orientation has helped spotlight library searches, especially the Online
Library System (OLS). Plans are to try to conduct more "advanced" sessions on
searching electronic products, ranging from CD-ROMS to the Internet.
The Head Librarian was on the planning committee for the 3rd Annual
Federal Depository Librarians Conference in Washington, D.C. in April.
Here are a few changes from the RSKERL Library to note in your copies of
ACCESS EPA: US EPA, RSKERL, P.O. Box 1198, 919 Kerr Research Drive,
Ada, OK 74820, E-mail: RSKERL-Library, Fax: (415) 436-8503, Hours: 7:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Annapolis, Maryland
The Annapolis Library will have a new librarian starting on July 13. Laura
Skinner moved into the position vacated by Arlene Howard. Laura comes to EPA
from NOAA. She can be reached at (401) 573-2799; Fax: (401) 573-2702.
Hazardous Waste Technical Information Center (HWTIC)
Rudy Meixell, Library Technician since August 1991 left in March to take a
Reference Librarian position at the Free Library of Philadelphia.
Annette DeFuso started as the new permanent Library Technician on April 25,
1994. She has a master's degree in library and information science from Drexel
University's College of Information Studies. She previously worked in the
Cataloging Department of the Library of the Presbyterian Historical Society here
in Philadelphia.
Las Vegas-EMSL/LV
Rose Ellis (contractor) Head Librarian notes that there are changes at the EMSL
Library. There is a new Library Technician, Heather George,
(702) 798-2646, and a new Library Aide Lisa Schumacher (702) 798-2540.
Welcome to both Heather and Lisa! Some additional changes at the library are:
E-mail: Library-LV, Fax: (702) 798-3142, Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (EPA
staff and contractors) and 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (public)
Chicago
Penny Boyle, Head Librarian (contractor) in Region 5 reports that the library has
a new fax machine: (312) 353-2001 and a new E-mail box: Library-5. The hours
have changed and are now 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
NPR Checkup from page 8
¦ Subsystem. This allows your agency
to lease a space on FedWorld,
giving the agency a greater presence
and a wider range of options and
functions. A menu section includes
an "About Your Agency" space.
Your agency's information can also
be made available through subscription
options and on-demand online ordering
of documents.
Best of all, almost all of
FedWorld's input and output can be
done in a low-cost manner by your
agency.
Q. FedWorld has been assisting
agencies for about 18 months now.
What has been the reaction so far
from the public?
A. A full description of the positive
response isn't possible here. FedWorld
has won awards and has been cited in
numerous NPR contexts as a successful
manifestation of "reinventing
Government." In the near future,
various enhancements will mean that if
your agency truly wants to make
material electronically available to the
citizen, it should be managed by
FedWorld.
Q. We know that "business as
usual" isn't acceptable under the
NPR. Part of our mission involves
sending out press announcements on
a scheduled basis. We'd like to
upgrade our current fax equipment
and minimize the impact on our small
taff. Horw can we do so?
A. NTIS provides a package of fax
services, categorized as Broadcast and
NPR Checkup continued on page 13
9
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INFO ACCESS ¦ JULY 1994
FEDLINK FY'94 End-Of-Year Schedule
End-Of-Year Schedule For FY94 Accounts
FEDLINK Fiscal Operations (FFO) must receive requests
for adding or canceling services and adding or
transferring funds by the deadlines noted below in order
to complete necessary IAG, delivery order, and billing
work by the end of FY94. Requests received after these
dates cannot be processed this fiscal year. The FY94 end-
of-year deadlines given in this Information Alert
supersede schedule information published earlier (e.g.
dates on IAG Amendment Request forms). Combined
requests must be submitted by August 1, 1994.
a. Add Service: Add service requests must be processed
with sufficient lead time to allow for synopsizing/
competition (for requirements in excess of $25,000), for
completion of the IAG amendment signature and billing
cycle, for issuance of delivery orders, and use of the
service before the end of the fiscal year. (IAG
Amendment Request New Service and/or New Funds
form.)
¦ July 29, 1994—Transfer pay add service requests
over $25,000 must be received in FFO.
¦ August 1, 1994—Transfer pay add service requests
for $25,000 or less must be received in FFO. Direct
pay add service request over $25,000 with proof of
synopsis must be received in FFO.
¦ August 15, 1994—Signed IAG amendment to add
service must be received in FFO.
b. Add Funds: Funds may be added to FY94 transfer pay
accounts only to cover known and anticipated usage.
Members1 transfer pay accounts must contain sufficient
funds to cover all invoices rejected for insufficient funds
(which the vendor will resubmit for payment) and all
usage/orders planned for August and September. Vendor
delivery orders reflecting increased funding can be
processed sooner if requests to add funds are
accompanied by billable agency funding documents.
¦ August 15, 1994—New Service/New Funds form to
add funds must be received in FFO.
¦ September 2, 1994—Signed IAG Amendment Request
to add funds must be received by LC/FSD in order to
avoid IAG delinquency for FY94 with related delays
in issuance of FY95 IAGs.
c. Move Funds: Funds may be moved between FY94
transfer pay accounts to cover anticipated usage. When
reducing funds in an account, members are reminded that
they must leave sufficient funds in the account to cover
pending invoices, on-order items, and August/September
usage. (IAG Amendment Request Transfer Pay Account
Adjustment form.)
¦ August 15, 1994—Transfer Pay Account Adjustment
form to move funds must be received in FFO. The
move funds request includes a requirement that
members certify that they have checked with the
vendor(s) to be sure that funds remaining in reduced
accounts will be sufficient to cover pending invoices,
on-order items, and planned usage.
d. Terminate Service: After submitting a terminate
service request the member is responsible for insuring
that the service is no longer used. Until the vendor
receives the LC/FEDLINK delivery order which
officially terminates the service, any charges the member
incurs must be considered a valid obligation of the
member.
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INFO ACCESS ¦ JULY 1994
FEDLINK FY'94 End-Of-Year Schedule (continued)
¦ August 15, 1994—Transfer Pay Account Adjustment
form to terminate service must be received in FFO.
e. Refund: Before service dollars can be refunded, FFO
must confirm with the vendor that sufficient funds remain
to cover pending invoices and on-order items. Members
are reminded that while excess funds in an FY94 account
may be refunded, those funds may also be used to cover
known or anticipated deficits in the member's other FY94
accounts. Transferring excess funds from an online
service account to a serials account to cover anticipated
serials supplemental charges, for example, is often a
prudent use of available funds. It reduces the likelihood
of having to transfer additional FY94 funds to cover
FY94 deficits at some time in the future. As always,
excess service dollars from all accounts will be refunded
to the agency by LC/FEDLINK upon final reconciliation
of FY94 accounts.
Refunds may be requested at any time, but in order for
refund checks to be received at the agency before
September 30, 1994, Refund requests must be received
by the deadline listed below. Members should be aware,
however, of a federal finance process that may make
funds available for reobligation sooner. After the
FEDLINK member has received a copy of the LC
delivery order which has deobligated the funds from the
vendor, the member agency's finance office may book a
receivable from the Library of Congress in the amount of
the anticipated refund, thus making the funds available
for reobligation, even before the refund check is actually
received at the member agency.
¦ August 1,1994—Transfer pay Account Adjustment
form to request a refund must be received at FFO. The
form includes a requirement that members certify that
they have checked with the vendor(s) to be sure that
funds remaining in the account after the refund will be
sufficient to cover pending invoices, on-order items,
and planned usage.
Considerations for FY94 End-of-Year
Planning
a. No carryover into FY95 of any one-year funds in
any service account. FY94 funds transferred to
FEDLINK may only be used to pay for FY94 obligations.
To make full use of FY94 funds, members must take
necessary steps to ensure that any excess funds are re-
obligated to establish new services, or to cover known or
anticipated deficits in existing accounts, or are refunded
to the agency. Funds specifically identified as no-year
funds and funds with remaining multi-year availability
will be available in FY95
b. Add/transfer funds to cover rejected invoices.
According to the terms of the IAG, members are
responsible for all charges they incur under LC/
FEDLINK BOAs. Every time an invoice is rejected for
insufficient funds, FEDLINK sends the member a copy of
the rejected invoices with a notice to take action to cover
the charge. In addition, each member's monthly statement
shows the invoices which were rejected during that
month (code 25 on statement). (Statement balances reflect
only invoices actually paid during the month.) Members
must examine their records, including rejected invoice
copies and statements to determine the total amount still
outstanding. A special report will be sent in June which
will provide additional information about rejected
invoices.
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INFO ACCESS ¦ JULY 1994
NTIS—Agency Partnerships
A partnership with NTIS will reduce your costs, save time, reach your audience andfulfdl your missionI For
more information or answers to your questions, contact Pat McNutt, Marketing Director, at (703) 487-48J2.
Department of Labor
The Department of Labor (DOL)
Davis-Bacon Wage Determination Act
Database in its traditional paper format
spans 4,000 pages with hundreds of
pages of updates per week. Increased
costs of the paper product and
customer demand drove the Labor
Department to ask NTIS to make a
digital version of the Davis-Bacon
Database available on FedWorld. Since
DOL does not have appropriations to
make this data available, the result was
a FedWorld Subsystem that is accessed
by subscribers. For less than the cost of
the paper document, a subscriber can
search the database for the specific data
of interest to them without the hassle of
reams of paper. Updates can be found
and searched within seconds, instead of
hours. In addition, the electronic data is
available to the customer much quicker
than the paper product.
Food And Drug Administration
For the past 20 years, the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) has been
an information partner with the
National Technical Information
Service. FDA has placed numerous
information products with NTIS for
sales and marketing, order fulfillment
and distribution to the many health
professionals and pharmaceutical and
food companies throughout the world.
This joint effort has been extremely
Agency Partnerships continued on page 14
OCLC Usage Files On ALIX-FS: Important Update
The OCLC usage files posted on
ALIX-FS include a field called
NOTE. This field was empty in the
files posted from February through
April. However, as of May 1, this
field now carries information for
certain OCLC product codes.
Serial Numbers For Modems And
Terminals Now In NOTE Field
Most importantly, OCLC product
codes 6111, Network Service Fee
(dedicated line modem charge), and
6801, System Access Fee (terminal
on dedicated line), now carry the
OCLC serial numbers for these
items in the NOTE field. This
information was not included in the
OCLC usage files posted earlier this
year.
However, all the OCLC usage files
from October 1993 forward have been
regenerated and now include the serial
numbers for OCLC modems and
terminals in the NOTE field; all the
updated files have been posted on
ALIX-FS.
Files From October 1993 Should Be
Downloaded Again
Any FEDLINK OCLC member who
has a dedicated line, and who has
downloaded usage files from ALIX-
FS, should download all their files
again, from October 1993 forward, in
order to have a set of data that includes
the serial numbers of machines on their
dedicated line.
Use Dollar Amount In NOTE For
Reference Only
In addition to the OCLC serial
number, the NOTE field for product
codes 6111 and 6801 also contains a
copy of the fee for that item. This
dollar amount should not be used to
calculate the total usage costs, as it
duplicates the information in the
Total field and is provided by
OCLC for reference purposes only.
Questions?
Questions about the content of the
OCLC usage files or the ALIX-FS
system can be directed to:
FEDLINK
Network Librarian Erik Delfmo
202-707-4848
DELFINO@MAIL.LOC.GOV.
12
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INFO ACCESS ¦ JULY 1994
NPR Checkup from page 8-9
On-Demand. These services enable
your agency to become a customized
information provider to many markets
and different industries. Similar to
FedWorld, a mailbox feature can be
dedicated to your agency.
If you anticipate that your agency's
information dissemination needs are
expanding, you can expect your fax
volume, both incoming and outgoing,
to continue rising as well. You may
want to send announcements out on a
scheduled basis early in the program's
development. All of these changes can
be accommodated, efficiently and
effectively, by NTIS' fax services.
Q. What are the advantages of
using FedWorld and other electronic
media such as CD-ROMs?
A. Industry estimates are that more
than $12 billion a year is spent on
business information, and at least $1
billion of that for CD-ROM titles. The
same estimates indicate that CD-ROM
and online markets will reinforce each
other because the "content" and tools
for one will be useful in the other.
NTIS operates a very efficient CD-
ROM production service, and markets
hundreds of popular CD-ROM titles.
We think that these two methods of
information dissemination are very
compatible.
Q. My office is small compared to
other bureaus in our department. Is
NTIS focusing on my needs or is it
only targeting the needs of large
operations?
A. The NPR makes no distinction
by size, in terms of effecting changes
in Government information
dissemination. NTIS specializes in
adapting its services to fit your needs
and constraints.
Q. Is NTIS competitive with the
private sector in publishing?
A. Yes. Publishing is the
centerpiece of most agency information
dissemination programs. Our
permanent electronic storage and
remote document distribution match or
exceed industry standards.
Q. What services does NTIS have
in videotape reproduction?
A. First, it's worthwhile mentioning
that NTIS just published a new
videotape catalog of almost 20
different subjects totaling about 400
titles. Second, we are a multimedia
organization. We plan to expand our
videotape reproduction services.
Q. NTIS seems to have a diverse
set of alternatives to improve
information dissemination-related
services. How does an agency know
what tools are needed to achieve its
NPR goals?
A. Information services can be a
highly technical matter and, of course,
no agency business situation is the
same. Call NTIS at (703) 487-4812 to
learn more about different alternatives
to meet your NPR objectives. ¦
Agency Partnerships liom page 13
successful. Having NTIS manage its
information products has greatly
relieved FDA of a substantial workload
both in time and manpower.
Environmental Protection
Agency
The Office of Emergency and
Remedial Response (OERR), the
Superfund management office within
the Environmental Protection Agency,
and NTIS have also formed a
partnership. In 1990, OERR faced a
rapidly increasing demand for free
documents and an impending reduction
in available printing funds. At the same
time, OERR was committing an
increasing amount of staff time to
respond to requests under the Freedom
of Information Act.
Through its partnership with NTIS,
OERR now provides service and
products within EPA through a
document management center; NTIS
performs reproduction, distribution,
inventory management, and public
access services. By concentrating its
resources to serve its mission and
channeling public inquiries and FOIA
requesters to NTIS, OERR has
eliminated significant costs and has
been able to reallocate staff hours to
support primary program initiatives.
Now, those seeking Superfund
information can locate it in one place,
as soon as it becomes available. ¦
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INFO ACCESS ¦ JULY 1994
NTIS Directory from page 7
agreements on behalf of the source
agency and clients.
Full archival access to the database
is provided to each agency, and
compliance with regulations concerning
information dissemination is assured.
NTTS acts as the FOIA distributor for
the agency. All reproduction services
for database tape/cartridge redistribution
are handled by NTIS; your agency only
needs to supply a single copy.
FedWorld Electronic Marketplace
FedWorld makes U.S. Government
information available in electronic
format to the public at no charge.
FedWorld has more than 80,000
registered subscribers and the user
base is growing by 20 percent per
month. With FedWorld, 100-pius
agencies' information programs are
made available in an extremely cost-
effective manner.
FedWorld provides a customer
Help Desk, so your constituents don't
end up "lost in cyberspace."
Formore information on FedWorld,
please call (703) 487-4778.
The Federal Research In Progress
(FEDRIP) Database
The FEDRIP Database provides access
to information about ongoing Federally
funded research projects; more than
150,000 research projects now
underway are derived from 11
Government sources. Most projects
have an abstract or summary that
describes the basis of the research,
objective and intermediate findings.
Additionally, these agreements relieve
your agency of the multiple
dissemination/replication/formatting
requirements of a diverse clientele.
For more information about these
databases, please call Nancy Dehncke,
Announcement Products Division
Manager, or Dug Greevy, Product
Manager, at (703) 487-4929.
3. Production Services
Imaging, Reproduction, And Data Storage
NTIS' production services save time
and money for agency information
dissemination programs.
Our Automated Document Storage
and Retrieval System (ADSTAR)
bridges past, present, and emerging
technologies. Components include
network production publishing for high
speed and high quality. This also
provides flexibility in the production of
text, graphics, and photographs. Your
agency can transmit documents to NTIS
electronically via telecommunications or
diskette. Hard copy documents can be
scanned and stored for dissemination.
Production support involves a full
text database and retrieval system. It is
dedicated to the scanning of hard copy
or electronic original photographs and
graphics separately for electronic
placement within your document at the
size and orientation specified.
On-demand publishing capabilities
means that an entire document, or
portions of it, can be reproduced. The
documents can then be distributed in
electronic format. Every copy made has
the print quality of the original. Set up
costs are minimized since no
intermediate copies are required to
protect a master copy; and, it's efficient
even when small quantities are
reproduced.
For tasks that must go through the
Government Printing Office, NTIS can
provide project management support,
allowing you and your agency to
concentrate on what you do best.
Seventeen senior-level Japanese
business executives from world-class
Japanese companies visited NTIS in
May to study information systems.
NTIS was selected because it is
internationally recognized as a major
information provider and had recently
installed the previously referenced
state-of-the-art electronic document
reproduction system.
For more information about these
production services, please call
(703) 487-4716.
CD-ROMs
In FY 1993, NTIS contracted for more
than 700 CD-ROM and 1,500 diskette
titles on behalf of 70 Federal agencies.
The Electronic Media Production
Service (EMPS) handles the CD-ROM
mastering, replication, packaging, and
distribution. Once an agency's needs
are documented, NTIS works directly
with contracted vendors for the
services, runs quality checks on
completed material, and oversees all
finances. NHS is reimbursed through
interagency fund transfers.
Besides CD-ROMs, the EMPS
provides production services for
videotapes, diskettes, tape cartridges,
and multimedia packages.
In most cases, the EMPS cuts
production costs by 20 to 70 percent.
U
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INFO ACCESS ¦ JULY 1994
For more information about the
EMPS, call (703) 487-4672. NTIS
publishes two catalogs of electronic
products: the Directory of U.S.
Government Datafiles for Mainframes
and Microcomputers, and the Directory
of U.S. Government Software for
Mainframes and Microcomputers.
4. Fax Services
The power of a fax is derived from its
immediate, simple and reliable nature.
Two valuable NTIS fax services are:
Fax-On-Demand
This provides an "electronic library" of
documents, accessible 24 hours a day.
Callers dial into the system with a
touch-tone phone and request
information be sent to the fax machine
they specify.
Basic Broadcast
This enables users to send, or
"broadcast" one document to many fax
machines with a single transmission.
With this service, you'll get a
customized cover page utility for
personalized fax broadcast, and
delayed broadcasting.
More than 600 organizations are
currently receiving Environmental,
Business and Trade, and Health Care-
related listings through the free "NTIS
Title Selects" fax subscription service.
Like FedWorld, this is an excellent
means to disseminate agency
information rapidly.
The White House used Basic
Broadcast fax management for its
NAFTA Notes campaign last fall to fax
announcements to almost 900 recipients
on a daily basis.
For more information about fax
services, please call (703) 487-4726,
Tania Stanley, Fax Services
Representative.
5. Technology Transfer
Technology transfer services including
patent licensing, business partnerships,
and technology descriptions are carried
out jointly by your agency and NTIS.
Patents
NTIS' Office of Federal Patent
Licensing assists your agency in
commercializing Government-owned
inventions. Your agency can also use
NTIS to share its laboratory facilities
and scientific expertise with the private
sector by including a profile in the
Directory of Federal Laboratory and
Technology Resources.
The NTIS Patent Licensing Bulletin
Board (PLBB) allows online, full-text
searching of almost 2,000 abstracts that
are of U.S. Government patents
available for licensing. The PLBB is in
a special section of FedWorld.
Accessing Japanese
Information
NTIS co-sponsors highly successful
conferences with the Japan Information
Center of Science and Technology on
accessing Japanese scientific and
technical information. (JSTI). This
year's event, in July, will address how
small- and medium-sized companies
acquire and use JSTI, among eight
other topics.
For more information about technology
transfer services and this event, please call
(703)487-4783.
6. Support Services
For the past three years, NTIS has
received unqualified opinions on its
financial statements. The opinions
encompass the financial statements,
internal controls, and compliance with
laws and regulations. Agencies may tap
into this expertise about common
business practices, rather than
committing resources that could be
used for other mission-related
purposes.
Financial Services
This covers account maintenance,
invoicing, and collections to support
your agency in financial transactions
with the public.
For more information about these
services, please call Denise Haynes at
(703) 487-4064.
7. Audiovisual Services
NTIS has found that Federal
audiovisual products are "top sellers."
We will market and sell your agency's
audiovisual products to the user
community and will duplicate, on a
demand basis, to fill orders.
Training Audiovisuals
Special emphasis is placed on training
audiovisuals that could have secondary
application in the public and private
sectors.
In addition to audiovisuals, NTIS
accepts training material formats such
as printed manuals, slides, overlays,
computer programs, and multimedia
packages.
For more information about these
services, please call (703) 487-4672. ¦
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