United States	Information Resources August/September 1995
"Environmental Protection	Management	EPA220-N-95-023
Agency	(3404)
&EPA The Catalyst
Information for Environmental Action
An Information Service for EPA HQ Staff from the Headquarters Library
BNA ENVIRONMENT LIBRARY ON CD-ROM
Workshop
Federal and state regulations and laws
Do you need to refer to federal or state regulations and laws? Come learn effective
search techniques for this database at the BNA (Bureau of National Affairs) Environment
Library CD-ROM Orientation on Tuesday, September 19th at 9:30 a.m. This CD-ROM
also includes other useful information such as policy documents, Memoranda of
Understanding, chemical regulations, legislative histories, and more! Sign up at the EPA
Headquarters Library, or call (202) 260-5921 or send an e-mail message to
LIBRARY-HQ@epamaikepa.gov. ~
Code of Federal Regulations on the
VABS
EPA Headquarters is a test site for
an electronic, searchable version of the
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) on the
value added backbone service (VABS)
provided by the National Data Processing
Division (NDPD) in Research Triangle Park.
To access the CFR from the VABS menu,
choose "Site Services". In the Windows
version, the window that opens up may not
be large enough to show all the available
icons. Expand the window to expose "CFR
E & E Series".
Choose among full text, fully
searchable versions of Title 10, Energy;
Title 29, Labor; Title 40, Environment; or
Title 49, Transportation. The Library
provides telephone help support for
searching the databases. Call 260-5921
between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. for
assistance. ~
S9SBS
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GILS Project
The Government Information Locator
Service (GILS) project is an effort to make
Federal information more accessible to the
public by providing electronic access to
descriptive records for Agency information
dissemination products and services and for
automated systems within the Agencies.
Headquarters Library staff are involved in
making the information available by
formatting and enhancing "metadata"
records describing EPA information
resources and databases in preparation for
mounting the records on the EPA Public
Access Server as GILS.
GILS metadata records contain the
following information to allow users to select
useful sources: Originator, Abstract,
Statement of Purpose, assigned Controlled
Vocabulary and Local Subject Terms, and
information on Access and Use Constraints.
Each recorcf also includes information on
Distributors, Technical Prerequisites for use,
EPA Headquarters Library (3404) WSM2904 202-260-5922
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Printed on Recycled Paper

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and electronic Available Linkage. Explicit
directions for electronic access to a
resource or database are included
whenever applicable.
Library staff are available
(202-260-3102 or email: gils-center) to
answer questions from Agency offices
creating metadata records for resources not
already included in Access EPA or ISI
(Information Systems Inventory).
A prototype of GILS records will be
on the Internet for review in the Fall. Library
staff are working to make the record as
complete as possible and to prepare the
metadata information for effective electronic
search and retrieval. ~
Cataloging EPA Resources on Internet:
Efforts of the EPA Headquarters
Library
On May 12, 1995, Headquarters Library
registered as a participant in the Online Computer
Library Center (OCLC, a national bibliographic
system) Internet Cataloging Project. The objective of
this project is to create a database of bibliographic
records for Internet resources that provide
description, location, and access information.
EPA offices have been putting EPA
publications and "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 quickly. The
Internet Cataloging Project is designed to provide an
alternative approach for searching Internet resources
in a better organized and more structured way.
Headquarters Library is working towards making
EPA Internet resources searchable through the
Online Library System (OLS), EPA's national library
catalog.
Building a Catalog of EPA
Electronic Publications
One might ask, "The Internet is so big, how
do you select and catalog the resources?" While this
would be a problem for Internet resources as a
whole, the number of EPA publications that are
available on the Internet is still manageable.
After the electronic EPA publications are
cataloged in OCLC, their bibliographic records will be
downloaded into OLS. A new field in OLS called
Internet/Access includes all the information needed
to access the electronic document, such as access
method, URL, host name, file size, etc. OLS
programmers are currently working on adjusting the
system code, to improve the appearance of the
screen display for the Internet/Access field. Once this
work is done, we will be ready to catalog a large
number of EPA resources that are available on the
Internet, building a catalog of EPA electronic
publications. Then, instead of stumbling around on a
huge "web" of the Cyberspace trying to find specific
EPA documents, you will be able to do a quick
search on OLS, get the URL and/or other access
information, and go directly to the full-text documents
online.
The advantages of cataloging Internet
resources are the increased searchability provided by
online library systems. In OLS, for instance, you can
search on title, keyword, author, or EPA report
number, as well as other fields. You can construct a
Boolean logic search or a proximity search. None of
the Internet search tools offers such rich searching
capabilities. After most EPA electronic publications
are cataloged, you will not need to browse the
Internet menu by menu, link by link, or item by item
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.
Another advantage of creating a
bibliographic database for Internet resources in
online library catalogs is integrating electronic
resources into libraries' information systems. By
searching one integrated system, patrons can
retrieve essential information regardless of the
medium or format of the information.
Perspectives for Future Development
Cataloging Internet resources is at its initial
stage. There are many things to be done in the
future. Some libraries are planning to establish a link
between the URLs in the bibliographic records in
online library catalog and the real full-text files on the
Internet. Then a click of the mouse on the URL in the
bibliographic record would bring the document itself
up on the screen. Of course this is not an easy task,
it requires time and effort from systems technical
experts and librarians.
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. ~
THE CATALYST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1995
PAGE 2

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Selected Recent Additions to the Headquarters Library Collection
To borrow any book that is not
"REF", please call the Library at 260-5921
or send an email message to library-hq.
Environmental Administrative Decisions:
Decisions of the United States
Environmental Protection Agency [from
March 1972 to December 1993].
REF KF3776.A5E58 v.1-4
The Internet Yellow Pages. 2nd ed. by
Harley Hahn and Rick Stout. Published by
Osborne McGraw-Hill, 1995.
REF TK5105.875.157H35 1995
Headquarters Library has recently added
more than 25 Internet books in its IRM
(Information Resources Management)
collection. The following are selected
items from that group:
Agenda for Access: Public Access to
Federal Information for Sustainability
through the Information Superhighway.
January 1995. IRM Z674.5.U5B32 1995
Directory of Directories on the Internet: a
Guide to Information Sources. By Gregory
B. Newby. Published by Mecklermedia,
1994.	IRM TK5105.875.I57N49 1994
The Essential Internet Information Guide.
By Jason J. Manger. Published by McGraw-
Hill, 1995. IRM TK5105.875.I57M36 1995
The Internet for Everyone: a Guide for
Users and Providers. By Richard W.
Wiggins. Published by McGraw-Hill, Inc.,
1995.	IRM TK5105.875.I57W54 1995
TCP/IP for the Internet: the Complete
Buyer's Guide to Micro-Based TCP/IP
Software. By Marshall Breeding. Published
by Mecklermedia, 1995.
IRM TK5105.585.B74 1995
The following items have been recently added to the Hazardous Waste/Superfund
Information Center:
Remediation Case Studies: Groundwater Treatment. March 1995.
HW EPA-542-R-95-003.
Guide to Documenting Cost and Performance for Remediation Projects. March
1995. HW EPA-542-B-95-002.
Remediation Case Studies: Thermal Desorption, Soil Washing, and In Situ
Vitrification. March 1995. HW EPA-542-R-95-005.
Remediation Case Studies: Bioremediation. March 1995. HW EPA-542-R-95-002.
Remediation Case Studies: Soil Vapor Extraction. March 1995.
HW EPA-542-R-95-004. ~
THE CATALYST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1995
PAGE 3

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Conferences, Meetings,
Symposiums, Workshops
This is a list of selected meetings and
conferences chosen for their potential interest
to EPA staff. If EPA staff wish to have an
EPA-sponsored event listed here, please
forward the information to The Catalyst, HQ
Library, 401 M St., SW--3404, Washington, DC
20460 or email Library-HQ.
Emission Inventory: Programs and
Progress. October 11-13,1995, Research Triangle
Park, NC. Cosponsored by the US EPA Emission
Factor and Inventory Group, Air Pollution Prevention
and Control Division and the Air and Waste
Management Association (A&WMA). For more
information contact A&WMA, 1 Gateway Center, 3rd
Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 or call 412-232-3445 or
3444 or fax 412-232-3450.
Superfund XVI. November 6-8, 1995, Washington,
DC. Sponsored by EJ Krause & Associates, Inc. and
Hazardous Materials Control. US EPA Office of
Emergency and Remedial Response is one of the thirteen
Superfund XVI affiliates. For more information contact
Susan Newman, EJ Krause & Associates, INc., 7315
Wisconsin Ave., Ste. 450 North, Bethesda, MD 20814 or
call 301 -986-7800 or fax 301 -986-4538. ~
Reference Inquiries
202-260-5921
Circulation Inquiries
202-260-5922
Interlibrary Loan
202-260-1757
INFOTERRA-Reference
202-260-5917
Water-Reference
202-260-8760
Email
Library-HQ
The Headquarters Library is contractor
operated and managed by the Office of
Information Resources Management (OIRM)
Information Access Branch.

United States
Environmental Protection Agency
(3404)
Washington DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
THE CATALYST AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1995
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