# Presentation: 748671

## National Technical  Information Service (NTIS) Update & New Initiatives

-          Federal Depository Library
-          Conference
-           October 17, 2001
- Walter L. Finch
- Associate  Director for Business Development
- National Technical Information Service
- Springfield, VA 22161
- (703) 605-6507  wfinch@ntis.gov

## Background

- National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Technology Administration,    U.S. Department of Commerce
- Established 1945 to collect and provide permanent access to nation’s scientific, technical, engineering and business information
- 3 Million titles in collection

## NTIS Mission

- To collect and disseminate scientific and technical information produced by  U. S. Government and foreign sources in order to support the nation’s economic growth and job creation
- To maintain a permanent archive

## NTIS Statutory Funding

- Title 15, U. S. Code 1153 --             Directs NTIS “...to the fullest extent feasible...that each of the services and functions...shall be self-sustaining or self-liquidating...”

## NTIS Receives Approximately 45,000 Information Products Annually

- U. S. government reports
- International technical reports
- Conference proceedings and journal articles
- Computer products
- Multimedia products

## NTIS Collection

- 1945 - Present
- Approximately 3 million records
- Nation’s largest collection of USG scientific, technical, engineering & business-related information

## NTIS Collection  (Continued)

- Electronic, web harvesting, & paper input
- All records input are abstracted, indexed (using controlled vocabulary) & cataloged in the NTIS Database
- Online searching  and CD-ROMs available through many commercial services

## NTIS Current Status

- Neither the Administration nor Congress has pursued the closure of NTIS
- Hiring freeze eliminated
- Financially sound
- NTIS mandated by law

## New NTIS Initiative....                               e-Government Virtual Library

## Challenges in Locating USG Information on the Web

- Searching for and finding relevant information
- Ensuring permanent availability of information
- “Electronic publications residing on agency servers are only as permanent as the agency’s whim dictates”

## The NTIS Response....

## NTIS e-Government Virtual Library Initiative

- Collect & archive full-text STI reports and provide permanent availability
- Provide single point of entry to search and locate 3.0M reports through NTIS
- Provide permanent links to agency web sites to download full-text reports

## NTIS e-Government Virtual Library Initiative   (Continued)

- Provide access from NTIS collection to permanent archived copy if agency removes report from web

## NTIS e-Government Virtual Library Initiative....       Winter 2001 

## Phase I --- Accessing the NTIS Electronic Collection (1997 - Present)

- Single point of entry to over 350K reports (1997-present)
- Controlled vocabulary terms for easy & effective online searching & retrieval
- Nominal fee for download of reports held only by NTIS
- Linking to other agency web sites for free download of reports

## NTIS Digital Identifier (DI) Initiative

- NTIS will manage a system for the USG that assigns, manages, and resolves persistent “Handles” for digital objects in multiple locations

## NTIS DI (Continued)

- NTIS acquired naming authority to assign  “Handles” from Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI)
- NTIS will assign “Handles” to information resources on behalf of federal agencies (e.g. DOT, EPA)
- Operate “Resolver” on behalf of user community

## NTIS e-Government Virtual Library Initiative ---Benefits

- Greatly enhance the usefulness & dissemination of the NTIS information collection to nontraditional users (small business, students, individual researchers, etc.)

## Ultimate Goals for                    e-Government Virtual Library Initiative....                             

## Accessing the Entire NTIS Collection (1945-Present)

- Comprehensive single point of entry to the remaining collection of 2.5M reports
- Controlled vocabulary terms for easy & effective online searching & retrieval
- NTIS will provide free downloads of all reports in electronic format that are held only by NTIS
- Linking to other agency web sites for free download of reports

## Science.gov Initiative....

## Science.gov Initiative

- CENDI+ alliance to develop a science portal for FirstGov
- Received funding from the CIO's Cross Agency Portal fund
- NTIS portion provides the scientist, engineer, and science-attentive citizen with a searchable and browsable gateway to government STI resources
- government expertise  & services
- laboratories
- information centers

## Science.gov Initiative --- Continued

- NTIS identified and indexed over 1,000 selected USG web sites
- NTIS*** SciTechResources.gov****** ****s*ite will continue to grow
- Science.gov will include multi-database & deep web searching
- Usability and user feedback testing beginning
- Official launch late this year

## www.ntis.gov

- Walter L. Finch
- Associate Director for Business Development
- National Technical Information Service
- Springfield, VA 22161
- (703) 605-6705
- wfinch@ntis.gov