ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR RETIRES

After 17 years with the Federal Government and 21 years in private industry, 

Jon Birdsall will be retiring from NTIS at the end of July. Jon has held several 

positions with NTIS, the most recent of which are the Associate Director for 

Customer Services and the Associate Director for Manufacturing and Distribution. 

Under Jon’s direction, NTIS has continued to keep customers paramount in 

decisions related to ordering, customer outreach, problem resolution, product 

reproduction, and order fulfillment. We wish Jon a long and enjoyable 

retirement.

A GLIMPSE AT THE NTIS DIRECTOR’S 

OFFICE BY HIS SENIOR ADVISOR, STEVE 

NEEDLE

Steve Needle has been an important part of the NTIS team for 15 years, serving as 

the Senior Advisor to four NTIS Directors. Holding both Master of Business 

Administration and Juris Doctorate degrees, Steve makes an outstanding 

contribution to NTIS in a variety of areas.

Pat Moton: “Steve, what types of issues do you, as the NTIS Director’s Senior 

Advisor, resolve, and what types of projects do you guide?”

Steve Needle: “As you know, NTIS is now earning a good portion of its revenue 

from services to other Federal agencies. Sometimes, in an effort to please a 

customer, it’s easy to forget that there are limits on what we are allowed to do. 

My main job is to review all agreements to make sure that they are clear and that 

we are fully protected. Inaddition, I function as the ‘go to’ guy for public affairs, 

Congressional relations, Freedom of Information and Privacy issues, and matters 

relating to our Advisory Board.”

Pat: “In light of NTIS’ central focus on its customers, what are some of the 

initiatives you’ve worked on, or are currently working on, that will enhance NTIS’ 

service and interaction with its customers?”

I NSI DE T HIS ISSUE

1 Associate Director Retires

2 A Glimpse at the NTIS 

Director’s Office by 

his Senior Advisor, 

Steve Needle

3 Migratory Bird Care 

During Oil Spills

4 Did You Know?

5 Honey Bee Colony 

Collapse Disorder

6 Mount St. Helen’s 30 Years 

Later: A Landscape 

Reconfigured

“In addition, I function as 

the ‘go to’ guy for public 

affairs, Congressional 

relations, Freedom of 

Information and Privacy 

issues, and matters 

relating to our Advisory 

Board.”

 Please see page 3.

 

National Te chnic al Information S ervice www.ntis.gov pmot o n@ntis. gov 

U. S. Dep art ment o f Co m merce 703-605-6103

5301 Sh aw nee R o ad

Alexandri a, VA 22312

 

 

 

 CUSTOMER

 ADVOCATE’S 

 Summer -July 2010 CORNER Volume 2, Issue 4

 
Page 2 NTIS CUSTOMER ADVOCATE’S CORNER 

“. . . don’t forget that birds 

may overheat inside an 

air-conditioned vehicle if 

containers are exposed to 

direct sunlight.”

MIGRATORY BIRD CARE DURING OIL 

SPILLS

This year, NTIS added to its collection a guide entitled Best Practices for

Migratory Bird Care During Oil Spill Response (PB2010-107889). This guide, 

created in 2003 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, includes direction on 

the highest standards of care for the migratory bird population during an oil 

spill crisis. It discusses specifics related to capture equipment and 

techniques designed to expose the oiled bird to the least amount of stress. 

Further, it describessafety requirements for the transport of captured birds, 

stressing that temperature control and monitoring are critical during 

transport. Specifics regarding bird-cleaning, drying, and waterproofing are 

also included. While wet birds being transported may require a 

temperature of 800F to be comfortable, dry, oiled birds require a cooler 

environment. And don’t forget that birds may overheat inside an airconditioned vehicle if containers are exposed to direct sunlight. Further, the 

guide describes precautions professionals and volunteers need to follow for 

their own safety during rescue operations.

DID YOU KNOW?

Whether you’re a new customer to NTIS (Welcome!) or you’ve been with us 

for years (Thank you!), you may not realize that NTIS offers free downloads 

of reports in our collection that have been digitized and are five pages or less. 

I recently came across one of these reports and asked Sue Feindt, the 

Manager of our Cataloging and Indexing Division, for additional examples. To 

view these reports at no charge, just click on the titles below, and then, under 

the prices for the other media types available, click on “Click to download for 

free.” 

ADA515969, Ethical Challenges for Commanders and Their Chaplains;

DE2010-952871, Hybrid Taxis Give Fuel Economy a Lift. Clean Cities, Fleet 

Experiences;

PB2010-107519, NIOSH Field Effort to Assess Chemical Exposure Risks to Gas 

and Oil Workers;

PB2010-109918, International Piracy and Armed Robbery at Sea: Hindering 

Maritime Trade and Water Transportation Around the World;

PB2010-107897, Youth Afterschool Programs and Law Enforcement. 

Research in Progress Seminar Series.
NTIS CUSTOMER ADVOCATE’S CORNER Page 3

Steve: “NTIS’s customers aren’t just the people who buy our products and services. 

Obviously, they are the most important class of customers and without them we 

might as well turn out the lights. But we also have to be responsive to the folks at 

Main Commerce downtown, and much of what I do relates to that and helps us 

demonstrate that NTIS is a responsible part of the Commerce Department 

community.”

Pat: “As NTIS’ Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Officer, can you explain why, when 

people send in a FOIA request for a publication, NTIS provides them the price and 

ordering information for the product rather than the product itself?”

Steve: “We’d be in a pretty bad way if people could simply demand products we sell 

under the Freedom of Information Act. Fortunately, the Act itself recognizes how 

unfair that would be. It makes it clear that it doesn’t take priority over statutes that 

provide authority for agencies to sell items that the person is trying to get.”

Pat: “I understand that NTIS is actively seeking individuals to serve on our Advisory 

Board. Would you explain the functions of the NTIS Advisory Board and the type of 

individuals we are seeking to serve on the Board? Also, do members of the Advisory 

Board get paid for their services?”

Steve: “We recently published a notice in the Federal Register seeking candidates for 

the Board, and we were delighted with the number and quality of the responses we 

received. By law, the Board advises us on all aspects of our operation, including the 

fees we charge. We’re looking for a broad range that represents business, academia, 

and users of our goods and services. Members receive a per diem allowance for their 

expenses, but they are not compensated for their time.”

Pat: “Do you have a vision of where NTIS will be three years from now and the types 

of challenges it will be facing?”

Steve: “I think the biggest challenge to NTIS isn’t what most people think – that more 

and more Federal information is available for free on the Web. That’s a factor, but I 

think a bigger issue is that we are becoming an information and service-oriented 

economy, and I don’t know if the demand for Federal technical information will be 

what it was when we were a “smokestack” economy. Still, it is important that what 

the Government produces be collected, organized and preserved and that we 

maintain the proper mix between ‘product’ and ‘services’ in what we offer.”

Pat: “Thank you for taking time to provide us some new insights on NTIS.”

A GLIMPSE AT THE NTIS DIRECTOR’S OFFICE BY HIS 

SENIOR ADVISOR, STEVE NEEDLE 

 from Page 1

“. . . NTIS is a responsible 

part of the Commerce 

Department community.”
Page 4 NTIS CUSTOMER ADVOCATE’S CORNER 

Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder

In January 2010, the Congressional Research Service of 

the Library of Congress prepared a report for Congress 

on the phenomenon now called Colony Collapse 

Disorder (CCD) as it relates to honey bee colonies in 

the United States. In late 2006, commercial migratory 

beekeepers along the East Coast began reporting 

sharp declines in their honey bee colonies. 

Beekeepers in most States have now been affected.

Although honey bee colony losses are not uncommon, 

the losses in recent years differ from the past because 

they are occurring mostly because bees are failing to 

return to the hive—highly uncharacteristic bee 

behavior. Honey bees have been identified as the 

most economically valuable pollinators of agricultural 

crops worldwide. They are the only bee species kept 

commercially in the United States.

This report, which describes the extent and symptoms 

of Colony Collapse Disorder and ongoing research into 

its cause, may be purchased from NTIS as PB2010-

106730.

Written and Edited by:

Pat Moton

Customer Advocate

National Technical

 Information Service

5301 Shawnee Road

Alexandria, VA 22312

Phone:

703-605-6103

Fax:

703-605-6900

E-mail:

customeradvocate@ntis.gov

Mount St. Helens 30 Years Later: A 

Landscape Reconfigured

It was on May 18, 1980, following two months of 

tremors, that Mount St. Helens erupted in 

Washington State and changed forever a vast area 

surrounding the volcano. The vertical eruption plume 

continued for 9 hours, with ash rising 15 miles into 

the air and eventually encircling the globe. When the 

north slope of the mountain catastrophically failed, it 

formed the largest landslide witnessed in modern 

times.

Scientists were on the scene within days and have 

remained, documenting the process of ecosystem 

reassembly. Findings from their work have shifted 

thinking on how to manage landscapes after a major 

disturbance. They have learned that the volcanic ash 

that coated the fallen trees not only reduced 

flammability but also served as an effective 

insecticide. In addition, forest harvest policies have 

been changed as a result of this ongoing research 

which has led to the practice of leaving some live and 

some dead trees within harvest areas.

The full story is reported in the Spring 2010 issue of 

the Department of Agriculture’s Pacific Northwest 

Research Station’s Science Update available from NTIS 

as PB2010-107478, or you may view this update at

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/science-update19.pdf.

If you have not already subscribed to receive 

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