Information Management: The National Technical Information Service's Dissemination of Technical Reports Needs Attention
Published: 2014-07-23T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: NTIS was established by statute in 1950 to collect scientific and technical research reports, maintain a bibliographic record and repository of these reports, and disseminate them to the public. In addition, it provides various information-based services to other federal agencies. NTIS charges fees for its products and services and is required by law to be financially self-sustaining to the greatest extent possible.
GAO was asked to provide a statement summarizing its November 2012 report in which it examined (1) NTIS's operations; (2) the age of and demand for reports added to its repository; and (3) the extent to which these reports are readily available from other public sources. In preparing this statement, GAO relied primarily on its previously published work as well as related updates on actions needed to reduce fragmentation, overlap, and duplication in the federal government.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: The Department of Commerce's National Technical Information Service (NTIS) offers a variety of products and information-related services. Its products include a repository of scientific, technical, engineering, and business research reports, which it makes available individually as well as through subscriptions to its reports library. However, from fiscal year 2001 through 2011, costs for NTIS's products exceeded revenue for 10 of the 11 fiscal years, and the agency was financially sustained during this period by services it offered to other federal agencies, such as distribution and order fulfillment and various web-based services. (See figure.)
In addition, about 62 percent of the reports added to NTIS's repository between 1990 and 2011 were older—with publications dates in the year 2000 or earlier, while about 38 percent were published from 2001 to 2011. However, demand was greater for more recent reports—those published in 2001 or later.
Further, GAO estimated that 74 percent of the reports added to NTIS's collection from fiscal year 1990 through 2011 were available elsewhere, and 95 percent of these were available for free. This calls into question the viability and appropriateness of NTIS's fee-based model for disseminating the reports it collects.
section_title: What GAO Recommends
paragraphs: In its 2012 report, GAO suggested that Congress reassess the appropriateness and viability of the fee-based model under which NTIS operates to determine whether this model should be continued. While the Department of Commerce stated that it did not plan to propose any changes to NTIS's fee-based model, legislation recently introduced in Congress may provide a vehicle for reassessing this model.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: Thank you for inviting me to testify at today’s hearing on the Department  of Commerce’s National Technical Information Service (NTIS). As you  know, NTIS was established to serve as a permanent repository and  disseminator of scientific, technical, engineering, and business-related  information. This information largely takes the form of research reports  acquired from federal agencies and their contractors and grantees, as  well as from other domestic and foreign sources. In addition, NTIS  performs various fee-based information services for other federal  agencies.
The legislation that established NTIS requires it to be financially self- sustaining to the fullest extent feasible. However, the increasing  availability of the information that NTIS collects and disseminates— primarily through the Web—has called the service’s basic statutory  function into question.
At your request, my testimony today will summarize the results of a report  that we issued in November 2012 on NTIS’s operations, trends in the age  of and demand for the information it collects, and the extent to which this  information is readily available from other public sources. To prepare this  statement, we relied on our previously published work on NTIS; related  updates on actions needed to reduce fragmentation, overlap, and  duplication in the federal government; and a review of legislation  pertaining to NTIS’s role. All of the work supporting this testimony was  conducted in accordance with generally accepted government auditing  standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the  performance audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a  reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit  objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable  basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: NTIS operates as 1 of 12 independent bureaus within the Commerce  Department, with the mission of promoting the nation’s economic growth  by providing access to information that stimulates information and  discovery. It is led by a director, who is aided by two executives—a chief  information officer and a chief financial officer. In addition, three  operational offices are responsible for providing NTIS’s products (which  include the reports it collects and disseminates) and services.
NTIS receives oversight from the Deputy Secretary of Commerce, the  Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and an  advisory board made up of a chairperson and four members appointed by  the Secretary of Commerce. by 181 staff, including 103 NTIS employees and 78 contractors.
As of October 2012, NTIS was supported  NTIS’s basic statutory function is to collect research reports, maintain a  bibliographic record and permanent repository of these reports, and  disseminate them to the public. Under statutory authority enacted in  1950, NTIS collects reports containing scientific, technical, and  engineering information from both domestic and foreign sources in a  repository and makes the information available to business and industry,  state and local governments, other federal agencies, and the general  public. While the statute does not define “scientific, technical, and  engineering information,” the Secretary of Commerce has interpreted this  to include “all types of information which have a more or less direct  bearing on business and industry generally.” NTIS’s enabling legislation  authorized it to charge fees for its reports and established a policy to  recover all costs, as feasible, through the fees.
The NTIS Advisory Board was established by law (15 U.S.C. § 3704b(c)) in 1988 to  review the general policies and operations of NTIS, including policies related to fees and  charges for its products and services. Board members can include individuals who are  both internal and external to the Department of Commerce. joint ventures, and other transactions as necessary to conduct its  business. Under this authority, the agency has also developed and  provides a variety of information-related services. This act further  declared NTIS’s repository to be a permanent federal function that could  not be transferred to the private sector without congressional approval.
The act was amended by the American Technology Preeminence Act of  1991, which  required all costs associated with NTIS’s acquisition, processing,  storage, bibliographic control, and archiving to be recovered primarily  by fees; required agencies to transfer to NTIS unclassified scientific, technical,  and engineering information resulting from federally funded research  and development; and provided that NTIS should produce and disseminate information in  electronic format.
subsections: section_title: Long-Standing Concerns Regarding NTIS’s Viability
paragraphs: Audit work that we conducted in 2000 and 2001 identified concerns about  NTIS’s financial sustainability. In this regard, we noted that, from fiscal  year 1988 through fiscal year 1994, NTIS had shown excess revenue  from the sale of its products and services in all years except one and  generated cumulative net earned revenues of $5.8 million. However, over  the next 5-year period (fiscal year 1995 through fiscal year 1999), it had a  cumulative net cost of about $4.2 million.
Pub. L. No. 102-395 (Oct. 6, 1992). sufficient to recover all of the agency’s operating costs. The Secretary  attributed the decline, in part, to other agencies making their research  results freely and publicly available on the Web. He also proposed  transferring NTIS’s research report archives to the Library of Congress  and requiring federal agencies to give the public free online access to  new research reports.
In June 2000, we reported that although NTIS could remain solvent for a  few years because Commerce and NTIS officials had acted to reduce  costs, the agency’s solvency beyond fiscal year 2003 was in doubt, based   Accordingly, we suggested that  on our forecast of its revenue and costs.Congress consider whether NTIS (or another agency) was needed to  serve as a permanent repository for and disseminator of research reports.
We again reported on NTIS’s operations in May 2001, according to NTIS’s Deputy Director, the agency had significantly reduced  its costs after our June 2000 report and had shown net revenues of $2.2  million for fiscal year 2000. Moreover, the Deputy Director had projected  net earned revenue of $1.5 million for fiscal year 2001.
We further reported that the agency was providing a variety of fee-based  services to other agencies, and while demand for electronic products was  on the rise, research reports and other scientific, technical, and  engineering information maintained by NTIS were increasingly available  through agency websites and other public sources—often at no cost.  Thus, we suggested that Congress look at how this information was  defined; whether there was a need for a central repository of this  information; and, if a central repository was maintained, whether all  information should be retained permanently and what business model  should be used to manage it. The Secretary of Commerce agreed with  our assessment and raised the question of whether there was a need for  a central repository in view of the increasing availability of newer  publications. However, NTIS continued to operate as this repository.
GAO, Information Management: Dissemination of Technical Reports, GAO-01-490  (Washington, D.C.: May 18, 2001).
section_title: NTIS Offers a Variety of Products and Services in Carrying Out Its Operations, but Its Dissemination of Technical Reports Continues to Need Attention
paragraphs: Our most recent reporting on NTIS, in November 2012, continued to  highlight the need for attention to NTIS’s basic statutory role of  disseminating technical reports and the fee-based model upon which it   In particular, while the agency was carrying out a variety of  operates.mission-related functions, it was being financially sustained primarily by  information-related services it offered to other federal agencies. Further,  we noted that additions to NTIS’s repository since 1990 had mostly  included older reports, but the demand was greater for more recent  reports. More significantly, we found that most of the reports added to  NTIS’s repository since 1990 were freely available from other websites.
subsections: section_title: NTIS Offers a Variety of Fee-Based Products and Services, but Is Primarily Sustained by Its Service Offerings
paragraphs: In our 2012 report, we identified the types of products offered by NTIS as  part of its basic statutory function to collect and disseminate technical  information:
Technical reports: NTIS maintains a searchable repository containing  bibliographic records on over 2.5 million scientific, technical,  engineering, and business research reports. Of these, the agency  noted that approximately 700,000 reports had been digitized, with the  remainder in physical form, such as paper or microfilm. Access to the  reports was provided both through the direct sale of individual reports  and by subscription to NTIS’s National Technical Reports Library.  Prices for individual reports and subscriptions varied. For example, an  electronic copy of a report from the National Aeronautics and Space  Administration (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA Robotics  for Space Exploration, could be purchased for $15, and a customized  CD for this report could be purchased for $30.
Clearinghouse: NTIS disseminates publications—either electronically  or in print—on a variety of topics on behalf of other agencies.  According to NTIS, these agencies request that NTIS distribute the  publications in print or electronically. Examples include the Food and  Drug Administration Code Manual and the Bureau of Labor Statistics  Standard Occupational Classification Manual.
Publishing: NTIS also provides access to information collected from  federal agencies under the terms of memoranda of understanding or  interagency agreements. In some cases, NTIS repackages the  information with additional features. According to NTIS, agencies  initiate the request for these services. Examples include the Drug  Enforcement Administration database and Social Security  Administration’s Death Master File.
We also discussed the variety of fee-based services offered by NTIS to  other federal agencies, which were less directly related to its basic  statutory function. These information-related services included the  following:
Distribution and order fulfillment services: Through memoranda of  understanding or interagency agreements, NTIS distributes large  quantities of informational materials for federal agencies. For  example, it has distributed health and nutrition educational brochures,  posters, and similar products on behalf of the Department of  Agriculture.
Web-based services and federal cloud computing: NTIS offers  website hosting and cloud computing services, among other  computer-based services, to federal agencies.
Brokerage services: NTIS provided billing and collection services on a  reimbursable basis to agencies that charge for products and services  but lack the infrastructure to do their own billing and collecting.  Customers have included the National Agricultural Library and the  National Library of Medicine.
E-training and knowledge management services: These services  include software solutions and other tools, offered in conjunction with  joint venture partners, to support online training and related functions.  Customers have included the Departments of Justice, the Interior, and  the Treasury, among others.
Digitization and scanning services: NTIS digitizes various types of  documents, such as microfilm or microfiche and paper forms, to assist  agencies in complying with federal standards for ensuring access for  people with disabilities. It also offers storage and distribution for  documents it digitizes. As of May 2012, the agency said it had six  primary clients for its digitization and scanning services, including the  Social Security Administration and the Department of Justice.
As we noted, NTIS’s revenues were generated exclusively from its  products and services, and all its revenues, expenses, and capital  expenditures were deposited into and paid out of its revolving fund. We  found that for fiscal year 2001 through fiscal year 2011, NTIS had net  earned revenues from all its functions (products and services) for 8 of  these 11 years. However, for 10 of these years, NTIS’s expenditures for  its product lines exceeded revenues. Consequently, the overall financial  performance of the agency during this time had been supported by  revenues from its service offerings, which increased, on average, $1.8  million during this period. Figure 1 shows the trends in reported net  earned revenues (or net costs) for NTIS products and services from fiscal  year 2001 through fiscal year 2011.
The decline that we noted in revenue for its products called into question  whether NTIS’s basic statutory function as a self-financing repository and  disseminator of scientific and technical information was still viable. This  was further illustrated by the fact that the services that were financially  sustaining the agency were less directly related to this function.
NTIS has recognized this situation and has conducted analyses and  identified actions to address the decline in revenue from its products. For  example, the agency’s strategic plan for 2011-2016 identified three  initiatives to address declining product revenue, which include creating  new and enhanced products and increasing the breadth and depth of its  collection.
section_title: Reports Added to NTIS’s Repository between 1990 and 2011 Were Mostly Older, but Demand for More Recent Reports Was Greater
paragraphs: Our study also found that, during the period from fiscal year 1990 through  2011, the majority of reports added to NTIS’s repository were older;  however, the demand for more recent reports was greater:
From fiscal year 1990 through fiscal year 2011, most of the additions  to NTIS’s repository were reports published in the year 2000 or  before. Specifically, about 62 percent of the documents added during  this period—524,256 of the 841,502 documents added—had  publication dates of 2000 or earlier, while about 38 percent were  published from 2001 to 2011.
From fiscal year 2000 through fiscal year 2011, NTIS distributed (i.e.,  sold) one or more copies of almost 50 percent of the reports added  from fiscal year 1990 through 2011. Of these, approximately 78  percent were distributed by subscription.
The agency distributed a higher percentage of more recently  published reports. We estimated that between 96 and 100 percent of  the reports published from 2001 through 2011 had been distributed,  compared with 21 percent of reports published in 1989 or earlier.
It is worth noting that the more recent reports, for which there was greater  demand, were also more likely to be freely available from other public  sources (as discussed later in this statement).
section_title: Most Reports Added to NTIS’s Collection Since 1990 Were Freely Available Elsewhere
paragraphs: Based on a sample of reports in NTIS’s repository, we estimated that  about 74 percent of those added from fiscal year 1990 through 2011 were  readily available from other public websites. And of these, 95 percent  were available for free. These included reports available from the issuing  organization’s website, the Government Printing Office’s Federal Digital  System website, and the federal government’s official web portal,  USA.gov, among other sources. Most often, these reports were readily  located at another website through the search engine we used,  http://www.Google.com.
In addition, reports with more recent publication dates were more likely to  be available from other public sources than older ones. Approximately 87  percent of the reports published from 2009 to 2011 were available  elsewhere, while 55 percent of those published in 1989 or earlier were.
We further found that, of the reports that were readily available from one  of the sources we searched, about 61 percent had been distributed (sold)  by NTIS. By contrast, of the reports that were not found to be readily  available from one of the other sources, most, or about 82 percent had  not been distributed by NTIS.
During our review, the Director of NTIS cited factors contributing to the  greater availability of this information: (1) federal agencies are  increasingly making information, including scientific, technical, and  engineering information products, freely available on their websites; and  (2) agencies are working with search engines to make their products  more readily available to the public. Moreover, the NTIS strategic plan  acknowledged that agencies’ increasing use of the Internet to  disseminate information to the public posed a challenge to NTIS’s  mandate as a self-financing repository and disseminator of technical  information.
In our report, we concluded that the increasing availability–often at no  cost—of the technical reports collected by NTIS from other public sources  called into question the continuing viability of the fee-based model under  which it operates. In our view, charging for information that is freely  available elsewhere is a disservice to the public. Accordingly, we  suggested that Congress consider examining the appropriateness and  viability of the fee-based model to determine whether it should continue.
We have also continued to highlight this issue in our report and related  updates on actions needed to reduce fragmentation, overlap, and  duplication in the federal government. Specifically, in our 2013 report we  noted that many of the reports in NTIS’s collection overlap with similar  information available from the issuing organizations or other sources for  free, and that action was still needed to reevaluate the appropriateness  and viability of the agency’s fee-based model. In a subsequent update,  we noted that Congress had not taken final action to reexamine the fee- based model for disseminating technical information, and that Commerce  did not plan to propose any changes to the NTIS fee-based business  model in the near term.
Recent legislation intended to reassess the critical functions of NTIS that  you, Chairwoman McCaskill, and Senator Coburn have introduced, well as the version of the legislation introduced by Representatives  Bridenstine and Cuellar, has the potential to address the issues we  have identified. In addition, the 2014 Senate appropriations bill for the  Departments of Commerce and Justice, and Science, and Related  agencies contains a provision that would, among other things, prohibit  NTIS from charging for any report or document generated by the  legislative branch. These bills stand to serve as an important vehicle for  Congress to reexamine the appropriateness and viability of NTIS’s fee- based model.
In summary, changing practices for disseminating and accessing  technical information produced by federal agencies, which have been  driven in large part by the Internet, call into question the suitability or  viability of NTIS’s role as a self-financing collector and disseminator of  such information. In light of this, a reconsideration of this role is warranted  to determine whether NTIS’s statutorily-defined functions are still  necessary and, if so, to ensure that they are carried out in a way that best  serves the public interest. The current legislation presents an opportunity  for Congress to reconsider and modify this role, taking into account the  public’s interest in accessing technical, scientific, and engineering  information produced by the federal government.
Let Me Google That For You Act, S. 2206, 113th Congress, 2nd Session (2014).
Chairwoman McCaskill, Ranking Member Johnson, and Members of the  Subcommittee, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased to  respond to any questions you may have.
section_title: Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: If you have any questions about this statement, please contact Valerie C.  Melvin at (202) 512-6304 or melvinv@gao.gov. Other key contributors to  this statement include Neela Lakhmani (Assistant Director), Elena Epps,  and Lee McCracken.
This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the  United States. The published product may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety  without further permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain  copyrighted images or other material, permission from the copyright holder may be  necessary if you wish to reproduce this material separately.