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 site 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