Comprehensive Assessment of Public Information Dissemination Reforms

NCLIS is an Advisory Agency

• NCLIS Charter is to Advise the President & the Congress on the Information Needs of the American People

August 1999 - Commerce Proposed to Close NTIS & Transfer Its Collections & Operations to the Library of Congress

Fall 1999 - Senate & House Oversight Committees Held Hearings

October 1999 - NCLIS Began Its Independent Assessment of NTIS

March 2000 - NCLIS Issued Its "Preliminary Assessment" Available at http://www.nclis.gov/govt/ntis/ntis.html

The Commission Recommendations to Congress & the Administration Were:

• Retain NTIS in Commerce Through FY 2001 to Allow Further Study
• Appropriate Sufficient Funds to Cover Inherently Governmental Activities of NTIS
• Authorize NTIS to Continue To Offer Other Services on a Cost-Recovery Basis in Compliance With OMB Circular A-130
• Appropriate Funds to Defray the One-Time Costs for NTIS to Offer Full Service to Federal Depository Libraries
• Restore NTIS to a Satisfactory Level of Capacity, Staffing & Service

• Congress Has Not Introduced Legislation to Close NTIS
• NTIS Continues to Operate With an Anticipated Surplus of $1.3 Million for FY 2000
• Hiring Freeze is Still Imposed But Contractors Supplement NTIS Staff

June 2000 - Senate Commerce Committee Requested Additional Independent Study by NCLIS

• To Be Completed by December 15, 2000
• Review Broad Reforms Necessary for Federal Government Information Dissemination Practices
• Proposing New or Revised Laws, Rules, Regulations, Missions & Policies
• Modernizing Organization Structures & Functions
• Revoking NTIS Self-Sufficiency Requirement
• Strengthening Key Components of the Federal Information Dissemination Infrastructure

July 2000 - Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Joined the Commerce Committee Request

• Make PRA 2001 Reauthorization recommendations
• Consider Viability of NTIS as Centralized Fully Electronic Repository of Federal STI

August 2000 - Representatives Morella & Davis Request GAO Study of NTIS

• Size, Age, Demand for NTIS Holdings
• Extent of NTIS Holdings Available from Other Sources
• Federal Agency Compliance With Laws Requiring Deposit of STI
• NCLIS Consultants Woody Horton & Sarah Kadec Are Co-Coordinators of the NCLIS Study
• Study Plan & Outline Are on the NCLIS Web site at: http://www.nclis.gov/govt/assess/assess.html

  Current Study Process

  4 Study Panels

  1. NTIS Business Model (Peter Urbach)
  2. Federal Agency Service Bureau Requirements (Kurt Molholm)
  3. External Users of Government Information Services (Miriam Drake)
  4. Public Sector/Private Sector Roles in Government Information (Wayne Kelley)
  • Republish 1982 NCLIS Report on Public Sector Private Sector Interaction in Providing Information Services
  • Establish a Board of Experts on IT, Economic, Librarianship & Legal Matters (in Addition to Public Comment)
  • Coordinate With Other Legislative & Judicial Branch Entities
  • Coordinate With CIO Council & Other Executive Branch Entities
  • Continue Liaison With Interagency Groups (CENDI, FLICC, FPC, IACSP, ICPPS, etc.)
  • Continue Dialog With Stakeholders Including Library Associations
  • Conduct Other Research Activities (e.g., Analysis of Information Laws, Public Information Resources Map)
  • Solicit & Publish White Papers With New Ideas & Unique Perspectives
  • Continue to Solicit, & Evaluate Public Comments Throughout the Process
  • Post Relevant Materials on the NCLIS Web site at: http://www.nclis.gov/govt/assess/assess.html

    Current Study Schedule

    October 20, 2000

    • Complete Information Resources Map White Papers & User Group Surveys
    • Complete Panel Reports

    November 15, 2000

    • Complete Board of Experts Reviews
    • Commission Meeting to Review Findings

    December 15, 2000

    • Issue Final Report & Recommendations to Congress & the President

    December 18, 2000 & Following

    • Conduct NCLIS Presentations & Briefings for Interested Stakeholders

    Panel 1: NTIS Business Model

    1. Reject Commerce proposal to close NTIS & transfer collection to LC
    2. Continue NTIS as an agency within Commerce
    3. Support NTIS with a mix of sales income, agency reimbursements & appropriations
    4. NTIS should receive appropriations for "public good" functions
    5. NTIS scope should continue to include information for business and industry
    6. NTIS charges should be based on incremental cost of dissemination
    7. NTIS should change from image scanning to full test scanning
    8. NTIS should obtain electronic files for new documents whenever possible
    9. NTIS should link from its database records to documents on agency Web sites
    10. NTIS should develop PURL system to track documents on agency Web sites
    11. Reports not available free on agency Web sites should be free on NTIS Web site, except older reports & reports that require high cost handling
    12. NTIS should provide permanent public access & charge incremental cost for copies of, or access to, older reports
    13. NTIS should continue to sell paper, microfiche & electronic formats at incremental cost, as long as demand for the format justifies its use
    14. Commerce should lift hiring freeze on NTIS, especially for professional, direct hire information experts
    15. (a) Consideration should be given to consolidation of Superintendent of Documents & NTIS to create a more effective central information service, reduce duplication & simplify public access

    (b) NTIS should explore ways of joining Superintendent of Documents in cooperative programs that will make public access less duplicative & more seamless

    Panel 2: Federal Agencies

    1. (a) Institutionalize interagency cooperative efforts for information sharing, for R&D, decision-making & record keeping

    (b) Establish & implement policies to ensure privacy, confidentiality, security & authenticity of shared information

    2. Clarify "life-cycle planning" concept from OMB Circular A-130, improving documentation of data elements & establishing a registry of data elements
    3. Data elements should be reported in XML
    4. (a) Agencies should provide NARA metadata for records series to improve searching & acquisition

    (b) Agencies should consult stakeholders concerning needed information taxonomies

    5. Need comprehensive analysis of currently non-digital Government information that should be converted, & the cost to convert it
    6. Need comprehensive analysis of steps needed to ensure permanent public access to Federal digital publications
    7. Establish interagency committee to develop a Government-wide, authoritative information taxonomy
    8. Establish interagency committee to determine how Federal identifiers can be used to assist agencies & the public in obtaining information across agencies
    9. Need a comprehensive analysis of efficient ways to translate & coordinate state & local identification numbers with Federal identifiers
    10. Establish IT research program for long-term Federal information content needs (security, integrity, privacy, etc.)
    11. (a) OSTP should assume legally- mandated leadership responsibility for oversight & management of STI

    (b) Consider formation of COSATI-like group with members from public & private sectors

    Panel 3: External Users

    1. Need new program for Government information dissemination to increase quantity & quality of available information & improve access
    2. (a) Need sustainable easy to use systems that ensure authenticity, integrity & preservation

    (b) Establish standards for agency publishing, cataloging, metadata, abstracting, indexing & inter-operability

    3. (a) NARA lead effort to establish an interagency council to set standards, share expertise & provide infrastructure to assist all agencies with information dissemination

    (b) Establish a smart portal with infrastructure & financial support for a sustainable system of access

    4. Federal commitment to provide information to the public should include training for librarians
    5. Partnerships with private sector can increase availability & ease of finding Government information & expand choices for consumers
    6. Private sector should have access to all raw data & information provided to the public by agencies
    7. Congress should make a commitment to develop & implement online systems that disseminate, archive & preserve Government information to benefit all citizens

    Public Sector/Private Sector

    1. Federal Government should continue to have primary responsibility for the entire life cycle of electronic Government information, including dissemination & permanent public access
    2. (a) Private sector & libraries play a crucial role in dissemination of & access to Government information

    (b) Federal Government has an obligation to facilitate a diversity of sources for dissemination of & access to Government information

    3. Consider applying basic provisions of PRA (44 USC 3506(d)) to Legislative & Judicial Branches
    4. Create realistic enforcement provisions, with real consequences, to assure compliance with Government information laws, including FDLP
    5. Establish an effective means for consultation & collaboration among the 3 branches of Government to assure dissemination of, & access to, all Government information in a manner most effective to meet the needs of the American people

    Current Study Information

    NCLIS Web site Is a Dynamic "Bulletin Board" for Information Dissemination to Encourage Public Awareness & Participation by Stakeholders

    • Timetable for Comments on Posted Documents Is Very Short
    • Check the Web Site Frequently

    NCLIS Contact:

    Forest Woody Horton

    Phone: (202) 606-9200
    Fax: (202) 606-9203
    E-mail: whorton@nclis.gov

    Web Site:

    http://www.nclis.gov/govt/ntis/ntis.html

    http://www.nclis.gov/govt/assess/assess.html