About OSTI
OSTI ensures global access to DOE research results and brings the world’s research to DOE.
The Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) is the Department of Energy (DOE) office that collects, preserves, and disseminates DOE-sponsored research and development (R&D) results that are the outcomes of R&D projects or other funded activities at DOE labs and facilities nationwide and grantees at universities and other institutions. The information is typically in the form of technical documents, conference papers, articles, multimedia, and software, collectively referred to as scientific and technical information (STI). While STI management is called out in a DOE directive (DOE O 241.1B) with requirements for contracting officers and others, we rely on a collaborative working relationship with STI managers at each DOE field office and national laboratory to ensure cohesive processes for the widely distributed program. This corporate function has been carried out since the 1940s and is called out in various legislation and most recently specified in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which reads:
“The Secretary, through the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, shall maintain within the Department publicly available collections of scientific and technical information resulting from research, development, demonstration, and commercial applications activities supported by the Department.”
Today, OSTI provides access to scientific and technical information using web-based searchable databases, offering ever-expanding sources of R&D information to DOE, the research community, and the science-attentive public. The databases offer search simplicity as well as advanced search capabilities such as customized alerts, results displayed in relevance rank, and downloadable search results for a broad array of scientific information related to DOE missions.
A key resource for DOE program managers, contracting officers, and others involved in R&D-related work is SciTech Connect, which provides access to over 2.5 million research citations from 1943 forward, with full text of DOE STI available comprehensively since 1990 and selectively for earlier years. Other collections developed and maintained by OSTI include: DOE-affiliated scholarly articles in DOE PAGESBeta, DOE scientific research data and non-text information in DOE Data Explorer; multimedia videos highlighting DOE’s scientific research in ScienceCinema; patents resulting from DOE-funded work in the DOepatents database; and remarkable advances in science at DOE R&D Accomplishments. These information resources can be accessed at www.osti.gov.
Once DOE R&D results are incorporated into our DOE databases, they are made available to single-point-of-access web portals (federated search) such as the National Library of EnergyBeta (NLEBeta) (gateway to information across DOE), Science.gov (U.S. science information from 15 federal agencies), and WorldWideScience.org (global science information from over 70 countries and counting), all of which are managed by OSTI. Through these efforts, OSTI is nationally and internationally recognized for its contributions to the sharing and exchange of science information, the results of billions of dollars worth of government-sponsored scientific research.
Location: The OSTI facility is located at 1 Science.gov Way, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831.
Telephone, 865-576-1188 (General Information Inquiries)
Fax, 865-576-2865
Mailing Address:
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
P.O. Box 62
Oak Ridge, TN 37831
