http://www.nal.usda.gov

Success Through Working Together:

The U. S. National Agricultural Library’s

Approach to CooperationEleanor G. Frierson

Deputy Director of the National Agricultural Libraryefrierson@nal.usda.gov

Partnerships, Consortia, and 21st Century Library Service

International Association of Technological University Libraries Conference Kansas City, Missouri

June 2-6, 2002

http://www.nal.usda.gov

The National Agricultural Library

(NAL) Mission• National and U.S. Department of

Agriculture (USDA) Library• Information, stewardship• Assist, train, and educate

people• Information management• Access--collaboration,

technology• Global cooperation

http://www.nal.usda.gov

Funding and Staff FY 2002

• Budget: ٠ $20 million appropriated٠ $2 million reimbursable

• Staff:٠164 FTE٠83 (Contract)

http://www.nal.usda.gov

NAL Collection

•3.5+ million items

•19,000+ journal titles

•70 languages

•All forms and formats

http://www.nal.usda.gov

Library Services

• 29.9 million direct customer services in FY2001 (Up from 6.0 million in 1997)

• Growing at >30% annually

http://www.nal.usda.gov

http://www.nal.usda.gov/ag98/

• NAL’s bibliographic database• 1970 - Present• 4 million+ bibliographic

records• 24/7 availability World wide

free of charge

http://www.nal.usda.gov

National Agricultural Library Collaborations

• Maximize access to information through innovative use of technology

• Electronically deliver information (products and services) to customers worldwide

• Preserve and protect agricultural information for future generations

http://www.nal.usda.gov

National and International Activities

• Database production

• Electronic and Web-based resources development

• Publications exchange

• Training and education

• Cooperative publications and products

• Document delivery

http://www.nal.usda.gov

Collaborators

• Federal, state, local, foreign government agencies

• Land-grant colleges and universities

• Other publicly-supported institutions with agricultural programs

• Public and private organizations• National and International

networks and organizations

http://www.nal.usda.gov

Collaborative Resources

• Projects and Programs• Web sites • Databases• Information centers • Networks

http://www.nal.usda.gov

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National Collaborations -Networks

• United States Agricultural Information Network (USAIN)

http://www.usain.org/usain.html

– National Preservation Program for Agricultural Literature

http://www.nal.usda.gov

National Collaborations - Programs

• National Agricultural Cooperative Cataloging (AGX) Program

• Food Safety Research and Information Office (FSRIO)

• NAL Specialized Information Centers

• National Center for Agricultural Law Research and Information

• Visiting Scholars Program

http://www.nal.usda.gov

National Collaborations -Gateways/Databases

• Agriculture Network Information Center (AgNIC) (http://www.agnic.org)

• Science.gov (http://www.science.gov)

• Invasive Species Web-site (http://www.invasivespecies.gov)

• International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements (IBIDS) (http://odp/od/nih.gov/ods/databases/ibids.html)

http://www.nal.usda.gov

Agriculture Network Information Center http://www.agnic.org •40+ partners, led by NAL

•Cooperators from agribusiness, Land-Grants

•Quality agricultural information via the Web

http://www.nal.usda.gov

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Challenges for science.gov

• Scope of federal R&D in science and tech

• Breadth of the potential audience

• Taxonomy issues given the broad scope and audience

• Blending resources from different agencies into cohesive functionality and page design

• Resources, funding and sustainability

http://www.nal.usda.gov

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International Collaborations

• NAL provide leadership to ensure U.S. participation in international library and information systems

http://www.nal.usda.gov

Benefits of International Collaborations to U.S.

Agriculture

• Knowledge of national information infrastructures

• Future information transfer• Access to unique, unavailable

resources• International competitiveness

http://www.nal.usda.gov

International Collaborations

• AGRIS, the international information system for the agricultural sciences and technology

• Cochran Fellowship Program

• The Agricultural Libraries Network (AGLINET)

• Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)

http://www.nal.usda.gov

International Collaborations

• International Association of Agricultural In formation Specialists (IAALD) http://www.lib.montana.edu/~alijk/IAALD.html

• International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) http://www.ifla.org/III/index.htm

http://www.nal.usda.gov

USDA International Projects

• Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) http://nile.enal.sci.eg/

• U.S./Central and Eastern European Agricultural Library Roundtable Initiative

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Lessons Learned• Importance of shared financial

responsibility• Flat budgets and declining

purchasing power make collaborating a necessity

• New models needed

http://www.nal.usda.gov

Future Collaboration: Plans and

Opportunities• National Digital Library for

Agriculture– Collaborative partnerships

• Expansion of AgNIC• We are open to ideas and look

forward to working with IATUL members

http://www.nal.usda.gov

National Agricultural Library

Ensuring and enhancing access to

agricultural information for a

better quality of life