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Enhancing NTIS DatabaseAccess at a Multi-CampusUniversityThomas W. Conkling MLS a & Kelly Jordan MLS aa Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA,USAPublished online: 20 Oct 2008.

To cite this article: Thomas W. Conkling MLS & Kelly Jordan MLS (1997) EnhancingNTIS Database Access at a Multi-Campus University, Science & Technology Libraries,16:2, 27-35, DOI: 10.1300/J122v16n02_04

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J122v16n02_04

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Enhancing NTIS Database Access at a Multi-Campus University

Thomas W. Conkling Kelly Jordan

ABSTRACT. The Pennsylvania State University Libraries and the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) are collaborating on a project to stimulate technical report use at an academic institution. The Libraries have brought on-line the entire NTIS bibliographic database on the University-wide LIAS inforrnation system and it is available for searching at all 21 Penn State campuses. This paper reviews the project and the level of database and technical report use that occurred during the initial phase of implementation. (Arficle copies available from The Haworfh Document Delivery Service: 1-800- 342-9678. E-mail address: getin/o@haworth.com]

INTRODUCTION

Technical reports have been an integral part of the scientific and engineering inforrnation landscape in the U.S. since the early 1900s. During the last 50 years government spending on defense, energy, and other areas resulted in dramatic increases in the num- bers of these publications. Though technical reports are mainly thought of as sci-tech resources, there are a substantial number of business and social science-related reports in the public domain. The National Technical Information Service (NTIS) recently ex- panded its acquisitions of these materials to include more titles in non-technological areas.

Thomas W. Conklinn. BS in Physics and Mathematics, MLS, is Head of the Engineering Library an2.l<elly ~or&n, MLS, is Engineering Reference Librarian at the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.

Science & Technology Libraries, Vol. 16(2) 1997 O 1997 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights resewed. 27

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Z8 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LfBRARlES

Keeping academic users aware of the technical report literature and providing access to the materials presents an ongoing chal- lenge. The audience to be served comes from a wide variety of disciplines, and their need for information runs from elementary requests to advanced research support. The problem is compounded when users are scattered geographically as is the case at the Penn- sylvania State University and its 2 1-campus system. The addition of a single-workstation version of the NTIS database on CD-ROM generated a high level of report use' when it was introduced into one of the libraries at the University. However, it was never net- worked and only reached a small portion of the potential users. Knowledgeable individuals can locate segments of the reports liter- ature on the Web, but it is not possible to do a broad interdisciplin- ary search in that manner.

The University Libraries contacted NTIS and found the agency very interested in expanding access to their database and reports archives. These talks led to a test project that involved mounting the entire NTIS database on the University's on-line information sys- tem, making it searchable at a11 2 1 Penn State campuses. It is hoped better access to the database will increase interest in NTIS materi- als. The initial results from the project are reviewed in this paper.

RECENT NTZS ACADEMIC PROJECTS

The National Technical Information Service is the nation's pri- mary public clearinghouse for the technical report literature. It op- erates under a federal mandate to collect and disseminate technical information in a manner that enables coverage of all operating costs. Thus, the agency has a natural interest in expanding its cus- tomer base. During the last decade, NTIS exhibited a renewed interest in the academic market. In the mid-1980s, NTIS funded a study2 assessing the use of academic and public libraries as interme- diaries in delivering NTIS services and products to the public. The results were incorporated into a book3 which proposed strategies to NTIS for increasing the knowledge of its collection and services to potential users. An immediate result of this study was the publica- tion of a pide4 for academic librarians to use in promoting NTIS services and materials at their institutions.

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Thomas U! Conkling and ~ e U y Jordan 29

In a 1992 NTIS presentation, NTIS Advisory Board member Hal Shill made a number of innovative proposals on using libraries to increase access to NTIS materials. His follow-up 1993 papeg en- couraged the agency to take a series of steps to stimulate user interest. The major proposal called for the distribution of the NTIS database, along with the most recent five year portion of the NTIS report collection, to one library in each state.

The willingness of NTIS to explore new relationships with aca- demic libraries was demonstrated in 1993 as discussions were opened with the Penn State University Libraries. NTIS was inter- ested not only in promoting its materials and increasing sales, but developing partnerships to distribute electronic image files of its reports. For its part, the University was interested in expanding the visibility and use of technical reports across the entire academic community, and testing new methods of report ordering and deliv- ery. The organizations reached agreement on a phased project that initially led to the mounting of the entire NTIS database on Penn State's LIAS information system. Later phases were to include developing the image delivery component and also an on-line or- dering capability for users on LIAS.

DATABASE USE

The entire NTIS database was loaded into LIAS in MARC for- mat and made available to the public in July 1995. Keyword search- ing is permitted in the title, author, descriptor, and identifier fields. Searches can be limited chronologically, and there is a "standard number" command that can be used to search the report number, accession number, and contract number fields. This particular com- mand has been designed to be tolerant of variations in. punctuation and spacing within the number fields. Abstracts are in the database and can be viewed but not searched.

Approximately 80,000 students, faculty, and staff have access to the NTIS database from library terminals, computer labs, homes, offices, and dormitories. At present, the NTIS database is being used, but at a lower rate than hoped. During its first six months in operation, a total of 4,156 search sessions were recorded. Other subject databases available through LIAS have gotten off to quicker

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30 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LIBRARIES

starts. During comparable start-up periods, Engineering Index Page 1 recorded 8,501 sessions, Agricola some 7,073 sessions, and Med- line had 16,269 sessions. For comparison, use of the multidiscipli- nary Table of Contents database was 31,178 sessions in its first six months.

Use of all of these databases has increased over time as students, faculty, and staff have become aware of them. Changes have been made to the on-line description of NTIS to entice more users, and there has been an increased level of usage in the first six months of 1996 (6,864 sessions).

REPORT USE

Technical report use was monitored during comparable ten month periods before and after the 21-campus wide installation. July 1994-April 1995 encompassed the period before the installa- tion and July 1995-April 1996 covered post-installation. The tech- nical report collection available to users contains approximately 500,000 items, predominantly on microfiche. An on-demand order- ing program for reports complements the onsite collection. Report use statistics covered all of the Penn State community, but only reports from the main collection were used in the study. Reshelved and refiled microfiche formed the basis of the report use statistics.

The type of reports used the most frequently in this study fell under four groups: Department of Defense (AD), Department of Energy (DE), NASA (N), and miscellaneous agencies (PB). In the period before the campus wide database installation, the N report group was used the most heavily (200 times), followed closely by PB (1 75), AD (1 50), and DE (120). The high use of the N group can be attributed to the location of the NTIS database on a single workstation in the Engineering Library and its use by engineering faculty, staff, and aerospace engineering students.

A striking difference in the use of the technical reports can be seen in the ten months after the database installation. This was the period where the database was first open to all of the Penn State community. Statistics show there was a dramatic shift in the use of the PB group, which more than quadrupled in size and overshad- owed the rest of the report groups (Figure 1). The change in the

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Thomas W Conkling and Kelly Jordan

FIGURE 1 . Technical Reports Usage

AD DE N PB MlSC

Report Classification

July 1994-April 1995

report use may reflect the new community of users from a variety of engineering and non-engineering disciplines. The total measured use of technical reports jumped from 735 to 1,444 during the peri- ods studied, which represents an increase of almost 97%.

ORDERS GENERATED

The orders data was compiled in the same manner as the report use: the total number of microfiche copies ordered through the li- brary were studied for the comparable ten month periods (Table 1). There were 119 reports ordered in the earlier period, and 279 or- dered in the post-installation period, for an increase of 134% in ordering activity. Again, these figures did not measure any direct ordering that may have taken place between University users and NTIS, but only orders placed through the library.

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32 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LIBRARIES

TABLE 1. Technical Reports Ordered from NTIS

Report July 1994- July 1995- Percent of Classification eRruB5 4 X i u B j i2ha.w@

For NTIS, a jump of this size from one institutional customer is barely noticeable. However, it seems to indicate that if access to the NTIS database could be improved for all of its user community, a substantial increase in interest in its materials might follow.

REPORT ACE

The age of the technical reports used was examined in the July 1995 through April 1996 time frame. As might be expected, most of the use was centered on newer materials (Figure 2). Fifty percent of the reports used were five years old or less. Three quarters of the reports used were 11 years old or less, and 90% of those used were less than 19 years old.

DISCUSSION

The NTIS project has benefited the University community. The lack of easy access to the NTIS database was previously seen as a roadblock in getting people to accept and use technical reports as a routine information resource. Now, this database is on users' desk- tops with no search costs attached. It is very difficult to measure the impact of such a service on the educational and research activities of users. However, the increased use of the reports collection gives

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Thomas If! Conkling and Kelly Jordan

FIGURE 2. Age of Technical Reports

an indication that more people have become aware of this resource since the database installation.

A peripheral benefit of the database has been the ease with which library staff and patrons can do quick searches to verify report numbers and other bibliographic information. This has eliminated much of the tedious and time-consuming searching of the printed indexes. The overall effect is making technical reports seem more of a "standard" resource, like journal articles, than a complex set of confusing documents.

The on-line NTIS file has.affected' search activity on the CD- ROM version of the database to the point where this product can be canceled. Mediated searching requests on NTIS were fairly low so any impact has been hard to detect.

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34 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LIBRARIES

There have been few problems associated with mounting the database thus far. Perhaps the biggest disappointment has been the use at the smaller campuses around the state. The database is being used throughout the system, but very few requests for reports are being generated other than at the main campus. The explanation may lie in the fact that most campuses offer two year programs only and the students do not find those resources applicable. Clearly, ongoing publicity will be necessary at all locations to remind facul- ty and staff of the availability of this tool, and to alert incoming generations of students.

CONCLUSIONS

NTIS' cooperative effort with Penn State has increased the visi- bility of their products at the University and will soon be influenc- ing other institutions. Three other libraries within the CIC (the academic arm of the Big Ten) have signed an agreement with NTIS to access the NTIS database at Penn State using the 239.50 proto- col. If the access proves successlid, it will be a breakthrough in broad institutional access to NTIS. If the rest of the CIC universities join, it could bring desktop access to the NTIS database to almost 500,000 academic users. This resource sharing agreement should benefit NTIS through increased orders and the participating institu- tions by lowering the cost of access to the database.

The status of the University's other planned projects with NTIS is unclear. NTIS is negotiating with Kinko's to provide a digital image transmission and reproduction service at its branches. This would obviate the need to duplicate this service on campus. Also, the development of an on-line ordering center on FedWorld would provide users with some of the same capabilities as Pem State's proposed on-line ordering component. These broader solutions should serve our users' needs.

The fbture bodes well for technical report users in general be- cause of the activities of NTIS and other federal agencies. NASA and the Departments of Energy and Defense have placed varying portions of their bibliographic files on the Web, and a segment of NTIS is available as well. Digitized versions of technical reports are beginning to appear regularly on the Web, and this trend toward

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ThomasK Conkling and Kelly Jordon 35

open access should continue. Users will be assuming more respon- sibility for accessing the technical report literature. themselves, and they will have an increasing number of options and tools to assist them.

REFERENCES I . Musser, Linda R. and Thomas W. Conkling. "Impact of NTIS CD-ROM on

the Use of a Technical Report Collection" College and Reseatrh Libraries News 52:llO-111 (1991).

2. McClure, Charles R. and Peter Hernon. Erpanding New Clientele for NTlS (National Technical lnformation Service) Services: An Assessment of NTIS Ser- vices Provided through AcademicPublic Libraries. Springfield, VA: National Technical Information Service, 1985. PB86-106960.

3. McClure, Charles R., Peter Hernon, and Gary R. Purcell. Linking the U.S. National Technical lnformation Service with Academic and Public Libraries. Nomood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Company, 1986.

4. McClwe, Charles R. and Peter Hernon. Academic Library Use of NTIS: Suggestions for Services and Core Collections. Springfield, VA: National Techni- cal lnformation Service, 1986. PB86-228871.

5. Shill, Harold B. "Enhancing Access to NTIS lnformation Through Li- braries: A Proposal" Government Publications Review 20:421-436 (1 993).

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