National Agricultural Library Assessment Report

 

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Appendix B

The National Agricultural Library U.S. Department of Agriculture

1982 RECOMMENDATIONS	STATUS
1) Public Awareness of NAL:
NAL should develop mechanisms to survey users’ needs continually and to establish priorities for services which would satisfy the most pressing needs.	NAL carried out a customer satisfaction survey in 1995 (A copy is in the briefing book). NAL surveys customers semiannually on turnaround times.   NAL has firmly established its web presence, offering value-added products as well as routine information such as library hours, a directory of services, and staff directories via the library’s web site (http://www.nal.usda.gov). Prime examples are the AGRICOLA database and topic-specific resources made available through NAL’s specialized information centers.
NAL must become more aggressive in making its collections and services known, both to its end users in the Department and to the cooperators and future participants in the network. Listings in the services section of the USDA telephone directory; a special page in the directory listing libraries with hours of service and telephone numbers; an orientation or handout for new Departmental employees; special information events; and additional participation in USDA programs are but a few examples of how this public awareness campaign might be carried out.	The NAL has produced and distributed an array of brochures and public affairs materials to make its collections, programs, and services known.   The NAL also maintains an active schedule of tours, exhibits, and educational programs targeted to current and potential new audiences.   In addition, the NAL is known through its significant World Wide Web presence. The USDA home page does not link to the National Agricultural Library.   The NAL is barely listed in the USDA and other telephone directories.   The NAL participates in new employee orientation for the Agricultural Research Service.   In 2001, the NAL is carrying out a program to inform USDA headquarters employees of NAL programs and services.
Films, video-tapes, and articles in agriculturally-related scientific and technical journals (especially publications of scientific societies) and the general press should serve to make NAL known as a national resource of agricultural information.	NAL has produced several videotapes, CD-ROMs, and articles in agriculturally related scientific and technical journals to publicize NAL collections, programs, and services.
2) Mission:
Adoption by NAL of the mission statement in the Executive Summary and on page 7 of the Findings and Analysis section of this report.   The National Agricultural Library (NAL) serves as the Nation’s chief agricultural information resource. It provides agricultural information, products, and services to agencies of the USDA and to public and private organizations and individuals. The NAL coordinates a national network of public and private agricultural libraries and information centers, especially with libraries of the land-grant colleges and universities, and other state supported colleges and universities with agriculturally related programs, other public organizations, and industry and other private sector organizations.   The NAL ensures the acquisition, organization (including cataloging and indexing), management, preservation, accessibility, and diffusion of information in all phases of the agricultural and applied sciences, as set forth in Title XIV of the Food and Agriculture Acts of 1977 and 1981. A significant part of this mission is the development and coordination of a national agricultural science information network. The NAL provides leadership for the management of agricultural information resources through products and services, including bibliographies, loans, photocopies, microforms, structured agricultural thesaurus, computerized data base repositories, indexing of agricultural information, and personal reference and research services including on-line computerized literature searches. NAL works closely with other agencies in the Department, coordinates closely with the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and Library of Congress (LC), and cooperates with other groups in both the public and private sectors, to ensure that the results of research and other types of agricultural information are rapidly disseminated to the ultimate user. NAL promotes the use of modern technology in support of library and information activities.   The NAL provides leadership for U.S. participation in international agricultural library and information systems and in efforts to promote worldwide availability of agricultural information. In addition, the NAL serves as the Nation’s major source of agricultural information received from and relayed to other countries, as the agricultural information liaison to international organizations and organizations outside of the United States, and as the U.S. agricultural representative in the setting of library and information standards internationally.	In November 1990, Public Law 101–624—NOV. 28, 1990 the "Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990" officially established the National Agricultural Library "to serve as the primary agricultural information resource of the United States."   The NAL initiated a new strategic planning process In 1993. In the first phase of this process NAL conducted environmental scans and restated its mission:   The National Agricultural Library ensures and enhances access to agricultural information for a better quality of life. The National Agricultural Library:   · Serves as a National Library of the United States and as the Library of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.   · Acquires, organizes, manages, preserves, and provides access to information and provides quality stewardship of its unique collection.   · Assists, trains, and educates people based on assessment of their information needs.   · Provides leadership in information management.   · Maximizes access to information through collaborative efforts and utilization of technology.   · Enhances global cooperation through international exchange of information and the provision of services and technical assistance.
3) Departmental Placement:
General policy direction and guidance come from the Office of the Secretary on the advice of the Advisory Council with operational and administrative supervision delegated to an operating arm of the Department. However, the Panel strongly recommends against locating NAL under the Administrative Management arm (Assistant Secretary for Administration).	In 1982, the NAL had been newly reestablished as a separate agency within USDA’s science and education structure. On the Panel’s recommendation, the Library quickly hired administrative and budget officers, transferred financial management and building management back to NAL, and took other steps to become administratively self-sufficient. As part of a December 1994 USDA reorganization which reduced the number of separate USDA agencies from 43 to 28, the NAL was merged into the USDA Agricultural Research Service, which provides policy direction and guidance, and operational and administrative supervision.
4) Advisory Council:
The establishment of the National Agricultural Library Advisory Council appointed by and reporting to the Secretary; that the Department prepare draft legislation to establish the Advisory Council.	1990 efforts to get language into the Farm Bill establishing an Advisory Council failed at the last minute.   In 1995, the NAL developed for USDA a 1995 Farm Bill proposal to create an advisory council. USDA did not send the proposal to the Congress.
That this Advisory Council advise the Secretary on general matters of library and technical information policy; that it conduct ongoing evaluations of NAL’s programs and services, and prepare an annual report with recommendations, to the Secretary.	This element was incorporated into the 1990 and 1995 proposals.
That the Council should consist of 10 members appointed by the Secretary for a term of four years each with staggered terms for continuity, and additional ex officio members as indicated below.	This element was incorporated into the 1990 and 1995 proposals.
That membership on the Council be equally representative of the library and information science communities, agricultural industry, and agriculturally-related associations and academia. One member should represent international concerns (e.g., AID’s Agricultural Science).	This element was incorporated into the 1990 and 1995 proposals.
That in addition to the 10 members, users of NAL be represented by ex officio members including at least two Administrators of USDA agencies, rotating every year and representing the social sciences, biological and physical, research areas, and Extension and action program agencies. Additional ex officio members should include: the President of an agriculture and allied science professional or association; b.the President of the National Academy of Science; c.a representative of the land-grant universities designated by Division of agriculture, NASULGC; d.a representative of non-land grant universities designated by Association of University Administrators of Agricultural Programs; and e.the Librarian of Congress. Ex officio members serve with voice, but no vote.	This element was incorporated into the 1990 and 1995 proposals.
The Council members shall elect the chairman and vice-chairman; the Council shall meet at least once a year or at the call of the Chairman.	This element was incorporated into the 1990 and 1995 proposals.
5) Internal Organization and Staffing:
Consider reorganization which would separate library functions to support USDA from true national library functions. Major elements of the reorganization should include organizational units such as technical services, reading and reference services, bibliographic services, and specialized information services. Departmental services should be coordinated by a small staff in the specialized information service division, which derives its services and products from the national library.	The NAL reorganized between 1983 and 1984, based on proposals from Blue Ribbon Panel 1982. The Information Systems Division reorganized into two branches, in 1986. The Technical Services Division reorganized into three branches, in December 1986. The Public Services Division reorganized into three branches, in February 1987, and reorganized into two branches in August 1998.
NAL should contract with a highly qualified outside consultant specializing in management analysis to review and make recommendations regarding the workflow within the Library. However, the NAL management should also recognize that, should it undertake to implement in full or in part the recommendations presented in this report, there would be an impact on workflow which might alleviate, and in some cases eliminate, the current problem which results primarily from strong internal disagreements.	Upon becoming NAL Director in 1983, Joe Howard recruited a new management team and reorganized the NAL. This solved the workflow problem within the Library.
Increase staffing, with redirections when possible, by 50 positions capable of improving technical, bibliographic, specialized information services, and network development and coordination. This increase should occur over a two year period.
Emphasize selection of staff competent to perform in a networking and high technology environment. High levels of professional and technical knowledge and skills are necessary if NAL is to participate fully in cooperative programs at national and international levels.	All employees at the NAL use computers in their daily work. Consequently, computer literacy is a key element in hiring professional and support staff in NAL. With increased use of electronic information, NAL has recruited, trained, and retained staff with high levels of professional and technical knowledge of information technology and its applications to the work of the National Agricultural Library.
Areas, such as translations, which require extensive resources with uneven demands, should be considered for contracting. NAL has made extensive use of contracts and private sector capabilities and this should continue.	NAL, using PL480 funds, established and maintained contracts with two companies to provide translations of foreign language materials. As this funding source was depleted, NAL directed USDA employees to private companies providing translations services. NAL does not endorse any company but does provide a list of potential vendors via the NAL Web site.
Increase ratio internally, of non-professional to professional staff, dependent on level of use of contracts in support of various functional areas.
The Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC) should be moved back into NAL, under a specialized information services division.	The Food and Nutrition Information Center was re-incorporated into the Public Services Division of NAL in November 1984. It is currently in the Information Resources Services Branch with the other NAL information centers.
6) Budget and Funding:
Increase budget by approximately $3 million over a two year period; this funding to be used to upgrade NAL’s basic services and activities such as acquisitions, technical processing, improved library and information services, including interlibrary loans and computer based services, to their former level.
Provide additional resources for the development of a network to support regional and local information services and specialized centers of subject matter information at land-grant colleges and large agricultural stations; and to raise use of technology to an acceptable level in support of the network and internal operations.	The NAL and representatives of land-grant university libraries formed the United States Agriculture Network (USAIN) in July of 1988. This network is comprised of libraries and information centers in the fields of agriculture and related sciences. Its mission is to provide a forum for discussion of agricultural issues; to take a leadership role in the formation of a national information policy as related to agriculture; to support the National Agricultural Library (NAL) on agricultural information matters; to promote cooperation and communication among its members, and with other organizations and individuals.   Under NAL leadership AgNIC was established in 1994 by an alliance of agricultural organizations as a discipline-specific, distributed network on the Internet. In 1995, NAL established the AgNIC Web site with a calendar of events and a database of agriculture resources. In 2000, AgNIC is a partnership of nearly 40 agricultural information organizations operating a network of 28 subject-specific sites, with over 20 additional subject sites expected by the end of 2001.
NAL should increase its user fees for interlibrary loans and photocopies by at least $2.00 per item. This should be done stepwise while service and quality level is being upgraded. (Current charges are $3.00 for the first 10 pages and $2.00 for each additional 10 pages.)	Effective April 1, 2000 NAL increased the user fees for interlibrary loans, including photocopies, microfiche and microfilm. In addition, NAL imposed a new user fee for borrowing original materials and for obtaining reproductive services from Special Collections. The fee charged by the National Technical Information Center to perform the collection of funds generated by billing is also passed on to the customer for the 1st time. This new fee structure makes it cost effective to bill for service and brings NAL into line with the fees charged by the other major research libraries in the country.
NAL should increase the sale and lease charges for its data tapes. These increases should be implemented gradually over time, as the quality of indexing in AGRICOLA and the system which supports it is being improved. NAL should permit NTIS to make decisions regarding prices for NAL products provided through NTIS. Current year subscription is presently $720.00; back files from 1979 to date are $480.00.	NAL and NTIS have worked collaboratively to keep pace with the technology and to gradually increase the lease price of AGRICOLA to its present $3,000.
User fees for on-line data base searching should be increased, as well as "per hit" charges. Current fees are $2.00 per connect hour for domestic users; $3.00 per connect hour for foreign users.	Usage fees were changed from a connect-hour basis to a citations-retrieved basis.
Current Awareness Profile charges should be introduced and a charge instituted for citations "hits". Internally to USDA, Agencies should continue to contribute a block of funds to NAL to cover the cost of providing CALS services to their staff.	CALS is now offered only to USDA agencies, which reimburse NAL annually for costs incurred by their staff. The method of providing this current awareness service has also changed several times since 1982 to make use of new technologies and resources.
NAL should continue its practice of involving the contractors and private sector organizations in carrying out its responsibilities of making information available to the public. Particularly appropriate for review are indexing and processing, and translations.	NAL has had a document delivery contract in place since 1971. About every 5 years increasingly complex tasks have been added to the contract. As Federal staffing levels have decreased, many of the tasks previously performed by Federal employees were added to the contract. In FY 1999 a contract was awarded to an 8A company to provide staffing to NAL for specific kinds of work including librarians, technicians, computer assistance etc. This contract has been very successful and allows NAL to quickly acquire staffing to complete specialized projects within the time frames required and funding allocated.
NAL should sell its specialized bibliographies and other publications, either through NTIS or directly. Charges should be consistent with those in USDA policies, and should apply to all NAL publications.	NAL routinely makes its information products freely available through the web. Resources which are substantial and justify alternative means of distribution are made available through NTIS (such as CD-ROMs and AGRICOLA database).
NAL should work with the Office of the General Counsel and the Departmental Budget staff to establish the necessary procedures and controls to permit use of user fees to offset the costs of carrying out programs and services, and to permit use of gifts to support special projects and collections.	In November 1990, Public Law 101–624—NOV. 28, 1990, the "Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990" officially established the National Agricultural Library "and amended Title 7 of the U.S. Code to:   · authorize the NAL Director to sell Library products and services "at such prices (not less than the estimated total cost of disseminating the products and services) as the Secretary may determine appropriate."   · authorize the Secretary of Agriculture "to accept, receive, hold, and administer" ... "gifts, bequests, or devises of real and personal property made unconditionally for the benefit of the National Agricultural Library or for the carrying out of any of its functions."
7) Policies:
The Panel recommends that NAL update its present mission and policy statements.	The NAL restated its mission in 1993:   The National Agricultural Library ensures and enhances access to agricultural information for a better quality of life. The National Agricultural Library:   · Serves as a National Library of the United States and as the Library of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.   · Acquires, organizes, manages, preserves, and provides access to information and provides quality stewardship of its unique collection.   · Assists, trains, and educates people based on assessment of their information needs.   · Provides leadership in information management.   · Maximizes access to information through collaborative efforts and utilization of technology.   · Enhances global cooperation through international exchange of information and the provision of services and technical assistance.   NAL was merged into USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in December 1994, and has since followed ARS policies and procedures, which are updated often.
Policy statements not presently in place (e.g., national programs) should be prepared and discussed with the NAL staff and users. NAL managers should see that policies are implemented at all levels of the organization.	The Library has done this continually since 1983.
Policies related to participation in international agricultural information activities such as AGRIS should be developed and followed, consistent with international activities of other U.S. libraries, especially the Library of Congress and National Library of Medicine.	The NAL contributes approximately 50,000 new citations to the AGRIS database each year AGRIS is the international information system for agricultural science and technology, coordinated by the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization. NAL serves also as the U.S. node of the Agricultural Libraries’ Network (AGLINET), another program coordinated by FAO, through which member libraries provide each other with priority interlibrary loan and photo reproduction services, usually without charge, and share bibliographic products to enhance location and referral services. NAL is also part of several international initiatives closely related to broader U.S. Department of Agriculture programs, including programs in Central and Eastern Europe and in Latin America and the Caribbean, and establishment of the Egyptian National Agricultural Library. NAL also offers in-service study and training in library management and technology in cooperation with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the USDA's Office of International Cooperation and Development, and other organizations. NAL has hosted individuals and study-groups from virtually every continent.
Policies governing cooperation with other libraries and agricultural organizations must be developed and implemented.	In 1991 NAL joined the Library of Congress, the National Library of Medicine and major U.S. academic research libraries in the National Cooperative Cataloging Program, later the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC). NAL has been an active participant in all the PCC programs and provided the chair for the PCC policy committee 1997-2000.   NAL has adopted national cataloging policies and standards, including the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Library of Congress Subject Headings and the MARC formats for bibliographic, authority and holdings data.   NAL participated in the development of joint collecting statements with the National Library of Medicine and the Library of Congress in the areas of food and human nutrition, biotechnology and veterinary science. These joint statements, which describe the coverage of the national collections, are intended to reduce redundant collecting. The statements also describe the lending policies of each of the national libraries.
Policies governing the development and use of an agricultural information network are essential to its success and must be developed and implemented.	The National Agricultural Library and representatives of land-grant university libraries formed the United States Agriculture Network (USAIN) in July 1988. This network is comprised of libraries and information centers in the fields of agriculture and related sciences. Its mission is to provide a forum for discussion of agricultural issues; to take a leadership role in the formation of a national information policy as related to agriculture; to support the NAL on agricultural information matters; to promote cooperation and communication among its members and with other organizations and individuals.
Policies on the handling of requests should be required to permit handling of more requests in an expeditious manner (e.g., limit the time spent in locating items not identifiable or readily available; permit use of OCLC for ILL’s).	NAL has implemented a variety of policy changes which have reduced the handling of document delivery and interlibrary loan requests. Most requests are processed in 2 days. About 88% of requests are received electronically. Use of the Internet vastly expands the universe of resources available to identify those items which are considered to be "gray literature". NAL has agreements and contracts in place with vendors who provide document delivery services on those items which are outside of NAL’s scope or missing from the collection.
Collecting policies should be updated to incorporate many of the recommendations below.	The Collection Development Policy was completely revised in 1988. It is continuously updated by addenda, the latest one issued in 2000.
8) Collection and Processing:
NAL should be a national repository of all USDA technical information including data bases, complete collections of State and local data and reports, extensive collections of foreign materials, and all other agriculture and related subject area information in any format or medium. "Agriculture and related subject areas" is interpreted broadly to include food, fiber, nutrition, and social science as well as biological and physical research information in these areas. The repository should operate through distributed collections in centers of specialization accessible to all communities of users through NAL cooperative arrangements. Data on items in the repository should be accessible through AGRICOLA.	NAL collects all USDA technical publications. Databases are not collected comprehensively. USDA publications and databases are cataloged for AGRICOLA and some USDA publications are also analyzed and indexed.
NAL should concentrate on updating its major reference collection, filling gaps which have developed over the past few years.	The implementation of an integrated library management system, VTLS, provided an automated means to manage holdings, perform systematic claiming and fill identified gaps. NAL gives priority to filling gaps for items indexed in AGRICOLA and for retrospective materials in core agriculture.
NAL should reflect the needs of its users in its collection policy and attempt to erase the impression that it serves only research.	The NAL collection is described as a research collection using the same criteria as for characterizing the New York Public Library as a research collection. In both cases, research is describing the depth and breadth of the collection, not the users. NAL attempts to serve the needs of all of USDA, not just researchers.
NAL should extend its coverage of foreign materials to specific areas and acquire these through exchange agreements and purchases. NAL should continue to cooperate with the Library of Congress in its program of acquiring foreign literature.	NAL makes extensive use of gift and exchange arrangements to acquire non-U.S. imprints, and is a participant in LC’s overseas acquisitions program.
NAL should be acquiring federal documents in microform when they are available. Acquisition of documents in microform will not only insure their preservation, but will also save space and facilitate their servicing and use in satisfying interlibrary loan requests.	NAL is a federal depository library and receives microfilm of federal documents from GPO. GPO cataloging copy is added directly to NAL’s online catalog for these materials.
9) Services and Programs:
NAL should, with outside advice, design a new collection policy for manuscripts and unique print material, develop a systematic staffing plan, and a methodology for making known these special collections.	NAL collection policy for manuscripts and unique materials spells out the types of materials which are appropriate for addition to the NAL collection. A critical element of this policy is the requirement for financial resources to process the collection contents. An example of the success of this policy is the USDA History Collection, which was transferred to NAL in 1996 with funding to organize the collection and put the finding aid on the web.
NAL should increase the number of publications to which it gives minimal level cataloging, both monographs and serials considered to be of low research value or expected to generate little demand.	NAL has implemented minimal level cataloging and indexing for materials considered to be of low research value or not in demand for national level cataloging copy.
NAL should continue to use cataloging records produced by the GPO for processing government documents and should endeavor to accept GPO records with as little change as possible.	In the 1990s NAL began accepting GPO cataloging copy for materials acquired by NAL as a GPO depository library.
NAL should adopt standards for bibliographic control which will permit interchange of files and data bases and participation in national and international programs. NAL uses the MARC format, an international standard for the interchange of cataloging data. NAL cannot afford to go it alone; it must determine an appropriate format for its AGRICOLA and avoid frequent changes, making it more attractive to potential tape customers and to end users.	NAL has used the MARC format for AGRICOLA since 1979, while the alternate format was discontinued in the early 1980s. The MARC format and NAL’s application of it are both stable and commonly accepted.
NAL must establish guidelines and procedures for handling requests to reduce turn around time and assure quality of the information provided.	NAL has implemented a variety of policy changes which have reduced the handling of document delivery and interlibrary loan requests. Most requests are processed in 2 days. 88% of requests are received electronically. Use of the Internet vastly expands the universe of resources available to identify those items which are considered "gray literature". NAL has agreements and contracts in place with vendors who provide document delivery services on those items which are outside of NAL’s scope or missing from the collection.
NAL should provide a translation service through standing blanket order contract	NAL, using PL480 funds, established and maintained contracts with two companies to provide translations of foreign language materials. As this funding source was depleted, NAL directed USDA employees to private companies providing translations services. NAL does not endorse any company but does provide a list of potential vendors via the NAL Web site.
NAL should continue working with the Library of Congress to share foreign language expertise.	The NAL continues to work with the Library of Congress on a variety of projects.
NAL should expand its AGRICOLA training program to other user communities to encourage use of this data base. It should arrange for training in the use of other agriculturally related data bases for USDA employees.	NAL managed an extensive training and user education program for AGRICOLA until 1997 when the training program was de-emphasized and staff reallocated to other priorities.
NAL should provide umbrella contracts under which USDA employees would have direct access to outside data bases. NAL staff would continue to conduct literature searches from these data bases as requested by the users.	The NAL has licensed a number of electronic resources for use within the NAL building via its electronic media center. Financial resources have not been sufficient to make this center available on a large scale. The NAL policy is that USDA agencies underwrite the shared costs of an "NAL Digital Desktop Library" to provide direct access to this information.
NAL must extend its hours of service to cover needs of USDA and outside users. It must also provide evening and Saturday service if it is to perform as a true national library. Access to NAL’s catalog and data bases should be available at least until midnight.	NAL’s web presence is accessible to the world 24/7. Prime resources, such as the NAL catalog, AGRICOLA, and specialized resources are always available.
NAL must strengthen its security control to prevent loss of valuable materials from the collection.	Actions have been taken over the years to improve the physical security of the collections. In addition, NAL is currently planning the conversion of an office floor to secured stack space for the Library’s most valuable and fragile materials. The current Security Task Force is completing the most recent review of security at NAL and the Management Team will identify which of the recommendations can be implemented.
NAL should rely more heavily on contractor support to reduce turn around time for loan and photocopy requests.	NAL has implemented a variety of policy changes which have reduced the handling of document delivery and interlibrary loan requests. Most requests are processed in 2 days. 88% of requests are received electronically. More than 77,000 items were delivered electronically in FY 2000 - vastly decreasing the amount of time it takes to get material into the hands of the patrons. NAL has agreements and contracts in place with vendors who provide articles directly to USDA patrons for those items which cannot be filled from the NAL collection.
NAL should extend its cooperative microfilming program to other special collections of material and specific subject areas.	NAL is the Land-grant Microfilm Depository, part of its national responsibility. In FY 1998 NAL acquired off-site storage space in Pennsylvania to house the masters of microfilm and microfiche created by the Land-grant Universities and deposited at NAL. NAL supports the writing of grants to obtain funds to microfilm agricultural documents. NAL is converting several print titles to electronic format, the preferred method of preservation.
NAL should reduce turn around time on requests to permit the use of OCLC for interlibrary loan requests.	NAL has implemented a variety of policy changes which have reduced the handling of document delivery and interlibrary loan requests. Most requests are processed in 2 days. 88% of requests are received electronically with OCLC requests constituting approximately 26% of those requests.
NAL should serve as the Department’s interface with the National Technical Information Service (NTIS).	NAL continues to be the major contact point between USDA and NTIS, though diversified service offerings at NTIS mean that other USDA agencies may also have direct contact with units within NTIS.
NAL should serve as channel for making USDA agency technical data bases available to the public where appropriate and desirable, either through NTIS or other means.	NAL catalogs USDA electronic resources, including databases, adds them to AGRICOLA and provides URL linkages directly to the online databases for all users with Internet access.
NAL should serve as a coordinator clearinghouse and locator for information on USDA data bases, publications and other information media. Its data base should include data on formats, tape or file characteristics, subject coverage, contact point, data elements, and years of coverage. It should prepare catalogs from this inventory of USDA information as appropriate.	Inventories have been attempted several times, but the advent of Government Information Locator System (GILS) has supplanted separate NAL activities in this regard.
NAL should cooperate with the Extension Service, other USDA agencies and other groups in both the public and private sectors in developing programs to support educational and teaching efforts such as local learning centers and training in the use of agricultural information.	Through participation in educational events, such as meetings of the Future Farmers of America and others, NAL is actively pursuing its goal of delivery of quality information to its youngest audience. More advance information is disseminated through specialized information centers and targeted towards specific subject areas such as food safety and animal welfare.
NAL should update its directory of agricultural information sources and maintain this in an on-line data base to facilitate operation of an agricultural information clearinghouse and referral center. The clearinghouse data base should be available through AGRICOLA.	Much of this information is made available through the NAL Web site (http://www.nal.usda.gov). Other aspects are covered through the Agriculture Network Information Center (AgNIC), formed in 1994.
NAL must tighten its policy on circulating items and enforce the loan period to assure availability of materials.	NAL has implemented a variety of policy changes which have reduced the handling of document delivery and interlibrary loan requests. The loan period of 30 days is enforced, with follow-up and overdue notices sent at regular intervals. After NAL instituted delivery by FedEx of loaned materials, the loss rate dropped to 0%. In addition, NAL pays for the FedEx return of loaned materials from USDA employees - this allows them to keep the materials until the day before they are due and has almost eliminated the need for overdue notices.
NAL should continue the ALIN newsletter as a valuable means of communication with agricultural libraries, notifying them of published and in process bibliographies, books and new journals.	Though NAL recognized that ALIN provided a useful channel of communications on agricultural information activities, it ceased publishing ALIN with the December 1997 edition due to NAL concerns about the quarterly’s timeliness and cost of production and distribution considering NAL’s flat budgets and reduced staff.   NAL in 2001 is developing format and schedule alternatives to consider that will fill the gap left by ALIN’s demise. We want to use existing technologies to produce a timely new publication at less cost.
NAL should issue other key word lists of foreign serials, similar to those for Slavic and Chinese serials.	In 1988 NAL assisted in the publication of the World List of Poultry Journals and in 1992, NAL co-produced the World List of Agricultural Serials on CD-ROM. New vendor products and distribution technologies have greatly reduced the need for more special serial lists by language or subject.
NAL should provide an "800" number for a message service to be used by librarians who need help from NAL.	NAL is emphasizing electronic means of communication with its users. Around the clock availability of the web and always open e-mail facilitates better means of accessing NAL’s resources.
NAL should issue regional union lists of agricultural serials (in microfiche to reduce costs), to aid in collection developments and improve interlibrary loan service.	In 1988 NAL assisted in the publication of the World List of Poultry Journals and in 1992 NAL co-produced the World List of Agricultural Serials on CD-ROM.
AGRICOLA   NAL should immediately contract for a major systems study of AGRICOLA. Top management must commit to a major overhaul of the system, applying the latest technology in software and computer equipment, as well as high standards for input, format and vocabulary control. Since AGRICOLA is NAL’s major tool for access to worldwide agricultural information, it should be given highest priority.	The AGRICOLA system has been studied, modified, upgraded, and replaced several times since 1982. NAL is considering a new system in 2001.
NAL should develop a thesaurus for AGRICOLA. In line with NAL’s assuming a leadership role on both the national and international levels, NAL should accept AGROVOC, as is, as the thesaurus for AGRICOLA or, if this is not possible, to bring about the changes necessary to AGROVOC to make it acceptable through participation in pertinent international activities.	NAL adopted the CAB International thesaurus in 1985.
NAL should investigate with OCLC the possibility of producing AGRICOLA through that bibliographic utility. A record linking technique which accommodates analytical entries has been agreed upon and will be published shortly. NAL should negotiate with OCLC regarding implementation of the new technique on that system and regarding subsequent input of analytic entries from AGRICOLA to OCLC.	The record-linking technique was included in the MARC format and adopted by NAL in 1984. This recommendation was made before NAL implemented the current integrated library management system which provide customized validation and input support that was not available on OCLC in the 1980s. As recently as 1998, NAL discussed AGRICOLA requirements with OCLC and found that they could not support indexing without changes to the OCLC’s World Cat operations.
10) International Activities:
NAL should participate more actively in AGRIS and its many activities to assure U.S. influence on policy direction and program development.	The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is a major international partner of NAL. FAO coordinates the AGRIS database (AGRIS is the international information system for agricultural science and technology). AGRIS is produced cooperatively through the efforts of 199 national centers, 20 regional centers, and 9 intergovernmental centers which assume responsibility for providing bibliographic control over the agricultural publications produced within their respective countries. NAL contributes approximately 50,000 new citations to the AGRIS database each year.
NAL should participate in, and spearhead if necessary, efforts to achieve international agreements on formats, divisions of responsibility, content of machine-readable data bases pertaining to agriculture and distribution of these data bases. The long-range goal should be the creation of an international machine-readable agricultural data base realized through cooperation. This cooperation should result in international standards which NAL, because of its influence on their development, can accept.	NAL cooperates with FAO in building the AGRIS database. NAL Director Pam Andre chaired the AGRIS/CARIS steering committee overseeing the redesign of the system in 1988. In addition, NAL has worked with CAB International to combine special subsets of AGRICOLA records for distribution of CD-ROMs to South America (Agroambiente) and Integrated Pest Management for Southeast Asia.
NAL should enhance its formal agreements to cover its exchange and other programs with foreign governments.	NAL coordinates the USDA publication exchange program, offering USDA publications in exchange for publications of comparable value from foreign governments and institutions that would be difficult to acquire through regular channels. Currently, the NAL initiates and coordinates these exchanges with over 5,000 partners from 118 countries worldwide. The Library’s active publication exchange program accounts for about 70% of all periodicals currently received.
In addition to exerting national leadership, NAL should play a major role in the development and execution of standards and cooperative ventures at the international level.	The NAL has been an active participant in the National Information Standards Organization (NISO), as well as a collaborator with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and others on international standards development.
11) Use of Technology:
NAL should establish an Automated Systems Planning and Oversight Committee. The Committee should include four to six members representing all major operating units of NAL, including administration. It should be chaired by a high-ranking member from the Director’s Office who would be fully knowledgeable of library operations and all the information programs supported by the library and be recognized as speaking for the Director on automated systems planning matters. Subject matter expertise in library operations, reproduction, computer technology, communications, information retrieval, etc., must be provided by a Committee member or supporting task groups or temporary members for specific projects.	NAL established a similar committee in 1983 to procure a new integrated library system and manage its operation. At this time, such functions are performed by the NAL management team.
The Committee should develop a comprehensive list of all information systems and programs operated by or for the library in support of:   Acquisition, Indexing, Circulation, Warehousing, Series Control, Card Catalogs, Collection, On-Line Retrieval, Reference, Profile Processing, Cataloging, Data Bases, Abstracting, Bibliographies	These actions are all part of the effort to obtain an integrated library system, completed in 1987.
Establish a Technical Review Task Group of responsible Library staff members to query other libraries and information centers about their use of current technology and report back to the Oversight Committee. Additionally, it should use outside expertise to determine the state-of-the-art of available technologies, and systems to support:   On-line Input, On-line Search, Microform Storage and Distribution, On-line Cataloging, Library Network, Image Transmission, Video Disk, Optical Disk, Micro/Minicomputer, etc.	These actions are all part of the effort to obtain an integrated library system, completed in 1987.
That the Oversight Committee recommend an overall system that would meet the current and future needs of NAL. The selected overall system should provide the widest possible flexibility for selecting specific equipment for the individual processes developed. A Systems Development Task Group should then be appointed to develop the details of the proposed system. Members of this Task Group should have expertise in the technologies designed into the system. To the extent possible, NAL staff members should be utilized, but, if necessary, additional help could be obtained from other agencies, if available, or from a contractor.	These actions are all part of the effort to obtain an integrated library system, completed in 1987.
Re-examine the decision which led to NAL obtaining primary support from the Washington Computer Center (WCC). There is now general consensus that distributed systems are preferable to complete reliance on a large mainframe computer. Costs of using a large central facility can no longer be justified.	NAL has gradually replaced its dependence on WCC and NITC mainframes with mini- and micro-computer systems of its own.
NAL should use existing state-of-the-art library and information systems applications and software where possible rather than independently design, develop and implement new systems.	This is NAL’s approach.
12) Agricultural Information Network:
NAL must develop a formal plan for a national agricultural information network consistent with Congressional and Departmental intent and expressed user interests. This network plan should incorporate participants, programs and services, and communications requirements. It should reflect a well thought out approach to resource sharing among the participants, in terms of specialized collections, timely processing of information and provision of services. Decentralized services points should be established to assure equality of access at the lowest possible cost to any participant or user of the network.	The NAL and representatives of land-grant university libraries formed the United States Agriculture Network (USAIN) in July of 1988. This network is comprised of libraries and information centers in the fields of agriculture and related sciences. Its mission is to provide a forum for discussion of agricultural issues; to take a leadership role in the formation of a national information policy as related to agriculture; to support the National Agricultural Library (NAL) on agricultural information matters; to promote cooperation and communication among its members, and with other organizations and individuals.   In 1995, NAL established the Agriculture Network Information Center (AgNIC) (http://www.agnic.org), a discipline-specific, distributed network on the Internet. AgNIC provides quality agricultural information selected by a coalition involving the National Agricultural Library, Land-Grant Universities, and other institutions. In 2000, AgNIC greeted five new members, bringing the partnership to nearly 40, and offered 28 subject-specific sites, with over 20 additional subject sites expected by the end of 2001.
NAL should assume leadership of a national program for the acquisition, cataloging and indexing of agricultural materials. NAL has not been represented at meetings of the American Library Association or at other forums for discussion and development of national standards and national cooperative programs. Only through aggressive participation in such activities can NAL attain the visibility and stature necessary to influence the development of acceptable standards and promote cooperative efforts. NAL itself has much to gain through standardization and cooperation at the national level.	NAL’s Head of Acquisitions represents the library at the discussion group of the Collection Development Officers of Large Academic and Research Libraries at ALA; the Associate Directors of Technical Services and Public Services sit on similar round tables with colleagues from the major US academic and research libraries. NAL is a voting member of the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) and the Federal Libraries and Information Centers Committee (FLICC).
NAL should continue its current arrangements with On-Line Computer Library Center (OCLC) and should continue working with OCLC management and staff to insure the timely and widespread availability of bibliographical data for agricultural materials. NAL’s use of OCLC not only makes its cataloging output available to many other libraries throughout the country, it also affords NAL the means to take advantage of the bibliographical work produced by other institutions. In short, OCLC can serve as a very effective tool for a national cooperative cataloging program for agricultural materials. NAL itself should be the national bibliographical center for publications in agriculture. However, one of its important functions as a leader should be the establishment of programs for delegating to other centers for agricultural research, extension, and higher education throughout the nation, responsibility for cataloging certain categories of agricultural publications.	NAL continues to utilize OCLC as a central source of bibliographic information for materials in its collection as well as for partners in the National Agricultural Cooperative Cataloging Program (AGX). Libraries of 12 land-grant institutions add cataloging records to OCLC which are downloaded to NAL and redistributed via AGRICOLA. NAL was an active participant in OCLC’s InterCat project in 1995-1997 to create a large central database of Internet resources and continues it’s involvement in developing standards for cataloging Web resources through OCLC’s CORC project. Records of microfilm masters for USAIN’s National Program for the Preservation of Agricultural Literature are added to OCLC and to AGRICOLA for widespread distribution to other libraries. NAL Director Pam Andre is on the OCLC Research Libraries Advisory Committee.
NAL should serve as a clearinghouse for agricultural information anywhere. This will permit referrals to sources better prepared to provide responses to many specific requests.	NAL helped launch and serves as secretariat for the AgNIC initiative that functions as a gateway to centers of excellence in agricultural information. NAL’s information centers participate as AgNIC sites for providing responses to information needs in their respective areas of expertise.
NAL should assume leadership in the development and coordination of national cooperative programs for the acquisition of agricultural materials. While NAL should serve as the Library of last resort for agricultural research materials not available elsewhere in the country, it should also undertake to delegate to other centers responsibility for collecting certain categories of agricultural publications. Similar efforts are already underway in the Research Libraries Group and the Association of Research Libraries. Just as they have come to endorse sharing of bibliographical data, libraries have come to realize rising costs and budgetary constraints necessitate their sharing responsibility for the acquisition and servicing of the publications as well.	NAL has coordinated cooperative programs to ensure the identification and bibliographic control of publications from state extension offices and experiment stations. As these publications transition to electronic versions, NAL is working through AgNIC to develop rapid and effective means of access to the full text of state publications.

 

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