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PROCEEDINGS: CONFERENCE ON ACCESSING TRANSPORTATION
INFORMATION
RESOURCES WORLDWIDE
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
St. Petersburg, Florida
July 29, 2001 - August 2, 2001
CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE
INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PROCEEDINGS:
Information Resources and Plans: Austria,
Netherlands, Finland, France
Knowledge Management: Practical Ideas and Approaches
Information Resources and Plans: Australia,
United Kingdom, United States, Sweden
Simultaneous Discussion Sessions:
Information Availability/Accessibility/Translation
Internet Resources
Lessons Learned from Washington, Prague,
and Acapulco Information And Documentation Conferences
Information and Plans: Canada, Germany, United
States, Mexico
Simultaneous Discussion Sessions:
Transportation Information Infrastructure
Around the World
Updated International Information Resources
Guide
Preserving Archival and Digital Resources
Future of Information Access
Summing Up/Conclusions
Information Resources: A Tool for Managing
Knowledge
(Symposium Second Joint Session)
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Conference on Accessing Transportation Information Resources
Worldwide was part of the International Symposium on Transportation
Technology Transfer held in St. Petersburg, Florida July 29-August
2, 2001. The purpose for the Symposium was to bring together professionals
and organizations from around the world to share and exchange ideas,
information, and best practices in technology transfer. Participating
organizations held concurrent meetings and programs open to all.
Joint sessions on broad technology transfer topics were also held
to bring everyone together at times during the Symposium.
Accessing and sharing of information resources is part of the technology
transfer process. The Conference on Accessing Transportation Information
Resources Worldwide was one of the concurrent programs designed
for those interested in information resource sharing and related
issues. International information resources are vital to those who
support and provide transportation information to their organizations.
Accessing international information, however, is often difficult
due to a lack of awareness of what is available or the need for
translations. This conference is addressing some of the issues relating
to accessing international transportation information resources.
By providing opportunities to share information and to get to know
one another, the Conference and the Symposium strengthened our international
relationships, increased awareness of resources, opened up communication,
and led to new friendships.
The program for the Conference was planned so there would be a
real sharing of international information. Speakers came from around
the world. The three 'Information Resources and Plans' sessions
allowed the international speakers to inform those in attendance
about the resources, services, and plans of their agencies or organizations.
These agencies or organizations are providers or sources of transportation
information. In the program on 'Knowledge Management', three speakers
described their approach to knowledge management. It was a "how
to" session about organizing information resources into a practical
information resource for staff.
The 'Simultaneous Discussion Sessions' covered six key topics of
interest to all information professionals. These sessions were rather
informal and allowed more in-depth discussion of the topics by the
participants. The 'Future of Information Access' session gave the
public and private sector views of the issues that are shaping the
future of information access. In the 'Summing Up/ Conclusions' session,
two conference participants gave their impressions and described
the key factors gained from the conference. The 'Second Joint Session'
of the Symposium was on information resources. This session gave
insights into what is happening in our knowledge economy and in
information sharing from three perspectives: academic, an international
organization, and a department of transport.
The proceedings for the Conference on Accessing Transportation
Information Resources Worldwide include a summary of each session,
brief biographies of the speakers, as well as the actual presentations,
when available. The proceedings will be available primarily in an
electronic format, with a small number of copies printed. The proceedings
were produced through a partnership between the U.S. Department
of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and the Transportation
Division of the Special Libraries Association.
The Conference on Accessing Transportation Information Resources
Worldwide was sponsored by a group of organizations and agencies
rather than a single group. The conference would not have been possible
without their support and contributions of time, money, or people.
They were supportive of the attendance by their members or employees.
Following are those sponsors:
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/International
Transport Research Documentation (OECD/ITRD)
World Road Association (PIARC)
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
(AASHTO)
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
Special Libraries Association, Transportation Division (SLA TRN)
Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
The program planners are to be commended for the program they organized.
They pulled together knowledgeable people from around the world
for the speakers. The speakers spoke on some aspect of accessing
transportation information resources, a topic of great interest
to librarians, information professionals, and information providers.
The Program Planning Committee, chaired by Jeanne Thomas, devoted
many hours to ensure that the conference would be a success, covering
all the many details that go into such a conference. Because this
was an international conference with several sponsors and it was
a conference within another conference, many people were involved,
which required a great deal of coordination. Many thanks go to the
Program Planning Committee for the time and effort they devoted
to this endeavor.
The moderators introduced the speakers and led discussions for
each session. They ensured that each session ran smoothly and stayed
within the allotted time. They assisted the speakers, both before
and during the conference, as needed. The recorders wrote summaries
of each session, which were then compiled into the proceedings.
These two groups are to be commended for their contributions to
the conference.
PROGRAM PLANNING COMMITTEE
Sponsored by:
TRB Committee A5017: Library and Information Science in Transportation
Transportation Division, Special Libraries Association
Program Development:
Jeanne Thomas, Michigan Dept. of Transportation
Nelda Bravo, U. S. Dept. of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation
Statistics
Barbara Post, Transportation Research Board
Donald Symmes, U. S. Dept. of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration
Thomas Palmerlee, Transportation Research Board
Program Coordinators:
Jeanne Thomas, Michigan Dept. of Transportation
Barbara Post, Transportation Research Board
Jerome Baldwin, Minnesota Dept. of Transportation
Clara Smith, U. S. Dept. of Transportation, Transportation Library
Donald Symmes, U. S. Dept. of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration
Laura Whayne, University of Kentucky, Kentucky Transportation Center
MODERATORS, RECORDERS AND EDITOR
Moderators:
Jerry Baldwin - Minnesota Department of Transportation
Nelda Bravo- National Transportation Library, Bureau of Transportation
Statistics
Larry Decina - TransAnalytics, LLC
John Gallwey - University of California, Berkeley
Dan Krummes - University of California, Berkeley
Bonnie Osif - The Pennsylvania State University
Barbara Post - Transportation Research Board
Roberto Sarmiento - Northwestern University
Clara Smith - United States Department of Transportation
Donald Symmes - Federal Highway Administration
Jeanne Thomas - Michigan Department of Transportation
Laura Whayne - University of Kentucky, Kentucky Transportation
Center
Recorders:
Janice Bain-Kerr - Netalyst, Inc.
Susan Dresley - Volpe Center
Chris Hedges - Transportation Research Board
Joyce Koeneman - Association of American Railroads
Georgia Ludgate - Transportation Development Centre
Bonnie Osif - The Pennsylvania State University, University Library/
Engineering
Sandy Tucker - Texas A&M University System, Texas Transportation
Institute
Maryanne Ward - Paccar Tech. Center
Laura Whayne - University of Kentucky
Editor: Laura Whayne, University of Kentucky
September 30, 2001
PROCEEDINGS
INFORMATION RESOURCES AND PLANS
Karin Haid, Kuratorium fur Verkehrssicherheit (KfV)
Floor ten Brink, Information and Technology Centre for Transport
and Infrastructure CROW
Sirpa Haapamaki, Finnish Road Administration
Anne Pretet, Institut National de Recherche sur les Transports et
leur Securite
Moderator: Barbara Post, Transportation Research Board
Recorder: Bonnie Osif, The Pennsylvania State University
Sunday, July 29, 2001 - 1:45 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
AUSTRIA, KURATORIUM FÜR VERKEHRSSICHERHEIT - Karin Haid
Karin Haid, head of the Library summarized the missions and goals
of the Kuratorium Für Verkehrssicherheit (Austrian Road Safety
Board). The focus is on research that focuses on traffic psychology,
traffic education and engineering and dissemination of safety information
to the public through educational materials and campaigns. The KfV
works cooperatively with a number of international organizations.
The KfV has a staff of 200 permanent staff and 150 temporary employees.
The staff is located in Vienna and eight branch offices. The organization
has evolved over the years. In 1987 the Austrian Institute for Home
and Leisuretime Safety became an affiliate and is concerned with
safety in the home, in sports and in leisure activities. In 2000
the Institute of Technical Safety, concerned with the prevention
of fire, burglary and theft, was incorporated with the KfV, creating
an agency that encompassed all aspects of accident research and
safety.
The Library has a collection, which covers all areas of transport.
Some of the documents date from 1889 to the 1950s, but most of the
collection is from the 1950s to the present. Currently more than
80,000 documents are indexed in the database DOKDAT with 4000 additions
per year. The Library produces a bibliography quarterly to update
the researchers at the various locations of new resources.
As the major transport library in Austria it is utilized heavily
by Austria. In addition, a large number of international users access
the system and collection.
KfV Library has started a project to scan holdings and store the
pages on CD ROMs. Over 800,000 pages have been scanned and stored.
This is seen as a first step in the move to a digital library. In
addition, the Library sees knowledge management as an important
future goal.
THE NETHERLANDS, INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY CENTRE FOR TRANSPORT
AND INFRASTRUCTURE -Floor ten Brink
Floor ten Brink, Information Specialist at CROW (Information and
Technology Centre for Transport and Infrastructure), reported on
its activities and the library. CROW is the national information
and technology center for transport and infrastructure. It has three
departments: research, standardization and communication. Research
is divided into traffic and civil engineering sections.
CROW has a number of international cooperative programs and works
with PIARC, OECD, RILEM, CEN and ICIS. It also is involved with
the EU, TRB, ITRD and WIN.
Information resources are very important to the mission of CROW.
There are several ways the library disseminates information. The
first is print materials. Research reports are made available quickly
to get the information to the people who need it. Electronic publication
in the forma of CD ROM is another method of getting the information
to the researcher. The monthly magazine, Wegen (Roads), as well
as other periodical publications allow researchers to keep current
with research.
In addition to the print and electronic formats, CROW presents
information in courses, conferences, seminars and workshops. Another
option is the fair or conference, where CROW will have a stand to
present information, display a sample of their publications and
demonstrate their electronic resources. There is also a help desk,
which answers written and telephone questions. Lastly, there is
a web site at www.crow.nl
The library is a full service facility, which subscribes to almost
one hundred journals, and has a collection of books, reports, conferences,
reference works, CD ROMs and videos.
CROW enters Dutch publications in civil and traffic engineering
into the ITRD database.
Future plans include expansion of activities in knowledge transfer
and increased focus on the Internet.
FINLAND, FINNISH ROAD ADMINISTRATION - Sirpa Haapamaki
Sirpa Haapamaki, Head Librarian at the Finnish Road Administration
Library, reported on recent developments at Finnra. The Finnish
National Road Administration has a long history in Finland. In the
year 2000 the Finnish government split the Administration into two
distinct organizations. The Finnish Road Administration is a state
agency responsible for public roads. The second organization, the
Finnish Road Enterprise is state-owned but operates under business
principles in open competition with other contractors.
There is a staff of over 1000 people dispersed across nine road
regions and twelve units of administration. The aim of the organization
is to create information and knowledge that will allow the transport
system to operate efficiently, safely, and competitively in a sustainable
manner. Goals include traffic safety and road management to reduce
accidents, control of traffic, environmental issues and the increase
of competition in construction and planning.
The Library is actively involved in the activities of Finnra. In
addition to working with the staff of the Finnish Road Administration,
the library is contracted to provide services to the staff of the
Finnish Road Enterprise. The Finnra Library is the only major transport
related library in the country. Other research libraries have been
downsized in transport. The other libraries with transport collections
serve only their own students, so the majority of requests come
to the Finnra Library and staff.
With their unique position in the transport area in Finland, the
Library has both loan and exchange programs with a number of other
libraries and organizations. The Library also is an ITRD participant.
One of the interesting initiatives, which was spearheaded by Ms
Haapamaki, was the formation of a group in which librarians from
the Nordic and Baltic countries could meet. This group began in
1998 and there have been four meetings to date. The meetings have
been beneficial to all who have attended. Plans for the future include
additional meetings and increased attendance.
As a participant of the Washington Conference in 1995, Ms Haapamaki
has seen increased cooperation between libraries internationally.
There has been great progress made in that time but there is a need
to continue and expand the growth of international cooperation and
interaction.
FRANCE, INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE SUR LES TRANSPORTS ET LEUR
SÉCURITÉ (INRETS) - Anne Prétet
Anne Prétet, Chef du service Documentation, presented a
two part introduction to INTRETS, The French National Institute
for Transport and Safety Research. The first was an overview of
the research institute the second reviewed the activities and information
resources available at the Institute.
INRETS is comprised of 400 staff: 189 researchers, 157 technicians
and assistants and 54 administrators and managers. It was founded
in 1985 and is a state financed scientific and technical institute
with the tasks:
- To organize, execute and assess technological research and development
concerned with the improvement of the means and systems of transport
and of traffic from technical, economic and social viewpoints.
- To carry out evaluative and advisory studies within these domains.
- To promote the results of these research and study programs,
to contribute to the dissemination of scientific knowledge, and
to participate in training by and for transport research both
in France and abroad.
There are four strategic axes of the research program at INRETS
during the years 2000 - 2004. The first is road safety. This includes
analysis of the road system and its component parts (people, vehicles
and infrastructure), factors and consequences of road accidents,
biomechanics, road safety policies, and education and training.
The second is driving aids, which include intelligent systems, automated
highways, modeling and simulation for driving case studies, urban
and interurban guided transport systems, telecommunications and
information technologies in transport.
The third is transport and services network. This concerns travelers
and goods, technical and socio-economic analysis of infrastructures
and networks, and intermodality. The last strategic axis is sustainability
and the environment. The main points in this area include transport
and the environment, noise, pollution, electric and hybrid vehicles,
fuel cells, and sustainable mobility.
INRETS partners with a number of other organizations. These include
universities, organizations and industry. These partnerships exist
within France, in Europe and beyond to other countries.
The second part of the presentation focused on documentation and
resources. The three documentation units of INRETS are in Arcueil,
Lyon-Bron and Lille-Villeneuve d'Asq. The holdings are 30,000 books,
reports and proceedings, 500 dissertations, 10,000 off-prints, and
480 journals in Arcueil, 250 in Bron and 124 in Villeneuve d'Asq.
A number of online databases are also available.
INRETS has a web site [http://www.inrets.fr] with French and English
interfaces. INRETS inputs references into the ITRD database (International
Transport Research Documentation). Its online catalog is FIRST.
Additional information can be found at the web site under "The
Libraries".
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: PRACTICAL IDEAS AND APPROACHES
Barbara Peterson, 3M Company
Lisa Sasson, IBM Institute for Knowledge Management
Maryanne Ward, PACCAR Technical Center
Moderator: Jerry Baldwin, Minnesota Department of Transportation
Recorder: Susan Dresley, Volpe Center
Sunday, July 29, 2001 - 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Jerry Baldwin from the Minnesota Department of Transportation introduced
this session Knowledge Management: Practical Ideas & Approaches.
He said those of us in the information business in the U.S. haven't
been able to ignore the knowledge management concept. Knowledge
management means different things to different people. Is Knowledge
management real? Is it a buzzword? A breakthrough? Or old wine in
a new bottle?
Today, three speakers with a wide range of experience with a variety
of applications of knowledge management are here to share their
experiences with us. Mr. Baldwin introduced all three speakers and
requested that questions be held to the end.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PRACTICAL IDEAS & APPROACHES A 3M PERSPECTIVE
- Barbara Peterson
The presentation will begin with how 3M defines knowledge management,
show how 3M leverages its internal knowledge, how 3M leverages its
external knowledge, and then show several new projects that share
and use knowledge.
3M defines knowledge management as: "Leveraging knowledge,
explicit and tacit, internal and external, to increase productivity
and innovation." 3M's vision "is to be the most innovative
enterprise and the preferred supplier to the markets they supply."
McKinsey, a management-consulting firm, conducted an evaluation
of 3M's business model. The report stated that 3M is a multi-business
company knitted together by a shared world class technology; shared
customers, channels, and brands; shared manufacturing; shared global
infrastructure and a culture of innovation. The term "shared"
appears four times. 3M already has the culture that reinforces and
supports KM.
Next, Ms. Peterson focused on two areas where 3M leverages internal
knowledge. The 3M Technical Forum is one of three Communities of
Practice. With a 50-year history, the Technical Forum is a grassroots
organization with corporate support that includes funding for projects
and research assistance. There are 9000 technical personnel worldwide
with a governing board structure. They offer seminars, symposiums,
poster sessions, technology trade shows, newsletters and websites.
Their vision is to "foster an environment of creativity and
cooperation that leads to innovation and growth." One quantitative
result occurred several years ago. Two 3M researchers in side-by-side
booths at a trade show started talking and as a result they came
up with an idea, and wrote a record of innovation that resulted
in a product that has generated $100,000,000 in sales.
Continuing under leveraging internal knowledge, Internal Knowledge
Repositories were presented. Though these repositories started in
the late 1960s, the challenge today is to keep resources vital and
up to date for the clients they serve. Each database has an "about
statement" that describes the contents, fields and how to use.
These repositories include: Technical Skills Database; Technical
Reports; Technical Notebooks; Records of Innovation Corporate Archive;
Chemical Registry; 3M Patents; 3M Published Papers and Presentations.
Two of these were discussed in greater detail.
Technical reports database is 3M confidential and provides access
to over 150,000 3M technical reports dating from 1963. Statistics
show that this database is accessed 800/month. The 3M Technical
Skills database allows each employee to update her/his own record;
participation is voluntary, about 50% or 4500 researchers contribute.
As a provider of tacit knowledge, it is accessed more often than
the technical reports database.
Next Ms. Peterson presented examples of 3M leveraging external
information. The Learning Center transfers knowledge. The Communities
of Practice offer internal and external speakers, even Noble Laureates.
The 3M Libraries contain the collection of hard copy materials including
some journals going back into the 1800s. The LIS Reference Services
has a 25 person staff to answer queries and produce alerting services.
Lastly 3M's Electronic Library or ATLAS is open 24/7 with a usage
rate of over 100,000/month.
Enhanced Technical Awareness or ETA is an old name, with an expanded
service. ETAs were developed in response to an expressed need: "Technical
personnel shall know the worldwide patent and non-patent literature
relating to their area of activity:" and "to help me better
manage all my information". This was a major effort to improve
patenting process at 3M. People needed to know the state-of-the-art
of their technical areas to protect patents. It was designed as
an information management tool a.k.a. digital file cabinet; Lotus
Notes based; facilitate achieving, searching and sharing of search
results and knowledge. It also facilitates copyright compliance.
ETA features: views based on abstract fields; meaningful keywords
can be added by subject specialists; full-text searching; the "About
" page explains database design and limitations (what's in
it and not in it). It's updated weekly automatically without any
human intervention and an editor selects relevant documents.
Patents ETA is a customized, sharable, up-to-date Notes database
of abstracts, full-text and images of patents from the Derwent database.
This ETA has been so successful, that researchers want an ETA for
scientific and business literature. Creating these databases is
not so simple because the information would come from multiple sources
and copyright issues would be more complicated.
Another ETA, 3M Authored Publications, allows the researcher to
search for a 3M paper, link to an outside source or journal vendor,
such as Science Direct and then link to the full-text.
The next segment of the presentation discussed Information Analysis
and Data Mining Tools. These software tools filter, organize, search,
share and improve insight to innovation. With the adage that "a
picture is worth a thousand words" data visualization tools
do not necessarily give the answer, but they do help to organize
a large body of knowledge. For example, if you need to analyze 1,000
patents for a report due the end of the week, data visualization
can help to explore large sets quickly and new insights can be gained.
At 3M data visualization applications include: IP Assessments, Competitive
Intelligence, Technology Assessments, R&D Planning, Benchmarking,
and Patents, Technical Literature, Internal Reports, Newswires and
websites.
In terms of the future of knowledge management at 3M, a recent
Knowledge Management Thought Leader Panel recommended the following:
Apply knowledge management principles and model to a corporate initiative;
Integrate, align and leverage existing knowledge management resources;
Increase understanding and application of knowledge management and
Use design of six sigma to develop a roadmap for knowledge management
integration.
INTERMEDIARIES: KNOWLEDGE ROLES FOR CONNECTED ORGANIZATIONS - Lisa
Sasson
Ms. Sasson, from IBM's Institute for Knowledge Management (IKM),
introduced her presentation: Intermediaries: Knowledge Roles for
Connected Organizations or the Role of Humans to Manage Knowledge
Management Technologies. The objective of this presentation is to
present the results of IKM's research on emerging knowledge roles
and emphasize the human aspect of knowledge intermediary roles used
to balance and sustain knowledge management initiatives.
Knowledge intermediaries are persons in an organization who connect
knowledge seekers with knowledge sources in a way that adds business
value. They add value by relating, researching, validating, reshaping,
or transferring knowledge sources to knowledge seekers. An intermediary
can be a person working alone or in a combination with a technology.
Companies that only focus on technology cannot understand why knowledge
management fails. It is because there is no human intervention.
The IKM designed a research methodology to reflect the realistic
needs of IKM member firms through the guidance of a working group.
They learned that knowledge management isn't everybody's job because
everybody is too busy to do it right. It must be assigned. Using
an interview guide, they collected 19 use cases drawn from six different
industries. The results showed a confusing array of terminology
and titles that made the development of a systematic approach to
knowledge role design a daunting task. After a thorough qualitative
analysis, three basic categories underlying the variety of knowledge
roles were uncovered: Knowledge Stewards; Knowledge Researchers;
Knowledge Brokers.
Knowledge Stewards capture and codify knowledge. They generally
work on project teams, record tacit knowledge and put it into forms
to be reused, such as presentations and lessons learned. Using Viant
as an example, the role of knowledge stewards is demonstrated. Viant
uses Project Catalysts or P-Cats to interview internal consultant
project teams to extract their best practices and reusable assets.
P-Cats coach team members on how quickly and accurately they access
the organization's intellectual capital using Viant's STARR system.
They connect people looking for information with those within the
company who have the information. At Viant, P-Cats are assigned
on a rotating basis, usually 9-12 months and is recognized as an
important role.
Knowledge Researchers search, retrieve and transfer explicit knowledge
sources. They are generally corporate librarians. They are proactive,
getting information to the right people at the right time without
being asked. An example is a Texaco librarian routinely sent out
information profiles on a variety of topics. She determined that
one should be done on fuel cells even though it was not identified
as an area of expertise. She assembled one for fuel cells, sent
it to the Chief Technology Officer and as a result, fuel cells are
now an area of expertise.
Knowledge Brokers connect people. They know everybody and know
what they know. They know who to call for a tacit to tacit transfer
of knowledge. For an example, a senior trainer at Arthur D. Little
made it his business to find out what the people he trained knew.
He became an expert. People began coming to him to filter expertise.
Ultimately, this function became a formal job.
In conclusion, IKM's research yielded three major deliverables:
Tools & Methods, Use Case Compilation and a white paper.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: PRACTICAL IDEAS AND APPROACHES - Maryanne
Ward
Maryanne Ward began her presentation with an anecdote about a presentation
Barbara Peterson gave at a Special Libraries Association (SLA) Meeting
that was useful in putting together a mission statement of innovation
to PACCAR the following week. She also mentioned Lisa Sasson's boss,
Larry Prusak. His paper, "Blowing up the Corporate Library"
sent chills down her spine, but she decided to turn the title around
to mean blowing up as enlarging. She concluded her opening remarks
by saying she included a lot of examples of knowledge management
in her presentation and hoped they will stimulate and provide new
ideas. Each of these examples will be considered in the context
of management, organizational and culture, technologies, and employee
acceptance/involvement.
Ms. Ward's company is PACCAR, which is comprised of three major
divisions: Peterbilt, Kenworth and DAG. These are three very independent
companies that compete against each other in many markets. They
don't always want to share. For this presentation, four knowledge
management projects were selected where Ms. Ward played a major
leadership role.
Standards Harmonization - High Human, Low Tech
Three years ago when PACCAR acquired DAF Trucks from the Netherlands,
the CEO mandated that all standards be integrated across the company.
"It was like finding a common bible for Christians, Hindis
and Jews". Each engineering group had its own standards. Ms.
Ward wrote the governance document that said they already have the
expertise in the "expertise groups". These expertise groups
were already part of the corporate culture, so why not use this
forum for standards committee. Thus each group assigned a standards
engineer. A Corporate Standards Expertise Group Charter was developed
which basically said that if you want to nail down a standard, write
it down and get it approved. Today, PACCAR has 104 standards. Before
the project, which began in 2000, there were none.
In terms of key issues: Management sent a directive with few specifics,
initially only one mid-level manager champion, investment level
varied widely among units, use of expert's time on an issue and
existing structures varied widely. For Organizational/Cultural issues,
there were widely differing philosophies, authority and governance
questions, varying technical competence, verbal/written communication
skills and a tradition of division independence. Technical issues
involved content expertise, communications/collaboration, database/publishing/document
management/web skills were already in place. Librarians provided
crucial research to identify external standards such as ISO. Employee
acceptance was positive, the right people were involved from the
start, an open process was established, slow but thorough, an effort
to collaborate rather than dictate. Results to date: management
is happy with the number of standards, a sturdy platform is in place
for the future, best knowledge is globally applied, the role of
standards engineer is highly sought, standards are called out on
drawings which is an ultimate compliment, progress has been slow
but steady and it is viewed as an umbrella for the enabling.
Graphic Symbols - Low Human, High Tech
Again given the diversity of these three companies within one company,
graphic symbols for the dashboards are all different. Some of the
symbols are required, some are not; others come from various organizations
such as SAE and ISO. An ergonomics engineer identified the problem
and started an extensive WORD document to list them all. Ms. Ward
told him he really needs a database. She took everybody's symbols
and entered them, if more than one symbol for a function, she put
entered them all. A cited source was assigned to each record. For
each item, the following information was provided: Where it came
from, Is it required, Issuing Agency and if available company-wide.
This database averages 25,000 hits per month.
For key issues/challenges, management was not as supportive because
it was not their directive. It was viewed as okay, but as a "spare
time" project. The standards group was critical to make it
happen. For organizational/cultural the project grew out of annoyance,
very low priority, weak planning, and the "right" people
were not involved from the start. Also the European knowledge was
crucial, but had weak involvement from the beginning. Technically,
the library was crucial; they pulled together all the required standards.
Also a poor mix of skills initially and the database was created
late in the process and needed to work with large unmanageable WORD
file. Employee acceptance is positive so far, 25,000 hits per month
for 1200 people.
Emissions - Low Tech, High Human
In 2002, new diesel emissions regulation will go into effect. PACCAR
does not manufacture engines, but must integrate them into their
trucks. It's complicated and expensive because the engines will
burn too hot. Management wanted a way to keep key staff apprised
of the latest information.
Ms. Ward organized the minutes from meetings; built a website designed
to be all on one page; collected information that integrates SAE,
California Resource Board, EPA, Planning documents and Detroit Diesel
information; and included a link to DieselNet, a service they purchase
on diesel issues. She integrated everything and helped to mount
it on the company intranet. Access requires a password. It has been
highly successful. In fact, they are already asking for a similar
product for 2007.
Management was highly directive, specific and on-going. Organizational
structures were difficult due to insiders/outsiders. Technical issues
involved a homepage as a portal and secure permissions from IT group
to access it. It has high employee acceptance, high efficiency,
lowers annoyance and promotes openness
Incident Reporting - High Tech, High Human
PACCAR has its own track for testing vehicles. In testing mode,
these trucks can run all day for several days only stopping for
safety checks. For these checks, they take pictures and look for
cracks or other signs of failure/wear. Five years ago, it took 3-6
months to get this information to the operating divisions. Management
wanted to reduce time to one week.
Ms. Ward was very involved in this project because she knew databases.
She set it up so that each test has its own database with the same
structure and fields. Now engineers at the track work directly with
the database and digital camera photos are input directly. Now results
can be emailed to the operating divisions. Now the database is too
fast and there isn't enough time to digest all the data. Ms. Ward
uses DBText Works because it handles pictures. Engineers can use
it themselves. It's all self managed. At the end of each project,
all the data is archived.
For this project, management received the directive from a client
and didn't know how to react; it formed a team, gave directives
at crucial moments, and provided a budget. Organizationally, there
was a low consensus, "best way is my way", no cohesive
existing group, low team skills, low cross-group leadership skills
and little experience with work flow cross-group approaches. In
other words, it was a big struggle to work together. Technically,
there already existed good basic software, digital cameras, low
experience with databases, end users dispersed geographically and
required training. Employee acceptance was low at PACCAR end, but
strong on client end. After two years, well accepted by all. Method
is now used for similar applications.
In general, to succeed you need the following: No strong management
opposition; be based on cost/benefit, real needs, right players,
right skills, right timing; approach depends on nature of information
and end-use; foster "open" culture; team and enabling
skills crucial; anticipate what is going to be needed so you have
ideas; communicate with all other professionals, not just librarians
and use librarians' information management skills. They are probably
better than any other.
Lastly, Ms. Ward shared her definition of Knowledge Management
from a Kent State University course description: "Knowledge
Management is the discipline concerned with how an organization's
intellectual assets are exploited for greater productivity and increased
competitiveness."
Questions:
To Lisa Sasson: In Larry Prusak's book Good Company, it said that
in a diverse group it is difficult to foster trust. How can we foster
trust to exchange information more freely?
Ms. Sasson: They have a project devoted to this. What they found
is that transparency or face-to-face contact is essential despite
virtual environments. Cues built trust. For example, in the virtual
mail order business, the more visual aids provided, the more trust
is fostered.
To Barbara Peterson: Given 3M's spirit of creativity, what is the
key ingredient whereby 3M is able to develop and keep innovation
going?
Ms. Peterson: Trust preexists. There are no barriers in place to
prevent sharing. For example, scientists and engineers are not awarded
patents. We all win when 3M wins. Also a strong mentoring program
exists. Senior scientists are expected to work with junior staff.
Not sharing is against cultural norm at 3M.
To Lisa Sasson: Realizing human intervention is important to technology
transfer from a former job, her new employer asks her why she needs
to travel so much? Why can 't she build her program from her desk?
Ms. Sasson: We all struggle with this within IBM. IBM is a very
virtual company. Whenever they can, they facilitate face-to-face
sessions. With certain groups, it has caught on.
Ms. Ward added: At PACCAR, face-to-face means travel and money.
Travel money is difficult to get. There are no pictures or skill
sets on their Intranet. It's their biggest challenge. When you do
get together, you need good group leaders or facilitators to maximize
efforts.
To all three presenters: Is there any way to measure or quantify
value?
Ms. Sasson: I can offer some examples of what member companies do:
Time-Labor savings where an intermediary surveys knowledge seekers
on how much time is saved using the librarian. Also anecdotal evidence-
show how savings is tied to business goals.
To Barbara Peterson: Do you use filtering techniques to limit patents
to requesters?
Ms. Peterson: We do not use filters. Derwent provides an extensive
current awareness service. Our scientists want to do their own filtering.
They like the serendipity and out-layers.
To Maryanne Ward: Is your software oriented to experimental feedback?
Ms. Ward: Yes, by searching. It's very rigid. But there is no way
to do automated feedback. In response to an earlier question, I
do have some cost/benefit figures. On just office supplies, her
accountant estimates a savings of $20,000/year. If there are 25,000
hits per month and if only one minute per visit, there is a savings
of over $1 million. Reading instance of just the hits, reports savings
equal to 12 engineers.
To conclude the session, Jerry Baldwin thanked the speakers. He
mentioned that in an earlier session two people mentioned the importance
of getting the right information to the right person at the right
time at the right cost. He said that this is a phrase he first heard
sometime in the sixties, probably in library school and, as true
as it is, it had always bothered him. He had finally figured out
what it was about it that troubled him. It was the emphasis on the
word "right," through its repetition. In his opinion that
emphasis has led to too much time and effort being spent trying
to determine what the "right" information, people and
costs are. In his opinion, the "right" person is always
the one needing the information; the "right" information
is always the information needed; the "right" time is
determined by the person with the need, and the "right"
cost is always the lowest possible outlay that will provide the
needed information. He wonders if we need to revise the remark by
examining the word right. We need a new phrase that will stress
the importance of information services that respond in a timely
fashion to expressed needs, rather than trying to predetermine what
is "right." He also added that it is rare when planning
a session like this to get your first choices. He did get his first
choices and they were fantastic.
INFORMATION RESOURCES AND PLANS
Andrew Pentecost, ARRB Transport Research Ltd.
Colin Howard, Transport Research Laboratory, Ltd (TRL)
Nelda Bravo, Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Birgitta Sandstedt, Statens Vag-och Transportforskningsinstitut
(VTI)
Moderator: Barbara Post, Transportation Research Board
Recorder: Chris Hedges, Transportation Research Board
Monday, July 30, 2001 - 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
AUSTRALIA, ARRB TRANSPORT RESEARCH, LTD. - Andrew Pentecost
ARRB Transport Research, Ltd was founded in 1960 as the Australian
Road Research Board. Its foundation owners were Australia's Federal
Department of Transport, and the road or transport authorities in
each of Australia's States and Territories. The Australian Road
Research Board was originally operated on the basis of government
grants for road?related research on topics considered relevant to
the nation's needs. Since the late 1980s, the organization's owners
have seen that model as not necessarily optimal, and the funding
mix has been gradually transformed. Currently all research and consulting
work carried out by ARRB is now won on a competitive, contract?by?contract
basis, although the library is still supported by annual government
grants.
ARRB has a major emphasis on research and on the transfer of that
research into practice, so a strong, high-quality library is an
integral component of the organization. The library's mission is
to provide staff, the staff of our owners, and the broader transport
community in Australia, with a high?quality, relevant and comprehensive
library and information service on roads and land transport.
Products and Services:
The flagship product of the ARRB library is the Australian Transport
Index (formerly called ROAD), a large bibliographic database. The
Index currently contains more than 132,000 records for transport?related
materials, with a bias towards material from Australia and New Zealand.
Because of strong overseas links, including very good reciprocal
exchange agreements, the library also has strong collections of
materials from overseas, especially the United States, Great Britain,
Canada, and parts of western Europe.
About 350 records are added to the database each month. As a current
awareness service to the transport community, these monthly batches
of records are published in a bulletin called Transport and Road
Update. This product is available by subscription only, with about
400 subscribers at the moment, 70 of whom receive it as a PDF file
via e?mail. Transport and Road Update generates a substantial traffic
of interlibrary loan and document delivery.
The ARRB library also produces a number of one-off products that
have proved to be very useful to the transport communities of Australia
and New Zealand. One of these, the database thesaurus, is used in
the creation of the Australian Transport Index and other ARRB databases.
Another product, the Road Safety Contacts Register, is a regularly
updated directory of approximately 250 people and organizations
who work in the field of traffic safety in Australia and New Zealand,
as well as a variety of other small directories and databases.
The flagship service of ARRB's library is the enquiry and information
service. The library answers a very large variety of requests for
assistance, ranging from very simple questions on specific statistics,
right through to complex literature searches. Anything quick and
easy is handled without a charge to the user, but literature searches
carry a fee of at least 100 Australian dollars (plus tax), depending
on labor hours and complexity.
Increasingly, of course, in addition to the traditional literature?based
approach, answering reference inquiries involves the use of the
Internet for both web sites and documents published online (usually
in PDF format). The ARRB reference librarian maintains a comprehensive
and up?to?date list of web sites that she has found useful in her
own work. This list is made available to ARRB's research staff,
and is sent via e?mail to a small mailing list of external people.
In addition to the traditional library work outlined above, ARRB
has a long history of referring requests from the general public
to the resident experts who work in ARRB's Research Division.
As an adjunct to the enquiry service, ARRB has been an active participant
in PIARC's World Interchange Network since its inception in the
mid-1990s. WIN is not a literature search service, but rather a
person?to?person expert referral and technology transfer network,
and it has proved invaluable in putting Australians and New Zealanders
in touch with their peers overseas.
Librarians in Australia are eligible to join the professional body,
the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), and its
many and varied interest groups. Unlike the Special Libraries Association
(SLA), however, ALIA does not have a transport division. Instead,
the transport librarians of Australia and New Zealand have a long
history of cooperation and informal annual meetings under the name
of TRANZINFO (previously TRANSLIB). TRANZINFO has its directory
online, as well as a very large union list of periodicals and series;
both of these products foster cooperation amongst TRANZINFO members
and enable us to minimize duplication of resources.
Current Issues and Future Developments:
A major issue for ARRB at present concerns electronic information
sources. ARRB has recently started to add URLs, where available,
to the citations in their database. In spite of the benefits this
achieves, there is an additional effort required to run a link checker
program every month or two, to ensure that the database does not
contain references to web documents that have moved or been deleted.
ARRB is still resistant to taking out subscriptions to electronic
journals. Because of the licensing agreements that most electronic
journal publishers insist upon, the content of those journals can
often be used in the library's host organization only, which is
not at all suitable for a library with a national document delivery
role. Also because of this role, ARRB tends to download documents
in PDF format, then print and bind them for holding in the physical
collection, rather than relying on the information remaining indefinitely
on the internet.
Another issue is the growing expectation on the part of some of
our customer base for seamless access to full text information resources.
ARRB is not currently set up to be able to provide anything approaching
this level of service. Their database is available on the web, but
only by subscription. Most of the records in our database point
to documents that exist in paper copy only, which means that they
can be obtained only by purchasing them or requesting them on interlibrary
loan. To digitize the large corpus of Australian (let alone New
Zealand) paper-based transport literature would be a mammoth and
expensive task that has not yet been mooted, and probably will not
be seriously considered in the foreseeable future.
On a more general level, the funding environment of ARRB creates
an atmosphere of uncertainty that many special libraries have been
experiencing for several years. The year-by-year funding makes long-term
planning difficult. On the other hand, this kind of uncertainty
arguably makes ARRB a little more attuned to providing excellent
service to their clients.
GREAT BRITAIN, TRANSPORT RESEARCH LABORATORY - Colin Howard
Until April 1996, TRL was an agency of the UK Government's Department
of Transport. On that date TRL entered the private sector as a wholly
owned subsidiary of the Transport Research Foundation (a non-profit
distributing company without shareholders). TRL is the largest UK
center for transport research, with 500 staff and a turnover of
$46m in 1999/00. Most of TRL's research is still carried out for
Government, but a growing proportion is in other sectors as well.
TRL is organized into 4 research divisions: Infrastructure; Transportation;
Environment and Safety; and International. TRL is a center of scientific
excellence and, as such, much of the work is supported by experimentation.
TRL has a number of large and often unique facilities, including
a pavement test facility, impact test facility and virtual reality
simulator.
TRL's Information & Publishing Services comprises three units:
Library & Information Service; Publications Unit; and Web Unit
The core services that the Library provides both to TRL researchers
and the public are closely linked to their in-house databases and
membership in the ITRD system. In October 2000, TRL implemented
an Intranet, which is still in the initial stages of its development.
The Intranet is maintained by the Web unit.
The TRL library has a large presence on the Intranet through its
"virtual enquiry desk". With the shift towards the Internet
and electronic information resources, there has been a reduced emphasis
on direct contact with reference librarians. The library's contributions
to the intranet include a list of journal holdings, some with hypertext
links to full text articles, a number of British Standards in full
text and the Eurofile full text database of European standards published
by CEN.
TRACS (Transport Research Abstracting and Cataloguing System) is
TRL's principal in-house database comprising some 290,000 records,
over 90% of which have abstracts. The PROJEX databases comprise
some 12,000 summaries of on-going research, and TRLINFO, as its
name suggests, contains information about TRL. The databases are
available on-line to all TRL staff on their desktop via the network.
TRL's input to the ITRD is carried out using the DOC-INPUT program
developed by the German institute BASt. This program produces a
file in CF6 format, which can be imported into the main TRACS database.
Between 50 and 70 new reports are published by TRL each year. The
overall publications portfolio dates back to 1966, comprises more
than 3,400 Research Report and is a very rich and diverse source
of research information, covering over 30 years of work at TRL.
The titles of all these reports can be searched on TRL's website
(www.trl.co.uk), and the search results are linked to a facility
for online purchasing.
Publications are available by subscription or as one-off purchases.
TRL clients can subscribe to a Research Alert Plus scheme that entitles
them to receive up to 25% discount. All reports published since
2000 can be provided electronically as PDF file e-mail attachments.
The TRL library offers a number of other products, such as the
Review of Transport Research, a monthly Current Awareness (SDI)
Service, Current Topics in Transport Series, a selection of abstracts
recently added to the TRL Library database, and Transport databases
on CD, fully searchable self-contained sub-sets of the TRACS database
on specific topics. TRL's web site also contains a wealth of information
about TRL, its capabilities, and details of many of the current
projects and facilities.
TRL offers reciprocal services to other libraries, but since privatization
of the agency most services to their clients and the public are
provided on a fee for service basis.
UNITED STATES, BTS NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION LIBRARY - Nelda Bravo
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics was established under ISTEA
(The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act) legislation.
It is one of 11 agencies within the Department of Transportation,
and is responsible for compiling, analyzing and disseminating transportation
statistics collected by the individual agencies within the DOT.
BTS is intended to be objective and policy-neutral.
The mandate of BTS is to: 1) Compile, analyze and publish comprehensive
transportation statistics for the USDOT; 2) Make statistics easily
accessible; and 3) Create a long-term data collection program
The programs of BTS fall into five key areas: 1) data collection;
2) data quality; 3) compiling, storing and disseminating data; 4)
data analysis; and 5) administration.
The ISTEA legislation called for BTS to establish an intermodal
transportation database that provides data needed by federal and
state agencies and metropolitan planning organizations. The resulting
Intermodal Transportation Database is a collection of data taken
from the vast array of government agencies at all levels available
through the US DOT. The collection includes information on virtually
every aspect of transportation, from rail and freight, to passenger
vehicle and transit, to commercial carriers and private buses.
ISTEA also required BTS to develop a National Transportation Library
(NTL) to provide information necessary to federal, state and local
transportation decision-makers. The NTL is intended to improve the
ability of the transportation community to share information, and
to serve in a coordinating role, working with public and private
transportation libraries and information providers to improve access
to information.
The NTL offers a number of information products and services. A
Digital Library contains almost 7,000 full-text documents, and the
NTL reference service receives over 4,000 queries per month. NTL
also maintains the DOTBOT search engine for the USDOT. Over half
of the USDOT agencies have their websites indexed by DOTBOT; over
150,000 documents are indexed from 170 sites. Future plans include
indexing websites of other federal agencies with transportation-related
information, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the
Department of Industry, and the Department of Energy.
The TRIS database is made available online at no cost to the user
through an innovative partnership between the NTL and the Transportation
Research Board. TRIS Online includes all of TRIS except the Research
in Progress and ITRD Database files. It contains over 4,000 links
to full text documents, and is updated monthly. Where full text
documents are not available, over 100,000 records include links
to the web site of the document's publishing agency.
NTL's vision is to serve as a national, collaborative library system,
offering coordinated collection development, interlibrary loan,
and reference services. As the NTL develops and expands, it will
be working to anticipate the information needs of the transportation
R&D community, and offering the appropriate products and services
to meet those needs.
SWEDEN, SWEDISH NATIONAL ROAD AND TRANSPORT RESEARCH INSTITUTE
(VTI) - Birgitta Sandstedt
VTI is an institute organised under the Ministry of Industry, Employment
and Communications and performs qualified applied research and development
in the transport field for government agencies and other clients.
The Library and Information Centre has national responsibility for
collecting and providing access to information within the areas
of transport and communication research. VTI is also the Swedish
center for the OECD database ITRD (International Transport Research
Documentation) and for co-operation within the ECMT (European Conference
of Ministers of Transport).
Since 1998, the VTI has held ISO 9001 certification issued by Det
Norske Veritas Certification AB. The library has certified four
processes: Information retrieval, current awareness, loans, and
purchasing. VTI's special holdings include statistics, standards
and report series from Transport Research Laboratory and Transportation
Research Board.
110,000 of the references in the library are searchable in the TRAX
database, which started in 1976. All references are indexed with
English keywords from the ITRD thesaurus. The Language and country
of publication are included in the keyword field, also in English.
VTI subscribes to about 1,100 periodicals, of which 500 are journals.
A list of journals in Swedish is searchable in a database called
Tidskrifter. Both TRAX and Tidskrifter are available on the Internet
through a vertical portal (vortal) called Transguide, described
in more detail below.
VTI has approximately 8000 loans a year, of which about 60 per
cent are for internal customers and about 40 per cent for external.
Commissions or projects account for about 5 million Swedish Crowns
each year, which covers about 50 per cent of our costs.
A variety of means are used to develop the collection, including
exchange agreements with other transportation organizations. VTI
has agreements with approximately 200 organisations, 125 of which
are abroad. VTI also receives lists and leaflets from publishers,
gets publications as gifts, and collects information through their
broad contact network, via the Internet, current awareness and databases.
The information is disseminated by VTI in many ways: via the Internet
and Intranet, via the OECD and ECMT databases. The VTI library offers
searches on commission and has an information service for reference
requests. The library also gives lectures and participates at conferences
and exhibitions.
VTI has developed a comprehensive vertical portal for transportation
called Transguide. It is produced, maintained and hosted by the
Library and Information Centre (BIC) and financed by VINNOVA, the
Swedish Agency for Innovation Systems. All information is indexed
and/or classified and is updated continuously. The major components
of TransGuide are as follows:
- A database containing links to approximately 300 web sites.
The websites are grouped by category, and a short description
of each is provided.
- A database providing references to approximately 800 full text
electronic publications. All of the references are classified
and indexed. Abstracts are also available and, of course, the
links to the full text documents are included as well.
- A database of references to approximately 60 bibliographic databases.
Each listing includes a short description and a direct link to
the database.
- The TRAX library catalogue, with over 110,000 references to
publications. All references are classified and they are indexed
with keywords in English from the ITRD thesaurus. Approximately
55 per cent of the publications are in English and about 20 per
cent in Swedish.
- A listing of about 40 statistical data banks. Each includes
a short description and link to the web site.
- A database containing references to upcoming conferences worldwide.
The listings include links to further information when available.
- A database with links to about 60 Swedish libraries within the
transport and communication area. Each listing includes a short
description, and a link to the library's web site.
- A listing of approximately 700 journals available at the VTI
Library.
- A database of information on the "Dennis agreement",
a proposal for the Stockholm infrastructure programme. The agreement
was named after Bengt Dennis who in 1990 was appointed by the
Swedish Government to lead a committee that was to suggest solution
to the Stockholm region's problems. The database contains approximately
7,500 references, which are indexed with keywords. Abstracts are
also available.
Transguide is structured in such a way as to allow simultaneous
searching in six of the above databases (Web sites, E-publications,
Bibliographic databases, Data banks, Upcoming conferences, and Swedish
libraries).
SIMULTANEOUS DISCUSSION:
INFORMATION AVAILABILITY/ACCESSIBILITY/ TRANSLATION
Bonnie Osif , The Pennsylvania State University
Jeanne Thomas, Michigan Department of Transportation
Jerry Baldwin, Minnesota Department of Transportation
Coordinator: Clara Smith, United States Department of Transportation
Recorder: Chris Hedges, Transportation Research Board
Monday, July 30, 2001 - 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
The discussion session began with brief presentations by each of
the three co-moderators. Jeanne Thomas summarized the difficulties
faced by U.S. librarians when trying to locate and obtain paper
copies of material from sources outside the country. Bonnie Osif
reviewed a study she had conducted on the use of non-English language
material. Her research showed that there were virtually no references
to non-English material in a sampling of U.S. research documents.
Furthermore, about 25% of the references in TRIS could not be found
in OCLC; when it came to non-English material in TRIS, about 75%
of the references were not in OCLC. Jerry Baldwin described the
problem of accessing material in the context of the decentralized
nature of transportation libraries in the U.S. In the absence of
formal coordination between libraries or a common union catalogue,
he described a need for a more formal structure to catalogue, index,
store, and provide access to transportation documents.
The publication of the TRANSPORT CD has brought greater attention
to the problems in accessing information. The ability to retrieve
citations and abstracts in a number of languages creates frustration
when it proves to be difficult or impossible to retrieve the original
documents. While the problem of dealing with non-English documentation
is particularly acute in the United States, there are problems in
most countries with accessing the documents cited in TRANSPORT and
in the TRIS and ITRD databases.
Participants in the session discussed a number of issues and concerns,
as well as opportunities to help improve the situation.
- Most American participants indicated that they made little or
no use of non-English material in their research or day-to-day
work. They commonly stated that they did not know how to find
out whether relevant non-English material was available, and would
not be able to make use of non-English material without translation,
which was usually prohibitively expensive.
- Participants from countries outside the U.S. indicated that
most of their technical staff could deal with materials in English
as well as their native language, although there were always examples
of materials published in other languages that they could not
use without translation.
- Copyright laws may restrict the ability of transportation organizations
to produce and distribute translations of published material.
- A role for the University Transportation Centers was discussed.
Since each of the UTCs has a specific theme, it may be appropriate
for the center to identify significant non-English material in
their area whose translation would be of value to U.S. researchers
and practitioners.
- Machine translation software is improving, and can be made even
better through incorporation of a specialized transportation lexicon.
At the moment, however, these programs are best suited to "gisting";
determining the general subject and content of a publication to
help assess whether a more accurate human translation could be
justified.
- The joint FHWA/AASHTO international scanning program was identified
as a good means of identifying valuable non-English material.
The scanning tour participants were in a good position to identify
technologies, materials, and practices in foreign countries that
would be of benefit to U.S. transportation professionals. Direct
personal contacts with their foreign counterparts could both eliminate
some of the language barriers of non-English printed material,
and also help to identify key documents that should be translated
into English.
- There may be a role for the LTAP centers to facilitate dissemination
of non-U.S. transportation innovations, through their network
of centers within the U.S. and contacts with centers outside the
country.
- Foreign students studying in the United States could be a valuable
asset in helping to identify and, in some cases, to translate
non-English documents.
- Trade and industry associations could have a role in helping
to fund translation of key documents in their field of interest.
In summary, it would appear likely that there is an important body
of scientific and technical information that is not being utilized
effectively by transportation professionals. This is a result of:
a) difficulties in accessing or obtaining full text documents once
a citation has been retrieved and reviewed, and b) difficulties
in dealing with material in languages in which the practitioners
are not proficient, especially languages other than English. In
the future, there should be more opportunities to access non-English
technical material through formal and informal professional networks,
face-to-face contacts, greater use of electronic communication,
improved machine translation, and common use of English as the working
language of research. Further, full text electronic publishing should
alleviate many of the difficulties associated with obtaining copies
of paper documents. However, while more and more transportation
researchers world-wide are capable of using English language research,
there will continue to be a need to access translations of published
non-English materials, and in the foreseeable future, the high cost
of human translation is likely to remain a significant barrier.
SIMULTANEOUS DISCUSSION: INTERNET RESOURCES
John Gallwey, University of California-Berkeley
Coordinator: Clara Smith, United States Department of Transportation
Recorder: Laura Whayne, University of Kentucky
Monday, July 30, 2001 - 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
John Gallwey led the discussion by asking some key questions. He
started by asking what people wanted to get from the session. Responses
including the following:
- Looking for new sources to keep current
- Learn to use the Internet more effectively
- Interested in international websites for international information
- Provide information to customers
- Web development duties help give the library a better presence
- Specialized subject areas
Quality of Online Sources:
Currency is a main concern with online sources, whether it is a
subscriber database such as OCLC's World Cat, a free access database
such as TRIS Online or the University of California's Online Catalog,
MELVYL, or an Internet site. The quality of Internet resources is
based on the following factors: currency, accuracy, authority, reliability,
coverage, ease of use, response to users, and on-going maintenance.
Information must be verified and the authority checked. The problem
with developing websites into portals is the often, short lifespan
of sites. They must constantly be maintained.
Types of Internet Resources Discussed:
Free access databases: TRIS Online is a good place to start when
searching for transportation literature. Librarians recommend it
to users. Sometimes, however, it is slow and other databases need
to be searched. PATH is another free bibliographic database accessible
through the Internet that covers Intelligent Transportation Systems
(ITS) literature.
Commercial (fee based) databases: The question was raised whether
people would be willing to pay for access to online resources or
for certain features, even for those currently free. The abstract
was considered the part of the citation for which some would consider
paying. Dialog is an example of a commercial database for which
people are willing to pay, even though there are sometimes similar
databases for free. Dialog offers access to multiple databases for
a price that could not be matched if bought individually. The commercial,
fee based, databases sometimes offer features that are not available
otherwise, such as a common search strategy for multiple databases,
or a more sophisticated search capability. The Internet makes it
easier for searching commercial databases, but they still need improving.
Electronic books are available although the technology is not able,
at this time, to make them easy to read. People tend to print and
then read. Unsure whether the market can support them currently.
Some books, because of the content or format, may lend themselves
to being used in an electronic format.
Listservs: Libraries use listservs for interlibrary loans and reference
questions. The Netherlands and the Transportation Division of the
Special Libraries Association both make use of listservs for locating
materials or answering reference questions.
Private, special interest websites indicates a certain demand.
One should check the accuracy, authority, reliability, and validity
of such sites and use with caution.
Desirable Features for the Internet:
Instant response - requires good servers
Ability to print and email findings
Uniform search strategies and symbols
How to Find Internet Resources:
Search engines such as Google
Ask people
Check web links
General searching
Librarians Index to the Internet (Professionally maintained, annotated,
subject directory, constantly maintained)
Useful Websites:
www.infrastructuur.nl A site from the Netherlands.
www.tft.lth.se A site from Sweden.
www.fhwa.dot.gov A site from the U.S.A. Look for the Office of International
Programs
http://lii.org/ (Librarians Index to the Internet)
Technology:
Are there any new media or changes in the technology? Has it leveled
off with the Internet? Intelligent search engines are getting more
sophisticated.
Language:
There is a dominance of English language websites. This is due to
English being a global language and the initial development of many
websites in English speaking countries. There is a real need for
translations and information about international Internet sources.
SIMULTANEOUS DISCUSSION: LESSONS LEARNED
FROM WASHINGTON, PRAGUE, AND ACAPULCO INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATION
CONFERENCES
Sirpa Haapamaki, Finnish National Road Administration
Colin Howard, Transport Research Laboratory
Roberto Sarmiento, Northwestern University
Coordinator: Clara Smith, United States Department of Transportation
Recorder: Maryanne Ward, PAACAR Technical Center
Monday, July 30, 2001 - 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Roberto Sarmiento moderated the session. He began by indicating
that the goal of the session was to gather information from the
attendees to the meetings at the three conferences held earlier.
The hope is that future organizers can improve future meetings.
WASHINGTON CONFERENCE - Sirpa Haapamaki
Sirpa summarized the highlights and recommendations from the March
1995 International Transportation Information Resources Conference
held in Washington, D.C It was a well-organized conference, held
at the National Academy of Sciences and included a workshop held
at at the Transportation Research Board facilities. Both the conference
and the workshop were sponsored by US organizations. There were
117 participants from US, Canada, Australia, and Europe.
At the 1995 conference there was a major discussion about the Federal
Highway Adminstration's scanning program to identify transortation
information resources in other countries. Members of the scanning
team had travelled abroard to study collections, etc. and reported
on their findings. The number one problem reported was the difficulty
in accessing foreign materials in USA. In many cases, the existence
of foreign collections was unknown. If known, not all institutions
could supply the documents. There were also language barriers. Most
US researchers are English language only.
The scanning team produced two written reports and also reported
their findings in depth at the 1995 Washington DC conference. There,
the audience got a comprehensive view of institutions in the participating
countries. This was extremely helpful to all participants, and increased
the knowledge about availability and also obstacles.
Overall, the conference was a friendly and wonderful gesture from
US colleagues. It put the people with the problems together with
those with solutions. Sirpa remarked that the conference made her
library part of the international community. She commented that
there is a big difference between a network and a community and
referred us to an article in the May 2001 issue of Outlook,a magazine
published by the Special Libraries Association. As a result of the
conference, attendees were provided with access to translation services,
access to foreign information was improved in the USA, US expertise
was promoted internationally, and US road transport technology transfer
was improved.
The recommendations that resulted from the 1995 conference were:
develop a national transportation information link to connect catalogues
and databases; provide educational training and arrange international
transportation information gatherings regularly; and develop TRIS
to include foreign citations.
So she asked, what steps have been taken since then? There was
one survey made in Mexico. Some exchange agreements have been set
in motion. For example, California-Berkeley library has such agreements,
and bibliographic data for these documents are added to the TRIS
database. FHWA brought librarians to US to provide opportunity to
meet each other. As a result of the Conference and the contacts
made there, librarians can contact each other in different countries
when they need something.
Discussion:
After Sirpa's formal remarks, there was audience discussion. One
report was faxed in less than two hours from Sweden to TRB. What
is important is knowing WHERE to go, which implies not so much a
network, but a community. Some in the audience commented that we
can exchange links to publications in pdf format; and that we are
now more aware of each other's publications. Another commented that
nothing is organized as to follow-up, but the trend is that we need
follow-up or things don't get done. Lots of librarians aren't coming
to meetings, which reflect institutional problems.
Are there any gaps in the US transportation collection? Yes, but
we need a national project to determine the nature of these gaps,
and we need to coordinate collections.
One mentioned feedback received that IIRD database was difficult
to access on ESA-IRS. So it was moved to STN. People liked that.
Good feedback on that. Having it on Silverplatter also good-happened
about the same time.
Some commented that there could be more synergy between the Technology
Transfer Centers and the libraries. Have they approached each other?
Are we really using these networks as much as we should? Are we
exploiting all our resources adequately? The FHWA International
program has included libraries and documentation centers as part
of their programs. It is very important to people from these different
levels to connect. PIARC is promoting a four-year program to create
new T2 Centers in developing countries. They will benefit from OECD
products. Trying to get more cooperation among products. Explicit
policy in PIARC is to exploit from each other. There is initial
movement to look for these synergies. This community offers many
opportunities to extend information services to the community. So,
how can we plug into that network as librarians? Maybe we need their
people to come and tell the librarians what their projects are and
how librarians can be involved. Librarians need to get out to the
user communities. This happened at the conference in Acapulco and
now TRB library getting more business. It is important for librarians
to get out.
PRAGUE CONFERENCE - Colin Howard
Colin Howard from TRLL reported on the meeting in Prague, Czech
Republic, in July 1997. The objectives were information sharing
and gathering especially with the European emerging countries, and
to explore possibilities for meeting needs and cooperation. The
meeting emphasized the importance of access. It was an opportunity
for the OECD world and Eastern European world to come together,
along with people from the European Commission, Slovenia, and Slovakia.
A key theme was the importance of the access and use of information
in developing transport systems that contribute in a substantial
way to the economic development of a country or region. Well-founded
information and documentation resources can enhance and improve
the design, construction, maintenance, and operation of road and
transport systems. The need is for this information to find its
way to the practitioners who can make practical use of the information
on a day-to-day basis. Data needs were discussed. Other topics were:
importance of information, sources and best means for accessing
information. There were two sessions on information resources, management,
and uses of information. By now national and international sharing
were much more common. IRRD was a platform for sharing research
information. Standardization of hardware and sofrtware were discussed,
along with the costs of access which was increasing.
Participants discussed the World Interchange Network (WIN), the
US Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP), and the Transportation
Division of the Special Libaries Association. They discussed current
information and challenges from new countries of Eastern Europe.
They shared the challenges they face, especially communication challenges.
The demand on road systems was increasing, which required improvements
and safety. The importance of documentation was increasingly recognized.
There was a software incompatibiltiy problem. Access to inernational
sources was not extensive. Language was a SERIOUS barrier, and also
cost. Decision-makers seemed unaware of the importance of information.
They identified a need for training, and buiding links with policy-makers.
Recommendations from the Prague conference were: try to get senior
OECD and other high-level policy makers into information and to
improve international access to information. What are the results?
There have been anumber of initiatives in Eastern Europe (CEEC's)
and also to Latin America. Operational committees want to provide
easier access. CEEC's needed access through PIARC. There was emphasis
on training and personnel exchange. The CEECs wanted training, direct
assistance, and financial support.
Colin asked how many in the current audience had attended the Prague
conference: answer was five. One participant reported she had sent
boxes of documents to CEEC attendees, but never heard back. Berkeley
had done the same but never heard back. One got the impression that
the wrong people were there--the information specialists were missing.
The attendees did not connect with discussions on information issues
and needs. The point was made that mostly senior managers were there,
and perhaps they did not recognize that they needed to work with
local people. This also may be the reason for so little response.
Needed senior policy makers and information workers but they weren't
there. The point was made that the conference had occurered very
soon after they'd broken out from Eastern bloc. The chance to travel
was special; those who travelled didn't transmit information back
when they returned to organizations.
Also there was a sense of information gaps, but the comment was
made that they are petty much the same everywhere. To really get
results, you need 2-3 meetings. At third meeting, you really get
the people who are directly working with information. The suggestion
was made that maybe the focus of meeting should be more regional
and closer geographically to people who will be dealing with informtion
directly. It was considered important to have mega-conferences to
start the ball rolling, but maybe some smaller conferences would
be good--use the larger ones to set up smaller ones. There is also
a need to have policy makers buy into having meetings. First approach
should be open to anyone who is allowed to go. Anyone who goes might
present information for someone else. Get an idea of the benefits
for those meetings. Sometimes the librarian doesn't speak English
too well, and so if someone else goes they can transfer the information
to the librarian.
Discussion:
Another point from the audience was that everybody is privatizing.
How can they afford; many cannot afford to buy documents and services.
Costs are going up.
The question was asked: Is management more or less supportive of
information activities in all institutions? Colin reported that
they are having problems in his organization. Even ITRD suffers,
having only about 20 members overall. There is a lot of confusion
over the roles of the information specialist and computer people.
Librarians have to maintain data in the database. ITRD has virtually
no input from the CEECs.
The comment from a Venezuelan attendee is that we should have the
opportunity to have meetings in English and Spanish. Not very many
people from Latin America attend; we need more. We don't have interpreters
and that's a big issue. Translation is becoming a bigger and bigger
problem. Also discusssed at Prague, that many people didn't speak
English. But concensus was that English is a common language, more
or less. However, at conferences, we should have translators. If
we note that, we'll get more participants. We didn't advertise this
conference to Latin America too well. Cost is a problem, of course,
but a lot of this conference was funded by the US Department of
Transportation. It wants to get information to the US.
ACAPULCO CONFERENCE - Roberto Sarmiento
Roberto Sarmiento reported on the Acapulco Conference. The Mexicans
did a survey prior to the Conference, and got 120 responses back
out of more than 400. Ninety were from Mexico. Spain is supporting
centers in Latin America. When smaller organizations are helped
by bigger organizations, all gain. Recommendations and comments:
lots of requests to write a letter to OECD to get help getting Centers
going. Latin American governments are requesting help from international
governments. There is a need for information speciailists and also
transportion specialists. Roberto made the point that we need real
specialists to manage information. Librarians are trained to do
that job; other people are not. Latin American countries were urged
to make use of information in organizations, such as PIARC.
He asked the question: Is anyone following up? He recommended that
questionnaires be used to find out information needs. Could be used
by future meeting planners. Latin American countries have asked
OECD countries to provide training, so what are we doing? Need training
in how to do internet, how to search TRIS. We need to help people
in the trenches, and give tools, so they can raise their status
as information specialists.
Discussion:
Roberto challenged the audience with a list of questions. There
was a brief discussion with a few points made by the audience.
#1 : Do OECD or FHWA follow-up when they sponsor? We should distinguish
between them. The US-sponsored ones have been for US specialists
to find out what's happening abroad. The OECD-sponsored ones are
focused on informing other OECD countries. The meeting has to be
mostly US-oriented if the US sponsors it. For US meetings, there
hasn't been much follow-up and the same is true for the OECD sponsored
meetings, at least not in a direct and sustained manner. There is
an NCHRP project looking at translations. We have a thesaurus. From
OECD side, there have been problems since Prague, because people
who were very in favor of OECD outreaching are gone. It has changed
its nature, lately. There was a list of recommendations, but people
aren't there anymore. OECD is sponsoring another confrence and so
has followed up. Maybe more sustained meetings. Maybe we should
meet every other year. What is the librarian/information specialist
community doing ? Librarians need to be more pro-active, do more,
stretch out.
#3. Question: What were the disappointments? Translation probably
needed.
#5 More technical. Good to do TRIS and web training. Seeing new
tools. Should we have that in meetings more commonly ?
#7. More goals? Project oriented? Do we want to see something substantial
? Roberto says, Yes.
#9. Most librarians in the rest of the world have a bachelor's degree.
We have more education in US. Also they don't have the technology.
These questions are on the Northwestern University web site.
http://www.library.northwestern.edu/transportation/stpetesurvey.html
Roberto promised to publish the answers.
INFORMATION RESOURCES AND PLANS
Georgia Ludgate, Transportation Development Centre, Transport Canada
Helga Trantes, Bundesanstalt für Strassenwesen (BASt)
Barbara Post, Transportation Research Board
Roberto Aguerrebere, Instituto Mexicano de Transporte
Moderator: Donald Symmes, Federal Highway Administration
Recorder: Sandy Tucker, Texas Transportation Institute
Monday, July 30, 2001 - 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
TRANSPORT CANADA INFORMATION RESOURCES AND PLANS - Georgia Ludgate
Ms. Ludgate brought smiles to the audience with her opening remarks:
"First of all, to break the ice, which in itself is a major
concern for Transport Canada, let me summarize the importance of
transportation in our country by sharing with you a Canadian saying.
Canadians love to say that we have two seasons: we have ten months
of winter, and two months of poor sledding. We don't say this because
it's true; we say it because, if we say it enough, the Americans
will believe it. It's sort of a national conspiracy
"
She continued with a description of the information resources that
Transport Canada does make and plans to make available through the
Internet. Transport Canada is the federal department of transportation
in Canada, and the Transportation Development Centre is its research
unit. Together with all other departments in the Government of Canada
it is cooperating in a common initiative called Government Online
to be visible and accessible on the Web and to provide the most
direct access possible to information.
The initiative includes a common "look and feel" so that
all of the department web sites share a common basic structure that
will enable visitors to learn to navigate easily. As there are two
official languages in Canada, all the sites provide equal access
in both English and French.
Transport Canada's mission is to develop and administer policies,
regulations, and programs for a safe, efficient and environmentally
responsible transportation system. Its responsibilities cover all
modes of transportation, including aviation system safety, rail,
road and motor vehicle safety, and transportation security.
In its role as regulator, the department publishes numerous acts
and regulations, for example, the Aeronautics Act and Canadian Air
Regulations and the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act. On the
TC web site one can locate the acts alphabetically by name or search
them by transportation mode. They are available in full text as
well as in downloadable versions.
Transport Canada's Policy Group makes available data in the form
of an electronic library called T-Facts, or transportation facts.
It includes information about the Canadian transportation system,
such as the length of the TransCanada Highway, the cost of operating
trucks in Canada, and a picture of the recently built multi-span
Confederation Bridge between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.
T-Facts includes statistical data that has been culled from a variety
of sources, including Statistics Canada. Data are supplied in spreadsheet
and graph formats. T-Facts also provides links to various policy-related
publications and to transportation organizations.
The Road Safety Branch (RoadSafetyWebMail@tc.gc.ca) is the source
of Canadian statistics related to highway and motor vehicle safety.
It publishes data on traffic accidents, such as trends in vehicle
traffic collision statistics, pedestrian fatalities and injuries,
and school bus collisions. It also issues information on recalls
and advisory notices on safety issues such as child car seats or
winter tires.
The Railway Safety, Marine Safety and Transportation of Dangerous
Goods groups all have Web pages that list publications. The Civil
Aviation Group is responsible for over 500 publications. They have
recently set up a database on their Web page where the user can
search for documents by title, publication number or keyword. They
have also implemented online ordering and are working on online
payment by credit card.
At the moment one must find publications under the modal groups.
A major project under development is to create a common database
for searching all department documents.
For assistance, contact the main Transport Canada Library in Ottawa
(librreq@tc.gc.ca) to identify a document. It is the depository
library for all departmental publications, and librarians there
can identify the source of material quickly. They also provide,
free of charge, print copies of corporate publications such as the
Transport Canada Annual Report. The Transportation Development Centre
Library in Montreal focuses more on the research aspects of transportation
but is also happy to help in furnishing any information needed (ludgatg@tc.gc.ca).
As the research arm of Transport Canada, the Transportation Development
Centre, or TDC (www.tc.gc.ca/tdc), manages a multimodal R&D
program that promotes innovation in transport. Research areas include
accessible transportation, intelligent transportation systems and
human factors aspects such as driver fatigue. Each research project
starts with a request for proposals. The work is carried out by
the company awarded the contract, with TDC providing guidance and
oversight.
The Centre's online Project Directory provides descriptions of
TDC research projects dating from 1996 to the present and is organized
by modal and special interest areas. The results of each completed
project are written up in a research report, and one can link from
the project description to the report summary and from there to
a PDF version of the most recent reports.
The majority of TDC reports are published in English, although
some are only available in French and others are bilingual, depending
on the demand. To further enhance technology transfer, the TDC sends
one copy of each report to the Northwestern Transportation Library,
which in turn indexes it for the TRIS database. TDC reports are
also abstracted and available for purchase from NTIS.
The TDC is gradually rendering reports available for download from
our Web site retrospectively from the year 2000. Limited print versions
are available for purchase from the Centre. The Annual Review and
a quarterly bulletin called the R&D Update, which features a
recent project in each issue, are available free of charge. One
can request to be on a mailing list to receive these automatically.
In summary, current priorities for developing better access to
information resources at Transport Canada are:
- a central online publications ordering system, which will simplify
for the user the identification and acquisition of documents from
all areas of the department; and
- Web access to library catalogues, which will bring the user
right to TC's doorstep.
INFORMATION RESOURCES AND SERVICES AVAILABLE AT THE BUNDESANSTALT
FUER STRASSENWESEN - FEDERAL HIGHWAY RESEARCH INSTITUTE (BAST) -
Helga Trantes
BASt and Its Research Activities
The Federal Highway Research Institute is a technical and scientific
research institute responsible to the Federal Ministry of Transport,
Building and Housing. In 1951 BASt began its work in Cologne, initially
with research in the field of highway construction. In 1965 BASt's
activities were broadened to also include research into the improvement
of highway capacity and safety. In 1970 the German Bundestag voted
to establish an accident research center, which was then set up
at BASt as its accident research department. In 1983 BAST moved
to Bergisch Gladbach, a town located not far from Cologne.
BASt has a staff of approximately 400 and comprises six divisions:
five Scientific Divisions - Behavior and Safety, Traffic Engineering,
Automotive Engineering, Highway Construction Technology, Bridges
and Structural Technology - and the Administrative Services. Scientific
Information is part of the Public Relations Section within the administrative
unit.
The scope of work is considerable, ranging from replying at short
notice to incoming enquiries to the coordination and carrying out
of research projects over a period of several years. A focal point
of BASt's work results from the role it plays in the formulation
of specifications and standards applying to all fields in highway-related
work. All these tasks are undertaken in close collaboration with
national institutes and organizations. Similar contacts exist at
the international level with central research laboratories of other
countries, OECD, the European Union, PIARC, etc. BASt also acts
as a consultant, conducts laboratory and field investigations and
prepares expert reports.
Another task is to act as scientific advisor to the state highway
authorities that administer federal interstate highways and autobahns
on the behalf of the federal government. The task of advising the
Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing on technical matters
in the field of transport policy means that information on new developments,
new technologies, and most recent scientific findings must be available
at BASt. Besides close contacts with the research communities involved
in national and international transportation research, the research
carried out and managed by BASt is a very important issue.
Internal staff research is conducted in the fields of special interest.
Currently it can be subdivided into the following areas:
- Improvement in the efficiency of the construction and maintenance
of roads, bridges, and civil engineering structures
- Road safety improvements
- Improvements in road use efficiency
- Prevention or reduction of environmental impacts caused by highway
traffic
- The role of the road network within the overall transport system
External research projects - this means research projects planned,
awarded and managed entirely or in cooperation by BASt - are related
to the following research programs:
- Road construction and road traffic
- Road safety research
- Vehicle technology
- Emergency medical services system (EMS System)
- Urban traffic
In addition to these research programs, BASt staff members are
increasingly involved in cooperative European Community research
projects. Information on all research projects since 2000 - ongoing
and terminated - is available on the BASt web site at http://www.bast.de/.
Many project results have a direct effect on the road-user community
as a whole and are therefore of wide public interest. The Public
Relations, Scientific Information section meets the demand for quality
information by providing written and oral answers to about 7,000
enquiries per year.
The external aim of the public relations work is to present BASt
as a competent and good-practice research institution in all fields
relating to road construction, traffic safety, and transport systems;
the internal aim is to provide all scientific sections the most
suitable means of communication and assist in processing the results
in order to successfully convey scientific information, the BASt
product. In addition, the Scientific Information staff provides
the BASt researchers with scientific findings and information from
Germany and abroad.
Publications
The forms of communication used to disseminate the BASt research
results depend on the target groups to be reached, for example,
experts, road users, or the press. Depending on the number of people
interested and the significance, BASt research findings may be published
as internal research reports with limited distribution or in the
series Berichte der Bundesanstalt fuer Strassenwesen, BASt reports.
Some 330 BASt reports have been published since 1993. A publishing
company has been commissioned to distribute the reports; enquiries
concerning purchase or subscription should be addressed to them.
At present, BASt reports are only available in printed form. The
abstracts are available on the BASt web site, where the full reports
can be ordered online via e-mail as well.
The scientific information service BASt-INFO provides one-to-four-page
summaries of research results and their publications. Some 230 BASt-INFOs
have been published since 1993. BASt-INFO brochures are also available
online on the BASt web site, where they can be printed or downloaded.
Databases
The most important database with which BASt is involved is the International
Transport Research Documentation, ITRD, operated within the OECD
Road Transport and Intermodal Linkages Research Program. As the
German linguistic coordinating center of ITRD, BASt is responsible
for handling the input from the ITRD centers working in German,
presently in Austria, the German-speaking part of Switzerland, and
Germany. As part of the division of labor for preparation of ITRD
Working Documents, BASt will provide the 2001 List of Journals/List
of Series Scanned in ITRD.
In addition, BASt is in charge of software development and maintenance.
BASt has developed the PC input program DOC-INPUT©, which is
used by most ITRD input centers. Operational since the beginning
of 1999, DOC-INPUT© is MS-Acess-based and offers user interfaces
in the four ITRD languages. BASt is also responsible for the CF6CHECK©
program, which check data in CF6 format, the six-byte key ITRD format
used for data exchange.
In 1997 BASt set up the Basic Support for Cooperative Work (BSCW)
site, which offers a web-based platform to authorized working groups
- in this case the ITRD members. Initially set up for DOC-INPUT©
development, BSCW is now used for the distribution of programs,
the dissemination of monthly ITRD input to members, the distribution
of working documents, and other information that an ITRD member
wishes to share.
As regards its responsibilities as an ITRD input center, BASt abstracts
German journals, publications series, books, conference proceedings,
research reports, etc. BASt is in charge of the subject areas relating
to bridges and tunnels, traffic and transport, accidents and safety,
vehicles, and environment. The Road and Transport Research Association
in Cologne takes care of the other ITRD subject areas of the German
input. Regarding the scale of the work, BASt selects and abstracts
about 1,800 records per year. As a coordinating center it handles
another 1,200 records and thus makes available some 3,000 German
language references to the international public each year.
As regards access to the ITRD references, BASt information and
documentation services carry out bibliographic searches in the ITRD
database for customers within Germany, mainly universities, engineering
bureaus, students. Searches can be requested in writing or by e-mail.
BASt itself does not act as a general provider of original literature,
but our documentation and library services do try to answer inquiries
as comprehensively as possible.
BASt also acts as database host and administrator for the International
Road Traffic and Accident Database IRTAD. IRTAD was established
in 1990 and is also operated within the framework of the OECD Road
Transport and Intermodal Linkages Research Programme. Out of the
30 OECD member countries, 24 are participating in IRTAD, and each
is represented by a national coordinating center. Twenty-one additional
institutes also contribute. Because IRTAD provides accident data
from multiple countries, it allows international comparisons of
road safety. Exchange of expertise is ensured by regular meetings
of the international user group. IRTAD is financed on a subscription
basis.
For external users BASt provides a copy of the database on CD-ROM
for installation on a personal computer. In addition, all subscribers
have free online access to the database on the Internet to obtain
the most recent figures. For its members, IRTAD offers surveillance
of data quality and consistency, data input by BASt staff, ready-to-use
retrievals, training sessions, etc.
The extension of IRTAD to include non-OECD countries is one of
the future goals. For further information, visit the IRTAD web pages
at http://www.bast.de/htdocs/fachthemen/irtad/.
Library and Documentation Services for BASt Staff
As in many similar institutes, BASt documentation and library services
are currently in a transitional phase, moving to a more user-centered
approach. As it is now, users must look at multiple information
sources, using different retrieval packages.
The BASt library has about 40,000 volumes, consisting of books,
standards, maps, patents and electonic media. It participates in
publication exchange with national and international institutes
working in the transportation area, many of them ITRD members. It
subscribes to some 270 periodicals and 120 loose-leaf editions.
One big step forward was the implementation of a new library management
system, aDIS/BMS, in the beginning of 2000. It is used for acquisitions,
cataloging, and lending, as well as for the management of periodicals,
the library budget and administration, etc. In addition to optimizing
the library tasks, aDIS/BMS makes the library catalog available
to all BASt staff via the intranet. The TRANSPORT CD-ROM is also
available to all BASt staff via the intranet.
Further in-house services include the following:
- All standard library services, such as ordering, acquisition,
lending, interlibrary loan
- Electronic media made available via a CD-ROM server
- SDIs (selective dissemination of information) on current topics
- Searches in the library catalog, the ITRD database and TRANSPORT
CD
- Support for Internet searches
As to future developments, the library plans to make available
the full-text version of the most important standards to all BASt
staff via the intranet. It would like to upgrade the library management
system from a Windows interface to a web-based user interface. It
is considering replacing the circulation of periodicals by electronic
circulation of tables of contents and maybe abstracts, as well subscribing
to electronic journals and supplementing print journals with electronic
versions.
To summarize, the library would like to make available all information
resources (OPAC, ITRD, BASt research management database, and small
databases developed by research specialists) under a single web-based
user interface through the BASt intranet. In the future, such an
information pool might well include electronic access to primary
information, such as the BASt reports and publications, journal
articles based on electronic licenses, links to free Internet databases
or to web sites of interest to our experts. Particularly in view
of the aim of providing easy access to all relevant information,
both nationally and internationally, international collaboration
in the field of information remains very important and will even
gain in significance in the future.
That is why there is one additional point to be made. In order
to further the exchange of research information on an international
basis, BASt can occasionally invite guest scientists and researchers
to spend some time at the Institute. This also applies to specialists
in the area of information, documentation and libraries. If people
are interested, a stay at BASt of this kind can also include study
tours to other German transportation authorities or agencies participating
in the activities mentioned.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD (TRB) - Barbara Post
The Transportation Research Board (TRB), created in 1920, is an
agency of the National Research Council, which serves as the principal
operating arm of the National Academy of Science, the National Academy
of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. TRB's purpose is
to advance knowledge concerning the nature and performance of transportation
systems by stimulating research and disseminating the information
derived therefrom. The work of TRB encompasses technical matters
and policy issues. By charter, TRB is a private, non-profit, independent,
self-governing organization that serves as advisor to the U.S. federal
government.
TRB is governed by its Executive Committee and comprises some 480
committees and 4,600 members. It has a staff of 120 and a budget
of $45 million. It publishes 150 reports per year, and attendance
at its annual meeting number 8,500.
TRB's mission is to promote innovation in transportation through
research. Its primary services and programs are as follows:
- Information dissemination and exchange
- Cooperative research programs
- Studies on transportation policy issues
- Continuing advice
Information about TRB and its programs is available through its
web site at http://trb.org/. The web site also provides access to
four databases:
- The TRB Publications Index contains over 21,000 annotated citations
for all TRB and Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) publications
from the mid 1970s until present.
- The PATH database, maintained by the Harmer E. Davis Transportation
Library of the University of California at Berkeley, contains
the largest and most comprehensive collection of bibliographic
information on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS).
- The Research in Progress database contains about 6,000 statements
of current research.
- TRIS (Transportation Research Information Services) contains
over half a million records of published and ongoing transportation
research and for over 35 years has been one of the major resources
on transportation.
- TRIS covers all modes - highway, transit, railroads, maritime,
and aviation and multiple disciplines - planning, finance, design
and construction, materials, environmental issues, safety and
human factors, and operations. The sources of its records are
as follows:
- TRB indexers and abstractors
- TLIB files, created by Northwestern University's Transportation
Library and by the Harmer E. Davis Transportation Library
of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University
of California at Berkeley
- ITRD (International Transport Research Documentation) for
European material
- PATH database, mentioned above
One can access TRIS in several ways:
- SilverPlatter Transport, fee-based
- CD-ROM or Web access
- Includes all published material in TRIS and the entire
ITRD database
- Updated quarterly
- Dialog Corporation (File 63), fee-based
- Two versions on Web
- Includes Research in Progress and English language ITRD
material
- Updated monthly
- TRIS Online, no charge
- Agreement between TRB and the Bureau of Transportation
Statistics (BTS)
- TRB continues to produce TRIS
- TRIS available on the Web through the National Transportation
Library
- Value added - links to full-text, public-domain reports
or document suppliers
- Inludes all of TRIS except Research in Progress and ITRD
Database
- Currently over 4,000 links to full text
- Links for direct ordering from NTIS and TRB
- Over 100,000 links to corporate-author web sites
Full text in TRIS Online
- Reports
- 750 FHWA documents
- 400 NHTS documents
- State DOT, U.S. DOT, TRB, GAO, University Research, NCAT,
CRREL, TTI
- Journal Articles
- Public Roads, Journal of Transportation and Statistics,
Better Roads, AASHTO Quarterly, Feature articles in Civil
Engineering, Status Report, Texas Transportation Researcher
TRIS Online Usage
- Each month between 6,000 and 7,000 unique users access TRIS
Online
- Almost 20,000 searches are executed on TRIS Online every month
- About 20% of the users of TRIS Online come from countries other
than the U.S.
- 40% of visitor sessions are from educational institutions
Plans for TRIS
- Improve and expand TRIS Online
- Expand full-text and document-delivery links
- Improve searching
- New TRIS development system
MEXICAN TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATION
CENTER - Roberto Aguerrebere-Salido and Blanca Ordoñez
Created on April 15, 1987 as an agency of the Mexican Communication
and Transport Ministry (Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes,
SCT), the Mexican Transportation Institute (IMT) is an organization
devoted to research and technology development.
The IMT's Information and Documentation Center, CID, was created
in 1988 to support research with specialized transportation information
in the fields of infrastructure, equipment, and operations. As the
Institute expanded, it became necessary to have a dedicated building
designed to provide information services to internal and external
users. In 1998 the new facilities were inaugurated.
The specific objectives of the CID are as follows:
- To support the needs for information and documentation of the
IMT research staff
- To exchange information with similar organizations from Mexico
and other countries
- To provide library services to graduate students from national
and foreign universities
- To contribute to the dissemination of specialized information
in Mexico
The general collection of the library consist of around 5,000 titles
of books, dictionaries, theses, manuals, statistical yearbooks,
proceedings of seminars and congresses, regulations, standards,
and research reports of universities, government institutions and
organizations of Mexico and other countries. Subjects covered include
air, rail, road, maritime and multimodal transportation.
The library also holds 82 periodicals, covering all modes and including
international titles. Topics covered include economics, logistics,
planning, operations, geography, transportation engineering, mechanical
engineering, and construction.
The CID maintains a database of bibliographic records of its holdings,
available at http://www.imt.mx/Espanol/CID/consulta.html. The database
contains around 20,000 records in English or Spanish and is built
on the Micro-Isis system of UNESCO, complemented with an IMT-developed
search engine.
The CID provides online access to the official newspaper of the
federation of Mexico, Diario, Oficial de la Federacion and Internet
access to universities and government organizations of Mexico and
other countries. It also provides several databases on CD-ROM:
- Transport: OECD's ITRD, ECMT's TRANSDOC, and TRB's TRIS, with
bibliographic records and abstracts provided by 30 organizations
from 25 countries.
- Annual Meetings of the Transportation Research Board: abstracts
and preprint papers
- Transportation Research Record 1999: 5-year index (1994-1998)
of TRB and SHRP publications
- World Road Statistics 1995-1999: published by the International
Road Federation
- Economic and Population Censuses of Mexico: from INEGI (Instituto
Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática)
- Databases of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department
of Transportation
The CID's map collection includes 100 topographical maps of the
geology, land use, etc., of Mexico (scale 1:50,000), edited by INEGI.
It also includes maps of road networks by state, edited by the Communication
and Transport Ministry (SCT); the National Atlas of Mexico, edited
by UNAM (National Automomus Univeristy of Mexico), and the Atlas
of Communications and Transportation of Mexico, edited by SCT.
Services available from the CID include the following:
- Internet access to the database of the Information and Documentation
Center or at the facilities of the Center
- On-site access to the general collection and periodicals
- Selective dissemination of information: lists of bibliographic
references by subject
- Search requests by fax, mail, telephone and e-mail
- Photocopies and information delivery by fax, e-mail or mail
- Internal library loans; any person can consult the CID collections
- External library loans by inter-library agreement
The IMT maintains several network memberships:
- OECD ITRD: The CID enters Spanish-language records of reports
produced in Mexico.
- Panamerican network of information in environmental health
- World Interchange Network WIN, PIARC
- Virtual Center for Transportation Research, Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperative
- International Forum for Rural Transport and Development, IFRTD
Other memberships include the following:
- Transportation Research Board (TRB)
- Panamerican Highways Institute (PIH)
- American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
- International Cargo Handling Coordination Association (ICHCA)
Future plans of the IMT include providing Web access to the full
text of its research reports, of which there are 180 to date. The
IMT CID would like to increase the number of Mexican bibliographic
records in the OECD-DIIT database. It would also like to enlarge
its video library and improve the response time for user requests.
SIMULTANEOUS DISCUSSION: TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION
INFRASTRUCTURE AROUND THE WORLD
Daniel Krummes, University of California, Berkeley
Coordinator: Clara Smith, United States Department of Transportation
Recorder: Laura Whayne, University of Kentucky
Monday, July 30, 2001 - 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
This session was an open discussion, moderated by Dan Krummes,
about the infrastructure that supports access to transportation
information in the participant's country. The group attending the
session was divided based on the countries represented. A brief
questionnaire was distributed to everyone. Responses are from the
nine countries represented. Because of time limitations, not all
questions from the questionnaire were addressed in the discussion.
Following are those that were addressed:
In terms of your home country
What political, social and economic factors have determined its
transportation information infrastructure?
Two of the more common factors from the responses include government
structure, whether tiered or a monarchy, and privatization.
Australia: The government structure is tiered (national, state,
local). Australia has a low population compared to its geographical
area, but the population is concentrated in the cities. This urbanization
has impacted the information needs.
France: There are two major transportation agencies: The French
National Transportation Research Institute and the Department of
Ministry of Transport.
Germany: The federal government is a key factor. The infrastructure
is decentralized and dispersed. Universities and transportation
institutes are also part of the infrastructure.
Mexico: The political and economic model of the country. Since the
mid 1980s, there is more trade and a more open economy. The role
of the state is as a promoter and regulator. The private sector
participates more now. There are more research centers and more
access to information.
Netherlands: The Netherlands has different levels of government.
There is cooperation between the government and organizations. Additional
factors include a special library on traffic safety and the University
of Delft.
Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia has a monarchy, so no agencies are required
to provide information. With the Internet, the demand for information
has increased, which has created a need for an information infrastructure.
The academic institutions are providing some of the infrastructure.
Sweden: VTI had been nationally responsible for information. In
the 1990s there was a re-organization and KFB contracted for a three,
year period with VTI and the Information Center to be responsible
for the information. Outside consultants conduct an evaluation annually.
United Kingdom: Privatization and cost recovery are now predominant.
One buys only what is needed and this reduces the waste.
United States: Different levels of government (national, state,
local). Customers may not value our information and services, and
there is a perception that information should be free.
What are the key institutional players in terms of the creation
of transportation research information?
Government agencies, consultants, universities, associations/organizations,
private companies, research centers are key in the creation of transportation
research information.
Australia: ARRB, Austraroads, State Departments of Transport and
State Departments of Highways, universities, the private sector,
third party insurance.
France: INRETS, DGAC (aviation), SNF (rail), Interlocut (maritime),
RATP (transit), Renault/Pugeot (crash testing).
Germany: BAST, Federal Ministry of Transportation, organizations,
German Institute of Construction Techniques, universities, private
companies.
Mexico: Mexican Transport Institute, university research centers.
Netherlands: CROW, ministries, universities, consultants.
Saudi Arabia: Ministry of Communication (land and sea), Ministry
of Aviation. Have an intermodal/multimodal transport network so
need one central agency. Organization is being reviewed.
Sweden: Vinnova, Swedish National Road Administration, VTI, universities.
United Kingdom: TRL, government departments, universities, professional
institutes, research associations.
United States: U.S. Department of Transportation (all modes), state
departments of transportation, associations (TRB, AASHTO, trade
groups), interest/activist groups, cities and municipal planning
organizations, SHRP/FSHRP.
What are the key transportation information distributors?
National transportation research centers and institutes, libraries,
government and statistical agencies, magazines and journals, publishers,
web sites, word of mouth (technology transfer) and universities
are the key distributors of transportation information. There is
some overlap between the distributors and creators of transportation
information. (See previous question).
Australia: ARRB, National Library of Australia, word of mouth (technology
transfer), Austraroads, advertising (safety messages), universities,
TRANZINFO, state transport agencies, Aviation Information Center.
France: INRETS, government agencies, information intermediates,
Elsevier journals.
Germany: BAST, universities, publishers, auto association.
Mexico: Statistics (government agencies, NIGM, university agreements),
research centers, libraries, magazines, websites.
Netherlands: Special Centralized Bureau of Statistics, professional
organizations.
Saudi Arabia: Minister of Communication, Minister of Interior, municipal
affairs, university research.
Sweden: VTI, Swedish National Road Administration, universities.
United Kingdom: TRL, government, Internet, universities, PTRC seminars,
publishers.
United States: NTIS, TRIS, GPO, libraries, Dialog (fee based).
Do you see any trends developing in your home country, which may
affect future access to transportation research information?
Less research is being published as reports.
Privatization - No incentives to publish.
Downsizing and closing of libraries are occurring.
Amount of research is shrinking because of fewer funds.
Electronic publishing is transitory.
SIMULTANEOUS DISCUSSION: UPDATED INTERNATIONAL
INFORMATION RESOURCES GUIDE
Larry Decina, TransAnalytics, LLC
Coordinator: Clara Smith, United States Department of Transportation
Recorder: Susan Dresley, Volpe Center
Monday, July 30, 2001 - 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Mr. Decina introduced the simultaneous discussion session as a
forum to discuss his report, International Guide to Highway Transportation
Information that was published in March 2001 by the U.S. Department
of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). His handout,
Topics for Discussion, prompted the group with the following questions:
Are you aware of the Guides on the FHWA website? Likes? Dislikes?
Usefulness? How often should the Guides be updated? Additional Countries?
Should other guides be developed? Coverage? Other comments.
Mr. Decina explained the process by which he compiled the six,
volume directory. For the Highway Transportation Libraries and Information
Centers volume, he faxed a survey with specific fields to be completed
by the libraries. There are 132 entries from 40 countries predetermined
by his FHWA sponsor. He noted that already, attendees at the conference
have submitted numerous revisions. In terms of updating, the group
suggested it be updated annually via email. This email should request
that all libraries review their entry, amend where needed, and if
known suggest new libraries or report on recently closed libraries.
It was felt that the directory should become more comprehensive,
expanding beyond the 40 countries and include more U.S. and Canadian
libraries, especially the state departments of transportation.
Each of the other five volumes: Websites, Document Delivery Suppliers,
Bibliographic and Non-bibliographic Database Producers, Highway
Transportation Associations and Organizations and Other Professional
Societies were discussed. As all of these areas experience change
it was suggested that they too be updated annually.
Finally, marketing of the report was examined. Where will the report
be distributed? How will librarians not attending this conference
obtain copies? The group felt that this is a valuable reference
tool and that FHWA should advertise it both domestically and internationally.
Mr. Decina expressed his gratitude to the group
and that he would incorporate the suggestions in
a memo to his FHWA sponsor. He concluded the session
with the request that all updates be sent to him
at ledecina@transanalytics.com.
SIMULTANEOUS DISCUSSION: PRESERVING ARCHIVAL
AND DIGITAL RESOURCES
Bonnie Osif, The Pennsylvania State University
Beth Golding, Florida State Archives
Mavis Georgalis, Florida Department of Transportation
Coordinator: Clara Smith, United States Department of Transportation
Recorder: Georgia Ludgate, Transportation Development Centre
Monday, July 30, 2001 - 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
BETH GOLDING, FSA
The Florida State Archives is the central repository for the archives
of the State Government. It is concerned with the state's historical
records, i.e. preserving information of historical value. FSA also
helps state agencies to manage their active records efficiently
and to dispose of them. It examines agencies' records and performs
appraisals to determine whether records are of enduring historical
value. The following elements are considered:
- content
- accessibility of the information
- comprehension: whether the information is understandable
- cost of preserving the item and rendering it accessible
- the intrinsic value as an original object
In terms of digital archiving, it is especially important when
one is in the design stage of a project to consider the long-term
implications of both the system and the records for archiving, especially
in terms of what media and formats will be used.
Metadata provides backup information for the data to help identify
who created it and when.
MAVIS GEORGALIS, FLORIDA DOT
Mavis Georgalis demonstrated GRIP (Georeferenced Information Portal),
which provides links to Florida DOT's electronic document archives
and incorporates GIS functionality. In consideration of future archiving,
a non-proprietary system (Oracle) is used. This is due to the fact
that proprietary software becomes obsolete. Portability of both
data and the program application is important. Metadata is used
to assist later in the interpretation of data.
Data is compressed for archiving. Adobe format of records is acceptable
only for transient records (those kept for less than 5 years); the
long-term archiving standard for records is TIF Compression Group
4, which is public domain software.
Florida DOT is still examining possibilities with Florida State
Archives regarding how to proceed with archiving the system and
the data. The most likely route will be archiving snapshots of data.
Both speakers emphasized that both media and format are crucial
to archiving. The big question is: how do we manipulate data in
the future and thus maintain its functionality?
FUTURE OF INFORMATION ACCESS
Roberto Aguerrebere, Instituto Mexicano de Transporte
Daniel Hargreaves, Ministere des Transports du Quebec
Chris Pringle, Elsevier Science Ltd.
Michael Burk, Federal Highway Administration
Anne Pretet, Institut National de Recherche sur les Transports et
leur Securite
Moderator: Nelda Bravo, Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Recorder: Janice Bain-Kerr, Netalyst, Inc.
Tuesday, July 31, 2001 - 9:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
The methods for accessing information resources are changing as
quickly as the technologies that support them. Our presenters will
provide public and private sector views of the issues that are shaping
the future of information access.
OVERVIEW OF OECD AND LATIN AMERICA PERSPECTIVE - Roberto Aguerrebere
In general, Latin America will follow global information trends
and directions, but at a slower pace. Some characteristics of Latin
America (based on the OECD survey) are in conjunction with the Acapulco
conference. Target audience was academic, governmental agencies,
and others. No other such OECD survey is pending. Mexico is the
only Latin American country member of OECD.
Some basic context differences between OECD and Latin American
countries are evident, as indicated in the responses. These may
be characterized in terms of: organization of origin, information
requested and usual sources consulted; access to information highlights;
access restrictions profile and suggestions for access improvement.
Survey respondents included: government--forty-six (46) percent;
academia--twenty-nine (29) percent; private enterprise-- fifteen
(15) percent; associations--five percent; and research--five percent.
Information requested highlights some differences between Mexico
and the remainder of Latin America: Mexico requested statistics-fifty-three
(53) percent of the time, Latin America, twenty-nine (29) percent.
Latin America requested documents thirty-six (36) percent of the
time, whereas Mexico requested them only nineteen (19) of the time.
Mexico requested "other" information only two percent
of the time, while Latin America designated "other" some
35 percent of the time. Mexico requested abstracts twenty-six (26)
percent while Latin America did not choose abstracts at all.
Respondents cited as sources of information and documentation government
agencies, research centers, international agencies (e.g., UN, World
Bank), universities, and associations.
Access To Information
Two-thirds of the survey respondents have easy access to their
own country information; one-third have access to information from
other countries; one- third use a computer to access information;
less than one fifth use the Internet.
Other means of accessing information include: telephone (18%);
library (27%); computer (35%) and other (20% - postal mail, Internet,
and courses)
Access To Internet
Eighty-six (86) percent of respondents have access to the Internet;
but only 36% use it as main tool of search. Ninety-four (94) percent
had interest in having wider use of the Internet to obtain information
and documentation
Access To Fee-Based Information Services
Only a couple of persons responsible for information searches had
access to the Internet and other fee-based services. Ten percent
(10) had access via the Internet; two percent had Dialog access
to TRIS; and two percent had access to the Silver Platter TRANSPORT
CD-ROM database. No respondents had access to STN/ITRD-OECD transportation
database(s).
Access Restrictions
- Distortions in Communication
- Lack of dissemination
- High costs of information
- Old Information
- Confidentiality
- Language (Foreign)
- Lack of computers or Internet access
- Unknown channels for accessing
- Reduced time available for searching and reading
- Bureaucratic paperwork to obtain information
- Lack of budget for acquiring information and equipment
- Not all sources have a website
- Scarce documentation
- Lack of contacts in countries with information
Improving Access to Information
Actions that would facilitate access to information include:
- Institutional agreements for information exchange
- A common place where transportation departments could publish
news/papers about technological advances" (web-based technology
clearinghouse?)
- Disseminate innovations for information access (new tools)
- Greater dissemination about companies and organizations related
to the handling of information
- Brochures informing the location of data sources, including
web sites, for those without access to technology
- Implementation of e-mail in all government agencies' levels
(Mexico is implementing such a structure)
- Facilitation of Internet access to recent publications
- Improvement of computing equipment
- Greater budgets
Some Fundamental Differences (between OECD and Latin American Countries)
OECD
- More economic development
- More mobility and transportation activity
- Larger transportation market and more participants
- More research and technological innovation
- More information and documentation demand
- More business opportunities
- More investment in information and documentation
- More information and documentation offer-- in quantity and quality
Latin America
- Less economic developmen
- Less mobility and transportation activity
- Smaller market and fewer participants
- Little research and technological innovation
- Inhibited information and documentation demand
- Market to develop (Six year plan to increase development in
Mexico)
- Less investment in information and documentation (more demand
by private sector)
- Smaller information and documentation offer-in quantity and
quality
PIARC WORLD INTERCHANGE NETWORK (WIN) - Daniel Hargreaves
Mission: Information and road-related knowledge transfer between
developed countries and countries in transition by creating an interchange
dynamic.
Historical outline: Initiated in Sept. 1995 at PIARC in Montreal
World Road Congress; integrated into the PIARC Technical Committee
in March 2000.
Nodes: Seventy-five (75) nodes in forty-four (44) countries comprise
the main components of the road information and knowledge transfer
center group. There are twenty (20) nodes in Europe; thirty-four
(34) in the Americas; thirteen (13) in Asia; six in Africa; and
two in Oceania. Organizations participating include: public agencies,
para-public agencies; private organizations; associations; university
centers; and research centers.
The information responsibility may be graphed as an information
pyramid in which the WIN Group is at the peak; followed in descending
order by the international level; national level; local level and
individual level
The Quebec Road Technology Transfer Center (CQTTR)
CQTTR is a a node of the WIN group at the international level.
Their areas of expertise, comprising that of all their public and
private sector members, include:
- Road design, construction, maintenance & improvement
- Signalization and marking
- Traffic management
- Winter conditions
- Quality management
- Materials products and equipment
- Road surface and structure management systems
- Environment
- Hydraulics and hydrology
- Geotechnics
The WIN group concept focuses on helping people. WIN Goals and
objectives include:
- Adherence to a global network of networks supporting complementary
objectives in all aspects of roads
- Consolidation
- Development
- To assist the surrounding road practitioners in the search for
expertise and assessment of local practices when compared to national
and international practices; and in so doing to improve its own
services to the road community.
Benefits for a government member
Cooperation with international bodies to set common goals
- WIN group issues
- Active membership
- Nodes responsibilities
- Logistic problems
- Development of the Internet site
- Difficulties in reaching developing countries and countries
in transition
- Fewer countries and nodes are active. About 40% of nodes are
in developing countries
- Users comprise developed and developing countries as well as
intra-agency inquiries.
Strategic objectives
Review the membership structure
Information access issues
- Transferring to electronic pubs
- Management of multiple Internet sites
- Updating electronic links
- Training for continuously improving technologies (for staff
and users)
- Integrated management of informational resources (within and
between organizations)
- Reaching the developing countries and the countries in transition
Future
Explore ways and means of improving technology transfer; not only
between the seventy-five (75) existing nodes, but between all PIARC
(95 government members and 2000 non-government members).
Q. What will WIN look like in 5 years?
A. Expect an extension of the system and a web-based portal. The
node system is not critical to the future. The future may see WIN
redirect technology to offer a first solution, followed by a referral
to the experts.
Q. Will PIARC fund the infrastructure for the Internet for countries,
such as those in Latin America, which are without adequate access
to technology?
A. Ninety-seven (97) government members, including Latin American
members, can surely find a solution.
PRIVATE SECTOR PERSPECTIVE - Chris Pringle
Introduction
I represent Elsevier Science Ltd., the world's largest academic
publisher, and the leading publisher (outside TRB) of research on
transportation in particular. My private sector perspective is therefore
primarily concerned with the academic world and is international
in scope. However, I believe it is also relevant to the practitioner
world and-of course-to the particular situation in the U. S.
The past twenty (20) years have seen many changes, with more to
come. In this brief I first review some of the major changes in
the transportation industry; then the even more radical changes
in the information industry; touch on some factors that remain unchanged;
and discuss the consequences.
Changes in Transportation
The transportation industry has undergone major structural changes
in recent years (see Billington & Wenban-Smith, 2000).
More and Bigger Problems
First and foremost, transportation problems are more serious and
complex than ever before. Constantly increasing passenger and freight
traffic is hitting time and space constraints causing congestion,
environmental problems, and raising social issues of access, mobility,
equity and safety.
Professionalism
So the industry is getting more demanding-- resulting in increased
professionalism---it needs more highly qualified people to run it.
Interdisciplinarity
Increased complexity also promotes interdisciplinarity; engineers
need to talk to economists, planners, etc., far more than they ever
used to.
Privatisation
Perhaps a more drastic change outside the U. S., this is still being
implemented in some places; its ramifications for regulation, etc.,
are still being worked through in others.
Outsourcing
Partly as a result of the above factors, much central planning expertise
has been done away with. Governments and industry are now more dependent
on buying in expertise from a much expanded pool of consultants,
who are all having to increase their expertise and specialize to
compete with each other.
All these changes combine to generate greater information demand:
more people need more information of more different kinds.
Changes in Information
The dramatic developments in information technology are by now very
familiar.
E-mail and www
E-mail and www enable far greater access to far more information,
far faster-often almost instantly, and also far greater functionality.
Rapid and sophisticated searching, linking, usage, tracking, multimedia,
and citation tracking both backwards and forwards have all become
possible.
E-books and Print-on-Demand
These are relatively new technologies whose applications and economics
are still being worked out by publishers and readers.
Huge and Growing Archive
In the 15th century, it was possible for the Renaissance man to
have read a substantial proportion of all the significant literature
ever written. Now it is difficult to keep up with output in the
most specialized subjects. The archive grows; the rate of adding
to it increases. This of course has always been true, but now it
is truer than ever. The body of knowledge is vast; consider the
500,000 plus abstracts in TRIS alone.
All these changes in the information world can result in information
overload.
What Stays the Same
Those are the big basic changes. Some fundamentals remain the same.
Librarian's Role
Librarians continue to use their traditional strengths; subject
knowledge, selectivity and organizational skills to help people
identify and get the information they need (Cortelyou & Kleiber,
2000).
Peer-Review Process
In academia, the peer-review process as managed by journal editors
and referees and supported by publishers remains crucial because
of the dependence of academics' careers on their publication records.
Publisher's Role
The publisher's expertise and entrepreneurial role, in identifying
information needs and commissioning or generating and disseminating
the information to meet those needs, continues. Publishers' independence
is also important.
Market Mechanism
A huge quantity of free information of all kinds is now available
on the web. Unfortunately, much of it is worth what you pay for
it. The role of price in establishing the value of information (Okerson,
2001), and in producing revenue to support further investment in
creating and disseminating information, is still a valuable one.
Networking
A vital source of information will always be personal communication
with colleagues. Although a great deal of this is now carried out
by e-mail, often through newsgroups and discussion lists with colleagues
one has never met, ultimately there is no substitute for personal
contact.
Integration Is the Answer
How can we reconcile the twin problems of information demand and
information overload? Put simply: in the electronic environment,
how will people (whether academics or practitioners) find all the
information they want, and yet not drown in information they don't
want? Integration is the answer: integration on several levels,
enabled by technology.
Integration of Different Types of Information
It is now possible to collect many different types of information
in the same virtual space on the web. An extensive but not necessarily
exhaustive list could include journal articles, databases, e-books,
teaching materials, reports, statistics, software, multimedia, and
community information such as listings of conferences and organizations.
Information from Different Sources
The owner of the virtual space need not, and probably could not,
own all the information integrated in it. Integration requires partnerships,
alliances, between various information providers: commercial publishers
such as Elsevier, government agencies such as BTS, national academies
(TRB), professional bodies (ITE et al.), international organizations
(OECD,PIARC
). An obvious example is the hosting of TRB's TRIS
database within BTS's National Transportation Library.
Not Just Collection but Connection
Simple collection of assorted information on the web is in itself
nothing new, as it only replicates what bookshops or paper catalogues
have always done. The real advance is in how information items can
now be functionally connected to each other or to the user. Reference
linking to lead the user from one article to the next is now commonplace.
Citation tracking, both backwards and forwards, so authors can see
the impact of their work, and usage data tracking so librarians
can assess the value of their electronic subscriptions, both exist
and are being refined (Luther, 2001). Intelligent customized alerting
services are being created to automatically inform users of relevant
new publications. Tailored search engines are being developed, such
as Elsevier's Scirus, specifically serving the scientific community.
Package deals that would have not been practical in the print era
become viable in the electronic environment.
Integration of Users
New technology has also made possible integration on another level,
that of the users themselves. University library consortia used
to exist to decide how to parcel out the territory to avoid duplication
of collections. Now there are increasingly coming together to get
consortium subscription deals, which give all the members access
to everything. ScienceDirect has signed deals with the university
systems of whole countries (Taiwan, Ireland, et al.). I can foresee
this trend being followed by government agencies: local or metropolitan
authorities uniting to negotiate arrangements with information providers,
or Departments of Transportation negotiating on their behalf. Professional
societies wishing to obtain benefits for their members could also
follow suit. And at the level of the individual researcher or professional,
e-mail discussion lists offer a forum to meet people with common
interests and a route to relevant information.
Footnote: Elsevier Information Services
ScienceDirect:
Elsevier's own contribution to information integration is ScienceDirect®.
www.sciencedirect.com, the premier electronic information service
for the interdisciplinary research needs of academic, corporate
and educational institutions, offering comprehensive coverage of
literature across all fields of science. Designed to serve needs
of the researcher, ScienceDirect is the unsurpassed single source
for scientific, technical and medical information on the Internet.
Researchers can access a critical mass of the world's STM journal
titles and full-text articles (today over 1.2 million articles);
search the leading STM abstract and indexing databases (providing
coverage of over 30 million records) and link out to articles from
an array of STM publishers-all through a variety of platforms.
TransportConnect:
Elsevier's service dedicated specifically to the transportation
community is TransportConnect www.transportconnect.net. TransportConnect
comprises over 1500 articles and abstracts from twelve transportation
and safety journals, together with a bookstore, sample chapters
from reference works, and a newsletter. Plans for the further enhancement
of this popular service through partnerships with other information
providers are being implemented at the time of writing.
References:
Bill Billington & Hugh Wenban-Smith, "Transport Skills
for the New Millenium". London: Landor, 2000.
Catherine Cortelyou & Michael C. Kleiber, University of California,
Berkeley, "Tomorrow's Technology in Today's Library" TR
Update 5, June 2000. www.elsevier.com/locate/trupdate
CrossRef: The Central Source for Reference Linking. http://www.crossref.org/
Judy Luther, "White Paper on Electronic Journal Usage Statistics",
The Journal of Electronic Publishing, March 2001.
www.press.umich.edu/jep/06-03/luther.html
Ann Okerson, "What Price 'Free'?" Nature, 2001 www.nature.com/nature/debates/e-acces/Articles/okerson.html
Scirus-search engine for scientific information only www.scirus.com
TRENDS SHAPING THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC SECTOR INFORMATION ACCESS--PUBLIC
AGENCY PERSPECTIVE - Michael Burk
Emerging Trends Shaping the Future of Public Sector Information
Access
Traditional Model: access information from people you know and
trust or a central, controlled repository.
New Model-access information from communities you know and trust,
including people you've never met; distributed ownership of knowledge.
Example-Virtual communities exchange and evaluate knowledge using
web technologies. They are bound by common interest or expertise
and distributed across organizational and geographic boundaries.
New concept-Accessing tacit knowledge on-demand--Process of information
generation and evaluation totally different; distributed, not linear,
on-demand, customized responses;
Information and sources (people) evaluated, validated, credentialed
by community as a whole.
Emerging Trend-Government as Active Partner in the Information
Economy
Traditional Model has been one of government in an oversight role
and as users of knowledge. The new Public Sector Role will be active
partnering for information access and use and partnering with constituencies
to see that knowledge is put to best use. It will go beyond information
collection and organization and from passive to active information
delivery and will build trust with potential users of information.
Emerging Trend-eGovernnance
The traditional model included: FOIA requests (if one knew what
to ask for) and public comment (if one could afford to travel to
meetings and understood the process). In this model special interest
groups and lobbyists have had greater access to knowledge. The new
model now levels the playing field.
There is a potential new role on the horizon-publish information
to devolve governance. An example of such an emerging example is
NEPA's outreach to states and industry on FHWA environmental processes
and approaches; FMCSA strategic planning and public input processes.
Questions posed by the new model: Where will direct interaction
with citizens and constituents lead? What will be the impact on
relationships between citizens and government services? What will
be the impact on representative v. direct system of government?
Q: Germany is approaching the same issues. Will more people be
needed? How to handle, e.g., volume of 9000 inquiries a year?
A: Government may be the broker; some things will be handled as
official correspondence.
Q. DOT's docket system cited as an example of good practice.
Q: Librarians have been serving as brokers? Why are more librarians
not involved?
A. New model of distributed networks (sources and types of information
available) results in government becoming a more proactive partner
in the "new information economy" and with eGovernance
there is more direct citizen involvement.
EUROPEAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE PERSPECTIVE - Anne Pretet
Information access obstacles and challenges for information users
and producers are identified as incompatibilities of document versions;
cost of information access; no Internet connectivity, or bad connectivity;
and lack of adequate numbers of computers in developing countries.
Solutions include offering compatible document versions or retro-conversion
solutions, and make users aware of the necessity to turn to XML
use; reduce cost of information access (make access free in research
if possible); host Internet sites at nominal costs and participate
in NGO actions to make unused computers in developed countries available
to developing countries.
Internet technological solutions to meet user needs include intermediation-a
framework for the development of the future Internet, which includes
interaction between producers, information services and users and
results in symmetry between users and producers, a standard format
for data storage (HTML, XML), dedicated systems (servers, search
engines with specific architecture) and new service for information
aggregation, filtering and formatting.
Document formatting techniques that would meet user needs include
XML and the codification of bibliographic information; XML and bibliographic
notice representation (MARC format); XML and the bibliographical
information representation; and XML engineering (which is strongly
urged as a standard).
Information Access in Europe and worldwide includes five major
transportation sites:
ITRD (Silver Platter CD-ROM or EINS and STN); IRTAD, German BAST
Institute; ECMT (European Conference of Ministers of Transport),
INRETS (French), and the EINS server accessing engineering and other
types of bibliographic databases.
Sites in Europe (or accessible from Europe) offering access to
full-text documents or fee-based databases include The French National
Library (BNF)'s virtual library-GALLICA; French University of Lyons
for its cyber-thesis program; Elsevier ScienceDirect internet site;
ISI Web of Science (free temporary access to Current Contents);
and CNRS/INIST gateway for access to science databases and journals.
Others include the shared catalog of INRETS and BNF; the Research
Library Group (RLG) international research library database; OECD;
the European Union; and the European Laboratory for Particle Physics
(CERN).
Avenues to follow in developing a sustainable information access
for the world include greater access to the Internet and the availability
of more full text documents; use of artificial intelligence to develop
greater and more powerful information retrieval tools; a global
perspective and greater cooperation between ITRD and the EU (in
terms of greater participation in knowledge management under the
EU Transport Research Board) and the OECD project in cooperation
with the World Bank in developing its gateway.
SUMMING UP/CONCLUSIONS
Konrad Bauer, Bundesanstalt für Strassenwesen (BASt)
Stephen Godwin, Transportation Research Board
Moderator: Laura Whayne, University of Kentucky
Recorder: Sandy Tucker, Texas Transportation Institute
Tuesday, July 31, 2001 - 11:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
KONRAD BAUER:
What did I expect from the conference I was invited for? Accessing
Transportation Information Worldwide? That means: To make it possible
that transportation information can come to everybody worldwide.
First of all, I didn't expect that it would be organized so perfectly.
I often have heard of the big conference at the beginning of the
year that is organized by the Transportation Research Board. But
I never expected that I would be guided in such a professional way
through the programs and would find in the morning the newest printed
news about the conference when I opened the door of my hotel room.
My congratulations to all those who were responsible for the organization,
and to all those who did the work.
The next point to be mentioned is the variety of the reports. When
I read the list of participants in Germany, I didn't expect to learn
so much interesting new information relevant to my job. I was very
much impressed by what outstanding work is being done in all the
countries. But first I could state that many of the problems that
concern me are issues worldwide. Sometimes solutions have been found.
For example, the question of the cost of information: With much
interest I heard from Roberto Aguerrebere that he charges for giving
information to students. In Germany we charge if the request comes
directly to us, but if the request comes to the Ministry - "a
telephone call of the citizen to the federal government" -
we are expected to absorb the cost of researching the answer.
A central question is also the privatization of public work. It
seems that BASt may be unique in giving its printed reports to a
publishing enterprise to sell them. It is their job to determine
how many of the products to print and what price to charge. We get
about 200 copies free.
Next, I'll mention the experts in knowledge management. I think
it is great to have heard presentations from private enterprises
- not only to learn from them but also to learn that they have similar
problems and the same means to solve them as we have.
From Lisa Sasson/IBM I learned that also in IBM a new institution
first has to get a name, and if you don't find one, you have found
an expert group. Also, for Maryanne Ward of PACCAR working with
expertise groups is a central task. Barbara Peterson of 3M gave
the apt slogan of corporate identity: "We all will if our company
wills." By the way, knowledge management for me means this:
Give existing results to others so that they do not have to reinvent
the wheel. That's just your job as librarians.
Going back to our institute, Karin Haid of Austria gave a look
at her daily world and showed how efficient information work can
be in the German language sector. She already promised to translate
her lecture into German and send it to me.
I am sure that in the next few months I will contact Floor ten
Brink of the Netherlands to get more information about their library
system. It sounds very successful and ought to be copied. About
Sirpa Haapamäki I learned that she helps the Nordic countries
of Europe and the Baltic states - formerly part of the Soviet Union
- work together on library issues and questions.
Anne Prétet from INRETS/France showed very impressively
how the famous French institute goes about selling its products.
A CD-ROM still can be gotten here.
On Monday Andrew Pentacost of Australia showed in an admirable
way that on the other side of the earth there is an extremely active
life in giving transportation information to a whole continent.
I am trying to persuade him to spend some weeks at BASt to help
us find the way in the third millennium.
Colin Howard showed again that we all can count on TRL and its
library, though a visit is extremely expensive. Nelda Bravo, now
representing BTS and the National Transportation Library, had bad
luck when the PowerPoint didn't work. However, she managed elegantly
to demonstrate her new job.
A little bit envied by everybody was Birgitta Akerud of VTI when
she explained the very opulent system Transguide and explained that
she has 1100 periodicals and that they have ISO 9000 certification.
What a lucky librarian.
Georgia Ludgate/Canada told us about Transport Canada. They have
to work not only on road safety aspects but also on problems of
rail, maritime and aviation.
Helga Trantes told news about the BASt. She explained again the
system of ITRD. One of the results for me of this meeting is that
all members, especially the members from TRB, are interested in
bringing a well-working system to our audience.
Barbara Post told us about the improving world of TRB, especially
TRIS with one-half million records at the moment and about the three
other databases.
The simultaneous discussions helped very much in summing up. It
is a little bit sad that there are so few colleagues from Latin
America. Here is my summation:
- The organization was first class.
- The speakers and moderators were first class.
- The contents of the reports were very interesting.
- For all the participants it was worthwhile to have come here.
What's hard for me is that not only has Jeanne retired but that
several other colleagues, such as Don Symmes, Georges Pilot, and
Bob Ford , will retire in the months ahead.
STEVE GODWIN:
What I hope we all gain from the conference is that we:
- Learn about best practices, how to provide the "right information,
at the right time, at the right cost"
- Understand the impact of technology.
- Get to know one another. I encourage you to talk and talk a
lot.
The speakers have articulated several broad themes:
- Varied & changing organizations
- Varied & changing sources of information
- Technology opening up new opportunities
- Barriers to information sharing
- Formal and informal networking among information professionals
Varied & Changing Organizations
- Some speakers are from organizations that combine transportation
with other topics such as health and safety, civil engineering,
housing.
- Some work in a single or multi modal topic area.
- Public, private, and non-profit organizations and associations
are represented.
- Some organizations are changing form, from public to non-profit,
e.g.,Finland & Australia.
- Parent organizations are stressing efficiency and cost cutting,
reflected, for example, in OECD's posture toward ITRD.
Varied & Changing Sources of Information
- We see a completely digital library at the NTL.
- There is an interest in transportation information portals that
provide access to many resources through a single web site.
- Free bibliographic searches are provided by some organizations,
a significant example being TRIS Online
- Every organization is putting more resources on web.
- There are questions about the future direction of ITRD and WIN
- Will the World Bank Gateway be a significant information resource?
Technology Opportunities
- We can identify resources through online catalogs, union catalogs,
databases.
- We can develop intranets to provide specialized services to
internal users.
- Electronic documents (text, graphics, symbols) can be accessed,
shared, read or printed on demand.
- E-mail/listservs can support international networking.
- Indexing of web sites by search engines promotes discovery.
Barriers to Access
- Cost and effort involved in translation (documents, websites,
simultaneous translation for conferences)
- Different concepts about access (free vs fee)
- Shrinking library resources
- Copyrighted materials/unpublished literature
- Paper document availability
- Skills and training
Formal and Informal Collaborations
- SLA, Tranzinfo, Northern Circle support personal interaction.
- ITRD/BTS-TRB agreement supports exchange of information between
the U.S. and OECD countries.
- Libraries share documents and bibliographic data.
- A union catalog for US transport libraries would enhance discovery
and sharing.
- Listservs facilitate collaboration.
- Conferences and workshops among providers promote cooperation.
Next Steps for Improving Access to Information
- Translation -- pooling of documents/simultaneous translation
at conferences
- More online access to catalogs/union catalogs
- More full text documents on web
- Continued/increased collaboration, beyond the West
To summarize, "We have enough computers; we need a knowledge
network."
INFORMATION RESOURCES: A TOOL FOR KNOWLEDGE
MANAGEMENT
(SECOND JOINT SESSION OF THE SYMPOSIUM)
Anil Bhandari, World Bank
Roberto Sarmiento, Northwestern University
Oscar De Buen Richkarday, Secretaria de Communicaciones y Transportes
Moderator: Nelda Bravo, Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Recorder: Joyce Koeneman, Association of American Railroads
Wednesday, August 1, 2001, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
BRINGING GLOBAL PORTABLE KNOWLEDGE TO DEVELOPMENT -
Anil Bhandari
Anil Bhandari , Roads Advisor with the Department of Transport
and Urban Development of the World Bank spoke on the transport information
activities of the World Bank.
The World Bank Group currently provides assistance through 180
project peer studies and over 20 billion dollars in transport loans
to developing countries in each of its 6 regions. The regions and
countries for current activities are:
- Africa.
- East Asia and the Pacific,
- Europe and Central Asia,
- Latin America and the Caribbean,
- Middle East & N. Africa
- South Asia.
The Mission and Objectives of the World Bank are:
- Improve the identification, design and implementation of donor-financed
projects and programs.
- Facilitate the economic and social development of the World
Bank's developing and transition member countries, and
- Generally promote sound transport policies worldwide.
As knowledge managers the job is to enable World Bank staff to
accomplish these missions. The Bank uses a variety of techniques,
technologies and resources to make relevant and valuable knowledge
available to fulfill the Bank's mission. The role of the bank in
knowledge management is very important.
Target audiences are consultants, government officials, donor agency
staff, academics and commercial organizations, all players in accomplishing
the mission of promoting sound policies.
Knowledge must be global, portable and it must be relevant. Knowledge
must meet the needs of the sector specialists. It must be accessible
and unrestricted. That is, speedy access and delivery are essential.
The role of the Internet is crucial. The knowledge provided must
be based on best practices. That is, recommendations based on global
knowledge. This gives it power and credibility. Knowledge is only
as good as it is useful.
Knowledge Resources Available Online at http://www.worldbank.org/transport
.
- Technical knowledge
- Lessons from transport lending
- Databases
- Selected terms of reference
- Related transport websites
- Partnership information
- Information on training and events
The Transport Sector Helpdesk is available by telephone on the
web, by phone or email (transport@worldbank.org) and will answer
questions from all customers.
Electronic distribution lists facilitate technical exchanges between
the World Bank staff and outside resource persons, and it acts as
a virtual network for gathering tacit knowledge, sharing global
information and a rapid response help desk. There is an internal
electronic network that World Bank staff can access and an external
network consisting of technical specialists outside the Bank.
Publications, also knowledge resources, take several forms. WB
Working and Technical Papers, Topic Notes and View Points and the
newsletter Infrastructure Notes, that provides practical experiences.
While these are paper, many are available on CD and on the Internet.
These and others are available from the InfoShop at pic@worldbank.org,
from the Transport Help Desk and from World Bank repository libraries
worldwide.
Summary. It is critical that information be GLOBAL, PORTABLE and
RELEVANT. The World Bank has an extensive network of electronic
resources, print and electronic libraries and people to keep the
information they provide GLOBAL, PORTABLE AND RELEVANT. The key
instruments are:
- Electronic media--including virtual discussions and networks
- Helpdesk
- World Wide Web
- Publications--paper and electronic.
And beyond these activities of the Bank, the Bank interacts with
a variety of partnerships, both public and private.
A CALL TO ACTION - Roberto Sarmiento
Mr. Sarmiento called upon information professionals, managers and
organizations to take a proactive role in improving information
access. He was frank and outspoken.
Information professionals need to create and/or expand networks
and communities and be innovative in providing access and exchanging
information. They need to document and publish information about
their work in order to contribute to colleagues through sharing
experiences. They need to share resources, and to use the resources
available to them through networking.
Asian information professionals especially need to develop new
networks, as this is an area where there is a lack of a strong contact
base in the transportation information community.
Information professionals should:
- Be well informed
- Think outside the box
- Proactively analyze, interpret and manage knowledge
- Challenge ourselves, our centers and our organizations to provide
better and new services
- Deliver on our promises.
Managers need to reward talent making sure information professionals
are well paid. They need to trust the skills of their information
professionals and they need to provide for adequate training for
them to keep up skills in this ever-changing environment. Managers
also need to be mentors, provide vision and to champion the information
function.
Organizations need to support new and existing information networking
structures such as the Transportation Division of Special Libraries
Association that provide continual interaction and support from
information professionals in related and partner organizations.
After all this, if an information specialist is not performing
after being provided training, nurture and support, managers should
move on to someone else and strive for excellence.
Some knowledge management requirements that information centers
can provide are:
- Creating repositories. (Databases, web portals, search engines,
etc.)
- Improving access and transfer of knowledge.
- Creating a corporate culture for information sharing.
- Managing knowledge as an asset.
Knowledge management must come from the top down and it requires
the leadership and skill of information professionals. Trust between
management, staff and the information professional is also necessary
and can only be created by working closely together.
THE ROLE OF PIARC IN GLOBAL ROAD INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
- Oscar de Buen Richkarday
Mr. Oscar de Buen Richkarday spoke on the role of the World Road
Association (PIARC). Mr. De Buen Richkarday is Chair of the World
Road Association (PIARC) C3 Technical Committee on Technological
Changes and Development.
PIARC exists to exchange knowledge and techniques on roads and
transportation. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest international
association and it now has 97 member governments and 2000 members
in 129 countries. As a world leader, PIARC provides:
- An international forum
- Best practices
- Supporting activities and practical knowledge to developing
and transition countries
- Tools for decision-making
PIARC's Strategic Plan for 2000-2003 shows how PIARC has evolved
from roads to the broader impact of transport on economics and society.
For PIARC, technology transfer is open and free sharing that provides
a catalyst for accelerated economic, social and environmental development.
PIARC promotes sharing by organizing technical committees, World
Road Congresses, technical seminars and through publications such
as the quarterly magazine "Routes/Roads".
Technology transfer tools include committees, funding, T2 centers,
computer networking and software.
There are 20 technical committees in five strategic theme topics
that cover technology, operations, liveabilty and sustainable development,
management and appropriate levels of development.
The Special Fund supports country participation in the full range
of activities.
The Seminar Programs, provided by the technical committees may
be jointly sponsored by other organizations such as OECD, TRB and
PIH. There are about 20 seminars in the works for the current 2000-2003
strategic plan.
There are currently three Technology Transfer Centers in Tanzania,
India and Madagascar, and eight more countries have expressed interest
in supporting a center. The Technology Transfer Centers provide:
- Reference library
- Internet access
- Web-site links
- Newsletter.
The World Interchange Network (WIN) is a free computer network
that provides an opportunity for people with questions to locate
people with answers. The impact of the Internet will have to be
considered in the development of this system.
The Highway Development Management System (HDM4) is a powerful
software tool for analyzing investment projects. This is a key tool
for decision-makers.
In conclusion, the information revolution makes understanding knowledge
and development more urgent than before. New communication technologies
and lower computing costs are shrinking distances and eroding borders
and time. PIARC is an extensive network of road and transportation
professionals that uses these technologies and disseminates and
shares road related knowledge, helping to place it at the center
of development policies.
BIOGRAPHIES OF SPEAKERS AND PRESENTERS
Roberto Aguerrebere-Salido - The Associate Director for Transport
Integration at the Mexican Transport Institute (IMT), in charge
of the coordination of research projects related to intermodal,
maritime, air, rail, and highway freight transportation, involving
issues such as costs, logistics, regional development, and policy.
In addition, he oversees the functioning of the IMT's Information
& Documentation Center and is responsible for the development
of the OECD International Transportation Research Documentation
ITRD- Center in Mexico.
He obtained his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the Autonomous National
University of Mexico and his Master's degree in Regional and Urban
Planning from the National School of Bridges and Roads (Ecole Nationale
des Ponts et Chaussées) in Paris, France. He joined the IMT
in 1990. He is a member of TRB's National Data Requirements Committee,
and Education and Research Chair of The Council of Logistics Management
Roundtable-Mexico City.
Konrad Bauer - Head of the Division of Administrative Services
of the German Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt). He is a
lawyer and for the last three years has been the chairman of the
Operational Committee of the International Transport Research Database
Anil Bhandari is the Roads Advisor with the World Bank in the Department
of Transport and Urban Development. Prior to this he has served
as a Senior Transport Specialist in the Africa and East Asia Regions
and more recently he was Operations Advisor stationed in New Delhi,
India.
Before joining the World Bank, Anil Bhandari was Associate Dean
of the School of Engineering at the University of Dar-es-salaam
in Tanzania. He has a Masters degree in Civil Engineering from MIT
and a PhD in Transportation Engineering from Purdue University.
Nelda Bravo is the director of the National Transportation Library
in the U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation
Statistics. She was formerly employed by the U.S. Department of
Transportation Federal Highway Administration. From 1996-1997, she
was the Chair of the Transportation Division of the Special Libraries
Association.
Michael Burk is the Chief Knowledge Officer with the U.S. Department
of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. Mike has the
mission of bringing knowledge management principles, concepts and
tools into agency-wide practice. He is part of the Corporate Management
Service Business Unit, a small office organized to lead the agency
in being a high performance, learning organization through the application
of the Presidential Quality Award/Baldrige Criteria. Mr. Burk currently
leads the Knowledge Management Work Group's Community of Practice
Special Interest Group sponsored by the Chief Information Officers
Council.
Mike has more than 25 years of experience with FHWA and has served
in a wide range of headquarters' and field office capacities. Mike
has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and State University, and he is a registered professional
engineer in Virginia.
Oscar De Buen Richkarday is with the Secretaria de Communicaciones
y Transportes. He is the Chair of PIARC Committee 3 on Technological
Exchanges and Development.
Mavis R. Georgalis is with the Florida Department of Transportation.
Stephen Godwin - On the staff of the Transportation Research Board
(TRB) for 19 years. For the last seven years he has served as director
of TRB's Studies and Information Services Division. This division
includes TRB's policy and studies group, as well as TRB's Transportation
Research Information Services (TRIS) group, which produces a bibliographic
file of transportation research. Mr. Godwin earned an M.R.P. and
a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Beth Golding is with the Florida State Archives.
Sirpa Haapamaki is Head Librarian, for the Finnish Road Administration.
She has held that position since 1988. Prior to her work at Finnra
she was head librarian at a town library, and worked in library
and information service for both a chemical company and an energy
company. Her degrees are a Bachelor's degree in Library Sciences
from the University of Tampere, Finland and a Master of Arts in
Finnish language and literature from the University of Helsinki.
In addition to her work at Finnra, she has been active with the
Transportation Division of the Special Libraries Association, a
participant in international symposia and the initiator of library
cooperation and joint meetings in the Nordic and Baltic areas.
Karin Haid started her career in the information profession in
1981 as a documentalist in the former ITRD centre Arsenal Research.
She was head of the Arsenal Research documentation centre from 1987
to 1992 and has been head of the KfV Library and Documentation since
1993.
She has completed studies of librarianship, documentation and information
sciences at the Austrian National Library and studied Anglistics
and Americanistics as well as Communication Sciences at the University
of Vienna. From 1990 to 1997 she was a lecturer in the Austrian
training courses for students of librarianship, documentation and
information sciences at the Austrian National Library.
Her special professional interests are in the standardization of
terminology in the fields of information and documentation, and
in applied terminology work. She is the Chair or Vice Chair of three
committees of the Austrian Standards Institute and has been convener
and Austrian delegate to ISO/TC46/SC3 "Terminology in Information
and Documentation" since 1995.
Daniel Hargreaves is with the Quebec Ministry of Transport and
is the French Speaking Secretary of the WIN Group.
Colin Howard - Librarian, Transport Research Laboratory Library.
Colin has represented TRLL on the International Road Transport Database
for 20 years.
Georgia Ludgate - M.L.I.S., is a consultant librarian at the Transportation
Development Centre in Canada, where she is in charge of library
services and operations. She has 12 years experience in the transportation
field.
Andrew Pentecost is the Manager of the M G Lay Library at ARRB
Transport Research Ltd in Melbourne, Australia. He holds a Bachelor
of Arts degree with Honors in French and a Master of Arts in Librarianship
- both degrees are from Monash University in Melbourne. He has been
a member of the Library team at ARRB Transport Research for almost
ten years, and has been managing the Library for four years. He
has been the operator of the Australasian Node of PIARC's World
Interchange Network since 1995, and was a member of WIN's Board
of Directors from its inception in 1995 until 1999. He has also
been a Corresponding Member of PIARC's C3 Committee on Technological
Exchanges and Development since 1998. He has been the Convenor of
the ACCESS Melbourne group of construction and engineering libraries
since 1999, and was one of the organisers of the 2001 meeting of
the TRANZINFO group of transport librarians, which meets every year
in a major city of Australia or New Zealand. Andrew is a strong
believer in high?quality bibliographic databases and in face-to-face
networking.
Barbara Peterson, whose background includes a degree in Chemistry
and a M.L.S. from the University of Minnesota, has had a number
of information positions of increasing responsibility during the
twenty-six plus years she has been at 3M. Currently as Director
of Library & Information Services, she provides leadership for
3M's network of libraries and information functions, which are responsible
for enabling 3M to leverage knowledge to increase productivity and
innovation. Her current responsibilities include the development
of new, global information services, the use of state-of-the-art
information technologies, and implementation of effective knowledge
management strategies.
Barbara is a member of the Industrial Technical Information Managers
Group (ITIMG) and Special Libraries Association, represents 3M on
the American Chemical Society (ACS) Board Special Committee on Corporation
Associates and chairs the ACS Committee for Chemical Abstract Services
and the ACS Library Advisory Group. She is also a counselor of the
Minnesota Section of the ACS and is a member of the Council Committee
on Nominations and Elections. Previously she served on the ACS Committee
for Publications and the Board of Directors of Engineering Information
and she chaired the Copyright Clearance Center User Advisory Group.
Barbara Post - Holds a BS in Elementary Education and an MLS from
Catholic University. She worked in public, academic, and special
libraries before coming to TRB in the mid 1980s. At TRB she has
held a variety of positions: assistant librarian, associate librarian,
information specialist, librarian, and currently manager of information
services. She is active in the Transportation Division of SLA and
has served in a variety of capacities, including chair in 1997-1998.
Anne Pretet has been Head of INRETS Arcueil Library and Information
Service since July 2000. Prior to that she was Senior Information
Specialist at INRETS. She graduated from the French Paris X University
(Human Sciences) with a master in English and American literature
and civilization, and with a translator degree in economics (English/French).
She also graduated from the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers
(The National Conservatory of Industrial Arts and Crafts) graduating
with the title of Engineer specialized in Information Sciences and
Documentation.
Prior to joining INRETS she worked for the French National Research
Centre and was responsible for one project dedicated to electronic
document management in the life sciences and a second project dealing
with a researchers' competence database gathering the data of French
research institutes. She also worked for the French Atomic Energy
Commission in the area of presenting the activities of the Commission
in French and English.
Chris Pringle is the Senior Publishing Editor for Elsevier Science
Ltd. Chris is responsible for management of Elsevier's transportation
publications. He has worked on this programme since 1990 and has
been responsible for its strategic expansion and development since
1995, including creation of Elsevier's TransportConnect online service
for the transportation research community. He has a B.A.(Hons) in
Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford.
Birgitta Sandstedt has a B Sc (biology, chemistry, medicine) degree.
She is the Chief Information Specialist and Head of the Library
and Information Centre (BIC) at the Swedish National Road and Transport
Research Institute (VTI). Since 1981 she has been employed at the
VTI. Birgitta has worked with many different tasks dealing with
information and knowledge management within the transport and communication
research area.
Currently, Birgitta Sandstedt is the manager of a project aiming
at collecting, structuring, storing and disseminating information
and knowledge within the transport and communication research area.
This includes the construction and management of the national vortal
Transguide. She is the system manager of the library system (software
and hardware), gives lectures on transport research knowledge/information
management and is the head of the Library and Information Centre.
Birgitta has also been working with the ISO 9001 certification
of the VTI and is manager of four processes (information retrieval,
current awareness, loan, purchase). She has participated in the
co-operation within the OECD (ITRD) and ECMT (Transdoc) since the
beginning of the 80's. Birgitta is the vice-chairman and web master
in the Swedish Society for Technical Documentation (TLS), Mid-Sweden.
Roberto Sarmiento holds a Master of Library and Information Science
degree from Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois and a Bachelor
of Arts in Geology from Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, Missouri.
Prior to becoming the Head of the Transportation Library at Northwestern
University, Evanston, Illinois, in 1998, Roberto worked for the
Technical Information Center (TIC) of the Panama Canal Commission,
an U.S. federal government agency in the Republic of Panama, first
as the head of the reference department and later as the head of
the TIC. Also while in Panama, he worked for the Smithsonian Tropical
Research Institute Library as their reference librarian. Roberto
has also worked as an exploration geologist and translator and interpreter.
He participated on the previous disseminating transportation information
meeting held in Acapulco in 1999.
Lisa Sasson is an Associate Consultant with the Institute for Knowledge
Management (IKM) in Cambridge, MA. She is currently researching
the role of knowledge management in strategic alliances. This project's
objective is to leverage knowledge management to better enable innovation
through partnering.
Previous to her work on strategic alliances, Lisa was part of the
"Knowledge Intermediaries" research team that studied
ways in which leading firms use human intermediaries to connect
people to the knowledge and expertise they require. Lisa has co-authored
several articles on knowledge intermediation. She has also presented
at a number of knowledge management conferences. Prior to joining
the IKM, Lisa worked in Senator John Kerry's office and for the
World Affairs Council of Boston. She holds a graduate degree in
international relations and an undergraduate degree in anthropology
from Boston University.
Floor ten Brink of the Netherlands received her education from
the University of Amsterdam, where she read Library and Knowledge
Management Sciences. She has worked at CROW, the Dutch information
and technology centre for transport and infrastructure, for over
5 years as an information specialist and in the communications department.
She is responsible for maintaining the library, liaison to the ITRD
database, CROW's website, and for representing CROW at exhibitions.
She also is responsible for the redaction and editing of external
publications.
Helga Trantes - A senior documentalist with the Federal Highway
Research Institute (BASt) in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany. The Federal
Highway Research Institute is a technical and scientific institute
responsible to the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing.
Ms. Trantes holds a degree in Librarianship and Documentation from
the ISESE in Brussels, Belgium. She is in charge of international
databases, especially the International Transport Research Documentation
(ITRD), within the BASt section Public Relations, Scientific Information.
Maryanne Ward - Technical Publications/Library Manager at PACCAR.
Ms. Ward has a Master of Library and Information Science from the
University of Washington and Master of Arts in Education from the
University of Iowa. She spent several years working for publishers
and also in public and academic libraries and education.
Maryanne joined PACCAR Inc in 1985. Responsibilities include knowledge
management, library management, technical publications/intranet
content management, and records management. Ms. Ward is the Chair
of the Corporate Standards Expertise Group; a member of Special
Libraries Association, Transportation, Engineering, and Management
Divisions; and the former Secretary-Treasurer of SLA-TRN and a conference
presenter. She is currently serving on NCHRP Project 20-48 Accessibility
of Non-English Transportation Information.
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