NAL Connects

1
NAL Connects Customers to Information
Workers
Children
Researchers
Authors
2. Get Solutions
?
1. Ask Questions
Regulators
Producers
Consumers
Staff Services Systems Solutions
2
Backbone Systems
Key Programs
Whats Needed

• Collections
• Adding value
• Thesaurus
• _
• Dedicated Staff
• IT Infrastructure
• Facilities

• Implement NAREEE Advisory Board Recommendations
• Funds for ongoing facilities modernization
• Information support and outreach for all USDA
  Mission Areas and programs

DigiTop AGRICOLA Information Centers Affiliated
Archives USDA Digital Publication
Preservation AgNIC
The challenge remains to obtain funding for core
functions and collections.
3
Web Technologies Analysis
An analysis is underway to develop
recom- mendations for NALs implementation of
Web technologies to achieve its inform- ation
management and service goals.

• Impact of Recommendations
• Provide integrated approach to Web
  technologies through a formal process
• Collect Web technology expertise in a
• single place
• Manage customer requirements and
• product development through a single
• group
• Separate internal processes from
• customer facing efforts
• Clearly separate infrastructure support
• from development activities

• Approach
• Evaluate current state of Web technologies at NAL
• Analyze ways Web technologiescould enhance user
  services
• Recommend next steps

Recommendations Adopt a new structural model
for service delivery based on a customer view of
the Library Adopt a new approach to developing
and using Web technologies based on an integrated
process for defining audiences, their needs, and
products to meet those needs
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Voyager
Electronic Library Management System Backbone of
the National Digital Library for Agriculture
Electronic library management systems organize
diverse information resources, provide access to
content and improve productivity through
automated processes.
Customer Benefits
upgrade AGRICOLA with abstracts for more
entries, source of documents clearly indicated
and back it up with a service that leads users
more reliably to the indexed information Public
Comment on the Report on the National
Agricultural Library 2001

• Search one database to locate local and remote
  materials
• Search results are directly linked to electronic
  full-text resources
• Request documents directly from the database
  search results

• Whats Needed
• Portal functionality for AGRICOLA and DigiTop
• Machine-generated indexing applications
• Standardized Open URL linking for AGRICOLA

5
The Challenge
Enhanced Resources Will

• Rebuild the national collection and AGRICOLA
• Build infrastructure for the National Digital
  Library for Agriculture
• Increase Web content development and delivery of
  information

Building for the future fulfilling NALs
national mandate
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Recommendations for Action
Select Recommendations
the Board recommends strongly that USDA place
revitalization of the NAL high on its priority
agenda, including leadership to carry out a new
mission for the library, increas-ing the
visibility and public under-standing of
agriculture across the Nation, advancing
technological innovations for timely information
access and retrieval, establishment of a Board of
Regents, and account-ability of NAL services via
a five-year review system. National
Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and
Economics Advisory Board, 12/6/02

• Increase funding over 5 years to 100 M
• Build a networked National Digital Library for
  Agriculture
• Establish a Friends Group

Ever watch Star Trek? That's what I want
Customer survey respondent
7
A Modernization Project
Projects Funded With Building Facilities
Appropriations
In the late 1990s NAL was named a modernization
facility. This designa-tion permits NAL to
request appro-priated building and facilities
funding for major repairs and renovations.

• 1st Floor Renovation 2.5 m
• One Air Handler Unit 1.2 m
• 5th Floor Renovation 1.77 m
• Electrical Plumbing upgrades 1.8 m
• Phase 1 brick veneer 1.4 m

• 1991 Repair Study estimated cost 16 M
• 2003 updated report on Repair and Modernization
  needs estimated costs 35 M

Total B F Funds 1997 2003 8.7 M
Modernization replaces components past their
normal life cycle
8
The Building
Repair Maintenance 900 K/yr Building
Facilities as appropriated Other funding
Headquarters, Program
Repair Maintenance Project Highlights
1998 2003 Total Investment 5.4 M
Remaining Major Projects Anticipated Costs 35
M

• Elevator Renovation
• HVAC Upgrades
• Replaced 1 Air Handler
• Replaced Reheat Coils
• Plumbing booster pumps and pressure reducing
  valves
• Replace electrical system phases 1 and 2
• 2nd Floor Sprinkler System
• Security Upgrades (special supplement not
  included in the total)

• Complete 1st floor renovation
• Renovate ground floor
• 3rd 4th floor sprinkler system
• Windows
• Plumbing and bathrooms
• Life safety upgrades
• Renovate book lift
• Renovate 14th and remaining floors
• Brick Veneer

9
The National Agricultural Library Invites You To
Visit Often
Find answers to your questions by visiting
NALs Web-based resources or by E-mail. Web
www.nal.usda.gov E-mail agref_at_nal.usda.gov
www.nal.usda.gov
National Agricultural Library 10301 Baltimore
Ave. Beltsville, MD 20705-2351
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Tools Enabling Workers to Achieve Higher
Productivity
24 / 7 Desktop Access to Information
What customers are saying
DigiTop, the Digital Desktop Library for USDA,
brings published information about agriculture
and its related sciences onto the computer
desktop of USDA employees..
I feel like ARS has traded in its Piper Cub for
a 747. I am finding DigiTop absolutely
essential for my scientific life. I cant
imagine how we manag- ed without it. ARS
Researcher

• Leverage Department-wide investments for
  information resources to
• Increase access at lower cost / employee
• Time savings increased productivity
• Informed decision-making

Whats Needed

• Permanent funding to license core e-resources
• Consolidated Department-wide e-resources
  procurement
• Positions to staff Program (i.e. licensing, IT,
  training, outreach)

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DigiTop Plus Demonstration Project
DigiTop Plus is a demonstration project
which extends NALs Digital DeskTop (DigiTop)
Library Service to Mississippi State
Univer- sity (MSU) faculty, researchers, and
students.
We are very excited about the MSU DigiTop Plus
partnership with NAL. This service will enhance
the ability of MSU libraries to support
instruc- tional, research, and extension
programs. Frances Coleman, Dean
The Project Partnership

• Provides access to electronic full-text materials
  through MSU Libraries.
• Tests feasibility, costs, technology, impact and
  benefits of extending DigiTop access beyond USDA.
• Explores components of a National Digital Library
  for Agriculture.

Whats Needed

• Permanent funding to license core e-resources
  for the land-grant community and associated
  infrastructure
• Support of the land-grant community.

12
Invasivespecies.gov is the gateway to Federal
efforts concerning invasive species and is the
website for the National Invasive Species
Council, which coordinates Federal responses to
the problem.
I have just been online at invasivespecies.gov.
Nice site! It helped me and my staff here at the
Fire Lab find Internet resources on some of the
Tamarix species. We'll be using it again and
linking it to your site where appropriate. Thank
you! Program Manager, Forest Service

• Information enabling workers
• Establishing partnerships to share data
• Developing systems to efficiently deliver
  information
• Nearly 7,000 links to Web based resources
• The invasive species Web program is planning a
  major redesign to further enhance delivery of
  information.

• Whats needed
• Program development staff to leverage
  opportunities for collaboration
• Resources to complete Web technical redesign

For more examples see
13
Partners USDA, FNS (3 Divisions), FSIS, ERS
FDA NIH Univ. of Maryland , and Howard Univ.
FNIC was established by Congressional mandate in
1971 to collect and disseminate information about
food and human nutrition.
Not very long ago, I got a nice note from a
patron (I got the impression she was a teen)
thanking me for helping put her in touch with
help for her eating disorder. She had contacted
FNIC about where to find web-based information
about eating disorders and how to identify a
source of help. Besides encouraging her to talk
with her physician, we were able steer her to
organ-izations that have reliable eating
disorders information as well as very concrete
inform-ation for identifying therapists, support
groups and other resources in her area.
Child Focused Programs
USDA, Food and Nutrition Service and the Univ. of
Maryland
School lunch software pro-grams evaluated for
accuracy and ease of use.
Databases and websites for child nutrition
program staff.
Databases and website re-sources for WIC
nutritionists

• Whats Needed
• Base funding to support temporary funds
• Replicate the FNIC model to cover all USDA
  Mission areas and major programs

14
NAL is leading a USDA effort to develop a
strategy for preserving USDA digital
publications.
Its a story about a de- pression era horse
Seabiscuit and how he changed the lives
of everyone he touched, including Laura
Hillen- brand. Laura suffers with a serious
case of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. On a good day
she spent a whole day at the National
Agricultural Library conducting research for her
book. The NAL collection has stud books
track- ing pedigrees for many horse and pony
breeds back to the early 1900s. American Jack
(donkey) stud books advise that jacks are subject
to pneumonia, symptoms being a "general dullness
coupled with a falling of the ears. March 8,
2001 Washington Post

• Accomplishments
• ERS digital publications inventory
• Metadata Conference
• Guidelines for digital publishing
• Evaluate ISO archiving standard

• Whats Needed
• Department-wide engagement
• Building resources using the metadata template
• Sending copies of all important documents to NAL
• Resources to permanently archive digital
  documents while preserving access

15
Provides information about alternative cropping,
sustainable, organic, low-input, and regenerative
agriculture and alternative crops, new uses for
traditional crops, and crops for industrial uses.
Partners USDA, CSREES, SARE Program and AMS

• Other AFSIC Resources
• Community Supported Agriculture
• Aquaculture

Sustaining Organic Farming Before the use of
fertilizers and pesticides were widely used USDA
conducted significant research on organic farming
practices. This information is not readily
accessible. A new initiative is underway to make
the reports available through the Internet.
The bibliography on goats and goat cheese got
us started on what has become rich research.
We are off and running on goat farming your
information packs a huge notebook and had
provided many happy hours of dreaming toward
this new venture. Thanks!

• Whats needed
• Resources to complete the organic farming
  scanning initiative
• Resources to develop programs to support urban
  agriculture

16
NAL ensures and enhances access to agricul-tural
information for a better quality of life.
A man says his daughter got through medical
school thanks to NAL. An African American, he
con-tacted NAL about grant information for
minorities to attend medical school. She is a
doctor today. Thank you I am diabetic and
have found it difficult to find the necessary
combination of calorie, carb, fat, protein
information on numerous foods.   I will give this
another look and hope to find helpful
information. Your service (Enviro-News ) is
one of the most informative and helpful of all
which come my way. Thank you.

• Helping Consumers and Communities
• Make informed choices
• Dietary Supplements
• Food Composition Database
• Support rural communities
• Support small businesses
• Stay informed about environmental issues

• Whats Needed
• Implement recommendations of the NAREEE Advisory
  Board
• Establish information outreach for all USDA
  mission areas and programs
• Build the National Digital Library for
  Agriculture to reach all consumers

17
As a scientist I know that access to prior
know-ledge is vitally important to effective
research. The investment of taxpayer money
toward creating and maintaining an efficient
scientific information sharing system will be
repaid many-fold in improved public problem
solving and increased research effectiveness.
This investment should be viewed as a low-cost
way to make a significant incre-mental
improvement in nutritional, environmental, and
agricultural research across the entire USDA,
university, and private research spectrum.
AGRICOLA (AGRICultural OnLine Access) is a
bibliographic database of citations to the
agricultural literature created by the National
Agricultural Library and its cooperators.
Production of these records in electronic form
began in 1970, but the database covers materials
in all formats, including printed works from the
15th century.
Supporting Informed Decision-making

• More than 4 million database records
• Online and freely available since 1998
• Controlled vocabulary terms converted to the NAL
  Thesaurus in 2003

• Whats needed
• Resources to restore the collections budget
• Upgrade IT platform to enhance workflow
  efficiency and delivery of information
• Integrate AGRICOLA into the National Digital
  Library for Agriculture

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Finding Solutions for Customers
AgNIC Alliance
National Agricultural Library
The Agriculture Network Information Center
(AgNIC) provides a guide to quality information
on the Internet. The AgNIC Alliance is a
collaboration of Land Grant and other
Universities, NAL, and other organizations.

• General Questions agref_at_nal.usda.gov
• Specialized Centers
• Alternative Farming
• Animal Welfare
• Food and Nutrition
• Food Safety
• Invasive Species
• Rural
• Technology Transfer
• Water Quality

• 31 Universities
• 4 International partners
• Extension, Non-profits, professional societies
• and growing!

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NAL Fundamentals
FY 2004 Appropriation 21.3 M
4 Million Records
Collection 3.5 Million
Items 2003 Data Mediated Reference
Transactions 16,000 Materials Delivered
111,000
97 delivered in 2 days or less 68 delivered
electronically
Staffing Federal 171 Non-Federal 82
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International Cooperation Building Bridges to
Information
NAL builds hemispheric alliances to enhance
access to agricultural information. Global access
to scientific and technical information is vital
to the worlds food and fiber system.
The role of information occupies a very special
place in all of IICAs programs and
activities....Two years ago, with the support of
the Kellogg Foundation, we began developing
SIDALC the Agricultural Information and
Documentation System for the Americas...It has
been extremely gratifying to have the
participation of the USDAs National Agricultural
Library throughout this process...The end result
is a truly hemispheric network of high quality,
well-organized agricultural information with
greater capacity and expertise than any one
organization could manage on its own. Carlos E.
Aquino, former IICA Director General, May 2001
International collaborations ensure the continued
flow of information.
Cooperating Organizations

• IICA
• FAO
• CABI
• IIALD

• REMBA
• USAIN
• AgNIC
• SILDALC

• AGRIS
• AIBDA
• CAL