Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports Volume 39 April 6, 2001

Board (Access Board) under the authority of section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998. The standards are
intended to improve the accessibility of electronic and information technology used by the Federal government. The standards
will benefit Federal employees with disabilities, as well as members of the public with disabilities who seek to use Federal electronic
and information technology to access information and services. The standards will be incorporated into the Federal Acquisition
Regulations (FAR). Federal agencies, including the USA Postal Service, must comply with the standards when they develop,
procure, maintain, and use electronic and information technology, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. There
is an exemption for national security systems. Failure of a Federal agency to comply with the standards when procuring electronic
and information technology may result in an administrative complaint or a civil action seeking to enforce compliance with the
standards.
NTIS
Information Management; Disabilities; Technology Assessment; Economics; Electronics; Human Factors Engineering
20010023270 National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, Washington, DC USA
Comprehensive Assessment of Public Information Dissemination Final Report
Jan. 26, 2001; 15p; In English
Report No.(s): PB2001-102685; No Copyright; Avail: CASI; A01, Microfiche; A03, Hardcopy
It was a simple announcement on a summer day. It appeared to be a straightforward proposal to solve a serious problem.
Constrained by a statutory requirement for self-funding and facing a new paradigm in information dissemination, the National
Technical Information Service (NTIS) was failing. As federal agencies distributed reports at no cost on the World Wide Web--reports
that formerly NTIS had distributed--NTIS was unable to collect revenue sufficient to cover its costs of cataloging and maintaining
its collection. The proposal put forth in August 1999 by the Department of Commerce was to close NTIS and move its
collections and functions to the Library of Congress. The National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS)
immediately recognized this proposal to be far more significant than it first appeared. Fundamental issues regarding how the government
used, disseminated, and valued its information resources were at stake. The Commission stepped forward and prepared
a preliminary assessment of the proposed closure of NTIS, which it delivered to the President and Congress. This report recommended
a number of steps to keep NTIS operational, but it also stated that a much broader assessment of the underlying issues
involved in public information dissemination throughout the government was needed. A number of Congressional leaders in both
the House of Representatives and the Senate urged NCLIS to prepare such a report. This report is the response to those requests.
This document is a continuation of ’Comprehensive Assessment of Public Information Dissemination’ (internal ID 2001031341)
and lists only the strategic recommendations.
Author
Information Dissemination; Information Management; Recommendations
20010023271 National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, Washington, DC USA
Comprehensive Assessment of Public Information Dissemination, Volume 1 Final Report
Jan. 26, 2001; 337p; In English
Report No.(s): PB2001-102686; No Copyright; Avail: CASI; A03, Microfiche; A15, Hardcopy
It was a simple announcement on a summer day. It appeared to be a straightforward proposal to solve a serious problem.
Constrained by a statutory requirement for self-funding and facing a new paradigm in information dissemination, the National
Technical Information Service (NTIS) was failing. As federal agencies distributed reports at no cost on the World Wide Web--reports
that formerly NTIS had distributed--NTIS was unable to collect revenue sufficient to cover its costs of cataloging and maintaining
its collection. The proposal put forth in August 1999 by the Department of Commerce was to close NTIS and move its
collections and functions to the Library of Congress. The National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS)
immediately recognized this proposal to be far more significant than it first appeared. Fundamental issues regarding how the government
used, disseminated, and valued its information resources were at stake. The Commission stepped forward and prepared
a preliminary assessment of the proposed closure of NTIS, which it delivered to the President and Congress. This report recommended
a number of steps to keep NTIS operational, but it also stated that a much broader assessment of the underlying issues
involved in public information dissemination throughout the government was needed. A number of Congressional leaders in both
the House of Representatives and the Senate urged NCLIS to prepare such a report. This report is the response to those requests.
This document is volume I of the report. See ’Comprehensive Assessment of Public Information Dissemination’ (internal ID
2001031342) for a list of Strategic Recommendations.
Author
Information Dissemination; Information Management; Assessments
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