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New Plant Genome Gopher




Announcing.....
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

               THE PLANT GENOME DATA AND INFORMATION CENTER
              and the USDA/ARS/National Agricultural Library

                                        are now on GOPHER!

*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
Come and find information about:
     >>  Plant Genome Newsletter (PROBE)
     >>>  Calendar of Events (updated monthly)
     >>>>  Plant DNA Libraries
     >>>>>  Plant Genome Mapping Projects
     >>>>>>  Plant Genome Grant Information

HOW TO GET THERE:
1) gopher gopher.nalusda.gov
2) SELECT NAL Information Centers
3) SELECT Plant Genome Data and Information Center

OR: gopher://gopher.nalusda.gov:70/11/infocntr/pltgen

WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT:
   o PROBE is the official newsletter of the USDA Plant Genome
     Research Program.  The newsletter covers developments in the
     Plant Genome Databases, the USDA Plant Genome Competitive
     Grants, useful developments in technology and methodology,
     and more.  Options include downloading separate articles or
     downloading the entire issue.

   o CALENDAR OF EVENTS updated monthly highlighting meetings,
     conferences, workshops, etc. of interest to geneticists and
     biotechnologists.

   o PLANT DNA LIBRARY FILES is a growing database with records
     from more than 30 plant species.  Information has been
     gathered on clone size, probes, DNA and RNA preparation
     methods, library screening methods, and much more.  This
     database is useful for scientists, educators, and the
     business community.

   o PLANT GENOME MAPPING PROJECTS these files contain records of
     projects funded in the areas of gene isolation and mapping.
     The records are important to scientists looking for
     collaborations, research resources, and for writing grant
     proposals.

???.............???............???............???.............???
?                                                               ?
?   FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:                               ?
?                                                               ?
?       The Plant Genome Data and Information Center            ?
       USDA/ARS/National Agricultural Library, 4th Floor       .
       10301 Baltimore Blvd.                                   .
       Beltsville, MD  20705                                   .
                                                               .
         TEL (301)504-6613   FAX: (301)504-7098                .
                                                               .
                      pgenome@nalusda.gov                      .
?                                                               ?
?                                                               ?
???.............???............???............???.............???






Title: National Agric. Library Electronic Information Initiative
Document-date: Nov 1993
Author: C. Ditzler, C. Early, C. Weston
Organization: National Agricultural Library, USDA
Source: URL:ftp://cliff.nalusda.gov//pub/elec.init/eii-rpt.txt
Contact-name:Brian Norris
Contact-phone: 301-504-6778
Posting-date: 29 Mar 1994
Length: 6813 lines 336939 char



                 THE  ELECTRONIC  INFORMATION  INITIATIVE


                           PHASE 1 FINAL REPORT



                        A Key Success Factor in the
                            NAL Strategic Plan






                               November 1993





                               Submitted by:


             Carol Ditzler, Caroline Early and Claudia Weston




                      U.S. Department of Agriculture
                       National Agricultural Library
                        Beltsville, Maryland  20705







                             Table of Contents



Executive Summary - Statement of Committment - Summary Recommendations &
Introduction

Chapter 1 - Evaluation Study

Chapter 2 - AGRICOLA On-line at NAL

Chapter 3 - Electronic Journals

Chapter 4 - CD-ROM

Chapter 5 - Electronic Research Data Bases

Chapter 6 - Electronic Versions of NAL Publications

Chapter 7 - Preservation Issues for Optical Media

Chapter 8 - Recommendations for Specific Actions

Bibliography

Appendices     -    Not Available Electronically








                             Executive Summary

To continue the National Agricultural Library's national leadership role in
the production, management and dissemination of agricultural information,
Director Joseph Howard launched The Electronic Information Initiative in
December 1992.  The purpose of the Initiative is to research, plan and
implement a systematic program of managing data in electronic form.  Phase I
of the Initiative consisted of an examination of the issues associated with
the Library's ability to manage electronically created and stored information.


A Steering Committee, consisting of two Branch Heads and the Library System
Coordinator, was charged with enlisting a broad-based group of NAL staff to
work on this project.  Three committees were established and charged to
proceed with a practical effort to "provide recommendations for changing
policies and procedures related to the acquisition, processing, access,
dissemination, collection maintenance and preservation" of:

--   Electronic journals

--   Original texts and reproductions of print documents disseminated on CD-
     ROM

--   Electronic research data bases.

Two additional committees were charged with examining and documenting:

--   The impact of converting NAL print publications to electronic format

--   The preservation issues associated with optical/electronic media (CD-
     ROM).

The committees gathered policy and procedural statements, identified
background material, reviewed the current literature,  brainstormed to
identify questions which needed answers and scenarios they might face in the
future,  proposed answers to as many questions as possible and finally, made
both broad and specific recommendations for actions to be taken by the
Library.  The most important recommendation is that the Electronic Information
Initiative Statement of Commitment be approved.  Committing to become an
"electronic library"  will strongly position NAL to meet the challenges of the
transition from providing information services using a traditional, print
collection to providing full electronic access to information.

Included in the Report are sections which address two additional  key
components of the Electronic Information Initiative, namely, the Evaluation
Study Developing Structures for Managing Electronic Information in
Agriculture,  and a proposal to make AGRICOLA available online at NAL and
accessible via the Internet.  This Report does not address the specific costs
associated with the recommended actions, rather, the recommendations are
arranged according to a suggested timeframe.   Flexibility has been designed
in to the recommendations to allow implementation of as many specific actions;
as possible.











                 THE  ELECTRONIC  INFORMATION  INITIATIVE

                          STATEMENT of COMMITMENT


The world of information management is changing daily.  The current paper-
based information delivery system is inadequate to keep pace with the needs of
the modern agriculturalist.  Increasingly,  information is produced in
digitized form, and with recent telecommunications innovations and the
Internet, the resources available to the computer literate researcher are
expanding exponentially.  The length of time expended for traditional
publication, procurement, physical handling, indexing and document delivery
processes is no longer acceptable.  Transition from the traditional print
collection to the "electronic library" will necessitate a shift from a
production mode to a facilitator mode of service. 

The National Agricultural Library (NAL) has a responsibility to provide
leadership to the increasingly networked agricultural information community.  
In its role as a national library,  NAL has an obligation to manage
information, promote standardized formats, repackage essential information for
mass distribution and mediate electronic access to information irrespective of
where the data reside.  In addition, NAL is an intermediary with a large
client-base that can facilitate USDA research initiatives and enhance the
dissemination of these research results to the world.

As knowledge takes on new forms, library staff must learn new skills and
develop new storage/dissemination models and systems suitable to meet the
requirements of the electronic information age.  The NAL is creating a
planning document for a systematic program of managing data in electronic form
and establishing strategies for collecting, storing and distributing U.S.
agricultural information in electronic form.



To demonstrate its commitment to meeting the challenges of becoming an
"electronic library", on January 1, 1995,  the National Agricultural Library
will designate electronic information the preferred medium.










                          Summary Recommendations


I.   Adopt The Electronic Information Initiative Statement of Commitment.

     A.   Establish it as one of the driving forces in budgeting, decision
          making, allocation of staff, setting priorities, etc., throughout
          the Library.

     B.   Widely publicize it throughout NAL, USDA and the Land-Grant and
          world-wide agricultural communities.
     

II.  Provide NAL Staff and Patrons with State-of-the-Art Electronic Access to
     Electronic Information   

     A.   Make information available via the Internet, NALNET, a CD-ROM
          Network, etc., using WAIS, Gopher, Veronica, etc.

     B.   Implement networking as the keystone to seamless access to
          information.


III. Add Staff and Funds to Acquire, Process and Make Available Electronic
     Data.


IV.  Make AGRICOLA Available Online at NAL.


V.   Reallocate for FY 94, a portion of the NAL budget and each Branch budget
     which must be used to move toward implementing the Electronic
     Information Initiative Statement of Commitment, until funds become
     available in FY 95.


VI.  Establish a Permanent Steering Committee on Electronic Information
     Issues, consisting of three Branch Heads, which would:

     A.   Create a plan for implementing the recommendations in this Report.

     B.   Keep the Initiative on track and moving forward and serve as
          consultants to all NAL managers regarding electronic issues.
          
     C.   Keep abreast of the changing technologies and their potential
          applications.


VII. Establish Cooperative Efforts with Other Interested Agencies and
     Libraries to:
     
     A.   Meet its obligation as a National Library to manage information,
          promote standardized formats, repackage essential information for
          mass distribution and electronically mediate access to information
          irrespective of where the data reside.

     B.   Advise USDA regarding publication standards (i.e., SGML).

          1.   Avoid duplication of effort.

          2.   Minimize costs.

          3.   Increase institutional influence on a variety of issues
               including licensing, copyright and other joint concerns.

     C.   Implement a preservation/archiving plan. 


VIII.     Establish a Variety of Permanent and Temporary Committees to Continue
          the Work of the Five Committees:

     A.   Electronic Media Collection Committee (permanent, broad-based, to
          approve the selection and acquisition of electronic media,
          recommend weeding or retention of comparable print titles,
          establish storage, leasing and processing policies and procedures,
          and assign processing priority and preservation status to each
          electronic format title).
     
     B.   Committee to investigate use of SGML to produce and acquire
          publications (ad-hoc, to determine the software NAL should use to
          produce its publications using SGML).
     
     C.   Preservation Committee (permanent, broad-based, to continue to
          study and evaluate preservation issues, keep abreast of both new
          technologies and the National Preservation Program for
          Agricultural Literature, and develop a program for monitoring and
          refreshing digital data, etc.).
     
     D.   Standards Committee (permanent, broad-based, to establish
          standards for equipment and internal electronic media production).

     

IX.  Review and Revise Policy Statements and Operating Procedures (both
     internal and external) to:
     
     A.   Reflect NAL's preference for the electronic version over print or
          other versions.
     
     B.   Require USDA to deposit copies of electronic documents, data bases
          and documentation at the NAL and to report publication of
          electronic media including electronic journals and newsletters
          (similar to the current requirement to deposit copies of print
          products).

     C.   Review and revise all NAL operating procedures, document changes
          and distribute widely.
     
     
X.   Establish, Equip and Staff an Electronic Media Center for Access to
     Electronic Media.


XI.  Establish a Library-wide Electronic Information Training Program to
     Include:

     A.   Formal and informal training for all NAL staff.

     B.   Continuing efforts to make staff and patrons aware of the latest
          developments in information provision systems and all aspects of
          electronic media, the electronic library, etc.

     C.   New Technology Seminars, etc., open to all NAL staff.
     

XII. Provide for the Expertise in the Library of Someone who can Advise NAL
     Regarding Licensing, Copyright, and Patents.


XIII.     Convert the NAL Print Publications Program to Electronic Media.


XIX. As Part of the Requirement to Provide for the Archival Storage of USDA
     and NAL Publications, Establish a Separate, Climate Controlled, Secure
     Location to House and Service the Archival Copies of all Electronic
     Media.

XX.  Develop and Enhance Policies, Procedures and Practices which Facilitate
     the Preservation of Electronic Media as part of the NAL Preservation
     Plan.

     A.   Design and implement a disaster plan for NAL.

     B.   Develop and implement practices that enhance the security of the
          electronic collection.

     C.   Immediately implement short range storage and use practices such
          as caddies that will prolong the lifespan of electronic media and
          protect them.

     D.   Develop, support and use production standards for electronic media
          that will permit preservation and access well into the future.


XXI. Incorporate the Work of these Committees into NAL's Strategic Planning
     Efforts.










                               Introduction

NAL's current paper-based information document delivery system which furnishes
articles cited and indexed in AGRICOLA and other data bases, is becoming
increasingly inadequate to keep pace with the requirements and computer
capabilities of the typical laboratory scientist or policy maker.  The spate
of information being produced in digital form, coupled with recent
telecommunications innovations and the dominance of the Internet, have
combined to vastly increase the resources available to agricultural
researchers and scientists.  Compared to the virtually instant electronic
transmission of information via the Internet, the considerable time required
to provide information through the traditional methods -- involving
publishing, procuring, physical handling and document delivery of paper
products -- is rapidly rendering the traditional model obsolete.  Thus, NAL's
need to embrace this already emerging reality termed "library without walls"
or "electronic library" dictates an immediate shift from providing information
services based on printed materials to methods in which NAL will facilitate
users in obtaining information electronically.

Core to all of the NAL programs has been the creation and advancement of the
AGRICOLA data base, which since 1970 has been the principal source of
agricultural information for practitioners and researchers worldwide.  With
over three million records, AGRICOLA citations and indexing records correspond
to the most important agricultural publications from around the world.  It is
not possible to overstate the importance of the information contained in the
AGRICOLA data base to the scientists and researchers of ARS, USDA, the land-
grant universities and other institutions nationwide.

As a national library, NAL is charged with the duty to manage information,
promote standardized formats, repackage essential information for mass
distribution, and electronically mediate access to information irrespective of
where the data reside.  In addition, NAL is an institution with a large user
base capable of facilitating USDA research initiatives and enhancing the
dissemination of the research results to the world.

With the implementation of the Electronic Information Initiative (EII), NAL
will be established as the central node in an electronic system, providing
agricultural information by directly linking users with the information
producers.  Further, this approach complies fully with the spirit and
intention of the revised Circular A-130.  The thrust of the initiative is to
implement a program aimed at achieving an effective transition from providing
information services using a traditional, print collection to achieving the
full capacity to provide electronic access to information via the Internet as
part of the National Research and Education Network (NREN).

The EII will create the infrastructure necessary to ensure that NAL will have
the capacity to function in this newly created environment, in which the
instantaneous transmission of information worldwide is fast evolving as the
standard.  The necessary infrastructure will include the design and
installation of an internal network fully compatible with the Internet. 
Library users will be provided with multiple use workstations with the
capability to access and process data in a wide variety of electronic formats. 
Increased computer storage will be acquired to make USDA-produced data as well
as all agricultural data available on the Internet.  A computer system within
NAL will be developed to provide access to critical data bases (e.g..,
AGRICOLA, genome data bases, et al.) for use by ARS and USDA patrons, other
Federal agencies, the land-grant institutions, farmers, ranchers, consumers
and other members of the general public.  Primary connectivity will be
achieved via the Internet as part of NREN.  Extensive, intensive training in
the use of new technologies related to this project will be necessary.  







                      CHAPTER 1  -  Evaluation Study 

               Developing Structures for Managing Electronic

                         Information in Agriculture

                     Proposal - Partially Funded FY 93

Problem

There is a growing demand on government to make its information resources
available to researchers, educators, and the public at large.  USDA offers no
central repository through which materials in electronic form can be stored
and made easily available for dissemination to the public.  In addition, more
and more scientific and technical print materials are being made available in
electronic format.  These electronic materials are a small but rapidly growing
component of NAL's holdings.  NAL needs to create an appropriate
infrastructure to accommodate the storage and dissemination of these
materials.  Much evaluative work is needed to make this transformation
quickly, effectively, and efficiently.  The problem this evaluation study will
address is how to optimize the availability of this electronic information to
the agricultural community.

Objective

Over the past two years, the Internet has seen an explosion in the number and
types of information resources and services.  Over the same period, the number
of people with access to the network has grown correspondingly.  This study
will evaluate alternatives for the collection, control, storage, and
distribution of U.S. agricultural information in electronic form through
Internet and other vehicles.  Proposed solutions will accommodate both local
and remote users with varying skills and equipment.

Approach

A number of electronic information provision models will be evaluated and a
taxonomy of electronic materials and services will be developed.  USDA
materials will be the primary focus of this study.  One of the proposed
evaluative documents will be the Extension Review, a serial publication
produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Extension Service.  This study
will also examine the use of such publishing standards as SGML (Standard
Generalized Mark-up Language) in the production of electronic information and
initiate a planning process whereby such standards can be integrated into USDA
publication activities.  A working prototype information collection, storage,
and dissemination system will be produced and evaluated by a user test base. 
Some computer equipment will be required to develop and evaluate this working
prototype.

Establishing effective systems for managing electronic information is a cross-
cutting issue affecting all agencies within USDA.  As part of the evaluation
study, NAL will establish an Interagency Oversight Committee to provide
guidance and advice throughout the project cycle to ensure that proposed
solutions can be integrated into Departmental systems structures. 
Representation on the Committee will include a broad mix of agencies (i.e. S&E
agencies; ERS; FSIS; OPA; OIRM) whose data and interest in electronic
information issues are characteristic of USDA-wide agency interests.  


Results

This study will produce alternatives for the large-scale management and
distribution of electronic information.   These alternatives will be used to
develop an infrastructure for the future dissemination of agricultural
information and are expected to further USDA initiatives to streamline its
automated systems.


Proposed Budget

Evaluate existing approaches       $13,000
Develop taxonomy of materials      $ 8,000
Acquire prototype media            $25,000   
Create prototype information system     $87,000
Conduct survey/evaluation          $ 8,000
Evaluative Computer Equipment      $25,000

           Total Requested         $166,000



Project Schedule

Evaluate existing approaches  January - March 1993
Develop taxonomy of materials January - March 1993
Acquire prototype media       April 1993     
Create prototype info system  April 1993 - July 1994
Conduct survey/evaluation     July 1994 - October 1994
Submit evaluation report December 1994



Organizations to Receive the Final Report

1.   Council on Library Resources
2.   Library of Congress
3.   National Library of Medicine
4.   Association of Research Libraries
5.   United States Agricultural Information Network



Proposed Cooperators

Iowa State University         USDA Office of Public Affairs

USDA Extension Service        Interagency Oversight Committee



Principal Agency Contact (ADODR)

PAMELA Q.J. ANDRE
National Agricultural Library

                                                       November 1992



                               Status Report

Background:

In 1992, the NAL began exploring the issues surrounding systematic collection
and dissemination of electronic information.  As a result of these
explorations and with the encouragement of USDA administrators, NAL Director
Joseph Howard launched the Electronic Information Initiative.  The purpose of
this Initiative was to plan and implement a systematic program of managing
data in electronic form.  In partial fulfillment of this goal, an internal NAL
Steering Committee was formed and charged with enlisting NAL staff to address
the issues associated with information stored on electronic media.  Committees
were established and instructed to proceed with a practical effort to "provide
recommendations for changing policies and procedures related to the
acqusition, processing, access, dissemination, collection maintenance and
preservation" of: electronic journals, full text documents on CD-ROM, and
electronic research databases.  The primary focus would be USDA-produced
materials.



Status

To assist in the evaluation of existing information models and the
implementation of a systematic program for managing and disseminating
electronic information, an evaluation study entitled 'Developing structures
for managing electronic information in agriculture' was proposed and funded. 
Based on input from the various Electronic Information Committees, select
items were identified as candidates for testing recommendations and refining
processing and dissemination techniques.  These items include the Journal of
Extension, Arabidopsis thaliana Data Base (AAtDB), and CGIAR CD-ROM. The
Extension Review had initially been selected as a candidate for evaluation,
however, due to publishing uncertainties it was not included in the initial
test group.  A brief description of each of the test titles follows:

Journal of Extension

The Journal of Extension is a journal produced by the Cooperative Extension
System, University of Wisconsin.  It is available in both print and electronic
form.  Upon subscription to the electronic version, a table of contents
message is sent automatically to the subscriber; the subscriber is then able
to request via e-mail the full text of one or more articles.

Arabidopsis thaliana Data Base (AAtDB)

The AAtDB is a genome database for the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana. 
The Massachusetts General Hospital was funded by NAL to collect and pull
together information relevant to the Arabidopsis database.  Staff at the Plant
Genome Data and Information Center receive advance notice from Mass General
for the date of new releases of the database.  After the release is
advertised, the new data and software can be downloaded using standard FTP
procedures.

CGIAR CD-ROM

The CGIAR CD-ROM (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research)
is a full-text CD-ROM containing documents from around the world.  Some of the
original print documents are held by NAL, others are not.  NAL has agreed to
undertake archival responsibility for this information.

An internal working group representative of the units within NAL has been
established and is charged with processing the electronic journal Journal of
Extension.  Once work has been completed on this title, another working group
will be formed to examine the AAtDB and then another to process the CGIAR CD-
ROM. Each of these working groups will build on the information and procedures
of the group it follows thereby strengthening the strategies for processing
and providing access to various types of electronic media.



 
Timeframe

Dec. 1992 - June 1993    Identify Issues and Prepare Broad Recommendations
July 1993 - Feb. 1994    Refine Recommendations Based on Test Media
March 1994 - Aug. 1994   Expand Testing and Begin Routine Implementation
Sept. 1994 - Dec. 1994   Prepare Final Report



Expenditures

Workstations for processing and disseminating electronic information:

     Quantity - 4
     Cost - 23,141.98



Workstations

Based on the input from various EII Committees, a portion of the 'Developing
Structures for Managing Electronic Information in Agriculture' evaluation
study funding will be spent on establishing workstations throughout the
Library.  These workstations are intended to be used for processing and/or
providing access to electronic materials.  Some of these workstations will be
connected directly to the HP for access to ISIS and, ultimately, all of these
workstations will be connected directly to the NAL backbone.  What follows is
a brief description of the equipment that has been funded, its location, and
its perceived uses.

Cataloging monitor

A dual page color monitor (or grayscale monitor) 

This monitor will be added to existing equipment to assist in simultaneously
accessing electronic documents and OCLC for cataloging purposes.

Indexing workstation

486 computer
Dual page color monitor (grayscale is another option)
8 mb of RAM
220 mb hard drive
2 floppy drives (1.2 and 1.4 mb)
DOS 5.0
Windows 3.1
Mouse
Dot matrix printer
Ethernet card

This workstation will be used for simultaneous access to electronic documents
and ISIS for indexing purposes.

DDSB 3rd floor workstation

486 computer
15" VGA color monitor
8 mb of RAM
220 mb hard drive
2 floppy drives (1.2 and 1.4 mb)
DOS 5.0
Windows 3.1
Mouse
Laser Printer
Ethernet card
Multiple CD-ROM drive [8]

This workstation will be used to access and disseminate electronic
publications.


Public workstation in reading room

486 computer
15" VGA color monitor
8 mb of RAM
220 mb hard drive
2 floppy drives (1.2 and 1.4 mb)
DOS 5.0
Windows 3.1
Mouse
Dot matrix printer
Ethernet card
Multiple CD-ROM drives [8]


This workstation will be used to provide public access to electronic
documents.  It is envisioned that 4 of the 8 drives will be used to access
AGRICOLA.





                  Agricultural Network Information Center

                               Status Report


A key component of the evaluation study is to establish a prototype
Agricultural Network Information Center (AgNIC) to experiment with the concept
of a distributed discipline-oriented Agricultural Information Center as
opposed to the technically-oriented centers established in the past few years
by the National Science Foundation (NSF).  Agriculture is a multi-dimensional
discipline with public (experiment stations, extension services, other
government offices) and private (producers, agribusiness, suppliers and
customers) components.  Networking is the enabling technology to share
information of interest among them.

The AgNIC is an innovative prototype involving the first use of affiliated
organizations with a common disciplinary interest, to share agricultural
information via the Internet, which is expected to be expanded to a wider
environment with significant ramifications for society.  Based on the long-
term symbiotic relationship between elements of USDA and the land-grant
universities and the fact that the universities already have in place the
infrastructure for Internet connectivity as well as considerable experience in
accessing the Internet, the agricultural components of the land-grant
universities (the Agricultural Extension and Agricultural Experiment Stations)
were identified during the initial planning session as logical components with
which to start AgNIC.  A small group of organizations from the Science and
Education component that would have the most involvement with the land-grant
universities, and that would be within the scope of funding of the prototype, 
will also be targeted.

In March 1993, NAL chaired a planning session with representatives of Iowa
State University, the USDA Extension Service (ES), the National Science
Foundation and the commercial sector Internet network managers, AT&T Bell
Laboratories and General Atomics, to begin planning for the development and
implementation of the AgNIC prototype.  Iowa State University was tasked to
name an Information Specialist to work full-time on the AgNIC prototype.  The
initial tasks of drafting a White Paper which defines the concept, mission and
goals, organization structure and resources required is presently in progress.






                   CHAPTER 2  -  AGRICOLA On-line at NAL


Background

AGRICOLA is a machine-readable data base of bibliographic citations created by
the National Agricultural Library and its cooperators.  The scope of this data
base encompasses all aspects of agriculture and allied disciplines including
plant and animal sciences, forestry, entomology, soil and water resources,
agricultural economics, agricultural engineering, agricultural products, and
food and nutrition.  Auxiliary subjects that support NAL's Information Center
activities such as agricultural trade and marketing, rural information, and
biotechnology are also included.  

Researchers, scientists, educators, and information providers are among the
collection of users who rely upon the information found within the data base. 
Examples of the organizations with which the searchers of AGRICOLA are
affiliated include USDA, research and educational institutions (the land-grant
universities are heavy users of the data base), trade associations, and
private industry.  Some of these organizations are international in nature.  

To provide access to AGRICOLA, NAL sends a monthly magnetic tape to the U.S.
Department of Commerce's National Technical Information Service (NTIS) for
further distribution to its subscribers.  These subscribers then determine the
frequency with which their data base products are updated, what medium will be
offered, what search capabilities will be provided, and the associated costs
to the end user for accessing and retrieving information.

This method of distribution began in the early 1970s, when mitigating factors
forced NAL to decide to distribute magnetic tape copies of AGRICOLA to
commercial subscribers and to use the resulting commercial products rather
than to develop end user products within NAL.  At that time, computers were
very large, very expensive, and required highly-skilled computer specialists
to develop applications and to keep them running.  NAL was not in a  position
to even contemplate undertaking such an endeavor.

Times have changed: a)  Computer power has increased tremendously;  b)
Computer prices have dropped dramatically and c) Easy-to-use software is
available to greatly facilitate the development of data base applications.


Problems with the Current Method of Distribution

The only access the National Agricultural Library has to its own bibliographic
data base, AGRICOLA, is through commercial vendors.  There is one source for
print, one source for online access, and one source for CD-ROM.  If any of
these three commercial companies decide to cease its AGRICOLA products, NAL
and, for that matter, the world will have no equivalent alternative source for
agricultural information.  NAL also has no input into the prices being charged
end users for data base access nor any control over search capabilities or
retrieval options provided by these commercial companies.


Benefits to Having AGRICOLA Online at NAL

The greatest benefit to the agricultural community in making AGRICOLA
available through NAL would be the reduction in the cost to access and
retrieve information stored within the data base.  This would benefit NAL,
USDA libraries, USDA researchers and practitioners, land-grant universities,
1890 universities, and other public and private organizations both national
and international.

In addition to reducing costs, the production and dissemination of information
stored within AGRICOLA would be centralized, thereby providing NAL with
greater control over the display, retrievability, and modification of the data
stored within.


Users

NAL should mount AGRICOLA on a computer platform at NAL which can be connected
to Internet with no access restrictions; that would allow anyone, worldwide,
who has access to Internet to search the data base.  Initially NAL will
probably want to have more control over the user base, at least until the
completion of an evaluation of the computer system capabilities and the load
this application will place on them.


Security

Appropriate security measures will be taken to ensure the integrity of the
AGRICOLA file and also guarantee the integrity of other NAL systems. 


Impact on Current AGRICOLA Subscribers

The current domestic subscribers to the AGRICOLA tape service include:

     Oryx Press -- Printed Bibliography of Agriculture

     BRS, Dialog and OCLC -- Online commercial data base
          [BRS has notified us of their intention to cancel their
subscription.]


     SilverPlatter -- CD-ROM data base

     Clemson, Cornell, and Iowa State -- online campus networks


Putting AGRICOLA on Internet will probably have little effect on the printed
Bibliography of Agriculture.  

Because BRS, Dialog, and OCLC charge their users for access to AGRICOLA, any
users who had the capability to switch to NAL's free Internet access to
AGRICOLA would probably be tempted to do so, although there are a number of
reasons why not all would want to switch.  The online vendors would probably
lose revenue from decreased usage of their versions of AGRICOLA.

SilverPlatter would probably lose some subscriptions to the CD-ROM version
because many of their current customers also have Internet access.

The campus networks may or may not be affected because most universities do
not want their students to have unrestricted Internet access but the $10,000
annual charge (subscription and usage fees) and the computer resources
required may become too great a burden at some point.


Hardware/Software Options

A preliminary analysis was made of three options for putting the AGRICOLA file
up at NAL.

1.   Make AGRICOLA available through the Integrated System for Information
     Services (ISIS) Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) software on the
     HP3000.

2.   Install the AGRICOLA file on a Sun workstation using Cuadra's STAR
     software.

3.   Use SilverPlatter's SPIRS software to access the contents of the
     SilverPlatter AGRICOLA CD-ROMS which are downloaded to run on magnetic
     drives for greater efficiency.


Three separate reports follow which contain discussions of benefits and
problems of each of the options.  A number of other options are also possible,
but these three represent the widest diversity in terms of probable
implementations at NAL.



Conclusions

The apparent best choice for further analysis is the option of putting
AGRICOLA on a Sun workstation (or similar UNIX machine) using STAR or an
equivalent software package for search and retrieval.

Having AGRICOLA on a separate system will allow far greater security than if
it were combined with other library functions on ISIS.  A UNIX system will
allow for far greater flexibility and connectivity than the DOS-based machine
that SPIRS would require.




                                 Option 1

                           ISIS (VTLS Software)

ISIS (Integrated System for Information Services) is an integrated library
system through which a number of library functions are performed.  Presently
these functions include:  acquisitions, serials control, the creation of item
records, authority control, and the provision of an online public access
catalog.  This online public access catalog reflects the machine readable
holdings of NAL, the USDA Agricultural Research Service Regional Research
Center Libraries, the National Arboretum and a subset of the indexing records
created by NAL's Indexing Branch and its cooperators (December 1989 -
present).  Within the near future, the functionality of this system will be
increased to include: online indexing, the production of the AGRICOLA sales
tape (ATPS), and circulation.  VTLS, Inc. is the vendor who supplied the
proprietary software through which these functions are made possible.


Capacity

NAL's implementation of this software runs on a Hewlett-Packard (HP)
3000/980/100 minicomputer.  The data which include 828,000 bibliographic
records, 1,300,000 authority records, and 124,000 item records currently
reside on 14 1.3 gigabyte and two 670 megabyte disc drives which are at 65%
capacity.  The estimated growth rate for bibliographic records is 80,000 per
year, item records - 23,000, and authority records - 90,000.  The CPU is
presently running at 20 percent capacity, but the impact of online indexing,
ATPS, and circulation is still unknown.

The ISIS data base consists of approximately 28 percent of the bibliographic
records found in AGRICOLA.  The largest gap is found in the coverage of
indexing records.  AGRICOLA contains indexing records created from 1970 to the
present, while ISIS contains those created from December 1989 to the present. 
This gap reflects a difference of 2,172,000 records.


Strengths

The primary purpose of ISIS is to function as an integrated library system. 
The strength of an integrated library system is in its ability to share data
between different functions.  This ability minimizes the need to re-key data
and permits users to obtain different types of information without having to
access a number of different systems or files.

ISIS is also a production system which has been in operation for over five
years.  This has led to increased expertise among NAL staff in its operation
and capabilities.  A new system would require additional training for systems
and support staff as well as in-house staff and external users who would use
the new system for its retrieval capabilities.

The licenses that are currently in effect for both the system software and the
VTLS library software cover an unlimited number of users.  In providing for an
unlimited number of users, no additional software licensing fees would be
required to increase access to ISIS.  The only 
additional cost would be for upgrading the hardware to support an increased
number of records.

 
Weaknesses

The strength of the various vendor supplied AGRICOLA data bases is in the
sophisticated search and retrieval features offered.  Although the VTLS
software supports standard searches such as author, title, call number, etc.,
the ability to develop sophisticated search algorithms is lacking.  This would
be a significant disadvantage to many of the present AGRICOLA users.

Related to the lack of sophisticated retrieval capabilities is the lack of
sophisticated report and statistics generators.  The VTLS software does offer
some report writing and statistical tracking capabilities, but this is an
acknowledged weakness within this system.  VTLS has begun to focus more
attention on these areas.   

An additional weakness which may impact on any 24-hour per day system is the
lack of trained computer staff to monitor system operations overnight.  The
present hours of ISIS availability are Monday through Friday 6:00 a.m. to 7:30
p.m. EST.  To increase the hours of system availability, additional funding
would be required to hire competent staff to trouble-shoot system
irregularities in the off-hours.



 
Risk

The risk of losing existing data is minimal due to the daily backups performed
and the continuous transaction logging.  Although a thorough risk analysis has
not been conducted, some obvious prospective concerns exist should the ISIS
system become inoperable.  ISIS is a production system as well as one that
offers end-user searching capability.  Examples of the difficulties which
would arise should the system become unavailable include:
     
1.   In-house staff would be forced to search vendor-supplied data bases, at
     a cost determined by the vendor, to retrieve NAL-produced bibliographic
     records.  

2.   Automated activities would revert back to manual processing  which in
     turn would produce a backlog of information which would need to be
     entered into an automated system once it became operational.  

3.   Information that was made available through the integrated system would
     once again reside in separate files in disparate locations.

Once online indexing and ATPS are fully implemented, the impact of system
downtime on NAL will become more severe.  At present, there is no contingency
plan for VTLS online indexing or ATPS should the system fail.  The present
production system is outdated and will no longer be supported.  Discussions
are currently underway to develop such a contingency plan.  


Security

The ISIS system currently takes advantage of HP's 3-level security and VTLS'
hardcoded and parameterized user level security.  The University of North
Carolina at Charlotte, one of the VTLS libraries that has its OPAC on the
Internet, relies solely on this password control to provide security to its
system.  This present form of security can be further strengthened by
implementing HP's file level access security via lockword. 

Other options for increasing the security of the system include encapsulating
the VTLS system and providing an intermediary system that would dictate the
user login.  Encapsulation prevents the user from accessing the operating
system.  Should a VTLS software error occur, the user is automatically logged
out of the system.  By using an intermediary system to perform the log-in, the
access level would be predetermined thereby limiting the capabilities of the
user.  Once a user is logged in as a certain type, this type cannot be changed
until the user logs out and logs back in again.  These two actions would
significantly increase the security of the ISIS system.


User Support

Two mechanisms currently exist for ISIS users to report technical
difficulties.  The first of these is the ISIS support line which consists of a
local phone number users can access to report problems.  When an ISIS staff
member is unavailable to answer the line, the user is able to leave a recorded
message on an answering machine.  This answering machine is checked
periodically by ISIS staff during the 8:00am - 4:30pm work day.  The second
method through which users can report difficulties is by sending an electronic
message to the ISIS support e-mail address (ISISHELP@NALUSDA.GOV).  This
mailbox is checked regularly and an e-mail sent acknowledging receipt of the
message.  Further support should be provided to address non-technical user
concerns and questions.


Documentation

A number of HP- and VTLS-generated manuals and documents exist which describe
the nuances of running the ISIS system.  Much of the end-user documentation,
however, is in the process of being re-written to accommodate the latest
release of the VTLS software (VTLS-92).  Initially, activities will focus on
refining and developing print documentation.  Once progress has been made in
this area, the on-line documentation will be examined.  The VTLS software
offers a great deal of flexibility in the design and content of the various
HELP features.



AGRICOLA VS. ISIS OPAC

If AGRICOLA is going to be brought up in-house, some clear distinctions need
to be made between AGRICOLA and the Integrated System for Information Services
(ISIS) Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) file.

Because ISIS is an integrated system which provides automated library
functions for NAL, the only records which should be included in ISIS are those
which represent materials which NAL processes.  If an item is not in the NAL
collection or in the collection of an NAL "branch" library (e.g., DCRC,
Arboretum), its bibliographic record should not be in ISIS.  Records for items
held elsewhere (e.g., ARS Regional Libraries, remote-based electronic
journals) should be included in AGRICOLA but not in ISIS.

The search and retrieval software for the AGRICOLA file will be far superior
to the OPAC search capabilities, but the ISIS software will include software
for bibliographic record input, circulation, serials control, acquisitions,
etc. 








                                 Option 2 

              AGRICOLA on SUN Server Under Cuadra's STAR DBMS

It is proposed that AGRICOLA be mounted on an NAL in-house computer system,
using the Cuadra STAR data base management software as search engine and
report generator for online queries by NAL personnel and collaborators.  NAL
already owns limited licenses for the two software products necessary to
convert, mount, index, and query MARC-format records, and NAL personnel have
experience in their use.


Software Considerations

Solaris

Solaris Operating System (Sun Microsystems) is an implementation of UNIX
system V.  It is a robust operating system with excellent built in utilities. 
It has good security features such as login control with passwording,
individual file and directory permissions, auditing and authentication.  It
conforms to level C2 of the National Computer Security Center's standards set
out in "The Orange Book".


STAR

The Cuadra STAR software, two copies of which are presently licensed to NAL
(one Sun workstation and one Alpha Micro supermicrocomputer), is a full-
featured text management system, with sophisticated Boolean search
capabilities and excellent report generation features.  Major functions are
Database Definition, Data Entry, Search and Report, Global Change (batch
operations on a number of selected records), and System Management.

Searching is rapid, using indexes that can be built on as many or as few data
fields as desired.  Word, occurrence (entire string), and full proximity
indexing are options that may be selected by the data base administrator.  The
number of records in a data base is limited only by the amount of hardware
disk storage; any single record can contain up to about two million
characters.  Input can be validated by a number of rule types, as well as
against authority files (lookup tables).

Data base security may be implemented by a system of user IDs and passwords
that are additional to those used by the operating system.  Passwords can also
be used to limit access by data base and function.  Input screens as well as
output formats (screen displays and print formats) can be customized to suit
the preferences and sophistication of the users.



The STAR software runs on System V UNIX on many platforms.  It has been
certified on Sun Microsystems' SUNOS and on Solaris operating systems.  This
DBMS has been used successfully in a number of organizations with multiple
concurrent users.  It has been tested on a data base containing one million
records, and retrieval was acceptable rapid.  STAR has most often been used
for in-house data bases with local users, but some installations have used it
with success for public-access data bases.  STAR excels in data base
production, because data can be input in a variety of ways, and then output
can be easily adapted for uploading to other software.

Cuadra Associates is unable at this time to certify that STAR will meet the
needs of a large number of concurrent users on a data base the size of
AGRICOLA, but they would be interested in a pilot project with NAL to do
performance benchmarking and testing to see if the product meets our needs for
speed, capabilities, and ease of use.


MARC Conversion Software

NAL owns the software necessary to convert records from and to MARC
communications format.  This is another Cuadra product that operates with the
STAR software.  NAL staff have tested it on AGRICOLA sale tapes, and
successfully created conversion files that were then loaded into a fully
searchable STAR data base.  Loading from tape, MARC conversion, and loading
and indexing of one month's worth of the converted AGRICOLA records into a
STAR data base takes one to three days, depending on the load on the system
and the total number of records on the tape.


 Other Considerations

Cuadra STAR software licenses are priced according to the number of concurrent
users.  NAL's STAR license on the Sun workstation is a seven year license. 
The MARC conversion programs (that are a part of the LIBCAT library automation
system) are already owned by NAL (Plant Genome Project) and no further
expenditure would be necessary except a normal maintenance/upgrade fee.


Hardware Considerations

Disk Storage

Disk storage has been estimated by calculating storage requirements of the
present three million plus AGRICOLA records plus 100-200 percent indexing
overhead.  AGRICOLA records on Dialog occupy about 12 GB at present.  As a
test, a sample set of 10,970 AGRICOLA records from the November 1992 sale tape
were converted and loaded into a heavily indexed STAR data base; the storage
figures for that test set are:



          Data base records                  13,313 K
          Indexes                       13,278 K
          System records                    403 K

          Total                              26,994 K, or 2.46 K/record

If all 3,005,539 AGRICOLA records with indexes occupied 2.46 K (a high figure
because of the older records which were much smaller) the total disk storage
required for a STAR implementation would be 7.4 GB.


SPARCserver

For adequate CPU throughput and random access memory on a machine running STAR
and AGRICOLA and servicing multiple users, NAL will probably need a multi-
processing server with a very fast processor.  Sun Microsystems has announced
a machine called the SPARCserver 1000 that is expandable to up to 8 50-MHz
SuperSPARC+ processors, 2 GB RAM, 12 SBus slots, and 100 BG of disk storage. 
A machine can be purchased with base configuration, and over time modules to
increase capacity can be added.

The machine and peripherals described above would probably suffice for the
first few years of operation, for they represent Sun Microsystems' newest and
fastest server technology, and the peripherals are reliable and reasonably
state-of-the-art.  The computer itself was designed with expandability in
mind: disk storage, processors, and memory modules could be added as needed
when capacity is exhausted.  Peripherals such as a SCSI terminal server to
which modems may be attached are low-cost and can be added if dial-up access
is desired.




                                 Option 3

                           Using SPIRS Software

It is proposed that AGRICOLA be mounted on an NAL in-house computer system,
using the SPIRS retrieval software that is being used on the CD-ROMs being
sold by SilverPlatter, Inc.  NAL personnel already have experience in its use.

The first issue was to try to identify some of the concerns associated with
using SPIRS on a PC with an interface to the Internet.  Based on discussions
with a network expert, sophisticated network operating system (NOS) software
such as Novell Netware will be needed in order to make the PC workstation talk
to the Internet node at acceptable speeds.   It would be necessary to ensure
the SPIRS PC would have the necessary hardware to act like a NetWare server
(or buy a server).  With such an NOS purchase there would be a benefit from
obtaining one of the third-party products like OnLine's OPTI-NET.  Use of
magnetic storage instead of CD-ROM drives would help speed of access, but the
costs would increase.  This is based on providing fast, multi-user searching. 
In addition,  a PC based CD-ROM system does not have a lot of security built
in, especially when considering both dial-in and Internet access. 

It is recommended that based on the cost and complexity of a PC-based system
with somewhat limited SPIRS search system and limited security, this Option
should not be adopted. 









                     CHAPTER 3  -  Electronic Journals

Summary

The Committee interpreted its original charge as follows:

1.   Identify questions and issues concerning electronic journals (e-
     journals) within NAL.

2.   Identify any existing policies and procedures needing change within NAL.

3.   Come to a consensus, if possible, regarding recommendations based on the
     issues identified, including, wherever applicable, cost and
     implementation timetables.

4.   Place experimental electronic journal records on ISIS in order to
     develop procedures for their processing.

Concurrently with the questions and issues phase, an educational process was
begun which consisted of identifying and reading pertinent articles,
subscribing to electronic discussion groups on Internet, and inviting other
members of the NAL staff to attend our committee meetings and share needed
knowledge.  One committee member took the opportunity while attending the VTLS
Users' Meeting at VPI to visit an expert who is involved in the University
Libraries' Scholarly Communications Project.  She returned with Powell, James,
"Scholarly Communications Quarterly Technical Report" 9/91-11/92 and 12/92-
1/93 which helped place VPI's electronic journal processing in the broader
context of other electronic experimentation taking place at VPI.  These
reports and other documents which proved useful to the committee are listed in
the Bibliography section. 

The Committee realized that some of the issues were common to several areas,
that is, the Acquisitions & Serials (ACQ/SER), Cataloging, Document Delivery,
Indexing,  and Reference as well as the Information Systems Division Committee
members all developed similar ideas and needs concerning training, networking,
and equipment.  These issues form the basis of the Recommendations which
follow. 


Recommendations

1.   Encourage all USDA agencies to report publication of electronic media
     including electronic journals and newsletters to NAL.

2.   Form a small committee including representatives from key functional
     areas of NAL to perform selection of electronic journals.  This
     committee should have final authority to choose e-journals suggested not
     only by Acq/Ser but by all interested NAL staff and patrons.  They will
     also decide the level of processing as outlined below.

3.   Use the following electronic journals for initial experimentation and
     documentation of procedures:  

     A.   Extension Review

     B.   Journal of Extension

     C.   Social Sciences in Forestry

     D.   Laboratory Primate Newsletter

4.   When an electronic journal is published in more than one format, choose
     the format which is most advantageous to NAL whether print, online, CD-
     ROM or diskette, until January 1, 1995 when the electronic version
     should be preferred.

5.   Establish the following short and long term processing levels.  They can
     be phased in as staffing levels, funds and equipment capabilities
     permit.

     A.   Short term - enter a bibliographic record in ISIS or AGRICOLA
          which provides remote access information.

     B.   Long term - enter a bibliographic record in ISIS with full text
          archived on an NAL computer.  Remote access information should be
          included.  

     C.   E-journals produced by USDA should always be archived on an NAL
          computer,  with the exception of newsletters.

     D.   E-journals which are state publications should receive second
          priority for archiving on a case-by-case basis.

     E.   All electronic journals within NAL's scope should receive a
          bibliographic record in ISIS/AGRICOLA even though it proves to be
          impractical or impossible to archive every title for various
          reasons.  This will apprise NAL patrons of the journal's existence
          and will provide remote access information.  Any title selected
          for indexing in AGRICOLA, however, should be considered for
          archiving by NAL.

     F.   Full CONSER level cataloging records should be provided for
          electronic journals just as they are for print journals.

6.   Multiple-use workstations should be connected to the NAL Ethernet in
     order to have direct access to full text of e-journals on an NAL
     computer.


7.   Off-site locations such as the DC Reference Center (DCRC) and ARS field
     libraries should be networked in order to have direct access.           

8.   Space should be made available on either the  HP, Cliff  or a new
     machine so that full text can be transferred and then retrieved using
     file transfer protocol (ftp).  

9.   Prepare an ftp site on a UNIX based system.  A UNIX based system is
     recommended because it is designed for multi-user access of large files. 
     

10.  Prepare a user friendly interface for a new system.

11.  Additional staff support in Information Systems Division should be
     provided to prepare the interface.  Lack of such an interface will
     significantly affect staffing needs in the Public Services Division and
     will make cataloging and indexing procedures more time consuming and
     expensive.

12.  Create an Electronic Media Center and staff with at least one systems
     librarian.  This Center would be the service center for all NAL staff
     and patrons.

13.  Establish a training program for all NAL staff in the use of the
     technology necessary to the acquisition, processing and dissemination of
     electronic media.

14.  Implement dissemination of internal administrative memoranda via e-mail
     as a means of acquainting all NAL staff with what is becoming a basic
     method of communication.



Issues

Training

All staff who will deal in some capacity with electronic journals should
immediately receive introductory training in the use of Internet resources and
mechanisms such as file transfer protocol, telnet and gopher.  This type of
training is beginning to be more widely available.  As an example, a private
company has advertised a workshop called "Understanding the Internet" which
the company describes as being a half-day beginner's seminar on Internet
technologies.   The Association for Research Libraries also sponsors a series
of workshops concerning networking and the Internet at a fairly reasonable
cost.  The recent Computers in Libraries Conference was very helpful in
gaining basic knowledge of Internet resources.  Additionally,  the annual ALA
meeting includes several programs which concern electronic media. 



A long term practical training program for all staff should include at least:

1.   skills necessary for transferring full text to an NAL computer. 

2.   training in Internet resources as well as basic computer skills. 
     Document Delivery staff and contractors must have the expertise to
     access electronic journals archives whether they are at NAL or another
     repository.  They must then know how to either transfer the files to the
     requestor via electronic mail, download the file to floppy disk or print
     it out on paper.

3.   training in the use of new equipment, software and systems such as dual
     page monitors, Windows, and the coming Ethernet.


Many university libraries are now using electronic mail as a means of
disseminating internal administrative memoranda.  It is noteworthy that Gail
Macmillan of VPI in her article "Electronic Journals: Present and Future
Considerations" Serials Review 17 (4), 1991 said that problems with receipt of
e-journals were not anticipated since "all Libraries' staff has experience
receiving and forwarding electronic mail."



Networking and Archiving Capabilities

In the Cataloging and Indexing Branches it will be necessary to access the
full text of an e-journal in order to process it properly just as it is now
necessary to obtain full bibliographic information and full text of a title
which is in hard copy.  The only truly feasible manner by which to do this is
to have direct access to the full text.  With proper equipment such as Windows
and dual page monitors, Cataloging and Indexing staff can access the full text
in one system while simultaneously cataloging on OCLC or indexing on ISIS. 
Downloading to print so that cataloging and/or indexing can be performed is at
best impractical and in some cases virtually impossible.

The importance for all Public Service Areas (Reference, Information Centers
and Document Delivery) to be wired to the NAL network can not be overstated. 
Access to NAL's local area network by DCRC, ARS field libraries and other USDA
installations would, over a period of time, lighten the work load of
Reference, Information Centers and Document Delivery Services as researchers
learn to access electronic journals themselves using an interface developed
for a new machine.


Policies Requiring Change

The Electronic Journal Committee examined two documents with regard to current
policy as they pertain to this format.  They were: Departmental Regulation
1020-1 revised March 23, 1990 and Selection Policy No. 1, Machine Readable
Materials, 3/21/85. These two documents were studied with a view to
identifying areas requiring change.  Selection Policy No. 1 was examined in
conjunction with several similar selection policies from other libraries
provided by the Steering Committee.


I.   Departmental Regulation 1020-1, Subject: National Agricultural Library,
     March 23, 1990.

This Regulation does contain scattered references to electronic materials. 
For NAL to expect optimum cooperation from USDA agencies to supply either the
electronic media or the access information to NAL, the Regulation should be
worded more specifically. 

Paragraphs and subparagraphs which the committee believes should be reviewed
for this purpose are:

     5.   DEFINITIONS

     f.   Non-Expendable Published Material.

          Change to read: "Publications in the NAL collection, the
          collections of the agency libraries and information centers,
          reference aids, and all published materials not included under
          expendable published materials are classed as non-expendable,
          including electronic media."

     i.   Add ISIS - NAL's online public catalog

     j.   Add ALF  - NAL's electronic bulletin board


     9.   GENERAL POLICY

     b.   Publications.  

     1.   "Publications" can be construed by USDA agencies to mean only
          printed media.  The committee recommends that a sentence be added
          such as the following: "Publications" should be interpreted to
          include materials in electronic and audiovisual as well as printed
          formats.  One copy of all audiovisuals, software packages, CD-ROMs
          and any other electronic media  developed by USDA should be
          forwarded to NAL.  In addition,  access information to electronic
          journals and research data bases should also be provided to NAL.  

     2.   Change to read "Books or other published materials as well as
          audiovisuals and electronic media. . ."


     14.  ACQUISITION

          Nothing will need to be added here if the definition of
          publications has been expanded in 9. GENERAL POLICY.

     17.  FOREIGN EXCHANGES.

     a.   Exchange Agreements. 

          No change necessary if definition of publications has been
          expanded.


     19.  DISPOSITION OF LIBRARY MATERIALS

     No change necessary if definition of publications has been expanded.

     A time may come when nonexpendable materials offered to NAL by USDA
     agencies will include e-journal archives on tape, diskette or CD-ROM
     just as they now bring to NAL archives of bound printed journal titles. 
     (It is more likely, however, that only NAL or NAL in conjunction with
     the Office of Information Management (OIRM) will go to the trouble of
     archiving USDA e-journals.) 


II.  Selection Policy No. 1 - Machine Readable Materials 3/21/85

An initial recommendation: Rename the document to Electronic Media Selection
Policy.

As before, paragraphs and subparagraphs which should be reviewed for change
are asterisked and often have attendant recommendations.

Change the second sentence to read "In addition to materials to be physically
added to the collection, access information to online materials (e.g.,
electronic journals, newsletters, and other data bases both bibliographic and
numerical) are also covered under this policy."

"Materials or access to data bases needed for operational use by the library
units are not included in this statement."  This sentence can remain as it is,
the committee understanding it to mean software packages such as WordPerfect,
dBASE, etc. and data bases such as OCLC.


Selection Criteria:

A.   Change second sentence to read: "All types of electronic media such as
     magnetic tape, floppy disk, and CD-ROMs  may be collected as well as
     archives and/or access information to online data bases."

3.   There should be no time limit with regard to the archiving of USDA
     produced electronic journals.  In order to save computer space, perhaps
     they could be transferred to tape or CD-ROM after 3 - 5 years.  A time
     limit of current plus three previous years could be considered for non-
     USDA electronic journals.

5.   This paragraph should be omitted and USDA electronic materials such as
     e-journals should not be subject to this type of selection criteria. 
     Instead employ the criteria in Paragraph D.  Even in the case of USDA e-
     journals and other USDA electronic media, there may be instances where a
     bibliographic record giving access information will be all that is
     practical or desirable.


B. & C. 

The statements under these two categories are still valid, but USDA electronic
materials must be serviced regardless of such considerations as cost or
inconvenience.  

B. 1 Based on whether the Statement of Commitment is adopted, the format of
     choice may need to be changed. 
D.   A good paragraph in that it discusses electronic access vs physical
     custody.  

E.   This paragraph seems to contradict Paragraph A. - 5., but E should be
     the paragraph of choice, especially if it is worded in a manner similar
     to the following:

     "Electronic media whose contents are suitable for the collection,
     especially USDA materials, will be acquired even when problems of
     processing or access remain unsolved if no other form is available". 
     Again, however, there may be instances even with USDA material when
     physical custody is not practical or possible and access information
     only is provided in ISIS or AGRICOLA.   


Selection\Collection Development

Selection of e-journals should be the primary responsibility of the
Acquisitions & Serials Branch just as it is their responsibility to select
serials in print format.  Acq/Ser will maintain close liaison with Cataloging
and Indexing Branches regarding potential choices as well as with Public
Services Division and Information Systems Division.  This liaison should take
the form of a small committee.  This committee would decide not only which e-
journals will receive bibliographic records in ISIS but of those choices which
ones will be archived at NAL.  It is not recommended that the Collection
Development Committee be used for this purpose since the goal is to have a
very specific charge, thereby enabling the committee to make decisions in an
expeditious manner.   

USDA agencies should be required to report publication of electronic media,
including e-journals, to NAL, including bibliographic, access and primary
contact information, as well as hardware and software requirements.  It would
be preferable for all reports to come directly to NAL rather than indirectly
through OIRM.  First points of contact should be Acquisitions & Serials Branch
and Cataloging Branch.  Cataloging Branch has already developed forms on which
USDA agencies may describe their electronic records for input into a Catalog
of USDA Electronic Information.  The information fields within the forms are
MARC tagged to enable ease of entry into ISIS and they differ according to the
type of format being described such as CD-ROM, diskette or online data base.

The e-journal being considered must fall within NAL's subject scope with core
subjects receiving higher priority.

Those journals selected will receive processing, broadly speaking, in one of
two ways with all decisions, other than those involving USDA e-journals, being
made on a case-by-case basis:       

1.   Bibliographic records, which include access information, will be placed
     in ISIS and full text of the e-journal will be transferred to an NAL
     computer.

     a.   USDA publications such as Extension Review will be given first
          priority with regard to this type of processing, though USDA
          electronic newsletters will not be archived.  An example of the
          latter type of publication would be Extension Service's electronic
          newsletter CITE.  It would receive a bibliographic record but no
          holdings record since it would not be retained.  

     b.   State publications in the form of e-journals should be given
          second priority with regard to a bibliographic record plus
          archiving.  Examples of this type of electronic journal are
          Journal of Extension, Cooperative Extension System, University of
          Wisconsin and Social Sciences in Forestry, Forestry Library,
          University of Minnesota.  Since the publishers of these e-journals
          plan to archive them and these files are available via the
          Internet, the Committee was undecided whether NAL should also use
          computer space to archive these publications.  It was finally
          decided, however, that patrons would be better served by having
          the files locally available through a user friendly interface to
          an NAL computer.  This may be impossible to accomplish given
          funding, space and staffing considerations.


2.   Bibliographic record only, giving access information.

     a.   Electronic newsletters, whether they are published/sponsored by
          USDA, Cooperative Extension Service or any other organization
          should receive only a bibliographic record, keeping in mind that
          occasionally "newsletter" in the title of a publication proves to
          be a misnomer.


The e-journals mentioned so far in this section have all been free of charge. 
A subscription fee should not be a factor with regard to selecting an e-
journal if it is within NAL's scope, but it may be necessary to assign titles
with subscription fees a bibliographic record which includes remote access
information, rather than pay for archiving privileges.  In any case, such
archiving may not be permitted due to copyright restrictions as they are now
being interpreted by commercial publishers.  According to OCLC, libraries are
prohibited from mounting files of the Online Journal of Current Clinical
Trials on their own computers.  They conceded that it would be impossible at
this time to actually prevent a library or other organization from doing so
but they would consider it illegal and the downloaded files would not be
considered "official copies of Online Journal of Current Clinical Trials". 

When an e-journal is published in more than one format, the format should be
chosen which is most advantageous for NAL.   An example would be Laboratory
Primate Newsletter which NAL already receives in print format but is not yet
indexed.  The electronic version of this title does not offer graphics at all,
regardless of additional software or hardware,  so a decision would have to be
made as to whether the graphics were important enough to continue keeping the
printed version on the shelf.  The decision would have to take into account
the cost of shelf space and binding versus cost of computer space and
attendant maintenance.

This illustrates three points:  1. Each title must be considered as a separate
case.  2. Methods of comparing these types of costs will have to be developed. 
3. Liaison among branches of NAL will be very important with regard to
processing of electronic media.

If an e-journal offered in both print and online formats has not only a
subscription or licensing fee attached to its access but also an additional
fee for downloading, then print may be the only financial alternative. 
Examples of electronic journals in this category are those offered by Elsevier
through the TULIP Program and Springer-Verlag's Red Sage Project, the former
consisting of journals in materials science and engineering while the latter
offers journals in molecular biology and radiology.  It is also possible to
mount the journals in the TULIP Program on a local library computer for a
subscription fee, thereby making it necessary to calculate whether this costs
less than purchasing the printed version.  These represent a category of
electronic journal that not everyone considers truly electronic since they are
electronic versions of journals which are still published in print format
rather than journals which have been electronic since their inception.  

It should be noted that while, for purposes of  this Initiative, and in much
of the literature, electronic journals are defined as online publications,
some sources also consider journals on diskette and CD-ROM electronic,
pointing out the fact that terminology and definitions in this field are still
evolving.


Cataloging

Ideally ISIS patron interface for e-journals housed at NAL would simplify
access for patrons.  The "NEXT Workstation" should be able to access the
information.  The ISIS record could direct patrons to the NEXT workstation for
access.  For remote access the ISIS bibliographic and holding records could
provide information on how to access the material.  

Until a computer system is available to house full-text e-journals Acq/Ser
could download them to a file housed in a designated section on Cliff.

Acq/Ser will verify and confirm access to journals acquired by NAL as well as
remote journal titles.  They will also create a temporary record (using an "in
processing e-journal temporary call number" i.e. IPEJ No. 345) in ISIS which
would provide access information to the location of the material.  Remote e-
journals may receive only a "REMOTE JOURNAL" type call number.  At that point
Acq/Ser would send a message to Cataloging via electronic mail providing,
title, temp call number, and access information.  An e-mail processing form
(shell) could be developed to transfer this information to Indexing and
Cataloging, and after the item is cataloged the form could be updated and
transferred to DDSB, Reference, Information Centers, etc.

The cataloger, using a split-screen work station,  would access the material
and catalog it on-line on OCLC,  updating call numbers as needed.  The
cataloger or support staff will produce the record and it will go into ISIS
and AGRICOLA.

On a case-by-case basis, Acq/Ser will provide cataloging with separate
temporary records for both the printed and the electronic formatted journal. 
When information is known about other format options that information will be
included on the record in accordance with current CONSER practices.

Acq/Ser will confirm and process title changes and changes in mode of access
data to the Cataloging Branch via e-mail and will continue to note the change
on the ISIS record.

Updating information will be input into ISIS.  NAL will follow the CONSER
requirements in relation to input into OCLC.  Currently AGRICOLA cannot be
updated.  

The same call number will not be used as the cutter will be slightly
different.  According to current CONSER requirements, e-journals would receive
a separate cataloging record from the print version.  Cataloging will give e-
journals an "EJOURNAL No. __ " item level call number.  This will provide dual
access for Reference and other users who want to browse the e-journals. 
          
Cataloging will provide the same level of cataloging for USDA as well as non-
USDA e-journals.  Full CONSER level records will be provided as appropriate in
OCLC, ISIS and AGRICOLA.

When a new computer system is available and/or when enough materials are
acquired for the collection to determine the nature, scope, quality access and
preservation requirements,  all short term policies and practices will be
evaluated and redefined as needed.


Indexing

When NAL receives a journal in both print and electronic version, Indexing
will choose to work with the print version until staffing, technology and
funding make choosing the electronic version preferable.  Indexing recommends
that all e-journals chosen for indexing be archived indefinitely at NAL rather
than simply providing remote access information in the bibliographic record. 
The ability to receive graphics is essential to the indexing process. 
Therefore any software that is required with individual e-journals will be
absolutely necessary.   The Windows application developed for linking ISIS
records and scanned abstracts with the full text of the e-journals will be
investigated.


Reference

The Software Demonstration Center should be changed into an Electronic Media
Center.  Implications for Reference will need to be studied and more staff may
be required whether it is staffed by Reference or is a unit independent from
Reference.  A vending machine for floppy diskettes should be installed.  The
possibility of charging for paper copying should be evaluated and if  found to
be appropriate, a mechanism should be identified and implemented.


Document Delivery Services

DDSB staff can access electronic journals by using several individual Internet
accounts.  When an ILL request for an e-journal is received DDSB staff will
refer the requester to the site where the journal is archived.  USDA requests
for articles from electronic journals could be filled by having DDSB staff
access the archive where the article is stored, and either printing it out for
the patron, downloading it on a floppy disk, or transferring it electronically
to an electronic mail account for the requester.

NAL patrons have a right to expect that,  despite the novelty of electronic
media, they will receive requested documents in at least the timeframes to
which they have been accustomed for traditional print documents.  In order to
process document delivery requests for electronic media in a timely fashion,
DDSB staff and contractors need to have direct access to all publications in
the collection.  At the present time, DDSB staff can absorb the extra work
without a contract modification.  The materials in the SDC should be moved to
the general collection, in an area to be determined appropriate for an
electronic text collection.  Frequently used material may be stored in the
SDC, and "retired" to the general collection when its popularity wanes.  This
would be equivalent to the concept of the Periodical Reading Room.  NAL may
choose to acquire two copies of very popular items, and have one copy for SDC
and a collection copy for document delivery.

All DDSB supervisors are now using the Cliff electronic mail system. 
Additional training is needed in Internet resources, such as gopher, WAIS,
Wide World Web; and the use of file transfer protocol (ftp) and telnet. 
Training is needed in the short term for the supervisors and technicians in
DDSB.  As demand for electronic media continues all DDSB and contract staff
will need training, both in Internet resources, and basic computer skills. 
For the long-term, NAL needs to commit itself to keeping its  staff up-to-date
on developments in the publishing industry, on the Internet, and on the
information needs of its scientists.  This requires budgeting for training,
professional meetings, and travel.

Until some standardization of publishing electronic media is achieved, each
new e-journal received by NAL may require training to use.  The current
organizational structure of NAL, and the resulting workflow, may cause each
branch to make separate and duplicative efforts to learn to use each new
acquisition so that they can perform their processing tasks, or to respond to
reference or document delivery requests.  NAL needs to assess the best way to
handle such training, and perhaps assign an individual or section to be
responsible for it.

NAL pays copyright fees for copies it requests from other libraries through
interlibrary borrowing (ILB).  If NAL has an active subscription for an
electronic journal, there should be no costs from copyright fees other than
the subscription or lease price.  DDSB has not yet had to order an electronic
journal on ILB.  In the future, it is expected that such requests will become
a gradually increasing part of the ILB workflow.  However, depending on how
Internet access grows among USDA employees, the possibility exists that users
may access these electronic journals themselves, and pay for these costs, if
any,  directly.  The development of commercial publishing needs to be watched
closely during the next few years to predict what these costs will be, and who
will be paying for them.

As the volume of document delivery requests for electronic media increases, an
amendment to the DDSB lending services contract will need to be written.  In
order to estimate the additional cost to the contract, DDSB will need to know
the estimated volume of requests, the amount of time spent processing
requests, and the level of skill required to perform the tasks.  It is not
certain what the estimated volume of requests per year will be for this
activity.  Also, it is not known if the proliferation of Internet accounts
will mean that the patrons will be able to access this material themselves,
without the assistance of DDSB or any NAL intermediary.  Access to the NAL
building network by ARS libraries or other outside groups may also make
intermediate assistance unnecessary.  In the short term, while DDSB staff are
performing these tasks, DDSB supervisors will need to track the time needed to
fill these requests, and the level of skill required to perform these tasks.


Storage and Systems 

The HP has a lot of unused capacity and whether NAL wants to use that capacity
for e-journal storage will have to be decided.  Issues to be addressed
include:

     -    no search software for full text on the HP
     -    no link from/to ISIS system for full text searching
     -    no staff to operate this type of system

ALF is a bulletin board system (BBS).  BBS's are designed for simple
(2400-bps) dial access and short file transfers.  ALF may not be the best
system for delivery of this volume of data.  The BBS software may be
overwhelmed by a full-text search and we would probably need to upgrade the
hardware considerably as well as add staff to manage the increased usage. 

A UNIX based system (with proper power protection and data back-up) would be a
much better choice for on-line access because the hardware and operating
system are designed for multi-user access of large files.  Dial access issues
can be addressed by using faster communications hardware than is common in the
PC world.  The issues of full-text search software and staff support remain a
problem.  

A custom interface or full-text search engine will be necessary.  We will also
need full-time staff support for such an operation.  Limitations will be
related to the choice of hardware/software.  UNIX is a multi-user,
multi-tasking operating system that will allow access, but the choice of
hardware will determine performance limits.  

All the training currently provided by ISD is aimed at staff improvement. 
Documents aimed at helping patrons will have to be created.  Currently, staff
at both the Reference Desk and Circulation/Information Desk provide patron
assistance on using the card catalog/ISIS.  One hopes that any online system
will be as easy to use as ISIS.  In-house delivery will be a relatively simple
matter from any workstation on the backbone.



Practical Experimentation

The following e-journals should be used for initial experimentation and
documentation:

1.   Extension Review - USDA Extension Service, Washington, DC

     *    No longer available in printed format.  Last printed issue v.63,
          no.1, May, 1992.  The first and only electronic issue is a copy of
          the last printed issue.

     *    Articles not authored though contributors are listed.

     *    No OCLC record of electronic version. (As of March, 1993)

     *    Future uncertain due in part to the reorganization of USDA and the
          Extension Service.  At this point a low priority.  (Communication
          with CIT, May, 1993).

     *    There are at present no plans to archive this title within the
          Extension Service.

     *    Access: almanac@ecn.purdue.edu  Command: send ermay92


2.   Journal of Extension - Cooperative Extension System, University of
     Wisconsin, Madison, WI.

     *    Continues to appear in print.  NAL receives print copy free of
          charge via Gift & Exchange Unit.

     *    First electronic issue Winter 1992, first full issue Spring 1993. 
          Five issues in all will be published during the pilot study.

     *    No OCLC record for electronic version as of March, 1993.

     *    Authored articles.

     *    Upon subscription, a table of contents message arrives
          automatically.  Subscribers then may request via e-mail full text
          of one or more articles. 

     *    Last five years are archived and indexed.
 
     *    Copyright statement says, in part, that single copies may be
          reproduced in print or electronic form for educational or training
          activities but inclusion of articles in other publications,
          electronic sources or systematic large-scale distribution may be
          done only with prior written permission.

     *    Access: almanac@joe.uwex.edu  Command: subscribe joe.


3.   Social Sciences in Forestry: a Current Selected Bibliography and Index.
     - Forestry Library, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN

     *    Last printed issue December, 1991.

     *    Quarterly.  Archived since no. 1, 1985.

     *    No OCLC record for electronic version as of March, 1993.

     *    No discernable copyright statement.  

     *    Rather than being available via an e-mail subscription, SSIF is
          based on a gopher distributed information delivery system which
          allows full text searching of the annotated citations.

     *    Access: telnet consultant.micro.umn.edu or telnet info.umd.edu 
          (University of Maryland's gopher).



4.   Laboratory Primate Newsletter - Brown University, Providence, RI

     *    Also available in print.  NAL receives print copy free of charge
          via Gift & Exchange Unit.

     *    Electronic version does not include graphics.

     *    Quarterly.  

     *    Authored articles.

     *    Archived since January, 1991.

     *    No OCLC record for electronic version as of March, 1993.

     *    Upon subscription, a table of contents will arrive automatically
          each quarter, with the capability of then requesting individual
          articles.

     *    Copyright statement: "All material is copyright, but may be
          circulated electronically, or printed out and reproduced for
          classroom and other non-commercial purposes, as long as reference
          is made to the source".

     *    Access: listserv@brownvm.brown.edu  Command: subscribe LPN-L Your
          Name. 


     Laboratory Primate Newsletter was selected as an example of an e-journal
     which is within NAL's scope yet is neither a 1USDA nor a state
     publication.

At present, there appears to be no e-journal published by a commercial
publisher which concerns agricultural subjects such as crop science, animal
husbandry etc.  E-journals such as those published by OCLC, Online Journal of
Current Clinical Trials and the latest venture, Online Journal of Knowledge
Synthesis for Nursing, are not within NAL's scope and therefore, NAL should
not subscribe to them.



                         Members of the Committee

                             Rae Dubois, Chair

                                John Forbes
                               Janet Berkson
                               Julie Mangin
                               Daniel Starr
                             Veronica Lefebvre





                           CHAPTER 4  -  CD-ROM

Original texts and reproductions of print documents disseminated on CD-ROM

Summary

This Committee was charged with developing policy proposals and procedures for
the acquisition, processing, and dissemination of publications on CD-ROM. The
group examined a wide variety of issues and made extensive headway toward
integrating this medium with other formats in the Library.  One of the major
difficulties with this type of media is the complexity of procedures required
to process these materials.  While the committee made substantial progress,
more time is clearly needed to implement, expand and modify proposals set out
in the three reports prepared by the Committee. 


Recommendations

1.   Develop a policy statement outlining processing (Acquisitions & Serials,
     Cataloging, Indexing) priorities which specifically address media types. 
     If processing priorities are changed, then staff can be shifted to work
     on materials deemed most valuable to the mission of the Library.  This
     is particularly important in a period when increases in staffing are
     unlikely. 

2.   Fill in the details of the workflow which has been sketched out as a
     skeleton framework for the processing of these materials by the
     Acquisitions/Serials, Cataloging and Indexing Branches.  Cataloging and
     indexing responsibilities would be determined based on how earlier print
     publications issued by a publisher were processed in the Library. 
     Responsibility for processing a disk could include having some documents
     cataloged, some indexed, and some items checked-in as serials.

3.   Begin processing some CD-ROM publications through Cataloging. It is
     assumed that eventually publications on CD-ROM will have the same
     processing priorities assigned as other formats. If this policy is
     adopted, other materials will have to be assigned a lower processing
     priority.

4.   Establish the impact of CD-ROM publications on the Gift and Exchange
     process.  A major problem will be how to measure the value of a CD-ROM
     against print publications.

5.   Establish an electronic media line item in the acquisitions budget.  In
     FY 93 $65,000 was spent  for CD-ROMs.  For the Library the size of NAL,
     it would not be unreasonable to spend $175,000 on electronic
     publications.

6.   Update the collection development policy for electronic media.

7.   Establish the cost of check-ing in serial titles on CD-ROM publications
     by performing experiments using the CGIAR CD-ROM.  Check-in of these
     publications will be valuable and should be done on a regular basis. 

8.   Establish electronic versions of print publications as an important
     component of the Library's preservation and space policies.  Process
     electronic versions of NAL-owned print publications as added copies on
     ISIS.  Each added copy item record will have to be individually created
     by Cataloging Branch staff.  Added copy indexing records should be
     created through computer generated scope changes on ISIS. 

9.   Establish the actual cost of indexing an electronic publication by
     performing time/cost experiments with the CGIAR CD-ROM.   Valuable
     citations will be lost if in-scope electronic publications are not
     indexed.

10.  Assign the Software Demonstration Center staff the responsibility of
     learning CD-ROM programs, and instructing units within the Library how
     to use them.  This more proactive role would save the cost of each unit
     having to learn how to use every new software package the Library
     purchases. 

11.  House the electronic media collection (including all software) in a more
     accessible and environmentally protective area.  It is the committee's
     feeling that the SDC should not be the repository of NAL's software
     collection, but if needed, it should be a demonstration center for
     software.

12.  Test the process of copying articles from CD-ROMs for the purpose of
     document delivery.  It will initially be a very expensive process to
     learn, and will be done by DDSB staff.  If the volume of requests for
     electronic media increases, the contract will have to be amended to
     permit the contractor to search CD-ROMs and copy files.

13.  Training in DOS, Windows, and basic computer skills needs to be an
     ongoing activity.   There will also be substantial training costs within
     each Branch.  Staff need to attend conferences in order to keep abreast
     of changes in the fields of computer technology and the applications of
     these technologies in libraries.

14.  Evaluate whether Reference staff should maintain most of the policies
     that are in place at present,  and whether SDC staff will be responsible
     for working with patrons who need to use electronic materials other than
     the standard reference tools.

15.  Obtain the hardware necessary to accomplish these recommendations. 

16.  NAL managers must emphasize to staff the importance of the role it
     perceives electronic publications will play in meeting the Library's
     mission.

17.  NAL should effectively advertise to its public the electronic
     information services it can deliver.

18.  Assign responsibility for staying abreast of technological developments
     within the computer industry to specific individuals who are also
     responsible for sharing that information with ALL NAL STAFF.


Current Situation

It is essential to have written policies on the acquisition, cataloging,
indexing, storage, public use, lending, copyright, and preservation aspects of
CD-ROM with publications. No medium that NAL has thus far received will
require as much coordination among units as will this one.

Currently, NAL acquires a variety of CD-ROM products.  Those published
serially are checked-in on ISIS from eye-legible printed information on the
disk. NAL spent approximately $65,000 in FY93 on CD-ROMs.  To facilitate
check-in, a dual page monitor, CD-ROM reader, and accompanying software were
purchased.  Approximately 4 hours per week are spent ordering, checking-in,
claiming, recording invoices, and otherwise following up on these products.

No publishing standard exists for these types of CD-ROMs due to the fact that
this is a new publishing medium and many publishers are utilizing this format
in different ways.  Much material is "dumped" into CDs with little thought
regarding standardization of searching and retrieval strategies. 
Consequently, there is a considerable cost in professional staff time spent
figuring out how to use these products, and once that is done, training staff
as needed. Time spent on acquisition and check-in activities will increase
enormously as we continue to receive large numbers of CDs which require
analysis of content, such as the FAIRS and CGIAR disks.  Check-in of the 
content of these unusual CDs is a complex task and entails the use of time
over and beyond that which is normally used for check-in of paper
publications.

If the materials budget remains static, which may be the net result of
foreseeable budget cuts,  choices will have to be made between print and
electronic (CD-ROM) titles. There will be price increases for the CDs
presently purchased, and there will be increased pressure from the Public
Services Division and patrons to purchase new titles as they become available. 
There is also the real possibility that CD-ROM networking will be started here
on a small scale, and this will invite increased costs as CDs are purchased
for networking purposes.

It is very important that the serial contents of these CD-ROMs be checked-in.
At a minimum, selected titles should be checked-in on a regular basis.  More
work should be done to determine which titles should be checked-in and whether
retrospective serial titles should be checked-in.

Currently, DDSB staff do not have direct access to CD-ROMs in the NAL
collection. They are stored in the Software Demonstration Center, and SDC
staff must retrieve items for use. Items are then charged out to DDSB.   NAL
patrons have a right to expect that,  despite the novelty of electronic media,
they will receive requested documents in at least the timeframes to which they
are accustomed for traditional print documents. In order to process document
delivery requests for electronic media in a timely fashion, DDSB staff and
contractors need to have direct access to all publications in the collection.

As the volume of document delivery requests for electronic media increases, an
amendment to the DDSB lending services contract will need to be written. In
order to estimate the additional cost to the contract, DDSB will need to know
the estimated volume of requests, the amount of time spent processing
requests, and the level of skill required to perform these tasks. The
complexity of CD-ROM searching strategies may affect whether these materials
are included in the contract. Each CD-ROM title that is received comes with
its own software and the method or retrieving documents must be learned for
each title.  According to a Cataloging Branch estimate, it may take an average
of 4 hours to learn how to use each new CD-ROM title acquired by the Library. 
For this reason, assistance from SDC staff in learning how to use different
software packages would be helpful.

It is not clear if the proliferation of Internet accounts will mean that
patrons will be able to access this material themselves, without the
assistance of DDSB or any NAL intermediary.  Access to the NAL building
network by ARS libraries or other groups may also make intermediate assistance
unnecessary.  In the short term, while DDSB staff are performing these tasks,
DDSB supervisors will need to track the time needed to fill these requests,
and the level of skill required to perform these tasks.

The inability of the Software Demonstration Center (SDC) to be able to load
and display computer software will be an ongoing source of frustration to
users unless its hardware is upgraded.  This Committee lost a significant
amount of time waiting for the SDC to make available a computer with enough
memory to load the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural
Research) software.  After the software was finally loaded onto an IBM XT, the
committee realized that other computer hardware would have to be found because
of the XTs slow response time.  The end result was that a 386 in the
Information Systems Division was used, and a delay of almost three weeks
passed before work could be done analyzing the CGIAR disks.


Issues

Selection/Acquisitions

Criteria for selecting CD-ROMs should reflect NAL's collection development
policy concerning subject coverage and level of collecting intensity. Taking
into consideration the price of many of the CDs, however, it is important to
realize that budget constraints may limit the "comprehensive" nature of the
CD-ROM collection, just as they limit acquisitions of print publications. It
is not known at this time what volume of information will be published on CD-
ROM, or whether this format will become the publishers' format of choice.
Currently, NAL purchases many indexes published on CD-ROM, because searching
CD-ROM is far easier than searching hard copy indexes, and also because the
purchase of a CD may be cheaper than searching online. But the information
which is cited in the indexes is usually available at NAL in hard copy format.


NAL's selection policy for machine readable materials issued in 1985 needs to
be updated or clarified, especially sections A.5 and B.1.


CD-ROM Purchases

Although a CD-ROM may have original content, and/or be a full text document,
it is often times also issued in paper and microform formats, and may even be
available online. The decision concerning which titles to purchase and which
format(s) to obtain must be made on a case by case basis. There are several
considerations:

--   CD-ROMs (generally) are very expensive.

--   CD-ROMs may be offered at a discount price if you also purchase the hard
     copy. How much discount? Do you want to pay the combined price?  The CD-
     ROM by itself may be cheaper than the combined price.

--   The purchase of a CD-ROM may not be a purchase at all, but only a lease.
     Depending upon the title, the entire run of a serial, or a portion of
     back issues, may be forfeited if a renewal is not made. So payment is
     made to keep current, but the collection does not really belong to NAL. 
     For some titles, the back issues are owned, but the current run must be
     returned. There are also titles which do not have to be returned at all.

--   How often is the information on the CD-ROM updated? How often is it
     cumulated?  Is the CD-ROM a good alternative to an online resource if
     up-to-the-minute information is often needed? What are the
     costs/benefits of paying for online searches versus the cost of a CD-
     ROM? 

--   How many copies are needed? Would keeping alternative formats satisfy
     the need for multiple copies? What role does the purchase of the CD-ROM
     play in the Library's overall preservation policy? Would multiple copies
     of the CD-ROM itself, on a network, or on a standalone basis, best
     satisfy patrons and NAL staff?

--   The cost of CD-ROM readers, printers, workstations can be considerable.

 

Check-in 

A check-in record is a record of receipt, consequently, a record of holdings,
of publications which are published serially, or in more than one physical
part. It informs patrons what they can expect to find at NAL, and reminds NAL
personnel to "claim" or order missing parts. (However, it does not account for
parts which become missing, for whatever reason, after they are received). 
Taken in this vein, the Serials Unit at NAL does, and will, check-in CD-ROM
titles which are serials, works-in-parts or monographic series. This does not
require special equipment, as the designation of the part of the title that
the physical CD-ROM contains, is on the CD-ROM's label.

Some CD-ROMs contain collections, or runs of serial titles, or parts of serial
titles, or various combinations of the above, and it is certainly useful for
the librarian and the patron to know what is contained therein. These CD-ROMs
may contain runs of titles which are held by NAL in hard copy, not held by NAL
but desired by NAL, or missing issues of titles held by NAL that are now out-
of-print.

Examination of the contents of a CD-ROM, and serial check-in of the CD-ROM's
contents is not a function as we presently know it.  Rather, it is
descriptive, and is more in the realm of cataloging or indexing.  This may
not, of course be the end of it.   As this form of publication develops, we
will be forced by circumstances to modify our organization and technical
application of what is required.  ISIS may contain several class numbers that
it presently does not have, which describe contents and link holdings from one
format to the next, and the Serials Unit could modify its procedures.  Check-
in staff will need CD-ROM readers in close proximity to their work stations,
and the configuration could have dual page monitors as part of the NAL online
and ISIS network. It is too early to require that CD-ROM content be reviewed
on a CD-ROM reader and then be checked-in, but we do know that many runs of
serials are now on CD-ROMs, so some kind of accommodation must be made to this
concept.


Licensing Agreements

Fair use clauses in the copyright law may enable NAL and other libraries to
use information on a CD-ROM as they would information in a book or journal.
However, licensing agreements, not to be confused with copyright, are often
more constraining. It would appear publishers are using licensing agreements
to undermine and circumvent the copyright law.  Issues which need to be
addressed are:  

--   Do we give up copyright if a more stringent license agreement is signed?

--   Who at NAL should sign licensing agreements?  What liability does that
     person have? 

--   To what extent can NAL modify license agreements?

The library community is quite concerned with the phenomena of publisher
control and ownership of information. The Library of Congress is developing
its own generic license for CD-ROMs which it will present to publishers. NAL
should get permission to adapt this agreement and use it.   


Gift and Exchange

At this time, the effect of the CD-ROM phenomenon on the Gift and Exchange
Program at NAL is unclear.  As CD-ROM titles become known to the G&E Unit, G&E
will request appropriate titles as gifts. Once a CD-ROM has been published, it
is inexpensive to duplicate. However, publishers are unlikely to give NAL a
CD-ROM with an expensive purchase price.

Presently, NAL receives a number of government documents on CD-ROM through the
GPO depository program. This is usually the only format available, with the
print format having been abandoned in favor of CD-ROM. Care must be taken
however,  to obtain all CD-ROMs published by GPO that are in scope for NAL as
CD-ROMs are not always considered publications.

Departmental Regulation 1020-1 dated March 23, 1990, specifies that two copies
of all substantive USDA publications must be forwarded to NAL. This directive
has to be modified to specify that CD-ROMs (as well as other electronic
formats) are publications.  There must be no doubt as to the importance of
this information, and USDA  agencies must be reminded to forward their
electronic publications to NAL.   It is necessary to put such a policy in
place for land-grant experiment station and extension service publications in
electronic format. Formal lines of communication should be put in place so
that agencies and universities can be contacted easily, they realize the
importance of their CD-ROMs to NAL, and remember to send them to the Library. 

In the past, USDA agencies have voluntarily mailed their own publications to
exchange partners. With some agencies no longer willing to incur these
expenses, NAL will have to play a larger role in the exchange process in the
future.

Since some USDA agencies publish only on CD-ROM, there may be instances where
there can be no basis for an exchange relationship because the foreign country
lacks the appropriate computer hardware.

One question raised is what is the exchange value of a CD-ROM containing
individual publications issued by an agency in the U.S. or abroad?  What about
the case of an agency that issues in CD-ROM format a retrospective of all
documents it has issued?




Processing Responsibilities

The decision on whether items should be cataloged or indexed will be assigned
to an interdepartmental review committee, consisting of representatives from
the Indexing Branch and the Cataloging Branch, and perhaps two representatives
from the Public Services Division.

New publications issued for the first time on CD-ROM will be evaluated for
cataloging or indexing based on the history of the types of materials issued
by the publisher, how these publications have been processed in the past at
NAL, whether the publications on the disk are indexed by other agencies, and
available staff resources to bibliographically process the disk.  The more
difficult publications to evaluate will be those which have not been
previously issued in any format.

The Indexing Branch generally bases its decision to index publications on
whether they fit within pre-established criteria. They must be within the
AGRICOLA scope, have format/structure, have acceptable publication status, fit
pre-established worldwide responsibilities, and they must be "doable," taking
into account staff and equipment limitations. NAL has committed to index items
produced by land-grant universities and their affiliated extension services
and experiment stations.. Currently they are received in paper-only format,
but in the future they may be received in electronic-only format, e.g., FAIRS
CD-ROM.

The Cataloging Branch has no such guidelines for determining whether a
publication should be cataloged. Processing priorities need to be reevaluated
as they relate to the mission of the Library. Beyond reviewing processing
priorities, the following questions need to be addressed. In what instances
should publications on a CD-ROM disk not be cataloged or indexed? What
responsibility does NAL have to provide cataloging records to OCLC, AGRICOLA
and other bibliographic databases? Should NAL continue to catalog all
agriculture related publications from around the world?

In many instances an entire disk may be processed either by the Cataloging or
Indexing Branch.  In other cases, responsibilities will be mixed, and
responsibilities of units will need to be formalized so that an entire disk
can be bibliographically processed.

Once a decision is made to catalog and/or index a disk, the Acquisitions &
Serials Branch will route subsequent disks of the same title to the
appropriate location.  Procedures on how CD-ROM disks are physically processed
need to be developed, so that both ACQ/SER and Cataloging adhere to the same
guidelines.  A task force should be named for this purpose.

Depending on preservation policies established by the Library, and the
determination that these activities fit within the goals of the Library,
Cataloging Branch staff can/will create added copy records for electronic
publications in a cost efficient manner that will be linked to previously
published paper copy bibliographic records.  Indexing Branch records will have
added copy records created for the electronic version of a previously issued
paper publication through batch computer techniques yet to be used by NAL.
This will be accomplished by scope changes made to sets of indexing records.
The result of these bibliographic maintenance activities in both the
Cataloging and Indexing Branches will be to allow weeding of paper copies from
the stacks in the future. Procedures for added copies will need to be further
defined.

Discussion has begun on the possibility of creating a new class in ISIS where
indexes of disks the Library chooses neither to catalog or index can be loaded
("dumped").  This will allow patron access to these materials. The time frame
and technology required for this new class is at present unknown.


Indexing

Policies for indexing CD-ROM publications were non-existent until electronic
media issues began being explored throughout the Library. Current indexing
policies are based on indexing the printed copy.  Whether this continues to be
acceptable depends on the outcome of this Initiative.

A goal for publishers of agriculture related CD-ROMs should be to standardize
their presentation of bibliographic information within a document.
Publications within the disk should contain easily identifiable bibliographic
data such as: identification number or file name, item title, authorship,
authorship affiliation (optional), source information,  publisher, location of
publisher, publishing date, series statement, and whether its also available
in paper. Edition information should also be made available; i.e., is the
publication a new edition, revision or reprinting?  A future goal is to be
able to transfer electronically the coded data on the disk to a MARC
bibliographic record.

Publishers should format documents so that the title of the item is at the
beginning of the publication.  If the publication is in a foreign language, an
English translated title should be provided. All authors should be listed
completely and accurately, preferably in the vicinity of the title. Currently,
it is Indexing Branch policy to provide author affiliation for all records
processed for AGRICOLA. The author affiliation should be clearly stated and
located near its appropriate author's name.

Publishers should also provide a detailed table of contents (menu) on each
disk.  Contents should be sorted by "newly published," "revised, or
"reprinted."  This will help eliminate duplication of indexing records, by the
ability to focus only on the new and revised publications. 

Before items are indexed they are checked for call number, priority status,
and routing to indexers. Items selected for indexing must be attached to the
appropriate host cataloging record.  If the items are only available
electronically, then a procedure has to be established for notifying the
appropriate indexer of items awaiting indexing.  Some disks will contain
publications in a variety of subjects requiring indexing by several indexers. 


Once the decision has been made to index items on a particular CD-ROM, routing
within the Indexing Branch must be established. Disks will need to be
transferred electronically, either through a LAN, ISIS or some other
electronic system. This is the most efficient way to process CD-ROMs.
Otherwise, multiple copies of specialized hardware and software will need to
purchased in each unit that processes a CD-ROM, i.e. Serials, Cataloging,
Indexing, Document Delivery, Reference, etc.

Problems arise if the on-screen version is different from the printed copy.
Procedures need to be established to indicate format variations. If the CD-ROM
has an exact duplicate printed version, then indexing would be done from the
paper copy.

Currently, there are two levels of indexing --- minimal and full level.
Criteria have been established based on format, source, scope, etc. These same
criteria would be used in determining the indexing level for CD-ROM items.

The actual indexing of the item also poses problems. Currently, indexers
produce written indexing records which in turn are keyed by technicians.  In
the very near future, the capability for online indexing into the ISIS system
will be in place. If the CD-ROM is available online, then an interface needs
to be established between the ISIS system and CD-ROM search software. Also, a
split screen monitor and associated software is required so that the indexer
can look at the CD-ROM product and enter the indexing record into ISIS using
only one computer. 

If the CD-ROM must be mounted on a local computer in the Indexing Branch, then
additional hardware/software will need to be purchased to support this local
loading. Additional space will be needed to house this additional equipment.
Adequate employee training will need to be provided. The most efficient method
of indexing this material will need to be determined.  

Quality control needs to be maintained for indexing records. Currently, the
MARC format is used to produce AGRICOLA records. CD-ROM publishers should
follow established printed publishing guidelines. A definite format should be
established for the CD-ROM and that format should be followed consistently. 

Currently, the Indexing Branch scans author provided abstracts from over 300
journals and adds them to AGRICOLA. Mechanisms need to be defined as to what
procedure will be followed if these journals are only published in CD-ROM
format. Additional hardware/software might be needed to download and upload
these abstracts. 

Graphics play a key role in the indexing process. Pictures, charts, graphs,
tables and illustrations often provide information that is not available in
the text. Full-page monitors will be needed in order to view these graphs.

Once the CD-ROM has been indexed and indexing records have been processed into
ISIS, procedures need to be established for the routing of the disk. If the
disk was physically in the Indexing Branch, then its next location needs to be
established, i.e. Electronic Media Center, Document Delivery Services Branch,
Reference, ISD, etc.  If the disk was loaded on a computer serving a LAN, then
appropriate personnel need to be contacted to indicate that work on the disk
has been completed and it no longer needs to be on a LAN. Procedures regarding
deletion, transfer to other files, etc. need to be established. 

Currently, there is no mechanism in place for noting multiple format copies,
i.e., paper and electronic formats.  This information will be added to
retrospective indexing records by utilizing efficient, batch processing
computer techniques. To manually process retrospective indexing records would
be a monumental task.


Cataloging

The policies listed below are generally adapted from existing Cataloging
Branch guidelines for processing monographs and computer software. While the
format of these publications is new, Cataloging Branch staff have been
cataloging the print version of these publications for years.  

Electronic media materials should be assigned the same cataloging priority
treatment as print materials, based on content, scope, etc.  Minimal and full-
level cataloging policies will be determined irrespective of format. 
Publications on CD-ROM will be cataloged by appropriate staff based on the
level of cataloging determined for the documents on the disk.  Analytics of
series traditionally cataloged by NAL support staff will continue to be
cataloged by them.  Cataloging Branch staff will create bibliographic records
for both the collective title of a disk,  and individual titles on a disk as
necessary.

Electronic publications requiring full-level original cataloging will be
cataloged by professional staff. Chapters 9 and 13 of the Anglo- American
Cataloging Rules will be used in preparing records for newly published CD-ROM
titles. Publication information in particular, and other bibliographic data
may prove difficult to identify in electronic formats, where this was a
relatively simple task for print materials. This problem will need further
exploration, and may be handled in different ways depending on the display of
the data.

Cataloging Branch staff will catalog the paper version as the original if the
Library receives both copies. The Branch may choose not to follow AACR2/MARBI
guidelines for multiple versions.  If a paper and electronic version of a
publication are similar, but do not meet AACR2 criteria for an added copy,
Cataloging Branch staff may choose to locally treat these similar items as
added copies to save the cost of creating new cataloging records.

A particular concern at NAL may be the loss of bibliographic series which have
traditionally appeared on print versions, but may be difficult to locate on
the electronic version.   Adequate computer equipment and staffing will be
required to carry out these tasks.  The amount of cataloging of CD-ROMs should
be adapted to staffing levels.  Cataloging Branch staff will use split-screen
monitors to create MARC bibliographic records while simultaneously viewing the
CD-ROM publications.  Staff training will be an important element in using
this new technology.  Staff should use constant data records in creating new
bibliographic records when possible.  Processing a disk which appears on a LAN
would require similar processing procedures.

CD-ROM products will be assigned a Library of Congress classification number
based on their subject content. Accompanying guides, manuals, etc. will be
housed with the disk in the Electronic Media Center.  An unresolved question
is whether the number of the disk on which the publication is stored should be
included in the call number.  With CD-ROM sets being updated constantly, the
disk number could change.
 
The amount of help the cataloging record should provide NAL patrons and staff
needs to be determined. Should the file name of the publication be displayed
in a note?  How much time will it take to provide this information?  On the
FAIRS disk, should the location of articles within a menu be noted.  For
example, an article on beneficial insects appears in the "Extension Handbooks"
menu.   Several members of the NAL staff are working on a means of encoding
bibliographically significant data and having it electronically transferred to
a MARC record.  

Finally, there is some question as to whether any of these CD-ROMs should be
cataloged.  Will the ability of computers to create searchable keyword indexes
negate the need to catalog the contents of CDs?


Copyright

It was suggested that NAL not circulate its only copy of a CD-ROM when it is
copyrighted.   If material from a copyrighted disk is given to a patron, can
it only be on a diskette which must be returned to the Library?  Can a higher
fee for copyrighted disks be assessed which will allow unlimited transmission
of a disk's contents?

A question raised which needs to be answered is whether an uncopyrighted
article/book on a copyrighted disk is protected by copyright?  Robert Oakley
states in his article "Copyright Issues for the Creators and Users of
Information in the Electronic Environment" that the present copyright law
should be applied to electronic media and only minor changes to the law are
necessary.

In compliance with the copyright law, NAL presently copies no more than 50
pages from a book or journal article  What guidelines should be used for
electronic publications?  How does one determine what percentage of an
electronic publication can be copied?

Electronic publications that are available on a LAN also create a copyright
problem.  Technically,  several individuals can copy the same publication. 
How is copyright infringement averted?  Does this mean that only uncopyrighted
publications can be on the LAN? 

Keeping current with changes in the copyright law is essential, especially in
light of licensing agreements. There may be a need to contact USDA lawyers for
rulings on how the copyright law should be applied by NAL to electronic media.



Reference

Reference Section staff currently work with patrons on only a select few disks
(23 titles) which are part of the Reference Collection.  Most of the CD-ROM
products in the Reference Collection are databases, or solely reference
materials.  All other CD-ROM products are stored in the Software Demonstration
Center. The Reference Branch has published a policy statement on the use of
Reference Branch CD-ROMs.

Reference Branch staff spend as much time with a patron as necessary in order
for the user to understand how the CD-ROM product works.  Cheatsheets, batch-
program screens and other aids are designed for end-user searching.  The need
for classes at one end of the spectrum, and hand-holding at the other end,
might merit additional study.

Some CD-ROM products are owned by the Information Centers, but the number is
unknown.   Most CD-ROMs not housed in the Reference Collection are stored in
the Software Demonstration Center.  SDC staff help patrons to use the many
specialized electronic media products held by the Center.   The DC Reference
Center owns a few CD-ROMs, which may be used by patrons. They provide
instruction to first-time users in the same manner as at NAL.


Document Delivery

DDSB considers having cataloging, indexing records and serial holdings records
within a disk critical. 

CD-ROMs housed in the SDC need to be made more accessible to DDSB staff and
patrons to fill requests. It would make more sense to transfer all or part of
the collection in the SDC to the general collection to some sort of electronic
text center. Perhaps only the software used for demonstration purposes would
be appropriate in the SDC. If electronic media were stored in an area to which
DDSB has direct access, DDSB staff or contractors would handle document
delivery of electronic media. It is expected that electronic media will be
more prevalent in the future, making space in the SDC inadequate for storage. 

The question of how much of a disk can be copied still needs to be decided. 
How are the CONTU guidelines which limit copying to 50 pages of a text applied
to electronic media?  If a CD-ROM is loaded on an network, will NAL loan it? 
What if the title is designated "reference" or "reserve"?  Can we use the "CD
maker" that ISD used to create the "Plant-It CD" to making circulating copies?

Concerns were raised about the ability of Document Delivery to have access to
disks being processed.  If disks remain in Technical Services for a long time
because of the large number of bibliographic and indexing records that need to
be created, this could impact on document delivery.  An NAL-wide network in
which all units would have access to a CD-ROM publication is preferred.
Perhaps loading these records into ISIS in some manner would have a similar
impact.  An NAL goal should be to provide access to in-process records,
whenever possible.  


Preservation

Library staff need to have a clear statement on the role that CD-ROMs play in
NAL's preservation policy.  Will paper issues of publications in the stacks be
removed from the collection and replaced with CD-ROMs?  Who will determine
what publication can be removed from the collection?  What will be the
magnitude of the replacement of paper publications with electronic media? 
What is the durability of the CD-ROM as opposed to print publications?  Is CD-
ROM simply an interim medium that will have to be converted to yet another
electronic format?   


Quality Control

One issue that has never been resolved, is who is responsible for quality
checking materials once they are received by the Library?  Who is responsible
for determining that the Library has received all the publications on a disk
that it has paid for?  Has the Library decided because of staffing limitations
that it will not quality check these materials? 


Standards

It is important for units within NAL to promote the development, evaluation
and implementation  of standards of materials published in electronic format.
An electronic publishing committee has been established to develop standards
for extension publications.  The impact these standards will have on the rest
of the agricultural publishing community is unclear. The USDA Extension
Service, land-grant agricultural publishers, USAIN and Agricultural
Communicators in Education should all be consulted in the development of a
standard publishing format.


Advertising

NAL should advertise its electronic media services.  It should only promote
services that can be delivered within the constraints of the Library's budget.


Computer Hardware, Networks

Critical to processing and accessing electronic documents is how NAL is
connected to the outside (Internet), and how we are connected to each other
within NAL. Depending on the kind of technology we have to process and access
the electronic media, there are different scenarios for how it will be done.

A.   If stand-alone workstations are in each of the Technical Services and
     Public Services Branches, there will be no simultaneous access to these
     documents.  There will be a delay as the CD-ROM winds its way through
     the Technical Services Division workflow.  DDSB will still have to chase
     down publications if there is a document delivery request for an item on
     one of the CD-ROMs. After the disk is processed, DDSB might have to
     share a single copy with Reference or the Software Demonstration Center.
     If these documents are made available on a stand alone workstation, SDC
     and/or DDSB would have to purchase a workstation that will accommodate a
     number of different retrieval software packages. Each time a CD-ROM
     needs to be accessed, if the retrieval software does not reside on the
     disk itself, it would have to be loaded onto the workstation. Certain
     retrieval software systems might be used for more than one CD-ROM title,
     and those might be made available on the system at all times (for
     example, Silver Platter or K-Ware). 
   
B.   If there is an NAL-wide network on which CD-ROMs could be loaded and
     accessed. (This is assuming that we would have a site license for
     multiple simultaneous access). As items are acquired, CD-ROMs can be
     loaded on a network that will make them simultaneously accessible for
     check-in of serial titles, cataloging and indexing.  This material will
     be also be accessible for document delivery purposes before technical
     services processing is completed and this can be done with less
     disruption to all concerned if such a network exists.  After disks are
     processed, DDSB can retrieve requested publications without the
     intervention of the SDC staff.  DDSB will not have to be concerned about
     loading disks and retrieval software and DDSB can be more concerned with
     training its own staff or its contractors on how to access documents.

C.   If these publication are loaded on the ISIS computer.  If ISIS
     workstations are equipped with "windows," bibliographic, indexing, or
     holdings records can be created and/or updated on the same workstation
     where the documents themselves are viewed.  To further automate the
     processing of materials, if SGML labels are coded on documents and if
     these tags are mapped to MARC tags, this can expedite the availability
     of these materials to patrons. Again, the possibility of DDSB being able
     to access publications even if they are in-process would be an
     improvement over the current workflow.  If documents are made available
     from ISIS, patrons will have transparent access from searching the ISIS
     database to actually accessing documents from the same workstation. ISIS
     terminals already in the DDSB work areas could be used for document
     delivery purposes. DDSB may need to install one or two more ISIS
     terminals or NeXT workstations to make this possible. It is also
     possible that patrons can do their own printing, thus taking DDSB out of
     the picture entirely for some of the requests.


Conclusion

Although the recommended policies and procedures in this document are
conservative in nature, they may not be valid in one year or five years. 
Technology is changing so rapidly that it may make many of the policies
recommended by Committee "C" invalid.


Management Decisions

The following list of questions is representative of the decisions that must
be answered.  Assignment of responsibility, modifying service levels and
assigning priorities must be done with an eye to the "big picture" and the
future.

--   For a current electronic serial title, what should be checked-in? 
     Should some currently received print serials not be checked-in so that
     more time can be devoted to electronic publications?

--   Should check-in of serials on a CD-ROM be done if a disk is leased,
     rather than owned by NAL? 

--   If a retrospective CD contains a serial title with hundreds of issues,
     should each piece be checked in? Should a general holdings note be
     created?   

--   For those titles which are published in multiple formats, which format
     should be obtained and retained?  Which titles will be networked? 

--   How should the collection development policy be changed to reflect the
     development of electronic publications?  Should collection development
     staff be responsible for evaluating whether a title is purchased in a
     particular format?

--   What approach should Gift & Exchange take when a mixture of CD-ROMs and
     paper issues are exchanged?  How important is the concept of an even
     exchange?   

--   What will be the processing priorities for publications on CD-ROM within
     the overall work of the Indexing Branch?  Factors such as subject
     content and indexability versus cost and productivity need to be
     considered.

--   Some disks will contain publications in a variety of subjects requiring
     indexing by several indexers. Workflow details need to be worked out by
     unit managers. Issues, such as those that follow, will need to be
     decided.

     --   Which items will be indexed?
     --   How will we decide?
     --   How will they be checked-in/verified for indexing?
     --   How will they be routed to appropriate indexer?
     --   At what level will they be indexed?
          --  minimum
          --  full level
     --   How will they be indexed?  How much will it cost?
          -  paper
          -  ISIS
          -  computer-assisted
     --   Should the electronic or the paper format be indexed?
     --   What if they are slightly different?
     --   Should retrospective collections be indexed, or only newly
          published texts?

--   Current indexing policies are based on indexing the printed copy and
     preference will be given to the printed copy.  Is the paper copy more
     expensive?  Do lower processing costs actually make the paper copy less
     expensive?  Will cost direct the format to be purchased?

--   How much will it cost to load the CD-ROM on a computer in the Indexing
     Branch?  Will Indexing staff be able to do it or will they have to rely
     on ISD for assistance?  Will it be necessary?

--   Should individual publications on these disks be cataloged? 

--   Do these electronic publications have the same processing priorities as
     similar print publications?  If a print monograph normally receives
     full-level cataloging, should a similar electronic publication also
     receive full-level cataloging? 

--   Should these materials have greater processing priorities than
     older/dated backlogged print publications, foreign dissertations,
     translations, etc.? 

--   Will it be acceptable to produce fewer cataloging records because of the
     increased  time required to catalog publications on CD-ROM?

--   How do these publications fit within the Library's overall preservation
     program and space concerns? Will electronic publications such as those
     on the CGIAR disks allow NAL to discard the paper versions of these
     documents?  

--   In light of the rapid developments in computer technology, should the
     Library wait to see if CDs can be automatically indexed, and these
     indexes loaded directly into an ISIS file?  For example, class03 might
     be the repository of all electronic indexes. 

--   When retrieving an article on a CD-ROM for an offsite user, at what
     point is it too expensive for the Library to furnish these publications?

--   In terms of logistics, should the Software Demonstration Center be
     responsible for the storage and maintenance of software, or should it
     simply be a demonstration center of software?

--   Who will determine which CD-ROMs might be available for network
     transmission?  Will NAL be willing to pay the more expensive network
     copyright charges for these titles?

--   If the contract is amended so that the contractor can do copying and
     mailing of publications on CD-ROMs, are there other activities performed
     that might not be done by the contractor in the future?







                         Members of the Committee

                            Mike Esman - Chair

                               Win Gelenter
                                 Mae Clark
                              Maria Stransky
                               Julie Mangin
                             Bonnie Craighead
                              David Goldberg




               CHAPTER 5  -  Electronic Research Data Bases

Summary

This Committee examined the particulars of acquiring, indexing, cataloging,
storing, and distributing electronic research data bases.  The topic involves
any electronic data base, raw or edited, on any type of media, which fits the
broad selection policies of the National Agricultural Library.  The committee
members selected seven data bases fitting this broad definition.  It is
important to note that each data base has unique characteristics which will
require special considerations and which represent different aspects and
issues.  Significant deliberation resulted in the selection of the Arabidopsis
data base for a sample evaluation.  This report includes the process of
handling the Arabidopsis data base through the various Library disciplines and
includes considerations for change and associated costs.


Recommendations

1.   Revise NAL's Collection Development Policy.

2.   Establish a  "selector" of research data bases.

3.   Establish contacts for determining the availability of data bases of
     interest to the Library.
     
4.   Promulgate guidelines determining the types of acceptable formats, when
     to purchase or lease a data base, evaluation of warranties, evaluation
     of license agreements, and when to have only an electronic form of a
     data base.

5.   Develop guidelines for determining whether a data base is serial or
     monograph.

6.   Address license agreements, copyright restrictions, and patent concerns.

7.   Revise USDA Regulations including 1020-1:National Agricultural Library.
 
8.   Establish policies and procedures for checkin, indexing, cataloging,
     document delivery, and exchange of electronic data bases.

9.   Acquire appropriate hardware and software to handle data bases.

10.  Establish a training program for employees which will include the
     Internet, Gopher, WAIS, and telnet.

11.  Acquire additional staff.

12.  Develop procedures and policies for handling research data bases in all
     library functions.

13.  Establish committees to further explore the issues raised by this
     Initiative.

14.  Develop a Gopher client on Cliff.

15.  Establish a committee to resolve issues concerning copyright
     restrictions, license agreements and patents.



Current Situation
     
Committee members prepared reports on handling the Arabidopsis data base
through various library functions.

     
Description of Arabidopsis

The Arabidopsis thaliana  Data Base (AAtDB) is a genome data base for the
model organism Arabidopsis thaliana.  The data base contains several maps
including genetic, physical, integrated molecular/genetic, and DNA sequence
information.  Other major data base elements include stock and marker
information, bibliographic links, Primary F2 and RI mapping data, Rebase - a
restriction enzyme data base.  Information in AAtDB has been enhanced as a
result of the extensive cross-referencing in the data base.


Acquisitions

The Arabidopsis data base, as a USDA/NAL funded project, has been developed
and maintained by NAL and its contractors.  The concept of "acquiring" the
Arabidopsis data base is, therefore, irrelevant to the question of how NAL can
acquire electronic research data bases produced by outside sources.  What is
relevant to the scope of this Committee, is the issue of acquiring new data
for Arabidopsis and how this data is disseminated to NAL and other interested
researchers.

The Massachusetts General Hospital is funded by NAL to collect and pull
together information relevant to the Arabidopsis data base.  Staff at Mass
General conduct literature searches and download bibliographic data to
Arabidopsis .  They also search other relevant data bases, like GENBANK, for
information that could be included in Arabidopsis .  The staff at the Hospital
network with researchers to encourage and assist them in including mapping
data in Arabidopsis . 

NAL is not actively involved in the acquisition of new information for the
data base.  Staff at the Plant Genome Data and Information Center (PGDIC)
receive advance notice from Mass General as to the date of new releases of
Arabidopsis .  Usually, this release information is present on relevant
listservs on Internet.  After the release is advertised, interested
individuals can download the new data and software through standard ftp
procedures.  

In order to ensure that new releases are "acquired" by the Library, PGDIC has
to monitor information from Mass General to ensure that the new version is
downloaded to appropriate computers at NAL.  In the future, staff at PGDIC
should also inform Acquisitions and Cataloging of the arrival of a new
release, so that either: (1) new holdings information would be added to the
Arabidopsis ISIS record (if it is determined to be a serial); or (2) a new
monographic record would be established for the current release.


Selection Policy

NAL's current selection policy is not specific enough to assist users in
acquiring research data bases for the collection.  NAL's Selection Policy No.1
on machine readable material needs to be rewritten to specifically state which
types of machine readable files will be acquired by the Library. 

The selection and acquisition of electronic research data bases is covered
under Selection Policy No. 1 of the Collection Development Policy of the
National Agricultural Library, dated 03/21/85.  The policy states that all in-
scope machine-readable material will be collected, regardless of format or the
type of information included within the material.  The policy, however, does
outline exceptions, which would preclude the selection of a machine readable
file.  Only materials that fall under the comprehensive or research levels of
collecting will be acquired.  Preference is given to English language and
current materials.  Most importantly, machine-readable materials are not
selected "when the requirements for use are so complicated or restrictive as
to add substantial burdens, outside the norm, to their systematic processing
or servicing."  These requirements are not stipulated in the policy, making it
possible for any data base to be excluded if deemed too burdensome for the
Library.  (See Section A of Selection Policy No. 1.)

Sections B-E of the policy further detail additional criteria that need to be
addressed when acquiring machine-readable files, including license fees,
internal costs for supporting equipment, and custodial and special service
considerations.  "Considerations" are listed for determining when to acquire
something in electronic form over its paper version.  The policy also lists
"factors" that need to be addressed when determining whether to acquire a
machine-readable file or only have electronic access to it.  Finally, the
policy recommends that even if the Library has no way to process or access a
machine-readable file, it may still be acquired if it is in-scope and "no
other form is available."  See page 2 of Selection Policy No. 1 for further
details.

Selection Policy No. 1 is, therefore, quite expansive in allowing the
potential acquisition of all different machine-readable formats.  The clauses
that would restrict some types of formats are ambiguous enough that either all
or no research data bases could be collected.  While the policy mentions
factors and considerations that need to be addressed when collecting this type
of material, no guidance is given on how to determine when it is cost
effective to acquire a machine-readable file.  Also, while the policy mentions
complicating factors such as "availability of compatible hardware" and
"internal costs for equipment" no guidelines are given to determine when a
file should be excluded due to these factors.  Selection Policy No. 1 is too
vague to assist NAL's efforts in the acquisition of machine-readable files.  


Selection Responsibility

No program area within NAL has been specifically charged with the selection of
machine-readable files, and, in particular research data bases and very few
machine-readable files have been acquired by NAL.  A query was posed to the
VTLS Acquisitions data base to see how many machine readable files had been
acquired by NAL in the last 2 years.  Forty-five titles have been purchased or
acquired as gift orders since January 1991.    This query does not include
serials, titles received as unsolicited gifts to NAL, and titles which would
be cataloged as monographs even if they may include a diskette with the book. 
The Head of the Serials Unit and the Head of the Gift & Exchange Unit
indicated that very few machine-readable serials or gifts have been or are
currently received by NAL.  

Most of the titles acquired have been small research data bases or software
for inputting queries and answering specific agricultural questions.  No data
bases on magnetic tape have been acquired via Acquisitions & Serials for NAL. 
Most of these data bases were identified by the Information Centers and then
passed on to the Acquisitions & Serials Branch for ordering.  Acquisitions has
either ordered the title directly from the publisher or through a vendor.  If
the data base or software can be ordered for free, it has been routed to the
Gift & Exchange Unit for processing.

After the title is received and cataloged, it is either sent to the Software
Demonstration Center, where it is loaded upon request, or to the Information
Center that originally selected it.  Since the Software Demonstration Center
can only house small data bases, the question of larger data bases has never
been addressed.

Some larger research data bases have either been maintained or housed at NAL
(Feed Composition Databank, Arabidopsis , etc.).  These data bases have not
been formally acquired or processed through the Library's current acquisitions
procedures.

Establishing a position of 'selector of electronic media' appears to be
critical if the Library intends to acquire these materials.  This task could
be performed by a Reference Librarian, a member of the Software Demonstration
Center, or an Acquisitions Librarian.  Preferably, the selector would have an
understanding of the hardware and software capabilities of the Library as well
as the universe of potential agriculturally related research data bases.  

The Information Centers would continue to monitor electronic research data
bases in their specific subject areas, and forward requests for purchase of
such data bases to the Acquisitions Branch.  This is currently being done.

Before undertaking an extensive project to acquire electronic research data
bases, NAL will need to determine which governmental agencies, societies,
associations, universities, and commercial publishers are developing research
data bases of interest to the Library.  A committee should be established,
composed of members of the Information Centers Branch, Reference and Users
Services Branch, the Acquisitions & Serials Branch, and the Database
Administration Branch, which would develop a means for surveying relevant
organizations for information on their electronic research data bases.  This
Electronic Research Data Base Committee (ERDBC) would spend from three to six
months (part time) conducting searches, contacting agencies, determining user
needs, and developing lists of potential data bases for acquisition by the
Library.  After this initial project has been completed, the Electronic
Research Data Base Selector will take over the responsibility of maintaining
contact with relevant publishers, agencies, etc. that may produce agricultural
data bases.

A further factor complicating the ability to know how much is available, is
the fact that most electronic research data bases are not extensively marketed
(with the exception of CD-ROMs, which are being addressed by another
subcommittee).  This may change in the near future.    NAL should be proactive
in reviewing this sort of material to make selection choices.

NAL does not have guidelines for determining which formats are most
appropriate for the Library's functions.  The current policy states that any
format may be acquired, even if NAL does not have the ability to access it. 
This policy seems unrealistic.  NAL should establish clear guidelines on which
formats can be accommodated and stored for use in-house, dependent on the
equipment and capabilities of the Library's computer resources and the costs
involved.  Costs need to take into account,  not only acquisitions costs but
the hidden costs of maintaining these research data bases in-house.

NAL does not have guidelines for determining when to acquire a data base and
when to only have electronic access to that data base.  The Electronic
Research Data Base Committee should establish specific criteria for factors
such as cost, availability of playback or access equipment, physical volume of
materials, and vendors' stipulations, so that selectors can make an informed
decision on whether to request a data base for NAL or just request access
information be input into ISIS or AGRICOLA.  These criteria will need to be
altered on an annual basis to take into account changes in Library software,
hardware, access requirements, and the needs of NAL patrons.

The Electronic Research Data Base Committee should also establish guidelines
for determining the best format to acquire when a data base is available in
two different types of electronic form,  e.g., paper or CD-ROM or CD-ROM vs.
magnetic tape.

Before NAL undertakes a massive effort to acquire USDA data bases, the Library
Director must determine whether NAL or OIRM is the appropriate agency to house
these data bases.

Many large bibliographic data bases can be leased to the Library.  The
Electronic Research Data Base Committee could develop a cost benefit formula
that would be used to determine when it is more appropriate to lease, rather
than purchase, a data base.

NAL must develop a systematic procedure for evaluating warranties, to ensure
that damaged data bases can be replaced or fixed, with minimal cost to the
Library.  Currently, the Acquisitions & Serials Branch does not undertake a
preliminary review of warranties associated with electronic data bases.  To
allow for consistency in decisions, one person should be charged with
evaluating warranties.  This person could be: an Acquisitions Librarian, the
Electronic Research Data Base Selector, or a member of the Software
Demonstration Center.

NAL must develop a systematic procedure for evaluating license agreements, to
ensure that the Library can abide by the stipulations of the agreements.  This
is particularly important in the area of potential copyright infringement. 
Data bases that cannot be mounted at NAL, without abridgement of the license
agreement, should not be acquired by the Library.  This problem is significant
enough that NAL should place all evaluation of license agreements into one
functional area. This will ensure that all potential data bases are acquired
under the same general understanding of what the Library will accept.  At the
National Library of Medicine, all license agreements are evaluated by the
Associate Director of Library Operations.  Since most license agreements
appear first within the Acquisitions & Serials Branch, it is recommended that
the Head of the Acquisitions & Serials Branch or her supervisor evaluate these
agreements.

Staff members of the Acquisitions & Serials Branch will need to cultivate
vendors who are willing to communicate with data base producers to encourage
them to use vendor services.  If NAL is able to cultivate one or two vendors
who readily handle these titles, the Library may be able to negotiate
discounts with the vendors, thereby reducing the cost to the Library. 
Currently, the Leader of the Order/Fiscal Unit has contacted one vendor about
providing more enhanced service for this format.



Check-in

There is currently no specific NAL policy that addresses the check-in of
research data bases.  MARC holdings format offers guidance to NAL staff
responsible for check-in; but, it does not specifically address the issues
surrounding large research data bases.
To date, no large research data bases have been acquired by NAL on a serial
basis.  For this reason, none of them have been formally "checked in" by the
Serials Unit.  Upgrades and new versions of research data bases housed at NAL,
within the Information Centers or ISD, have been loaded informally by non-
Acquisitions & Serials Branch staff.  Changes to data bases, such as the now
defunct Feed Composition Databank (FCD), are not input into any formal
holdings data base.  The exact version or upgrade available at NAL for data
bases such as the FCD is known only to the staff responsible for the data
base.

Some machine-readable files are currently checked in by Serials Unit staff and
have a formal holdings record within ISIS.  For the most part, these files are
on CD-ROM or floppy disk format.  Their subject matter often falls into the
areas of agricultural economics, statistics, and marketing.  

Serials Unit staff use traditional methods to determine the appropriate way to
check-in the machine-readable file.  In many cases the file will contain a
year, volume or issue number, which will allow the checker to input holdings
information in the same way that journals are input.

In other cases, however, the Serials Unit may use a version or release number
to identify the received file.  Questions concerning whether the title is
actually a serial or a monograph (is a version number comparable to a
different "edition"?) are decided informally by members of the Serials Unit
and Serials Cataloging.  

Research data bases received in machine-readable format are forwarded to
either the Software Demonstration Center or the Information Centers Branch for
use and storage.  According to the Head of the Serials Unit, only the most
current year is kept for many of these data bases.

The Library needs to determine whether large research data bases can be
effectively "checked in" at NAL.  The term "check-in" may not even be
applicable to large research data bases.  "Check-in", as traditionally
defined, means inputting data into some sort of receiving system for an item
which is held in one's hand.  Large research data bases can not be "held" in
someone's hand.  NAL will need to develop ways to inform either Serials Check-
in or Cataloging of when a data base held at NAL is updated, so that its
corresponding bibliographic record can also be updated.  NAL will need to
determine whether Serials or Cataloging is the appropriate area for
identifying and inputting new "check-in" information for large research data
bases.

The Cataloging Branch will need to determine whether the Arabidopsis data base
is a serial or monograph before the issue of "check-in" of the data base can
be resolved.  Arabidopsis is updated approximately four times a year, but it
is not done on a regular quarterly schedule.  The periodic updating of the
data base and the numeric naming of new releases definitely give Arabidopsis a
serial feel. 

If it is determined to be a serial, then the PGDIC will have to inform the
Serials Unit of the arrival of a new release.  Serials staff will then update
the check-in and holdings information.  If it is determined to be a monograph
(a new edition), the PGDIC will have to inform the Monographic Cataloging Unit
of the arrival of a new release.  Cataloging staff will then create a record
for the new version.

Two versions of Arabidopsis currently exist.  One, available through Gopher,
is a graphical version.  When downloaded, users can display the Arabidopsis
graphical data on their own PC (provided they have the necessary software). 
The second version does not include graphical information.  Cataloging will
need to determine whether both versions need records in ISIS.  If the
Arabidopsis data bases are considered to be serials, the Serials Unit may need
to add check-in information for both versions of the data base.

Currently, as new releases of the data base are received, the older version is
discarded.  A decision will need to be made as to whether this is appropriate. 
If NAL decides to keep all older versions, hardware will need to be purchased
for the storage of archival copies.

The Electronic Research Data Base Committee will need to determine whether the
Serials Unit or Cataloging Branch is the appropriate area for identifying and
inputting new "check-in" information for large research data bases.  Either
way, there will be a need to purchase hardware to temporarily store electronic
research data bases for review before check-in or cataloging.

The following scenario outlines how NAL staff could potentially receive and
review electronic research data bases, provided that the necessary hardware
and software is acquired.

NAL could establish an Internet address which would be used by members of the
Serials Unit to temporarily "receive" and review new electronic research data
bases that are sent to the Library.  The Serials Unit would inform producers
of data bases of this address.  The new releases would be sent to the address. 
Serials Unit staff would check the address on a daily basis to find out which
data bases had been received by the Library.  They would then add a check-in
record for the new releases and transmit the data base to Cataloging (if
necessary) or a "Stacks" internet address for final storage. 

How does the Library "check-in" data bases that are not housed at NAL, but
accessed by patrons and staff?  The task of updating records for every
possible electronic research data base accessible by NAL and present within
ISIS (as an access record) would be enormous.  For data bases accessible by
patrons, but not "held" at NAL, the Library should only maintain a basic
record in ISIS or AGRICOLA, which does not include version information. 
Patrons and staff will discover the version of the data base when they access
it online.

In order to expedite the processing of smaller research data bases, which can
be checked in by the Serials Unit, NAL could establish guidelines that assist
check-in technicians in determining when a data base is a serial or a
monograph.  Decisions will need to be made as to when a version or upgrade
number denotes seriality.  These guidelines will need to be established by the
Heads of the Serials and Serials Cataloging Units.

The numbering for some machine-readable formats may be present on the first
screen that appears after loading a data base.  NAL will need to determine who
is responsible for reviewing electronic "title page" information and allocate
appropriate equipment, time, and staff to this activity.  It is recommended
that at least one PC in the Acquisitions & Serials Branch and the Cataloging
Branch be set aside for the loading of floppy disks and the review of data
bases received through the Internet.


Indexing

Because Indexing does not presently index electronic media, there are no
policies or background materials for handling it.

For a data base to be indexed, the data base would need to be on a computer to
which indexers have access whether it be on-site or off-site.  Assuming that
resources are available, and it is technologically feasible, data bases not
housed at NAL should be indexed.

For individual components of large data bases that are a compilation of a
variety of information (e.g.,FAIRS CD-ROM) and not present at NAL in some
other format, it is difficult to answer whether they should be indexed.  The
state publications on the FAIRS CD-ROM have probably already been indexed for
AGRICOLA.  Determining which need to be indexed may not be practical.  Lack of
structure and standards present a problem. 

Since Arabidopsis is WAIS-indexed and data is accessible via Gopher, it is
determined that this data base does not need to be indexed.  Most remote data
bases are WAIS-indexed.  If NAL had a Gopher server on Cliff, users could
connect to this data base and search Arabidopsis and other remote data bases. 
Currently, users have to telnet to other institutions Gopher services to
access the data base.  

"Veronica" (very easy rodent-oriented net-wide index to computerized archives)
is a service that indexes titles of Gopher items and provides keyword searches
of titles of Gopher items.  A Veronica search searches the menus of hundreds
of Gopher servers, however, Veronica can only be accessed through a Gopher
client.  Currently, Veronica is updated every two weeks, but more frequent
updates are being considered.  With the addition of a Gopher service on Cliff,
Veronica could be utilized by patrons for keyword searching.  



Cataloging

Currently, the Cataloging Branch has two policies regarding electronic media:

1.   For computer files that are physically received in Cataloging, the
     policy has been not to load computer files but describe the physical
     item instead.  This decision was made because of the threat of computer
     viruses and the lack of equipment needed to load these files.  Also, it
     can be very time consuming to load files, and our emphasis has been on
     increasing productivity.

2.   Serial computer files are cataloged on the serial workform instead of
     the serial computer files workform because of CONSER.

Each electronic file received in the Cataloging Branch is considered case-by-
case.  A general statement deciding how Cataloging would treat electronic
files would not be appropriate.  There are many electronic monographic files
that contain different versions, issues, editions, releases, levels, and
updates.  These different versions of electronic files are addressed in the
edition statement of the MARC record.  The majority of electronic files are
serials but each electronic file will be cataloged according to its nature
(monograph, serial, etc.) whichever is appropriate.  A statement, up front, 
from the Acquisitions & Serials Branch describing the electronic medium as
issued monthly, quarterly, or on some kind of regular basis would be very
helpful to the Cataloging Branch staff.

Cataloging is reviewing its policy for loading electronic files since virus
software protection is now on most of the Branch's machines.  Floppy diskettes
in the "A" drive that display a title screen when a start-up command is
entered would be easy to do.   For large data bases, Cataloging will need a
more powerful computer with more storage used exclusively for processing these
materials, or access via an internal network.  In addition, more staff time
will have to be allocated to handle this material.   

Remote files that fit the selection policies of NAL should be cataloged.  To
catalog remote files, Cataloging does not necessarily have to access the data
base but would need written documentation from the distributer? publisher?
originator? about the file.  Information needed would include:  title; author;
publisher; physical description if there is one; nature or scope of file; mode
of access; system requirements; and subject content.  This information is
especially important for large files of raw data.  Would Cataloging want to
include an abstract?  Should this also be provided, or does Cataloging create
it?

Another concern of Cataloging's is that AGRICOLA is not currently updatable. 
If access information changes, records in AGRICOLA will be out of date.

A computer file that is available by remote access usually will not be given a
physical description (unless it is provided) on the MARC record since there is
no physical item to describe.
Currently, a note can be added to the MARC record explaining how to access a
remote file.  The mode of access would be specified in a note (e.g.,
"Available through the Internet", "Online access via DIALOG").  A new field
has been proposed by MARBI to include comprehensive location and access
information (see third item in list below).

Physical details of files that are available by remote access will be given in
a note (e.g., color, sound) if the information is readily available and is
considered important (e.g., "Graphs displayed in red, yellow, and blue").

MARBI Proposal no. 93-4 has proposed changes to the USMARC Bibliographic
Format (Computer Files) to accommodate online information resources.  One
proposal is the addition of field 856 (Electronic Location and Access).  This
field provides location and access information required to locate an
electronic item.  The information contained in this field is sufficient to
allow for the electronic transfer of a file, subscription to an electronic
journal, or logon to a library catalog.  The 856 field indicator defines how
the data in the field will be used (e.g., email, ftp, remote login, other). 
If the resource is available by more than one method, the field is repeated
with data appropriate to each method.  Subfields would include: 

     host name (e.g., harvarda.harvard.edu; harvarda.bitnet);
     IP address (e.g., 141.212.196.79); 
     compression information (e.g., Use PKUNZIP to decompress);
     path (e.g., wais/doc; aii/admin/games);
     filename (e.g., dutils2.sit; stats.c.Z);
     name of publication or conference (e.g., AN2);
     processor of request (e.g., listserv, mailserver);
     instruction (e.g., get; subscribe);
     password (e.g., guest);
     logon/login (e.g., anonymous);
     contact person for information, assistance;
     name of location of host;
     operating system (e.g., VM, Unix);
     port (e.g., 3000 (used with madlab.sprl.umich.edu);
     file mode (e.g., binary, ascII, tenex);
     file size (e.g., 88916 bytes); 
     terminal emulation (e.g., vt100, 3270);
     non-public note (cannot verify compression information);
     public note; and
     source of access.

Field 856 is a holdings/bibliographic field pertaining to a particular
location of an item.  For description of the item regardless of location and
copy, the bibliographic fields are used.  An electronic journal which uses
electronic mail for subscriptions might require the use of (among others)
subfields which contain the name of publication or conference, processor of
request,  and instruction.

Taking into consideration format integration, an electronic journal would be
coded as a computer file with its seriality indicated in Leader/07.  Its 008
would reflect its existence as a computer file, and field 006 is used for
seriality aspects.  


Cataloging books that are accompanied by software.

Following AACR2R, Rule 1.5E, Cataloging catalogs books that are accompanied by
software as books.  The accompanying software is material that was issued
with, and intended to be used with, the item being cataloged (in this case the
book).  Cataloging will continue to follow this rule unless it changes.  With
the implementation of format integration, books that are accompanied by
software will be coded as such in the 006 field (accompanying materials) of
the fixed field.

Call numbers are usually not given in the bibliographic record for remote
files but NAL's edit program looks for an 070 field.  Cataloging will probably
assign a call number similar to our dissertation call numbers which are
assigned in accession number order.  An example of a call number would be
"Remote 1993001".  The first four digits indicate the year of issue.  The 001
indicates that it's the first remote file cataloged that was issued in 1993.

When Cataloging receives a data base that is made up of individual
publications, Cataloging will catalog the main data base but what happens to
the individual publications?  Should they be indexed?  What if the data base
was originally in paper and has already been cataloged?  Do we go back and add
data base access information to each paper piece we have?  What if some of the
individual publications have not been cataloged?  Do we try and obtain them? 
If the electronic data comes with an index, can we download the index (by
scanning) into an ISIS subsystem and have someone perform keyword string
searches to find existing titles cataloged?  The data bases would be easier to
handle if they contained indexes since we would not have to do article work if
these indexes were available.  Could the publishers of the electronic data
provide us with data base bibliographic records we could upload into ISIS and
avoid cataloging individual titles altogether?  Do we make an intellectual
decision about what the data base contains and then decide case-by-case if
individual cataloging needs to be done?  If we analyze the data base, do we
list the contents on the bibliographic record?  What kind of cataloging do we
provide to the community?  Only U.S. imprints are sent to AGRIS, but we have
agreements that they provide the documents if we provide access.  Do we
catalog bibliographic records for other libraries catalogs?

Before the Arabidopsis (AAtDB) data base was cataloged, a Cataloging
representative received a demo of the data base, received a lot of information
handouts, connected to the data base using the Gopher server through the
University of Maryland, and discussed the data base with the coordinator of
the Plant Genome Data and Information Center at NAL.  It would have been
difficult to catalog this file if the prior information had not been received. 
Cataloging would expect Acquisitions to provide as much information on remote
data bases as possible.  Also, having a Gopher server on Cliff would be very
helpful in accessing remote data bases.

A decision was made to catalog AAtDB as a monograph since it resembles a
looseleaf monograph.  Like a looseleaf, the Arabidopsis data base is serial-
like since it grows continuously with the addition of new documents.  Most
remote access data bases cannot be considered serial since the rules for
cataloging serials require that cataloging be based upon the earliest issue
and the earliest issue of a remote access file cannot be determined due to the
constant merging of data.  If the earliest issue was found, it would be
difficult to determine if the earliest date found was a chronological date or
the earliest appearance of the file online in the data base.  An early issue
might contain a more recent chronological date than a later issue.     

Cataloging this file required using special applications of the rules in
Chapter 9 of AACR2 revised, MARBI Proposal no. 93-4, Cataloging Computer Files
by Nancy B. Olson, and the draft version of Guidelines For Bibliographic
Description of Internet Resources from Liz Bishoff addressed to the CONSER
Policy Committee.  

One dilemma encountered cataloging AAtDB is that not only is there a remote
file of this data base available online but NAL also has a copy of the
software from the remote site loaded on a workstation.  The remote file and
the file at NAL differ in that graphic displays available in the UNIX version
of AAtDB are not available via Gopher and WAIS, and the system requirements in
the OCLC bibliographic record are different.  Therefore, the creation of two
bibliographic records in OCLC would be created -- one for the remote file and
one for NAL's file.  Cataloging would create a catalog record of the data base
held at NAL but creating a record for the remote file would depend on priority
of the item and/or staff resources.  Another option may be to catalog the main
record and add a briefer holdings record for the other version.  For this
report, both versions of the record were cataloged, and these records can be
viewed in the clas72 test data base on ISIS.   

The title for this data base was taken from the root Gopher server since there
was no title screen available.  A possible problem with taking the title from
the Gopher server is that the menu on the server could change.  

The name of the publisher and funding organizations were taken from a Gopher
file which described AAtDB, and these corporate bodies were traced in the
record to increase accessibility.  The publication date for a remote file is
the date the file became available online; however, this information is
difficult if not impossible to determine.  Supplying a date may confuse users
who are looking for dates of coverage rather than when the file became
available.  As a result, the date given was the closest century, and this date
was left open-ended to show that the file is ongoing.    


Notes in remote files are important to the user for determining access.  Other
notes may include variations in title, source of title proper, other formats,
summary, and copy being described.

Documentation supplied by the vendor was available for the data base at NAL
and was documented in the OCLC bibliographic record.  This documentation is
very important since more notes can be created which makes the record more
useful to the patron.  The documentation can also be used to determine title
proper when no other source is available.  For the remote data base, readme
and help files were browsed online to obtain information needed to catalog the
record.  Again, a Gopher server was needed to accomplish this.  

Subject headings were determined based on the title and documentation
available.  The subdivision "Data bases" was added to each subject heading
since AAtDB files are data files.  Broad subject headings were assigned since
it would be impossible to cover every specific subject covered in the data
base.

Call numbers were assigned using the LC Classification Schedules since these
numbers can be browsed in ISIS and are occasionally used for statistical
purposes.  The ISIS record will contain either location codes for remote
files, another call number for remote files in the item level record, or a 590
keyword searchable note containing the word "remote".  Selection of choices
for ISIS access will be brought to the attention of the ISIS Advisory Group
and approved by NAL management.


Exchange

USDA Departmental Regulation 1020-1 provides general guidelines on the
archival responsibilities of NAL for USDA publications and exchange agreements
between NAL and other entities.   Section 9 Part B states that "Two copies of
all substantive publications should be forwarded to NAL" from USDA agencies
and that "Books or other published materials received by an employee as a
result of their official capacity. . . should be submitted to the Director of
NAL."  Section 16 mentions that "NAL accepts gifts of all forms, including
paper materials, software, and audio-visual material, etc."  While the
regulation does not list research data bases as items that should be sent to
NAL by USDA agencies, it does not exclude them either.

Regulation 1020-1, while mentioning the existence of exchanges between NAL and
foreign agencies, does not specify what sort of materials should be exchanged. 
Research data bases, as well as traditional publications, could be exchanged
under the regulation.  Domestic publications are not covered by the
regulation; NAL requests domestic titles from organizations as gifts.



Data bases are not specifically mentioned in USDA Regulation 1020-1, so they
have not been sent to NAL.  As long as the agency regulation ignores research
data bases, USDA researchers will not feel compelled to send their machine-
readable files to NAL.

If NAL wants to acquire relevant data bases for its patrons, it may want to
consider establishing domestic exchange agreements.  Important research data
bases maintained by U.S. societies, associations, and state agencies could
then be accessed or acquired by NAL.  The types of material desired from
exchange agreements are not specifically outlined in Regulation 1020-1.  The
Library and USDA should rewrite Regulation 1020-1 to include research data
bases as exchange items between NAL and its foreign partners.

If NAL begins acquiring research data bases via exchange agreements,
complicated issues of license agreements, copyright restrictions, and patent
concerns will need to be addressed.   In addition to issues addressed in
'Acquisitions' above,  problems related to the transfer of USDA research to
foreign agencies will need to be addressed.  There may be laws that forbid the
transmission of government research to foreign countries that would prevent
the exchange of these data bases.  The Electronic Research Data Base Committee
should investigate any treaties or laws that may forbid the transmission of
government research to foreign countries.

NAL should begin exchanging access information with other entities, without
necessarily exchanging the data bases themselves.  The Steering Committee will
need to address whether the Library has the computer capability to offer
"free" access to its data bases in exchange for free access to other domestic
and foreign data bases.

The current policy does not address the issue of exchange of access
information.  NAL will need to assess whether it can adequately exchange
access information with other entities, without necessarily exchanging the
data bases themselves.  In particular, NAL will need to address whether it has
the computer capability to offer "free" access to its data bases in exchange
for free access to other domestic and foreign data bases.  The hidden costs
(modems, online time, greater computer capability, etc.), will need to be
addressed before offering free and unlimited access to NAL data bases.

There are no current procedures for the exchange of research data bases
between NAL and USDA, NAL and domestic organizations, and NAL and its foreign
partners.  Small research data bases on floppy disks have been received as
gifts, but they are not exchanged for NAL or USDA produced data bases.  These
data bases are processed like purchased data bases (see the Acquisition
section).  The Library will need to determine where the authority lies for
establishing exchange agreements for research data bases.  The Gift & Exchange
Unit may be able to identify the existence of research data bases, but the
authority to establish agreements with foreign and domestic agencies may
actually lie at a higher level than G & E.   The Electronic Research Data Base
Committee should develop policies for the establishment of exchange agreements
between NAL and foreign institutions for electronic research data bases.


If it is determined that NAL should acquire and exchange these data bases, the
Library will need to undertake a survey of USDA researchers to determine what
exists.  At this time, no one knows how many non-USDA agricultural research
data bases exist and if these are available for exchange.  If it's determined
that NAL should acquire and exchange these data bases, the Library will need
to undertake a survey of agricultural domestic organizations and foreign
exchange partners to determine what exists.

Since the Gift & Exchange Unit establishes agreements between foreign
organizations and USDA agencies, other areas of NAL should inform G & E when
they receive a research data base from one of our partners.  A policy needs to
be established to ensure that only one NAL program area arranges formal and
informal agreements with USDA and foreign exchange partners concerning
research data bases.

Arabidopsis is currently available to any interested individual free of
charge.  Domestic and foreign researchers can download the data base from the
Internet.  The Coordinator of PGDIC does not know of any trade restrictions
which would prevent Arabidopsis from being disseminated to foreigners free of
charge.

While distribution of Arabidopsis on floppy disks through G & E would be
impossible, information on how to access and download Arabidopsis , or any
other NAL data base, via the Internet could easily be sent with other exchange
information.  This information could be contained on the exchange lists
offered by the Gift & Exchange Unit.  

Inclusion of information on Arabidopsis on the exchange lists would increase
the visibility of the data base and the activities of PGDIC on an
international level.  It may also facilitate the exchange of data base
information between foreign countries and NAL.  Foreign organizations may be
more likely to send us their agriculturally related data bases if they believe
similar information is accessible to them from NAL.  Publicizing Arabidopsis
through G & E could be seen as a gesture of international goodwill to NAL's
foreign exchange partners.


On-site and Off-site Access
 
Reference currently has a policy in place for on-site patron use of data bases
on CD-ROM.  Reference does not have a policy on off-site/on-site patrons using
dial-up access to connect to electronic data bases.  Dial-up access to
electronic data bases may have to be limited to public domain data bases--
unless a mechanism for collecting a fee or charge from on-site/off-site
patrons could be developed for their (as opposed to the Reference staff)
searching commercial/copyrighted data bases.  Information in the CD-ROM policy
on copyright, downloading, limits to printing, etc., could probably be
applied, at least partially, to patrons accessing dial-up electronic data
bases on-site/off-site.  Reference should have a dispense-a-diskette vending
machine to provide on-site patrons with blank, formatted 5.25/3.5 diskettes
for downloading.

Is there a market for these data bases on-site/off-site?  Will there be a lot
of walk-in requests for on-site access to these data bases?  Who determines if
on-site/off-site access is appropriate and does the Library promote on-
site/off-site use of electronic data bases to create demand?  Should Reference
provide on-site/off-site access or should another area such as the EMC?  It
would seem natural for Reference to provide on-site access to electronic data
bases if the walk-in demand was high.  If the demand was not high should the
data base(s) go to the EMC?  The potential for off-site usage of electronic
data bases housed at or accessed through NAL may explode in the next few
years.  Patrons are already asking when they will we be able to access
AGRICOLA and ISIS (or the OPAC) by dialing up through a PC or through the
Internet.  

Electronic research data bases could be accessible in various ways.  The
equipment/software/systems needed to make these data bases available for off-
site use will probably be the same equipment/software/systems that would make
them available for on-site use.  Access to the Internet with a local
Gopher/WAIS mounted should be available in the Reference area for on-site
patrons, along with access to ALF.  This would involve upgrading and
purchasing equipment/software/systems in the Reference section.  Also,
Mackintosh, Windows, and UNIX-based equipment/systems/software should be made
available in the EMC for on-site patron use.  If they are not, the ability to
provide access to the broad range of electronic data bases in the future may
decrease significantly.  In addition to dial-up access, a LAN should be
installed in Reference that provides seamless searching across several
different CD-ROM data bases.  Reference will have over 100 CD-ROMS in the very
near future to check out individually to on-site patrons to use at single-use,
CD-ROM stations.

Provision of on-site access requires appropriate hardware, software, and staff
training.  At present there is not convenient or timely access to the Plant
Genome data bases for these reasons:  a) lack of library-wide Internet
linkage; b) lack of appropriate hardware and software; c) lack of staff
training in UNIX to access the data bases when ISD/Plant Genome staff are
unavailable.  In the ideal case the Information Center would have a common use
computer set-up to allow on-site patrons and our reference staff to access the
Plant Genome data bases.  

If electronic data bases are to be acquired, cataloged, indexed, and made
available to on-site/off-site patrons in great numbers in the future, then
seamless, unmediated searching will have to be the norm for staff/patron use
of these data bases.  Reference librarians may not have the time or background
to be familiar with accessing numerous electronic data bases unless this
searching is available.  The subcommittee could be setting a precedent for how
electronic data bases are handled in the future.  

The guide to the FCDB is a two-volume set--the AAtDB has software available
that makes "searching" easier--WATI is about 42 diskettes in Lotus 1-2-3
worksheet files without user documentation.  These examples alone indicate the
importance of organized documentation or a uniform method of search and
retrieval.  

What kind of training would be needed for Reference staff and patrons to
access FCDB, AAtDB, WATI, or other electronic data bases on-site?  Training
depends on how each data base is mounted for searching, what kind of system
access to the data base is provided, and the completeness of documentation for
each data base.  Clearly NAL needs the appropriate hardware/software with
relevant staff training to provide on-site access.
  
It is feasible to provide off-site software or data base access for materials
not accessible at NAL via interlibrary loan protocols.  This case was
experienced in Plant Genome.  They had ordered a data base (floppy disk) which
at the time was not loaded on one of their machines.  An on-site patron wanted
access to the data base.  After trying to load the data base, they discovered
that specialized software was required to load the data base.  The software
was ordered; but to serve the urgent need for the patron the data base was
loaned via an interlibrary loan process.  This is the least ideal arrangement
- yet it still allowed some patron access that was unable to be provided on-
site.

Both on-site and off-site patron access to many of the research data bases may
be enhanced with these indexing programs.  Given these new developments, on-
site patron access should be provided for with as many terminals possible in
the general reading room/reference area with direct access to Internet and a
local Gopher.  Overflow capacity can be handled with additional terminal
access points in the EMC.  Such an arrangement should diminish to some extent
the document delivery load.  NAL should have a main computer that is directly
linked to Internet with the bulletin board capabilities of ALF, where many
files and data bases could be loaded.  This would allow both on-and off-site
access.  QB's SRB's, etc. could be searched and downloaded directly.  The ERS
statistical files could be searched and downloaded.  The Feed Composition Data
Base could easily be indexed and mounted for patron access at minimal cost. 
The Plant Genome Databases have already been WAIS indexed.  The data bases
currently have limited NAL/public accessibility for all of the reasons noted
above.  The Gopher/WAIS indexing is a very powerful tool that will minimize
programming needs yet allow search and retrieval capability.  The final
significant point about Gopher/WAIS programs is that they allow a uniform user
interface to many data bases and data sets.

Electronic media can be regarded as an extension of print formats.  If an
author is inaccurate in a book the Library is not held accountable.  Likewise
there is no legal obligation for NAL to collect all updated versions for
monographs in the collection.  While such a practice is desirable fiscal
constraints will not always allow it.  Acceptance of a data base for the
collection should not be viewed as an obligation to maintain and enhance the
data base.  If the originator/patron provides funds to NAL for updating then
it would be in NAL's interest to provide those services.  As far as possible
NAL should provide access to all materials in the collection even if a data
base is no longer being maintained.

Recommendations for on-site and off-site use are:

--   Wire NAL for direct Internet access at all terminal locations.


--   Wire all possible terminals in the general reference area with a direct
     Internet link.

--   Provide additional Internet links in the EMC.

--   Provide access to the graphical versions of NAL's collected data bases
     in the EMC.

--   Perform and provide Gopher/WAIS indexing for all NAL data bases and
     files.

--   Connect ALF or a similar bulletin board system to the Internet to
     increase both on- and off-site patron access.

--   Provide in-house staff training for Internet, Gopher, WAIS, ALF, and
     UNIX.

--   Information Centers which have primary responsibilities for given data
     bases should have the appropriate hardware/software and qualified staff
     to assist both on- and off-site patrons with access and help in
     answering content questions.


An Information Center Perspective

The AAtDB database and software are available in several formats:  on-line
Internet accessible Gopher format; FTP file for local X-Windows UNIX
application; and, CD-ROM.  NAL can provide access to this data base in several
ways:

With appropriate staff training and computer linkages the AAtDB Gopher version
should be accessible at many locations in the Reference reading area. 
Overflow access could be provided in the EMC.  An ISIS/AGRICOLA record should
indicate how to get access to these formats.  Potentially, the CD-ROM version
of the data base may also be provided if the appropriate hardware and software
is available.

With appropriate staff training, computer linkages, and hardware, PGDIC can
demonstrate all versions of the AAtDB database and software on-site.  The
Center staff will also provide detailed technical information about the data
base.

Off-site access will be provided through the Internet, and possibly
interlibrary loan for the CD-ROM version.

ISIS/AGRICOLA records could provide pointers to access the on-line Gopher and
ftp graphical versions of AAtDB.  Trained reference staff could provide
general information on Gopher and the Internet, easing patron access to the
Network.  Trained reference staff may also provide specific information on
Gopher access for AAtDB.



PGDIC staff can provide general Gopher and Internet access information.  PGDIC
staff can also provide information specific to the data base and give
demonstrations for all versions of the data base off-site, pending the
availability of funding.

It may not be advisable to provide on-site user access to the graphical
version of AAtDB in the EMC.  Access to the graphical version should be
provided on-site in the Plant Genome Data and Information Center.

Specific recommendations for change and recommended timeframes are dependent
on several external factors.  Involved factors include but are not limited to
plans and resource allocation for:

1.   Computer network linkage of NAL computers

2.   Computer acquisitions for mounting data bases, files, and software 

3.   Staff training in UNIX and other software packages

If NAL were networked would it then be feasible for data bases, files,
software, etc., to be distributed across existing computers and relieve the
need for a central computer?  Is the existing Sun Workstation (Cliff) adequate
to handle mounting additional data bases, files, software, etc. and provide
wide user access?  Is there a plan to interface ALF with the Internet? Is it
possible to have a seamless linkage between the online catalog ISIS and Gopher
servers on the Internet?  For example if a data base is cataloged with a
pointer to its location could the patron just issue a command and access the
data base directly from the ISIS terminal?  If NAL is networked would it then
be feasible to access a jukebox CD-ROM drive in the Reference section from
anywhere in the building, i.e., have a large jukebox running with many data
bases loaded?

Some policies and practices that need to be changed and/or clarified include:

1.   Departmental OIRM policy on public access to USDA data and computers.

2.   Collection development policies: does NAL want to acquire software, if
     so, what patron access will be provided; does NAL want to acquire
     demonstration versions of software; does NAL want to acquire data bases,
     data files and the like?

3.   Lending policies: what does NAL want to lend and how will access be
     provided?  Clearly, Internet access would decrease resources needed to
     review lent materials for viruses and yet provide wider public access
     with minimal document delivery   staff involvement.

PGDIC recommends moving to Gopher/WAIS indexed data bases, files, etc. as
quickly as possible.  Gopher will allow maximal access with the lowest
personnel involvement and will allow some automated document delivery.  Access
to data bases no longer being updated could still be provided as in the Feed
Composition Data Base, for which there is still some interest.

PGDIC recommends moving ALF to an Internet linkage as quickly as possible
thereby providing a communication forum for all information providers in the
Library.  This will allow more information products to be compiled as
electronic-only versions decreasing printing budgets and allowing frequent
updates.  In-house data bases could be generated to expand user services and
enhance NAL's image.


A Reference Section Perspective

How much service should NAL provide to on-site patrons?
     
1.   Make available with no assistance
2.   Make available and train patrons to use
3.   Reference staff conduct searches for on-site patrons

The least "costly" response is to make Arabidopsis available for on-site use
with no assistance. If assistance is needed then patron(s) can seek assistance
from PGDIC staff or from a written or onscreen guide.  For other generic data
bases, if there is not a front-end to lead patrons through a search, then it
may not be reasonable to expect one reference librarian on the reference desk
to have the knowledge to lead on-site patrons through all available or
potentially available data bases.  SilverPlatter, ISIS, OCLC, DIALOG,
Cambridge Scientific, ALF, Internet, etc., currently searchable by reference
staff at the reference desk all require different access terminology. It may
not be realistic to add more data bases with different access terminology and
expect reference librarians to do anything more than make the data bases
available.

The ISIS record should include a 500 field note (or equivalent) to the data
base's manual and/or the data base's producer.  How many data bases with
different access/search terminology can a reference librarian feel comfortable
accessing and searching... 10, 20, 75?  Unless there is a true, unmediated
search front-end (WAIS/Gopher/Veronica/Archie/Ralph/Kramden),  it is
unreasonable to expect reference librarians to know how to access and search
all the data bases that ISIS could potentially include.

Reference does not yet have appropriate equipment to handle the variety of
data bases that NAL may house or access.  Reference has three public CD-ROM
terminals (no modems), nine working ISIS terminals (two with dial-up access to
OCLC), one dedicated OCLC terminal, and one work station terminal with a CD-
ROM player and modem with access to the Internet, ALF, etc.  At any given
time, the SDC has about three computers with modems for dial-up access.  There
is no UNIX-based workstation in Reference.  There are no APPLE/McIntosh
computers in reference.  There is no NeXT workstation in Reference.  There are
no computers with Windows loaded in reference.  Currently, if we want to
search BIP+ or Chem-Bank on a reference CD-ROM terminal, we have to disable
Norton Anti-Virus to load the Books In Print Plus or Chem-Bank CD-ROMs.  It
would be difficult for a reference librarian on the reference desk to contend
with CD-ROM terminals, ISIS terminals, a UNIX-based work station, an
Apple/McIntosh workstation, DOS and Windows applications, etc.
  
Currently, on-site patrons download records from AGRICOLA on CD-ROM to floppy
disks.  Copyrighted data bases, e.g., BIOSIS (BA on CD) are not supposed to be
downloaded to floppy.  One reference librarian cannot possibly police all the
CD-ROM users all the time to insure they are not downloading copyrighted
material.  The same would hold true if reference provided wider access to
copyrighted data bases through the Internet.  

For the Arabidopsis data base, Reference would necessarily defer to the PGDIC. 
For other data bases, it would be dependent upon NAL having a front-end to act
as an intermediary for the off-site user.  If there was not an easily
digestible front-end for all of the data bases NAL could potentially make
available to off-site users, then the number of data bases one reference
librarian on the reference desk could assume to mediate for off-site users is
finite.

A reference librarian on the reference desk would not usually have the time to
walk someone through a search of a data base on the phone or by computer. 
There should be an easy-to-use front-end for each available data base. ISIS
records should indicate manuals or guides available and the data base
producer.  ALF could be used as a dial-up repository for directions to
remotely access data bases at NAL.  


Document Delivery

Presently, CD-ROM's and 9-track tapes are non-circulating, as electronic media
are not lent in their original form.  Floppy disks are circulated provided
that a working copy can be made.  When the working copy is returned, the disk
is destroyed to guard against viruses.  If the original disk is copy protected
by design or by a statement from the publisher, then the disk is not loaned. 
The accompanying documentation may, however, be circulated.

Changes would include, but not be limited to:  training in new technologies,
consideration of the computer literacy of patrons and the availability of
workstations to them, knowledge of the systems on which particular files/data
bases are loaded and how to access them, preservation issues (using a hard
copy in good condition versus the electronic copy), and copyright issues
(ensuring that access falls within the scope of fair use).




Storage and Preservation

The Preservation Plan for the National Agricultural Library does not address
the issues related to the storage and preservation of electronic data bases
and there is no evidence of the existence of any NAL policies on storage and
preservation of electronic data bases.  

The Committee which is charged with examining preservation issues for optical
media/electronic media has conducted some preliminary bibliographic searches
on references related to the preservation of optical media.   Although, in the
case of the National Feed Composition Database, copies of the data base are
stored on magnetic tape, no effort has been made to provide the environmental
controls over the storage media or dataset documentation that would be
essential for preservation.

The electronic data bases for which NAL must establish policies with respect
to storage and preservation may not fall within the purview of those permanent
electronic records that should be transferred to the National Archives for
storage and preservation.  However,  policies and guidelines used by NARA to
care for the permanent electronic records for which they are the custodian
should constitute an invaluable resource in developing NAL policies on the
storage and preservation of electronic data bases.  Additional research on the
current literature as well as existing policies and procedures in other
organizations with similar requirements, e.g., Library of Congress and the
National Library of Medicine will be pursued to provide a foundation for the
development and establishment of appropriate NAL storage and preservation
policies.


Background Data -- Examples of Electronic Data bases 

As requested by the Steering Committee Chair, the committee evaluated seven
examples of electronic data bases.  Descriptions of each are submitted below.


Feed Composition Data Bank (FCDB)

The FCDB is an existing (although now defunct) NAL data base which presents
the opportunity to address the full range of issues pertaining to policies and
procedures on the handling of an electronic data base.  Moreover, the FCDB is
a good example of a bibliographic and numeric raw-data data base (which can
either be extracted in raw form or from which analytical reports can be
produced) as compared with an information data base or metadata (information
about data) or information data base.  The raw-data data base is prevalent
throughout the agricultural research community and serves as an example of the
type of data base NAL could be called upon by USDA agencies to maintain.  FCDB
also exemplifies many of the problems (from acquisition to storage to
distribution) that may arise if NAL chooses to acquire large electronic data
bases.


Economic Research Service (ERS)

ERS provides another example of a USDA-agency data base in various forms such
as floppy diskette which is also typical of the type of electronic data base
that presently exists in USDA agencies.  NAL could be called upon to maintain
these types of data bases in the future as increasing emphasis is placed on
making agricultural information available for sharing.  Data bases on floppy
diskettes are widely available and the ERS disks will help NAL plan an
approach for handling this information.


Arabidopsis 

This example should more appropriately be expanded to encompass the whole
Plant Genome Database at NAL, which includes Arabidopsis and four other data
bases pertaining to different species to which NAL provides support and user
access.  Arabidopsis is funded by NAL and the others are funded by ARS.  It is
planned that the Plant Genome Database will be expanded to include over 70
different species as well as animals and insects, etc.  The Plant Genome
Database provides an example of a data base containing highly processed data
(value-added) rather than just raw data, for which the archival function is
performed (NAL archives data input elsewhere), and provides an opportunity to
examine the full range of issues pertaining to policies on the handling of an
electronic data base.  This data base also provides an example of an NAL
created value-added data base.  Moreover, the data base is WAIS-indexed and
data is accessible via Gopher, which means that access and document delivery
considerations related to the use of this rapidly evolving information-sharing
system can be examined. 


Germplasm Research Information Network (GRIN)

This is a large USDA research data base which will require consideration of
all issues.  It can serve as an example of one of the types of data bases in
USDA agencies to which NAL can expect to be responsible for providing user
access in the future.


Water Quality

This example is a USDA (Extension Service) cooperative initiative at Purdue
University involving a data base of Extension Service publications from all 50
states.  It provides an example of a data base to which NAL could provide
remote access.  The Water Quality Database offers NAL potential cost savings
which might be achieved through no longer acquiring hard-copy ES publications. 
The publications would be available through data base access.  In addition to
enhancing the USDA contribution to the cooperative effort, it offers an
excellent opportunity to examine the issues related to this type of data base
and enhances sharing of agricultural information. 

Plant-It! CD

Plant-It! is representative of a wide range of data bases that are available
or will be available on CD.  Close coordination is required to determine which
subcommittee should be evaluating this data base to avoid duplication of
effort and ensure the work of this Committee is not in conflict with the work
of others.


Committee Member Requirements

This Committee developed a proposed list of requirements for members of the
committee to be established to examine the proposed examples.  It was
recognized that, in some instances members may require an initial orientation
or references that will provide the subject area familiarity desired, e.g.,
USDA priorities, goals, and objectives.  These requirements are:

1.   The committee shall be comprised of representatives from all Library
     disciplines including Reference, Indexing, Cataloging, Acquisitions &
     Serials Branch, Information Center Branch, Database Administration,
     Library Automation, and Document Delivery Services.

2.   Members shall have familiarity with computer formats.

3.   Members shall have familiarity with serials.

4.   Branch heads shall be involved with selection in order to address
     distribution of workload.

5.   Members shall have knowledge of USDA priorities, goals, and objectives.

6.   Members shall have knowledge of similar functions at NLM, LC, The
     National Archives, and USDA's OIRM.  Members may possibly serve as
     liaison with these organizations.

7.   Members shall be provided with information on USDA research priorities
     and may serve as a liaison.

8.   Members shall have prior involvement with electronic media issues.


CSRS Data from Genome and Other Grants

Competitive grants generate research results that the USDA would like to
ensure are captured for the Plant Genome data base.  Three principle problems
are immediately apparent with respect to these grants.  1) The usual product
from most competitive grants are peer-reviewed journal articles.  Much of the
research results derived from the grants will not necessarily be appropriate
for the data base.  2) By law grant awardees are given the right to apply for
patents on their discoveries.  This right is impaired if premature public
access or "disclosure" is made of their findings.  3)  At present the Plant
Genome Database is not able to accept direct author submission of research
results.  To date, the Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Howard Silverstein,
has written:

     Regulations provide that new plant genome maps and sequences developed
     under competitive grants be disclosed promptly to the Government, but
     grantees may file for patents on these discoveries.  Maps or sequences
     should not be disclosed publicly by the Government until such time as a
     grantee has  agreed to public disclosure, or has exercised or failed to 
     exercise its options as to patents.  Such rules and  procedures should
     be explained to grantees, as exemplified in the enclosed sample letter.

Certificates will be sent to grant awardees which will describe their research
findings, it will be necessary to sequester this data from public access until
such time that the author either has filed for patent protection or has
declined to file.  

A mechanism to receive author submissions and yet provide adequate quality
review has yet to be discussed fully much less acted upon.  The Plant Genome
grant recipients will forward their information to the Plant Genome Research
Program Office, headed by Dr. Jerome Miksche.  The Animal Genome Research
Program results will be sent to an office within the Cooperative State
Research Service. 




                         Members of the Committee

                            Grace Sines - Chair

                              Susan McCarthy
                                Karl Debus
                              Shirley Souder
                                Wayne Olson
                            Richard Thompson  
                        Mike Thompson (Consultant)







           CHAPTER 6  -  Electronic Versions of NAL Publications

Summary

Since 1988 NAL has made an increasing number of its documents available
electronically to dial-up users, via the Agricultural Library Forum (ALF). 
There are now over 250 NAL files on ALF, or about 75 percent of current NAL
publications.  One Information Center (Youth Development) publishes, through
CYFERNET, only electronically.  One Information Center (Water Quality) has
selected documents available electronically only, via ALF.  One Information
Center (Alternative Farming) has a limited number of publications available on
Internet, through the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN-link).

There are no policies or publication standards for technical processing of
these electronically available documents.  No records exist in either ISIS or
AGRICOLA that show that these documents are electronically available.  The
majority of NAL staff is neither aware nor trained to assist users with
electronic access and/or delivery of NAL publications electronically.


Recommendations for Action

--   Define criteria for bibliographic requirements, technical processing,
     preservation, security, access, and delivery for NAL electronic
     documents.

--   Publicize availability of NAL electronic documents.    

--   Provide Internet access to NAL electronic documents. 

--   Train NAL staff to process NAL electronic documents and to provide
     access assistance.

--   Establish by the end of FY94 a policy that electronic format is the
     primary means of distribution for QBs.

--   Provide NAL staff with direct network access to all NAL electronic
     documents.

--   By end of FY94, determine effect(s) of using electronic format as the
     primary means of NAL document distribution, especially the impact of
     such a policy on user access to information.



Current Situation

Acquisitions

GENERAL COLLECTION POLICY.  Additions to the NAL collection are acquired
through purchase, gift, and exchange.  Several policy-setting documents direct
these activities.

1.   Subject scope, collecting intensity, and format type are addressed by
     the COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY OF THE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL LIBRARY
     (September 1988).  In this policy only software and entire data bases
     are recognized as electronic products:

     Machine-Readable Materials.  Computer software and data bases requiring
     the use of electronic systems for processing and access are acquired for
     the collection.  Selections are generally restricted to subject areas
     which the Library collects at the research or comprehensive levels.  For
     more specific information, refer to Selection Policy No. 1, Machine-
     Readable Materials.

2.   Selection Policy No. 1, Machine-Readable Materials (March 21, 1985). 
     Two paragraphs are relevant:

     "D.  For machine-readable data bases, the Library will seek either
     acquisition and physical custody or only electronic access (both may be
     sought by exception only if need clearly justifies), considering a
     variety of factors, such as cost, availability of playback or access
     equipment, physical volume of material, vendors' stipulations, and the
     Library's requirements."

     "E.  Machine-readable materials whose contents are suitable for the
     collection will be acquired even when problems of processing or access
     remain unsolved if no other form is available.  Such problems should be
     documented when the materials are recommended or when selected for
     addition to the collection."

3.   [U.S. Department of Agriculture] Departmental Regulation, Number 1020-1,
     Subject: National Agricultural Library, March 23, 1990.  This regulation
     describes the organizational alignment and cites the mission,
     responsibilities, and functions of NAL.  Several areas are pertinent:

     7.  MISSION STATEMENT. b. ...The NAL provides leadership for the
     management of agricultural information resources through products and
     services, including... computerized data base repositories...and
     cooperates with other groups...to ensure that the results of research
     and other types of agricultural information are rapidly disseminated to
     the ultimate user.  NAL promotes the use of modern technology in support
     of library and information activities.

     9.  GENERAL POLICY. f. Research and Development in Communication and
     Information Technology.  The policy of NAL is to conduct and coordinate
     studies, surveys or projects on advanced information technology, and to
     provide advice and consultation to other agencies in these areas upon
     request.  g. Automated Bibliographic Files and Information Systems.  All
     agencies of USDA, including field installations, should notify the
     Director of the NAL in advance of undertaking studies, surveys, or
     projects to automate bibliographic files or catalogs developed or
     maintained within the agency.

     13.  REFERENCE. a. Within USDA.  The NAL answers requests submitted in
     person, by telephone, by mail, or by electronic means for information in
     the field of agriculture or the related sciences which can be secured
     from published materials or relevant data bases...  Outside USDA.  The
     NAL responds to requests submitted in person, by telephone, by mail or
     by electronic means in the fields of agriculture or the related sciences
     if the requestor is not able to obtain the information from local
     resources.

It is necessary to review the policy documents cited above at this time
because we need to be reminded that NAL's mission to acquire and disseminate
agricultural information should not be limited to tangible products.  Even
these old policy statements include mention of "advanced information
technology" and "electronic means."  A clear pronouncement concerning
electronic and other technologically-advanced, nonpaper formats is necessary
to legitimize the increased time necessary to develop new processing
procedures.


Acquiring by Purchase

Criteria for the acquisition of electronic publications should be no less
demanding than those for traditional media.  Electronic publications should be
acquired as vigorously and according to the same strict criteria as
publications in traditional media.  Ordering and paying for electronic
publications should be essentially the same as for hard copy.  At present,
there are no criteria established to clarify decision making when a
publication appears in multiple formats.

Basic on-site/off-site access issues should be resolved, before the problem is
in hand, in order (a) to acquire the information medium best suited for users;
and (b) to streamline processing/transferring the electronic publication file
after receipt.  Expertise in lease and purchase agreements, documentation,
warranties, licensing agreements, and copyright laws should be identified and
responsibility assigned.  There is a need to determine what additional
equipment/other resources would be required to accommodate sources such as
ALF/Internet if they are used to announce the existence of electronic files
and/or the bibliographic information to record them in ISIS. 


Acquiring by Exchange

The Gift & Exchange Unit (G&E) of the Acquisitions & Serials Branch
administers the Exchange Program which includes approximately 5,000 foreign
governmental agencies, organizations, and societies.  This program uses the
Department of Agriculture Series Available on an Exchange Basis from the
Exchange Program of the National Agricultural Library  (August 1993) as the
basis for an title-for-title exchange.  Potential electronic publications on
the list include Agricultural Libraries Information Notes (ALIN) and
Bibliographies and Literature of Agriculture which contains QBs, SRBs, and
other NAL-published items.

Production of ALIN and/or QBs/SRBs in electronic format would affect
approximately 90% of the nearly 5,000 exchange partners.  Based on a recent
G&E survey related to the offering of Extension Review on CD-ROM, it is
believed that the Library could lose the majority of foreign titles currently
exchanged for NAL hardcopy publications.  There is also the possibility that
exchange partners would merely select another title from the list, but that is
not likely to any significant degree.  In any event, it is believed that few
exchange partners would be able to accommodate electronic formats.


Acquiring Via the GPO Depository Library Program

While the GPO Depository Library Program (which includes land-grant and 1890s
institutions) is administered by the Acquisitions & Serials Branch, requests
for the publication (i.e., printing) of NAL materials for distribution through
the Depository Library Program are handled by NAL's Public Affairs Office. 
GPO currently offers all NAL series in paper format (except for an AWIC series
which GPO provides only in microfiche).

There are two possible scenarios for issuing a single QB on a floppy disk or
CD-ROM.

1.   A.   GPO's distribution activities remain unchanged for the present.

          During an extra selection survey conducted by GPO late last year,
          Depository Libraries were offered the series "Miscellaneous
          Electronic Products."  If a QB were only offered in electronic
          format (no paper equivalent), it would be distributed to
          Depository Libraries that selected the "Miscellaneous Electronic
          Products" series.  This distribution is not equivalent to the
          distribution for paper QBs, since not all Depository Libraries can
          accommodate electronic materials.  To complicate the issue, GPO
          would receive claims for the "missing paper QB," which could be
          tracked with some difficulty (that is, if NAL had made notes in
          the electronic QB that it is number "X" in the QB series, and/or
          issued a general notice to all selecting Depository Libraries of
          the paper series that a specific issue was in electronic format). 
          (If all QBs were issued in electronic format, (1) GPO would change
          the series format to "electronic" and possibly assign a new ID
          number to the QB series; OR (2) GPO would, itself, select a format
          other than the NAL original, such as fiche, in which to distribute
          the QB.)

     B.   An agency, other than GPO, is designated by the Joint Committee on
          Printing (JCP) to distribute electronic products published by
          Government agencies.

          Although this alternative has been suggested, it is only one of
          several recommended revisions to the responsibilities of the
          Government Printing Office.  Adoption of this alternative would
          require the JCP to write new procedures for the distribution of
          electronic products produced by agencies of the Federal
          Government.

2.   A.   USDA Public Affairs officers recently received an announcement of
          a new statutory provision from the Joint Committee on Printing. 
          Official interpretation of Public Law 203-392, Sec. 207 by the JCP
          requires that "printing and related services must be obtained,
          with very few   exceptions. exclusively through the U.S.
          Government Printing  Office (GPO).  This restriction includes not
          only procurement from commercial contractors, but also procurement
          from other government organizations. Departments and agencies are
          allowed to obtain small, emergency non-repetitive printing
          requirements costing not more than $1,000 from other sources only
          if the  public Printer certifies that GPO cannot provide the work
          more economically.  In such cases, GPO offices will provide a
          waiver...."

          "Printing," as defined in this law, "means the process of
          composition, platemaking, presswork, silk screen processes,
          binding, microform, and the end items of such processes." 
          According to this definition of "printing," a floppy disk or CD-
          ROM would not need to be offered to GPO for reproduction.  The
          USDA Office of Public Affairs is awaiting further clarification.



However, if NAL does not use GPO for multiple copies of electronic formats
(and their consequent distribution), the Depository Libraries (including land-
grant and 1890's institutions) are in danger of being bypassed.  In order to
avoid this NAL could work with GPO to determine which Depository Libraries
designated "Miscellaneous Electronic Products" and do the mailing itself or
provide GPO with copies for it to distribute (if, in fact, GPO continues to
distribute any electronic products at all).  GPO is currently in a state of
organizational change.



Indexing

Indexing for AGRICOLA/ISIS does not, at this time, process electronic formats;
because indexing is only performed for hardcopy.  There are (1) no selection
criteria for evaluating electronic products; (2) no hardware/procedures for
accessing electronic products; and (3) no procedures for indexing electronic
products.  

We should be concerned with indexing electronic formats at this time because
in its mission statement (USDA Departmental Regulation, Number 1020-1, March
23, 1990) NAL is charged to "ensure that the RESULTS OF RESEARCH and other
types of agricultural information are RAPIDLY DISSEMINATED to the ultimate
user.  NAL promotes the use of MODERN TECHNOLOGY in support of library and
information activities" (emphasis added).  Electronic formats considered
worthy of acquisition should be made known to the agricultural community for
maximum use of the money and time spent obtaining them, especially if such
products are in core agricultural subjects.

The production of an electronic QB will have an affect on indexing practices. 
As indicated in the List of Journals Indexed in AGRICOLA 1992 the Quick
Bibliography Series is currently indexed cover-to-cover.  To ignore a QB in
electronic format, would create in gap in the series as recorded in ISIS,
AGRICOLA, OCLC, and the various other information products produced from the
data base. (Only the series is cataloged; analytics are not prepared by
Cataloging Branch.)

In order to accommodate the electronic QB the following actions will be
necessary: 

--   Selection criteria will need to be established for electronic formats

--   Hardware or other mechanism/procedure for examining the content of the
     electronic QB will need to be identified and implemented

--   Procedures will need to be written for the INDEXING MANUAL



Cataloging

Many NAL documents in electronic format are already available on Agricultural
Library Forum (ALF).  While the NAL electronic editions have not been
cataloged, the printed editions have indexing or cataloging records in
AGRICOLA and ISIS.  However, those NAL documents issued only in electronic
format have no bibliographic records in AGRICOLA, OCLC or ISIS.  Some NAL
electronic documents on ALF do not have any bibliographic information as part
of the file, i.e. no title, author or institutional information.


The Cataloging Branch adds cataloging-in-publication (C-I-P) bibliographic
records to the NAL documents as part of a WordPerfect file before publication.
This information is printed on the verso of title page for each NAL printed
publication.  The C-I-P record is for the printed edition of the publication
not the electronic version.  This C-I-P information is part of the file that
is transferred to ALF.  Most NAL printed documents are indexed rather than
cataloged.  The indexing records are issued on AGRICOLA and ISIS.


Cataloging of Electronic Documents

The NAL publications in electronic formats can be cataloged using current
procedures and the existing MARC formats.  In order to facilitate the
cataloging process, NAL publication guidelines should require that complete
bibliographic information be provided for each electronic publication.  This
information should include information about revisions, editions and any
related publications.

The current cataloging guidelines require separate records for each form of an
electronic document. The printed edition, floppy disk edition, Internet remote
access edition and local access ALF edition are considered different editions
not multiple versions. If NAL bibliographic series are issued in both
electronic and printed editions, multiple serial records will be required as
well.  The cataloging of these multiple editions will have a impact on the
cataloging of other printed materials. 

A policy on responsibility for cataloging and indexing of electronic documents
is needed for Technical Services Division.  Currently, AGRICOLA records cannot
be updated once they are issued.  Since cataloging records are found in OCLC
as well as AGRICOLA and ISIS, two sources, ISIS and OCLC could be updated to
provide current remote access information for staff and users.   


Check-In

The Serials Control Unit staff are not able to access NAL electronic documents
on ALF at this time.  Serials Control Unit staff do not record NAL electronic
documents as part of the holdings record for NAL serials in ISIS.  Issues of
NAL serials available only in electronic format are not recorded on the ISIS
holdings records. Procedures do not exist for check-in of NAL electronic
documents.  When NAL electronic documents are available on ALF,  procedures do
not exist for PSD to report this information to the Serials Control Unit.   


Document Delivery & Access

The Reference Section and Information Centers (Ref and ICs) currently
distribute the bulk of QBs.  Other sections of the Library distribute SRBs,
the Annual Report, ALIN and other NAL publications.  The Document Delivery
Services Branch (DDSB) provides copies of out-of-print NAL publications from
the collection, including QBs and other NAL publications.  DDSB requires a
standard ILL form, CALS form or AD-245 to complete these transactions.  QBs
are currently distributed free by Ref and ICs and at normal DDSB rates if
filled by DDSB.  No fees are charged by NAL to access QBs from ALF via
telephone.

The committee proposes that historical distribution patterns continue, at
least at the onset of converting QBs primarily to electronic format(s).  Ref
and ICs would fill requests for current QBs and DDSB would fill requests for
older QBs.

Access assistance for electronic QBs by Ref, ICs and DDSB must be handled in a
production-oriented manner, and in a manner which is easy and quick.  At
present Ref or IC staff search for a shelved copy of a QB in order to send it
in response to a written, telephone or walk-in reference inquiry or request
for the specific QB.  Numerous QBs are also distributed at meetings, shows and
exhibits.  DDSB contractor staff simply photocopy out-of-print QBs from a
stacks copy.  This ease of retrieval and delivery should be maintained as much
as is possible.  Receipt, processing, and storing of these documents in an
integrated way on one fast, easily accessible system is crucial.  Speed and
ease of (1) file access via ALF or Internet, (2) transmission to disk, or (3)
printing (as needed) are key requirements.



Proposed Service Levels

1.   Patrons who are not "computer literate" or do not have computers.

     Ref, ICs (or DDSB for older requests) would have to get or print copies
     of the requested publications, or send the document electronically
     (without printing) via a faxboard to the requestor's fax machine. 
     Printing on demand may very well be more expensive than current
     procedures of bulk printing of QBs.  DocuTech and similar systems may
     allow savings, after initial equipment costs are allowed.

2.   Patrons with access to computers but not connected to NAL via
     telecommunications links.

     Ref, ICs (or DDSB for older requests) would need to transfer specific
     file(s) to floppy disk, or provide a mass produced floppy disk to the
     patron.  One possibility would be to load a number of QBs onto one
     diskette and supply patrons with a diskette which contains many QBs. 
     This would reduce staff time to download or copy a file to diskette on
     demand, but would also require diligence to assure that the files on
     distributed diskettes are current.  In such a scenario, the production
     of bulk diskettes could be contracted out, much as the printing of QBs
     is currently done offsite.  There are likely no significant savings, and
     possibly increased expenses in providing disks rather than bulk printed
     QBs.  To prevent viruses from infecting NAL or patron equipment,
     REF/ICB/DDSB would have to use new floppy disks supplied by NAL to send
     the file(s).  NAL would need to provide 5-1/4", 3-1/2", Macintosh, as
     well as density options for disks.  Determining the capabilities of the
     requestor could require significant negotiation.

3.   Patrons with computer, and telecommunications connectivity.

     Ref,  ICs (or DDSB for older requests) could: (1) provide the patron
     with instructions (written, verbal, or electronic file) on how to
     directly access/download the file, or (2) download the file and send it
     using Internet or FTS2000mail.  Direct patron access produces savings in
     terms of distribution, but will likely have higher costs (staff) in the
     areas of user support and system maintenance.


Philosophically, it may be important to continue to provide free QBs to
patrons. However staff effort involved in delivery of QBs will greatly
increase during the transition from print QBs to provision of disks to
eventual direct access.  NAL must assess whether it can continue to provide
all QBs without charge and also whether the disparity of providing some free
QBs (in print or current), and some for a fee (QB is in the stacks or
archived) is fair and appropriate.

Additionally,  it is possible that DDSB and contractor staff would not be able
to retrieve archived QBs quickly enough to meet current contract turnaround
times.  The ability to meet this turnaround time depends upon how archived QBs
are accessed (Are they on an unmounted tape or disk?  Or are they mounted in a
less-accessible location/system?).  Different times might be necessary and
DDSB will need to amend the document delivery contract to accommodate
electronic document delivery.  It is current DDSB procedure to use the printed
version of a document over other formats (e.g., microfilm) unless the printed
version is in poor condition.  It seems reasonable that this policy should be
modified to provide electronic format over print, if available, and easy to
do/use.

Where documents are loaded and whether they are directly accessible to patrons
is important.  NAL would be able to perform tasks at the least expense and
greatest ease in the long term if publications are available via ftp
(Internet), e-mail file request, or other dial-up access that patrons can
access directly.  Until compatible alternatives exist for QBs, ALF should
continue to house and provide electronic access to QBs for dial-up patrons. 
Dial-up capability (ALF) must be better publicized in the short term, while
NAL moves toward Internet/ftp and any alternative dial-up system capabilities.



On-site Patron Use/Reader Service/DCRC Service     

Ref and ICs distribute QBs to onsite patrons.  Other Library offices
distribute other NAL publications to onsite patrons (SRBs, Annual Report,
ALIN, newsletters, etc.).  Library staff refer onsite patrons to Ref or the
appropriate IC to obtain QBs.  Library staff also refer patrons with reference
questions (some answered with a QB) to Ref or an IC.  Ref/IC staff provide
free QBs to patrons, regardless of patron status.


If the QB is out-of-print and bound Reference copies are not useable,
Circulation (DDSB) staff retrieve the QB for the patron, using the stacks
contract Reader service.  If the QB is retrieved from the stacks
(out-of-print), the patron then takes the QB to either a USDA employee copier
(free) or a public copier (10 cents per page) to do their own photocopying.  A
loan can be provided at the Circulation Desk.


Proposed Service Levels

The committee recommends that Ref and ICs continue to provide access to
current electronic QBs, and DDSB should continue to provide access to archived
QBs.  Ref should provide onsite access to patrons via a public workstation. 
This might be more difficult for ICs, as there are so many ICs which are
dispersed throughout the library.

DCRC must be able to provide the same access and service to downtown patrons
as Ref, ICs, and DDSB staff.  DCRC must be able to retrieve electronic QBs for
their patrons, for both current and archived QBs.  DCRC cannot rely on NAL
staff to provide
electronic QBs for DCRC patrons. 

As described above in the Document Delivery & Access section,  patrons will
have a variety of computer capabilities and expectations.  The Ref/ICs/DCRC
workstations will need to be easy to use, fairly self-explanatory, and fast in
retrieval and printing/downloading. Ref/ICs/DCRC/DDSB staff would provide
assistance in determining the format required by a patron.

Alternatively, NAL could provide mass produced diskettes or printed copies of
QBs (as described in the Document Delivery & Access section above).   This
activity would increase costs, at least initially.

In all cases, the patron should not be permitted to use their own diskette in
NAL equipment.  This is to protect against virus contamination of NAL
computers.  If patrons want to download a QB to a diskette, Ref, IC, DDSB and
DCRC must be able to provide blank, formatted diskettes (5-1/4", 3-1/2", Mac)
at public service access point(s).  This might be handled through a diskette
vending machine (if available).
A fee structure would need to be established for printing from a PC, if NAL
chooses to charge for printing electronic QBs via PC.  Could a vendacard be
used?  It would be best if the card was the same vendacard as that used to
photocopy.  Billing mechanisms might need to be developed (NTIS?) if vending
machines are not an option.  Circulation and Ref/IC staff do not handle cash
from patrons at present.

It is possible that DDSB and contractor staff would not be able to retrieve
archived QBs quickly enough to meet current contract turnaround times (20
minutes for retrieval of a publication from the stacks).  The ability to meet
this turnaround time depends upon how archived QBs are accessed (Are they on
an unmounted tape or disk?  Or are they mounted in a less-accessible
location/system?).  Different times could be necessary and DDSB would need to
amend the document delivery contract to accommodate electronic document
delivery for Reader service for older QBs.

Where documents are loaded and whether they are directly accessible to patrons
is important.  NAL would be able to perform tasks at the least expense and
greatest ease in the long term if publications are available in a way that any
patron can access directly.  ALF can provide this function now for electronic
access to QBs for patrons.  ALF access to QBs must be more quick and easy for
onsite patrons in the short term, while NAL moves toward higher speed
Internet/NAL network capabilities.

Circulation and Ref/ICs staff currently retrieve QBs and other materials from
the stacks and other parts of NAL based on telephone calls from patrons.  The
materials may be gathered and made available for when a patron arrives. 
Provision of this service should be re-evaluated, and if it is decided to
continue to provide this level of service, the fee structures, billing
mechanisms, and processing routines must be sufficiently flexible to allow NAL
staff to provide the service.  


Storage and Archival Responsibility and Activities

Electronic documents are stored magnetically, therefore, many of the problems
facing preservation of paper products are not a concern. The documents may
easily be copied and stored on an alternative device such as a magnetic tape.
This tape can then be stored at an off-site storage vault. Electronic
documents will have value only in the information they contain and not the
form in which they are printed, as opposed to printed publications which have
value because of the type of paper or style and quality of binding used. 


Additional General Comments

--   There will be no reduction in the number of printed copies until there
     is access to Internet.

--   The cost of printing QBs is currently estimated at $1.00 per copy for an
     average size, average run.  Costs of printing using laser printer is
     estimated at 10 cents per page, plus staff time.

--   There are some materials which are not suited (at this time) for this
     kind of handling, either because of length, graphics, or topic.

--   While there are materials which can be "printed in house" (using
     PageMaker, Ventura, Word Perfect) if the primary
     publication/distribution mechanism is electronic, printing "in house" is
     not permitted.

--   If we want to maintain our policy of freedom of access to information to
     everyone, it will take everyone having access to electronic means of
     communication, before we can cease printing completely. 

--   It will be feasible to fold updates into 'old' versions. but will
     require procedural decisions.

--   The timeliness of NAL publications will improve if we move to electronic
     publication.

--   A benefit of being on the Internet is the increased public visibility of
     NAL. The availability of Quick Bibliographies and other NAL publications
     can be announced through various list servers. This can be done at no
     cost to the library and will reach a large number of potential
     electronic patrons.

--   With the advent of documents produced electronically the need for shelf
     space to store publications will decrease. Archive tapes can contain
     many documents and be stored in a very small amount of space.  

--   Computer security will have to be an ever important concern when more
     dependence is placed on electronic documents. Proper safeguards must be
     in place to guard against viruses and computer hackers. This is true
     especially when connected to the Internet and users are accessing our
     files. 

--   Backups of files are also very important. Any documents that might be of
     lasting value would need to be backed up and stored at a secure off-site
     location.
--   Physical security must also be a concern. Employees must keep alert to
     strangers in office areas. Guards must watch for unauthorized removal of
     equipment from the building. No one should be allowed to remove
     equipment without written permission. There must be strict control over
     access using card keys. With the proliferation of media such as CDs
     there needs to be some mechanism in place to deter theft. 


Overview for the Long Term

Eventually it will make sense for NAL publications to be available only in
electronic form. They could be accessible through GOPHER or WAIS.  Print
copies could be provided on demand.  In the future it may also be possible to
have graphics available for some publications such as the NAL annual report.

A gradual migration toward a Unix-based, or other bbs system is possible, if
time is taken to evaluate the options and select an appropriate system.  This
would allow the same equipment to be utilized for the Unix bbs, and concurrent
operation of both systems for a period to allow both operations staff and old
users to learn and adjust to a new operating environment. 

It is also important to realize that if another operating system for NAL's bbs
is selected, considerable staff time will be required for training operations
staff, end-users, and other NAL staff.  The value of having an alternative
system in operation while this training/learning takes place cannot be
over-emphasized.





                         Members of the Committee

                             Jane Gates, Chair

                            Kathleen Dougherty
                              Karl Schneider
                                Ed Warnicke
                               Ruth Wertman
                                Tanner Wray







      CHAPTER 7  -  Preservation Issues for Optical/Electronic Media


Summary

This Committee was charged with studying issues associated with the
preservation of optical media and the electronic media that accompany them. 
This report attempts to set forth findings and recommendations regarding the
preservation of optical media and associated electronic media.  This charge
has been especially difficult because the longevity of optical media varies
dramatically from one manufacturer to another.  This longevity is still being
tested and evaluated, and standards for monitoring it are only now being
developed.  Another difficulty is the evolving nature of the technology,
because the changes can affect future access.  Disks are not accessible
without hardware and software to read them.

This report is actually just a beginning, a first exploration of the issues. 
In truth, this study can never be finalized.  The very first recommendation is
to establish a Standing Committee on Electronic Preservation which can
continue to study, plan, and develop the issues involved.  The main body of
this report is organized around the following eight topics:  Preservation
strategy; Processing; Storage; User access; Licensing and copyright;
Cooperative agreements; Disk  production; and Security.

The Committee modeled its preservation strategy for optical media after the
1992 draft plan from the Library of Congress (Smith, et al., 1992), although
it focused on optical disks while the Library of Congress was concerned with
all electronic media. 


Recommendations

1.   Establish a Standing Committee on Electronic Preservation which can
     continue to study these issues and proceed with preservation planning
     and policy development.

2.   Hire a Preservation Officer who is knowledgeable about preservation
     issues and techniques for electronic materials as well as traditional
     media.  Establish a Preservation Unit, headed by the Preservation
     Officer.

3.   Develop and implement a Preservation Plan for NAL, to include a long-
     range preservation strategy for optical media.  Review and update the
     Plan as needed.  Plan to migrate to new technologies, as needed.

4.   Establish an Electronic Media Center (EMC)  for use and storage of
     optical and other electronic media, and staffed by knowledgeable
     professionals.  Designate all other optical disk  demonstration and use
     areas (the Information Centers, D.C. Reference Center, Software
     Demonstration Center, and others) as satellite EMC s, for purposes of
     policies and practices.

5.   Conduct staff training, at appropriate levels, in preservation, storage,
     care, and handling of optical disks.

6.   Establish five Preservation Categories, based on the level of effort to
     be expended on preserving an item (Minimal, Moderate, Great,
     Extraordinary, and Preserve At All Cost).  Reserve Category 5 for NAL-
     produced optical disks that contain the Library's only copy of the
     publications.  Assign each optical disk  to an appropriate Category.

7.   Change the processing procedures for acquired optical disks to
     facilitate preservation efforts.

8.   Make an archival copy of each preservation-level optical disk  acquired
     for the collection, while it is in pristine condition.  Duplicate all
     accompanying materials.

9.   Focus on the information, not on the medium:  Develop methods for
     transferring the information intact to another medium (migrating) or
     republishing the information in another form on a new medium
     (harvesting), when the condition of the current medium warrants it. 
     Migration and harvesting of information will become easier in the
     future, as standards and practices evolve.  Such transferring of data is
     the key to any electronic preservation strategy, since it is the only
     way, at present, to adapt to technological change.

10.  Implement processing changes as part of implementing this preservation
     strategy, including product check and testing, assignment of disks to
     Preservation Categories, archival copying of Category 3 and 4 products,
     and cataloging and indexing individual publications on Category 5 disks. 
     These changes should be phased in as staffing levels permit, and they
     need to be widely publicized to NAL staff, so that all staff are aware
     of them, understand them, and participate fully.

11.  Establish an environmentally controlled archival storage facility,
     either on-site or offsite, for the storage and maintenance of archival
     copies of disks.  The archival facility should be accessible only to
     Preservation Staff.

12.  Develop criteria and establish a monitoring process for regular review
     of optical disks as to preservation status and functionality.  Develop
     criteria for monitoring and dealing with hardware and software
     obsolescence.

13.  Begin immediately to implement storage and use practices that will
     prolong the lifespan of optical disks and protect them from damage or
     theft, including storing and using each disk  in its own caddy; storing
     all parts of an optical package together; accessing disks through
     lockable drives, towers, jukeboxes, or a network; and using tattletape
     or other anti-theft devices on disks.

14.  Design and implement a disaster plan for NAL to prevent loss of the
     collection, including optical disks.

15.  Cooperate with the Library of Congress (LC) and the National Library of
     Medicine (NLM) in negotiating license agreements on optical disks that
     will facilitate preservation.  Work with vendors to negotiate archiving
     options.

16.  Work with a permanent legal council to monitor changes in any applicable
     laws and provide advice in negotiating with vendors.

17.  Develop a fee structure for document delivery from optical disks,
     perhaps using the income for preservation activities.

18.  As an outgrowth of work with LC and NLM, establish cooperative efforts
     with other interested libraries to avoid duplication of effort, minimize
     the costs of preservation, and increase library bargaining power on
     licensing and other agreements affecting preservation.

19.  Create a Union List of Optical Media of the cooperating libraries,
     indicating preservation level and responsibility.

20.  Develop, support, and use disk  production standards that will permit
     preservation and access well into the future, and encourage their
     adherence by others, including our disk  vendors.

21.  Develop and implement practices that enhance the security of the
     collection by limiting damage and theft.  Install a security system at
     NAL.


Current Situation

It is clear from the literature that more and more information is going to be
stored and made available in digital form, and that optical disks will play a
major role in this revolution.  It is important that libraries, and especially
the national libraries, be prepared to meet the challenges posed by this
technology, and to take advantage of the opportunities it brings.  This report
is meant as a first exploration of the issues affecting the preservation of
optical disks.

The study began with a literature search (see Bibliography), which revealed
the sparseness of available data.  A list of issues and questions that needed
to be addressed was developed and the issues/questions were organized into
eight separate sections or areas of consideration.  The eight sections are:

     1.   Preservation strategy

     2.   Processing issues

     3.   Storage strategy

     4.   User access issues

     5.   Licensing and copyright issues

     6.   Cooperative agreements

     7.   Disk  production issues

     8.   Security issues

Answers to questions have been provided where it was possible to do so, and
areas where further study and planning are needed have been identified.  It is
essential to stress that the changing nature of the technology will require a
preservation plan that can change and evolve as well.  This is a study that
can never be finalized.

Some members of this Committee would like to add a cautionary note.  The
production of optical disks is still a fledgling technology, and their
archival potential is somewhat unproven.  Therefore, while the members feel
comfortable making recommendations that will enhance the preservation of
optical disks, we do not believe that optical technology should be relied upon
as the sole means of preserving NAL's collection of hardcopy materials.  At
this point, microfilm, with its proven longevity and increasing quality, looks
like a safer choice for that purpose.


Preservation Strategy

NAL needs to develop a long-range preservation strategy for optical disks as
part of an overall Preservation Plan for the entire collection.  Once
developed, the Preservation Plan must be implemented.  

For optical disks, the Library of Congress draft plan, Computer Files Steering
Committee, Sub-committee IV: Preservation of Computer File Materials - Report,
(Smith, et al., 1992) should be used as a model.  This draft plan will be
referred to frequently throughout this report as "the LC Report".

The optical disk  strategy should include establishment of an EMC for use and
storage of optical and other electronic media.  Information Centers and the
D.C. Reference Center which need their own copies of optical disks would be
designated as Satellite EMC s, and would be bound by the same guidelines
established for the Main EMC .  Archival copies of disks would be stored in a
separate, environmentally controlled area, the "Archival Storage Facility",
either on or off site.  A staff of knowledgeable preservation professionals
should oversee and control both the EMC s and the archival operation.  This
staff should include a Preservation Officer, a Conservator, a computer
specialist, and two technicians, at a minimum.

The main EMC  should be operated by a staff of at least one computer
specialist and at least two librarians trained in the operation of a high-
technology computer center.  All the staff of the EMC s should be given
special training in the preservation, care, and handling of optical media. 
All NAL staff will need to be trained in proper processing, handling, and
storage techniques for optical disks.  

Preservation, Collection Development, and Acquisitions staff must work
together to determine what can/must/should be preserved, setting priorities
based upon criteria such as value to the collection, historical value, user
and scholarship requirements, and other criteria, to be determined.  The LC
Report recommends that all machine-readable materials being added to the
collection be assigned to one of four preservation categories, based on the
level of effort to be expended (minimum, moderate, great, and extraordinary). 
This Committee would add a fifth preservation category.  Category 5 would be
reserved for inhouse-produced optical or electronic media containing NAL's
only copy of the included materials; i.e., materials converted to digital form
for the purpose of miniaturization.  The five NAL preservation categories
would then be:

     Minimum;  Moderate;  Great;  Extraordinary;  Preserve At All Cost


Preservation Time-frame for Optical Disks

Computer developments can be expected over the next 20 to 50 years that will
make electronic preservation easier.  Trends in this direction can already be
seen in the intense interest in standards and interoperability, and the
development of more durable, reliable products.  Libraries, archives, and
other interested organizations must work together to ensure that new
technologies are developed to deal with the problems of preserving electronic
information.  NAL must PLAN for "all eternity", but many of the problems being
struggled with today will probably be solved within the next 50 years.

One "problem" that will only get worse is the growing amount of electronic
information that must be handled, stored, and made accessible.  Much of this
information will be more complex because of the growing popularity of
multimedia.  Holographic storage and virtual reality products are just around
the corner.  This is where our attention, planning, and effort should be
directed:  Developing strategies for handling a growing and more complex
electronic collection.


The Medium or the Information?

Primarily, NAL's focus should be on the information, and on developing methods
of transferring it intact to another medium (migrating) or republishing it in
another form on a new medium (harvesting) as the technology changes.  The
medium, in most cases, should be preserved only as long as it is supported by
available hardware.

In cases where the information is encrypted or otherwise cannot be
migrated/harvested, the medium itself must be preserved for as long as
possible.  An area should be set aside in the main EMC  for older equipment to
access these products, until the medium can no longer function or it is
dropped from the NAL collection.  Libraries cannot be responsible for
maintaining obsolete equipment indefinitely; but as long as the hardware can
be maintained at a cost we are willing to incur, it should be maintained.

Migration and harvesting of information is expected to become easier in the
future, as standards and practices evolve.  As a national library, NAL should
encourage and support the use of standards, and assist in their development. 
(See further discussion below)  Even so, criteria will have to be established
for determining which optical products should be migrated or harvested and
which should not, as this could be an expensive undertaking.


Processing Issues

Changes Needed

Processing issues are being studied in-depth by another Committee.  This
Committee makes the following recommendations because they are of special
interest in terms of preservation:

A.   During processing, include a product check for completeness, good
     working order, and compatibility with NAL equipment, to be carried out
     on all products that will be part of the collection.  Such a product
     check is recommended by the LC Report.  Working tools that are not part
     of the collection should be checked by whoever requests them.

B.   After review, assign every product to one of five Preservation
     Categories (Minimum, Moderate, Great, Extraordinary, Preserve At All
     Cost) as described in Section A of Part II.  Note this Preservation
     Category in the cataloging record for the product, and update it if it
     changes.

     Criteria need to be developed for making this categorization.  Such
     criteria might include relevance to the collection; quality and content;
     long-term or historical value; ability to be maintained, migrated, or
     harvested.  Category assignments must be periodically reviewed, and
     changed when necessitated by changes in NAL priorities or in the
     condition of the product.

C.   Cataloging records should continue to contain a location code for every
     product.  If the product changes location (e.g., moving from DCRC to
     NAL), the location code in ISIS should be updated.  Procedures need to
     be put in place for doing this, and NAL staff that handle electronic
     media need to be educated about these procedures.

D.   Cataloging records should also specify the electronic medium of the
     product (CD-ROM; Videodisc; 9-track tape; Audio tape; etc.)  This
     information would be useful to users and staff alike, and would allow us
     to track the relative usage of electronic products, rate of growth or
     decline in collecting them, and other types of data.

E.   The LC Report recommends making an archival copy of every electronic
     product that is acquired for the collection, while that product is still
     in pristine condition.  If a direct, same-medium copy cannot be made,
     the information is to be migrated to a different medium.  The archival
     copy is then to be stored in an environmentally controlled archival
     area, along with a copy of the documentation and any magnetic media that
     accompany it.  At some point in the future, NAL will have to migrate or
     harvest the digital information on all preservation-level electronic
     media.  However, such a practice would be a major undertaking at this
     time for a library the size of NAL, and more study is needed on this
     approach to electronic preservation before it can be implemented. 
     Optical media are not as fragile as some of the other electronic media
     and, with proper handling, most will outlast the equipment they run on. 
     (This definitely cannot be said for 9-track tape, floppy disks, and
     other magnetic media, however!)  Equipment and staff costs for copying
     hundreds of optical disks may simply be out of our funding range.  We
     would recommend copying or migrating Category 3 and 4 disks as a
     beginning, and possibly moving on to copying all disks at some time in
     the future.

     If the technology to copy or migrate disks is not available at NAL, the
     library may have to rely on private companies to migrate the data to a
     different format.  If migration is permitted by the licensing agreement,
     transfer could be done upon receipt and/or processing of the material
     into the collection.  NAL should establish procedures and a new unit to
     perform this function.

     Another obstacle to copying or migrating disks is that many of our
     current license agreements do not permit it.  On this issue, the LC
     Report recommends changes in the licenses to permit archival copying. 
     This Committee heartily endorses this approach to licensing, and
     encourages NAL to join the Library of Congress in its efforts.  Even if
     we cannot afford to copy optical disks now, we must have the right to do
     so in the future if we deem it necessary.  See Section E of Part II for
     an in-depth discussion of Licensing Issues.

F.   Working tools should be differentiated from reference materials that are
     part of the collection.  Working tools should be cataloged in ISIS, with
     a location code, but they should not be included in AGRICOLA, as they
     are not usually available to patrons.  Working tools should not be given
     high priority in terms of preservation.

G.   Whether or not other Committees recommend cataloging and indexing the
     individual publications on optical disks, publications on Category 5
     disks must be cataloged and/or indexed, as though they were on paper. 
     (There no Category 5 disks at present.)

     These processing changes should be phased in gradually, as staffing
     levels permit.


Publicizing the Processing Procedures

Developing good processing procedures is a waste unless the NAL staff are made
fully aware of them and the reasons behind them.  General seminars and
training sessions should be provided.  A manual containing the various policy
decisions should be developed and made widely available to the staff.  One
problem identified during the review of current policies was simply
determining what they are, because they are not gathered into one place.  In
some cases, even the staff responsible for implementing a policy did not seem
to know what the official policy was.


Storage Strategy


Environmentally Controlled Storage Area(s)

Optical disks and their associated electronic media are extremely fragile as
compared to paper.  In order to protect and preserve these formats as long as
possible, the Library should establish two areas, one for user services and
one for archival storage.  The original product received from vendors and
other publishers would be stored and made available in the user services area,
and a copy of the product would be stored in the archival area.  The copy
would either be created inhouse under controlled conditions, or would be an
extra original received from the vendor for use as an archival copy.

The Library of Congress'  Machine Readable Collections Reading Room (MRCRR)
would be an excellent model for the user services area.  As mentioned above, 
the proposal is to call this the EMC.  The main EMC would be the primary
repository for user copies of optical disks, and the satellite EMC s would
hold disks pertinent to their specialized subjects.  All the EMC s would be
considered one area in terms of policies and practices.

Both the archival and the user areas should provide environments designed to
meet the long term storage requirements of optical and magnetic media,
although the standards for the archival area should be more tightly enforced.

The archival area could be located within the NAL building, on the property
surrounding NAL, or at an    off-site facility -- perhaps in rented space. 
Whatever site is chosen must have environmentally sound conditions and
knowledgeable and reliable staff.  If a commercial vendor is chosen, that
vendor should specialize in preservation storage.

Special archival storage reserved only for archival materials is needed for
two reasons:

A.   Archival area access should be limited to assigned staff for security
     reasons.

B.   Traffic going in and out of the archival area could cause environmental
     conditions to fluctuate.


The environment best suited for the long term storage of optical media is
identical to that required for the long term storage of magnetic media, as
well as paper-based materials.  Therefore, investing in an archival area would
benefit all preservation activities at NAL.


Environmental Parameters

Environmental parameters that affect long-term storage include the following:   

A.   Temperature should be between 62.6o F and 68o F.

B.   Humidity should be between 30% and 40%.

C.   The temperature and humidity should remain at a constant level.

D.   There should be no airborne particulate matter.

E.   There should be no airborne gases, including ozone and organic
     compounds.

F.   Storage on untreated wooden shelves should be avoided because the "off-
     gas" peroxides and fumes may have negative chemical effects.

G.   Storage areas should be free of smoke and food.

H.   Materials should be stored upright, not in a horizontal position.

I.   Light may also be an issue - this factor should be investigated.

J.   Staff should be specially trained in the proper techniques for handling
     stored materials.


Survival Measures in the Event of a Disaster

A.   NAL should design and implement a disaster plan.

B.   A fire extinguishing system that uses a gas which is not harmful to
     magnetic media should be installed in the archival area.

C.   Multiple archival copies of non-copyrighted materials should be stored
     at multiple locations, preferably in different areas around the country.

     There are two ways to provide multiple storage locations.  The first is
     for NAL to rent or build multiple sites and provide staff to store and
     maintain these archival collections.  The second is to develop
     cooperative agreements with other libraries to provide storage for our
     collections, perhaps in return for providing storage for the collections
     of our cooperators.


Different Strategies for "Archival" Versus "User" Copies?

Yes, user copies must be stored in an easily accessible but secure area, and
they may be stored in several different places within the Library.  All user
copies should be stored and used in caddies, which means a sufficient supply
of caddies must be purchased, and replace CD-ROM players that do not require
caddies with players that do.

In order to assure the maximum life of materials stored in the user storage
areas, NAL must provide an environment appropriate for the long term storage
of optical media.  The standards applied to the archival area should be
adopted in the user areas as closely as possible.

If user copies of regularly requested disks are damaged or otherwise become
unusable,  new user copies will have to be created from the archival copy,
especially if the disks are no longer available from the publisher. 
(Infrequently used disks could be created on an as-needed basis.) 
Preservation without access is pointless, and it is obvious that careful
handling and storage of our user copies will reduce our preservation costs in
the long run.




Storage of the Materials that Accompany Disks

Materials, such as documentation or floppy disks, that accompany an optical
disk  should be stored in a container along with the optical disk .  The
container should be made of archival quality materials and constructed
especially for this purpose.  The container should be carefully labeled so
that there is no doubt about which disk  is associated with which container
and its contents.  This is especially important when disks are left
"permanently" mounted on a network or in a jukebox, separated from their
accompanying materials.

Store the original of all accompanying materials with the user copy, which is
the original, of the disk .  If the disk  is mounted on a network or other
server, where multiple users may need access to the same documentation, these
materials will have to be stored in a central area in carefully marked
containers.

A copy of the materials must definitely be stored with the archival copy of
the disk  as well.  Long-term usability depends upon these materials being
available.  An ideal situation would be to have all the documentation and
associated software on the optical disk  itself.  (See the discussion on Disk 
Production Issues, for further discussion.)


Longevity of Optical Media

According to the literature on this subject, the lifespan of optical media
varies from a few years to one-hundred years.  The 3M Company is marketing an
optical disk  they claim has a lifespan of six hundred years.  The usual
lifespan claim seems to be around twenty-five years.  No conclusive
information in the literature was found on this issue, and further evidence
will be needed.  It is known, however, that lifespan will vary according to
materials and techniques used to create the media and the environments in
which they are stored.

More conclusive information may be on the way.  According to a recent article
(Moore, 1993) in Federal Computer Week, the National Institute of Standards
and Technology is examining the use of CD-ROM as a long-term archival medium,
and the National Archives and Records Administration is planning to issue
guidelines on optical storage in the near future.

The lifespan of materials that may be associated with an optical disk  is
better known.  Magnetic media last from five to ten years.  Buffered papers
can last for several hundred years, and even wood pulp-based paper can last
much longer than ten years.


Determining When an Optical Disk  is Becoming Unreadable 

There are three ways of determining whether a disk  is becoming unreadable: 
Its physical appearance (scratches, dirt, warping); testing the number of
errors that occur when an attempt is made to read the data on the disk ; and
unsuccessful attempts to use the disk .  Procedures for testing and monitoring
readability will have to be determined by the Preservation Staff.  Patrons,
through normal usage, may identify problems as they arise.

The following criteria could be used to measure the readability of disks:

A.   If a disk  has been physically damaged it should be replaced.

B.   If it is dirty, it should be cleaned and tested by other means, since
     dirt can damage the surface of an optical disk .

C.   Disks could be tested on a regular basis for read errors and rate of
     oxidation, although equipment for doing so is still expensive.  The
     staff could formulate canned searches and run them at set intervals for
     diagnostic purposes.  If the number of errors exceeds the advertised
     reliability level, a new copy should be made from the archival disk . 
     If an archival disk  goes bad, a copy should be made from another
     archival disk  or from a user disk , if a reliable one is available. 
     NAL will need to acquire whatever software and/or hardware is required
     to do this testing.

D.   A checklist of problems should be developed and used by both patrons and
     staff.

     Monitoring archival disks is more important that monitoring user disks,
     since the archival copies are intended for very long-term storage, and
     user copies can be made from archival copies.  However, user copies
     should also be monitored to ensure that resources are available for
     patrons and to determine if problems are occurring in the environment or
     being caused by user damage.

     The preservation staff should be responsible for monitoring archival
     disks.  In the user area, staff could be trained to perform the required
     tests.


Equipment and Staffing Needs

Immediate acquisition of the following equipment and supplies for:

     1.   Copying from one optical disk  to another

     2.   Copying accompanying magnetic media

     3.   Copying associated hard copy documentation


 Other equipment, such as that for monitoring oxidation of the disk 
substrate, should be planned for the future.  Preservation Staff should make
all copies of disks.  The number of staff will need to be determined when we
have a feel for demand.



Obsolescence Issues

The technological lifespan of optical and any electronic media and its
associated hardware and software are a major issue that does not exist when
considering preservation of paper or microfilm materials.  Computer hardware
and software are both changing at a rapid rate, with new versions of each
coming out on a regular basis.  In addition, technologies will come and go,
and we will probably not be able to use many of the technologies of today in
the future.  Certainly, parts for the hardware will no longer be manufactured,
and old software will eventually not work on new machines.

What this means is that we may not be able to retrieve information stored on
optical media in 25 years, and this will almost certainly be a problem in 100
years.

To deal with hardware obsolescence, the more important parts of the collection
must be migrated to new technologies.  The items to be migrated will be the
higher level classes in the categorization scheme, Categories 3, 4, and 5. 
Archival copies of disks will be migrated when newer technologies become the
standard.  This is why it is so important to assign disks to Preservation
Categories --  to put maximum effort toward preserving the most important
materials.

The hardware for optical media in Categories 1 and 2 will need to be preserved
as long as those applications are being used or until the hardware can no
longer be maintained.  At that point, the optical media will be removed from
the collection.

Planning to use the resources of any organizations that take responsibility
for preserving obsolete technologies may be one answer.  We do not know of any
such organizations at the present time, but at least one center needs to be
established.


Migrating or Harvesting Data

Decisions need to be made about what will be migrated or harvested, and what
will not.  That is the purpose of categorizing the collection of electronic
materials.  The Library will not be able to afford to migrate/harvest
everything.

If the latest standards are used when producing our own disks, and purchase
materials produced using standards,  migrating to new technologies or
harvesting and republishing the information will be much easier.  NAL needs to
work with other libraries and with vendors to push them to "standardize" their
products.

The main obstacle to migration is cost.  It could take many staff hours to
migrate even one application.  By using standards for data, text, and images,
we would have the best chance of being able to migrate large numbers of
applications using the same conversion procedures and programs.  If all else
fails, we would be able to harvest the information and republish it using more
current software or programs.  Still, this will be an expensive undertaking,
unless some dramatic changes take place within the next 20 years.


User Access Issues

Off-site and On-site Access

On-site

For on-site patrons, Reference Branch staff currently provides access to
CD-ROM materials, but not other optical media, such as the 12-inch disks. 
Access to these is provided by the Software Demonstration Center (SDC) staff. 
This Committee recommends the establishment of an Electronic Materials Reading
Room (EMC ), as mentioned above, for the storage and use of all electronic
media.  The Information Centers and the D.C. Reference Center should continue
to serve their clientele, acting as satellite EMC s.


Off-site

Presently, NAL is not equipped to handle off-site (remote) access to optical
media.  At this time, off-site access to publications on optical media is
limited to interlibrary loan requests.  Much support from ISD and/or private
contractors may be necessary to plan and implement access procedures.  This
will become a more important issue within the next 5 to 10 years, as use of
the Internet grows.  However, at this time we recommend that limited funds be
used to establish better on-site access.

The specific items that will be needed for better on-site, and for off-site,
access include the following:

A.   PC equipment, high resolution full-page monitors for graphics, LAN
     hardware and software, peripherals - purchase of additional stations to
     accommodate more users.

B.   Workstation furniture - purchase ergonomically designed chairs, desks,
     etc.

C.   Communications software - ensure compatibility with the software used by
     off-site patrons.

D.   Internet link - install connection points throughout the Library.

E.   Space for additional workstations and for the EMC , with a secure
     storage area.

F.   Patron education - existing staff may provide personal instruction or
     employ cheat sheets or user guides, but how will off-site patrons
     receive help?  Rely on help screens on particular disks?  Can NAL create
     front-end generic or specific help screens for dial access users?

G.   DDSB staff will need to be trained to assist with access and provide
     document delivery from optical media.  As the volume of requests
     increases, an amendment to the DDSB contract will be necessary. 
     Supplies (paper, toner, etc.) will need to be purchased and kept in
     stock, or provision will have to be made to delivery electronic
     documents over the Internet.

H.   Security - who is liable for damage to the disks or systems?  Will
     passwords be assigned to dial access users to guard against unauthorized
     use?  Who will monitor this?  Will security devices such as Tattletape
     be used to deter theft?

I.   For off-site access, the "system" should be available around the clock.

J.   Software has been developed to monitor the number of users on the system
     (e.g. Direct Access Network) and should be purchased by NAL if the disks
     are mounted on a network.  Some license agreements limit the number of
     simultaneous users.


Special Equipment for Handling

Equipment to facilitate proper care and use of optical media must be
purchased, including caddies for all CD-ROMs in use at NAL, and CD-ROM players
that require use of caddies and which can be locked.  When funding permits,
lockable CD-ROM towers or jukeboxes should be purchased and/or CD-ROMs should
be accessible over a LAN, so that disks can be handled as infrequently as
possible and will be protected from theft.


Storage of User Copies

If NAL continues to use standalone workstations for making CD-ROMs available
to the public, the disks should be stored in a secure but accessible area,
each in its own caddy, as is currently done at the Reference Desk.  Access by
the public should be the top priority, but some security measures (such as
holding a user's drivers license, affixing tattle tape to the disks) should
also be taken.  The disks should be easy to get from the Reference (or EMC )
staff, and they should be protected from damage and theft -- this will help to
assure access by all the public for as long as possible.

Archival copies should be stored in either a secure area at NAL, away from the
user copies, or at a secure off-site facility.  Access to archival copies
should be restricted to the Preservation Staff, and the disks should be used
only for the creation of user copies, provided that duplication is permitted
by the licensing agreement.

We cannot assure user access to information if only archival copies of disks
are preserved.  If the archival copy is the only one remaining, user copies
should be created as soon as possible for high-demand products, and on an as-
needed basis for low-demand item.  For disks produced outside of NAL, the
licensor or publisher should be encouraged to provide for the replacement of
worn/unusable disks.  The licensing agreement should contain a clause to that
effect.  If the vendor goes out of business or is no longer able to, or
interested in, providing the material, it should be asked to relinquish its
rights so others may continue to preserve and access the information.


Maintenance of Outdated Equipment

NAL could follow recommendations in the LC Report of extensive collecting with
selective archiving, perhaps only for core materials.  If NAL were to develop
cooperative agreements with other libraries, many could share the
responsibility for archiving materials and maintaining outdated equipment.  As
suggested above, a central facility is needed for storage and maintenance of
aging or outdated hardware.

At NAL, a special area could be set aside in the main EMC  for older
equipment.  Outdated equipment should be maintained as long as possible
without incurring huge expenses, but then it should be retired.  The
Preservation Staff should be responsible for deciding when equipment can no
longer be supported, and which affected products should then be migrated to
newer media or dropped from the collection.


User Fees

If the disk  is NAL-produced, or otherwise non-copyrighted, a fee structure
similar to the current structure for photocopying could be instituted for
printing and/or downloading when filling off-site requests.  An additional
charge could be established for an NAL-provided floppy diskette to be retained
by the patron.

NAL will need to determine whether the publishers will demand royalty payments
for each print or download.  Can NAL recoup royalty costs in addition to
regular charges?  Is this permitted under current legislation?  This needs
further study.

Charging patrons for on-site use and remote access will present some
interesting challenges.  For on-site use, if the disk  is NAL-produced, or
otherwise non-copyrighted, the transaction could be treated in a fashion
similar to on-site use of the microforms reader printer, where charges are
waived.  If the disk  is copyrighted and/or the publisher demands royalty
payments, a structure akin to ADONIS or the CARL system could be implemented,
whereby patrons register and are charged accordingly.  This, however, would
involve much staff time and money to develop and implement.  In the absence of
an automated billing system, NAL should not mount those disks which require
royalty payments and those for which license agreements prohibit remote use. 
Some licensing agreements, such as Silver Platter's, expressly forbid
telecommunication access.

At workstations with the capability of printing or downloading documents, the
copyright notice found at NAL's self-service photocopiers should also be
displayed.


Licensing and Copyright Issues

License Agreements on CD-ROMs

NAL should form a consortium with LC and NLM in order to negotiate this issue
with vendors.  Either vendors should supply NAL with an extra copy of the CD-
ROM and all accompanying products, or NAL should be permitted to duplicate the
disk  for archival purposes.  Howard County Public Libraries duplicate disks
for archival purposes after informing vendors that they will not purchase the
vendors' products without this provision in the agreement.  NAL should
emphasize its role as a national library and its interest in ensuring that
agricultural information be preserved.  If such a provision cannot be
negotiated, the vendor should be encouraged to take responsibility for
preserving the material.

NAL and the future consortium should negotiate with vendors to the fullest
possible extent.  There is much concern in the library community that
libraries themselves are signing away their fair use rights by entering into
restrictive licensing agreements.  Two major assumptions are usually made: 
The other party is unwilling to negotiate, and the other party is not
interested in supporting the licensee's objectives.

Another point for negotiation with the respective vendors is the requirement
to return superseded products.  Inclusion of a clause to provide for retention
of superseded products and a clause to permit the transfer of these materials
may drive up the price.  The Library of Congress is currently developing a
policy and negotiating with vendors to retain all superseded disks.  NAL may
wish to consider piggybacking on or copying LC's policy.

The decision to retain or discard the superseded items should be made by the
Preservation Officer and/or the Collection Development Committee, based on
NAL-wide policy.  This decision may have far-reaching ramifications and is too
important to be left up to individual staff members.


Assuring the Archival Copy is Used Only for Preservation

Some form of archival storage, accessible only to Preservation Staff, must be
in place to ensure that the archival disk  is used only for these purposes. 
Off-site storage would involve rental space, and costs, perhaps substantial
over a long period of time, would be incurred.  On-site storage is also a
possibility and might be less expensive.  Materials would need to be kept in a
secure area, and access would be restricted to the Preservation Officer or
other designated individuals.


Copyright Issues

The same copyright rules apply to both print materials and electronic media;
copyright law does not distinguish between formats.  Material published in the
United States is covered by its copyright for 28 years, and if renewed, the
copyright can be extended to 75 years from date of publication.  With software
products, one is generally permitted to create an archival copy, provided that
it is used solely for that purpose and the copy is stored separately.  The
same may hold true for optical media, but this still needs to be determined. 
It is generally held that altering the information or its format is
"conversion", which requires permission of the copyright holder.  However,
"The way copyright law is worded gives much latitude to activities such as
preservation...".  More study, and careful attention paid to legal decisions
in this area, will be required. 

If the data is encrypted, this would not affect the copyright status of a disk
.  However, NAL may not have the resources to convert the disk  to another
medium and may have to rely on the vendor for migration and preservation.  A
policy needs to be established requiring the vendor to state whether the data
is encrypted before an item is purchased.  If it is encrypted, this
information could be noted in the cataloging record.  NAL could make it a
practice to avoid buying encrypted materials whenever possible, and to assign
such products to Category 1 preservation (minimal).


Documentation

Legality of duplication may depend on what is contained in the licensing
agreement.  For example, software packages like MultiMate and Sideways do not
permit duplication of the accompanying manuals.  Silver Platter documentation,
on the other hand, may be duplicated for archival purposes.  NAL should
encourage vendors to permit duplication of the manuals and to place a copy of
the manual in ASCII format on the disk .  For those disks which NAL already
owns, the manual could be digitized and placed on the archival copy.  NAL
should also encourage vendors to place manuals in a standard subdirectory on
the disks.



Cooperative Agreements

Agreements with Other Libraries and Institutions

At a minimum, a committee should be formed with representatives of the three
national libraries to develop a cooperative agreement regarding the collection
of optical media.  Perhaps this could later be expanded into a consortium of
qualified libraries having like standards and collection policies.  Before we
can establish agreements with other institutions, however, NAL needs to
establish or update internal policies regarding the selection, preservation,
use, and dissemination of optical media.


Internal Policies Needing Change

A.   Update the selection policy which covers optical media.  Two areas in
     the current selection policy, entitled Selection Policy - No. 1/Machine
     Readable Materials, need to be modified.  Specifically, A3 - "Generally,
     materials of current and previous three years will be collected."  This
     time limit should be done away with, because electronic materials have
     become a major information source, and a time limit imposes an
     artificial, unnecessary constraint.  In B1 -  "Whether the contents are
     available in printed form as well; whether both are needed or one is
     preferable.  Printed materials are to be preferred unless there are
     significant overriding advantages to the machine-readable form which
     justifies their selection."  This statement should be modified to
     reflect both current practice and common sense.  The policy should not
     favor one medium over the other.  It should consider the advantages of
     each on the basis of NAL space requirements, amount of use, cost,
     accessibility, and user-friendliness.

B.   NAL preservation policy must include a section devoted to preserving
     electronic media.  Staff should be appointed to develop and implement
     this most urgent area.

C.   Document Delivery Service Policy needs to be reviewed and modified if
     required.  Lending compact disks should not be permitted, but the data
     on them could be used for filling interlibrary loans, perhaps using the
     Internet in place of fax or mail.  Here again, further study is needed.


Possible Agreements

The agreements would logically fall into these areas: 

Subject Selection and Collection Development.  Existing collection development
agreements between the NAL and other libraries need to be reviewed and
modified to include collection of electronic media.  The agreements should
clearly specify who has preservation responsibility for the material and what
that responsibility entails.

Physical Housing and Archiving.  The libraries ought to cooperate in setting
standards for the kinds of hardware, software, and the media itself they will
accept when purchasing optical media.  These policies ought to be made public
and distributed to vendors.

The libraries ought to enter into cooperative agreements in which licensing
and other agreements allow for archival copying and migration to other media;
and jukebox or other multiple use arrangements.

The libraries ought to cooperate in setting standards for the housing of the
media, such as environmentally controlled storage areas -- perhaps an
agreement to store the media off-site in some mutually agreed upon and funded
location.  More than one location may be desirable to insure safety, with
every preservation-level disk  stored in more than one location.

The libraries should agree on the levels of preservation to be assigned to the
materials they collect.  These levels of preservation should be made known to
all libraries for any particular item, perhaps this could be done in the
cataloging record for the item.

Distribution, Access, and Cooperative Sharing.  Create a Union List of Optical
Media between cooperating libraries, at minimum between the three national
libraries.  Review and modify current lending policies, and possibly establish
user fees.  If we do not want to lend CD-ROMs in response to ILL requests,
make sure other institutions are in agreement with this policy, but that
allowance is made for cooperative archiving and sharing of resources.

There will be some cost attached to developing and participating in these
agreements, but the cost of "going it alone" will be much greater, and
represents a burden NAL cannot bear.


Disk  Production Issues

Inhouse-Produced Disks

As the publisher of optical disks and as a national library, NAL must accept
total responsibility for the preservation of its own, inhouse-produced disks
(or the information thereon).  This responsibility must override any
cooperative agreements with other institutions regarding the division and
sharing of archival responsibilities based on subject matter, content,
geographical areas, etc.

Some of the inhouse CD-ROMs, in the near future, may contain digitized
material for which the Library has discarded the paper-based hardcopy.  These
disks will have to have a special Preservation Category (Category 5, Preserve
At All Cost) assigned to them, so that they have the highest possible priority
in terms of preservation.  At least three archival copies of each disk  should
be stored offsite, in multiple, environmentally controlled locations, and the
locations of these archival sites should be noted in ISIS (along with location
codes for user copies).  Procedures will have to be established for harvesting
the information from disks in this category once the medium is no longer
usable or accessible by the public, but before it becomes inaccessible to
NAL's Preservation Staff.  The information should then be placed on a current
medium (to be determined at that time) for continued maintenance, access,
distribution, and preservation.  Guidelines and criteria will need to be
developed for monitoring and harvesting these disks.  There are no Category 5
disks in the collection at this time, but the Agronomy Journal (Vol. 1-16) CD-
ROM is an example of the type of material envisioned as being handled this
way.

Not all inhouse disks will be placed in Category 5.  Disks such as AQUACULTURE
II, which contain valuable reference materials that are also available at NAL
on paper, should be assigned to Category 4.  This is the highest category
described in the LC Report, and reflects NAL's responsibility for these disks
as their publisher and as a national library.  The videodisc s produced by
Special Collections will also be in Category 4.  However, Category 4 will not
be reserved for NAL disks, as will Category 5.  Many optical disks acquired
from outside sources for the collection will meet the criteria for Category 4. 
All Category 4 disks will be processed without distinguishing inhouse disks
from other disks.  However, inhouse disks will be published following the same
guidelines as for Category 5, and three copies with documentation will be
stored at multiple, environmentally controlled sites.  Maximum effort will be
made to preserve all Category 4 disks, and, failing that, to migrate them to
another medium.  

Staff responsible for publishing an inhouse disk  will have to be involved
(with Acquisitions or Preservation Staff) in assigning disks to categories. 
These assignments must be periodically reviewed, as disks may change
categories if circumstances change. (For example, previously held hardcopy
discarded to save shelf space).

The publications on all Category 5 disks must be individually cataloged and
indexed, just as though they were on paper.


Information to be Included on Inhouse-Produced Disks

Processing

A.   A Table of Contents should be included on the disk .  It should be
     accessible through the operating system and, when possible, through the
     retrieval software.  The Contents file should be in generic ASCII
     format, not in a word processing format.  The Table of Contents should
     include all publication titles.  It may also include all "chapter"
     titles within each publication when such chapters are handled as
     separate records in the database.  For each publication, it should be
     clearly noted whether it is a "New publication", "Revision", or
     "Reprint" on this disk .

B.   Bibliographic information should be provided for each record in the
     database, where practical.  A standardized format for bibliographic
     data, as discussed in "d." below, should be used within a database, so
     that information is easily identifiable.  Information would include, but
     would not necessarily be limited to, the following:

          Identification number or Filename
          Item title
          Source or host title
          Author(s)
          Authors' affiliation (optional)
          Publisher, location of publisher
          Date of publication
          Series statement, when applicable

C.   The item title should be at the beginning of the document.  If the item
     is in a foreign language, an English translated title should be
     provided.  Authors should be listed just below or near the title.

D.   A standard bibliographic format should be developed and used on all
     agricultural discs by publishers.  This format should be geared to the
     needs of the disk  user, and where possible, should also provide
     necessary information to catalogers and indexers.

     It should be noted, however, that information on a CD-ROM is often not
     produced or used by professional bibliographers.  Therefore, it is
     necessary to develop a simple, easily implemented format for
     bibliographic data, which may not meet all the needs of catalogers and
     indexers.  This format could then be mapped to a MARC format when
     downloaded, and catalogers/indexers would merely have to add missing
     data.

     Since SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) has been adopted by
     many print publishers, it is a logical choice for use in markup and
     tagging by disk  publishers, as soon as database retrieval software can
     support it.  (Most now do not, but this will change in the next several
     years.)


Preservation

A.   To facilitate data harvesting, information must be placed on archival
     disks in a generic, standard, or widely-used format (ASCII or SGML-
     encoded text; TIFF images each in a separate file) that is expected to
     remain accessible well into the future.  Files should be laid out so
     that they are accessible through the operating system and without having
     to use the retrieval software designed for the database.  Text files may
     have to be included in 2 formats:  One for the retrieval software, and
     one for generic use.

B.   When the interoperability standards (Z39.50) are adopted, and they have
     been implemented by software vendors, NAL should adopt this standard: 
     Only retrieval software and formats consistent with this standard will
     be used on inhouse-produced disks, and NAL will urge other producers to
     do the same.

C.   ASCII text files, describing the content, design, and layout of the data
     must be included on the disk , and possibly, on paper with the archival
     copies.  These files would not be part of the database, and they would
     be stored in a separate directory, with the generic name, "README", off
     the root for easy access.  This directory would also include the Table
     of Contents for the database and any other informational files.


Accompanying Documentation

Hard copy documentation must necessarily be stored with the user copy of the
disk .  For inhouse-produced disks, an additional copy should be stored with
each archival disk  under environmentally controlled conditions, until such
time as the disk  contents are migrated to a different medium.

Documentation may consist of the following:

A.   Guided Tour or Tutorial - This is designed specifically for the database
     on the disk , by inhouse staff.  It is small, the same size as the disk 
     jewel case.  It could be put on the disk  as an ASCII file, but would
     this be helpful?  Storing it on the disk  in word processing format
     (currently, WordPerfect 5.1) would be more helpful at the present, but
     does not make archival sense.  This type of documentation is often
     written after the disk  has been pre-mastered and the tapes written --
     too late to include on the disk .

B.   User Manual - This is generally supplied and copyrighted by the software
     vendor.  We may not be able legally to put it on disk , and it would
     have to be digitized first, unless the vendor supplied it in machine-
     readable form.  

C.   README Files - These include files describing the content and layout of
     the disk , table of contents of the database, and other informational
     files, all in ASCII.  They may be useful to have in printed form for
     storage with archival copies of the disk .  However, if the README files
     cannot be accessed on the disk , the data files will also be
     inaccessible, making the README files useless.

D.   Other - Inhouse disks also come with a software license agreement, and
     might also include a one-page quick reference sheet, hints for system
     administrators, and other items.  Some of this information is also
     included in the README files.

All of this documentation is currently distributed on paper with NAL CD-ROMs. 
The one compelling argument for including digitized versions of the hard copy
documentation on the optical disk  is to prevent it from being permanently
lost and separated from the disk .  For this reason, it is recommended that as
much documentation as possible be included in digital form on inhouse disks,
as ASCII or SGML-enhanced files.  The printed versions will continue to be
distributed with the disks, as is the common practice.


Recommendations to Other CD-ROM Producers

Guidelines for disk  producers need to be developed and published, widely
reviewed and discussed, and then revised.  Some initial recommendations are as
follows:

A.   Archival information should be published on archival-quality disks: 
     Gold lamination; sealed edges.

     The disk  publisher should be responsible for storing at least three
     copies of the disk , unused, under environmentally controlled conditions
     and at multiple sites.

B.   Disk  content should be, at a minimum, as described above in Question 2
     e-g, i.e.:

     1.   Use of standard file formats and a file structure that is logical
          and accessible.

     2.   Implementation of the Z39.50 interoperability standard as soon as
          is practicable.

     3.   Inclusion of descriptive ASCII files, located in a standard
          directory, \README.

C.   Files on archival disks should not be encrypted, hidden, or locked,
     except for reasons of national security.  Publishers that feel compelled
     to encrypt their data in order to protect copyright or royalties must
     accept full responsibility for preserving that data into the future. 
     NAL will not attempt to preserve encrypted data on optical disks in its
     collection.

D.   Even if the vendor supplies a User Manual describing the software in-
     depth, disk  producers should also provide a guided tour or tutorial
     specific to the database(s) on the disk .  The guided tour should
     highlight the features of the software which have been implemented on
     the disk , and should also mention software features that have not been
     implemented.  The size of the hard copy documentation should be as close
     as possible to the size of the disk , to ease storage requirements.   A
     discussion of documentation requirements appears in Kanter, 1992.

     It is further recommended that all documentation, or as much of it as
     possible, be stored on the CD-ROM in a generic, ASCII format or else
     marked up with SGML, as discussed under Question 3.



Security Issues

Physical damage to the disk  may be caused by mishandling, including
scratching, breaking, and inserting in the wrong drive. Because of their
small, compact size, optical disks are relatively easy to steal.  


Damage

A.   Keep each disk  in its own caddy for storage and use.

B.   If disks must be handled by staff, white cotton gloves should be worn.

C.   Locate players away from patron areas and provide lockable drives if a
     drive must be located in a patron work area.

D.   Monitor patrons areas to make sure they are using the disks correctly.



Theft

A.   Do not allow users to handle the disks.  Set up a network serviced by
     trained staff and located away from user areas, or have staff insert the
     disks and caddies in locked optical drives at user workstations, or
     install disks in lockable jukeboxes or towers.

B.   Maintain closed stacks, limiting access to NAL staff.

C.   Storage should be in a secure area that is locked when the patron area
     is not open or no staff is around.

D.   Require patrons to provide some kind of identification if they must
     handle the materials.  Keep the user's drivers license or other photo ID
     at the service desk when a disk  is in use.

E.   Have staff monitor patrons.

F.   Use "Tattletape" or some similar device on materials.

G.   Label all disks.

H.   Do not lend any materials you can't afford to lose.

I.   Limit access to archival areas to preservation staff only.





                         Members of the Committee


                           Judith Zidar - Chair

                            Martha Feldman, ISD
                            Jerome Rafats, PSD
                           Michael Thompson, PSD







            CHAPTER 8  -  Recommendations for Specific Actions


Tasks Requiring Commitment of Staff Resources to be done Immediately (Within 1
Year)

1.   Establish an NAL  policy that electronic documents will be the preferred
     format of material acquired by NAL.

2.   Hard-wire or network the NAL building in order for all public services
     and staff computers to have multi-purpose uses, i.e., CD-ROM LAN,
     Internet  / WAIS/ Gopher/ Veronica client/server for unmediated onsite
     and remote access to NAL publications, directories, AGRICOLA, ISIS,
     Internet, etc.

3.   Identify and acquire hardware and software required to realize the
     state-of-the-art processing of and provision of access to electronic
     information.

4.   Install a CD-ROM Network in Reference.  Bring data lines and modems to
     as many public access terminals as possible in the Reference and
     Electronic Media Center areas.

5.   Modify and implement processing priorities to accommodate new electronic
     materials at a rate that will encourage 1) acceptance, 2) training, 3)
     use, 4) experimentation.

6.   Add additional staff to process, check-in, index, search documents and
     participate in some of the minimal-level cataloging activities
     associated with these materials and a reference systems librarian to
     handle many of the activities involved in training and using electronic
     media.

7.   Establish and equip an Electronic Media Center for storage and use of
     optical and other electronic media.  Having a main EMC will facilitate
     monitoring the disks and other materials, and assure that electronic
     products are handled in a professional manner.   Assign EMC staff the
     responsibility for learning how a particular CD-ROM product works, and
     then in one session train staff from several units, i.e.  Cataloging,
     Indexing, Acquisitions/Serials, etc. to use it.  Initially, if this is
     not done, a fair estimate is that it will take staff at least 4 hours to
     learn a particular software package, before they can begin processing,
     PLUS the time needed by PSD staff to learn it well enough to provide
     service.

8.   Develop an interface for a new UNIX workstation so that NAL patrons and
     staff can have direct user friendly access to the full text of archived
     e-journals.  WAIS-index all NAL publications and AGRICOLA and make
     available to all NAL staff and patrons.  Include a Veronica server so
     boolean searches of NAL publications, directories, and data bases can be
     performed.

9.   Identify and work with a selected Information Center to prepare and
     disseminate a QB in electronic format.   Announce in ALIN.   Work
     directly with GPO for most effective distribution of the QB.

10.  Rewrite, as necessary, the handout Department of Agriculture Series
     Available on an Exchange Basis from the Exchange Program of the National
     Agricultural Library (August 1993) to account for electronic formats

11.  Support a help desk and phone number to field questions from the public. 
     As access and the demand for electronic QBs and other publications
     increases, NAL must have staff available during business hours to assist
     patrons in accessing the electronic data--first on ALF, and later via
     the Internet. The volume of questions would be small initially, but
     could be great in the longer term.  One central help phone number is
     required.  The staff answering the phone must be able to field calls
     regarding ALF and (later) Internet  access, as well as hardware problems
     (Why can't I get my modem to call out?) and NAL policies.

12.  When appropriate, Ref, ICs, and DDSB staff will provide electronic
     delivery of QBs (on diskette or via e-mail systems) while developing
     procedures.

13.  Provide access to ALF via the Internet.

14.  Purchase 1,000 disk caddies, so that every CD-ROM now in use at NAL and
     that will be acquired in the next year or so, can be stored and used in
     its own caddy.   Canvass the staff and determine number of CD-ROM
     players in use that do not require disk caddies.  Replace these players.

15.  Hire a knowledgeable Preservation Officer, as soon as possible.

16.  Identify ISIS edit changes which will affect ISD and plan for
     implementation.

17.  Load several statistical test files and data bases onto a computer and
     WAIS/Gopher index.  Provide documentation wherever feasible for the
     hardware,  software, and data base content.  Catalog and index test data
     bases and data files.

18.  Provide patrons with a floppy disk vending machine.

19.  Use focus groups to assess NAL services and identify new services to be
     provided.

20.  Upgrade user documentation.

21.  Link ISIS with NAL Gopher if possible.

22.  Catalog only the first version of a publication that is received and
     treat the successive versions as added copies.  This is the most cost
     efficient way to create cataloging records.
       
23.  Review and revise Collection Development Policy of the National
     Agricultural Library (September 1988) for policy implications relating
     to electronic media.

24.  Review USDA Departmental Regulation, Number 1020-1, Subject: National
     Agricultural Library, March 23, 1990, for policy implications relating
     to electronic media, revise as necessary.

25.  Rewrite Selection Policy No. 1, Machine-Readable Materials (March 21,
     1985) to include electronic formats other than those already mentioned. 
     Include development of guidelines for determining when to acquire vs
     providing access to electronic information.

26.  Change, clarify, and communicate policies related to all aspects
     (collection development, cataloging, indexing, access, and document
     delivery, etc.) of electronic media to reflect the expanded mission of
     NAL.  Review and revise all NAL/Branch procedures to address processing
     and providing access to electronic information.

27.  Insure that all staff participate in NAL training that is relevant to
     handling and making available electronic information. Training courses
     in such topics as specific operating systems, telecommunications
     packages, e-mail, Internet navigation tools, TCP/IP capabilities,
     standards related to accessing, storing and identifying electronic
     information, new equipment, etc., should be provided for all staff
     processing electronic media. Conduct staff training in the proper care,
     handling, and storage of electronic storage media, stressing that these
     materials are an important part of the Collection.

28.  Establish a variety of permanent and temporary committees to continue
     the work of the five committees:

     A.   Electronic Media Collection Committee (permanent, broad-based, to
          approve the selection and acquisition of electronic media,
          recommend weeding or retention of comparable print titles,
          establish storage, leasing and processing policies and procedures,
          and assign processing priority and preservation status to each
          electronic format title).

     B.   Committee to investigate use of SGML to produce and acquire
          publications (ad-hoc, to determine the software NAL should use to
          produce its publications using SGML).

     C.   Preservation Committee (permanent, broad-based, to continue to
          study and evaluate preservation issues, keep abreast of both new
          technologies and the National Preservation Program for
          Agricultural Literature, and develop a program for monitoring and
          refreshing digital data, etc.).

     D.   Standards Committee (permanent, broad-based, to establish
          standards for equipment and internal electronic media
          production.Write ALIN article reporting on the Electronic
          Information Initiative Phase 1 Committees and their conclusions.

29.  Write ALIN article reporting on the Electronic Information Initiative
     Phase 1 Committees and their conclusions.

30.  Create a policy which requires inclusion of electronic location and
     access information for NAL electronic documents in AGRICOLA records.

31.  Identify and select for cataloging or indexing those NAL electronic
     documents that are available only in electronic format.  Revise those
     NAL electronic documents that are lacking adequate bibliographic
     information to provide adequate bibliographic information before being
     selected for cataloging or indexing.

32.  Add ISIS location codes for remote access files.  Change processing
     procedures to include upgrade of location codes when disks' storage
     locations change and to include the specific type of electronic media in
     the cataloging record for the item.  This will help us keep track of the
     optical disk collection, both what we have and where it is located.  We
     will be better prepared to use for interlibrary loan activities.

33.  Develop a policy for the responsibility for cataloging and indexing of
     electronic documents.

34.  Decide whether use of Library of Congress (LC) classification as the
     call number for electronic documents is the most cost effective and
     efficient.

35.  Develop fact sheets and signs telling patrons how to obtain Quick
     Bibliographies (QBs)  from ALF.  Distribute fact sheets to USDA field
     libraries and other interested parties.  Publicize availability of QBs
     and other publications on ALF.  Encourage patrons/clients to directly
     access QBs.

36.  Develop a fee structure for electronic transfer, via diskette and/or
     fax-modem for those requests filled by the Document Delivery Services
     Branch (DDSB). Decide whether NAL will charge on a cost recovery basis
     for diskette production/availability.

37.  Modify DDSB and other Library forms and response letters to facilitate
     negotiation of any media requirements and hopefully reduce the need for
     negotiation.  Issues: print vs. disk (type and hardware) vs. access. 
     Otherwise, more delays will result than are necessary.  On the forms
     patrons will be queried as to the type of computers they have and their
     access to networks.  Check off boxes for 5-1/4", 3-1/2", etc. will be
     printed on forms.  Then NAL can send the material or provide access
     instructions. Forms to consider for modification: AD-245, CALS, IRF,
     response letters from NAL to patron, Reference query forms, all other
     information request forms used by NAL.

38.  Encourage revisions to standard international and domestic interlibrary
     loan (ILL) forms and other external forms to include sections for
     hardware and access negotiation, as above.

39.  Reference (Ref)  and Information Centers (ICs) will use Internet
     accounts to accept requests for information (including QBs) and to
     respond to requests.  Ref and ICs will consider establishing accounts on
     other systems.  DDSB currently accepts electronic mail document requests
     from libraries on Internet and a number of other systems.  Once Ref and
     IC accounts are established, DDSB, Ref and ICs could also electronically
     refer requests among themselves.

40.  In the absence of a Preservation Staff, establish a Standing Committee
     on Preservation to review and develop policies, to keep attention
     focussed and to provide a starting point for the Preservation Officer
     when one is appointed.

41.  Establish contact with the Library of Congress and the National Library
     of Medicine (NLM) to pursue a united front on the issues of licensing
     agreements, archival copying, and discretionary retention of superseded
     discs.  This contact could gradually grow into discussions of
     preservation responsibilities, eliminating duplication of effort,
     sharing storage facilities, and other benefits.

42.  Support and enhance CD-ROM production standards within the agricultural
     community and call for review and comment by the wider library
     community.  Support and use production practices that will facilitate
     future preservation and access.  Standards in CD-ROM production are the
     best way to protect data against the problems caused by changing
     technology.

43.  Identify organizational/positional responsibility for expertise in lease
     and purchase agreements, documentation, warranties, licensing
     agreements, and copyright laws for electronic formats.  Appoint and
     train one person to handle.

44.  Continue discussions with OIRM to determine whether NAL is the
     appropriate repository for USDA produced electronic research data bases.

45.  Appoint a committee, the Electronic Research Data base Committee, to
     work for up to 6 months to survey the universe of electronic research
     data bases.  Through contacting agencies, conducting literature
     searches, and surveying user needs, this Committee will develop a
     comprehensive list of organizations actively involved in the production
     of agriculturally related electronic research data bases.  The Committee
     will also determine the type of formats required by the Library and will
     assess hardware and software needs for acquiring data bases.  The
     Committee should also investigate these issues related to exchange: (1)
     the legality of exchanging data bases with foreign countries; (2)
     exchange of access information; and, (3) where the authority lies to
     establish exchange agreements with foreign countries.   Additionally,
     the Committee should survey Departmental agencies for data bases and
     data files that might eventually be loaded onto NAL computers.

46.  Members of the Acquisitions & Serials Branch and the Cataloging Branch
     will develop guidelines for determining when an electronic research data
     base is a serial or a monograph.

47.  Assign an Internet address(s) to those responsible for processing
     electronic data.

48.  Assign one Serials Unit staff member to review the receipt of electronic
     research data bases via the Internet.  Data bases deemed to consist of
     monographs will be transmitted to an Internet address held by the
     Order/Fiscal Unit for review and development of a temporary entry(TE) . 
     After the TE is established, the Order/Fiscal Unit will transmit the
     data base to a central e-mail address in Cataloging.

49.  Implement MARBI Proposal no. 93-4 and Format Integration once they are
     adopted and the vendor community can accommodate them.

50.  Work through Departmental policies currently restricting public access
     to research and/or other data bases.

51.  Establish a copyright committee to help resolve clearance issues.




Tasks Requiring Additional Staff Resources and Funding to be Accomplished
Within 1 to 5 Years

1.   Make AGRICOLA available via the Internet.

2.   Convert all NAL produced publications to an electronic format where
     appropriate.  Issue QBs as electronic serials if they are to be updated
     on a regular schedule for current awareness.  Publication schedule
     should be monthly, quarterly or semiannually. If updated annually or
     less frequently, they should not be serials.  Identify hardcopy
     publications (if any) lost to the Exchange Program as a result of NAL or
     USDA publication of electronic products and determine if they should be
     acquired in another manner.   Load in an Internet accessible location.

3.   Establish a policy for NAL electronic documents that are no longer
     available on the Internet.

4.   Establish procedures to update holdings records to record changes in
     publication availability.  When NAL electronic documents are archived,
     revised etc., this will need to be reflected in the holdings records.

5.   Establish a policy for handling remote access files that are no longer
     available.

6.   Supplement the materials budget to purchase electronic materials,
     licenses, etc.

7.   Establish a Preservation Unit, headed by the Preservation Officer and
     staffed by a Conservator, a Computer Specialist, and at least two
     Technicians.  This staff will be needed to prepare plans, review
     practices, monitor the collection, and implement archival activities.

8.   The new MARC 856 field (Electronic location and access) will be
     implemented for ISIS when the MARBI Proposal #93-4 is approved.  The
     information in the MARC 856 field will need to be updated when access
     information changes.   Since this is coded information, software
     enhancements will be required to translate the MARC 856 values into
     information that patron can use.

9.   Investigate the use of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) or
     alternative for NAL electronic documents.

10.  Update records for NAL electronic documents in AGRICOLA to provide
     current access information.

11.  Amend the DDSB document delivery contract to accommodate electronic
     document delivery for archived older QBs and other electronic media. 
     Evaluate turnaround times and develop new retrieval procedures.

12.  Provide files with graphics to patrons in electronic formats.  If the
     requested document has graphics (e.g., ALIN, the NAL Annual Report), and
     the patron does not have the software and hardware to deal with it in
     electronic form, Ref, ICs and DDSB would have to fall back on print
     format.

13.  Develop archiving procedures for Internet-based QBs.

14.  Review appropriateness of DDSB current procedure to use the printed
     version of a document over other formats (e.g., microfilm) except if the
     printed version is in poor condition.

15.  Encourage staff to attend conferences as a means of keeping abreast of
     technological changes in the computer, library and information fields.  

16.  Establish an archival storage facility, onsite or offsite, perhaps
     shared with other institutions.  The archival facility should be
     supervised by the Preservation Officer, and access to it should be
     limited to the Preservation Staff.  This controlled environment should
     be suitable for archival storage of all forms of electronic media.  Such
     a facility is needed to maintain at least one copy (and, if possible,
     multiple copies) of each optical disk in pristine, error-free condition. 
     It is the only way to assure preservation of digital data into the
     future. 

17.  Perform a product check and functionality test on each optical disk
     product upon receipt.  Assign each optical disk to one of 5 Preservation
     Categories (Minimal, Moderate, Great, Extraordinary, Preserve At All
     Cost).  Note this Category in the cataloging record for the disc, and
     update it if it should change.  These changes in the processing
     procedures will help us to focus our resources on the disks that must be
     preserved for the future.    

18.  For all Category 3 and 4 discs, acquire from the vendor an extra
     complete copy for archival storage, or make an archival copy of the disk
     and its accompanying materials.  Archival copying should be performed by
     the Preservation Staff.  Again, this is the only way to insure that we
     will have a good, error-free, working copy of a disk in the future when
     the data has to be copied, migrated to another medium, or harvested for
     republication. 

19.  Create and maintain a Union List of Optical Media as part of continuing
     cooperative efforts with the National Libraries and with other
     interested libraries.  We need a Union List to help us avoid duplication
     of effort, while assuring that the most important material is being
     preserved.

20.  Install a security system at NAL.  Such a system will reduce chances of
     theft, damage, and loss, and will protect archival material against
     misuse.

21.  Acquire all available Departmental data files and provide access.

22.  Acquire and provide extensive access to a wide-range of electronic data
     bases, statistical files, software, etc. 






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                         Contact: Brian Norris (301) 504-6778

NAL COMMITS TO `ELECTRONIC LIBRARY' GOAL

     BELTSVILLE, MD--On January 1, 1995, the National
Agricultural Library (NAL) will take a major step in its
commitment to becoming an "electronic library."
 
     "On that date, electronic information becomes the `preferred
medium' for library materials in an all-out push to make NAL's
services and its collection available in various electronic
formats worldwide," said acting NAL Director Pamela Andre.  

     Andre said that NAL's ultimate goal is to become "truly a
library without walls, where our magnificent collection can be
accessed by computer by anyone, anywhere and at anytime."

     According to Andre, NAL is making this commitment because of
its belief that "the current paper-based information delivery
system is inadequate to keep pace with the needs of the modern
agriculturalist."

     The "electronic library" goal was set in an "Electronic
Information Initiative--Phase I" undertaken by NAL as part of a
strategic plan to guide NAL operations into the next century. 
The overall purpose of the initiative is to research, plan and
implement a systematic program of managing data in electronic
form.

     "Phase I was a consideration of the issues associated with
NAL's ability to manage electronically created and stored
information," Andre said.  "The final report recommends actions
NAL must take in order to provide full electronic access to
information in the increasingly networked agricultural
community." 

     Andre said NAL set the January 1, 1995 goal in a "statement
of commitment" contained in the Phase I Final Report.  In part,
the statement says, "Increasingly, information is produced in
digitized form, and with recent telecommunications innovations
and the Internet, the resources available to the computer
literate researcher are expanding exponentially...
(consequently) The NAL is taking the initiative in a systematic
program of managing data in electronic form and establishing
strategies for collecting, storing and distributing U.S.
agricultural information in electronic form." 

     The statement ends, "To demonstrate its commitment to
meeting the challenges of becoming an `electronic library,' on
January 1, 1995, the National Agricultural Library will designate
electronic information the preferred medium."

     Other steps NAL will take to achieve its electronic library
goal are: tie in to electronic networks worldwide to provide
"seamless access to information;" shift and add resources to
acquire, process and make available electronic data; work closely
with other world agencies and libraries to emphasize electronic
information; and convert its own publications from print to
electronic media.  

     Details of the NAL effort are contained in "The Electronic
Information Initiative: Phase I Final Report: A Key Success
Factor in the NAL Strategic Plan."  Copies of the report are
available via anonymous FTP at "cliff.nalusda.gov" in the
"/pub/elec.init" directory as filename "eii-rpt.txt".  Copies are
also available on 3 1/4" diskette by sending a blank formatted
disk to:

     Head, Document Delivery Services Branch
     Attn: Electronic Initiative Diskettes
     National Agricultural Library, Room 300
     10301 Baltimore Ave.
     Beltsville, MD 20705-2351

     "NAL cannot afford to ignore the flood of electronic
advances taking place that we can use to serve our users more
effectively," Andre said.  "With this announcement we have
committed ourselves to mastering information technology, to the
benefit of U.S. and world agriculture."

     NAL is one of three national libraries of the United States,
with the Library of Congress and the National Library of
Medicine.  It is the largest agricultural library in the world.