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CENDI PRINCIPALS AND ALTERNATES MEETING |
Defense Technical Information Center
Ft. Belvoir, VA
February 8, 2001
Kurt Molholm, CENDI Chair, and Deputy Administrator of the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), opened the meeting at 9:10 am. He welcomed CENDI to the newly named Andrew McNamara Building. Special welcomes were extended to Sheila McGarr, new Director of the National Library of Education (NLE) and new CENDI Principal, and to David Lush, the new CENDI Alternate from the National Air Intelligence Center (NAIC). Ms. Carroll also noted Kathryn Johnson of the Secretariat was present and appreciated the opportunity to meet many of the people she deals with regularly by phone and e-mail.
Paul Ryan, President-Elect of the National Federation of Abstracting and Information Services (NFAIS), announced the NFAIS Conference to be held in Philadelphia on February 25-28, 2001, and distributed copies of the program.
INFORMATION POLICY PROJECTIONS FOR THE NEW CONGRESS AND THE NEW ADMINISTRATION
Information Technology and Internet Issues in the 107th Congress
Glenn McLoughlin and Jeff Seifert (Specialists in Technology and Telecommunications
Policy,
Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress)
Each year, Congressional sessions get longer and the work more complex. Therefore, it is the job of the CRS to provide the Congress with unbiased research in a brief and understandable fashion. The CRS was created in the 1970s by an act of Congress, which codified and solidified what the Library of Congress was already doing to work directly with Congress and its staff. It began because moneyed interests were thought to have too much power, and so the Library of Congress was asked to provide objective, unbiased information. Advice is never included, and CRS tries to remain non-partisan. There is also a level of confidentiality. The CRS often helps with crafting bills and holding hearings. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) also plays an important role in introducing the new Congress to the issues that are likely to come before it. The CRS hosts a meeting for the new members of Congress to introduce them to how things work. For this new Congress, he recently held a special break-out session on the Internet that received considerable interest.
Mr. McLoughlin distributed several IT and Internet-related reports that have been produced by CRS. Ms. Carroll distributed a list of CRS reports that are available from the National Council for Science and the Environment’s Web site. Mr. McLoughlin noted that CRS’s work is done directly for Congress, and, therefore, the reports are generally not distributed. CRS does not make them available to the public via the Net.
Most members of Congress come from a variety of backgrounds (such as business and legal), rather than having much background in science. Therefore, in the area of S&T, CRS must provide concise and explicit explanations and analysis for Congress in science and technology issues. Bringing the Congress and staff up to speed is done through reports, issue briefs to describe the legislative process for specific items, short reports, and fact sheets.
The Science and Technology Policy Section of CRS has 12 analysts and 3 senior-level specialists. This is part of a CRS-wide Internet working group of nearly 60 analysts across several divisions (CRS currently employs over 600 people in seven divisions). Internet and related issues are somewhat unique because the breadth of the topic does not always fit the jurisdictional boundaries of the Congressional committee structure. Furthermore, the pace of change in these areas make it hard to match with the slower pace of the Congressional deliberative process. It often is difficult to get everyone looking at these areas from a systematic, comprehensive approach. However, in these areas, there are several issues that will be of interest during the 107th Congress, including Internet tax, privacy and security, the Internet infrastructure, and Internet access and deployment.
For the last five years, there has been a moratorium on taxing services/sales on the Internet. This moratorium is due to expire in October 2001. There are several bills that recommend continuation of the moratorium for at least 2-3 years, so as not to slow down e-commerce growth. However, state and local governments rely heavily on revenue from sales taxes, which these governments believe are being eroded by more people buying tax-free online.
Privacy and security issues center around ensuring efficiency in collecting, storing and transmitting data. Authenticity must be checked with transparency to allow people to see what is being said about them. The Clinton Administration passed the privacy directive specifically related to medical records, but the 107th Congress will be looking closely and holding hearings about this directive. There are some delicate balances that need to be reached on these issues.
Congress will also be concerned about the Internet infrastructure. Although much of the current infrastructure is now privately funded, as a nation, we must ensure that the infrastructure will continue to grow. There is a need to determine how this will be funded. Major initiatives during the previous Administration included the Next Generation Internet (NGI) and Internet-2 (a private university consortium approach to future development). However, the Internet and its surrounding issues are global, not just U.S. government issues. Mr. McLoughlin acknowledged that, often, Congress is more focused on domestic priorities rather than international issues.
The general topic of access and deployment includes a host of issues surrounding who has access to the Internet and what should be deployed. While the Digital Divide has been billed as a policy issue, some would argue that it is not the "haves" and "have nots," but the "haves" and the "will have laters"). Other topics that will likely come before the 107th Congress relate to development of broadband and wireless. The e-Rate program, which effects schools and libraries, is also of importance, especially as we move to different communications technologies.
Jeff Seifert described technology issues facing the new Congress. Similar to science issues, technology issues are often addressed in a piecemeal approach, by various committees in Congress. Problems are compounded by the disparity between the speed of technological change and the slower deliberative processes of Congress. One issue of critical importance is how the government should maintain its IT resources.
In 1996, Congress passed the Information Technology Management Reform Act (Clinger-Cohen Act). The act addresses such things as the procurement process and technology management.
Since its passage, new issues continue to arise, such as, how to implement e-government initiatives without sacrificing accountability and efficiency. In addition, attention has been focused on such issues as e-procurement and alternative RFP options. Another issue is the recruitment and maintenance of the IT workforce. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) recently increased the salary scales for IT workers. However, some categories were excluded from this increase, which has been brought to OPM’s attention. In addition, there are new incentives intended to draw and retain the younger IT workers, such as government payment of student loans.
The issue of establishing a federal CIO will be a major topic of discussion during the 107th Congress. The concept of a single federal CIO was discussed when the Clinger-Cohen Act was originally crafted, but it was deferred in favor of developing separate agency CIO’s. Although several proposals have been put forward, there is disagreement about where in the government the position should be located. While also an unresolved issue, the scope and responsibility of the position may include computer security, coordination of budgets, and interoperability issues.
Discussions on the Internet and e-government are likely to continue. However, a lack of agreement regarding what constitutes e-government causes some confusion. While it is less likely that direct legislation will be forthcoming, there is some support to encourage agencies to evaluation and reconsider how they deliver and procure services. Underlying this debate is the question of citizen participation in the Information Age.
Discussion
Mr. Seifert and Mr. McLoughlin were asked about the NTIS privatization proposal and the likelihood that the NCLIS Report will be addressed. They believe that it will be reviewed over the next few weeks and hearings are likely to be held. In addition, there appears to be interest in looking at older information dissemination-related legislation in light of the Internet age; for example, FOIA and PRA.
Members of the group noted that NCLIS talked about the broader content issues, which it believes need discussion. Mr. McLoughlin suggested that the real responsibility for many Internet and information science content issues may lie with several committees. In the House of Representatives, the Government Reform Committee has just reorganized to create two new subcommittees, one to address IT procurement and the other to address security. The Science Committee has jurisdiction over much of the funding of R&D for IT and the Internet, and uses this avenue to pursue policy issues. . In addition, a realignment of the Commerce Committee has left much of the telecommunications issues in that committee, while some of the e-commerce issues may now be more directly addressed in the Banking Committee. The Small Business Committee also has a strong interest in e-commerce and small and medium-sized firms.
The group also questioned the future of data rights issues with regard to contracts and grants. Mr. Seifert suggested this may not be a problem for larger companies for whom government contracts constitute a large part of their business. However, it could make a bigger impact on smaller organizations.
"Information Dissemination, Information Policy, Records Management, FOIA,
Internet Policy, Privacy and the Revision of A-130: Agenda Items for OMB"
Brooke Dickson, Policy Analyst of OMB/OIRA
Ms. Dickson is a policy analyst in the Information Policy and Technology Branch of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), under new Branch Chief Dan Chenok. She noted that they are trying to move policy toward a more integrated function, without missing out on IT opportunities. She began by highlighting some of the key issues and efforts underway at OMB, emphasizing that there is no director in place at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) or the Deputy Director of Management at OMB at this time.
OMB A-130 is up for review. The particular focus is on a revision of Section 8(a) on information dissemination and information resources management (IRM). She noted that with regard to IT investment, they are moving toward an enterprise architecture. Agencies have been doing a good job of integrating; however, the e-government approach requires a look at integration across agencies and movement against stove-piping systems. They want to move systems to be more transactional. Options for the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) are required by 2003. Key components will include the work that OMB has been doing on guidance for Public Key Infrastructure and Digital Signatures.
Privacy is another issue that is high on the list for OMB. They are hoping that the Bush Administration will also place a high priority on privacy and will keep the position of Privacy General Counsel, who has been working on issues of privacy, children and cookies, and the Children’s Internet Privacy Act.
The Health Insurance Portability Protection Act, a directive from the final days of the Clinton Administration, is being reviewed by the Bush Administration. The key question is whether this security assessment framework should be kept.
OMB supported the idea behind the NCLIS report. They support the need to look at information as a government-wide resource. The key principle of maximum dissemination at the least cost is still relevant. OMB realizes that there are concerns with the results and hopes that other stakeholders will respond during further discussions. NCLIS pointed to A-130 and the information life cycle management and planning that must include long-term preservation. It is significant that the costs of dissemination have changed; the electronic media have scrambled the economics. OMB is aware that the costs need to be recalculated for current and long-term access.
GILS was developed to push information out to the public. One of the questions is what is still relevant about GILS and what do we do with electronic records. There are issues about how to manage information over the long-term, along with issues of privacy and security.
Ms. Dickson emphasized that she is looking for opportunities to talk to CENDI and to other groups about these and other issues. She asked for input from CENDI members in identifying these stakeholders.
Discussion
The group discussed the impact of the IT Workforce changes. The members noted that all aspects of e-government require Web-based access, but the IT workforce that is needed to develop these additional e-government applications is made up of the same people who are already double- and triple-booked. The timeframes needed for implementation are too short for the staff resources available.
CENDI members asked if the timing of the draft revision of A-130 and the review of PRA were significant. Ms. Dickson said that they are not connected politically. However, the input from A-130 may be used to inform the revision of PRA. She noted that the A-130 revision is probably 12-18 months out, with extensive review and comment during this period. The goal is to move the policy into the 21st Century. Section 8(b) discusses how agencies manage information systems and information technology and was updated to provide an in-depth discussion of capital planning and investment control and enterprise architecture.
Several members noted that there is confusion as to whether Transmittal Memo 3 or 4 is currently in effect. Ms. Dickson will clarify this. [NOTE: Since publication of the draft minutes, Ms. Dickson has informed the Secretariat that Transmittal 4, which is located on both the OMB website (www.whitehouse.gov/omb) and the CIO Council website (www.cio.gov), is the current version of A-130. The Federal Register citation is 65 F.R. 77677.]
Action: Ms. Dickson will clarify whether Transmittal Memo 3 or 4 is the current one.
Ms. Dickson was asked if OMB sees its role as that of monitoring policy. She is not sure that OMB has a position on their role in oversight. Its role varies depending on the legislation. OMB has no statutory authority with regard to FOIA; they merely provide guidance for its implementation. However, they have statutory authority over the Privacy Act. OMB has heard calls for more updates on this since it has not been done since the 1970s. She indicated that they understood the inherent conflict between FOIA and the Privacy Act.
The Public/Private Roles have been highlighted recently. Intergovernmental sharing is not discussed enough and not easy to do.
GILS is not well defined. It has been implemented at various levels of granularity. However, there is a need for some type of finding aids(s), whether GILS, FirstGov.gov or some other mechanism.
The group acknowleged that agencies need to move toward electronic dissemination. However, this requires different skills and staffing. Legacy systems and materials must also be considered. For the time being, we are dealing with a hybrid system in which parallel print and paper are needed.
WHAT'S NEW AT THE DEFENSE TECHNICAL INFORMATION CENTER (DTIC)
DTIC: An Information Utility
Kurt Molholm
Mr. Molholm presented DTIC’s strategic direction as an information utility. DTIC sees itself as more than a traditional STI program that manages technical reports. DTIC manages content for all types of information related to the corporate memory needed by DoD. In addition to traditional technical reports and journal articles, this includes acquisitions manuals, testimony and law, news and current events, personnel information, and international information. The document that is downloaded most often is a Dutch document on land mines. DoD Directives and Instructions are also provided and are often accessed, because they are authoritative and up-to-date. Mr. Molholm suggested that this is similar to the situations in other agencies where the primary audiences are interested in STI, but the agency must serve many others.
There has been a fundamental change in the last eight years with the linkage of IT and content through the Web. This has raised major policy issues such as those created by the Digital Divide.
Mr. Molholm described RDT&E as a System. It is a fundamental part of the exchange of information within the organization, the overall goal of which is researcher efficiency. He believes that it is up to the information managers to give people knowledge to allow them to use their imaginations. Imagination is key to planning activities and other science endeavors. It is extremely important when delivering management resources. Managing knowledge with the goal of spurring imagination places requirements on the system such as security and collaboration tools.
Part of the support within DTIC for this process is the preexisting Information Analysis Centers (IACs), which provide information in specific topic areas. The IACs create their own independent database resources. An IAC will perform up to eight hours of work for a specific project at no cost. The thirteen IACs have a total of $250M in special tasking.
There are seven forces driving the emergence of information utilities ("Building the ‘Info Utility’ Industry," Paine-Weber Investment Policy, Feb. 13, 2000). Decreasing bandwidth costs make it feasible to store data in a distributed fashion and to access and disseminate it. Information management is becoming more mission-critical and complex, and, therefore, sophisticated specialists are needed. Economies of scale and economies of skill can be achieved through some central utility. Security against viruses and hackers can be more effectively and consistently implemented. The total cost of ownership can be minimized. Digital democratization allows smaller entities to exploit the work of larger entities. He noted that if the utility has a good solid infrastructure, other organizations could be added for a smaller incremental cost.
S&T Knowledge Portal
Gretchen Schlag
DTIC has a history of information organization through explicit knowledge found in databases, metadata, taxonomies, and thesauri. However, in the new knowledge management environment, it is important to realize that explicit knowledge is not the single answer. There is increasing concern over Web "infoglut". In addition, organizations have begun to realize that technology alone is not a solution. The graying of the workforce, with its loss of corporate wisdom, has brought a "people" perspective. Fifty percent of the federal workforce can retire, which is indicative of the potential loss of corporate wisdom that the government faces. This points out the need for concern about "knowledge networking or knowledge sharing" and the development of ways to capture tacit knowledge.
"Knowledge management is the process of using data, information, and intellectual assets to address critical organizational issues, facilitate collaboration, and solve problems while being guided by strategic goals and initiatives" (Gartner Group). Knowledge results from information being placed in context. It is based on facts and ascribed meaning from the human experience. There are two types – explicit knowledge, which is documented and accessible, and tacit knowledge that resides in human experience and lessons learned. The important role of knowledge management is to make tacit knowledge as explicit as possible. There are varying perspectives on knowledge management, including organizational learning espoused by management schools; information resource organization, which is taught at library schools; and the IT focus from systems engineering schools. However, all these perspectives must be brought together.
DoD has embarked on a Defense Knowledge Network. This involves the creation of a Defense Knowledge Architecture and implementation of a Defense Knowledge System. The network will be grounded on interoperable, web-enabled portals. DTIC will manage the scientific and technical knowledge domain by networking people, processes, and installing enabling infrastructure to achieve the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) mission.
The S&T Knowledge Portal under development will provide a pilot and proof of concept for a single point of entry access to S&T information. The goal is the right information, at the right place, at the right time. This is certainly most important in warfare situations, but is equally significant in other aspects of military life and decision-making. Knowledge sharing should result in better decision-making, along with collaboration and reuse.
In the S&T Portal, commercial technologies will be leveraged to achieve these goals. More specifically, the portal will integrate DTIC’s products, services and information to respond to a user’s question. It will provide a customized, domain-specific view of Web-based S&T information. Support will be provided for converting tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge via capture and conversion. Facilities will be enhanced for collaboration among communities of interest.
There are several specific S&T Portal components that need to be developed. Customer Relationships Management (CRM) will involve sub-components, such as product ordering, registration systems, input and submission systems, training, and news. Communities of Interest (COI) will require customized/personalized S&T resources, expert assistance and collaboration tools.
The Portal is being developed in two phases. Phase 1 will be the portal interface, which will integrate existing DTIC capabilities in the areas of CRM, Web-based information, distance learning and the Intranet. Phase 2 will be the creation of specific communities of interest/practice. Digital reference will be added at this point, based on further development of frequently asked questions, connection of users with experts from the IACs, and the creation of reference networks. In addition to these core phases, the development of systems for permanent identifiers (Handles®) and preservation technologies and practices are critical, related activities.
In developing the S&T Portal, DTIC plans to continue networking with others, including the CENDI agencies that face similar challenges in serving the missions of their agencies in the knowledge management environment. DTIC will continue to work to overcome cultural issues and to create a sharing and collaborative environment.
Discussion
DTIC evaluated several off-the-shelf software products for portal development and selected Plumtree. Commercial software in portal development was not available for the UNIX platform. UNIX was chosen over NT because of security issues. It was suggested that a review of portal software being used/evaluated by CENDI members would be a valuable project within CENDI.
The question was asked whether DTIC or any agency had a porta requirements document that could be shared. Many had pieces of one.
XML and scripting language is used for the data path from other systems. There is also a single log-on for multiple resources. The idea is an integration portal, rather than merely a search extension. It was noted that some portals come out of search systems like Autonomy. Theynow sell "portal in a box." Mr. Lush indicated NAIC has a need to document a paradigm for complex objects. Ms. Frierson indicated an interest in seeing a demonstration of what is and what portals do for the agencies. Perhaps a progress report in six months would be helpful. An outstanding question is whether portals will be developed for other DoD organizations.
Action: The Secretariat will propose a review of portal software among CENDI agencies. A report on the status will be made in six months.
The Handle system is a key component of the Knowledge Management and portal projects. There are more than 2 billion pages on the Internet and more than 7 million pages are added each day. The average URL is available for only 44 days. While link checking is used extensively by most organizations, this does not solve the problem. Today’s Web browsers don’t know how to resolve URLs. In addition, there is the problem of multiple versions for one intellectual work, which requires more complex resolution.
The Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI) developed the concept and a prototype Handle System at CNRI under sponsorship by DTIC and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The next step is to install an operational system at DTIC. This is being developed in two phases. The first phase involves the installation of the software and the design of the metadata to support it.
The Handle has two parts to its structure -- the prefix and the suffix. The prefix is a consistent number assigned to DTIC, with extensions assigned to contributors, if desired. In the DTIC implementation, the suffix uses the AD number, which is unique for each DTIC document. Together, the prefix and the suffix create a unique identifier for any given digital object.
A Handle system also requires structured metadata for information management and for reverse lookup resources that reference the Handle back to the resolver. The elements in the metadata structure at this point are the eight elements that have been defined in the <indecs> project. This is called the kernel.
Phase 2 will involve development of the technical infrastructure -- the creation of the Oracle database for administering the Handles. DTIC plans to complete the database this year for use within DTIC. The Oracle database will be available on the Internet.
The interpretation of the Handle can be done directly or via a proxy server that understands the Handle protocol. This will support the movement of material from contributors to DTIC for permanent access and preservation.
The plan is to begin with DTIC documents, then move to DoD and then beyond. Proceeding in a phased approach is important for continuity of operations. The first set of documents will be those in portable document format (pdf) that are unlimited, unclassified.