CENDI PRINCIPALS AND ALTERNATES MEETING
Environmental Protection Agency
Washington DC
June 7, 2005
ABBREVIATED MINUTES
POLICY MAKING - POLICY ADVISING
Perspectives on Federal Information Policies and OMB’s Priorities
The New NCLIS: Activities and Future Plans
EPA SHOWCASE
Tandberg Demonstration
Science Inventory and the FDMS
Electronic Report on the Environment
Health Information Strategy
Environmental Information Management System
Science Portal: Environmental Scientist Workspace
Welcome
Dr. Walter Warnick, CENDI Chair, opened the meeting at 9:10am. He thanked EPA for hosting the meeting.
POLICY MAKING – POLICY ADVISING
“Perspectives on Federal Information Policies and OMB’s Priorities” Daniel Costello and Kimberly Nelson, OIRA/Office of Management and Budget
Mr. Costello and Ms. Nelson have been working on a variety of e-government initiatives in which the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) are involved. Mr. Costello thanked CENDI for the opportunity to dialog about different issues and he is interested in CENDI feedback. OIRA and the Office of E-government are different entities. Karen Evans is the E-government Administrator. John Graham is the Administrator of OIRA. There are staff who are matrixed to both groups, and the two areas are more integrated than before.
The E-government Act endorses current e-government initiatives such as online rulemaking, e-records management and e-authentication. It requires agencies to set citizen and productivity performance measurements and to promote privacy and the use of Privacy Impact Assessment. The Act requires the establishment of an R&D tracking system. It establishes the Office of E-government and Information Technology (IT) in OMB and authorizes Firstgov. The Act authorizes the E-gov Fund as a mechanism for funding interagency e-government initiatives.
The Act also codifies the Chief Information Office (CIO) activities, including the CIO Council and responsibility for IT standards. Each agency must ensure the review of the privacy impact assessment and establish and operate training programs. The Act supports existing CIO responsibilities in the Paperwork Reduction Act, OMB A-130 and the Clinger-Cohen Act.
The E-government Act was a compilation of various activities, but now OMB wants to enhance and improve agency procedures and processes to provide better support. There are several new initiatives authorized by the Act. Agencies can enter into share-in-savings contracts for IT procurements with up to five agencies participating per year. State and local governments may use Federal Supply Schedules for IT purchases. The Act establishes a process for reviewing proposed innovative technologies and a commercial IT workforce exchange program. IT training programs are being developed at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) under the Workforce Committee. Section 213, dealing with community technology centers, NARA rooms, etc., has been completed. Section 215 addressed the digital divide and out of this came the agreement with the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to analyze the effectiveness of access to government information at public libraries.
The Interagency Committee on Government Information (ICGI) had four subgroups which have submitted their recommendations to OMB. The Categorization of Government Information recommendations are being reviewed and OMB and the Archivist are outlining a strategy to overcome the barriers identified by the Electronic Records Policy recommendations. Policies based on these reviews will be issued by December 17, 2005. A study of the disparities in Internet access was completed. The Web Content group provided recommendations that are reflected in OMB’s Web Policy.
Ms. Nelson gave an overview of OMB’s Web Policy that the agencies must implement by December 31, 2005. The requirements include establishing and maintaining information dissemination product inventories, priorities, and schedules; ensuring information quality; establishing and enforcing agency-wide linking policies; communicating with the public, state and local governments; providing search mechanisms for public web sites; using approved domains; implementing security controls; protecting privacy; maintaining accessibility; and managing records. It is the codification of existing requirements except for the domain name requirement. Individual agency decisions can deviate from the requirements if the head of the agency approves. Suggested language for linking has been developed that takes the national libraries into consideration. A web content tool kit is being developed. Ms. Nelson encouraged the agencies to check webcontent.gov for support and to make suggestions for other support that would be useful.
Customer satisfaction surveys are part of the requirement to communicate with the public. The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) contract with ForeSee is up for renewal this month. Often, the survey, when implemented, has deviated from the purpose of the generic clearance. The Department of Treasury and OMB will be discussing this issue further. However, there will be some type of standardized customer satisfaction instrument.
There was discussion about the cost structure for the ACSI as it relates to interagency groups such as Science.gov. Concerns were raised about the survey’s applicability to gateway type services. Other agencies expressed concerns about the time required to get approval, when agencies are being required to do more surveying of citizens. The point was made that agencies were mandated to ensure customer satisfaction but were severely restricted in their ability to do so. It was highly recommended that this disconnect be corrected and agencies allow better means to get customer needs and satisfaction information. Mr. Costello indicated that he would take our concerns back to the desk officers at OIRA.
The Information Quality Act will be reflected in a bulletin scheduled to be issued on June 16, 2005. The “influential scientific information”, including “highly influential scientific assessments” disseminated after June 16, must be peer reviewed. OMB explored the use of www.regulations.gov as a portal to facilitate the peer review comments. Agencies should use this system rather than developing their own.
Later this year, a working group will make recommendations for changes to Circular A-110. A-110 was moved to Title 2 CRF last May. There is more information about this in the Federal Register notices of May 11, 2004.
“The New NCLIS: Activities and Future Plans” Dr. Beth Duston Fitzsimmons, National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS)
Dr. Beth Fitzsimmons gave a brief history of American libraries and government support for them. Between 1775 and 1875, more than 3000 libraries were founded that were to some degree accessible to the public. However, in 1875, only 188 of them were fully tax-supported; the majority of the libraries were research and reference libraries open only to qualified scholars. In the late 1800s, Enoch Pratt and Andrew Carnegie began their support for the building of public libraries. Thanks largely to Pratt, Carnegie increased the scale of his beneficence to libraries. If a community had no library, he would build one, provided that its future support was assured through some sustainable income such as public tax support. Their commitment to public libraries came from the benefits they gained when, as poor boys, they were able to become self-educated through benefactors who opened their personal libraries for book borrowing and exchange. Voters and legislators had to decide how strongly they believed in popular education and then back this decision through taxes and donations in the years to follow.
During the 20 th Century, the role of research enhanced the library profession. This was the time library associations such as the Special Libraries Association (SLA) developed and the disciplines of library science and information science began to merge. Information technology and the information glut produced knowledge workers who evaluate, judge, and manage information. Libraries, like colleges and universities, are “knowledge institutions”, sometimes called “philanthropic” because they benefit the whole community.
The new century has given many new concepts to think about with respect to libraries and information science. Life-long learning, digital technologies, and the importance of demonstrating public value are “drivers for change” that are transforming libraries. In this environment, libraries must know the business they are in, share standards, plan with learning audiences, seek ways to collaborate, and continue to be open to new organizational models.
The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) was established as an independent agency by Public Law 91-345 signed in 1970. NCLIS has statutory responsibility to provide policy advice to the President and Congress. NCLIS is moving away from recording what has been to advancing a vision of what libraries and information science should be. The vision is for a much broader, more inclusive discipline in which librarianship, information management, knowledge management, and learning converge for the common good.
In January 2004, the Senate confirmed 12 new commissioners to serve with the two additional committee members from the Library of Congress (LC) and the IMLS. NCLIS is finally at full strength again. Dr. Fitzsimmons views NCLIS as a bridge between libraries and the American people. Now more than even NCLIS needs to help libraries find new roles in the new environment. The new commissioners have strengthened the group policy wise, and given it more breadth.
In April 2004, the Commission undertook a strategic planning process. As part of this process, six core values were identified that inspire everything the organization does and how it is done. Leadership recognizes the statutory responsibilities and the leading national and international role that NCLIS must play. NCLIS is not aligned with any specific agenda put forward by any societal, political, or professional entities. The Commission seeks opportunities to collaborate and establish strategic partnerships. Its efforts are communicated with the larger society, ensuring visibility and ongoing relevance. NCLIS continuously strives to innovate, educate, and undertake learning opportunities for itself and others. It provides the highest level of service delivery, recognizing that its customers are the President and Congress and, through them, the American people. NCLIS conducts the highest caliber research, studies, analyses, and appraisals of library and information services, recognizing the role that these products play in policy development.
In its recent strategic planning process, the commissioners established three goals -- appraise library and information services, strengthen the relevance of libraries and information services, and promote appropriate research and development. These goals are reflected in a number of objectives and initiatives.
The first involves the role of libraries in emergency preparedness and disaster response. NCLIS produced a CD called “Trust in Terror” that described the Post-911 activities performed by libraries. For example, the Arlington Public Library organized post-Pentagon support services. NCLIS, SLA and GPO jointly produced a grant concept paper to the Department of Homeland Security. A specific product of this grant would be the development of a recommended statement of policy on the subject of libraries as distribution centers for emergency preparedness and public warning information. A state model is being led by one of the NCLIS commissioners in New Hampshire and the New Hampshire State Librarian.
The second initiative focuses on the role of libraries in distributing consumer health information and promoting healthy lifestyles. This past year, 37 Blue Ribbon Awards were given to outstanding libraries. A “Best Practices” document is available from the NCLIS web site. Dr. Fitzsimmons described several of the award-winning library projects. On May 2, 2005, NCLIS announced a new initiative, the 2006 Consumer Health Information Awards. With the help of the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA), the first prize of $20,000 will be given to the library that has done the most in consumer health information and which has the best plan for its delivery. In addition, nine prizes of $1,000 each will be awarded. The presentation of the awards will take place at NLM next year.
NCLIS is seeking to identify methodologies to prepare a “report card” on American libraries as a national assessment of our library and information services. In order to better make informed policy recommendations, NCLIS needs a uniform assessment that gives attention not only to the current measurement rubric, which is very focused on statistics, but that takes into account technology, materials turnover, programming staffing, and archival integrity. It is also important to contextualize the institutions and their assessments in their community’s quality of life and productivity, including aspects such as quality of education, public safety, health, economic development and public policy.
School libraries are important to educational achievement. The purpose of this initiative is to raise the awareness of community leaders and influential citizens about the value of school libraries and to provide them with scientific-based evidence that can be used to address school library funding issues.
Library services to the aging are a specific statutory responsibility. This initiative seeks to examine library services for the elderly and to give attention to how aging Americans can be employed in libraries. In December, NCLIS will participate in the White House Conference on Aging and a specific product will be the development of a recommended statement of policy on the subject of library services for the elderly.
NCLIS is also involved with international library and information science issues. The Commission has participated in a number of international activities in the past and expects to continue in the future. The NCLIS initiatives fall into two main areas -- providing information about America through America Corner Libraries located at 200 university libraries worldwide, and the role of libraries as distribution centers for HIV/AIDS information in developing countries.
NCLIS is concerned with the role and economic development of the approximately 20,000 libraries in the country. The role of these libraries is changing because of digitized information and digitization projects such as the Google Library. NCLIS will be working with the University of Michigan on a National Symposium on Google to be held March 10-11, 2006. The program will provide a forum for a national discussion of critical policy issues arising from various Google projects. Dr. Fitzsimmons will keep us apprized of the plans for this symposium.
NCLIS is doing a lot of groundwork to ensure that others understand what NCLIS is. NCLIS is funded by Congress through OMB. NCLIS does have gifting authority but can’t accept federal grants. Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with other agencies are possible. A question for future discussion is how to leverage the grants and funds coming from numerous agencies, including NCLIS, IMLS, NLM, NAL, etc. NCLIS is trying to highlight the national libraries and there may be an opportunity to work together in this effort. Close partnerships are maintained with COSLA, which may be a way to more widely distribute Science.gov information. It is important to take advantage of the unique position of the commissioners. They have connections to both the President and Congress, and members of Congress are very responsive to commissioners from their home districts.
There are many examples of partnerships between CENDI agencies and libraries. The EPA Web Ambassadors Program has targeted science librarians and public librarians, and this “diffusion of innovations model” provides a big return for almost no investment. NLM has successfully used the Continuing Education (CE) approach, and public libraries can be affiliated members of the Medical Regional Network.
Dr. Fitzsimmons, who once served as the Technical Operations Manager for the CENDI Secretariat, thanked CENDI for this opportunity to renew old acquaintances. She voiced the hope that there would be many opportunities for NCLIS and CENDI to collaborate in the future.
“EPA Showcase” John Sykes and Staff
John Sykes, introduced members of the EPA staff who, in turn, presented overviews of various EPA activities.
Cliff Moore demonstrated the Tandberg videconferencing system that is used to link individual EPA sites through the Internet. EPA is in the process of upgrading to this technology across the agency. The system requires only an IP address and has a cost of $15,000 to $20,000, without the screens. The quality is closer to full motion video than previous videoconferencing systems. It also comes with a presentation package and can support VHS and DVD demonstrations. The technology is strictly an appliance, so there are no security issues. Firewalls can be problematic, and EPA is pushing the manufacturer to resolve these problems.
Science Inventory and the FDMS
Paul Zielinski of the Office of Science Policy described the six-month project to make the Highly Influential Scientific Assessments available. There are approximately 5000 current EPA products of which 250 are influential and 25 are highly influential. Products and science activities have been described in an inventory since 2003. This system was modified extensively, including the addition of an input interface with different categories. The system supports a peer review agenda by the different EPA offices. A more detailed view is available along with access to providing public comments. A peer review leader and an e-mail address for comment collection is established. The annual report to OMB can be produced from the database output.
The initial deadline for Highly Influential Scientific Assessments will be met. Influential Assessments will be added later. By December 16, 2005, an internal review of the system will have been conducted.
EPA has been working on the FDMS for several years. The e-docket system that preceded the FDMS served as a model. The database generated a pdf version and they should be able to move to the FDMS very easily. The process was to go through the science inventory and take a first cut and then the program offices gave their input.
Electronic Report on the Environment
Vipul Bhatt described the electronic report on the environmental project. The majority of the information and statistics provided in the Report on the Environment are from other federal agencies and from the states. Health information is increasingly important, but it comes solely from non-EPA sources. EPA is collecting requirements from internal and external users for this type of system. While they are interested in providing information to the public, it is important to watch privacy issues. The information will be organized by topic and audience group. Additional data points may come from the originating sources. The system must allow for Google-like searching, interaction with the environmental indicators that are reported, and access to metadata and data points with links to the other indicator sources. Geographic scale is an issue.
The first nationwide report was produced in 2003. The next report will look at regional impacts. The indicators will be updated in 2006-2007, but this will result in a big gap in reporting. Ultimately, the goal is to collect data in six-month intervals. At this point, it will be very important to work with agencies on how to update the indicators and the report.
Charlotte Cottrill described the Health Information Strategy Project. The goal of this project is to make greater connections between EPA and public health organizations to address the demands for health information. The project will result in a five-year strategy, with an evaluation at the end of the second year.
EPA has been collaborating with the Department of Health and Human Services, but many of the projects were initiated for specific reasons and haven’t been well coordinated. The strategy must develop common practices for selecting, managing, evaluating, and “sunsetting” health information activities. Information activities are being institutionalized when needed, for example, through development of a clearinghouse.
The activity will take an enterprise focus to enhance institutional performance, including access to and information use by decision makers. The Office of Environmental Information (OEI) has several health scientists and, occasionally, they question the value added by OEI. The hope is to focus on information management and what the IT office can bring to it. A year ago, they began by focusing on external data. The objectives have now been broadened to include text and internal information.
Where EPA has had the most success is where there are strong partnerships. The most broad-ranging partnerships involve the development of geospatial analytic tools. The aim is also to more intelligently engage the right people from the agency for a particular project.
The smaller EPA offices are pressing OEI for internal information. Therefore, OEI is conducting an internal information pilot to examine the adequacy of metadata and whether it is appropriate for the whole agency or some part of it. OEI is considering a Health Information Advisory Committee as a task force across EPA to determine priorities, selection criteria, and evaluation criteria.
Science Portal: Environmental Scientist Workspace
Jacques Kapuscinski described the science portal which provides access to various data sets, models, and tools. The portal, which is built using Oracle, allows scientists to create their own desktops and personal workspaces. More importantly, the portal allows for collaborative workspaces. The goal is to have an updated version available later this year. A pilot may involve contaminated animal feed operations. EPA is interested in the involvement from other agencies with regard to content for such a pilot.
Environmental Information Management System
The use of EIMS is increasing, having received over 2 million hits this year. Dr. Sykes attributes this to the RSS feeds which cause EIMS to show up higher on the search engine results. EIMS receives more than 100,000 additional hits when there is a Science.gov press release.
