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Transportation Library Connectivity and Development

Traditionally, a small group of libraries have been responsible for providing information service within the transportation community. They have managed collections while supporting practitioners and decision-makers. Yet, today a vast amount of industry information is not collected or posted to the internet without a management plan. User research habits are also changing. Recognizing this, a national effort has been made over the past five years to advocate for the development of improved library and information centers. To support the coordinated development of transportation libraries, help implement Transportation Knowledge Networks (TKNs) and extend efforts beyond those of the TPF-5(105) Transportation Library Connectivity pooled fund, the following objectives have been adopted. These will be accomplished through member activities, partnerships with professional groups such as the Transportation Research Board's (TRB's) Library and Information Science for Transportation Committee, Special Libraries Association's (SLA's) Transportation Division and the services of a qualified consultant: (1) Provide technical guidance to eligible members, focused on smaller libraries served by only one librarian, while emphasizing an increased reliance on self-sustaining networks. (2) Promote the value of transportation library and information services through the following activities: (a) Create key information products to demonstrate the value of, and further contribution of, libraries to the field. (b) Deliver presentations to gatherings of Department of Transportation (DOT) administrators, such as meetings of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and TRB Committees (Highways, Planning, Environment, etc...). (c) Share training materials and provide training sessions, with an added marketing component, for library users at member institutions. (3) Conduct an annual meeting and workshop, in conjunction with other events, to help members demonstrate the value of library and information services to their customers. (4) Develop an interactive content management system (CMS) based project website, including tracking and reporting information, as well as provide limited access to server space. (5) Collaborate with the National Transportation Library, the AASHTO RAC Task Force on TKNs and other stakeholder groups to enhance communication between transportation librarians, specifically to support their projects as they help implement Transportation Knowledge Networks. (6) Pay OCLC and TLCat library subscriptions for eligible pooled fund members. (7) Implement focused research and technology projects, as proposed by members, on an annual basis. Potential projects which have already been identified include: (a) Financial, technical, and logistical support for the creation of an National Transportation Knowledge Network (NTKN) portal website as envisioned in NCHRP Report 643. (b) The completion of a return-on-investment case study highlighting the tangible contributions of libraries to research. (c) A collaborative cataloging project to expand access to transportation resources, possibly done in conjunction with the NTKN, alleviating member time constraints. (d) Pooled subscriptions for online databases to improve the accessibility of electronic information while reducing access costs to member libraries. (e) Digitization support for institutions wishing to convert printed copies of older materials to digital formats.

Language

  • English

Project

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01566747
  • Record Type: Research project
  • Source Agency: Federal Highway Administration
  • Contract Numbers: Tryy1127, TPF-5(237)
  • Files: RIP, USDOT, STATEDOT
  • Created Date: Jun 22 2015 1:00AM