The federal government and information technology standards: Building the national information infrastructure

For many years, standards have been important considerations in the Federal government's policies for the use of information technology. The Computer Systems Laboratory (CSL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology develops and issues technical standards that are used by the Federal government in its information technology systems. The new Federal initiative for the National Information Infrastructure (NII) and the National Performance Review (NPR) make information technology an agent for change and emphasize standards as a means for achieving connectivity of computer and telecommunications technologies and for easy access to information. The Federal government will be challenged to address the technical, organizational, and policy issues that affect the development of the standards needed for future information systems.     

Managing federal information technology: Conflicting policies and competing philosophies

Despite congressional initiatives and the Clinton administration's increased attention to information technology (IT) management policy, as part of its reinventing government and National Information Infrastructure (NII) initiatives, it is not evident that current IT policy initiatives will effectively address IT management problems. Nor is it evident that these efforts will result in the IT management improvements required to improve significantly Federal agency performance. This may be true because the government fails to recognize fundamental conflicts in the conceptualization of Federal IT management—conflicts perhaps best exemplified by the National Performance Review's (NPR) simultaneous call for reductions in bureaucratic red tape, reductions in the Federal workforce, limited support for IT education and training, and improved integration and oversight of IT management. After identifying some representative issues related to these program initiatives, the authors offer recommendations to improve Federal management of IT.     

Principles for information technology investment in u.s. federal electronic records management

Changing business and legal conditions force federal agencies to acquire information technology (IT) systems today that may be subject to future mandatory electronic records management (ERM) requirements. Agencies must devise IT investment strategies that optimize operating efficiencies and customer service improvements in the present and also comply with the likely future direction of ERM regulations. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency undertook a business process reengineering (BPR) exercise with respect to future co-location of previously separate regulatory docket facilities. Their experience suggests that future mandatory ERM will cause federal agencies to take a more thorough account of the full information life cycle when planning an IT system’s life cycle; and that BPR is a practical necessity when implementing ERM.     

The dissemination of federal government information: Prospects for the immediate future

The Government Printing Office is currently undertaking a study to “Identify Measures Necessary for a Successful Transition to a More Electronic Federal Depository Library Program.” With an anticipated date of 1998 for the implementation of an “electronic depository library program” this GPO study will become the blueprint for restructuring the FDLP. The ability of GPO to secure agency dissemination of electronic information through the FDLP as well as the willingness of depository libraries to remain in the Program will ultimately determine the long-term viability of the FDLP.     

Best practices in electronic government: Comprehensive electronic information dissemination for science and technology

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Scientific and Technical Information Program (STIP) has successfully reinvented the way in which DOE collects, organizes, archives, disseminates, and uses scientific and technical information in the performance of research and development (R&D). Through a suite of innovative Web-based products conceived and developed by the Department’s Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI), information and resources resulting from the Department’s R&D activities, as well as worldwide information needed by the research community, are readily available to all users in a fully integrated E-Government environment. This suite of products is accessible publicly at <http://www.osti.gov>.     

信息技术在图书馆知识管理中的作用

文章分析了信息技术在图书馆知识管理实践中的地位和作用,并对相关信息技术在图书馆知识管理中的应用作了阐述。     

Information under siege: The reagan administration's federal information policy

In this article, Congressman Owens assesses OMB's Circular No. A-130 on the management of Federal information resources. He finds the Circular highly deficient and a potential threat to the public's access to information that the government collects, produces, and maintains.     

Managing information technology in the federal government: Assessing the development and application of agency-wide policies

Growing interest in Federal agencies' management of information technology (IT) has prompted an examination of possible causes for problems in managing information technology. Members of both the Executive and Legislative Branches believe the problems result from ineffective OMB policies. Recent research shows, though, that agency management problems have resulted, in part, from the ineffectual application of OMB policy by agencies. This article examines what factors support or impede agency application and enforcement of IT management policy.     

关于信息科学和技术中常用量和单位的讨论

对信息科学与技术中所使用的一些量和单位符号进行讨论,并提出了规范化建议.     

Promoting education for information resources management in the federal government

The recent initiatives from the Clinton administration and Congress to “reinvent government,” to “develop electronic information services,” to “better manage information technology” (IT), and to “improve access to electronic government information,” certainly is welcome. But policymakers need to go beyond the proposals and develop specific program initiatives and implementation strategies if such goals are to be realized. The realization of these goals will require a range of new educational program initiatives to retrain and retool government officials, especially those engaged in information resources management (IRM).If these initiatives to reinvent government are to occur successfully, the administration and Congress must create a major program initiative—with adequate financial support—to revamp the educational programs that support IRM. Simply put, the changes occurring in both information technology and in managing that technology are outpacing many government officials' ability to respond in a planned and coherent fashion. Moreover, the existing infrastructure to develop Federal IRM education and training is fragmented and poorly supported, lacks clear policy direction, and desperately needs updating and reconceptualization.     

The right to know: Public access to federal information in the 1980s

This article is based on a symposium held at the University of California, Berkeley, and sponsored by the Library, University of California, Berkeley; the Librarians Association of the University of California (Berkeley Division); and the School of Library and Information Studies, University of California, Berkeley. The author examines government information controls in the context of the constitutional and statutory tradition of open access to government information in the United States. He discusses the restrictive climate in which the Reagan administration views public access and warns that restrictive national security policies may actually curtail economic growth, retard defense programs, and undermine the Constitution.     

Health information for patients: The hospital library's role

Libraries today, including most hospital-based patients' libraries, are involved only peripherally in providing patient health science information. Hospital libraries should collaborate with health professionals in getting health information to patients--along with the library's more traditional roles of providing recreational reading for patients and serving the informational needs of the physician and medical staff. The library should act as the center for educational materials and programs within the hospital. Many health agencies, health educators, physicians, and librarians have been discussing the need for patient health education, but there are few effectively organized or established education centers. This paper discusses an overview of patient health education and intellectural freedom, proposes a new role for the existing hospital library in patient health education, and suggests guidelines for establishing a patient education center.     

The role of handbooks in knowledge creation and diffusion: A case of science and technology studies

Genre is considered to be an important element in scholarly communication and in the practice of scientific disciplines. However, scientometric studies have typically focused on a single genre, the journal article. The goal of this study is to understand the role that handbooks play in knowledge creation and diffusion and their relationship with the genre of journal articles, particularly in highly interdisciplinary and emergent social science and humanities disciplines. To shed light on these questions we focused on handbooks and journal articles published over the last four decades belonging to the research area of science and technology studies (STS), broadly defined. To get a detailed picture we used the full-text of five handbooks (500,000 words) and a well-defined set of 11,700 STS articles. We confirmed the methodological split of STS into qualitative and quantitative (scientometric) approaches. Even when the two traditions explore similar topics (e.g., science and gender) they approach them from different starting points. The change in cognitive foci in both handbooks and articles partially reflects the changing trends in STS research, often driven by technology. Using text similarity measures we found that, in the case of STS, handbooks play no special role in either focusing the research efforts or marking their decline. In general, they do not represent the summaries of research directions that have emerged since the previous edition of the handbook.     

Distribution channel management in e-government: Addressing federal information policy issues

Part of the promise of electronic government (e-government) is its ability to transform the delivery of information services and products from government to users. E-government allows federal agencies to supplement and even supplant private sector roles intermediating between government agencies and users, creating unintended consequences in terms of policy, theory, and practice. The problem is called “channel conflict” in the marketing literature, and the typical response is called distribution channel management (DCM). After reviewing the literatures of e-government, information policy, and DCM, the paper explores differing DCM philosophies of two federal agencies: the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Census Bureau. An examination of these two DCM programs provides insights on how federal agencies may be able to manage their various channels for e-government offerings despite tensions in the current legal and policy context. The paper concludes by using DCM literature to help frame options for dealing with these tensions.     

我国科技信息资源消费行为研究

科技信息资源是科技资源的重要组成部分,用户对科技信息资源的认知度、消费需求和消费倾向是影响科技信息资源产业法阵的重要因素,文章采用问卷调查法对科技信息资源消费的认知、偏好以及影响因素进行调研,挖掘科技信息资源用户的消费行为特征及其影响因素。     

Ways to think about user fees for federal information products

With budget cuts looming, Federal agencies are revisiting user fees for information products. The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 provides for user fees no higher than the cost of information dissemination. Federal agencies are enjoined from making a profit on their information products and permitted only to recover costs. The real question is how much value agencies should add to their information strictly for the public's use. Practical considerations such as the administrative costs of fees and legal authority to receive revenues condition an agency's decision to begin user fees. Various factors such as allowable costs and differential pricing must be considered in computing users' fees. The author suggests an action strategy for agencies contemplating information user fees and concludes that coming budget cuts will lead to increased employment of user fees by Federal agencies.