Implementing a National

Transportation Knowledge Network

"In a special library, thelibrarians have the knowledge thatenables them to convert the data

in the library into informationfor the clients. I am always amazedhow much topical knowledge special

librarians have....“Peter Drucker

-- Economist, author, professor

Transportation Information Infrastructure: Who are the players?

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

Special Libraries Association’s TRANLIB e-mail discussion list

Transportation Research Board (TRB) part of the National Research Council

National Transportation Library (NTL) part of the US Department of Transportation (USDOT)

Transportation Research Information Service (TRIS) started in 1970 by TRB.• Currently funded by TRB members and hosted

online by NTL.• TRIS is indexed with a standardized vocabulary

from the Transportation Research Thesaurus (TRT) beginning in 1996.

NTL founded 1998, originally a digital-only collection.• Later NTL charged with coordinating

information sharing among transportation libraries and information providers.

21st Century Developments December 2001:

Midwest Transportation Knowledge Network (MTKN) formed with support from NTL.

Functions and Services of a TKN

• Identification of key information providers and user groups,

• Sharing of information and services,• Coordination of collections,• Interlibrary loan,• Sharing of catalogues,• Reference services, and• Professional capacity building for

members.

21st Century Developments, continued

2004: TLCat launched with support from MTKN and OCLC.

• Allows searching of multiple transportation libraries from a single interface.

• Includes NTL, state DOT’s and other governments, universities and 5 Canadian libraries for a total of 41 libraries.

The Transportation Library Connectivity Pooled Fund Study

October 2005 – Library Connectivity Pooled Fund Project begins with 11 members.

TRB Special Report 284 (2006)

AASHTO’s Standing Committee on Research asked TRB to study how to manage and provide transportation information.

LSTR and Pooled Fund Progress

March 2006 - Libraries Sharing Transportation Resources (LSTR), an OCLC Group Access Capability Group formed.

February 2007- Western Transportation Knowledge Network (WTKN) formed.• 15 members, ranging from Alaska to Texas.• Libraries from State DOT’s, universities, transit

authorities, regional planning organizations and corporations are included.

2007-2008 Developments

November 2007:Eastern Transportation Knowledge Network (ETKN) formed.

March 2008 - Pooled Fund Research Project Proposal to model and support a National TKN.• Currently 20 members in the Pooled

fund. June 2008: WTKN adopts Interlibrary

Loan Guidelines.

Pooled Fund Research Project TPF-5(105)

Sponsored by NTL.• Assists non-OCLC libraries with online

request form.• Encourages OCLC use by offering

training and granting LSTR membership.• Discourages requests via personal e-

mail and TRANLIB• FedEx account to absorb shipping costs

between TKN libraries.

A bit of Red tape.

NTL keeps the statistics, so it can’t hold the money.

USDOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) will administer the funds...any day now!

How is this “ILL on the Cheap?”

By proposing this as a research project, it was easier to get funding and sponsorship.

Making the most of overlapping networks – the TKN’s, Pooled Fund participants, various Transportation libraries, and OCLC

Any Questions?

Andrew PoultridgeWSDOT LibraryPO Box 47425310 Maple Park Ave SEOlympia WA 98504-7425360-705-7018 v360-705-6831 fpoultra@wsdot.wa.gov