Transportation Knowledge Networks A Management Strategy for the 21st Century -- Special Report 284 (2006) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Pages 1-12
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headquarters library has been downsized, several state DOT libraries have lost staff and funding, and some have been closed. Despite the wealth of information on the Internet, transportation professionals still report that they face an overwhelming volume of information and have difficulty locating and retrieving many technical reports, even those in digital form.
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THE STATE OF TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND THE CASE FOR CHANGE Transportation information professionals first laid out a vision for a transportationinformationmanagementsystemintheearly1970sthatincluded an evolving network of information services and users, a nationallevel coordinating unit, and stable and broad-based financial support.
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Indeed, compared with other major sectors of the economy that support national libraries and broad networks of information providers, such as health and agriculture, the transportation sector devotes relatively few resources to information services. In short, the transportation sector's approach to information management is piecemeal, unevenly funded, and largely dependent on informal institutional arrangements.
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They can form the backbone of a better system for managing transportation information and help achieve efficiencies in the provision of information services through partnerships and collaborations -- for example, by rationalizing transportation collection policies and holdings, creating centers of subject-area specialization, and coordinating the preservation and storage of printed and electronic materials. Effective networks require both a management component to help organize and coordinate the provision of information services and the physical infrastructure necessary to enable networked operations (e.g., development of common standards and protocols, authentication of materials, communication links, storage and redundancy of materials, and security)
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· Lead core group · USDOT libraries · State DOT libraries · BTS/modal · University libraries administrations · Other libraries and · Other federal collections (e.g., agencies MPOs, transit agencies, large cities and counties, corporate) FIGURE ES-1 Proposed nationwide system for transportation information management.
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. The functions and services of the regional and federal TKNs should include identification of key information provider and user groups, sharing of information and services, coordination of library and other transportation collections, interlibrary loans, sharing of catalogues through TLCat, reference services, and professional capacity building for members.
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; planning and priority setting for networkwide programs and projects; administrative support for the TKNs; information infrastructure development and tool creation; facilitation of networkwide standards setting and protocol development; research on new information technologies, best practices, and changing user information needs; and professional capacity building and curriculum development. Finding: The proposed coordinating structure will serve a national purpose for the transportation sector and therefore should be located in an institution with a national transportation role.
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The TKNs may also benefit from forming a separate organization outside USDOT to address local network issues. The experience of national-level information providers in other sectors can be emulated in seeking an appropriate governance arrangement for the proposed coordinating structure.
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, and act as a checks-and-balances mechanism outside of USDOT. Funding Finding: The lack of sustained funding and ownership in the develop ment of a nationwide transportation information management sys tem has been a critical problem in the past, hindering the provision of the support needed to develop a coordinating structure with a national vision to meet the information service needs of transportation users.
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With these caveats in mind, the committee recommends that a 3-year federal grant program be used to set up the coordinating structure, initiate its critical programs, and provide pilot grants to help establish the regional and federal TKNs. TKNs receiving pilot grants should be required to develop metrics and examples of the cost savings and other benefits of networked information services.
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NEXT STEPS AND BENEFITS The committee proposes, first, that SCOR support a follow-on project through the National Cooperative Highway Research Program to develop a business plan, including details of proposed functions and funding, for the transportation information management system recommended in this report. This effort should be of sufficient duration to build support among potential funders and stakeholders (e.g., USDOT, AASHTO, the Council of University Transportation Centers, the American Public Transit Association, the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations)
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Most important, the proposed coordinating structure, supporting the TKNs at the federal and regional levels, shouldprovidethelong-overdueleadershipneededtobringaboutatransportation information management system that will meet the information needs of the transportation sector well into the 21st century.
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