gtric - Special Libraries Association

S P E C I A L L I B R A R I E S A S S O C I A T I O N
T D
TRANSPORTATION DIVISION BULLETIN
Vol. 16, no. 3/Summer 2000
SLA CONFERENCE SUMMARY: GTRIC
Summary by Nelda Bravo, Federal Highway Administration
As is customary, the Government
Transportation Research
Information Committee (GTRIC)
workshop was held on the Sunday
before the SLA Annual Meeting
kicked off. Judy Gutshall, PennDOT,
and Nelda Bravo, FHWA, developed
the agenda and presided. There were
over 25 participants at the workshop.
Handouts from the program are on
the Division’s web site, http://
www.library.nwu.edu/transportation/
slatran/. Choose “What’s New?”
and then “conference program.”
There is a link from the program
description to the presentation
slides.
Richard Harris, Director of the
Center for Performance Excellence at
PennDOT, opened the GTRIC
meeting by welcoming us to Pennsylvania
and delivering an excellent
overview of PennDOT’s efforts to
measure itself against the Baldrige
criteria. Expanding the services
provided by the Department’s information
professionals is one way in
which PennDOT is trying to increase
knowledge sharing and provide better
service to internal and external
customers.
Barbara Post reported that there
are now over 500,000 records in TRIS.
This includes the integration of the
PATH database. The Research-in-
Progress (RIP) database contains over
5,700 statements of research. These
represent ongoing projects at FHWA,
FTA, TRB, State DOTs, Canada and
the academic sector.
There are several versions of
TRIS available; the one on DIALOG
At the GTRIC meeting on Sunday,
Judy Gutshall of PennDOT’s
Knowledge Center introduced Rich
Harris, Director, Center for
Performance Excellence, PennDOT.
Pictured here from left to right are
Rich Harris, Cheryl Bodan and
Judy Gutshall. Cheryl works with
Judy in the Knowledge Center.
is the most complete. It includes RIP,
the English version of the International
Transportation Research
Database (formerly IRRD) and the
subfiles. SilverPlatter’s TRANSPORT
CD-ROM contains only published
documents and the complete ITRD.
TRIS ONLINE includes all of TRIS
except the RIP and ITRD. It also
contains links to 600 full-text articles.
Plans are in the works to add RIP, an
advanced query screen, more full-text
links, and links to document suppliers.
Future plans for TRIS ONLINE
include continued improvements and
expansion and integration of the
Transportation Thesaurus. Improvements
to TRIS include integration of
the RIP system, and development of a
new production system for TRIS.
Cindy Sparkman, Bureau of
Transportation Statistics, reported on
the status of the National Transportation
Library (NTL). Project consultants
Chris Berendes and Janice Bain-
Kerr covered technical aspects and
collection development. They would
like feedback on the NTL, the first
national library created without the
Continued on Page 14
What’s Inside?
Message from the Chair ................... 2
Corrections ........................................ 3
SLA Conference Summaries:
GTRIC .......................................... 1
Current Status of National
Transportation Programs ........... 4
Source of Information in
Transportation – Live!................. 4
Conducting the Reference
Interview by E-mail and the
Internet .......................................... 5
Selecting a WebPAC .................... 6
NTIS Update ................................ 7
International Transportation and
Information ................................ 12
News Briefs ....................................... 8
Don’t Be Left Out! ........................... 9
Membership Update ....................... 9
2000 Minutes
Annual Business Meeting ........ 10
Executive Board Meeting ........ 11
Call for Nominations: Professional
Achievement Award ..................... 15

Page 2 Transportation Division Bulletin
Message From the Chair
By Laura Whayne, Kentucky Transportation
Center
Greetings!
As the new Chair of the Transportation
Division, I look forward to
working with you and representing the
Division in the coming year. The
Transportation Division is the greatest
because of the people and the support
they offer. If you are a new member, I
want to welcome you. I know you will
find the members and the Division
helpful. As an existing/returning
member (note I did not say ‘old’), I
want to say thanks for supporting and
participating in the Division.
I really enjoyed the SLA Annual
Conference and the city of Philadelphia
this year. Mary Silva and her
committees did a great job and are to
be congratulated for the excellent
programs and fun activities that were
planned. THANKS, MARY!! Be sure
to read the summaries of the programs
elsewhere in the Bulletin. I hope
to plan a program for next year that is
as interesting and fun as this year’s
program.
The SLA Annual Conference will
be in San Antonio, Texas next year.
Yee Hah! The dates for the conference
are June 9-14, 2001 and the
theme is: 2001— An Information
Odyssey: Seizing the Competitive
Advantage. San Antonio is a fun city
with an interesting history and has the
great River Walk lined with shops,
restaurants, and sites. Many of you
were in San Antonio the last time SLA
was held there and know what a fun
place it is. Be sure to mark your
calendars.
I may be calling on some of you
throughout the year for your help and
expertise. Some of you have already
answered the call and agreed to serve
on various committees, and I really
appreciate that.
Laura Whayne
Congratulations to Mary Ellen
Tucker, from the University of North
Carolina Highway Safety Research
Center, who became Chair-Elect. I’m
looking forward to working with her
as well as with Bob Sweet, the
Secretary/Treasurer, and Mary Silva,
the Past Chair. I think we have a solid
Executive Board. Please contact any
of us if you have questions, concerns,
or suggestions.
THE SLA
TRANSPORTATION
DIVISION
WEB SITE
ADDRESS:
Don’t forget
to bookmark it.
http://
www.library.nwu.edu/
transportation/slatran/
Transportation
Division Website
and Listserv
Get up-to-date information on
Transportation Division activities
by logging on to the Division
website and signing up for
the Division listserv.
Don’t miss out!
To Subscribe to TRANLIB,
the Division listserv:
Send a message to:
LISTSERV@PIRANHA.ACNS.NWU.EDU
No subject line is necessary.
Your text message should read:
SUBSCRIBE TRANLIB
(without the brackets!)
To Send a Message to
TRANLIB:
Address the message to:
TRANLIB@LISTSERV.ACNS.NWU.EDU
Messages will be delivered to
TRANLIB subscribers at the
time of posting; this list is not
moderated.
To Unsubscribe from
TRANLIB:
Send an e-mail message to:
LISTSERV@PIRANHA.ACNS.NWU.EDU
No subject line is necessary.
Your text message should read:
UNSUBSCRIBE TRANLIB
TRANLIB is a forum for the
discussion and exchange of
information regarding library
collections, services and operations.
Requests for assistance or
referral, announcements and
other items of interest to
transportation librarians are
encouraged.
Current information about the
Transportation Division and its
committees’ activities will also
be reported to the list.
http://www.library.nwu.edu/
transportation/slatran/

Corrections
Photo and caption should have appeared with Barbara Post’s article,
“TRIS Online Now Available on Web” (p. 7 of the Spring 2000 issue).
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
January 10, 2000, at Exhibits
at TRB Annual Meeting
Pictured from left to right: Ashish Sen, Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics; Mortimer
L. Downey, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation; Rodney E. Slater, Secretary,
U.S. Department of Transportation; and Robert E. Skinner, Jr., Executive Director,
Transportation Research Board.
Correction to News Briefs - division Members at TRB Meeting,
which appeared on page 15 of the Spring 2000 issue.
In the News Brief titled “Division Members at TRB Meeting” (Spring 2000,
page 15), the list of speakers for the Information is Where It’s At! session was inaccurate:
Roberto Sarmiento of Northwestern University graciously substituted for Barbara
Post of TRB, who had a schedule conflict. And, Barbara Peterson of 3M gave an
excellent overview of the library services offered by the 3M information professionals.
She stepped in for Michael Roman, also of 3M. Thanks to both of these professionals
for their quality presentations, especially on short notice.
Summer 2000 Page 3
Transportation Division Bulletin
Vol. 16, no. 3/Summer 2000
Editor
Pam Newsome, Minnesota Department of
Transportation, St. Paul, MN
Production Editing
Courtesy of the Center for Transportation
and the Environment, Raleigh, N.C.
Sherry McIntyre, Lois Widmer
Advertising Manager
Janice Bain-Kerr, Library Consultant to the
National Transportation Library,
Washington, D.C.
Bulletin Committee
John Gallwey, Teresa Troide
Contributors to this Issue
Janet Bix, Nelda Bravo, Dot Finn, Marie
Knup, Shaun Moran, Pam Newsome,
Bonnie Osif, Ernest Robl, Bob Sweet,
Laura Whayne
The Transportation Division Bulletin is the
newsletter published three times per year of
the Transportation Division of the Special
Libraries Association (SLA). Reproduction
in whole or in part without permission is
prohibited.
The SLA assumes no responsibility for the
statements and opinions advanced by the
contributors to the Association’s
publications. Editorial views do not
necessarily represent the official position of
SLA.
The Transportation Division reserves the
right to decline advertising that it believes
to be in conflict with the objectives of the
Division or the Association. Acceptance of
an advertisement does not imply
endorsement of the product by SLA.
Advertising and copy deadlines are
November 1 (Fall/Winter), March 15
(Spring), and July 15 (Summer).
All copy should be submitted to:
Pam Newsome, Bulletin Editor
Minnesota Department of Transportation
395 John Ireland Blvd., MS155
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: 651-296-1494
Fax: 651-297-2354
E-mail: pam.newsome@dot.state.mn.us
Advertising rates are available from the
Bulletin Ad Manager:
Janice Bain-Kerr
National Transportation Library
Room 3430
U.S. Department of Transportation
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
400 7th Street, S.W.
Washington, DC 20590
Phone (BTS): 202-366-8806
Phone (home office): 410-770-3531
Fax: 410-763-6591
E-mail: jbkjow@crosslink.net

Page 4 Transportation Division Bulletin
SLA CONFERENCE SUMMARY:
The Current Status of National
Transportation Programs
Summary by Laura Whayne, Kentucky Transportation Center
Speakers: George Ostensen, Federal
Highway Administration; Henry
Nejako, Federal Transit Administration;
Barbara Post, Transportation
Research Board.
Moderator: James Olivetti, American
Public Transportation Association.
The speakers gave a status
report on current and future plans for
library related projects in their agencies.
Handouts from the program
are on the Division’s web site,
http://www.library.nwu.edu/transportation/slatran/.
Choose “What’s
New?” and then “conference
program.” There is a link from the
program description to the presentation
slides.
George Ostensen gave an
overview of the surface transportation
system and then discussed “raising the
bar” on performance through
technology and improved transportation.
The key aspects of technology
and improved transportation are the
information age (linking and leveraging
information technology), improved
physical infrastructure, and
penetrating the market. George also
described the FHWA Midwestern
Transportation Research Network
that links researchers and information
professionals. Another program
discussed was the National R&T
Partnership Forum, which is a
collaborative effort to establish
stronger working relationships with
key partners and customer groups.
Henry Nejako provided a brief
summary of techniques used by FTA
and its partners in transit technology
transfer. Transportation libraries have
an essential role in achieving technology
transfer, and technology transfer
is critical to the delivery of improvements.
Henry gave an overview of the
FTA Research & Technology Transfer
Program. Several related web sites and
sources of information were also
discussed.
Barbara Post gave an explanation
of the organization of the Transportation
Research Board (TRB). The
Transportation Division has become
involved in several TRB projects.
Information dissemination and
exchange are key roles of TRB. This is
accomplished through meetings and
conferences, publications, online data
and information, and the field visit
program. TRIS is the world’s largest
and most comprehensive bibliographic
resource on transportation research.
TRIS is available online (fee based)
through Silver Platter or Dialog, or
online for free through the National
Transportation Library web site.
SLA CONFERENCE SUMMARY: Sources
of Information in Transportation - Live!
Summary by Dot Finn, Gellman Research Associates, Inc.
This session was a preview of
the Transportation Division’s planned
SOURCES OF INFORMATION IN
TRANSPORTATION (5th edition).
Six Division members described the
resources (print, CD, Internet, etc.)
that they cannot live without.
The moderator was Dan
Krummes, from the University of
California, Berkeley. He is chair of the
Networking Committee and the
Special Projects Committee. Mike
Kleiber, Institute of Transportation
Studies, University of California,
Berkeley, gave us a brief history of
the Sources projects. The first edition
was published in 1964, by Northwestern
University. In 1980 the
second edition came out, from US
DOT/NTIS. The 1985 and 1990
editions were published by Vance
Bibliographies. The division has
always been involved in its compilation.
Mike gave us his favorite sources
for ITS (Intelligent Transportation
Systems). He specifically mentioned
among others, the ICDN Newsletter
and the Transportation Communications
Newsletter, the ITS America
website, the ITS Council of IEEE, the
INSPEC database and of course, the
PATH database which has 20,000
records on the TRB web site.
Continued on Page 13

SLA CONFERENCE SUMMARY:
Conducting the Reference Interview
by E-mail and the Internet
Summary by Laura Whayne, Kentucky Transportation Center
Speakers: Dr. Eileen G. Abels, University
of Maryland; Ann Sweeney,
European Commission Delegation;
Colleen Shannon, Hershey Foods; and
Eileen Deegan, U.S. Dept. of State.
Moderator: Mary Silva, Arizona Dept.
of Transportation. Sponsor: LEXIS-
NEXIS.
The speakers discussed various
approaches to e-mail reference,
potential problems, and the use of
forms. The panelists provided some
excellent examples and good, practical
information based on their experiences.
Handouts from the program
are on the Division’s web site,
http://www.library.nwu.edu/transportation/slatran/.
Choose “What’s
New?” and then “conference
program.” There are links from
the program description to the
presentation materials.
Eileen Abels provided an
overview of remote reference and
discussed some of the related issues
and trends. E-mail reference complements
in-person and telephone
reference. Requests may come in free
form (i.e. no form to guide the
patron), free form with prior instruc-
tions, or a structured form. The
nature of the request can determine
the success. It is important to develop
a remote reference policy that addresses
turn around time, limitations,
types of questions answered, user
groups to be served, and an explanation
of delivery.
Colleen Shannon stressed the
importance of an immediate response
and standardized results for e-mail
reference questions. She recommends
having a form for the completion of a
reference question. Tips included the
following:
Know the client base in terms
of technical resources,
technical ability, and culture
Be flexible
Be consistent
Be organized
Be communicative
Remember that closure is
critical
Take advantage of “ease of
extras” factors
When all else fails: eat
chocolate!
Eileen Deegan notes an increasing
usage of e-mail reference. Having
a form prompts the user to provide
Summer 2000 Page 5
the information needed, but requests
are accepted in other formats. They
have a Lotus Notes Reference Database
that captures e-mail requests,
generates and organizes the forms,
and serves as an information repository.
Her suggestions, for a reference
database, are to use database developers,
expect the unexpected, have a
team of librarians to consult with the
software developers, and market the
reference service to patrons.
Ann Sweeney reviewed the
Public Inquiries Reporting System
Data Entry form that they use.
Statistics or reports can be generated
from this. The Request Form was also
shown and discussed. Inquiries are
received via the Delegation’s web site
as well as by phone, fax, or letter.
Some of the technical difficulties
faced include:
The time differences between
the U.S. and Europe
The disappointing response
record from Europe
The variety of formats of EU
electronic documents
The occurrence of documents
being announced before they
are posted on the web.

Page 6 Transportation Division Bulletin
SLA CONFERENCE SUMMARY:
Selecting a WebPAC
Summary by Marie Knup, LTK Engineering Services
The following is a recap of the very interesting and informative panel discussion on the various aspects of
choosing a WebPAC.
C.D. McLean is a Solo Librarian
at Paradyne Corp. She is in charge
of a library with two unstaffed offsite
collections. The library has two
computers. She began her search for a
WebPAC with the following criteria in
mind:
The cost had to be at or under
$5,000.00.
It had to be web accessible.
Software had to be customizable
since there were unique materials
to be cataloged.
MARC format was not necessary.
She made the following recommendations:
Go to conferences.
Check out vendor’s software.
Check the archive of the Solo
Librarian’s listserv to see what
other have said about the
software you are considering.
Get a demo disk or trial use of
the system.
Explore your software and get
to know the customization
features.
Once the system is in place you
must market its existence.
She chose TLC On Point
software.
Joni Cassidy – Cassidy Cataloging
Joni reminded us that every sales
transaction is a chess game. Each side
has rules and goals. They are not the
same. Their job is a sale. Your job is to
get the best price and the best product
for your needs.
Before you interview vendors
you should:
Make a wish list of problems
you want to solve.
Complete a worksheet as a
means of comparing the
products uniformly.
Use these worksheets when
interviewing vendors.
Use a clipboard when interviewing
vendors – it’s a bit
intimidating.
Find out the history of the
company:
How long has it been under
the same management?
What is the company’s mission
statement?
Is the version the vendor is
demonstrating the same as that
loaded at clients’ sites?
Don’t let them inflate the
number of sites.
How long has this version
been on the market?
Is it used in libraries similar to
yours?
Get a list of clients from the
vendor and call similar libraries.
How good is the training and
ongoing technical support?
Do they include new staff
training?
Are there user groups; are they
supported by the vendor?
Is there a user group in your
area?
What is the ratio of technicians
to clients?
How many technicians are
trained on the entire system?
Also ask about data conversion
and installation charges. Is there an
annual maintenance fee? Do you need
to upgrade your hardware?
Bob Sweet – University of
Michigan Transportation Research
Institute - DOS to WebPAC with
Inmagic.
Bob already had an automated
catalog he wanted to put on the web.
He had used Inmagic since 1982,
growing up with it through the beta
testing to the Windows version. He
continued to use the DOS version.
The decision to go to a WebPAC was
driven by the need to provide desktop
access to the catalog.
He looked at other packages, but
they required radically altering the
existing records structure. With
Inmagic he could use the existing
records structure, and it provided very
flexible reports.
The change required an upgrade
to the Windows version and purchasing
a server to run Windows NT. The
total startup cost was about
$10,000.00.
It is very robust software,
allowing searches by author, title,
corporate author, report number,
conference title, etc. It uses a word
wheel – click and browse a list of
terms in the specific field with number
of hits for each term.
Continued on Page 13

Summer 2000 Page 7
SLA CONFERENCE SUMMARY: NTIS Update
Summary by Shaun Moran, Transport Canada
Contrary to rumor, NTIS has
not closed! Mr. Walter Finch , the
Associate Director for Business
Development at the National Technical
Information Service brought us
up-to-date on the ongoing story of
NTIS.
We all remember the famous
Press Release of August 12, 1999
when the Department of Commerce
announced that NTIS was to close
and to transfer certain functions to
the Library of Congress by December
2000. The Library of Congress had
not been consulted. Since then there
have been two Congressional Hearings
: the first in September 1999 , the
second on October 21, 1999. The
general consensus of witnesses at
these hearings was that NTIS provides
a valuable centralized service and that
the Internet is not a suitable replacement
. Beginning in January 2000 the
U.S. National Commission on Libraries
and Information Science (NCLIS)
conducted a study assisted by a broad
group of public and private stakeholders
( http://www.nclis.gov ).They
recommended that the Dept. of
Commerce should utilize $4.5M to
supplement and sustain NTIS instead
of using it to close it. They further
recommended that Congress should
change the law requiring NTIS to
recover operating costs primarily
“through the collection of fees” and
that Congress should authorize
and appropriate $5M for FY 2001
to sustain NTIS while NCLIS
completes its in-depth analysis.
This analysis includes not only
NTIS but also Federal Depository
Libraries and Information Policy.
There are several options - the
status quo; more money for NTIS;
or transfer NTIS to another
agency such as GPO, the Library
of Congress or the National
Archives.
To date, draft legislation by
the Dept. of Commerce to close
NTIS has not been introduced in
Congress.
No-Host Dinner at Conference
Dot Finn graciously coordinated the Saturday evening no-host dinner for the Division and
invited members of the Environment and Resource Management Division (ERMD) to join
with Transportation Division members for a delightful meal at Portofino. Pictured here are two
of the four tables.
(Clockwise from top left) Mike Kleiber, Laura Whayne,
Maryanne Ward, Gregory Ames, Carol Paszamant, Mary
Silva, Diane Sotak (ERMD) and Mala Sistla (ERMD).
L – R clockwise from head of table:
Bob Sweet, Dot Finn, Duncan McClusky (ERMD), and
Ginny Carroll (ERMD)

Page 8 Transportation Division Bulletin
News Briefs
By Pam Newsome, Minnesota Dept. of Transportation
TRN Member Publishes New
Book
Submitted by Ernest H. Robl, E.H. Robl
Photography
Ernest H. Robl, photographer,
writer, and longtime member of the
SLA Transportation Division, has
published a new book, The Powder
River Basin: A Guide to America’s
Power Railroading Base, Second
Edition, April 2000; version 2.0. The
Powder River Basin, located in eastern
Wyoming and southeastern Montana,
is the site of extensive coal mining
activity, and is described by Robl as the
busiest area for freight railroad
operations in North America. His
book is designed to be a tour guide for
the traveler who wants to get off the
beaten path and experience this unique
environment of open range, deer and
antelope, mines and railroads. Several
of the author’s photographs of the
Powder River Basin are reproduced in
the book. Most of the photographs
can be viewed in color on his website
at http://www.robl.w1.com/PRB/.
Other books by Ernest Robl include
America’s Classic Railroad Places:
A Geographical Dictionary of
North American Railroad Locations,
3 rd ed, 2000, and Getting
Serious About Photography. Information
on all of the publications is
available on his web site.
SLA Strategic Task Forces
Submitted by Laura Whayne, Kentucky
Transportation Center
SLA has established five task
forces and needs your input on them.
It is important that you let the task
forces know your thoughts on these
issues to ensure that all aspects are
considered and that the decisions
made best reflect the members’
wishes. A website has been set up with
a brief description of the charge of
each task force and the members to be
contacted: http://www.sla.org/assoc/
comm/taskforce.html.
1. Task Force on Branding
2. Task Force on Conference
Planning Structure
3. Task Force on Partnerships
4. Task Force on Membership
5. Task Force on Simplification
of Association and Unit
Structure
TRN Members Present at
AASHTO RAC Meeting
As this issue of the Bulletin goes
into production, TRB Committee
A5017, the Committee on Library
and Information Science for Transportation,
is presenting a program
for the AASHTO Research Advisory
Committee (RAC) meeting in St.
Louis, Missouri. The working group
that put together the presentation
included: Mary Silva, Arizona
Transportation Research Center;
Sandy Tucker, Texas Transportation
Institute; Barbara Post, Transportation
Research Board; and Nelda
Bravo, Federal Highway Administration.
Nelda described this as a big
step in recognition of the value of
information professionals. RAC is
made up of the research directors for
the states’ Departments of Transportation,
some of the biggest users of
transportation information. This
program provided an opportunity to
emphasize the connection between
timely, accurate, efficient information
and the information professionals
who provide it.
“White Paper” on Access to
U.S. Transportation Info
Sources
One of the topics for discussion
at the RAC meeting noted above
is a paper prepared by Jerry
Baldwin, librarian at the Minnesota
Department of Transportation. The
paper is an overview of some
existing problems hampering the
efficient identification, location and
sharing of transportation information
resources. A copy of Access to U.S.
Transportation Information Sources is
available on the Web at http://
www.dot.state.mn.us/library/
infoakss.html.
TRN Members Contribute to
Elsevier Newsletter
The guest editorial in the June
2000 issue of TR Update, the Elsevier
Science Transportation Newsletter, is
by Catherine Cortelyou and Michael
Klieber of the University of California,
Berkeley. Their article,
“Tomorrow’s Technology in Today’s
Library,” discusses the changes that
technology has brought to libraries
and describes some electronic sources
for transportation research. In a
separate column in the same issue,
Barbara Post, Transportation Research
Board, describes one of those
sources, TRIS, in greater detail.
TRN Members Team for Poster
Session
Barbara Post, Transportation
Research Board (TRB), is pictured
readying equipment and displays for
the poster session at the National
Conference on Transportation and
Environment for the 21st Century, a
TRB Midyear Meeting of 13 committees
held in Pittsburgh at the end of
July. Judy Gutshall, PennDOT
Knowledge Center; Constance Hill,
Continued on Page 13

Don’t Be Left Out!
By Laura Whayne, Kentucky Transportation Center
Are you on the Division’s
discussion list, TRANLIB? If not,
you are missing out on a great resource
and service. It is easy to join
and if you need assistance, we can
help with that too. Sometimes we need
to communicate with Division
members in between issues of the
Bulletin and the list is the best way of
doing that. I strongly encourage you
to join TRANLIB.
Here’s a test:
Need to know what is going on
in the profession or the Division?
TRANLIB can keep you
informed on transportation
issues, library issues, or SLA
issues.
Have you ever been stumped
with a reference question?
The list members are always
ready to help and usually
provide a quick response. The
rest of
us learn something too.
Looking for a specific resource,
want to offer some free materials
that you no longer need, or
want to know what technology
others are using?
TRANLIB is the answer!
Need information about the
annual SLA Conference?
TRANLIB is the source! (As
well as the Web Site.) As we get
close to the conference, the
list provides information about
the transportation programs
and activities and last minute
changes. It ensures that you
know what is going on when
you arrive.
Have I convinced you to join? I
hope so. We really want all of our
members to be on TRANLIB so we
can keep in touch. It’s a great way to
get to know others in the Division
too. It is not a high volume discussion
Membership Update
By Janet Bix, Membership Chair
Summer 2000 Page 9
An updated Transportation Division membership list was distributed at
the SLA Conference on floppy disks. Members who were not at the conference
can request an updated file from me via email, jbix@dot.state.oh.us, and I
will distribute the file via email.
Natalie Bracy Thomas
27369 Sutherland St.
Southfield, MI 48076-3563
Phone: 284-488-4026; Fax 248-
488-3914
(Student Member)
Susan M. Browning
Metropolitan Transit Authority
Technical Resource Center
1201 Louisiana
Houston, TX 77002-5600
Phone: 713-739-6868; Fax 713-
652-8924
Email: sb03@houmetro.harris.tx.us
Laurel M. Clark
737 Santa Rita Way
Sacramento, CA 95864-5237
Phone: 916-654-4601; Fax 916-
654-4560
Email: laurel.clark@dot.ca.gov
(California Dept. of Transportation)
Linda A. Dodson
Booz Allen & Hamilton Inc.
Library
8283 Greensboro Dr.
McLean, VA 22102-3802
Phone: 703-902-5913; Fax 703-
902-3377
Email: dodson@bah.com
Tara N. Gordanier
1905 Van Buren
Arlington, VA 22205
Phone: 703-358-9000; Fax 703-
358-9009
Email: tgordanier@avalon-ais.com
(Avalon Integrated Services)
Andrea P. Grover
Tranz Rail Ltd.
Wellington Railway Station
Bunny St.
list, so at least give it a try. JOIN
NOW!! (See procedures on Page 2.)
Private Bag
Wellington 6001
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: 644-498-3252; Fax 644-
498-3063
David S. Jones
4550 Connecticut Ave. N.W.,
Apt. 409
Washington, DC 20008-4321
Phone: 202-366-0755
(Student Member)
Nina L. Kramer
3838 N.E. 75 th Ave.
Portland, OR 97213-5764
Phone: 503-287-6248
(Student Member)
Susan G. Lamanna
1 McLennan Way
Kanata, ON K2L 2N1
CANADA
Phone: 613-998-5018; Fax 613-
998-4860
Email: lamanns@tc.gc.ca
(Transport Canada)
Paula A. Meredith
Missouri Dept. of Transportation
Information Systems
105 W. Capitol Ave.
Jefferson City, MO 65101-6811
Phone: 573-526-0143; Fax 573-
751-2839
Email:
meredp@mail.modot.state.mo.us
Brenda M. Scherr
10114 Oakwood Chase Court
Oakton, VA 22124
Phone: 703-902-5975; Fax 703-
902-3023
Email: scherr_brenda@bah.com
(Booz Allen & Hamilton Inc.)

Page 10 Transportation Division Bulletin
Minutes of the SLA
Transportation Division
2000 Annual Business
Meeting
Submitted by Bob Sweet, UMTRI; 1999-2001 Secretary-Treasurer
The annual business meeting was
held Tuesday, June 13, at 12:00 noon.
Mary Silva, division chair, called the
meeting to order, following a division
luncheon. Mary welcomed division
members and guests George Ostensen
from FHWA and Henry Nejako from
FTA, as well as Michelle Dally from
South Africa and Suzanne Chimilaro
from Tanzania. (Other international
guests who attended the annual
conference but were not present at the
business meeting were Richard
Mahlahla from Zimbabwe, Luule Kaal
from Estonia, and Ivana Sismova from
the Czech Republic.
Minutes from the 1999 meeting
were approved. Bob Sweet noted in
his treasurer’s report that the division’s
total assets equal $10,049.74.
Dot Finn gave the report for the
Fundraising Committee and introduced
the sponsors who were in
attendance.
Jeanne Thomas, acting for
Sandra Tucker who was unable to
attend, gave the Nominating Committee
report. She announced that Mary
Ellen Tucker had been selected as
chair-elect.
In Mary’s report from the chair,
she acknowledged members who had
“truly gone beyond the call of duty”:
Dot Finn for raising a record $4,900,
offering her home to members
without hotel rooms, coordinating
the scavenger hunt, and planning the
no-host dinner; Roberto Sarmiento
for maintaining archival files, hosting
the listserv and the web page, and
retrieving errant email messages; and
Janet Bix for enduring the stress of
assembling a division directory on
disk (which was distributed at the
meeting).
Mary expressed her appreciation
for the opportunity to serve and
introduced the new chair, Laura
Whayne of the University of
Kentucky’s Kentucky Transportation
Center Library.
Susan Dresley gave a report on
the project to update Sources of
Information in Transportation.
Nelda Bravo gave an overview
of FHWA’s Office of International
Programs’ hosting of librarians from
various countries (names listed
above).
Incoming chair Laura Whayne
adjourned the meeting at 1 p.m.
2000/2001
Transportation
Division
Executive
Board
Laura L. Whayne
Division Chair
University of Kentucky
Kentucky Transportation Center
176 Raymond Bldg.
Lexington, KY 40506-0281
Phone: 606-257-4513 ext.234
Fax: 606-257-1815
E-mail: lwhayne@engr.uky.edu
Mary Ellen Tucker
Chair-Elect
University of North Carolina
Highway Safety Research Center
730 Airport Road, Suite 300
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3430
Phone: 919-962-8701
Fax: 919-962-8710
E-mail: metucker@email.unc.edu
Robert E. Sweet
Secretary-Treasurer
University of Michigan
Transportation Research Inst.
2901 Baxter Rd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2150
Phone: 734-936-1073
Fax: 734-936-1081
E-mail: bsweet@umich.edu
Mary D. Silva
Immediate Past Chair
Arizona Department of
Transportation
Arizona Trans. Research Center
2739 E. Washington St.
(MD#075R)
Phoenix, AZ 85009-3716
Phone: 602-407-3138
Fax: 602-256-6367
E-mail: msilva@dot.state.az.us

Summer 2000 Page 11
Minutes of the SLA Transportation
Division 2000 Executive Board Meeting
Submitted by Bob Sweet, UMTRI; 1999-2001 Secretary-Treasurer
The meeting was called to order
by division chair Laura Whayne at 7:30
a.m., June 14, 2000, and the 1999
meeting minutes were approved.
Members in attendance were Janet
Bix, Nelda Bravo, Susan Dresley, Dot
Finn, Betty Lou Hicks, Dan
Krummes, Jim Olivetti, Bonnie Osif,
Barbara Post, Roberto Sarmiento,
Mary Silva, Bob Sweet, Jeanne Thomas,
Laura Whayne, Hank Zalatel. We
had two guests: Suzanne Chimaliro
from Tanzania and Richard Mahlahla
from Zimbabwe.
Mary Silva, past chair, gave her
report.
Bob Sweet reported that the
division is in good financial health,
with assets of $10,049.74.
Committee Reports
Claudia Devlin was not present
to give a report on the Archives
Committee.
Pam Newsome was not present
to give a report on the Bulletin Committee.
Bob Sweet reported that the
Bylaws Committee had no activity in
the last year.
Dot Finn thanked the
Fundraising Committee, of which she
is the chair, for their successful
efforts. She is trying to recruit new
sponsors, while committee members
continue to woo existing sponsors.
The “ante” has been upped; therefore
we have greater revenues to report.
Jim Olivetti, the incoming
Government Relations Committee
chair, asked all members to help him
become informed on how he can best
serve the committee. Outgoing chair
Mary Ellen Tucker was not in attendance.
Nelda Bravo reported a good
turnout for the annual GTRIC
meeting, which featured presentations
by Rich Harris, Pennsylvania Dept. of
Transportation; Cindy Sparkman,
Bureau of Transportation Statistics;
Chris Berendes, consultant to Bureau
of Transportation Statistics; Jeanne
Thomas, Michigan Department of
Transportation; Hank Zalatel, Iowa
Dept. of Transportation; Judy
Gutshall, Pennsylvania Dept. of
Transportation; Cheryl Bodan,
Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation;
Barbara Post, Transportation Research
Board.
Bonnie Osif mentioned a
meeting of the International Committee
scheduled for that afternoon.
Janet Bix, Membership Committee
chair, reported that there were
three membership deactivations in the
past year. She mentioned that she
would send membership directories by
email to whomever requests them.
Dan Krummes, Networking
Committee chair, discussed the status
of the TRANLIB email list. It was
determined that division members
should not be automatically subscribed
to the lists, although it would
be desirable to have all division
members subscribed.
Nelda Bravo focused on FHWA
activities in her Public Relations
Committee report. The project to host
international visitors has been a great
success.
In her Special Projects Committee
report, Susan Dresley asked for
contributors to Sources of Information in
Transportation.
New Business
An amendment to the bylaws
was discussed. It has been proposed
that the time limit for submitting
nominations to the Bulletin be relaxed.
SLA Endowment Fund Grants
were discussed. Topics were how the
division might use these funds and
whether the division might qualify.
One suggestion was that the division
might want to consider funding a
booth at some of the large transportation
meetings.
Division chair Laura Whayne
announced that she needed unitofficer-acknowledgement
forms
completed by officers and committee
chairs in order to submit them to SLA
headquarters by the deadline.
The meeting was adjourned at
approximately 8:45 a.m.

Page 12 Transportation Division Bulletin
SLA CONFERENCE SUMMARY:
International Transportation and
Information: Reports from the Field
Summary by Bonnie Osif, Pennsylvania State University
The International Committee
session of the Transportation Division
met on Wed., June 14th . The theme of
the session was “International Transportation
and Information: Reports
from the Field.” Rather than one or
two major reports, the session had a
number of speakers who gave short
updates on the growing number of
activities on this important issue and
on the newly released International
Guide to Highway Transportation Information.
Jerry Baldwin, Minnesota
Department of Transportation,
reported on the NCHRP 20-48 project
on “Accessibility of Non-English
Language Transportation Information.”
He described the evolution of
the project, increased interest in non-
English resources and the support to
study and increase access to these
resources.
Jeanne Thomas, Michigan
Department of Transportation gave a
brief report on the new TRB LIST
committee, Library and Information
Science in Transportation.
Roberto Sarmiento, Northwestern
University, presented thoughtprovoking
insight into the First
OECD Information and Documentation
Seminar on Transport for Latin
America, held in Mexico last November.
He reported that the libraries
represented tended to be small, but
with good services and an increasing
number of electronic resources.
There are still problems with access,
money and language barriers. However,
one of his most interesting
observations concerned the basic
format of the sessions. There was a
general impression that the conference
did not accomplish what the attendees
wanted/expected. He suggested
that a survey of interests/needs
might alleviate some of these
deficiencies and address more
directly the issues and concerns of
the attendees. Roberto’s very candid
talk should start some important
discussion as future conferences are
planned.
Donald Symmes, Federal
Highway Administration, reported
on a number of initiatives from
FHWA’s Office of International
Programs. These included the 2001
international program to be held in
St. Petersburg, Florida, and the
International Technology Exchange
Program.
Larry Decina, Scientex Corporation,
presented an interactive presentation
on the International Guide to
Highway Transportation Information for
which he is Principle Investigator, a
five volume set sponsored by FHWA’s
Office of International Programs and
available through their web site at
http://
www.international.fhwa.dot.gov/.
After reviewing each of the three
completed sections he asked for
suggestions to improve the format and
value of the product. Several suggestions
were made for each volume and
questions concerning the ambitious
program were answered.
Field Trip: Hagley Museum and Library
A group of transportation librarians toured the E. I. Dupont Home and Hagley
Museum and Library. Pictured are (L-R) Jerry Baldwin, MinnDOT; Joyce Koeneman,
Assoc. of American Railroads; Paula Meredith, Missouri DOT; Cheryl Bodan,
PennDOT; Chris Spitzel, Exponent Information Resources; Nancy Todd, retired; and
Laura Whayne, U. Kentucky - Kentucky Transportation Center.

Sources of Information in Transportation - Live!
Continued from Page 4
Environmental information in
transportation was ably covered by
Lois Widmer, Center for Transportation
and the Environment, University
of North Carolina. She gave out a sixpage
listing of her favorite sources.
The web site at UNC (http://
itre.ncsu.edu/cte/ctepubs.htm) has
subject specific bibliographies which
she asked us to consider when
beginning research on this topic. Her
handout included sections on Background
Reading, Directories, Dictionaries,
Bibliographic Databases, Legal
and Regulatory Sources, as well as
sources for specific environmental
topics. It is quite comprehensive and
included her database wish list.
Transportation statistics were
presented by Sue Ann Connaughton,
Volpe National Transportation
Systems Center. She gave us ten
sources, most of which are available
on the web. They are:
Highway Statistics,
www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim;
National Transit Database,
www.fta.dot.gov/ntl/
database.html;
NTSB Accident Databases,
www.ntsb.gov;
National Transportation Statistics,
www.bts.gov/
ntda/nts;
Railroad Safety Information
System,
www.fra.dot.gov/o/safety/
index.htm;
Traffic Safety Facts,
www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/
ncsa;
Statistical Abstract of the United
States, www.census.gov/statab/
www;
Transportation Energy Data
Book, www-cta.ornl.gov/
publications/tedb.html;
Waterborne Commerce of the
United States,
www.wrsc.usace.army.mil/ndc/
wcsc.htm;
World Road Statistics, available
for purchase from IRF at
www.arfnet.org/IRFMID.htm.
Karen Mayers, Leigh Fisher
Associates, presented sources for
aviation. She gave out a six-page
resource list of information available
on the web. The categories she
included were daily, weekly and
monthly news sources; online journals
and reports; research; and agencies
and associations. Some basic hardcopy
materials were mentioned, along with
the periodicals she routes in her
library. It is a very comprehensive
listing and I’m sure she would make it
available to anyone who would like a
copy.
Janet Bix, Ohio Department of
Transportation, presented fifteen
sources for transportation infrastructure.
All are web sites. She began with
her own online catalog, and in addition
to TRIS, TRB, AASHTO and
ABI Inform, she included:
State DOT librarians,
www.dot.state.mn.us/library/
dotlist.html;
University Transportation
Centers Program,
http://utc.dot.gov;
1999 Status of the Nation’s
Highways, Bridges and
Transit: Conditions and Performance,
www.fhwa.dot.gov/
pubstats.html;
Military Specifications,
www.wes.army.mil/SL/MTC/
handbook/handbook.htm;
Major research libraries and
associations.
We hope to have the handouts
from these presentations available on
Summer 2000 Page 13
the division web site soon.
Susan Dresley, from the Volpe
National Transportation Systems
Center, concluded the program by
outlining her plans for the next
edition. She is recruiting helpers for
each of the sub-divisions and hopes to
have all the sections compiled by
March 2001 so that we will have the
new edition by conference next year. It
will include annotations and much
electronic information. It will be
published electronically. If you would
be able to help with just one small
section, please get in touch with Susan.
Many helpers make the work much
easier. This will really be a publication
of which our division can be proud.
Many thanks to Susan for agreeing to
chair the project.
News Briefs
Continued from Page 8
FHWA Environmental Research
Program; and Lois Widmer, Center
for Transportation and the Environment
Information Services, interacted
with many of the 600 conference
attendees to introduce the wealth of
reliable online information sources now
available to them. The team emphasized
TRIS Online, National Transportation
Library, EnvRIP (Environmental
Research in Progress available at http:/
/itre.ncsu.edu/cte/searchable.htm) and
other key sources. Bonnie Osif of
Penn State University contributed an
excellent extended abstract that described
the purpose and goals of the
poster session as well as the current
status of transportation information.
The abstract will be published in the
conference proceedings, scheduled for
release within the next six months. In
addition to representing their own
organizations, the team also acknowledged
and promoted the new TRB
Library and Information Science for
Transportation (LIST) Committee.

Page 14 Transportation Division Bulletin
SLA Conference Summary: GTRIC
Continued from Page 1
underpinnings of an existing collection.
Collection development efforts
will make use of teams for each
modal area that include practitioners,
librarians, and students to review
literature and make recommendations
as to what should be included in a
core collection.
The USDOT TASC library has
submitted a proposal to create a
union list for the NTL, identifying
gaps and providing cataloging
services as needed.
Jeanne Thomas, Michigan
DOT, provided an update on
NCHRP project 20-48, which is
testing and evaluating translation
software. Four packages have been
tested; none have worked well
because they lack transportation
terminology. Michael Kleiber is
working on loading a thesaurus. Once
the vocabulary is loaded, the software
may be helpful in translating foreign
technical documents.
Jeanne also reported on TRB
Committee A5017: Library and
Information Science in Transportation.
The committee is working on a
strategic plan and has sponsored
several sessions at major transportation
conferences. LIST put together
a poster session for TRB’s environmental
meeting in July, and it presented
an hour long session on using
online resources at the national
AASHTO RAC meeting in St. Louis,
also held in July. TRN Division
members provided hands-on internet
training throughout the RAC meeting.
LIST’s mid-year meeting will be
held in conjunction with the TRB
committees on Technology Transfer,
and Conduct of Research. In January
2001, LIST will sponsor a technical
session at the TRB annual meeting.
Hank Zalatel, Iowa DOT, and
Cheryl Bodan, PennDOT, led a
discussion on historic materials based
on their different perspectives.
Hank’s library contains many historic
photos (which are going on his
website), maps, DOT materials, and
artifacts such as a piece of a girder
from the first aluminum bridge built
in the US. Cheryl has experienced the
sadness of closing down a library
(she was the first and last librarian for
the PA Game Commission). Comments
from the discussion include
the following:
There is nothing organized for
taking care of historical
transportation materials and
archives.
With the interest in trying to
preserve corporate memory
through knowledge management
(because of the number
of people from the “interstate
era” retiring), DOTs are
experiencing their first real
interest in historic and archival
material.
Should we be sharing (through
TRB sessions, etc.) what other
states are doing with archival
materials?
People don’t care unless it’s
truly old stuff, or it’s related to
an ongoing activity.
Extenuating circumstances
keep you from doing what’s
best for your collection.
USDOT’s TASC library will be
downsizing in 5 years [red alert!]
Materials that contain lots of
information get documented.
Things that are interesting, but
“nice to know” are not kept.
These things need to go to
places where they’re cared for.
Can’t we come up with a
statement for the NTL on
what we need to keep, what we
need to do?
Barbara Harder, co-author and
researcher for NCHRP Synthesis 280:
Seven Keys to Building a Robust
Research Program, provided an overview
of the study. This was an attempt
to capture why some research programs
flourish while others fade. The study
included interviews with top managers
and research managers in the public
and private sectors in the US and
abroad. Findings were consistent
throughout the organizations: robust
research programs have top management
support. The seven keys to
sustaining support include: 1) build
trust between the research program and
parent organization, 2) market successes
boldly, 3) use economic rationale
in making research program investments,
4) make deals–cultivate alliances,
5) insist on accountability, 6) embrace
policy research (it’s a communication
channel between research and top
management), and 7) empower the
staff. This is not your usual NCHRP
study!
The final discussion topic on the
agenda started out to be about the
future— where do you see yourself
and your library in 5 years— but it
turned into a general discussion on a
variety of topics.

Selecting a WebPAC
Continued from Page 6
Quinn Koller – MapQuest
MapQuest is the largest customized
map publisher on the Internet. At
the start of the process, there was a
collection that had no catalog and no
shelf list. His first step was to write an
RFP and hire an on-site map cataloger.
He sent the RFP to 50 vendors and
got 13 proposals and 25 rejection
letters. In addition to these challenges,
The Transportation Division
Professional Achievement Award:
Call For Nominations
Summer 2000 Page 15
This award shall be given to a past or present member of the Division on the basis of outstanding contributions
and/or service to the Transportation Division. This contribution and/or service may take the form of contributions
to library and transportation literature or bibliography, to the work and effectiveness of Special Libraries Association
and the Transportation Division, or to the transportation field through organizational work or publication. The
Award is not made posthumously. The purpose of the Award is to honor those who have rendered distinguished
service or have made a significant contribution to transportation libraries and librarianship.
Nominations must be received by January 1, 2001.
Presentation of the Award will be made at the Annual Business Meeting of the Transportation
Division. The Executive Board of the Division is the judging committee for this Award.
Name of Nominee: Date:
Address of Nominee:
Phone: E-mail:
Contribution/Service (Use additional paper, if needed):
Name of Nominator:
Address of Nominator:
he faces shifting organizational
priorities; IT decided to exert itself
after initially giving him a free hand.
Lessons learned:
You must have organizational
commitment.
You must know the politics of
your organization.
Insure vendor stability. Know
what would happen if your
contact with the vendor were to
leave.
Where does your vendor stand
on the technology development
curve? Is it on the curve or
ahead of it?
Is the architecture of the software
open?
What are its staff resources?
Who supports it?
Phone: E-mail:
Send nominations by mail, fax, or e-mail to:
Laura Whayne, Kentucky Transportation Center, University of Kentucky, 176 Raymond Bldg., Lexington, KY
40506-0281, USA Phone: 1-859-257-4513 ext. 234 FAX: 859-257-1815 E-mail: lwhayne@engr.uky.edu

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Special Libraries Association
Transportation Division
Center for Transportation and the Environment
North Carolina State University
Centennial Campus Box 8601
Raleigh, NC 27695-8601
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E-Mail: MITS.Mail@umich.edu
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