digital information services program

2008 GIS & Data Management Conference

National Park ServiceU.S. Department of the InteriorResource Information Management Division

National Information Systems CenterOffice of the Chief Information Officer

Digital Information Services Program




NPS Digital Information• Digital Information

– metadata and associated digital files • NPS managers and researchers utilize

many information resources in their day-to-day work:– Digital photos– Digital Documents– Bibliographies– Other media and content

Vietnam Veterans




Digital Information Management

• Metadata Management• Image Management• [Published] Document Management• Enterprise DIM Repositories

– Data Store, NPS Focus, and E-TIC• Cross-repository searching

The Resource Information Management ChallengeWhat is it?




NPS Digital Information Services

• Digital Information Services (DIS) have been evolving in the National Park Service for many years

• Program-centric• Little service-wide coordination

Casa Grande




Digital Information Services Program (DISP)

• DISP provides essential digital info. management tools for:– Storing– Searching– Publishing– Archiving

Horace Albright




Digital Information Services Program (DISP)

• Service-wide coordination – for Digital Information Services (DIS)

• Assists parks and programs – to develop, manage, and utilize digital

information resources that support and document resource conditions and management decisions

• Provides technical support – to effectively manage the widely-distributed

resourcesManassas




Digital Information Services Council (DISC)

• NPS leadership in several program areas realized the need to establish a collaborative group as a new NPS DIS Council (DISC)

• Increased demand for broader and more effective DIS services and applications

Gettysburg




• Provide strategic leadership for DIS Program• Advise the CIO and senior management about

DIS requirements, planning, and other issues • This includes:

– deploying information systems– implementing technology plans– providing direction on policy, programs, initiatives,

funding priorities, and organizational needs– coordinating DIS activities among parks, regions,

and program areas


Wilson’s Creek





• Representation from:– NPS regions and parks– NPS Programs:

• Facilities Management• Harper’s Ferry Center (HAFE)• Interpretation Program• Library Program• National Register of Historic Places• Technical Information Center (TIC)• Web Content Management System• others with significant digital information

requirements

De Soto





• Subcommittees:– Library

• revised from current Library Council

– Image Management • planned

– Digital Document/Media Management • planned

– Park Digital Information Managers• planned

Muir Woods




DIS Program and Project Support

• Facilitate communication– websites, SharePoint, listservs, etc.

• Partnerships – coordination; park- and program-

sponsored projects• Assist DISC, parks, and partners

with support requests

Lincoln Memorial




Metadata Management

• Standards – NPS Profile of FGDC CSDGM– NPS Digital Photo Metadata– Citation Transfer (planned)

• User support and training

Stones Bridge




Image Management• Comprehensive program

– to manage digital photos/images • Guidance, tools, training,

– to support a wide-variety of NPS users• Coordination across multiple

partners/repositories – NPS Data Store– NPS Focus– I&M Networks– Park collections– Web Content Management System

USS Arizona




Digital Document/Media Management

• Comprehensive program for managing documents/other media

• Coordination needed across multiple partners/repositories – NPS Data Store– NPS Focus– Park/program collections, Voyager, Web,

etc.• Guidance, tools, training, etc.

National Register




NPS Focus Digital Library and Research Stationhttp://focus.inside.nps.gov/

http://focus.inside.nps.gov/




NPS Focus Contents• Images

– “Pretty” pictures– Data photos– Maps (JPG and PDF)

• Documents– Original documents– Scanned documents

National Register




NPS Focus Features

Gettysburg

• Searching– Internal & external repositories

• Downloading– Multiple format & size options

• Uploading– Single & batch

• Encoding/compression– Images & documents

• Archiving– Standard formats, secure




Why Use NPS Focus?• Value-added features

– Batch upload, archiving, encoding,• Search other systems

– NPS, Fed, State, University libraries• Links with other systems

– PMIS, FMSS, IRMA• Web Services

– Focus currently publishes a web service– Can deliver content to any web page or

online applicationGeorge

Washington Carver




Why Use NPS Focus?• Web Services

– Example:• Civil War Sesquicentennial Demo App

• See Nate Irwin’s talk:– 1:00-2:30, Arizona– #24 on the agenda

Fire Management

http://inpniscsgisdevb/CivilWar/map.aspx




Library Program• Many customers

NPS library managers Parks, service centers, regional offices, WASO divisions

NPS information managers Across program areas

Researchers worldwide NPS staff, partners, and external customers

• Few sponsors or formal partners• Ops budget = approx. 50K/yr • 2.4 FTE (2 PT prof. librarians)• Small program, large impact

Yellowstone




Library Program• Library cataloging support - Work with staff, VIPs, interns, contractors

• Library management guidance - Written procedures, forms, samples, resources - Consultations, site visits, recommendations

• Research & Reference Services - Coordinate with NPS, DOI, other U.S. librarians

• ‘Current Awareness’ Service– Proactively identify, browse, notify colleagues of

pertinent Web resources

Dry Tortugas

Proactively identify, browse, notify colleagues of pertinent Web resources




Library ProgramNPS Voyager Library Catalog System

– Turn-key, designed for research libraries– Major Components:

• UNIX O.S., Oracle database backend• Web client for end-users (i.e., searchers)• Windows clients for SysAdmin, other staff functions• ISO/NISO Z39.50 client/server • Add-on utilities designed in-house, • Contains 400K+ library holdings records & counting…

– Much subject-matter expertise needed– Some SA/DBA/Application skills needed

Frederick Douglass




Library ProgramWeb Ref/Research Resources/Services

– NPS Ask-a-Librarian Reference Service • Reference, research support, interlibrary loan• End-user can track status of request, give feedback

– NPS access to DOI-hosted subscriptions • Cross-discipline – journal article citations/abstracts,

some fulltext (Academic OneFile, EBSCO Online)• Legal – fulltext (Congress Daily, Envir. Law Reporter,

Hein Online, Lexis-Nexis, U.S. Congress Serial Set)• Science – fulltext, some w/ limited NPS access

(EBSCO Sci-Tech, JSTOR Life Sci, Sci Direct)

Frederick Douglass




Library Program - Upcoming• NPS Voyager Library System - New Google-like interface in next release

• Research & Reference Services - More full-text journal resources through DOI Library

• New Desktop Library Catalog App - ProCite being phased out - Planning & reqs gathering for a replacement

• NPS Bibliographic Metadata Standard

- Planning & reqs gathering - Will inform development of ProCite replacement

Dry Tortugas




Yellowstone




NPS Focus

Hawai’i Volcanoes