Transcript Alternative Fuels/Renewable Energy -- An emerging area of national concern NAL – poised to provide information to support research Alvetta Pindell, Head, Information Research Services.

Alternative Fuels/Renewable Energy -- An
emerging area of national concern
NAL – poised to provide
information to support research
Alvetta Pindell,
Head, Information Research Services Branch
National Agricultural Library
[email protected]
(301) 504-7217
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
What is NAL?
National Library
USDA Library
Partner Institution
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
National Agricultural Library
• Established in 1862 when President Lincoln signed the Organic Act
creating the U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Achieved National Library Status - 1990
• Ensure and enhance access to agricultural information for a better
quality of life
• The only U.S. National Library dedicated to agriculture and related
subjects
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
2007 Farm Bill Proposal
 $500 million-- Ag Bioenergy and Biobased
Products Research Initiative
 $150 million--Biomass Research and Development
Act
 $150 million--Forest Wood-to-Energy Program
 $100 million--Cellulosic Bioenergy Program
 Biomass Reserve Program (BRP)
 $710 million—Renewable Energy Supply & Energy
Efficiency Improvements Program
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
USDA Energy Goals
Ensure balance in production of
Food, Feed, Fiber, and Fuels
– Sustainable agriculture and natural
resource-based energy production
– Sustainable bioeconomies for rural
communities
– Efficient use of energy and energy
conservation
– Workforce development for the
bioeconomy
FAMU Biodiesel Fuel Workshop
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
Ag Research Challenges
• Increasingly multi-disciplinary
• Increasingly data driven (e-Science)
• Exponentially increasing content prices
• Globalization
“Change is inevitable – are we to be
architects or victims of its outcomes?”
Alton Thompson
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
USDA’s intramural research agency
– Finding solutions to agricultural
problems that affect Americans
every day, from field to table.
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
Bioenergy Research Locations
Conversion
Biodiesel
Thermal
Feedstocks
Methane
On-Farm
Ethanol
Citrus Waste
Regional Research Center
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
Ethanol from Citrus Waste:
Winter Haven, FL
• Developed laboratory
scale method to process
citrus waste
• Working to demonstrate
the process at the
10,000 gallon scale level
at a local citrus
processing facility
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
Cooperative State Research
Education and Extension Service
(CSREES)
• Extramural Research
Agency
– Provides grants
• Links USDA and state
components
– Land Grant Universities
– Extension
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
CSREES Partners
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
Opportunities for Success
• Creativity – innovation – history – spirit
• National Digital Library for Agriculture
(NDLA) is envisioned as a dynamic system
built on partnerships
• Multi-institutional collaboration
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
Today’s NDLA Building Blocks
Important Partnerships and Services
• AGNIC
• USDA’s Digital Desktop Library (DigiTop)
• AgSpace: NAL digital repository
• AGRICOLA – NAL’s database
• USAIN
• Land Grant Colleges and Universities
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE
FUTURE
Renewable Energy
–The good: What is being done
–The bad: Challenges
–The future: Collaboration
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
NAL has much to offer:
• NAL collection
• Online access to selected full-text, bibliographic
references, data and other multimedia 24/7
– Statistical analysis for accountability
• Outreach mechanisms including:
– Listserv’s
– Blogs
– Training
– Well connected with Google
• Attend/hold conferences to promote information
sharing
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
NAL is poised for biofuels:
• Provides access to literature from the national collection
at NAL and libraries and information centers around the
world
– NAL is the world’s largest agricultural library
– Provides through DigiTop digital desktop access to
more than 2,400 scientific journals, databases and
other resources for USDA employees around the
world
• Manages conversion of print texts for the Internet
• Partners with strong connections to the Land-Grant
Universities
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
NAL - A great foundation for research and
information dissemination
• Establishes subject focused information centers, including the
complementary centers:
– Water Quality;
– Rural Development;
– Animal Welfare
– Alternative Farming Systems;
– Invasive Species
• Develops and manages extensive Web sites; including
interagency sites:
– Nutrition.gov,
– Invasivespeciesinfo.gov
NAL provides trusted, non-biased, science-based
information
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
A voluntary partnership providing access to
quality information
AGgricultural
Network
Information
Center
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
DigiTop - USDA's Digital Desktop
Library
Delivers whenever they need it -- quality
information resources, many not
available through the "ordinary" Web.
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
Selected DigiTop Journals:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Biofuels, Bioproducts, and Biorefining
Oil and Gas Business
Biomass & Bioenergy
Renewable Energy
Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews
Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society
And many more….
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
AGRICOLA (NAL’s Catalog) – providing citations
to agricultural literature in all formats and periods, including
printed works from as far back as the 15th century.
• Nearly 5 million records
• Bibliographic citations to literature on all aspects of
agriculture, some of which provide full text
• Two databases: Article Citations and Catalog
• Citations from 1578 to the present
• Front end to the digital repositories in AgSpace
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
AgSpace
•Suite of repositories for old and new
works of USDA indexed into AGRICOLA
•14,000 new articles
•300,000 pages of historic works
•Content includes: images, articles, book
chapters, books.
•Into the future… datasets, presentations,
videos, patents, lab notes
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
USAIN
The United States Agricultural Information
Network is an organization for
information professionals that provides a
forum for discussion of agricultural
issues, takes a leadership role in the
formation of a national information policy
as related to agriculture, makes
recommendations to the National
Agricultural Library on agricultural
information matters, and promotes
cooperation and communication among
its members.
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
The Good
• USDA National leadership
• Bioenergy leadership by USDAREE
• NAL preparing to support
renewable energy
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
Bioenergy and Biofuels
Information Resources
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
1890 Institutional Activities –
examples
Florida A&M University-- Crescent
Moon Organic Farm - Biofuels
workshop
Langston University – Wind mills
with the Kiowa Tribe
Prairie View A&M – Raising canola
& sunflower crops
Virginia State University –oilseed
Beginners Biodiesel Production and
crops biodiesel production Building Capacity:Use
February 2008
Jennifer Taylor, PhD, Small Farm Programs
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
The Bad – Challenges
– Federal investments dispersed
– Lack of tools for handling and
preserving large scale data sets
– New energy industry interests
– Globalization
– Interdisciplinary research
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
What NAL has been doing to gear up:
– Championing work groups to develop needed
databases to help connect & coordinate
biofuels research within USDA
– Analyzing collection and services for
maximum preparedness for request as
– Proposing and campaigning for the Info
Center
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
FUTURE = OPPORTUNITIES
The Proposed Biofuels Information Center would:
• Draw attention to USDA’s many long-standing
accomplishments in biofuels research
• Enhance the visibility of USDA current research efforts
• Connect and partner with other Federal, university and
industry programs
• Deliver customized information alert services
• Provide outreach and training services
• Provide an information gateway
• Respond to consumer questions
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
THE reality:
Librarians are essential to successful
research because we foster
Creativity
Innovation
History
Spirit
We know
what needs to
be done!
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
Parting Words of Wisdom
“I believe that the Creator has put ores and oil
on this earth to give us a breathing spell. As
we exhaust them, we must be prepared to fall
back on our farms, which is God’s true
storehouse and can never be exhausted. We
can learn to synthesize material for every
human need from things that grow.”
George Washington Carver
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
NAL Contact Information
General web site:
www.nal.usda.gov
Research and Reader Services:
NALAsk a Question
www.nal.usda.gov/services/ask.php
Reference Email
[email protected]
Service Desk Phone
(301) 504-5755
Service Desk Fax
(301) 504-6110
Borrowing
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008
www.nal.usda.gov/services/request.shtml
Information Centers
Alternative Farming:
Animal Welfare:
Food & Nutrition:
Food Safety:
Invasive Species:
Rural Information:
Water Quality:
[email protected] (301)504-6559
[email protected] 504-6212
[email protected] 504-5414
[email protected] 504-5360
invasivespeciesinfo.gov
504-6454
[email protected]
1-800-633-7701
[email protected] 504-6212
Alternative Fuels: Technologies for a Healthy Planet
2008 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference
Seattle, WA
June 17, 2008