WINDO / Gateway

Questions Posed by Members of the Panel

Responses by


Richard West, Coalition for Networked Information

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1. Dr. West, you suggest that there should be an advisory group for the development of the GPO WINDO/Gateway. Who should be on that group and how should it be configured?

I suggest that the advisory group be composed of members from the user community and individuals who can contribute to the development of a technical plan.

Segments of the user community that should be represented are: higher education, with expertise drawn from the library (including depository), computing, and research sectors; public and state libraries, citizens, e.g. members of public interest groups; industry; and, commercial information providers (publishers or intermediaries) who add value to federal databases. This expertise could be readily mobilized by the Coalition for Networked Information, the Association of Research Libraries, CAUSE, EDUCOM, the Internet Engineering Task Force, and other relevant associations and groups.

2. Dr. West, you suggest a joint project on exploring costs and benefits of alternative models for the GPO WINDO/Gateway, what would be involved in such a project and how long would it take?

The Coalition and the American Library Association have embarked on a joint project to develop alternative models for the GPO WINDO/Gateway and to explore costs and benefits of those models. A preliminary matrix of the components of the models is attached to my testimony. As a next step, we are expanding the matrix and developing illustrative "usage scenarios" that constitute the alternative models. Then we will explore the benefits and concerns raised by each scenario. We also expect to supply cost estimates from experience with services that are comparable to those proposed for the GPO WINDO/Gateway. We expect to complete this project sometime this fall.

3. Dr. West, you support the establishment of the GPO Gateway/WINDO, why is it a good time to pass this legislation?

This is a particularly propitious time for the passage of the GPO Gateway/WINDO for a variety of reasons. First, the passage of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (PL102-194) provides the mandate and the means for federal databases to be offered in a networked environment. Specifically, Title I, Sections 101(a)(1)(E) and Section 102(e) call for the NREN to be used, among other things, to create a Federal networked information structure.

Second, the networks and the end-user devices, e.g. terminals and personal computers, are at a stage where they are increasingly reliable and available to a broad range of users.

Third, in this early stage of development of digital libraries, the Government Printing Office could both keep abreast of current trends in information technology by offering services in this environment and help to shape those trends.

Fourth, while many Federal agencies are already making machine-readable files available to the public, the number of databases and the volume of traffic has not yet created a chaotic situation for the agencies or the public. However, as the Federal agencies move increasingly into the realm of disseminating information by electronic means, confusion and disarray will likely result if there is no overall information systems planning and no established locator or gateway for directing users to specific sources of information. In the current environment, there are enough databases for the GPO to begin developing its WINDO/Gateway and to expand in an incremental fashion as additional databases become available.

4. Dr. West, you discussed that need for standards, what standards need to be developed and who should develop them? What role can GPO perform?

Standards are needed in several areas, including the interoperability of segments of the network, inter-system search and retrieval, and transmission of documents, both text and multi-media.

The efforts of the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) are of particular note, and the rapid implementation and evolution of the Z39.50 inter-system search and retrieval standard is especially critical. In addition, the Coalition recognizes the centrality of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and of the Federal Information Processing Standards to the standardization process as it pertains to the management of Federal information.

Further development of existing standards and development of new standards is a process in which GPO should participate via membership in the groups enumerated above, and GPO should use the standards that result from that process.

5. Dr. West, what role will the academic community play in the development of standards in this field? What needs are not being met by existing database providers that the GPO could provide better?

Many representatives from the higher education community are active in the standards groups listed above. The Coalition and its members invest a substantial amount of money and energy in standardization processes that frame and address the need for systems and services that can interoperate in an open and efficient manner even though those systems and services have been built using many different types of hardware and software.

Many commercial database providers have been slow to address the needs of networked use of their products in a single-institution environment, let alone in an internationally networked environment, because they have favored CD-ROM and other "offline" electronic media. Many of their products can be searched only by means of their proprietary software and therefore cannot easily be integrated into campus or library information systems. However, it is important to note that existing database providers in the commercial sector provide value-added services that are welcomed and used by many in our community.

6. Dr. West, the Coalition wants to make sure that the GPO WINDO/Gateway uses superior information technology to improve access to and delivery of Federal information. What do you consider to be superior information technology?

High-performance computing which has driven the establishment of the NSFNet, ARPANET, and the IINREN is a manifestation of the superior information technology currently available. The technology already operates at extremely high speeds and will soon be able to deliver complex information, e.g. multi-media documents. Many commercial providers have the capability to provide the technology that runs the networks and the wide array of devices that individuals and institutions can use to connect to the networks.

7. Dr. West, the Coalition members want assurance that the GPO WINDO/Gateway will be designed to provide access to information in a way that complements efforts already underway in the Nation. How do you think the GPO WINDO/Gateway should be designed to complement those efforts?

Our primary concerns are that (1) the GPO WINDO/Gateway be accessible via existing networks and that (2) the WINDO/Gateway uses open systems and interoperability standards recognized in the information standards community.

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