[United States Government Manual]
[May 31, 1996]
[Pages 164-168]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



Technology Administration

The Technology Administration was established by Congress in 1988 (15 
U.S.C. 3704) and consists of the Office of Technology Policy (OTP), the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National

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Technical Information Service (NTIS). The Technology Administration is 
headed by the Under Secretary for Technology who serves as a principal 
adviser to the Secretary of Commerce and as the Department's 
spokesperson for science and technology issues.
    The Administration serves as the premier technology agency working 
with U.S. industry in addressing competitiveness and in exercising 
leadership both within the Department of Commerce and governmentwide. It 
discharges this role through OTP by advocating coherent policies for 
maximizing the impact of technology on economic growth, through NIST by 
carrying out technology programs with U.S. industry, and through NTIS by 
disseminating technology information.

For further information, call 202-482-1575.

Office of Technology Policy

The primary role of the Office of Technology Policy is to offer 
assistance to private sector and government communities in advocating 
and pursuing policies that maximize the impact of technology on economic 
growth, and by exercising leadership to define the role of government in 
supporting U.S. industrial competitiveness in the post-cold war 
environment. The Office serves as a liaison to the private sector, 
identifying barriers to the rapid commercialization of technology, 
eliciting support for Administration civilian technology policies, and 
ensuring that industry's interests are reflected in standards and 
technology agreements and civilian technology policy. It also assists 
Federal, State, and local officials, industry, and academic institutions 
in promoting the technological growth and competitiveness of the U.S. 
economy.

For further information, call 202-482-5687.

National Institute of Standards and Technology

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) assists 
industry in developing technology to improve product quality, modernize 
manufacturing processes, ensure product reliability, and facilitate 
rapid commercialization of products based on new scientific discoveries.
    The Institute's primary mission is to promote U.S. economic growth 
by working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements, 
and standards. It carries out this mission through four major programs:
    --an Advanced Technology Program (ATP) that provides cost-shared 
awards to industry to develop high-risk enabling technologies with 
significant economic potential;
    --a Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a network of 
extension centers and experts providing technical and business 
assistance to small manufacturers in adopting new technologies;
    --a strong laboratory effort planned and implemented in cooperation 
with industry that focuses on infrastructural technologies such as 
measurements, standards, evaluated data, and test methods. Research is 
mainly performed in the areas of: electronics and electrical 
engineering, manufacturing engineering, chemical science and technology, 
physics, materials science and engineering, building and fire research, 
computer systems, and computing and applied mathematics; and
    --a quality improvement program that is associated with the Malcolm 
Baldrige National Quality Award. The award recognizes quality 
achievements in the areas of manufacturing, service, and small business.

For further information, call 301-975-3058. Fax, 301-926-1630. E-mail, 
[email protected]. Internet, http://www.nist.gov/.

National Technical Information Service

The National Technical Information Service (NTIS) is the Nation's 
largest central clearinghouse and governmentwide resource for 
scientific, technical, engineering, and other business-related 
information. It acquires information from U.S. Government agencies and 
their contractors, as well as from foreign, primarily governmental,

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sources. The Service is a self-supporting Federal agency within the 
Technology Administration of the Department of Commerce.
    The Service's collection of information, exceeding 2.5 million 
works, covers current events, business and management studies, research 
and development, manufacturing, standards, translations of foreign 
works, foreign and domestic trade, general statistics, and more. Since 
the implementation of the American Technology Preeminence Act (ATPA), 
NTIS is able to offer an even more diverse and practical range of 
information. The Act requires all Federal agencies to transfer, in a 
timely manner, unclassified scientific, technical, and engineering 
information resulting from federally funded research and development 
activities to NTIS. The Service's multimedia products range from paper 
copy technical reports and periodicals to CD-ROM's, audiovisual 
products, computer software and electronic databases, and online 
services.
FedWorld  The Service's electronic marketplace provides public 
access to thousands of Government documents; connects to several hundred 
Federal on-line systems; and offers instant electronic delivery of 
selected products from NTIS. FedWorld provides both dial-up 
and Internet access to information from numerous Government agencies and 
programs, at no charge to the public.
    The NTIS Preview Database on FedWorld contains titles 
entered into the NTIS collection within the last 30 days (approximately 
7,000 new products each month). The database is a 30-day rolling window 
of citations updated semimonthly. Half of the citations are removed 
midmonth, and newer citations are added.
    To connect to FedWorld, set modem parity to none, data 
bits to 8, and stop bit to 1. Set terminal emulation to ANSI. Set duplex 
to full. Then set your communications software to dial 
FedWorld at 703-321-FEDW. To connect to FedWorld on 
the Internet, either telnet to fedworld.gov, or ftp to ftp.fedworld.gov, 
or point your Web browser to http://www.fedworld.gov/. For more 
information or technical assistance, please call the FedWorld 
help desk at 703-487-4223.
NTIS Database  The NTIS Bibliographic Database is available on CD-ROM or 
online through commercial vendors listed in the free NTIS Products and 
Services Catalog (PR-827NEB). The database is also available to research 
and development organizations and agencies on direct lease. For more 
information, call 703-487-4929.
Subject Area Selections  The Service has a large collection of 
information on the environment--including handbooks and guides, 
regulations and updates, economic studies, and applied technology. It is 
the exclusive distributor of Superfund documents. For the free catalog 
Environment Highlights, ask for PR-868NEB.
    The Service distributes health care materials such as the National 
Library of Medicine's Grateful Med and MeSH search tools, as well as an 
extensive range of other technical reports in the health field. Request 
your free catalog on health-related products, Health Care Highlights 
(PR-745NEB).
    Business Highlights catalog (PR-985NEB) provides product listings 
for data necessary for decisionmaking in today's business market. As 
part of its expansion in the business subject area, NTIS is rapidly 
increasing its collection of overseas business information.
    NTIS Alerts are published twice each month and contain summaries of 
the latest Government-sponsored projects and their findings. They are 
available in more than 30 broad subject areas. The Service also prints 
customized Alerts from over 150 available subtopics to suit recipients' 
needs. For a free catalog, call 703-487-4650 and request PR-797NEB.
    Published Searches are exclusively prepared bibliographies 
containing 50-250 of the latest abstracts of research reports and 
studies available from a preselected individual database. With each 
order, a completely new and updated bibliography is produced. For more 
information on Published Searches, call 703-487-4650 and request PR-
186NEB.

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    Government Reports Announcements & Index Journal announces 
approximately 80,000 research and development and engineering results 
annually. Its comprehensive coverage provides thousands of entries 
within each issue making it a valuable, multidisciplinary current 
awareness resource. This item is available by subscription and is 
published twice a month. Call 703-487-4630 to receive answers to your 
inquiries on this product.
Technology Transfer  The Service provides technology transfer services 
such as patent licensing and publishes the Directory of Federal 
Laboratory and Technology Resources. This valuable directory guides you 
to hundreds of Federal agencies, laboratories, and engineering centers 
willing to share their expertise to aid in your research. Request flyer 
PR-746NEB for more details on this product.
    It also produces the Federal Research in Progress (FEDRIP) Database 
that summarizes more than 150,000 ongoing U.S. Government research and 
development and engineering project summaries. The database is available 
for lease by calling 703-487-4929; it is also available online through 
commercial vendors. For a free search guide, call the NTIS Sales Desk at 
703-487-4650 and request PR-847NEB.
Global Competitive Intelligence  As part of its expansion in the 
business subject area, NTIS is rapidly increasing its collection of 
information from international sources. The new Foreign Technology 
Update, a twice-monthly publication, tracks scientific and technical 
developments from around the world. To receive information on this 
subscription product, please call 703-487-4630. A publication such as 
the International Trade Administration Bibliography (PB93-218360NEB), 
with more than 1,000 competitive intelligence-related reports and 
studies, is also available. Call the NTIS Sales Desk at 703-487-4650 for 
price quotes and more information.
    Through an agreement with the Japan Center of Science and 
Technology, NTIS makes available the Japanese Online Information System 
(JOIS). To receive information on searching JOIS, call 703-487-4819. To 
help you keep up with technical information from Japan, NTIS, in 
conjunction with the Department's Japan Technology Program, has updated 
popular Japanese directories, request PR-825NEB for more information.
Continuous Acquisition and Life-Cycle Support Information Center  With 
the support of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, NTIS operates the 
Continuous Acquisition and Life-Cycle Support (CALS) Information Center 
to promote the widespread understanding, acceptance, and use of CALS 
principles through an effective flow of CALS-related technical 
information. The Center provides a public source of CALS, Electronic 
Commerce, Electronic Data Interchange, and related information including 
standards and specifications, technical reports, training materials, 
computer datafiles, and the CALS Electronic Bulletin Board system 
(available on FedWorld). To receive the free brochure CALS 
Information Services from NTIS, request PR-898NEB.
Federal Computer Products Center  The Service provides computer software 
and datafiles on tape, diskette, and CD-ROM, as well as video tapes. 
Call the NTIS Sales Desk at 703-487-4650; or fax your requests to 703-
321-8547 to receive free product information on the Directory of U.S. 
Government Software for Mainframes and Microcomputers (PR-261NEB) and 
the Directory of U.S. Government Datafiles (PR-629NEB).
National Audiovisual Center  The National Audiovisual Center (NAC) 
consolidates most of the U.S. Government's activity in the duplication 
and distribution of audio, visual, and multimedia products. The 
collection contains more than 9,000 Government-produced audiovisual 
products in a wide range of formats. The range of subject areas includes 
foreign language training, occupational safety and health, law 
enforcement training, fire service training, history, science, medical 
training, business and economics, agriculture, and natural resources. 
For the free Media Resource Catalog that

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lists NAC's most popular titles, call the NTIS Sales Desk at 703-487-
4650 and ask for PR-1001NEB.
Joint Ventures  The Service works with private industry to build 
strategic alliances. These include the use of contracts or cooperative 
agreements with the private sector, individuals, or other organizations. 
The objective is to create new information products for U.S. Government-
produced data and software. The Service seeks partnerships to open new 
channels of sales and distribution. Call 703-487-4785 for more 
information about joint ventures.
Free NTIS Catalogs  To obtain copies of the catalogs or brochures listed 
above, or to receive a free copy of the NTIS Catalog of Products and 
Services (PR-827NEB), call the NTIS Sales Desk at 703-487-4650, or send 
your request by fax to 703-321-8547.