[Report on the Assessment of Electronic Government Information Products]
[Appendices]
[Appendix E - Questionnaire and Glossary of Terms]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]
Appendix E
Questionnaire and Glossary of Terms
NATIONAL COMMISSION ON LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
GOVERNMENT INFORMATION
PRODUCT ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE
Directions: This form is to be completed only for products that are either
already in electronic mediums or products that are to be migrated to electronic
mediums. Do not complete this form for products that will remain in paper or
microform mediums only. A product is defined as "a Government publication or
other work of the United States Government conveyed in a tangible physical
medium such as a book, CD-ROM, etc., or disseminated through an electronic
Government information service and intended for public dissemination." (See
enclosed glossary for definitions of terms used throughout this questionnaire.)
Complete one questionnaire for each product. (Please note that a Website is not
considered a product, although products might be on a Website.)
A. GENERAL INFORMATION
1. Agency Name: ________________________________________________
Sub-Unit: ___________________________________________________
2. Name of Product: ____________________________________________
3. Brief Description of Product: _______________________________
4. URL for Product Website: ____________________________________
__ Check if no Website
B. CURRENT PRODUCT PROFILE
5. How is this product used by the end user? (Check all that apply.)
a. Information access and retrieval __
b. Data analysis (e.g., to support analysis by end user) __
c. Other (specify) __
6. What types of data are contained within this product?
In Column A, indicate which type of data this product contains. Check all that
apply.)
In Column B, indicate the primary type of data contained in this product. for
example, if you checked boxes for items b and f in column A, indicate which of
the two is the primary type of data by placing a check in the appropriate box
in column B.
Type of data A. Type of data B. Primary type of data
contained (Check only one)
(Check all that apply)
a. Bibliographic data
b. Graphical data (photos, charts, graphs, tables, drawings)
c. Numerical data
d. Sound
e. Spatial data (maps, coordinate files)
f. Textual data (books, serials, reports)
g. Video
h. Multimedia (sound, video, text, graphics)
i. Other (specify)
7a. In what mediums is this product publicly available?
In Column A, indicate which type of medium is used. (Check all that apply.)
In Column B, for each medium used, indicate whether there is a medium standard
that is mandated by the agency, a common practice in the agency (although not
mandated), other (i.e., not agency-mandated standard or common agency practice,
but new and promising and beginning to be used, etc.), OR none of these.
In Column C, for each type of medium used, check one box to indicate the primary
type used.
7b. If you checked "Other" category in Question 7a, Column B, please explain.
___________________________________________________________________
8a. Which of the following types of formats does this product use?
In Column A, indicate which type of format is used. (Check all that apply.)
In Column B, for each format used, indicate whether there is a format standard
that is mandated by the agency, a common practice in the agency although not
mandated, other (i.e., not agency-mandated standard or common agency practice,
but new and promising and beginning to be used, etc.), OR none of these.
In Column C, for each type of format used, check one box to indicate the primary
type that is used within each major category (e.g., database, spreadsheet, word
processing, etc.).
8b. If you checked "Other" category in Question 8a, Column B, please explain.
___________________________________________________________________
9a. Is this product in an online medium?
Yes __ (Continue with question 9b) No __ (Skip to question 10a)
9b. Which of the following online approaches are used?
In Column A, indicate which type of approach is used. (Check all that apply.)
In Column B, if the approach is used, indicate whether it is mandated by the
agency, a common practice in the agency although not mandated, other (i.e., not
agency-mandated standard or common agency practice, but new and promising and
beginning to be used, etc.), OR none of these.
9c. If you checked "Other" category in Question 9b, Column B, please explain.
___________________________________________________________________
Searchability of Product
10a. Please indicate whether this product is... (Check all that apply.)
a. Included as part of a full-text searchable database with no fielding __
b. Indexed by full-text and field __
c. Available as "view only" - non-searchable __
d. Other (specify) __
10b. This product is officially hosted by... (Check all that apply.) (Host
refers to the primary site where the public can find the product.)
a. Your agency __
b. Another agency (specify) __
c. Contractor __
d. Educational institution __
e. Other (specify) __
Retrievability
11. This product and any associated software... (Check all that apply.)
a. Can be downloaded, saved, and is not subject to any restrictions on use or
re-use by the end user __
b. Cannot be downloaded, saved, and/or re-used because it is part of a
database and does not exist as a distinct product __
c. Cannot be downloaded, saved, and/or re-used because it requires
proprietary software that is not freely distributable __
d. Other (specify) __
C. PLANNED PRODUCT PROFILE (This next section refers to future plans for the
product.)
Type(s) of Data - Future Plans
12a. Are there any plans to discontinue publication of this product?
Yes __ (Continue with question 12b)
No __ (Skip to question 13a)
12b. If yes, please explain. (Skip to Section D.)
13a. What kind of data will this product contain? If product contains more
than one type of data, respond for all data types. (Check one.)
Retain existing type(s) of data, no changes planned __ (Skip to question 14a)
Retain existing type(s) of data and add items of one or more new types of
data(specify) __ (Continue with question 13b)
Discontinue one or more types (specify) __________________________________ __
(Continue with question 13b)
Change to new type(s) of data (specify) __ (Continue with question 13b)
13b. Change(s) will occur in the: (Check all that apply.)
Short term: within 1 year or less __
Medium term: within 2 to 5 years __
No changes indicated __ (Skip to question 14a)
If you checked both "short term" and "medium term" in question 13b, continue
with question 13c. Otherwise, skip to question 13d.
13c. If you have short-term and medium-term plans, how are your short-term
plans different from your medium-term plans? For example... (Check all that
apply.)
Short-term plans call for one type of data, but medium-term plans call for a
different type of data.
(specify) ____________________________
In the medium term there are plans to combine resources to create a new version
of a product using a different type of data that may be different from short-
term plans.
(specify) ____________________________
Other (specify) (specify) ____________________________
13d. Do you have any long-term plans (6 or more years) for changing this
product to new types of data?
Yes __ (Continue with question 13e)
No __ (Skip to question 14a)
13e. If yes, please describe them here.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Medium - Future Plans
14a. What kind of medium(s) will this product use? If product is delivered in
more than one medium, respond for all mediums. (Check one.)
Retain existing medium(s), no changes planned __ (Skip to question 15a)
Retain existing medium(s) and add items of one or more new types of mediums
(specify) __ (Continue with question 14b)
Discontinue one or more types (specify) ____________________________ __
(Continue with question 14b)
Change to new type(s) of medium(specify) __ (Continue with question 14b)
No agency-mandated medium applies __ (Continue with question 14b)
14b. Change(s) will occur in the: (Check all that apply.)
Short term: within 1 year or less __
Medium term: within 2 to 5 years __
No changes indicated __ (Skip to question 15a)
If you checked both "short term" and "medium term" in question 14b, continue
with question 14c. Otherwise, skip to question 14d.
14c. If you have short-term and medium-term plans, how are your short-term
plans different than your medium-term plans? For example... (Check all that
apply.)
Short-term plans call for one type of medium, but the medium-term plans call for
a different type of medium. (specify) ______________________________
In the medium term there are plans to combine resources to create a new version
of a product in a medium that may be different from short-term plans. (specify)
______________________________
Other (specify) ______________________________
14d. Do you have any long-term plans (6 or more years) for changing mediums for
this product?
Yes __ (Continue with question 14e)
No __ (Skip to question 15a)
14e. If yes, please describe them here.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Format - Future Plans
15a. What kind of format(s) will this product contain? If the product uses
more than one format, respond for all formats. (Check one.)
Same as existing format(s), no changes planned __ (Skip to question 16a)
Retain existing format(s) and add one or more new format types(specify) __
(Continue with question )
___________________________________________________________________
Change to new format type(s) (specify) __ (Continue with question 15b)
___________________________________________________________________
Discontinue one or more types (specify) __________________________________
__ (Continue with question 15b)
No agency-mandated format applies __ (Skip to with question 16a)
15b. Change(s) will occur in the: (Check all that apply.)
Short term: within 1 year or less __
Medium term: within 2 to 5 years __
No changes indicated __ (Skip to question 16a)
If you checked both "short term" and "medium term" in question 15b, continue
with question 15c. Otherwise, skip to question 15d.
15c. If you have short-term and medium-term plans, how are your short-term
plans different from your medium-term plans? For example... (Check all that
apply.)
Short-term plans call for one kind of format, but the medium-term plans call for
a different type of format. (specify) __
___________________________________________________________________
In the medium term there are plans to combine resources to create a new version
of a product using a different format that may be different from short-term
plans. (specify) __
___________________________________________________________________
Other (specify) __
___________________________________________________________________
15d. Do you have any long-term plans (6 or more years) for changing formats for
this product?
Yes __ (Continue with question 15e)
No __ (Skip to question 16a)
15e. If yes, please describe them here.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
D. OTHER INFORMATION
Metadata
16a. Is there a metadata record for this product (e.g., GILS, MARC)?
Yes __ (Continue with question 16b)
No __ (Skip to question 17a)
16b. If yes, please specify
___________________________________________________________________
Permanent Access
17a. Permanent public access to this product is currently provided by: (Check
all that apply)
Your agency __ (Continue to question 17b)
Another agency (specify) __ (Continue to question 17b)
Other (specify) __ (Continue to question 17b)
No permanent public access provided __ (Skip to question 17c)
17b. How is permanent public access provided? (specify)
___________________________________________________________________
(Go to question 18a)
17c. Are there plans to provide permanent public access in the future for this
product?
Yes __
No __
Permanent Retention
18a. Is this product scheduled for permanent retention by the National Archives
and Records Administration?
Yes __ (Continue with question 18b)
No __ (Skip to question 19a)
18b. What is the planned retention period for this product? (specify)
___________________________________________________________________
Ensuring Authenticity
19a. Does the agency ensure authenticity (official status determination) for
this product?
Yes __ (Continue with question 19b)
No __ (Skip to question 20)
19b. How does the agency attest to authenticity? (specify)
___________________________________________________________________
Updating/Upgrading Plans
20. How frequently is this product updated or refreshed? (Check one.)
Daily __
Weekly __
Monthly __
Annually __
Other (specify) __
21a. Are there plans for changing the product's supporting technology?
Yes __ (Continue with question 21b)
No __ (Skip to question 22a)
21b. If yes, specify
___________________________________________________________________
User Fees
22a. Is a user fee charged for this product? (Check one.)
Yes, for all users __ (Continue with question 22b)
Yes, for some users __ (Continue with question 22b)
No 03 (Skip to question 23a)
22b. If yes, explain and specify amount of fees.
___________________________________________________________________
Licensing
23a. Has the agency licensed commercial search and retrieval software for use
with this product?
Yes __ (Continue with question 23b)
No __ (Skip to question 24a)
23b. Specify the software vendor and product name.
___________________________________________________________________
23c. Does the agency's license cover use by... (Check all that apply.)
a. Agency personnel __
b. Agency's primary target constituencies __
c. Federal Depository Libraries __
d. All libraries __
e. Public users __
f. Other __
Public Domain
24a. Is this product in the public domain? (Check one.)
Yes, for the entire product __ (Continue with question 25)
Yes, for part of product __ (Continue with question 24b)
No __ (Skip to question 24c)
24b. If yes for part of product, please explain.
___________________________________________________________________
24c. If no, has the agency entered into an arrangement with the private sector
that would limit use of this information?
(Please briefly explain the arrangement.)
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
E. COMMENTS
25. If you wish to comment on matters that you believe are not otherwise
adequately covered in this survey, do so here.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
26. Key person completing this form.
Contact Name: ___________________________________________
Title: __________________________________________________
Telephone: ____________________ Fax: ____________________
E-Mail: ____________________
Other person(s) providing responses to questions or assistance in completing
this form.
27. Contact Name: ____________________________________________
Title: ________________________________________________________
Telephone: ____________________ Fax: ____________________
E-Mail: ____________________
28. Contact Name: ____________________________________________
Title: ________________________________________________________
Telephone: ____________________ Fax: ____________________
E-Mail: ____________________
THANK YOU. PLEASE RETURN THIS SURVEY TO:
DENISE GLOVER
WESTAT, ROOM TA2064
1650 RESEARCH BOULEVARD
ROCKVILLE, MD 20850
FAX: 301-517-4134
PHONE: 301-251-2269
[email protected]
FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT COMPLETING THE SURVEY, CONTACT DENISE GLOVER.
PLEASE KEEP A COPY OF THIS SURVEY FOR YOUR RECORDS.
Glossary of Terms, Abbreviations, and Acronyms for the
Government Information Product Assessment Questionnaire
ASCII-An acronym for American Standard Code for Information Exchange, ASCII is
an international standard in which numbers, letters, punctuation marks, symbols,
and control codes are assigned numbers from 0 to 127.
AIFF-Short for Audio Interchange File Format, a common format for storing and
transmitting sampled sound.
ANSI-Acronym for the American National Standards Institute, a voluntary
organization that creates standards for the computer industry. In addition to
programming languages, ANSI sets standards for a wide range of technical areas,
from electrical specifications to communications protocols.
AU-Short for audio, a common format for sound files on UNIX machines.
AVI-A format developed by Microsoft Corporation for storing video and audio
information.
Accessibility-The degree to which the public is able to retrieve or obtain
Government information products, either through the Federal Depository Library
Program (FDLP) or directly through an electronic information service established
and maintained by a Government agency or its authorized agent. The other
aspects of accessibility include the degree to which these Government
information products are available to the public in a useful format or medium
and in a time frame in which the information has utility. In the context of the
FDLP, accessibility includes the degree to which Government information is
accurately identified and described bibliographically, the information's
availability is made known to the public, and technological, social, economic,
political and physical barriers to gaining access are minimized.
Authentication-The certification of a Government information product attesting
to its legitimate official status. Ensuring the authenticity of a product
involves product design, planning, and policy development, as well as technical
considerations.
Availability-The degree to which information is physically or electronically
obtainable through the intentional or unintentional provision of Government
information products to the public. In the context of the FDLP, availability
includes the measures taken by Government agencies and the FDLP to include
Government information products in the program. Accessibility is meaningless if
information is unobtainable from its source.
BBS-Bulletin Board System, an electronic message center. Most bulletin boards
serve specific interest groups. They allow users to dial in with a modem,
review messages left by others, and leave their own message.
CGI Scripts-Abbreviation for Common Gateway Interface, a specification for
transferring information between a World Wide Web server and a CGI program. CGI
programs are the most common way for Web servers to interact dynamically with
users. An increasingly common way to provide dynamic feedback for Web users is
to include scripts or programs that run on the user's machine rather than the
Web server.
CD-ROM-Compact Disk-Read Only Memory; an optical disk from which information may
be read but not written.
DVD-Short for digital versatile disk or digital video disk, a new type of CD-ROM
that holds a minimum of 4.7GB (gigabytes), enough for a full-length movie.
Digital Image-An electronic version of a bit-mapped image of a document or other
information format that allows text to be searched at the character level;
"digitalize" means the process and accompanying technologies required to effect
the conversion from bit-mapped (e.g., a fax) to searchable format.
Dissemination-The act of making Government information products accessible to
the public through distribution to depository or program libraries or by using a
Government electronic information service.
Electronic Government Information-Information that is organized, stored, and
disseminated using electronic or optical mediums as opposed to paper-based or
microfiche-based mediums.
FTP-An acronym for of File Transfer Protocol, the protocol (agreed-upon format)
used on the Internet for sending files.
Format-The manner in which data, documents, or literature are organized,
structured, named and described, classified, and arranged. For example, full
narrative texts in English language could be in the following forms: books or
articles, abstracts of text used in reviews and summaries, indexes and catalogs,
maps, photographs, drawings, sound recordings, video tapes, bibliographies, and
statistical and other numeric kinds of tabulations. A screen format is the
layout of fields on the screen. A report format is the layout of the printed
page including print columns and page headers and footers. A record format is
the layout of fields within a record. A file or database format is the layout
of fields and records within a data file, layout codes within a word processing
document, or display lists (vector) or bit maps (raster) within a graphics file.
The term is sometimes used to refer to the way digital data is encoded or
inscribed. Archivists used the terms "genre" or "form of material" to cover
what is meant by format in this context.
Frames-A feature supported by most modern Web browsers that enables the Web
author to divide the browser display area into two or more sections (frames).
The contents of each frame are taken from a different Web page.
GIF-Pronounced jiff or giff (hard g), it is short for graphics interchange
format, a bit-mapped graphics. GIF supports color and various resolutions. It
also includes data compression, making it especially effective for scanned
photos.
GILS-Short for Government Information Locator Service. A metadata tool for
identifying, locating, and describing publicly available Federal information
resources, including electronic information resources.
Gopher-A method of making menus of material available over the Internet. Gopher
pre-dates the World Wide Web for organizing and displaying files on Internet
servers.
Government Electronic Information Service-The system or method by which a
component of the Government, or its authorized agent, disseminates Government
information products to the public via such means as a network or use of CD-ROMs
at a kiosk.
Government Information-Refers to information, regardless of form, medium, or
format, that is created or compiled by employees of a component of the
Government, or at Government expense, or as required by law. Government
information as used here does not include information for official use only,
information classified for reasons of national security, or information used
strictly for administrative or operational purposes (e.g., not of public
interest or educational value).
Government Information Product-A Government publication or other work of the
United States Government conveyed in a tangible physical medium such as a book
or CD-ROM, or disseminated through an electronic Government information service
established and maintained by a Government agency or its authorized agent.
Graphical User Interface-A program interface that takes advantage of the
computer's graphics capabilities to make the program easier to use.
HTML (HyperText Markup Language)-The authoring language used to create documents
on the World Wide Web.
HTTP-Short for HyperText Transfer Protocol, the underlying protocol used by the
World Wide Web. HTTP defines how messages are formatted and transmitted and
what actions Web servers and browsers should take in response to various
commands.
Information Intermediary-Refers to any person, institution, or mechanism that
adds value to information products so that they are more useful to information
users. Intermediaries perform their work at the middle information life cycle
stages-that is, between information creation and information disposition or
destruction. Federal libraries and information centers are examples of
intermediaries.
Information Life Cycle-The various stages through which information passes,
including creation, production or collection, review and editing, organization
and reorganization, packaging, storage, search and retrieval, communication and
re-communication, dissemination, disposition, archiving, and destruction.
JPEG-Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) is an image compression format used
to transfer color photographs and images over computer networks.
Java Applets-The use of small Java programs. Java Applets allows Web pages to
include functions such as animations, calculators, and other fancy tricks.
Javascript-A scripting language developed by Netscape to enable Web authors to
design interactive sites.
MARC-Short for machine-reading cataloguing. The USMARC formats are standards
for the representation and communication of bibliographic and related
information in machine-readable form. The Library of Congress, in consultation
with various user communities, maintains USMARC formats.
MPEG-Short for Moving Picture Experts Group, a working group of ISO. MPEG
generally produces high-quality video.
Medium-The physical, chemical, or biological substrate used to create, organize,
store, search for, retrieve, disseminate, or permanently archive data,
documents, or literature including, for example, paper, microforms, fiber optic
cables, photographic film, CD-ROM, floppy diskettes, magnetic storage devices,
sound recordings, and videotape.
Metadata-Metadata is data about data. Metadata describes how and when and by
whom a particular set of data was collected and how the data are formatted.
These data can be collections or individual instances of objects or documents,
Internet resources, etc.
Migration-The transfer of an information product from one hardware type,
software package, system, network, format, or medium to another. The transfer
of an information product from a pre-electronic medium such as paper or
microform to an electronic medium such as CD-ROM is an example of migration.
PDF-Short for Portable Document Format. A file format developed by Adobe
Systems, PDF captures formatting information from a variety of desktop
publishing applications, making it possible to send formatted documents and have
them appear on the recipient's monitor or printer as they were intended.
Permanent Public Access-The indefinite, continuing accessibility of Government
information products by the public including the policies, programs, formats,
mediums, and standards used. Simply because data such as weather and tide
information, lists of Government contractors, editions of annual reports, and
statistical series are continuously updated with more current information does
not necessarily mean that provision should not be made for retaining (making
permanently accessible) the replaced information. Care should be exercised in
this regard, however, to ensure no harm is done to the public by making
available out-of-date information.
Preferred Medium or Format Standard-A medium or format standard that may not be
agency mandated but is either common agency practice or applies to a new or
promising product format or medium.
Public Domain-A term of American copyright law referring to works that are not
copyright protected; free for all to use without permission.
Refreshing-A technical term meaning the manner in which information mediums and
technologies are periodically reassessed and upgraded to ensure that they are
not becoming obsolete, thereby risking the loss of information and the
compromising of Permanent Public Access policies. The term is also sometimes
applied to formats and standards (not just mediums) that are in danger of
becoming obsolete and need to be replaced or upgraded.
Rich Text Format (RTF)-A standard for specifying formatting of documents. RTF
files are actually ASCII files with special commands to indicate formatting
information, such as fonts and margins.
SGML-Short for Standard Generalized Markup Language, SGML is a system for
organizing and tagging elements of a document. SGML was developed and
standardized by the International Organization for Standards (ISO) in 1986.
Standard-An agreed-upon authoritative convention, whether formal or informal,
whether official or unofficial, whether de facto or de jure, by which
information products are created, produced, formatted, published, stored,
communicated, and moved through the remainder of the stages of the information
life cycle. Standards (and the more informal concept and term "guidelines")
minimize incompatibility and interoperability problems when an information
sender tries to move data, documents, or literature into and out of several
different formats and mediums to a receiver. Standards may be set by formal
national or international standard-setting bodies, or by agencies, or by groups
of users informally by common consent.
TIFF-The acronym for Tagged Image File Format, a graphic file format developed
by Aldus and Microsoft.
Telnet-A terminal emulation program for TCP/IP networks such as the Internet.
The Telnet program runs on a user's computer and connects his/her PC to a server
on the network. This enables users to control the server and communicate with
other servers on the network.
Type of Data-The general nature of the information content of a Government
information product and how it is arranged, structured, and presented for ease
of handling in a medium. Some examples include textual data, graphical data,
spatial data, numerical data, etc.
WAIS-Short for Wide Area Information Server. A distributed information service
that offers simple natural language input, indexed searching for information
retrieval, and a relevance feedback mechanism. It has an easy-to-use interface
that searches all documents relative to your query, ranks them, and makes them
available to retrieve.
WAV-The format for storing sound in files developed jointly for Microsoft and
IBM.
WORM-Short for write once, read many, an optical disk technology that allows one
to write data onto a disk just once.
World Wide Web (WWW)-WWW is a system of Internet servers that support specially
formatted documents. The documents are formatted in a language called HTML
(HyperText Markup Language) that supports links to other documents, as well as
graphics, audio, and video files.
XML-Short for eXtensible Markup Language. XML is a pared-down version of SGML,
designed especially for Web documents. It enables designers to create their own
customized tags to provide functionality not available with HTML.