How the National Technical Information Service is Evolving and the Implications for the Atmospheric Sciences

The National Technical Information Service (NTIS) is going through a period of rapid change and redefinition. From its post- World War II beginnings as the Publication Board, a repository for U.S. government scientific and technical information, NTIS grew into a major database and document supplier for academe and business. In 2009, the agency launched the National Technical Reports Library (NTRL) to provide access to the entire NTIS collection of over 3 million reports. Approximately 800,000 reports are available digitally as full-text and the remaining are abstracted and indexed to provide a central authority for U.S. government technical information. In 2016, access to NTRL was broadened and the agency announced a new mission “to foster innovation and economic growth by providing information and data services to the public, the private industry, and other federal agencies.” This presentation will explore NTIS's evolution and the implications for today's atmospheric sciences researchers and the libraries that support them.