Biofuels: From An Information Perspective Kathleen Vazoulas Sands USDA’s National Agricultural Library

Objectives Status of Information How to Find Information Solving Information Overload

Biofuels Interest in biofuels is sweeping not only the nation, but the world as well Relieve our dependence on petroleum oil Environment issues help slow global climate change reduce emissions

Communication and Information Flow Characteristics at the present time Information coordination is poor Wealth of information available Not being shared in an organized manner Difficulty navigating

Multidisciplinary Nature Diversity of scientific disciplines involved Sciences Chemistry Physics Agriculture Biology Environmental Science Economics

Diversity of People Scientists Farmers/Agricultural Producers Government Public Private Companies Other key stakeholders

Factors Influencing Information Research and Development Advances in Technology Public Policy More literature and discussion Expanding organizations and companies Policy push Advancing technology New processes to learn Impacting research projects and policy Competition for best technology among organizations More literature and discussion Grants for research and technology Increase use of technology

Information Resources Where people are looking for information Databases ABI Inform - 4,685 Academic Search Premier AGRICOLA (Agricultural Online Access) - 2,030 AGRIS - 4,081 Applied Science Technology CAB Abstracts - 3,206 Chemical Abstract Service/SciFinder Scholar Chemical Business Newsbase - 5,726 Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Abstracts - 1,320 Current Contents - 5,710 EI Compendex - 7,175 Fuel and Energy Abstracts Lexis Nexis Science Citation Index/SciSearch - 5,119 Science Direct Scopus - 134,277 Web of Science Note: Numbers represent the approximate number of records on biofuels in each database at the current time

Information Resources Where people are looking for information Databases AGRICOLA Books Journals Articles Conference Proceedings Experiment Station Publications Extension Service Publications Theses

Search AGRICOLA

Information Resources Where people are looking for information Science-based journals Biodiesel Magazine Energy Policy Biomass and Bioenergy Journal of Biobased Material and Bioenergy Chemical and Engineering News Science (AAAS) Agricultural Research

Information Resources Where people are looking for information Newspapers Local Star Tribune Newspaper of the Twin Cities Great Falls Tribune National Washington Post New York Times

Information Resources Where people are looking for information Conferences American Chemical Society National Ethanol Conference Biofuels America Conference and Expo World Biofuels Markets Congress and Exhibition National Biodiesel Conference World Renewable Energy Conference and Expo World Refining and Fuels Conference Biomass and Biorefinery Deals Biodiesel Finance and Investment Summit

Information Resources Where people are looking for information Internet Resources National Biodiesel Board DOE-Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Biodiesel Blog + News Biodiesel America. Org USDA’s NAL Technology Transfer Information Center DOE- Information on Biofuels Policy and Legislation LOC-Thomas Database Nasdaq US Patent Database AgNIC Land Grant System

Where people are looking for information Gray Literature/Invisible Web USDA – CRIS (Current Research Information System) DOE-Biomass Document Database Report of the National Energy Policy Development Group-Chapter Six Bioenergy Feedstock Information Network Directory of Open Access Journals DOE – Information Bridge National Technical Information Service OSTI – Energy Citation Database GrayLIT Network Information Resources

Searching difficulties Terms in literature vary topic’s multidisciplinary nature resource’s focus within topic vocabulary used in the text Terms are used interchangeably, sometimes causing confusion

Information Resources biofuel(s) bioenergy renewable energy sustainable energy ethanol biomass biodiesel cellulosic (bio)butanol gasohol fuel alcohol(s) feedstock(s) Searching Tips Try searching multiple times with different words Try searching terms such as: Contact the experts at NAL, DOE, DOT, DOC, DOI, or EPA

Information Resources How people are obtaining information Library reference services literature searches relevant resources legal/standards information publications in print or online customized help obtain these services through a variety of media

Information Resources How people are using information Research projects Start companies Acquire grants Teach others Write policy Prepare conference talks

Current State

Future

Coordinated Information System This system would create and provide: A central source Organization Coordination Easily accessible resources Full text Specialized bibliography of resources Subject specific information products

National Agricultural Library

National Agricultural Library Web site links Information Centers Online and in-print journals Reference services USDA research projects DigiTop on-site Thesauri (AGRICOLA and CABI)AGRICOLA

USDA USDA Research, Education, and Economics Agricultural Research Service Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service National Agricultural Statistics Service Economic Research Service

Conclusions Organize and share information immediately Partner to enhance information availability Connect researchers and their information to each other, and to other interested parties Develop a national coordinated information system for biofuels  The National Agricultural Library is continuing to look at ways in which this can be done!

Thank you! Please visit the Web site below to view this presentation after the conference: Kathleen Vazoulas Sands (301)