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Information and research systems in the service of decision-making
Information and Research Systems in the Service of Decision-Making GILBERT GUDE* Director, Congressional Research Service Library o f Congress Washington, D C 2 0 5 4 0 , U.S.A.
SUMMARY When people are in government, they are always involved in some type o f information communication, but for more than five years now I have been involved with the Congressional Research Service, CRS, an institution which is totally committed to research and transfer o f information to the United States Congress. The Congressional Research Service works exclusively for congress-for all the members and all the committees; and CRS's scope--information, reference and research--covers all subfect areas, including environmental issues, which are o f congressional interest. The inquiries from members and staff--by phone, letter or in person--exceed 400 000 a year, and the number o f requests has increased at an average rate o f almost 9 percent each year over the past decade. Small wonder the service employs about 825 people, 550 o f whom are professionals.
INTRODUCTION The Congressional Research Service (CRS), did not spring f o r t h - - - j u n o - l i k e - - i n its present form. The very beginning of the service was in the estab*Gilbert Gude is Director of the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress, appointed by Librarian Daniel J. Boorstin in January 1977. Mr Gude's career in public service began in 1953 when he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates; he served as a Member of the Maryland State Senate from 19621966, before being elected to the US House of Representatives for the 8th District of Maryland in 1967. During his 10-year career in the House he served as ranking member of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Natural Resources of the Government Operations Committee and ranking member of the Committee on the District of Columbia; he was also a member of the Select Committee on Aging. Mr Gude's legislative work concentrated in the areas of urban and regional affairs and environmental issues. He was a key sponsor of the bill creating the C&O Canal National Historical Park and developed a number of legislative initiatives involving the Potomac River. Mr Gude is Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America and a member of the National Academy of Public Administration. He is a former member of Members of Congress for Peace Through Law and former chairman of the 1976 Anglo-American Conference on Africa. Mr Gude received a B.S. from CorneU University in 1948 and an M.A. in public administration from George Washington University in 1958.
The Environmentalist, 4 (1984) 4 7 - 5 0
lishment of a library on the third floor of the Capitol through a congressional appropriation of $5000 for books. The establishment of reference and research support for the congress evolved at a slow pace from a small staff of librarians, in days when g o v e r n m e n t - - i n fact all s o c i e t y - moved leisurely, to a highly complex information, reference and research system with very sophisticated automation capability. Such evolution rarely follows a smooth path, but CRS has persevered and largely overcome the inevitable ruts o f trial and error. Several principles of CRS account for this evolution. One is embodied in the concept that CRS is in the information and research management business: solely. A few decades ago, the problems we faced were exacerbated b y lack of knowledge; but today it is not lack of information, but really information overload which often makes the analysis/decision-making task difficult. For this reason CRS sends materials to congress only at the request of the members or committees or staff; none of our issue briefs, reports or other materials are provided unless each has been r e q u e s t e d - in short, we do not pamphleteer the members nor add unnecessarily to the mountain of paper which goes into each congressional office everyday. A second basic rule of CRS is embodied in the fact that we serve congress in a non-partisan, objective m o d e - - w e do not lobby congress nor push for political decisions. If there is one thing that is not needed in Washington today, it's another advocate or pressure g r o u p - - s o m e t i m e s it seems that the lobbies are cloning all over town. Another cardinal principle within which CRS operates is serving congress in a timely manner, keeping pace with the inexorable turning of the pages of the congressional calendar. We labor continuously to meet congressional d e a d l i n e s - - p r o vide research in time for a committee hearing, or information in time for a statement to be made in scheduled debate. Fortunately, not every member of congress nor every committee is on the
phone making requests at one time; thus, we are able to structure our workload. Sometimes we must negotiate a deadline, supplying some matefial or part of the research initially and then serving up the balance at a later time.
STRUCTURE In order to respond to a large number of diverse requests, the CRS professional staff is comprised both of generalists--librarians or information specialists--and subject area specialists--researchers, analysts, lawyers, economists, oceanographers, experts in renewable resources, foreign affairs and national defense specialists, statisticians, geologists--experts in every area of congressional concern. These professionals serve as shared staff for all members of the senate and house and all committees. For example, a researcher in our Environment and Natural Resources Division could, in the course of several days, assist a committee in analyzing draft legislation to establish a coastal barrier resources system, talk by phone with legislative staff in a member's office concerning problems of oil pollution, and at the same time be preparing an issue brief on Clean Air Act legislation which will be available to answer recurring questions from a number of o f f i c e s - offices not seeking detailed analysis but a succinct, well-stated overview. Through the system of shared staff CRS endeavors to use its personnel economically and efficiently. In addition to the Environment and Natural Resources Policy Division and the Science Policy Research Division, which carry out the greater part of analysis and research in the area of environment, the other divisions--Economics, Foreign Affairs and National Defense, Government, American Law, and Education and Public Welfare-could well be involved in the consideration of environmental questions when those questions are so broad as to require an interdisciplinary approach. For example, in September of 1982, analysts from five research divisions--American Law, Economics, Environment and Natural Resource Policy, Education and Public Welfare and Science Policy Research--and information specialists from the Reference Division established an informal group on the subject of asbestos. Interest in creating such a group had been stimulated by several events in mid-1982; the Manville Corp. had filed for bankruptcy and there was interest in legislation to aid Manville as well as other companies facing asbestos-related workers' claims, and legislation to tighten provisions of the federal bankruptcy laws. The interdivisional4nterdisciplinary group's re48
searchers and information specialists represent a wide range of topics within the broad asbestos issue area, including medical aspects of asbestosrelated disease; environmental or non-health related regulatory policy; occupational safety and health regulation; insurance involvement and related questions concerning compensation for asbestor-related disease; and bankruptcy. There is no formal arrangement or team, the researchers dealing with aspects of the issue readily communicating with one another about the nature of congressional requests received and developments within their issue area. Several researchers have been observing and commenting on a current government division project for a house subcommittee (a project under contract) to assess two studies on estimates of asbestos-related disease and likely claims for relief or compensation for such disease. Although there is no formal interdisciplinary CRS project in being at this time, communication and work within the informal group would facilitate such a project in the future. The CRS asbestos group activity points up the key importance of librarians and information specialists in the service's ongoing work. Librarians with professional training in library and information science, and who might be termed information generalists, are located in the Library Services Division and the Reference Division. The natural resources and environmental policy bibliographers in the Library Services Division and the arts and science team in the Reference Division would handle those inquiries in the area of environmental issues. Overviewing information and research in any field raises the important problem of how to effectively supply the requester with precisely the needed i n f o r m a t i o n - - i t is practically a truism that 95 percent of successful information or research work depends on the precision with which the question addresses the requester's need. To help solve this universal problem, we have developed a series of CRS Institutes for congressional staff. These institutes provide guidance so that staff can think most effectively in delineating the structure and design of a research or reference project up front and then work most effectively with CRS information and research resources in its execution.
SYSTEM OF WORKING
Professionals--analysts, researchers and librari a n s - n o t only look to numerous sources of prepared material to carry out their work, but consult professionals in other institutions, both governThe Environmentalist
mental and private, to keep abreast of developments in their fields. We don't mind picking brains. A CRS bibliographer, who is a specialist in the environmental area, will call on librarians in NOAA, EPA or a university or college or a private research institution, such as the Brookings Institution or the American Enterprise Institute. At the same time, a CRS oceanographer will be on the same kind of a first-name basis with state department experts as to developments in the law of the sea area and with ocean scientists at Woods Hole, Mass. on some of their latest work on ocean currents and pollution. Attendance at professional meetings is an extremely vital way of keeping abreast of new theories and studies. As to keeping current in the many environmental areas, the 3000 serials which CRS bibliographers scan every m o n t h include Chemecology, Ecology Law Quarterly, Environment and Behavior, The Water Resources Bulletin, Estuaries, Clean Water Report, and Marine Fisheries Review. CRS bibliographers also scan research studies by government and private groups, as well as congressional publications. Our bibliographers also consult a number of data bases, including Enviroline, Oceanic Abstracts, Nexis, The New York Times Infobank, Agricola and Energyline. In order to carry out its mission, CRS is obliged to tailor its response to the needs of its congressional constituents. Different situations call for different products or modes. One m o d e - - o r a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n - - i s on the increase. Our researchers not only discuss matters with members or staffers by phone, but often visit congressional offices or committees to provide briefings in particular areas. Seminars and workshops are popular media as opposed to the printed report; such oral programs provide the opportunity for a dialogue. Recent CRS workshops and seminars include a workshop on acid rain, seminar on state water use projections to the year 2000, and the congressional roundtable on world food and population series for members only. Just as the oral communication of information ranges from a quick phone call to an all-day seminar, CRS written products are similarly targeted to those being served. One-to-ten page memos are often utilized to answer specific requests, particularly in offering and/or evaluating proposals for amendments on such issues as supporting the Fisheries Industry, The Endangered Species Act, Recreational Policy, and U S - C a n a d i a n Fishing Treaties. CRS is also directed by statute to anticipate congressional information and research needs. One of the most c o m m o n l y used tools is the computerized issue brief. Issue briefs seldom run more Vol. 4, No. 1 (1984)
than 15 pages; they are designed to give a legislative assistant or a m e m b e r of congress a quick overview of a specific issue. "Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation" is a typical issue brief. It runs a total of 9 pages and starts with a definition of the issue; then background and policy analysis include a discussion of trends in oil handling and spill rates, effects of oil pollution, and compensation for oil spills. The brief also reviews the current proposals and current issues, which include preemption, liability, coverage, appropriate funding level, and fund maintenance. It concludes with a discussion of specific bills introduced and a chronology of legislative events which affect oil pollution liability and compensation. This issue brief was introduced in April 1981 and, as of the end o f 1982, had been updated 17 times. The technology of the system makes it possible to update these IB's on a daily basis if necessary and indeed, in such cases as the Iranian hostage crisis and the Falkland Island War, this can occur daily on dozens and even hundreds of days. Issue briefs are available to members and staff not only in hard copy, but on their office computer terminal screens. We have at this time approximately 375 issue briefs in the system on all subject areas of substantial congressional interest, ranging from " A b o r t i o n " and "Acid Precipitation" to "UreaFormaldehyde Foam Insulation" and "Yellow Rain". In addition to issue briefs, a heavily used CRS product is the CRS Report, usually from 2 0 - 1 0 0 pages in length; reports provide indepth analysis or examination of a specific aspect of congressional concern. Typical of CRS reports are "Arsenic: a possible occupational and environmental health hazard", "Alternative strategies for providing urban parks" and "Federal role in Barrier Island Development". Bibliographies are a popular item in the congressional c o m m u n i t y and are also prepared to cover fast-moving issues. In accordance with our efforts to work more closely with congress in the reference-research areas, we recently developed the Research Guide; congressional staff use these guides as a bibliographic road map to help them trace the literature best suited to explore a particular aspect of a subject area.
SELECTIVE DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION SYSTEM Another product of the Congressional Research Service Library Services Division is the Selective Dissemination of Information system, known as the SDI. This very popular and heavily used system 49
provides CRS analysts and congressional subscribers a weekly listing of articles in their particular field of interest. Those subscribers to the SDI who are interested in environmental matters would subscribe to such interest terms as: air pollution, water pollution, solid wastes, chemicals, environmental economics/health/law, and pesticides. Three by five cards delivered weekly give annotated citations of all current articles in journals dealing with the subject areas; subscribers can then order a printout of those articles in which he or she is interested. This saves an individual from screening or trying to read dozens and dozens of serial publications on a weekly basis. CONCLUSION Any information-research system should be continually sensitive to changing needs of its clientele; we continually monitor the usage and effectiveness of our various products by questionnaires and consultations. We have been very gratified that, regardless of political philosophy or party registration, our various services are utilized to a relatively equal degree by all members. This applies, for example, to the attendance at our seminar programs: we find that a memberonly breakfast seminar on MX missile siting, which starts at 8 o'clock in the morning, will have a good ratio of democrats and republicans, conservatives, moderates and liberals. We believe this indicates that our programs are useful to all members regardless of political persuasion, but also that members of congress wish to hear the pros and c o n s - - a fair analysis of all sides of the issues. As I have pointed out, we are specifically directed to serve only the congress; our appropriations limit us to provide information and research to the congressional community. Members, in carrying out their representational function, sometimes provide CRS materials to their constituents; in practically all instances, this material is 'off the shelf'. This consists mainly of issue briefs, CRS reports or infopacks (an infopack is a carefully selected collection of about three to six written pieces--CRS and non-CRS in o r i g i n - designed to give a comprehensive overview of a major subject of congressional concern); primarily used by legislative staff, they have a double utility
50
in that they may be sent to constituents who wish to have a more profound understanding of some of the complex issues which face the citizenry and in turn their congressional representatives. Many of the major studies prepared for committees by our research divisions are printed at the request of the committee by the Government Printing Office and are available to the general public. In addition, twice a year the GPO publishes a list of all those CRS products which congress has put into the public domain. Also at the direction of congress, the GPO prepares an ongoing series known as the Major Legislation of the Congress--MLC; MLC is derived from our issue brief system and gives an overview of the major issues of the day and how congress is dealing with them. The MLC is generally published three to four times a year but at no fixed interval. Congress also directs GPO to print the CRS Bill Digest, which lists and summarizes all bills under consideration by the current congress. So a substantial amount of CRS work that is most likely to be helpful to the general public does go into the public domain. Even so, it is easy to understand that a good portion of CRS work could well go unheralded but, because of the close role which the Congressional Research Service plays in support of congressional research and analysis, there are many instances where the service knows it has impacted the formation of public policy. CRS researchers who track the acid rain issue, for example, have been a continous knowledgeable resource for members and staff who have become increasingly concerned as the problem loomed larger and more complex with each passing month. We have a dedication to the principle of the free exchange of information, as well as objective research and intellectual investigation. We believe congress, the country and mankind is best served when these principles are most nearly fulfilled. But the burgeoning growth of all sciences and sophisticated information technology of today makes it difficult for the decision-maker--the architects of p o l i c y - - t o always have, in a timely manner and in the most helpful form, the best knowledge available. Indeed, all of us in the information and research management field have our work cut out for us.
The Environmentalist
SUMMARY When people are in government, they are always involved in some type o f information communication, but for more than five years now I have been involved with the Congressional Research Service, CRS, an institution which is totally committed to research and transfer o f information to the United States Congress. The Congressional Research Service works exclusively for congress-for all the members and all the committees; and CRS's scope--information, reference and research--covers all subfect areas, including environmental issues, which are o f congressional interest. The inquiries from members and staff--by phone, letter or in person--exceed 400 000 a year, and the number o f requests has increased at an average rate o f almost 9 percent each year over the past decade. Small wonder the service employs about 825 people, 550 o f whom are professionals.
INTRODUCTION The Congressional Research Service (CRS), did not spring f o r t h - - - j u n o - l i k e - - i n its present form. The very beginning of the service was in the estab*Gilbert Gude is Director of the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress, appointed by Librarian Daniel J. Boorstin in January 1977. Mr Gude's career in public service began in 1953 when he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates; he served as a Member of the Maryland State Senate from 19621966, before being elected to the US House of Representatives for the 8th District of Maryland in 1967. During his 10-year career in the House he served as ranking member of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Natural Resources of the Government Operations Committee and ranking member of the Committee on the District of Columbia; he was also a member of the Select Committee on Aging. Mr Gude's legislative work concentrated in the areas of urban and regional affairs and environmental issues. He was a key sponsor of the bill creating the C&O Canal National Historical Park and developed a number of legislative initiatives involving the Potomac River. Mr Gude is Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America and a member of the National Academy of Public Administration. He is a former member of Members of Congress for Peace Through Law and former chairman of the 1976 Anglo-American Conference on Africa. Mr Gude received a B.S. from CorneU University in 1948 and an M.A. in public administration from George Washington University in 1958.
The Environmentalist, 4 (1984) 4 7 - 5 0
lishment of a library on the third floor of the Capitol through a congressional appropriation of $5000 for books. The establishment of reference and research support for the congress evolved at a slow pace from a small staff of librarians, in days when g o v e r n m e n t - - i n fact all s o c i e t y - moved leisurely, to a highly complex information, reference and research system with very sophisticated automation capability. Such evolution rarely follows a smooth path, but CRS has persevered and largely overcome the inevitable ruts o f trial and error. Several principles of CRS account for this evolution. One is embodied in the concept that CRS is in the information and research management business: solely. A few decades ago, the problems we faced were exacerbated b y lack of knowledge; but today it is not lack of information, but really information overload which often makes the analysis/decision-making task difficult. For this reason CRS sends materials to congress only at the request of the members or committees or staff; none of our issue briefs, reports or other materials are provided unless each has been r e q u e s t e d - in short, we do not pamphleteer the members nor add unnecessarily to the mountain of paper which goes into each congressional office everyday. A second basic rule of CRS is embodied in the fact that we serve congress in a non-partisan, objective m o d e - - w e do not lobby congress nor push for political decisions. If there is one thing that is not needed in Washington today, it's another advocate or pressure g r o u p - - s o m e t i m e s it seems that the lobbies are cloning all over town. Another cardinal principle within which CRS operates is serving congress in a timely manner, keeping pace with the inexorable turning of the pages of the congressional calendar. We labor continuously to meet congressional d e a d l i n e s - - p r o vide research in time for a committee hearing, or information in time for a statement to be made in scheduled debate. Fortunately, not every member of congress nor every committee is on the
phone making requests at one time; thus, we are able to structure our workload. Sometimes we must negotiate a deadline, supplying some matefial or part of the research initially and then serving up the balance at a later time.
STRUCTURE In order to respond to a large number of diverse requests, the CRS professional staff is comprised both of generalists--librarians or information specialists--and subject area specialists--researchers, analysts, lawyers, economists, oceanographers, experts in renewable resources, foreign affairs and national defense specialists, statisticians, geologists--experts in every area of congressional concern. These professionals serve as shared staff for all members of the senate and house and all committees. For example, a researcher in our Environment and Natural Resources Division could, in the course of several days, assist a committee in analyzing draft legislation to establish a coastal barrier resources system, talk by phone with legislative staff in a member's office concerning problems of oil pollution, and at the same time be preparing an issue brief on Clean Air Act legislation which will be available to answer recurring questions from a number of o f f i c e s - offices not seeking detailed analysis but a succinct, well-stated overview. Through the system of shared staff CRS endeavors to use its personnel economically and efficiently. In addition to the Environment and Natural Resources Policy Division and the Science Policy Research Division, which carry out the greater part of analysis and research in the area of environment, the other divisions--Economics, Foreign Affairs and National Defense, Government, American Law, and Education and Public Welfare-could well be involved in the consideration of environmental questions when those questions are so broad as to require an interdisciplinary approach. For example, in September of 1982, analysts from five research divisions--American Law, Economics, Environment and Natural Resource Policy, Education and Public Welfare and Science Policy Research--and information specialists from the Reference Division established an informal group on the subject of asbestos. Interest in creating such a group had been stimulated by several events in mid-1982; the Manville Corp. had filed for bankruptcy and there was interest in legislation to aid Manville as well as other companies facing asbestos-related workers' claims, and legislation to tighten provisions of the federal bankruptcy laws. The interdivisional4nterdisciplinary group's re48
searchers and information specialists represent a wide range of topics within the broad asbestos issue area, including medical aspects of asbestosrelated disease; environmental or non-health related regulatory policy; occupational safety and health regulation; insurance involvement and related questions concerning compensation for asbestor-related disease; and bankruptcy. There is no formal arrangement or team, the researchers dealing with aspects of the issue readily communicating with one another about the nature of congressional requests received and developments within their issue area. Several researchers have been observing and commenting on a current government division project for a house subcommittee (a project under contract) to assess two studies on estimates of asbestos-related disease and likely claims for relief or compensation for such disease. Although there is no formal interdisciplinary CRS project in being at this time, communication and work within the informal group would facilitate such a project in the future. The CRS asbestos group activity points up the key importance of librarians and information specialists in the service's ongoing work. Librarians with professional training in library and information science, and who might be termed information generalists, are located in the Library Services Division and the Reference Division. The natural resources and environmental policy bibliographers in the Library Services Division and the arts and science team in the Reference Division would handle those inquiries in the area of environmental issues. Overviewing information and research in any field raises the important problem of how to effectively supply the requester with precisely the needed i n f o r m a t i o n - - i t is practically a truism that 95 percent of successful information or research work depends on the precision with which the question addresses the requester's need. To help solve this universal problem, we have developed a series of CRS Institutes for congressional staff. These institutes provide guidance so that staff can think most effectively in delineating the structure and design of a research or reference project up front and then work most effectively with CRS information and research resources in its execution.
SYSTEM OF WORKING
Professionals--analysts, researchers and librari a n s - n o t only look to numerous sources of prepared material to carry out their work, but consult professionals in other institutions, both governThe Environmentalist
mental and private, to keep abreast of developments in their fields. We don't mind picking brains. A CRS bibliographer, who is a specialist in the environmental area, will call on librarians in NOAA, EPA or a university or college or a private research institution, such as the Brookings Institution or the American Enterprise Institute. At the same time, a CRS oceanographer will be on the same kind of a first-name basis with state department experts as to developments in the law of the sea area and with ocean scientists at Woods Hole, Mass. on some of their latest work on ocean currents and pollution. Attendance at professional meetings is an extremely vital way of keeping abreast of new theories and studies. As to keeping current in the many environmental areas, the 3000 serials which CRS bibliographers scan every m o n t h include Chemecology, Ecology Law Quarterly, Environment and Behavior, The Water Resources Bulletin, Estuaries, Clean Water Report, and Marine Fisheries Review. CRS bibliographers also scan research studies by government and private groups, as well as congressional publications. Our bibliographers also consult a number of data bases, including Enviroline, Oceanic Abstracts, Nexis, The New York Times Infobank, Agricola and Energyline. In order to carry out its mission, CRS is obliged to tailor its response to the needs of its congressional constituents. Different situations call for different products or modes. One m o d e - - o r a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n - - i s on the increase. Our researchers not only discuss matters with members or staffers by phone, but often visit congressional offices or committees to provide briefings in particular areas. Seminars and workshops are popular media as opposed to the printed report; such oral programs provide the opportunity for a dialogue. Recent CRS workshops and seminars include a workshop on acid rain, seminar on state water use projections to the year 2000, and the congressional roundtable on world food and population series for members only. Just as the oral communication of information ranges from a quick phone call to an all-day seminar, CRS written products are similarly targeted to those being served. One-to-ten page memos are often utilized to answer specific requests, particularly in offering and/or evaluating proposals for amendments on such issues as supporting the Fisheries Industry, The Endangered Species Act, Recreational Policy, and U S - C a n a d i a n Fishing Treaties. CRS is also directed by statute to anticipate congressional information and research needs. One of the most c o m m o n l y used tools is the computerized issue brief. Issue briefs seldom run more Vol. 4, No. 1 (1984)
than 15 pages; they are designed to give a legislative assistant or a m e m b e r of congress a quick overview of a specific issue. "Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation" is a typical issue brief. It runs a total of 9 pages and starts with a definition of the issue; then background and policy analysis include a discussion of trends in oil handling and spill rates, effects of oil pollution, and compensation for oil spills. The brief also reviews the current proposals and current issues, which include preemption, liability, coverage, appropriate funding level, and fund maintenance. It concludes with a discussion of specific bills introduced and a chronology of legislative events which affect oil pollution liability and compensation. This issue brief was introduced in April 1981 and, as of the end o f 1982, had been updated 17 times. The technology of the system makes it possible to update these IB's on a daily basis if necessary and indeed, in such cases as the Iranian hostage crisis and the Falkland Island War, this can occur daily on dozens and even hundreds of days. Issue briefs are available to members and staff not only in hard copy, but on their office computer terminal screens. We have at this time approximately 375 issue briefs in the system on all subject areas of substantial congressional interest, ranging from " A b o r t i o n " and "Acid Precipitation" to "UreaFormaldehyde Foam Insulation" and "Yellow Rain". In addition to issue briefs, a heavily used CRS product is the CRS Report, usually from 2 0 - 1 0 0 pages in length; reports provide indepth analysis or examination of a specific aspect of congressional concern. Typical of CRS reports are "Arsenic: a possible occupational and environmental health hazard", "Alternative strategies for providing urban parks" and "Federal role in Barrier Island Development". Bibliographies are a popular item in the congressional c o m m u n i t y and are also prepared to cover fast-moving issues. In accordance with our efforts to work more closely with congress in the reference-research areas, we recently developed the Research Guide; congressional staff use these guides as a bibliographic road map to help them trace the literature best suited to explore a particular aspect of a subject area.
SELECTIVE DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION SYSTEM Another product of the Congressional Research Service Library Services Division is the Selective Dissemination of Information system, known as the SDI. This very popular and heavily used system 49
provides CRS analysts and congressional subscribers a weekly listing of articles in their particular field of interest. Those subscribers to the SDI who are interested in environmental matters would subscribe to such interest terms as: air pollution, water pollution, solid wastes, chemicals, environmental economics/health/law, and pesticides. Three by five cards delivered weekly give annotated citations of all current articles in journals dealing with the subject areas; subscribers can then order a printout of those articles in which he or she is interested. This saves an individual from screening or trying to read dozens and dozens of serial publications on a weekly basis. CONCLUSION Any information-research system should be continually sensitive to changing needs of its clientele; we continually monitor the usage and effectiveness of our various products by questionnaires and consultations. We have been very gratified that, regardless of political philosophy or party registration, our various services are utilized to a relatively equal degree by all members. This applies, for example, to the attendance at our seminar programs: we find that a memberonly breakfast seminar on MX missile siting, which starts at 8 o'clock in the morning, will have a good ratio of democrats and republicans, conservatives, moderates and liberals. We believe this indicates that our programs are useful to all members regardless of political persuasion, but also that members of congress wish to hear the pros and c o n s - - a fair analysis of all sides of the issues. As I have pointed out, we are specifically directed to serve only the congress; our appropriations limit us to provide information and research to the congressional community. Members, in carrying out their representational function, sometimes provide CRS materials to their constituents; in practically all instances, this material is 'off the shelf'. This consists mainly of issue briefs, CRS reports or infopacks (an infopack is a carefully selected collection of about three to six written pieces--CRS and non-CRS in o r i g i n - designed to give a comprehensive overview of a major subject of congressional concern); primarily used by legislative staff, they have a double utility
50
in that they may be sent to constituents who wish to have a more profound understanding of some of the complex issues which face the citizenry and in turn their congressional representatives. Many of the major studies prepared for committees by our research divisions are printed at the request of the committee by the Government Printing Office and are available to the general public. In addition, twice a year the GPO publishes a list of all those CRS products which congress has put into the public domain. Also at the direction of congress, the GPO prepares an ongoing series known as the Major Legislation of the Congress--MLC; MLC is derived from our issue brief system and gives an overview of the major issues of the day and how congress is dealing with them. The MLC is generally published three to four times a year but at no fixed interval. Congress also directs GPO to print the CRS Bill Digest, which lists and summarizes all bills under consideration by the current congress. So a substantial amount of CRS work that is most likely to be helpful to the general public does go into the public domain. Even so, it is easy to understand that a good portion of CRS work could well go unheralded but, because of the close role which the Congressional Research Service plays in support of congressional research and analysis, there are many instances where the service knows it has impacted the formation of public policy. CRS researchers who track the acid rain issue, for example, have been a continous knowledgeable resource for members and staff who have become increasingly concerned as the problem loomed larger and more complex with each passing month. We have a dedication to the principle of the free exchange of information, as well as objective research and intellectual investigation. We believe congress, the country and mankind is best served when these principles are most nearly fulfilled. But the burgeoning growth of all sciences and sophisticated information technology of today makes it difficult for the decision-maker--the architects of p o l i c y - - t o always have, in a timely manner and in the most helpful form, the best knowledge available. Indeed, all of us in the information and research management field have our work cut out for us.
The Environmentalist