Information Policy - Ntis' Financial Position Provides an Opportunity to Reassess Its Mission: Report to Congressional Committees (Paperback)

Original publisher: Washington, D.C. (P.O. Box 37050, Washington, D.C. 20013): The Office, 2000]. OCLC Number: (OCoLC)44554783 Subject: Government publications -- United States. Excerpt: ... B-284351 business and industry generally, such as economic information, market 10 information, and related information. Commerce further clarified this definition of technical information by stating that the term " can embrace matters beyond the restricted field of applied science and mechanical arts, " but must be " limited to information which has a direct relationship to 11 business, industry or technology. " NTIS stated that the type of information required by business has significantly changed since 1950 when NTIS ' legislation was enacted. NTIS stated that there is an accelerating pace of technological change, rapid emergence and disappearance of new products and industries, a global outlook in terms of potential exports and location of industrial facilities, and a need to make rapid decisions. NTIS stated that given these circumstances, information such as that in WNC that can reasonably affect decisions on how to allocate research and development resources, how and where to organize and locate production facilities, and how to identify market opportunities has the direct bearing described in our opinion. We have no basis to question NTIS ' position. For over 20 years, NTIS sold FBIS Daily Reports to the public in printed form. With the advent of new technologies and demands by the public, by the end of 1996 FBIS decided to provide its products only in electronic form and NTIS offered them to the public through WNC. A private sector firm that says it competes with WNC told us its sales revenue initially declined an estimated $ 500,000 to $ 600,000 when WNC began selling its foreign news in electronic format. Prior to WNC being in electronic format, that firm had provided an electronic index of the printed FBIS Daily Reports as a product for its customers. WNC's se...