ETDE – A Catalyst for Energy Technology Breakthroughs:

Bringing the Researcher Closer to Research

Lisbon, Portugal

5 July 2007

Brian A. Hitson

Chair, IEA Energy Technology Data Exchange

(U.S. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information)

Isaac Newton expressed this thought most eloquently in 1676,

when he wrote:

“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Advances in energy technology depend on the diffusion of

knowledge

Sequential diffusion may take months to years!

A B C

A New Era of InnovationAccelerating the sharing of knowledge means

science progresses faster, compressing decades to years, years to months, and

months to days.

Pre-ETDE “A Bilateral World”

Inefficient CostlyDuplicativ

e

ETDE Model – Multilateral Cooperation:

Common

Database

• Efficient

• Comprehensive

• Original “One Stop” Concept

Commercial information vendors

- Sole Access Channel

1987

Bib records, non-electronic full text

Technical Evolution of the ETDE Model1999 2003

Increasing amounts of electronic

full-text

2004 2005 2006

ETDE’s Strategic Evolution – A History of

Partnering/Collaboration INIS

Support to G8 Developing Country Goals

IEA NEET Initiative – “Plus 5” Countries

European Commission Support

Other IEA Cooperation

Clean Coal Centre

IEA publications

Brazil

China

India

Mexico

South Africa

Current and Future Information Landscape – Challenges and

Solutions Challenges

The “Google” Perception – Everything is “there”

Reality of surface web versus deep web

“Members Only” Access

Economics of producing bibliographic records

Proliferation of distributed portals – maintaining an identity

Multiplicity of languages

Solutions Balance strategic partnerships and

strategic individualism Maintain a niche – specialty Search and be searched – but require

attribution

Current and Future Information Landscape – Challenges and Solutions

Continued

Solutions Adopt technology to overcome usage limitations

• Automated user authentication tools• Sophisticated “on the fly” translations tools

Continually strive to bring researchers closer to research

• Integrate numeric data access into full text• Accommodate video and audio• Integrate resources into “collaboratories”

Current and Future Information Landscape – Challenges and Solutions

Continued

Conclusion

Contact:Brian Hitson, Chair

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDE)

hitsonb@osti.gov+1-865-576-1199

ETDE Contributes to Breakthroughs

in

Energy Technology