2015 DOE STIP Working Meeting Attendees

Each year, representatives of the Department of Energy (DOE) Scientific and Technical Information Program (STIP), led by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI), convene for their annual meeting.  At this year’s working meeting of STIP representatives, held in April and hosted by Los Alamos National Laboratory, there was something different in the air.  Each year there is lively discussion, new contacts are made, and important information is shared, but this year's meeting had a different feel overall.  Perhaps it was the record number of participants, perhaps it was the number of first-time participants who were eager to learn and gain insight from strong scientific and technical information (STI) management programs in place at other labs and offices, or perhaps it was the feeling of being part of something groundbreaking as the DOE STIP community works together to implement the Department of Energy Public Access Plan [1].  In reflecting on the April meeting, I have concluded that it was “all of the above.”  

This is an important and exciting time to be a part of the Department's STIP.Whether one is a program manager, contracting officer,  technical information specialist, or other designated STIP participant, all play a role in management of Departmental research results.  STIP participants help ensure that the results of DOE-funded research and development (R&D) and technical activities are identified, collected, preserved, and then made accessible through submission to OSTI – and that the requirements and benefits of public access to DOE-affiliated journal articles or accepted manuscripts are realized.

The theme of this year's meeting was “STIP – Advancing Science and Technology through Public Access & MORE,” and the range of presentations addressed these topics very well.  Several sites are actively engaged in ensuring DOE’s Public Access Plan is fully implemented, while other labs and offices are earlier in the socialization and education process.  Wherever organizations are on the spectrum, there is recognition of the importance of progress. 

Public access offers major benefits to researchers: papers are cited more often, and the impact of their scientific efforts has greater potential.  So, scientists and researchers have a key role in staying informed as the scholarly publications landscape evolves and should know that there is a wealth of information on the DOE STIP website [2] and Public Access page [3].  Use these resources and find the information needed, whether it is who your STIP representative is [4], the benefits of public access, or how to comply with public access requirements.  You can also reach out to OSTI at stip@osti.gov [5] to get answers and get plugged in to this important Departmental program working together to ensure that the critical and impressive research conducted across the Department is included in the corporate collaboration that is DOE’s STIP.