Midwest Transportation Knowledge Network - How We Help Practitioners

About MTKN

HOW WE HELP PRACTITIONERS

Making Connections

MTKN has brought transportation professionals throughout the Midwest toward a common purpose - to build a Transportation Knowledge Network that will serve every state in the nation. Benefits to participants include:

Multiplication of Cost Savings

MTKN member libraries are linked to vital transportation resources more quickly, thoroughly, efficiently and cost-effectively. One state DOT Library estimates that its services contribute $8.3 million annually to the department in reduced costs and added value.
Pooling of Indexed Materials

A major MTKN initiative has been to create an online 'union catalog' of national and regional transportation materials in cooperation with the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC). This resource helps transportation professionals access transportation research more quickly and efficiently. This new database, The Transportation Libraries Catalog (TLCat) was spearheaded by the National Transportation Library (NTL).
Customer Training

MTKN also partnered with the National Highway Institute (NHI) in the past to educate customers through Internet training on accessing transportation information and using transportation databases. Much of that training can be found in Janet Bix's (Ohio DOT) presentations': How to Find Transportation Information and an Overview of TLCat
Improved Access to New Technology

Federal and state agencies invest hundreds of millions of dollars annually in research to fuel innovation. Helping practitioners access these new technologies more effectively will speed implementation, avoid lost opportunities and reduce duplication of existing approaches.
Shared Resources Bring Efficiencies

MTKN members not only share specialized, low-cost interlibrary loan items but also their expertise on the rapidly expanding science of capturing, indexing and disseminating print and electronic information.
Expert Search and Instruction

A vast majority of Internet publications are contained within the "deep Web" - a myriad of library catalogs and publisher databases that are not readily accessible. For example, 65% of recent reports abstracted in TRB's TRIS Online database are not Internet accessible. Transportation librarians expertly navigate the "deep Web" to find a rich array of resources.

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In This Section ... Overview Mission How We Help Official documents Download our brochure (398 KB)	About MTKN HOW WE HELP PRACTITIONERS Making Connections MTKN has brought transportation professionals throughout the Midwest toward a common purpose - to build a Transportation Knowledge Network that will serve every state in the nation. Benefits to participants include: Multiplication of Cost Savings MTKN member libraries are linked to vital transportation resources more quickly, thoroughly, efficiently and cost-effectively. One state DOT Library estimates that its services contribute $8.3 million annually to the department in reduced costs and added value. Pooling of Indexed Materials A major MTKN initiative has been to create an online 'union catalog' of national and regional transportation materials in cooperation with the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC). This resource helps transportation professionals access transportation research more quickly and efficiently. This new database, The Transportation Libraries Catalog (TLCat) was spearheaded by the National Transportation Library (NTL). Customer Training MTKN also partnered with the National Highway Institute (NHI) in the past to educate customers through Internet training on accessing transportation information and using transportation databases. Much of that training can be found in Janet Bix's (Ohio DOT) presentations': How to Find Transportation Information and an Overview of TLCat Improved Access to New Technology Federal and state agencies invest hundreds of millions of dollars annually in research to fuel innovation. Helping practitioners access these new technologies more effectively will speed implementation, avoid lost opportunities and reduce duplication of existing approaches. Shared Resources Bring Efficiencies MTKN members not only share specialized, low-cost interlibrary loan items but also their expertise on the rapidly expanding science of capturing, indexing and disseminating print and electronic information. Expert Search and Instruction A vast majority of Internet publications are contained within the "deep Web" - a myriad of library catalogs and publisher databases that are not readily accessible. For example, 65% of recent reports abstracted in TRB's TRIS Online database are not Internet accessible. Transportation librarians expertly navigate the "deep Web" to find a rich array of resources. You will need the free Adobe Reader to view PDF files.	t