Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Research Library, Archive and Records/Information
Management
Office of the Chief Administrative Services Officer
Research Library, Archive and
Records/Information Management
Matthew Barrett
Policy Research &
Library Administrator
Library, Archive
& Records/Info Mgmt
Kenn Bicknell
Digital Resources
Librarian
Transportation
Research Library
Joe Parise
Records & Information
Management Mgr.
Records & Info
Managment
Denise Villegas
ELTP
Archivist
Transportation
Research Archive
& Records
Student Interns
Circulation Desk
Transportation
Research Library
Research Library, Archive and
Records/Information Management
Kenn Bicknell
Digital Resources
Librarian
Dorothy Peyton Gray
Transportation Library
and Archive
Denise Villegas
ELTP
Archivist
Preservation, Access, Digitization,
Curation & Licensing
Student Interns
Circulation &
Special Projects
Research Library, Archive and
Records/Information Management
Joe Parise
Records & Information Mgmt.
Manager
Records Services
NEW
Sr. Systems Analyst
E-Discovery, ECMS, PRT,
Google Search Appliance,
Sharepoint & Library Systems
David Lor
Records & Information
Analyst
Charlene Williams
Records & Information
Analyst
TCU Records Clerks (3)
(Digitization & Metadata)
TCU Records Clerk
(Offsite Storage
Coordination & Metadata)
FTE Summary
Research Library
Administrator
1
Digital Librarian
1
ELTP Archivist
Archives
Records & Info
Mgmt
1
Records Manager
1
Sr. Systems Analyst
1*
Records Analyst
2
Records Clerk
4**
Summary:
1
Total Requested FTEs
1
Total ELTP/As-Needed
Total Staff
2
7
Pre 2009 Staffing
3
10
*requested FTE – Sr. Sys. Analyst
**one classified as office asst until
retirement
Research Library, Archive and
Records/Information Management
• Research Center
– Transportation Research Library
• Research library for MTA employees, Board
members, consultants, students, government
agencies, universities and the general public.
• Collection & subscription management,
circulation, cataloging, web availability, research
guides, FTA repository, engineering specis,
references and technical assistance.
– MTA Archives
• Repository for items of enduring political,
economic, legal and cultural value documenting
the history and accomplishments of the MTA, its
predecessor public agencies, other municipal
operators, and the private transportation
providers that have operated in Los Angeles since
1873.
Research Library, Archive and
Records/Information Management
• Record and Information Management (RIM)
– Operate the Records Management Center.
– Ensure compliance with the California Public Records Act
and all other applicable state and federal laws governing
government agency records.
– Perform subpoena research for Counsel.
– Manage indexing, off-site storage, and digitization of official
records as defined in law and the Gen-8 Policy.
– Institute Legal Holds and perform E-Discovery processes on
behalf of Counsel.
– Audit all cost centers biennially for policy/legal compliance.
– Teach monthly classes in Records Management practices for
employees.
– Promote effective records management processes and
manage record life cycles.
– Work with the Research Library’s Archive to preserve
historic documents, media, and photographs.
– Manage indexing & access to Board of Directors records.
Research Library, Archive and
Records/Information Management
• Cost Savings
– Research Library, Archives & Records/Info Management
provides information to employees faster, better and
cheaper than they can for themselves.
– Faster by:
• Membership in networks of transportation research
libraries that collaborate to share information about
resources and expedite sharing of resources/services
• Developing a well-organized collection of frequentlyneeded, authoritative reference sources and other
publications in transportation and other subject areas
of interest to the department
• Ensuring digital and paper copies of all critical MTA
documents are identified, indexed, cataloged, and
preserved so any document can be accessed
immediately when needed.
• Centralizing relevant documents in one location that is
easily accessible, including online 24/7.
Research Library, Archive and
Records/Information Management
– Better by:
• Developing and applying knowledge about the
resources and services of a wide range of
publishers and other information providers
• Using research staff expertise to access the latest
techniques and technologies available to identify,
locate and acquire information and information
resources
• Applying research staff expertise regarding the
wide range of formats and methods of
distributing and displaying information, laws
affecting the use of information and information
resources (copyright and other intellectual
property law), to provide customers the right
information at the right time in the right format.
• Providing information more conveniently and
easily accessible electronically as well as in print.
Research Library, Archive and
Records/Information Management
– Cheaper by:
• Developing and providing services and
procedures that allow departmental units and
employees to share information resources
• Taking advantage of discounts available through
various vendors and membership agreements in
purchasing and licensing information resources
• Organizing and presenting most frequently
needed information resources and services on the
Internet, Intranet & Social Media sites.
• Borrowing needed resources from cooperating
libraries in lieu of purchasing rare materials.
Why does MTA have a Research Center?
• Improved Information Access
– Employees who can turn to an information professional for
assistance have an advantage. As noted in The Value of Information
and Information Services, organizations without libraries spend 2 to
4 times more to acquire information than those with in-house
libraries. Obtaining information through use of alternative sources
costs 2.3 times as much as acquiring the same information through
an in-house library. Part of the cost saving is associated with
sharing of resources. If a library owns a document, multiple
individuals within an organization can use it. If another library owns
it, it can be borrowed.
– Federal and state governments invest millions of dollars in research
to fuel innovation. Employees and the public need transportation
libraries to avoid losing access to the immense amount of research
and publications produced by the government, universities, and
private companies, especially transportation security information
related to buses, light-rail, subways, tunnels, highways, bridges,
aviation, and railroads.
– Active participation in networks of research libraries that collaborate
to expedite sharing of information resources and developing a wellorganized collection of frequently needed, authoritative reference
sources in transportation subject areas
Why does MTA have a Research Center?
• The MTA’s Research Library has existed as an employee
research resource and public outreach tool since 1971, its
roots are in the original Los Angeles Railway Library that
opened in 1895.
• It became an FTA repository library, began cataloging its
collection into the world catalog, and honoring interlibrary loan
requests in 1978.
• It continues to be the only comprehensive transportation
research center available in all of Southern California.
• 40% of the the library’s collection is unique and cannot be
found in any other library.
• The Research Center functions as the public reading room for
Records/Info Management, minimizing California Public
Records Requests and allowing the public to search on its own.
• For FY13, the Research Library budget represented 0.012% of
the MTA budget. Together with Records and Information
Management, Cost Center 6440 represents 0.029% of the total
agency budget.
Why does MTA have a Research Center?
• Staff actively works with the Transportation Research Board, the
National Transportation Library, the Western Transportation Knowledge
Network, the National Transportation Knowledge Network and the
Pooled Fund for Transportation Library Connectivity.
• Staff also works with peer institutions, APTA, AASHTO, the Special
Library Association, the Society of American Archivists, the California
Digital Library, USC’s LA as Subject Forum, and the American Records
Management Association.
• We are the only transit agency participating in the scoping study on a
National Strategic Plan for Transportation Information Management.
• The Nation’s network of transportation research libraries is supported
by a national coordinating library authorized by SAFETEA-LU, under
the USDOT’s Research & Innovative Technologies Administration.
Title V, Subpart B, Section 5901
– NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION LIBRARY.—
• (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish and maintain a National Transportation Library,
which shall contain a collection of statistical and other information needed for transportation
decision making at the Federal, State, and local levels.
• (2) ACCESS.—The Director shall facilitate and promote access to the Library, with the goal of
improving the ability of the transportation community to share information and the ability of the
Director to make statistics readily accessible under subsection (c)(5).
• (3) COORDINATION.—The Director shall work with other transportation libraries and other
transportation information providers, both public and private, to achieve the goal specified in
paragraph (2).
Why does MTA have a Research Center?
• The U.S. DOT’s National Transportation Library selected the
MTA’s transportation library as one of 20 nationwide whose
outstanding practices, collections and staffing qualify it to be
included in a specialized union catalog of transportation
libraries. The only other library selected in California was U.C.
Berkeley.
• In addition to serving the research and technology transfer
needs of employees and consultants, the Research Center
functions as a passive public affairs service to the general
public, providing information and access to public records
about projects, policies, and the role of transportation in their
communities.
How do we compare to other
transportation research centers/libraries?
California
U.C. Berkely Transportation Library
LACMTA Transportation Research Library
CalTrans Transportation Library (Sacramento)
MTC/AMBAG Transportation Library (Oakland)
California State Railroad Museum Library (Sacramento)
San Francisco Muni Library
South Coast Area Transit Library (Oxnard)
MTDB Library (San Diego)
Mineta Transportation Research Library (San Jose)
BART Technical Resources Library
Librarians
5
2
4
2
2
1
0.5
2
1
1
Collection Date
Size
Established
496,000
1948
200,000
1971
170,000
1940
24,000
1970
10,000
1981
5,500
1975
2,000
1979
1,500
1985
1,000
1991
6,000
1976
Budget for
Books &
Annual
Periodicals
Circulation
$
49,000
52,197
$
55,000
5,500
$
38,000
3,600
$
45,000
350
$
15,000
5,000
$
1,100
25
as-needed
non-circ
project related
non-circ
1
1
n/a
n/a
Other States
Northwestern Transportation Library (Chicago)
4 236,549
UMTRI - University of Michigan Transportation Institute
3
95,000
NY MTA Bridge/Tunnel Technical Library
1
54,000
Minnesota DOT Transportation Library
5
35,000
Arizona Transportation Research Library
1
28,000
Michigan DOT Transportation Library
1
26,000
King County Metro Transportation Library (Seattle)
3
14,000
Portland Trimet Transportation Library
2
6,000
American Public Transit Association
2
5,000
Metro Houston Transportation Library
1
1. Institute is part of San Jose State Business School, separate stats not kept.
1955
1966
1991
1957
1990
1964
1972
1975
1915
1988
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
162,000
30,000
13,000
80,000
17,000
75,000
25,000
22,500
64,000
11,233
1,200
3,900
400
330
500
non-circ
Paper circulation only.
MTA’s electronic circulation
is much higher.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
1. Percent of newly-acquired research materials
catalogued and made available within 5 days of receipt.
2. Percent of reference and research questions answered
within 48 hours.
3. Percent of California Public Records Requests responded
to within 10 days.
4. Number of pages digitized.
5. Percentage of box storage decreased.
6. Percent of biennial Cost Center Records Management
Audits Completed.
7. Average Records Management Class Participants class
effectiveness rating.
FY13 Accomplishments
1. Percent of newly-acquired research materials
catalogued and made available within 5 days of
receipt.
95%
2. Percent of reference and research questions
answered within 48 hours.
99%
3. Percent of California Public Records Requests
responded to within 10 days.
4. Number of pages digitized.
5. Percentage of box storage decreased.
6. Percent of biennial Cost Center Records
Management Audits Completed.
7. Average Records Management Class
Participants class effectiveness rating.
FY14 Goals
Percent of newly-acquired research materials
catalogued and made available within 5 days of
receipt.
100%
Percent of reference and research questions
answered within 48 hours.
100%
Percent of California Public Records Requests
responded to within 10 days.
100%
Number of pages digitized.
Percentage of box storage decreased.
Percent of biennial Cost Center Records
Management Audits Completed.
Average Records Management Class
Participants class effectiveness rating.
3%
100%
5 out of 5