OSTI, US Dept of Energy, Office of Scientific and Technical Information | Speeding access to science information from DOE and Beyond

"The National Library of EnergyBeta (NLEBeta), a gateway to information across the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is taking on an expanded role in providing access to DOE scientific and technical information (STI) with the retirement of the federated search product Science Accelerator.    In addition, the NLEBeta, launched in February 2013, has a redesigned home page and new features that makes it easier to use than ever.  Developed by DOE’s Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI), the NLEBeta search tool makes it easy for American citizens to find and access information about the Department from across the DOE complex nationwide, without knowing DOE’s organizational structure.     The NLEBeta integrates and makes searchable disparate and decentralized information collections across DOE.  Users can search hundreds of webpages and 18 databases – a total of 25 million pages – hosted by DOE (energy.gov); all DOE program offices; the National Nuclear Security Administration; the Energy Information Administration; all DOE staff offices; all DOE field/site offices; and all DOE National Laboratories and technology centers.  DOE’s program offices include Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Environmental Management, Fossil Energy, Nuclear Energy, and Science. The NLEBeta makes it possible to search all this information via a single search box.  Using federated search and indexing technology, the NLEBeta retrieves relevance-ranked individual site results with links to the sites or databases where the original content can be viewed. The refreshed NLEBeta homepage now features more prominent search and advanced search boxes.  It also offers a new option enabling users to search content by broad topic areas, including science and R&D; energy and technology for industry and homeowners; energy market information and analysis; and nuclear security and environmental management. As part of OSTI’s initiative to streamline its product portfolio and advance public access to additional types of scientific and technical information, Science Accelerator is being retired, and all of its DOE STI resources are now included in searches of NLEBeta. In addition to the STI resources, other NLEBeta resources are also updated regularly, and new searchable website content and databases are added periodically.  OSTI regularly consults with and seeks input from DOE entities and other stakeholders in an effort to make the NLEBeta as comprehensive as possible.  OSTI encourages users to offer feedback about the NLEBeta, at http://www.osti.gov/nle/feedback-contact.html."