TKN Example from WisDOT

							Problem:
Our legislative representation from Southwestern Wisconsin contacted Wisconsin DOT's
Secretary's Office to ask about our process for getting a bridge project back onto a list for
funding. The Representative (Phil Garthwaite) wants a particular bridge project (at
Cassville, Wis. to Guttenberg, IA, spanning the Mississippi River) to be listed on the
economic stimulus package of President-elect Obama. Rep. Garthwaite had been told by
the Mayor of Cassville and several other citizens that this bridge project had been
approved in 1972.

Our Secretary's Office contacted one of our Bureau Directors (Rod Clark) to ask him if he
was familiar with any proposal or study connected with this topic or project in Cassville,
Wis.

Rod responded that he remembered a study being done, but his recollection was
opposite that of Rep. Garthwaite and his constituents, in that the study did not necessarily
support moving forward with the bridge project. He then asked the WisDOT Library if
we had such a report to confirm his memory.

Process:
A search of WisDOT online catalog did not reveal the report, but a search of WorldCat
showed such a report, performed in 1968, and commissioned by the Iowa State Highway
Commission. This report was cataloged and only held by the Iowa Historical Society, and
they were listed in OCLC as a non-supplier. Knowing that I needed this information right
away, I called Hank Zaletel at the Iowa DOT Library. Seeing this as an historical
document, perhaps archival, and knowing from my association with him in MTKN his
libraries' strong representation of Iowa historical documents, I felt there was a good
chance he had this item even if it did not show his library as owning it in OCLC. Perhaps
he had it in a special archival collection or he might know where to get it. He did in fact
own this item, and retrieved it within two minutes while we were on the phone.

I also asked Hank if he could take a quick look at the document and fax me a page
summarizing the study's findings. Hank did this within 10 minutes, and also sent the
complete report to me using the Fedex account as part of the TKN-ILL Resource Sharing
Project (and funded by the Library Connectivity Pooled Fund).

Result:
I walked the fax up to the Bureau Director and explained a bit about the report (when
published, authors, and the series of which it was a part). Besides being very pleased at
the quick response time, the information in the fax that Hank sent confirmed what he had
previously thought. It proved that the Representative and his constituents were mistaken
about their bridge project’s approval.

TKN Analysis:
None of this would have happened without both our participation in a TKN regional
network and without the support of a national TKN project. I've concluded the
following TKN successes:
 TKN success (camaraderie and collaboration) - phone call to Hank/Iowa DOT with
  reasonable certainty knowing that he would give high priority to my request because
  of our mutual involvement with MTKN. This led to the retrieval of the report and
  faxing of key information within 10 minutes with no fees involved. Doubtful if this
  result would have happened with a phone call to the Iowa Historical Society. The
  needed information was in our Bureau Director's hands within a few hours after the
  WisDOT library was first contacted. Would have been much sooner if the WisDOT
  Librarian was not in a meeting for most of that time.

 TKN success (mechanism for quick document delivery) - use of the TKN - ILL Resource
  Sharing Project, coordinated by NTL and funded through the Library Connectivity
  Pooled Fund. The Fedex account will get the report to me on the next business day.
  The management here at WisDOT had indicated they would like to see the full report
  soon if that was possible.

 TKN success - makes the WisDOT Library, who did not own this particular report,
  look very good in the eyes of its management.

 TKN success – makes the entire Wisconsin Department of Transportation look very
  good, as our top level management now has accurate information as they proceed in
  negotations with the local governments involved on this issue. This information was
  delivered in a very timely manner.

 TKN success – being a member of a TKN allows mutual members to have access
  (upon request) to either internal, archival or other ephemeral types of information
  that will not necessarily be cataloged in OCLC.


Other thoughts:
With various programs, local governments and other entities all scrambling to get
whatever available funds there are for their infrastructure projects, accurate information
and quick access to information is critical.

Without the TKN network, but still using usual library methods (searching WorldCat and
using standard ILL) - I was able to properly identify the report in question, but there was
only one library listed as holding that item (Iowa Historical Society in Des Moines). They
were listed in WRS as a non-supplier, so I probably would not have been able to acquire
the item on loan. I could have placed a phone call and begged them to send me the item
directly, but that would be doubtful. If they did agree to send it, it would no doubt
come with a heavy fee and take upwards of a week to receive (or both). Even if I asked
them to fax me a few pages from the item, it would have taken some time for them to
retrieve, look through the item, and fax (again, with a fee, I'm sure).

Without any library network available, the item may have never been discovered, or it
would be desparately hoped that the consultants on the project back in 1968 had their
own archives, or a spare copy somewhere.
Also, the nature of the report is archival, and though it makes sense to catalog it in OCLC,
it might also be understanable for it to be part of an archival collection that is cataloged
or organized locally, perhaps not in OCLC.

My first thought was knowing that Hank Zaletel, a mutual MTKN colleague, has an
extensive collection of historical documents in the Iowa DOT Library and that there was a
very good chance that he would have it. Even if I were not to discover the title in
OCLC, I would still have called Hank to explain the document to him. Also, the regional
nature of the inquiry (a Wisconsin-Iowa bridge project) lends itself to be answered best by
a regional network (MTKN) with support by the National TKN-ILL project network as a
mechanism for quick document delivery if needed.

Because of the TKN network - I had the information I needed within 2 hours. Perhaps
the most important aspect of this transaction is that it has enabled our top management
at WisDOT to have complete and accurate information as they go forward in
negotiations with the local governments on this issue. The TKN cooperation and
document response helped make our entire department look very good.