USE OF ADVANCED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN SUPPLYING ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION: Past, Present and Future

Martha Pretorius

SA Water Information Center
CSIR Information Services
Pretoria 0001, South Africa
E-mail: mpretorius@csir.co.za

The South African Water Information Centre (SAWIC) was established in 1974, and started with the production of the WATERLIT database in 1975. During the past 21 years, new developments in information technology repeatedly forced SAWIC to apply new technology in order to keep the database relevant. This paper presents an overview of how the new technology was constantly applied in the development and use of the database. It also provides details of the Environmental Information Service which was developed for the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the most important research organization in South Africa. 1. INTRODUCTION

South Africa is a country with a long history of periods of severe droughts, often followed by floods resulting in great damage to urban and rural regions. Because of the limited supply, WATER has long been identified as the most important natural resource in South Africa, and therefore also the most important limiting factor in the development of the country as a whole.

Realizing the importance of water, the government established the Water Research Commission (WRC) in 1971. The main tasks of the WRC are to promote, coordinate and finance water research and to promote the application and dissemination of research findings. The latter responsibility initiated the formation of the South African Water Information Centre (SAWIC) in 1974. SAWIC is still funded by the WRC, but is based at the CSIR.

This paper will review the activities of SAWIC during the past 22 years, and will demonstrate how SAWIC had to adjust to new developments in information technology during this period. It will also focus on the approaches followed in the development of an environmental information service for the benefit of the research staff at the CSIR.

2. THE SA WATER INFORMATION CENTRE (SAWIC)

2.1. Getting Started

When SAWIC was established in 1974, its main task was to coordinate all water-related information in South Africa. At that stage, a few basic information products were already available in the country:

• Current Literature on Water (CLOW)

A computerized KWIC index compiled by the National Water Research Institute of the CSIR since 1966. CLOW consisted of the essential bibliographic details of a publication, enriched with two to five keywords. It was published as a monthly current awareness list (divided into 17 subject categories) and a semi-annual cumulative keyword index.

• A similar but more elementary index compiled by the Department of Water Affairs since 1972

To fulfill its main function in coordinating water information in the country, SAWIC started with the development of a bibliographic database WATERLIT. The database contains references to local and international information, published as journals, reports, conference proceedings, books, pamphlets, etc. WATERLIT's subject coverage includes all publications relating to freshwater, wastewater, hydrology, pollution, sanitation, limnology as well as pollution-related marine aspects.

2.2. Database Design and Development

The WATERLIT database provides full bibliographic details, together with a set of at least five keywords or terms, selected from the WATERLIT thesaurus, to describe the contents of the publication. A facility also exists to use unlisted terms, e.g. species names, geographical details, chemical compound names, etc. to add value to the listed keywords. No abstract is provided.

SAWIC uses a team of professional indexers (all with at least a first degree in natural sciences) to interpret and process the information covered in a publication. The indexers all work from home, and indexing material is delivered to them on a weekly basis. The indexers also play a very important role in identifying new terminology which may be added to the collection of terms in the WATERLIT thesaurus.

Due to the fact that SAWIC has access to all the relevant South African as well as to most southern African publications, the WATERLIT database contains a significant "African" information component. This unique component distinguishes WATERLIT from other water-related databases.

The database was designed to provide SDI (Selective Dissemination of Information) as well as retrospective information services to clients.

An example of an item from the WATERLIT database is shown in Figure 1.

2.3. Keeping up with Information Technology

• The First Years

When WATERLIT was started in 1975, the system used the most advanced information technology available at that stage. The indexers completed customized datasheets to capture the information interpreted. At the CSIR, the details on the datasheets were then keyed-in online on the IBM 370/158 computer using a text editing terminal.

Every month's input was compiled on tape and used for the SDI service. Every three months, the disk file used for retrospective searches, was updated.

 • International Access to WATERLIT The next step was to make WATERLIT available to the international market. In 1981, access to WATERLIT was offered via the Orbit system of Systems Development Corporation (SDC) in Santa Monica, California. In 1985 the database became available for
 

 
 

Figure 1. Example of item from the WATERLIT database

a short term via Pergamon Infoline. Unfortunately, due to the relatively small size of the database, resulting in limited usage thereof, the contract with Pergamon Infoline was terminated shortly afterwards. • Implementing the Personal Computer (PC) When the first PC landed on the desk of its designer, it was forecast that the PC will have a dramatic effect on normal office activities. In the beginning of 1988, SAWIC provided PCS to all its indexers and subsequently switched to computer-based indexing. Publications are still delivered to indexers on a weekly basis, and in turn they provide the processed information (using Q&A 3 software) on computer disk.

A further development was to load the SAWIC journal list, the WATERLIT thesaurus as well as other standardized information on the PCs to facilitate easy checking and quality control of the information processed for WATERLIT.

 • Developing and Updating the Thesaurus Initially the terms used for the development of the WATERLIT database were selected from the term lists of the Engineer's Joint Council and the thesaurus of the Water Resources Scientific Information Centre. Over the years, SAWIC developed its own thesaurus, with regular manual updates of the terminology - a difficult and tedious task! The last manual revision and update was completed in 1983.

In 1990 the Thesaurus Management Software from Pyramid was used for the first computerized update of the thesaurus.

This year, the Stride software package from Questans was acquired and will be used for the next update.

 • Arrival of CD-ROM Technology The arrival of CD-ROM technology offered SAWIC the opportunity to make the database available to the outside world. In 1991 SAWIC closed a contract with Compact Cambridge to publish WATERLIT on CD-ROM. Since 1993, two companies, SilverPlatter and NISC publish the database on CD-ROM. At this stage, copies of the WATERLIT CD-ROM have been sold to academic institutions, research organizations, etc. in 20 different countries worldwide. • Worldnet Gateway In 1991, the CSIR launched its Worldnet Gateway, providing one-stop access to local and international databases from premium services of the world. The Gateway offers access to quality databases from international services such as Knight-Ridder Dialog, Knight-Ridder Data-Star, Financial Times Profile, Questel Orbit as well as South African hosts such as Sabinet and CSIR InfoAccess. WATERLIT is one of the databases which is accessible through the Gateway.
  2.4. Joining the Information Revolution (or Getting on the Information Highway)

The exponential growth in the use of the Internet during the past few years is already part of history. No information provider or information center anywhere in the world can afford not to have a site on the Worldwide Web.

SAWIC started developing its Internet home page in 1995 with a redesign and update in 1996. At this stage the WATERLIT database is not searchable via the Internet, but clients may request searches or information from the database via the SAWIC home page.

3. THE CSIR ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SERVICE

3.1. Background

The CSIR is the most important research organization in South Africa. Until 31 March 1996 the CSIR consisted of 12 Strategic Units* , focusing on the following research and technology sectors:

• water • roads and transport

• building • materials science

• mining • textiles

• information services • food science

• earth, marine and atmospheric sciences

• communications and information networking

• manufacturing and aeronautical systems

• forestry

Most of the Strategic Units are situated on the main campus in Pretoria, with branches spread over the entire country.

With the dramatic increase in CSIR activities in the field of ENVIRONMENT, a request was received for a customized information service to all staff members involved in environmentally-related projects. In developing such a service, the following factors had to be considered:

• very limited funding was available, which ruled out the option to base such a service on the products and services previously developed by SAWIC

• staff working on environmental projects were located all over the country

• only three of the Strategic Units at the CSIR were not involved in environmental projects

• the service had to be reactive as well as proactive in approach

3.2. Details of the CSIR Environmental Information Service

In the development and design of EnviroScan (the name used for the Environmental Information Service), the point of departure was to use the CSIRs Local Area Networks (LAN) as the vehicle for transmitting the information. Every Strategic Unit, and also the individual branch offices, have their own internal LANs, which are then linked to the greater CSIR LAN.

EnviroScan consists of the following components:

• the Literature Scanning Service

• the Environmental Conference Alert (including details of courses on environmental subjects presented all over the world)

• the Environmental Book Alert

• an Internet information resourcing service

At this stage the service is available only to internal CSIR staff, but a number of outside organizations have indicated their interest for such a service.

• Literature Scanning Service

On receipt, all the journals and other publications received by the CSIR Main Library are scanned for environmentally-related articles. A list of titles, together with other bibliographic details, is compiled and transferred via the LAN on a weekly basis to all staff involved in environmental projects. Staff then have the option to order copies of any of these items within a period of two days. A typical example of such a title list is included as Appendix 1. • Environmental Conference Alert In the process of scanning publications for information that may be used for the Literature Scanning Service, details of all environmentally- related conferences and courses, presented both locally and overseas, are collected. The basic details of those conferences and courses are then compiled and distributed to staff on a two-weekly basis. In all cases, the date, title and venue of the conference is supplied, together with a contact number or address, where available. Conference events are classified according to their theme to facilitate easy identification of relevant events. An example of the Conference Alert appears as Appendix 2. • Environmental Book Alert As in the two previous items, details of books on environmental topics are compiled and presented on a monthly basis. An example is included as Appendix 3. • Internet Information Sources Most researchers are aware of the fact that the Internet provides access to a mine of information resources. Unfortunately, most of them do not have the time to visit the Internet regularly. As part of Enviroscan, the Internet is consulted regularly to identify relevant environmental information sources and also to scan the contents of environmental journals available in electronic format on the Internet. This information is also communicated to staff. 3.3. Environmental Alert - A Spin-off from EnviroScan

On request from one of the major companies in South Africa, a special product Environmental Alert was developed. This quarterly publication reviews all the environmentally-related international activities and developments which may have an influence on this industry's particular activities. This publication is now offered to industry as a whole, with the option of a customized environmental focus to suit the client's needs.

4. FUTURE OF TRADITIONAL DATABASES AND INFORMATION CENTERS

The rapidly changing world of Information Technology is cause of great concern to database developers and information specialists all over the world. In planning for the future, the following issues have to be observed:

• The Growing Need for Evaluated Information

Clients very often complain about the amount of paper landing on their desk. The information overload has led to the development of an obvious need for evaluated information. In the future, information centers may have to invest in subject specialists who will be able to retrieve information on behalf of a client, and instead of handing over the results of the information search to the client, they will first evaluate and interpret the information. The client will then be presented with an overview of the relevant subject, adding considerable value to the information retrieved. • Free Access to Databases? With so much information available on the Internet (often at no cost), clients are reluctant to pay for information retrieved from traditional databases. If access to traditional databases (e.g. WATERLIT) is provided on the Internet, payment for the use of the database and also for the information retrieved will become an important issue. Even if access to databases is provided on a pay-as-you-use system, the management of hundreds of small transactions may not be cost-effective. Finding sponsorships for the facilitation of free access to databases on the Internet may provide a solution to the problem. • The Demand for Uncomplicated, User-friendly Information Systems The tremendous success of the Environmental Information Service (which is a basic, uncomplicated information system) has indicated that advanced information technology should be fully utilized in providing an appropriate and user friendly information service to clients. 5. CONCLUSION

The WATERLIT database is celebrating its 21st anniversary this year. On several occasions during this period, SAWIC had to adapt to the latest information technology to ensure that the database remains relevant and in pace with new developments. Only through the constant implementation of new technology did SAWIC manage to develop a relevant, advanced and prestige product.

The Enviroscan service has also proved that even a straightforward, uncomplicated information system has to use advanced information technology in communicating information to clients.

It is clear that the future of information centers and databases will be shaped by the development and application of new information technology.
 
 

REFERENCES

Aucamp, P.J. (1981). The design and development of a specialized multidisciplinary bibliographic database - WATERLIT. In Proceedings of the Second National Online Information Meeting, New York. Medford, NJ: Learned Information.

Steyn, M.R. (1984). Scientific and technical information for scientists in the water field. In Proceedings of 1984 IOA/NIWR International Conference.
 
 

Appendix 1. EnviroScan List of Publication Titles




From: Sheila Dunleavy

To: envirscan

Date: 27 September 1996 10:40am

Subject: September Batch 4: CLOSING DATE 30 September 1996 - Reply

Dear All

Please find attached articles of interest. You may request copies of the articles from either Sheila Dunleavy or Heleen van der Merwe.

Please note that articles 1263, 1264 and 1265 under journal SOUTH AFRICAN CONSTRUCTION WORLD cannot be supplied by us, but you may request them from your divisional librarian.

Thank you.

Regards

Sheila

>>> Sheila Dunleavy 27/September/1996 10:16am >>>

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND HEALTH PART A. ENVI-RONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING. Vol A31, No 7, 1996 (E'tek) (IPW)

1249

Physical properties of soils contaminated by oil lakes Kuwait: burning of 732 oil wells in the State of Kuwait due to the Iraqi invasion caused damages which had direct and indirect effect on the environment A-S Mohammad; S O Al-Khatieb
pp 1511-1528

1250

State-of-the-art review of bioremediation studies: the state-of-the-art bioremediation has been rapidly expanding during the last decade
N Mohammed; R I Allayla; G F Nakhla et al
pp 1547-1574

1251

Aquatic plant augmented TNT (Trinitrotoluene) degradation - analysis of reaction kinetics: the primary reason for this analysis is to obtain estimates of key parameters in order to design a field demonstration unit for remediating soils contaminated with TNT
K M Qaisi; L J Thibodeaux; D Adrian
pp 1595-1603

1252

Industrial production of insulin hormone from slaughterhouse wastes existing in the United Arab Emirates: experimental investigations were carried out to determine the methodology and optimum conditions to extract insulin hormone from the pancreas glands collected from the slaughterhouse wastes existing in the United Arab Emirates
G Mohammed; H Radwan
pp 1683-1704

1253

Electrolytic treatment of swine liquid manure in a full scale experiment: animal wastes are an important source of fertilizers but are also potential chemical microbiological and air pollutants G Ranalli; R Chiumenti; L Donantoni et al
pp 1705-1721

1254

Investigation of zinc additives in coliquefaction of waste lubricating oil and a bituminous coal: a possible strategy to derive a useful liquid product that could be used as a feed-stock for conventional petroleum cracking or similar processes
F E Huggins; J Zhao; G P Huffman et al
pp 1755-1766

1255

Thermal plasma pyrolysis of used old tyres for production of syngas: the disposal of used tyres represents an environmental problem in Ontario and elsewhere
J S Chang; B W Gu; P C Looy et al
pp 1781-1799

BULLETIN OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY. Vol 57, No 2, Aug 1996 (E'tek)

1256

Effect of organic four solvents on natural phytoplankton assemblages: consequences for ecotoxicological experiments on herbicides: herbicides play an important role in agricultural practices particularly for cereals
A Berard
pp 183-190

1257

Toxic emission factor determination using median lethal time data: although the median lethal concentration is a useful measure of toxicity it provides no information about the total quantity of toxic material being produced
G D Farr; K L Pinder; L R Galloway
pp 236-241

1258

Growth of corn (Zea mays) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus) plants is affected by water and sludge from a sewage treatment plant: the settling tanks of the sewage treatment plant accumulate a kind of sludge which is removed and dehydrated to reduce its volume to 1/10
N S Christodoulakis; N S Margaris
pp 300-306
 
 

Appendix 2. Environmental Conference Alert




From: Sheila Dunleavy

To: enviroscan

Date: 9 September 1996 9:58am

Subject: SEPTEMBER BATCH 96/14

Dear All

Please find attached the following notices of conferences which you may be interested in.

Regards

Sheila

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LOCAL [only partial list is included here]

2220

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for CLEAN AIR (NACA) TRANSVAAL BRANCH ANNUAL CONFERENCE
20 - 22 Nov 1996
Aventura Resort, Badplaas, RSA
Contact: Melanie Campbell or Katrin Thiessen
Fax: (011) 442-5927; Tel: (011) 442-6111

2224

INDUSTRIAL MINERALS' FIRST DEDICATED NON-METALLIC MINERALS CONFERENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA: South African Minerals
1 - 3 Dec 1996
Durban, RSA
Contact: Sharon Thomas, Industrial Minerals Information Limited, Marketing Dept, Park House, Park Terrace, Worcester Park, Surrey KT4 7HY, UK
Fax: +44 (0) 181 337 8943; Tel: +44 (0) 171 827 9977

2221

BRITISH EXAMINATION BOARD in OCCUPATIONAL HYGIENE (B EBOH):
Certification in Operational Competence
18 - 22 Nov 1996
Technikon, Pretoria, RSA
Contact: Petro van Rooyen or Leon Harmse
Fax: (012) 318-5262; Tel: (012) 318-5198/5281

2222

BRITISH EXAMINATION BOARD in BASIC MEASURING TECHNIQUES in OCCUPATIONAL HYGIENE
14 - 25 Oct 1996
Technikon, Pretoria, RSA
Contact: Petro van Rooyen or Leon Harmse
Fax: (012) 318-5262; Tel: (012) 318-5198/5281

2214

9th SOUTHERN AFRICAN MARINE SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM: Marine science in Southern Africa - past perspectives and future challenges
21 - 23 Nov 1996
RSA
Contact: SAMSS Secretariat, Zoology Department, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700; E-mail: bep@botzoo.uct.ac.za or bep@ucthpx.uct.ac.za Fax: +27-21-685-3937; Tel: +27-21-650-2681
Abstracts by 15 September 1996

2215

BENGUELA DYNAMICS SYMPOSIUM: impacts of variability on shelf-sea environments and their living resources
25 - 27 Nov 1996
Cape Town, RSA.
Contact: BDS Secretariat, Zoology Department, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700; E-mail: bep@botzoo.uct.ac.za or bep@ucthpx.uct.ac.za
Fax: +27-21-685-3937; Tel: +27-21-650-2681
Abstracts by 15 September 1996

2228

SECOND UNITED NATIONS REGIONAL CONFERENCE on SPACE TECHNOLOGY for SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT in AFRICA: The Role of space technology in addressing local needs
4 - 8 Nov 1996
CSIR, Pretoria, RSA
Contact: Mr M D Smith, Department of Trade and Industry (Space Affairs Council); Internet: http://www3.un.or.at/OOSA Kiosk/sched/sacall.html
Fax: (012) 322-4523; Tel: (012) 310-9808

2219

WASTE MANAGEMENT in CRISIS: Wastecon 96 Congress
17 - 20 Sep 1996
Durban, RSA
Contact: Stan Jawaskiewitz or Ray Lombard
Tel: (031) 764-0153; (031) 764-3222

2218

WATER RESOURCES CENTRE (WRC)/AMERICAN CITIZEN AMBASSADOR PROGRAMME: One day course on Activated Sludge Treatment of Industrial Wastewaters
10 Sep 1996
Sandton, RSA
Contact: Ms Zagry Scholtz or Dr Steve Mitchell
Tel: 330-0340

2211

A FUTURE IAHR (INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION for HYDRAULIC RESEARCH) CONGRESS
+-1999
RSA
Contact address unknown
Fax and telephone numbers unknown

2212

DECLINING RATE FILTRATION: A short practical design course
15 - 16 Oct 1996
RAU, Johannesburg, RSA
Contact: Professor Johannes Haarhoff; E-mail: jh@ing1.rau.ac.za; Internet: http://gandalf/water/home.htm
Fax: (011) 489-2466; Tel: (011) 489-2148
AIR

2220

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for CLEAN AIR (NACA) TRANSVAAL BRANCH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 20 - 22 Nov 1996
Aventura Resort, Badplaas, RSA
Contact: Melanie Campbell or Katrin Thiessen
Fax: (011) 442-5927; Tel: (011) 442-6111
[List continues...]

Appendix 3. Environmental Book Alert

From: Sheila Dunleavy
To: envirscan
Date: 18 June 1996 1:11pm
Subject: Book Alert No 8, 1996
Dear All

Herewith new books that may be of interest to you. Please contact me for more information.

Regards

Sheila

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BOOK REVIEWS

1. Reed, R A: SUSTAINABLE SEWERAGE - GUIDELINES for COMMUNITY SCHEMES
Intermediate Technology Publications; 98pp; 6.95 (soft cover)
ISBN 1 85339 305 3

2. Atchia, M; Tropp, S: ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: ISSUES and SOLUTIONS John Wiley & Sons Ltd; 250pp; 45.00 (hardback)
ISBN 0 471 95518 3

3. Campbell, Bruce; Adjei, Sam; Heywood, Arthur: NEW TITLE on HEALTH MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS (NEW PUBLICATION)
Royal Tropical Institute; 80pp; $18.00 (paperback)
ISBN 90 6832 096 3

4. Spellman, Frank R: SAFE WORK PRACTICES for WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS (PRACTICAL NEW GUIDE to PLANT SAFETY)
TECHNOMIC Publishing AG; 1996; 368pp; SFr.93 (softcover)
ISBN 1 56676 406 8

5. Eckenfelder, W Wesley; Musterman, John L: ACTIVATED SLUDGE TREATEMENT of INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER (NEW HANDBOOK)
TECHNOMIC Publishing AG; 1995; 281pp; SFr.143 (hardcover)
ISBN 1 56676 302 9

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS

10. UNEP/ICC/FIDIC ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (TRAINING RESOURCE KIT)
$190 per copy or $150 for 10 copies or more

11. Dunster, Julian and Katherine: The DICTIONARY of NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
CAB International; 1996; 380pp; 47.50
ISBN 085199 148 3

12. GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY ASSESSMENT
Copies of UNEP's global biodiversity assessment available from Cambridge University Press or UNEP's distributors, SMI (Distribution Services) Limited, P O Box 119, Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 4TP, England