The Transportation Library Advocacy LibGuide provides resources to educate and inform about the evolving roles of libraries and librarians, and support librarians and library professionals in demonstrating their value to stakeholders.  
 

Libraries are vital for preserving the domain of transportation knowledge. Library professionals utilize their intellectual capital in ways that positively impact all aspects of knowledge management, knowledge service, and knowledge culture. (See "Understanding Modern Transportation Libraries.")

Bob Sweet, former Secretariat of National Transportation Knowledge Network.

Below are materials created by NTKN members to share examples of their own public awareness efforts. 

• PowerPoint presentations
• Newsletter samples and templates
  • North Carolina DOT Research Newsletter
• Fact sheets
• Posters
• Bookmarks
• Handouts
  • FHWA Research Library
• Strategic Plans

Source: Directory of State Highway and Transportation Department Libraries

• Government 
  • State Departments of Transportation
  • Federal Transportation Departments
  • Federal Transportation Research Centers/Organizations
• Academic
  • University and College Libraries focused on Transportation
• Corporate
  • Transportation Research Firms and Consultants

About NTL

Established in 1998 by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), the National Transportation Library (NTL):

• Provides national and international access to transportation information
• Coordinates information creation and dissemination
• Offers reference services for the transportation community

NTL’s initial services consisted of serving as a digital library of full-text documents, virtual reference services, and support for the National Transportation Knowledge Network (NTKN).

Its authorized role was expanded in 2012’s Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) which mandated NTL:

• Acquire, preserve and manage transportation information and information products and services for use by US Department of Transportation (US DOT), other Federal agencies, and the public
• Provide reference and research services
• Serve as a central repository for DOT research results and technical publications
• Serve as a central clearinghouse for transportation data and information of the Federal Government
• Serve as coordinator and policy lead for transportation information access
• Coordinate among and cooperate with multiple external parties to develop a “comprehensive transportation information and knowledge network” to support the I-XI list [information required of BTS at 49 USC 6302((b)(3)(B)(vi)]
• Publicize, facilitate and promote access to information products and services

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics, part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology of US DOT, administers the National Transportation Library.  From 2013, NTL has been the centerpiece of US DOT’s response to the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy’s (OSTP’s) memorandum, Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research link to document.  NTL's digital repository ROSA P serves as archive and point of access for US DOT-funded research.

On October 1, 2020, the NTL took responsibility for management of the DOT Headquarters Library with costs reimbursed by the DOT operating administrations. Public documents in the physical collection are being digitized and incorporated into the NTL repository. The NTL maintains access for DOT employees to interlibrary loan services and proprietary reference services formerly provided by the headquarters library. DOT employees may access these services through the DOT intranet link to site.

• Knowledge Management
• Collection Development / Maintenance
• Literature Searches / Complex Searches (Systematic Reviews)
• Digitization
• Data Services
• Website Support
• Accessibility - Document Compliance
• Exam Support for Employees
• Preservation of Historical Materials
• Public Reference Requests
• Webinars
• Managing Access to Database Subscriptions 
• AASHTO Publications Gatekeepers
• Technology Transfer 
• Workforce Development 

Below are professional competencies developed by the Transportation Library Advocacy Group. Using the MLA Professional Competencies as a guide, the competencies listed below demonstrate the Transportation Librarians need in order to support Transportation Research.

• Awareness of transportation research needs and historical, current, and future issues that may impact transportation organizations.

• Knowledge of information management best practices for information preservation, retention, availability, and findability.

• Understanding of information and knowledge management principles and how to apply these practices to support transportation organizations.

• Ability to respond to a variety of transportation research needs from stakeholders such as public, private, government, and academia.

• Manage transportation research and related materials in a variety of formats, including print and electronic, and the ability to digitize, store and organize content.

• Capability to search multiple databases and filter accurate results to specific research topics.

• Awareness of ADA and Section 508 best practices for digital content.

• Awareness of Copyright rules and regulations, and Copyright permissions for digital content.

• Awareness of Artificial Intelligence implications for publications.

Below are some resources for libraries to use to better capture their service data and how to transform that data for stakeholders to demonstrate the impact the library has on the organization.

Below are advocacy resources from other library associations.