PROPOSAL BY RMS/IRO TO INCLUDE FUNDS FOR A COMMUNITY-WIDE BIBLIOGRAPHIC SYSTEM IN THE FY-81 BUDGET

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83T00573R000100120007-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 2, 2001
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: October 25, 1979
• Content Type: MF

Approved For Release 2002/01/08 : CIA-RDP83T00570001001200
MWWRANDUM FOR: Comptroller
ATTBNTIOU s STATI NTL
raw: Bruce T. Johnson
Director of Data Processing
SUBJECT: Proposal by RMS/IRO to Include Funds for a
Community-wide Bibliographic System in the
-81 Budget
14 CDP strongly recommends that the issue paper on
the subject of 1981 funding for a Community-wide bibliographic
-
~._.-...... ...~.ss.aa.
and a system in 1981 is
ure
r
t
raised as an issue at this
If a ar
time.
political even
it must be political reasons
presented, then Alternative 4, to defer all action
wing further study, is the only practical alternative
for the Ca unity to adopt.
2. In January 1979, in collaboration with the office of
Central Reference, ODP submitted to the NFID IBC a proposal
that the Community study the "feasibility and desirability of
adopting CIA's RECON bibliographic index and ADSTAR micro-
graphic document storage and 'retrieval system as a Centralized
Intelligence Comunity Bibliographic and Document Retrieval
System, managed and operated for the Community by CIA." The
Witte, accepted the proposal and authorized the Chairman,
to undertake a study of the proposal. That
ee
of sot b completed, although a preliminary statement
415
been produced, and the IBC has had no
# Opportunity to either -study or evaluate its conclusions. Thes
dscisio s on the adoption Of such a~centralized indexing
retrieval system. and
3. In its proposal, CIA included preliminary cost
garees which were admittedly rough and subject to refi
e-
n
ment once the Community had decided exactly what kind of
=ade clear that there were 7no_resc urcesMin theCIA.'prr3aggr'as
to support an enhancement of its bibliographic and document
retrieval system and the pro ai stated the resources
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to expand and upgrade the existing system to serves
of other Cos nunity agencies sh
ld
ou
be Provided b
y
those agencies. The issue paper presented by the IRO sub-
stitutes for CIA's rough figures as yet unevaluated costs
developed by the contractor which has been conducting the
ISC study. We continue to believe that the costing of the
proposal should be carefully developed after the Community
has made its substantive decisions on w a kind of services
it requires.
4. In its proposal CIA assumed, we believe realistically,
that Community use of 1 PCON and ADSTAR would entail significant
expansion of those systems and our rough estimates of possible
stns ahem rt
d t
i
e
o ant
cipate thetf th
cos oat expansion.
presented in the issue __-....,.~. .~az %...W UU61;5
relationship between the teemiandethZ a expay a cued a static
Population which it will be rPandesd custazeer
expected coats Outlined in Alternative to serve. Additionally,
the costs Outlined in Alternative t1 do?not include anyorefer-
*Acee to the cost associated with the personnel needed to
operate a Community system of this kind.
The money amounts cited is Alt
ernative 1 are not
inconsistent with our previous estimates. The estimate of
floor space is inadequate. If space were available as an
extension of existing CIA txsstputeer facilities, approximately
1,500 sq. ft. would requireed. For a stand-alone center to
sew the needs of the Community, our original estimate of
2#500 sq. ft. of floor space remains valid. The COINS costs
a shown as one-time coats, but there are recurring costs
associated with the maintenance of a COINS interface. They
appear to be missing.
Alternatives 2 and 3 are
res
t
d i
p
en
e
n such skeletal
form as to defy analysis. Regarding number 3, we do not see
how SAFE, designed to serve carefully defined information
handling problems of CIA and DIA analysts, can be easily trans-
fOrm" into a Community bibliographic and document retrieval
System. A proposal to change the architecture of SAFE on the
basis of so little analysis strikes us as highly dangerous and
potentially very expensive.
only one of the four alternatives ... ..........R..~,,~~, s
=nlxine, _ presented, which we find
The issue paper tends to draw its support for early
ram the INC 'Report of the Analysts Su
t M
'
"
AUSS F
orese
ppor
. indeed concluded that "a standard online bibliographic
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reference system for all intelligence source materials"
should be developed. By the definition of RECON included
in the preliminary report of the contractors studying the
CIA proposal, RECON as it presently exists does not qualify
as areference system for all intelligence source materials.
The CIA proposal which anticipates expansion of SON in
the direction of greater co mprehensiveness would come closer
satisfying the re tndations in the Analysts Support
report, but an expanded RECON cannot be delivered within
the coats proposed in the IRO issue paper.
00? was prepared to play its Dart in providing a
Commanity bibliographic service when it forwarded to the IHC
the original proposal regarding development of a Caearaunity
bibliographic and Document Retrieval System. Nothing has
happened to cause us to revise that commitment. Beaver,
strongly believe that the orderly process begun early in 1979
should be allowed to run its course, that the results of
the as yet incomplete study should be presented to the Infer_
*st on Handling Committee, and that the results of the
Comitt"'s deliberations should be used as the basis for
the presentation of budgetary proposals in the upcoming
Program cycle leading to the development of the 1982 NPIP
budget.
/s/ Bruce T. Johnson
Bruce T. Johnson
STATINTL
o 1 DDA
DAR
O/D/ODP/BJhhsnon:ee/10-25-79
Distribution:
Orig - adse
1 DDA
1 - D/OCR
2 - ODP Registry
2 - O/O/DDP
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