In addition, three  operational offices are responsible for providing NTIS’s products (which  include the reports it collects and disseminates) and services. As of October 2012, NTIS was supported  NTIS’s basic statutory function is to collect research reports, maintain a  bibliographic record and permanent repository of these reports, and  disseminate them to the public. NTIS Offers a Variety of Products and Services in Carrying Out Its Operations, but Its Dissemination of Technical Reports Continues to Need Attention

Our most recent reporting on NTIS, in November 2012, continued to  highlight the need for attention to NTIS’s basic statutory role of  disseminating technical reports and the fee-based model upon which it   In particular, while the agency was carrying out a variety of  operates.mission-related functions, it was being financially sustained primarily by  information-related services it offered to other federal agencies. NTIS Offers a Variety of Fee-Based Products and Services, but Is Primarily Sustained by Its Service Offerings

In our 2012 report, we identified the types of products offered by NTIS as  part of its basic statutory function to collect and disseminate technical  information:
Technical reports: NTIS maintains a searchable repository containing  bibliographic records on over 2.5 million scientific, technical,  engineering, and business research reports. However, for 10 of these years, NTIS’s expenditures for  its product lines exceeded revenues. Reports Added to NTIS’s Repository between 1990 and 2011 Were Mostly Older, but Demand for More Recent Reports Was Greater

Our study also found that, during the period from fiscal year 1990 through  2011, the majority of reports added to NTIS’s repository were older;  however, the demand for more recent reports was greater:
From fiscal year 1990 through fiscal year 2011, most of the additions  to NTIS’s repository were reports published in the year 2000 or  before. Specifically, about 62 percent of the documents added during  this period—524,256 of the 841,502 documents added—had  publication dates of 2000 or earlier, while about 38 percent were  published from 2001 to 2011. And of these, 95 percent  were available for free. Accordingly, we  suggested that Congress consider examining the appropriateness and  viability of the fee-based model to determine whether it should continue. We have also continued to highlight this issue in our report and related  updates on actions needed to reduce fragmentation, overlap, and  duplication in the federal government. Specifically, in our 2013 report we  noted that many of the reports in NTIS’s collection overlap with similar  information available from the issuing organizations or other sources for  free, and that action was still needed to reevaluate the appropriateness  and viability of the agency’s fee-based model. In a subsequent update,  we noted that Congress had not taken final action to reexamine the fee- based model for disseminating technical information, and that Commerce  did not plan to propose any changes to the NTIS fee-based business  model in the near term.
Why GAO Did This Study

NTIS was established by statute in 1950 to collect scientific and technical research reports, maintain a bibliographic record and repository of these reports, and disseminate them to the public. In addition, it provides various information-based services to other federal agencies. NTIS charges fees for its products and services and is required by law to be financially self-sustaining to the greatest extent possible.
GAO was asked to provide a statement summarizing its November 2012 report in which it examined (1) NTIS's operations; (2) the age of and demand for reports added to its repository; and (3) the extent to which these reports are readily available from other public sources. In preparing this statement, GAO relied primarily on its previously published work as well as related updates on actions needed to reduce fragmentation, overlap, and duplication in the federal government.

What GAO Found

The Department of Commerce's National Technical Information Service (NTIS) offers a variety of products and information-related services. Its products include a repository of scientific, technical, engineering, and business research reports, which it makes available individually as well as through subscriptions to its reports library. However, from fiscal year 2001 through 2011, costs for NTIS's products exceeded revenue for 10 of the 11 fiscal years, and the agency was financially sustained during this period by services it offered to other federal agencies, such as distribution and order fulfillment and various web-based services. (See figure.)
In addition, about 62 percent of the reports added to NTIS's repository between 1990 and 2011 were older—with publications dates in the year 2000 or earlier, while about 38 percent were published from 2001 to 2011. However, demand was greater for more recent reports—those published in 2001 or later.
Further, GAO estimated that 74 percent of the reports added to NTIS's collection from fiscal year 1990 through 2011 were available elsewhere, and 95 percent of these were available for free. This calls into question the viability and appropriateness of NTIS's fee-based model for disseminating the reports it collects.

What GAO Recommends

In its 2012 report, GAO suggested that Congress reassess the appropriateness and viability of the fee-based model under which NTIS operates to determine whether this model should be continued. While the Department of Commerce stated that it did not plan to propose any changes to NTIS's fee-based model, legislation recently introduced in Congress may provide a vehicle for reassessing this model.