This Collections project is developing the Advanced Technology Environmental Education Library (ATEEL) to serve the environmental information needs of environmental technology students, educators, and technicians as well as individuals with an interest in or a knowledge requirement of environmental issues. Project partners include the Advanced Technology Environmental Education Center (ATEEC), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Partnership for Environmental Technology Education (PETE), and the Davenport Public Library.
Environmental technology education requires access to reliable and up-to-date information with the demand focused in two distinct areas: 1) college programs that offer degrees in various aspects of environmental technology (e.g., hazardous materials, natural resources management, pollution prevention, energy management, etc.); and 2) environmental education required across nearly all technical fields (e.g., health care workers, manufacturing technicians, computer/electronics repair technicians, agriculture, etc.). Federal and state regulations change routinely and often, and there are new discoveries and technologies that change the nature of the skills and knowledge required of technicians. In the environmental area, large amounts of non-proprietary materials are available on the Internet through federal and state government agencies, as well as thousands of non-profit agencies with an interest in environment issues. However, access to this network for many students, teachers and technicians often finds them lost in an ocean of data - much of which has no relevance to their job function or skill development. Digital library technologies are ideal for providing access to and managing these rich sources of information.
This ATEEL project is serving the environmental community by establishing an infrastructure to support a comprehensive, interactive environmental technician education digital library that is serving the environmental education needs of community college students, instructors, technicians, and citizens across a broad range of technical fields. ATEEL is creating specific resources focused on providing links to comprehensive, up-to-date regulatory information. In partnership with MIT, it is also creating an environmental research-scanning function to support the integration of environmental technology research into the classroom and community.
