Technical Communications Section

Overview
Ministry Library
Production Resources
Knowledge Management
How to Reach Us
Current Technical Communications Projects
Highlights
Consultations and Public Speaking Events
Publications (2007)

Overview

The Technical Communications working group is comprised of the Ministry Library, the Production Resources Unit, and the Knowledge Management Unit. They provide leading-edge information and knowledge-management services to staff of the Ministry of Forests and Range (MFR) and the Ministry of Environment (MoE). 

Technical Communications’ client-oriented service and use of innovative internet-based technologies provides government decision-makers with the most current and best available scientific information. Their products and services have helped provide the scientific background for current initiatives such as the Future Forest Ecosystems Initiative, the Forest and Range Practices Act Forest Resource Evaluation Program (FRPA/FREP), the Mountain Pine Beetle Action Plan, and the Chief Forester’s Stewardship Vision and Framework. They have provided current resources on leadership and change management for the Ministry’s Road Ahead Strategy, and consultation on information management issues to the Aboriginal Affairs Branch.

Production Resources staff have assisted with the production of web sites and key publications such as the Glossary of Forestry Terms in British Columbia, Acronyms and Initialisms for Forestry Terms in British Columbia, the Forest Science Program Style Guide, and the 07/08 Annual Report and Forest Science Program brochure.

Ministry Library

The Library provides easy on-line access to a wide range of full-text reports, and has licensed the on-line version of hundreds of scientific journals. This is the essential up-to-date information that Ministry staff need to do their jobs. The Library staff maintains lists of national and international web sites dealing with forestry and environmental issues. All resources made available through the Library web site are vetted for usability, credibility, and reliability.

Visitors to the Library web site can locate, and download, documents through the catalogue, the E-Publications page, the MFR and MoE manuals page, and the ongoing mountain pine beetle and climate change bibliographies, to name just a few resources.

The Library staff prides themselves on providing high-quality client services—they make it easy for clients to quickly get their hands on what’s needed.

Production Resources

The Production Resources Unit produces quality, peer-and technically reviewed publications and extension materials, and provides consultation services for staff in the Forest Science Program (Research Branch and Regional research programs), the Forest Stewardship Division, and other Ministries and organizations. The Unit increases the recognition and credibility of the Forest Science Program by ensuring that technical material is presented to various audiences in the most efficient and effective manner. The role of Production Resources is to:

• Apply professional publication standards, in the biological sciences, to the publications and extension materials of the Forest Science Program, and to consistently meet the high standards demanded of peer-reviewed documents while meeting client cost requirements.
• Ensure that distribution of Forest Science Program products occurs, and is most effective for strategic widespread knowledge of, and access to, these products.
• Develop and maintain publications series standards.
• Ensure that documents receive sufficient publicity to effectively advertise the quality of the research being undertaken by the Forest Science Program.
• Make current materials accessible in print and electronically, and to scan older materials and make them available on the web.
• Maximize the possibility that our web pages are found by Google-searchable directories, the Ministry’s “What’s New” page, and the Government Publications Index.
• Maintain an in-house style guide.

Knowledge Management

The Knowledge Management Unit protects the Ministry’s long-term investment in the research conducted by the Forest Science Program by tracking and making accessible the paper, electronic, experimental project material, research installation, and intellectual property assets.

Knowledge Management staff are working to create a culture shift within the Program—to generate a recognition of the need to protect knowledge assets and address issues such as individual ownership, personal repositories of information, and staff turnover and retirement. The Unit is working with the Forest Science Program staff to develop FS WorkS, a user-friendly, web-accessible database system that will allow staff to manage their projects, store information related to their EP records, and add new information regarding their research installations.

How To Reach US

Forest Science Program Database - (250) 387-3177 Email

EPs – Assigning and Tracking - (250) 387-6788 Email

Intellectual Properties - (250) 387-2134 Email

Research Installations - (250) 387-2134 Email 
site:  http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hre/pspdata/  

Library Services - (250) 387-3628 Email

Current Technical Communications Projects

• Creating and updating bibliographies (with links to full-text articles), on mountain pine beetle and Fish and Forestry Interactions in British Columbia, as well as developing new bibliographies on emerging topics such as climatic change, landslides, and streams. This information supports the resource demands of Ministry initiatives such as Forest and Range Practices Act Forest Resource Evaluation Program (FRPA/FREP) implementation and the Future Forest Ecosystems Initiative (FFEI).

• Producing high-quality, consistent, peer- and technical-reviewed research and extension documents. Our documents have international recognition and are available to download free of charge or to purchase from our distribution partner, Government Publications.

• Participating in an MoE Corporate Memory Project, to gather, convert, and maintain a digital repository of all MoE scientific and technical documents. This initiative is supporting succession planning within the Ministry.

• Protecting the substantial Ministry investment in the Forest Science Program research installations, through an identification and valuation process. A Government Actions Regulations order will be solicited to protect the physical assets of these long-term research installations. The project also includes protecting the intellectual capital arising from the knowledge assets of the staff, and developing data standards, electronic tracking, and mapping systems.

• Developing the Forest Science Program Workspace project (FSWorkS), a web-based database that will provide researchers and managers with planning, information management, project management, and reporting functions. The first phase, to be completed by March 2008, will identify content and systems requirements in order to adequately meet current and anticipated user needs.

Highlights

• The Ministry Library has moved to a new location with more stacks and reading space, and, rest assured, the same great service!
• Library service staff responded to more than 21 000 requests for articles and information in the past fiscal year.
• Library clients accessed over 16 000 articles directly from the electronic journals.
• Library clients and Library staff conducted over 9400 database searches.
• A directory of open-access journals is available free through the Ministry Library website, now with more than 3000 journals.
• The popular Table of Contents service continues to provide MFR and MoE staff with access to the tables of contents for scientific journals and publications of their choice. With over 300 scientific journals and publications available, library staff send out 2500 to 3000 articles each month.
• Developing special topic bibliographies. Fish and Forestry Interactions in British Columbia (includes more than 1000 citations, 700 of which are available electronically, with a searchable database function) and Mountain Pine Beetle (includes more than 800 citations, many of which are available electronically). A Climate Change bibliography is also being developed.
• More than 800 new documents were made available on-line this year, including historical documents, such as old inventory information (surveys, area history, and maps) from the 1930s and 1940s, and all Forest Investment Account–Forest Science Program products and reports.
• Undergoing a facilitated process to establish criteria for evaluating and prioritizing maintenance of long-term research installations within the Forest Science Program.
• Increased services to meet client demand for information through resource-sharing agreements with other libraries (e.g., interlibrary loans with the Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information ) or purchasing licenses to allow all Ministry staff members (MFR and MoE)  access to journals and commercial databases.
• Developing a suite of extension products for the Forest Science Program, including new web pages, an Annual Report, a powerpoint presentation, a brochure, and a compendium of active research projects.
• Revising and updating the popular Research Program Style Guide and Authors Manual, which provides definitive conventions on citation, spelling, capitalization, abbreviations, and so much more. A revised version will be available in summer 2008.
• The Library podcast site went “live” in April 2007 and provides access to a variety of podcasts organized by subject or scientific journal.

Consultations and Public Speaking Events

• MFR Climate Mitigation Team—committed to reducing the Ministry’s greenhouse gas emissions and laying the groundwork for actions that will achieve carbon neutrality in the Ministry’s operations by 2010.
• MoE Science Sub-Committee—developing a framework for the application of science in policy, planning, and decision making, as well as monitoring processes.
• Forest Research Extension Partnership (FORREX), Publications Committee.
• Special Libraries Association, Western Canada Chapter—Research Branch Library staff serve as the Vancouver Island Directors.
• Northern Interior Forest Science Meeting—Technical Communications staff gave presentations on available client services and support, and the Knowledge Management Unit staff, as well as presenting, conducted a site visit to help with the Research Project file organization process.
• Staff presentations at a variety of conferences and meetings, including: the Forest Science Program Meeting, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands; and FS Works presentations in Kamloops, Vernon, Nelson, Nanaimo, Smithers, Prince George, and Victoria.

Publications (2007)

For a complete list of series publications click on this [link]

Brockley, R.P. 2007. Assessing the effects of fertilization on understorey vegetation in young lodgepole pine and spruce forests in central British Columbia. B.C. Min. For. Range, Res. Br., Victoria, B.C. Exten. Note 81.

Brockley, R.P. and P. Sanborn. 2007. Assessing the effects of Sitka alder on the growth and foliar nutrition of young lodgepole pine in central British Columbia (SBSdw3): 9-year results. B.C. Min. For. Range, Res. Br., Victoria, B.C. Exten. Note 79.

Dawson, R.J., H.M. Armleder, B.A. Bings, and D.E. Peel. 2007. Management strategy for mule deer winter ranges in the Cariboo-Chilcotin – part 1a: Management plan for shallow and moderate snowpack zones. B.C. Min. For. Range, Res. Br., Victoria, B.C. Land Manage. Handb. 60. 

DeLong, C. 2007. Relative impact of aspen competition and soil factors on the performance of lodgepole pine and hybrid white spruce in north-central British Columbia. B.C. Min. For. Range, Res. Br., Victoria, B.C. Tech. Rep. 039. 

de Montigny, L.E. and G.D. Nigh. 2007. Growth and survival of Douglas-fir and western redcedar planted at different densities and species mixtures. B.C. Min. For. Range, Res. Br., Victoria, B.C. Tech. Rep. 044. 

Erickson, W.R. and D.V. Meidinger. 2007. Garry oak (Quercus garryana) plant communities in British Columbia: a guide to identification. B.C. Min. For. Range, Res. Br., Victoria, B.C. Tech. Rep. 040. 

Hamilton, E.H. 2007. Post-fire vegetation development and fire effects in the SBS zone: Haggen Creek, Francis Lake, Genevieve Lake, Brink, and Indianpoint sites. B.C. Min. For. and Range, Victoria, B.C. Tech. Rep. 041. 

Harper, G. and K. Polsson. 2007. Modelling boreal mixedwoods with the Tree and Stand Simulator (TASS). B.C. Min. For. Range, Res. Br., Victoria, B.C. Exten. Note 80.

Hope, G. 2007. Changes to soil properties and implications for soil and tree productivity after harvesting, site preparation, or rehabilitation in ESSF forests. B.C. Min. For. Range, S. Int. For. Reg., Kamloops, B.C. Exten. Note 06.

Morford, S. and C. Hollstedt. 2007. Revisiting a forest extension strategy for British Columbia: a survey of natural resource practitioners and information providers. B.C. Min. For. Range, Res. Br., Victoria, B.C. Tech. Rep. 042.

Newsome, T.A. 2007. Stand tending or rehabilitation: can height growth in height-repressed lodgepole pine stands be increased? B.C. Min. For. Range, S. Int. For. Reg., Kamloops, B.C. Exten. Note 07.

Sutherland, G.D., D.T. O'Brien, S.A. Fall, F.L. Waterhouse, A.S. Harestad, and J.B. Buchanan (editors). 2007. A framework to support landscape analyses of habitat supply and effects on populations of forest-dwelling species: a case study based on the Northern Spotted Owl. B.C. Min. For. Range, Res. Br., Victoria, B.C. Tech. Rep. 038.

Ministry contact: Pam Wilkins.
Please direct questions regarding webpage to For.Prodres@gov.bc.ca
Updated February 2008