Author Archive

Karen D. Schwartz

Digital Government

Department consolidates its old financial systems

The Education Department's upgrade and consolidation of three legacy accounting and financial systems, a project that strained the department's budget over the past few years, is finished several months ahead of schedule, Education officials said. The Education Central Automated Processing System (EDCAPS) is composed of three financial packages and is under the supervision of the department's chief financial officer. The system reduces redundancy and lowers the department's staff needs, Education officials said.

  • By Karen D. Schwartz, GCN
Digital Government

Date code work is No. 1 priority

Education's Pauline Lynch coordinates the collection of data, abstracts, journal articles, dissertations, statistical reports and case histories on educational topics for the Education Resources Information Center database. The Ask ERIC database resides on a 167-MHz Sun Microsystems Ultra HPC 3000 server with 256M of RAM, a 36G hard drive and 30G of RAID storage. Users can visit Ask ERIC on the Web at http://www.aspensys.com/eric. Related articles Major programs Who's In Charge

  • By Karen D. Schwartz, GCN
Digital Government

USDA research group uses TeleMagic to tap multiple databases

The USDA agency needed a way to define its customers and their needs, and how to match the two. The Economic Research Service, the 550-employee research and information arm of the Agriculture Department, has found an application to help it serve citizens. Each day, up to 50 ERS employees man the agency's phones, Web site and mail room to answer requests from a large customer base. ERS workers answer a daily

  • By Karen D. Schwartz, GCN
Digital Government

NIST eyes signature revision

It has been a long wait, but the federal information technology community may soon get what it has long wanted—a significant revision of the federal standard for digital signatures. Many IT managers have been awaiting the changes since last May, when NIST issued a request for comments regarding proposed changes to Federal Information Processing Standard 186, the Digital Signature Standard. NIST officials received those comments in August.

  • By Karen D. Schwartz, GCN
Digital Government

Smithsonian designers exhibit their software smarts

The design software and computer power lets exhibit designers move away from traditional typesetting. Artists at the Smithsonian Institution use design software that helps them create museum exhibits and compete with design companies. The Audubon exhibit at the National Museum of American History is one of the latest products of the Smithsonian Institution's Office of Exhibits Central, the technical drawing and production arm of the Smithsonian.

  • By Karen D. Schwartz, GCN