July 2007 marks the 40th Anniversary of the Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS) Database, an online resource that provides access to bibliographic citations and abstracts of published transportation research. TRIS Online is the largest repository of published transportation research, containing more than 660,000 records of technical reports, journal articles, conference papers, and monographs. More than 35,000 of the records in TRIS Online now provide links to the full-text documents. With funding from the state departments of transportation, the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other sponsors of TRB, the TRIS Database has become the largest and most comprehensive resource for published transportation research.
The idea behind TRIS dates back to TRB’s creation in 1920. At that time, one of the stated purposes of the Highway Research Board, the predecessor to TRB, was “to collect and distribute information of completed and current research.” In 1928, $8,000 was appropriated for the development of a highway research information clearinghouse. As part of the fulfillment of this project, the Highway Research Abstracts, a print bibliography of published highway research, was inaugurated.
In July 1967, the Highway Research Information Service (HRIS) was established. HRIS used a main-frame computer and automated technology to expand the bibliographic clearinghouse concept. The HRIS database was developed over a 3-year period with the sponsorship of the state highway departments and the Bureau of Public Roads. HRIS included bibliographic citations and abstracts of published highway literature.
Since that time, HRIS has expanded and its coverage has become multimodal--it is now Transportation Research Information Service. TRB staff index and abstract journal articles, conference papers, technical reports, and books on all modes and disciplines of transportation for inclusion within TRIS. TRIS also receives records of journal articles from Northwestern University’s Library and the Institute of Transportation Studies Library at the University of California, Berkeley. Records of international publications are received from the ITRD (International Transportation Research Documentation) Database produced by OECD, and the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) supplies TRIS with records of Canadian transportation publications.
The Research in Progress (RiP) Database (https://rip.trb.org), a cousin of TRIS, now contains more 9,600 records of current or recently completed research from state departments of transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, university transportation centers, TRB’s Cooperative Research Programs, and some international agencies.
Technology has changed TRIS. Most of the TRIS Database is now available on the web on the National Transportation Library website as TRIS Online. It is readily accessible to anyone looking for information on transportation research. Web technology has also allowed TRB to add links from many TRIS records to the full text of the documents.
This Summary Last Modified On: 4/22/2011