National Technical Information Service

The National Technical Information Service (NTIS) has historically served as the federal government’s archive and clearinghouse for scientific and technical reports prepared by federal agencies or contractors, along with related indices and bibliographies. Traditionally, bulk of NTIS documents were provided in paper or microfiche format, although, in recent years, NTIS also has served as a clearinghouse for some electronic format products. Also, NTIS performs other related services such as patent licensing, Japanese literature exchange, and FOIA request and/or information sales processing for a few agencies.