The Technical Information Center (TIC) at the Denver Service Center (DSC) began in 1965 as the
Branch of Micrographics for the Western Office of Design in San Francisco, California. TIC’s information system
was planned, developed, and refined over 40 years. It is the oldest and largest information system in the
National Park Service (NPS). TIC is designated by the Service as the central repository for managing
all NPS generated drawings, specifications, scientific, and technical reports.
In the beginning, aperture and microfiche were filmed in house for preservation. This method of preservation was
utilized up until the late 90’s when new scanning technology was introduced. In the early 2000’s TIC began to scan
more regularly and eventually phased out the old microfiche cameras. Since then, TIC uses advanced equipment for
microfiche and aperture card scanning on demand. Today, source documents and drawings are scanned for inclusion in
the system and converted to PDF or TIF electronic formats. TIC’s bibliographic database lists and tracks
the data and includes document images.
e-TIC (electronic Technical Information Center) provides an internet interface to the database for public access to
search the collection and view or download images.
TIC’s database and collection contains documents and drawings that are utilized in the planning, development, construction,
modification, and repair of buildings and facilities in the parks. Planning, resource management, and development type
documents establish guidelines for the overall use, preservation, management, and development of areas within NPS.