Transcript Slide 1

GOVERNMENT
INFORMATION –
Introduction and Background
Patricia Kenly
June 2005
HISTORY - GPO
• 1861 – GPO established. Before that,
gov’t. printing was done by private co’s.
• 1895 – Congress added sale & distribution
to GPO responsibilities. 420 depository
libraries.
• Until 1922 – depositories received ALL
publications.
• 1962 - 594 depositories
FDLP
• 1962 – depository libraries program (FDLP)
started.
– Doubled the number of depositories permitted
per Congressional district.
– Until 1962, depositories had to retain
documents selected forever (unless
supserseded).
• Each state has at least one “Regional” – receives
100% of what is distributed . Keeps material
permanently. UGA is the one for Georgia.
• 2005 - Almost 1,300 depository libraries (note:
many are public libraries, who select a small
number of documents).
FDLP
• Libraries receive materials “on deposit” –
FREE , and make them available to the
public. Libraries do NOT own the materials.
• Materials are print or fiche or electronic.
• FDLP – partnership with GPO; libraries work
closely with the Regional.
Government Printing Office (GPO)
• Superintendent of Documents is also the
Managing Director of Information Dissemination
– Judith Russell. She has an MLS.
• Reports to Public Printer (appointed by the
President)
• GPO is the “Federal government’s primary
centralized resource for gathering, cataloging,
producing, providing and preserving published
information in all its forms”.
• GPO also prints passports.
SuDocs
• “SuDocs” – common abbrev. for the person
(the Superintendent) as well as the cataloging
numbering scheme.
• GPO assigns a “SuDocs” number to all
material.
– It’s based on the agency name (D for Defense,…
Note: Georgia Tech uses Library of Congress call
number for Maps
SuDocs numbers
• Include punctuation marks (esp. “:” and “/”)
• A period is NOT a decimal point.
• Each space or punctuation acts as a
separator.
• Example: I 29.6.4 : B 86/986
“I” – Interior Dept.
“29” – National Park Service
“6” – National Parks Information Circulars
“4” – National Rivers Information Circulars
“/986” – the year (1900’s are 3 digits)
SHELVING LOCATIONS
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•
•
•
Most are on the 3d floor
Some finding aids in Reference or Ready Ref.
Last row of Ref. – Monthly Catalog
Fiche and film – 2d floor
– books/indexes associated with fiche or film (most,
but not all, CIS Indexes)
DEPOSITORY MATERIALS
• Not all of what’s issued by gov’t. is
distributed to libraries – they’re “fugitive”
documents.
• Also, there can be noncompliance by
agencies. Access problems worsen when
agency websites only retain selected titles.
NTIS
• NTIS – a library database (1964 onward) –
as well as a federal agency (though required to be selfsustaining).
The agency indexes and sells government
technical reports (the US gov’t doesn’t do a lot of
this research; rather, universities and other
organizations do a lot – “sponsored research”).
Of the 2 million records, very few are depository.
Tech subscribes to the full-text fiche collection.
IDENTIFICATION OF DEPOSITORY
MATERIALS
• 1976 – GPO began cataloging through OCLC.
• Most libraries have NOT cataloged older material;
hence, they’re not in library catalogs nor WorldCat.
• Monthly Catalog of US Government Publications –
official source. (GP3.8: - at the end of Reference
stacks). SuDocs numbers included in bibliographic
records.
LOCATING A DOCUMENT
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•
•
•
•
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Tech catalog!
WorldCat
NTIS
www.gpoaccess.gov
Andriot book (Ready Ref. Z1223.Z7 A545)
Monthly Catalog
* Consult your desk colleague *
* Make referral to gov. docs. librarian *
Newly cataloged digital doc.; not yet on GPO website
PURL – not the actual URL; but this will
always link to the URL of the doc.
Monthly Catalog,
June 2003
The “  “ indicates depository title (UGA would have it).
Tech catalog – no entry.
Yet, we have access – type the PURL for the GPO web
address and it links to the NASA web site and document.
full-text on the Web; PURL
in Monthly Catalog
linked to this –
not found in
www.gpoaccess.gov
HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS
• CIS U.S. Serial Set Index (1789-1976)
Ref. Z1223.Z9 C65
• Cumulative Subject Index to the Public
Affairs Information Service Bulletins, 19151974 (recently transferred to gen. coll. –
H96.P351)
THE NEW GPO
• Heavily involved in electronic dissemination
of documents – digital format.
• Material on its website (www.gpoaccess.gov)
is permanent and much content recently
added (years of publications as well).
286,000 titles available.
• To establish “dark archive” electronically.
• Is moving out of old HQ to save money.
Online “Monthly Catalog” being replaced.
New product, rollout this week, will
have coverage from 1976.
FINDING AIDS for INTERNET
• Government Information on the Internet
(Ready Ref. Za5075.G68 2000)
• University of Michigan Documents Center
(www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/)
Web site;
brief summary
of Bureau’s
scope
Source:
SuDocs
numbers for
key
Bureau
sources
Government
Information
on the
Internet
FINDING AIDS
Andriot book – Guide to U.S. Government
Publications (Ready Ref – Z1223.Z7 A574)
• Introduction to United States Government
Information Sources (gen.coll. J83.M67 1996)
 Tapping the Government Grapevine
(gen.coll. J83.R633 1993)
Using Government Information Sources
(Ref. J83.S43x 2001)
TO BE CONTINUED -• Census (August dept. meeting)
• Statistics
• Congressional research