Transcript U. S. Depository Library System

Documents
Librarianship
Ahead of the Curve
or Behind the 8
Ball?
Family

Marriage license
 Birth certificate
 Divorce decree
 Child support
 Death certificate
 Funeral home regulations
 Estate taxes
Health

Drug approval
 Nutritional guidelines
 Terrorism and bioterrorism
 Regulation of nursing homes
 Medicare payment schedules for
hospitals
Income

TAXES
 Minimum wage
 Equal employment opportunity
guidelines
 Consumer price index
 Civil service salaries
 Social security and food stamps
Community

Roads
 Zoning ordinances
 Water supplies
 Waste disposal
 Power and cable industry regs
 Toxic waste cleanup
 Weather alerts
 Disaster assistance????????????
Housing

Certifies home repair contractors
and prosecutes ripoffs
 Building inspectors
 Enforces disclosure rules when getting a
mortgage
 Consumer pamphlets on renting, buying
homes, and moving companies
Student World

Student loans
 Work study scholarships
 College admission court decisions
 Research grants for faculty and
academic departments
 Federal depository libraries
 Originally sponsored the internet
 Copyright protections
Business

Regulates stock market
 Technical research
 Patents
 Trade regulations and statistics
 Employment regulations
 Safety standards
 Loans to start a small business
Recreation

National park system
 Passports
 Airport security
 Grant funding for the arts and
humanities
 Genealogy
 Fishing and hunting licenses
 State park camping reservations
Who Uses
Documents
Public Libraries
Tax forms, nutritional guides,
Social Security, local zoning,
and genealogy
Academic Libraries
Congressional documents,
statistics, treaties, geological maps,
soil surveys, and technical reports
Who Uses
Documents
Special Libraries
Laws, regulations, and patents
Personal Life
Tax forms, maps, absentee ballots,
fishing licenses
Plan for Today
Official Summary of Documents
Librarianship
Types of Documents
Distribution Systems
Federal Depository Program
REAL Scoop on Documents Librarianship
Fun Things We do
Challenges of Internet Access
What Is A
Government?
• National Governments
• State and Provincial
• Counties
• Cities and Townships
• Inter-Governmental Agencies
United Nations, SEMCOG
What Is Document?
Information in any format
produced at the expense
of a government
– Grace’s Definition
What Is Document?
“Government publication” as used in
this chapter, means informational
matter which is published as an
individual document at Government
expense, or as required by law.
-- 44 USC 1901
What Is Document?
Contracted Report
(funded by government; written by grantee)

Who owns copyright –
the author or the public

Does it fall under a depository program
(i.e. free to libraries)
What Is a
Document?
Published as Individual Document

Does published include
internet?

Does individual include
databases?
Types of Documents
About the Government
1. Laws and Regulations
2. Proposed Laws (Bills)
3. Legislative Debates
4. Executive Speeches and
Directives
5. Court Decisions
Types of Documents
Subject-Oriented
6. Research and
Investigations
7. Statistics
8. Copyright and Patents
9. Maps
10. Consumer Information
Document Distribution
Exchange
Publications from one government
sent to a library of another government
for publications of equal value
Depository
Publications of one government given to a
library in return for public access
Document Distribution
Sales
Works when have central
government printer or a vendor
such as Bernan
Internet
Most U.S., state, and local agencies as
well as UN have free documents on
internet. Other countries are stingier.
University Depository
Collection
Michigan
United States
Canada
United Nations
FAO
Asian Development Bank
European Union (Law)
Federal Depository System

Beginnings
– Unofficially in 1814
– Extended to Executive Branch
– publications in 1895

Library Eligibility
– Congressional District = 2
– Senate = 2 (one apiece)
– Law Schools and Courts
15th Congressional District
University of Michigan
University of Michigan Law
Eastern Michigan University
Henry Ford Comm College
Monroe County Lib System
Depository Profiles
52 regionals -1204 selectives

Regionals
–
–
–
–

Take all publications
Approve disposals
Administrative and training
Library of Michigan
Selectives
– Select types of publications
– Retain for five years
– University of Michigan, University of Michigan
Law, and Eastern Michigan
Depository Item Numbers
7781 Item Numbers
Agency + Type of Publication





0461-D-05 = General publications of
the Education Department
0140-A-03 = Housing Units (EL)
0573-C = Federal Register (P)
0573-D = Federal Register (MF)
0573-E = Federal Register (EL)
Depository Tools

Documents Data Miner
http://govdoc.wichita.edu/ddm/GdocFrames.asp

Item Lists
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/tools/itemlist.html

Electronic shipping lists
http://fedbbs.access.gpo.gov/fdlp01.htm

Administrative Notes
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/adnotes/index.html

Technical Supplement
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/tools/webtech.html
Depository Guidelines
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/gid/
rusbibl.html

Mandatory selections, record-keeping
 Preservation, disaster recovery, weeding
 Computer workstations, internet filters
 Reference and electronic access
Collection
Development

Written Collection Policy
– UMich selects about 85%
– Receives $60,000 in federal documents
– Spends approx. $300,000 per year to amplify
federal collection

Weeding Policy
– 5 year retention; then offer to regional

Preservation Digitization
Collection Organization

Options
– Separate Collection by SuDocs #
 See Slide 33
– Integrated with Non-Documents

Success of Either
– Enthusiasm of Librarian
– Time to Specialize
University of Michigan
Documents

Consolidated in Five Libraries
– Art, Architecture and Engineering
– Science
– Public Health
– Maps
– Graduate
 Documents Center Coordinates
 Serials Records - Processing
Cataloging History

Library of Congress cataloged some
documents but not all

Libraries used SUDOCS number to
arrange collection

Monthly Catalog or browsing by agency
as access point
Shipping List Provides
SUDOCS Number
Bibliographic Records
 Commercial
Cataloging Tapes
 Data Base Management
 Catalog Individually
 Combination Approach
Bibliographic Records
at Michigan
 Historical
cataloging of all but
fiche, Congressional, pamphlets
 MARCIVE implemented Feb. 2003
 Shipping list and full records for
monographs, serials and electronic
Physical Access

Required for Congressional District
 Includes access to non-filtered internet
 Automatic for Public Institutions
 Private Institutions May Use
– Check-In without Identification
– Separate Hours for Public
– Separate Doors for Documents
Depository
Surveillance
 GPO Biennial Survey
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/bisurv
ey/index.html
Self-Study
or Inspection
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/f
dlm/selfstud.html
FUN JOB!
Follow Information
from Creation
to Delivery
Doc Librarian’s Life

Advise government and publishers on
creating materials.
 Selection
 Cataloging
 Instruction
 Creating web materials
 Preservation
 Professional conferences
 Bug the government when they bug you
Reference
Helping real
people
is the fun
part of
the job
Documents Center
Staff



Catherine Morse, international documents
and SI professor, public policy
Shevon Desai, econ, soc and psych
Jennifer Green, numeric and spatial data
Ash Brown, Kent Randell, Ray Walling,
Alex Watson, SI
 Grace York, coordinator & federal,

political science
Sample Reference Questions






History of an 1870s lighthouse
Translations of Chinese statements
on Sino-Soviet split
How many times has John McCain voted with
the Democrats?
Cost of living in San Francisco and Honolulu
Poverty in Detroit Neighborhoods, 1970
How to reinstate voter registration after two
rounds of prison
Documents Question Clues
•Legal Material
•Statistics
•Government Official or Agency
Mentioned in Question
•Obvious government publication
(e.g. Duelfer or 9/11 Commission report)
• Expert on the subject is a government
employee (not always obvious)
Expert on Subject?
Some are obvious
- State Dept. for passports
- INS for naturalization
- Census Bureau for Census
Some are unclear, e.g. baby cribs
- Consumer Reports (commercial)
- Consumer Product Safety
Commission (government)
Finding Answers
Standard Reference Tools
Bibliographies, Laws, Congress,
Statistics
Google’s Uncle Sam
93% of current docs on internet
http://www.google.com/ig/usgov
Browse Agency
Bibliography
Web site
Publications themselves
UMich Documents Site
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/
WEB MISSION
Reference Tool
Instruction
Are Documents Librarians
Ahead of the Curve?
Or Behind the 8 Ball?
Issues in Documents
Librarianship - 2007

AHEAD – Primary Collection is Electronic
– Proportion of Remote Reference
– No Choice on Appropriate Formats
– Long-Term Preservation/Use

EIGHT BALL – Primary Collection is Electronic
– Depository Library Dropouts
– Downsizing Documents Departments
Documents Center Staffing

Official public service hours from 59 to 221/2, primarily staffed by SI students

Staff doors open to reference room

Backup and research consultations available 95 weekdays (usually 30-90 minutes)

Email and webmail service available 7 days per
week (15 to 90 minutes apiece)
Decline of In-Person
Reference at Michigan
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
FY
1996
FY
1998
FY
2000
FY
2002
FY
2004
FY
2006
Rise in Web Access of
Documents Center Web Site
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
FY
1996
FY
1998
FY
2000
FY
2002
FY
2004
FY
2006
Reference FY 2006
1,669
827,080
in person and email
questions
web reference answers
828,749
questions total
When Internet Only A
Problem

Material requires long term reading
(books as opposed to journal or newspaper articles)

Browsing Required to Understand the
Context
(laws, regulations, some statistical compendia)

File Size Too Large to Deliver on Internet (70
MB Duelfer Report on Iraqi WMD)
GPO Distribution
1992
Paper
19,000
Microfiche 50,000
CD-ROMS
182
Internet
0
2002
2006
8,307
5,525
480
20,585
10,07
0
22,82
1
GPO Distribution
In 2006, 93% of
all federal
government
publications are on
the internet
Selected Essential Titles
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/estitles.html
Constitution, U.S. Code,
Statutes at Large
 Budget, Monthly Labor
Review
 CFDA, Statistical Abstract
 Economic Report of the President

Material Disappears for Political
or National Security Reasons
Pipeline maps
Hazmat materials transportation info
Nuclear powerplant information
GPO recalled CD-ROM on water
resources
CRS Issue Briefs
Web pages of former Congressmen
Limitations of Way Back Machine
Preservation Efforts
GPO copies documents; substitutes
copy if item disappears from
agency web site using PURL
 National Archives designated as
GPO partner
 Creating a collection of last resort
(dark archive) for paper and
electronic
 Cybercemetery at University of
North Texas

Retrospective Conversion

GPO may partially fund
libraries for retrospective
conversion

GPO may do some conversion
itself

GOOGLE looking better all of
the time
Technological Change
Old versions of Adobe Acrobat
may not be compatible with
newer versions
1990 Census CDs don’t run well on
Windows XP
Before microfiche there
was microprint!
No one in government wants to pay
for migrating old data
Data Migration to New
Format
Who will step up to the plate?
Effect on Libraries
ALL libraries can have access
to 93% of depository documents
via the internet
No collateral for expense of GPO rules
Libraries Dropping Out of
Program

About 50 smaller libraries
have left the FDLP in the past
three years

Detroit Public is withdrawing
from regional status
Incentives to Remain a
Depository
Prestige factor?
 Some free print publications
(e.g. hearings) and
passwords to some
databases (e.g. STAT-USA)


Depositories MUST offer their
entire retrospective collection to
the regional when they leave
Documents Departments
Disappearing
Many separate documents
departments have combined with
general reference (Penn State,
Berkeley, Duke, Iowa, UIC)
Documents Center reduced hours due to
budget cuts and irregular use
Some functions can be outsourced; reference
experience irreplaceable
Need for Documents
Reference Specialists





Specific
At least 60% require over
5 minutes - sometimes 15-90
Use multiple formats (paper, fiche,
CD, internet for one question)
Must manipulate spreadsheets
May require interpretation
How Librarians Learn
Library school classes
 Taking specialized classes or
training sessions
 Extended, off-desk reference
 Teaching your own classes
 Preparing bibliographies
 Adopting a mentor
 Lots of experience

Critical Need for
Subject Specialists
Catherine Morse
[email protected]
Grace York
[email protected]