Official Publications:
Government Information,
Statistics, and Patents
public domain information
• government publications
• census data
• legal records (patents, copyright records, etc.)
Why?
• collecting information about population (literacy,
demographics)
• establishing national policies, planning, control
• cf. Stieg’s article on the nineteenth century information
revolution
Government Information
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reference work with official publications
Government
Government Printing Office (GPO) (online:MOCAT)
www.access.gpo.gov
SuDocs classification system, other controlled
vocabularies (uniform title field)
locating government information (indexes: Monthly
Catalog, U.S. Government Periodicals Index, State
Publications and Depository Libraries, etc.)
Thomas (U.S. Congress on the Internet) thomas.loc.gov
CIS (Congressional Information Service databases
available through Lexis-Nexis) www.cispubs.com
reference work with official publications
• government (international, national, state, county
government, municipal government)
• level of bibliographical control varies for governmental
organizations of different levels
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reference work with government publications
Government: International
Statesman’s Yearbook (annual, 1864+)
Background Notes Series. U.S. Department of State.
Bureau of Public Affairs. (irregular, 1980+)
Countries of the World and Their Leaders Yearbook. Gale
(annual, 1980+)
Worldwide Government Directory. Keesing’s Worldwide
(annual, 1981+)
Dbase of worldwide government institutions (links to
parliaments, ministries, offices, embassies, city councils,
public broadcasting corporations, central banks, etc.
http://gksoft.com/govt/en)
reference work with government publications
Government: National
• U.S. Government Manual. U.S. GPO (annual, 1935+)
• Budget of the United States. Bureau of the Budget. U.S.
GPO (annual, 1922+) (PrEx2.8)
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reference work with government publications
Government: State
Book of the States (1934+)
with supplement
State Leadership Directories, Part III: State
Administrative Officials Classified by Function. (annual
1996+)
Facts about the States. 2nd ed. (1994)
Worldmark Encyclopedia of the States. 4th ed. (1998)
major almanacs have brief articles concerning each state
(for information as population, area, and state symbols
(state bird, motto, tree, etc.) they will provide a quick
answer
reference work with government publications
Government: County
• County and City Data Book. U.S. Bureau of the Census.
U.S. GPO (irregular, 1949+) C56.243
reference work with government publications
Government: Municipal
• The Municipal Yearbook. Intl. City Manager’s
Association (annual, 1934+)
for statistical data on many other items, see
• County and City Data Book. U.S. Bureau of the Census.
U.S. GPO (irregular, 1949+) C56.243
reference work with government publications
Indexes
• Monthly Catalog of United States Publications. U.S. Supt.
Of Documents. U.S. GPO (monthly, 1895+)
• Guide to Popular U.S. Government Publications. 3rd ed.
Libraries Unlimited, 1993
• State Publications and Depository Libraries. Greenwood,
1981
• U.S. Government Periodicals Index (1992+)
Statistics
reference work with statistics resources
General
• There are many sources of statistics (every field produces
its own statistics)
• Statistics Sources (Gale, 1962+)
• Encyclopedia of Statistical Sciences. Update (1982-1989)
10 vols.; (1997-1998) 2 vols. (detailed coverage of all
types of statistical methods in all fields)
reference work with statistics resources
Government
• Statistical Abstracts of the United States. U.S. Bureau of
the Census. U.S. government Printing Office. Annual,
1878+ (C3:134)
• 1995+ Statistical Abstracts downloadable from
http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract-us.html
• Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times
to 1970. U.S. Bureau of the Census. U.S. Government
Printing Office. 1976. (supplement to the Statistical
Abstracts)
reference work with statistics resources
Government
• City and County Data Book. U.S. Bureau of the Census.
U.S. Government Printing Office. Irregular, 1949+
(C56.243/)
Patents
reference work with patent information
• criteria: originality, innovation, not obvious
• U.S. Patent Office www.uspto.gov
• registration, reference (searches performed by law firms
to assert rights)
• classification system for patents
• access to patent information databanks (STN, DIALOG)
reference work with patent information
how to apply
• Patents’ Handbook: A Guide for Inventors and
Researchers to Searching Patent Documents and
Preparing and Making an Application. 1995
• Inventor’s guide to Successful Patent Applications. 1988
reference work with patent information
government regulations
• Roster of Attorneys and Agents Registered to Practice
Before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. U.S. GPO
(irregular, 197?+)
• Rules of Practice in Patent Cases (C21.14)
• Trademark Rules of Practice of the Patent and Trademark
Office with Forms and Statutes (C21.14:T67/2)
reference work with patent information
general information
• General Information Concerning Patents. U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office. U.S. GPO (annual, 1922+) C21.26/2
• Official Gazette of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Patents. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. U.S. GPO
(weekly, 1872+) C21.5:
• U.S. Patent Office website www.uspto.gov
Reference Sources: Conclusion
tracing historical trends
following trends in discourse communities
locational information
indirect sources -- direct sources (bibliographies / directories)
primary -- secondary -- tertiary sources
lexical material and non-lexical material (etymologies, synonyms,
usage or status labels, pictorial information, maps, etc.)
lexical semantic networks (opposites, synonymous, antonymous)
resolving garbled quotations
crossword puzzle enthusiasts, translators, writers (variations,
subtle connotations of words)
does the library own a book (by an author, in a particular subject)
does the book really exist
verification of a bibliographical reference (when user does not
have complete information)
matching information needs and the types of sources that address
them
implying the limitations of these sources, cf. Bopp & Smith's
"Search strategy" sections (boxed case studies) for each of
information sources (e.g., Box 15.1 Almanac Search Strategy, p.
366, 15.3 Handbook Search Strategy, p. 372, etc.)
reference sources in flux: where are we now?
formats, distribution, uses of hybrid information
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revolution starting in the 1960s/1970s (databases)
current trends and implications for creation, distribution, and use
derivative genres in networked environment, fragmentation
distribution in print and on the network, hybrid information spaces
licensing vs. ownership
physical scattering of sources (new configurations needed for online
access)
• reference resource management systems: JAKE (Jointly Administered
knowledge environment - Yale http://libraries.harvard.edu/..., Office of
Information Systems, LDI page) VERA (Virtual Electronic Resources
Access - MIT http://libraries.mit.edu/vera)
• electronic gateways (construction, training, collaboration)
• an overview of reference sources through an
epistemological approach
• critique of retrieval models (T. Mann)
• methods-of-searching configuration of the library and library model -implications for retrieval
• evaluation of content and structuring for retrieval
• matching sources with information needs (translation of information need
to search task)
• typical questions, analysis of queries
• resource evaluation exercise (Soergel)
information sources: an epistemological approach
What is the epistemological strategy of an index? What does an encyclopedia let us
know? And what it does not?
Using the epistemological model, we can critically examine the nature,
limits, and validity of knowledge and the difference between knowledge
and belief (the sources that these sources use as evidence of their
authority) of each of the information source types.
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indexes, bibliographies
dictionaries
biographical sources
encyclopedias
almanacs, handbooks, ready-reference sources
serials
geographical sources (gazetteers, dictionaries of place names,
guidebooks)
government documents
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statistical sources
information sources: an overview
index
(fr. indicate to indicate) (1571) a device (as the pointer on a scale or the gnomon of a sundial
that serves to indicate a value or quantity; a list (as of bibliographical information or citations
to a body of literature) arranged usu. in alphabetical order of some specified datum (as author,
subject, or keyword); a list of items (as topics or names) treated in a printed work that gives
for each item the page number where it may be found; a bibliographical analysis of groups
of publications that is usu. published periodically; a list of restricted or prohibited material
(Index Librorum Prohibitorum = a list of books the reading of which is prohibited or restricted
for Roman Catholics by the church authorities; (metaphorically) the ratio of one
dimension of a thing to another dimension (Webster's)
bibliography
(fr. Gk, the copying of books, fr. bibli- + graphia- graphy) (1802) the history, identification, or
description of writings or publications; a list often with descriptive or critical notes of writings
relating to a particular subject, period, or author; a list of works written by an author or printed
by a publishing house; the works or a list of the works referred to in a text or consulted by the
author in its production
information sources: an overview
dictionary book that lists words and their definitions in alphabetical
order; may be general or subject oriented; Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the
English Language (1755) is one of the pioneering dictionaries in
English; U.S.: Webster's Dictionary (1828) and U.K.: The Oxford English
Dictionary (1884+) are two most comprehensive successors of Johnson's
Dictionary
thesaural arrangement (Peter Mark Roget published a thesaurus in 1852)
arranges words according to 15 primary classes of categories designated
as living things, language, arts, etc.; within the categories, words are
grouped by the ideas they convey, with synonyms and antonyms appearing in close
proximity; cross-references are included but no definitions are part of it (Bopp &
Smith)
information sources: epistemology
directory (1543 from. lat. dirigere) serving to direct specif:
providing advisory but not compulsory guidance; a book or collection of
directions, rules, or ordinances; an alphabetical or classified list (as
of names and addresses) (Webster's)
almanac (fr. Arabic al-manakh) (14th cent.) a publication containing
astronomical and meteorological data for a given year and often
including a miscellany of other information; a usu. annual publication
containing statistical, tabular, and general information (Webster's)
information sources: overview
encyclopedia (fr. Gk enkylios + paideia educatiaon of children, child rearing) (1644)
a work that contains information on all branches of knowledge usu. in articles
arranged alphabetically often by subject; (1844) encyclopedic=comprehensive;
Encyclopedists are writers of a French encyclopedia (1751-80) identified with the
Enlightenment and advocated scientific rationalism (Webster's)
serial (1846) a work appearing (as in magazine or on television) in parts or intervals,
installment; a publication (as a newspaper or journal) issued as one of a
consecutively numbered and indefinitely continued series (Webster's)
newspaper (1670) a paper that is printed and distributed usu. daily or weekly and that
contains news, articles of opinion, features, and advertising
information sources: overview
journal (ME service book containing the day hours, fr. journal daily fr. L diurnus =
of the day) (15th cent.) a record of current transactions; an account of day-to-day
events; a record of experiences, ideas, or reflections kept regularly for private use; a
daily newspaper; a periodical dealing esp. with matters of current interest
(Webster's)
Journal des Savants (1665) - originally motivated by the need to issue a journal to control intellectual life as well as
economic, by publishing record of scientific experiements and a review of recent publications: a review evidently
intended to influence the opinions of the intelligentsia where necessary. Issued upon Colbert's initiative by Dennis de
Sallo, a counsellor of the Parlement and a scholar of international repute, later continued by Abbe Gallois who left outall
the criticism of the works summarized in the journal. Translated in to Italian, German, and Latin, and in 1678 its format
was reduced so that it could be sent abroad to the provinces through the post, as easily as a letter. Royal Society's
Philosophical Transactions (1665) and other journals (esp. gazettes) rivalled the Journal des Savants. This kind of
publication acquainted readers to a broad scope of ideas, and although in its infancy, exercised from the beginning a
profound influence on the evolution of ideas (Febvre & Martin 1976, 235-236)
information sources: overview
geographical sources map (fr. L, napkin, towel) (1527) a representation usu. on a flat
surface of the whole or a part of an area; a representation of the celestial sphere or a
part of it; something that represents with a clarity suggestive of a map (Webster's)
gazetteer (gazette fr. F fr. It gazetta, ca. 1598) newspaper; an official journal; (1611)
a geographical dictionary; a book in which a subject is treated esp. in regard to
geographic distribution and regional specialization (Webster's)
sources of statistical information (statistics fr. Gk Statistik or study of political facts
and figures) (1770) a branch of mathematics dealing with the collection, analysis,
interpretation, and presentation of masses of numerical data; a collection of
quantitative data; statistical (1787) or related to or employing the principles of
statistics (Webster’s)
critique of retrieval models & existing access configurations
Thomas Mann: Library Research Models (1993)
• access to materials is physical & intellectual (controlled
vocabularies: classification, subject headings including
LCSH floating subdivisions)
critique of retrieval models & existing access configurations
Thomas Mann: Library Research Models (1993)
• library model does not promote access to same information
in different types of literature (bibliographies, and nonreference works), and access to different levels of
representations (full-text articles, citations, encyclopedia
entries, etc. about the same topic)
• methods-of-searching configuration of the library
information sources: existing configurations
library model
information sources: alternative access configurations
methods-of-searching model
information sources and information needs: evaluation of
content and structuring for retrieval
• matching sources with information needs (translation of
information need to a search task)
• typical questions, analysis of queries
• resource evaluation exercise (Soergel)
• entity-relationship model