Documents
Librarianship
Love at First
Sight
How Does Government Affect
YOUR Life?
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Family
Health
Income
Housing
Community
Recreation
Students
Business
Family
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Marriage license
 Birth certificate
 Divorce decree
 Child support
 Death certificate
 Funeral home regulations
 Estate taxes
Health
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Vaccines (funding for development and
regulations)
 Nutritional guidelines
 Bioterrorism intervention
 Drug approval
 Regulation of nursing homes
 Medicare payment schedules for
hospitals
Income
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TAXES
 Equal employment opportunity
guidelines
 Consumer price index
 Civil service salaries
 Mediation in labor disputes
 Social security and food stamps
Community
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Roads
 Zoning ordinances
 Water supplies
 Waste disposal
 Power and cable industry regs
 Toxic waste cleanup
 Weather alerts
 Disaster assistance
Housing
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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
Recreation
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National park system
 Passports
 Airport security
 Grant funding for the arts and
humanities
 Genealogy
 Fishing and hunting licenses
 State park camping reservations
Student World
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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
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Regulates stock market (sometimes)
 Technical research
 Patents
 Trade regulations and statistics
 Employment regulations
 Safety standards
 Loans to start a small business
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, and absentee
ballots
What Is A
Government?
Legal Authority and Tax Power
• 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
Types of
Documents
1. Laws and Regulations
2. Proposed Laws (Bills)
3. Legislative Debates
4. Executive Speeches
and Directives
5. Court Decisions
Types of
Documents
6. Research/Investigations
7. Statistics
8. Copyright and Patents
9. Maps
10. Consumer Information
Document Distribution
• Filed in a drawer or archive
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•
•
•
Sold
Exchange programs
Depository programs
Internet
Exchange and
Depository Programs
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
University Depository
Collection
Michigan
United States
Canada
United Nations
FAO
South Pacific Commission
Asian Development Bank
European Union (Law)
Federal Depository
Designation
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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
53 regionals -1244 selectives
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50% Academic
 20% Public
 30% Remainder
Law and special
 Federal agencies and courts
 State libraries and courts
 Military academies
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Depository Profiles
53 regionals -1244 selectives
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Regionals
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Take all publications
Approve disposals
Administrative and training
Detroit Public and 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
6541 Item Numbers
Agency + Type of Publication
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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
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Documents Data Miner
http://govdoc.wichita.edu/ddm
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Item Lists http://www.du.edu/bdld/lciintro.htm#gtr00
 Electronic shipping lists
http://www.du.edu/bdld/dslintro.htm#gtr00
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Administrative Notes
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/adnotes/index.html
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Technical Supplement
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/techsup/index.html
Depository Guidelines
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/gid/
rusbibl.html
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Mandatory selections, record-keeping
 Preservation, disaster recovery, weeding
 Computer workstations, internet filters
 Reference and electronic access
Collection
Development
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Written Collection Policy
– UMich selects about 85%
– Receives $85,000 in federal documents
– Spends approx. $300,000 per year to amplify
federal collection
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Weeding Policy
– 5 year retention; then offer to regional
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Preservation Microfilming and Digitization
Shipping List Provides
SUDOCS Number
Collection Organization
 Options
– Separate Collection by SuDocs #
– Integrated with Non-Documents
 Success
of Either
– Enthusiasm of Librarian
– Time to Specialize
University of Michigan
Documents
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Consolidated in Five Libraries
– Media Union
– Science
– Public Health
– Maps
– Graduate
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Documents Center Coordinates
 Serials Records - Processing
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
MARCIVE Progress
Report
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Lists Congressional hearings quicker in
MIRLYN
 Possible problems tracking
– In-process publications being classified in
LC
– Publications where GPO corrects SUDOCS
number
– Library destination on record inappropriate
for individual publication
Physical Access
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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
Reference
Helping real
people
is the fun
part of
the job
Sample Reference Questions
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History of an 1870s lighthouse
Translations of Chinese statements on SinoSoviet split
Evaluation of gray wolf initiative in Yellowstone
Cost of living in San Francisco and Honolulu
How many times has John McCain voted with
the Democrats?
Census data on grandfather
Depository
Surveillance
 GPO Biennial Survey
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/
bisurvey/index.html
Self-Study
or Inspection
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/
pubs/fdlm/selfstud.html
Surveilling the
Surveillors
Depository Library Council
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/c
ouncil/index.html
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15-member advisory board
 Includes industry, library administration,
and documents librarian reps
Transitional Era
 That
was The Theory
 Here’s What’s
Happening Now . . .
Congressional Mandate
 GPO
Electronic Access Information Act
of 1993 (Public Law 103-40)
– GPO to maintain an electronic directory
– Provide online access
– Operate electronic storage facility
Congressional Mandate
 Legislative Appropriations Act,
1996
(Public Law 104-53)
– Required shift to electronic Federal
Depository Library Program
GPO Distribution
1992
Paper
19,000
Microfiche 50,000
CD-ROMS
182
Internet
0
2002
8,307
5,525
480
20,585
GPO Distribution
•2003 – 65% of publications
distributed as internet only
•2005 – goal of 95% electronic
distribution
GPO to Distribute Electronic
Unless:
•There is no online electronic version
•The online version is incomplete,
unofficial or unreliable
•The tangible product is of significant
reference value
•The online version is hard to access
Electronic Format Unless:
(continued)
The tangible product serves a
special needs population; e.g.,
Braille
 Tangible product required by
law
 Electronic more expensive
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Selected Essential Titles
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/
fdlp/pubs/estitles.html
 Constitution,
U.S. Code, Statutes
at Large
 Budget, CPI, Monthly Labor
Review
 CFDA, Statistical Abstract
Effects of Federal Internet
Initiatives
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Federal government information at
everyone’s fingertips around the world
Spurred business creativity and economy
Improved education and research from
kindergarten to college faculty
Encouraged e-government initiatives
Encourage local, state, international and
foreign governments to put information on
the internet
Federal Internet Initiatives
and Libraries
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Encouraged academic libraries to
establish new software programs to
access non-copyrighted federal
information
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ALL libraries - not just depositories have access to federal information
But Oops!
GPO is Losing $57 Million in its
Sales Program Per Year
Has closed all of its regional bookstores
 Considering a charge to the public for
printing and downloading off the internet
 Roll Call article on 10/22/03 and
Depository Library Council objections
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Material Disappears for Political or
National Security Reasons
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Nuclear Regulatory Commission site
Pipeline maps
Hazmat materials transportation info
Nuclear powerplant information
GPO recalled CD-ROM on water resources
CRS Issue Briefs
Web pages of former Congressmen
Preservation Efforts
GPO copies documents;
substitutes copy if item
disappears from agency web site
using PURL
 GPO just designated a National
Archives partner
 Cybercemetery at University of
North Texas
 Libraries making own copies on
acid free paper and digitally
archiving
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Libraries Dropping Out of Program
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About 50 smaller libraries have
left the FDLP in the past three
years
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Why follow all of those
processing and electronic rules,
not to mention self-studies and
inspections, when it’s all on the
internet?
No Good Solution
GPO’s “Stay with the Program”
initiative is ineffective
 Libraries still want hard copy,
which is not forthcoming
 Temporarily replacing inspections
with depository advisors
 Depositories MUST offer their
entire retrospective collection to
the regional when they leave
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Change in Reference
 People
using internet for
initial information
 Coming
to library with
harder questions
Decline of In-Person
Reference at Michigan
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
FY 2003
FY 2002
FY 2001
FY 2000
FY 1999
FY 1998
FY 1997
0
FY 1996
2000
FY2003
FY 2002
FY 2001
FY 2000
FY 1999
FY 1998
FY 1997
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
FY 1996
Rise in Web Access of
Documents Center Web Site
In-Person
Web
FY
2002
FY
2000
FY
1998
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0
FY
1996
Web as a Percent of Total
Reference
If You Just Look At The
Non-Web Numbers
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Many separate documents departments
have combined with general reference
(Penn State, Berkeley; possibly Duke)
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Documents Center reduced hours due to
budget cuts and irregular use
Characteristics of
Documents Questions
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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
Critical Need for
Subject Specialists
Role of Subject Specialist
Know structure, operation, and
publishing pattern of government
 Professionally active
 Reference
 Instruction
 Selection
 Passion for the public’s right-toknow
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Fun Job!