Gov Docs Overview

Government Documents Librarianship Starr Hoffman ~ Head, Government Documents Department

A little about what we do…
Reference
Bibliographic instruction
Web archiving
Professional presentations
Design web-pages
Training
Consulting with local documents librarians
Collection development

Goals for this Lecture
What are government documents?
What kinds of things can you find in documents?
How do you access the collection?
What is it like to be a documents librarian?

What is a government publication?
Government Information Products
Created or compiled by government employees, at government expense, or as required by law
Published or unpublished
Restricted or publicly available
Print or electronic

Acronyms Galore
GPO — Government Printing Office
FDLP — Federal Depository Library Program
SuDoc — Superintendent of Documents
List of Government Acronyms
University of Colorado at Boulder
http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/a-z/alpha.htm
Abbreviations and Acronyms of the U.S. Government
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/subjectareas/gov/docs_abbrev.html

SuDoc Classification—Class Stem
Alphabetical identifier of agency
Number to distinguish subordinate offices and bureaus
Period
Number to distinguish type of publication
GP 3.2:

GP 3 . 2 : C56/8 /990
GP = Government Printing Office
3 = Superintendent of Documents
2 = General Publication
C56/8 = Cutter based on principle subject word of the title
990 = Year of publication (1990)

Tips for Using Documents
DON’T PANIC
Determine if it’s: Federal, State, or Local Government
Determine agency or agencies that might be involved
“ What group would gather or need this information?”
Indexes (places to search for docs)
Catalog of Government Publications (CGP)
http://catalog.gpo.gov/
Library Catalog for a depository library
Look for URLS in the record
OCLC’s WorldCat via FirstSearch

Wealth of Information

Subject Access
U.S. Government Bookstore Browse by Subject
http://bookstore.gpo.gov/subjects/index.jsp
Browse Topics
http://www.browsetopics.gov/
U.S. Government Portals
Business.gov; Cancer.gov; Nutrition.gov; Export.gov; Regulations.gov; Grants.gov; etc.
Can find some of these on USA.gov “By Audience”
Depository Libraries
http://catalog.gpo.gov/fdlpdir/FDLPdir.jsp

Favorite Series
Public Papers of the President
Digest of Educational Statistics
Country Studies
National Park Handbooks ( similar data online )
CIA Maps
Foreign Relations
Statistical Abstract of the United States
Office of Technology Assessment Publications
Holocaust Commission Publications ( some publications online )

Quirky Titles
Roswell Report
Roswell Report: Case Closed ( executive summary online )
The Pentagon: The First Fifty Years
Managing Death Investigation
Drugs of Abuse ( similar data online )
The FBI Laboratory
At Cold War’s End
Cloning Human Beings

What are some reference questions you can answer with government documents?
I need to find the number of students graduating from public universities in Texas.
I am looking for a report from the Securities and Exchange commission on the October 1987 market crash.
My doctor wants me to eat more protein. What foods are high in protein?
What industry employs the most people in my county?
I want to see section 23-37 of the traffic law. (Ask to determine: local, state, federal?)
Where can I find a form to get my name changed?

Help for New Docs Librarians
Top 10 List for New Documents Librarians
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/mgt/top10.html
21 Things to Do as a New Depository Coordinator
http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/21things
Join the GovDoc-L listserv
Go to the FDLP.gov website

Got questions? Ask us!
Starr Hoffman
[email_address]
940-565-4150
http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/
Dept. email: [email_address]

Gov Docs Overview

by Starr Hoffman on Mar 01, 2011

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