"I didn't know I could do that!" Help! I'm an accidental government documents librarian presentation
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Finding and using free government information. Links and information to US government websites. Also, where to find information when the government shuts down.
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"I didn't know I could do that!" Help! I'm an accidental government documents librarian presentation
- 1. Using government informat ion and related websi tes to find just about ANYTHING I DIDN’T KNOW I COULD DO THAT! Alexandra Simons History, Political Science, Gov Docs University of Houston September 25, 2013
- 2. I NEED TO KNOW How to renew my passpor t What this ache or pain might be When a hurricane may strike How many people take publ ic transpor tation in my city What day my recycling gets picked up How many tribes there are in Afghanistan What the occupational outlook is for l ibrarians How to contact my state senators How to research my ancestors …a nd a nswe r s to s o ma ny mo re qu e s t i o ns ! Images: Wikicommons, Google Images, and government sites
- 3. SURE, YOU COULD JUST USE GOOGLE, BING, OR OTHER SEARCH ENGINES…
- 4. …BUT WHY NOT GO DIRECTLY TO THE SOURCE TO GET GREAT INFORMATION?
- 9. LANGUAGE OPTIONS There are many .gov sites avai lable with a variety of languages, including, but not l imited to: Spanish Chinese Vietnamese Arabic Por tuguese French Pol ish GobiernoUSA.gov
- 10. HELPFUL LINKS VIA USA.GOV
- 24. MORE HELPFUL GOVERNMENT AND RELATED SITES
- 25. CITY, COUNTY, AND STATE WEBSITES
- 27. LEGAL RESEARCH Law Library of Congress ABA LawInfo FindLaw Public Library of Law Free & Low Cost Legal Research Legal Information Institute U.S. Supreme Court United States Code Image: ©Lincoln College of Technology Library
- 28. HISTORICAL & GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH
- 31. NEWS SOURCES
- 35. SHUTDOWN!!!! Links to alternate sites
- 36. ERIC from EBSCO
- 37. Social Explorer for Census & other data
- 44. What other gov docs folks are doing LIBGUIDES GALORE
- 47. ANY QUESTIONS?
- 48. THANK YOU! If you have any comments or questions, or know of any sites I may have overlooked, please contact me: Alex Simons, acsimons@uh.edu
Editor's Notes
- When we get asked questions about government resources, we often aren’t sure which agency covers certain information. This presentation shows you some government and government-related sites that are user-friendly and easily accessible.
- These may be the kinds of questions you or your patrons may need help with.
- We often start with general searches to find information, but the best results often don’t rise to the top.
- Getting to the exact place to find government information saves time and cuts down on frustration!
- The big Kahuna! This is the most comprehensive site, and the place to start finding the information you and your users need.
- Need to know how to renew a passport? Don’t forget to do it 6 months before the expiration date!
- The links here are very informative. Photo Requirements especially give users great information about what can and can’t be used.
- In multi-ethnic communities, having language options is crucial.
- Comprehensive and easy to understand, with the most up-to-date medical information. Researchers can also use PubMed to find the latest papers and clinical trials.
- For you and your patrons looking for information on the Affordable Health Care provisions
- Disease prevention and health alerts.
- Guarding against identity theft, and links to additional consumer protection initiatives.
- Especially good for patrons looking into different occupations, and future trends. Let’s look at the Librarian page.
- How are we doing??
- Great for anyone looking to start, manage, and grow a business.
- Also great for business planning. Facts and figures from the 2010 census, the American Community Survey, and more statistical resources. (Make sure you support the ACS – it’s funding and the kinds of questions it can ask are frequently challenged.)
- Advice, filing options, forms, and instruction booklets. If you provide tax forms for your library, this is an essential site.
- Order stamps, schedule pick-ups, and more. I always order stamps from this site.
- Find out about local, national, and international weather patterns and climate news.
- Connect to information on organic foods, dietary guidelines, land and water conditions.
- Note: language options. This is a great resource for travelers. Also a good place for students to do country research.
- Your local city and county sites have lots of great information. These sites are important resources for citizens that use your library due to limited access to home computers.
- Tons of demographic data for towns big and small. The information comes from a variety of sources and is updated constantly.
- While you can’t give out legal advice, you can lead people to these great sites if they looking for forms, researching legal opinions and laws, and general legal information.
- Many patrons conduct genealogical research, so pointing them to no-fee sites or to genealogical organizations in their communities really helps you shine.
- Just a few of the many collections available through American Memory. Great for anyone doing historical, genealogical, and general research. The Library of Congress also has a number of reading rooms in their DC location.
- Patrons can also make appointments to search the NARA archives in Washington, DC.
- When Congress is in session, this is the daily resource to check out.
- Find congressional hearings, links to old websites, government-sponsored videos and a lot of fun stuff, too.
- Reps from the Sunlight Foundation often present at DLC events.
- The name says it all. Snopes.com is good, too – it just has a lot more pop-up ads.
- Many LibGuides are available for government information and research. Also search under Government Documents.
- This is mine! Some final thoughts. The sequester has had an effect on staffing and funding for all federal government agencies. Some of the resources I’ve shown you today may not be updated as often as they had been, but I haven’t read anything the indicates any agencies are considering dropping their sites. I certainly hope not. If you use and promote certain sites, let those agencies know. It may not help at budget time, but at least they’ll know they’re appreciated. Also, if the government does shut down, access to agency sites may be compromised, but no one knows for sure. Keep yourself and your patrons informed about these issues.