A reminder about govdoc requests

Hi folks,

There has been some confusion recently about how to handle Government Document requests for items from storage, so I wanted to review the procedures.

If a patron is looking for microfilm or microfiche in the catalog, it is possible that it is here in the library. We still have a limited run of microfilm on the lower level, and many boxes of microfiche have just been moved to the reference area on the wall behind the Atlas case.

If it is available, it should look something like this:









There is no Place Hold button, and it says it's in our Microfilm collection - Ask at Reference desk. In this case, make note of the film number (or call number for Microfiche), and find it here in the library.

If it is in storage, it should look something like this:

It says Jackson Library Storage and there is a blue Place Hold button in the upper right hand corner. For these items, you need to know whether the patron is a student, faculty or staff member of UNCG. If they are, they can and should use the Place Hold button to request the item. They will be asked to login through their MY LIBRARY account. This is not the same as ILL. Their User ID# will be the 88- number they use for UNCGenie, this is the account for renewing books. They set their own password and it will not expire. If they have not set up this account before, they should click the Set/Reset Password link and follow the instructions generated in the email.

IF THEY ARE NOT a UNCG student/faculty/staff member, then, and only then, do you need to fill out a paper storage retrieval request form with them, located in the folder by the phone at the high desk. Fill out all of the information on the form and put it on the purple clipboard at the end of the books at the low desk, with the form facing out so that Susan can see it at a glance.

If you have any questions about any of this, please let me or Nick or Susan know.

ProQuest Congressional Hearings in WMS

Our collection of Congressional Hearings from ProQuest are now linked in WMS. This is for the years from 1824-2003. If you have a request for a government document, always check the catalog.

Here is a screenshot of how looks. And yes we have print copies of some of these. You know ... Watergate is kind of important.

Government Documents on Microfiche

From Susan:

 

The U.S. Government Document microfiche collection is now being cataloged. The location will still show as "U.S. Government Documents," but the call number will start with the prefix "Microfiche." Here is an example: Characteristics of U.S. Wheat Farming

 

The record itself may describe either the microfiche that we own, or the paper original that was distributed to other depositories; it would be too time-consuming to search for/create original fiche records when we already have the Marcive copy in the catalog. But the designation in the call number should make it clear to patrons and interns that we hold the microfiche version.

 

Still, if there are any problems locating a document on fiche, please take the patron's information and let me know -- I'll do my best to track down what we have, or work with the patron to get them a copy.

govdoc requests request

For patrons interested in requesting a government document, please bear in mind that paper request forms are primarily for non-UNCG-affiliated patrons. If someone is in our library system, it's much quicker, and more reliable for the patron to click on the blue "place hold" button and enter their ID# and password; please encourage them to do so, even if it's at the Reference desk computer.

For patrons that absolutely need to fill out the paper request form, the forms are available in a manila folder on the high desk. Please place any completed forms on the purple clipboard next to the Ready Reference books.

 

Please don't borrow our clipboard.

GPO is now GPO

Interesting tidbit of news from December. The GPO has changed the P from Printing to Publishing. An agency whose mission has been producing, publishing, and recording our Nation's history has made some history of its own. Section 1301 of H.R. 83, the legislation providing consolidated and further continuing appropriations for FY 2015 that was recently passed by Congress and signed into law last night by President Barack Obama, changes the name of the Government Printing Office to the Government Publishing Office. Publishing reflects the increasingly prominent role that GPO plays in providing access to Government information in digital formats through the agency's Federal Digital System, apps, eBooks, and related technologies. The information needs of Congress, Federal agencies, and the public have evolved beyond only print and GPO has transformed itself to meet its customers' needs. Read H.R. 83. "This is a historic day for GPO. Publishing defines a broad range of services that includes print, digital, and future technological advancements. The name Government Publishing Office better reflects the services that GPO currently provides and will provide in the future," said Davita Vance-Cooks, who now holds the title of Director of the Government Publishing Office, the agency's chief executive officer. "I appreciate the efforts of the Members of Congress for their support and understanding GPO's transformation. GPO will continue to meet the information needs of Congress, Federal agencies, and the public and carry out our mission of Keeping America Informed." GPO opened its doors on March 4, 1861, the same day Abraham Lincoln was sworn into office as President of the United States. Since that day, GPO employees have produced our country's most important documents such as the preliminary version of the Emancipation Proclamation, The Warren Commission Report, The 9-11 Commission Report, the U.S. passport, the Federal Budget, and all Congressional materials.

Requesting Government Documents from Storage

Government docs are in storage (most of them) and we are now moving on to the catalog issues. Unfortunately it won't be a quick process to change all of the docs to be requestable from storage.

The docs catalog records will still say Ask at Reference but there will be a hold button in the record. This way their request will go into the system. If anyone asks about a print or fiche doc at the desk, please make sure you look for the hold button in the record.

If the patron is non-UNCG fac/staf/stud, they can still place a hold, but they need to fill out the paper forms at the reference desk. I have a bunch of forms in a folder on the desk for blanks and a folder for filled out request forms. I've saved a PDF and Word copy in the ref folder called Guides, Handouts.

 At 1pm every day Susan or I will check on the requests.

 The microfiche as still downstairs, so if you are feeling industrious and want to see if the doc is on fiche, you are welcome to go downstairs and check. It isn't easy to verify format from the catalog record though. So, just leave that to me and Susan.

I will talk with the interns tomorrow about this process.

Again, please help the patron as much as you can, but I get paid to find docs for people, so you can always just ask me.

Here are the remote storage policies too.

Where in the world are the gov docs?

This is a modified version of intern training. Thought some of you might find it useful. There are still many things up in the air, so if you have questions just ask Susan or me. Thanks!

Where in the world are government documents?

For the next two months or so (and I will update when this changes), our gov docs are in several different places, with different levels of accessibility.

 

Here's a guide, by SuDoc section:

• Documents starting with "C," "FS," or "L" are shelved in the Cataloging department, and are being cataloged. They are easily retrieved -- ask Mary Jane, Katherine, or Jennifer Ormsby -- and available for circulation.
 
• Documents starting with "I" are in boxes in different storage spaces in the library. Very few are in the catalog. These will be awfully difficult to get to, and we should encourage ILL if the patron is willing.

• Any other documents are either on the shelves in Ferguson, or in boxes in Ferguson. Susan, Lynda, Femi or Kelsey can check for docs and alert the patron if you get us their contact information. By the time school starts, we will have a policy in place with Access Services that will allow patrons to request document retrieval the same way they would request anything else shelved in remote storage, with the same policy of next-day pickup.

 Please ask Susan or Lynda if you have any questions about where to find gov doc resources.

NASA Reports Unavailable

From Susan:

“The NASA technical reports server will be unavailable for public access while the agency conducts a review of the site's content to ensure that it does not contain technical information that is subject to U.S. export control laws and regulations and that the appropriate reviews were performed. The site will return to service when the review is complete. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”

During this time, PURLs that GPO has created for the electronic versions of NASA Technical Reports found in cataloging records accessed through the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) may not link to the documents that the catalog record describes. GPO has been asked to suspend any activity related to making these documents available if they have not been reviewed. When NASA makes full content on NTRS available once again, the database will be redesigned and have enhanced features for access.
Affected classes are:

• NAS 1.15: 0830-D
• NAS 1.26: 0830-H-14
• NAS 1.2/2-2: 0830-H-26
• NAS 1.60: 0830-H-15
  

Info needed on reference forms - gov docs

The Gov. Docs. Task Force is collecting information on how often we use gov. docs in answering reference questions. Beginning this Tuesday Oct. 18, I'd like to ask everyone to note this on the Reference Questions and Reference Offices forms. For easy retrieval, please note Print gov doc or Web gov doc for each. If you use a government source through Lexis Nexis, just use those words. If additional clarification is needed (NC doc, United Nations or anything else useful), please add that after the initial two words. That will make retrieval of the data easier. We're planning to run a month long test for this. Thanks for your help - and it's fine to begin immediately too, the extra data won't be a problem.

government documents cataloging project

With Susan's management and cataloging's, well, cataloging, these are the sections of the fed docs we have cataloged so far (the back files of gov docs). Woohoo! I want to reiterate that we have seen increase in use. I will try to get statistics, but in my own experience I've had more users looking for state dept docs.

The SuDoc classes and governmental agencies cataloged so far have been:

B - Broadcasting

CR - Civil Rights

D - Defense

ED - Education

HS - Homeland Security

LC - Library of Congress

S - State

SI - Smithsonian Institute

and parts of HE - Health, and I - Interior.

Borrowing, usage, and lending through ILL have all increased dramatically for these sections of the collection.

Last Govdocs Update For a While

Sorry guys, I should have sent this yesterday. This is where the govdocs collection will stand for a little while, until the low bookshelves are reassembled downstairs, and the floors have been cleaned.

Here's what's in the basement:

US paper docs A-Y 3 & all NC paper docs
US & NC microfiche docs
decennial census 1980-2000
subject censuses, public laws, us code, stats abstract, CFR's, congressional records
US & NC oversized docs

Here's what's still in Ref:
decennial census thru 1970

Here's what's still on 3d Main:
US paper docs Y 4-Y 10
US & NC posters
govdoc reference materials
card shelflist

Sticky Notes in GovDocs

Leave the sticky notes on microform/government documents if you see them. Daniel is working on a cleaning project.

Sotomayer blog entry on In the News

Susan just did a blog entry on Sotomayer with Mark's link from LOC plus much more. Take a look if you are wanting to inform yourself or if patrons have questions.

Statements of Disbursement (of the House of Representatives)

These are quarterly reports published as House Documents in the Congressional Serial Set, and distributed to depositories with all the other serial set volumes, but not made available online with all the other serial set volumes. (Nor are the Financial Disclosure Reports of House Members, I guess for the same suspect reasons).

A patron is looking for the most recent ones that we have, and those are the April 1, 2008 through June 30, 2008 reports. They're on fiche. I've left the latest couple of years' worth at the reference desk for him. If he would like earlier volumes and I'm not here, here's the easiest way for you to find them:

1. Go to the US doc microfiches beginning with Y 1.1/7:108 and flip through them by hand (there aren't a whole lot) looking for "Statement of Disbursement" in the title. There should be 8 volumes (quarterly reports for the 2 years of the 108th congress).

2. For earlier congresses, go to the US doc microfiches beginning with Y 1.1/2: and look for the congress that you're interested in. (Ex: "Serial Set 105-2" means the second session of the 105th congress)

3. Find the section in each box that includes the Y 1.1/7: fiches for that congressional session (they're in order: Y 1.1/5, Y 1.1/6, Y 1.1/7, etc.) and then flip through those Y 1.1/7's, looking for "Statement of Disbursement" in the title.

Note to everyone who hates on physical govdocs b/c "everything's available online": SEE?!?! :-p

govdocs circulation policy

Just a quick reminder on the govdocs circulation policy:

• Anything that doesn't have a building use only stamp can circulate.
• If there is a building use only stamp, please make sure you ask for a "second opinion" as there's a chance that it was stamped that way in error.