Technology continues to radically change how we create and consume information. Today, news, reports, and other material are often delivered quickly through pictures, colors, or other eye-catching visual elements. Words still matter, but they may be tweeted, viewed on a smartphone, or placed in a call-out box in a report. The design of these items…

Devised for the classification of the documents of all the states and territories and Canadian provinces, of Wisconsin county and municipal publications, and of documents which derive from interstate compacts, this guide outlines a cataloging procedure and a classification scheme that can be expanded to apply to the documents of other countries…

Cites review sources for NTIS (National Technical Information Service) publications and provides an annotated list of 22 reports on child abuse, Chinese language romanization, criminal justice, energy, environment, ethnic data, fire technology, genealogy, health care, local communities and federal assistance, mainstreaming, political leadership in…

Identifies the main local government publications that libraries will want to collect and then suggests where and how to acquire them. (JD)

Provides an overview of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) of 1966 which established the rights of private citizens to obtain information from the federal government and the obligations of the government to provide it. Types of information generally made available, exemptions from disclosure, and creative uses of FOIA are noted. (Author/JEG)

This technical processing manual for federal documents is the culmination of efforts begun in 1981 to revise and implement procedures by the staff of the Government Documents Department of the University Library at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. While most of the general procedures in the manual are probably basic to most document…

Intended to aid librarians, this guide explores the methods librarians can and do use to influence government publishers, printers, distributors, and indexers of government information, as well as those who create and interpret the policies governing those programs. Case studies from Canada, England, and the United States are cited to illustrate…

Describes the problems encountered by a depository library in the acquisition of government publications, provides a listing of sources of government publications, and suggests strategies for the acquisition of documents. (CLB)

If you have access to the Internet, you can obtain information through the U.S. Department of Education (ED) Gopher, a service provided under the auspices of the ED Institutional Communications Network (INet) project, as well as other government gopher servers. At these sites, information can be found on discretionary grants, grants distributed by…

Southeast Missouri State University's Kent Library is the only federal depository library in Missouri's 10th Congressional District and has a collection of over 150,000 U.S. Government documents. This resource guide identifies and describes the reference tools needed to access information in that collection. It includes short sections on basic…

The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) has changed its policy, for college bookstores only, to process textbook orders immediately and later send out an invoice. Procedures important to making the new system work (proper forms to use, essential order information, and stock sources) are outlined, and a list of GPO bookstores is included. (MSE)

Book thefts and mutilation remain common problems in college libraries. This article: demonstrates that some government publications are rare and valuable; recommends ways of identifying which documents are in danger; and suggests strategies for protecting those documents are at risk. (Author/AEF)

Describes the depository library program for publications issued by the government of the Province of Quebec. Selection tools and acquisition practices for obtaining Quebec government publications in paper, microform, and nonprint media are discussed, and developments of private sector firms in publishing documents in microform are considered.…

This packet serves as an introduction to and overview of the complex issue of identification and preservation of rare government documents. It is intended as a starting point, not a comprehensive guide, for all questions about government documents. Part 1 is a selective bibliography of resources to identify rare and valuable documents (50 sources)…

Uses of the Freedom of Information Act are explained by describing previous court cases. The scope of information, including classified information, is detailed and procedural steps for filing requests are outlined. A recent Supreme Court case which may make access to classified information more difficult is discussed. (EM)