The purpose of this column is to provide government information scholars and students with a broad overview of recent publications about government information from the literature of librarianship, archives, information technology management, public policy, and law. Given the volume of literature produced in this field, a columnist cannot claim…

The purpose of this paper is to suggest realistic guidelines that balance public access to government information and the need to protect sensitive data. Emphasis is on lessons learned from a 1979 case where the government attempted to prohibit the Progressive Magazine from publishing an article about making a hydrogen bomb and government…

During the first half of the 19th century, the United States grew from a nation confined to the Atlantic seaboard to a country on the verge of becoming a global power. One factor prompting this growth was the United States' growing intellectual, economic, and strategic interests in the Pacific Ocean. These growing interests were fueled by the…

Discusses professional ethics involved in requests from the U.S. Superintendent of Documents to withdraw and destroy documents in library government document collections. Topics addressed include censorship considerations; classified versus unclassified documents; obligations to the parent organization; and examples of specific cases. (Contains 11…

Lists and annotates 42 technical reports prepared by various government agencies and disseminated by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) during 1993. An introductory discussion addresses the trend toward electronic information exchange and proposed changes in the way NTIS distributes materials. (KRN)

Addresses the assertion by the Depository Library Council to the Public Printer that James Madison's political writings serve as the ideological underpinning for the Federal Depository Library Program. Reviews the evolution of Anglo-American thought regarding the concept of an informed citizenry and suggests Elbridge Gerry as a more appropriate…

For the first time ever, Executive Order 12958 signed in 1995 established a process to greatly reduce the huge number of classified federal records accumulated since World War II. Although some progress was made under it, subsequent orders and legislation significantly decreased its effectiveness. The U.S. government must take certain actions now…

Describes an attempt at the University at Albany, State University of New York, to compile a bibliography of government documents on homelessness published before 1960. Indexing problems are discussed; use of Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS) is considered; further research is suggested; and the bibliography of 80 documents is appended.…

In January 1882, John H. Hickcox, a central government documents figure in his time, and the creator of "United States Government Publications: A Monthly Catalogue" or "Hickcox's Monthly Catalogue" was arrested in Washington, DC, for taking letters addressed to the Librarian of Congress. Although the charges were eventually dismissed, 1882 is the…

In 1885, John H. Hickcox published a catalog that alerted the public to the availability of recent federal government publications; this catalog immediately preceded establishment of a government-published catalog, of which he was appointed the first compiler. Hickcox's work history included writing, editing, and cataloging positions. (AEF)

Sealed for 50 years, the transcripts of the executive session hearings conducted by Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, as chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in 1953 and 1954, were recently opened for research. The Senate Historical Office edited the transcripts for publication by the Government Printing Office and on the…

The issue of live bibliographic instruction (BI) versus electronic BI is a matter many libraries are facing as more technology becomes available to afford such an option. At the University of Oklahoma Government Documents Collection, a study was administered in March 2001 to determine the relative advantages between these two teaching techniques.…

U.S. federal and state legislative and regulatory information is increasingly available electronically. This article provides descriptions of source providers and lists all major commercial dial-in services and Internet sources, providing alphabetical tables of 55 information categories and noting the names of each file covering a category and…

The U.S. Serial Set has changed since its beginning in 1817. The early Serial Set is a large and comprehensive record of government activity, but the 20th-century Serial Set has been reduced in scope and contains almost no executive branch documents and only a select portion of congressional publications. Four tables outline the contents of the…

Discusses how the Nicaraguan revolutionary process affected Nicaragua internally and how published U.S. government information portrayed these effects in speeches and in writing. An attempt is made to assess the levels of accuracy and bias present in U.S. government information on the topic. (86 references) (Author/AEF)