LIS-614 will meet Wednesday evenings from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m., in the study area at the back of the Reference Room, OR in the "CITI" instruction lab of Jackson Library, nearby. There is no text book to purchase. Introduction To United States Government Information Sources, (Morehead) 6th edition, and U.S. Government On The Web: Getting The Information You Need, (Hernon), ARE ELECTRONIC BOOKS, SO SET UP YOUR FREE NetLibrary, eBook ACCOUNT! If you are on campus, you can go straight from the library catalog record to the NetLibrary site and browse the book, without putting in an account number. NOTE! DO NOT "CHECK OUT" THE ELECTRONIC, NetLibrary TEXT - JUST "BROWSE" THE CHAPTERS AND PAGES - THAT WAY, MULTIPLE USERS CAN HAVE ACCESS!
This course will meet 15 times, including the introductory meeting. It is expected that students will attend ALL the meetings if they wish to receive an "A+" in this course! THERE WILL BE NO EXCEPTIONS TO THE ATTENDANCE RULE! All students must have a UNCG computing account so that they can easily access the workstations in the lab. Go to an available lab on campus and activate your account immediately, if you have not done so already. All students must have an email address which they check on a daily basis. All students MUST be able to send and receive course assignments via email!
You should also follow government documents issues via the American Library Association Government Documents Round Table (GODORT), and at the NCLA, and it's Government Resources Section. Especially useful is the "GODORT Handout Exchange", which provides access to a large number of government documents related reference handouts and web sites. It will also be useful for all students to examine the ASERL "Competencies For Research Librarians" site, and of broad interest to any prospective librarian is the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Occupational Outlook Quarterly" article, "Librarians: Information Experts in the Information Age", and the Occupational Outlook Handbook chapter on "Librarians".
Assignment Schedule: ALL STUDENTS MUST CLOSELY EXAMINE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THE WEB SITES LISTED BELOW, FOR EACH CLASS MEETING. STUDENTS MUST ALSO READ THE CHAPTERS ASSIGNED FOR EACH CLASS.
Wed, Jan. 16th - Introduction to the course and to government information sources.
Assignment: Go over this course web site carefully and bring any questions concerning the course, readings, papers, etc.Wed., Jan. 23rd - (Class meets at 6:00pm!) - History and Direction of U.S. Government Printing Office and Depository Library Program
Morehead, ch. 1-3; Hernon, ch. 1, AND
Association of Research Libraries, Government Documents Update 2005
Read all of the following from these GPO FDLP sites:
The Federal Depository Library Manual, at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/fdlm/index.html (the HTML loads faster!): (Scan chapters 1-8; Introduction, Appendix A - Suggested Core Collection, Appendix C - Supplement 2, Guidelines for the Federal Depository Library Program, The Basic Collection, Supplement 3, Self Study...)
Depository Library Public Service Guidelines For Government Information in Electronic Formats at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/mgt/pseguide.html
A Short History of GPO, at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/history/macgilvray.html
Instructions To Depository Libraries at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/instructions/index.html (Introduction and Ch. 7, on "Public Service")
Keeping America Informed at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pr/keepam.html
Study to Identify Measures Necessary for a Successful Transition to a More Electronic Federal Depository Library Program at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/study/studyhtm.html
The Electronic Federal Depository Library Transition Plan 1996-1998 at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/retired/transit.html
Public Access to Electronic Government Information Provided Through Federal Depository Libraries at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/publicac.html
Managing the FDLP Electronic Collection: A Policy and Planning Document at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/ecplan.html
Managing the GPO Access Collection: Permanent Access to Electronic Government Information Products at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/wpaper.html
The Most current Recommended Specifications for Public Access Workstations in Federal Depository Libraries at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/computers/index.html
U.S. Government Depository Promotional Activities at http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/us/gpopromo.html
FDLP Selection Mechanisms: Item Numbers and Alternatives at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/selection/index.htmlWed. Jan. 30th AND Feb. 6th - Reference and Access Tools and Classification System
read Morehead, ch. 4.
The Federal Depository Library Program at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/mgt/index.html
Federal Depository Library Program List of Publications at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/alpha.html
Federal Depository Library Program Site Index at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/tools/siindex.html
Read or examine all of the following from the above listed sites:
An Explanation of SuDocs Classification System
Classification Manual (Introduction and Overview only)
Federal Depository Library Manual, Appendix A: Suggested Core Collection at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/fdlm/corelist.html
List of Classes of United States Government Publications Available for Selection by Depository Libraries (4 copies on reserve shelf in Documents Dept.)
Use the FDLP Item Lister at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/tools/itemlist.html and find out (1) how many separate items this library selects, and (2) what is our % of items selected.
Use the Federal Depository Library Directory located at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/tools/ldirect.html and find the depository NUMBER for UNCG library.
Learning SuDocs Call Numbers - http://www.lib.msu.edu/publ_ser/docs/student/Manual/quizes/sudocsbasics.html - Examine this site and TAKE THE TEST AND SHELVING EXERCISES, UNTIL YOU GET THEM ALL RIGHT!
The Toolbox for Processing and Cataloging Federal Government Documents at http://www2.lib.udel.edu/godort/cataloging/toolbox.htm
Marcive, Inc. at http://www.marcive.com/Web1.htm - Assignment: using the Jackson Library online catalog, find several Marcive catalog records of U.S. Government WEB site documents. What is the easiest way to find such records?
Agency Approach to Locating Government Information on the Internet - http://www.library.ucsb.edu/ala/tutorials/agency.html - Carefully read through the tutorial on U.S. government agency reference!
Laws, Policies, and Performance Measures Relating to Federal Agency Web Sites at http://www.llsdc.org/sourcebook/lawsonwebsites.html
Catalog of United States Government Publications at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cgp/index.html
GPO Online Bookstore and Sales Product Catalog http://bookstore.gpo.gov/
U.S. GPO Access Subject Bibliographies of available US government publications at http://bookstore.gpo.gov/sb/index.html
U.S. Government Information on the Web Subject Site Index at http://library.stmarytx.edu/acadlib/doc/us/subjects/submain.htm
Library of Congress Government Resources located at http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/news/extgovd.html
USA.gov
GovEngine located at http://govengine.com/index.html
GOOGLE Uncle Sam, when all else fails, http://www.google.com/unclesamWed. Feb. 13th AND 20th - The U.S. Congress, various types of publications and electronic access.
Morehead, ch. 5; Hernon, ch. 6
UNCG Documents Congressional Information Site, http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/us/congress.asp
Thomas (U.S. Congress), http://thomas.loc.gov/ - the most important site for Congressional information.
READ all of the following from the Thomas site, concerning the legislative process:
How Our Laws Are Made (House)
Enactment of a Law (Senate)
GPO Access Site, http://www.gpoaccess.gov/legislative.html, an alternate to Thomas.
Library of Congress American Memory, early congresses, http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html
From the LC American Memory site, above, read the following:
U.S. Congressional Serial Set: What It Is and Its History
An Overview of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set
Library Resources for Administrative History: The Congress
Congressional Universe (Lexis-Nexis) - available to UNCG affiliates only.
Congress.org, http://legislators.com/congressorg/home/
Major United States Government Resources: Legislative And Executive (Parts I, II, and III), http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/resource.aspWed. Feb. 27th - Part A: The President and executive branch, electronic access and publications.
Morehead, ch. 6; Hernon, ch. 4
White House homepage, http://www.whitehouse.gov/
GPO Finding Aids site, http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/tools.html
Browse topics via GPO Access, http://www.library.okstate.edu/govdocs/browsetopics/
Search publications via GPO Access, http://catalog.gpo.gov/F
Directory of U.S. Government departments and agencies, http://www.lib.lsu.edu/gov/fedgov.html
Executive branch information site, http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/us/exec_branch.asp
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents in paper (Doc), and electronically, http://www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/index.html
Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, http://www.gpoaccess.gov/pubpapers/search.html
Major United States Government Resources: Legislative And Executive (Part VI, Presidential publications and papers), http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/resource.aspWed. Mar. 5th, Exec. Branch, Part B: Patents, treaties, taxes (IRS), technical reports (NTIS), NOAA tide tables, SEC-10K (EDGAR), FedWorld, weather, etc.
Morehead, ch. 10 and 11; Hernon, ch. 11, page 266; ch. 12, pages 285-286
NTIS - http://www.ntis.gov/index.asp
FedWorld - http://www.fedworld.gov
SEC Edgar - http://www.sec.gov/edgarhp.htm - http://www.freeedgar.com/
Patents and trademarks - http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/us/Patents.asp
Tide Tables - http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/us/tide.asp
Taxes/IRS - http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/us/Tax.asp
http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/
Treaties - http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/us/treaties.asp
Weather - http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/us/weather.aspWed.Mar. 12th - HOLIDAY, Spring Break!
Wed. , March 19th AND 26th - THE CENSUS - MEET IN THE CITI LAB ACROSS FROM THE CIRCULATION DESK! The Bureau of the Census and Census Publications and Web Sites - Presentation by Ken Wright of the U.S. Census Bureau!
You MUST be completely familiar with the Census 2000 AND American FactFinder web sites before this meeting.
read Morehead, ch. 9; Hernon, ch. 8
History and Organization of the Census, http://www.census.gov/prod/2000pubs/cff-4.pdf
U.S. Bureau of the Census http://www.census.gov/ and http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/us/census.asp
American FactFinder http://factfinder.census.gov/ - Be sure to try out this site, especially the "Population and Housing Facts" and "Maps" sections, as this site is the new method of providing data by the Bureau of Census!
Stat-USA http://www.stat-usa.gov/
Census 2000 http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html
North Carolina State Data Center http://sdc.state.nc.us/
North Carolina State Demographics http://demog.state.nc.us/Wed. April 2nd - Codification of the law, law codes, administrative law, and judicial publications and sources
Morehead, ch. 7 and 8; Hernon, ch. 7
U.S. GPO Access Judicial Information and Publications at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/judicial.html
Federal Judicial Resources at http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/us/Judicial.asp
Legal Resources, http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/us/legal.asp
Major United States Government Resources: Legislative And Executive (look at Part V, Codification and Regulation/Administrative Law), http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/resource.asp
Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe - Legal Research, https://library.uncg.edu/dbs/auth/go.asp?vdbID=193Wed. April 9th - Geographical information, TigerLine sites, and Statistical Trade Databases
Wed. April 16th - North Carolina state publications and sources, and publications of other state and local governments.
Morehead, ch. 12; Hernon, ch. 11
Jackson Library Geographic Information site - http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/us/cartgeo.asp
Jackson Library Mapping Tools site - http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/us/maptools.asp
U.S. Census Bureau Tiger/TigerLine mapping system - http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/index.html
International Trade and Marketing site - http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/international/marketing.asp
StatUSA/National Trade Data Bank - https://library.uncg.edu/dbs/auth/go.asp?vdbID=225
UN Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN Comtrade) - https://library.uncg.edu/dbs/auth/go.asp?vdbID=99
U.N. Trade Analysis And Information System (TRAINS) - http://cs.usm.my/untrains/trains.html
United Nations International Trade Centre - http://www.intracen.org/welcome.htm, with product, country and other approaches to the statistics.
Strategis, Trade Data Online - http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_mrkti/tdst/engdoc/tr_homep.html
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Database - http://dataweb.usitc.gov/scripts/user_set.asp
GTIS U.S. State Export Trade Database - https://library.uncg.edu/dbs/auth/go.asp?vdbID=170
Tradeport - http://www.tradeport.org/
Thoroughly examine the Jackson Library, North Carolina Information site at http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/nc/index.asp, looking at each of the subject sites.
Thoroughly examine the North Carolina State Publications Clearinghouse at http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/tss/deposito.htm
Read the following from the NC State Depository Clearinghouse:
Handbook for Depository Libraries
N.C. State Depository Law, G.S. 125-11
Classification Scheme for North Carolina State Publications
Checklist of Official North Carolina State Publications (most recent)
Shipping lists (both paper and microfiche)
Wed. April 23rd - International Government Information
UNCG/Docs International Government Information site at http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/international/index.asp
Closely examine all of the organizations on the International Organizations site.
Part A: The United Nations
UNCG/Docs United Nations Information site at http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/international/unitednations.asp
United Nations Depository Libraries at http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/deplib/index.html
Closely examine each and every link on the UNCG United Nations Information site. Pay special attention to statistical information sites. Read the following items from the UN Depository Libraries site:
Instructions for Depository Libraries
List of United Nations Depository Libraries
Principles Governing U.N. Depository Libraries
Part B: The European Union
The Documents Department European Union Web resources site at http://library.uncg.edu/depts/docs/international/eu.asp
Council of the European Union at http://ue.eu.int/en/summ.htm
EuroInternet sources on European Integration at http://eiop.or.at/euroint/
Europa, the European Union's server at http://europa.eu.int/index-en.htm
EuroStat, the statistical resource site for the European Union at http://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat/
The European Parliament at http://www.europarl.eu.int/home/default_en.htm
Part C: The League of Nations
The League of Nations was formed as a result of the Paris Peace Conference and Treaty of Versailles, in 1919. Its principal purpose was to deal with disputes between and among nation states and thus maintain world peace, but it was also the first attempt to form a world organization which would foster international cooperation in a wide range of areas, including disarmament, the international drug trade, literacy, world health, "white slavery", and human rights in general. The League ultimately failed in its role of maintaining world peace, but the organization and the lessons learned led ultimately to the formation of the United Nations. The League existed from 1919 to 1946, when the United Nations was formed and took over many of its functions. Its publications include many serials, such as the Armaments Year-book, World Economic Survey, the Statistical Year-book,and the Official Journal of the League, all of which can be found in the library online catalog. Official publications of the League in the print collection of the library may be found by searching "league of nations" as an "Author" or by the various subject entries under the League of Nations. ALL STUDENTS WILL FIND AND PRINT OUT THE CATALOG RECORD FOR ALL FOUR TITLES MENTIONED IN THE PARAGRAPH, JUST ABOVE. ALL STUDENTS MUST EXAMINE the following two print League of Nations access tools/indexes located in Reference:
League Of Nations Documents, 1919-1946; A Descriptive Guide And Key To The Microfilm Collection, Edited by Edward A. Reno (the commercial microform set is NOT owned by the library).
Key To League Of Nations Documents Placed On Public Sale, by Marie J. Carroll.
A very useful Research Guide to League of Nations Documents and Publications,
from Northwestern University Library, and the same title in PDF format.
The League of Nations Archives and The League of Nations: An Outline History (1920-1946) are two highly useful sections from the United Nations Geneva Library.
The History of the League of Nations with an excellent online "Library", including Biographies, full text online online Documents, a Chronology, several excellent Essays on the League, and a Bibliography. The full text online resources make this site one of the most important in existence with respect to the League!
The League of Nations Photo Archive at the University of Indiana, includes the major Photo Archive itself, as well as the extensive League of Nations Sources site, which in turn includes an excellent Documents of the League site, as well as a Research Guide, a Timeline, the most extensive Bibliography available online, and Links To Other Sites which provide online, full text information. A very informative text, The Aims, Methods and Activity of the League of Nations rounds out this excellent collection of League materials.
League of Nations Documents online from the Avalon Project at Yale University Law School.
Checklist 3: The League of Nations is a thorough bibliography from the University of Toronto Information Studies Department.
Part D: The British Government
Carefully examine each of the following British government sites:
The UKonline is a good starting point for all government contacts in the United Kingdom. Their "Quick Find" service provides access to national and local government, all types of services, government news, legal documents, and general government publications. Unfortunately, there is no "United Kingdom Code" site currently available, as is the searchable, full text of United States Code, but such a project is in the works and will be available soon at Statute Law Database. More up-to-date law which revises the Statutes In Force can be found at Statutory Instruments. Another useful site, The BAILII (British and Irish Legal Information Institute), provides access to the most comprehensive set of British and Irish primary legal materials that are available for free and in one place on the internet.
Basic access to the business of Parliament may be found at the United Kingdom Parliament site, which includes links to "Hansard" debates and "Bills Before Parliament". From there, one may access the House of Commons, the House of Lords, with all the web publications of same. Bear in mind that the future of the House of Lords is being determined, partly by the House of Lords Act of 1999 and the resultant Royal Commission report, "The House of Lords: Completing the Reform". There is a House of Commons Publications On The Internet site, including Hansard, bills and reports for the current parliament, an informative Weekly Information Bulletin back through 1996, a Sessional Information Digest back through 1995, and many other publications links. Considerable information concerning Parliament will be found through the Explore Parliament education site. A highly informative list of House of Commons Fact Sheets is also provided, and the Parliamentary Education Unit maintains excellent PDF publications about both houses.
The British counterpart to the United States Government Printing Office is Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
READ the brief About HMSO and History of HMSO sections. HMSO maintains an "Inforoute" information access portal, similar to GPO Access. Acts of the UK Parliaments back through 1988 will be found on the HMSO Legislation site, and there is also a general Search engine for other HMSO publications, apparently covering about a decade of material.
The Public Record Office/National Archives is similar in purpose to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, preserving the government records of the UK. Considerable online resources are now available, although not nearly so much as the NARA. Use their Online Records link for access.
Then there is the Official Web Site of the British Monarchy, a highly informative and useful resource on the history of the British royal family, including an excellent online monthly Royal Insight magazine (click on "Royal Insight" icon).
The Official Cabinet Office of the UK, and the Office of the Prime Minister, also called Number 10 Downing Street, are the rough counterparts to our Whitehouse site and Office of the President.
The National Statistics Office, the official UK statistics site, includes a wide variety of statistical data packages, including population census, vital statistics, the economy, crime, and much more. A powerful Search capability is also available, along with a general Table of Contents of major statistical topics available.Wed. April 30th – PARTY! All assignments due by today!
MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS: The THREE BRIEF PAPERS, described below, are due by or before the last meeting of the course. ALL papers must be sent in as email attachments (Word). No actual "paper" should be turned in! More limited assignments will be utilized for particular sections during the course, due the meeting after they are handed out. ALL assignments are due by or before the last class meeting, and all assignments MUST be turned in on time and complete for the student to eligible for an “A” in the course!
LIS 614 Legislative History/Tracing Assignment
I. Federal
Choose any U.S. public law passed between 1989 and 2005 and construct a comprehensive legislative history of the law. NOTE - this must be a unitary law, and NOT a law buried within a larger piece of legislation! What was the motivation behind the law? Who or what groups or organizations promoted passage? Give me an outline of how the law made it’s way through Congress. Was it also introduced in earlier Congresses but failed of passage? Any similar bills in the same Congress? Who were the main sponsors of the bill finally passed? What committees dealt with the bill – any hearings produced? What committee reports carried the bill to the floor? Was it passed in both houses on the first try, or were different versions passed? Any conference committee action necessary? Any significant debate in Congressional Record? What was the yea/nay roll call vote total? What did the President have to say about the law when he signed it (or DID he sign it?)? Any Rose Garden speeches or press releases? Where does it show up in United States Code? What government agency or agencies were responsible for enforcement, and what administrative law/regulatory information can your find? A brief summary of the basic provisions of the law should open your paper (no more than half a page to one page). You do NOT need to footnote at the bottom of each page, and you may find it easier to cite your sources within the body of the paper as you go along. What primary reference sources did you use to acquire your information? If at all possible, make use of a World Wide Web source for most of your material (Thomas, LexisNexis?).
II. North Carolina
Now do the same thing with a North Carolina statute, bearing in mind that there are not nearly as many sources to rely upon. Use the web sites and appropriate paper resources (General Statutes, Sessions Laws, House and Senate Journals, Institute of Government Daily Bulletin, Daily Summary, and Weekly Bulletin, etc.). Like the U.S. law, the N.C. state law you choose must be unitary and NOT a part of a larger piece of legislation!
LIS 614 Annotated Bibliography/Pathfinder Assignment
Begin with a statement of purpose and the criteria for inclusion in your bibliography, with the parameters indicating subject, type, and time limitations, among others. Try to include at least TWENTY-FIVE (25) individual items. Give some idea of access/availability of each item. Is it still in print and available for purchase? If so, cite a source. Indicate any appropriate classification numbers involved, such as SuDoc numbers. You should be able to actually examine each and every item included in your list, and each bibliographic description should be limited to a total of no more than 50 words (including a, and, the, etc.!). Try to be focused in your annotation. Why would a reader be interested in this particular document? Be sure to give me a short list of the major reference sources which were utilized to find your material, at the end of your paper. There are no particular rules for structure. Use any bibliographic format with which you are familiar, but make certain that each bibliographic citation is complete, even to price and source, if applicable. At least TEN (10) of your selected items must be publications available on the World Wide Web, and a working url must be given as a part of the citation. Your list should include primarily United States government publications, but you MUST make an effort to also include at least some North Carolina state government publications as well. International and/or British government publications are also fair game.
Bob Gaines
rfgaines@gmail.com
