Academic Libraries 2010, Michigan Library Association, May 7, 2010

Academic Libraries as Government Information Providers: New Initiatives and

their Implications for Academic Libraries

Hui Hua Chua

U.S. & International Documents LibrarianMichigan State University

chua@mail.lib.msu.edu

Academic Libraries 2010, Michigan Library Association, May 7, 2010

GPO initiatives

Federal Digital System (FDSys) System for managing government information through the entire life

cycle from submission to publication to search and retrieval to preservation and version control.

Replaces old GPO Access site and WAIS databases for public access to government information.

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

Shelflist conversion project and cataloging distribution pilot Creation of MARC records from GPO’s shelflist from the1870s-1992. Testing distribution of MARC records to libraries to load into local

catalogs. http://www.fdlp.gov/component/ijoomla_archive/?

act=getall&ptitle=Cataloging+Record+Distribution+Pilot+FAQs&catid=245

Academic Libraries 2010, Michigan Library Association, May 7, 2010

GPO Initiatives

Open Government Initiative pilot Conversion of the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations

into XML and distribution of data on FDSys and data.gov

Implications and Issues More stable, usable platform for current and future publications. Increases findability of historical publications. Opportunity for libraries and other entities to create more flexible,

specialized tools with bulk data.

Academic Libraries 2010, Michigan Library Association, May 7, 2010

Other Initiatives: Digitization of the legacy collection Many players

Mass digitization projects such as Google Books, CIC-Google/Hathi Trust project, TRAIL (technical reports)

Government agencies Smaller-scale projects by individual libraries Vendor products: Serial Set, Hearings, Congressional Record, FBIS…

Implications and issues Greater access to publications. Fewer print copies and collections. Why continue to purchase vendor products? Integration with other electronic resources. Opportunities to create value added tools and services to support

research and teaching. Public service implications. Comprehensiveness? Permanent access and archiving?

Academic Libraries 2010, Michigan Library Association, May 7, 2010

Other Initiatives: Collaborative Reference Government Information Online (GIO)

Collaborative chat and email reference service for government information open to everyone

Staffed by librarians from 20+ academic, state, public and law libraries

Partnership with GPO for promotion and support 2,254 in 2010 sessions with the public

6,939 in 2009; 5,779 in 2008 14,972 total sessions since early February 2008.

http://govtinfo.org Impact: http://info.cic.net/eNews/CLI/Article.aspx?List=e2b6f931-

966b-48a1-a375-36f2c6a5860d&ID=26

Implications and Issues Leverages expertise of government information specialists Fulfils outreach mission

Academic Libraries 2010, Michigan Library Association, May 7, 2010

Archiving Electronic Born-Digital Government InformationMany players at different levels and scales

NARA, GPO Libraries and other non-profit organizations: University of North Texas,

Chesapeake Project, Internet Archive

Implications and issues Most problematic area. Comprehensiveness? Authenticity? Permanent access and archiving? Sustainability?