Congress as Publisher: The magic of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set

A major part of Congressional publishing, though not the whole conspectus of it, is the U.S. Congressional Serial Set. After a quick review of the history of the Serial Set, the formal categories of publications are discussed with their statistical breakdown followed by salient examples from some of the various genres of Serial Set publications.     

Security and preservation of the U.S. congressional serial set

Librarians are becoming increasingly concerned about the safety and physical integrity of valuable government documents such as the U.S. Congressional Serial Set. Using a questionnaire to survey 187 government documents collections, the investigators (i) determine current library security practices with regard to the Serial Set, (ii) identify those volumes within the collection that are most likely to be vandalized or stolen, and (iii) make recommendations for the security and preservation of these items. The goal of the study is to give librarians a better awareness of security problems and possible solutions.     

Cataloging the Congressional Serial Set

ABSTRACT

Many librarians question the usefulness of the traditional cataloging of difficult historic sets in a time when more and more information moves either to the Internet or is digitized outright. One of the most challenging sets to catalog is the United States Congressional Serial Set, a 14,000+ (and growing) mega serial comprised of five monographic sub-series. The Congressional Serial Set is an anomaly since it is both monographic and serial in nature. This article examines the intricacies in cataloging government publications in an electronic atmosphere using one House document in the Serial Set as a guide and examines the two commercial digitization projects currently underway.¹     

Analysis of Readex's Serial Set MARC records: Improving the data for the library catalog

Colorado State University Libraries (CSUL) purchased the digitized United States Congressional Serial Set, 1817–1994 and American State Papers (1789–1838) from the Readex Division of NewsBank, Inc. and, once funds and records were available, the accompanying MARC records. The breadth of information found in the Serial Set is described, along with the difficulties in using the print version (incorporated in the literature review, which includes citations of announcements of the digital collections and reviews of the software). The digital version of the Serial Set has its advantages, but there are additional rewards (much greater discovery opportunities) when items in the digital collection are directly accessible from the library catalog. The purchased MARC records, while overall excellent, had problems that needed to be corrected before they were loaded into CSUL's Innovative Interfaces library catalog. Patron access impact was used as a criterion when determining which of the records would be fixed before loading. High impact problems were identified and solutions derived for: multiple 245 (title) fields; 245 s indicator zero with titles beginning with a, an, or the; dollar sign used in text; fixed field date; languages; subject headings; creating proxy URLs; classification numbers; and author authority control (e.g. corporate entries and presidential entry errors).     

The annual reports of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs: Revisiting the key to the United States Congressional Serial Set, 1824–1920

The Annual Reports of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, for the years 1824 through 1920, described the interactions between the American Indian tribes and the federal government. J. A. Jones (Jones, J. A. (1955). Key to the annual reports of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Ethnohistory, 2, 58–64). Provided a key to these documents found in the United States Congressional Serial Set, but this tool contained a number of errors. This article provides a fresh look at this key, with particular focus upon the availability of these materials through the Readex Serial Set digital collection.     

What is in the United States serial set?

The number and character of documents printed as part of the U.S. Serial Set have undergone considerable transformation since its beginning in 1817. This study examines the composition of the Set at various points in time. During the nineteenth century numerous executive branch documents were included in the Serial Set, so that the early Serial Set is a large and reasonably comprehensive record of the activity of the U.S. government. The Serial Set of the twentieth century has been gradually reduced in scope: presently it contains almost no executive branch documents, and only a select portion of congressional publications. Increased familiarity with the varying nature of the U.S. Serial Set provides researchers with valuable guidance for greater and more effective use.     

The Missing Court of Claims Report: Is Letitia Humphreys Court of Claims Report 42?

Between the years 1855 and 1863, the opinions or “reports” of the United States Court of Claims were delivered to the House of Representatives for final consideration. In total, 296 cases were conveyed, but in the process, Report 42 was lost and, according to indexes of such documents, “never received by [the] House.”This article cites examined records of the Court of Claims, from both the United States Congressional Serial Set and original documents now in the National Archives, which support the contention that there was a completed opinion for Court of Claims Report 42 that was lost sometime during its transfer between the Court and the House.This 150-year-old case – Letitia Humphreys, Administratrix of Andrew Atkinson – was one in a long list of judicial proceedings, involving over 100 claimants, that resulted from the 1812 invasion of Florida by the United States, and that concerned the payment of interest to those compensated under the last clause of the ninth article of the 1819 Treaty of Amity, Settlement, and Limits, Between the United States of America and His Catholic Majesty. These Florida petitions were examples of early claims actions against the federal government, in many cases after decades of inaction.     

U.S. government printing office,no more

Changes in electronic technology and publishing and distribution patterns are affecting how government agencies are making information available. These factors, as well as the Government Printing Office's (GPO) monopoly-like status, its inability to transform its operations as described in GPO/2001: Vision for a New Millennium, its historical inefficiency, and its potential violation of the separation of powers doctrine require new institutional arrangements for the distribution of government information to the public. This author recommends that GPO be abolished and its printing authority be transferred to the General Services Administration (GSA). In addition, the author recommends that the Superintendent of Documents be transferred to the Library of Congress, an Office of Congressional Printing Management be established, and the GPO work force be reduced and then relocated to other agencies. In addition, a statutory policy should be articulated by Congress to disseminate government information to the public and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) should be directed to implement this policy.     

Review

The Attitudes of Chinese Academics to Foreign Scholarly Journals; Part 1 – Report, Part 2 – Appendices. Global Publishing Information (Publishers Association and the British Council) March 2005. Free to ALPSP and PA members; £249 to others.     

A comparison of manual and online searching of government document indexes

The online and printed equivalents of the GPO's Monthly Catalog, the National Technical Information Service's Government Reports Announcements & Index, and Congressional Information Service's CIS Index have been examined to compare the recall, precision, overlap, and cost-effectiveness of online and manual searching. The online searches were less labor intensive and retrieved more relevant citations than the manual searches. However, a large number of citations retrieved were not duplicated in equivalent printed and online indexes.     

Electronic filing of documents with the government: New technology presents new problems

The following statement is reprinted from the Congressional Record (March 14, 1984, pp. H1614–H1615). Given the importance of the topic to the development of Federal information policies, the editor believes that the 31 questions which Representative English raises merit wide attention and discussion.     

American Indian treaties in the Courts of Claims: A guide to treaty citations from opinions of the United States Courts of Claims

Since 1855, the federal Courts of Claims have provided relief for citizens in cases against the United States. President Abraham Lincoln, in his first annual message in 1861, declared his support for such a process: “It is as much the duty of government to render prompt justice against itself, in favor of citizens, as it is to administer the same between private individuals” [Message of the President. (1862). Appendix to The Congressional Globe, 37th Congress, 2d session, 3 December 1861, p. 2].     

Book Publishing

Nat G. Bodian, Book Marketing Handbook: Tips and Techniques for the Sale and Promotion of Scientific, Technical, Professional, and Scholarly Books and Journals (New York: R.R. Bowker, 1980---$45.00)

Dan Poynter, Publishing Short-Run Books: How to Paste Up and Reproduce Books Instantly Using Your Copy Shop (Parachuting Publications, P.O. Box 4232-50, Santa Barbara, Ca. 93103---$6.95, paper)

G.L. Brook, Books and Book-Collecting (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1980---$25.00)     

The Congressional Archive: A Breed Apart

ABSTRACT

Congressional archives are unique among archival collections. Bigger in size and often broader in scope in terms of the kinds of records they contain, these collections place an uncommon strain on academic archives. Before agreeing to assume such a burden, it is important for administrators to understand the special characteristics of a congressional archive and their staff's ability to manage the project while fulfilling their mission to the educational institution.     

Planning a Congressional Archives at Loyola University Chicago

ABSTRACT

The Daniel Rostenkowski papers became the first Congressional papers collection at Loyola University Chicago in 1995. The papers of a high profile alumnus, the University Libraries decided to create a stand-alone archive for the collection. This article describes the history of the collection, several attempts to create a stand-alone archive, and the collecting policy that was eventually created to guide the development of the archive.     

Electronic Research Beyond LEXIS-NEXIS and Westlaw

ABSTRACT

Lower-cost alternatives to LEXIS-NEXIS and Westlaw have entered the scene to give users without deep pockets access to electronic legal and congressional research. Loislaw.com, V., Congressional Universe and CQ.com on Congress may open up electronic research to new users and lure away some of the big legal research services' customers as well.     

Broadcasting in the ICBM age

When discussion of earth orbital satellites first left the pages of science fiction magazines and “became respectable,”; the use of these devices for relaying of television programs was first seriously suggested. Today, the future is so close upon us that there exists a recent Congressional Report with the title, Satellites for World Communication.

Coupled with the world‐wide shortage of frequencies, the development of space satellites for broadcasting purposes could cause tremendous changes in the current systems of domestic broadcasting. Even though they will be first used for point‐to‐point communication rather than broadcasting, the means by which such satellites will be regulated may well become of as much importance to the broadcaster as the NARBA and similar agreements are today.     

Print Media

Bernard M. Fry and Herbert S. White's Publishers and Libraries: A Study of Scholarly and Research Journals (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books/D.C. Heath, 1976—price not given, but about $15.00)

Karl I.R. Arndt and May E. Olsen's The German Language Press of the Americas, Volume I: History and Bibliography 1732-1968, United States of America (Munich: Verlag Dokumentation [New York: Unipub] , 1976—DM 148, or $52.00)

The Reader's Advisor: A Layman's Guide to Literature, 12th Edition (New York: R.R. Bowker, 1977—three volumes for $69.95 per set, or $25.00 per volume if purchased separately)

Donald McQuade and Robert Atwan (eds.) Popular Writing in America: The Interaction of Style and Audience, Shorter, Alternate Edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977—$5.00, paper)