GPO Gate University of California,San Diego's New Gateway to electronic government information

Over the past year, a team of librarians and computer analysts at the University of California (UC), San Diego developed a new interface for accessing the Government Printing Office's WAIS databases, collectively known as GPO Access. GPO Access has been an important development in the delivery of government information. UC San Diego's new World Wide Web interface, called GPO Gate, provides a powerful, user-friendly method of searching and retrieving full-text government information from GPO access. GPO Gate is now the University of California's system-wide gateway for GPO Access. The GPO Gate team instituted two mechanisms to monitor database usage: a user-tracking system and a user survey. The user-tracking system logs the number of uses, searches, and retrievals by domain type and identifies users by the database used. Since its inception in August 1995, use of GPO Gate has increased dramatically. Much of the increase can be attributed to searches and retrievals from the Federal Register. The largest single user group is composed of commercial users. The increased use of GPO Gate has many implications for public service related to government documents, including an expansion of the number of users, the need for reference providers to better understand computer hardware and software, and confusion among users caused by rapid changes in the delivery of government information.     

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.     

Statutory reform of the U.S. Government printing office A view from the GPO

Legislation has been introduced in the 104th Congress that would make sweeping changes to Title 44 of the U.S. Code, the authorizing laws for the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). An analysis of this legislation, which was originally provided to Congress in August 1995 during hearings before the Committee on House Oversight, shows that it would have a substantially negative impact on government printing and distribution, in terms of increasing costs and reducing public access to government information. GPO today faces three major challenges: cutting costs, expanding the dissemination of government information in electronic formats, and combatting the decentralization of federal printing and distribution activities, which increases costs and impairs public access to government information through GPO's Federal Depository Library Program. The question is whether a complete overhaul of Title 44 would be more likely to place at risk a system of cost-effective, comprehensive, and equitable public access to government information that currently serves the nation well. This article suggests that the alternative is to continue with the program of downsizing and technological innovation and to seek statutory changes that would be consistent with GPO's strategic direction and that would recognize GPO's role in the emergent information age.     

Age of Aquarius—The FDLP in the 21st century

With the appointment of Bruce James as Public Printer of the United States in 2002 (confirmed by the Senate on November 20, 2002),¹ the Government Printing Office (GPO) began to forecast and plan for its future in the age of the Internet. During the spring of 2005, the Depository Library Council (DLC), an advisory body to the Public Printer, concluded it was time for depository librarians to play a more active part in envisioning the future of government information. Toward that end, DLC wrote a discussion paper, Knowledge Will Forever Govern: A Vision Statement for Federal Depository Libraries in the 21st Century, ² and with the GPO's support devoted the 2005 Fall Depository Library Council meeting to discussing and refining a vision for the future of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP).     

Searching of Our Surroundings

SUMMARY

There is a proliferation of Internet sites covering environmental themes. Many of these sites provide reference information in varying degrees. This article highlights environmental Web sites that provide a wide range of pertinent reference sources to a diverse audience. More than 50 highly selective Web sites are included in this paper. Some of these Web sites provide access to library catalogs, full-text articles, and other online resources. The Web sites in this article are in five categories: portals, government sites, special issues, general sites, and databases.     

Internet Reference Sources in Education

Summary

With so many Internet sites devoted to education for educators, administrators, and librarians, it can be a daunting experience trying to find needed resources. There are special sites devoted to teachers, children, and parents. The government provides free access to database searching, statistics, and full-text publications. State and local levels of government also host valuable data and reports. More and more journals are appearing online in full-text format escalating user expectation to assume all journals will be available via the Internet. Tapping into higher education and academic library sites connects to content rich links. While this is not an exhaustive listing of educational Web sites, it leads to a myriad of valuable resources.     

An exploratory usability evaluation of Colorado State University Libraries' digital collections and the Western Waters Digital Library Web sites

In an exploratory study, participants (n = 18) completed 11 usability tasks to assess ease of use of two Web sites, and then a Web site perception questionnaire for each. Participants rated both Web sites positively, but 25% and 36% could not complete all tasks; doing so required more than a minute to complete.     

An assessment of the 1983 biennial survey

This article assesses the value of the Government Printing Office's (GPO) 1983 Biennial Survey as a tool to support depository library program planning and decision making. Based on overall criteria of reliability, validity, and utility, much of the data produced from the survey are inaccurate, misleading, and inappropriate both as a means to (1) describe the depository libraries, and (2) assist GPO and individual depository library decision making and planning. Recommendations are offered by which the Biennial Survey can be better designed, administered, and analyzed.     

Finding congressional journals in the U.S. Serial Set

Congressional journals are the only government publications mandated by the Constitution of the United States. Unfortunately, they are often overlooked in favor of the sometimes more complete Congressional Record and its predecessors. From the beginning of the Serial Set in 1817 until 1952 the Journals were printed as a part of that collection. The attached list may be used as a finding tool for those needing to use the Journals included in the Serial Set.     

The government printing office cataloging records: Opportunities and problems

The first part of this article describes the GPO cataloging records on the GPO MARC tapes, on OCLC, and in the monthly Catalog, and introduces a costeffective method of using these records in a library catalog. The second part of the article presents a proposal for the comprehensive correction and updating of the GPO cataloging records.     

Policy implications of a model public information service: the DOSFAN experience

The unique three-way partnership formed by the University of Illinois at Chicago’s federal depository library, the U.S. State Department, and the Government Printing Office (GPO) to deliver and preserve foreign policy information through servers housed at the University’s library offers some critical insights into the assumptions and policies of the GPO’s Federal Depository Library Program. Ultimately, the Internet’s explosive growth, combined with powerful graphical interfaces of the major Web browsers, undermines several recently enacted laws that attempt to standardize (or centralize) effective information resource management within the federal government. Not only has GPO steadily lost political and economic support over the last decade from both legislative and executive leaders for its production and distribution programs, many agencies now consider their “.gov Webspaces” the natural successors to the GPO and its depository library program. As a result, a new model of government information distribution is being forged within the highly decentralized and interactive environment of the World Wide Web.     

Control of political broadcasting in English‐speaking countries

The pages of the Journal of Broadcasting have often carried material relating to the American Bar Association's Canon 35, which prevents broadcasters from carrying the tools of their trade into the courtroom. Although the conflict between lawyer and broadcaster has flared up once again following the recent statements by Mr. Justice Douglas, the question of judges ordering their courtrooms is not nearly of such serious import to the broadcaster as the question of gaining admittance to legislative sessions and hearings.

Many of television's most impressive hours have been spent covering the hearings of various U.S. Senate committees. However, the broadcast media have no such access to hearings in the House of Representatives—even when these hearings may be of vital concern to the nation and the industry. On the local level, the situation is no less spotty, with the current fight to gain access to the Chicago City Council garnering the headlines.

A broadcaster trying to gain admittance for his microphones and cameras into a legislative session is often handicapped by not knowing the pertinent precedents from other parts of the country. The following survey of this subject is designed to assist the broadcaster or other interested parties in interpreting the various laws, regulations and precedents. Mr. Partain is a graduate of Duke University and the Duke University Law School and received his master's degree in Radio‐Television from Northwestern University in 1959.     

Congress as publisher: Politics,institutions, and policy

Since the beginning of the federal government, Congress has functioned as its publisher — the manager and director of government printing operations. Initially performed by private printers through lucrative contracts, production was statutorily vested in the Government Printing Office (GPO) in 1860 to assure efficient, economical, and quality printing. Over the past century and a half, however, changes in technology, law, and constitutional relationships have eroded arrangements for the public printing system. Information products printed by GPO in the past may now be agency-generated and made directly available to the public through agency Web sites or social media, with the result that congressional general management of the publication system is seemingly decreasing, at least in terms of GPO workload, publication accountability, and document sales. While it is unlikely that Congress will reduce or vacate its publisher capacity anytime soon, some adjustment of the scope of that role and related management capability may appropriately be in order.     

Health resources on the Internet: a basic list

With the plethora of health sites on the Internet, it is sometimes hard to know where to start. This is a basic list of health sites that either cover a subject area comprehensively, or are good general sites to lead to more specific information. Most of these sites include both full-text information as well as links to many other sites on the World-Wide Web. Included are medical, nursing, dental, alternative health, consumer health, organization, and government sites.     

学科门户智能搜索引擎的设计与构建——农业史门户搜索引擎的实验

面对搜索引擎基于关键词全文检索导致检索准确度低和学科信息门户加工描述只到站点级别的问题,作者提出了将搜索引擎和学科信息门户结合构建智能学科门户搜索引擎的建议--在经过学科专家筛选的、学科信息门户目录中的高质量网站中自动收集网页,形成网页索引,利用自动标引与自动分类方法对收集到的网页进行标引和分类,最后通过分类浏览目录与主题词检索的方式,向用户提供学术资源网页的查找.文章重点介绍了智能学科门户搜索引擎的网页采集、网页自动标引与自动分类及用户接口的设计与实现,并对该搜索引擎存在的问题进行了分析和讨论.     

U.S. government (depository items)

The new frontier of electronic access was fully explored in the past year. Government agency “gophers” proliferated on the Internet, featuring a wide variety of government information previously only available in print. Likewise, many gophers at academic institutions posted significant new government reports in a timely manner. A good example is the National Performance Review's From Red Tape to Results: Creating a Government that Works Better & Costs Less, which was posted on the Internet well before many depositories received their print copies. The one constant is that GPO (Government Printing Office) continues to issue publications containing valuable information. In addition to the National Performance Review, many other important reports were published by GPO this year, including those of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, the National Commission on AIDS, and the ATF Investigation of the David Koresh/Waco incident. This list does not even mention the Clinton Administration's Health Security Act and the full depository release of the Clarence Thomas Hearings. It has been a full year. The documents included in this Notable Documents issue were received by depository libraries from midyear 1993 to midyear 1994. They were selected for their general interest, lasting value, research significance, or timeliness. Most of the documents are available from the Superintendent or from one of the GPO bookstores around the country (see Monthly Catalog for a listing). Those documents that do not list a stock number or price may be available in limited quantities from the issuing agency.     

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].