1 I 1 -J i

1

' ( I V-.i

j ti.^^

1 ffiFfP

Inspection Program Gets Under Way

Inspections of depository libraries

have begun in earnest under the aus- pices of the Superintendent of Documents. Two professional librarians

acting as his representatives were

hired to inspect and evaluate the ap- proximately 1,150 Federal depository

Hbraries in the United States. Since

the inspectors assumed their duties in

November, 52 libraries have been

visited. The inspectors hope to visit each

library once every 2 to 5 years. The li- brary will not be notified in advance

of the upcoming inspection, so that

the depository can be evaluated during its normal course of operations.

State Libraries and Regional Depositories will be advised, however, of the

inspections planned in their State,

should they wish to accompany the

inspectors.

The inspector determines through

questions and observations to what

extent the depository fulfills the obligations of the Depository Library' Pro- gram as specified in Title 44 of the

U.S. Code. In general, these responsibilities are defined in broad terms

with the specific practices involved

left to the discretion of the library.

For example, the law requires that

Government publications be accessi- ble at all times to library patrons. As

long as this guideline is met, the col- lection can be arranged in "closed" or "open" stacks and be designated as circulating or reference material.

These decisions should be made based on the needs and functions of the

individual library.

Where organizational and administrative problems are evident, the in- spector works with the depository

librarian to reach a solution. Should

compliance with the law be severely

under par, the Superintendent of Documents sends a letter to the depository

continued on page 2

1

Mr. William J. Barrett has been

appointed Deputy Assistant Public

Printer (Superintendent of Documents) according to a recent staff announcement.

He has served in the office of the

Superintendent of Documents since

September 1973. His prior Government Printing Office employment be- gan in 1971 as Administrative Officer. Mr. Barrett came to the Government Printing Office from the Department of the Navy where he served as acting Administrative Officer and Staff Assistant to Secretary of the Navy and

Under Secretary of the Navy.

Mr. Barrett frequently addresses

Public Documents workshops repre- senting the Superintendent of Documents.

/ 1 - ^- ^ -f \

Public Documents Library News Notes

N Employees responsible for the cataloging in the Monthly Catalof; have

recently begun to work on two-person teams, with each team responsible for cataloging the publications of specific agencies to which they have been

assigned. Each member catalogs publications and revises the work of the otlier team member.

It is hoped that this procedure will help improve the quality of cataloging

and indexing in the Monthly Catalog. Each cataloger will become acquainted

in depth with the publications of a particular agency and in the role of

cataloger and reviser will be able to achieve more consistency in the Catalog

text and index entries. In addition, familiarity with specific subject areas will aid the cataloger in creating more relevant and concise subject headings. Also,

since the cataloger and reviser will work together continuously on the same

material, they will both have the same background with which to arrive at mutually acceptable solutions to problemsthat may arise. The efficiency of the Monthly Catalog preparation should also improve

under the new system. Should any problems or inquiries arise about a publication, it will be much easier to track down the title as it travels through the

system, since it is known exactly who handled it. A unit is being staffed to classify all publications received in the library.

The motivation for organizing this unit that is solely responsible for classifica- tion is similar to the reasons discussed above in connection with the cataloging teams. It is hoped that the employees will provide more accurate classification numbers since they will be more thoroughly familiar with the classification scheme and the publications.

Mrs. Jennie B. Cross, Documents Librarian and Assistant Professor at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, has been hired by the Government

Printing Office, and is working in the Library and Statutory Distribution Service for approximately 6 months. In her first assignment, she will be Acting

Manager of the Cataloging and Classification Branch. Mrs. Cross will occupy

this position until it has been filled by a permanent employee.

In this position, Mrs. Cross should prove to be a mutual benefit to both the

Public Documents Library and the Depository Library Program. Her knowledge and expertise of Government documents and their administration will

be a tremendous aid in helping solve problems in the Library. At the same

time, by learning from her about the needs and problems of depository

libraries, the Service will be able to improve its service to all depository

librarians.

NEED A COPY?

In order to properly administer the

Depository Library Program, each

library needs a copy of Instructions

to Depository Libraries. This outlines the functions and responsibilities

of the depository libraries as set forth

in Title 44 of the U.S. Code. All per- sonnel involved in depository work

should become familiar with the in- structions and be made aware of their

importance.

In addition, those libraries using

the Superintendent of Documents

Classification System should have a copy of An Explanation of the Superintendent of Documents Classifi- cation System. This will help in classifying publications when neces- sary and in understanding those numbers assigned by the Public Documents

Library.

If you do not have copies of these

publications, please send your request

to: Library Division (SLL), Government Printing Office, Washington,

D.C. 204O2.

2

IMPORTANT MAIL

REMINDERS

In the future, when addressing any

mail to the Library do not use P.O.

Box 1533, Washington, D.C. 20013.

This P.O. Box is being given up by the

Superintendent of Documents. Send

all correspondence to Libary Division

(SLL), Government Printing Office,

Washington, D.C. 20402.

Each depository library is assigned an identification niunber for administrative purposes. Mail so numbered

will be routed to the Depository Sec- tion and should be used only on cor- respondence concerning depository

matters, not on non-depository cor- respondence such as sales requests and

deposit account orders or inquiries.

Do not use claim forms for any other

purpose than claiming depository

publications selected but not received.

When other inquiries are included

they are apt to be overlooked since

different employees handle different

types of problems. Non-claim questions should be listed on a separate

sheet with your library number and

address.

luspeciion Program

continued from page 1 following the inspection reminding

the librarian of the legal obligations

and the necessity of correcting the

specific deficiencies. Another inspection is made after 6 months to deter- mine whether these steps have been

taken and whether the library in question should retain its depository status. The inspection also provides the in- dividual libraries with an opportunity

to discuss any matter of concern to them; for example, desire to give up

depository status, specific complaints

about the programs and suggestions

for improvement, informational questions about the Monthly Catalog and

depository shipments. In this way the

inspection proce<lure is educational as well as critical and allows time for self-improvement as well as assess-

Documents On The

Move

The Assistant Public Printer (Superintendent of Documents) and his

Docvunents Sales and Documents Support Services, except the Order Processing, Warehouse, and Receipts and

Accounts Divisions have relocated to new office space in the Union Center

Plaza on North Capitol Street, about

1^^ blocks from the main Government

Printing Office. The Order Processing

and Receipts and Accounts Divisions are still located in the Main Office. The Warehouse Division is located in

Laurel, Maryland and Alexandria,

Virginia.

This move was designed to increase

I space, improve work efficiency and

boost employee morale. The mailing

address for the Assistant Public

Printer (Superintendent of Documents) and his organization remain

the same but telephone numbers have

changed. Listed below are the current telephone numbers for officials and

various operating elements:

Assistant Public Printer (Superintendent of Documents) Mr. W. H.

Lewis—(202) 376-2350

Deputy Assistant Public Printer

(Superintendent of Documents)

Mr. WiUiam J. Barrett—(202)

376-2347

Director, Documents Sales Service Mr. Earl G. Clement— (202)

376-2287

Director, Documents Support

Service Mr. C. W. Ziegler—(202)

376-2252

For information concerning the

availability and prices of Government

publications, call our Order Desk,

(202) 783-3238. If you have a prob1cm on a paid order, which was placed

with this Office, call our Service Seclion, (202) 376-2081.

Obtaining Publications For Depository

Library Distribution

Depository libraries choose the classes of publications they will receive

through the Depository Library Program from the Classified List of United

Stales Government Publications. According to Title 44 of the United States Code, all publications issued by Government agencies or departments are to be sent to the depository libraries with the exclusion of classified material,

administrative material which is intended only for the use of the issuing agency,

and cooperative publications which must be sold in order to be self-sustaining.

The individual publications in each class are printed either by the issuing

agency or the Government Printing Office. To insure that the publications

printed by the issuing agency will be sent to depositories. Circular Letter 110 was sent to all Federal agencies in July 1974 reminding them of their legal

responsibilities for furnishing the Superintendent of Documents copies of

publications for distribution to depository libraries. The extent to which the

agencies comply with this lav. determines what publications a library will

receive in a certain class. Frequently, librarians ask why their library receives

only a portion of a particular series through the Depository Program. As

indicated earlier, the agency must furnish the Superintendent of Documents

with copies of the publications they print in order to make the complete series available to depositories.

When GPO is responsible for printing publications, certain procedures are followed to insure that the documents will be sent to depositories. The Government Printing Office and the GPO Regional Printing Procurement Offices throughout the country furnish the Public Documents Library with information they have received from the issuing agency with regard to a particular

title being printed either at GPO or one of its contractors. The information

includes such things as issuing agency and bureau, title, series, publication

number, and sales recommendation. A jacket number (work order control

number) is also assigned.

The Library Division decides how many copies of a particular publication

are needed for depository distribution. To do this, a tentative classification number is assigned to the publication after asking such questions as the

following: What issuing office will appear on the publication? Is it a series?

Is it a handbook, manual, guide, bibliography, or address? Is it a revised

edition of a publication distributed previously? The item number (essentially

the mailing list number) is determined from the classification number.

Naturally, the more definitive information obtained, the more nearly accurate

the advance classification and item numbers will be. When notification is received regarding a publication that is part of a series or class which has never been distributed to depositories, the publication is "surveyed." Enough copies are ordered to supply each library with a sample

copy which is sent along with the item cards identifying the newly established

item number in order to help the librarian in determining the usefulness of

this series of publications in his or her library. From the response to these

surveys, the number of copies needed for depository distribution of future

issues in the series is determined.

At the same time depository copies are ordered printed for distribution in the United States and its territories, additional copies are ordered for distribution to libraries in foreign countries. The International Exchange Service,

Smithsonian Institution, is responsible for sending to foreign depositories,

copies of the same publications which the Superintendent of Documents

distributes in this country.

LIBRARIAN'S EXCHANGE

The Documents Division of the Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System

has compiled a short guide aimed at aiding prospective inventors who wish to conduct a do-it-yourself patent search. Entitled Use of Patent Materials, the

guide lists publications of the U.S. Patent Office (available for selection by

depository libraries) which are needed to conduct the search and explains

how they are used. Copies are available to other Documents Librarians on

request. Address your inquiry to: Tampa-Hillsborough Coimty Public Library

System, Government. Documents, 900 North Ashley Street, Tampa, Florida

33602.

Questions and

Answers

Q. I address my questions concerning

depository operations and the

Monthly Catalog to the Superintendent of Documents. Why does

it take considerable time to receive a reply?

A. Mail that is intended for the Li- brary addressed to the Superintendent of Documents must go

through various channels before it is routed to its proper destination.

If you have any depository or Catalog questions, please address

them directly to: Library Division

(SLL), Government Printing

Office, Washington, D.C. 20 102.

Q. Why have feux'r LC card numbers

been listed in the Monthly Catalog

in recent months?

A. As in the past, LC is continuing to

catalog Government Documents.

Fewer LC card numbers have

been listed in the Monthly Catalog, however, because procedural

changes stemming from the auto- mation of the Catalog have pre- vented us from having all the card

numbers available from LC at the

time the Catalog is printed. We are working on ways to clear up this delay and have the numbers ready

at the proper time.

Q. Do you have any plans to publish a

list of the subject headings used in the Monthly Catalog index?

A. At the present time, the subject

headings file in the Library contains 20,000 subject headings and

cross references. This file is constantly being revised with subject

headings added and deleted on an ongoing basis. To facilitate the re- visions and corrections each heading is arranged on a 2 x 3 file card.

Any published subject headings

list would therefore be difficult to prepare and would be out of date

almost as soon as it is printed. In

the future, if the file is computerized, it will be easier to issue more up to date editions of the file.

Q. Is it possible to visit the Library in

its new headquarters in Virginia?

A. Yes, we welcome depository li- brarians who wish to inspect our

operations. Please call us ahead of

time to let us know you are coming.

Our telephone number is: (703)

557-2145. Our street address is 5236 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia.

Q. Why can't a depository library

order publications through a re- gional bookstore when a publication is not stocked there?

A. The GPO regional bookstores are not staffed or equipped to process orders for subscriptions for all 25,000 sales publications, or to con- duct a mail order business. They

stock only about 2,000 titles. Their

primary mission is to sell these

2,000 titles over the counter. Sec- ondarily they assist the public by

furnishing information and order

blanks for customers to send di- rectly to the Superintendent of

Documents in Washington, D.C.

where there are facilities for handling subscriptions, mail orders,

and the full range of sales documents.

"Public Documents Highlights" is circulated bi-monthly by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington,

D.C. 20402, and is mailed at first class postage rates. "Public Documents

Highlights" is intended primarily for

librarians of the Federal Depository

Library Program. Material proposed

for circulation may be submitted to the Editor, Public Documents Highlights, Library and Statutory Distribution Service (SLL), Government

Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

20402. The Superintendent of Documents, however, retains tlie right to accept such materials, to edit it, and to assign priorities of circulation.

SPO 8Be-204 4