Administrative Notes 

Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program

Vol. 20, no. 18 GP 3.16/3-2:20/18 December 15, 1999 

Y2K Preparations at GPO and LPS 

Library Programs Service (LPS) staff wants to take this opportunity to inform the depository 

community and other interested stakeholders about our year 2000 (Y2K) contingency plans for 

major LPS systems and functions. 

GPO, together with other Federal agencies, has developed a business continuity and contingency 

plan as required by the General Accounting Office. This plan has been developed for LPS’ 

major functional activities to enable us to carry on even if confronted with Y2K problems or 

other emergencies. 

To ensure that we can continue providing acquisitions, classification, distribution, shipping and 

cataloging services, GPO’s Office of Information Resources Management (OIRM) has 

completed Y2K remediation and testing on LPS mission-critical mainframe legacy systems: 

 ACSIS (Acquisitions, Classification, and Shipment Information System) 

 DDIS (Depository Distribution Information System) 

 MOCAT/SAMANTHA (Monthly Catalog publishing system) 

Y2K modifications and related upgrades are also underway for the ADDS (Automated 

Depository Distribution System, formerly known as the Lighted Bin System). This work is 

expected to be completed shortly after January 1, 2000. Our contingency plans provide for 

continuous distribution of depository library materials even if serious delays in the ADDS 

updates are encountered. 

All LPS web and local applications and computers have been tested for Y2K compliance and 

necessary remediation or replacement is essentially complete. In addition, GPO Access, GPO’s 

publicly-accessible Web site, located at <www.access.gpo.gov>, has been certified Y2K 

compliant. 

In the event that Y2K impairs the functioning of any of our major systems, LPS has plans in 

place to enable our workforce to provide service to the depository community by continuing to 

process, catalog and distribute depository materials. LPS staff is working to ensure that the 

mission-critical LPS functions are operational on January 3, 2000. The depository community 

will be kept informed of any major Y2K malfunctions that will have a direct impact on the 

services we provide. Obviously, if the GPO and/or LPS network is down for any reason, we 

cannot provide e-mail communication. Be assured, however, that we will use available 

technology to contact depository libraries, vendors and other libraries and partners if any critical 

functions are affected by the Y2K activities. 
AN-v20-#18-12/15/99 

The GPO-wide Y2K statement can be found at: <www.access.gpo.gov/y2kdiscl.html>. 

The staff member within LPS who will serve as our Y2K point of contact is: 

Laurie Beyer Hall 

Supervisory Program Analyst 

(202) 512-1114 

(202) 512-1432 fax 

lhall@gpo.gov 

As a reminder, the Recommended Specifications for Public Access Workstations in Federal 

Depository Libraries at <www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/mintech.html> states that: 

“Depository librarians are reminded to check computer and network 

configurations and software to ensure Y2K compliance. Most software developed 

in the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and to a lesser extent the 90s, was not designed to be 

operable into the 21st century. If you are using any application programs 

(database management, spreadsheets, word processors, etc.) to administer any part 

of the depository operation, verify their Y2K readiness and upgrade or migrate to 

a new program if necessary.” 

LPS previously provided information on the Y2K status of depository CD-ROMs. This report 

may be found at: <www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/ad102599.html#5>. 

USAPat Migrating to DVD 

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reminds depositories selecting the USAPat CD-ROM 

product (item 0260-E, C 21.31:) that this title will be released in DVD-ROM format beginning 

with the January 2000 issue. Since more data will fit on a DVD disc, depositories will receive 

one disc per week instead of five. 

USGS Map Shipping Lists Now Distributed to All Libraries 

As of October 1, 1999, the Library Programs Service (LPS) is distributing USGS map shipping 

lists to all depository libraries, whether or not they select the maps. Libraries that do select the 

USGS maps will continue to receive shipping lists from USGS, as well as from LPS. 

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3 

Federal Register & Congressional Record Issues Being Reprinted; 

Former Direct Mail Titles to Receive Priority Handling 

The transition from having the “Direct Mail” titles distributed by the publisher or printer to 

having them distributed by the Library Programs Service (LPS) has generally gone smoothly, 

with two exceptions: the Federal Register and the Congressional Record. LPS announced in 

October that 13 titles, including these two, would from then forward be sent to depositories on 

regular shipping lists from LPS (see Administrative Notes, v. 20, # 15, 10/15/99; 

<www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/ad101599.html#4>). 

Unfortunately, miscommunication between departments at GPO resulted in the non-distribution 

of 7 issues of the Federal Register and Congressional Record, as listed below: 

Federal Register, vol. 64 Congressional Record, vol. 145 

No. Date No. Date 

207 10/27/99 147 10/26/99 

208 10/28/99 148 10/27/99 

209 10/29/99 149 10/28/99 

210 11/01/99 150 10/29/99 

211 11/02/99 151 11/01/99 

212 11/03/99 152 11/02/99 

213 11/04/99 153 11/03/99 

These issues are being reproduced and should be available for depository distribution in January 

2000. 

LPS is expediting regular distribution of both of these titles, as well as the other 13 titles on the 

“Direct Mail Discontinued List” by shipping them with Congressional publications. 

Questions concerning the status of the direct mail titles should be directed to 

<askLPS@gpo.gov>. 
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Microfiche Shipping Lists Cancelled Due to Default 

GPO's Term Contracts Division has determined that Wilkins Systems, Inc. has not been in 

compliance with microfiche contracts for programs B354-S and B562-S. Therefore, GPO has 

declared a default on these contracts for shipments that have not yet been converted and 

delivered, and for defective microfiche that were rejected and not yet corrected. GPO will 

reissue the titles assigned to these shipments to another contractor under the same program 

numbers. New print order numbers will be assigned. 

Reprocessing of these publications for microfiche conversion by another contractor has 

commenced. The new shipping lists will refer to the original print order and shipping list 

numbers. Libraries that receive duplicate copies of the publications should process them as 

secondary publications (see Instructions to Depository Libraries, Chapter 4, Section H, page 18). 

Shipments that have been returned to the Government Printing Office for cancellation are listed 

below. 

B354-S B562-S 

Print Order # Shipping List # Print Order # Shipping List #

0040 99-0642-M 00018 99-0655-M 

00052 99-0711-M 00020 99-0697-M 

00057 99-0751-M 00022 99-0746-M 

00060 99-0787-M 00025 99-0749-M 

00061 99-0904-M 00032 99-0924-M 

00063 99-0925-M 00033 99-0938-M 

00065 99-0940-M 00034 99-0945-M 

00066 99-0946-M 00035 99-0961-M 

00067 99-0962-M 00036 99-0975-M 

00068 99-0963-M 00037 2000-0011-M 

00069 99-0976-M 00038 2000-0019-M 

00070 99-0977-M 00039 2000-0051-M 

00071 2000-0012-M 00040 2000-0052-M 

00072 2000-0013-M 00041 2000-0053-M 

00073 2000-0014-M 00042 2000-0054-M 

00074 2000-0016-M 00043 2000-0102-M 

00075 2000-0017-M 

00076 2000-0020-M 

00077 2000-0055-M 

00078 2000-0056-M 

00079 2000-0057-M 

00080 2000-0101-M 

Please do not claim these items through Wilkins Systems, Inc. 

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Daily Shipments to Resume December 13

For the past several months, GPO's mailing contractor has batched the Library Programs 

Service’s (LPS) daily shipments and sent them to depository libraries on an average of one batch 

a week. This batching created an uneven and unacceptable processing workload in libraries. 

Effective Monday, December 13, 1999, the processing of depository shipments in batches will 

cease. Shortly thereafter, shipments received at depository libraries should again reflect the flow 

of work processed at GPO daily. To resolve this matter on a long-term basis, LPS is modifying 

contract specifications for upcoming mailing contracts. LPS thanks depository libraries for their 

patience, and for their promptness in notifying LPS of shipment concerns. 

New NTDB CD-ROM Issued 

The November 1999 National Trade Data Bank (NTDB) CD-ROM (C 1.88:, item 0128-L) will 

be the first issue using the new search and retrieval software. While the basic functionality of the 

software remains the same, accessing the data is totally different on the new discs. Documents 

can now include embedded graphics and tables and can be read in the way they were originally 

formatted, rather than as straight ACSII files. 

Documents can be accessed in one of three ways on the NTDB CD-ROM: 

 from the Table of Contents (corresponds to the "browse by program"), 

 via Quick Search (full text searching u



sing Boolean operators), and 

via Advanced Search (fielded search). 

 to in later sessions, and add annotations, or 

 will be one disc instead of two, and the software must be reinstalled with each month's 

isc. 

e Trade data are now being 

leased on the USA Trade CD-ROM (item 0128-L-01, C 1.88/3:).

 <www.ipswitch.com>. Use 

ntdb> for both the user name and password to access the site. 

Users can make bookmarks, tagging items to return

"stickie" notes, to documents for future reference. 

There

d

The Commercial Service International Contacts, Merchandise Trade Data, and the State of 

Origin of Export (MISER) data have been dropped. The Merchandis

re

STAT-USA has developed the NTDB Quick Start Manual, which will be loaded to an ftp server 

located at <ftpser.esa.doc.gov>. This site cannot be accessed via Internet Web browser. Instead, 

use a stand-alone program like WS_FTP, available for free from

<

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SuDocs Letter: Destroy Social Security Administration Document 

[The following letter was sent to all depositories.] 

November 9, 1999

Dear Depository Librarian: 

The Library Programs Service (LPS) was apprised by the Social Security Administration that the 

Fast Facts and Figures about Social Security should not have been distributed to depository 

libraries. Social Security Administration has advised us the publication was released without 

being proofed and has errors. 

Descriptive information on this publication: 

Title: Fast Facts and Figures about Social Security, 1999 

SuDocs Number: SSA 1.26:999 

Shipping List No.: 1999-0366-P 

Shipping List Date: 09/17/99 

Item Number: 0516-A-05 

I am requesting that you immediately withdraw this publication and destroy it by any means to 

prevent disclosure of its contents. Both LPS and the Social Security Administration regret any 

inconvenience resulting from the shipment of this publication. 

Sincerely, 

FRANCIS J. BUCKLEY, JR. 

Superintendent of Documents 

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SuDocs Letter: Destroy Library of Congress Document 

[The following letter was sent to all depositories.] 

November 12, 1999 

Dear Depository Librarian: 

The Library Programs Service (LPS) was apprised by the Library of Congress that the 

Cataloging Service Bulletin, No. 86 should not have been distributed to depository libraries. The 

Library of Congress has advised us that the publication is for internal use only. 

Descriptive information on this publication: 

Title: Cataloging Service Bulletin, No. 86, September 1, 1999 

Docs Number: LC 30.7/2:86 

Shipping List No.: 2000-0021-P 

Shipping List Date: 10/25/1999 

Item Number: 0814-B 

I am requesting that you immediately withdraw this publication and destroy it by any means to 

prevent disclosure of its contents. Both LPS and the Library of Congress regret any 

inconvenience resulting from the shipment of this publication. 

Sincerely, 

FRANCIS J. BUCKLEY, JR. 

Superintendent of Documents 

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SuDocs Letter: Destroy HUD Document 

[The following letter was sent to all depositories.] 

November 24, 1999 

Dear Depository Librarian: 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is requesting the removal and 

destruction of the Creole version of Resident Rights and Responsibilities. Descriptive 

information on this publication is as follows: 

Title: Rezedents Rights & Rispansabilities 

SuDocs Number: HH 1.2:R 31/14/CREOLE 

Shipping List No.: 1999-0349-P 

Shipping List Date: 08/31/99 

Item Number: 0582 

Please withdraw this publication and destroy it. Both LPS and the U.S. Department of Housing 

and Urban Development regret any inconvenience resulting from the shipment of this 

publication. 

Sincerely, 

FRANCIS J. BUCKLEY, JR. 

Superintendent of Documents 

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GPO Provides Public Access to Microsoft Decision 

At the request of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, the Government 

Printing Office (GPO) prepared print copies and online access to the "Findings of Fact" in the 

Microsoft case issued on Friday, November 5, 1999, by Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson. 

GPO was asked to make advance preparations for the rapid dissemination of the document. GPO 

established a specific URL for the "Findings" to be released on GPO Access, GPO's popular 

Internet information service at <www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs>. The Microsoft document URL 

is <http://usvms.gpo.gov>. At the Court's request, the document was to be made available in 

WordPerfect and Portable Document Format (PDF) formats. GPO also added availability in 

HTML format. To handle the anticipated demand, GPO arranged to have the document loaded 

on 10 servers configured behind a BigIP load balancer, served by five T1 lines. 

The Court also asked that GPO make available printed copies of the "Findings" through its main 

bookstore on North Capitol Street in Washington, DC, starting at 6:30 p.m. on the date of 

release. GPO produced copies of the cover in advance, established a $25 price for the product, 

and made preparations to dedicate high-speed duplicating systems for rapid document 

production. In addition, GPO set up a system for taking advance orders for the print publication. 

Judge Jackson announced the decision at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, November 5. A printed copy and 

electronic disk version of the 207-page document, entitled Findings of Fact: In State of New 

York, ex rel. Eliot Spitzer, et al., v. Microsoft Corporation, cases 98-1232 and 98-1233, were 

transferred to GPO by the Court. Print production began immediately, and a sufficient number 

of copies was produced by the time the bookstore re-opened at 6:30 p.m. At the same time, the 

electronic version was readied for the 6:30 p.m. release online. 

In the first hour of release, online traffic was heavy. GPO Access experienced 152,000 

successful connections in the first hour of release, with new connections averaging between 75 

and 100 every 4 seconds by 7:30 p.m. Between 6:30 p.m. Friday, November 5, and noon on 

Monday, November 8, GPO Access experienced 395,000 successful connections. 

A total of 147 copies of the print document were sold between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on 

November 5. Most of the network evening news broadcasts about the decision on Friday were 

filmed in front of GPO's bookstore. 

Print copies of the "Findings" are also being made available for public access through Federal 

depository libraries located throughout the Nation. 

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Readers Exchange 

Miami Gives Bookworms the Big Chill 

By Daniel Blazek, Coordinator 

Dante B. Fascell Division of Government Information and Special Formats, 

Otto G. Richter Library 

University of Miami 

dblazek@miami.edu 

The University of Miami's Otto G. Richter Library recently completed a two and a half year project 

to eradicate "cigarette" beetles from the library's government document collection. Undertaken 

between March 1997 and October 1999, the project successfully deloused approximately 4,600 

volumes of bound government documents, including the Congressional Record and Foreign 

Relations of the United States. 

Background 

In the late 1980's, the Richter Library staff first found there were volumes infested with damaging 

insects known as cigarette beetles. In 1989, the library commissioned the services of an 

entomologist, Thomas Parker, who specialized in treating materials housed in museums and 

libraries.1 Parker determined the chief areas of infestation in Richter Library, one of which was in 

certain older government documents.2 In contrast to local exterminators who recommended closing 

the library and blasting the stacks with toxic pesticides to eradicate the pests, Parker recommended 

freezing infested materials, along with placing pheromone traps. This method was environmentally 

friendly as well as economically viable, for it permitted keeping the library open for the duration of 

the treatment. 

The Cigarette Beetle 

The adult cigarette beetle is round in shape and about 1/3 the size of a ladybug. It commonly feeds 

on tobacco, grain, spices and other dried leafy materials. Eggs of the beetle are often found in 

household spices. In libraries, the beetle feeds on the glue of book bindings, spines and the hinges 

of bound materials. Fortunately, it does not seem to find softbound or unbound materials to its 

liking. 

Beetle eggs are laid on the book shelf or on top of the book itself. Hatched larvae, referred to 

traditionally as the common "bookworm," chew a tunnel into the glued portions of the book cover 

and create piles of powdered excrement, called "frass." In three months they may eat a path two 

inches long and scar a volume with unsightly holes. The larva chews a round exit hole through the 

book spine, plugs the hole with fras and pupates into an adult beetle in the chamber behind this hole. 

After a period of time, the beetle chews its way out of the book by exiting through this hole. After 

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emerging, the female beetle emits pheromones which attract the male. Both males and females are 

excellent fliers and are often successful in finding mates. The cycle repeats and one book may have 

multiple generations of beetle scarring. 

Although the cigarette beetle is small, infestations are fairly easy to identify. To check for cigarette 

beetles, examine underneath the book for little piles of fine dust (fras) on the book shelf. It is 

always the same color as the book being eaten. If you open the inside front or back cover, you may 

see small holes near the spine crease. Tap the spine of bound materials. If fras falls out, it probably 

indicates an active beetle infestation. 

As a chiefly tropical insect, the cigarette beetle is not conditioned for freezing temperatures, and 

soon dies if given a sufficient dose of cold weather. Placing infested materials in freezers for a 

few days would kill the beetle, as it cannot adjust so quickly to a sudden change in temperature. 

Collections 

Although the cigarette beetle is common in tropical areas, we believe it was probably imported into 

the Richter Library in the 1950's through two large collections of gifts. These gifts were stored for a 

number of years without air conditioning, and were probably infested before they were brought into 

the library. The Richter Library now routinely examines or freezes gifts before placing them in 

collections. 

Most of the beetle infestations involved materials printed from the years 1920 to 1960. 

Infestations included particularly valuable sets such as: a reprint of the Annals of Congress, 

portions of the bound Congressional Record, Foreign Relations of the United States, the Treaties 

and International Acts Series, large runs of the War Department and assorted volumes from the 

Smithsonian. Sporadic infestations were also in the Departments of Labor, Education (SuDoc 

FS), and Treasury; the Library of Congress, NASA, the Postal Service, the Patent and Trademark 

Office, and assorted Congressional Commissions. A few spots of infestation were also identified 

in the international collection of League of Nations documents. 

Fortunately, the beetles do not seem attracted to the glue in the Congressional Serial Set or the 

Division’s self-bound collection of Congressional Hearings. The Congressional Record, however, 

showed some evidence that it was re-infested before the project was completed, and it subsequently 

had to be re-frozen. 

General Plan of Action 

From 1990 to 1992, the Government Information Division made note of infested shelving areas and 

some sporadic freezing was done. However, freezing was not systematic, and no follow-up 

maintenance or monitoring was performed. A large number of volumes of full-text patents were 

significantly damaged by the beetles and subsequently weeded rather than frozen. 

It was as late as 1997 that the project was begun in earnest. Since remaining infestations involved 

valuable works such as the Foreign Relations and the Congressional Record, the project was 

given much higher priority. In January 1997, the government document shelves were 

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systematically inventoried to determine infestations. A plan of action was developed to prioritize 

saving the most important sets first. Large amounts of materials needed immediate attention before 

further damage occurred. A freezer was relocated to aid in the eradication, and a second one was 

also made available for the Division's use. 

Freezing was done on a weekly rotating schedule. Materials were placed in small cardboard boxes, 

and then sealed in large plastic garbage bags. The boxes were placed in already cooled freezers, and 

quick frozen for three days. The freezers were then unplugged, and slowly thawed to room 

temperature for another three days. This prevented water damage to the books. While the volumes 

were in the freezer, a portable vacuum cleaner was used to clean dust, fras and beetle eggs from the 

emptied shelves. It was important that the shelves were cleaned, as leftover eggs could re-infest 

materials. Before the volumes were returned to the shelves, a student penciled the word "frozen" 

and the date on the inside front cover. This helped to track if re-infestations occurred and also 

prevented freezing the same volume twice. 

The Division also placed pheromone-laced beetle traps on top of volumes that were known to be 

infested. Care had to be taken in handling the traps, as they were extremely sticky and hard to 

remove from shelving and floors if meddled with by students. Beetles, however, were successfully 

attracted to the scent, and a few days after placement, some beetles could be seen embedded in the 

sticky glue. 

Statistics of frozen volumes were collected and a map of infested areas was charted and updated. 

When the project began, approximately eight shelves of materials were frozen per week. Estimated 

time to complete the project was one to one and a half years. The project was delayed a few times 

and eventually completed in about two and a half years. The project took longer than expected due 

to other projects taking priority, the discontinuity of student labor, and accommodating other 

Divisions if they needed to use the freezers. 

Follow-Up 

Only one part of the collection needed to be re-frozen, and that was the Congressional Record. This 

was probably due to the large physical size of the volumes, which may have affected how cold the 

temperature got inside the book covers. While it may be too soon to judge whether the project was 

completely successful (some beetle larvae have been documented to live eleven years) other 

volumes were re-checked for signs of fras, and seem to be in good condition. A total of 4,600 

volumes were saved from further destruction. 

While the method of freezing is quite time and labor intensive, it is environmentally friendly, and 

does not mandate a library shutdown to undertake. Prevention is vitally important to the health of 

library collections, and all gifts should be thoroughly inspected or frozen before volumes are added. 

For more about freezing and other environmentally friendly ways to eradicate insects from 

collections, see Nonchemical Treatment Processes for Disinfestation... by Johanna Wellheiser.3

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Special thanks to: 

 Students and library assistants in the Government Information and Special Formats Division 

who helped to carry out this project; 

 Bill Brown, Assistant University Librarian for Administrative Services and Special 

Collections, for the use of his freezer all those years; and 

 Jay Kalvan, Collection Management Librarian, for special assistance in this project and 

with background information for this report. 

1. Carol Biscontini, “Housecleaning: Getting Bugs out of Museums,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 18 

August 1985, p. N01. 

2. Mark Jaffe, “A Savior of Beauty, Wisdom and Truth,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 8 February 

1989, p. B01. 

3. Johanna G. Wellheiser, Nonchemical Treatment Processes for Disinfestation of Insects and 

Fungi in Library Collections (New York: Saur, 1992), 21-38. 

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14 

Table of Contents

Y2K Preparations at GPO and LPS .............................................................................................. 1 

USAPat Migrating to DVD........................................................................................................... 2 

USGS Map Shipping Lists Now Distributed to All Libraries ...................................................... 2 

Federal Register & Congressional Record Issues Being Reprinted; 

 Former Direct Mail Titles to Receive Priority Handling........................................................... 3 

Microfiche Shipping Lists Cancelled Due to Default................................................................... 4 

Daily Shipments to Resume December 13 ................................................................................... 5 

New NTDB CD-ROM Issued....................................................................................................... 5 

SuDocs Letter: Destroy Social Security Administration Document............................................. 6 

SuDocs Letter: Destroy Library of Congress Document.............................................................. 7 

SuDocs Letter: Destroy HUD Document ..................................................................................... 8 

GPO Provides Public Access to Microsoft Decision.................................................................... 9 

Readers Exchange: Miami Gives Bookworms the Big Chill...................................................... 10

Administrative Notes is published in Washington, DC by the Superintendent of Documents, Library 

Programs Service, Government Printing Office, for the staffs of U.S. Federal Depository Libraries. 

It is published on the 15th day of each month; some months have additional issues. Postmaster send 

address changes to: The Editor, Administrative Notes 

 U.S. Government Printing Office 

 Library Programs Service, SLLD 

 Washington, DC 20401 

Internet access via World Wide Web at URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/adnotes.html 

Editor: Marian W. MacGilvray (202) 512-1119 mmacgilvray@gpo.gov