Learn what innovative changes lie in the future of government information The Changing Face of Government Information comprehensively examines the way government documents’ librarians acquire, provide access, and provide reference services in the new electronic environment. Noted experts discuss the impact electronic materials have had on the Government Printing Office (GPO), the reference services within the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), and the new opportunities in the transition from paper-based information policy to an electronic e-government. This source reveals the latest changes in the field of government documents librarianship and the knowledge and expertise needed to teach users how to access what they need from this enormous wealth of government information. Major changes have taken place in the way government information is created, disseminated, accessed, and preserved. The Changing Face of Government Information explains in detail the tremendous change taking place in libraries and government documents librarianship. Topics include the increasing accessibility to the federally funded technical report literature, information on the Patriot Act’s effect on the status of libraries in the aftermath of 9/11, the uses of Documents Data Miner©, and information about catalogs, indexes, and full text databases. This book also provides a selective bibliography of print and electronic sources about Native Americans and the Federal Government, as well as specific sources for information about the environment, such as EPA air data, DOE energy information, information on flora and fauna, hazardous waste, land use, and water. Each chapter is extensively referenced and several chapters use appendixes, tables, and charts to ensure understanding of data. This useful book gives readers the opportunity to learn: how the University of Oregon successfully integrated its business reference service and map collection into its government documents collection the results of a survey of FDLP institutions identifying the factors contributing to the reorganization of services details of the pilot project undertaken by the University of Arizona Library along with the United States Government Printing Office’s Library Programs Service to create a model for a virtual depository library which critical features are missing in today’s e-government reference service models details of the GPO’s plans to provide perpetual access to both electronic and tangible information resources—and the strategies to authenticate government publications on the Internet The Changing Face of Government Information is stimulating, horizon-expanding reading for librarians, professors, students, and researchers.

The first text to provide a comprehensive introduction to the information policies of the United States government and basic source material, this book emphasizes the underlying importance of policy and its formulations, and traces policies and sources through time. Supported by a companion CD-ROM with documents, exercises, and study questions, this is a key text in government information courses.

This helpful new book discusses access possibilities and policies with regard to government information. New and impending legislation, information on most frequently used and requested sources, and grant writing are some of the topics covered in the comprehensive chapters. Government Documents and Reference Services helps make sense of technical reports, government regulations, patents, and other difficult areas the librarian has to deal with. Reference and technical librarians will find this an indispensable tool to guide them through the intricacies of government document research.

This volume is issue-oriented. By showing that issues relating to topics such as access to government information resources, collection development, and administration are not unique to documents librarianship, it places selected topics in a wider context. The book's objectives are to identify and discuss critically important issues related to increasing access to government information resources, to offer solutions and recommendations by which government information resources and services can be made more effective, to encourage more assessments that examine issues across levels of government, to emphasize the importance and need for a research base related to government information resources and services, and to encourage a critical assessment of current practices and traditional assumptions.