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Government Documents
Librarian
John Faria |
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The El Paso Public Library was designated a
Federal Depository in 1906 and is part of the Federal Depository
Library Program. It is a selective Federal Depository and
receives 35% of everything GPO publishes. In 1966 it became a
depository for Texas State Government Documents. |
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| Government publications come in a wide variety of formats books,
pamphlets, brochures, flyers, microfiche, magazines, maps, DVD’s
and electronic formats. The Library receives material from every
government department and agency that we select from the Item
List. We have materials from the Department of Defense,
including several series of military history sets, Department of
the Interior, NASA, Department of Health and Human Services
including access to the National Library of Medicine and PubMed
database, and the Department of Homeland Security which includes
Immigration resources. |
Government Documents also has a Map Collection which will also
have access to other map collections and the U.S. Geological
Survey website, a Law Collection with the United States Code,
U.S. Supreme Court opinions, and Texas Statutes. There is also
access to Patents and Trademarks and Health Related Resources
such as the National Library of Medicine. Starting this year
there will also be a Dedicated Public Access Computer for
Government Documents Research.
Government Documents it's as Easy as FDL:
Free Information, Dedicated Service, Limitless Possibilities
Check out our Teacher and Student Resources....
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Hey, we're not
kidding! What can be more fun than a
government document that is meant to be
colored in!
Find out more..... |
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Government Resources Online |
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Health
Related Government Websites
Legal Information Center (coming soon)
Native American Information
Center - Highlights
websites that serve American Indians or focus on American
Indian issues.
http://www.oklibshare.org/ieclinks.htm
Federal Digital System (FDsys)– A service of the U.S. Government Printing Office.
Information from all three branches of the Federal Government
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
Immigration and Citizenship
The U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services is a key agency within the Department
of Homeland Security. It is the main agency that administers
all aspects of Immigration and Citizenship in the United
States. The following links gives access in English and
Spanish to all aspects of Immigration and Citizenship.
Topics include: Working in the US -- How to Get a Green Card
(Permanent Residence) -- Citizenship -- Family–Procedures
for relatives -- Humanitarian Programs -- Adoption --
Visiting the US Military-Procedures for members of the
military and their families -- Forms, Resources, and Laws
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis
Spanish Version
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis-es
Infopass - Schedule an appointment with an immigration
officer. It is available in English and Spanish.
http://infopass.uscis.gov/
Internal Revenue Service (Includes forms and publications)
http://irs.gov
Metalib - GPO’s new federated search tool that is a
service of the Catalog of U.S. Publications. Use Metalib’s
federated searching to retrieve reports, articles, and
citations by simultaneously searching across multiple
Federal Government databases.
http://metalib.gpo.gov
United States Government - Official
Portal of the U.S. Government
http://www.usa.gov/
En Español -
http://www.usa.gov/gobiernousa/
U.S. Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov
United States Patent and Trademark Office
http://www.uspto.gov
Thomas – Federal legislative information on the Internet
http://thomas.loc.gov
Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids
http://bensguide.gpo.gov
Texas Online – Official compilation of Texas government electronic
resources at the state and local levels
http://www.state.tx.us
Texas Legislature Online
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us |
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Hours of Operation |
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Limited Service 15 minutes before closing. |
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Sunday |
12:00 pm - |
6:00 pm |
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Monday |
10:00 am -
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7:00 pm |
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Tuesday |
10:00 am -
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7:00 pm |
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Wednesday |
10:00 am -
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7:00 pm |
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Thursday |
10:00 am -
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7:00 pm |
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Friday |
11:00 am -
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6:00 pm |
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Saturday |
10:00 am -
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6:00 pm |
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Have you visited the Government Documents
Section of your library lately?
Stop by
and see the wide range of information provided
by your Federal and Texas State Government. |
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Many items can be checked out
with your library card! Periodically we highlight some of the new
documents available: |
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History of
the Federal Depository Library Program |
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Government Documents is the
common name for all library
departments that have
collections that primarily deal
with publications that are
published by the Federal, State,
and local governments.
Federal government publications
have been made available to the
public since the Act of 1813
when Congress first authorized
legislation that made one copy
of the House and Senate Journals
and other Congressional
documents were to be provided to
universities, historical
societies, and state libraries,
etc. The earliest known
depository was the American
Antiquarian Society in 1814.
The Printing Act of 1852
provided for the appointment of
a Superintendent of Public
printing within the Department
of the Interior. The Joint
Committee of Printing in the
Congress was established as
well. In 1857 the Secretary of
the Interior was made
responsible for depository
distribution and also authorized
to designate libraries to
receive government documents. In
1858 each Representative could
designate a depository from his
district as well as delegates
from each territory. In 1859
each Senator was able to assign
one depository in his state.
The 1860 Printing Act authorized
the Superintendent of Public
Printing to execute the public
printing himself, however on
March 4, 1861, The Government
Printing Office was finally
established as a part of the
legislative branch on the same
day that Abraham Lincoln was
inaugurated. In 1869 a
Superintendent of Documents
within the Department of the
Interior was established and in
1876 the title of Superintendent
of Public Printing was changed
to Public Printer and the
position became a presidential
appointment subject to Senate
confirmation.
The next piece of major
legislation was the Printing Act
of 1895, this act is the direct
antecedent of Title 44 of the
United States Code Chapter 19.
This was the landmark
legislation that in essence
established the Federal
Depository Library Program. It
collected and organized all the
then extant public printing
laws. Some of the major impacts
of this Act were as follows:
Transfer of the Office of
Superintendent of Documents from
the Department of the Interior
to GPO, centralization of
printing, addition of executive
department publications to
depository distribution, the
addition of libraries from the
executive department and the
military academies. The Monthly
Catalog was developed and from
1895 to 1903 the SuDoc’s
classification system was
developed by GPO Librarian
Adelaide Hasse. In 1907
land-grant colleges became
depositories.
The Act of 1913 gave designated
depositories a more permanent
status. In 1923 all designated
depository libraries were given
the option to receive or not to
receive all depository items as
a result a Classified List of
United States Government
Publications was developed. In
1947, the first Biennial Survey
of Depository Libraries was
conducted.
The next major legislation was
the Depository Library Act of
1962 (PL 87-579). This formed
the modern Federal Depository
Library Program we know of
today. That year the number of
depositories doubled, each
Congressional District could now
have up to two depositories,
libraries from independent
Federal agencies were added, it
authorized Regional Libraries,
depositories could now discard
items after 5 years, and non-GPO
publications could be
distributed to depositories. In
1977 the libraries of each
state’s highest appellate court
were added to the program. In
1978 law libraries were added.
The Depository Library Act of
1962 is codified as 44 U.S.C. 19
of the Code. Title 44 governs
printing and documents and
chapter 19 governs the FDLP
program. In 1968 chapter 17 was
enacted governing the
distribution and sale of public
documents and the cataloging and
indexing program. In 1993
chapter 41 was enacted providing
the enabling legislation for GPO
Access on line service and the
various locator services.
Today because of the increasing
electronic environment the FDLP
program is going completely
digital at the request of
Congress. It is now in the
process of migrating many of its
operations to the FDLP Desktop.
Despite the many changes over
the years the three main
principles of the FDLP program
have remained the same: |
1) Federal Government
Information within
the scope of the FDLP shall be
made available to Federal
Depository libraries.
2) Federal Depository libraries
shall be
located in each State and U.S.
Congressional District to make
government
information materials more
widely available.
3) Federal Government
information in all
media shall be available for the
free use by the general public.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
If you want to know more about
government documents and /or
what government document
librarians and staff do consult
the following titles in the
Professional Reference
Collection at the Main Library
of the El Paso Public Library:
Guide to U.S. Government
Publications
1999 edition
Andriot, Donna; editor
Manassas, VA: Documents Index,
Inc., 1953-1999
R 015.73 GUI 1999
This is the standard reference
source on all Federal government
document collections. It is a
massive index organized by each
government department then by
agency within each department.
Each Bureau and agency that ever
existed in the Federal
Government is listed with a
brief note of its creation and
authority and the years it
existed along with
SuDoc numbers. You can trace
back a current SuDoc number from
a current document from a a
current government agency back
to documents covering the same
subject matter but being issued
by a different agency and
sometimes with different SuDoc
numbers from a previous
era.
Government Documents
Librarianship: A Guide to the
Neo-Depository
EraEnnis, Lisa A.
Medford, NJ: Information Today,
Inc., 2007
R PC 025.1734 ENN
This is the newest and most up
to date title on Government
Documents. It takes into account
the latest technological
developments including the shift
to a more digital environment
and publication of the new
electronic Federal Depository
Manual.
Map Librarianship: An
Introduction
Larsgaard, Mary
Littelton, CO: Libraries
Unlimited, Inc. 1978
R SW 025.176 LAR
This is the standard classic
work on all aspects of map
librarianship, map libraries,
map collections, and the
cataloging, and care of maps.
This is the 1st edition a more
recent 3rd edition has been
published.
Introduction to United
States Government Information
Sources
Sixth Edition
Morehead, Joe
Englewood, CO.: Libraries
Unlimited, 1999
R PC 015.73 M813i 1999
This has long been the standard
introduction to Government
Documents now in its sixth
edition. It covers all aspects
of government documents the GPO,
the FDLP, collection
development, the different
branches of the Federal
Government, administrative law,
legal information sources,
intellectual property, selected
agencies such as NASA, and maps.
Using Government
Information Sources: Electronic
and Print Third Edition
Sears, Jean L. and Marilyn K.
Moody
Phoenix, AZ; Oryx Press, 2001
R PC 015.73053 Se17u 2001
This is the standard reference
work on how to do research using
government documents. It has
chapters on search strategies,
the basics of searching, several
chapters on subject searches in
different subject areas such as
foreign
policy, climate, health, etc.
There are also chapters on
searching government agencies,
doing statistical searches, and
using special techniques. |
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| Directions for the Main
Library |
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Take the Downtown exit from either side of the City. We are located across from the
Doubletree Hotel and next to the El Paso History Museum.
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| Parking |
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There is currently
no parking at the Main Library.
Metered parking is available on the streets around the library. |
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