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Federal International State and Local |


GPO Item Selection and Classification Information | Return to top of page
of United States Government Publications Available for Selection by Depository Libraries |
The List of Classes, an essential tool for Federal Depository Libraries, includes the classes of publications
and GPO item numbers associated with them. The electronic versions of this title, updated monthly, are more current
than the printed version. The FDLP Desktop page links to the current PDF version (equivalent to print copies distributed
to FDLP libraries, and includes a key to format designation codes and current versions of these text files:
Inactive or Discontinued Items,
List of Active Items and Class Stems,
List of Classes,
Classes No Longer Active, List of Classes, Appendix II,
Alphabetic Listing of Government Authors. This information is also available through the
File Libraries page, where the Last modified" date indicates
the currency of the file.
Depository library staff should read the GPO FDLP List posting, Item numbers 0556-C and 1004-E explained regarding GPO's practice of using these item numbers "to distribute, on occasion, key materials to ALL depository libraries." Documents Data Miner 2 (hereafter called DDM 2) provides a searchable database version based on GPO's text files. DDM 2 users may download basic files as well as specific query returns. Class changes and updates to the List of Classes are available as a downloadable spreadsheet from FDLP as Web Tech Notes. A database, WEBTech Notes (beta) is now available. |
Selection Profile |
New Electronic Library item numbers for "Hearings, Prints, and Miscellaneous Publications (EL)" Late in 2008, GPO assigned new item numbers for Congressional electronic resources. Examples can be viewed, such as the 33 new items for hearings retrieved seaching a Regional depository's item profile using DDM 2. GPO produced a document explaining their New Item Number Procedure for Selected Congressional Publications in November 2008. Libraries may wish to use DDM 2 to determine which new EL items may have been added before amending their item selection profile. Item Lister reflects each depository library's current item selection profile. Updated weekly, Item Lister's currency displays at the bottom of the listing. Libraries may drop items from their profiles at any time using GPO's Amendment of Item Selections form. Items may be added during the annual selection update cycle. Item selection information is also contained in DDM 2, which integrates current Item Lister, List of Classes, and Union List of Item Selections data to provide complete information on each item number. |
| Site presents a review of the item number system used by libraries in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) to select tangible and electronic titles. Includes links to briefing papers explaining the current system and alternatives proposed in 2005 and 2006. | |
| HTML and ASCII versions of the manual, revised January 1993, are available. | |
Classification System |
This is a basic explanation for those who find the GPO Classification Manual too detailed. |
from the 1950 Revision of the Classified List |
Also known as the Inactive and Discontinued List, this listing of items, titles, and SuDocs classifications may be used to interpret early depository selection profiles for the purpose of profiling for early record loads. Electronic options include the searchable database in DDM 2, and the text file from GPO Access. |
| A digitized version of the 1909 checklist, created by Carlos Diaz, Government Documents Specialist, Evergreen State College. This site offers SuDoc classes for many early documents. | |
| Formerly known as the Sales Product Catalog (SPC) and designed as a sales tool, this database can be sometimes be used to identify and classify GPO-produced titles before they are distributed to FDLP libraries. | |
| "A complete guide to the Sessions of Congress" hosted on GPO Access |
Depository Processing Tools | Return to top of page
Jump to Shipping List Information
| H. Vernon Leighton lists Autodocs under Depository Library Software Tools. "Autodocs is an electronic check-in and shelflist system designed to be used with Microsoft Access 97 or later. It allows one to download an electronic shipping list to check-in and shelflist receipts without keying in shipping list data." Site includes "SuperC", the 2002 Superseded List, for both new Autodocs users and current users who want to upgrade. | |
| The FDLP Desktop includes many useful sections, including the Amendment of Item Selections, Item Lister, and the official FDLP Libraries Directory. | |
| In January 2008, the handbook supreseded these publications: Federal Depository Library Manual and the Instructions to Depository Libraries (and Supplements). | |
| GPO's Online Knowledge Base (frequently referred to as the "CRM") is designed to be a single point of contact for those with questions for GPO. When GPO Access systems are down, call 866-512-1800 (toll-free) or 202-512-1800 in the DC area to report problems. Customer service hours are 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday (except Federal holidays). | |
| A new WEBTech Notes (beta) database is now available which should replace the downloadable spreadsheet of changes published in Administrative Notes Technical Supplement. For late-breaking news, LPS posts announcements to GPO-FDLP-L. An archive is available. Contact Us offers a listing of GPO Library Service and Content Management managers for when the askGPO Help is insufficient. | |
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The FDLP Desktop has a section on
Shipping Lists and lists are available as downloadable
dbf files.
These files are used to produce a variety of products, among them the HTML versions of shipping lists are available through the Enhanced Shipping List Service, produced through a cooperative agreement between the State University of New York at Buffalo and the Federal Depository Library Program. The Enhanced Shipping List Service has a supplemental Dynamic Search Form accessing an Access database which includes most shipping lists from 2001-2002 and virtually all of the lists from 2003-present. Feedback on this database is requested by Timothy M. McCarthy. DDM 2 is extremely useful for locating Federal Depository Library Program shipping list information for 1997-present. No specific browser is required, however Netscape 6+ or Internet Explorer 5.5+ is recommended. The user must have cookies and javascript turned on. DDM 2 offers includes searchable GPO shipping lists beginning with FY 1997. May be accessed by Title, Month, Year, Item or SuDoc Numbers, Format and Depository (Library) Number. Searches may combine access points. Users may choose to customize shipping lists, profiling lists for their depository library. Searchers will find that results from recent lists include HTML links to official PDF files at the FDLP's Shipping Lister site. Some users may wish to use accessed lists to download MARC records associated with the list. Various printable versions of shipping lists are available. Shipping Lister: Shipping Lists in PDF Format allows users to print official copies of GPO shipping lists for paper, electronic, separates, distributed by GPO for FY 2001- . Microfiche lists start with FY 2009. GPO asks libraries to use their Web claim form for items distributed by GPO and to contact contractors to fulfill microfiche claims. USGS "Depository Library Sending" lists are available in MS Word format from GPO's Federal Bulletin Board. When the page loads, scroll down toward the bottom, look for "U.S. Geological Survey Depository Shipping Lists Fiscal Year" and click on the desired year. The FDLP asks that depositories please to use their Web Claim Form for all claims against GPO-produced shipping lists, e.g., paper, separates, electronic, and those few microfiche shipping lists issued from GPO. Before making a claim, check the Claims Copies Exhausted page, linked from the Web Claim Form. Federal Depository Library Program publishes listings of the last or final shipping list numbers for each fiscal year to make it easier to identify missing shipments at the end of the fiscal year. Final lists are available for 2007, 2006, 2005, and 2004. |
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| The Government Information Clearinghouse and Handout Exchange compiled by the GODORT Education Committee includes materials authored and used in a variety of libraries. | |
| The Federal Depository Library Directory versions listed here can be used for a multitude of purposes, including
identifying the library owner of misdirected shipments. All versions provide hotlinks to depository e-mail addresses and
homepages.
The official Web version of the FDLP Libraries Directory offers many public search options. DDM 2 supports Boolean searching by Depository number, name, city, state, and library type. |
Cataloging Records | Return to top of page
The following are sources of GPO cataloging records. | Non-GPO Records are also available
| WorldCat contains GPO records from 1976- , plus earlier cataloging records contributed by other OCLC member institutions. Downloads available to subscribers only. Updated daily, GPO's Cataloging Branch creates records in this database. OCLC's FirstSearch service includes GPO (GPO Monthly Catalog) as a database for subscribers. OCLC also sells monthly batches of GPO records to be loaded into library catalogs. | |
| Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (a.k.a. CGP). GPO records from 1976- (more than 500,000 records). No use restrictions. Updated daily. According to GPO, The CGP will grow to include records for publications dating back to the late 1800s. Advanced search options are available. The CGP is the online counterpart of the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications, which dates from the passage of the Printing Act of 1895. At present the Monthly Catalog should be consulted for pre-1976 indexing. Access to the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) via Z39.50 now available to Depository Libraries, allowing staff to log into the catalog and download records. | |
| DDM 2 is a follow up to Documents Data Miner©. No specific browser is required, however Netscape 6+ or Internet Explorer 5.5+ is recommended. The user must have cookies and javascript turned on. DDM2 offers a database of GPO MARC Records - the "MARC LOCATOR" which includes all MARC records created by GPO Cataloging Branch from December 1998 to present, over 52,000 records in in February 2002. Records are searchable by: OCLC number, Item or SuDoc numbers, Agency (from 1xx fields), Title, Title Key Words, Subject (from 6xx fields), or Format. Accessed records may be viewed in DDM 2's public view, MARC view, downloaded to user's PC for import into local databases, or accessed via the Web for records containing P/URLs. Records may be downloaded into OPACs individually or batched. Records may be tagged by depository profiles. | |
| MarciveWeb DOCS. The MARCIVE Enhanced GPO Database is available only to subscribers. The backfile (1976- ) includes the results of a project with Louisiana State University, Texas A & M University, and Rice University in which corrections and changes as posted to the Monthly Catalog were applied, records for dead and infrequent serials were examined and corrected, incorrect MARC tagging was corrected, and many other improvements (including authorities processing) were made to the records to make them more usable. Records may be saved and downloaded in MARC format. New records are made available monthly through either Ongoing Subscription or Documents Without Shelves. Ongoing service can be supplemented with weekly Shipping List Service (brief MARC records, SuDoc labels, smart barcode labels). | |
| LexisNexis, a commercial publisher, sells records to complement CIS microfiche collections (records are not accessible through the CIS page). These include the CIS US Congressional Committee Hearings 1789-1969, the CIS Index to Publications of the United States Congress 1970-, and the CIS US Executive Branch Documents 1789-1909. In this last set, catalog records are available for part 1 (Treasury, Commerce, Labor Departments) and part 2 (War Department), with additional parts to be available in the future. These cataloging records can be purchased without buying the corresponding microfiche collections. | |
| Effective January 2006, the Cataloging Distribution Service of the Library of Congress sells only backfiles of MARC records (not accessible from this page) created between 1976-2005 for books, serials, maps, audiovisual materials, and computer files cataloged by the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) on OCLC. |
Other Cataloging Records | Return to top of page
The following are sources of non-GPO cataloging records
| The Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information offers free MARC records for the full-text reports available via the DOE Information Bridge. Over 200,000 reports can be downloaded by year or by subject category. Records are for documents dating primarily from 1991 forward and were produced by DOE, the DOE contractor community, and/or DOE grantees. Legacy documents from DOE and predecessor agencies, the Atomic Energy Commission and the Energy Research and Development Administration, are added as they become available in electronic format. FAQ available. | |
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MARCIVE, Inc. sells ERIC MARC Records.
The backfile covers the 435,662 title commercially-sold set of microfiche that dates from the 1950's to the present.
About 70% of the records have URLs that link directly to the documents. MARCIVE also has the Internet-only titles from
2004 to the present. The ongoing subscription averages about 300 new records per month and includes the URL updates to
the microfiche records.
Although ERIC records are included in other indices, the patron has to consciously think to use them. An architecture student would never think to look here for information on building cafeterias, nor would a psychology student think to look here for topics such as workplace stress. When these records are loaded into the online database, students find them through keyword access and can click on the links and go directly to the document. The FAQ contains more information. For pricing, sample records, and references, please contact Joan Chapa. |
Collection Management Information | Return to top of page
| The newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program contains official announcements and helpful articles. Current issues are available in HTML or PDF format. A cumulative table of contents is available in PDF format from the main Administrative Notes page. | |
| For new depository coordinators, these FDLP tutorials provide an overview of the basics of being a depository coordinator, a list of resources with descriptions of what they are and how they can be used, and more. | |
| Now maintained by Bobby Griffith, Melody Kelly originally prepared this list for students taking SLIS 5660, Government Information and Access Service, at the University of North Texas School of Library and Information Sciences (Denton, TX). | |
| Along with monthly reports, the FDLP publishes Cumulative Metrics (FY 2005 - Present) as as a PDF file. Useful for those interested in monitoring the number of titles and online resources being added to the FDLP. | |
| The report attempts to measure referrals from Depository Web sites to electronic resources in the FDLP Electronic Collection. To be counted, libraries must register domains of online catalogs and Web pages and use GPO PURLs. The page includes a link to a page where libraries may register the domains of their Web pages and online catalogs. Reports are available for download as Excel spreadsheets from the Federal Bulletin Board. | |
| The GODORT Handout Exchange and Clearinghouse, compiled by the GODORT Education Committee, includes materials authored and used in a variety of libraries. | |
(DDM 2) |
Documents Data Miner 2 is a partnership of Wichita State University, the National Institute for Aviation Research, and the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). Designed to support management of federal depository library collections, DDM 2 combines files from the latest version of the List of Classes of United States Government Publications Available for Selection by Depository Libraries, the Inactive and Discontinued List, the Item Lister's Current Item Number Selection Profiles for Depository Libraries, and the Federal Depositories Library Directory. |
| Many useful FDLP titles are linked from this suite of publications and tools. Those attempting to locate missing documents, or to build a collection retrospectively should not overlook the national Needs and Offers List, listed under "Manage Your Collection." | |
| "The purpose of this application is to help library workers understand and implement basic procedures for processing U.S. federal publications and information resources." | |
| An interactive tutorial for teaching SuDocs call numbers, sponsored by the Continuing Education Fund Working Group of the Education Committee of the American Library Association's Government Documents Round Table. Designed by Becky Fox, Michigan State University Libraries, Government Documents Library. | |
| Lucie Mayeux posted this helpful summary of sources to GOVDOC-L in April 2003. (Note that DOCEX was abolished after this was posted.) | |
U.S. Documents That May Be Discarded By Depository Libraries, Annotated for Retention By Regional Depositories |
2002 and 1996 editions of the Superseded List are available from the FDLP web site (2002 is in PDF format, 1996 in HTML.) DDM 2 includes this reformatted as a searchable database. |
| Which Federal Depository Libraries select which item numbers? The Government Printing Office's Depository Library Union List contains selections by Federal Depository libraries in two zipped file versions: one comma delimited, one fixed field. The information is also contained in DDM 2, which integrates data from the current List of Classes and is updated whenever GPO issues an updated file. |
Cataloging Handbooks, Manuals, and Guides | Return to top of page
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A quarterly publication available from the Cataloging Distribution Service, Library of Congress. |
Cooperative Online Serials |
Many libraries participate, and still more use the serial records produced by this International Cooperative Serials Cataloging Program and Component of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging. The CONSER site includes a wealth of useful links, such as the CONSER Cataloging Manual Module 31 : Remote Access Electronic Serials (Online Serials), available from the Serials Cataloging Issues page. |
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Includes links to GPO Cataloging Guidelines and more. |
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Compiled by the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS, a division of the American Library Association) Committee on Cataloging: Description & Access (CC:DA). |
for Librarians |
While not comprehensive, the Internet Library for Librarians has many pages of interest, among them, Cataloging: Organizing Internet Resources: Traditional Cataloging Approach. |
| Supersedes earlier ISBDs prepared by the IFLA Universal Bibliographic Control and International MARC Programme. Designed to be compliant with the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR), the ISBD consolidated edition merges the texts of the seven specialized ISBDs (for books, maps, serials, sound recordings, computer files and other electronic resources, etc.) into one. | |
| This resource allows one to"find a library or group of libraries, their symbols and policies. Enter whatever you
know—part of a name, city, etc. To search for a group of libraries, type 'or' between your search terms; for example,
'DC or MD or VA'", or search by OCLC Symbol to learn the institutions' names. Don't confuse the OCLC resource (above) with the Web version of MARC Code List for Organizations. This resource, published by the Library of Congress Network Development and MARC Standards Office, "contains short alphabetic codes used to represent names of libraries and other kinds of organizations that need to be identified in the bibliographic environment." |
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| Published by the Library of Congress Network Development and MARC Standards Office. Includes standards for MARC concise format records for bibliographic, authority, holdings, classification, and community information. The following quick links may be of interest: Understanding MARC Bibliographic: Machine-Readable Cataloging, Guidelines for Coding Electronic Resources in Leader/06, Guidelines for the Use of Field 856, USMARC Concise Format for Bibliographic Data, and many others. | |
| OCLC is a tool used by GPO and most libraries, so one should learn how to use it effectively. Browse OCLC Cataloging Connexion Documentation for authoritative information. Documentation titles include Bibliographic Formats and Standards, Cataloging Electronic Resources: OCLC-MARC Coding Guidelines, revised July 11, 2006. |
| From the American Library Association ALCTS Web site. | |
| Available as a link from the Special Library Association's Librarians' Resource Centre, developed by Margaret Gross and maintained by Dave Hook . | |
| This GODORT Education Committee project includes links to processing, cataloging, and collection management guides. | |
| The Joint Steering Committee for Development of RDA (JSC) is the new name of the Joint Steering Committee for Revision of Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR). The JSC was responsible for maintaining the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, and is now working on a new code, “RDA: Resource Description and Access” scheduled to be released at the end of November 2009. Site includes information on the transition from AACR2 to RDA. | |
| List of resources related to Map Cataloging by Kathy Rankin, included in the Western Association of Map Libraries' Map Librarian's Toolbox, authored by Linda Zellmer. | |
Map Information and Place Names |
From the ALA/GODORT International Documents Task Force's Toolbox for Processing and Cataloging International and Foreign Government Documents. Includes the Map Cataloging Resources above, and more. |
on the Web |
Created and maintained by Shirley Lincicum to support the efforts of staff at the University of Oregon's Knight Library (Eugene, OR). |
| Created and maintained by staff at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries (Cambridge, MA), the MIT Cataloging Oasis page has been designed to provide many of the "little bits" of information catalogers need on a daily basis. | |
| The Library Corporation's Cataloger's Reference Shelf provides guides in theses topical areas: MARC Data Formats; MARC Code Lists; Other Reference Manuals; and Subject Cataloging Manuals. | |
| Written by J. McRee Elrod of Special Libraries Cataloging, Victoric, BC, Canada, these address many topics, including government documents. | |
| Maintained by Charley Pennell, Principal Cataloger for Metadata, Metadata & Cataloging Dept., NCSU Libraries, North Carolina State University and Suzanne Ellison, Bibliographic Control Services Division, Memorial University of Newfoundland. | |
| Many links to special format cataloging resources, compiled by the Irving S. Gilmore Music Library. Comments and questions should be directed to Mickey Koth, Catalog Librarian. | |
| This listing of online and printed resources, originally compiled by Subcommittee on Authority Tools, Cataloging Policy Committee, OnLine Audiovisual Catalogers, Inc., is part of the OnLine Audiovisual Catalogers website. | |
| Site has a collection of processing and cataloging procedures for U.S. government documents from the University of California, San Diego (San Diego, CA). |
Verifying PURLs and Internet Resources | Return to top of page | This section also includes Web Search Tools and Agency publication indexes.
The following tools may assist in locating PURLs or URLs for federal information for use in catalogs or Web pages. Nan Myers and Arlene Weible's "Suggested Checklist for Local Decision-Making: Working with URLS/PURLS in Your Local Catalog" may prove a useful guide. For statistics of registered GPO PURL referrals, see the Federal Depository Library PURL Referrals link above.
| [Formerly called What's Available...] "The U.S. Government Printing Office disseminates official information from all three branches of the Federal Government" and connects the user to pages for Legislative, Executive, Judicial, Regulatory, Administrative Decisions, Core Documents of U.S. Democracy, and Federal Web Sites hosted by GPO. | |
| GPO's PURLs (URLs can be searched for corresponding PURLs to be added to catalog records and Web pages). PURLs were developed by OCLC and more information is available from OCLC's PURL page. | |
| Also known as "the Wayback Machine", this site allows the viewing of archived Web pages. Note that not all versions of pages are available. The Internet archive at the New Library of Alexandria, Egypt, mirrors the Wayback Machine. | |
| NARA harvested (i.e., captured) files from Federal Agency public web sites in 2004 and of Congressional web sites in 2006. This site may contain documents and web pages of interest. | |
| GPO's listing of new additions to the Federal Depository Library Program Electronic Collection. Titles are derived from GPO's Catalog of U.S. Government Publications by limiting searches to ranges of dates. | |
| The Penrose Library Catalog, University of Denver, CO, contains thousands of URLs associated with federal government titles, including House and Senate Reports and Documents (TXT and PDF files for 104th Congress onward); Public Laws (TXT and PDF files for 104 Congress onward; Legislative histories from ~96th Congress onward [points to Thomas bill status]); Selected Hearings [from GPO Access]; GAO Reports (~1993 onward); OTA documents; various Justice Department documents; and CIA maps. A keyword search on "http" (or "ftp") should return all documents with the search term in the 856 field. | |
| OCLC's PURLs (URLs can be searched for corresponding PURLs to be added to catalog records and Web pages). More information about PURLs is available from the PURL page. | |
(Listed in alphabetical order.) |
In most cases, search titles in "quotation marks" for best results.
A9.com : Created by Amazon.com to support e-commerce. Alta Vista : AltaVista is a business of Overture Services, Inc. and includes a link to Babel Fish Translation services. Ask : formerly known as "ask Jeeves." Bing : "Live Search is evolving" and Microsoft's search engine, formerly known as "Windows Live" has a new name. Copernic : A metasearch service that combines various existing search/index guides into one service. Must download and install free search software before any searching can be done. Cuil : A search engine that "combines the largest Web index with content-based relevance methods, organized results, and complete user privacy." Dogpile : The "search and directory" division of InfoSpace, Dogpile searches a variety of services. Google U.S. Government Search (formerly "Google UncleSam") : Supports a search restricted to government sites, including U.S. federal, state and local sites with domains such as .gov, .mil as well as select government sites with .com, .us, and .edu domains (eg. .usps.com, .ca.us and ndu.edu). Caches indexed pages for future retrieval. The main Google search allows searches beyond the .gov and .mil domains. Metacrawler : A metasearch service provided by InfoSpace that combines various existing search/index guides into one service. USA.gov : An official U.S. government web portal, formerly known as FirstGov.gov. Web Crawler : A metasearch service provided by InfoSpace that combines various existing search/index guides into one service. Yahoo : Choose "advanced search options" to restrict searches to particular domains or servers. |
| Federal agencies cataloging or indexing their own publications make it easier to verify citations or even
download digitized versions. Searching agency catalogs may be necessary to locate titles not retrieved by search engines.
Judith Jordet's June 2006 GOVDOC-L posting DDM 2 List of Agencies
is a list of 60 agencies that contribute to the FDLP through the GPO (out of 5,800). For agencies not listed, she suggests
searching agency Web sites.
Agency Index Maintained by staff of the Washburn University School of Law, this collection of links to U.S. federal agency Web pages is presented in tablular form. Where known, the list links to the agency's Homepage, Publications, Chart, Forms, Opinions, Manuals, Library, and Directory. Congressional-Executive Commission on the People's Republic of China Not all of the Commission publications are retrieved using search engines. Site includes an Index for Hearings and an Index for Roundtables. DTIC (Public Technical Reports) The Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC)'s Scientific and Technical Information Network (STINET) Service helps the DoD community access pertinent scientific and technical information to meet mission needs effectively. ERDC: Professional Library Services Technical publications from the Army Corps of Engineers' Engineer Research & Development Center. Includes links to the ERDC Online Publications Digital Archive, ERDC Online Catalogs, and links to publication pages of these units: Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory; Cold Regions Engineering and Research Laboratory; Construction Engineering Research Laboratory; Environmental Laboratory; Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory; Information Technology Laboratory; and the Topographic Engineering Center. FDsys GPO's Federal Digital System (FDsys) provides public access to government information submitted by Congress and Federal agencies and preserved as technology changes. As of 02/02/2009, collections available on FDsys are: Compilation of Presidential Documents (1993 to Present); Congressional Bills (103rd Congress to Present); Congressional Documents (104th Congress to Present); Congressional Hearings (105th Congress to Present); Congressional Record (1994 to Present) Congressional Reports (104th Congress to Present); Federal Register (1994 to Present); and Public and Private Laws (104th Congress to Present). GPO Access Includes resources from the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of the U.S. federal government. Information Bridge : DOE Scientific and Technical Information Provides free public access to full-text documents and bibliographic citations of Department of Energy (DOE) research report literature. Documents are primarily from 1994 forward and were produced by DOE, the DOE contractor community, and/or DOE grantees. Legacy documents are added as they become available in electronic format. National Ocean Service Bathymetric & Fishing Maps Download Maps as Scanned Images. Preview files open readily but some of the full size map files are very large and are zipped to assist in downloading. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) The National Marine Fisheries Service Scientific Publications Office offers Publication & Reference Links. National Transportation Safety Board NTSB reports include accidents and studies, arranged by topic. Topics include Aviation; Highway; Marine; Pipeline; Hazardous Materials; and Railroad. NSCEP/NEPIS Since January 17, 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency's National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP) includes EPA's National Environmental Publications Internet Site (NEPIS) database, with more than 24,000 digital titles available for download at no charge. NTRS: NASA Technical Report Server With consolidation, NRTS includes technical reports from 1917-1958 by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NASA's predecessor) as well as technical reports from 1959- by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Treesearch Treesearch is an online system for locating and delivering publications by Research and Development scientists in the United States Forest Service. TRIS Online TRIS is a bibliographic database funded by sponsors of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), primarily the state departments of transportation and selected federal transportation agencies. TRIS Online is hosted by the National Transportation Library under a cooperative agreement between the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and TRB. Users may search the National Transportation Library, its NTL Digital Repository, and the Transportation Research Thesaurus. USGS Publications Warehouse The Publications Warehouse of the United States Geological Survey includes: Bibliographic citations for over 70,000 publications; Full product and thematic map content for over 40,000 publications; and USGS numbered series begun in 1880. |
Library Catalogs | Return to top of page
The following catalogs include records for U.S. federal publications.
| "A resource of over 4,000 libraries worldwide" maintained by Marshall Breeding, Technology Analyst for the Heard Library at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, lib-web-cats includes Library Web Pages, Online Catalogs, and System Profiles. Allows one to locate libraries using a particular library automation system to see how records appear. | |
| Also known as "CGP)", this is an Ex Libris Aleph 500 catalog and includes GPO records from 1976- (more than 500,000 records). Many search options are available. For technical services staff, the Advanced search supports Boolean searches using drop-down menus. The Expert search allows one to use Aleph's common command language for efficient searches, e.g., 035=xxxxxxxxx for OCLC number. See help for examples. | |
| Catalog of the University of Delaware Library. This is an Ex Libris (Aleph) catalog. Online titles use "Internet" as a location and "Electronic" as part of the call number. | |
| The public may search the catalogs of many federal depository libraries using links from this directory. | |
| Catalog of Oakland University. This is a Voyager catalog. Connection can be made via the Internet. Online titles use "Electronic Data" as a location and "AVAILABLE ONLY ONLINE" as the call number. URLs are hotlinked in this catalog. | |
Central Catalog |
The OhioLINK Central Catalog of the Ohio Library and Information Network. OhioLINK selected Innovative Interfaces, Inc. to develop the unique software system to create the OhioLINK catalog. Connection can be through the Web. |
| Catalog of the Penrose Library, University of Denver, CO. This is an Innovative Interfaces, Inc. OPAC. A special feature of this catalog are the thousands of hotlinked URLs associated with federal government titles maintained in a related database by members of the Library staff. Connection can be through the Web. A keyword search on "http" (or "ftp") should return all documents with the search term in the 856 field. |
E-Mail Discussion Lists | Return to top of page
| AUTOCAT is a semi-moderated international electronic discussion list running on LISTSERV(R) software. It serves as an electronic forum for the discussion of all questions relating to cataloging and authority control in libraries. The range of topics discussed extends from the very broad to the very specific, from the very theoretical to the most pragmatic. A searchable archive is available. | |
| DocTech-L is an e-mail discussion list devoted to questions regarding the technical processing of Government Documents. | |
| GOVDOC-L is a LISTSERV® based discussion forum about government information and the Federal Depository Library program. This list may be monitored and used by FDLP officials to discover problems and provide answers. Postings are archived at Penn State's Archives of GOVDOC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU. | |
| GPO-FDLP-L is a GPO-sponsored list of announcements for Federal Depository Library Program participants. An archive exists, which may be searched or browsed. Other GPO lists are linked from the GPOLISTSERV page. | |
| The Maps and Air Photo Systems Forum is an international discussion forum primarily for Map Librarians. The list includes subscribers from the USGS and includes discussion of map processing and cataloging issues. Subscription information and archived messages are available from at the MAPS-L web site. | |
| SERIALST (Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum) is an informal electronic forum for the discussion of most aspects of serials processing in libraries. Appropriate topics include (but are not limited to): cataloging, acquisitions, collection management, serials budgets and pricing concerns, binding, preservation, microfilm and other non-print serials media, union list activities, announcements, news, and job postings that are of interest to the serials community. Archives may be browsed or searched. | |
| "The official catalog of LISTSERV® lists" allows users to browse or search for lists of interest. |
About this Toolbox... | Return to top of page
These tools are of use to personnel who process and catalog materials distributed through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) which is administered by the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). Many are available at no charge via the Internet. GPO staff members catalog and index United States federal government publications, creating or adapting most of the USMARC records used by FDLP library participants. This Toolbox brings together tools and guides for both new and experienced library staff who process and catalog depository materials.

This page created and edited by John A. Stevenson and the Cataloging Committee of the American Library Association's Government Documents Round Table.
Comments and suggestions may be directed to the .
Document maintained on server http://www2.lib.udel.edu/ by
, Acquisitions Department,
University of Delaware Library.
Last modified: 08/28/09