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NIDL Spring Meeting
May 12, 2006
Mount Prospect Public Library, Mount Prospect, Illinois
CoChairs: Walt Baumann & Julie Collins
I. Round Robin
Julie Collins: Mount Prospect Public Library has held a series of
business training classes for the public, including a session on
Economic Census and Reference USA. They are trying to promote documents
to the public. Thus, they are moving documents out of Su Docs
arrangement into Dewey. They have a huge fiche collection including
Congressional hearings. They have had Westlaw public access for two
years. The training session was well attended.
Walt Baumann: The new director at the Depaul Rinn Law Library has now
been in place for one year. He authorized purchase of the very expensive
BNA subscription package. The Library must now promote use of the BNA
materials. Access is also available via Lexis. He is editing the Library
newsletter, which is great for marketing the library. The school is
considering creating blog. The library will be the first department to
implement. The library is currently discarding out of scope materials.
Gloria Hamilton: The University of Chicago is preparing for a new
building addition at 1100 57th. The law library is weeding its
collection. She attended the meeting in Denver on open access. They are
moving materials to storage in order to create more space both for
people and materials.
Deborah: She is new to the Government Documents and Serials. She had
been at UIC.
Marge: Open Access is also an issue at UIC. They too are moving
documents to storage. The Docs librarians are now working at the regular
Reference Desk. They acquired new NIPSI materials.
John Schuler: After merging with CATS, NIPSI is now the new "Regional
Planning Agency" with its offices in Sears Tower. UIC has become
this
agency's library and UIC library is de facto Reference Desk for NIPSI.
The NIPSI website will stay the same.
Michael: The Field Museum is a 5 or 6% selective depository. They are
taking the catalog Ex Libros version 14 to 17. It is a huge data entry
project. They have a new director. The previous director had been there
26 years. The Museum has an archivist and staff of eleven and a 270,000
volume collection on zoology, botany and anthropology. There are nine
scattered site libraries. The catalog is accessible online and holdings
are on OCLC.
Roseanne: She was formerly the Gov Docs librarian at Oak Park Public
Library and now manages Reference. The focus is on teaching patrons and
marketing the library's online databases to the public (i.e.
Morningstar). The current director will be retiring and they are
undertaking a director search.
Rita: Lake Forest has just completed a renovation and they are unpacking
boxes and correcting shelving mistakes.
Beth Clausen: The new University librarian will arrive in September
2006. The new librarian will hopefully maintain the separate documents
collection. They are developing a coherent marketing plan and displays
for i.e Memorial Day. There will be a display on Nixon in China and they
are trying to incorporate documents into the display.
Kevin McClure: At Chicago Kent, they are getting Marchive records for
the fiche collection. They are creating a Gov Docs page at their
website. The UN depository is going to partial status. There is a
problem with records not being linked to item records. They are
migrating to Voyager. Six to eight people are working on this project
book by book. All materials are integrated into the LC collection. The
Library is trying to serve all contingents of IIT, including the Stewart
Business School and the Kent Law School. Eloise project is now defunct.
Unfortunately, the material is no longer readable electronically and
many print materials were destroyed in the process.
Earl: At NIU, they are also doing "outreach". He has been
hosting "Ask a
Librarian" at the Prairie Avenue Library System and workshops on
electronic government information. They are revamping their Gov Docs
home page to make it more user friendly. They have put up exhibits at
area post office and Dekalb Public Library. He is teaching with
"
blackboard" as part of the Health Policy class. The number of Gov
Docs
reference questions has decreased dramatically. They are thinking of
eliminating the Docs Reference Desk and consolidating with main
Reference Desk. The Dean of the Libraries is retiring and he is retiring
in December after 34 years.
Paulette: At Poplar Creek, they are working on displays with digital
photos. They are moving to CIRSI Dynex, the "best of both".
They are in
the dream phase of a library remodeling project. In order to fund the
renovation, they are hiring PR people.
Anne Abramson: There is an ongoing director search at the John Marshall
Law School Library. We hope to weed the microfiche collection this
summer and undertake a zero based review of the documents collection.
We
are upgrading to Millenium. We are just starting Westlaw public access.
She is now treasurer of CALL and suggested that the CALL board invite
Mike Ragen to AALL annual meeting this summer. He will be attending as
CALL's "VIP".
Raizel Liebler: She is co-chair of CALL's Continuing Education
Committee. She chaired the print legal research program this past
spring. There is talk of a new law school and library building in John
Marshall Law School's future.
John Schuler: It has been almost two years under the new University
president. It's a complicated organization of a large library plus
outlying libraries. After 40 years as a separate department, the Gov
Docs Ref. Desk has joined with regular reference. For the past five
years, there was debate as to remaining separate, "googlizing" and "open
access". Documents were perceived as sucking up space and are being
moved to warehouse. The mission of the largest Chicago public university
is to focus on the Chicago region. Part of the strategic plan is to have
a new relationship with John Marshall Law School including offering
joint degrees in legal studies. We are not sure what that will mean for
our libraries. They have created a new bibliography on immigration
issues.
Tom: He is the maps librarian at Chicago Public, Harold Washington
Library Center. They have half the librarians they had five years ago.
They are very short staffed. HWLC rivals the regional library in
Springfield in terms of size of depository. They are pushing PURLs for
Gov Docs access. There are 150 internet terminals on the 3rd floor.
There is an ongoing barcoding project and work on the website. They
still get requests from law firms for print copies of i.e. House and
Senate Reports (Y 4). Reference Desk traffic has been increasing. They
could use two or three more librarians. They are trying to deselect CD
ROMs.
Pegeen Bassett: There are ongoing space issues at Northwestern Law
Library. The law school has increased enrollment from 600 to 1000
students. There is increased need for classroom space. Also the school
has gone "global" with an increase in international students.
The number
of faculty is up by one third, so faculty offices are taking library
space. They have a 600,000 volume library. The ABA has moved out and
the
library has acquired some ABA space in the basement. It took six months
to move into the new space, due to leakage issues, which impacted
especially the Federal Register which the Library has in print. They
have Westlaw public access terminals and a printing station. Users must
buy copy cards. The Pharos stations are color coded with yellow generic
network passwords for use at the yellow terminal. There is restricted
access now at exam time. Library was having theft problems. Access to
the Gov Docs collection is available from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. M-F. Access
is restricted to that collection only. The building has implemented
proximity cards.
Bob Pruter: Lewis University has implemented a new "super study" open
24
hours policy. A librarian works from noon to 8 pm and the new part-time
(now full-time) evening librarian works 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. There is a
snack bar in the Library. They have moved documents from the first floor
and consolidated on the 2nd floor to make room for a coffee center.
There is a capital campaign underway for a new library.
II. EPA Library Closure
The EPA library on 77 W. Jackson is slated to close. Kevin McClure
reports that he had a phone conversation with the librarian who assured
him that the impact was not great. It had been accepted as a "done
deal". There has been nothing in the media about the proposed closure.
The Washington Post is talking with Patrice McDermott. Daley always
talks about how the library is the anchor of a neighborhood. The EPA
library served primarily EPA researchers. John Schuler said that
librarians provide anecdotal evidence only and are therefore on the
losing side of the policy argument. It's not enough to say libraries
are
"
good for America". Earl will contact the Federal Documents Librarians
Roundtable.
III. Election of New Officers
As it will be Earl's last NIDL meeting, the decision was made to hold
the fall NIDL in Dekalb at NIU. The meeting will be scheduled after the
depository meeting on October 22. There was some discussion as to
whether there should be a Secretary to take minutes regularly at each
meeting. It was decided that the co-coordinators could decide how to
handle appointment of a secretary. John Schuler and Kevin McClure agreed
to serve as co-coordinators next year. Ideas for future meetings
included hosting at the Field Museum and programs on library advocacy
and marketing as well as the possibility of a joint meeting with CALL.
IV. Reports from Meetings
John Schuler: The Library Council Meeting in Seattle was much the same
as in the past with some new features. There will be a new Government
Publications Catalog, a new version of the Monthly Catalog based on Ex
Libris. It will be like an online library system with bibliographic
access to mocat records, which sounds like OCLC. Bruce James is
retiring. He is leaving a more robust digital GPO. 95% of materials are
digital. Since services are not unavailable to a nondepository, what
is
the incentive to remain a depository? Where is the added value?
Libraries promote "civic values", but they still don't have
to be
depositories. There was no talk about public service. GPO is asking
librarians to organize themselves into teaching pods. There is no
pushing of documents to depository libraries. The item numbers no longer
serve the same function. LOCKS ("lots of copies keep stuff safe").
GPO
Access is still the default as opposed to agency websites. Government
Publications Catalog may become the new GPO Access. Even some essential
titles are only available electronically now i.e. the Social Security
Handbook. What about authenticity and permanent access? James is talking
to the Supreme Court about making cases accessible digitally. How about
a link between the GPO Access catalog and our catalogs? GPO sees itself
at the center.
Bob Pruter: At my school, I am the future. The Gov Docs collection is
me. Noone uses the tangible collection any more. They use me to find
materials on the internet.
John Schuler: The trend is that we are being lead by our users.
Earl: We subscribe to Marchive but even with GPO, there is no guarantee
that the electronic copy will continue. There is no guarantee of a
final, authentic copy.
Pegeen: The U.S. Code is still not in pdf. The law journals still need
it.
Walt: The U.S. government is not sure what it wants to do in terms of
preservation.
John Schuler: NARA, LC and GPO are all doing some preservation.
Microsoft and others in Bay area are for "open access" and "google
lite". The big ten universities and University of Chicago are trying
to
start their own preservation initiatives. LOCKSS distribution protects
materials over the long run. GPO partnership with Kinko's Fed Ex. You
can take GPO dollars to Kinkos for print jobs.
Rita: Is this print on demand for depositories?
John: GPO is baking off from that.
Walt: Illinois State depository meeting featured a display of aerial
photographs of Illinois. It was different from prior meetings. These
photos were given to NARA and never returned. There will be an Illinois
archives. State agencies must now get permission before discarding.
Availability of technical aeronautics reports is limited. U2 means
"
unlimited and unclassified". Most of materials are indeed U2. Digital
depository project. A librarian at an engineering firm showed how the
firm uses Government documents. Popular Illinois documents are being
translated into Polish and Spanish. Handouts with URLs will be sent to
the group, per Mike Ragen.
V. Role of Librarians
Training for depository librarians? Regionals will not provide. Library
Schools? GPO doesn't see its role as a trainer or organizer of trainers.
Michael: This is much like an unfounded mandate. We are expected to
provide service with these new products, but our host institutions will
not support.
John Schuler: Defending service to the community is a more powerful
argument than "protect our collections".
Gloria: Responsibilities of librarians in a digital age include outreach
to students and faculty.
John: We are the last of the "Gutenberg librarians". Is the
value of a
depository the collections or the service? We are hoping to hear from
GPO as to service. There are hopeful articles on trying to help citizens
to find government information. Future depository laws should look more
like FOIA or sunshine laws.
In terms of training one another, we might consider mentorships, site
visits and exchanges. We can shadow a documents librarian for a day or
host interns from Dominican. There has been discussion on Gov Docs-L
regarding Smart Vote, a group that helps citizens. Chicago has the
greatest density of governments of anywhere in the 50 states. There
should be civic training and civic dates i.e. FOIA Day, Constitution
Day.
Walt: Vendors do some training.
John: One benefit of attending the meeting in Springfield is the $500
grant. Suppose we all pooled that money and used it to create training
programs.
Raizel: We, NIDL and CALL, might coordinate an event. At CALL events,
the charge is only $20 per person approx. CALL members may attend or
present. SLA members may attend. The only limits are the occupancy
limits of the building or room.
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