Readers Exchange
Art Carpenter, depository librarian and Associate
Professor of
Library Science at Weber State University in Ogden, UT, writes:
In my daily work as depository librarian, two things
became
increasingly clear: 1) that Government publications were being
underutilized in proportion to their value, and 2) that effective
promotion, understanding, and utilization of Government
publications
require a local team effort.
In the article below he shares his idea of using subject
librarians as assistants to the depository librarian in making
effective
use of depository information products.
THE SUBJECT BIBLIOGRAPHER
AND THE UTILIZATION OF GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS
by Art Carpenter
Weber State University, Ogden, UT
One of the persistent challenges which the Federal
Depository
Library Program has had to face is the underutilization of
Government
publications, especially in proportion to their value. One could
cite
several causes, many of which are the result of a shortage of
skilled
intermediaries. Depository librarians are, of course, the most
qualified
for this role, but under-staffing inhibits their effectiveness.
Since approximately two-thirds of all Federal
depositories in the
United States are located on college campuses, they have a
special
opportunity to influence the utilization of Government
publications,
especially if the academic library's organizational structure
includes
subject librarians, sometimes referred to as subject
bibliographers. If
these specialists could, as part of their assignment, act in
partnership
with the depository librarian as his/her assistants, the pool of
intermediaries could be enlarged considerably.
The possibilities of this sort of teamwork to positively
affect
utilization are intriguing. Generally, it would divide the labor
involved
in managing a medium-to-large-sized depository library. One of
the
greatest benefits could be realized in collection management.
The
responsibility for maintaining the depository's item selection
profile
could be divided among the several bibliographers according to
the subject
expertise of each. Within the List of Classes one finds many
"subject
fits." For example, the business/economics bibliographer could
have
stewardship over most of the "IC" and "L" classes, and the
science/technology bibliographer over most of the "A," "E," "EP,"
and
"NAS" classes. The depository librarian would be responsible for
interdisciplinary items and any parts of the selection profile
where no
clear-cut subject match exists.
Bibliographers skilled in Government publications could
have a
dramatic influence on the user's ability to understand the value
and
organization of Government information if instruction in
Government
publications were to be integrated by the bibliographers into
their
discipline-specific bibliographic instruction.
Bibliographers could assist with the daunting, yet
necessary task
of conducting studies to assess user needs, evaluate the
collection, and
analyze existing utilization patterns and problems.
As bibliographers become trained and knowledgeable in the
use of
Government publications in all its formats, expertise within
their
individual subject specializations will grow, and they become the
complete
information broker for their subject specialty. At this level,
they are
prepared to act as that critical human interface, the expert who
can
identify, locate, access, interpret, customize, and utilize
Government
information.
Bibliographers with the will, and library administrators
with the
commitment, can transform availability into use toward a more
productive,
more culturally enriched, and more democratically involved
America.
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ALA Attendees Invited
Tour: GPO: Behind the Scenes of the
Federal Depository Library Program
Demo: GPO Access Online Information Service
Visit the Government Printing Office (GPO) during ALA! Your
visit will
include a tour of the Library Programs Service, which manages the
Federal
Depository Library Program, and a short demonstration of the GPO
Access
online information service.
When: Tuesday, February 18, 1997
9:30 - 11:00 a.m.
1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
(choose one)
Where: U.S. Government Printing Office
732 North Capitol Street, NW
Washington, DC
(Main entrance, not the Bookstore entrance)
Getting There:
Union Station Metro stop on the red line
1 and 1/2 blocks to GPO
To register, contact:
Sheila McGarr
phone: (202) 512-1119
fax: (202) 512-1432
e-mail: inspect@access.digex.net
The tour groups will form at the main GPO entrance. All visitors
must be
escorted while in GPO.
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