Effective Date: 9/16/75

Series: Library and Information Services

Part 481: Library and Information Center Management

Chapter 1: Definitions, Responsibilities and Policies

Originating Office: Office of Library and Information Services

1.1 Introduction. This chapter presents the basic definitions, responsibilities, and policies governing the library and information activities in the Department of the Interior.

1.2 Definitions. For the purpose of interpreting the provisions of Part 481 of the Departmental Manual and its applicability, the following definitions apply:

A. Library. Any collection of books, serials, periodicals, microtexts, thesis materials, documents, or related materials maintained in some logical arrangement by at least one person, permanent or temporary, on a full or part-time basis, for the purpose of reading, study and consultation by employees of the Department.

B. Information Center. A facility which may maintain the look and function of a library, but will extend its activities to include any or all of the following: technical writing, information access through machine readable data bases, information research and analysis, referral services, and clearinghouse services.

C. National Natural Resources Library and Information System. The total library and information system of the Department of the Interior, including the Natural Resources Library, branch libraries, all field libraries and information centers, together with the communication, information storage and retrieval capabilities, and organization required to achieve a national interdependent network in the subject areas of natural resources.

D. Natural Resources Library. The central Departmental library located in the main Interior Building in Washington, D.C.

E. Branch Library. A Departmental library or information center, other than the Natural Resources Library, operated by the Office of Library and Information Services.

F. Field Library. A library or information center operated generally outside the Washington area by a bureau or office of the Department.

G. Departmental Translation. Any translation prepared for the official use of the Department of the Interior. This includes translations prepared by Department personnel for official use and translations produced for the Department by another Government agency or non-Governmental organization.

H. Library and Information Services. The services traditionally associated with a library, such as reference, bibliographies, indexing, circulation, and interlibrary loan plus the services which are the extension of these traditional services into the information field such as technical writing, information access through machine readable data bases, information research and analysis and referral and clearinghouse services. Also included are technical services such as cataloging and acquisitions.

I. Departmental Publication. Any publication published by or in behalf of a bureau or office of the Department, including publications generated as a result of work done on contract for that bureau or office. There are the following exceptions: administrative instruments; classified information and material otherwise marked against unauthorized disclosure; and tentative drafts such as preliminary planning reports that will appear later in revised form.

1.3 Responsibilities.

A. Office of Library and Information Services.

(1) The Director, Office of Library and Information Services, is responsible for developing, implementing, and monitoring Department-wide policies, standards, and reporting systems for library and information services activities throughout the Department. These policies, standards, and reporting systems will be developed in consultation with the bureaus and offices.

(2) The Office of Library and Information Services is responsible for the operation of the Natural Resources Library and for the development, implementation, and coordination of a national network which serves the National Natural Resources Library and Information System.

(3) The Office of Library and Information Services is responsible for the organization and administration of Departmental branch libraries or information centers in field locations where such units can best serve the Departmental employees in that area.

(4) The Office of Library and Information Services is responsible for maintaining the library and information services of the Department in the forefront of the information field. This will be done by maintaining a high quality staff in constant touch with developments, and when appropriate, by making original contributions in its own right to library and information science.

(5) The Office of Library and Information Services will exercise technical, but not administrative, over-sight over all libraries, information centers, and collections of the Department not a part of the Natural Resources Library and other Departmental branch libraries.

(6) The Office of Library and Information Services will provide technical support to field libraries and information centers upon request, subject to the approval of the Director.

(7) The Office of Library and Information Services will maintain a record of all libraries and information centers within the Department.

(8) The Director, Office of Library and Information Services, will regularly audit and otherwise examine all libraries, information centers, and collections purchased with public funds to insure that minimum standards as set by the Office of Library and Information Services are being met.

(9) The Office of Library and Information Services is responsible for coordinating library efforts within the Department in the development and use of ADP techniques to provide improved library and information services. Feasibility studies of all proposed ADP applications as well as systems specifications of current ADP applications for Department libraries and information centers shall be reported to the Director, Office of Library and Information Services. All provisions of this paragraph are in addition to other ADP policy issuances of the Bureaus and the Department. Conflicts should be reported to the Director, Office of Library and Information Services.

(10) The Natural Resources Library is responsible for collecting and maintaining English translations of foreign literature originating anywhere within the Department.

(12) The Office of Library and Information Services, through the Natural Resources Library, shall maintain a complete collection of Departmental publications.

(13) The Office of Library and Information Services will represent the Department of the Interior on inter-agency panels, task forces, committees, or other like groups dealing with information and/or communications.

(14) The Office of Library and Information Services will act as the official Departmental liaison with the Library of Congress. All bureau or office contact with the Library of Congress will be coordinated with the Director, Office of Library and Information Services.

(15) The Office of Library and Information Services will be responsible for coordinating all activities relating to scientific and technical information gathering, storage, and retrieval within the Department. Bureaus and offices will coordinate with the Director, Office of Library and Information Services before establishing field libraries, information centers, or other information facilities excluding automated data bases.

(16) The Office of ADP Management will coordinate the establishment of automated scientific and technical data bases with the Director, Office of Library and Information Services.

B. Bureaus and Offices.

(1) The bureaus and offices of the Department are responsible for establishing libraries or information centers in field locations as appropriate to support the information needs of their employees and to support these facilities in terms of budget, space, and staff to the degree that the minimum standards set by the Office of Library and Information Services can be met.

(2) Each bureau and office which maintains field libraries or information centers will appoint a library coordinator who will insure that overall bureau information requirements are met and will service as a contact point with the Office of Library and Information Services.

(3) Bureaus and offices of the Department will send three (3) copies of all their publications and two (2) copies of publications generated as a result of work done on contract for that bureau or office, to the Gifts and Exchanges Section for deposit in the Natural Resources Library with the following exceptions: administrative instruments, classified information and material otherwise marked against unauthorized disclosure, and tentative drafts such as preliminary planning reports that will appear later in revised form.

(4) Bureaus and offices of the Department will submit one (1) copy of all Departmental translations to the Gifts and Exchanges Section for deposit in the Natural Resources Library. The exception to this requirement is translations produced for the Department under the Special Foreign Currency Science Information Program. The Natural Resources Library receives these translations from the National Science Foundation.

Departmental translations submitted should have a cover or title page that contains the following bibliographic information: author of the original work; title in the original language (the title should be romanized if the language has a non-roman alphabet); English translation of the original title; in the case of a book: publisher, place and date of publication, and number of pages; in the case of an article in a serial publication; full unabbreviated title of the serial, volume, number, date, and pagination; translator, if a staff member of the Department; and the office or bureau sponsoring the translation.

C. Individual Libraries or Information Centers. Each library or information center will maintain statistical data concerning its operation which will show: the size of the collection and its breakdown by type of material, the degree to which it is organized according to standard library practice, the use to which it is put, and the cost of the operation. An annual report incorporating these data will be submitted on a form prepared by the Office of Library and Information Services to the Director, Office of Library and Information Services, and is due four (4) weeks after the end of each fiscal year for the preceeding fiscal year.

1.4 Policies.

A. The Natural Resources Library provides library and information services to all bureau and office personnel of the Department in the Washington area. No other collection of books requiring separately assigned space and/or being serviced or maintained by personnel full or part-time, shall be established in the Washington area without consultation with and approval of the Director, Office of Library and Information Services and the Director, Office of Management Operations.

B. The library and information center collections of the Department consist of books, serials, documents, technical reports, pamphlets, maps, and related materials comprising a comprehensive survey of knowledge in the conservation and development of the natural resources of the United States and its territories and possessions. These collections cover the scientific, technical, environmental, legal, economic, social, and management aspects of all programs administered by the Department of the Interior.

C. Books and related materials acquired by any bureau or office in the Department by deposit, exchange, gift, transfer, or purchase are considered part of the library and information resources of the Department unless they are preserved as exhibits or are appropriate for preservation as exhibits. This decision will be made by a responsible bureau authority in coordination with the Director, Office of Library and Information Services. Such books and related materials may be an integral part of library or information center collections or located in various offices.

D. To the maximum extent feasible each library should maintain a complete collection of the publications issued by the installation it serves, the bureau or office of which it is a part, and all pertinent publications issued by other bureaus and offices of the Department.

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9/16/75 #3481

Replaces 9/16/75 #1793