F e d e r a l    D e p o s i t o r y    L i b r a r y    P r o g r a m

John Tate Is New Chief of Acquisitions & Classification

The Library Programs Service is pleased to announce that Mr. John Tate has been appointed as Chief of the Acquisitions and Classification Section in the Depository Administration Branch, effective August 29, 1999. He will supervise acquisitions and SuDocs classification of documents in all media for the Federal Depository Library Program.

Previously John was Congressional Designation Specialist and a member of the Depository Services Staff. Besides overseeing the process of new depository library designations, he also assisted in arrangements for the annual Federal Depository Library Conference and Interagency Depository Seminar.

John began his career at GPO in 1974, working in the Depository Distribution Division. From 1978 to 1985, he served as a Library Technician, classifying documents, among other duties. He received his AA degree from Washington Technical Institute and also attended Howard University in Washington, DC.

New Database Coming Soon on GPO Access: DOE's PubSCIENCE

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science expects to introduce a comprehensive new online service in early October, and it will be available to depository libraries and the public through a link on GPO Access. The new service, called PubSCIENCE, indexes research papers from hundreds of scientific journals, provides abstracts, and includes links to the original journal.

PubSCIENCE bibliographic searching will be free to all users. In some cases, access to the full text of the article may be free, or users may have to pay a fee or provide a password, depending on the journal. LPS has been assisting in the PubSCIENCE beta test this summer.

August 20, 1999
Dear Depository Library:

The bound volumes of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set are being offered for both sessions of the 106th Congress (1999-2000). The total cost of the volumes is $15,400.00.

House and Senate Reports and Documents are now being collected for the bound volumes. Many of these volumes will be distributed during the years 2002, 2003 and 2004. Your order must be received by October 1, 1999 for us to be able to provide an adequate number of bound volumes for our customers.

You have two payment options. You may pay the full amount in one payment due October 1, 1999. Or you may pay half ($7,700.00) on October 1, 1999, and the remainder by June 1, 2002.

Please complete and submit the order form below with either full or half payment by October 1, 1999. Please note the stock number 052-071-01284-2 when ordering.

Please contact me if you have questions about ordering the U.S. Congressional Serial Set.

Sincerely,

ALAN E. PTAK
Chief, Sales Management Division

Mail to: Alan E. Ptak

Chief, Sales Management Division

U.S. Government Printing Office

732 N Capitol St NW

Stop SSM

Washinton, DC 20401

Phone: (202) 512-1707 (202) 512-1707

Fax: (202) 512-1655

E-mail: apatak@gpo.gov

Order Processing Code:

September 7, 1999

Dear Depository Librarian:

The Library Programs Service (LPS) was apprised by the U.S. Department of Treasury that the CD-ROM BondPro Version 1.00 should not have been distributed to depository libraries. Treasury has advised us that the publication is for internal use only.

Descriptive information on this publication:

Title:	BondPro
Docs Number:	T 63.217:999
Shipping List Number:	99-0065-E
Shipping List Date:	08/24/99
Item Number:	0970-A-14

I am requesting that you immediately withdraw this publication and destroy it by any means to prevent disclosure of its contents. Both LPS and the Department of Treasury regret any inconvenience resulting from the shipment of this publication.

Sincerely yours,

FRANCIS J. BUCKLEY, JR.
Superintendent of Documents

The preliminary Schedule of Serial Set Volumes, 105^th Congress, 1^st Session, appears in the July 31, 1999 issue of the Administrative Notes Technical Supplement (v. 6, no. 7). The schedule is also available online on GPO Access, at <www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/techsup.html#4>.

August 5, 1999

Dear Depository Librarian,

Library Programs Service (LPS) is working with the Congressional Printing Management Division to rebind the recently distributed defective parts for volume 142 of the bound Congressional Record (X 1.1: Item 0993-A-01). Please find enclosed a mailing label to return the defective copies [by] each library currently profiled to receive the bound Congressional Record. The defective parts are 5, 7, 8, 11, and 13. All returns must be sent to LPS by September 15, 1999. The defective copies will be rebound and returned to the libraries by November 30, 1999.

Please find enclosed the "Notice of Return for the Bound Congressional Record." Complete the information on the form for the column, "SENT FROM THE LIBRARY", and fax the form to Depository Receiving at (202) 512-1610. Be sure to also include the original form in the shipment with the defective parts you are returning.

If you have any additional binding problems related to broken binding due to the size of the volume, please [contact] me at (202) 512-1071 or by e-mail at rhaun-mohamed@gpo.gov.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

ROBIN L. HAUN-MOHAMED
Chief, Depository Administration Branch

Depository Number:

Institution:

Library Name:

Street:

City:

State:

Zip:

Documents Phone Number:

Public Service Phone Number:

Fax Number:

Please fax a copy of this form to (202) 512-1610 with the information on the volumes to be returned. Be sure to include the original form along with the volumes to be returned to LPS for rebinding.

Upon checking the Depository Distribution Information System (DDIS) computer files, LPS has discovered that all "pending additions" from the June/July annual item selection update cycle inadvertently became "active selections" on July 30 instead of October 1. The Lighted Bin System has used this information since July 31, resulting in rain checks for shortages. Librarians using "Item Lister" records updated since July 30 have unknowingly submitted claims for materials that they are not entitled to receive until October 1.

Using backup data, the Office of Information Resource Management has restored the correct DDIS files. The "active selections" from the June/July update cycle are now "pending additions" to become effective October 1 as originally scheduled. The "Item Lister" dated August 26 <www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/itemlist.html> is the correct one to reference for claims. LPS staff will review claims submitted between July 30-August 26. Those that are "pending additions" will not be filled and will be returned to the depository libraries.

Early Posting of Shipping List Information Eliminated

Shipping list information is now being entered on U.S. FAX Watch, the Federal Bulletin Board, and the Web on or after the shipping list date. This change was made to eliminate confusion about yet-to-be-issued shipping lists caused when the information was posted prior to the shipping list date.

Copies of the official shipping lists are distributed in the shipping boxes and are available from U.S. FAX Watch at (202) 512-1716. Instructions for accessing the U.S. FAX Watch lists are located at <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/faxwatch.html>.

Shipping list information in .dbf format is posted on the Federal Bulletin Board at <http://fedbbs.access.gpo.gov/fdlp01.htm>.

An enhanced shipping list service, a partnership between the University of New York at Buffalo and GPO, is located at <http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/cts/acq/gpo/>. This site provides access to the shipping list information in electronic format. It also provides a link to a program allowing libraries to create their individual item selection profile to check against shipping lists and to print out labels for those items with the SuDocs call number.

Information on microfiche contractors can be found on the List of Contractor-Issued Microfiche Shipping Lists page located at <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/msl.html>. This site provides the names of the current GPO microfiche contractors, the contract numbers, shipping lists numbers and dates.

askLPS Button on GPO Access, FDLP Administration Page

Since the redesign of the Library Services page on GPO Access, LPS has received numerous general reference inquiries from the public. However, LPS is not staffed to handle these types of inquiries. The askLPS service is intended to provide answers to questions from the depository community about administrative and operational activities of the FDLP. Therefore, the askLPS button has been removed from the Library Services page at <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/libpro.html>. Access to the askLPS service remains available through the FDLP Administration page <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/fdlppro.html>.

Besides providing a quick method of sending inquiries, askLPS, under the "FAQs and news" section <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/answers.html>, includes notices about depository products and FDLP operations of importance to the depository library community. LPS recommends that depository librarians bookmark this page and review it frequently.

Virginia Saunders Earns Library Association Award

Virginia F. Saunders, Congressional Documents Specialist, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), has been presented the James Bennett Childs Award by the Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association (ALA). The prestigious honor, given to a person who has made a lifetime and significant contribution to the field of government documents librarianship, was awarded to Saunders at the ALA annual convention held recently in New Orleans. She was chosen for her compilation and publication of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set, which collects the background materials for the activities of the United States Congress into a permanent record.

Saunders began her GPO career in 1946. For the last 30 years she has been the one individual primarily responsible for the Serial Set, a publication of fundamental value to library collections. Throughout her career, she has worked to maintain and improve the Serial Set and has generously shared her knowledge with documents librarians nationwide. Saunders has spoken at many workshops for depository library staff. In 1998, she gave an overview of the history of the Serial Set at the 7th Annual Federal Depository Library Conference. In addition, she has served as a panelist at the American Library Association's annual conference.

In 1979, Saunders began her tenure on the Serial Set Advisory Committee, established by the Joint Committee on Printing. In 1989, her suggestion that 30 volumes of duplicative House and Senate reports on the Iran Contra investigation be assigned Serial Numbers as required but not be bound saved the Government $600,000 and earned her additional recognition.

Her nomination for the Childs award summarized, "Ms. Saunders has not only meticulously maintained a set of documents of vital importance to the Nation but has worked with information professionals and Government officials to improve it, to lower costs, and to enhance its accessibility to librarians, researchers, and the public."

The award is named for James Bennett Childs, a long time documents bibliographer at the Library of Congress and first recipient of the honor in 1976. Other recipients of the award include GPO's Superintendent of Documents Francis J. Buckley, Jr., in 1986, and former Joint Committee on Printing staff member Bernadine A. Hoduski, in 1977.

Remarks by U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD) in appreciation of Virginia Saunders' achievements appear in the U.S. Congressional Record for Sept. 8, 1999, p. H7962.

Cathy N. Hartman
Documents Librarian: Electronic Resources Coordinator
University of North Texas Libraries
Denton, Texas

Do you frequently wish for a Web page that quickly links you and your users to important government information but find yourself too busy to search for the perfect sites and design a Web page? A Web page template has been created to help you add a Government information component to your library's Web site with ease. The American Library Association (ALA) Government Documents Round Table's (GODORT) Government Information Technology Committee (GITCO) sponsored the development of the Government Information Web Page Template. With minimal alterations, the template can be added to a library's Web site to provide access to publications of all levels of Government. Accompanying the template is a Help File that presents step-by-step instructions for downloading and altering the template to meet local needs. To view the Template and Help File, connect to:

GITCO discussed the need for a Web page template for government information at the ALA Mid-Winter Conference in February 1997. Committee members believed that many librarians would find a simple Web page with links to basic government information sites useful in their libraries, but staffing and workload pressures might prevent the creation of such a page. GITCO members determined that a Government Information Web Page Template should be designed to help the librarian at a small- or medium-sized library quickly add a government information page to the library's Web site. Links to key sources of government information were to be selected, and each selected site should have a history of stability. This was considered important for the purpose of reducing maintenance required to keep the page current. Larry Schankman, Mansfield University, and Cathy Hartman, University of North Texas Libraries, agreed to create a template and an accompanying Help File.

After the discussion in the GITCO meeting, the following guiding principles were outlined for the design of the template:

• The "template" must be easily loaded with minimal necessary changes.

• The design must be simple with minimal graphics.

• Links must connect to important sites that are known to be stable and provide quality Government information.

• Quality of links must be emphasized rather than quantity.

• Resources for access to publications of all levels of government must be included.

• A help file that will assist the novice HTML user with downloading and altering the Web page must accompany the template.

GITCO members believed that a basic Web page would best serve the proposed audience. After much discussion and editing, six sections were selected for the Web page:

• Federal Government: General Information

• Federal Government: Legislative and Regulatory Information

• State Information

• International and Foreign Information

• Statistical Resources

• Additional Resources

Separate sections were created for legislative and regulatory information and for statistical information because of the importance and frequency of use of these types of information resources. A section for local information was considered, but presented difficulties. Links to such local government resources as city, county, or regional council of governments sites would need to be included, but would be different for each library. Also, a "documents librarianship" section would be useful for depository librarians, but would probably not be needed by other librarians. For librarians wanting to add such additional sections to the basic page, information included in the Help File gave step-by-step instructions for adding sections. Suggestions for appropriate links to additional resources were also included.

Next, for each section, five to eight key links were selected for inclusion. This was a difficult task considering the many well-developed, quality sites available.

The Help File is intended to assist the novice HTML user with downloading the Web Page Template and altering it for local library patron needs. Novice users reviewed the draft of the Help File and suggested changes. Step-by-step instructions and additional resources to assist with Web page design were included in each topic area. Topics covered are:

1. Getting Started - begins with instructions for setting up a folder and downloading the required files.

2. Adding New Links - describes the code and shows where to add additional links.

3. Adding Local Information - gives suggestions and instructions for adding an additional section.

4. Adding Graphics and Colors - gives hints and tips and links to free graphics sites.

5. Removing Template Sections - describes the procedure for removing a template section.

6. Adding Documents Librarianship Resources - lists numerous possible links for adding to a documents librarianship section.

7. Adding Annotations to Links - shows the HTML coding for adding annotations for the resources listed on the template.

8. ADA Accessibility Resources - links both to a site that will test the accessibility of your Web pages and to the authoritative W3C site.

9. Adding Requests for Comments - describes how to add your Internet address to the page, which is the only change that MUST be made to the Template

When you use the Template and Help File, please send your comments about the ease of use and the information provided in the Help File to Cathy Hartman <chartman@library.unt.edu>. Your comments will help us improve the pages for other users. Also, suggestions for links to be added to the Template or Help File are welcomed and will be evaluated for inclusion. GITCO happily makes this service available to libraries and librarians.