Government Documents

Revised January 2003

General Comments

CCPL was designated a selective federal documents depository library in 1980 as a result of senatorial recommendation. The Campbell County Public Library's government publications collection includes federal and Wyoming documents, as well as a small selection of local publications. A separate statement addressing more specific issues regarding this collection is also kept on file.

Development Plan

CCPL currently selects slightly over 14% of documents available. CCPL complies with Instruction for Depository Libraries and Guidelines for the Depository Library System.

The primary clientele of CCPL's federal documents collection are Campbell County residents, businesses, and agencies. Since Wyoming has only one federal Congressional district, CCPL also serves as a depository library to all Wyoming residents.

The Congressional district is served by the selection of items of state/regional interest and by the selection of publications which provide a national perspective. Wyoming depository libraries share resources through the interlibrary loan process. This process has become possible because all state depositories load holdings records into the state-wide catalog.

Documents currently selected reflect the economic, political, and social concerns of Campbell County, which extend to state/regional and national levels. Selection changes may be warranted as a result of:

• CCPL's congressional district responsibilities.
• statewide cooperative collection development agreements.
• state/regional concerns and some federal concerns.

Selections will also be reviewed against the suggested core of item numbers for small and medium-sized libraries. Currently, CCPL selects 100% of the recommended item numbers list.

Item records are used to construct statistics. These statistics identify use and project collection development needs due to public demand. Approximately one percent of the depository's collection is placed in the regular nonfiction collection.

Area of Selection

CCPL currently has no plans for retrospective collecting in any subject areas. The following major subject areas are developed and maintained:

• Natural resources and environment
  • Forest Service and Soil Conservation publications, Environmental Protection Agency publications, and Department of Interior publications, especially those pertaining to water, Indian affairs, mines and mineral, National Park Services, Fish and Wildlife Service, and land management.
  • Energy. Includes extensive collection of Energy Information Administration publications.
  • Agriculture
  • Weather and climate
• Labor, business, commerce
  • In particular, Labor Statistics Bureau, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Women's Bureau.
  • Small Business Administration publications
• Census publications
• Health/human services and consumerism
  • Specific to health/human services, publications concerning Social Security, health statistics, health care delivery, children, cancer, and Food and Drug Administration publications.
  • Specific to consumerism, Food and Drug Administration and Consumer Information Center publications.
• Education and libraries
  • Collected extensively from Department of Education for both areas.
  • Collected especially from the Library of Congress, National Archives, National Library of Medicine; specific to library administration, from Personnel Management Office.
• Superintendent of Documents publications
• Laws/regulations (judicial and administrative court decisions; legislation administrative law.)
• Domestic and foreign affairs
  • Publications of Departments of Defense, State, and Treasury (particularly IRS publications); presidential publications and Civil Rights Commission publications.
• Congressional publications
  • Collected publications that support commissions, committees, and boards of select and special Congressional committees. Also, more minor subject areas are collected, as discussed below.

The following minor subject areas are minimally developed:

• law enforcement
• Peace Corps
• branches of the service and veteran affairs
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• General Accounting Office publications (GAO)
• General Service Administration publications
• Smithsonian publications
• Merit System Protection Board publications
• National Credit Union Administration publications
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration publications (NASA)
• National Science Foundation publications (NSF)
• postal service
• patents and trademarks
• international trade
• Federal Communication Commission publications (FCC)
• Federal Trade Commission publications (FTC)
• Housing and Urban Development publications (HUD)
• Interstate Commerce Commission publications (ICC)

Formats

• Paper: When space permits and/or usage justifies, paper is the preferred format.
• Microfiche: Some publications must be selected in fiche since that is the only available format. For publications available in both fiche and paper, determining factors include shelf/cabinet space and staff time in both assisting patrons and maintaining the fiche reader/printers.
• Maps: Flat and folded maps are developed and maintained. Both map case and shelf space availability may influence selections.
• Electronic formats: CCPL participates in Internet access for subject relevance and/or site specific GPO requests. Through the WYLD system, patrons have access to documents available on the Internet.

Non-depository publications

Some publications that facilitate access to federal documents not held in Wyoming are developed and maintained. Currently these sources include an Internet subscription to a Government Documents index and hard copy indexes which include CIS Index and Abstracts, and Andriot's Guide to U.S. Government Publications.

Additions and deletions of such titles will be made on a case-by-case basis as areas of collection change or as new sources (print or non-print) become available that may provide better access.

CCPL has standing order accounts with the Bernan Company for purchase of selected U.S. government publications. Additionally, publications may be acquired on an ad hoc basis.

Offsite Housing

Most of the Library's selected publications are housed at the main branch, but two off-site facilities exist. Off-site housing was chosen in view of:

• the specialized nature of the selected sources and their specialized, professional primary users.
• enhanced physical access convenience for primary users.

The Campbell County Memorial Hospital Library houses Index Medicus, Cumulated Index Medicus, and Medical Subject Headings: Tree Structures. The general public is permitted to use the sources during the hospital library's hours of operation.

The Gillette Campus Library currently receives superceded Publications Reference File (PRF) microfiche. Requests for other publications will be considered after consultation with the Gillette Campus librarian.

Wyoming State Publications

Wyoming has a depository system in effect for the collection and dissemination of state publications. The acquisition process involves placing CCPL's name on the publications mailing lists of various state agencies. Agencies selected reflect local community interests and are reviewed regularly. CCPL budgets for state publication acquisition, however, some publications are provided free of charge. Publications are available from other members of the consortium when they are not held at CCPL. State publications are arranged according to the Wyoming Documents Classification System devised by the Wyoming State Library which closely resembles the SuDocs system.

Local Documents

CCPL maintains a very small collection of local municipal and county publications. Collection procedures are informal and frequently ad hoc. Local publications, always in paper format, are generally maintained as part of the library's reference collection.

Influencing Factors

Purchases and buying patterns are determined in large part by:

• items offered for selection.
• staffing level of government document position.
• electronic/Internet sources availability.
• new works.
• budget constraints.
• circulation statistics.
• patron requests.
• present and potential relevance to the community.
• shelf space.

Retention/Weeding

• Weeding is ongoing and follows the guidelines set forth in the Federal Depository Library Manual and Title 44 of the United States Code.
• After a retention period of five years, documents are pulled and listed by title and SuDocs classification number. This list is e-mailed to the regional depository for its review and request process. After the regional requests are filled, an amended list is then e-mailed to other depositories within the region. Requests from other depositories must be made within a thirty day period, after which the remaining documents are discarded.
• Decisions to replace missing publications will include a consideration of replacement cost in relation to the publication's anticipated use.