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Course
Description
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Introduction to the nature and scope of government information
issued by the Federal government as well as by the state, municipal and
international governments. Bibliographic control, acquisition,
organization, maintenance, and their reference use. Problem oriented
approach. (UCLA General Catalog, 2010-2012)
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Course Learning Objectives
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With more than 100 million official pages mounted on more than
30,000 U.S. federal government websites alone, I envision a graduate of this
course, understanding the public trust given to documents librarians to
ensure the preservation and access to government information and hope that
such a graduate will adopt an appropriate advocacy role.
Hence, these are my learning objectives for this course:
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1) To present a government information
paradigm which will:
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A) define the scope of the government
information specialist's concern; and
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B) explain the specialist's
clarification and classification procedures for answering government
information questions;
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2) To describe the various formats
(including paper, near print, microformats, CD-ROM, and Internet sources, but
especially the World Wide Web) of government information and their value to
users of libraries and information centers;
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3) To examine the acquisition, organization,
and administration of these various formats by visiting a local depository;
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4) To develop basic skill in the procedural
techniques of manual and electronic bibliographic and literature searching
appropriate to government information;
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5) To demonstrate the ability to construct useful
WWW pages, pathfinder, or a research oriented approach to government
information; and finally,
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6) To foster a knowledge-based, problem-solving approach to
government information questions asked in library and information centers.
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Course
Requirements
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In order to accomplish these objectives, the
following requirements are necessary:
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1) Attendance at lectures and field trips as
well as handing in all assignments on time. See class schedule for dates.
Do the assigned and/or optional readings to supplement lectures, to fill in
details, and to pursue areas of special interest to you. Study the weblinks
provided below as well as any class handouts which are intended to clarify
complex relationships.
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2) Satisfactorily complete two exercises
related to government information: a) a bill tracing exercise on an
ecological topic; and b) answering a set of reference questions or
undertake a foreign government information analysis. You may work in groups
(up to three) on each these exercises.
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3) Complete a major project on one of the following: A) a
publishable quality, research paper, B) build an OCLC Connexion pathfinder on
any government related topic, or C) a webpage for a federal government
cabinet level agency citing government information resources. Again, you
may work in groups of up to five people on either A or B or C. Note,
however, that if you are trying to fulfill the departmental major paper
assignment, you should work alone on the paper option (A).
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Grading Criteria
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Attendance and class contributions are not formally graded;
however, in borderline cases, I will consider these in determining the
final grade. As you know, the final grade is subjective--merely the opinion
of the instructor.
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For all papers, my evaluation will include:
1) content foremost; 2) appearance (e.g., conformance to a particular
journal's house style); 3) bibliographic style (remember to use a
government information journal's house style); 4) clarity of presentation;
and 5) avoidance of the ten common errors.
All papers are subject to a half-letter grade reduction for not heeding the
above ten points.. Webpages will be grading
according to rigorous webpage design criteria.
Grading is necessarily subjective; if my standards are not clear, please
ask for further clarification at any time.
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No extra credit is given. Incompletes are not awarded in this
class; plan accordingly.
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Plagiarism, the unattributed use of other people's work, will
be reported to the UCLA Dean of Students and a DR grade assigned pending
final resolution.
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Grading Weights
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Two Exercises (25% for the bill tracing on an ecological topic
and 25% for the reference questions or foreign government analysis),
Research Paper, WWW Pathfinder, or Government Agency Webpage, preferably cabinet level (50%);
a total of three different assignments for 100% of grade. Grades are
reported to the Registrar at My.UCLA.edu,
so check it upon receiving a graded paper. Letter grades are assigned where
a B (3.0) is good; a B+ (3.3), very good; an A- (3.7), excellent; an A
(4.0) is superior; and an A+ is extraordinary. If you are a graduate
student taking this class as S/U, then S = B (3.0) or higher.
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Due Dates and Penalties
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See the class schedule below for due dates
(right hand column). Many of the assignments are due toward the end of the
course. Again, please plan accordingly.
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Unexcused late papers will be penalized substantially (i.e., a
half letter grade per session). Be sure to see the instructor well in
advance of last due date, if you don't think you can complete the course.
No late final papers will be accepted without written permission from the
instructor. To repeat: incompletes for this class are not available.
Disabled students must present the appropriate form from the Office of
Student Disabilities at the beginning of the quarter, if they wish special
accommodation. You may drop the class up until the last class.
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Course Textbooks (Optional)
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Garner, Diane L. and Diane H. Smith. The
Complete Guide to Citing Government Information Resources: A Manual For
Writers & Librarians. Washington, DC:
CIS, 1993. See also, University of
Nebraska’s Citing Government Documents: Chicago Manual (online).
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Joe Morehead,
Introduction to
United States Government Sources, Libraries Unlimited, (latest).
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Peter Hernon, John A. Shuler, and Robert E.
Dugan, U.S.
Government on the Web: Getting the Information You Need. 3rd ed.
Libraries Unlimited, 2003.
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Eric Forte, Cassandra Hartnett, and Andrea Sevetson. Fundamentals
of Government Information. Chicago: Neal-Schuman/ALA, 2011).
National Archives and Records Administration. United States
Government Manual. Washington, DC: GPO, (latest).
"UNT
Libraries: CyberCemetery Home"
searchable website for defunct agencies and commissions.
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Current
Awareness
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The professional Listserve is GOVDOC-L and GODORT maintains a wiki. The
major journal in this field is Government
Information Quarterly. ALA GODORT's Documents to the People is
the professional's newsletter; note there is a student paper award. A
website called "Free Government Information" (or FGI) is a UCSD-ASL
librarian initiated site to discuss such matters. In addition, you probably
should read the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Sacramento Bee on a daily basis to
be current on federal and state government information matters in the news.
The following links are provided for your edification; please check them
out in a timely fashion.
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Class
Schedule
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Topic and Readings (M=Morehead) Login to CCLE
for PowerPoint Slides
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Due Date
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Session 1
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Orientation to Course; Introduction to Government Information;
US Government Printing (44
USC 1901and 504);
M, chapter 1 and Nord
and Richardson, 2009) ; Gray Literature
and "Chronology
of Disappearing Government Information" (2002)
__________________________________________________________________
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Session 2
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Bibliographical Control (M, pages
31-33), especially GPO's Monthly
Catalog; NTIS's GRA/I;
Department of Education's ERIC.
See also, DoE's Information Bridge
JCP,
GPO (Video), acting
Public
Printer; "Strategic
Vision, 2009-2014," new SuDoc, and Depository Library Council
_________________________________________________________________
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Field Trip
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Session 3
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Organization and Use (M, chapter 3); in the context of Paperwork
Reduction Act (44 USC 3501) and e-Government
Act of 2002; "Essential
Titles for Public Use in Tangible Format"; the demise and
resurrection of the Statistical
Abstract; USGS Map
Depositories and Use Related Issues
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Paper Topic, WWW Pathfinder, or Agency
Website for approval
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Session 4
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Management (M, chapter 3); Copyright
and "fair
use" as well as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act;
Google's Uncle Sam or USA.gov? Or, what about gobiernoUSA.gov?
Federal
Depository Handbook (2008) and Guidelines
for Depository Libraries (2008)
Introduction to Genealogical Research and Attendant Government
Sources
__________________________________________________________________
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Session 5 and 6
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Official US Website: POTUS; U.S. Executive: 2008
Election and Ray C. Fair
Presidential Vote Equation; and Bush’s
Scorecard and OCLC Connexion Pathfinder 7105; see theory of unitary
executive; Vice
President
Commerce (Census Bureau,
American
Fact Finder, CIMR;
ICSPR; and ISSR Data Archives);
Justice (USA PATRIOT ACT; Labor (CPI) and OOH; OMB and Circular
A-130; OMB Watch as
well as FedSpending.org; NSDD
(EO's defined,
history);
State Department's Cultural Diplomacy; and
Best Items; Foreign
Relations); and finally, NARA (FR
and CFR);
Popular
Names of US Government Reports; and OCLC
15221 on Presidential Libraries and Collections.
U.S. Legislative: CBO; GAO; FOIA,
Privacy Act, LoC the RDA
Update and the future
of BC as well as its CRS
and OpenCRS.com; FLICC and USAJobs.gov (M 5, 6, and 7)
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Reference Questions
or Foreign Government Analysis (due Session
8)
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Session 7
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US Congress: House of
Representatives; House
Speaker; House Clerk; US Senate (glossary)
(workload)
(VR
desk);
Biographical Directory of Congress; Major donors;
Jefferson's
Manual, House Rules, etc. plus other precedents
Other useful links (YRL,
OCLC 2941, a Pathfinder on
Federal Legislative History; Congressional Worksheet ;
"How are Our
Laws are Made"); CR
application, Common Abbreviations
and Congresspedia.com
and lobbying
__________________________________________________________________
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Session 8
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State
Documents: (Center
for Research Libraries; LC's MCL
(1909-1994); state
bluebooks; state
copyrights; see CA, Office
of State Publishing and CSL
and its GPS and
CSP; Council of State Governments,
National Conference of State Legislators)
and Local Documents (ICUD; Los Angeles).
Supranationals (UN, UN Library, UN collection
arrangement, and UNESCO as well
as Article 51,
G-7/8, G-8 summit, G-20 group, BRIC, and World Bank); and NGOs (e.g., CFR, IMF,
Paris Club, and the Trilateral Commission)
__________________________________________________________________
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Session 9
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Foreign
Government Documents: Great Britain (Parliament: House and Lords;
PM and Cabinet, HMSO/OPSI); Canada (Parliament: House
and Senate;
PM; and Governor-General; government publications and bookstores),
Mexico (President and Cabinet; and 2002 FOI);
Middle
East; ASEAN: Hong
Kong; Singapore and SGMS ; Russia
and parties;
Regional governments: European
Union and Council of the
European Union and OAS (Official
Documents and the (IACHR);
Summit of the Americas;
Foreign holdings (CRL)
__________________________________________________________________.
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Exercise
2 (Bill tracing) (Due Session 10)
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Session 10
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Selected Demonstrations of Web pages and
Paper Presentations (DUE LAST CLASS SESSION)
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Selected Quotes
"Government documents are stiff, graceless things,
scarcely the happiest subject for spirited discourse among polite
people." -- J. H. Powell
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"There exist no sources of historical
information in a free and enlightened country, so rich and so valuable, as
its publick journals, and the debates of its publick bodies and
associations." --Peter Force
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"...no modern library can give adequate
reference service without access to the publications of the U.S.
Government." --Boyd and Rips
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"A popular government, without popular
information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or
a Tragedy; or perhaps, both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a
people who mean to be their own Governors must arm themselves with the
power which knowledge gives." --James Madison
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"We are getting 'documents to the
libraries' but the slogan of GODORT is 'Documents to the People.'"
--Ronald P. Haselhuhn
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Revised: 30 May 2012; I reserve the right to change the
content of this syllabus for any reason including the accommodation of
guest speakers.
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