How to Be a Depository Library without Being a Depository Library: Adding Records for Electronic Government Documents to the Library Catalog

Judith Russell, the Superintendent of Documents of the U.S. Government Printing Office, remarked at the ACRL National Conference in March 2005: With 95% of the new titles added to the Federal Depository Library Program available online, every library now has the ability to access a wide array of government information for its patrons at no charge. Understanding what is already available--and what is coming soon--can help each library plan for the integration of electronic government information into its reference and public services (Assuring Access). Electronic distribution of government documents has opened more avenues for access to government information, but libraries must address--in very practical terms--what they can actually do to take advantage of the situation. Non-depository libraries, in particular, may discover that they can provide cost-effective access to electronic government documents and thus incorporate government information within their resources to an unprecedented extent