From lpsmail@access.digex.netThu Nov 9 16:25:18 1995 Date: Thu, 9 Nov 1995 11:11:46 CST From: Shipment Reply to: Discussion of Government Document Issues To: Multiple recipients of list GOVDOC-L Subject: ADNOTES: COUNCIL: NEW ROLES IN DEPOSITORY LIBRARY PROGRAM ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- THE MESSAGE BELOW IS FROM ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES, VOL. 16, #15 (Nov. 15, 1995). NEW ROLES IN THE DEPOSITORY LIBRARY PROGRAM Remarks by Maggie Parhamovich Internet Specialist, Electronic Transition Staff at the Fall 1995 Depository Library Council Meeting This morning we are discussing new roles. This is a new role for me as a member of GPO. GPO is developing a new role as we focus more attention on access rather than dissemination. Depository librarians are assuming new roles as you develop procedures to access electronic information and train patrons in the use of computer technology. The Electronic Transition Staff needs advice and input from Council to make this a smooth transition. As Ric mentioned, providing access to electronic government information will be essential in the coming years for depository libraries. The current trend in the information field is to provide timely, electronic information to the general public. This is clearly illustrated by the proliferation of Internet providers, development of commercial web pages, including shopping and entertainment, and bundling of software such as web browsers with Windows 95. The Internet is beginning to develop depth in that more significant information is available via the Net and more people are using the Internet as a resource for commercial and government information. Yet, you cannot effectively utilize the Internet s resources unless you are able to find the information you need. Fortunately, we are seeing the development of indexers such as web crawlers and search engines to assist individuals in finding electronic information. We need to apply this technology to government information as well. In order to facilitate the development of depository libraries as electronic centers of government information, it is necessary to create finding tools to assist in locating government information. Pathway Services is being developed by the Library Programs Service to assist depository libraries in locating electronic government information. Pathway Services continues the traditional role of the Government Printing Office in providing a central catalog of records and indexing tools to government documents, only we are tailoring these services to an electronic environment. Pathway services will utilize advanced indexing, search, and retrieval tools to identify, describe, and dynamically link users to Federal electronic information. Pathway will be an evolving system since indexing and Internet technology is constantly changing. We need to bear in mind that our services will change as technology changes. Pathway will link to Federal Internet sites which are operated by government agencies or in cooperation with government agencies. Pathway will analyze only government electronic sites. These sites are defined as .gov and .mil Internet domains, and sites which are operated as official government databases in cooperation with private companies or universities such as the State Department files located at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Pathway will link to the sites by two methods. One is the indexer which will index electronic government sites. Raeann and I refer to this component of Pathway Services as Scout. By querying Scout, an individual will be able to find specific government information on their topic. This is similar to other web indexers or crawlers, only it will be limited in its scope to only government information. The second aspect of Scout is to categorize government sites by Subject Bibliography subject terms. This browse feature will be effective for those who want to see what is available. Pathway Services provide depository libraries and the general public with flexibility in searching for government information. Users can search for specific keywords or browse to see what general information is available on government servers. Raeann will go into more details regarding Scout. Scout is the first and primary component of Pathway Services, but we must go beyond finding information and begin to investigate content. We will begin to provide narrative information on Federal sites specifically to identify what information is available at that particular site. Pathway Services will attempt to build relationships with other agencies as we point to other Federal sites and solicit information regarding that site. The future plan for Pathway is to develop procedures for identifying and cataloging government information sites. GPO will identify specific documents for long-term access and provide catalog records for those documents. Pathway Services is an ambitious project and will take a couple of years to fully implement. During these changing technological times, it is also difficult to predict what Pathway will be like even within a year. It is important for us to remain flexible and aware of current technology in order to develop a system which is transferrable to the next generation of software, Internet, and computers. Raeann and I are with GPO for one year to jump start the project and to set the foundation for future developments. We will keep you informed of our progress and will continue to work with GPO and depository libraries in developing services which support depository libraries in this electronic era. Now I will turn it over to Raeann who will address the specifics of the Scout indexer.