Administrative Notes Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program Vol. 19, no. 06 GP 3.16/3-2:19/06 April 15, 1998 ASKLPS INQUIRY SERVICE LAUNCHED On April 6, 1998, LPS began accepting questions from depository library staff and from the public via the askLPS service. askLPS is an automated inquiry service to make filing inquiries and directing e-mail to the appropriate LPS staff member easier. The askLPS home page is located at , or you can e-mail your question to . There are five components to askLPS: * The electronic inquiry form: There is a choice of two forms. One form is password protected for use by documents staff. The second form does not require a password. All inquiries sent via askLPS will receive an e-mail response. Priority consideration will be given to electronic inquiries over inquiries made via fax and mail. * WEBTech Notes, a searchable database for postings made in Administrative Notes and Administrative Notes Technical Supplement, dating back to 1991. A downloadable version of WEBTech Notes in .dbf format is also available on the Federal Bulletin Board. * FAQs and News: a listing of answers to frequently asked questions from the depository community. Also includes an area for announcements that in the past have been posted on GOVDOC-L. Updated weekly or more frequently as needed. * FDLP Contacts page: links to the FDLP Administration Contacts Web page. * Federal Depository Library Directory: searchable database of the official GPO directory of Federal depository libraries. Also provides a password protected form for libraries to submit corrections for their directory information via GPO Access. The electronic inquiry form may be accessed from the askLPS home page. All inquiries receive an immediate response acknowledging receipt of the inquiry. LPS staff attempt to answer the inquiries as quickly as possible. LPS's goal is to respond to each inquiry within ten business days. When the question requires an answer from another agency and LPS does not receive a response within the ten-day period, LPS will send the inquirer an interim reply. Inquiries received via askLPS will be given priority status for research over inquiries submitted via fax, telephone, or regular mail. However, fax will continue to be an important vehicle for inquiries when a photocopy of additional material (i.e., title page, introductory page, etc.) is necessary. Focusing on askLPS as the primary route for inquiries should help LPS to track the inquiries as they arrive, and should also minimize the duplication of effort to research inquiries. Users are encouraged to check the WEBTech Notes and the FAQ & News sections before submitting a question, as the question may already have been researched and the answer posted to the database. If you have comments or suggestions on improving this service, contact: Robin Haun-Mohamed Chief, Depository Administration Branch voice: (202) 512-1071 fax: (202) 512-1636 e-mail: rhaun-mohamed@gpo.gov Location Information: AskLPS: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/asklps.html Technotes Supplement database on the Federal Bulletin Board: http://fedbbs.access.gpo.gov/libs/webtechn.htm