University of California/Stanford
Government Information Librarians Group
Third Annual Meeting
Minutes
September 15, 1995
9:30am-3pm
University of California, Irvine
Room 460, Main Library
Present: Kay Collins, Irvine; Trisha Cruse, San Diego (EGIIG); Sherry DeDecker, Santa Barbara; Joanne Donovan, San Diego; Chuck Eckman, Stanford; Jan Goldsmith, Los Angeles; Ruth Hiebert, Riverside; Judy Horn, Irvine; Cynthia Jahns, San Diego; Linda Kennedy, Davis (Chair, EGIIG); Lauri Kram, Los Angeles (Convener, Recorder); Joan Loftus, Stanford; Janet Martorana, Santa Barbara; Margaret Mooney, Riverside (EGIIG); Joanne Nelson, Santa Cruz; Margaret Renton, Irvine; Andrea Sevetson, Berkeley; Barbara Silvernail, Los Angeles; Lucia Snowhill, Santa Barbara
Guests: Diane Bisom, Irvine (EGIIG); Laine Farley, DLA (EGIIG)
-UC/Stanford Government Documents/Government Information Librarians Directory. Send updates to the UCB gopher, indicating the date of the update. The group agreed to submit updates at least annually by each October 1, though listings can be also be updated anytime throughout the year as needed. In response to the question of whether we should continue to distribute paper copies of the directory, the group agreed that each campus could print out their own copies from the online listing.
-Annual Report of UC/Stanford GILS to UC/CDC. It was noted that official subgroups of the UC/CDC are required to submit annual reports of their activities to the UC/CDC. The UC/Stanford GILS has not yet submitted any annual reports. If a report is not submitted, the group will not be permitted to participate in Mini-Scap. It was agreed that a report covering our activities since the group was formed in October 1993 through October 1995 would be prepared and submitted. Linda Kennedy offered to draft a report.
-Microforms Union List. Linda Kennedy distributed the latest available version of this list at the meeting, and requested the following information from each campus 1) designate a campus contact for this project; 2) provide any holdings information not already on the list or revise listed holdings as necessary; and 3) note with an asterisk any title that is available on direct loan from your Docs/Ref Desk. Titles without an asterisk will be assumed to be available through the I.L.L. Unit.
Updated lists should be mailed or faxed to: Linda Kennedy, Government Documents Department, University of California, Davis by October 31, 1995. It was agreed that for subsequent years, annual updates to this list will be due by each October 1 (the same date by which updates to the Directory are required). The group felt that eventually this list should be included on the gopher.
It was pointed out that the old list included San Francisco Public Library as an addendum . Others thought it might be useful to include USC, Hastings Law Library, and University of Nevada, Reno. However, the group concluded that only libraries willing to do direct interlibrary loans should be listed.
-Cooperative Agreement. Tony Angiletta, the UC/GILS Liaison to the UC/CDC, sent an E-mail copy of the Agreement on the "Cooperative Development of Access to Government Information Among the University of California/Stanford Libraries" to UC/CDC. We are now a formal group as a result of this agreement.
-CQ Training. The following sessions have been scheduled: Oct. 20, UCSB - a.m. Introductory session, p.m. Advanced session; Oct. 25, UCSD - one session in a.m. only.
-CQ Guides. UCB has a guide to CQ on their Web. UCSB has a generic guide and some guides for each of their databases, Sherry DeDecker will send these via GOVINFO.
-TELNET to CQ. DLA is looking into the ability to TELNET to CQ on our passwords rather than through Melvyl. Laine Farley will investigate first before a formal request is sent to CQ and will report back to us via GOVINFO.
-GPO Access. The UCSD gateway to GPO Access was announced, UCB has also established a LYNX access point. The issue of additional UC gateways was raised. The UCSD Gateway is averaging 3500-4000 logins, and 1700 files accessed, per day. UCSD will release the software (as well as any changes they make to the software) to enable other UC's to set up their own gateways and thus relieve some of the load from UCSD. Laine Farley presented another option whereby DLA would centrally load this on its server. She was not sure how this would work since this would be a "first." UCSD could have a special account to have control of changes on DLA's server. Funding for UCSD's programmer for 10 hours/week was discussed. It has not been decided how a system wide function like this should be funded.
ACTION: if campuses do not need all 10 of their GPO Access passwords, UCSD would like to have them on a Selective Housing Agreement (see Administrative Notes, 12/94 for procedures for this).
In response to the question raised about whether the group had agreed in principle to use the UCSD Gateway, the group confirmed that it had, but noted that there can be other gateways as well. During the discussion, it was suggested that if any campus begins work on anything as major as this, that we should share this information with each other before actual development begins, to prevent the possibility of duplicative efforts. It was noted that EGIIG's purpose is to identify potential UC projects and to publicize them.
-GPO Access User Committee. EGIIG members led the group in a substantive discussion on establishing a user committee for GPO Access. In regard to the number of members, all agreed there should be at least a liaison person on each campus, but that there could be a core committee, similar to the model followed in several of the recent MELVYL database implementation committees. The group agreed that although this user committee would be the first one to be involved in web access, the role of the committee would not be to provide general www orientation, but to provide only information specifically related to GPO Access. Its scope would include making recommendations for changes/enhancements on the user interface designed by UCSD (additional sample searches, for example), or text guides to the use of GPO Access. The group could also develop a set of FAQs for GPO Access. Trisha Cruse already has examples of frequently asked questions which could be addressed by a standard set of answers. The group also agreed that the charge to the committee could be expanded to handle analogous databases that might come up in the future.
ACTION: EGIIG agreed to proceed with developing a charge for the user committee. Each campus will send Linda Kennedy the name of their GPO Access Liaison or someone to potentially be a member of the user committee.
-INFOMINE. Margaret Mooney described INFOMINE, a database management system which she and her colleague Steve Mitchell developed to manage information on the Internet. The project Margaret Mooney proposed involves only the Government Information portion of the INFOMINE database. (The complete INFOMINE homepage includes the following "Comprehensive Internet Resource Collections;" Biological, Agricultural, and Medical; Government Information; Maps; Physical Sciences, Engineering, Computing & Math; and Social Sciences, Humanities, Music & the Arts.)
The group discussed, and was very supportive of, EGIIG's proposal to use UCR's INFOMINE software to provide access to Internet government information through a UC web page. There were a number of suggestions for improving UCR's procedures, which Margaret Mooney noted. So far, the UCR participants have used broad LC subject headings in providing subject terms, and they also provide a number of keywords. Margaret Mooney inquired of CIS whether they would allow her to use the thesaurus used in ASI for the government information database. CIS was surprised but is considering the request. There was considerable support for using a controlled vocabulary of some sort. The group also agreed that there needed to be more detailed guidelines in expanding the participants in the project, guidelines which an editorial board could provide. Adding a language field was suggested. In adding keywords, it was suggested that conventions be established, such as how to enter agency names.
UCR has also been listing federal government CD-ROMs on the web page and would like to continue doing so to bring all of the electronic information from the government together in one location. Some members of the group preferred that the database be limited to Internet resources. It was agreed that the project needs to clearly define its scope.
Margaret Mooney indicated that UCR staff are willing to continue to handle federal resources on the net. She asked for volunteers to handle California, local and regional, and foreign and international resources. Chuck Eckman commented that covering foreign government information will require contacts with selectors outside of government information units.
Linda Kennedy noted that the Government Printing Office is working on a "pathfinder" project to improve access to government information resources and that GPO is very interested in the INFOMINE project. It was strongly suggested that INFOMINE be made WAIS and GILS compliant.
Margaret Mooney proposed creating an editorial board to work on the government information portion of the database. The editorial board would include members from several campuses and would deal with issues such as standard vocabulary, consistency in use of procedures among participants, and additional parameters which may become necessary as the indexing moves from primarily federal and state to foreign and international resources. EGIIG could consider adopting the Editorial Board as an EGIIG subcommittee.
Margaret Mooney provided a demonstration of INFOMINE's resource adder and editor, and its ease of use.
The consensus of the group was strong approval for proceeding with the Internet government information management project using INFOMINE. The group favored establishing an editorial board, and creating a liaison on each campus, who may or may not be a member of the editorial board.
ACTION: Each campus should identify people to serve as Liaisons and/or potential members of the Editorial Board. HOPS will formally consider this proposal at its October 15 meeting.
-STAT-USA. The group suggested to EGIIG that it study the technical issues involved in acquiring a low-cost group subscription to the STAT-USA database to facilitate web access at UC. EGIIG agreed to investigate the proposal.
Chuck Eckman, Stanford University, suggested that the group consider establishing an Ariel-based document delivery service for selected materials, making use of existing Ariel equipment in campus libraries.
ACTION: Members will look into the issues on their home campuses and will send possible project ideas or indicate their areas of interest to Chuck Eckman.
The group agreed to schedule the next meeting to follow the date of the California Depository Librarians Conference and proposed that it be held at the same location as the Conference. Andrea Sevetson agreed to serve as Convener.
ACTION: Tom Andersen, State Library, will be consulted regarding the location of the next Conference and the possibility of holding the UC/Stanford GILS meeting there as well.
Group members gave informal reports on new developments, staffing changes, etc. from their campuses.
Maintained by: Sherry DeDecker
Updated: 10/11/04 08:30:48