The Government Documents Depository was a unique part of the library tour. First, I took a bit of a tour through the government documents depository at the University of South Florida, located in the basement of the library building. I asked Merilyn Burke about the government documents, before wandering through that section of the library. Burke explained that the government publications were stored there, but that most patrons utilized the online sources for data, and that the depository acted mostly as an archives for preserving the documents and as a resource for researchers searching for specific information.
As I wandered through the shelves of past documents, I thought of how the information contained within could be used by researchers. Some of the items seemed quite useful, such as the Census records, the War Department Reports, and the Congressional Records. For a historian, I could see the Soldiers manuals or the hearings on court ordered school busing providing details for research. Perhaps the extensive collection of Patent Office records would be a fascinating read, and the collection of old maps could certainly provide historical value. Scientists might make use of the Climate reports and agricultural data. I wondered though, about some of the items, such as the Molasses Market News (Okay, I contemplated using these for a social experiment, by tweeting random statistics contained within them just to make the old books feel useful again...)
The amount of publications is quite large, especially considering that the USF Library selects, acquires, and organizes approximately 55% of the government documents issued since it was designated as a Federal Depository Library in 1962, and a State Library in 1967. The depositories represent an important facet of library science however, by preserving the information and providing free and unrestricted public access to information for the patrons. According to the FDLP, depository libraries have ensured this access for more than 130 years, protecting the American public's right to the information through the nearly 1,250 libraries involved in the program. Information about the selection, cataloging, and future of the FDLP program can be found at the FDLP website.
To avoid duplicating librarians/library centers, I also went to the Clearwater Public Library Main Branch, which has also served as a Government Documents Depository since 1991. While the USF Library is in Congressional District 11, the Clearwater Main Library houses documents for Congressional District 9, and the USF Library has a Senatorial designation while the Clearwater Public Library is a Representative library. The document section at the Clearwater Main Library was smaller than the collection at USF, but this is also due to the fact that so many of the materials are currently online resources.
At this library, I spoke with librarian Ed Tumber, a Reference Librarian who also graduated from USF. Tumber began working in the library as a page, long before heading to library school, and was immediately hooked on the profession, describing it as a natural fit. He moved up the ranks at the library after holding many different positions, but loves being a Reference Librarian.
The Clearwater Public Library is located at 100 N. Osceola Avenue in Clearwater, and occupies a large new building with a pleasant atmosphere. Large windows, a cafe, galleries, several meeting and conference rooms, and separate children's and teen's sections are some of the features of the library. There are 4 smaller branches of the library, but the Main Branch was established in 1916, and the collection of the library includes over 600,000 books, videos, recordings and other materials. (Complete list of circulation statistics available here.) The library also maintains a social media presence on facebook, twitter, and flickr, and updates RSS feeds on topics such as upcoming events and new materials. Links to these services are available on the libraries home page, at http://www.myclearwater.com/cpl/. These services, according to Tumber, create more options for people to interact with the library and to access it, and allow the library to remain relevant.
As a reference librarian, Tumber conducts reference interviews, helps patrons locate information sources, and also participates in the Ask-a-Librarian program. He also helps with the cataloging of serials, but says general cataloging is generally maintained by a separate division in the library. He most enjoys meeting with people and loves the interesting questions he is asked. This echoed the responses given by Burke about being a Reference Librarian. From this I conclude that the one on one nature of helping patrons is what sets apart the role of the reference librarian from some of the other librarians I have interviewed.
I asked about the usefulness of serving as a FDLP library. Tumber said that although many of the patrons access the documents on line, many still come to the library for research help with the documents. He added that a large number of the requests for documents came form outside of the main branch of the library, with patrons from other areas requesting documents to be sent through Inter-Library Loans. The main benefit of becoming a depository, according to Tumber, was the volume of resources and information available at no charge. Although the library does use resources for cataloging and maintaining the collection, the materials themselves are free, which greatly increases the amount of resources the library can offer its patrons.
Comparing the size of the collection at the smaller Public Library to the scope of the collection at the USF Tampa Library, I can see that this increase in resources would be a definite advantage to the smaller library. While the function of the depository at USF seemed to be preservation of the information, the smaller library uses the documents as current reference resources. It is interesting to compare the manner in which the two different libraries utilize this program, and how important and relevant the program is to both centers despite the move towards on line access to the information.
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