Individuals Present: President Arlene Weible, President-Elect Robin Clausen, Past-President Carlos Diaz, Web Master Rob Lopresti, Jan Jorgensen, Thomas Yeh, Cass Harnett, Linda Fredericks, Carol Estep, Sandra Dyer, Rebecca Cochran, Sue Selmer, Lenora Oftedahl.

I. Guest Speakers and Program Presentations

Arlene Weible, Regional Federal Depository Coordinator
Jan Walsh, Acting State Librarian
Dave Hastings, Chief, Washington State Archives

Arlene welcomed everyone to the fall meeting of the Northwest Government Information Network. Following the introductions of each person in attendance, she outlined the day’s agenda and gave a brief introduction to each guest speaker. Arlene announced that she would be resigning her position with the Washington State Library effective November 22, 2002 as she has accepted a new position in federal documents at the University of North Texas.

Jan Walsh spoke on the realignment of the State Library within the offices of the Secretary of State, the condition of the State Library’s budget and the respective $2.5 billion deficit that the State of Washington will be facing. Along with the movement and reorganization of their collections into their new facility, the staff of the State Library has now cataloged the Washington Territorial collection and is working to catalog the entire state documents collection. Four project catalogers have been hired to complete the project. The State Library is working to improve their public visibility and awareness that they are still open and ready for public service. One of the first scheduled events for the Washington Territory Sesquicentennial will be the upcoming book signing, reading and discussion with Robert Ficken, author of Washington Territory, on November 14, 2002. Flyers were distributed publicizing the event.

Dave Hastings spoke on the purpose of the State Archives, the types of records the agency collects, and their services to government agencies and the general public. He identified several projects that the archives is currently working on: 1) the scanning and indexing of the territorial census for the state’s sesquicentennial, 2) the Susan Parish collection of photographs dating from the 1920s-1970s of state buildings and legislative officials, and, 3) the digital archival information project that is being coordinated with the assistance of the National Archives and operating out of Cheney. The State of Washington is the first state in the nation to try to tackle the issue of permanent storage of digital information resources. Dave relayed the cost of their services and recommended a stepwise process before consulting the archives for primary source documents. He suggested that the researcher looking for the history of a particular bill should perform a search of the secondary sources first and then ask the archives for the bill file. To obtain the bill file, a researcher should have the correct bill number and the year of legislation. For genealogists the archives maintains collections of census microfilm and probate records. Dave recommended that the researcher use the census rolls first to determine the county where the individual lived and the time period. He further commented on the appropriate research combination and the need for both the archives and the library as the library maintains publications and the archives maintains public records. Dave also distributed a flyer entitled “Preserving Your Records Close to Home.”

II. Business Meeting

The business meeting was officially called to order at 10:50 a.m. by President Arlene Weible. In the absence of Secretary Susan Anderson, Robin Clausen volunteered to taken the minutes of the meeting. In the absence of Treasurer Marilyn Von Seggern, President Arlene Weible gave the treasurer’s report and reported a balance of $548.06 in the treasury. Marilyn asked that all members submit their membership forms and dues payment directly to her. Everyone was also reminded to make their checks payable directly to Marilyn Von Seggern.

Arlene indicated that she would also need to resign as NGIN President. Her resignation was sadly accepted. It was agreed that Robin Clausen, President-Elect, would fill the vacant President position and Jan Jorgensen agreed to fill the President-Elect position. This move will fill all NGIN offices for the 2002-03 year.

The 2003 spring meeting should be scheduled in Eastern Washington. Robin and Jan will be looking for a host site and working on the next program. It was mentioned that Marilyn Von Seggern, Washington State University, expressed interest in hosting an upcoming NGIN meeting. Several ideas for possible programming were mentioned by individuals in attendance. Cass Hartnett indicated that Bernadine Abbott Hoduski, a strong supporter of government information and former Federal Depository Council member, will be visiting Washington State next spring. It may be possible to coordinate the NGIN meeting during her visit and schedule Bernadine as the guest speaker. The University of Washington and Washington State University are working on a joint project to digitize the maps from the U.S. Serial Set. The Washington State Law Library has a new director who may be interested in hosting a future meeting. It was further commented that legal research is always a popular topic. Linda Fredericks mentioned that she has been asked to perform GIS services in her library system and is interested in hearing what other Washington libraries are doing in that arena. Washington State has a GIS Coordinating Board and they might be a possible resource for this suggestion.

It was again mentioned that NGIN should have a presence at the annual Washington Library Association conference. As the program deadline for next year’s conference has passed, the group should make a concerted effort to get on the program for the following year. It was suggested that NGIN could fund a larger program at the conference or sponsor a specific program outside of our usual fall and spring meetings.

A thank you was extended to Rob Lopresti for maintaining the NGIN website and keeping it up-to-date. Flowers and several small Washington State gifts were presented to Arlene as a thank-you for all her work and efforts. The business meeting adjourned at 11:05 a.m.

III. Updates from the Regional Depository Librarian

Arlene distributed a two-sided handout. On one side was information on the new GPO-FDLP-L list serve. Arlene stated that all federal depositories need to sign-up for this list serve as it will be the official list serve for the federal depository library program. For more information, go to: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/tools/fdlplist.html (link no longer works). On the back of this handout was an order form for depository promotional materials and Arlene encouraged everyone to order the new and updated brochures and flyers. Ordering instructions can be found at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pr/order.html (link no longer works)

At the fall Depository Library Council meeting there was some discussion on the number of depositories that are dropping out of the program nationwide. As a result GPO realized that they did not have the best procedures in place for relinquishing depository status. One of the recommendations from Council was to make the requirements more stringent and to survey the institutions that have dropped from the program to determine their reasons from leaving. It was further suggested that GPO develop a FAQ sheet of typical questions about the Federal Depository Library Program, particularly about its value and the importance of libraries’ retaining depository status.

The inspection process is being evaluated by an outside auditor. It is anticipated that there will be changes to the process as a result of the audit. For example, the self-study survey instrument may be shorter and less detailed. The inspection program is now at full staff with four inspectors and the back-log of self-studies to be reviewed has been cleared.

All depositories were encouraged to use the national Needs and Offers list instead of listing their needs and offers on GOVDOC-L. The Needs and Offers list just introduced a new search feature and should prove to be more user friendly. Information can be found at: http://www.und.edu/fdlp/ (link no longer works). Arlene emphasized that all Washington depositories should first list their needs and offers through the local list service, DEPOSLIB (deposlib@lib.washington.edu), before offering them on a national level.

It is possible that the current redistricting efforts may have actually moved a federal depository from one local district to another. If this situation has occurred to any Washington State depository, please let the State Library know as soon as possible.

The plans for a revision of the state plan had been put on hold pending the status of the State Library. If anyone is interested in receiving a copy of the plan, please notify Arlene.

Projects that are being undertaken by the Documents Department at the State Library include reducing the overall size of the collection by first eliminating dual formats. For example with congressional hearing the microfiche version will be preferred over the paper format. As such the paper format will be appearing on the local needs and offers list. Some committees of general interest such as Natural Resources will be kept but be on the lookout for some very large discard lists. Cass commented that the University of Washington will be keeping their paper copies of hearings. Previously, the institution had relied on the CIS microfiche but Eleanor Chase has decided to retain the paper format. In another effort to reduce the overall size of their collection, the Washington State Library is still looking to arrange more selective housing agreements with other institutions in Washington. As such, the University of Washington may be receiving and retaining the older hearings presently held in the federal documents collection of the State Library.

The Office of Management and Budget directive to the federal agencies regarding the outsourcing of printing and the subsequent elimination of the GPO as the primary printing agency will have grave consequences for the GPO and the FDLP. GPO is still without any fiscal appropriation. Congress has passed continuing resolutions to keep the agencies funded at their current level. The last resolution gave some indication that Congress was unhappy with the OMB directive as it included language that the agencies should comply with Title 44. The initial response from OMB indicated that the Justice Department issued an opinion stating that the requirement to have executive agencies use GPO exclusively was unconstitutional. This is an unusual position for the Justice Department as historically the Supreme Court has decided what is unconstitutional or not. No regulations have yet been issued on the OMB directive. [Since the meeting, regulations have been issued in the Federal Register No. 67, Vol. 219, 11/13/02, pp. 68914-68918. The deadline for comments is December 13, 2002]

President George W. Bush has nominated Bruce James for the Public Printer. A hearing has been held but no confirmation has been made and no time frame has been established. The outcome may result in the loss of Francis Buckley as the Superintendent of Documents is appointed by the Public Printer.

GPO is purchasing an integrated library system and will be archiving documents at the point of cataloging. A full mirror site is being developed in Pueblo, Colorado. This should allow GPO Access to improve its response time. It was one of the Council’s recommendations to update the software that runs GPO Access. There remains a tremendous backlog of cataloging at GPO. A full complement of cataloging staff has been hired but it will be awhile before each cataloger is trained and performing effectively.

FirstGov has installed a new search engine as the developer of the initial software who donated so much to its development and support did not win the contract for continuing the website. A panel discussion on the Patriot Act will be held via teleconference scheduled for December 11, 2002. It was suggested that individuals investigate the Ad Council web site and forward all email spam to the Federal Trade Commission.

IV. Tour of State Library

Following a networking luncheon at the Olympia Airport, Arlene conducted a very interesting and informative tour of the State Library building. The meeting adjourned at 3:00 p.m.