-------- Original Message --------
Subject: GPO's National Bibliography Plan - Comment Period Extended
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2004 16:51:49 -0400
From: Etkin, Cynthia L. <[log in to unmask]>


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This message was cross-posted.  Please excuse any duplication.
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Below is a summary of the National Bibliography of U.S. Government
Publications: Initial Planning Statement. Development and implementation of
this plan will benefit from public comments.  GPO is seeking comments from
the Federal depository community and from those who rely upon Federal
depositories as a source of information.  So that a broader audience might
be reached, please fell free to share this message with colleagues or
forward it to other appropriate discussion lists.

The comment period has been extended until September 7, 2004.  Comments on
this document may be sent to me, Judy Russell, Superintendent of Documents,
[log in to unmask]

The National Bibliography of U.S. Government Publications: Initial Planning
Statement, June 18, 2004, on GPO Access at
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/about/reports/natbib0604.pdf.

To fulfill its statutory mission under 44 U.S.C. Secs. 1710-1711, the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO) plans to develop a comprehensive and
authoritative National Bibliography of U.S. Government Publications.

Synopsis

GPO's is examining ways to improve the comprehensiveness of our cataloging
and metadata programs, to enhance the usability of GPO's bibliographic
products and services, to operate a standards-based national library quality
program, to demonstrate GPO leadership in the bibliographic services arena,
and to enhance the public's ability to identify and locate U.S. Government
publications.

WHAT IS THE NATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY OF U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS?

The National Bibliography of U.S. Government Publications (NB) will be a
comprehensive catalog containing descriptions and locations of U.S.
Government unclassified publications in all formats.  It is GPO's goal to
expand its cataloging initiatives to comply fully with statutory
requirements, to increase the visibility and use of Government information
products, and to develop a premier destination for information searchers.

Functionally, the National Bibliography will be the principal application of
the GPO's new Integrated Library System (ILS), Ex Libris' Aleph 500, when
the ILS is implemented.  The ILS' metasearch function will provide the
capability to search across a distributed set of non-homogeneous metadata
resources from other institutions and display a combined result set. The
public face of the ILS will be GPO's Online Public Access Catalog.

Initially GPO's core National Bibliography database will consist of
GPO-produced bibliographic records representing titles cataloged from 1976
to the present.  Once the ILS initial implementation is completed, projected
for March 2004, GPO plans to expand the National Bibliography database by
adding pre-1976 records, records created by cooperative cataloging partners
and other institutions.


Judy Russell

Judith C. Russell ([log in to unmask])
Managing Director, Information Dissemination (Superintendent of Documents)
U.S. Government Printing Office
Phone: 202-512-0571
Fax: 202-512-1434