Information for New Depository Coordinators

Welcome to the FDLP Community!

Congratulations on becoming a federal documents librarian/coordinator. The purpose of this page is to provide a helpful overview for getting started in your new position. My name is Brent Abercrombie, and I am the Regional Depository Coordinator for the state of Indiana. It is quite common to join the government documents community with little prior experience. It can feel overwhelming trying to figure out where to begin. This page was created to serve as such a guide. I want to point you in the direction of resources I found helpful for when I started my position.

Continuing Education Resources:

The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) has put together a very helpful new Depository Coordinators libguide. The FDLP Academy page will provide access to webinars, training videos, and other helpful resources. The North Carolina Library Association developed a series of webinars titled: Help! I’m an Accidental Government Information Librarian. Available on YouTube, the channel contains webinars (17 presently) relating to specific topics within the world of government information. I also recommend signing up to various listservs as a helpful method for introducing yourself to the community, and to become aware of current issues or interesting discussions. Visit the Listservs page on this site for a listing of helpful listservs.

Getting Started:

Once you received your welcome message from GPO, and greeting from the Regional Depository Coordinator, there are couple more steps before one is ready to go. Look over the Disposal List Procedures and Needs and Offers Instructions. You will find out what needs to be offer, for how long, and how to create a disposal list on those pages. The Regional Depository Coordinator will create a Indiana Needs and Offers Database account and provide instructions for how to create your password. Be sure to browse the other pages to learn about guidelines or other resources that you may find helpful to your work. If you have any questions, or simply wish to introduce yourself, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Where to Ask Questions:

Please feel free to contact me regarding any FDLP questions at babercrombie@library.in.gov. Visit Ask GPO to access your library’s profile, directory, or to ask questions.