Public and Private laws: Public Laws – Most laws passed by Congress are public laws. Public laws, also referred to as federal statutes, affect society as a whole. Public laws citations include the abbreviation, Pub. L., the Congress Session number (e.g. 107), and the number of the law. For example: Pub. L. 107-006. Private Laws – Affect an individual,
» Read more
GID18 Registration Now Open Registration is now open for Government Information Day 2018: Advocacy, Research, and Collaboration (GID18). This one-day conference will be held Thursday May 24th, from 9 am to 4:30 pm. The event is free to attend, and is a great learning opportunity for librarians, library staff, information professionals, and members of the public. GID18 will feature presentations
» Read more
Overview of Terms: Congressional Documents – Congressional documents originate from congressional committees and cover a wide variety of topics and may include reports of executive departments and independent organizations, reports of special investigations made for Congress, and annual reports of non-governmental organizations. Congressional documents, along with Congressional reports, are part of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set, commonly referred to as
» Read moreThe Indiana State Library (ISL) participates in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), serving as the regional depository for the state of Indiana. Being the regional depository means ISL collects all titles published by the Government Publishing Office (GPO). In addition to collecting titles, ISL employs a federal documents librarian to assist both patrons and fellow librarians with government information
» Read more
The Government Publish Office (GPO) produces free educational webinars geared toward government information. In December, GPO has three upcoming webinars for anyone to attend. Standard webinars last 60 minutes, and are LEU eligible. Closed captioning is also available for all webinars. In addition to the upcoming webinars, GPO archives previous webinars and webcasts for viewing through the FDLP Academy. The
» Read more
October 16 to 18, is the date for the upcoming 2017 Depository Library Council Meeting and Federal Depository Library Conference. Held at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel in Arlington, VA, this two and half day conference is the largest annual gathering of Federal depository librarians and colleagues in the country. This year’s conference theme is Safeguarding Government Information Access for All.
» Read more
Ben’s Guide is a scholastic website hosted by the Government Publishing Office (GPO), designed to inform and educate students, parents and teachers about the federal government. The site includes learning activities about Ben Franklin, his life and legacy and information on the government and how it functions. As the first public librarian of the U.S., as well as a printer,
» Read more
Next week, on Monday August 21, a total solar eclipse will occur. The eclipse, where the moon will completely cover the sun, will be the first visible eclipse from the continental United States in 38 years. When the eclipse occurs, the sky will darken during the middle of the day. The eclipse, whether solar or lunar, is the alignment of
» Read more
At the start of May, President Trump proclaimed the month of May as National Mental Health Awareness Month. Originally established in 1949, National Mental Health Awareness Month recognizes millions of Americans affected by mental illness and works to ensure care and treatment for those who are suffering. Nearly 10 million Americans suffer from mental illness, and even worse, approximately 60
» Read more
Last week, staff from the Government Publishing Office (GPO) visited libraries from around the state. Thirty-two libraries in Indiana participate in the Federal Documents Library Program (FDLP), a program that ensures public access to information published by the federal government. The Indiana State Library serves as Indiana’s Regional Depository, which means the library collects everything published by GPO. The other
» Read more