Library and Information Science Commons^™

The 10 Minute Hero: Quick Wins For Govinfo Librarians, Laura Baker

Library Research and Publications

Librarians wear many hats these days. Whether you are an accidental government information librarian or a seasoned professional, it is good to have several projects in mind that can show your impact. This poster suggests several low effort but high impact projects that highlight both the value of government information and your skills as a govinfo librarian. As a bonus, the poster will also suggest ways to take each quick win to the next level by expanding on what you’ve already done.

Poster originally presented at the Federal Depository Library conference Octover 16, 2023. Archived at https://www.fdlp.gov/2023-poster-presentation (url as of …

Docs For Digital Humanities: An Example That Could Launch New Possibilities, Laura Baker

Library Research and Publications

As part of a class on Europe after WWI, the library helped create an interactive assignment in which students looked at geographic and political changes in European countries as a key to understanding the effects of WWI. Based on government publications, students created and annotated digital maps to show how the Treaty of Versailles redrew country boundaries and changed governmental alliances. The library’s government documents collection made the assignment possible.

We describe the project, the outcomes it produced, and most importantly, what it suggests about a burgeoning role for govdocs that could cast the collection in a new light. The …

The Machiavellian Govpub Librarian: The Value Of Internal Promotion Aka How A Politically Unsavvy Librarian Learned The Necessity Of Promoting To Colleagues, Laura Baker

Library Research and Publications

This poster communicates ways and reasons for promoting the government documents collections WITHIN the library and influencing decision makers. Librarians go to great lengths to promote our collections to patrons, but what about to our directors and co-workers? When our library had a change of leadership, our status as a depository was questioned. In the book The Machiavellian Librarian by Aho and Bennet, the editors contend that librarians need to boost their ability to influence decision makers. They suggest that, minus his misanthropic extremes, Machiavelli – a master at politics—has many things to teach others about the fine art of …

No Ir? No Problem: The Resourceful Librarian’S Guide To Archiving Digitized Government Publications With The Internet Archive, Laura Baker

Library Research and Publications

This poster illustrates our practice and process of using the Internet Archive (IA) as a repository for digitized government publications. It shows how libraries without an institutional repository, or those that have an IR but lack support for uploading depository content, can still participate in digitization and preservation programs. By doing so, the library can highlight the value of its depository collection.