GoPIG Minutes
Jan 11, 2002
University of Colorado Library
In attendance: Rob Jackson (DPL), Sharon Partridge (JCPL), Susan Simmons (Broomfield),
Venice Beske (Wyoming State Library), Rob Richards (CU Law), Leanne Walther (CU),
Gary Morell (Front Range CC), Lisa Nickum (Mines), Louise Treff-Gangler (Auraria),
Chris Brown, (DU), Peggy Job (CU), Sheila Zuler (CU), Suzan Winters (CU), and Tim
Byrne (CU) presiding.
1. We worked on offers lists and made the merest of dents in the pile.
2. Peggy Jobe will begin working part-time at the CU Math/Physics Library to see
if she want the job as head of the library. She talked to us about the European
Union making all of its databases, except for CELEX, available for free. She
warned us that the databases are difficult to use. They also include EurLex
which is the EU laws. Note that the laws marked "L" are legally binding on all
members while the laws marked "C" are information only or only binding on certain
members. The OJ database is the "Official Journal" and it contains the laws that
have been passed. There is no codified version. http://europa.eu.int/index_en.htm
is expected to become free sometime this year and
includes a section call TED or Tenders. "TED" is the equivalent of our Commerce
Business Daily and if you pick the pink letters, you get the English language
version. Peggy also said there is a section called Legislation in Force which
is not the official version of the law but can be used as a finding aid and is
the closest thing to a code. The UN ODS (Online Documents System) might become
free within this year.
Peggy Jobe presented a preview of an article she has written for the Journal of
Government Information called "Native Americans in the U.S. Census: a brief
historical survey." Because the US can only have a treaty or war with another
nation, the need to steal the land lead to the tribes being called "nations."
The Native Americans were therefore not considered citizens and were not included
in the census. William Petty introduced the concept of using statistics in policy
decisions. If Native Americans were considered "Europeanized" (i.e. - living like
a white person), they were counted. She said the the Smithsonian's Handbook of
North American Indians has a wonderful overview of the land laws and their history.
(I suspect it would be vol. 4). She also recommended 200 Years of U.S. Census Taking
(C 3.2:T 93) and American Indian Population Recovery in the Twentieth Century by Nancy
Shoemaker. When the Census did begin counting the population they were only counting
the people who lived on the reservations as Native Americans. In the 1870 census there
were 300,000 Native Americans and in the 1880 census they began to show the distribution
of the population. The Dawes Act led to the Indian Rolls which are the best source of
genealogical information. In 1900, the census data was used to measure the success or
failure of government programs and policies. Only in 1924 were Native Americans
recognized as citizens and only in 1960 were the tribes allowed to begin
self-determination efforts. Many American hid their native ancestry for fear of
discrimination and only beginning in the 1970 census was there "good" data. This
makes comparisons between census ridiculous but that's true for more than just the
native population.
3.There were no corrections to the minutes.
4. Future GoPIG meetings;
Feb. 8 - UNC in Greeley
Mar. 8 - the Colorado State Archives (1313 Sherman St.)
Apr. 12 - Auraria
May 10 - DU
June 7 location TBA
5. CU has been asked to beta test the new NTIS full-text database and will share the
password when they receive it.
Rob announced that the NADOC report on the UCIDA with their 19 amendments won't
make any substantive changes to the licensing agreements that are "manifestly unjust."
ALA and AALL will protest the law as it exits. He also said that Elsevier and Wolters
Kluwer are merging and this will effect CCH, Panel and Aspen imprints.
6. Interesting Web Sites
The Foreign Commonwealth Office at www.fco.gov.uk/news
provides an nice alternative viewpoint for the news. Focus International is the section
with the news.
Rob Jackson pointed out a section of DPL's database
called Images. Rob
has tried to pull together all the government sites that are image rich and
even scanned in some maps of Colorado. He encourages us to send him any sites
that we run into that he's missed.
Chris Brown is working on a database of UN Regional Development Publications.
It is certainly done enough to be useful.
Note that the subject headings are from the Macrothesaurus from the UK so many
of the spellings are British.
Rob Richards reported that the AALL committee has found 62 fugitive sites and
GPO has cataloged 45 of them.
Tim pointed out that the heaviest used CD-ROMs at CU are listed at their GOVERNMENT
PUBLICATIONS CD-ROM NETWORK. It includes everything that is available on the CU
Gov Pubs CD-ROM local area network and an annotation about each disk. It will be
useful for referring patrons. It includes many international statistical resources.
9. The moratorium on discard lists will continue until Tim tells us otherwise.
Do not send any lists until CU can see an end to what they have now.
11. Mines- Finally full staffing among the professional positions.
WY - Waiting for approval of their choice of SIRSI as the new system
CU Law - They still need a new head of public services and have added a new
reference position. They are cataloging the Native American legal set.
Auraria - Louise reported that there were several workshops about docs at the
MPLA conference including one from Nan Myers about Documents Database Miner.
The next MPLA meeting will be in Fargo, ND. Janet Fisher is planning another
four-state documents conference for this April.
DPL is waiting for fiber optic cable to implement a 24/7 reference chat site.
JCPL is celebrating its 50th anniversary and looking at a new workstation for docs.
Front Range will try to get another pool for its Coordinator of Reference Services.
DU has an opening for a Serials and Access Services Librarian.
CU - Tim is calling references for the state and foreign documents position candidates.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:30
Respectfully submitted,
Sharon Partridge, secretary