1. Pathway services are designed to allow you to search a variety of federal agency websites. Prepare a topic to be searched and evaluate the First Gov website. . This is the single most important U.S. government website.
2. Locater services are designed to help you locate U.S. government
information. Several locator services or tools are found on the GPO Locator Tools
page. Briefly describe the utility and ease of use of this site. Which
features are most likely to be especially useful.
3. There are several comprehensive sites for U.S. government information. The Library of Congress provides one. Examine three to five of these sites. Based on this experience, how would you characterize bibliographic control of U.S. government information?
4. The National Archives and Records Administration is responsible for much older U.S. federal government information. What sort of intellectual access does NARA provide? List and evaluate the access points available.
5.The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP), formerly the Monthly Catalog, provides access to government publications. Can you find an publications dealing with minimum wage reform? Ease of use?
6. A patron needs federal government statistical information on academic libraries. What can you find? Which agency is most likely to collect this information? Characterize the resources available.
7. A business person would like to export to Poland. Which agency is most likely to collect this information? What recent government information is available?
8. A patron has a reference to a title, Railroad trespassing : the highest cause of death in the railroad industry. which she thinks may be issued by the U.S. Government. Can you provide a proper bibliographic citation? Was this a depository item? Does a local Library hold it? When was it issued?
9. A patron has a reference to some sort of government publication, A 101.2:2003022166. [[0030-A-05 (online)]. Can you provide a proper bibliographic citation? Does a local Library hold this item?
10. A faculty member wants to find the National Death Index. Can you provide a proper bibliographic citation? Does a local Library hold this item?
11. A patron wants to purchase the National five digit zip code and post office directory. What formats are available? How much does it cost? How recent is it? Where can she get it? Provide a short bibliographic recored.
12. A patron wants to examine treaties between the Kiowa Indians and the government of the United States. What can you find? Are these available in a local Library? On the web?
13. A local public librarian calls, wanting to know if there is a
periodical index for U.S. Government periodicals. Is it locally
available? Characterize this index, including a
sense of the range of periodicals indexed and the fullness of the
indexing.
14. A student in transportation is interested in current federal government statistics on freight railroad traffic in the United States. Which sources would be best?
15. A high school student wants to know how many people are killed each year by lightning. She would like this information by state or even county if that is available. What can you find?
16. A high school media specialist wants to find a list of the
"Core documents of U.S. Democracy." What can you find? What is a "core
document"?
17. Bernan Press publishes several important reference works formerly issued by the GPO. Characterize their works. Provide examples.
18. Lexis-Nexis's Statistical is a digital archive of U.S. federal, state, and other organizational statistics. What can you find out about this product? How easu is it to find statistics on the percentage of Americans who vote in presidential elections?
19. You have been asked to prepare a bibliographic instruction (BI) session on immigration. Has another already done this? Check the GODORT Handout Exchange and see what you find. If you find an appropriate handout, evaluate its quality and utility.
20. A new edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook is available. Which sources provide the most and the best information about the important and popular title?
Last major revision: August 2006
