The UTK Libraries have a helpful website for state and local government information.
A good starting place for Tennessee state government information is at The University of Memphis Government Publications Department.
The State and Local Documents Task Force has a helpful website.
1. Which comprehensive list of state government sites is the best? Create a pool, select three finalists, evaluate them, and select the best one.
*2. Evaluate the quality and the utility of your official state government website. Examine one other state website and compare the two.
3. The Tennessee Code is now on-line via the The State Legislature Home Page. Is the code for your state available on the web? If so, ease of use?
4. It's time for the Thursday morning reference department
meeting, and you have been asked to introduce and briefly evaluate the utility of the
Almanac of the 50 States [REF HA 214.A45], Facts About
the States[REF E 180.K4 ] and CQ's State Fact Finder
[REF HA 214.V36 ].
5. A It's time for the Thursday morning reference department meeting, and you have been asked to introduce and review the Book of the States [REF JK 2403.B62] and States in Profile [REF HA 203.S73].
6. How would you go about helping a user who wants to know which babies were born in your county in 1953?
7. A patron is trying to find recent documents relating to waste disposal problems in large cities in the United States, especially in New York and Los Angeles. What can you find? Which sources were most useful?
8. A library school student needs information on certification and endorsement for school library media work for Tennessee and South Carolina. Where can you find this information?
9. A public library patron wants to find a list of offically adopted state songs. Useful web and print sources for this question. Create a pool, select three finalists. Which source is best?
10. A patron wants personal information about the current state governor such age, height, weight, and family. Any government sources helpful? What about non-governmental sources?
11. What are the salaries for your state legislators? For
those in Tennessee? Who gets the most?
12. A patron is looking for public record information for your state. In particular, she is interested in being able to purchase information on new car ownership from the Department of Motor Vehicles or its equivalent. What can you find out?
13. A faculty member is doing a research project involving privacy and accessibility of public record information. Using the Sourcebook of State Public Records [REF JK 468 .P7S73 yr] or similar source [web sources are OK], make a brief list of the sort of information that someone might be able to gather from public records about you.
14. You have received a flyer for Tennessee Government Officials Directory [REF JK 5230 .T48]. Should this item be selected and added to the reference collection. Why?
15. A user wants to know which counties in your state have the best schools. Which sources are most useful?
16. A patron needs to see the text of the most recent state law dealing with obscenity. What can you find? How easily done?
17. A patron is concerned with the disposition of nuclear waste in Tennessee [or your state if you have nuclear power plants]. She wonders if the state legislature has held hearings on this issue. If so, she would like to be able to read the hearings. What can you find?
18. A patron is looking for current, fairly detailed information on
your state parks on the WWW. What can you find?
19. How much did your state spend on higher education in the last fiscal year? How much on the land grant university?
20. You have been asked to review the Tennessee Statistical Abstract. In particular, what would you find here that would not be in the U.S. Statistical Abstract? [REF HA 645 .T4] or a commercial almanac?
21. The your state Department of Transportation plays an important role. Its decisions impact many people. Which sources are best to learn more about this agency and its operation?
22. A user needs access to municipal codes for a report on railroad train whistle noise. Select a larger city. Look at Municipal Codes Online and an alternative by the Seattle Public Library.. How helpful were these sites?
23. The state library and archives is, or should be,
an important part of state government. How visibile is this agency? What services and collections does it provide?
