First Time Attendee

By Kathy Karn-Carmichael
Gregg-Graniteville Library
USC Aiken

Last week I attended, for the first time, the Depository Library Conference in Arlington, Virginia. My name tag bore a turquoise ribbon embossed  in gold letters "First Time Attendee", so everyone would know I was a DLC rookie. The first event was an orientation for first time attendees, which gave us an overview of the conference. The mornings had a variety of sessions covering collection development, websites, online resources, tools and speakers from federal agencies. The afternoons consisted of a two hour session reporting on the results of the FDLP Forecast Study ( more on that in another post) followed by late afternoon sessions. As with most conferences, I had to carefully choose which sessions to attend, choosing those which would help me the most in dealing with issues I am facing here at USC Aiken..

One of the highlights of the week was the screening of Linotype: the Film, a very interesting documentary about the Linotype machine. The film made many of us almost regret the advances of technology. It was followed by a reception in the GPO bookstore, with wine, cheese, and cake.

During the course of the week I attended a session on Rare Earth Elements by Bert Chapman of Purdue University, He provided an abundance of government resources and information on this hot topic. Other very informative sessions included, "Access to Justice Information and Statistics" information in the use of https://www.ncjrs.gov/, National Geologic Map Database session provided information about the revised website, GPO staff provided information about the progress of the redesign of the FDLP website, our Regional Librarian, Bill Sudduth presented a session on the ASERL Disposition Database, another session provided information about Public Health reports. By far, my favorite session was, "Promoting Public Access to Modern Day History: an Introduction to the National Security Archive which, according to the Los Angeles Times, has the largest collection of declassified U.S. documents. Currently featured on the home page are declassified documents related to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
If you are interested in learning more about these or some of  the other sessions, many are available for download. at DLC 2012 presentation materials

It was a wonderful and exhausting experience, I highly recommend it.

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SC GODORT

Last fall at a statewide government librarian's meeting at Thomas Cooper Library, I expressed an interest in the SCLA Government Documents Round Table (GODORT). I am now the chair of GODORT, it is funny how that worked out. I invite all government librarians to contribute to this blog and share news and events which may be of interest to members of GODORT.
As someone who is new to both government documents and South Carolina, I need the support and involvement of other government librarians in South Carolina. My goals for this group for the remainder of the year are modest. First, I would like to hear from other government librarians who are interested in becoming involved in GODORT, either as a member or as an officer. Secondly I would like to schedule a meeting for later in the summer to develop plans for the future of SC GODORT and decide if we would like to participate as a group in the SCLA conference in October. This is a very challenging time for government librarians, technology and the political climate is playing a major role in our ability to provide service and materials to our users. It is very important that we keep aware of the issues facing government information in this dynamic environment. If you are interested in becoming involved please contact me at kathyk@usca.edu or 803-641-3320. I look forward to hearing from you.

Kathy Karn-Carmichael
USC Aiken