A guide to government information from the University of Houston-Victoria Library was recently recognized by the US Government Publishing Office and will be placed on a sample list for other depository libraries to consult.
The website has been selected by the US Government Publishing Office as an “exemplary” digital repository website. The Government Publishing Office publishes and distributes official government publications to Congress, federal agencies, federal depository libraries, and the public. A federal depository library includes access to government publications, such as congressional bills, statutes, regulations and more. The UHV Library is part of the Federal Depository Library Program and provides free access to Federal Government information to UHV, Victoria College and the community.
“I am delighted that the efforts of our staff have been recognized by the GPO and shared with the broader community of libraries offering the same services to bring government information to our users,” said Karen Locher, Senior Director of the UHV Library. . “Recognition for hard work is always appreciated, and UHV is enlightened from afar.”
The UHV Library was designated in 1973 as a Federal Depository Library. There are more than 1,100 Federal Designated Depository Libraries located throughout the country, the District of Columbia, Federated States of Micronesia, and U.S. territories, according to the U.S. Government Publishing Office website.
“Staff at our UHV library work hard every day to ensure that faculty, staff and students at UHV and residents of the Victoria area have access to the resources they need,” said Chance Glenn. , Provost of UHV and Vice President of Academic Affairs. “This is well-deserved recognition, and we applaud the work of our library staff.”
JoAnna McCulley, UHV Library’s Catalog Librarian since 2015, has updated the library’s repository website for the past three years. Although there are physical documents and items in the library, most of the collection is available online. To make information easily accessible on the UHV Library’s Government Information website, McCulley created search fields for the congress.gov, usa.gov and govinfo.gov web pages on the library website. Customers can do a quick search from the UHV Library’s government information webpage before being directed to these government sites for the information they are looking for. Users can also search the catalog of government publications on the UHV Library website.
Earlier this month, McCulley received an email from a Government Publishing Office outreach librarian regarding the UHV Library’s digital repository website, complimenting the website’s overall content and search fields. The Outreach Librarian has also requested that the website be included on the Government Publishing Office website as an “outstanding example of providing digital government information”.
“To see that the work we’re doing is helping other custodians find ways to support the public, that’s really good,” McCulley said. “I feel like I’m headed in the right direction for what’s needed for the website as I try to make the collection more visible to continue supporting our faculty, staff, students and the community.”
McCulley found the news exciting because the website’s content was new when she started overseeing the page three years ago. She plans to continue updating the page to ensure library patrons can continue to have the best access to government information.
“JoAnna is just awesome,” Locher said. “She has taken on responsibility as our liaison with the Government Publishing Office and has done a really wonderful job of getting the word out to our users and also keeping librarians informed of new information and services.”
The UHV Library is located in UHV University Commons, 3006 N. Ben Wilson St. and is open to residents of Victoria and surrounding areas. To obtain a free UHV Library card, contact the library at 361-570-4166. For more information about the library, go to library.uhv.edu.
