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Overview
Welcome to the Government Documents Division of the Reference Department of the Eugene P. Watson Memorial Library at the Northwestern State University of Louisiana in Natchitoches LA. That said, let�s talk a little bit about what a Government Documents Department is and what it does. First, let me explain that the US Federal Government has set up a depository system by which federal government publications are reproduced by the US Government Printing Office (GPO) which acts as publisher and distributor; and distributed to depository libraries all over the country. There are two types of depository libraries : Regionals and Selectives. Regional Depository Libraries collect all documents published by GPO while Selectives are allowed to choose which documents they receive. Watson Library is a selective depository currently receiving approximately 30 percent of the documents sent out by GPO. Each Depository Library is assigned a number - Watson Library�s number is 0233. It is very important for you to know this.
Even though our documents collection may be small, it is important for us to keep it well maintained and accessible to all patrons at all times. We do this for two reasons. First, in order to maintain our depository status, it is necessary to follow certain guidelines set up by GPO. Second, the government publications collection contains much information that is useful to faculty, staff and students in virtually every field of study offered at NSU, as well as information relevant to members of the surrounding community.
Government publications are organized by a classification system called the Sudocs system. This is a call number system based on the issuing agency of the publication and resembles the Library of Congress Classification system in appearance. Since documents shelved in the documents reading room and all record pertaining to documents are organized by this system, it is important for you to know it well. You will receive training and a handout before you begin to work extensively with documents.
As a student assistant, you are an important part of the process which makes these publications available to all Watson Library patrons. Your mission, should you choose to accept, it will include a variety of tasks some of which require a good deal of time and concentration to learn. Since the learning process is so lengthy, we prefer to hire students early in their time at NSU and retain them as long a possible in order for them to reach a high level of expertise. Over time, students are taught as much as they are willing to learn about government documents.
At the end of each semester, student employees are evaluated with a copy of the evaluation becoming part of your permanent personnel record here at NSU. For a copy of this evaluation form, see the back of your student application.
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