 |
The Olive Tree |
|
The Olive Tree |
The Russians were early into their experiment with parliamentary democracy. The
British Army was withdrawing from a foreign country. A senator resigned his
seat. The Maine Legislature was hassling over the University of Maine budget
allocation.
Yesterday? Last week? No, all this happened in early March 1907 when Congress
directed something of benefit to the University of Maine and to the state as a
whole.
The Norton Amendments enacted on March 1, 1907 designated all Land Grant
Colleges — including the University of Maine — as federal depositories. To
bolster scientific and political research and to assist in building an informed
citizenry, from then on UMaine’s library would receive, free, all new government
publications as they were issued in Washington.
Fast forward to 2007, a significant year in the history of the Federal
Depository Library Program (FDLP), marking the 100th anniversary of the largest
group of libraries ever to enter the program in a single year. Since its
establishment by Congress in 1813, the FDLP has collected, organized and
preserved information published by the federal government. In turn, its
participating depositories assist people in locating and using federal
information. Libraries designated as depositories provide local, no-fee access
to anyone.
The University of Maine’s Raymond H. Fogler library has recently been recognized
by the Government Printing Office in Washington for its commitment to 100 years
of service as a depository library. To commemorate the milestone, the GPO sent a
crystal plaque to honor the library’s participation. The plaque will be part of
a display that can be viewed at the library through the end of March.
“The University of Maine Library had actually been serving as a depository
library prior to 1907, receiving a small selection,” explains Frank Wihbey, Head
of the Department of Government Publications, Maps, GIS & Microforms. For
example, a few documents were given to the University library directly by
members of Congress in the late 1800s.
Wihbey explains that most depository libraries, then and now, are selected
through Congressional privilege. Senator William P. Frye of Lewiston nominated
the University of Maine library, and it was officially declared a depository in
1897. But in 1907, under the provisions of the Nelson Amendment to the First and
Second Morrill Acts, 43 land-grant colleges were simultaneously declared to be a
part of the depository program. This allowed Senator Frye to make another
selection for Maine, the Dyer Library of Saco.
“The act of 1907 significantly boosted our acquisitions, at no cost. So 1907
remains a historic milestone for our library and the federal program,” Wihbey
explains, “We are quite pleased with this recognition from Washington for our
library’s commitment to providing public access to government information,”.
Joyce V. Rumery, Dean of Libraries at the University, added, “There is a synergy
of Land Grant College membership and the Federal Depository Library Program
which aligns with the mission of the University. This is one of many
federal-state partnerships that have benefited UMaine and the State.”
The government publications collections at Fogler Library now totals 2.2 million
documents, including some in paper, microform, floppy disk, map, videocassette
and CD-ROM formats. The URSUS online catalog lists hundreds of thousands of
federal publications on the premises, and many thousands more are accessible by
a mouse click on the URSUS screen. The UMaine collection is the largest grouping
of United States federal materials north of Boston, and remains the only
regional depository in the country that serves a tri-state region.
Home | Olive
Tree