For two hundred years the United States government has disseminated information to its citizens. As the government was being formed, Congress authorized the printing of additional copies of the journals of the Senate and House of Representatives for distribution to colleges and universities and historical societies in each state. In 1895 Congress formalized this distribution by the passage of the Printing Act which established the Federal Depository System under the control of the Public Printer of the Government Printing Office (GPO). This act stated that libraries designated by Congressional appointment, the libraries of the Executive departments and indepen-dent agencies, state and territorial libraries, and libraries of land-grant colleges could be designated as depository libraries. U.S. government publications were to be placed on deposit in these libraries and the libraries in return accepted the responsibility of making the documents available to the public. Today there are 1400 federal depository libraries in the United States.

For citizens of other countries, these publications have been made available to their libraries through international exchange agreements. The Brussels Convention of 1886, an international agreement dealing with the international exchange of official documents, has been signed by approximately 90 countries. In the United States the Library of Congress administers the interna-tional exchange and sends U.S. government publications throughout the world. These are many of the same publications which are distributed through the federal depository system in the United States.

The Congressional purpose in establishing these programs was to insure that information produced by the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the government was available for public examination and study. From 1776 to 1976 all of these publications were distributed in the U.S. and abroad in printed form. However, in 1976 GPO began to produce and distribute docu-ments in microfiche in an effort to save funds and control the storage requirements for government publications. This program has grown to the point that twice as many documents are distributed in microfiche than in paper in the United States and almost all documents are distributed in microfiche to international exchange libraries.

2. PROBLEMS

Unfortunately, the publications distributed by the United States through the International Exchange Program do not always meet the Congressional intent of the program. There are pro-blems with the physical movement (i.e. mail) of large numbers of printed documents or boxes of microfiche, as well as, documentation regarding the materials included in the program. Libraries in other countries do not know when to expect a shipment or what should be included in the shipment or in what format. It is also difficult for the staff of these libraries to receive training on the use and processing of these materials. It is also difficult to use or promote the use of some of the materials in microfiche.

3. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES

The recent advances in technology have resulted in another change in the way government information is disseminated. Federal agencies are using online databases, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, and floppy disks to produce information. The use of CD-ROM's to disseminate this information could have a major effect on the way international libraries access U.S. government information.

CD-ROM, "Compact Disc-Read Only Memory," is a computer peripheral for storage of textual data and software programs. A CD-ROM is mastered by writing information by laser on a glass, metal, or durable plastic disc. The master is duplicated by stamping out copies (similar to producing phonograph records) and protecting them from wear and tear with a clear plastic coating. The physical size of these discs is 4.75 inches. It can store the same amount of data as 1,500 floppy disks or 250,000 pages or 500 books. Since it is "read only memory" the data cannot be erased, rewritten, or altered.

The federal government is using CD-ROM technology to enhance its information dissemi-nation activities because of high storage capacity, ease of distribution and storage, and again cost savings. To the individual using government information, the most important factor is the increas-ed searching capabilities provided by this new technology.

As an interactive medium, CD-ROM technology has qualities that traditional forms of docu-ment storage, paper and microfiche, do not. It allows quicker access to information by using features such as searching by key words, truncation, and Boolean and adjacency operators. For the person using English as a second language searching by key word and the browse capability should retrieve information without the necessity of creating a perfect search statement.

CD-ROM also has the advantage of ease of dissemination. One disc can be mailed anywhere in the world for a fraction of the cost of mailing comparable information in print or microfiche. It is also quite durable; dust, scratches, or fingerprints do not hinder the reading of the disc by the laser so using the mail for distribution is not a problem. Sending a disc by air mail to Asia will not take any longer than sending a disc to Rice University in a federal depository shipment. With this kind of distribution we do enter a global world with no boundaries for information dissemination.

4. EXAMPLES OF CD-ROM DISSEMINATION OF US GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

Since 1895 the primary access to government publications has been through the Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (MoCat). Unfortunately it was often difficult to locate a document using this tool and usually required creativity and persistence to be successful. Over the years there were some changes and improvements in the MoCat, but in 1976 revolutionary changes took place in the format and indexing of the MoCat. At this time GPO began using MARC format to catalog its documents. This cataloging was done through OCLC and computer tapes of the cataloging were used to produce the MoCat. Computerization allowed GPO to expand and im-prove the indexes of the MoCat. These computer tapes were also used to create different formats of the MoCat: microfilm, on-line access, and CD-ROM versions.*

With the CD-ROM versions of the MoCat, we will begin our discussion of actual CD-ROM products and the distribution of government information. At this time there are six publishers using GPO's catalog tapes to produce the MoCat in a CD-ROM format. They are:

• Auto-Graphics

• Information Access

• Marcive, Inc.

• OCLC

• SilverPlater

• H.W. Wilson

I will discuss the version with which I am most familiar, Marcive's GPO CAT/PAC. This version of the MoCat covers 1976 to the present and is updated bimonthly. The cost is $995 a year. The basic equipment and software requirements for this and other CD-ROM products are an IBM/compatible PC with 640K, one floppy drive, 20 MB hard disk, CD-ROM driver, MS-DOS 3.1+ and Microsoft Extensions 2.0+. Marcive provides the search software for GPO CAT/PAC.

This data base has undergone extensive editing to insure the accuracy of the records and to delete duplicate records. GPO CAT/PAC may be searched by title, author (personal or corporate), and subject or a combined search of these elements. The title, author, and subject searches may be partial or selected words and it is possible to go into browse searching in each of these fields. The combined search allows for searching combinations of authors, titles, and subjects and may be

further qualified by format, date, or language code. Numeric searches are also possible. These are ______________________

*An essay be Jim Walsh and Mallory Stark in Government Information Quarterly, 7 (3): 359-370 (1990) provides information on the many versions of the MoCat.

searches using any of the "funny numbers" (SuDoc number, technical report number, order num

ber, OCLC,etc.) that are associated with U.S. government publications. The following is an example of a record retrieved by using the search term "Mexico" and going into "Browse" which displays 47 records with the term "Mexico" in the heading:

LOCATION/CALL #: D 101.22: 550-79/ 985

TITLE: Mexico, a country study / Foreign Area Studies, the American University; edited by James D. Rudolph.

EDITION: 3rd ed., 1985.

PUBLICATION INFO: Washington, D.C. : Headquarters, Dept. of the Army : For sale by

the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., 1985.

PHYSICAL DESC: xli, 472 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.

TITLE SERIES: Area handbook series

TITLE SERIES: DA pam ; 550-79

NOTE: "Research completed October 1984."

NOTE: Shipping list no.: 86-94-P.

NOTE: Bibliography: p. 393-447.

NOTE: Includes index.

SUBJECT: Mexico.

OTHER AUTHOR: Rudolph, James D., 1947-

OTHER AUTHOR: American University (Washington, D.C.). Foreign Area Studies.

OTHER AUTHOR: United States. Dept. of the Army.

The following descriptions are for CD-ROM titles that have been distributed through the federal depository program.

4.1. CD-ROM Products from the Census Bureau

County and City Data Book

County and city level demographic data is presented in this printed reference source compiled by the Census Bureau. A CD-ROM of the raw data has also been produced by the Census Bureau. The search software allows for data to be searched and reorganized in a wider range than the printed product. The geographic areas covered are governmental units, cities, counties, and states. The subject content varies for each geographic area. The following is an example of the data that is retrieved for a city:

City Profile -- Selected Area, All Items

481975 - Houston

This disc includes the same statistical data that is found in the 1987 Economic Censuses printed report series. Statistics are provided for kind of business and by geographic areas, retail trade, wholesale trade, service industries, transportation, and preliminary summary data for manufactures. It also includes some historical statistics.

The following is an example of a search of the 1987 Retail Trade:

This file contains data from the 1982 census with comparable data from the 1978 census. It includes information on farms, size, land in use, agriculture chemicals used, etc. as well as statis-tics on inventories and sales of livestock, poultry, and crops harvested. The coverage is for the entire U.S. by state and all counties. This is an example of a search of all the farms in Harris County, Texas:

4.2. CD-ROM Products from the Environmental Protection Agency

Toxic Release Inventory

Federal law requires the Environmental Protection Agency to establish an inventory of toxic chemical emissions from certain facilities. The purpose of this inventory is to inform the public and government officials about routine and accidental releases of chemicals into the environment. Searches of this CD- ROM are performed on words appearing in the reporting documents filed by the facilities. For example, a search may be for a particular chemical, a company name or a geo-graphic location. These words can be weighted for use in ordering the search results. Searching may also be done using Boolean operators or restricted to documents added after a certain time. A concordance of all indexed words and their frequency and a thesaurus are included in the database. These features help expand the search or supply alternate terms. The search techniques for this CD-ROM are identical to searching an on-line database; however, it is not necessary to worry about the telecommunications charges. The printed documentation accompanying this CD-ROM should be used to achieve successful search results.

The following titles have been announced by GPO for forthcoming distribution. The descriptive information on the content of these CD-ROM titles was supplied by GPO.

4.3. CD-ROM Titles from the Commerce Department

National Trade Data Bank

This file will contain data concerned with international economics and trade of interest to U.S. businesses engaged in export related activities. It will be issued monthly and the software and manual will be supplied on the CD-ROM.

Foreign Trade Data

This file will contain data on imports and exports of merchandise. There will be information on net quantity, value and shipping weight by country of origin or destination and customs district. This title will be issued monthly with software provided on diskette and printed documentation.

4.4. CD-ROM Titles from the Defense Department

Hazardous Materials Information System

This CD-ROM provides basic reference data to assist in the management and disposition of hazardous materials by Department of Defense activities, federal civilian activities, and other approved organizations. Retrieval software and documentation will be distributed with the CD-ROM. This title will be issued monthly.

4.5. CD-ROM Titles from Health and Human Services Department

National Health Interview Survey

This file contains statistics on acute and chronic conditions, injuries, hospital stays, etc. The data was compiled from interview results of a nationally representative sample. It also includes information on cancer risk factors and cancer epidemiology, polio, and adoption. The CD-ROM includes search software with printed documentation.

4.6. CD-ROM Titles Distributed by the Patent and Trademark Office to Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries

Classification and Search Support Information System

CASSIS contains information on the 5 million+ U.S. patents. It may be searched by words in the titles or abstracts of the patents, classification titles, or classification index terms. All patents assigned to a company may also be retrieved. Searches by the inventor's name, place of residence, date and/or status of the patent are also possible. Currently registered federal trademarks are also searchable on CASSIS. The marks may be searched by the owner, registration number, mark description, and serial number. CASSIS is updated bimonthly and is available for $300/annual subscription for nondepository libraries.

The following is an example of a record retrieved by the patent number:

The use of CD-ROM technology to disseminate U.S. government information assures quick and inexpensive distribution throughout the world. However, the library receiving the CD-ROM titles must bare some expense in acquiring the proper equipment, training the staff to use the equipment and become familiar with the search software. Once installed the CD-ROM's should facilitate access to government information.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Becker, Karen A., "CD-ROM: A Primer," C&RL News, 50 (7): 387-392 (July/August 1989).

McFaul, Jerry, "Uncle Sam Offers a Wide Variety of CD-ROM Titles," CD-ROM EndUser, 1 (5): 20-26 (September 1989).

Motley, Susan A., "Optical Disc Technology and Libraries: A Review of the 1989 Literature," CD-ROM Librarian, 5 (5): 11-33 (May 1990).

Sanchez, Lisa, "Dissemination of United States Federal Government Information on CD-ROM," Government Publications Review, 16: 133-144 (1989).