Day 3 of the Government Shutdown

Well, it's official: The 2013 Depository Library Council Meeting and Federal Depository Library Conference has been cancelled with hopes of actually holding the Meeting and Conference in the spring of 2014. Read the letter from The Superintendent of Documents, Mary Alice Baish here.


During the shutdown, more than any other time (dare I say), is the perfect opportunity for librarians to show that there is a need for our profession--especially for librarians who work with or specialize in government information. It is also a good reminder that we must always keep our skills sharp. I confess, I'm guilty of relying too much on our electronic overlords (aka, computers). But we rely on the Internet as though it were a mighty river. It may change course over time, but it is always there, waiting to serve. A great example of this is the cautionary tales of teenagers and young adults posting pictures that can come back to haunt them because "once it's out there, there is no erasing it." Yet...here we are. Without some of the very resources that we rely on every day. This shows us that nothing is certain. While the Internet may still be there, that doesn't mean that all the things we need will be as stable. So...this is why it is important to know how to answer questions using the old-fashioned way--going to the physical documents themselves. So let's take this opportunity, especially the younger generation of documents librarians, to turn to the wise sages in our field and ask them to help us learn how to answer questions when our digital documents and sites fail us.


Sonnet Ireland
Head of Federal Documents and Microforms
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Liaison Librarian:

Accounting; Economics and Finance;
Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism; Legal Research;
Management; Marketing