Mission Statement
The Documents collection located in the 9th Congressional District was designated a Federal Depository in 1990. The primary mission of the Depository is to support the services and the general collection in all branches of the St. Charles City-County Library District.

The St. Charles City-County Library Mission "... is to provide excellent and economical public library services to residents of the District." Further, in the Library Goals, the commitment is expanded: "... Specialized collections shall be developed only in regional branches, and shall emphasize service to business and government..."

The 9th CD community of 568,248 is a diverse mixture of rural and urban dwellers. The median age of the population is 31.9; median family income is $31,692. Thirty five and a half percent attained high school education, and 32% have a college degree or some college education. The unemplyment rate for the 9th CD is 5.3%. For a detailed demographic profile of the 9th CD, check the following 1990 Report The majority of the library users come from St. Charles County. Located west of St. Louis, the county is enjoying steady residential and commercial growth and good transportation access to the entire St. Louis metro area. The County is one of the five fastest-growing counties in the State of Missouri increasing its population by 29% between 1990-1996. Its estimated population in July 1997 reached 264,275. According to the 1990 census, the median age of a St. Charles County resident is 30.7. The median family income is $48,040. Over 45% of all residents have college degree or some college education. The unemplyment rate is below 3%. The detailed demographic 1990 Report is available from MSCDC.

The St. Charles City-County Library District Depository fulfills its mission by:
* actively promoting and marketing government information in the community
* supporting educational and business needs of the community
* facilitating access to government documents in all formats
* conducting regular bibliographic instructions and help sessions for all interested in government information.

In accordence with the Section #D072, of the Library Management Policy, a zero-based selection and the depository profile review is conducted on annual basis. The collection, however, is reviewed on daily basis. The depository staff maintains a list of items for possible selection as a response to patrons needs. This list is later reviewed at the time of the zero-based selection process.

The Reference Librarians Committee, meeting on monthly basis, is informed by the Documents Librarian on regular basis about new items available through the FDLP.

In order to enhance the collection, the Depository selects numerous commercial products including the CensusCD, LawCheck, LOIS online database, as well as some paper titles, like the Congressional Quarterly , Congressional and State Yellow Books, the Climatological Data for the State of Missouri, Washington Online :How to Access the Federal Government on the Internet, and Finding Government Information on the Internet, and DttP.

The map collection is complemented with topographic maps of Missouri purchased directly from the USGS, maps of Congressional Districts prominently displayed at the Reference area, and the CIA Country Maps (placed in a binder). A master index, and a list of topographic maps selected or purchased by the depository with the branch allocation symbol is kept in branches at the reference desks.

The Library District's periodicals master file includes titles of federal serials selected by the Depository with their URLs listed. The Depository maintains several home pages created to facilitate access to government information, specifically for the public library customers. The Depository has additionally created a home page for children and young adults, for educational purposes, providing links to appropriate governmental sites.

The Depository is an active participant on numerous distribution lists GOVDOC-L and MODOC-L.

The Reference Department at the Middendorf-Kredell Branch Library keeps a daily log of reference activities that requires all questions to be recorded as : general ref. questions, telephone questions, government information questions, etc. Rough estimates show a ratio of 1 to 10 (government information requests v general reference questions).

Additionally, numerous indexing tools are evaluated on regular basis. The DocuFile CD was recently added to the collection as a primary cataloging utility of government documents.

Documents are received by the documents department at the library branch where they are housed and do not leave the building for further processing; this facilitates getting the documents on the shelves in a timely manner. The documents are usually processed within a day or two of receipt.

Processing regular shipments consists of taking receipt of the documents, stamping with the date of receipt, checking the shipping lists for items selected and items not received, cataloged using the GovDox database management application, and printing labels and applying them to all documents. Some items will then be added to the library district OPAC through the library district's Technical Operations Department; the documents do not have to leave the building for this procedure. The depository goal is to system catalog most of the collection. This require a regular search of the Docufile or EZ-DOCS for bibliographic (MARC format) records that are modified and downloaded to a file later sent to Technical Operations for uploading to the library OPAC.

Claims for material not received are made the day shipping lists are checked or the day of cataloging (if they are done on different days). Claims are generally made by facsimile to GPO.

Daily shipments are processed in a similar manner, the exception being that most of them are hand-checked on check-in cards. The documents that circulate will also be cataloged on GovDox and some added to the OPAC record, however, most of the daily shipment is reference material.

Direct Mail {separate} shipments are date stamped when they are received, marked with the shipping list number and held until the shipping list arrives. One exception, The Code of Federal Regulations is hand-checked and put on shelves for immediate public use if it comes as a separate; the shipping list is checked against the check-in card when it arrives.

Microfiche is processed as it arrives. The items are checked against the shipping list, date stamped for day of receipt, cataloged on GovDox, and a label affixed. They are filed by Sudoc number in a locked microfiche file cabinet. House and Senate Bills, Resolutions and Reports are all hand-checked and an index is made available for patron usage. Patrons may have access to the microfiche upon request.

CD-ROM generally come in regular GPO shipments and are processed like a regular shipment. The majority are held in the off-duty depository office area and some are available for check-out, some can be mounted on a library computer upon request and some are permanently accessible on stand-alone computer stations at the Reference Desk. An comprehensive index listing all CD-ROMs is available at reference desks of all branches. This index instructs users to contact the depository if a CD not-mounted permanently is going to be requested. This procedure makes it possible for the depository staff to fill the request in advance.

Maps are selected in three areas by the depository, Census, USGS and CIA, and all are cataloged on GovDox. A map case holds the majority and the small maps are placed in a binder, Sudoc order, and placed on regular document shelves
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General maintenance of the collection consists of keeping track of shipping lists and making claims for any missing lists or documents, updating card files and correcting document cataloging mistakes through Technical Supplements, the technical newsletter from GPO, and taking document shelving requirements into consideration on a regular basis. Shipping lists are retained for a period of 12 months or more.

The depository shelves new documents after the appropriate SuDoc number has been attached. When items are returned or used in the library they are reshelved on a daily basis. As items are shelved the SuDoc numbers are checked for accuracy and adjoining items are checked as well. Inaccuracies and anything questionable are brought to the attention of the depository staff.

The document shelves are read on a regular basis and records are kept as to when and what was read. Problems such as misplacements, errors and crowding of shelves are addressed by depository personnel at this time.

The depository card catalog is updated in accord with the Technical Supplement's Administrative Notes. As updates are made cards are checked for accuracy and proper placement. Discrepancies are brought to the attention of the depository staff.

Additionally, some documents are available through the Library online catalog. It is the goal of the Depository to catalog the Documents collection in its entirety within the next two years.

Overdue and lost materials are covered by the St. Charles City-County Library District Policy Manual (Section C, Public Services, C128, Fines; C258, Cost of out-of-print Materials).

All documents are shelved separately from other reference materials, according to SuDoc numbers. The federal documents can be accessed electronically from all branches via over 100 Pentium PCs using the Internet/Web connection (equipped with laser printers, and Adobe Acrobat software). Additionally, the Library District, as a partner in a community network, WIN, provides a free Internet access to all county residents allowing a remote use of federal documents. All library PCs are Pentium machines loaded with the Adobe Acrobat software and connected to laser printers. Some downloading is available on request.

The majority of CD-ROM titles are held in the off-duty depository office area and some are available for check-out, some can be mounted on a library computer upon request. The most populat (most often requested) CDs are installed on four stand-alone computer stations at the Reference Desk. A comprehensive index listing all CD-ROMs is available at reference desks of all branches.

The Depository maintains an active Web presence by publishing several government home pages:
* Federal and State Information
* Uncle Sam for Kids
* GIS Information from the St. Charles City-County Library District

Only a small portion of all documents is accessible from the Library online catalog. However, the Depository's goal is to continue the cataloging efforts and complete cataloging of the collection within the next several years. A complete computerized shelflist is availalbe when requested.

All government related reference questions are handled at the reference desk at the Middendorf-Kredell Branch Library. The documents staff assists with questions that require expertise and can not be handled by general reference staff. Government questions from other branches are referred to the depository staff. The Depository staff provides:
* Assistance in using the documents collection
* Bibliographic Instructions for staff (all branches) and the general public
* Assistance in using government Web sites
* Circulation of materials not designated as reference (time of circulation in accordance with circulation policy of the library district)
* ILL cooperative initiatives with other depositories (Every effort will be made to obtained requested documents as soon as possible. The ILL is covered by the St. Charles City-County Library District Policy Manual, Section C, Public Services, C192, Interlibrary Loan)
* Training for new para-professional staff for the entire library district.

Promotional brochures, marketing the GPOAccess, STAT-USA, CenStats, and NTDB have been distributed to all branches. Additionally, each branch displays a decal announcing availability of government information electronically. Bibliographic Instructions classes are advertised in local newspapers, and library brochures

The Library is open Monday through Thursday, 9 AM to 9 PM. Friday and Saturday, 9 AM to 6 PM; and Sunday, 1-5 PM.
Anna A. Sylvan A full time GIS/Government Information Resources Librarian
Jydy Brandenberg Government Documents Para-pro (20-hour position)
Shelver (5-hour position)