THE DOCKET
Newsletter of the Documents Section of the North Carolina Library Association
| Volume 30 Number 1 Spring 2003 |
The leadership of the Documents Section changed hands at our Fall Workshop this past November. Paula Hinton had the honor of becoming Past Chair and Karen O'Keefe ended her two-year term as Secretary/Treasurer. My heartfelt thanks goes out to these two wonderful colleagues for all of their hard work, dedication and support. I took over as Vice Chair/Chair-Elect for Laura Eason halfway through her term. Paula and Karen, along with Michael Van Fossen, were instrumental in helping me plan the Fall Workshop.
Our two newly elected officers are outstanding additions to the Documents Section Executive Board. Bryna Coonan, Coastal Resources Management Librarian at East Carolina University, joins me on the Board as Vice Chair/Chair-Elect. Bryna brings great energy and experience to this office. She is currently planning our Spring Workshop to be held at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh on May 9, 2003. Beth Kaylor, Outreach/Faculty Liaison Librarian at UNC Wilmington, is our newly elected Secretary/Treasurer. Beth has many years of experience in government documents as a previous member of the documents staff at UNCW. In addition to her MLS, she also holds a Master of Science in Accountancy. As I'm introducing new officers, I should probably tell you something about myself. My official title is Assistant University Librarian Directing Government Research & Regional Studies. (I always have to check my business card to make sure I have all of it right.) I have been in charge of government documents at UNCW for more than twelve years. Previously, I was Head of Technical Services at what was then called High Point College and before that, I was Cataloger at the U.S. Supreme Court Library in Washington, D.C. I am honored to serve as Chair of this organization.
In closing, I am looking forward to all of us
having another successful and productive year as keepers of government
information despite the challenges we may face. The USA Patriot Act, the
continued conversion of documents to electronic format, and Ridley's rumored
retirement are some of these challenges. I hope to see you all at the
Spring Workshop in Raleigh where some (or all) of these topics will be
discussed.
--Eileen Brown, UNC Wilmington, Chair, Documents Section
Spring 2003 Documents Workshop
Mark your calendars. The NCLA Documents
Section will hold their Spring meeting on Friday, May 9, 2003, at the McKimmon
Center in Raleigh. The day-long event will emphasize "updates"
on a variety of issues of interest including copyright, handling documents in
the online catalog, the Patriot Act, and GPO. Retiring North Carolina
Regional Documents Librarian Ridley Kessler will be our keynote speaker. A
business meeting of the Section will follow the event. Details concerning
the program and registration will be forthcoming. Please plan to join us.
--Bryna Coonin, East Carolina University, Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect, Documents
Section
Notable International Documents, Spring 2003
United Nations Security Council
Whether to invade Iraq is currently being debated in the UN Security
Council. Verbatim meeting records of the Council have been added to the UN
webpage but for some reason, they're not listed with other Council documents.
Meeting records are linked through the United Nations Documentation: Research Guide at http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/scspeech.htm. Full-text of meeting records is available from 1997 to the present. Records are quickly available: on February 7, 2003, the meeting records for February 6 were available.
Webcasts for some of the meetings are available at the UN Documentation Centre, http://www.un.org/documents/. This includes copies of Resolutions (1946-present), statements of the President of the Security Council (1994-present), Secretary-General's Reports to the Security Council (1994-present), Security Council Mission Reports and Notes by the President of the Security Council.
Incidentally, if you haven't used the Secretary General's Reports, they can be useful for current country information. Most of them are periodic updates on UN peace-keeping missions to various countries - the usual international "hotspots." There are also a few topical reports, such as the protection of civilians and children in armed conflict, the importance of small business, etc.
When you click on links to some of these documents, you may get an "Error 403 Forbidden" message - note that your browser keeps working and will eventually load the document, in .pdf format. Many of these will open in a new browser window.
United Nations Action Against Terrorism
This site, http://www.un.org/terrorism/,
provides one-stop shopping for texts of UN official statements, resolutions, and
international conventions on terrorism. There are links to UN bodies, such
as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Convention, the Money Laundering
Information Network, the Centre for International Crime Prevention, and the
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The Dag Hammarskjold
Library link offers texts of resolutions and titles on international terrorism
from the UNBISnet database. [UNBISnet is the free, online index to UN and
non-UN resources on international issues at http://unbisnet.un.org/.]
United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection
Commission (UNMOVIC)
This commission, http://www.unmovic.org/,
was created in December of 1999 to "replace the former UN Special
Commission (UNSCOM) and continue with the latter's mandate to disarm Iraq of its
weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological weapons and missiles with a
range of more than 150 km), and to operate a system of ongoing monitoring and
verification to check Iraq's compliance with its obligations not to reacquire
the same weapons prohibited to it by the Security Council." The
Executive Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Hans Blix, is a familiar figure now on
the nightly news. The website includes Recent Additions, copies of Baghdad
Press Briefings, Quarterly Reports to the Security Council, Documents issued
since 2000, and a Chronology of Recent Events.
Iraq Nuclear Verification Office (INVO)
Since 1991, this office within the International Atomic Energy Agency, http://www.iaea.org/worldatom/Programmes/ActionTeam/index.html
has worked to uncover and dismantle Iraq's clandestine nuclear
program, and develop and implement an Ongoing Monitoring and Verification (OMV)
Plan.
The site includes copies of periodic reports made to the UN
Security Council, reports of on-site inspections in Iraq, a Fact Sheet on Iraq's
nuclear weapons program, a FAQ, and a Chronology, Background, and Reference
section.
--Mike Van Fossen, UNC Chapel Hill
People, Events & Important Information
UNC Chapel Hill is pleased to announce two new
documents staff! Beth L. Rowe is the new Electronic Documents
Librarian. She started in early December 2002. She's a graduate of
the School of Information and Library Science here at UNC Chapel Hill.
Kristen Gravitte started on February 10, 2003, as the Federal Documents
Assistant. A new State/International Documents Coordinator is also in the
process of being added. A definite announcement about this last position
should come in the next few weeks.
--Mike Van Fossen, UNC Chapel Hill
* * * * * *
A Government Documents Advisory Committee has
been formed at Atkins Library to bring together representatives from all
sections of the library. The purpose of the committee is to address issues
and concerns which arise in the absence of a central Documents desk. UNC
Charlotte receives approximately 66% of all Federal documents as well as being a
full depository for State documents, and a depository for Charlotte City and
Mecklenburg County documents. The library receives the Official Records of
the United Nations Security Council, Economic and Social Council and General
Assembly.
--Lois Stickell, UNC Charlotte
Documents Section Executive Board 2003
Chair
Eileen Brown
UNC Wilmington
910-962-3277
browne@uncw.edu
Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect
Bryna Coonin
East Carolina University
252-328-0431
cooninb@mail.ecu.edu
Secretary/Treasurer
Beth Kaylor
UNC Wilmington
910-962-4232
kaylorj@uncw.edu
Past Chair
Paula Hinton
UNC Chapel Hill
919-962-1151
pphinton@email.unc.edu
Docket Editor
Marilyn Schuster
UNC Charlotte
704-687-3983
mbschust@email.uncc.edu
NC Libraries Associate Editor
Michael Van Fossen
UNC Chapel Hill
919-962-1151
vanfosen@refstaff.lib.unc.edu
Regional Librarian
Ridley Kessler
UNC Chapel Hill
919-962-1151
kessler@refstaff.lib.unc.edu
State Clearinghouse Coordinator
Jan Reagan
State Library of North Carolina
919-733-3683
jreagan@library.dcr.state.nc.us
* * * * * *
The challenges facing documents librarians are definitely increasing. Be sure to come to the Spring Workshop (May 9th) and hear the updates on a variety of issues of interest. Ridley Kessler will be the keynote speaker.
I am still looking for someone who would be willing to take over editing The Docket.
It's a newsletter with a lot of potential and could use someone with some new ideas. Let me know if you are interested.
--Marilyn Schuster, UNC Charlotte, Editor, The Docket
Volume 30 Number 1, Spring 2003
Editor: Marilyn Schuster, UNC Charlotte
The Docket (ISSN 0198-1048) is the official newsletter of the Documents Section of the North Carolina Library Association. Published twice a year in February and August, the deadline for contributions is the first day of the month of publication. Permission to copy is granted provided appropriate credit is given to The Docket and individual authors.
Current contact information and back issues of The Docket are available at: http://www.nclaonline.org/grs/pub.html. [2/24/05]
Address all editorial correspondence to Marilyn Schuster, Atkins Library, UNC Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223-0001; 704-687-3983; fax 704-687-2232; email mbschust@email.uncc.edu.