Treatment of state documents in libraries

Abstract

This research was presented for the Master of Arts degree, School of Library and Informational Science, University of Missouri at Columbia. One hundred twenty-five state agency, academic, public, and historical society libraries in 50 states responded to a questionnaire on their treatment of state documents. Of these, 21% integrate state documents into the main collection, 66% have them in separate collections of some kind, and 12% report mixed treatment. Cataloging, classification, other means of access, and librarian satisfaction with the various methods of treatment were examined. Almost any plan for keeping state documents is satisfactory if it is consistently applied. State documents may be separate or integrated but not dispersed. In cataloging, form of entry may be direct or indirect; filing may be key word or word by word. Cards should be made for all state documents, and for highest satisfaction all documents should be found in the main public catalog. Printed checklists or bibliographies are helpful but should not be the sole means of access. Classification schemes examined were Dewey Decimal Classification, Library of Congress Classification System, Swank, Houk, and original schemes; satisfaction was about the same for all. No formula can be set up for ideal treatment of state documents in libraries. The one unbreakable rule is: be consistent.