"In recognition of years of devoted service to, and leadership in Government Documents in the state of Michigan, the 1995-1996 Executive Board of the Goverment Documents Round Table (GODORT) of Michigan presents this award to our current President, Cassandra Hartnett.

Cass has been a major factor in inspiring and promoting the effective use of federal government documents throughout the state and the nation, not only in GODORT but also in library education at the University of Michigan and as the Chair of the Michigan Council of Federal Depository Libraries. In all these venues, she proved to be a capable leader in times of transition and uncertainty, a generous partner to those with whom she worked, and an important unifying force during her tenure as President-Elect and President of Godort of Michigan from 1994-1996.

Cass's warmth, good humor, and easy-going style always lightened our meetings and the government documents inspection process, in which she assisted in her capacity as the Regional Librarian at Detroit Public Library. Thus it is with deep respect and appreciation and great affection that the 1995-1996 Executive Board presents this award. We wish Cass the very best in her relocation to the state of Washington."

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I am not a good person with dates, but I will remember the date 8-8-88 forever. That's the day I started my professional career, working with Grace York at the University of Michigan Documents Center. I remember her detailed training manual and the intensive, two-hour long tutorials she would give me on various topics, including the Census. One of my early, impressionistic thoughts was, Jeez, this lady could talk about this topic forever! Luckily for me, she could and did. Soon, I was begging her to talk.

During my first few days at that job, the University of Michigan depository was inspected by Joe Paskoski. I was allowed to traipse around with the GPO Inspector and a bright-eyed lady named Barbara Hulyk. She looked straight at me and said, How nice that you're just starting your career. You will find that DOCUMENTS ARE WHERE IT'S AT!! Little did I know that her words were prophetic. Four years later, almost to the exact date, Barbara Hulyk had retired and I had her old job!

I'm not going to start out by thanking the Academy, but I would like to pay tribute to a few VIPs in my documents life. I've already mentioned Grace York, the prize fighter of federal depository work here in Michigan. From Grace, I learned:

• never to give up on a reference search;
• not to be freaked out by bizarre questions;
• that every question answered will come in handy later;
• that serendipity and hands-on knowledge of the collection play a big part in documents work;
• that if you don't have a clue, start with Statistical Abstract or the American Statistics Index;
• don't be afraid of technology;
• birthdays need to be celebrated with cake;
• when you're really down about the Library, make up a satirical song about it; and
• Spiro Agnew has a special place in documents librarians' hearts.

When I got to the Detroit Public Library, I was lucky to work with Fran Buckley and have Anne Diamond as my fellow Regional Depository Supervisor in the state. Two better mentors I could not have asked for! Right across the street was Sally Lawler of Wayne State University. Sally, you have been a terrific colleague and co-conspirator. I cannot thank you enough for all the times you've been there for me, personally and professionally. Our alliance will continue as I am moving practically to her hometown in the state of Washington.

Paula Kaczmarek, Richard Maciejewski, and Michaelina Brown get credit for having infinite patience with me when I started my new job. Each of these DPL diehards taught me a tremendous amount about our collections, our sometimes inexplicable procedures, and librarianship in general. I also owe a debt of gratitude to, and have a deep admiration for my boss, Nancy Skowrouski. As the Assistant Director for Technical Services here, she has to make tough management decisions and never gets enough credit for her behind-the-scenes work and her irreverent sense of humor. She is a gem.

Some of you know that I moonlighted for 3 terms as a government documents instructor at the Uuniversity of Michigan. I need to credit Kate Pittsley, now at MIT, with much of the design of that course, as Kate was the one to build on Gweir Cruzat's legacy and bring the course into the complicated environment of the mid-1990s. Kate deserves all of our thanks for turning out a spectacular crop of new-generation documents librarians. Did anyone here in the room take the course from her?

No less important in my growth as a teacher was my contact with Judy Field of Wayne State. We all wish Judy well in her upcoming post as President of the Special Libraries Association. Well done, Judy!

I would also like to say that Clare Beck of Eastern Michigan University has had a real influence on me. Clare is one of the most thoughtful, outspoken and hardworking documents librarians I've met. Her research on the life of Adelaide Hasse has reminded us that it take true grit to succeed in our line of work.

In closing, I'd like to bring this to a more personal level. Some of you may know that I am a part of a marginalized group in society. This group is frequently misunderstood; we are thought to have our own agenda, our own vocabulary, even our own lifestyle; we don't fit traditional definitions; sometimes we wear decorative pins or other items of clothing to proudly display our identity; people wonder if we were born this way or perhaps turned out this way because of unnatural influences; out of six children, two turned out this way in my family; nonetheless, I'm proud to be the way I am. Of course, the group I'm referring to is documents librarians, and even though we're on the fringes, we continue to do work that is vital to the American, democratic way of life.

By now you all know that, if given the opportunity, I will talk indefinitely. If I didn't mention you by name, it surely doesn't mean that you are unimportant in my life. I hope that some of my Michigan pals will visit me in Tacoma--you are all invited!

In the morning, two "hands on" orientation sessions to GPO Access were conducted by MSU Librarian Cynthia Teague. Participants got familiar with access gateways and browsed documents sites such as the Congressional Record, Federal Register, and others. Seating for each orientation session was limited, so MSU Librarian Debbie Schaubman conducted tours of the MSU Library for those guests "not-in-session."

Some of the departments Debbie Schaubman introduced included those which process/catalog/maintain government documents. Debbie serves as coordinator of the international documents and is also acting head of the entire MSU government documents collection. Debbie stated that the MSU library is currently an 80% depository selector. The Library is currently involved in a massive retrospective conversion and cataloging of its documents.

Of particular interest to guests were the the international documents collection and the maps collection. Debbi pointed out Canadian, UN, Food and Agriculture Organization, Asian Development, and European Union documents.

The map collection includes world, national, CIA, state and county print sources as well as offering CD-ROM products such as TigerLine Census Files, US Geo Data Information, street indexes, and more.

Other sources of government information are available at MSU Library via electronic formats -- US Census, Statistical Abstract, Monthly Catalog, National Trade Databank, and MEDLINE.

After luncheon, Linda Schatz, of the Michigan Department of Management and Budget spoke to guests about the Michigan Information Network. Linda is responsible for assisting in the design for an integrated information network for the entire state of Michigan. The proposed network -- MIN Plan -- would eventually provide access to media, voice, data and related info formats to Michigan schools, hospitals, businesses and municipal sectors.

The vision of the Michigan Information Network is:

• to empower individuals to work and learn from anywhere in the state,
• to provide unlimited access to knowledge, and
• to design an infrastructure based on individual needs -- not "bricks and mortar"

Other states presently involved in the design and implementation of such networks are Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina and Tennessee. Linda encouraged librarians to get involved in helping their communities define their information needs. Once these needs are defined, MIN can make it known to the network providers (aggregate the demand).

Ms. Schatz was asked an important question -- "what is the time line for this project?" She responded that MIN is focusing on the process (with content all-important), not a delivery date.

After this presentation, Library of Michigan Depository Librarian Ann Sanders facilitated a group discussion of libraries' transitions from paper to electronic depository collections. It was clear at this discussion that few of the guests' libraries have successfully implemented GPO access at this time. Hardware issues, not software issues, remain the major challenges to implementation. OPAC access is available at some academic libraries like University of Michigan and Oakland University, but at others access is still librarian-mediated or non-existent. It was mentioned that CD-ROM access to documents might be much more feasible and affordable for end users than Internet access.

Depository Library Update

GODORT President Cass Hartnett introduced Susan Field to guests. Susan is the new documents librarian at St. Clair County Library and reports that Internet access will be implemented in the Fall of 1996. Her library is also implementing DYNIX OPAC automation soon, and should be available by mid-summer.

Cass also introduced Bob Schroeder, documents librarian at the University of Detroit Mercy. Bob is the interim documents librarian while Sandy Calemme is away on leave-of-absence.

Cass reported that Detroit Public Library has opened a new Patent and Trademarks Center to serve the Great Lakes area and Ontario. This Center will be paid for and coordinated by the United Sates Patent and Trademark Office. The DPL site head will be Celest Berman.

It was reported that Michigan Technological University will be looking to fill a documents librarian position in the near future.

Jennie Cross reported that Judith Field is running for President of Special Libraries Association and encouraged guests to get out the vote.

Cynthia Teague reported on the ongoing tapes/shipping list tapes loading project onto the MAGIC OPAC system -- part of the MSU Library retrospective records management project.

Ann Sanders distributed copies of the new Library of Michigan Depository Library Services Directory.

Many guests remarked that they were experiencing an overall slowdown/shrinking of GPO deliveries and that their claims for non-received documents were up.

Announcements of upcoming programs and conferences were made:

• State Data Users Conference, Lansing: March 3
• a series of regional Michigan Council of Federal Depository Libraries Meetings to be held in Traverse City, Ypsilanti, Alma or Lansing, and the Upper Penisnsula on April 23, May 3, May 8 or May 10, and May 21.

Business Meeting

The meeting started at 3:20 p.m.

The September 29 minutes were reviewed, errors cited, and necessary corrections duly noted by the Secretary.

Michael McDonnell shared copies of the latest GODORT of Michigan Treasurer's report, noting that the Roundtable has 76 active members, including three new members registered at today's program.

GODORT of Michigan's current total capital balance is $4,864.62, as of March 6, 1996.

Cass reported that no nominations have been forthcoming for the Thurston Award. The award will not be presented this year. Cass wants to ensure a good pool of nominees, so next year we will all want to call for nominees earlier, and perhaps more often.

No business to report for the Jennie or the Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Jon Harrison reported on Red Tape. He usually loads news items onto the Red Tape Web site continuously throughout each quarter. As a result, the final version of each Red Tape issue is normally available a month or so sooner via the web than in paper copy. What if RED TAPE only came out in electronic format only? The crowd responded "don't take away our paper copies".

Whether or not to continue membership fee requirements was discussed. The "why" of a membership fee was raised; are we subsidizing non members with the GODORT budget? The feasibility of a two-tiered registration fee (member vs. nonmember) was explored. As dues for currently-paid members are "up" in FY June, 1996, Susan Krueger suggested that we discuss this with members at the June program's business meeting. Debbie Schaubman suggested that the next issue of Red Tape carry an announcement to alert Godort of Michigan members that Roundtable dues will be discussed.

Meeting adjourned 3:45 p.m.

Executive Board Meeting Minutes

Cass wanted to see some "fresh faces" to fill upcoming vacancies on the GODORT of Michigan Executive Board. President-Elect/Program Chair and Director-at-Large are the two positions "up for grabs," as Maria Danna will continue to serve as Secretary, and Michael McDonnell agreed to continue as Treasurer. Jon Harrison also agreed to continue as Red Tape Editor. Cass encouraged Larry Hall to consider the President-Elect/Program Chair vacancy. It was noted that any dues-paying member can be nominated, including student members.

Tentative dates for the June Program were discussed -- June 3, 10, 17, or 24.

Meeting adjourned 4:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Maria Danna,
Secretary