Rochelle Krueger
UNK government documents librarian, 308.865.8542
The Calvin T. Ryan Library at the University of Nebraska at Kearney will celebrate its 50th anniversary as a Federal Government Documents Depository Library with a formal reception on Thursday, Oct. 25.
The reception, which is free and open to the public, will begin on the second floor of the library at 2 p.m., and will be followed by a short program at 2:30 p.m.
UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen, Vice Chancellor Charles Bicak and Janet Stoeger Wilke, UNK dean of the library, will tell about the history and use of the Federal Government Documents Depository at UNK.
According to Rochelle Krueger, UNK government documents librarian and assistant professor, the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) was established by Congress to ensure that the American public has access to government generated information. These information products are dispersed to depository libraries nationwide.
The public can access numerous documents through an online database, which is the most widely utilized component of this program. Also, many use the program to find Senate and Congress committee hearings and reports, according to Krueger.
FDLP libraries must be appointed by a member of Congress to be a depository. Former UNK Director of Libraries Alice Paine took the first steps in initiating the request to be designated a selective depository for federal documents. Former Cong. David Martin made the official appointment in 1962.
Calvin T. Ryan Library is one of only two federal depository libraries in Nebraska’s Third Congressional District, which is roughly two-thirds of the geographic area of the state. The library selects approximately 54 percent of the publications available in print and online to serve the public.
