FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY
The passage of the State depository law in 1967 and the designation of Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Boca Raton Campus Library as an official State depository in 1968, ensured the already established Florida Documents Collection. The goal of the Florida Documents Collection is to provide the university community access to State of Florida documents. The Florida Documents Collection is available to the university community and the public on open shelves.
Florida Atlantic University Library has been specifically selected by the State Library to receive two copies of each document distributed to State Depository Libraries. This designation is based on the assignment of Key Words in Contex (KWIC) numbers, a classification system developed at FAU, to all Florida Documents and the Department's commitment to provide interlibrary loan service to requesting libraries.
Florida Public Documents, the State Library's monthly listing of state publications, identifies documents provided to the State depositories. Included in this publication are documents that have less than forty copies available, therefore not distributed to State depositories. The Government Documents Librarian scans this listing for possible acquisition of some of these documents. The collection retains historical documents while adding new ones. Weeding of the collection is very limited. Selected documents are commercially bound. Criteria for acquisition of Florida documents include the following considerations: 1) enhancement of the collection, 2) coverage of important local issues and interests, and 3) cost/care of the document.
State Documents are arranged by their KWIC Numbers based on the U.S. Government Printing Office's Superintendent of Documents Classification System. All current and newer titles in the collection are accessible through the FAU LIbraries catalog. Some older titles may be found in the Florida Documents Index.
The Government Documents Librarian reviews gifts and disposition lists from other state depositories for documents that may be added to the collection. Older documents are considered for acquisition based on the condition of the document, preservation concerns and its intrinsic value as an addition to the collection. Other resources for obtaining State Documents include requests from patrons, reviewing newspapers, local magazines, radio, television programs, and local events.
The development of the Florida Documents Collection is the responsibility of the Government Documents Librarian, with assistance from the Collection Development Committee, the Head of the Reference Department, Reference Librarians, and members of the university community.
