GODORT Steering Reflector Minutes

January–June 2017

The Membership Committee started the process of investigating the use of Zoom videoconference software.

The Bylaws Committee created an amendment to the bylaws to create a Bylaws Organization Coordinator—we are replacing the bylaws committee with the Bylaws Coordinator—an elected position with membership on Steering and Exec. It can be read here: http://wikis.ala.org/godort/images/f/f5/GODORT_Bylaws_Addendum_-Bylaws_and_Organization_Coordinator-_%283%29.pdf.

Government Information Online (GIO)—The Government Information Online (GIO) service began in 2008 as a partnership between the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), which coordinated the service, and the Government Publishing Office. It provides a virtual reference service for questions that originate on the GIO home page (http://govtinfo.org/) or that are forwarded from the AskGPO (https://www.gpo.gov/askgpo/) customer management system by GPO. Project coordinator John Shuler of UIC passed away in 2016, and UIC requested that another library assume responsibility for GIO. As a result, the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa (UHM) is now coordinating the service. UIC had been operating under a Memorandum of Agreement whereby GPO reimbursed UIC for the subscription cost of the QuestionPoint software used to manage and respond to questions on GIO. However, due to a recent change in GPO’s acquisitions practices, GPO is no longer able to provide reimbursement for the software. UHM had intended to migrate the service from QuestionPoint to Springshare’s LibAnswers.

However, UHM is unable to assume responsibility for the subscription cost for LibAnswers. Therefore, unless another library or group of libraries agrees to cover the cost of the platform, GIO will sunset on June 30, 2017. Questions received by GPO that were formerly forwarded to GIO will be referred elsewhere. GODORT Steering is investigating if this service is something GODORT can facilitate. Tom Adamich and Susan Paterson volunteered to work with UHM to develop a proposal. In the meantime, UNT has stepped into to pick up the service and move it to a Springshare platform so the service will not lapse until Steering can make a decision.

Valerie Glenn of the Publications Committee made a motion for Steering to approve the agreement to house GODORT’s Documents to the People (DttP) issues from 1972–2002 be housed in the Stanford repository. This is to provide an official agreement. (Note that 2003 to the present content is currently housed in ALA’s OJS instance—https://journals.ala.org/index.php/dttp). This vote passed Steering.