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Tag Archives: state documents
Happy Birthday Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse!
*This post is an update to one originally published for the Clearinghouse’s 51st birthday in 2023, written by Mary Sauers.
July 2025 marks the 53rd anniversary of Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse operations!
Prior to 1972 there was no comprehensive program in the state for collecting and preserving Nebraska government publications. In 1971 the Nebraska Library Commission began surveying other states and Nebraska libraries to find out how such a program should work and drafting proposed legislation to give the program legal authority. In January 1972 LB 1284 was introduced in the Nebraska Legislature, passed, and signed by Governor Exon in March, establishing the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse. The program was launched in July of that year.
State Depository Program
“There is hereby created, as a division of the Nebraska Library Commission, a Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse. The clearinghouse shall establish and operate a publications collection and depository system for the use of Nebraska citizens.” The original legislation has been amended several times to exclude Junior Colleges and reduce the number of mandatory copies that agencies must send, but the basic operation of the program remains the same.
Federal Depository Program
The legislation also directed the Library Commission to provide access to federal publications. “The Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse shall provide access to local, state, federal and other governmental publications to state agencies and legislators and through interlibrary loan service to citizens of the state.” The Commission began participating in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) in 1972. It served as Nebraska’s Regional Federal Depository until 1984, when Love Library at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln became the Regional. The Commission is now a selective depository and has reduced its selections to about 2% of the publications offered through the program.
How Publications are Collected
Agencies are currently defined as “every state office, officer, department, division, bureau, board, commission, and agency of the state and, when applicable, all subdivisions of each, including state institutions of higher education defined as all state-supported colleges and universities”
The first challenge facing the new Clearinghouse service was creating a comprehensive list of these agencies. The next challenge was getting them to send their publications. Unlike some other states, Nebraska does not use a central printing agency that could make extra copies for the documents program. A network of contact persons is used instead.
“Every state agency head or his or her appointed records officer shall notify the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse of his or her identity.” Every few years the Library Commission sends agency directors letters with a form for designating an agency contact person. The contacts are sent a packet of information about the Clearinghouse service.
In the early years of the program agencies supplied more copies to the Clearinghouse than they do now and both the statutorily designated recipients and the contract depositories received paper publications. Space restrictions at the depositories, cost limitations for the agencies, and a desire to preserve publications in a long-lasting format resulted in a reduction in the number of paper copies normally required from each agency.
The current statute reads “The records officer shall upon release of a state publication deposit four copies and a short summary, including author, title, and subject, of each of its state publications with the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse for record purposes…. Additional copies, including sale items, shall also be deposited in the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse in quantities certified to the agencies by the clearinghouse as required to meet the needs of the Nebraska publications depository system, with the exception that the University of Nebraska Press shall only be required to deposit four copies of its publications.”
One copy is kept at the Library Commission and copies are forwarded to the Nebraska State Historical Society and Library of Congress. Until the spring of 2005 microfiche copies were produced from the fourth copy and distributed to Nebraska depositories.
Processing and Cataloging
Once the list of agencies was compiled in 1972 a classification system based on agency names (NEDOCS) was created and the first Guide to State Agencies was published. The Guide lists agencies with their five digit alpha-numeric code and traces agency creation, mergers, discontinuance, and classification number changes. Originally a print publication reissued every few years, the Guide is now continuously updated online.
The Statute states that “The Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse shall publish and distribute regularly to contracting depository libraries, other libraries, state agencies and legislators, an official list of state publications with an annual cumulation. The official list shall provide a record of each agency’s publishing and show author, agency, title and subject approaches.”From 1972 until 1991 The Nebraska State Publications Checklist was produced. The Checklist included abstracts with a title, subject and agency index. It was issued on microfiche several times a year with an annual cumulation. In 1992 the Checklist was discontinued and publications began receiving full OCLC cataloging. Nebraska publications now are listed in the WorldCat, the OCLC database of catalog records contributed by its member libraries worldwide. The WorldCat can be searched without cost by any Nebraska citizen from NebraskAccess with a password obtained from their local library. Older records from the Checklist can also be searched using the Library Commission catalog. Publications received are listed in What’s Up Doc and compiled into an annual publication.
The Depository Program
Contrary to what the word “clearinghouse” might make one think, the Library Commission is not a warehouse distributing giveaway or sale copies of Nebraska publications. The Commission is in fact prohibited by law from doing that. At first copies were forwarded to the Nebraska State Historical Society, Library of Congress, and Center for Research Libraries. This was amended later to exclude the Center for Research Libraries.
The legislation also authorized the Library Commission to “enter into depository contracts with any municipal or county public library, state college or state university library, and out-of-state research libraries. The requirements for eligibility to contract as a depository library shall be established by the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse. The standards shall include and take into consideration the type of library, ability to preserve such publications and to make them available for public use, and also such geographical locations as will make the publications conveniently accessible to residents in all areas of the state.”
By 1975 contracts had been signed with six institutions willing to serve as depositories. More depositories were added over the years, bringing the total since 1990 to 13 plus the Nebraska State Historical Society.
Depository Library Responsibilities
Making Government Information Accessible
Internet technology has created an opportunity to greatly improve public access to government information. Most state agencies now post key publications to their web sites, and much legislative information is available online. The Library Commission was already making extensive use of the Internet to direct users to Nebraska government information, and had created special websites such as Nebraska State Government Publications Online and Nebraska Legislators, Past and Present.
In 2005 breakdown of the microfiche camera at the state Records Management Division led to a decision to discontinue fiche production and redirect the program toward providing online access to the same high-priority documents that were formerly sent to depositories on microfiche. They are downloaded or scanned, archived on a Library Commission server, and searchable via Nebraska State Government Publications Online and the NLC catalog. Instead of microfiche, depositories receive regular alerts via What’s Up Doc blog postings which include stable URLs that can be used in library catalog records.
The Library Commission partners with the Official State of Nebraska Web Site to offer an “Ask a Librarian” link citizens can use to email or telephone our reference desk. Many government information links are provided from our NebraskAccess site.
Resources for Government Information
Formats and distribution methods may change, but the Publications Clearinghouse will continue to use new technology and strategies for making government information accessible to Nebraskans.
What’s Up Doc? New State Agency Publications at the Nebraska Library Commission
New state agency publications have been received at the Nebraska Library Commission for May and June, 2025. Included are reports from the Nebraska Department of Administrative Services, the Nebraska State Historical Society, the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education, various Nebraska Legislative Committees, and titles from University of Nebraska Press, to name a few.
With a few exceptions, such as the University of Nebraska Press titles, items are available for immediate viewing and printing by clicking directly in the PDF below. The University of Nebraska Press titles can be checked out by librarians for their patrons here: Online Catalog.
The Nebraska Legislature created the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse in 1972 as a service of the Nebraska Library Commission. Its purpose is to collect, preserve, and provide access to all public information published by Nebraska state agencies. By law (State Statutes 51-411 to 51-413) all Nebraska state agencies are required to submit their published documents to the Clearinghouse. For more information, visit the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse page, contact Aimee Owen, Government Information Services Librarian; or contact Bonnie Henzel, State Documents Staff Assistant.
What’s Up Doc? New State Agency Publications at the Nebraska Library Commission
New state agency publications have been received at the Nebraska Library Commission for March and April, 2025. Included are reports from the Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts, the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, the Nebraska State Electrical Board, various Nebraska Legislative Committees, and titles from University of Nebraska Press, to name a few.
With a few exceptions, such as the University of Nebraska Press titles, items are available for immediate viewing and printing by clicking directly in the PDF below. The University of Nebraska Press titles can be checked out by librarians for their patrons here: Online Catalog.
The Nebraska Legislature created the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse in 1972 as a service of the Nebraska Library Commission. Its purpose is to collect, preserve, and provide access to all public information published by Nebraska state agencies. By law (State Statutes 51-411 to 51-413) all Nebraska state agencies are required to submit their published documents to the Clearinghouse. For more information, visit the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse page, contact Aimee Owen, Government Information Services Librarian; or contact Bonnie Henzel, State Documents Staff Assistant.
Discovering State Docs: “There Once Was a Man from Nebraska…”
Happy National Poetry Month! When you hear “state government documents” do you immediately think of poetry? Me neither! The Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse receives documents every month from all Nebraska state agencies, including the University of Nebraska Press, which recently sent us Ted Kooser’s “The Windflower Home Almanac of Poetry.” It is a reprint of his original 1980 book, and one of many of his titles we have in this collection.
“The Windflower Home Almanac of Poetry is an anthology of poems originally selected by Ted Kooser in 1980 and published by his Windflower Press, a small, independent publisher that specialized in poetry from the Great Plains. The collection contains almost two hundred poems from dozens of poets and was designed to resemble a commonplace farmer’s almanac.
The Windflower Press was the sole operation of Kooser, who was later named the first U.S. poet laureate from the Great Plains. His press gained national recognition for highlighting the work of the region’s young poets, and its Windflower Home Almanac of Poetry earned notice from the Library Journal as one of its era’s best small press books.”
In the Editor’s Note, Kooser talks about the process of typesetting and pasting the poems together with illustrations he’d collected from old almanacs, long before the advent of software to ease these tasks.
One of the most prestigious academic presses in the country, the University of Nebraska Press sends us around 75 select titles per year, which are added to the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse, also known as the Nebraska State Documents Collection. This collection is comprised of publications issued by Nebraska state agencies, ensuring that state government information is available to a wide audience and that those valuable publications are preserved for future generations. University of Nebraska Press books, as well as all state documents, are available for checkout by libraries and librarians for their patrons.
Kooser, Ted (Ed.). The Windflower Home Almanac of Poetry. University of Nebraska Press, 2024.
Discovering State Docs: “Take Up the Apple”
“At the annual meeting of the Society, held in January, 1893, the Secretary recommended that the plan of issuing the reports of the Society as monographs be adopted. This contemplated issuing a series of four or five volumes, each of which should be devoted, largely, to one topic. The Society accepted the suggestion, and instructed the officers to prepare a program for the next annual meeting which should take up the apple and treat it as fully as available material would allow. This volume is the result.
At the meeting of which this is a record a resolution was adopted taking the grape, and such other of the small fruits as can be treated
in the same volume, as the topic for the next winter’s meeting.
With no precedent for guidance it was no easy matter to get together just what would make the best sort of a report on a single fruit, and the result is by no means perfect. No one realizes this more than those who have had the work in hand.” (Excerpt from the preface of the Annual Report of the Nebraska State Horticultural Society for the year 1894.)
This document is just one of the thousands of historical annual reports (1870s through 1956) from Nebraska state government agencies that are available in the Nebraska Public Documents database. This free and publicly-accessible collection is result of a collaborative digitization effort between the Nebraska Library Commission, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Nebraska-Omaha, and the Nebraska State Historical Society. (Read more about the project here!)
Historical government documents provide a glimpse into how our Nebraska forebears lived, worked, and governed. Primary sources such as the ones found in the Nebraska Public Documents database help researchers, students, and the general public understand the important issues and events of the day, and what motivated our elected officials to make decisions and the impacts those choices made. Take a look – what will you discover?
Posted in General, Information Resources, Preservation, What's Up Doc / Govdocs
Tagged annual reports, apples, digitization, Government documents, historical documents, Horticultural Society, Nebraska Public Documents, Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse, primary sources, state documents
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#BookFaceFriday “Might Kindred” by Mónica Gomery
An ode to #BookFaceFriday!
April is National Poetry Month, and we wanted to celebrate by highlighting some of the amazing poetry NLC has in its collection. Like this week’s #BookFaceFriday, “Might Kindred” (University of Nebraska Press, 2022) is a winner of the Raz/Shumaker Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry.
One of the most prestigious academic presses in the country, the University of Nebraska Press sends us around 75 select titles per year, which are added to the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse, also known as the Nebraska State Documents Collection. This collection is comprised of publications issued by Nebraska state agencies, ensuring that state government information is available to a wide audience and that those valuable publications are preserved for future generations. University of Nebraska Press books, as well as all state documents, are available for checkout by libraries and librarians for their patrons.
“These generous and sensitive meditations on belonging and the first-generation experience cast intimate light on shared human experiences.”Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!—Publishers Weekly
#BookFaceFriday “Private Way” by Ladette Randolph
We’re all wrapped up in this week’s #BookFaceFriday!
We like everything about this week’s #BookFaceFriday, the book, the author, the publisher, and the model! “Private Way: A Novel“ is the latest book by famed Nebraska author, Ladette Randolph (University of Nebraska Press, 2022). One of the most prestigious academic presses in the country, the University of Nebraska Press sends us around 75 select titles per year, which are added to the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse, also known as the Nebraska State Documents Collection. This collection is comprised of publications issued by Nebraska state agencies, ensuring that state government information is available to a wide audience and that those valuable publications are preserved for future generations. University of Nebraska Press books, as well as all state documents, are available for checkout by libraries and librarians for their patrons. Our model this week is a new addition to the Nebraska Library Commission! Welcome to Mackenzie Marrow, our new Information Services Technician. They completed their Masters in Library and Information Science from Simmons University last August. When asked about what they like to read, Mackenzie says, “I love any book that has an ensemble cast that is really fleshed out, especially if it’s sci-fi or fantasy.” Mackenzie’s two favorite series right now are “The Locked Tomb” by Tamsyn Muir and “Wayfarers” by Becky Chambers, “I could talk for ages about either one!” Outside of reading, their hobbies include playing DND, and trivia nights at The Happy Raven. They also recently adopted an 11-year-old cat named Mittens! “She’s my first cat, I grew up with dogs, and I love her to death.” So if you get the chance, say hello to Mackenzie!
“A wonderfully wise, vividly written, and deeply absorbing novel that delves into Willa Cather’s question about what is required of ‘a civilized society.’ By turns funny, reflective, and harrowing . . . Private Way is that rare novel that acknowledges the real hazards of civic life while also celebrating its transformative power.”
—Suzanne Berne, author of The Dogs of Littlefield: A Novel
Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
#BookFaceFriday “Moving Out: A Nebraska Woman’s Life” by Polly Spence
This #BookFace is all about the good life!
Honor the rich history of women in our state with this week’s #BookFaceFriday, “Moving Out: A Nebraska Woman’s Life (Women in the West)“ by Polly Spence, edited by Karl Spence Richardson (Bison Books, 2002). This book is one of the hidden treasures of our collection, it’s “an intimate portrait of small-town life in the mid-twentieth century,” written by a native Nebraskan about her own life. Bison Books is an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press, they send us around 75 select titles per year, which are added to the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse, also known as the Nebraska State Documents Collection. This collection is comprised of publications issued by Nebraska state agencies, ensuring that state government information is available to a wide audience and that those valuable publications are preserved for future generations. University of Nebraska Press books, as well as all state documents, are available for checkout by libraries and librarians for their patrons.
“Not only does Spence relate her own story, but also the stories of people around her, making Moving Out a collection of humorous and touching narratives.”
—Utah Historical Society
Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
#BookFaceFriday “Women Made Visible” by Gabriela Aceves Sepúlveda
#BookFaceFriday, we see you!
Start your Women’s History Month with this week’s #BookFaceFriday, “Women Made Visible: Feminist Art and Media in Post-1968 Mexico City“ by Gabriela Aceves Sepúlveda (University of Nebraska Press, 2019). One of the most prestigious academic presses in the country, the University of Nebraska Press sends us around 75 select titles per year, which are added to the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse, also known as the Nebraska State Documents Collection. This collection is comprised of publications issued by Nebraska state agencies, ensuring that state government information is available to a wide audience and that those valuable publications are preserved for future generations. University of Nebraska Press books, as well as all state documents, are available for checkout by libraries and librarians for their patrons.
“Timely and necessary, Women Made Visible advances the field of Latin American, Chicanx, and Latinx art history.”
—Teresa Eckmann, Woman’s Art Journal
This week’s #BookFace was shot on location at the Nebraska Library Association‘s annual Library Advocacy Day. This event gives Nebraska librarians an opportunity to meet with their state legislators to showcase the outstanding work done in Nebraska libraries!
Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!
