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Date: | Tue, 3 May 2005 11:30:29 -0400 |
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Good links, Peter. David, GPO is the place where the public goes to buy articles, books and reports that have been written and published by Federal government. GPO essentially handles published information but instead of lending out copies, as a library does, it offers them for sale so people can acquire their own copies of government publications. Check out some of what is available at
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/databases.html
GPO only deals with published material, not manuscript collections, archival records, etc. Those fall under the National Archives' purview.
The National Archives houses permanently valuable records ¯ unpublished archival materials such as correspondence, case files, subject files, and other research materials. There is a publication component to this ¯ one can find some publications associated with NARA's archival collections ¯ but the bulk of NARA's materials are records.
GPO's use of the term "documents" is somewhat confusing, I'll admit. For example, GPO's FAQ includes the question, "How do I get documents from GPO?" But the documents it holds are published materials. You cannot go to GPO and ask for a copy of a declassified State Department telegram from the 1950s. Or a memo circulated within a government agency. Or talking points prepared for a U.S. President. You'd have to go to NARA for those.
Maarja
>>> Peter Kurilecz <[log in to unmask]> 5/2/2005 9:05:28 PM >>>
On 5/2/05, David Gaynon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I am hoping someone on the list could explain to me the difference in
> mission between the US Government Printing Office (GPO) and the US
> National Archives.
Dave
try this link to the GPO website
http://www.gpo.gov/factsheet/index.html
and this link to NARA's website
http://www.archives.gov/about_us/vision_mission_values.html
--
Peter Kurilecz
Richmond, Va
List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
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