American History programs would especially benefit from this volume as well. In addition,this material would position depository libraries to field questions regarding constitutiondevelopment by the states, and its importance within our federal framework.

Charles D. Bernholz,Collections Librarian

SUNY College at CortlandCortland, NY 13045

E-mail address: charlesb@em.cortland.eduPII: S0740-624X(02)00114-4

Locating United States Government Information: A Guide to Sources. 2nd edition.Edward Herman; Buffalo, N.Y.: William S. Hein & Co., Inc., 1997. 580 pp. $68.00(includes 2001 supplement). (hardcover). ISBN: 1-57588-203-5.

Locating United States Government Information: A Guide to Sources. 2nd edition.Internet Supplement.Edward Herman; Buffalo, N.Y.: William S. Hein & Co., Inc., 2001. 195 pp. $40.00.(paper). ISBN: 1-57588-683-9.

Edward Herman undertook an immense project when he decided to write a new edition ofLocating United States Government Information. The first edition was published in 1983when the Monthly Catalog was one of the only online government information databasesavailable to the public. While a few government agencies and research universities werejointly developing a computer network that would eventually become what is referred to asthe Internet, few other researchers knew about it as early as 1983. However, between the firstedition of Herman’s book and the second, published in 1997, a radical change took place inthe way government information is published and identified.

In many instances, government agencies took the lead in this transformation as leadersfrom both the Administration and Congress encouraged agencies to make full text informa-tion available online as well as to provide better access to information. As with printedinformation, the government is a prolific online publisher, but to say that indexing wasadequate in the early years of the Internet would be a vast misstatement. Finding governmentinformation had never been a particularly easy task. Finding information on an unfamiliarcomputer system complicated the situation for many people including librarians. Herman’sobjective was to bring some order to the chaos. He accomplished his task admirably, andwith periodic updates on specific Internet resources – in 1997, 1999, and 2001, Hermancontinues to make a major positive contribution to the field of government informationlibrarianship.

Both experienced librarians and inexperienced researchers can benefit from the book. Inthe preface, Herman states, “the purpose of this book is to provide a practical how-to-guidefor locating United States government publications.”1 He begins each chapter with a few

344 Book Review / Government Information Quarterly 19 (2002) 343–347

questions about which the reader should think while reading the chapter. Herman uses whathe calls a workbook format with questions and answers at the end of each chapter. In eachchapter, after giving an overview of an information problem, Herman then gives details withspecific examples of research needs and illustrations from many of the sources that shouldbe consulted. Not all agencies are specifically included, but more than one chapter is devotedto Congress because of the complexity of researching that source of government information.

While some Internet resources are included, Herman’s focus is more on similarities insearching from one agency to another as well as the differences in approach. He explainsmajor print and cd-rom indexes and other resources, such as those of the CongressionalInformation Service (CIS), in detail. Herman clearly recognizes the importance of historicalresearch using print resources and indexes as well as those that are available on the Internet.He is well aware that while information, even that of a historical nature, is increasinglyavailable on the Internet, there is still a definite need for librarians and other researchers tohave a firm grasp of both print and online resources.

Herman begins with basic information on depository libraries, their history and theclassification and organization of government information. This introduces his next majorchapter on comprehensive indexes which segues well into a chapter on indexes to historicaldocuments. The next several chapters are devoted to Congressional information, both currentand historical. The chapters on legislative research resources are followed naturally by achapter on federal regulatory information. Several well-organized chapters on statisticalresearch are followed by one on technical report literature. The final chapters focus onacquiring government publications from agencies using the Freedom of Information Act aswell as through the Government Printing Offices sales program, the Consumer InformationCenter, and commercial vendors.

The second edition of Locating United States Government Information was accompaniedby an Internet Supplement. Two other supplements have followed, one in 1999 and one in2001. They all provide information on Internet sites that assist the user in finding informa-tion. In addition to government sites, URLs are included for commercial and educationalsites of notable interest to librarians and researchers. For example, while there are numerousentries for the various components of the Government Printing Office’s GPO Access(http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/), there are also entries for sites maintained by govern-ment depositories such as Louisiana States University’s U.S. Federal Government Agenciessite (http://www.lib.lsu.edu/gov/fedgov.html.)

Each entry in the supplements is numbered with numbers referenced in the threeindexes—Agency and Author, Title, and Keyword. The entry for each site has sevencomponents: section, agency, title, URL, chapter (from the 1997 edition), and abstract. Theentries are arranged in the register according to the section in which they are placed and thenalphabetically by agency. Part 1 of each supplement covers comprehensive topics while Part2 includes sites for more specific topics. One feature missing in the third supplement is a notethat the entry is new. This should be added to any future editions of the supplement. On theplus side, Herman does include a discussion at the beginning of the most recent supplementon the importance of archiving online government information and the precarious situationfor those archives at the beginning of the 21st century.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, there are no doubt several dead links in the

345Book Review / Government Information Quarterly 19 (2002) 343–347

three supplements. However, despite the ever-changing discipline of government informa-tion research, Herman’s second edition of Locating United States Government Informationis by no means obsolete. For librarians and other researchers working with historicalmaterial, they provide a wealth of information about the way in which government infor-mation has been organized and published in previous years as well as the current status.Combine both editions with the three supplements to the second edition, and you have averitable treasure trove of information.

Diane BradleyReference and User Services Librarian/Documents Coordinator

James Earl Carter LibraryGeorgia Southwestern State University

800 Wheatley StreetAmericus, GA 31709-4693

E-mail address: cbradley@canes.gws.eduPII: S0740-624X(02)00113-2

Notes and References

Herman, Edward. Locating United States Government Information: A Guide to Sources. 2nd edition. Buffalo,New York, 1997. p. v.

Social Responsibility in the Information Age: Issues and Controversies.Gurpreet Dhillion, editor; Hershey, PA: Idea Publishing Group, 2001. 272 pp. $74.95(hardcover). ISBN:1-930708-11-4.

Gurpreet Dhillion, MIS professor at UNLV tackles the issues of ethical behavior in thecyber world in his book, Social Responsibility in the Information Age. The book bringstogether eighteen essays, complete with bibliographies and an index, from a variety ofauthors both in the United States and abroad. These essays explore issues of morality andethical behavior that both businesses and individuals need to address in an increasing dailyelectronic atmosphere. Five key areas of social responsibility are addressed: privacy, prop-erty rights, quality of information systems, freedom of speech, and equal access to technol-ogy.

Privacy remains the biggest concern individuals express when dealing with online trans-actions. The book explores what the average individual thinks of the security of personalinformation and examines case studies where businesses have betrayed customer confiden-tiality. While privacy concerns individuals, property rights for information technologyremain businesses’ greatest challenge. Software piracy costs companies billions of dollars ayear, and most people have large gray areas concerning the morality of electronic theft. Anyentity with an online presence also faces concerns about hacking and corporate sabotage.

346 Book Review / Government Information Quarterly 19 (2002) 343–347