Discard List Guidelines
for Selective Depository Libraries in Oklahoma

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Following are new, revised regulations for the discarding of U.S. Government publications. Please note the amendments put forth in regulations 5 through 7 below, which will be effective January 1, 2004.

Thank you,

Steve Beleu, Regional Depository Librarian
Kevin Motes, USGID Reference Librarian
November 13, 2003

REGULATIONS FOR DISCARDING U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS
Revised November 13, 2003

These regulations have been drafted by the Oklahoma Department of Libraries and are in effect for the selective depository libraries that are served by the Oklahoma Department of Libraries and Oklahoma State University. Exchange lists that do not meet these requirements may be refused and returned to you. If you have questions about them, call ODL at 800 522-8116 or OSU at (405) 744-6546.

A. Reasons, rules, and regulations:

  1. 1. Government publications received through the Federal Depository Library Program are not the property of the receiving library. They may not be sold or bartered. However, they may be given away after the regional library grants permission to discard them.
  2. Discarding or weeding should generally be the selection process in reverse. In other words, what you select most you discard least. If you are discarding a large amount, review your selection process.
  3. Documents must be kept five years before discarding. Exceptions are superceded documents and second copies of documents, documents for which micrographic copies have been substituted, or documents for which Internet access substitution has been approved by GPO in the Substitution List (http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/coll-dev/subguide.html). Electronic products must also be kept for five years (floppy disks, CD-ROMS, and DVDs).
  4. Microfiche that have been received through the Depository Library Program may be discarded after five years of retention without putting them on an exchange list.
  5. You are no longer required to list any maps, folded or unfolded, unless they cover an area of Oklahoma.
  6. You are not required to list any pamphlets unless they are about Oklahoma or are published by a federal agency based in Oklahoma.
  7. You are not required to list any ephemera unless they are about Oklahoma or are published by a federal agency based in Oklahoma. (Use your professional judgment concerning what constitutes "ephemera". If you feel that a piece of ephemera is important enough to put on a list, do so.)
  8. If a selective depository chooses to house any documents in another location, it still retains primary responsibility for the disposal of those documents.
  9. Regional libraries are responsible for maintaining one copy of each major document. For this reason the selective depositories need to work closely with their regionals in the process of discarding publications. The selective libraries may discard only after being given permission by the regional.
  10. The discard list is the mechanism for this procedure. Checking this list against holdings is a time-consuming and costly process and a poorly prepared list makes a hard job much harder. The regional library is allowed to make rules for the format and procedure of the discard list.
  11. For more details concerning discards, see:
    Federal Depository Library Manual GP 3.29:D 44/(yr.)
    Instructions to Depository Libraries GP 3.26:D 44/(yr.)

B. Discard list format:

  1. You must produce separate lists for paper materials and CD-ROMS. Do not put these formats together on one list.
  2. Date your list.
  3. Include name of library and address.
  4. Number the pages.
  5. Leave a space between each document listed.
  6. Put the lists in SuDoc number order (do not use computer programs which use 1st digit order). PLEASE LIST IN ONE DIRECTION ONLY-PREFERABLY FORWARD.
  7. GIVE COMPLETE AND ACCURATE TITLES; at least enough for identification (for example, "Publication" is not an identifying title). If necessary, list agency.
  8. Give the complete SuDoc number typed in the correct format (for example, "J 28.24:" is NOT a complete number).
  9. One item per line.
  10. Check carefully for typos, especially numbers.
  11. List documents separately (for example,"HE 20.3202:C45/3-6" is not a SuDoc number. These should be listed as: 

                 HE 20.3202:C 45/3          HE 20.3202:C 45/3
             HE 20.3202:C 45/4   or               :C 45/4
             HE 20.3202:C 45/5                    :C 45/5
    List what you do have, not what you don't.
  12. Use the document date, if given, not the shipping list date. We cannot identify a document by shipping list date.
  13. If you list a document less than five years old, you must indicate that it is a duplicate or replaced by microfilm or microfiche. These titles may also be those listed in the Substitution List: Official FDLP Permanent Full-Text Databases.

C. Discard List procedures:

  1. Send one copy of list to regional library.
  2. Avoid sending duplicate lists.
  3. Do not stamp documents "withdrawn" until you are given permission to withdraw by the regional library. AVOID MUTILATING THE DOCUMENTS BY STAMPING OVER TEXT OR TITLE.
  4. When you receive the list back from the regional library, any documents needed by that library will be circled. Be accurate in pulling the requested documents.
  5. Mail the requested documents, along with the entire working list, or a photocopy of the first page of the list, to the regional library. The "working list" is the one the regional has marked.
  6. The regional library will send a copy of your list to those depositories which wish to receive it. Regional requests have first priority, then other requests may be filled.
  7. Hold documents for the time specified on the cover letter of the list and then you may discard.

Steve Beleu
Oklahoma Department of Libraries
U.S. Government Information Division
200 N.E. 18th St.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-3298

John B. Phillips
Oklahoma State University
University Library, Documents Department
Stillwater, OK 74078

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Last update: November 26, 2003
Questions and comments to:
sholcom@okstate.edu
URL: http://regdocs.okstate.edu/