GOVDOC-IOWA List-serv
About Govdoc-Iowa
Govdoc-Iowa is a forum for discussion of issues surrounding provision of government information in all formats, on both the federal and state levels.
Detail
Governance will be vested in the University of Iowa Libraries as both the Federal Depository Library for Iowa, and the host of the electronic discussion list. The list will be open to all interested in government information, but targeted libraries and individuals will be the nineteen federal depositories in Iowa, the approximately 45 Iowa State Depository Libraries and members of ILA/GODORT.
Focus
Posted items initially will include, for example:
- Announcements/informational items from the Regional of importance to federal depository libraries. This will include emergency information from the U.S. Government Printing Office occasionally directed to the Regional with the expectation of further distribution.
- FAQ on the rule interpretations and maintenance of federal depository materials. As administrator for Iowa, the Regional may respond on the list to questions posed to it by individual selectives, retaining anonymity.
- Discussion of issues surrounding the provision and maintenance of government information in electronic format, with a view toward establishing a state-wide service plan.
- Announcements/information items from ILA/GODORT. May include minutes, newsletter material, announcements of meetings, calls for papers/presentations, etc.
- Announcements/information items from the State Library of Iowa regarding the state depository program.
Mailing List Instructions
Some basic instructions are included here. If you have questions about this mailing list that are not answered here, please send an e-mail message to the owner of this list. The owner's e-mail address is: owner-govdoc-iowa@list.uiowa.edu
Subscribing
To subscribe to the list, type the word "subscribe" (without the quotation marks) on a line by itself (send only that word—don't include an e-mail address with the command) in an e-mail message and send it to the address govdoc-iowa-request@list.uiowa.edu.
Unsubscribing
To unsubscribe from the list, type the word "unsubscribe" (without the quotation marks) on a line by itself (send only that word—don't include an e-mail address with the command) in an e-mail message and send it to the address govdoc-iowa-request@list.uiowa.edu.
Note: You will not receive any response to your unsubscribe request if everything works. In this case, no news is good news.
Sending Messages to the List
To send a message to the list, use the e-mail address govdoc-iowa@list.uiowa.edu. The message will be forwarded to everyone currently subscribed.
Hint #1: Notice the difference between the two e-mail addresses above. The address with "-request" should only be used when sending commands (see the next section).
Hint #2: When you send a message to the list, you will not get a copy of your own message mailed back to you (this might be different behavior from other mailing lists you use). If there's a problem sending your message, you will receive an e-mail message with any errors that occurred.
Sending Commands
To send a command (e.g., help), type the command name on a line by itself in the body of the e-mail message (not on the subject line). Send the message to the address govdoc-iowa-request@list.uiowa.edu. The results of the command are returned to you via e-mail (except for "unsubscribe," which returns nothing). You can include more than one command in the message—just put one command on each line. The last command should be "end".
Here are some of the available commands you might use:
- help – returns more detailed command descriptions
- info – returns the list description
- lists – returns a list of all mailing lists
- subscribe – used to join a mailing list
- unsubscribe – used to leave a mailing list
- which – returns names of lists to which you are subscribed
- who – returns the list of subscribers for this list
