FDLP Coordinator Calendar: April

Is your entry in the Federal Depository Library Directory up to date? If you want to make a change, the designated library coordinator can log in to askGPO and make the edit. If you want to change a field that you can't edit, email [email protected])

Also, April is the month for the Depository Library Council's virtual meeting - be sure to attend!

The soil survey has been conducted since 1899! You may have some of it in your historical collections, and it is now available at the Online Web Soil Survey.

Soil Orders Map of the United States (USDA)

Maule's Seed Catalogue, 1901. From the USDA National Agricultural Library, Special Collections.

PURL Usage Reporting Tool

It's important to know what kind of usage your depository collection gets (administrators like to ask you this question), but it can also be hard to know how to track usage of online material.  GPO's PURL Usage Reporting Tool helps you track who is clicking on the PURLs that you include in your catalog and websites.

To make the tool work, you need to sign in and set up some IP addresses you would like it to track. You'll be able to access a monthly report with some useful statistics.

Learn more about PURLs and the tracking tool on FDLP.gov.

Watch the webcasts on "FDLP PURL Usage Report - Analyzing Usage of Digital FDLP Resources" for more information and tips on how to create custom reports and how to understand the data you get out of the tool.

Department of Agriculture (USDA)  

The Department of Agriculture was created in 1862. The agency has multiple sub-agencies and offices and employs nearly 100,000 people. The USDA website states that the agency's vision is: "to provide economic opportunity through innovation, helping rural America to thrive; to promote agriculture production that better nourishes Americans while also helping feed others throughout the world; and to preserve our Nation's natural resources through conservation, restored forests, improved watersheds, and healthy private working lands."

Some highlights of USDA's work include:

• Every five years, the USDA conducts the Census of Agriculture.
• Agency Reports
• The Agricultural Marketing Service has information on Organic Certification and Accreditation
• The Economic Research Service publishes Amber Waves magazine monthly
• The Farm Service Agency's Aerial Photography Field Office has imagery of the U.S. from 1955 to the present
• The Food and Nutrition Service handles SNAP and WIC benefits
• The Food Safety and Inspection Service has fact sheets about their presence in each state
• The Foreign Agricultural Service has various databases on agricultural commodities
• The Forest Service manages 193 million acres
• The National Agricultural Statistics Service compiles agricultural data in the Quick Stats Database
• Grants are available through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Soil Survey work done by the Natural Resources Conservation Service
• The Risk Management Agency manages the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation
• Resource page for new farmers
• Rural Development includes the Rural Housing Service

April 2, 1792: The Coinage Act established the U.S. Mint

April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated. The following day's Congressional Record had many tributes to Dr. King.

April 9, 1866: Civil Rights Act of 1866

April 11, 1968: Civil Rights Act of 1968 and Indian Civil Rights Act

April 14, 1865: President Abraham Lincoln assassinated

April 15, 1912: Titanic sinks

April 24, 1800: The Library of Congress was established

Financial Literacy Month

Mathematics Awareness Month

Air Quality Awareness Week

April 15, Tax Day