NEWS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE               DATE: 4/16/07 CONTACT : LESLIE SCHALER, COMMUNICATION ASST., (413) 545-0162   UMASS AMHERST LIBRARIES HOSTS “1907-2007: Celebrating 100 Years as a Federal Government Documents Depository”   Amherst, MA – The UMass Amherst Libraries hosts an exhibit: “1907-2007: Celebrating 100 years as a Federal Government Documents Depository” in the Learning Commons on the Lower Level of the Du Bois Library from May 1 to August 31.  The exhibit features letters, awards, and artifacts from the Library’s Government Documents department depicting the history of UMass Amherst’s development as a federal depository.  On March 1, 1907, the Massachusetts Agricultural College, which later became UMass Amherst, attained membership to the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP).  At that time it was one out of only 43 depositories in the country, currently there are 1,250.  The FDLP was established by Congress to ensure that the American public has access to its Government's information. The Library receives government documents from the Government Printing Office at no cost in exchange for maintaining and making them accessible to the public.  From humble beginnings with a few thousand books and pamphlets to over 750,000 documents today consisting of paper, microfiche, CDs, DVDs, and thousands in electronic format, it is a vital collection of primary documents that chronicle our American history from its beginnings to the present. “Celebrating 100 Years as a Federal Government Document Depository” is an exhibit that honors the Library’s commitment to supporting our federal depository status.  The display showcases the diversity and history of the government documents and its preservation over the last century. The UMass Amherst Library System receives approximately 80% of the publications distributed through the federal depository library program, making the collection the largest depository in Western and Central Massachusetts and one of the top twenty large selective depositories in the nation. For more information, contact Leonard Adams at len.adams@library.umass.edu or 545-2765. The hours of the exhibit follow Library hours; for more information about hours call 545-0414 or see: www.library.umass.edu/hours.html.