Newsgroups: bit.listserv.ethics-l
Date:         Tue, 21 Jul 1992 12:11:03 EDT
From:         James P Love <LOVE@PUCC.BITNET>
Subject:      GATEWAY/WINDO Q&A

Taxpayer Assets Project
Information Policy Note
July 20, 1992


             Questions and Answers about S. 2813/H.R. 2772
                 (the GPO Gateway to Government/WINDO)


Q-1.WHAT WILL THE GATEWAY/WINDO DO?

a)      The GPO Gateway/WINDO will provide one-stop-shopping for online
        access to government databases.  The service will be provided by
        the Government Printing Office, which now provides one-stop-
        shopping for paper publications.  The Gateway/WINDO will be
        priced at the "incremental cost of dissemination," for most
        users, and will be free to 1,400 federal depository libraries.

b)      The Gatway/WINDO will be available through ordinary telphone
        lines and also through computer networks, such as the National
        Research and Educatin Network (NREN).

c)      The basic approach of the Gateway/WINDO, including the dual
        dissemination approach (sales program combined with free use at
        depository libraries) is the way paper publications have been
        disseminated since the middle of the 19th century.  The
        Gateway/WINDO simply prevents a "technological sunset" of the
        Government Printing Office.


Q-2.WHY IS THE GATEWAY/WINDO NEEDED?

a)      Advances in computer technology have created exciting new
        opportunities to collect, store, manipulate and retrieve
        government information.  While taxpayers have spent hundreds of
        millions of dollars creating sophisticated information systems
        and vast databases, it is often difficult or impossible to
        obtain access to the information.

b)      Among the barriers to access of this information are the
        difficulties of locating, using and paying for government
        databases.  The Gateway/WINDO would attempt to develop
        standardized user interfaces.  Citizens would no longer have to
        maintain dozens of separate business accounts with different
        federal agencies, since the Gateway/WINDO would provide for a
        single invoice system of paying for information.

c)      Because of the enormous economies of scale in online systems, it
        is often far cheaper to add users to an existing system than to
        build new systems.  Thus, access to government systems is often
        far cheaper than commercial database services.  For example, a
        study by the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) found that the
        cost to use LEXPAT, a commercial service to search patent
        information, was about $340 per hour, given normal use patterns.
        In contrast, the PTO estimates it would cost about $15 per hour
        to provide public access to its own $300 million Automated
        Patent System.

d)      The Gateway/WINDO will vastly expand access to government
        information in hard to reach rural communities that do not have
        ready access to federal Depository Libraries or other sources of
        government information.

Q-3.    WHAT TYPES OF INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE
        GATEWAY/WINDO?

a)      Within one year after the passage of the bill, the Gateway/WINDO
        will provide electronic access to the Congressional Record and
        the Federal Register.  (This requirement is currently in S.
        2813)

b)      The Gateway/WINDO will also provide access to such agency
        databases as are "reasonably appropriate, based upon input from
        Federal agencies, database users, libraries, and others likely
        to be affected"

c)      Citizens have expressed interest in using the Gateway/WINDO to
        obtain access to such databases as:

        House and Senate LEGIS systems
        Department of Justice JURIS system
        SEC's EDGAR system
        FDA Bulletin Board
        MEDLINE
        The full text of U.S., European and Japanese Patents
        Testimonies from Congressional hearings
        White House press releases
        Department of State Dispatch
        Scientific Research Abstracts
        National Trade Data Bank

        and many, many others.

d)      Every year GPO will give the public an opportunity to comment on
        its product line, prices, and other policies and practices.

Q-4.  HOW MUCH WILL THE GATEWAY/WINDO COST THE TAXPAYERS?

a)      The fiscal note for S. 2813 is $3 million for fy 1993 and $10
        million for fy 1994, for GPO to set up the Gateway/WINDO.  This
        is a modest amount compared to the investment by the taxpayers
        in the collection of the information that would be disseminated.

b)      The Gateway/WINDO would include a "sales program" component and
        a component for the federal Depository Library Program.  The
        "sales program" component would charge fees equal to what it
        cost.  The only "free" distribution would be to 1,400 federal
        depository libraries.  Everyone else, including the more than
        20,000 libraries that do not have federal depository status,
        would have to pay their own way.

c)      The Gateway/WINDO will probably save the government more money
        that it will ever cost.  It is far cheaper to disseminate
        information to the federal depository library program in
        electronic formats than in paper or microfiche.  This will lead
        to substantial savings. Agencies such as the Navy have found
        that electronic dissemination of public notices, such as
        procurement specifications, are far less costly when
        disseminated electronically.  Perhaps more important, many
        federal agencies are currently "buying back" government
        information from commercial database vendors at high prices.
        The Gateway/WINDO will provide a lower cost way for government
        employees and federal contractors to obtain access to government
        databases.

        Here are a *few* examples of government agencies buying back
        information from commercial vendors.

        i)      Government agencies use LEGI-SLATE, a Washington Post
                subsidiary, for search and retrieval of bills before
                Congress.  The Gateway/WINDO could provide access to the
                House and Senate LEGIS systems, which already exist, at
                a far cheaper price.

        ii)     Agencies also spend large sums of money to receive
                copies of SEC filings from commercial vendors. Access to
                the SEC's new EDGAR system through the Gateway/WINDO
                will lower this cost.

        iii)    The National Institutes of Health, the Department of
                Energy and other agencies search patent databases
                through commercial vendors.  Better access to the Patent
                and Trademark Office's $300 million APS system would
                lower these costs.


Q-5.    HOW WILL THE GATEWAY/WINDO AFFECT THE PRIVATE SECTOR DATA
        VENDORS?

a)      In the short run vendors who simply provide access to public
        records with little value added service will see a reduced
        demand.  These vendors will have to develop value added services
        and enhancements to broaden their market share.

b)      Over a longer time period, the Gateway/WINDO will likely expand
        business opportunities for the private sector.  The availability
        of high quality and low cost research services through the
        Gateway/WINDO will "prime the pump" for the online market.
        Millions of persons who currently do not use online services
        will become customers.  As the overall market expands, the
        private sector providers will have a larger market for their
        non-government databases and the value added services they
        offer.

c)      Private sector companies that provide "value added" information
        services will be better off, since it will be less expensive for
        them to acquire access to the basic documents and records of the
        government.  The higher up the "food chain" in the information
        service sector, the more the Gateway/WINDO will "complement"
        private sector services.



Q-6.WHAT CAN YOU DO?


The most important thing you can do is to write your Senators and member
of the House of Representatives to express your support for these bills.
The address for all members of Congress are as follows:

        Senator John Doe        Representative Jane Doe
        U.S. Senate             U.S. House of Representatives
        Washington, DC 20510    Washington, DC 20515
        voice: 202/224-3121     voice:  202/225-3121


Specifically ask that they become cosponors of the legislation. If you
belong to an organization that can endorse the legislation, send letters
of endorsement to Senator Gore and Representative Rose, with copies to
your own congressional delegation.  Be sure to send an additional copy
of your endorsement to the Taxpayer Assets Project or the American
Library Association so we can tell others of your support.

For an email copy of either bill, send a note to tap@essential.org.  For
more information contact:

American Library Association,       Taxpayer Assets Project,
Washington Office                   Washington Office
110 Maryland Avenue, NE             P.O. Box 19367
Washington, DC 20002-5675           Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202/547-4440; Fax:             Tel: 202/387-8030; Fax:
202/547-7363                        202/234-5176
                                    INTERNET tap@essential.org


----------------------------------------------------------------------
James Love                          voice:     609/683-0534
Director,                           fax:       202/234-5176
Taxpayer Assets Project             internet:  love@essential.org
P.O. Box 19367
Washington, DC  20036
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.ethics-l