ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES 

Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program

Vol. 18, no. 05 GP 3.16/3-2:18/05 March 15, 1997 

Item Lister Now Available on the FDLP Administration Web Site

The Library Programs Service (LPS) is pleased to announce the release of Item Lister, a 

new product on the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) Administration Web site, 

available on the Internet via the GPO Access World Wide Web site at: 

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/fdlppro.html 

(click on the Tools button, then click on Item Lister) 

 

Item Lister offers four options: 

Option 1: Rows and columns of a depository's item number selections and the 

library's item selection ratio of items selected divided by the total number 

available. 

Option 2: Non-selections - rows and columns listing a depository's non-selections. 

Option 3: All of a depository's selections (Y for Yes) and non-selections (N for No), 

in rows and columns. 

Option 4: The same as number 3 above but in a single column. This option is for 

those who want such a format to simplify downloading and importing of 

item list data into spreadsheets and databases. 

If you find discrepancies for your library's item number selection and the Item Lister, 

please contact staff in the Depository Administration Branch: 

 

Phone: (202) 512-1071 or 

(202) 512-1153 

 

Fax: (202) 512-1636 or 

(202) 512-0877 

E-mail: staf3dab@access.digex.net 

acqclass@access.digex.net 

chiefdab@access.digex.net. 

Item Lister reflects the latest selection information in DDIS. It will be updated monthly. 

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There is lag time from when a depository submits item number changes on the 

Amendment of Selections postal card to when those changes are reflected in Item Lister. 

Depositories should check Item Lister before submitting selection additions and deletions to 

LPS. Item Lister should also be checked prior to submitting a claim to LPS to verify that a 

depository is selecting a specific item number. 

 

LPS thanks those librarians who offered thoughtful comments and suggestions which were 

recently incorporated into Item Lister. To offer additional comments and suggestions on how 

to improve Item Lister or any other aspect of the FDLP Administration Web site, please 

contact the LPS Electronic Transition Staff: 

E-mail: ets@gpo.gov 

Phone: (202) 512-1698 

Fax: (202) 512-1432 

Roadway Awarded Mailing Contract

Starting March 3, 1997, Roadway Package System (RPS) will begin delivering all 

depository shipments from the Library Programs Service. RPS was recently awarded the 

mailing contract for all of the U.S. Government Printing Office. The contract is for one year. 

Online Registration Developed for Depository Conference

If you plan to attend the 6th annual Federal Depository Conference and 50th meeting of 

the Depository Library Council, you can now register online on GPO’s Web site. The 

meetings will be held at the Washington National Airport Hilton in Arlington, VA, on April 

14-17, 1997. 

The online registration form has been established on the FDLP Administration Web site at: 

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/fdlppro.html. 

To get to the form, from the FDLP Administration page, click on the Calendar button, 

then click on the large green button. Complete the registration form online and submit it. The 

information automatically will be e-mailed to LPS, and you will have a record of the 

information on your e-mail form. 
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3 

Budget of the U.S., Economic Report of the President 

Now On GPO Access

Two recently published budget documents are now available online via GPO Access: 

Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 1998, and Economic Report of the 

President, 1997. 

The Budget database contains a summary of the President's budget proposals along with the 

following separately searchable documents: Analytical Perspectives; Historical Tables; 

Appendix; A Citizen's Guide to the Federal Budget; Budget System and Concepts; and 

Principles of Budgeting for Capital Asset Acquisitions. 

The Economic Report includes 1) current and foreseeable trends and annual numerical goals 

concerning topics such as employment, unemployment, production, real income and Federal 

budget outlays; 2) employment objectives for significant groups of the labor force 3) annual 

numeric goals, and 4) a program for carrying out program objectives. Supplementary reports 

can be issued to the Congress which contain additional and/or revised recommendations. 

Both documents are available as ASCII text and as Adobe Acrobat Portable Document 

Format (PDF) files. The databases are accessible via the World Wide Web, WAIS client 

software, or SWAIS. 

DATABASE DESCRIPTION

Budget of the U.S. FY 1998

Menu Name: Budget of the U.S., FY98 

Host: wais.access.gpo.gov 

Database Name: /wais/indexes/1998_budget 

Port: 210 

Description: The Budget of the U.S. FY 1998 contains a summary of the President's 

budget proposals along with the following separately searchable documents: 

Budget of the United States Government, FY 1998, Analytical 

Perspectives; Historical Tables; Appendix; A Citizen's Guide to the Federal 

Budget; Budget System and Concepts; and Principles of Budgeting for 

Capital Asset Acquisitions. Files are available as ASCII text and as Adobe 

Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) files. 

The Budget of the U.S. FY 1998 was distributed to depository libraries in paper under 

item 0853 and SuDocs class PREX 2.8:998, and on CD-ROM under item 0853-C and SuDocs 

class PREX 2.8/1:998. It is for sale by the Superintendent of Documents in paper for $21.00 

(stock no. 041-001-00478-5). 
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4 

Economic Report of the President, 1997

Menu Name: Economic Report of the President, 1997 

Host: wais.access.gpo.gov 

Database Name: /wais/indexes/1997_erp 

Port: 210 

Description: The Economic Report of the President is transmitted to Congress no later 

than ten days after the submission of the budget. The Report includes 

1) current and foreseeable trends and annual numerical goals concerning topics such as 

employment, unemployment, production, real income and Federal budget outlays; 2) 

employment objectives for significant groups of the labor force; 3) annual numeric goals, and 

4) a program for carrying out program objectives. Supplementary reports can be issued to the 

Congress which contain additional and/or revised recommendations. Files are available as 

ASCII text and as Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) files. 

The Economic Report of the President was distributed to depository libraries under item 

0848 and SuDocs class PR 42.9:997. It is for sale by the Superintendent of Documents for 

$20.00 (stock no. 040-000-00682-6). 

World Wide Web Access

You can connect to GPO Access via the World Wide Web. The address for the 

Superintendent of Documents' home page is: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs. The page 

for connecting to either of these databases is 

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/budget/index.html. 

Telnet Access (SWAIS)

You can also connect to GPO Access via Telnet. The address is swais.access.gpo.gov. 

Type guest (lowercase) at the login prompt (no password is required). You will be using 

SWAIS. File transfers are by Internet e-mail or screen capture. 

Dial-in Access (SWAIS)

Users without Internet access can dial-in. Use a modem to call 202-512-1661; type swais 

and then login as guest. The modem settings are 8N1, full duplex. You will be using SWAIS. 

 File transfers are by Internet e-mail or screen capture. 

WAIS Client Access

If you are using WAIS client software, you will need to create a source file for the new 

database. Instructions for adding source files to the WinWAIS and MacWAIS client software 

are available below. 
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5 

A. Creating a Source File For WinWAIS: 

Execute the following steps to create a source file for the new database: 

1. Open the WinWAIS software; 

2. Pull down the Edit menu and select the Select Sources item; 

3. Click on the button labeled New; 

4. Fill in the name, host and database fields using the information provided under the 

database description heading; 

5. Fill in the database description (optional); 

6. Click the OK button in the Edit WAIS Source Definition Window; 

7. Click on the OK button in the Selected WAIS Sources Window. 

B. Creating a Source File For MacWAIS: 

Execute the following steps to create a source file for the new database: 

1. Open the MacWAIS software; 

2. Pull down the Sources menu and select the New menu item; 

3. Fill in the name, host and database fields using the information provided under the 

database description heading. 

4. Fill in the database description (optional); 

5. Click the OK button. 

Helpful Hints for searching these databases via GPO Access will be available online. 

Once you are connected to the database, the search "helpful hints" will retrieve instructions and 

sample searches. Helpful Hints for searching the databases will also be available on the 

Federal Bulletin Board FTP site: ftp://fedbbs.access.gpo.gov, and the Superintendent of 

Documents Home Page: www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/desc018.html. 

For further assistance, contact the GPO Access User Support Team by e-mail at 

gpoaccess@gpo.gov, by phone at (toll free) (888) 293-6498 or (local) (202) 512-1530 or by 

fax at (202) 512-1262. 
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6 

United States Bureau of Mines, 1910 - 1996

[Information provided by the U.S. Geological Survey Library.]

From 1910 through 1995, employees of the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) provided 

information to many people and organizations throughout the world. In September, 1995, the 

U.S. Congress voted to abolish the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM). The bill became law on 

January 26, 1996 when the "Balanced Budget Downpayment Act" (P.L. 104-99) was 

approved. Final appropriations were made in P.L. 104- 34, April 26, 1996. 

Between September, 1995 and January, 1996, employees worked to close down the USBM 

in an orderly manner. Abolishing an 85-year-old statutory agency in less than 100 days 

resulted in some gaps--mainly, what happened to the specialists and all that information? 

This bulletin is an unofficial communique, intended to provide sources for locating 

information published by the U.S. Bureau of Mines from 1910-1995, as well as a quick 

overview of those projects which survived. As the USBM identity disappeared, contacts for 

USBM-published information also disappeared. Now, most of the information published by 

the USBM is available only through repository sources. Points of contact for the few USBM 

programs which were transferred to other government agencies are listed below. Library 

contacts listed below may be willing, as a last resort, to provide information about USBM 

publications. 

The National Technical Information Service (NTIS) has a "legacy" collection of USBM 

publications dating from 1910-1995. These publications are available for purchase from NTIS 

and represent most of the research work done by the USBM in the fields of mining technology, 

mine safety and health, and mineral industry information. NTIS plans to make a database of 

these records available on its home page. Until then, NTIS Sales Desk staff will locate Bureau 

of Mines publications on request. Paper indexes to the entire list of USBM pubs ("List of 

Bureau of Mines Publications and Articles" -- 11 volumes) are also available from NTIS. 

The Bureau of Mines was a participating agency in the United States Government Printing 

Office (GPO) Depository Library Program. Many depository libraries received USBM 

publications and should have them available for use in the library. Depository libraries should 

contact GPO for information regarding titles which may be published under new agency 

names. 

The USBM video program is defunct, although a few educational institutions may still 

have a loan program. Corporations which co-produced the films with the USBM may also 

have copies. 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

7 

CONTACTS: FORMER U.S. BUREAU OF MINES

To purchase USBM publications

National Technical Information Service (NTIS) 

Phone: 1-800-553-NTIS or Reston, VA and Denver, CO 703-487-4650 

Website: http://www.ntis.gov 

E-mail: info@ntis.fedworld.gov 

Health and Safety Programs

Transferred to National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health (NIOSH) 

Pittsburgh, PA and Spokane, WA 

Program contact: 412-892-6601 

Library contact: 412-892-4431 (Pittsburgh) 

Library contact: 509-484-1610 (Spokane) 

Library E-mail: kis2@niosh5.em.cdc.gov 

OCLC symbol: qpc 

Materials Research Program

Transferred to U.S. Department of Energy 

Albany, OR 

Program contact: 541-967-5892 

Library contact: 541-967-5864 

Library E-mail: clark@alrc.doe.gov 

OCLC symbol: bmb 

Minerals Information Programs

Transferred to U.S. Geological Survey 

Program contact: 703-648-6140 

Website: http://minerals.er.usgs.gov/minerals 

Library contact: 703-648-7754 

Library E-mail: mic_lib@usgs.gov 

OCLC symbol: ueb* 

*UEB is an inactive library. If UEB is listed 

as a holding library, please send request to 

GIS with note: "UEB" collection. 

Minerals Analysis Program

Transferred to U.S. Bureau of Land Management 

Juneau, AK and Anchorage, AK 

Program contact: 907-364-2111 

Library contact: 907-364-2111 

Library E-mail: N/A 

OCLC symbol: N/A 

 

Robert Bier 

U.S. Geological Survey Library 

952 National Center 

Reston, Va. 20192 

Voice: (703) 648-6207 

E-mail: rbier@usgs.gov 

Fax: (703) 648-7753 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

8 

Federal Information Policy in the Electronic Era

Remarks by Wayne Kelley 

Superintendent of Documents 

U.S. Government Printing Office 

GODORT Federal Documents Task Force 

American Library Association Midwinter Meeting 

Saturday, February 15, 1997 

Washington, DC 

I'd like to take a few minutes this morning to discuss a growing trend to transfer Federal 

Government information from the public domain to private ownership. 

This is happening in a number of ways. One is for agencies to establish exclusive or 

restrictive distribution arrangements that limit public access to information. Another is to 

charge fees or royalties for reuse or redissemination of public information. In some recent 

cases government publishers have actually assisted in transferring copyright to the new owner. 

Let me give you an example. For many years, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) 

procured the printing of its Journal of the National Cancer Institute through the Government 

Printing Office. The Superintendent of Documents Sales Program sold subscriptions to the 

Journal and it was distributed to Federal depository libraries at GPO expense. 

In 1987, NCI made the semimonthly Journal a more current, higher quality cancer 

research publication. It was heavily promoted by our Office of Marketing in coordination with 

the NCI staff. By 1992, the Journal was selling 6,240 copies at an annual subscription of $51, 

and was distributed free to more than 800 selecting depository libraries throughout the nation. 

It had achieved recognition as "the number one journal" in its field, publishing the best original 

research papers in oncology from around the world. 

In 1993, the National Cancer Institute notified us that they were developing a 

"Consolidated Services" concept making all print and electronic data information available only 

through an "Information Associates Program." GPO could no longer sell subscriptions at $51. 

 The only way to get a subscription was to buy an Associates Program membership from NCI 

for $100. NCI agreed to supply depository copies at the agency's expense. GPO continued to 

sell individual copies in bookstores at $7 each. In December 1994, the International Cancer 

Information Center, publisher of the Journal, received a Federal "Hammer" award for its new 

Information Associates Program. 

Then, a disturbing development. Just a few weeks ago, in a letter dated January 2, our 

Library Program Service was notified that the Journal had been "privatized." Ownership was 

transferred from the National Cancer Institute to Oxford University Press - USA, Inc. The 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

9 

letter said: "Under the terms of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement signed 

by the two organizations, the name of the publication will be retained, and Oxford will assume 

all responsibility for printing the Journal and will hold copyright to the Journal’s content." 

The letter went on to explain that "because the Journal is no longer a publication of the 

U.S. Government, copies of the Journal and JNCI Monographs will not be provided to the 

Depository Library Program nor will sale copies be available at the GPO bookstore." The new 

price, from Oxford, is $120 for an individual and $150 for an institution. 

The last paragraph in this brief letter said: "We appreciate the service the Depository 

Library Program has provided in disseminating the Journal and JNCI Monographs for many 

years." 

Looking back, I do not regret that we at GPO invested our resources in promoting the 

Cancer Journal in the late 1980s. Nor do I regret assisting in the transfer of subscribers to the 

Information Associates Program in 1993. But I do regret the loss of this valuable resource to 

American citizens through the Depository Library Program in 1997. 

I have here the November 20 issue of the Journal which I purchased from the main GPO 

Bookstore. Maybe this last, public domain issue has some historical value. 

Looking through the Journal, a number of questions come to mind. I note that the 

masthead lists some 26 staff members. 

I wonder if the editorial and news staff is still being paid by the American taxpayer, but 

working for the Oxford University Press? I wonder if the Oxford Press is sharing revenues 

from the new, higher subscription rate with the National Cancer Institute? I wonder if 

copyright will prevent a librarian from sending a copy of an article to another librarian? 

I have no way of knowing the answers to these questions, because the details of the 

Cooperative Research and Development Agreement are not public information, according to 

NCI legal counsel. 

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case. There are other recent examples of information 

gathered by government employees disappearing from the public domain, for a price. I worry 

that these cases will become precedents and the precedents will set an irreversible trend. 

I want to make it clear that I do not question the motives or goals of the agency publishers 

who take this course. They are doing what they feel is right in a new environment which calls 

for cutting costs and generating revenues. They are seeking to preserve valuable information. 

But what if this new trend drives future Federal Government information policy? Since 

the founding of our nation, the cornerstone of information policy in the United States has been 

the principle of universal access to Federal information. This principle is being set aside 

without many of the usual checks and balances in our democratic society: without any high 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

10 

level policy debate, without clear rules, without thought to unintended consequences, and often 

without full public disclosure of the negotiations and agreements. 

Is all Federal information with sufficient demand going to be sent to market? If so, we 

should think about what that means. 

Does it mean that a Government agency may sell its name as well as its information? 

Does it mean that a wide array of private sector publishers will no longer have access to 

the information to add value and redistribute it to many different markets in different products? 

Does it mean the public consumer must pay two or three times as much, or more, for the 

same information? 

Does it mean that agency publishers will focus their attention on more popular, marketable 

information and eliminate other, perhaps more significant but less marketable information? 

Does it mean that programs authorized by Congress will begin to move away from public 

needs, to focus instead on market needs never contemplated by our elected representatives? 

Does it mean Government employees working at taxpayer expense to support the 

information requirements of private firms? And isn't that corporate welfare? 

And what if the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, now owned by the Oxford 

University Press, does not meet the profit goals of the new owner? Does it mean that instead 

of a "Hammer" award, there will be the "axe" usually awarded sub-par performers in the 

market place? 

Who represents the public in a Bottom-line Information Era? What is to prevent our 

Nation's bridge to the 21st century from turning into a toll bridge for Government 

information? 

In 1989, the late Office of Technology Assessment, may it rest in peace, declared that 

"congressional action is urgently needed to resolve Federal information issues and to set the 

direction of Federal activities for years to come." Now, eight years later, there is some talk of 

legislation to update Federal Information Policy to the electronic era. 

The critical issues at stake today are preservation of official information, public access, 

Government accountability, and an informed electorate. Americans should not pass up this 

opportunity to define their own information future. 

 Those best positioned to know the value and power of information should take the lead. It 

is not an easy issue for the media because it lacks the essential elements of hot news. It is 

more significant than sensational. 
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11 

It is not an easy issue for politicians because there is no visible crisis and framing sound 

policy seldom delivers votes. 

So it may be up to those among us who by nature are reluctant to get out front. 

Remember those riveting lines of Yeats: "The best lack all conviction, While the worst are full 

of passionate intensity." Let’s not let that happen. 

Before it is too late, let the debate begin. 

The Electronic Transition - A Progress Report

Remarks by Gil Baldwin 

Chief, Library Division, 

Library Programs Service 

U.S. Government Printing Office 

GODORT Federal Documents Task Force 

American Library Association Midwinter Meeting 

Saturday, February 15, 1997 

Washington, DC

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Washington in February, where we've been 

known to commemorate President's Day with some truly monumental snowfalls. This 

morning I want to review the progress of the transition to a more electronic FDLP, and how 

we see things now that we're about a year into the transition. We now have some practical 

experience behind us, and we can look at things from a vantage point in the midst of a 

transition period. In the midst of all these changes, I'm coming at this as a series of 

impressions; glances out of the rear view mirror as we hit that information highway. 

A critical observation has to do with the uneven pace of change. Our situation is often 

"two steps forward, one step back." The enormous strides in electronic technologies have 

forever changed how Government information is compiled, disseminated, located, and used, 

and how we do business in our libraries, but the information policy area has lagged behind. 

Every day we are encountering situations in which the current statutes and regulations, and 

especially how they are interpreted and enforced, need to evolve to catch up with information 

technologies. 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

12 

In the Strategic Plan for the transition that we put together about one year ago, we 

envisioned four ways in which GPO can bring electronic Government information products 

into the FDLP. Let's revisit these, and see how they're panning out: 

1. We said that "GPO can identify, describe and link the public to the wealth of distributed 

Government information products maintained at Government electronic information 

services for free public use." In general, this is working well. We have our Pathway 

Services, Monthly Catalog on the Web, and so forth. Between these we are pointing to 

over 2,000 agency Internet products and sites, and this number is expanding rapidly. 

2. We also said that "GPO can establish reimbursable agreements with agencies that 

provide fee-based Government electronic information services in order to provide free 

public access to their information through the FDLP." Now we're beginning to see 

some problems, especially in the policy arena, in terms of what we can pay for. 

3. We went on to say that GPO should "ride" agency requisitions and pay for depository 

copies of tangible electronic information products, such as CD-ROM discs or their 

software licenses, even if they are not produced or procured through GPO. This ability 

could be quite useful in getting content for the Program, but we still have limits about 

what we can pay for. 

4. GPO can obtain from agencies electronic source files for information the agencies do 

not wish to disseminate through their own Government electronic information services. 

 These files can be made available through the GPO Access services, made available by 

an external partner, or even disseminated to depository libraries in CD-ROM or other 

tangible format. In general this situation is workable from a policy perspective. 

Where we run into problems is that what we receive from agencies is replete with 

technical challenges, and likely to be quite expensive to present in a useful way. 

What Can the FDLP Pay For?

Let's shift now to what the FDLP can pay for. The guiding language here is from Title 

44, Section 1903: 

* If an agency obtains printing from or through GPO, the FDLP pays for the 

depository copies and their distribution. 

* If the agency bypasses GPO, the FDLP pays for the distribution, but the agency 

pays for the copies. This is a critical point, and it has affected our ability to 

develop "cost-sharing" solutions which could have brought more products into the 

FDLP. 

How can this model be applied in the electronic information age? Consider these 

scenarios: 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

13 

* An agency produces a CD-ROM through GPO, but uses a unique software. The 

FDLP rides for copies, pays for software licenses for depository users, and pays 

for distribution. Inasmuch as software licensing expenses are analogous to the 

expenses which have routinely been borne by the Salaries & Expenses 

appropriation to deliver copies of printed products to the depository libraries, we 

are able pay the software licensing costs when an agency produces its CD-ROMs 

through GPO. An example of this is the National Trade Data Bank from STATUSA. 

* An agency produces a CD-ROM on its own, bypassing GPO, but agrees to provide 

depository copies. The CD uses another unique software, which must be licensed. 

 Clearly, FDLP can pay for distribution, but following Section 1903, the agency 

should bear the cost of the software licensing required to use the product. 

* An agency decides to cease production of a CD-ROM title which was distributed to 

depositories, but wants to give us a reproducible CD that could be replicated for 

the libraries. The agency's product is now produced only as a "one-off" product, 

on-demand, and sold to the public; there is no production run per se. What can we 

do to keep the content in the FDLP? Robin and I are facing this situation right 

now with the Digital Raster Graphics CDS from the U.S. Geological Survey. 

Depository Library Program Issues

What we're finding as we work through these various electronic product scenarios is that 

policy situations keep coming up. And as I alluded to earlier, many of these have to do with 

interpretations of and compliance with existing laws and regulations. Here are some examples: 

* We believe that agencies have an obligation to deliver their products to the 

Superintendent of Documents for distribution to the Federal depository libraries. 

This was articulated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in Circular 

A-130, Management of Federal Information Resources, which states that agencies 

shall at a minimum "provide electronic information dissemination products to the 

Government Printing Office for distribution to depository libraries." 

* The broadest range of content should be available to the FDLP. Section 1902 

defines the scope of the Program as: 

Government publications, except those determined by their issuing components 

to be required for official use only or for strictly administrative or operational 

purposes which have no public interest or educational value and publications 

classified for reasons of national security ... 

* You should be wary of any attempt to narrow the scope of the FDLP to only those 

products which were "intended for public dissemination." This redefinition could 

reduce the amount of information in the program by as much as 80%. 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

14 

* We need broad affirmation that electronic products belong in the FDLP, in order 

to provide the broadest possible public access. We should support a definition of 

"Government publication" which explicitly includes information in electronic 

formats, and recognizes that such formats may now include tangible electronic 

products, such as CD-ROMs, and intangible products such as those published via 

the Internet. 

* Existing policies which prohibit exclusive arrangements, or copyright-like 

restrictions which take the information out of the public domain, should be 

enforced. 

* Historically there have been cases where Government information products have 

not been included in the FDLP because they were not produced or procured 

through the Government Printing Office. Agencies should be directed to supply 

copies to the FDLP of any tangible products, including CD-ROMs, which are 

produced or procured elsewhere than through GPO. 

These are the kinds of issues that we encounter daily now, as we make our way through 

the electronic transition. 

Agency Cooperation with the FDLP 

Robin is going to cover a number of specific cases of both successes and failures to keep 

agency information in the FDLP, but I wanted to make a more general comment on the issue 

of cooperation, since many of my last points involve cooperation and compliance. In terms of 

our legal authority, and the avenues open to us to get content into the FDLP, here's what LPS 

considers cooperation from an agency in providing access to its electronic products: 

* Agencies produce their products through GPO, which affords the FDLP the 

opportunity to ride for depository copies. 

* Agencies provide the requisite depository library copies to GPO, free of any 

encumbrances such as software license fees or copyright-like restrictions. 

 

* In the case of online services, the agency provides no-fee access to the FDLP. 

Often these are viewed as compliance issues, and as such have at times been contentious, 

or become interpreted in narrow ways. When we go out to talk to agencies we are trying to 

accentuate the positive: how GPO can assist the agency in meeting its public information 

mission, effectively and at low cost. In the long run we may gain more through this kind of 

approach than by stressing compliance and enforcement. 

Nevertheless, it’s encouraging to note that the issues of compliance and enforcement have 

the attention of the Joint Committee on Printing (JCP). I'd like to read you a brief excerpt 

from the statement of Senator John Warner, Chairman of the JCP, before the House 

Subcommittee on Legislative Branch Appropriations: 
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15 

In other cases, where agencies have attempted to circumvent the GPO printing 

procurement process, government publications, published at taxpayer expense, have 

become fugitive documents ... 

This year, at the request of the Joint Committee on Printing, the Senate Committee on 

Rules and Administration and the House Oversight Committee are seeking language in all 

authorizing and appropriating bills requiring every agency of the Federal government to 

comply with Title 44, as Congress moves to update this law in light of modern technology. 

Every means available will be used to obtain compliance by Federal agencies with Title 

44, especially with regard to the Federal Depository Library Program. 

We welcome this commitment, and hope that it will improve the situation concerning 

fugitive information. 

Status of Strategic Plan Goals

In our Strategic Plan, issued in the June 1996 Study report, we laid out some goals for 

where we thought the Program could be by the end of FY 1998. Assuming funding at or near 

the FY 1996 level, we predicted we could provide about 50% of FDLP information 

electronically. Let's revisit some of those goals and see how we're doing. The plan referred 

to: 

* Pointing to products accessible via agency electronic information services. We are 

enabling users to locate and connect to agency electronic services through the GPO 

 Pathway Services. Pathway "Browse Titles" is the current awareness tool, and the 

Monthly Catalog on the Web provides a complete description and subject access. 

We will continue developing these efforts through funding from the FDLP and the 

Cataloging & Indexing Program. 

* In terms of processing and mounting agency-provided electronic source files on 

GPO Access, we are currently exploring options to use electronic image files, such 

as those provided by the Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE reports account 

for about 1/3 of all the titles in the FDLP, and the solution to this problem may 

give us access to other products never before in the FDLP. However, our 

investigations suggest that mounting agency source files is complicated and may 

prove expensive. 

* Distribution of CD-ROMs continues to increase. We'll probably peak out at about 

1,000 CD-ROM titles per year in the program, and then it will begin to taper off, 

as some agencies, such as the U.S. Geological Survey, are moving from producing 

CD-ROMs to on-demand CD-ROM publishing of customized products. We are 

exploring options to keep such information in the FDLP, when there is no 

production run to ride for copies, and the information is not available via the 

Internet. 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

16 

* Scanning agency print products for mounting on GPO Access or disseminating in 

tangible format as text or image files is generally only appropriate as a last resort to 

obtain an electronic version of a product. We are focussing our efforts upon 

obtaining electronic source data files from the originating agency, since most print 

products are now created electronically. Since Congress agreed that the more 

deliberate, five- to seven-year transition was appropriate, the speed of our 

transition is now closely aligned with what the publishing agencies are doing. We 

see the FDLP evolving, so as agencies move to electronic publishing, the FDLP 

can incorporate those products into the program. 

* We wanted to see all depository libraries capable of serving the public with 

electronic Government information products. Since the beginning of FY 1997, all 

depositories have been expected to be able to offer users the ability to access, 

search, view, download and, to some extent, print information located on the 

Internet. This may be done by providing the user with direct access to a computer 

work station, or by conducting mediated searches at the user's request. By now we 

believe that the great majority of the libraries are able to meet these minimum 

requirements. 

 

* We hoped to achieve a depository product mix of about 50% electronic, 30% 

paper, and 20% microfiche. We may be closer than you think. Since the GPO 

Access service is funded from the Superintendent of Documents Salaries & 

Expenses appropriation, we consider GPO Access as the online information 

delivery vehicle for the FDLP. In FY 1996, depository libraries received about 

1.7 million copies per month of tangible products; e.g., paper or microfiche. By 

way of comparison, documents downloaded from GPO Access over the same 

period averaged 2.4 million per month. Although these figures are not entirely 

comparable, since many GPO Access users do not come through depository 

libraries or gateways, there is evidence that we are moving along well toward 

meeting this goal. 

Electronic Transition Staff

I believe that much of our progress in the electronic area has come thanks to our 

Electronic Transition Staff (ETS), and in particular to our visiting experts from the library 

community. We've been fortunate to be able to get very high-quality people for ETS, both 

from the library community and from within LPS. Lee Morey from our Cataloging staff and 

Joe Paskoski from the Inspection Team are doing really good things with Pathway Services and 

Web initiatives, and I'm really pleased about their contributions. In general ETS brainstorms 

projects, sells them to management, gets them up and running, and then we incorporate them 

into our line operations. Unfortunately, our visiting experts can only stay with us one year, 

and the clock is running. 

So we're testing the waters. LPS is interested in talking to persons to fill one-year 

appointments as Expert Consultants to work on the electronic transition. We are looking for 

two librarians or other information professionals associated with the depository library 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

17 

community who have a demonstrated interest and expertise in the creation, dissemination, use, 

or permanent public accessibility of electronic Government information products, and who 

would like to work with LPS on related issues and projects for the next year. 

While there is no specific starting date, we would prefer to bring new people on board 

before those currently filling the positions finish their one-year assignments. If you are 

interested in one of these positions, please contact me, Duncan, or Jay Young to arrange for an 

interview or to get more information. 

Now I want to shift to some specific initiatives and observations. 

Revising Workstation Specifications

In the spring of 1996 we issued a revised set of "Recommended Minimum Specifications 

for Public Access Work Stations in Federal Depository Libraries." These recommended 

specifications were intended to assist depository librarians who are planning purchases of new 

public access work stations capable of using most text-based FDLP electronic information 

products. We later issued a supplemental set of specifications for use with electronic spatial 

data, to run Geographic Information System (GIS) software, or to print maps from electronic 

sources. Now it’s time to revisit those specifications, and to update them to reflect 

technological changes. Lee Morey of our Electronic Transition Staff (ETS) is coordinating the 

next generation draft workstation specs. She has a draft here for you look at and get back to us 

with your comments. We've also asked the Government Information Technology Committee 

to take a look at it and give us some feedback. 

"Core Documents of Democracy" on GPO Access

A new project that I've asked Duncan Aldrich and Joe Paskoski to work on is called "Core 

Documents of Democracy" on GPO Access. It's a proposal for a basic electronic depository 

collection, one which will provide American citizens direct online access to the basic Federal 

Government documents that define our democratic society. We're thinking of a core group of 

current and historical Government publications which can be made available for free, 

permanent, public access via the GPO Access service. These titles contain information which 

is vital to the democratic process and critical to an informed electorate. They support the 

public's right to know about the essential activities of their Government. Immediate online 

access to authenticated versions of these Core Documents of Democracy increases in 

importance as Americans grow ever more dependent on remote electronic access to basic 

information resources, both past and present. I'm very interested in your reactions to this 

proposal, and your suggestions on what titles should be included. Our thinking is somewhat 

preliminary at this point, but we are using the "Core Paper Titles" list of 24 essential titles 

from the Strategic Plan as a starting point. These titles, which are vital enough that they 

should be maintained in the depository program in paper, and also vital enough that they 

should form the nucleus of the electronic core collection on GPO Access. We plan to have a 

more fully developed proposal and Web page mockups for discussions by the April Conference 

and Council meetings. 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

18 

Bound Serial Set and Congressional Record

In the House Report accompanying the FY 1997 Legislative Branch appropriations act, 

Congress directed us to change the format and distribution for the bound U.S. Congressional 

Serial Set. We have been directed to produce a CD-ROM Serial Set, and to limit the 

distribution of the bound Serial Set to regional depositories, one library in each State without a 

regional, and 13 international exchange libraries. 

In our Strategic Plan, included in the Study report, GPO took the position that both the 

Serial Set and the bound Congressional Record are "core titles" which, because of their 

historical and research value, should remain in the FDLP in paper format. We proposed that, 

at a minimum, regional depositories and one library in each of the seven States which lack a 

regional should receive both products. This distribution pattern was the existing situation for 

the bound Record, and involved a substantial cut for the Serial Set. We have repeatedly 

communicated the library community's concerns about the bound Serial Set to the Congress, 

most recently in the Public Printer's statement to the House Legislative Branch appropriations 

subcommittee at our hearing on February 11. [Text available on GPO Access and in 

Administrative Notes, v. 18, no. 4, 2/28/97] 

As you know, we conducted a survey to determine interest in purchasing the bound Serial 

Set, using the deposit account as the method of payment. To date 21 libraries have filed letters 

of intent indicating their interest in purchasing the bound Set. 

Likewise, we passed on your concerns about the bound Congressional Record, which 

Congress directed us to replace with CD-ROM. Since 1990, the bound Congressional Record 

has been distributed to each regional depository library, one depository library in each of the 

seven States which lack a regional, two depository libraries in the District of Columbia, and 

one in Puerto Rico. In total, distribution to depository libraries requires 62 bound 

Congressional Record sets. This distribution plan was proposed to the Chairman of the Joint 

Committee on Printing (JCP) in a letter from the Public Printer dated July 26, 1990, and 

approved by the JCP in the Chairman's reply dated August 7, 1990. 

“ GPO has been advised of very serious concerns within the depository library 

community about the discontinuation of the paper format bound Congressional Record in 

the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), and I want to bring these concerns to 

your attention. Depository librarians view the bound Congressional Record as an essential 

reference resource which should be maintained in the FDLP in paper format. There are 

also legitimate questions about the permanency of the CD-ROM format, from an archival 

media standpoint, as well as issues concerning computer hardware and software 

obsolescence. The depository library community considers the permanent Congressional 

Record one of the core documents of our democracy, one which should, at a minimum, be 

preserved in paper format for the free use of the public in every State. In addition, the 

bound Congressional Record Index, which is produced as part of the permanent 

Congressional Record set, has been distributed to 876 depository libraries.” 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

19 

This distribution will also be affected by the reductions directed in the FY 1997 legislative 

branch appropriations act language. Inasmuch as the $100,000 limitation on printing the 

bound CR would cover only 56 sets, it was assumed that the FDLP would get only CD-ROM. 

 We have prepared a letter for the Joint Committee on Printing apprising them of the details of 

the current bound Record distribution, and requesting direction on how the few remaining 

paper copies are to be apportioned. One solution could be that JCP might direct GPO to 

continue producing the 62 sets of the bound Record for depositories, but to accomplish this 

within existing funding. 

LPS Staffing

No doubt some of you are aware of our interest in hiring new inspectors, and in talking to 

people interested in working as Expert Consultants on temporary appointments, but I think you 

should know what the LPS staffing situation is in general. In the past year, we've lost about 

10% of our staff, from retirements or people getting hired into other areas of GPO. Mr. Carl 

Redd, long-time Chief of our Distribution Division retired in January, and he's greatly missed. 

 But we've also lost inspectors, depository line workers, a fork lift driver, microfiche 

technicians, a claims clerk, a shipping list data processor, a cataloger, and a program analyst. 

Some of these positions simply will not be refilled, and the workload must be absorbed by the 

existing staff. Other positions, especially those for professional librarians, are so specialized 

that they must be filled with outside hires. Even though we are thankful to be able to recruit 

for these jobs, the process takes a long time to complete. 

The staffing situation in LPS reflects the trend in GPO as a whole. In the mid-1970's, 

GPO employed nearly 8,500 persons. Today, we have 3,680 on board, and expect to be down 

to 3,600 by the end of the fiscal year, fewer than at any time in this century. In the past four 

years, GPO's staffing has been reduced by 25%. 

Financial Situation

Last Tuesday (Feb. 11), the Public Printer testified before the House Subcommittee on 

Legislative Branch Appropriations. For FY 1998, we are requesting $30.5 million for the four 

programs funded by the Superintendent of Documents appropriation: Depository Library 

Distribution, Cataloging and Indexing, International Exchange, and By-Law Distribution. This 

is an increase of $1.4 million, or 4.8% over the amount approved for FY 1997. Most of the 

increase is related to price level increases, pay, and related costs. Of the $30.5 million, 85% 

is for the FDLP, 12% for Cataloging and Indexing, and less that 2% each for By-Law 

Distribution and International Exchange. 

As we predicted during our planning sessions, we are seeing increases in spending related 

to expanding the capacity of the GPO Access system, acquiring, processing and mounting 

electronic source data files, and CD-ROM software licensing fees. The public testimony was 

heard on February 12, and we appreciate the support for our request expressed by Bob Oakley, 

of Georgetown University Law Library, who presented the combined statement on behalf of 

the Library Associations. At this point, of course, we don't know what the outcome of the 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

20 

appropriations process will be, but we feel confident that we will be able to continue to operate 

the FDLP and keep the electronic transition moving. 

Electronic Transition Staff Update

Remarks by Duncan Aldrich 

Electronic Transition Staff 

Library Programs Service 

U.S. Government Printing Office 

GODORT Federal Documents Task Force 

American Library Association Midwinter Meeting 

Saturday, February 15, 1997 

Washington, DC

Good morning. As you know, I am currently the team leader of the Electronic Transition 

Staff (ETS), of the Library Programs Service (LPS) at GPO. Our mission is to work with 

other GPO staff to plan and implement a successful transition of the Federal Depository 

Library Program (FDLP) into the electronic age. 

What I would like to discuss this morning are the specific projects in which my ETS 

colleagues (Lee Morey, Joe Paskoski and Sandy Schwalb) are involved. These projects can be 

divided into four general categories: 

1) pathway services 

2) partnerships 

3) FDLP Administration pages on GPO Access, and 

4) sundry other projects that seem to absorb lots of time and attention (Sort of like the 

other duties as assigned in many of your job descriptions) 

I will actually discuss these beginning with the last category, sundry projects as assigned. 

1. SUNDRY PROJECTS AS ASSIGNED 

USDA Digital Publications: Creating a Preservation Action Plan

One interesting project I am involved in is GPO’s co-sponsorship of a working conference 

to plan for the preservation of U.S. Department of Agriculture information in digital formats. 

 The meeting, scheduled for March 2-4, is being jointly sponsored by GPO, the National 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

21 

Library of Agriculture, Cornell University’s Mann Library, the Department of Agriculture’s 

Economic Research Service, and the Farm Bureau. GPO will be sending three staff members 

to the conference: Gil Baldwin, T.C. Evans and me. The Superintendent of Documents will be 

one of the key speakers. 

We have decided to participate in the USDA conference for two reasons. First, GPO will 

have the opportunity to share with conference participants GPO’s plans and concerns regarding 

permanent public access to digital Government information products, both USDA products and 

products government wide. Second, GPO staff attending the meeting will be involved for two 

days in an intense discussion on preserving digital USDA information -- this discussion will 

address the major issues associated with digital preservation that GPO is itself currently 

exploring in its own planning for permanent access. 

Department of Energy Reports in Electronic Format

As many of you know, on September 30, 1996, the Department of Energy (DOE) stopped 

distributing microfiche of between 12,000-15,000 reports from its Office of Scientific and 

Technical Information (OSTI) to the FDLP. Since early October, OSTI has been delivering to 

GPO a single image file of each report rather than sending fiche directly to the 200 plus 

libraries that select the reports. 

GPO staff continue to examine various avenues through which to make the enormous 

number of DOE reports available through the FDLP. We learned in January that a new 

director of OSTI came on board, so we have decided to contact him to discuss the continued 

partnership between GPO and DOE and alternatives for making the DOE reports available. At 

a meeting last week, Sandy Schwalb, who has been working on the DOE/OSTI project, had 

an opportunity to run into the new director of OSTI, Dr. Walter Warnick. She mentioned that 

GPO staff is interested in talking with him and I am pleased to report that we have a meeting 

set up between Dr. Warnick and Wayne Kelley, set for early in March. We plan to reopen 

some of the questions we have raised with DOE/OSTI staff over the past several months about 

how best to make this information available. 

So where are these reports now? The truth is, the DOE situation has been a very hard nut 

to crack--but we continue to brainstorm. We can hopefully soon have at least a short term 

solution to announce. 

 

Interagency Agreement with NCLIS 

In mid-December, Rep. Bill Thomas, then Chairman of the Joint Committee on Printing 

(JCP), formally approved GPO’s proposed Assessment of Standards for Creation and 

Dissemination and Permanent Access of Electronic Government Information Products. This 

assessment is, give or take a little for the passage of time, the assessment of standards that was 

recommended in the draft Transition Plan GPO published last January. The assessment will be 

conducted by the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) as per 

an Interagency Agreement approved by the Joint Committee on Printing. LPS staff , including 

Sandy Schwalb, who is the staff contact person for the assessment, have met with the 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

22 

Executive Director of NCLIS, Peter Young, on a number of occasions as he prepares to select 

a contractor to produce a Statement of Work which will define how the assessment will be 

carried out. Once the statement of work is completed, a contractor will be selected to perform 

the assessment according to the statement of work. Peter Young will be here later this 

morning to provide a brief overview of the assessment and where NCLIS is in the planning 

process. A summary of the Interagency Agreement between GPO and NCLIS is available in 

the back of the room.

2. FDLP ADMINISTRATION PAGES 

With Joe Paskoski in the lead, ETS continues to work with Robin Haun-Mohamed’s 

Depository Administration staff to enhance and expand upon pages on GPO Access which 

assist depository librarians in the ongoing administration of their collections. At this time the 

FDLP Administration site contains most major LPS publications and the FDLP Administration 

Web site has been redesigned with a new banner for each page and a more user friendly, space 

saving main page. 

Several Examples

The Item Lister is now live, out of test mode, and allows individuals to enter a depository 

library number and create an online list of the depository's current item numbers. We have 

already received a few suggestions on how to enhance Item Lister. Suggestions are always 

welcome. 

On another project we are working on the creation of a Web form system that will allow 

depositories to amend their item number selections on the Web. From the LPS perspective this 

is a great product, for as well as providing libraries a convenient mechanism for amending 

item selections, it saves the Depository Administration Branch staff many hours of keyboard 

work. An interesting side effect of this project is that it has brought together staff from various 

divisions of GPO. Hopefully additional projects will derive from this current cooperative 

effort. The tentative target for completion of this project is May, 1997, in time to incorporate 

this product into the annual selection update cycle. 

And a quick note. A new WWW page being developed at the recommendation of the 

Depository Library Council will be the Depository Library Council’s home page. Parts of this 

have begun trickling in from Susan Dow and these should soon be pieced together and hosted 

on the GPO server. 

3. PARTNERSHIPS 

Shipping Lists

Probably the best news at this time regarding the FDLP Administration page is that the 

shipping list project is now live. This project, which came about as an agreement with the 

State University of New York at Buffalo and the University of Texas at Arlington to 

collaborate with LPS on a shipping list service, provides a great segue into the discussion of 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

23 

partnerships. This is the first FDLP partnership that is oriented toward providing services to 

assist librarians in their daily depository collection management. GPO is pleased to be 

working with David Nuzzo at Buffalo and Allen Bell in Texas on this project. Their skills and 

dedication, along with the cooperation and work of LPS staff, take advantage of new electronic 

technologies to enhance FDLP capabilities. We hope to initiate similar service oriented 

partnerships in the future. 

We refer to these sorts of partnership in which enhanced services are provided to help in 

the administration of library collection as service partnerships. A second type of partnership is 

also being developed which involves partnering to provide access to Government information 

products held by FDLP libraries for remote access. I refer to these as content partnership to 

reflect the fact they provide remote access to the actual content of information products. 

UIC DOS GPO Memorandum of Understanding

I have been working with John Shuler of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and 

Colleen Hope, Director, Office of Public Communication at the Department of State (DOS), to 

establish the first content partnership with a depository library in which the library makes a 

particular Federal Government information product available for access through the program. 

What has emerged is a proposed three-way partnership between GPO, UIC and DOS. Both 

John Shuler and Colleen Hope have tentatively agreed in principle upon a draft copy of a 

three-way memorandum of understanding establishing a partnership under which UIC will hold 

for permanent access electronic information products that migrate off the Department of State’s 

Web site. As UIC will be acting as an FDLP partner, this partnership effectively captures 

these information products for permanent access through the FDLP. 

The draft memo of understanding is currently has been forwarded to the Joint Committee 

on Printing for their approval. When approved by JCP, it will be sent to UIC and DOS. 

4. PATHWAY SERVICES SUITE

Browse Topics 

Yet another way the skills of the depository library community are contributing to the 

FDLP is through the Browse Topics Pathway Service that Lee Morey of ETS coordinates. 

Browse Topics is basically a Web based version of the Subject Bibliographies series familiar to 

depository librarians. I am happy to announce that eleven librarians have responded to our 

open invitation to adopt a topic. As I look at this project it seems to me an ideal starting point 

for new professionals to get a bit of recognition, or for librarians learning to develop their own 

Web pages to have a project on which they can hone their skills. As you will see on the 

handout in the back, which is the first page submitted by one of our volunteers, credit is 

clearly given to the individual who develops and maintains the page. Thanks to Phillip 

Slatterly for volunteering this. 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

24 

Lee Morey has also been working on the Pathway Indexer. The new server is up and 

running and the service works remarkably better. On its last wander through the Internet the 

Indexer visited 809 Government Internet servers and collected 49,112 objects. 

An addition to Pathway Services we are considering, but which is only in the talking 

phase, would be called something like Browse Federal Agencies. This page would provide a 

list of all Federal agencies and subagencies having Web sites, and link users to those sites. We 

realize that several librarians have done some excellent work along these lines, so we see this 

as a possible opportunity for partnering. I will be seeking input you might have on the Browse 

Agencies idea. 

Conclusion

As you can see, ETS has been quite active in the partnering arena. As Federal agencies 

continue their migration toward producing materials in electronic formats, GPO, through LPS 

and ETS, will continue its push to ensure that the FDLP obtains these Government information 

products. 

Finally, on a more personal note--can we talk? For me this past seven months has been a 

remarkable opportunity to see how things really work in GPO, and in DC in general. While 

there has been a lot of hard work, and there are some ups and downs, the work that I have 

been involved in has for the most part been exceptionally interesting. GPO is currently 

looking for someone to replace me--no, I’m not being terminated. I would encourage anyone 

who has a glimmer of an interest to talk with Jay Young or Gil Baldwin, or with Sandy 

Morton-Schwalb or me about the positions. Sandy, who is making faces at me in the back, 

will also be winding down her GPO tour this summer. Her position is also being filled. 

Thank you. 
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25 

Depository Services Update

Remarks by Sheila M. McGarr 

Chief, Depository Services 

U.S. Government Printing Office 

GODORT Federal Documents Task Force 

American Library Association Midwinter Meeting 

Saturday, February 15, 1997 

Washington, DC

Good morning. I would like to update you on the activities of Depository Services. While 

other units of the Library Programs Service (LPS) are primarily oriented toward the processing 

and distribution of publications, the focus of Depository Services is on the functioning of the 

individual libraries and their relation with each other and GPO. 

Outreach

In conjunction with this ALA Midwinter meeting, the U.S. Government Printing Office 

(GPO) invites you to tour LPS and see a short demonstration of GPO Access services 

presented by the Office of Electronic Information Dissemination Services. There will be two 

opportunities to visit GPO, both on Tuesday, February 18, at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. with 

each session lasting about 90 minutes. An announcement of these tours appeared on 

GOVDOC-L, in the January 15 issue of Administrative Notes, and on flyers in the back of this 

room. As all visitors must be signed in at GPO and pre-registration will expedite issuing 

visitor badges, please see me at the conclusion of this program if you want to visit us. 

The 10th annual Interagency Depository Seminar is planned for May 28-June 4, 1997 in 

Washington, D.C. "New" documents staff (three years or less experience in this field) are the 

target audience for this continuing education program. Sessions are conducted by GPO, 

Bureau of the Census, Office of the Federal Register, Patent and Trademark Office, National 

Ocean Service, U.S. Geological Survey, etc. The preliminary agenda and registration form 

was announced in the October 15, 1996 Administrative Notes and again in the January 15, 

1997 issue and this information is available from the FDLP Administration page on GPO’s 

Web site. 

To date, we have received only 33 registrations while in the past we filled the room to 

capacity with 60 people. We think that the Federal Depository Conference in April is drawing 

away some attendance. There has been some informal discussion about offering the 

Interagency Depository Seminar every other year. In the meantime, there are still openings for 

"boot camp." 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

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The 6th annual Federal Depository Library Conference will be held from April 14-17, 

1997 at the Washington National Airport Hilton in Crystal City. The 50th meeting of the 

Depository Library Council will meet concurrently with the conference. The preliminary 

agenda for the conference was announced in the December 15, 1996 Administrative Notes, the 

FDLP Administration page on our Web site, and on GOVDOC-L. To date, 163 are registered 

(plus more than 40 speakers) even before the revised agenda appeared in the February 15, 

1997 Administrative Notes and on the FDLP Administration web page. Thirty-three indicate 

that they are first time attendees, 30 are new to documents (three years or less experience) and 

20 are new and first timers. The program continues to be a mixture of Federal agency 

electronic initiatives, presentations from documents librarians on their use of electronic 

Government information, bibliographic control issues, and innovative uses of the Web, and 

partnering and preservation issues. Proceedings from this conference will be issued in mid1997 in print and on our web site. 

Publications

The revised Superseded List was shipped to all depositories in October 1996. It is also 

available for downloading from the Federal Bulletin Board and the FDLP Administration web 

page. To date there has been 117 hits. There are still copies available in paper upon request. 

GPO has submitted an article for the Federal Agency Reports section for the 1997 edition 

of the Bowker Annual. GPO has been included in the 1995 and 1996 editions of this 

publication. 

The “Self-Study of a Federal Depository Library” was distributed as Federal Depository 

Library Manual Supplement 3 in October 1996. It is also available for downloading from the 

Federal Bulletin Board and the FDLP Administration web page and there have been 90 hits. 

We have already begun using the Self-Study to evaluate libraries. 

Inspection Activities 

Documents librarians and their directors, whose depository operations were last inspected 

in 1989, 1990, and a few in 1991, were notified in October 1996 to submit a self-study in 

December by fax, snail mail, or preferably e-mail. I was too ambitious and have received 

more than 150 of them to evaluate with just Gail Snider and me to do the work. In December 

and early January, I spent entirely too much time decoding reports which were UUencoded, 

Bin Hex code, using word processing software packages that no one in GPO had, etc. Some 

librarians e-mailed reports in ASCII of 800,000 bytes when the average was 50,000. I could 

not download the reports as the librarians had failed to remove images imbedded in the text. I 

was fixing margins, deleting unnecessary citations, non-applicable sections, and introductory 

material. Some libraries mailed the report on a diskette per instructions but I never got them. 

Other libraries faxed in the report then mailed another copy as well. Still others e-mailed the 

self-study then mailed lots of supplementary materials. There were even libraries which 

photocopied the Self-Study, handwrote their responses, and faxed or mailed back the 

information. Needless to say, these libraries did not report e-mail addresses and had very 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

27 

limited electronic equipment. The next time I request self-studies, snail mail is the preferred 

delivery method. 

Of the 27 self-studies requested from California and Nevada libraries, we have examined 

25; two libraries failed to submit any report. What happens to these depository library 

operations? They will be inspected and also fail the Cooperative Efforts category in the audit. 

 Only one library of 25 requested an inspection because they want to “show off” all the 

improvements made since our last on-site examination. Three of the libraries will be evaluated 

even though they submitted “good” self-studies because they have never been inspected before 

and we want a baseline for comparison. Several of the libraries are being inspected in March 

as a result of deficiencies noted in their self-studies. Each of the 25 will receive a letter with 

our recommendations for improvement. Even those we plan to inspect will receive a letter 

pointing out deficiencies, some of which can be rectified before the inspector arrives. The 

remaining 125+ self-studies will be reviewed, libraries contacted, etc., but we cannot give you 

an exact time line as the April extravaganza, May Interagency Seminar, and selecting and 

training two new inspectors will take up a lot of our time. 

Later this spring the depository libraries last inspected in 1991 in the following states will 

be notified to submit a Self-Study: Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Montana, New 

York, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming. 

As I just noted, there are two library inspector vacancies. The position announcement 

appeared on GOVDOC-L, in the January 15, 1997 Administrative Notes, and on a notice in 

the shipment boxes. The closing date for submitting applications is February 28. If any of 

you in the audience are thinking of applying, or have submitted your resume, please see me 

after the conclusion of this program. I have copies of the job announcement, position 

description, and even the application form with me. During the next few days, it may be 

possible that we can arrange some time for talking about the realities of the position, working 

for the Federal Government, living in the metro DC area, conducting an interview, etc. 

Biennial Survey 

Under Title 44, U.S.C. section 1909, "designated depository libraries shall report to the 

Superintendent of Documents at least every two years concerning their condition." Since 

1947, the Biennial Survey of Depository Libraries has been that instrument. 

In September 1997, we plan to issue the next “Biennial Survey.” While the Teleform fax 

software worked well in 1995, and it may well be used in 1997, we are investigating the 

feasibility of conducting the survey using the World Wide Web. 
AN-v18-#05-3/15/97 

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Depository Administration Branch Update

Remarks by Robin Haun-Mohamed 

Chief, Depository Administration Branch 

Library Programs Service 

U.S. Government Printing Office 

GODORT Federal Documents Task Force 

American Library Association Midwinter Meeting 

Saturday, February 15, 1997 

Washington, DC

New Electronic Services

Good morning. I am the last of the GPO speakers for this update session and I will try to 

keep this short. What a year it’s been already. In January 1997, Library Programs Service 

(LPS) instituted two new services that we hope have already made your life easier in the area 

of program administration. The new Item Lister service available off the FDLP 

Administration Web page creates a listing of active item selection numbers for a depository 

library. This listing can be viewed from the screen or downloaded for use off the Internet. 

Information on the screen also includes the total number of items selected by the profiled 

library and the library’s item selection rate based on current active item numbers. This is a 

service which must be updated with information from the DDIS database on a regular basis. 

We are currently updating the files once a month, usually around the middle of the month. 

The second new service is a breakthrough for LPS. For years I’ve heard the requests to 

put shipping list information online for libraries to use before they receive their shipment 

boxes. Shipping list information for all formats of products distributed through the Federal 

Depository Library Program (FDLP) is now available for the first time on the Federal Bulletin 

Board. LPS is also working with SUNY Buffalo and the University of Texas - Arlington to 

make shipping list information available in .html format. This site also provides depository 

libraries with a number of options to customize the shipping list to a library’s item selection 

profile. 

We are very excited about this shared partnership and urge all who have not yet had a 

chance to look at this site to take a few minutes and see how your library can utilize and build 

on the work of these fine institutions. I have brought a handout with the URL for the FBB and 

WWW sites for shipping list information that I hope will prove helpful. If you have any 

recommendations for improvement or changes, please send these along to me and we will work 

with our partners to refine the services. 
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Office Renovation

Let me also update you on the status of the big move in the Depository Administration 

Branch (DAB). Since the second week of December, our staff have been located on three 

floors and in every nook and cranny while the office where the Acquisitions & Classification 

staff are generally located has been renovated. And the results are impressive. Thanks to all 

who have been putting up with our temporary quarters. Effective Monday, all classifiers will 

have a Pentium computer with a CD-ROM drive and access to the Internet, as well as e-mail 

and mainframe access. This is such an improvement over what we have had in the past. 

During the renovation, an Internet capable computer has been more dear than gold. We still 

have a time of adjustment for many of the Publication Management Specialists as they learn to 

mine the net and focus on their agencies’ home pages and new resources. 

And beginning next week or so, the staff in the Micrographics Control Section, and the 

three Publication Management Specialists who have been focusing on fugitive documents and 

Internet products will also be moving to temporary locations while the other office room is 

repainted, recarpeted, and connected to the mainframe and the Internet. I will be joining the 

ranks of the displaced persons with this move, but my phone will be forwarded and the fax and 

e-mail will continue to operate. Once we move back into the room, I eagerly await 

introduction to that wonderful invention known as “voice mail.” 

Just a timely reminder here for operational issues. The two fax numbers, (202) 512-1636 

and 512-0877 for DAB will continue to operate during this time, both feeding into one 

machine. Please fax your claims to 512-1429. Since we had the problem with the claims fax 

machine early this fall, I continue to receive many claims over the machines in my area. It 

delays the filling of the claims as they must be batched and sent to claims for correct 

disposition. 

Claims

Increasingly I have been asked for information on how to submit claims electronically for 

depository material. At this point we do not have a claims module in place. Each of the 

individual products we have brought up play a part in the overall ability to have an effective 

electronic claims process. Some libraries are sending claims over the fax machines from the 

shipping lists site of our partners at SUNY, Buffalo and UTA, but please do not do this. The 

shipping lists do not look the same, information is often missing, as is the case with many 

claims in October where title information was not included in the service. It is acceptable to 

submit a claim via fax from the U.S. FaxWatch Service. Just be sure to handwrite your 

library’s name and address on each one submitted as that space is usually cut off on the 

FaxWatch copy. We intend to automate the claims process, but we are not prepared to 

receive, research, or fill claims as an electronic transaction at this time. 

Automated Item Selection

One of the next processes we hope to automate via the Web is the item selection changes 

for the annual update cycle. Staff in Production along with staff on the Electronics Transition 
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Staff in LPS are working on automating the green card changes via the Web. Libraries will be 

able to update their item selection profile by keying in their changes directly on the Web. 

These changes would then be batched and submitted to the Depository Distribution Information 

System (DDIS) to modify their library’s profile. Additions to a library’s profile would take 

effect after the beginning of the new fiscal year, but deletions would take effect essentially the 

next working day for paper, electronics and separates, and at the beginning of the next quarter 

for microfiche material. We are hoping to have this active for the 1998 update cycle, but are 

not yet sure if it will be ready in time. Look for further information on this in upcoming issues 

of the Administrative Notes and in the packet of material sent to each library in April for the 

annual update cycle. 

Electronic Transition

As we continue the transition to a more electronic Federal Depository Library Program, 

our staff continue to deal with policy issues and concerns as we identify them. I appreciate the 

time and effort you take to advise LPS of the problems you perceive and appreciate your 

patience as we work through these issues. Clarification of the differences between E, EL, and 

Online in the List of Classes and the Administrative Notes Technical Supplement is something 

we have been working on for a while. Essentially, “E” in the List of Classes and the 

Administrative Notes is being used to indicate the material is available in an electronic format. 

 This means products will be available only in an electronic format-- either a tangible format or 

via an Internet site. When multiple formats are listed, as in the Open File Reports, material 

may be distributed in any of the formats listed. Recent issues of the Administrative Notes 

Technical Supplement have had a number of entries with format changes as we proceed 

through the clean-up of the List of Classes. We will soon have an article in the Administrative 

Notes providing further details on this topic. 

We have begun implementing discontinuance of serial publications in a tangible format 

when a reliable, official, online version is identified. These are mainly periodical titles 

distributed in microfiche format or titles with time sensitive deadlines. You will see these in 

upcoming issues of the Administrative Notes Technical Supplement under the "Update to the 

List of Classes, Miscellaneous” column. 

Before a title is discontinued we check the current Web site to be sure older issues are 

maintained and that the new issues are complete, and we advise the agency of the change. 

Other resources that are being discontinued are titles included on a tangible product, such as 

the Energy InfoDisc. Most of these titles on the CD-ROM were distributed in a microfiche 

format. There are approximately 180 titles on the EIA disc, and while we are not 

discontinuing all of them in paper or microfiche format at this time, we are beginning to 

identify and discontinue some. There are also a few paper titles being discontinued, where we 

have been able to stop the paper issues at the end of the year or the final issue for the current 

volume. Again, these are titles with lower item selection counts, and that are posted to the 

Internet in a much more timely manner than they have been sent to the libraries in the past. 

Please be assured, we are not discontinuing titles at this time with high item selection counts, 

popular interest topics, or where it appears the agency will not maintain the material for a 
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significant period of time. If an agency is pulling the older issue when a new issue is put up, 

this title is not a candidate for conversion at this time. 

Some specific examples of titles distributed to FDLs in an electronic only format are 

Methyl Bromide Alternatives, STAT-USA: the Newsletter, BISNIS Bulletin, AFIP Letter, List 

of Serials Indexed for Online Users, Social Security Programs Throughout the World, 

Military Review, and the Postal Bulletin. Please note some of these have not been distributed 

through the program before; they are new and will only be distributed via the Internet, while 

others were distributed in microfiche and paper formats. And some of the changes to Internet 

only titles have been made by the agency, not by LPS, as in the case of the List of Serials 

Indexed for Online Users. 

Fugitive Documents and New Electronic Products

I want to thank the depository community for continuing to provide information to LPS on 

fugitive products that should be considered for inclusion in the program. In the last year we 

have seen the impact depository librarians can have on helping to obtain specific products for 

the program. For example, Big Emerging Markets, need I say more? Shortly after we met in 

New York, LPS was given sufficient copies for full paper distribution to the depository 

libraries. Hispanics-Latinos: Diverse People in a Multicultural Society; Current Population 

Reports 1995 was distributed to the libraries on shipping list 97-0128-P dated Feb. 4, 1997. 

Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790 - 1990 was distributed in late July 

1996. All three of these titles have been obtained for inclusion in the program because a 

depository librarian had an “inquiring” mind. Some of the outstanding titles we continue to 

work on obtaining for inclusion in the program include the North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS, the new SIC Manual) and the Food Code from the Department 

of Agriculture. 

I am also pleased to note the progress that has been made with some agencies that in the 

past have not provided electronic resources for distribution to the libraries, including the 

Department of Transportation, the Library of Congress, and NASA. All have been working 

with LPS to identify new electronic products that are appropriate for distribution to the 

libraries. Some of these products include CCSDS, Consultative Committee for Space Data 

Systems, Traffic Safety on CD-ROM, United States Waterway Data, Braille Book Review 

Talking Book Topics on floppy diskette, and the French Posters from World War I. 

There is one additional product I’d like to review with you today. LPS has been 

successful in obtaining source files of the Daily Treasury Statement for mounting on GPO 

Access as a test project. The product looks good and we are continuing to work with Treasury 

to develop a timeline for when the daily paper product can be discontinued. This is a 

significant achievement because GPO has obtained the source files and can control future 

retention and access policies for the electronic files. 

Libraries should have received the first issue of the FBIS on CD-ROM. We are very 

excited to have been given this opportunity to distribute this title to the libraries. But we are 

unsure if we will be able to continue this product as the software will be changing and at this 
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time GPO does not have an agreement with the software vendor to pay for the royalties 

associated with this product. As Gil discussed earlier, the costs of software royalty fees are 

increasingly becoming stumbling blocks to obtaining the material for distribution to the 

libraries. One way agencies can assist with these costs is to establish agreements with software 

companies to have the depository libraries’ copies included under the agency’s overall 

acceptance of the software package. The costs for royalties would then be paid by the 

publishing agency, thus avoiding the software stumbling block. We are working with the CIA 

to have a change made to the existing program for the FBIS on CD-ROM. If you have tried 

this product and found it helpful, please relay this information back to the agency. This 

feedback may be instrumental in continuing distribution of the product through the Program. 

Of course, sometimes this feedback can prevent a product from disappearing and 

sometimes it cannot. The 1996 CIA World Factbook will not be issued in print format; the 

CD-ROM version should be out this spring. We had hopes until earlier this week that the 

agency would be producing a paper version for 1997, but were just advised that the agency 

will not be producing the 1997 edition in paper format either. 

As Mr. Kelley discussed, the increasing movement to privatize information continues to 

present special challenges for the Acquisitions and Classification Section. We saw this begin 

several years ago with the Cancer Grams, but lately I’ve had several other inquiries on 

products and services that in the past were depository, but have now been taken over by a 

private company, thus removing the information from the public domain. In December, LPS 

was advised that the Journal of the National Cancer Institute would no longer be available for 

distribution through the FDLP. Libraries wishing to continue to receive this title will need to 

contact the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and pay to become a member of the NCI 

Information Associates Program. This is being done under a CRADA (Cooperative Research 

and Development Agreement) between the NCI and Oxford University Press-USA, Inc. 

Census investigated producing a CD-ROM version of the Historical Statistics of the United 

States, under a CRADA between the Bureau of the Census and Cambridge University Press. 

In this agreement, copies were supposed to be made available for depository libraries. 

Cambridge University Press did not make these available. The CD-ROM version is not an 

official Census product and the plans for updating the resource to include current information 

is not being done under any agreement between Cambridge University Press and the Bureau of 

the Census. 

LPS is continuing to have discussions with staff from the USGS to about the Digital Raster 

Graphic (DRG) maps in CD-ROM format. Errors were discovered in the headers for the CDROM products last summer. GPO was advised of the errors and we decided to go back and 

replicate all the issues that had already been distributed. A second set of errors was then 

discovered and at that time GPO was advised by USGS the DRGs were on hold until a decision 

could be made as to their future for the replication program. Due to budget limitations, USGS 

advised LPS earlier this fall that they would not be replicating the DRGs through GPO. USGS 

will produce a Compact Disc-Recordable ( CD-R), or "one-off" themselves as needed for 

customers of their Sales database. The DRGs will not be coming through the program for 
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replication. USGS advised LPS they would however provide a CD-R for LPS to make a 

master and replicate for distribution to the libraries. 

The economics of this decision are tremendous. There are approximately 945 CD-ROMs 

to be produced for this series. The cost of making a master of each CD-ROM is between 

$350 -$600 per master, with replication costs and distribution costs needing also to be factored 

into the equation. This is a big step backward for the transition to an electronic FDLP, and it 

is possibly the future trend for the DOQ’s and other products from USGS databases. We will 

be meeting with staff from the National Mapping Division, USGS later this month in an 

attempt to keep this vast body of material in the program. 

One positive result to pass along concerns the Environmental Health Perspectives. The 

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences advised GPO it was going to utilize its 

authority to have this product produced outside GPO by a private publisher. GPO was advised 

copies would no longer be available for distribution to the depository libraries or for inclusion 

in the Sales Program because of this change. LPS contacted the editor and verified that they 

did want to continue to provide copies for the FDLs if at all possible. We have confirmed 

paper copies will be provided for the Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) and the 

Supplement for distribution to the libraries. And sales copies will be obtained from the private 

publisher for continued inclusion in the Sales Program. As in the case of the JCNI, the EHP 

is being folded into a larger database service. At the time when the database is ready for 

release, staff from LPS and EHP will work together to provide depository access to the new 

database. 

I believe it is important to close on a positive note--with all of the changes and transition in 

progress its easy to think “my input can’t mean much,” but without the will to try we are 

already defeated. And as this last example shows, my very favorite response to librarians 

asking about fugitive documents is “it never hurts to ask!” The NOAA Tide Tables, the FBIS 

on CD-ROM, and now the Environmental Health Perspectives, have all continued to be 

distributed through the program because we asked! 
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34 

Cataloging Branch Operations Update

Remarks by Thomas A. Downing 

Chief, Cataloging Branch 

Library Programs Service 

U.S. Government Printing Office 

GODORT Cataloging Committee 

American Library Association Midwinter Meeting 

Sunday, February 16, 1997 

Washington, DC

Good morning. I am pleased to have this opportunity to provide an update on Cataloging 

Branch operations and to be available for questions during our meeting. Thank you Dena for 

inviting me to provide a review of our operations. In particular, I join others in thanking you 

for creating an opportunity for people to hear the perspectives of Steve Uthoff, our 

administrative librarian for cataloging policies, and two of our catalogers, Mike Levinson and 

Bob Luoma, regarding our Internet cataloging initiatives. 

Given a full schedule and our keen interest in hearing from Erik Jul, of OCLC, and Eliot 

Christian of USGS, and other program participants, I will try to be brief. This overview will 

include remarks concerning cataloging related activities, dissemination of Monthly Catalog 

records, and the potential use of PURLs for maintaining online access to Internet documents. 

Cataloging Operations

Since our fiscal year began in October, 1996, we have continued to witness and to become 

increasingly involved with the increased use of the Internet as a publishing medium for Federal 

agencies. Statistical information indicates a continuing decline in the number of physical forms 

with a continuing and dramatic increase in the number of titles with website locations. 

Overall, the number of titles to be cataloged has declined from previous years. Last year 

our total count for work to be cataloged was 32,102 titles. The total work processed related to 

35,425 pieces of work. Of this figure, approximately 433 titles were associated with Internet 

sites. 

In the current fiscal year, from October 1996 through the end of this January, we received 

9,904 pieces of work. Annualized projections for this figure suggest that we may receive 

approximately 29,712 pieces of work during this fiscal year. To date, we have processed 

6,874 pieces. Of this number, 5,734 titles have been cataloged. Of these titles cataloged, 

approximately 734 titles are related to Internet titles. 
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Internet Titles

Many of these 734 Internet related titles were held in save files during FY 1996 and were 

produced this fiscal year (awaiting the resolution of some GPO website related problems. 

Nonetheless, it appears that production of Internet related Monthly Catalog records during the 

first four months of this fiscal year has exceeded all Internet related records produced during 

the previous fiscal year. 

As of the present time, approximately 1,200 Monthly Catalog records contain URL data. 

Of this number approximately 50 records do not connect to sites as of the first week in 

January, 1997. While this is not a major number of problem URLs, efforts to resolve these 

URLs, either by finding a more recent URL or by determining that the title is no longer 

available via the Internet, has taken considerable time and effort. I will discuss PURLs and 

how this technology may be used later in my remarks. 

A recent review of our site indicates that approximately 112 Monthly Catalog records with 

URLs were produced for only an Internet document and are not associated with any physical 

form. Approximately 1,088 records are associated with both physical forms and Internet 

versions. 

Work to be Cataloged

At the present time, our cataloging backlog consists of approximately 3,238 titles. This 

information is based on an inventory that was conducted last Thursday, February 13th. 

Approximately 58 of these titles are Internet related. 

We currently catalog most Internet related and paper titles within approximately one week 

of receipt or notification. Microfiche and CD-ROMs continue to be cataloged within 

approximately two weeks after receipt. The backlog of Internet titles that I had reported 

during the fall meeting of the Depository Library Council has been cleared. 

We continue to focus efforts to assure that cataloging occurs soon after notification or 

receipt of titles and we maintain these objectives even as some catalogers leave or retire. 

Within the last six months, one cataloger has transferred to another organization within the 

Library Programs Service and one person has retired. We have recently posted a vacant 

cataloger position and have brought some copies of the announcement to our meeting to 

encourage interest. We may post yet another vacancy to preclude cataloging backlogs. 

With limited personnel resources, our policies for cataloging Internet related titles both 

conform to CONSER policies and make it possible for us to catalog titles soon after receipt or 

notification and to avoid major backlogs. Our policies provide electronic access via records 

with Internet related notes and hot linked URLs. I have been pleased to work with Jean 

Hirons, Acting CONSER Coordinator, and with Steve Uthoff and others in our Cataloging 

Branch in joint efforts to develop policies. 
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We have brought some copies of our policies for cataloging electronic files for your 

review. these policies are consistent with both national policies and traditional practices 

associated with the GPO Cataloging Guidelines. 

Although a number of people have contributed to developing our policies, these policies 

would not exist without Steve Uthoff's knowledge, experience, and exceptional and committed 

efforts. These policies are important documents that will guide our work for many years. 

Thank you Steve for your excellent work in this regard. In the near future, we expect to 

publish an electronic version of these policies to add to several other cataloging policies now 

available at the FDLP Administrative page. 

Given the interest in Internet publishing, I would like to take a moment and summarize our 

approach to cataloging Internet titles. 

First, we catalog Internet related titles as personnel of the Depository Administration 

Branch (DAB) notify us of titles. 

We do not devote valuable resources to surfing the net and rely on DAB personnel to 

validate electronic titles and notify us of their location, class number, and other essential 

information. 

We produce records at the full level for serials and maps and at the abridged or "K" level 

for non-serials. Records include class numbers, item numbers, and SuDocs numbers. 

If a physical form record is already available when we are notified of an Internet version, 

we update the physical form record with a note regarding Internet availability in the 530 note 

field and with a URL in the 856 field. URLs are hot-linked from our website edition of the 

Monthly Catalog. (If the physical form record is full level, we conform to OCLC instructions 

and do not remove existing information to make the record conform to "K" level 

specifications). 

If a physical form record is not available, we create a record for the electronic Internet 

title at "I" (full) or "K" level (abridged) depending upon whether or not the title is a serial. 

If a record for an electronic-only Internet title record is available and physical forms are 

issued after an electronic title has been cataloged, we update the existing record with an 074 

field (item number reflecting the format), and a 530 "other formats available note" and produce 

the record again. Such records will have multiple item numbers. 

In some instances, as in the case of a title that is very well known and of major 

importance, we may, based upon a subjective evaluation, create separate records that reflect 

such versions. 

We do not have adequate personnel resources to consistently produce separate records for 

each format of every title. We hope that people understand these limitations and find this 

approach to be suitable. In important respects, our policies for using a single record to reflect 
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Internet and physical form versions of a title is similar to our long-standing policy of using a 

single record to reflect paper and microfiche versions of the same title. 

Monthly Catalog Dissemination

Before moving on to a brief statement concerning PURLs, I would like to provide some 

information regarding the website and CD-ROM editions of the Monthly Catalog. 

Our CD-ROM edition of the Monthly Catalog has entered its second year with a 

cumulation of approximately 21,672 records. Approximately 19,382 records reflect 1996 

cataloging production and 2,290 records reflect production in January of 1997. This is our 

first combined year edition. Each issue includes Periodical Supplements for 1996 and 1997. 

We expect to publish monthly editions of several complete years of accumulated records as we 

move towards the next century. 

Also, we have another first. We now have an opportunity to include the Congressional 

Serial Set Catalog (102nd Congress) as a searchable file as part of the CD-ROM edition of the 

Monthly Catalog. If we publish the Congressional Serial Set Catalog in CD-ROM only, we 

should save approximately $30,000 to $35,000 by eliminating the paper edition. This is not a 

great sum of money, but elimination of a paper edition would help to further reduce program 

costs. We would be pleased to hear your advice with regard to this opportunity. 

Our Monthly Catalog website edition, (located at: 

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/adpos400.html), contains approximately 80,665 

records. Approximately 1,200 of these records contain hot-linked URLs. 

PURLs

No description of current operations would be complete without some mention of PURLs, 

or Persistent Uniform Resource Locators. With the significant number of Monthly Catalog 

records with URLs, PURLs are of interest to us because use of OCLC's PURLs software 

would provide us with an alternative to replacing records each time a URL within records 

changes. However, although PURLs may seem to be magic because they provide users with a 

seamless redirection to a current address, PURLs are not. We all know that, to be of value, a 

PURL server must be maintained through the efforts of those who keep URLs current. 

Not wishing to undertake a project without a thorough review of its implications for our 

limited number of staff, we are carefully reviewing how this project should be undertaken 

within the Library Programs Service. 

We appreciate Erik Jul's assistance and advice with regard to PURLs and look forward to 

continued discussions as we move in this direction. 
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Table of Contents

Item Lister Now Available on the FDLP Administration Web Site................................. 1 

Roadway Awarded Mailing Contract..................................................................... 2 

Online Registration Developed for Depository Conference .......................................... 2 

Budget of the U.S., Economic Report of the President Now On GPO Access ................... 3 

United States Bureau of Mines, 1910 - 1996............................................................ 6 

Federal Information Policy in the Electronic Era: Kelley, ALA 2/97 .............................. 8 

Electronic Transition - A Progress Report: Baldwin, ALA 2/97 ....................................11 

Electronic Transition Staff Update: Aldrich, ALA 2/97 ..............................................20 

Depository Services Update: McGarr, ALA 2/97......................................................25 

Depository Administration Branch Update: Haun-Mohamed, ALA 2/97..........................28 

Cataloging Branch Operations Update: Downing, ALA 2/97........................................34