ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES

Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program

Vol. 16, no. 7 GP 3.16/3-2:16/7 May 15, 1995

Gail Snider Joins LPS as Inspector

The Library Programs Service (LPS) is pleased to announce the appointment of Gail

Snider as a Depository Library Inspector. Ms. Snider, who brings extensive library

experience to her new post, joined LPS in April, 1995. She received her MLS from the

University of Southern California. Subsequently she held library positions at Long Beach

Public Library and Information Center, Long Beach, California; and County of Los Angeles

Public Library at the Angelo M. Iacoboni Public Library in Lakewood, California, where she was the documents librarian from 1991 until March 1995.

Social Security Administration Becomes Independent Agency

The White House has announced that on April 1, 1995, the Social Security

Administration became an independent agency. The Social Security Administration was

previously under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and its publications were assigned the SuDocs class designation HE 3

.

The new SuDocs designation for publications of the Social Security Administration is SSA 1. New item numbers and class stems will be established as publications are received.

The establishment of new classes and item numbers for the Social Security Administration

publications will be announced in upcoming issues of Administrative Notes, Technical

Supplement.

Libraries currently selecting titles issued by the Social Security Administration will

continue to receive them under the corresponding class established for the independent Social

Security Administration.

The HE 3. designation will continue to be assigned to publications issued by the Social

Security Administration prior to April 1, 1995. The old classes will continue to be listed in

the List of Classes, as well, until all publications issued by the Social Security Administration

under HHS are processed by the Library Programs Service.

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6P0 Access Earns 1995 James Madison Award

[From the Newsletter, United States Government Printing Office, Office of the Public Printer, v. 19, no. 4 (Feb. -Mar. 1995)]

- GPO Access, our electronic dissemination service, has been awarded a 1995 James

Madison Award. Sponsored by the Coalition on Government Information, the Madison

Awards are presented in celebration of Freedom of Information Day, March 16th, the

birthdate of James Madison, and honor those who champion the public's right to know. The

Coalition is composed of more than 40 member organizations committed to creating public awareness of access to and dissemination of Government information.

Implemented in June 1994, the GPO Access system provides online access to the

Congressional Record, the Federal Register, the full text of all published versions of bills

introduced in Congress, the Congressional Record Index, the History of Bills, the Lobby

List, the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulations, the U.S. Code, Public Laws of the 104th

Congress, and, through the Federal Bulletin Board, more than 6,000 other files from 25

Federal agencies. In addition, the program offers 24-hour free online access to Government

information via the Internet from participating Federal depository libraries. Since its inception, citizens around the Nation have downloaded more than 750,000 Government

documents.

GPO received the Madison Award, along with several other recipients, at a ceremony

March 15, 1995, at the National Press Club. The GPO Access service was previously

honored in 1994 with a Federal Technology Leadership Award which was determined by

representatives of the General Services Administration, the Office of Management and

Budget, the Department of Defense, and Government Executive magazine.
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U.S. Fax Watch

A Free Service of the U. S. Government Printing Office

(202) 512-1716

U.S. Fax Watch made its debut in March, offering customers round-the-clock access to information on a variety of Documents sales products, electronic products and services, and

depository library locations. To use the service, customers call in from the touchtone handset

of their fax machine or a touchtone telephone, follow voice prompts to select the document

they want, and then have the information they have requested faxed back to them in minutes.

Instructions for using the service and a catalog listing available information are offered under

option 1 of the main menu. U.S. Fax Watch is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at (202) 512-1716. Information currently available from the service includes:

• Information on pricing, stock numbers and availability for Code of Federal Regulations

volumes. A listing of all 50 CFR titles, as well as listings for individual titles, are

available. These are updated weekly. Due to the frequently changing nature of this

information no comparable print product containing this information exists.

• The 200 subject bibliographies which break the sales inventory down by subject

category.

• Depository library locations broken down by telephone area code.

• A listing of U.S. Government bookstore locations.

• Promotional pieces on popular titles like the Healthy Heart Handbook for Women.

• Information on GPO Access and the Federal Bulletin Board. •

• A list of important customer telephone and fax service numbers.

• Ordering information, such as instructions on how to establish a standing order or deposit

Each caller is limited to 5 documents. In addition, the system cannot support calls from

customers outside of the United States or Canada. Suggestions for improving the service, or

requests for adding other items to the available offerings, can be faxed to the Fax Watch

manager at (202) 512-1658.

account.
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From Vision to Reality:

Electronic Developments for Depository Libraries

Remarks by J.D. Young, Director, Library Programs Service

before the

Depository Library Council to the Public Printer, and the

Federal Depository Conference

Monday, April 10, 1995

Good morning. I would also like to welcome you to this plenary session of the Spring

meeting of the Depository Library Council and the fourth annual Federal Depository

Conference. The Conference continues to evolve, as this is the first year in which we've had

the combined update sessions for both audiences. We believe this approach will maximize

the usefulness of your time in Washington, by letting us address both audiences together. Let

me remind you that the next Depository Library Council Meeting will be in Memphis,

Tennessee, October 16 -18. We will be meeting in the East Memphis Hilton hotel, and

there's a handout in the back with the details.

Let me take a moment to introduce the new appointments to the Council. If you are

here, please stand. They are:

• Eliot Christian, Chief, Data and Information Management Staff, Information

Systems Division, U.S. Geological Survey. Eliot is the creator of GILS, the new

Government Information Locator System.

• Dan Clemmer, Head Librarian, U.S. Department of State Library. Dan is being

reappointed, having filled a vacancy for one year.

• David Hoffman, recently retired Director of Library Services, State Library of

Pennsylvania. David has filled a one year vacancy and is being reappointed to fill a two year term created by the upcoming resignation of Maggie Parhamovich.

Maggie is resigning because she is joining us at GPO on a temporary one year

appointment.

• Lynn Walshak, Head, Government Documents Department, Zach Henderson

Library, Georgia Southern University;

• Anne Watts, Coordinator, Information and Technology Services, St. Louis Public

Library; and

• Dr. Richard Hume Werking, Director, Nimitz Library, Associate Dean and

Professor of History, U.S. Naval Academy.

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In February, at the American Library Association Midwinter meeting I outlined our

vision of what the electronic future may hold for the Federal Depository Library Program

(FDLP) and the Cataloging and Indexing Program, and that together we have embarked on a thoughtful period of transition to expand the use of electronic media. As I stated at Midwinter, there are some significant challenges facing our transition to the electronic

information age. I want to reiterate those challenges here because I feel that it is important

that we understand together what we have to do.

More than I have ever thought before, I see the FDLP as a partnership, and it is because

of the electronic highway. With paper and microfiche there is a physical break in the

process. We mail you the material and access to it is your responsibility. But with GPO

Access online there is a direct connection between GPO, the library and the user. We now

have to provide continuous user support; we can't just batch claims and inquiries to work

when convenient to us. We also must have continuous system development and maintenance,

which will increase dramatically with new services such as the Locator service and on- demand delivery.

And your role is changing also, to much more of an intermediary. Before, you could at least assume that library users could read. Now, with electronic access, there is much

greater immediacy and many users are going to need a lot of help. Also your libraries are going to need additional equipment and technical capability.

But I believe that this connectivity strengthens our partnership, and in fact, is the strength

of our Program. It is the 1,391 sites around the country, ultimately all connected in a network and serving the public that will make our Program what I have been referring to as the Government Information Infrastructure for the Nation. I want to enjoin all of us to think

of ourselves, position ourselves, and promote ourselves, in that light. That is why we need

all depositories connected to GPO Access quickly, as we will then actually have that

nationwide network. I hope that all of you who are already connected will exert peer

pressure and offer assistance to those who are not.

So, with that as the broad goal, and operating within a very challenging political

environment as Mr. DiMario outlined, here are the six specific challenges I referred to

earlier.

Key Transition Challenges

1 . The first challenge is that there will be a need to catalog and distribute both traditional

and electronic formats of information products which serve the needs of diverse user groups.

So, there will have to be duplication which will impact our budget. Of course, depository

library budgets will also be affected as they have to provide access in multiple formats.

2. A second challenge is that both political and financial trends dictate moving rapidly

toward on-demand delivery of Government information products through depository libraries.

Such delivery, in either image or full text format, offers potential future economies for both

libraries and GPO.

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3. Third, the very nature of electronic information offers the capability to extend the

delivery of Government information beyond the walls of depository libraries into schools,

offices, and homes. Thus, we have an opportunity to provide more broad-based and

equitable access than ever before.

4. -The fourth challenge is that with the rapid proliferation of Government information

published on bulletin boards, Internet servers, and CD-ROMs, there must be an increased

emphasis on the content and usability of electronic information.

5. Fifth, there is a need to reliably maintain certain electronic information for continuing

public access should the originating agency no longer make it available.

6. And, sixth, there is a need for direct assistance to the public in identifying, locating and

sorting through the exploding universe of Government information.

As I see it, our tasks to meet these challenges and effect this transition center in three areas:

• Maintaining the traditional program support functions: acquisitions, classification,

format conversion, distribution, cataloging, and inspecting.

• Providing the capabilities to deliver electronic information to depository libraries and

thus the public; and

• Developing and providing the support services and tools depository librarians need to more effectively perform an intermediary role of assisting the public through the

electronic maze.

GPO's electronic delivery capabilities and support services for depository libraries are being developed under authority of P.L. 103-40, the GPO Access Act. The GPO Access

services include the Locator Service, the online interactive system, the storage facility, and

the Federal Bulletin Board. It is my view that depository libraries will be the primary users of these services. Therefore, much of their funding will ultimately come from the Salaries

and Expenses Appropriation for the Superintendent of Documents. This is consistent with our use of these funds to underwrite free public access to Government information, and, as a

result, depository libraries and the users they serve will have access to these services without

charge. As a corollary, depository library considerations will be accorded greater weight at the design stage for new services, as we strive for designs which encourage free public use.

On-demand Delivery

Clearly, on-demand delivery will become one of the most critical elements of the

depository program of the future. In the near term we are grappling with defining, planning,

and designing this service. This is an exceptionally complex set of issues, and we need to have the input of Council and the library community in the process. We need better

information on the needs, expectations, and capabilities of depositories.

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Obviously, we must move rapidly toward electronic on-demand delivery. In fact, some

key members of Congress have expressed interest in having all depository materials delivered

in electronic formats as soon as possible.

However, we believe, as I'm sure do most of you, that this is clearly a situation which

we -must approach with care and thoughtfulness. Of course on-demand electronic delivery

offers potential future economies for both libraries and GPO. But electronic formats are not

preferable in every case. Nor is there any apparent consensus or standardization about the

file format or structure of stored or warehoused electronic information. I use "warehoused"

because of a promotion for a seminar that just came across my desk, titled "Building the Data

Warehouse." A main point of the seminar is that you can't buy a turnkey solution, you must

build a data warehouse one brick at a time.

We recognize this and intend to conduct a study and subsequent analysis of libraries'

requirements for on-demand delivery service. The results of this research will help us

establish some core attributes for the service, which can be incorporated in a facility design.

At this point, we lack basic cost or performance benchmarks to assess various technical

solutions. However the on-demand service is operated, it should be more timely, easier to use, and less expensive than the microfiche it may ultimately replace.

An initial test application that we are considering is an electronic image version of the

complete U.S. Congressional Serial Set. As you might imagine, there are enough technical

issues inherent in this one product to assess different delivery strategies, image formats, and

so forth.

Public Access via Gateways

Our "Model Gateway Libraries" program extends the use of GPO Access beyond the

walls of depository libraries into schools, offices, and homes.

Participating depository libraries can become gateways using the library's own computer

resources or through an arrangement with a state or local public network. We now have nine

gateway sites available to the public; with the most recent additions being the University of

North Carolina, Ursinus College in Pennsylvania, Case Western Reserve University in Ohio,

and Georgetown University here in Washington. Our next Council Chair, Dan O'Mahony

from Brown University in Rhode Island, has advised us that the Ocean State Free Net should

be open with GPO Access within the month, and we have several more sites that are nearing

completion of their gateways. Directions for how to connect to the various gateways are included on the handout with the gateway coverage map.

Our initial goal is to have at least one gateway library in every state, in order to minimize the distance penalty for remote users. So far, over 85 depositories have

approached GPO expressing interest in becoming "Model Gateway Libraries" to offer the use

of GPO Access to remote public users. If every one of these libraries is able to develop a gateway we would have outlets in 47 states, Washington, DC, and the Virgin Islands. So

we're still looking for additional libraries willing to become gateways, especially in Hawaii,

Nebraska, and Wisconsin.

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Wayne, Judy and I made a presentation to COSLA yesterday, the Chief Officers of State

Library Agencies, and, in particular, we encouraged them to support and coordinate gateway

efforts in their states We also passed on information about the Depository Program and the

things we are doing and Judy demonstrated GPO Access.

Expanding Program Visibility

We realize that not every depository is going to develop a gateway, but our Program does already have

nearly 500 public service outlets for the GPO Access

online information, a fact that is not widely known. We

don't want this electronic depository system to become

another of our well-kept secrets. We are working to see

that this change does not happen: to let the public know

that this resource is out there in every state, so that

Congress will know that online Government information

is available in their districts; and to recognize the

commitment and expertise of the libraries who have

elected to offer GPO Access to the public. I'm pleased U.S. Government information...

to show for the first time the new logo of the electronic ELECTRONICALLY

Federal Depository Library Program. Each library that

registers for GPO Access will receive a certificate

recognizing their achievement and decals with this logo for their institution. The new logo

decals and certificates should be out between now and ALA. We will also notify the

Representative from each electronic library's district, and their Senators, as well as the

media.

We also appreciate the hard work that Council has put in, especially Cynthia Etkin, in

gaining and assembling testimonials from the public as to the value of the program. These

should be effective in demonstrating that this program is a vital national asset. The brochure

that Council has put together using the testimonials is excellent, and we hope that you will use them in your local publicity efforts.

Another effort I advised you of recently via GOVDOC-L, that we hope will promote

awareness of the depository libraries, is our participation in the upcoming electronic open

meeting entitled "People and Their Governments in the Information Age," which will run from Monday, May 1 to Sunday, May 14. This meeting is sponsored by Office of

Management and Budget (OMB), the National Telecommunications and Information

Administration (NTIA), the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), and the National

Performance Review (NPR). GPO is participating by providing pre-conference registration

and general information through our GPO Access User Support Team.

The electronic open meeting is intended to elicit public opinion and discussion about the use of information technology by government, and the public's expectations for an electronic

government. The meeting will be conducted entirely through our nation's electronic

networks including: the World Wide Web, newsgroups, e-mail listservs, commercial on-line

providers, Public Access Sites, and dial-up bulletin board connection. NTIS' FedWorld will

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open five e-mail discussion groups, each hosted by one or more experts, who will provide an

introductory statement to initiate the discussion and who will also take part in the discussion.

Where we are seeking the participation of depositories is to volunteer to serve as Public

Access Sites. A primary goal of the meeting is to enable as many Americans as possible to participate in the dialogue. This includes people who do not have a computer or access to the Internet. In order to ensure participation by the "unconnected," various organizations are needed to volunteer as Public Access Sites.

In order to serve as a Public Access Site, an institution should be:

• Willing to make computer facilities available, free-of-charge, to the general public on

a full or part-time basis throughout the two-week meeting.

• Able to access Internet e-mail, newsgroups, or World Wide Web.

• Willing to publicize the institution's participation as a Public Access Point to the local

media and community, in order to generate participation.

• Willing to be listed in a national directory of Public Access Sites that will be made

available to the public and press, before and during the meeting.

We realize that some libraries may have a liability concern with allowing the public to have direct input from their e-mail address. One solution, suggested by Jack Sulzer when I first mentioned this conference to him, is to set up a public access workstation with word

processing software installed, let the person who wants to participate compose their message,

and later upload those messages to the conference site in a batch. I'm sure that others of you

have thought of more ideas by now, so please share those with Jack and he will pass them on

to this group and I will post them to GOVDOC-L.

«

I want to encourage all depositories to support and participate in this national electronic

open meeting. This is a terrific opportunity to increase the visibility of depository libraries

and to demonstrate their role and value in the electronic government discourse.

Locator Service

Elements of the GPO Locator Service will soon be opened up to all depositories for

testing and comment. We intend to provide users finding aids for both traditional and

electronic information products for the depository libraries. Our locator service contains

records about Government information products available from GPO sources and will provide

a central registry of information resources in other Federal agencies and a gateway to many

of those resources. For traditional products, records from the Monthly Catalog are linked to the depository libraries that actually received the publications. The locator will direct the user to a depository library in his/her area where the document can be found or the user can buy a document listed in the Sales Publication Reference File. Judy Russell will demonstrate

the initial applications of Prototype Locator Service on Wednesday and Thursday, at 11:00

each morning.

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The Locator Service is a basic point-of-entry tool for depository librarians to find

published Government information resources. However, additional work is needed to identify and track information products that agencies make available via the Internet.

By now you will have received a notice from the Department of Energy announcing the

availability of the DoE Reports Bibliographic Database, which contains records for the DoE

scientific and technical reports distributed to depository libraries in microfiche since January

1994. This database, which will soon be accessible from the GPO Locator Service, is available from the DoE/OSTI Web home page. DoE representatives will demo this database

during tomorrow's TechWorld session.

Ultimately, the Locator Service, regardless of whether it's a stand-alone application or

incorporated into a home page, should be able to identify Government information resources from four sources:

• identify documents in our Sales Program, and assist the user in ordering what they

find;

• identify publications which are in depository libraries, and direct the user to the

nearest library;

• identify files available on-demand from GPO. These will most likely be

Congressional materials and agency electronic publications which will not be

changing,

• identify, point to, and connect with Government information resources available via

Internet. These will most likely be bibliographic files, and content databases that are

subject to change and update and must be maintained by the originating agency.

Pathfinder Services

We believe it is our role to provide depository libraries with the tools necessary to be

experts in assisting the public in using Government information available via the Internet. To

this end, we intend to develop a "Pathfinder Service." This new service will be built in

consultation with the depository community. The purpose will be to bring order out of the

chaos of rapidly expanding Federal Government electronic information available over the

Internet, on bulletin boards and on CD-ROM. Development of the Pathfinder falls under

GPO's mandate to collect and catalogue U.S. Government publications. It will be a unique

product for several reasons:

• Government information is constantly being added and deleted from gophers, servers, and bulletin boards. Therefore this service will be dynamic, changing every day and

require constant updates.

• We will focus the service on the needs of depository librarians who are acting as intermediaries for the American public in search of electronic Government

information.

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• We will use the expertise and experience of Government documents librarians to build

the portion of the Pathfinder Service which gives users important information on the uses and applications of specific documents at various locations.

• GPO will maintain and operate the Pathfinder Service, provide training and do the

necessary liaison work with Federal publishers. In our outreach to Federal publishers

we will stress the value of a nationwide network of libraries making use of their

information, promotion of the availability of their materials, and feedback on the

importance and usefulness of their data.

We are in the process of adding to our development team two librarians

from the depository community to help

plan and build the Pathfinder. They

will be in temporary positions, not to exceed one year. The first will be

Maggie Parhamovich who will be

coming on board in July. Maggie will

help us find a second person who is willing to uproot their life for a year

and work with us. A couple of other personnel notes. We have been fortunate enough to hire two

experienced documents librarians to join our inspection team. Carole Callard from the

Library of Michigan, and Gail Snider from Iacoboni Public Library, County of Los Angeles.

Would you two please stand and wave? Carole is observing inspections, and should be ready

to solo by June. Gail just joined us last week, so she has a training period to go through.

I also have to tell you that Steve Gray, who has managed our Micrographics Section for

the past two and a half years has been promoted out of LPS. Steve is moving into GPO's

Employee Relations Area, and although we're pleased for him personally, it's a loss to LPS.

Robin Haun-Mohamed is in the process of breaking in his replacement, Nick Ellis, who has

been around our office for a long time, but will be learning about the micrographics business.

Traditional Services

At this point, I want to shift gears and give you a very brief "traditional services"

update.

We are continuing with our efforts to develop a CD-ROM edition of the Monthly

Catalog. Tad Downing and the Cataloging Branch are working with GPO's Production

Services staff testing appropriate retrieval software packages for bibliographic data. We are looking at the second test disc now and will keep you apprised of these developments. Of

course, if the CD MoCat is to save costs, its appearance must be coordinated with the

downsizing of the printed catalog. We appreciate the work that Council has done to collect

feedback on LPS' proposals for streamlining the print MoCat, and we plan to prototype a

/ also have to tell you that Steve Gray,

who has managed our Micrographics

Section for the past two and a half

years has been promoted out of LPS...

[HJis replacement, Nick Ellis. . . will be

learning about the micrographics

business.

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slimmed-down print edition soon. Tad has prepared a detailed report on Cataloging and

Indexing activities which Council members have and there are copies available for pickup.

For the first time, effective with this annual selection update cycle, regionals will be able

to deselect one of the formats of dual-format items. This means regionals will need to pay

extra attention to the selection update process this spring. We hope this option is responsive

to your requests to reduce some of the burdens on regionals, as well as reducing the costs

associated with duplication of content in regional depository collections. If a regional does

not respond to the update survey, you will continue to receive both formats, when these

changes go into effect after October 1, 1995.

By June 1, 1995, a new contract will be in place to convert to microfiche the bound

volumes of the Congressional Record from 1985 to the present. As you are aware,

microfiche conversion was discontinued after the 1984 volumes because the Record was being

tested for distribution in CD-ROM format. We plan to begin conversion with the 1985

volumes and ultimately to bring the microfiche conversion in line with the paper production

of the bound volumes. It is estimated it will cost $650,000 to complete the conversion of the

back volumes. As the time lag since selection and distribution has been so long, libraries

will be surveyed later this month to insure that we have an accurate count for distribution this

summer.

I'm sure that many of you have encountered problems with separates shipments over the

past few months. In December 1994 LPS' mailing service contract was awarded to the low

bidder, a local firm which specializes in employing handicapped workers. Under the terms

of the contract, the contractor is required to perform a variety of manual functions associated

with preparation and mailing of publications to depositories. There was a complete preaward survey but so far, the contractor has shipped improperly collated material, has not

followed routine instructions, and several large shipments have been delayed. During the

past two months, 50% of your claims were for publications handled by this contractor, and in

fact one entire shipment of Public Laws is being redistributed by LPS due to contractor

errors. We have worked repeatedly with the contractor to resolve these problems, and in the

last meeting, the company was placed on official notice by GPO's contracting officer that if service does not improve within 30 days their contract will be terminated.

The Depository Distribution Division recently purchased and installed the TanData

InMotion parcel manifest system, a major improvement to the Lighted Bin System. The new

system automatically scans the bar-coded shipping label on each box, and using a combination of box weight and zip code, determines which bulk shipment carrier will deliver

that package at the lowest cost. Besides saving shipping costs, the new system reduces the

amount of human labor needed and speeds up the process of getting your shipments on the

way. Those of you who opt for a tour of LPS tomorrow will see this new equipment in

action at the end of the Lighted Bin System line.

I thank you and look forward to the Council meeting and the conference.

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Responses to Depository Library Council

Recommendations From the 1994 Fall Meeting

Policy Issues

1. RECOMMENDATION: Monthly Catalog

Council recommends that GPO proceed to develop a CD-ROM version of the Monthly

Catalog. This is viewed as an eventual replacement for the microfiche edition.

Council has received the report "Data Elements to be Included in Future Issues of the Printed

MoCat Catalog." Council requests that this document be promptly disseminated for comment

to depository libraries and appropriate library associations. Further, Council recommends

that subscribers of the Monthly Catalog through the GPO Sales Program be sent letters indicating that a format change is forthcoming and offer them an opportunity to provide input on the changes. Although Council's Monthly Catalog Working Group has already received

comments on MoCat format and data element issues, it has not yet had an opportunity to review the new document. Council requests that comments received on this document be

forwarded to members of the Monthly Catalog Working Group, which will respond prior to or at the Spring Depository Library Council meeting.

Response:

We appreciate Council's interest in a CD-ROM edition of the Monthly Catalog and in

modifying the paper edition of the Monthly Catalog. Acting on Council's

recommendation, we are developing a prototype CD-ROM edition of the Monthly

Catalog.

Steve Uthoff's article, "Proposals Unveiled to Reduce Size of the Printed Monthly

Catalog" was published in the December 15, 1994 edition (Vol. 15, no. 16) of

Administrative Notes.

2. RECOMMENDATION: GPO Access Database Enhancements

Although Council recognizes the advantage of immediately inserting page numbers in the

electronic version of the Federal Register, the confusion to users which is likely to ensue would outweigh the advantages. Therefore, Council recommends delaying the insertion of

page numbers in the Federal Register until January 1995.

Council recommends that a mechanism be developed to indicate additions and deletions in the

Congressional bills database of GPO Access. This mechanism should allow the added/deleted

language to be conveniently searched.

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Response:

The page numbers for the Federal Register and Congressional Record were added to the

GPO Access databases effective with the first issue of 1995 as recommended by the

Council.

A new scheme is being used for tagging inserted and deleted text in the ASCII text version of the GPO Access database of Congressional Bills for the 104th Congress.

Inserted text, which appears in print in italic type, is preceded by a tag < INSERTED

and followed by a tag < /INSERTED > . Similarly, deleted text, which appears in print

as cancelled type, is preceded by a tag < DELETED > and followed by a tag

< /DELETED > . If multiple paragraphs of text are inserted or deleted, the appropriate

tag appears at the beginning and end of each paragraph. Otherwise, the tags appear

before and after the inserted or deleted word or phrase. This new tagging scheme makes

both inserted and deleted text readily identifiable by a user and fully searchable as recommended by the Council. The Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF)

files are available for all published versions of bills in order to provide users with the

ability to view and print typeset copies. The PDF files represent inserted and deleted

text exactly as it is represented in the printed versions of the bills. It is not possible to retroactively insert page numbers into the 1993 Record and register databases, or to create retrospective PDF files.

3. RECOMMENDATION: NASA Thesaurus Terms

Council recommends that GPO move forward with its "Proposal to Use NASA Thesaurus

Terms from the Online NASA/RECON Records on GPO Monthly Catalog Records.

Response:

We appreciate Council's support of this initiative. We have trained catalogers as necessary, and implemented these new procedures in February, 1995.

4. RECOMMENDATION: Item Selection Surveys

Council welcomes the return to the use of formal item surveys for new item selections and

the resumption of distribution of item number cards. Council trusts that the implementation

of the teleform fax system for item surveys will reduce the time required for item surveys.

Council urges that the interim practice of adding new titles to existing item numbers be used

only when absolutely necessary for time sensitive and/or unanticipated items.

Response:

Library Program Service (LPS) resumed distribution of item selection surveys for new

publications with the distribution of Item Survey 94-001 in December, 1994. More than

800 libraries faxed their responses to LPS by January 27, 1994, in order to add the new

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publications listed on the survey. This information has been uploaded into the

Depository Distribution Information System (DDIS) to amend the library's item selection

profile. Also distributed with the survey was a "clip-art" style item number card. DAB

staff has reviewed the libraries response to the survey done under the Teleform program.

These new processes should allow LPS to resume distributing new item surveys to the

. libraries on a regular basis.

5. RECOMMENDATION: Serial Set

Council recommends that the "Report of the Serial Set Study Group" be distributed as widely

as possible, but at least to those libraries that select the Serial Set in either paper or microfiche format. Council further recommends that the report be posted on the Federal

Bulletin Board with as many appendices as is practical.

Although Council awaits depository comments on this Report, Council recommends that

several of the near term action items be implemented as soon as possible so that immediate

cost savings may be realized. The following near term action items recommended for

adoption are consistent with previous Council recommendations:

Shift from manual binding to machine (book-flow)

binding for the bound Serial Set

Investigation of commercial procurement of Serial

Set binding services

Undertake an operations analysis of the Serial Set

collating process in GPO Binding Division

Regardless of the final decision with regard to suitable formats for depository distribution, it seems appropriate to begin the process of developing electronic versions of the Serial Set. Council concurs with near term action item E which urges congressional publishers to provide digital copy for every Report and Document they submit to GPO for printing,

starting with the 104th Congress. It is already planned that GPO will provide access to House and Senate Reports and is working toward adding documents under the GPO Access

Service

Further, Council recommends that GPO develop a prototype Serial Set CD-ROM. Council

urges GPO/JCP to request input from the depository library community on the selection and

development of software for the Serial Set CD-ROM.

Response:

The "Report of the Serial Set Study Group" was distributed to all libraries in March,

1995. The Public Printer has assigned responsibility for implementing the near-term

action items to the Congressional Printing Management Division. Members of the Serial

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Set Study Group will continue to be a resource in developing plans to carry out the

recommendations

.

Development of a prototype Serial Set CD-ROM will proceed as the Congressional

publishers are able to provide digital copy for the "Reports" and "Documents." It is anticipated that at a minimum the House and Senate Reports will be included on the

initial product. We will keep Council informed of further developments as this project

proceeds.

6. RECOMMENDATION: Self-Study In The Inspection Process

Council recommends that GPO's proposal to use a self-study questionnaire in the inspection

process be implemented. The draft self-study questionnaire should be published in

Administrative Notes and comments on the form should be solicited.

Response:

The draft self-study questionnaire for the inspection process was published in

Administrative Notes, vol. 15, #15, November 25, 1994, pp. 22-37 and posted on the

GOVDOC-L listserv. Comments from the depository community were solicited through

December 31, 1994. Depository Services staff reviewed and incorporated comments and

will issue a second draft of the self-study in Spring 1995.

7. RECOMMENDATION: Training

Council commends GPO for taking opportunities to provide training on GPO Access to groups of librarians and other users, both in Washington, DC and in the field. Council urges

the GPO staff to continue these initiatives and to explore other opportunities to assist

librarians to gain proficiency in the use of GPO's electronic products.

Response:

Numerous training sessions have been held, with the most recent in Washington, D.C.

on March 14, Chicago on April 3 and 4, and Dallas on April 5. Additional personnel

are being trained to conduct training sessions and it appears that there is no shortage of

opportunities.

8. RECOMMENDATION: Documentation and Support for Electronic Products

In order to ensure that government information produced by GPO in electronic formats is accessible to users, Council recommends that GPO provide appropriate support and

documentation for its products. The documentation should fully describe the product or

service and include contents and instructions for finding, downloading, or printing the

information. Depository librarians should be informed of technical and software updates.

Examples of support for electronic products could include tutorials, help screens, quick

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reference guides, and help desks. Furthermore, GPO should encourage other issuing

agencies to provide a high level of user support for their electronic products disseminated

through the Federal Depository Library Program.

Response:

GPO concurs with this recommendation, and agrees that electronic products should be

easy to use and operate for the end-users. All online services operated by GPO,

including the Federal Bulletin Board and GPO Access services, currently have User

Manuals available. GPO has customized, to the extent possible, help screens and other

aspects of the client software for these online services. The GPO Access User Support

Team is available from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays (except Federal holidays) to assist users. In addition, the plans for the GPO Access Phase II online service includes a

tutorial. GPO places a high priority on creating electronic products that are easy to use. We will continue to improve and expand the documentation and user support for our own

products to the extent that our resources permit.

While GPO cannot require other agencies to provide the same level of documentation and

support for their own electronic products that are distributed to Federal depository

libraries, we do actively encourage agencies to do so. EIDS staff participate in classes to train agency personnel in the development of CD-ROM products and in many individual

meetings with agency personnel who are developing electronic products. We emphasize

the importance of software selection, good documentation and user support.

Many of the products that GPO currently distributes in CD-ROM already provide very

detailed information on system requirements, program installation, and operating

procedures. Most include printed manuals and/or README files on the CD-ROM.

Some of the publishing agencies offer user support, and EIDS maintains a list of those user support contacts for all sales titles. We do not have access to comparable

information for other CD-ROM titles, beyond what is submitted to us for publication in

the SIGCAT CD-ROM compendium.

There is considerable variation in the retrieval software used on CD-ROM titles published by Federal agencies. Some of the software products selected by agencies are more intuitive or self-instructing than others. Often agencies select software for products

that is primarily for internal use or for a specific constituency, and depository

requirements are secondary. However, EIDS encourages agencies to understand that

selecting software appropriate for depository and general public use benefits all of their users. In addition, the GPO Access Phase II software procurement calls for a common

user interface for online and CD-ROM services. We believe that this will be appealing

to many agencies and that it will encourage them to use the new retrieval software for

their CD-ROM titles, even if their information is not online through GPO.

GPO will continue to work internally and along with other agencies to improve

accessibility and utility of electronic products that are disseminated to the public through

the Federal Depository Library Program.

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9. RECOMMENDATION: Communication with Administrators

Council urges that GPO communicate its vision of the capabilities of and technological

requirements for providing government information in electronic formats, to key groups of

library and institution administrators (e.g., COSLA, ARL directors, information systems

managers, etc.) as well as individual administrators who determine operating budgets or

allocation of grant funds, or are responsible for requesting library or agency budgets.

Response:

Based on our discussions at the Fall, 1994, Council meeting, we have made several

efforts to reach out to library directors and administrators. A letter from the

Superintendent of Documents, dated January 4, 1995, was sent to every director of a depository library. This letter articulated GPO's vision of the impact of electronic

information on depository libraries, and encouraged directors to ensure that their

depositories were adequately staffed and equipped to meet the challenge.

This letter also invited the directors to attend a special presentation on "the Federal

Depository Library Program and its Electronic Future," which was held at the American

Library Association Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia. This presentation, which was

held in cooperation with ALA GODORT, attracted over 150 attendees.

LPS also updated and reissued the "Recommended Minimum Technical Guidelines for

Depository Libraries," in the January 15, 1995 issue of Administrative Notes. The

revised "guidelines" emphasized Internet readiness, and will support use of the emerging

National Information Infrastructure.

We will also be speaking at the next meeting of the Chief Officers of State Library

Agencies, (COSLA) on April 9, 1995.

These and other high-level contacts have been used to broadcast GPO's vision of the

electronic future, and have resulted in numerous expressions of interest from library

administrators, particularly about the "Model Gateway Libraries" program.

10. RECOMMENDATION: Gateway Services

Council commends the GPO for its timely support of gateways to GPO Access and for

cooperating with existing state and local agencies or networks to develop the gateways.

Council also encourages the development of additional gateways to meet the needs of the user community. Council further commends the GPO for increasing from one to ten the number

of free subscriptions to GPO Access allowed each depository library.

Response:

In October, 1994 GPO announced the expanded availability of the GPO Access online

services for depository libraries, including the "Model Gateway Libraries" program.

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Depositories may now offer the use of the GPO Access online system to the public at differing levels of service. In brief, these may be characterized as:

On-site service for users on workstations within the library. The basics of the GPO

Access online services and the expansion effort were expressed in the October 17, 1994

- letter from the Superintendent of Documents. This letter described the general

requirements for no-fee use of GPO Access.

Extended on-site service, for users on networked workstations on the campus.

Typically, this level of service is exemplified by registering a server supporting

networked users within the campus community. We now have 445 libraries providing

on-site use of GPO Access.

Gateway services, for off-site public users with remote workstations, which are connected to the depository gateway via modem or Internet. The "Model Gateway

Library" program makes the GPO Access online system available to off-site users. In

this context, off-site is defined as beyond your campus or institutional boundaries, not

simply from outside the library's walls. A gateway allows remote users not permanently

linked to the library's server to 24-hour access to the GPO server.

As of March 14, 1995, we had 8 gateways operating, and some half-dozen more in

the development or testing phase. GPO's near-term goal is to have at least one gateway

up in each state by the end of FY 1995. So far, we have had expressions of gateway

interest from 44 states, DC, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In the long run, we want to minimize the distance penalty for rural users, and work with state networks and other

partners to increase the area of coverage in which a user can reach a gateway with a

local phone call.

11. RECOMMENDATION: Council Membership

Council commends the Public Printer for appointing new Council members prior to the

Spring meeting which facilitated orientation for new members.

Council recommends that future appointments continue to reflect the diversity of libraries in

the Federal Depository Library Program, government information providers, and interested

constituents which will enable Council to be informed on a variety of issues and opinions

affecting Federal information.

Response:

The GPO concurs with this recommendation.

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12. RECOMMENDATION: Fall 1995 Meeting Site

Council weighed the following criteria in recommending a site for the Fall 1995 meeting.

state that has never before hosted a Council meeting

area with a concentration of depository libraries ease of transportation arrangements to the site as a potential site for a hearing on the FDLP

—Council member be local to assist in logistics

-opportunity to invite key Members of Congress

Based on these criteria, Council recommends that the Fall 1995 meeting be held in one of the

following areas (local contact people in parenthesis):

Anchorage, AK (Wilda Marston)

Lexington or Louisville, KY (Cindy Etkin)

Nashville, TN (Cindy Etkin)

Raleigh-Durham, NC (Bobby Wynn)

(Additionally, the KY and TN sites would permit Council to invite staff from the Owensboro

Storage Facility and/or the developers of the locator to participate in the meeting.)

Response:

The Fall 1995 meeting of the DLC will be held in Memphis, Tennessee, October 16-18,

1995. Unlike the other areas, Memphis has a number of hotels available during this time

of the year, and they will honor government rates. The city is centrally located and has an international airport with good service from anywhere in the country.

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Library Programs Service Directory

Revised April 1995

Voice Fax E-mail

DIRECTOR'S OFFICE

James Young 202-512-1114 202-512-1432 direclps@access . digex . net

Gil Baldwin 202-512-1002 202-512-1432 manage@access . digex . net

William Thompson 202-512-1125 202-512-1432 staf1 lps@access . digex . net

CATALOGING BRANCH

Tad Downing 202-512-1121 202-512-1432 catlps@access . digex . net

DEPOSITORY ADMINISTRATION BRANCH

Robin HaunMohamed

202-512-1071 202-512-1636 chiefdab@access .digex . net

Mike Clark 202-512-1619 202-512-1636 staf1 dab@access . digex . net

Nick Ellis 202-512-1060 202-512-1636 lpsmail@access . digex . net

Laurie Hall 202-512-1153 202-512-1636 staf3dab@access . digex . net

Earl Lewter 202-512-1063 202-512-1636 acqclass@access . digex . net

DEPOSITORY SERVICES STAFF

Sheila McGarr 202-512-1119 202-512-1432 inspect@access . digex . net

Greta Boeringer 202-512-1122 202-512-1432 inspect@access . digex . net

Carole Callard 202-512-1123 202-512-1432 inspect@access . digex . net

Joseph Paskoski 202-512-1122 202-512-1432 inspect@access .digex . net

Gail Snider 202-512-0883 202-512-1432 inspect@access . digex . net

DISTRIBUTION DIVISION

Carl Redd 202-512-1014 202-512-1432 lpsmail@access . digex . net

Colleen Davis 202-512-1007 202-512-1429

(actual claims

only)

202-512-1432

(other messages)

lpsmail@access . digex . net

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Table of Contents

Gail Snider Joins LPS as Inspector 1 Social Security Administration Becomes Independent Agency 1 GPO Access Earns 1995 James Madison Award 2

U.S. Fax Watch: A Free Service of the U.S. Government Printing Office . 3

From Vision to Reality: Electronic Developments for Depository Libraries - Remarks by J.D. Young 4

Responses to Fall 1994 Council Recommendations 13

Library Programs Service Directory, Revised April 1995 21

Administrative Notes is published in Washington, DC by the Superintendent of

Documents, Library Programs Service, Government Printing Office, for the staffs of U.S. Federal Depository Libraries. It is published on the 15th day of each month; some months have additional issues. Postmaster send address changes to: The Editor, Administrative Notes

U.S. Government Printing Office

Library Programs Service, SLLD

Washington, D.C. 20401

Editor: Marian W. MacGilvray (202) 512-1130

22