United States Government Printing Office

May 1983

No. 59 (GP 3.27:59)

Public Documents

Highlights

10th Anniversary of Council

Isacco Elected Chairperson; Only One Resolution

Not Unanimously Passed In Variety Of Actions

New chair for the Depository Library Council is Jeanne Isacco, second from left. Other top officials are (left to

right): Steven D. Zink, chair of the Government Operations Committee; Sarah K. Peterson, vice chair of the

Council; Sandra K. Faull, chair of the Depository Library Committee, and Richard H. Nicoles, secretary of the

Council. Not pictured is Janet Swanbeck, chair of the Bibliographic Committee.

Jeanne Isacco, from North Texas

State University Library in

Denton, is the 1983-84 chairperson

of the Depository Library Council

to the PubHc Printer. She was

elected during the 10th anniversary meeting of the Council held

April 27-29 at the Sheraton National Hotel just outside of Washington, D.C.

Isacco, who had been vice-chair, succeeds Anne Watts. Elected to succeed Isacco is Sandra K. Peterson from the Earl Gregg

Swem Library at The College of William

and Mary at Williamsburg, Va. The new

secretary is Richard H. Nicoles from the

California State Library at Sacramento. New committee chairpersons are: Depository Library Systems—Sandra K.

Faull of the New Mexico State Library at Santa Fe; Bibliographic Control—Janet Swanbeck of the Texas A&M Library at College Station; and

Government Operations—Steve D. Zink of the University of Nevada Library at Reno. The fall meeting of the Council tentatively is scheduled for October 5-7 in the Wash-

(Continued on Page 6)

Highlights is 10 in May

This month marks the 10th anniversary

of Public Documents Highlights.

The first issue began ". . . as a result of a recommendation by the newly created Public Printer's Advisory Council on Depository Libraries." The CouncU, Highlights re- ported, consisted of 14 members and ". . . replaces an earlier constituted body . . . which never conducted formal meetings."

Members, in alphabetical order, included:

D. Clifton Brock, Jr., University of North

Carolina; Carper W. Buckley, former Superintendent of Documents; Eileen D. Cooke,

American Library Association; Clifford P. Crowers, Free Library of Philadelphia; Carolyn Else, Pierce County (Washington) Li- brary System; Maryellen T. Hall, Oklahoma

Department of Libraries; Bernadine E. Hoduski, USEPA, Kansas City; Charles G. LaHood, Library of Congress; Katherine

Laich, University of Southern California; Margaret T. Lane, Office of the Secretary of State of Louisiana; Jean E. Lowrie, Western

Michigan University; Ralph E. McCoy,

Southern Illinois University; Peter J. Paulson, University of the State of New York; and Catherine J. Reynolds, University of Colorado. The CouncU did not select anyone to chair the group at its first meeting. That session concentrated on micropublishing and the

roles that would be played by the Govern- ment Printing Office and the Superintendent of Documents in the development of its use.Highlights also noted the growth of GPO

Bookstores, with a total of 26 expected to be

opened. Also, it noted that Documents hired 28 new workers in the first week of March,

with 87 more expected to be employed.

{Highlights will look back over the decade from time to time.)

1
Task Force Recommends 10% Outs In Documents

Prices and Costs

Public Printer Danford L. Sawyer, Jr. has

endorsed the recommendations of a task

force he appointed last fall to develop im- proved methods of pricing and distributing Federal publications.

Sawyer told a press conference that these recommendations will make more information more accessible to the American public

in a more cost-efficient way. The recommendations call for: • A new pricing formula to be applied to publications offered for sale after October 1. The formula will apply to small publications, low demand and small quantity titles and hard copy publications reproduced on demand from microfiche. • A 10 percent reduction of cost elements

for all new publications or subscriptions of- fered for sale between now and October 1. This also applies to subscriptions scheduled

for repricing before October 1. • The use of actual commercial printing

and binding rates, or the best estimate

available, in establishing the sales price of publications produced by contractors. When

publications are produced internally, in- house rates will be used. • A new reprint policy starting October 1 calling for the Government Printing Office

to bear the costs of reprints if they are or- dered within 6 months after the Superin- tendent of Documents has purchased the

publication for sale. After 6 months, the publishing agency will bear the costs. There

will be flexibility for specific exemptions. • Adoption of a policy that hard copy

publications will be available for sale over an 18-month cycle. Once priced and in in- ventory, these publications will keep their

prices until sold or declared excess. • Endorsement of the concept of matching sales price with size of publication. • Experimenting with having contractors

fulfill orders for selected subscriptions as a

possible cost-effective alternative to internal

operations. • Approval of the Joint Committee on

Printing for GPO to acquire equipment

needed to produce hard copy on demand

from microfiche. The conversion of 90 per- cent of all Government publications to microfiche for the Depository Library and In- ternational Exchange Programs makes it possible to offer many more titles to the

public. Nearly 90 percent of all agency publications printed through the GPO currently are not selected for the sales program be- cause of limited sales potential. Many publi- cations in hard copy are removed from in- ventory because of lack of sales. Because of these factors, it is felt that microfiche on demand is a useful alternative for individual requests that could not otherwise be fulfilled. Other Programs

The recommendations of the task force complement other programs now being de- veloped in the Documents area. (See sepa- rate story elsewhere in Highlights.) Public Printer Sawyer noted there has been a cumulative $20 million loss in the

sales program during the past three fiscal years prior to Fiscal Year 1981. However, he

pointed out, he has taken a number of ac- tions which have resulted in the GPO sales program recording nearly $5 million more

in revenue than expenses for Fiscal Year

1982. These included: • Raising prices on specified publications

to reflect accurate cost; • Purging inventories of publications that were not selling; • Establishing controls over new publications; • Reducing staff by some 13 percent; and • Implementing an aggressive marketing

program. The Public Printer also announced that 12 consumer publications were being lowered

in price and being entered into the Docu- ments sales program. Sawyer further noted that overall some

publications will be reduced in price more

than others.

Public Documents Highlights is circulat- ed regularly primarily for librarians of the Federal Depository Library Program, and

mailed at first class rates. Material for use in this publication should

be sent to the Editor, Public Documents

Highlights, c/o Superintendent of Docu- ments (SD), Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20401. DANFORD L. SAWYER, JR. Public Printer of the United States MICHAEL F. DiMARIO Superintendent

of Documents

Council members are (left to right): Johanna Thompson, Nancy Johnson, Janet Swanbeck, Richard Leacy, Sarah K. Peterson, Carol Turner and Steven D. Zink.

Other Council members are (left to right): Jeanne Isacco, Sandra K. Faull, Dr. Patncia E. Reeling, Ann

Bregent, Richard H. Nicoles, Donna L. Bennett and Dennis L. Bruce.

2
JCP, GPO Officials Tell Depository Library Council

Current Problems Being Resolved, Future Exciting

(This article represents only excerpts of various remarks.)

Officials of the Government Printing

Office and the Joint Committee on Printing

told the spring meeting of the Depository

Library Council to the Pubic Printer that while current problems persist there is exciting hope for the future. This theme was established at the onset of the semi-annual conference by William J. Barrett, Deputy Public Printer, formerly the Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent

of Documents.

Barrett

Observing the 10th anniversary of the

Council, Barrett declared, "The decade from

1983 to 1993 will provide a quantum leap for

all of us. My guess is that the Government

Printing Office will be greatly transformed."

Barrett said the GPO already has under- gone a considerable transition to new tech- nology in the decade just ending. "We are already looking at video discs, and interface

gaps, and electronic communication," he as- serted. "Our linotypes and monotypes have

been replaced with sophisticated Video

Comp 500's with superb text editing sys- tems. There is every reason to believe that GPO will continue to move ahead at a rapid

pace." Turning to current problems, Barrett noted that there has been concern wdthin

the library community that GPO is planning to reduce the level of services provided

to depository libraries, or that GPO will not continue to actively pursue the acquisition of documents for distribution to such libraries.

Misunderstanding

"This is a misunderstanding based on a

decline in our recent budget request," he

explained. "We do, in fact, anticipate a $1.5 million reduction in funding requirements

for the depository library distribution pro- gram in Fiscal Year 1984. However, this re- duction will not affect the quality or quantity of services. We are simply now able to do more for less." Barrett pointed out that this reduction is possible largely because of the success of GPO's microfiche conversion program and a

decrease in the number of 1980 decennial census materials being printed. "Because of these two factors," he said, "we anticipate that our printing expenses alone will de- crease in Fiscal Year 1984 by approximately

$900,000."

He also touched on the subject of maps. He asserted that GPO has not stopped in its efforts to examine the consolidation of Federal Government map distribution through

the depository program. "We have been

meeting regularly on this," according to him, "and as soon as we receive the survey

results from the JCP we should be able to put the final touches on this program." As to the issue of an interagency agree- ment between GPO and the Department of Energy, one has been prepared, Barrett

noted. "We hope this will resolve all the

questions surrounding this issue and further

issues about material such as this wdll be more quickly resolved," he added. DiMario Notes Change

Superintendent of Documents Michael F. DiMario told the attendees that GPO is

DiMario

striving hard to resolve cataloging standards. "We have a good system in place

throughout GPO," he said, "but we are going through an enormous change in tech- nology and evolution that will result in serv- ing the public better." He added that "we

must continue to move forward." DiMario asserted that the Monthly Catalog is the best tool for all elements of the

library community despite some drawbacks

to certain segments.

He also noted a good working relationship not only vdth the JCP but also with GPO's

customer agencies. "This enables us to de- velop a unified position," he said. Turning to recommendations of a task

force appointed by Public Printer Danford

L. Sawyer, Jr. to develop improved methods

of pricing and distributing Federal Govern- ment documents, he called this a "substantial achievement" and detailed the group's

findings. (A separate story on this appears

elsewhere in Highlights.)

Kadec

Challenge By Kadec

Sarah T. Kadec, Director of the Library

Programs Service, while reviewing current

situations, issued a general challenge to the

attendees: "It is up to us to meet the chal- lenges of the future. We cannot do this by

(Continued on Page 4)

3
An attentive audience listened to the proceedings of the Council at its Spring meeting April 27-29 at the Sheraton National Hotel.

(Continuedfrom Page 3). becoming obsessed with details of our past

activities and procedures, or by living with our old programs. We must . . . determine

the future if we are to pretend to satisfy the needs of the citizens of today and tomorrow." She said a number of perennial issues had

been resolved, including:

Publications Reference File—Issued bi- monthly, it features bi-weekly updates in microfiche. "We are not typing a new shipping list for this but will include it in the next shipment," she explained.

Maps—Surveys will be conducted for geo- graphical areas to determine individual dis- tribution needs. "This could take 6 weeks to 2 months," she noted. Department of Energy Agreement—An

agreement between the GPO and the DOE

provides for microfiche versions of DOE sci- entific and technical documents to deposi- tory libraries. "These will not have

SUDOCS numbers at first, but eventually

they will be in the header," she explained.

Also, DOE will sell foreign documents separately.

Inspections—This program is being reeval- uated with a view towards redesignating in- spections as visitations or compliance re- views as soon as inspectors resume their travel after having carried out a number of

projects designed to improve internal proce- dures and general services to depository li- braries. With inspections resuming in May,

about 200 visits a year are planned, result- ing in a 7-year cycle. These would include some followups (a new idea) as well as visits to non-bylaws libraries. She explained this

meant some libraries may be visited several

times. Cooperative Cataloging—A meeting with

involved agencies is scheduled. Microfiche Conversion—Four sets of guidelines have been developed and no single one was being used for conversion decisions, she

said. Instruction 13, involving formatting, is being revised and will be strictly followed in making format decisions, she added. Administrative Notes—These will be

issued more frequently and will be more

timely. "They will reflect changes but not general programs or policy," she said. LPS Senses Concern

Noting that "the Library Programs Service senses your concerns, your needs, and

our responsibilities," Kadec listed programs and activities "I feel we must undertake to- gether over the next few years the accomplishment of both the goals of the GPO and

the depository libraries." She asserted that LPS must streamline its internal activities to assure immediate dis- tribution and processing. At the same time,

Kadec asserted that "you, the GPO, the li- brary community and the other communities of interest must examine the information descriptions and handling techniques

appropriate to this century and to this age." She listed such rhetorical questions as: What will be needed to identify and make

information readily available? What role

will Federal documents play? Is our present

system of description adequate? What

changes should be made over the next few

years?

"We can no longer continue to build tools which will not be used, to insist on patterns

of librarianship which are no longer understood, relevant or useful to the community

of users at large," she declared. Kadec envisioned extended use of data

bases as well as improved quality control. "We are developing new goals and objectives, formulating new plans and procedures

and identifying the technologies best able to support these," she concluded. JCP Regs Revised

Anthony Zagami, General Counsel of the JCP, told the group that the Printing and

Binding Regulations are being revised for the first time since 1977. A draft will be

circulated for comment by mid-summer,

with final revisions due by the end of the

year, he said. According to Zagami, several sections are being developed dealing with distribution of documents and the depository library

system because the only references to these are in Title 44 of the United States Code.

Also, there are recommendations for uni- form indexing and cataloging as well as title pages, he added.

Padgett Lists Activities Faye Padgett, Assistant Staff Director of the JCP, enumerated a long list of activities: Ad Hoc Committee on Depository Library

Access to Federal Automated Data Bases, chaired by Bernadine Hoduski. (Separate

story elsewhere in Highlights.)

Paragraph 38 of the JCP Printing and

Binding Regulations—The issue of waivers

to private publishers is being studied. More

waiver requests are coming in, and the JCP

is reviewing these. In addition, the Equal

Employment Opportunity Commission's decisions have not been printed because that agency does not have the funds. The JCP is considering a waiver for a private firm that would produce the decisions in fiche with an

index. Bookstores—The General Accounting

Office report has not yet been received at the GPO because it is being circulated for

final internal review at the GAO at this time. Documents Pricing—The General Ac- counting Office has been asked to conduct a

study of documents pricing in conjunction

with the GPO. The report will consider pri- vate sector pricing initiatives and should be

useful to the GPO in developing its revised

sales formulas, to be released in October.

(See separate story elsewhere in Highlights.)

Automated Congressional Indexing—The

first phase has been completed.

Maps—In an effort to eliminate duplications in distribution, a survey was conducted

revealing a 70 percent overlap. Of the 993

responses to the survey, 625 libraries indi- cated they wanted to receive maps, while

362 did not.

4
Ad Hoc Committee Will Study Access To Federal

Automated Data Bases For Depository Libraries

Bernadine Hoduski, staff member of the

Joint Committee on Printing, has been

named by JCP Chairman Augustus F. Hawkins to chair a newly formed Ad Hoc Committee on Depository Library Access to Federal Automated Data Bases. Congressman Hawkins said the purpose of the committee is to evaluate the feasibility and desirability of providing access to Gov- ernment information in electronic formats

to Federal depository libraries. Specifically, the committee will be asked

to determine: • What and how much Federal Govern- ment information is in electronic format? • Do depository libraries have the ability to access to the new formats? • What are the costs and benefits of pro- viding information in electronic format? The committee also will identify major

policy areas which need to be addressed to meet the intent of Title 44 of the United

States Code, which governs Federal printing, the JCP chairman explained. The

intent is to make Government information

publicly available at no cost to citizens through the depository library system, he

added.

]\lembers of the committee represent the

library community, the private sector and

Government agencies. They are, in alphabetical order: Boyd L. Alexander, House Information

Systems, Committee on House Administration, U.S. House of Representatives;

Dennis Chastain, Deputy Director, Data

Systems Services, Government Printing

Office; Margaret H. Conyngham, librarian, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, represent- ing the Special Library Association;

USIA Bookstore Scheduled

To be Relocated Soon

The GPO bookstore being relocated from

the United States Information Agency build- ing wdll become the third to be situated in a commercial setting. The new site is expected

to be within the general vicinity of the USIA location. Having been in the USIA building at 1776 Pennsylvania Ave. in downtown Washington, D.C. since April 27, 1947, this bookstore

is the third oldest in the same location. Only the main bookstore in GPO's Central

Office Complex, which opened in 1921, and

the facility at the Department of Commerce,

dating from 1946, outrank it in longevity.

Harry B. DeMaio, Director, Data Security

Programs, IBM, representing the Computers

and Business Equipment Manufacturers Association; Michael G. Garland, Chief, Data User

Services Division, Bureau of the Census; Anthony L. Harvey, Senate Committee on

Rules and Administration, U.S. Senate; Sarah T. Kadec, Director, Library Pro- grams Service, Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office; William S. Lawson, Administrator for Documentation, Patent and Trademark

Office; Richard Leacy, documents librarian, GeorBy Thomas A. Downing

Chief

Bibliographic Control Section

Depository Libraries will soon receive

copies of the Out-of-Print GPO Sales Publications Reference File (formerly entitled the Exhausted GPO Sales Publications Reference

File, or EPRF).

The title change from "Exhausted" to "Out-of-Print" was made to reflect terminol- ogy that is in keeping with library and book

trade usage. Although issued under a differ- ent title, the usefulness of this resource and

its relationship to the first issue of the EPRF remains unchanged.

The Out-of-Print GPO Sales Publications Reference File was first issued to depositories in 1980 as the EPRF, and included more than 25,000 bibliographic records that had been deleted from the GPO Sales Publications Reference File (PRF). These records represented documents that had been unavailable for sale or "exhausted" from the years 1972 through 1978. Since this initial issue, three additional

sets have been published, each of which su- persedes the previous issue and supplements

the 1980 edition. Records included in these products were deleted from the "active" PRF to assure the value of the file as a

bibliographic resource that provides access

to, and describes, currently available sales publications.

The 1983 set contains 7,171 records de- leted from the PRF between January 1979 and December 1981, as well as cumulated

data of approximately 36,000 records purged

from the PRF from January 1979 through

December 1980. This issue supplements the

gia Institute of Technology, representing the Depository Library Council to the Public

Printer; Steve Margeton, librarian, Steptoe & Johnson, representing the American Association

of Law Libraries; Joseph W. Price, Chief, Science and Technology Division, Library of Congress;

Kenyan C. Rosenberg, Associate Director,

Bibliographic and Document Services, National Technical Information Service; Judith Rowe, Associate Director, Social Science User Services, Princeton University,

representing the American Library Association; Judith Russell, Information Industry Association; and

William M. Vaden, Deputy Manager,

Technical Information Center, Department

of Energy.

1980 edition and should be retained until receipt of the 1984 edition. When used with current PRF bimonthly

issues and the 1980 edition of the EPRF, the

Out-of-Print GPO Sales Publications Refer- ence File provides access to more than

68,000 titles chosen for sale during the past

13 years. Although PRF bibliographic records are not intended to provide defini- tive descriptive cataloging, they do offer users quick and effective subject and title access to thousands of important U.S. docu- ments of frequent interest to library patrons.

Consumer Information Center

Loses Free Ag Publications

The Consumer Information Center, which

is operated by the Government Printing Office's Pueblo, Colo., facility for the General

Services Administration, no longer features

free publications from the Department of Agriculture.

The curtailment is expected to save the Department about $850,000 a year. While some free publications may be distributed by Agriculture from its own facilities, others may go on sale for the first time under a

special test pricing program later this year. These free Agriculture publications repre- sented about a fourth of the center's activity

and constitute about 95 percent of the De- partment's free publications.

Among the titles no longer for free are

four of the five most popular booklets: "How

to Buy Economically: A Food Buyer's

Guide," "Home Food Preservation," "Growing Your Own Vegetables" and "Food is More Than Something to Eat."

File of Deleted Documents Sales Publications

Are Being Issued Under New PRF Title
Depository Council Passes Variety of Resolutions

(Continuedfrom Page 1)

ington, D.C. area. Former Superintendent of Documents William J. Barrett, now Deputy

Public Printer, explained that generally the

spring meeting is held somewhere other than in the National Capital area "but was

located here because at the time it was

planned the GPO was in a financial crimch." He said relocation of spring meetings will resume in 1984. The Council passed a series of resolutions,

all but one unanimously. In an 8-6 vote fol- lowing a spirited open discussion involving

members as well as the audience, the Council approved a recommendation from the

Bibliographic Control Committee that "... GPO reverse its decision to incorporate the United States Senate's recently developed

internal numbering system in the classifica- tion of hearings and committee prints. If not

reversed, this decision will result in the

elimination of any meaningful subject shelf arrangement of this body of heavily used

materials." (THE OFFICIAL SUMMARY WILL BE

PUBLISHED WHENAVAILABLE.)

Other resolutions include: (From the Depository Library Systems

Committee)

1. The Depository Library Council recom- mends to the Public Printer that several

slide-tape modules be developed based on

various aspects of depository library services, such as acquisitions, bibliographic in- struction, cataloging, and general operations

of LPS, which could then be utilized for education and training programs. Council members and the depository library community

will cooperate in the development of the

scripts.

2. The Depository Library Council com- mends the Library Programs Service for working so diligently in developing out- standing workshops. (Workshops tentatively are scheduled for Sept. 12-15, Oct. 17-20 and Nov. 14-17.)

3. WHEREAS, the inspection program

provides professional reinforcement for the documents librarian; and

WHEREAS, the inspection program en- hances administrative support for deposi- tory library programs; and

WHEREAS, the inspection program cre- ates awareness of comparable library pro- grams and services and provides expertise

in the area of documents administration,

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the inspection program be continued on a

regular basis of every 3-5 years for all de- pository libraries.

(From the Government Operations Committee)

1. WHEREAS, the Joint Committee on

Printing is currently reviewing their printing and binding regulations; and

WHEREAS, these regulations govern de- pository libraries and the distribution of government publications; and

WHEREAS, the Government Printing

Office will be given an opportunity to review and comment upon the regulations;

and

WHEREAS, all depository libraries also have a responsibility to review and com- ment upon the regulations; and

WHEREAS, these regulations originate

with a legislative body and are, therefore, not published in the Federal Register,

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the Government Printing Office print and

distribute to depository libraries for public

comment the draft regulations as soon as the Joint Committee on Printing makes

them available.

2. While supporting and endorsing the ef- forts of the Government Printing Office to take advantage of new binding technology, we strongly recommend that the Govern- ment Printing Office resume printing essential information on the covers of the follow- ing publications (listed in priority order): List of Sections Affected: Resume printing a listing of the titles of sections affected on

the cover; Federal Register: Resume printing pages

included in each issue on the cover; Congressional Record: Resume printing pages included in each issue on the cover.

3. WHEREAS, the Depository Library

Council in resolutions from earlier meetings

has expressed support for obtaining access

of federally produced automated data bases, BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the Council endorses the Government Print- ing Office's participation in the Ad Hoc

Committee on Depository Library Access to Federal Automated Data Bases. (See separate story.)

4. The Depository Library Council encourages the efforts of the Library Programs

Services in developing a comprehensive

Automated Data Processing system which

will have internally compatible elements

with portions of the system eventually ac- cessible to depository libraries. (From the Bibliographic Control Committee)

1. Depository Library Council supports

GPO's efforts to establish cataloging priorities. Council also recommends that a state- ment of priorities be distributed to Council

for comment prior to implementation and

distribution to depository libraries.

2. Depository Library Council recom- mends that GPO investigate and report on

the use of and evaluate the continued need

for multiple document identification numbers, such as item number, SUDOC number,

stock number and Monthly Catalog entry

number, by both GPO and individual deposi- tory libraries.

3. Depository Library Council recom- mends that GPO reverse its decision to in- corporate the United States Senate's recently developed internal numbering system ....

4. Depository Library Council recom- mends that GPO distribute its classification manual to depository libraries.

5. Since the Library Programs Service is currently engaged in reviewing the level of

its cataloging. Depository Library Council recommends that GPO continue to catalog

United States Government publications in cooperation with the Library of Congress

and that GPO catalog at, or exceeding, the current level. Council also recommends con- sideration by GPO, in conjunction with the Library of Congress, of the discontinuation

of personal name authority work for all names, except those which would cause searching problems, due to their form. Council further recommends that GPO participate in the Library of Congress's pro- posed cooperative subject access program.

6

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1983 0 - 407-303