Administrative Notes 

Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program

Vol. 20, no. 15 GP 3.16/3-2:20/15 October 15, 1999 

13th Annual Interagency Depository Seminar 

Announced for May-June 2000 

The 13th Annual Interagency Depository Seminar will be held in Washington, DC from May 31 

through June 7, 2000. The weeklong seminar will consist of an overview of various agencies' 

information products and activities as they relate to Federal depository libraries. The seminar is 

being presented by many Federal agencies, including: 

 Bureau of the Census 

 Copyright Office 

 Library of Congress 

 Office of the Federal Register 

 Patent and Trademark Office 

 Government Printing Office 

and more to be announced. 

The Interagency Depository Seminar is the most comprehensive introduction to U.S. 

Government information now offered (see the attached schedule of events). It is aimed at 

documents staff with basic working experience in a depository. In the twelve years that it has 

been offered, the seminar has been very popular with the Federal documents community. As 

attendance must be limited to sixty participants, preference will be given to those who have not 

previously attended the seminar and whose libraries are located outside the Washington, DC 

metropolitan area. 

Costs for the seminar are being kept as low as possible. A $17.00 registration fee will be the 

only charge which covers coffee and donuts in the morning and sodas in the afternoon. 

Librarians attending the seminar must cover their own travel and subsistence expenses, as no 

government funds are available for that purpose. 

Prospective attendees should complete the registration form and mail it, along with a check 

for $17.00 made out to "GPO Cafeteria Service" and postdated after January 1, 2000 to the 

Library Programs Service by March 13, 2000. Librarians who are officially registered for the 

seminar will be notified first by telephone and then by mail after March 13. If you have any 

questions about the seminar, please contact the Chief, Library Division, by telephone on (202) 

512-1119; by fax on (202) 512-1432; or by e-mail at <smcgarr@gpo.gov>. 
AN-v20-#15-10/15/99 

13th Annual Interagency Depository Seminar

Preliminary Agenda 

Tuesday, May 30, 2000

There will be an informal get-together of seminar participants in the large meeting room of the 

St. James Hotel at 6:00 p.m. Librarians will be able to meet some colleagues and Depository 

Services staff in an informal setting. Those who are interested may enjoy dining together. 

Wednesday, May 31 

Government Printing Office 

The Library Programs Service (LPS) of the Government Printing Office will host the first day of 

the seminar. LPS staff will be available to answer questions about how GPO acquires, classifies, 

catalogs, and distributes depository publications. LPS staff will also discuss writing the selfstudy and responsibilities of Federal depositories. There will be a comprehensive tour of the 

LPS facility and an opportunity to network. 

Thursday, June 1 

Federal Register 

This morning’s program, on the Federal regulatory system, is presented by the Office of the 

Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration. The workshop covers 

the rulemaking process, including the relationship between laws and regulations; the important 

elements of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations; using the finding aids of 

the Federal Register/CFR publication system; and an overview of electronic access to certain 

publications of the OFR. 

GPO Access 

In the afternoon, GPO's Office of Electronic Information Dissemination Services will 

demonstrate the variety of GPO Access on-line services, including the Federal Register, 

Congressional Record, U.S. Code, Congressional bills, and other databases. 

Friday, June 2

In the morning, four different Federal agency representatives will discuss their products, 

services, and electronic initiatives. 

Library of Congress 

In the afternoon, the Serial and Government Publications Division will conduct a tour of its 

operation, including the government publications stacks and reference. There will be a 

presentation on the National Digital Library activities. 

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Monday, June 5 

Bureau of the Census 

Staff of the Census Bureau will present a preliminary product preview of the 2000 Census, 

American Community Survey, the 1997 Economic Census, American Fact Finder, and 

demonstrate maps from the 2000 Census. Bureau staff will provide a variety of handouts and 

answer questions about the availability and uses of Census data. 

Tuesday, June 6

Intellectual Property 

A full day workshop will cover the basics of intellectual property: patents, trademarks and 

copyrights, featuring speakers from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Copyright 

Office of the Library of Congress. Attendees will learn to differentiate between three types of 

Federal protection for intellectual property and the methods by which this information is 

accessed by the public. Publications and search methods, where applicable, will also be 

discussed. 

Wednesday, June 7 

In the morning, representatives from three Federal agencies will discuss their products, services, 

and electronic initiatives. 

The seminar will conclude at noon. 

Presentations during the seminar week will be held in the Carl Hayden Room of the main 

building of the Government Printing Office and the Library of Congress. Presentations will 

begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. and will last until 4:00 p.m., unless otherwise stated in a detailed 

program supplied to the registrants in April 2000. All participants are expected to attend all 

presentations. 

Accommodations

As May and June are peak tourist periods for Washington, accommodations can be very hard to 

find. A block of suites has been reserved for seminar participants at the St. James Hotel. The 

hotel is located at 950 24th Street NW, Washington, DC. This hotel is in a good section of the 

city, one block from the Foggy Bottom Metro station. Attendees can take the Metro train from 

Washington’s Reagan National Airport to the hotel and to Union Station, which is about a block 

from GPO. The Library of Congress can be reached by Metro or by walking from GPO. 

A suite (bedroom, kitchen complete with china and cookware, and dining area) is available for 

the government rate of $132.00 per night for single or double occupancy. The extra person 

charge for triple occupancy is $20.00. The rate includes complimentary continental breakfast 

and use of the hotel’s fitness center. The room rate is subject to additional Washington, DC 

taxes that are currently 14.5%. Overnight parking is $17.00. If you wish to reserve a suite at the 

St. James Hotel, you should call as soon as a seminar reservation is confirmed by GPO. Hotel 

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4 

reservations must be made no later than April 14, 2000. After that date, suites will be subject 

to availability at the best available rate. If you choose to make other hotel arrangements, be sure 

the hotel is near a subway stop for ease of transportation to and from seminar sites. 

The phone number of the reservation desk at the St. James Hotel is (202) 457-0500 or (800) 852-

8512. Please tell the reservation clerk that you are attending the GPO seminar and quote the 

above room rate. If you are interested in sharing a suite with 1 or 2 librarians attending the 

seminar, Sheila McGarr at LPS will try to match up roommates. You may contact her by 

telephone on (202) 512-1119 or via e-mail at <smcgarr@gpo.gov>. 

2000 Interagency Depository Seminar 

REGISTRATION FORM

Mail to: Chief, Library Division Mail by: March 13, 2000

Library Programs Service (SLLD) 

U.S. Government Printing Office 

Washington, DC 20401 

 I would like to attend the May 31 - June 7, 2000 Interagency Depository Seminar. 

I need lodging and will contact the hotel directly. 

I have not previously attended this GPO-sponsored seminar. 

Enclosed is my check for $17.00 payable to "GPO Cafeteria Service." 

Please type or print clearly: 

_____________ 

Depository # 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Name 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Institution Name 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Library Name 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Street Address 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

City/State/Zip Code+4 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Telephone (include area code) 

________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Internet E-mail Address 
AN-v20-#15-10/15/99 

Options Offered on Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Some depository libraries receive two copies of the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, one 

through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) and the second from the Federal 

Domestic Assistance Catalog Staff. Libraries receiving a second copy may wish to change its 

format from paper to CD-ROM, or stop receiving the second copy altogether. 

The General Services Administration (GSA), which mails the copies for the Federal Domestic 

Assistance Catalog Staff, is updating its mailing list for this title. All recipients of a second copy 

of the Catalog should indicate their choice on the form below and return it directly to GSA. 

Note: This form applies only to the second copy supplied by the Federal Domestic Assistance 

Catalog Staff. It does not affect the selection of the FDLP copy. 

Any questions should be directed to: A. Jerald Varner, Marketing Specialist, GSA 

<Jerry.Varner@gsa.gov>. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Mail to: 

GSA/OGP/MVS 

300 Seventh Street SW 

Reporters Building, Room 101-F 

Washington, DC 20407 

I wish to choose the following option: 

___ Discontinue sending the Catalog Staff CFDA copy. 

___ Replace Catalog Staff CFDA copy with the CD-ROM version. 

___ We desire no change. 

Contact: _____________________________ Tel #: (____)____________ 

Name of Library: _____________________________________________ 

Address: ____________________________________________________ 

 ____________________________________________________ 

City, State, Zip Code: __________________________________________ 

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13 Direct Mail Titles Now Distributed in Regular Shipments

Beginning in October, 1999, some “direct mail” titles will instead be placed in regular depository 

shipments. Previously, in the interest of timeliness, these titles were sent to depository libraries 

directly from contractors or from GPO's printing plant to depositories via first or second class 

mail. However, more timely access is now provided for most of the affected titles, as they are 

available electronically on the date of issuance from GPO Access, the Federal Bulletin Board, or 

Federal agency Internet sites. This access is part of GPO’s transition to a more electronic 

Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). 

The change in distribution for the 13 affected titles will produce substantial savings in postage 

costs, which have risen to an estimated $1 million annually for the direct mail titles, while the 

appropriation that funds the FDLP has remained essentially static. 

As printing contracts are amended, starting in October 1999, LPS will include the titles (see 

Direct Mail Discontinued List, below) on the Depository Shipping List and distribute them in the 

regular shipment boxes. Claims for these tangible products will be handled in the same way as 

other materials on shipping lists. A few titles (see Direct Mail Continued List, below) and paid 

subscriptions will not be affected by this action. 

Direct Mail Discontinued List: 

Title SuDoc # Item # URL 

Business America 

[temporarily suspended by 

agency] 

C 61.18: 0127-A http://www.ita.doc.gov/bizam/ 

Commerce Business Daily C 1.76: 0231-G-03 http://cbdnet.access.gpo.gov/ 

index.html 

Morbidity & Mortality 

Weekly Report 

HE 20.7009: 0508-A http://www2.cdc.gov/mmwr/ 

Federal Register[paper] AE 2.106: 0573-C (P) http://www.access.gpo.gov/ 

su_docs/aces/aces140.html 

List of CFR Sections 

Affected [paper] 

AE 2.106/2: 0573-C (P) http://www.access.gpo.gov/ 

nara/lsa/aboutlsa.html 

Weekly Compilation of 

Presidential Documents 

AE 2.109: 0577-A http://www.access.gpo.gov/ 

nara/nara003.html 

Federal Highway 

Administration Register 

TD 2.71: 0678-A 

Dispatch S 1.3/5: 0864 http://www.state.gov/www/ 

publications/dispatch/ 

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Daily Treasury Statement T 63.113/2-2: 0923-A-02 http://fedbbs.access.gpo.gov/ 

dailys.htm 

Monthly Statement of the 

Public Debt 

T 63.215: 0970-A-11 http://www.publicdebt.treas. 

gov/opd/opddload.htm 

Monthly Treasury Statement T 63.113/2: 0923-A-02 http://www.fms.treas.gov/mts/ 

Internal Revenue Bulletin T 22.23: 0957 http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/ 

prod/bus_info/bullet.html 

Congressional Record 

[paper] 

X 1.1/A: 0994-B (P) http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_ 

docs/aces/aces150.html 

Direct Mail Continued List: 

Title SuDoc # Item # 

FERC Statutes and Regulations E 2.18: 0438-C-01 

FERC Reports E 2.17: 0438-C 

Federal Register [microfiche] AE 2.106: 0573-D (MF) 

List of CFR Sections Affected [microfiche] AE 2.106/2: 0573-D (MF) 

Congressional Record [microfiche] X 1.1/A: 0994-C (MF) 

New GPO Access User Survey Solicits Your Suggestions

GPO invites you to share your comments about GPO Access through our new user survey. Are 

you able to find the information and resources that you need through our online service? Let us 

know. Is there a database that you think should be added to GPO Access? Suggest it here. How 

are we doing? We want your opinions and suggestions! 

In addition, share a little bit about yourself, such as your professional affiliation, usage 

frequency, type of computer, and connection speed, so that we can further improve our products 

and services by tailoring them to your interests and technological capabilities. 

The survey is available online at <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/survey99.html>. It is also 

linked from the GPO Access home page at <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/index.html>. 

Please take a few minutes to provide GPO with your valuable feedback on GPO Access—and 

encourage your coworkers, staff, and patrons to do the same. Surveys must be returned by 

December 15, 1999. Thank you! 

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New Software for National Trade Data Bank (NTDB)

Beginning with the November 1999 issue, the NTDB CD-ROMs will be supplied with new Y2K 

compliant software from Enigma, Inc. LPS will continue to pay the single workstation licensing 

fees on behalf of depository libraries in FY 2000. Any depositories wishing to purchase 

additional access should contact STAT-USA directly at the STAT-USA Customer Service 

Center (800-STAT-USA). After 2000, LPS will apply the funds previously used for licensing 

fees to purchase additional depository access to the Internet service, phasing the CDs out of the 

Federal Depository Library Program. 

Availability Records for Serials Discontinued 

The Library Programs Service (LPS) advises tape vendors and the many libraries that load GPO 

produced records in their Online Public Access Catalogs (OPACs) that effective October 1, 

1999, the Cataloging Branch, Library Programs Service, will cease producing availability 

records. 

As of October, GPO will no longer produce records that represent specific issues of annual or 

semi-annual publications or multi-part works. Instead, GPO maintains, updates, and creates, as 

appropriate, records that represent serials irrespective of the frequency of issue. 

This change should eliminate confusion caused by the production of piece level records for 

serials issued semi-annually and less frequently but not for those issued three or more times per 

year. Application of a uniform standard for bibliographic control of all serials will be most 

noticeable in the year 2001, when all serials will be represented within the Serials Supplement, 

the successor to the Periodicals Supplement. The last issue of the Periodicals Supplement, to be 

published in the year 2000, will include only titles issued three or more times per year. 

A uniform practice for bibliographic control of serials has been established in consultation with 

the Depository Library Council to the Public Printer, the Cataloging Distribution Service of the 

Library of Congress, the Cataloging Committee of the Government Documents Round Table, 

American Library Association, and commercial tape vendors. Questions may be directed to Ms. 

Betty Jones, Chief, Cataloging Section 2, on (202) 512-1516, extension 30589; by fax on (202) 

512-1432; or by e-mail <bjones@gpo.gov>. 

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STAT-USA Announces New National Trade Data Bank 

[Announcement supplied by the Department of Commerce.] 

STAT-USA is working on replacement software for the National Trade Data Bank. We selected 

software from Enigma, Inc. which will allow us to provide most documents in their original 

format. Users of the product may extract documents and copy them in their native format or in a 

format that retains most if not all of the original formatting characteristics. Based upon our 

survey of all documents, the formats supported by the new software are Microsoft Word, Rich 

Text Format (RTF), Excel, Frame Maker, and PDF. This change will allow agencies to include 

highly formatted documents that may contain embedded graphics, etc. 

The software is not strictly an Internet browser but it does have characteristics similar to 

browsers. This should minimize the learning curve required to effectively use the new product. 

The impact of this new software will also be felt on STAT-USA/Internet where we will start 

distributing formatted documents as well. Our Internet service has been hindered for years by 

the limitations imposed by the NTDB CD-ROM. These limitations are expected to go away with 

the advent of the Enigma software. 

One change that will be felt is that we plan to remove the merchandise trade statistics from the 

NTDB CD-ROM. Treatment of these data on the USA Trade CD-ROM is superior to any 

possible format we reviewed. We now encourage customers to obtain the USA Trade CD. USA 

Trade is already a depository item which many libraries have selected. We will also start to 

examine a new on-line version of the Ivation software found on USA Trade with the idea of 

distributing the trade data through the Internet. We expect to make a decision about this option 

by the end of the year. 

Timetable 

STAT-USA will debut a beta copy of the new NTDB in early October. Production will start 

with the November issue. Because of changes in the content, we hope to accelerate the 

production to a date much earlier in the month. For example, the November issue should be 

available within the first week of the month. 

Questions? 

For technical questions, please contact Joe Correia <joe.correia@mail.doc.gov.>. 

Questions of a more policy nature may be sent to Ken Rogers, Director, STAT-USA 

<ken.rogers@mail.doc.gov.>. 

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Michael F. Dimario 

Public Printer 

Prepared Statement before the Subcommittee on Technology 

Committee on Science 

House of Representatives 

On 

The Department of Commerce’s Plan to Terminate the 

National Technical Information Service 

Tuesday, September 14, 1999 

Madame Chairwoman and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to 

participate in this review of the Department of Commerce’s plan to terminate the National 

Technical Information Service (NTIS). 

Government Printing Office 

As Public Printer, I am chief executive officer of the Government Printing Office (GPO). GPO’s 

operations are authorized by Title 44 of the U.S. Code. Our mission for more than a century has 

been to print, bind, and distribute the publications of the Congress and Federal departments and 

agencies. We have performed that mission using electronic printing and information 

technologies for nearly a generation. In 1993, our mission was amended by Congress to include 

statutory responsibility to provide online access to the Congressional Record, the Federal 

Register, and other Government publications. Today, our online service, GPO Access (at 

www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs) is one of the largest and most heavily used Federal web sites. 

GPO currently has a workforce of approximately 3,300 skilled individuals in printing, 

procurement, electronic information technologies, documents dissemination, administrative, and 

related specialties. Most of our workforce is located in Washington, DC. We also have 20 

procurement offices and 24 GPO bookstores nationwide. 

Unlike most Federal agencies, GPO operates on a businesslike revolving fund. We are 

reimbursed by our customers for the cost of work performed. In FY 1998, GPO’s revenues 

totaled $723 million, yielding net income of $1.4 million. Approximately 15 percent of our 

annual revenues are derived from two appropriations that we receive through the Legislative 

Branch Appropriations Act: the Congressional Printing and Binding Appropriation, which 

covers the cost of work for Congress ($74.5 million in FY 1999), and the Salaries and Expenses 

Appropriation of the Superintendent of Documents ($29.3 million), which primarily pays for the 

cost of disseminating Government information to Federal depository libraries. For FY 1998, we 

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received an “unqualified”—or clean—opinion on our finances in an audit by KPMG Peat 

Marwick, working under contract with the General Accounting Office. 

GPO’s Information Dissemination Programs 

We have a long-established responsibility for disseminating Federal Government information 

that in fact pre-dates NTIS. Under the Superintendent of Documents—an official appointed by 

the Public Printer—GPO operates several major dissemination programs. The largest is our 

documents sales program, which is authorized by chapter 17 of Title 44. The program offers 

about 12,000 titles for sale. Major bestsellers include IRS tax publications, health publications 

produced by the Department of Health and Human Services, publications about the Government 

such as the U.S. Government Manual, and a wide variety of other information produced by 

Congress and Federal agencies. With few exceptions, the titles are obtained by the program from 

the work that GPO produces or procures, and include publications in both print and electronic 

(CD-ROM) formats. Publication prices are established according to a statutory formula. 

Publications can be ordered via phone, fax, the Internet, or through our bookstores. The sales 

program operates entirely from sales revenues and does not receive any appropriated funds. In 

FY 1998, the program sold approximately 19.1 million copies, generating revenues of $60.1 

million. 

Another major dissemination program is the Federal depository library program (FDLP), which 

is authorized by chapter 19 of Title 44. With origins that date to 1813, the FDLP in reality is 

America’s first “freedom of information” program. The FDLP distributes Government 

publications to Federal depositories in approximately 1,350 public, academic, law, and Federal 

agency libraries nationwide. There is a depository library in nearly every congressional district. 

The libraries are designated as depositories by Senators and Representatives as well as by law. 

GPO makes available to the libraries copies of all Government publications that are not purely of 

an administrative nature, cooperatively sponsored, or classified for reasons of national security. 

Publications sent to the libraries are funded by the Salaries and Expenses Appropriation of the 

Superintendent of Documents if they are produced by or through GPO (agencies must pay the 

cost of producing the publications if they are produced elsewhere than GPO, and GPO pays for 

the distribution costs). In return for receiving the publications, the libraries make them available 

to the public without charge and provide necessary services, including storing the publications, 

assisting the public in locating information, and related services. Some estimates put the library 

community’s share of the program at approximately $10.00 for every $1.00 spent by the Salaries 

and Expenses Appropriation. Depository collections are used by tens of thousands of students, 

researchers, businesspersons, academicians, and others every week. 

The majority of the depository libraries are selective depositories, which tailor their Government 

publications accessions to local needs, choosing from among 7,000 organizational and series 

categories. Fifty-three libraries, or roughly one per state (depending on size and resources, some 

States have no regional libraries while others have more than one), are regional depository 

libraries and receive every publication distributed by the program. They are required to retain 

the publications indefinitely, providing permanent public access to these resources. Regional 

libraries also provide inter-library loan and related services to other depository libraries in their 

regions. In FY 1998, GPO distributed 14.4 million copies of more than 40,000 titles to 

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depository libraries. Since 1994, when GPO Access began operations, the FDLP has been 

moving to an increasingly electronic basis. We estimate that approximately 47 percent of all 

titles that are currently available to the libraries are in electronic format. 

Under other provisions of Title 44, we catalog and index Government publications, an important 

ancillary function that helps the public locate information products and services; provide 

reimbursable distribution services for Federal agencies; distribute publications to recipients 

designated by law; and distribute U.S. Government publications to foreign governments which 

agree to send copies of their official publications to the Library of Congress 

GPO Access 

Our long-standing information dissemination programs are supplemented by GPO Access, which 

is authorized by chapter 41 of Title 44, enacted by Congress as P.L. 103-40. GPO Access is one 

of the few Government web sites established by law and one of the longest running. It is 

virtually the only Government web site that provides easy, one-stop access to information from 

all three branches of the Federal Government. GPO Access is available without charge to all 

users. Originally, we were authorized by P.L. 103-40 to provide free online access only to 

depository libraries and to charge reasonable fees to all other users. However, the expense of 

administering an online subscription system, the advent of the World Wide Web, and strong 

public expectations for free online access to tax-payer funded Government information led us to 

abandon efforts to collect fees. Today, GPO Access is funded principally through the Salaries 

and Expenses Appropriation of the Superintendent of Documents. (I would add that the cost of 

this service is a fraction of what was originally projected in the committee report on P.L. 103-40, 

due to technology changes and improvements since its inception.) GPO Access makes more 

than 100,000 individual titles available electronically from its own servers, and provides links to 

an additional 60,000 titles on other Federal web sites. Since the system began operation in 1994, 

the public has retrieved more than 400 million documents from GPO Access. Monthly 

document retrievals today average more than 20 million. 

NTIS 

Last Wednesday, I met with Department of Commerce officials at their request to hear their 

plans for the future of NTIS activities. We agreed to participate further with them in their 

planning for the disposition of NTIS activities. At this point in time, however, due to the 

absence of a specific plan for those activities, or of specific legislative language, there is little on 

which GPO can base detailed comments. Accordingly, all I am able to provide this 

Subcommittee with today are some general thoughts on the matter. 

Continued Viability of NTIS Collection. I think the NTIS collection has significant value to 

the public. (I refer to the assemblage of titles as a “collection” and not an “archive” because, like 

a library collection, it has ongoing use.) Input we have seen from the library community and the 

Federal scientific and technical agencies takes the same position. The NTIS collection represents 

a single point of public sales access to this information. While increasingly the collection 

includes documents in electronic format, its paper-format documents are still used. There still 

appear to be a number of sales of older titles. For persons without access to computers, or for 

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those for whom downloading a lengthy technical report is burdensome, on-demand reproduction 

of these materials appears to provide a cost-effective method of dissemination. 

Is there a future for this central collection given the increase in web postings of STI? I would 

say there is. The increase in web postings is a situation that everyone in the Government 

information community—disseminators and users alike—is facing. We are confronting it in the 

FDLP. An increasing amount of the information made available to depository libraries is in 

electronic format. We have been discussing measures with the library community about how 

best—in this electronic era—to ensure that depository libraries are provided with access to all of 

the information that should be in the FDLP, whatever the format. Regardless of whether this 

discussion results in a requirement that agencies must notify GPO whenever a document that is 

eligible for inclusion in the FDLP is published on the web, or increased investment in an 

information-harvesting capability for the FDLP, it is clear that new approaches need to be 

devised for maintaining accessions for any collection in a web environment. Currently, both 

GPO and NTIS are proactively harvesting the web, seeking electronic publications on agency 

web sites that would be appropriate to their collections. 

There are other reasons that a central collection of STI continues to be viable and necessary in a 

web-based environment. We are finding—and the library and user communities are finding—

that with the increase in web postings there is a growing need to provide assistance to 

Government information users to locate what they want. The burgeoning use of the Internet 

increases the need for locator and pathway services, and for the management of Internet-based 

documents as a collection. We have adopted an electronic collection plan for the management of 

information products in the FDLP. The public needs the same kind of management and services 

for the STI collection that currently resides at NTIS. The public should not have to experience 

confusion and frustration in finding Government information on the web. Since 1813, the 

Government has utilized libraries to provide the public with assistance in finding Government 

information. The same concept of assistance should be applied to web-based documents. That 

assistance is most cost-effectively provided through a centrally-managed collection of 

information. 

In addition, the public needs the assurance that STI made available over the web will continue to 

be made available on a permanent basis. In the web environment, documents are put up and 

taken down by Federal agencies virtually at random. Without a policy of permanent access, 

there is no assurance that a document seen on the web by the public today will be available next 

week. A centralized collection, perhaps utilizing partnership agreements with other institutions 

(as the FDLP does with other libraries), provides a practical and efficient mechanism for 

ensuring ongoing availability. In short, the presence of the web does not argue against the 

continued utility of a central collection of STI. Instead, it means there is a growing need for 

centrally-managed services to collect, organize, provide search assistance, and make this 

collection available on a permanent basis to the public. 

Provision of Access to Depository Libraries. Regardless of where NTIS is finally placed, GPO 

has a strong interest in making the NTIS collection available to depository libraries. Most of the 

Federal Government publications in the NTIS collection have never been made available to 

depository libraries by their issuing agencies. NTIS considers the documents in their program to 

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be “cooperative publications,” which must be sold to be self-sustaining. They therefore do not 

assume FDLP responsibility since “cooperative publications” are exempt from depository 

distribution under current law. With respect to NTIS, this exemption has been upheld by the 

General Accounting Office. 

The NTIS collection currently constitutes the single largest aggregation of “fugitive documents,” 

so called by the library community because they represent information that should be available to 

the public through the FDLP but is not. NTIS has taken the position that it cannot distribute the 

publications to depositories because that would negatively impact on sales. We do not subscribe 

to that view. All of the titles we make available to the public through our sales program is also 

provided to the FDLP. We think the NTIS collection should be made available to depository 

libraries as a matter of good public policy. In fact, access to the bibliographic database 

describing the publications in the NTIS collection, as well as the ability to examine the STI 

publications in an FDLP library, should stimulate rather than limit sales of NTIS documents. 

Over the years, we have tried to negotiate FDLP access to the NTIS collection. Recently, we 

began a pilot project with NTIS to provide FDLP access to electronic image files of NTIS 

publications. The project is currently limited to 20 depository libraries, and as of mid-August 

there were about 42,400 titles in the program. However, we have been forced to accept, as a 

condition of the pilot, that there will be no reuse or redissemination of the image files outside the 

libraries that access them, presumably to protect sales of these documents. There are no 

limitations on reuse or redissemination of any public domain information included in the FDLP. 

We would like to see expansion of this project to all depository libraries and the inclusion of all 

public domain information in the NTIS collection in the FDLP without restrictions on reuse or 

redissemination. 

Inclusion of the NTIS collection in the FDLP would also be a major step in simplifying and 

unifying public access to Government information through a single source. There is already 

substantial confusion among the public about where to find Government information, about 

differences in policies on for-free and for-fee access, and other issues. Aiding the public in 

finding Government information should be a major objective to be achieved in any plan for the 

future of NTIS and its activities. 

I want to make it clear, however, that there would be an appropriations impact associated with 

making the NTIS collection available to depository libraries. As noted above, the FDLP is 

funded by the annual Salaries and Expenses Appropriation of the Superintendent of Documents. 

An increase in the amount of information products made available through the FDLP would 

increase the appropriation requirement, although in the absence of specific data it is not currently 

possible to project by how much. In the current year, the appropriation is for $29.3 million. 

About $25 million of this is for the FDLP ($3.2 million is for cataloging and indexing, while the 

remainder is for statutory and international exchange distribution). The amount of increase in 

the appropriation would depend on how the NTIS collection is made available to the libraries. 

Depending on the final plan approved for the disposition of NTIS, there may also be an impact 

on our statutory limitation on full-time equivalent (FTE) employment. GPO operates under this 

limitation which is established annually in our appropriations legislation. 

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Sales of Government Information. Hopefully, the Commerce Department’s plan for the future 

of NTIS will take the opportunity to examine the sale of STI to the public by NTIS. On a 

philosophical basis, I think it is reasonable to provide for the Government sale of information 

products to those who want them and are willing to pay for them, as long as the Government 

ensures there is equitable, no-fee public access to the information through a mechanism such as 

the FDLP. Also, the price of the information products should be based only on the marginal cost 

of reproduction and distribution. This is the basis on which GPO’s sales program operates. 

Objections to NTIS’s sales have been raised because there is no other opportunity for access to 

the collection, and because there is a perception that its prices are too high. Making the NTIS 

collection available to the public through the FDLP would remove the first of these objections. 

Whether there is a potential opportunity for affecting the price of NTIS’s products by eventual 

consolidation with GPO’s sales program is a question yet to be answered. We don’t have 

sufficient data about NTIS’s sales program to make a determination at this time. However, 

consolidation would simplify access to Government information sales products by providing the 

public with a unified sales interface. It would unify pricing structures for products that both 

NTIS and GPO sell. It is conceivable that GPO’s much larger sales program could provide 

economies of scale in the sale of STI products that might lower prices, but that would have to be 

verified by looking at the data. 

Certainly, a program consolidation would end the wasteful competition between GPO’s and 

NTIS’s sales programs that has occurred in recent years. In providing duplicative sales outlets to 

the relatively well-defined market for Government information products, GPO and NTIS have 

simply split revenues for products they both sell. In my view, the competition has not expanded 

public access to sales products appreciably, nor has it lowered sales prices. Instead, it has 

jeopardized the continued viability of each program. Like NTIS, GPO’s sales program currently 

is sustaining operating losses, in part due to the impact of electronics, and in part due to the 

removal of several best-selling titles from the program by their publishing agencies and their 

subsequent availability through NTIS. Although we can cover temporary losses through retained 

earnings, it seems to me that a major step in a long-term solution for the continued health of 

Government publications sales programs would lie in eliminating this duplication of effort. 

Printing Operations. NTIS offers printing and reproduction services to Federal agencies. The 

information we have seen suggests that the value of these services may be as much as $1 million 

annually. I do not have an objection to the provision of printing services by agencies for their 

own quick turnaround internal administrative purposes. However, Title 44 clearly provides for 

printing related to Government publications (including forms) must be performed by or through 

GPO in order to control costs and ensure the public availability of Government information. 

More than 70 percent of all GPO printing is actually performed through private sector 

contractors. I hope that any realignment of NTIS activities will return their performance of 

printing and reproduction services for other Federal agencies to GPO. 

Other Comments. The similarities in function between GPO and NTIS, the fact that both are 

experienced in operating on revolving funds, the potential for valuable synergies of technologies 

and staff expertise that could benefit public access to Government information—all of these are 

reasons for a realignment of NTIS functions with GPO. Moreover, this is not the first time a 

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potential consolidation has been discussed. It was the subject of negotiations between GPO and 

the Commerce Department in the early 1980’s and an agreement was very nearly concluded at 

that time. Several years later, when the Commerce Department attempted to privatize the 

information dissemination functions of NTIS but found no takers, GPO offered to give NTIS a 

home. 

Certainly, more in-depth study of this matter is needed. However, I am concerned that the time 

for such study may be limited. If, as the Commerce Department plans, the projected closure date 

for NTIS is the beginning of FY 2001, and if GPO is to take on any NTIS functions, we would 

need to begin planning now. Our budget submission for FY 2001 will be due before the end of 

this calendar year. Also, the longer a study lasts, and the longer the uncertainty remains about 

the disposition of NTIS, the greater the negative impact is likely to be on the talented personnel 

of NTIS, who are its greatest resource. In order for NTIS to operate successfully wherever it is 

finally placed, they will be absolutely essential. 

Madame Chairwoman and Members of the Subcommittee, I thank you again for inviting me to 

participate in this hearing, and I would be pleased to answer any questions you might have. 

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U.S. FAX WATCH 

(202) 512-1716 

24 Hours a Day 

7 Days a Week 

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

 Instructions and a Listing of Documents Available from U.S. Fax Watch 

 Information on the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations 

 Listings by Subject Area of Available Government Information Products 

 Quick Request – If you Know the Number of the Document You Want 

 Addresses and Telephone Numbers for Federal Depository Libraries 

17 
AN-v20-#15-10/15/99 

18 

Table of Contents

13th Annual Interagency Depository Seminar Announced for May-June 2000........................... 1

Registration Form, 13th Annual Interagency Depository Seminar .............................................. 4 

Options Offered on Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance ...................................................... 5 

13 Direct Mail Titles Now Distributed in Regular Shipments ..................................................... 6 

New GPO Access User Survey Solicits Your Suggestions .......................................................... 7 

New Software for National Trade Data Bank (NTDB) ................................................................ 8 

Availability Records for Serials Discontinued ............................................................................. 8 

STAT-USA Announces New National Trade Data Bank............................................................. 9 

Public Printer Statement: House Committee on Science (NTIS) ............................................... 10 

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, DC 20401 

Internet access via World Wide Web at URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/adnotes.html 

Editor: Marian W. MacGilvray (202) 512-1119 mmacgilvray@gpo.gov