FY2019 LSCM YEAR IN REVIEW
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Partnerships & Collaborations 3

GPO Partnerships 3

GPO Collaborations 4

Federal Depository Library Program 6

FDLP National Collection Services Pilot Initiatives 7

FDLP Academy 7

FDLP Coordinator Certificate Program 8

FDLP Regional Coordinator Program 8

FDLP Events 8

2018 Federal Depository Library Conference 8

2019 Depository Library Council Virtual Meeting 9

govinfo 10

Enhancing Content in govinfo 10 

govinfo Certification as a Trustworthy 

Digital Repository 11

GPO on the Go 12

FDLP LibGuides 13

2019 Biennial Survey of Federal Depository Libraries 13

FDLP Basic Collection 13

Regional Discard 13

Depository Library Council 14

Members 14

DLC Issue Brief: H.R. 1654, the Federal Register 

Modernization Act 15

Recommendations & GPO Responses 15

Welcoming New Libraries to the FDLP 15

Promoting the FDLP 15

The Essential FDLP 16

Special Selection Offers 17

The FDLP eXchange 17

Web Archiving 18

U.S. Code Annual Supplements Survey 18

Depository Library Files Digitization Project 19

FDLP Web Services 19

FDLP.gov 19

Redesign 19

Historic Publications Feature 19

Homepage Features 19

WEBTech Notes Redesign 20

Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government 20

FDLP Distribution Facilities 20

Green FDLP Shipments 21

FDLP Outreach: In-Person & Virtual Events 21

Cataloging & Indexing Program (C&I) 21

New Information Retrieval Platform for the CGP 21

National Bibliographic Records Inventory Initiative 26

Catalog Records on GitHub 26

Cataloging Guidelines 27

Cataloging Record Distribution Program 27

Congressional Research Service Reports 28

PURL Usage Report Enhancements 28

International Exchange Service 29

By-Law Program 29

Notable Numbers 29

AALL: American Association of Law Libraries 

ALA: American Library Association

BIBCO: Bibliographic Record Cooperative Program

C&I: Cataloging & Indexing Program

CG: Cataloging Guidelines 

CGP: Catalog of U.S. Government Publications

CNI: Coalition for Networked Information

CONSER: Cooperative Online Serials Program

CPDC: Cataloging Policy and Documentation Committee 

CRDP: Cataloging Record Distribution Program

CRN: Civics Renewal Network

CRS: Congressional Research Service

DLC: Depository Library Council

DLF: Digital Library Federation

DPLA: Digital Public Library of America

ECIP: Electronic Cataloging in Publication Program

ELUNA: Ex Libris Users of North America 

FADGI: Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines Initiative

FDLP: Federal Depository Library Program

FDsys: GPO’s Federal Digital System

FEDLINK: Federal Library and Information Network

GODORT: Government Documents Round Table, ALA

govinfo: govinfo.gov 

GPO: U.S. Government Publishing Office

IES: International Exchange Service

ILS: Integrated Library System

IS&T: Society for Imaging Science and Technology

LC: Library of Congress

LC-PCC PSs: Library of Congress-Program for 

Cooperative Cataloging Policy Statements 

LSCM: Library Services & Content Management

LSS: Library Services System

LTS: Library Technical Services (part of LSCM)

NACO: Name Authority Cooperative Program

NAGARA: National Association of Government Archives

and Records Administrators

NARA: National Archives & Records Administration

NBRII: National Bibliographic Records Inventory Initiative

NDSA: National Digital Stewardship Alliance 

NFAIS: National Federation of Advanced 

Information Services

NISO: National Information Standards Organization

O&S: Outreach & Support (part of LSCM) 

OLRC: Office of the Law Revision Counsel

PARS: Preservation Administrators Interest Group, 

Preservation & Reformatting Section, ALA

PCC: Program for Cooperative Cataloging

PEGI: Preservation of Electronic Government Information

PURL: Persistent Uniform Resource Locator

RDA: Resource Description & Access

RUSA: Reference and User Services Association, ALA

SAA: Society of American Archivists 

SACO: Subject Authority Cooperative Program

SGMP: Society of Government Meeting Professionals

SLA: Special Libraries Association 

TRAIL: Technical Report Archive & Image Library 

USGS: United States Geological Survey

ACRONYM AND ABBREVIATION GUIDE
Greetings from Library Services & Content Management at the U.S. 

Government Publishing Office,

I am proud to be a part of an organization with the important purpose 

of ensuring and advancing an informed American citizenry. Free public 

access to the documents of our democracy is something we don’t take 

for granted at the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO), and we know 

that you and your depository colleagues feel the same. 

Here is GPO’s Library Services & Content Management unit (LSCM), we 

contribute to and support four statutory programs:

 The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP)

 The Cataloging & Indexing Program (C&I)

 The International Exchange Service (IES)

 The By-Law Program

Our staff, in partnership with our 1,124 nationwide Federal depository libraries, accomplished 

a great deal in FY 2019 to advance the mission of Keeping America Informed. The staff that 

supports the FDLP at GPO is 88 members strong. In this report, I’m proud to present to you a 

snapshot of the work we have done this past year.

The staff is LSCM is focused on:

 Customer outreach and engagement

 Continuing digital initiatives and transformation

 Providing innovative services and tools for Federal depository libraries and the public 

 Expanding strategic partnerships with libraries, Federal agencies, and other 

organizations 

Customer outreach and engagement is a top priority for us in LSCM. Our staff not only provides 

a number of consultation services to nationwide FDLP libraries, but we also proactively reach 

out to our community for feedback on new services, tools, and program enhancements. 

LSCM supports GPO’s continued digital transformation through initiatives to enhance historic 

and current content on govinfo and the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, and through 

the development of tools, to help FDLP libraries manage their depository library more effectively 

and efficiently, such as the FDLP eXchange, LibGuides, the FDLP Academy, and the National 

Collection Services Pilots, to name a few. You’ll read more about all of those in this report.

LSCM has official partnership agreements in place with 64 organizations to advance free public 

access to U.S. Government information. Further, we collaborated, through special projects and 

initiatives, with another 30 organizations, to share knowledge, develop services, and continue 

GPO’s mission of Keeping America Informed. 

W E L C O M E L E T T E R F R O M T H E 

SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS

Continued on next page
2

Here are just a few more highlights from this productive year:

 In the FDLP eXchange, there were 225 libraries offering in 36 regions, and 67 libraries 

posted needs. 

 FDLP LibGuides had more than 30,000 views to the 82 guides offered.

 LSCM staff visited 55 depository libraries in 13 states.

 Nine libraries became Preservation Stewards, and two libraries became Digital 

Content Contributors.

 The FDLP Academy hosted 35 webinars, with more than 4,000 combined registrants. 

Also, as part of the FDLP Academy, LSCM:

 Hosted two programs of the FDLP Coordinator Certificate Program with 85 people 

completing the program.

 Hosted its first ever FDLP Regional Coordinator Program with 10 Coordinators 

completing the two-day training program.

 There were over 29 million successful searches of the Catalog of U.S. Government 

Publications (CGP).

 GPO increased the size of the FDLP Web Archive collection to 22.1 TB, with 189 

million URLs crawled.

 GPO staff added 22,602 new cataloging records to the CGP.

 GPO staff distributed 713,616 copies of materials to FDLP libraries.

 LSCM distributed over 32,000 Pocket Constitutions to nationwide Federal depository 

libraries for their Constitution Day celebrations. 

In addition to these notable numbers, I am proud to present to you LSCM’s accomplishments 

for FY 2019.

With Warm Regards,

Laurie Hall

Superintendent of Documents

Managing Director, Library Services & Content Management

Continued from previous page
3

PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS

GPO Partnerships 

Since 1997, GPO has developed strategic partnerships 

with Federal depository libraries, Federal agencies, and 

other institutions to increase public access to electronic 

U.S. Government information. 

GPO’s partner categories are:

 Preservation Steward

 Digital Preservation Steward

 Digital Content Contributor

 Digital Access Partner

 Cataloging and Metadata Contributor

 Other/Specialized

Partnering is an integral part of how GPO is Keeping 

America Informed, and over the past two decades, 

these partnerships 

have grown and 

evolved. At the close 

of FY 2019, there 

were 39 Preservation 

Stewards, one 

Digital Preservation 

Steward, five Digital 

Content Contributors, 

14 Digital Access 

Partners, and one 

active Cataloging and Metadata partner.

Through GPO’s partnerships, free public access to 

Government information was enhanced during FY

2019. LSCM:

 Added 2,170 bibliographic records to the 

CGP for the electronic versions of the United 

States Geological Survey (USGS) Water Supply 

Papers through a partnership with the Colorado 

School of Mines. 

 Added eight bibliographic records to the CGP 

for the electronic versions of the USGS Water 

Resources Investigations through a partnership 

with the Colorado School of Mines.

 Added 1,077 bibliographic records to the 

CGP for the electronic versions of the USGS 

Circulars through a partnership with the 

Colorado School of Mines. 

 Added 284 bibliographic records to the CGP 

for the electronic versions of the USGS Open 

File Reports through a partnership with the 

Colorado School of Mines.

 Completed adding bibliographic records to 

the CGP for electronic and print versions of 

WPA publications through a partnership with 

the University of Kentucky. 204 records were 

added during FY 2019. 

 Continued to process new material available 

on FRASER (partnership with the Federal 

Reserve Bank of St. Louis). 

Two libraries became Digital Content Contributors in

FY 2019:

 Washington State Library contributed 

seven publications to govinfo.

 Boise State University contributed two 

publications to govinfo.

Nine libraries became Preservation Stewards in 

FY 2019: 

 University of Alabama, Huntsville: preserving its 

collection of the NASA SP series. 

 Jerome Hall Law Library, Indiana University: 

preserving its collection of the Code of Federal 

Regulations, the U.S. Reports, the Statutes 

at Large, the Revised Statutes, the Weekly 

Compilation of Presidential Documents, 
4

the Public Papers of the Presidents, the 

Congressional Record and its predecessors, 

and the Monthly Catalog of U.S. 

Government Publications.

 Idaho State University Libraries: preserving its 

collection of the Handbook of North American 

Indians and the Congressional Record and 

its predecessors. 

 Felix G. Woodward Library, Austin Peay State 

University: preserving its collection

of publications related to the 101st 

Airborne Division. 

 Lether E. Frazar Memorial Library, McNeese 

State University: preserving publications from 

the EPA. 

 Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State 

University: preserving its collection of the 

Federal Register. 

 Syracuse University Libraries: preserving its 

collection of the U.S. Statutes at Large.

 Joyner Library, East Carolina University: 

preserving its collection of cold war and 

internal security related publications.

 Georgia Southern University Libraries: 

preserving its collection of 

Congressional hearings. 

Preservation Steward holdings for the Public Papers of 

the President, the first title eligible for regional discard, 

are available from the Catalog of U.S. Government 

Publications. Click “All Items” to see the summary 

holdings for the Preservation Stewards, as well as item 

records and condition for each volume 

being preserved.

Learn more about GPO partnerships, and contact our 

partnership team with inquiries. 

GPO Collaborations 

In FY 2019, LSCM staff contributed to and collaborated 

with groups in support of the FDLP and Cataloging & 

Indexing Programs.

 In July 2019, GPO completed a collaboration 

with the National Archives’ Office of the Federal 

Register to digitize and make available on 

govinfo volumes of the Public Papers of the 

Presidents of the United States for Presidents 

Herbert Hoover (1929) through George H.W. 

Bush (1990), with the exception of the Franklin 

The University of Hawai‘i at Mãnoa serves as a Preservation Steward for their tangible collection 

of the United States Serial Set, the Congressional Record, and Congressional hearings.
5

D. Roosevelt presidency. The papers of 

President Franklin Roosevelt were published 

privately before the commencement of the 

official Public 

Papers series. 

Each volume 

of the Public 

Papers is comprised of a foreword by the 

President, public writings, addresses, remarks, 

and photographs. This digitization effort joined 

the already digital version of Public Papers for 

Presidents George H. W. Bush (1991−1992), 

William J. Clinton, George W. Bush, and 

Barack H. Obama.

 In a collaboration with the Law Library of 

Congress (LC), LSCM is cataloging Global 

Legal Research Directorate Reports to increase 

public access. In FY 2019, LSCM cataloged 40 

of these reports. 

 Through its partnership in the Civics Renewal 

Network (CRN), a consortium of organizations 

committed to strengthening civic life in the U.S. 

by increasing the quality of civics education in 

our Nation’s schools, LSCM makes available, 

through the CRN website, K-12 resources that 

support civics education. 

 LSCM continued its partnership in the 

Technical Report Archive & Image Library 

(TRAIL). LSCM and TRAIL members work 

together to ensure 

that Federal technical 

reports are openly 

accessible, and 

participating LSCM 

staff members 

offer expertise in 

cataloging and 

other areas and participate in the exchange of 

information about U.S. Government scientific 

and technical information.

 The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) 

and LSCM continued their collaboration to 

broaden public access to the information 

made available via the CGP. Through the 

partnership, over 194,000 records from the 

CGP are available to the public through the 

DPLA website. Examples of records include: 

the Federal Budget, laws, Federal regulations, 

and Congressional 

hearings, reports, 

and documents. 

LSCM and DPLA 

also partner to 

provide eBooks to the DPLA Exchange, 

making this Government content even more 

widely accessible. 

 LSCM continues to be heavily involved in 

cooperative cataloging and metadata activities 

with members of the library community. LSCM 

is an active participant in all components of the 

Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC), 

which is managed by LC, including BIBCO 

(Bibliographic Record Cooperative), CONSER 

(Cooperative Online Serials), NACO (Name 

Authority Cooperative), and SACO (Subject 

Authority Cooperative). 

 GPO has been 

a member of 

OCLC since 

1976 and 

contributes bibliographic records for U.S. 

Government information to the international 

database daily. 

 LSCM is part of the Electronic Cataloging in 

Publication Program (ECIP). ECIP provides 

cataloging records for books in advance of 

publication. The publisher then includes the 

record on the verso of the publication’s title 

page. Through the ECIP Program, LSCM 

is creating pre-publication bibliographic 

records for publications from Federal agency 
6

publishers. LSCM has been a part of ECIP 

since 2015 and created 28 ECIP records in FY 

2019. LSCM staff have created ECIP records 

for GPO, the Combat Studies Institute, the 

Air Force Research Institute, the Smithsonian 

Institution Scholarly Press, USGS, and the 

National Gallery of Art, to name a few. 

 In October 2018, in an agreement with the 

Library, LSCM’s Library Technical Services 

(LTS) staff began cataloging CRS reports for 

the CGP and OCLC. Because these reports 

are frequently updated, GPO has cataloged 

each report title as an integrating resource. 

Refer to the Congressional Research Service 

Reports section of this report for more details. 

LSCM staff also collaborated with these groups and 

organizations in FY 2019:

 CENDI, an interagency working group of senior 

scientific and technical information managers 

representing 14 U.S. Federal agencies

 Coalition for Networked Information (CNI)

 Council of Professional Associations on 

Federal Statistics

 Ex Libris Users of North America

 Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines 

Initiative (FADGI) Preservation Working Group

 FADGI Audio Visual Working Group

 FADGI Still Image Working Group

 Federal Library and Information Network 

(FEDLINK) American Indian Libraries Initiative

 FEDLINK Preservation Working Group

 Federal Web Archiving Working Group 

 Government Documents Round Table 

(GODORT), American Library Association (ALA)

 National Digital Stewardship Alliance (NDSA)

 National Digital Strategy Advisory Board

 National Information Standards Organization 

(NISO)/National Federation of Advanced 

Information Services (NFAIS)

 Preservation Administrators Interest Group, 

Preservation and Reformatting Section 

(PARS), ALA

 Preservation of Electronic Government 

Information (PEGI)

 Reference and User Services Association 

(RUSA), ALA

 Science.gov Alliance

 Society of American Archivists (SAA)

 Society of Government Meeting 

Professionals (SGMP)

 Society for Imaging Science and 

Technology (IS&T)

Federal Depository 

Library Program

As authorized by Chapter 19 of 

Title 44, U.S.C., the mission of 

the FDLP is to provide for free, 

ready, and permanent public 

access to Federal Government information, now and 

for future generations. The vision of the FDLP is to 

provide U.S. Government information when and where 

it is needed in order to create an informed citizenry and 

an improved quality of life. 

Through this historic U.S. Government program, 

GPO disseminates information products from all three 

branches of the Federal Government to over 1,100 

libraries nationwide designated as Federal depository 

libraries, directly by law or as depositories designated 

FEDERAL DEPOSITORY

LIBRARY PROGRAM
7

by their Representatives and Senators. Federal 

depository libraries maintain and provide free public 

access to Federal Government information products 

and provide expert assistance in navigating those 

resources. Providing free online access to Government 

publications is provided under the authority of Chapter 

41 of Title 44, U.S.C., via govinfo.

FDLP National Collection Services 

Pilot Initiatives

In October 2018, LSCM announced the intention of 

conducting pilots for services to depository libraries 

that will support the National Collection of U.S. 

Government Public Information. This is being done in 

accordance with the National Plan for Access to U.S. 

Government Information. 

Pilot projects for various services are being planned, 

including: developing collection plans; cataloging; 

assessing collection condition; conducting inventories; 

and developing disaster preparedness, response, and 

recovery plans. The pilot projects are described in 

Developing a Multi-State Comprehensive Collection | 

FDLP Preservation Services Pilot Strategies.

At the close of FY 2019, LSCM is in the pilot 

development phase, working with nearby depository 

libraries to establish processes, workflows, time 

tables, and estimating costs to catalog and conduct 

piece-level condition assessments of a sample set of 

Government publications. Thus far, LSCM staff have 

visited the depository libraries at the College of William 

and Mary, the Library of Virginia, and the University 

of Maryland.

FDLP Academy

The FDLP Academy was launched by LSCM in FY 

2014 to support the FDLP community’s education 

and training needs and to advance U.S. Government 

information literacy. 

The FDLP Academy enhances U.S. Government 

information knowledge through events, conferences, 

webinars, and webcasts coordinated by GPO that 

cover a variety of Government information topics. Many 

sessions are presented by GPO staff, while others are 

presented by staff from other Federal agencies and 

from members of the FDLP community, as recruited 

and hosted by GPO.

In FY 2019, the FDLP Academy hosted 35 webinars 

with nearly 4,000 combined registrants. Training topics 

covered Government information resources such as 

data.census.gov, cataloging, collection and depository 

management, library marketing, and more. 

This year, 35 webcasts were produced by GPO staff on 

topics such as free catalog records available through 

the CGP on GitHub, how depository libraries can get 

usage statistics using the FDLP Persistent Uniform 

Resource Locator (PURL) Usage Report, govinfo, and 

FDLP eXchange. These recordings are available via the 

FDLP Academy Training Repository. 

In January 2019, LSCM launched an FDLP Academy 

Survey to get feedback on desired educational content 

for webinars and webcasts. Almost 150 respondents 

provided input that has been used throughout FY19 

and will continue to be used to develop relevant, 

beneficial educational content. 

Other FDLP Academy resources include: 

 An FDLP Events Calendar with information on 

upcoming events and related 

registration information.

 An Events & Conferences page with 

information about GPO’s annual FDLP events.

 The FDLP Coordinator Certificate Program, 

featuring educational courses for 

Depository Coordinators.

 Information for those who wish to volunteer to 

present on a topic or request 

specialized training.
8

FDLP Coordinator Certificate Program

The FDLP Coordinator Certificate Program (CCP) 

presents in-depth virtual classes for Federal Depository 

Coordinators on managing depository collections in 

compliance with the Legal Requirements & Program 

Regulations of the Federal Depository Library Program. 

The certificate program is free to participants and is 

conducted virtually through the FDLP Academy.

The series of eight online classes (over a nine-week 

period) is led by GPO personnel from LSCM’s Office of 

Outreach 

and 

Support. 

Class size 

is limited in order to facilitate discussion and interaction 

throughout the program. In FY 2019, there were two 

sessions of the CCP: one in fall 2018 and one in spring 

2019. In all, 85 people completed the program in FY19. 

The program includes required weekly readings and 

writing assignments, discussions, polls, webinars, and 

assessments or quizzes.

The classes are:

1. Introduction to the FDLP and GPO

2. Legal Requirements and Regulations

3. What’s in the Box?

4. Depository Collection Management

5. Public Access

6. Cataloging and Bibliographic Control

7. Regionals

8. Wrap Up

Since its inception in 2015, 242 FDLP community 

members have completed the program. 

FDLP Regional Coordinator Program

In August 2019, LSCM hosted its first ever FDLP 

Regional Coordinator Program (RCP). Ten Coordinators 

completed the two-day training program that was 

limited to staff at regional depositories. The unique, 

all-virtual program presented an opportunity for FDLP 

regional Coordinators and staff to learn about managing 

their region as well as their regional depository 

collection in compliance with the program requirements 

of the FDLP. 

FDLP Events

LSCM hosted two FDLP special events in FY 2019.

2018 Federal Depository Library Conference

Three-hundred onsite attendees, plus 300 virtual 

attendees, participated in the largest annual gathering 

of Federal depository librarians and colleagues in the 

country, the Federal Depository Library Conference. 

The event took place October 22 – 24, 2018, 

in Arlington, VA, with numerous sessions 

broadcast virtually. 

The event kicked off on Monday, October 22, with 

welcoming remarks from then Acting GPO Deputy 

Director Herbert H. Jackson Jr., Superintendent of 

Documents Laurie Hall, and Depository Library Council 

(DLC) Chair Lori Thornton from the New Mexico 

State Library.

Kate Zwaard, Director of Digital Strategy, Library 

of Congress, delivered the keynote address, and 

the Library of the Year award was presented to the 

University of Mississippi Libraries. There were over 40 

LSCM broadcasts and records its two annual FDLP/DLC 

events to participants nationwide. 
9

presentations which attendees could choose to attend 

and 17 educational poster presentations. 

Many participants chronicled their conference 

experience on Twitter using #FDLConference. Search 

the hashtag on Twitter to view the posts, along with 

GPO’s live-tweeting of the event. 

On the event page, you can access important 

resources such as:

 Handouts and Slides

 Poster Presentation Summaries

 Archived Recordings

After the conclusion of the event, the DLC presented 

its fall 2018 recommendations and commendations 

to GPO. 

2019 Depository Library Council Virtual Meeting 

Five-hundred registrants from all 50 states, plus D.C. 

and Puerto Rico, participated in the spring 2019 DLC 

Virtual Meeting. This annual event was held April 15 – 

17, 2019, and LSCM staff broadcast the Meeting from 

the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Arlington, Virginia, 

along with members of the DLC. 

The three-day virtual event began with a video from 

GPO Acting Deputy Director John Crawford welcoming 

attendees and thanking the depository librarians for 

their efforts and dedication to the mission of Keeping 

America Informed. Following that, Superintendent of 

Documents Laurie Beyer Hall updated attendees on 

GPO strategic priorities and appropriations.

Topics of discussion at the Virtual Meeting included:

 Digital-only depository libraries

 Safeguarding and securing digital information 

and protecting privacy

 Preservation services for Federal 

depository libraries

 The Federal Register Modernization Act 

At the end of the second day of the conference, LSCM 

staff presented an LSCM Project Updates session and 

spoke to the library community about:

Kate Zwaard, Director of Digital Strategy, Library of 

Congress, delivered the keynote address.

The 2018 Library of the Year award was presented to the 

University of Mississippi Libraries.

Virtual attendees indicated where they were participating 

from across the Nation. 
10

 New and upcoming digitized historic content 

on govinfo

 The certification of govinfo as a Trusted 

Digital Repository

 GPO partnerships 

 The future replacement of askGPO

 FDLP eXchange (an application that automates 

the exchange of Government publications 

among Federal depository libraries nationwide)

GPO also live-tweeted the event. To view the photos 

and tweets, search #DLCVirtual19 on Twitter. 

View archived recordings of sessions and

download handouts.

govinfo

Enhancing Content in govinfo

LSCM has worked closely with GPO’s Office of 

Programs, Strategy, & Technology (PST) throughout 

the development and 

ongoing enhancement of 

govinfo. Released as a 

beta in February 2016, 

govinfo was launched 

to modernize its predecessor website, GPO’s Federal 

Digital System (FDsys). In December 2018, FDsys was 

officially retired. 

Continuing to add to the collections currently 

available on govinfo is of the highest priority, with a 

goal of offering complete and historic holdings to its 

collections. 

A few highlights of content added in FY19 include: 

 Digitized volumes of the Public Papers of the 

Presidents of the United States for President 

Herbert Hoover (1929) - George H.W. 

Bush (1991) 

 1,322 digitized Congressional hearings, 

which can be browsed by Congress and 

Congressional committee 

 United States Army in the World War, 

1917-1919

 Federal Register Index (1936-1994 digitized 

indices; 2013-2018 annual cumulative editions; 

2019 most recent monthly cumulative edition) 

 GPO Style Manuals (pre-2000) 

 Historic GPO bill style manuals and type books

 Report on the Investigation into Russian 

Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election 

(Mueller Report) 

 Additional Statute Compilations, expanding the 

collection to 319 compilations 

 Beta USLM XML for a subset of enrolled bills, 

public and private laws, and Statutes at Large 

 Budget of the U.S. Government (FY 2020) 

 Economic Report of the President (2019) 

LSCM staff and the DLC broadcasted the event from the DoubleTree in Arlington, VA. 
11

 Constitution of the United States of America: 

Analysis and Interpretation (CONAN, 

2018 Supplement) 

 Updates to the Congressional Directory, 

115th Congress 

 Additional National Institute of Standards and 

Technology (NIST) digitized publications 

 House Rules and Manual, 116th Congress

GPO is actively digitizing historical content to complete 

retrospective holdings of existing govinfo collections 

and may accept materials from depository libraries that 

meet our needs. Visit the GPO Digitization: GPO Needs 

Lists LibGuide for more information and current lists of 

needed materials. 

GPO also continues to partner with Federal depository 

libraries to add digitized content to govinfo. Digital 

content contributions from our partners include 

the following:

 University of Florida digitized Centers of 

Excellence (COE) collections, including the 

National Recovery Administration, U.S. 

National Commission on Libraries, and the 

Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal 

Industry and Bureau of Plant Quarantine.

 Washington State Library is contributing 

Government publications that were digitized 

to fulfill user or interlibrary loan requests. The 

library contributed seven digitized publications 

in FY19. 

 Boise State University is contributing 

Government publications on topics of regional 

interest. The library contributed two digitized 

publications in FY19. 

If you are planning a digital imaging project and would 

like to contribute content to govinfo, please contact 

us at PreserveFedInfo@gpo.gov. govinfo system 

enhancements are made continuously. Contribute your 

feedback, or contact GPO with questions.

govinfo Certification as a Trustworthy 

Digital Repository 

Since 2015, GPO has worked to be named as a 

Trustworthy Digital Repository (TDR) for Government 

information through certification of govinfo under ISO 

16363:2012. 

Certification under ISO 16363 provides GPO 

stakeholders, including the FDLP community, 

assurance that govinfo is a standards-compliant digital 

archive in which Government information shall be 

preserved, accessible, and usable well into the future.

Certification of govinfo validates GPO’s commitment 

to standards-based digital preservation practices and 

activities across 109 criteria in the areas of: 

 Organizational Governance

 Digital Object Management

 Infrastructure and Security Management

Trusted Digital Repository certification has been a key 

GPO strategic initiative and a joint effort between GPO’s 

LSCM and PST business units. 
12

On December 28, 2018, GPO made history by 

becoming the first organization in the United States 

and second organization in the world to achieve ISO 

16363:2012 Certification. 

The Primary Trustworthy 

Digital Repository 

Authorisation Body 

Ltd. awarded GPO ISO 

16363:2012 for govinfo 

and publically announced 

the certificate on their website. The final audit report 

from PTAB and a webinar about the audit process are 

available on FDLP.gov under the Preservation tab.

Beginning in June 2019, GPO initiated the first of 

two yearly surveillance audits prior to the prescribed 

recertification audit scheduled for completion in 2021. 

The process of surveillance audits and recertification is 

prescribed by ISO to ensure continued compliance with 

the ISO 16363 standard. 

In September 2019, LSCM’s Digital Preservation 

Librarian, Jessica Tieman, traveled to Amsterdam to 

take part in iPres 2019 and presented on the work 

undertaken by GPO to achieve ISO 16363:2012 

Certification.

GPO on the Go

Beginning in FY 2016, GPO has been conducting inperson visits to Federal depository libraries throughout 

the country in order to provide consultation, training, 

and support services, also known as the GPO on the 

Go initiative. These visits have been extremely influential 

in strengthening the ties between GPO and its partner 

libraries and in helping GPO identify current trends and 

issues in libraries and respond with improved outreach 

and services. GPO staff at all levels have participated in 

this initiative and are now implementing targeted followup projects to benefit the FDLP and its participants.

In FY19, GPO staff visited 52 depository libraries in 14 

states:

 California

 Washington, D.C.

 Idaho

 Indiana

 Maryland

 Michigan

 Montana 

 New Mexico

 New York

 Tennessee 

 Texas 

 Virginia 

 Washington 

 Wisconsin

View the full list of every library GPO has visited, and 

view our interactive GPO on the Go map for a more 

detailed view.

GPO Outreach Librarian Kathy Bayer visits the J. Cloyd Miller 

Library at Western New Mexico University.

GPO Outreach Librarian Jaime Hays visits the Madison 

Heights Public Library in Madison Heights, Michigan.
13

FDLP LibGuides

FDLP LibGuides is a service provided by GPO for 

depository libraries and the public. Guides are created 

by LSCM staff on a variety of topics, including those 

requested by the FDLP 

community. All guides 

are available for free 

use. Libraries and agencies can also submit their own 

guides for inclusion on the FDLP LibGuides Community 

page.

LSCM staff members review the site and make 

enhancements to the look and content on a continuous 

basis. 

Some changes were made in FY19 to improve usability:

 Guides were divided into three groups: FDLP 

Information, Hot Topics, and Subject Guides.

 A section on ‘Recently Submitted Guides’ was 

added to the homepage.

 New promotional activities were created, 

including targeted emails and Spotlight Guides.

FDLP LibGuides had more than 30,000 views to the 82 

guides offered.

2019 Biennial Survey of Federal 

Depository Libraries

The 2019 Biennial Survey of Federal Depository 

Libraries launched in September 2019, with a deadline 

to respond of November 18. 

The survey is the means by which depository libraries 

report their conditions to GPO. It is administered in 

odd-numbered years, and response is required by law. 

The Superintendent of Documents, under the direction 

of the GPO Director, is responsible for administering the 

survey as required by 44 U.S.C. §1909. Data from the 

survey is used to administer the FDLP to identify new 

trends and to evaluate the conditions and services of 

Federal depository libraries. 

Individual library responses from the Biennial Survey are 

kept with LSCM’s official records for each depository. 

Responses should also be kept by each depository and 

passed on to successive depository staff members. 

Likewise, each regional library can use Biennial Survey 

information for the depositories under its purview.

Analysis of the 2017 survey found that 17% of libraries 

indicated an interest in transitioning to an all-digital 

depository in the near future, and that 68% of libraries 

have either extra small or small collections of tangible 

depository material. 

FDLP Basic Collection 

The FDLP Basic Collection is a list of titles that every 

Federal depository library is required to have accessible 

for immediate use. These titles are vital sources of 

information that support the public’s right to know 

about the workings and essential activities of the U.S. 

Government.

The FDLP Basic Collection list includes 23 titles and 

was updated in FY19 to include Congress.gov and 

USA.gov. Library staff are encouraged to review the 

titles at their libraries to ensure that access is provided; 

how access is provided is a local decision. See the 

FDLP LibGuide, FDLP Basic Collection for Librarians, 

for more information.

To facilitate bibliographic control over the titles in 

the Basic Collection, recently reviewed and updated 

catalog records or information about them are available 

in multiple locations, including the CGP on GitHub 

repository (for online publications) and in the FDLP 

Basic Collection for Librarians LibGuide.

Regional Discard

In July 2015, the Superintendent of Documents’ policy, 

Government Publications Authorized for Discard by 

Regional Depository Libraries, was approved, allowing 

regionals to discard depository materials when certain 

criteria are met. 
14

Basic requirements for Regionals to discard are:

 Publication eligibility requirements:

 Digital equivalent on govinfo with GPO 

Seal of Authenticity

 Held for 7 years

 A minimum of 4 tangible copies for 

which there are geographically-dispersed 

Preservation Stewards

 In compliance with all agreements deposited 

with the Superintendent of Documents (e.g. 

Shared Housing Agreements, Shared Regional 

Agreements)

 Authorization to discard from the 

Superintendent of Documents

In July 2019, GPO announced the availability of 

digitized volumes of the Public Papers of the Presidents 

of the United States

on govinfo. For 

selected volumes, 

there are now four or 

more geographicallydispersed 

Preservation 

Stewards, making 

the Public Papers 

of the Presidents (79 issues) the first title eligible for 

regional discard. 

A letter was sent to update all regionals in August 

2019. At the close of FY19, one regional had been 

approved to discard 79 issues. 

Preservation Steward holdings for this title are available

from the CGP. Click “All Items” to see the summary 

holdings for the Preservation Stewards, as well as 

item records and condition for each volume being 

preserved. Any regional depository library that wishes 

to discard these volumes must submit a discard 

request and receive approval from the Superintendent 

of Documents.

Depository Library Council

Members

The FDLP community said goodbye to five members 

of the DLC when their terms ended in May 2019. GPO 

thanks them for their service to the FDLP. 

 DLC Chair, Lori Thornton, New Mexico 

State Library

 Thomas Fischlschweiger, Broward County 

Public Library

 Cass Hartnett, University of 

Washington Libraries

 Kirstin Krumsee, State Library of Ohio

 Mary Elizabeth (Beth) Williams, Stanford Law 

School, Robert Crown Law Library

DLC member Mary Clark, Library of Virginia, assumed 

the role of Council Chair on June 1, 2019. 

In June 2019, the FDLP community welcomed three 

new DLC members.

 Richard Mikulski, Portland State 

University Library

 Laura Sare, Texas A&M University Libraries

 Will Stringfellow, Vanderbilt University, 

Central Library

The following DLC members continued their terms in 

FY 2019.

 Celina McDonald; University of Maryland, 

College Park; McKeldin Library

 Jane Canfield, Pontificia Universidad Católica, 

Biblioteca Encarnación Valdés

 Erik Beck; California State University, 

Sacramento; Library

 Gregory Curtis, University of Maine, 

Fogler Library 

 Alicia Kubas; University of Minnesota, Twin 

Cities; Government Publications Library
15

 Stephen Parks, State Law Library 

of Mississippi

 Marianne Ryan, Loyola University Chicago, 

Cudahy Memorial Library

 Robbie Sittel, University of North 

Texas Libraries 

 Yvonne D. Williams, Memphis Public Library

DLC Issue Brief: H.R. 1654, the Federal Register 

Modernization Act

In March 2019, then Acting GPO Deputy Director, 

Herbert H. Jackson Jr., charged the DLC with reviewing 

and providing an issue brief on H.R. 1654, the Federal 

Register Modernization Act. The issue brief was to 

include any conclusions on how its passage into law 

may impact the FDLP. The spring 2019 DLC Virtual 

Meeting included a program on the Federal Register, 

the pending bill, and an opportunity for comments from 

the depository library community. 

DLC’s issue brief was submitted to Acting GPO Deputy 

Director John Crawford in May 2019. It included this 

statement: “The DLC believes the passage into law of 

this bill will have minimal significant direct impact on 

the FDLP.” Further, the DLC recommended that the 

Deputy Director of GPO, as a member of the Advisory 

Committee on the Federal Register, “should advocate 

strongly for the production of adequate print copies for 

the FDLP community to serve the library patrons of 

our country.” 

The original charge to the DLC and their issue brief are 

both accessible from FDLP.gov.

Recommendations & GPO Responses 

At the close of the 2018 Federal Depository Library 

Conference, the DLC began work on developing formal 

recommendations and commendations for GPO. In 

December 2018, three recommendations and five 

commendations were presented. These were reviewed 

and discussed in detail by GPO staff, and formal 

GPO responses were published on FDLP.gov in 

February 2019. 

Welcoming New Libraries to the FDLP

Two new libraries joined the FDLP in FY 2019. 

 Dixon Public Library (Illinois) 

 Loudoun County Public Library (Virginia)

As of the end of FY 2019, there were 1,124 libraries 

participating in the FDLP.

Promoting the FDLP

LSCM continues to promote the FDLP, Cataloging 

& Indexing Program, and related resources through 

promotional campaigns and social media. In addition, 

LSCM provides tools for FDLP libraries to promote their 

collections, services, and resources. 

In FY19, LSCM created a variety of new 

promotional items:

 Two FDLP brochures in Spanish for free 

ordering by depository staff

 A bookmark, poster, and downloadable images 

for websites and social media, exclusively for 

Preservation Stewards

 Downloadable images and resources for 

National Library Week

Members of the DLC at the spring 2019 DLC Virtual Meeting.
16

For Constitution Day, LSCM made available free 

packets to FDLP libraries that included up to 100 

Pocket Constitutions. GPO distributed over 32,000 

Pocket Constitutions to nationwide Federal depository 

libraries. Numerous other resources were offered as 

free downloads:

 Printable posters

 Constitution Day trivia to use for contests 

and giveaways

 Images to use on websites and social media

 Activities for kids such as a Word Search, 

Connect the Dots, and Scavenger Hunt 

quizzes designed for two age levels

Links to LibGuides, suggestions for event activities, and 

a Constitution Day photo gallery were also included. 

Over 50 libraries shared their photos with LSCM.

FY19 also saw the enhancement of all promotional 

photo galleries that feature the unique and creative 

ways that depository library staff celebrate events 

and holidays: 

 Celebrating Depository Anniversaries

 Celebrating Valentine’s Day

 Celebrating Halloween

 Celebrating December Holidays

Also in FY 2019, LSCM promoted Federal depository 

libraries through social media. LSCM worked with 

GPO’s Public Relations Office to:

 Host the #lovemyFDL Twitter campaign in 

February 2019

 Host a National 

Library Week 

campaign in 

April 2019

 Promote Federal 

depository libraries 

throughout the year with over 100 FDLPrelated content posts

In preparation for the 2020 Census, LSCM began 

working with the U.S. Census Bureau in FY19 to obtain 

informational and promotional materials for FDLP 

libraries. Packets of handouts and posters will be 

made available in FY 2020 for free ordering by Federal 

depository libraries. 

The Essential FDLP

LSCM launched a new initiative, The Essential FDLP, in 

September 2019. On the webpage, any Government 

information user can submit a testimonial. Users 

can state why the FDLP and access to Government 

information are important or share a story about 

publications that have had an impact in their lives. 

Photos and videos are welcomed and encouraged. 

FDLP librarians and staff can highlight their reference 

triumphs and their creative outreach endeavors. The 

project aims to help capture the essence of why 

Government information remains vital in the 21st century 

and seeks to illustrate its continuing value to a broad 

audience. Submissions are being used for FDLP 

promotion and GPO social media, and they can also 

be freely used throughout the FDLP community for 

communicating the value of the FDLP.

Yavapai College Library hands out Pocket Constitutions on 

Constitution Day.
17

Special Selection Offers

Historically, Federal depository libraries were required 

to select two item numbers for publications of critical 

importance that were distributed to all depositories. 

In order to support libraries that wished to transition 

to all-digital collections and no longer receive tangible 

materials, the two mandatory item numbers were 

discontinued in 2014.

In 2019, LSCM initiated the Special Selection Offer

process as a means of allowing libraries that did 

not select the item number for a significant specific 

publication to have a one-time opportunity to request 

and receive an individual title in tangible format. 

The special selection becomes part of the library’s 

depository collection and is subject to regular FDLP 

retention rules. 

Special Selection Offers available in FY 2019 included: 

 Report on the Investigation 

into Russian Interference in the 2016 

Presidential Election (Mueller Report)

 The Constitution of the 

United States and the Declaration of 

Independence (Pocket Constitution)

 National High School Debate 

Topic, 2019-2020

Please contact FDLPOutreach@gpo.gov with questions 

about Special Selection Offers or to provide feedback 

on this collection development option.

FDLP eXchange

Launched in June 2018, the FDLP eXchange

established an automated process to support the 

exchange of depository publications nationwide 

and to facilitate communication among Federal 

depository libraries. 

In regions that have adopted the application as part 

of their disposition process, selective depositories can 

enter offers for review by their regional depositories. 

When the regional has completed their review, 

unneeded materials move on to review by other 

selectives in the 

region. Materials not 

claimed by the regional 

or other selectives in the region can then be offered 

nationally if the library has chosen to offer materials 

outside their region. All libraries can post needs and 

receive notification when their need matches another 

library’s offer. Selectives are reminded to continue to 

work with their regional throughout the discard process.

Libraries in regions that have not adopted FDLP 

eXchange for their disposition process may still use 

FDLP eXchange to offer unclaimed materials nationally 

after they have been offered within their region. These 

libraries may also post needs to receive notification 

when their need matches another library’s offer.

GPO provides access to a variety of training and 

informational resources on the tool, such as:

 Templates to upload Needs & Offers

 Recorded training webinars

 Tutorial task-based videos

 QuickStart Guides with screenshots and 

explanations for regionals and selectives

 Tips of the Week

Charlie Amiot, Student Services and Outreach Law Librarian, 

University of Kentucky, College of Law Library displays her 

passion for the FDLP on her arm, in ink!.
18

In FY 2019, FDLP eXchange information was 

reorganized on FDLP.gov to increase ease of access to 

important resources for using the tool. From the main 

FDLP eXchange landing page, users can access:

 Site links for both the training and live sites

 Instructional and guidance information 

 Development information on new features and 

enhancements 

Throughout FY19, LSCM staff traveled to libraries in 

numerous states to provide personalized training on 

FDLP eXchange:

 Washington, January 2019

 Texas, April 2019

 Virginia, July 2019 (virtual) 

 California, September 2019

 New Mexico, September 2019

Web Archiving 

The FDLP Web Archive provides point-in-time captures 

of U.S. Federal agency websites while preserving the 

functionality of the sites to the extent possible. The 

aim is to provide permanent public access to Federal 

agency web content. GPO harvests and archives the 

websites with Archive-It, a subscription-based web 

harvesting and archiving service offered by the 

Internet Archive.

LSCM continues to harvest digital publications 

and websites in order to advance FDLP collection 

development efforts. Throughout FY19, LSCM has:

 Increased the size of the FDLP Web Archive 

collection to 22.1 TB, with over 

189,000,000 URLs

 Increased website collections available on the 

FDLP Web Archive on Archive-It from 201 and 

247 records available through the CGP

 Worked on a collection development 

document identifying priorities

 Examined methodologies for increasing 

cataloging to resources collected as part of the 

FDLP Web Archive

 Presented at ‘To Honor and Remember: 

Recognizing the Contributions Across the 

United States of America in Honoring the 

Centennial of World War One,’ highlighting the 

work that we have done to archive the United 

States World War One Centennial Commission 

website. A broadcast of the event is available.

 Presented information about the FDLP Web 

Archive and the Federal Web Archiving 

Working Group at the FEDLINK Spring Expo at 

LC in May 2019

 Presented information about the FDLP Web 

Archive and collection development practices 

at the National Association of Government 

Archives and Records Administrators

Preserving web content is an ongoing effort. GPO 

encourages nominations of content to be evaluated for 

addition to the FDLP Web Archive.

U.S. Code Annual Supplements Survey

In the summer of 2019, the Office of the 

Superintendent of Documents worked with the Office 

of the Law Revision Counsel (OLRC) of the U.S. House 

of Representatives to obtain information on how the 

United States Code (USC) and its annual supplements 

are used in Federal depository libraries and law 

libraries. The OLRC, the office that produces the USC, 

set out to investigate whether it could be produced 
19

more efficiently by eliminating printed USC annual 

supplements while still continuing to serve the needs of 

its users. 

A survey was jointly-developed and launched in April 

2019 for Federal depository libraries. At the close of 

the survey in May, there were 235 responses. A similar 

survey that did not include the FDLP-related questions 

was launched in June for the members of the American 

Association of Law Libraries (AALL) to complete, and at 

the close of the survey, there were 97 responses. There 

were 35 AALL submissions that indicated that they had 

also responded to the FDLP survey.

At the close of FY19, the analysis of the survey results 

was almost complete. In early 2020, a report will be 

submitted to the OLRC and then shared with the 

Federal depository library community and the 

AALL membership.

Depository Library Files 

Digitization Project

LSCM is continuing a project that began in FY17 to 

digitize the official files of the libraries in the FDLP. 

The goal is to provide electronic access to library 

information that will be accessible by GPO Outreach 

Librarians. It will facilitate responses to requests 

from libraries to provide copies of previous Biennial 

Surveys or designation paperwork. Digitization of the 

depository files was completed in FY 2019; after the 

quality assurance has been completed, the information 

will be loaded into a content management system. 

Quality assurance and post-digitization work will 

continue into FY 2020. As a result of this effort, 1,570 

depository files, 43 state plan files, and 344,852 pages 

of documents were digitized.

FDLP Web Services

FDLP.gov 

FDLP.gov is the FDLP community’s one-stop site 

for the tools, information, and resources needed to 

manage a Federal depository library. Collection tools, 

requirements, guidance, educational opportunities, and 

more are available. 

1. Redesign – LSCM completed much of the 

“behind the scenes” work to move forward 

with a redesign of FDLP.gov. A team of LSCM 

staff has been brainstorming new content 

organization and developed new requirements 

documents for how the next generation 

of FDLP.gov should look and operate. It is 

LSCM’s intention to build this update on a 

solid foundation of approved requirements 

that address security, functionality, and design; 

shared goals and collaboration within different 

business units in LSCM; and with an eye to 

seamlessly integrating FDLP.gov with the 

Library Services System (LSS). LSCM has:

 Conducted a content inventory, with SMEs 

within LSCM, of all content on FDLP.gov

 Sorted content into separate levels to 

determine how it will be treated

 Finalized requirements to be sent out 

for procurement.

 Conducted market research

 Established (and is currently testing) a 

secure workflow which allows for version 

control and added security

 Worked on a new platform and workflow

2. Historic Publications Feature – In February 

2019, LSCM unveiled a Historic Publications 

feature on FDLP.gov. Each quarter, LSCM will 

feature a group of interesting publications that 

can be accessed via the CGP or govinfo. 

Three installments were published in FY19, 

highlighting a range of publications for all ages. 

New installments are announced via FDLP 

News & Events. 

3. Homepage Features – LSCM began 

freshening up its FDLP.gov homepage content 
20

in FY 2019. New “snacks” are now added 

to the homepage on a regular basis. These 

content tidbits feature interesting activities 

taking place at libraries nationwide, new 

initiatives from LSCM, new offerings from other 

agencies, and Government publications that 

complement recent holidays and observances, 

to name a few.

WEBTech Notes Redesign 

WEBTech Notes is a database application that allows 

users to search, browse, and view updates to SuDoc 

numbers and List of Classes information. It provides 

the public access to additions and modifications to 

document classifications that are made by GPO staff.

LSCM updated WEBTech Notes to ensure operability 

on a new server infrastructure. Application coding is 

nearly complete, and the final round of internal testing 

will commence in June 2020. This will launch once 

the new server infrastructure is approved and in place. 

There are many improvements including: 

 New user menu for the application

 Improved simple search and advanced search

 Modified filtering and sorting tools

 Corrected pagination

 Redesigned application pages for 

improved usability 

Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government

Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government is a free, 

educational website from GPO that is designed to 

inform students, parents, and educators about the U.S. 

Government. Ben’s Guide content is divided into three 

learning levels: 

 Apprentice (ages 4 – 8)

 Journeyperson (ages 9 – 13)

 Master (ages 14+) 

Ben’s Guide users go on 

“learning adventures” on 

topics such as the branches 

of Government, how laws are 

made, the election process, 

historical documents, and 

more. Interactive games, as 

well as printable activities 

such as crosswords and word 

searches, make learning fun. 

The FDLP library community is always active is 

promoting Ben’s Guide, both in the library and at 

outside events and social media. In FY 2019, the order 

limit on cardboard “Stand-Up Bens” was raised to 

five per library. These eye-catching Bens are great for 

starting conversations in the library about the site, and 

they also make great props for social media promotion. 

Ben’s Guide saw 1,246,219 user sessions in FY19.

FDLP Distribution Facilities

At GPO’s Distribution Facility in Laurel, Maryland, the 

GPO staff continues to distribute publications, fulfill 
21

claims, and send special mailings of tangible items to 

Federal depository libraries and international libraries 

participating in the International Exchange Service. 

In FY 2019, the staff in Laurel distributed 3,639 titles, 

totaling 713,616 copies of materials, to FDLP libraries. 

At GPO’s Distribution Facility in Pueblo, Colorado, 

the staff distributes FDLP promotional items to FDLP 

libraries nationwide. As of the end of FY 2019, 

the Pueblo staff managed the inventory and 

dissemination of 24 different types of FDLP handouts 

and promotional items.

Green FDLP Shipments

Effective March 1, 2019, FDLP boxes distributed from 

GPO’s Distribution Facility in Laurel, Maryland, use 

only paper made from 100% recycled material for box 

packing. Plastic bubble wrap is no longer being used. 

LSCM is happy to improve the environmental impact of 

our services. A big thanks goes to Suzanne Reinman, 

Regional Depository Coordinator at Oklahoma State 

University’s Edmon Low Library, for making the 

suggestion to GPO to make the switch!

FDLP Outreach: In-Person & 

Virtual Events

Attached as Appendix A, pages 22-25. 

Cataloging & Indexing 

Program (C&I)

Under the requirements of sections 1710 and 1711 

of Title 44, U.S.C., GPO is charged with cataloging 

a comprehensive index of public documents issued 

or published by the U.S. Government that are not 

confidential in character. The goals of the Cataloging & 

Indexing Program are to:

 Develop a comprehensive and 

authoritative national bibliography of 

U.S. Government publications

 Increase the visibility and use of Government 

information products

 Create a premier destination for 

information searchers

This undertaking serves libraries and the public 

nationwide and enables people to locate desired 

Government publications in all formats. The main

public interface for the access of cataloging records is 

the CGP.

New Information Retrieval 

Platform for the CGP

 LSCM is committed to enhancing access to our 

bibliographic data and Federated search resources 

Suzanne Reinman, Regional Depository Coordinator at Oklahoma State University’s Edmon Low Library, celebrates greener 

FDLP shipments.

C ATA L O G I N G & I N D E X I N G 

PROGRAM (C&I)

Continued on page 26
22

FDLP Outreach: Events, Conferences, & FDLP Academy 

Educational Offerings

Date Events Hosted or Attended by LSCM Location

October 2018 Federal Depository Library Conference Arlington, VA

Digital Transformation Summit Washington, DC

Dublin Core and Metadata Applications Annual Conference Alexandria, VA

National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators St. Paul, MN

Smithsonian Digitization Conference Washington, DC

To Honor & Remember: Recognizing the Contributions Across the 

 U.S. in Honoring the Centennial of World War One Chicago, IL

Library of Congress Offsite Warehouse & Logistics Meeting Ft. Meade, MD

Digital Library Federation (DLF) Forum Henderson, NV

(ISC)2 National Capital Region Chapter Meeting Washington, DC

November 2018 Leveraging Data as a Strategic Asset Cross-Agency Priority Goal Washington, DC

FEDLINK 2018 Fall Exposition Washington, DC

Beyond the Numbers: The Economic Data Ecosystem St. Louis, MO

Federal Web Archiving Working Group Meeting Washington, DC

(ISC)2 National Capital Region Chapter Meeting Washington, DC

Cybersecurity Risk Management Conference Baltimore, MD

December 2018 Coalition for Networked Information Fall 2018 Membership Meeting Washington, DC

Preservation of Electronic Government Information (PEGI) National Forum Washington, DC

Library Assessment Conference Houston, TX

South Carolina Depositories Meeting Virtual

New York FDLP eXchange Training Virtual

Twentieth International Conference on Grey Literature New Orleans, LA

ISC)2 National Capital Region Chapter Meeting Washington, DC

January 2019 American Library Association Midwinter Meeting Seattle, WA

ESRI Federal GIS User Conference Washington, DC

Federal Web Archiving Working Group Meeting Washington, DC

February 2019 George Washington University Law Library’s Lawlapalooza Research Fair Washington, DC

Code4Lib San Jose, CA

Virtual Discussion on the Future Development of FDLP eXchange Virtual

Bridging the Spectrum Symposium at Catholic University Washington, DC

(ISC)2 National Capital Region Chapter Meeting Washington, DC

NIST Risk Management Framework Webcast: A Flexible Methodology

 to Manage Information Security and Privacy Risk Washington, DC

March 2019 Computers in Libraries Washington, DC

Georgia Meeting of Depository Librarians Virtual

(ISC)2 National Capital Region Chapter Meeting Washington, DC

Making Connections: Meet IMLS Native American Grantees Washington, DC

April 2019 Depository Library Council Virtual Meeting Virtual

Project Summit Business Analyst World Crystal City, VA

Developers Day and Ex Libris Users of North America (ELUNA) Conference Atlanta, GA
23

DPLAFest (Digital Public Library of America) Chicago, IL

Texas Library Association Annual Conference Austin, TX

GovInfo Day Canada Vancouver, BC

Federal Web Archiving Working Group Meeting Washington, DC

(ISC)2 National Capital Region Chapter Meeting Washington, DC

May 2019 govinfo training at the National Archives & Records Administration Washington, DC

govinfo training at the Department of Interior Library Washington, DC

Salesforce World Tour Washington, DC

National Federation of Advanced Information Services (NFAIS) 

 Conference on Artificial Intelligence Alexandria, VA

FEDLINK Spring Exposition Washington, DC

NIST Federal Computer Security Managers Forum Annual Offsite Meeting Gaithersburg, MD

Imaging Science and Technology Archiving 2019 Lisbon, Portugal

Program for Cooperative Cataloging Operations Committee Meeting Washington, DC

TRAIL Annual Meeting Denton, TX

Customized Training for Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library Virtual

Virtual Discussion on the Future Development of FDLP eXchange Virtual

(ISC)2 National Capital Region Chapter Meeting Washington, DC

June 2019 American Library Association Annual Conference Washington, DC

RDA Redesign Toolkit Workshop Washington, DC

American Indian Library Association 40th Anniversary Event Washington, DC

Electronic Document Conference Seattle, WA

Tribal College Librarians Institute Bozeman, MT

Association of Specialized, Government and Cooperative Library 

 Agencies, Federal Librarians Interest Group Washington, DC

Transforming Community Relationships Washington, DC

(ISC)2 National Capital Region Chapter Meeting Washington, DC

July 2019 American Association of Law Libraries (AALL)

 Annual Meeting & Conference Washington, DC

National Association of Government Archives and 

 Records Administrators St. Paul, MN

An Event Apart: Web UX & Design Arlington, VA

MuleSoft Summit DC 2019 Washington, DC

(ISC)2 National Capital Region Chapter Meeting Washington, DC

August 2019 DC-Special Libraries Association (SLA) Conference Recap Arlington, VA

Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative (FADGI) 

 Still Image Working Group Meeting & OpenDICE Training Washington, DC

Cybersecurity for Libraries Workshop Washington, DC

Virtual Discussion on FDLP eXchange Implementation Virtual

International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) DC 

 KnowledgeNet Chapter Meeting Washington, DC

How to Get Involved in National Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2019 Washington, DC

September 2019 iPres 2019 Amsterdam, 

 Netherlands

API-Led Connectivity for Government Virtual
24

New Mexico Depositories Statewide Meeting Albuquerque, NM

(ISC)2 National Capital Region Chapter Meeting Washington, DC

The Breakthrough Conference: Preparing Today’s Librarians for 

 Tomorrow’s Possibilities Washington, DC

Date FDLP Academy Webinars & Webcasts

October 2018 The Patent Office and Its Publications

Rural America: Federal and Non-Profit Resources on Economic Development, 

 Health and Housing

November 2018 Enhancing Your Intelligence Agency Information Resource IQ: Pt. 4 

 National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, National Intelligence University, 

 and National Reconnaissance Office

A Good Night’s Rest: Government Resources Can Teach You about Adequate 

 Sleep Habits

Stay Up-To-Date with Nutrition: The National Agricultural Library and Its Online 

 Nutrition Resources

IdentityTheft.gov: Your One-Stop Resource to Help People Recover from Identity Theft

December 2018 Managing Someone Else’s Money

January 2019 Enhancing Your Intelligence Agency Information Resources IQ Part 5: 

Individual Armed Services Intelligence Organizations

Train (Maybe) For The Olympics: Using Government Resources to Learn About

 Appropriate Exercise

• Introduction to govinfo 

• What’s Available in govinfo 

• Introduction to Browsing in govinfo 

• Introduction to Basic Search in govinfo 

• Introduction to Advanced Search in govinfo 

 • Introduction to Citation Search in govinfo 

• Introduction to Search Query Operators in govinfo 

• Introduction to Metadata Field Operators in govinfo 

• Working with Search Results in govinfo 

• Finding Related Documents in govinfo 

• Using Help Information in govinfo 

February 2019 Federal Data Strategies

Enhancing Your Intelligence Agency Information Resources IQ: Part 6: 

 Justice Department, Federal Courts and Congressional Committee Resources

March 2019 Advanced Searching Techniques in govinfo 

Creating More Complex Searches Using Metadata in govinfo 

The e-CFR or Electronic Code of Federal Regulations

Working with the U.S. Congressional Serial Set in govinfo 

Spotting Misinformation: The Importance of Digital Authentication

Creating an Offers Spreadsheet in FDLP eXchange

Uploading a Spreadsheet of Needs with Fewer than 250 Entries in FDLP eXchange

FDLP Outreach: Events, Conferences, & FDLP Academy Educational Offerings, Continued
25

Uploading a Spreadsheet of Needs with More than 250 Entries in FDLP eXchange

Uploading a Spreadsheet of Offers with Fewer than 250 Items in FDLP eXchange

Uploading a Spreadsheet of Offers More than 250 Items in FDLP eXchange

Creating a Needs Spreadsheet in FDLP eXchange

Hepatitis C in Indian Country and Associated Indian Health Service Efforts

Grow Old in Style: Use Government Resources to Add Style, Grace, and Age Well

Enhancing Your Intelligence Agency Information Resources IQ: Part 7: 

Department of Energy, Homeland Security, State Dept., Treasury Dept., and 

 Boards and Commissions

Free Catalog Records through CGP on GitHub

April 2019 “What Are You Trying to Say?” Improving Writing and Communications with plainlanguage.gov

Using Benefits.gov as a Tool for Citizens in Need

May 2019 Compiling a Monthly New Electronic Titles Alert 

PTAB Insights into the ISO16363 Audit of GPO

Web Scraping for the Coding-Challenged 

Advanced Search in FDLP eXchange

My eXchange in FDLP eXchange

Needs and Offers Repository in FDLP eXchange

Regional Dashboard in FDLP eXchange

Selective Dashboard in FDLP eXchange

June 2019 Who, What, Where, When and How? Legislative Research When You’ve Reached

 the End of What You Know

FDLP PURL Usage Report - Analyzing Usage of Digital FDLP Resources

Eat Your Veggies: Sneaking Government Documents into Popular Library Programs

New Updates to data.census.gov

July 2019 Measles, Immunizations, and Finding Accurate Health Information with MedlinePlus

Grow Your Bank Account: Use Government Resources to Plan Your Current and Future Finances

Providing Access to Digital Documents

Stay Mentally Alert: Government Resources for Good Mental Health

August 2019 To Encourage Productive and Enjoyable Harmony between Man and His Environment: 

Environmental Impact Statements at Northwestern University’s Transportation Library

Public Papers of the President

Tracking Regulations in govinfo

Census Business Builder 2.6: What’s New

Approving Items for Submission in FDLP eXchange 

Entering a Need Using the Form in FDLP eXchange

Getting Started with FDLP eXchange for Regionals

Getting Started with FDLP eXchange for Selectives

Reviewing Offers from Selectives in FDLP eXchange

September 2019 Discover Economic History with FRASER

Help! I am a New Depository Coordinator

The Occupational Outlook Handbook: Information on Hundreds of Occupations

 in the United States

FDLP Outreach: Events, Conferences, & FDLP Academy Educational Offerings, Continued
26

through the deployment of a new user interface with 

additional services beyond the current functionality of 

the CGP. 

Contemporary features are being envisioned such as: 

 Discovery delivered by a single search box to 

provide a streamlined search experience

 Advanced search capabilities

 Quick results ranked by relevancy

 Faceted navigation to drill down to more 

specific results, presented in a 

modern interface

 Enhanced data delivery services

Work continued in FY 2019 to develop specific 

requirements for this new service. The initial 

acquisitions phase began, and at the close of FY19, 

LSCM was in the early implementation phase.

National Bibliographic Records 

Inventory Initiative

The identification and creation of online bibliographic 

catalog records for new U.S. Government publications, 

in all published formats, is accomplished through daily 

operations. A separate retrospective effort is necessary 

to build online bibliographic records for historical and 

fugitive (uncataloged but relevant) materials. This 

effort is known as the National Bibliographic Records 

Inventory Initiative (NBRII).

The NBRII endeavors to provide online bibliographic 

records or serial holding records for historical records 

not currently captured in the CGP. These 

records include: 

 Fugitive materials, with a focus on publications 

issued prior to 1976

 Older publications where bibliographic records 

exist only in a non-electronically available 

resource, i.e., catalog card, or other paper 

bibliographic record, such as the Monthly 

Catalog

 Materials that were previously cataloged with 

such minimal information that they require 

critical record enhancement to reach a full-level 

bibliographic record

Refer to the Partnerships section of this report for a 

detailed breakdown of bibliographic records added in 

support of this initiative. 

Catalog Records on GitHub

The CGP on GitHub is a location where users may 

freely download record sets extracted from the CGP. 

In FY 2019, the CGP on GitHub Project team analyzed 

the circumstances of the distribution of online version 

records with no or inactive item numbers. The team 

compiled a list of six options for distributing such 

records to Federal depository libraries on the CGP on 

GitHub repository. The team then submitted the list to 

the management team of LSCM for review.

The team tested processes to generate collections 

of customized record sets. They collaborated with 

the Tribal college FDLP community on their ideas and 

requests for a subject-based notification service of 

newly-cataloged online resources and compiled two 

lists of LCSH terms to retrieve records in the CGP. The 

team produced record sets in MARC-8, UTF-8, and 

MARCXML, .csv files with major metadata elements for 

quickly reviewing the publications, and Aleph search 

URLs based on tags in MARC 922 fields. The second 

collection consists of online version records without 

item numbers that contain one of the several notes that 

LTS uses to explain why an item number was 

not provided.

The team expanded the information about the 

repository on the Sources of GPO Cataloging Records 

page on FDLP.gov and created a tutorial on how to 

use the repository and download the record sets. 

The team reorganized the repository structure by 

creating individual folders and README files for 

Continued from page 21
27

each collection of record sets and redesigned the file 

naming conventions so that the record sets sort in 

chronological order from earliest to latest files. 

GPO now routinely adds a MARCXML version for all 

record sets posted on GitHub. The team developed 

a preliminary process for the creation and posting of 

customized record sets based on various criteria on the 

CGP on GitHub repository.

Cataloging Guidelines

Cataloging Guidelines (CG) are intended to provide 

specific examples and practices that are unique to the 

cataloging and creation of various types of metadata 

for U.S. Government information published by all three 

branches of the U.S. Government and in all formats. 

The guidelines are used by staff at GPO but are also 

intended for use by staff in Federal depository libraries 

and library staff in other institutions who handle, 

process, or use U.S. Government information.

The practices outlined in the CG are utilized in the 

creation of bibliographic (MARC) records, which are 

made available through the CGP. In addition, these 

bibliographic records are available to Federal depository 

libraries, other libraries, partners, and commercial 

vendors through various distribution mechanisms. 

Bibliographic records produced using these CG 

and other recognized standards and practices are 

also made available through OCLC, a worldwide 

bibliographic network. Other metadata schemes, such 

as ONIX and Dublin Core, are also utilized by GPO for 

describing U.S. Government information.

GPO continues to update its CG; ensure they are in 

accord with national cataloging standards, including 

RDA and the LC-Program for Cooperative Cataloging 

Policy Statements (LC-PCC PSs); and adapt those 

instructions as needed for local policies 

and procedures.

The Cataloging Policy and Documentation Committee 

(CPDC) finished extensive revisions of three major 

chapters in FY19:

 General MARC Field Policies

 Monographs Overview

 Monographs MARC Fields

The committee merged the last two chapters into a 

new chapter, Monographs, and will publish the revised 

chapters on FDLP.gov in FY20. 

The committee added two new significant sections: 

Cataloging/Metadata Policy-making Process, in 

the Introduction chapter, and Cataloging/Metadata 

Encoding Levels, which will be added to the Overview 

chapter in FY20. The former describes how the CPDC 

members initiate, consider, and decide on proposals 

of new guidelines and revisions to existing guidelines. 

The latter lays out the metadata elements of each 

level that LTS will use in its operations. The expanded 

set of options will provide greater flexibility in how 

LTS catalogs various types of publications and batch 

processes large record sets. 

Cataloging Record Distribution Program

The Cataloging Record Distribution Program

(CRDP) provides GPO-produced catalog records to 

participating Federal depository libraries at no cost to 

the libraries, through a contract with MARCIVE, Inc. 

The CRDP began 

in 2009 and has 

expanded each year. 

In FY 2019, LSCM 

served 185 Federal depository libraries through the 

CRDP. 

For currently participating libraries, if you’re looking for 

assistance or best practices, you may contact LSCM 

Outreach and Support to identify a CRDP Buddy. 

In FY19, there were 28 Buddies available (fellow 

practitioners who volunteer to help consult on 

the CRDP). 

Libraries interested in joining the CRDP are encouraged 

to contact LSCM Outreach & Support to learn more 

about the program. 
28

Congressional Research Service Reports

In September 2018, LC launched a new website for 

CRS reports. The new site met the requirements of 

Public Law 115-141 to make these reports available 

to the public. In October 2018, in an agreement with 

the Library, LSCM’s LTS staff began cataloging CRS 

reports for the CGP and OCLC. Because these reports 

are frequently updated, GPO has cataloged each report 

title as an integrating resource. 

At the close of FY19, LTS staff had cataloged over 

2,800 separate, unique CRS report titles, approximately 

40% of all reports available on the site. Most 

publications posted are part of the CRS report series, 

which provides in-depth research and analysis. The 

LC/CRS has also been adding reports from four other 

series: In Focus, Insight, Legal Sidebar, and Testimony. 

GPO will also be cataloging reports from these series. 

CRS is adding both new reports and older titles to the 

ite on a continuous basis.

Examples include:

 Money for something: music licensing in the 

21st century

CGP System Number: 1084384 

SuDoc Number: LC 14.23:R 43984/ 

Item Number: 0807-A-07 

PURL

 The opioid epidemic and federal efforts to 

address it: frequently asked questions

CGP System Number: 1087647 

SuDoc Number: LC 14.23:R 44987/

Item Number: 0807-A-07

PURL

 Cryptocurrency: the economics of money and 

selected policy issues

CGP System Number: 1090515 

SuDoc Number: LC 14.23:R 45427/

Item Number: 0807-A-07

PURL

PURL Usage Report Enhancements 

In June 2019, the FDLP PURL Usage Report tool was 

enhanced with added functionality, based on feedback 

from the FDLP Community. The FDLP PURL Usage 

Report tool helps libraries measure usage of electronic 

or digital U.S. Government resources. It provides usage 

metrics of click-throughs from a library’s resource (such 

as a catalog or subject guide), to a Persistent Uniform 

Resource Locator (PURL).

The added features included the:

 Addition of a note field in the report to aid 

in analysis

 Ability to save library internet traffic IP Address 

ranges as patterns

 Display of the full timestamp in the report

A 52-minute webcast, FDLP PURL Usage Report 

- Analyzing Usage of Digital FDLP Resources, was 

recorded covering the following topics:

 What PURLs are and where they are found

 How GPO’s PURL server works with 

your network

 An overview of the tool

 Tips on how to configure the tool for 

your library

 Tips on how to work with the report to analyze 

your library’s usage data

An accompanying tutorial was also made available 

for download.
29

I N T E R N AT I O N A L 

EXCHANGE SERVICE NOTABLE NUMBERS

As authorized by Section 1719 of Title 44, U.S.C., 

and pursuant to an international treaty establishing 

the exchange of official publications, GPO distributes 

tangible Government publications to foreign 

governments in an exchange program managed by LC. 

Those foreign governments agree to send to the United 

States similar publications of their governments for LC 

collections. The following statistics reflect IES activity 

for FY 2019. 

Distributed IES Publications: 

 Paper Titles Shipped: 400

 Paper Copies Shipped: 10,693

 Microfiche Titles Shipped: 3,160 

 Microfiche Copies Shipped: 94,815

 Total Boxes Shipped: 1,211

LSCM administers the distribution of certain tangible 

publications as specified by Public Law. Under various 

provisions of Title 44, U.S.C., GPO is required to 

provide copies of publications to certain Federal 

agencies and others as directed by Congress. Two or 

more copies of every publication printed are provided 

to LC, even if those publications are not distributed to 

Federal depository libraries. In addition, the National 

Archives & Records Administration (NARA) receives 

up to three copies of every publication GPO prints. On 

behalf of the Department of State, LSCM distributes 

copies of publications to foreign legions. LSCM 

maintains mailing lists for By-Law distribution of specific 

publications.

Highlights at a Glance:

 There were 29,030,087 successful searches 

of the CGP between October 1, 2018, and 

September 30, 2019.

 In the FDLP eXchange, there were 225 libraries 

offering in 36 regions, and 67 libraries posted 

needs in the FDLP eXchange. 

 GPO staff visited 55 depository libraries in 13 

states.

 Nine libraries became Preservation Stewards, 

and two libraries became Digital Content 

Contributors.

 FDLP LibGuides had more than 30,000 views 

to the 82 guides offered.

 The FDLP Academy hosted 36 webinars, with 

more than 3,955 combined registrants.

 A total of 84 participants—41 participants in 

the fall 2018 cohort and 43 participants in the 

spring 2019 cohort— received a certificate 

of completion from the FDLP Coordinator 

Certificate Program.

 GPO has increased the size of the FDLP 

Web Archive collection to 22.2 TB, with 

189,000,000 URLs crawled.

 185 Federal depository libraries, or 16.5%

of all depositories, are participating in the 

Cataloging Record Distribution Program. 

 Ben’s Guide saw 1,246,219 user sessions.

 FDLP.gov saw 215,605 user sessions. 

BY-LAW PROGRAM
30

CLOSING

In FY 19, LSCM staff:

 Added 22,602 new cataloging records to the 

CGP, of which 15,546 (or 69%) contained 

PURLs to full-text publications. 

 Checked in 33,873 serial issues to the CGP 

and created 523 publication patterns for serial 

titles. 

 Identified 4,296 previously-uncataloged Serial 

& Integrated Resource (IR) titles and created 

new bibliographic records. 

 Distributed 3,639 titles. 

 Distributed 713,616 copies of materials to 

FDLP libraries. 

 Responded to 5,387 askGPO inquiries. 

Program for Cooperative Cataloging Statistics:

 Authority records: 1,431 authority records 

created & updated 

 NACO: 1,385 name authority records 

created & updated

 SACO: 46 subject authority records 

created & updated

 BIBCO: 10,002 records created

 CONSER: 

 Authenticated records: 2,788

 Maintenance of CONSER records: 510

 Maintenance of non-CONSER records: 

205

There are many ways to stay abreast of LSCM projects 

and initiatives and to contact LSCM staff with inquiries 

or comments.

1. Subscribe to FDLP News and Events email 

alerts. At least one staff member in every 

Federal depository library is required to 

subscribe, but anyone is welcome. 

2. Visit FDLP.gov for information related to the 

administration and management of Federal 

depository libraries.

The FDLP Contacts page guides you to contacts for 

topic-specific information. 

3. Follow GPO on social media. Federal

depository library staff are encouraged to 

send news and updates from your library. 

Your library could be featured on GPO’s social 

media platforms:

 Facebook

 Twitter

 Instagram

 YouTube

 Pinterest

 LinkedIn

 Government Book Talk Blog
3

Everyone at GPO sincerely thanks the FDLP community for their continued support

and invaluable service to the public in FY 2019 and beyond. 
      

Alaska     Hawaii                      Micronesia      Guam                        Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands

   

Federal Government information is made available

for free public use in Federal depository libraries

throughout the U.S. in over 1,100 locations.

U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

732 North Capitol Street, NW

Washington, DC 20401-0001

Keeping America Informed | OFFICIAL | DIGITAL | SECURE

www.gpo.gov | facebook.com/USGPO | twitter.com/usgpo