Administrative Notes 

Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program

Vol. 25, no. 05 GP 3.16/3-2:25/05 April 15, 2004 

HIGHLIGHTS

Fugitive 

Documents 1 

New IT Project 

Manager: 

Thompson 4

Council Meeting 

Handouts: 

GPO Update 4 

Future of 

Sales Program 9 

Regional 

Meeting 

Summary 16 

First Fugitive Documents Week 

Nets 222 New Titles 

“Help catch a fugitive from justice!” was the cry from March 29 – April 2, 2004, 

proclaimed as the first annual Fugitive Documents Week by the Fugitive & 

Electronic-Only Documents Committee of the American Association of Law 

Libraries Government Documents Special Interest Section (AALL GDSIS). 

During the week, librarians and other interested parties were encouraged to find 

and report fugitive documents to GPO so they could be classified, cataloged, 

included in the National Bibliography, and disseminated through the Federal 

Depository Library Program, resulting in 222 new titles. Susan Lyons (Rutgers 

Law Library) and Scott Matheson (Yale Law School Library) coordinated this 

effort for the Committee. 

Background 

Fugitive documents are defined as those documents of public interest or 

educational value, not classified for reasons of national security, which have not 

been acquired for distribution to Federal depository libraries or brought under 

bibliographic control through the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications. 

Because of the nature of the problem, it is difficult to determine exactly how 

many fugitive documents there are. An estimate of 50% is often cited in the 

documents literature. There are recent indications that this may be a conservative 

estimate. A 1998 Inspector General review of the National Institute of Health’s 

(NIH) compliance with Title 44 depository requirements found that 78% of their 

applicable titles were not provided to the Superintendent of Documents for 

dissemination. In January 2000, a former director of the National Technical 

Information Service (NTIS) stated that there were as many as “50,000 gray

literature NTIS titles” that were fugitive from the Federal Depository Library

Program (FDLP). 

AALL GDSIS has been active in assisting GPO with identifying fugitive 

documents for several years. Their work dovetailed nicely with the Electronic 

Documents Working Group, which originated with the Depository Library

Council. Together, these groups have identified fugitives and suggested 

classification numbers and distribution formats consistent with our guidelines. 

GPO appreciates the effort and thought that each volunteer puts into this process. 
AN-v25-#05-4/15/04

Reporting Process 

On March 15, 2004, a message was cross-posted to the GD-SIS, LAWLIB, and GOVDOC-L electronic 

discussion lists, inviting people to participate in the first Fugitive Documents Week in two weeks’ time. 

Participants were asked to notify GPO, through the lostdocs form on the FDLP Desktop, of any Federal 

publications they came across that were not found in the Monthly Catalog print edition, the online 

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP), or in OCLC’s WorldCat. 

Statistics & Data Analysis

During Fugitive Documents Week GPO received 134 submissions to lostdocs originating from 18 

different e-mail addresses. As shown in Table 1, GPO received 45 e-mails on Monday, the highest daily

total for the week. This was followed by Wednesday with 39, Thursday with 36 and Tuesday with 12. 

Friday was the slowest day, with only 2 submissions. 

3/29 – 4/2, 2004 Mon. Tues. Wed. Thur. Fri. Total 

E-mail Submissions to 

lostdocs@gpo.gov

45 12 39 36 2 134 

Table 1: Submissions to lostdocs, 3/29 - 4/2, 2004

This promotional effort generated 857% more submissions to lostdocs in one week than were received for 

an average week so far in fiscal year 2004. Compared to the average number of submissions per week 

since the inception of lostdocs in April 2002, this represents a 436% increase. While there were 134 

submissions during the week, many more fugitive documents were identified. Several e-mails referred to 

Web pages listing numerous documents that were not classified or cataloged by GPO, adding up to a total 

of 222 fugitive publications identified during the week. 

E-mail Submissions to 

lostdocs@gpo.gov

FY 2002

APRIL – SEPT. 

FY 2003

OCT. – SEPT. 

FY 2004

OCT. – FEB. 

Total number 428 1702 293 

Average # per month 71 142 59 

Table 2: Submissions to lostdocs during fiscal year reporting 

From the 134 submissions, the following agencies were identified as having fugitive titles that need to be 

“brought into custody”: 

 Administrative Office of the Courts 

 Department of Agriculture 

 Department of Commerce

- Bureau of the Census 

- National Institute of Standards and 

Technology

- National Marine Fisheries 

 Department of Defense 

- Army. Command and General Staff 

College 

- Marine Corps. History and Museums 

Division 

- Navy. Naval Historical Center 

- Coalition Provisional Authority

 Department of Education 

- National Center for Education Statistics 

 Department of Energy 

 Department of Health and Human Services

- Center for Disease Control 

- National Institutes of Health

 Department of Homeland Security 

- Federal Emergency Management Agency

- U.S. Immigration and Customs 

Enforcement 

- U.S. Coast Guard

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 Department of Housing and Urban 

Development 

 Department of the Interior 

- United States Geological Survey 

 Department of Justice

- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

- Bureau of Justice Statistics 

- Executive Office of Immigration Review

- National Criminal Justice Reference

Service 

 Department of Transportation 

- Federal Aviation Administration 

- National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration

 Department of the Treasury 

- Internal Revenue Service 

 Environmental Protection Agency 

 Executive Office of the President

- Office of National Drug Control Policy

 General Accounting Office 

 Merit Systems Protection Board

Conclusion 

A crucial factor in handling fugitive documents is awareness. Efforts such as Fugitive Documents Week 

heighten awareness of the issue while at the same time functioning as tools to assist GPO in adding 

fugitive publications to the National Bibliography and disseminating them to depository libraries. During 

the 1st Annual Fugitive Documents Week, GPO received 134 e-mail submissions that in combination 

identified 222 documents from almost 30 agencies, now being worked through by the classifiers and 

catalogers. GPO looks forward to working with AALL GDSIS on future efforts to identify and acquire 

fugitive documents and make that information permanently accessible to the public. 

For More Information 

Fugitive Documents Week Web site: 

http://law-library.rutgers.edu/fugitivedocs.htm

AALL. Government Documents Special Interest Section. Fugitive & Electronic-Only Documents 

Committee. 

http://www.law.yale.edu/outside/scr/library/fugdocs/index.asp 

Electronic Documents Working Group: A GPO – Depository Community Project 

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/tools/ewgroup/index.html 

lostdocs@gpo.gov: 

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/tools/lostdocs.html

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Denise Thompson Selected As Information 

Technology (IT) Project Manager 

Denise Thompson has been selected as an 

Information Technology (IT) Project Manger, a 

newly created position in the Information 

Dissemination (Superintendent of Documents) 

Office of Program Development. Her major 

responsibilities will be leading and participating 

in the integration of new technology programs

and projects in support of Information 

Dissemination’s mission and initiatives. 

Ms. Thompson began her career with GPO in 

1973, working nights while completing her 

education requirements full time during the day. 

Ms. Thompson has since held a variety of staff 

and management positions involving the 

Superintendent of Documents Sales Service. In 

her most recent position as Chief of the Order 

Division, she managed the operation of all facets 

of the Division. This included the formulation of 

policies, procedures, techniques and systems to 

process customer orders. In her previous position 

as the Manager of the Program and Development 

Branch, Ms. Thompson coordinated and

conducted Documents-wide planning and 

automated systems development. 

Ms. Thompson has a B.S. from the District of 

Columbia Teachers College. She lives in Upper 

Marlboro, Maryland along with her husband, a 

printer with GPO, and her son and daughter. 

[The following were handouts presented at the Spring Council Meeting in St. Louis, MO.] 

AUTHENTICATION/PUBLIC KEY 

INFRASTRUCTURE (PKI) 

GPO has finalized the management control 

documents establishing the policies and practices 

for GPO’s PKI. The hardware and software 

required for the PKI operation is on site, and 

work is underway with the contractor who is 

assisting staff in the Chief Information Officer’s

(CIO’s) organization on the PKI implementation. 

Once the PKI is fully operational, GPO will be 

able to begin digitally signing electronic files. 

The first digitally signed documents will be 

available on GPO Access in mid-Summer, 

starting with the Congressional Bills for the 108th

Congress. A demonstration showing how a 

digitally signed file can be used for authentication 

will be presented during the GPO Access Open 

Forum on Wednesday, April 21, from 10:30 a.m.

to 12:00 p.m.

COLLECTION OF LAST RESORT

• GPO has developed a draft plan for a 

Collection of Last Resort that will 

proactively acquire, preserve, provide 

online access to, and make available copies 

of U.S. Government publications in all 

formats. The Collection includes 

preservation and access copies of digital 

objects and tangible publications. The draft 

plan is located at: 

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AN-v25-#05-4/15/04

5 

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdl

p/pubs/clr.pdf

Comments on the draft plan can be 

submitted by e-mail to: 

jrussell@gpo.gov

It will be discussed on Sunday, April 18, at 

the 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. plenary session. 

• GPO is about to accept nearly 12,000 

volumes of the U.S. Congressional Serial 

Set from the Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public 

Library (BPL) for GPO’s developing 

Collection of Last Resort. BPL, which was 

designated a depository in 1908, has agreed 

to return this important resource to GPO, 

where it will become one of the 

cornerstones of the Collection of Last 

Resort. The Serial Set volumes will 

ultimately be placed in GPO’s dark archive, 

where they will be preserved as a backup 

for depository collections around the 

country. Libraries interested in transferring 

material distributed via the Federal 

Depository Library Program should contact 

Robin Haun-Mohamed, Program 

Development Specialist, at: 

rhaun-mohamed@gpo.gov 

DECISION FRAMEWORK FOR FEDERAL 

DOCUMENT REPOSITORIES

GPO has observed with great interest the 

movement toward shared repositories, or shared 

housing agreements, that allow two or more 

libraries to eliminate some of the redundancy 

between or among their collections. These 

initiatives are still in the early stages, but they are 

very important since they could help us address 

preservation of the legacy government documents 

collections in Federal depository libraries by 

moving toward a smaller number of 

comprehensive sets of tangible publications that 

can be more readily preserved. 

GPO contracted with Center for Research 

Libraries (CRL) for the development of a 

Decision Framework for Federal Document 

Repositories that can be used to evaluate the level 

of assurance provided by print repositories based 

on their physical characteristics, resources, 

governance and other factors. While the 

framework is not yet complete, it is sufficient to 

permit us to begin active discussion about the 

essential characteristics of future repositories. The 

discussion draft is available at: 

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs

/decisionmatrix.pdf

Comments on the draft can be submitted by email to: 

jrussell@gpo.gov

It will be discussed on Sunday, April 18, at the 

7:00 - 9:00 p.m. plenary session. 

DIGITIZATION PLAN

GPO is working with the Association of Research 

Libraries (ARL) and others in the library 

community on a national digitization plan, with a 

goal to digitize a complete legacy collection of 

tangible U.S. Government publications to ensure 

permanent public access. The intent is to make 

sure that the entire legacy collection is digitized 

for preservation purposes while providing access 

copies to be derived from the digitized 

preservation copies. Recent actions include: 

• GPO is conducting a survey of the 

depository community to develop a list of 

priority titles or series that should be among 

the early items to be digitized. There is a 

Web page with a list of the titles and series 

that have been identified to date. It can be 

found at: 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/legacy/priori

ties

Libraries wishing to add to the list will have 

until May 8 to do so. Following the analysis 

of the recommendations, GPO will ask the 

community to rank suggested titles and 

series for digitization. The ranking period 

that will begin by mid-May and last for two 

weeks. The results will be disseminated to 

the library community before the summer 

library association meetings. The 
AN-v25-#05-4/15/04

identification of priority titles for 

digitization will be discussed on Monday, 

April 19, at the 8:30 - 10:00 a.m. plenary 

session. 

• A meeting of experts on digitization and

digital preservation was held at GPO in 

March. The meeting brought together 

practicing experts in the field of digital 

format conversion, as well as 

representatives of funding and other 

coordinating organizations, to discuss the 

current standards and specifications for the 

creation of digital objects for preservation 

and to put forward a proposed set of 

minimum requirements for digitizing 

documents for the legacy collection 

digitization project. The full report of this

meeting may be found at: 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/about/report

s/preservation.html

Comments on the proposed specifications 

can be submitted from the webpage or by email to: 

jrussell@gpo.gov

It will be discussed on Monday, April 19, 

during the 8:30 - 10:00 a.m. plenary

session. 

DEPOSITORY SERVICES CONSULTANTS

GPO is working with the depository community

to establish a team of 12 depository services 

consultants. The initial consultants will be housed 

at regional depositories that have agreed to 

sponsor them. Each consultant will visit libraries 

in their territory and participate in local and 

regional events. The interactions will provide 

training opportunities to partner libraries and 

additional opportunities for dialog. While the 

consultants will be GPO employees, they will be 

located in the community to work more closely

with their assigned libraries. The intent is to share 

best practices and provide additional educational 

opportunities in order to strengthen depository 

service to the public. 

Proposals to host depository services consultants 

can be sent to: 

kotoole@gpo.gov

LOCKSS 

GPO is working with Stanford University and 

Federal depository library pilot partners to 

explore the applicability of the Lots of Copies 

Keep Stuff Safe (LOCKSS) technology

(www.lockss.org) for the FDLP. This effort is 

divided into two phases: 

• For phase I, GPO is preparing to install a 

LOCKSS cache that will receive test 

content from Sanford and participate in 

peer-to-peer auditing with other 

participating libraries and publishers. 

• For phase II, GPO has endorsed Stanford's

National Science Foundation grant 

proposal, which tasks GPO with collecting 

e-journal content from agency Web sites, 

adding metadata and digital signatures, and 

disseminating that content to Federal 

depository library pilot partners through a 

LOCKSS server. 

WAIS REPLACEMENT

GPO continues to work on procuring a new 

platform to replace the WAIS search and retrieval 

software for GPO Access databases. Several 

interim solutions are currently being evaluated 

with the CIO and his staff with a target to make a 

recommendation to the Public Printer by April 30, 

2004. Implementation of an interim solution will 

enable GPO to take existing WAIS data off 

legacy systems quickly and to complete the effort 

to establish a geographically separate mirror site. 

It will also enable the conversion of legacy

databases to XML coded files while GPO 

continues to evaluate alternatives for a new 

platform that will take full advantage of XML 

encoded documents and plans to migrate all 

databases on GPO Access first to the interim

platform and then to a new platform. This 

approach will help ensure continuity and ease of 

use throughout the site and the XML coding will 

support greater functionality and inter-linking of 

data. 

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OMB/GPO AGREEMENT

In June 2003, GPO and the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) announced a 

compact that will allow Federal agencies to select 

their own commercial printers using standard 

contracts issued by GPO. Under this agreement, 

the Superintendent of Documents receives an 

electronic copy and two printed copies of every

publication directly from the printer. This

contract provision should help eliminate fugitive 

documents and bring many more titles into the 

Federal Depository Library Program as the OMB 

Compact expands to other Federal agencies. 

This agreement is currently being tested through a 

pilot project with the Department of Labor. Since 

the inception of the compact, there have been 109 

offers made through the compact. 28 publications

were selected from among the print orders 

submitted for cataloging and inclusion in the 

FDLP. PDF files are available for all of these

titles. In addition, all of the files are being 

optimized for use in print-on-demand (POD). 

Those not selected were not within the scope of 

the FDLP. 

SCIENCE.GOV

Science.gov (www.science.gov) is an interagency

portal that makes available selected authoritative 

scientific Web sites and databases of technical 

reports, journal articles, conference proceedings, 

and other published materials from science 

agencies throughout the Federal Government. 

GPO is currently working with the other Federal 

agencies in the Science.gov Alliance to enhance 

precision searching for Science.gov users and to 

improve public access to the Federal scientific 

information from each participating agency. 

Science.gov 2.0, scheduled to go live in May

2004, will implement enhanced searching 

capabilities, including fielded searches and 

improved search ranking. GPO will make the 

Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulation 

on GPO Access available via the Science.gov 

portal. 

SALES PROGRAM

• A meeting of experts was convened in midMarch to discuss the future of the GPO 

Sales Program. The objective was to get 

advice and feedback on how to build a 

sustainable economic model for the GPO 

Sales Program that will generate $30 to $50 

million in additional revenue for GPO 

annually. The model must be one that is

acceptable to publishing agencies, 

complements free public access to 

government information through the FDLP, 

and avoids inappropriate competition with 

commercial publishing. A report on the 

meeting is available online at: 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/about/report

s/econmodel.html

Comments on the report can be submitted 

from the webpage or by e-mail to: 

jrussell@gpo.gov

Discussion of this topic will be on Sunday, 

April 18, at the 3:30-5:00 p.m. plenary

session.

• GPO continues to identify publications that 

can take advantage of print-on-demand 

(POD) technology. The congressional 

materials formerly offered for sale by the 

Congressional Sales Office are now 

available exclusively via POD. In addition 

to GPO’s own production facilities, 

contracts with four private vendors that can 

produce POD are being utilized to make 

more titles available. A content 

management system is being developed to 

handle the press-optimized PDF files and a 

draft specification for these files has been 

developed, so that Federal agencies can 

supply GPO with press-optimized PDF for 

POD purposes. Currently, more than 27 

percent of the publication titles in the Sales 

Program have been set up for POD and 

there is an effort underway for rapid 

expansion of POD offerings. 

• GPO is continuing work to implement the 

ONIX metadata standard and other 

publishing industry standards for its Sales 

Program. Adopting these standards will 

allow GPO to provide information to 

commercial publishing sales channels in an 

industry-recognized format that can be 

7 
AN-v25-#05-4/15/04

readily used to facilitate discovery and 

awareness of GPO’s sales items, thus 

giving the Sales Program much greater 

visibility worldwide. 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PILOT PROJECT

GPO is working with the University of Arkansas, 

Pine Bluff (UAPB) to test the feasibility of an 

Economic Development Program (EDP) for 

Federal depository libraries located in 

economically depressed areas. This pilot project, 

located in UAPB’s Watson Library, seeks to 

create community awareness of existing Federal, 

state and county resources available for small 

business development in the local area. GPO has 

enhanced the depository’s collections by

providing a dedicated computer workstation and a 

customized Web page template with links to area 

economic development agencies, small business 

concerns and minority business services and 

opportunities. GPO has also provided a collection 

of tangible resources to supplement the electronic 

resources. The EDP pilot also features training 

on Federal information products by staff from

STAT-USA and the Census Bureau. Project 

measurements will include a user satisfaction 

survey and follow-up surveys on referrals. The 

goal of this pilot is to help better understand the 

relationship between the business community and 

a depository library with an active business 

collection. 

Statistics 

3⁄4 Through February of FY 2004, 60 percent of 

the new titles brought into the FDLP have 

been electronic. In November, more that 71 

percent of the new titles were electronic.

3⁄4 The number of retrievals from GPO Access in 

2004 has averaged over 1 million retrievals a 

day. This equates to approximately 27 million 

standard typeset pages per day.

3⁄4 GPO Access now contains over 159,000

electronic titles and points to over 106,000 

others for a total of over 265,000 titles in the 

FDLP Electronic Collection.

What’s New on GPO Access

3⁄4 The Fiscal Year 2005 Federal Budget 

Publications are now available online at: 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy05/ind

ex.html

3⁄4 The Economic Report of the President, 2004 

is now available on GPO Access at 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/eop/index.html

3⁄4 New tool to help link to documents on GPO 

Access is now available at

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/help/linking.html

3⁄4 A new Federal Web site, Interagency Council 

on Homelessness is now hosted on GPO 

Access. It can be found at: 

http://www.ich.gov/

3⁄4 The Final House Calendar, 108th Congress, 

First Session, is now available on GPO 

Access at: 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/calendars/house/se

arch.html

Upcoming Outreach

June 5-10 Special Libraries 

Association 

Nashville, TN 

June 24-30 ALA Annual Orlando, FL 

July 2-7 National Education 

Association 

Washington, 

DC 

July 11-13 American 

Association of Law 

Libraries 

Boston, MA

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Summary of Meeting on the Future of the 

GPO Sales Program 

U.S. Government Printing Office 

Washington, D.C. 

March 16, 2004 

Comments can be submitted by e-mail to jrussell@gpo.gov, or online at 

www.gpoaccess.gov/about/reports/econmodel.html. 

Comments must be received by Friday, May 7, 2004. 

On Tuesday, March 16, 2004, Judith C. Russell, 

Managing Director for Information Dissemination 

and Superintendent of Documents, United States 

Government Printing Office (GPO) convened a 

meeting of experts to discuss the future of the 

GPO Sales Program. The basic objective of this 

meeting was to get advice and feedback on how 

to build a sustainable economic model for the 

GPO Sales Program that will generate $30 to $50 

million in additional revenue for GPO annually.

The model must be one that is acceptable to 

publishing agencies, complements free public 

access to government information through the 

Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), and 

avoids inappropriate competition with 

commercial publishing. 

A select group of experts representing Federal 

agencies, the Federal Depository Library 

community, and the information/ publishing 

industry participated in a daylong discussion of 

this issue. The participants were as follows: 

AGENCY REPRESENTATIVES: 

• Jane Griffith, National Library of Medicine 

• John Kavaliunas, Census Bureau 

• Kurt Molholm, Defense Technical Information 

Center 

• Hedy Rossmeissl, U.S. Geological Survey

• Forrest Williams, STAT-USA 

LIBRARY REPRESENTATIVES: 

• Richard Akeroyd, New Mexico State Library

• Dan Barkley, Chair, Depository Library Council 

• Bill Gordon, Former Executive Director, 

American Library Association 

• Steve Hinckley, University of South Carolina 

Law School 

INFORMATION /PUBLISHING 

REPRESENTATIVES: 

• Chris Burns, Independent Consultant 

• Daniel Duncan, Independent Consultant 

• David LeDuc, Software and Information 

Industry Association 

OBSERVERS: 

• Prudence Adler, Association of Research 

Libraries 

• Mary Alice Baish, American Association of 

Law Libraries 

• Lynne Bradley, American Library Association 

• Glenn King, Federal Publishers Committee 

• Susan Tarr, Federal Library Information Center 

Committee 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 

• Bruce James, Public Printer 

• Judy Russell, Superintendent of Documents 

• Bob Willard, Strategic Marketing Officer 

The opening remarks by Public Printer Bruce 

James and Superintendent of Documents Judy 

Russell set the stage for the meeting. Mr. James 

explained that the GPO has five business areas: 

• In-house printing, primarily for the Congress, 

but also including the Federal Register, Code of 

Federal Regulations, and some other Executive 

Branch publications 

• Printing purchased from private sector printers 

on behalf of Federal agencies 

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AN-v25-#05-4/15/04

• Consulting services to assist agencies to design 

publications and write specifications necessary

to produce them

• The Federal Depository Library Program

• The GPO Sales Program 

The FDLP and the Sales Program are both 

administered by the Superintendent of Documents 

and historically each program has taken 

advantage of the opportunity to procure copies of 

publications for distribution by “riding” agency

print orders that come in through GPO’s 

Customer Service organization. 

The purpose of this meeting was to focus on the 

GPO Sales Program, which has been losing 

money steadily over the past few years, mainly

due to the fact that many of the publications and 

subscriptions sold through the program are now 

available for free online via GPO Access and 

from other Federal agency web sites. Due to the 

declining sales, GPO is following the lead of 

many private sector companies and has begun to

move to a print on demand model for most of the 

titles that it distributes in printed form. This will 

allow GPO to provide the most efficient and 

economic service to agency publishers and to the 

public, while reducing the risk of unsold 

inventory and out-of-print titles. 

Mr. James noted that the current model for 

distribution of digital information on the Internet 

was not anticipated. In the print environment, the 

Federal Depository Library Program and the 

Sales Program were complementary. GPO sent 

copies of printed documents to depository

libraries, so that their patrons could come in and 

look at the documents, but if someone wanted a 

personal copy of a document or a library required 

additional copies, they could purchase them from

the Superintendent of Documents. 

Mr. James made it clear the GPO is not going to 

sell the Congressional Record or Federal 

Register online. GPO is not going to sell the 

information that is already online through GPO 

Access. He said, “Forget it; it is just not going to 

happen.” He also said that GPO will continue to 

put more information online at no fee and will 

continue to make it widely available for 

individuals to access through their own computers 

via the Internet. 

Nevertheless, he expressed the belief that there is 

an opportunity that GPO has never really 

addressed for revenue coming out of government 

information that is distributed via the Internet. For 

example, when a user pulls information from the 

Internet through a query, as currently occurs with 

GPO Access, the information is available at no 

fee, but if GPO pushes that information to the 

user via a subscription of some kind, the agency

might charge for that service. Because such a 

service would be designed to accomplish business 

purposes, individuals and businesses might well 

be willing to pay for the convenience. 

He also spoke about the opportunity to partner 

with the private sector and using government 

information in conjunction with private sector 

information to create new revenue streams that 

have not previously existed. For example, many

information companies supply data to their 

customers on a subscription basis, with fees of 

$10,000 a year or more. They may have only a 

few dozen or a few hundred customers for that 

product. Using the GPO web portal, GPO might 

be able to develop a means to sell that 

information by the drink or on demand, where an 

individual or a small business could come in and 

buy just what they need, just this one time. That 

would create a new revenue stream for the private 

sector company, and it would be a new revenue 

stream for GPO, as well. 

Mr. James urged the group to consider these 

examples and think outside of the box in that 

fashion. He also explained that GPO has informed 

potential partners that they will have to supply

access to such joint products and services, even 

when they combine private sector content with 

government information, at no fee to the

depository libraries, so the public can come in 

and access it. He noted: “We have yet to have 

anyone say that is a stupid idea; we won't do it.” 

In general, these companies understand that GPO 

cannot go forward in a partnership with them

unless there is some accommodation that takes 

into account access for depository libraries. 

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Judy Russell then laid out the main objectives for 

the meeting. She noted that this is not a decision 

making group. GPO invited the participants and 

observers in order to benefit from their combined 

experience and obtain advice about how to 

proceed. The intent is to generate a document 

summarizing the meeting, which GPO would then 

share broadly with the all of the communities that 

have an interest to get some feedback before it 

goes forward. In doing this, GPO is making the 

assumption that there is both a genuine need and 

a real opportunity for a healthy Sales Program

that recognizes the interests of the library 

community and those of the information industry

and can assist publishing agencies in the 

proactive dissemination of their information to 

the public. 

There is a long tradition of free public access of 

government information products through the 

FDLP. Its roots are in a law passed in 1813 

requiring the deposit of federal government 

information throughout the country for public 

access. The FDLP has been managed by the GPO 

for over 100 years and has served the country

very well. 

There is also a long tradition for the sale of 

reproducibles (plates, negatives, etc.) to 

companies and organizations that wished to 

reprint government publications, and of finished 

products (publications, maps, posters, etc.) to the 

business community, law firms, libraries and the 

general public. 

As noted earlier, for many years the Sales 

Program and the FDLP co-existed and were 

complementary. Then in 1994 GPO Access was 

launched to provide online access to the 

Congressional Record, Federal Register, and 

other Federal government information. GPO 

Access began by offering no-fee service to federal 

depository libraries and paid subscriptions to 

others. However, 18 months later the paid 

subscriptions were dropped and GPO began to 

provide no-fee public access, not just to 

depository libraries, but also to the general public. 

GPO Access has been wildly successful.

Currently, there are over 1 million files 

downloaded per day – the equivalent of 27 

million typeset pages. However, the results of that 

action – and the simultaneous changes in agency

dissemination from paper publications to posting 

on websites – have been devastating for the GPO 

Sales Program. Revenues have dropped from over 

$80 million to $30 million in 10 years. At one 

time GPO sold over 35,000 paid subscription to 

the Federal Register; now GPO sells less than 

2,700 copies, while customers download in 

excess of 4 million free Federal Register 

documents per month. GPO Access has improved 

public access, but destabilized the Sales Program, 

which, in the past, was an important part of the 

overall revenue and income for GPO, making 

significant contributions to GPO's overhead and 

its economic well being. 

As the Public Printer said, this change was not 

anticipated. GPO did not develop a new model 

for the Sales Program in response to the vast 

amounts of information offered for no-fee public 

access on GPO Access and the World Wide Web. 

Over the past decade, the Sales Program declined 

rapidly, to the point where it was losing over $1 

million a month, and draining the capital the GPO 

needs to invest in its future. 

GPO has taken a number of steps in the past year 

to reduce the losses and re-establish a sustainable 

Sales Program. However, what is needed is a new 

economic model that will generate additional 

revenue for GPO. The model must be acceptable 

to publishing agencies, complement free public 

access to government information through the 

FDLP, and avoid competing inappropriately with 

commercial publishing. This is a difficult task 

that requires both innovative ideas and careful 

planning. 

The Sales Program is suffering from a 

combination of factors. One is that agencies are 

ceasing to print many publications and instead 

offering information on their websites. Moreover, 

while there certainly are some in the public who 

still want to purchase print publications, 

increasingly, people are satisfied with electronic 

access or local printing of downloaded files. So 

the market for the resale of government 

publications has changed, and GPO has to look at 

different kinds of products and different ways to 

take those products to the marketplace. 

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The participants were then given a chance to 

introduce themselves and give a brief summary of 

their thoughts on this issue. Here is a summary of 

the main thoughts and comments that came out of 

these introductory discussions: 

• Representatives from the library community

affirmed the belief that the public has a right to 

no-fee access to all government information. 

• GPO needs to help smaller agencies meet their 

e-government mandates. 

• Marketing Efforts: 

- Aggressive exploration and identification of 

regular and niche markets can result in a very

successful business model.

- There may be an opportunity for GPO to

provide publishing, publication, and to

distribution services to state governments in 

return for a fee, and possibly sell these 

publications in the sales program. 

- There may be an opportunity for GPO to

share revenue from the sale of government 

information with the publishing agencies. 

• Consideration needs to be given to the 

assumption that there is a need and space for 

the GPO Sales Program. 

- There may not be enough unique products or 

revenue opportunities in the market that will 

generate the level of revenue expected. 

• New business opportunities exist in taking the 

lead on issues like accessibility, security, and 

authentication—and then in turn selling these 

services to agencies [This comment relates to 

other business opportunities for GPO to sell 

services to Federal agencies, but not to the 

Sales Program].

- GPO could offer services in unique 

identifiers, rights management, authenticated 

format, version control, forward referencing 

to updates, metadata, etc. 

- Publishing agencies might pay to get their 

publications included in GPO’s Catalog of 

Government Publications.

- GPO could offer services to help publishing 

agencies reformat their publications to 

conform to print on demand specifications 

and standards. 

• GPO could target more international markets: 

- International customers could be expected to 

pay more for information that is free to 

domestic customers. 

• The aggregation and unification of information 

otherwise available for free is another possible 

new business opportunity. 

- With electronic information services, people 

buy the service, not the information. Similar 

information from a number of different 

sources could be combined and sold for a fee. 

This model is currently being used at 

STATUSA. 

• GPO should do cost benefit analyses and 

projected ROI reports for any new economic 

model it considers. 

• GPO could “push” information to customers for 

a fee. 

• GPO could partner with private industry to 

provide value-added services, such as 

booksellers, software companies, etc. 

- GPO should encourage cooperation between 

the public and private sector, not competition 

between the two. 

• GPO is encouraged to identify niche markets 

that do not interfere with the current nofee 

access online dissemination model or fee-based 

private sector services. 

After these discussions, four main points were 

deemed suitable for further discussion and debate 

for the remainder of the meeting. These are listed 

and discussed in more detail below: 

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1. Is there a need and space for the GPO Sales 

Program? 

2. Is there a market opportunity for repackaging 

of government information otherwise available 

free?

3. Should the new economic model involve both 

cost and revenue sharing with the publishing 

agency?

4. Should the new economic model allow for cost 

and revenue sharing with: 

a. Non-Federal partners; or 

b. Non-Federal content? 

Issue #1: Is there a need and space for the 

GPO Sales Program? 

Most of the group agreed that there is a need and 

space for the GPO Sales Program. However, the 

space is a small one, in that it must fit in between 

the no-fee access provided from GPO Access and 

the fee-based services that are currently offered in 

the private sector. In essence, GPO cannot 

compromise its no-fee access, but also must not 

offer products that compete directly with the 

private sector. 

One attendee did not see a need and space for the 

Sales Program on the scale that the Public Printer 

sought, i.e., $30 to $50 million in additional 

revenue annually. The contention was that the 

Sales Program could not generate that volume of 

revenue unless GPO can find something that 

people want to buy and that the most lucrative 

opportunities were likely to have already been 

identified and addressed by private sector 

companies. 

A parallel was pointed out between GPO and 

non-profit organizations. In the nonprofit world, 

the associations typically have a narrow range of 

people whom they are serving with products that 

fit between no-fee public access and offerings 

from commercial publishers. The suggestion was 

made that GPO adopt a similar model — 

targeting niche markets, individuals, and small 

businesses. 

The following question was also raised: What 

would the effects be if GPO did not have a Sales 

Program? Most attendees seemed to agree that 

there is an inherent benefit to the public for GPO 

to have a Sales Program. While there would be 

other channels for the public to access Federal 

government information without the Sales 

Program (such as GPO Access, Federal agency

web sites and the FDLP), public services would 

not be quite as robust as they were when there 

was a Sales Program. Furthermore, as noted 

above, at one time the Sales Program was an 

important part of the overall revenue and income

for GPO, making significant contributions to 

GPO's overhead and its economic well being. It is 

to restore that balance that GPO is now seeking a 

new economic model for the Sales Program. 

Issue #2: Is there a market opportunity for 

repackaging of government information 

otherwise available at no cost? 

The second main issue presented was the 

possibility of GPO adopting a model in which it 

would still offer the same information for free 

through GPO Access and the depository program, 

but would also charge for that information 

repackaged in alternative ways. For example, 

there are other agencies, such as STAT-USA, that 

bring together and aggregate information from a 

number of different agency Web sites that 

otherwise are available for no fee. In essence, 

what the customer is paying for in this instance is 

the service of bringing the information together 

and displaying it in useful ways, not the 

information itself. It was noted, however, that 

there are many agencies and cross-agency

collaborations that are offering similar services 

for no fee as well. 

Several participants pointed out that repackaging, 

changing the nature of the content, or the context 

in which that content is presented, could raise a 

red flag in the information industry since many

companies in the industry perform exactly this 

function. Others noted that there is some room in 

there between a public need that won't necessarily

be served by what the government can provide at 

no fee and what the information industry sees as a 

viable commercial product. 

Some participants offered the suggestion that 

GPO provide services whereby the customer can 

repackage content on their own. In this model, 

customers would have the opportunity to create 

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14

archived or customized sites on a GPO server 

where they can retain and retrieve information. 

Another suggestion was to offer print-on-demand 

for publications that may not otherwise be 

available in print, including large documents 

retrieved from searches on GPO Access. 

The idea was presented that GPO could offer a 

service through which a customer could build a 

profile that specifies a subset of a publication 

(such as the Federal Register) or group of 

publications. GPO would send applicable content 

to the customer each time such content was added 

to the GPO Access databases. The opinion of 

industry participants was that GPO must be 

cautious in offering many new services to assure 

that they do not compete with private sector 

firms. 

Participants discussed the possibility of applying 

different pricing models for international 

customers. There may be some needs of the 

international marketplace that could be exploited 

without charging the domestic services. Some 

participants felt that international customers 

should not be charged for information they 

acquire from GPO. Others felt that international 

customers should receive nothing for free from 

GPO at all. 

However, there was some concern about both of 

these ideas from other participants. A grey area 

around this issue is that it is sometimes difficult 

to determine who is an international customer. 

Examples like Daimler Chrysler were cited as 

were AOL and other Internet service providers 

whose accounts could originate anywhere in the 

world. 

Issue #3: Should the new economic model 

involve both cost and revenue sharing with the 

publishing agency? 

The third issue presented was that of a possibility 

of cost and revenue sharing with publishing 

agencies. In the current model, GPO bears the 

cost (and therefore the risk) of riding print orders 

for the Sales Program, and in turn is the sole 

recipient of the revenue. The question was raised 

whether or not the sharing of both costs and 

revenues with the publishing agencies is a good 

model. 

The immediate reaction of the some of the agency 

participants was that many agencies do not have 

the authority or the ability to accept funds from 

GPO or anyone else. However, there are some 

models that could be adopted to overcome this 

problem. The idea was suggested that a model be 

developed where GPO could set up deposit 

accounts or “checking accounts” of sorts and 

agencies could use the funds in them to pay for 

printing or other publishing services they would 

normally purchase from GPO. 

Reactions to this model were that the amount of 

revenue coming in may not be enough incentive 

for agencies to want to do this. Agencies may in 

fact be sharing in GPO’s debt rather than making 

money. Suggestions were made that perhaps 

offering hosting services to agencies is a better 

model. The suggestion was made that GPO can 

use its size and unique position to leverage itself 

as a Web hosting provider for the Federal 

Government. [Again, this is comment relates to 

other business opportunities for GPO to sell 

services to Federal agencies, but not to the Sales 

Program.] 

Issue #4: Does the new economic model allow 

for cost and revenue sharing with: 

a. Non-Federal partners; or 

b. Non-Federal content? 

Non-Federal Partners 

In response to Bruce James’ expressed desire for 

GPO to partner with non-federal entities and 

private sector firms in order to generate revenue 

for the Sales Program, the participants were asked 

whether this it a reasonable approach for GPO to 

pursue. 

Most participants seemed to believe that it would 

be much easier for GPO to consider non-federal 

partners than seeking non-federal content. 

Industry would be concerned if GPO were seen as 

giving favoritism to one company over another. 

GPO must be sure to follow the proper 

procurement and contracting processes in order to 

be sure this does not happen. 
AN-v25-#05-4/15/04

Several suggestions were made as to what kinds 

of partnerships could be formed. The first was to 

partner with booksellers such as Amazon.com

and Barnes & Noble in order to make GPO and 

agency publications more visible to the general 

public. Another was to provide authentication and 

content delivery services for private industry 

firms. Once again, the idea was to leverage on 

those competencies GPO has formed in order to 

create mutually beneficial partnerships. 

Non-Federal Content 

Much of the discussions about GPO providing

non-federal content as a new revenue stream were 

met with hesitation on the part of the participants. 

The contention was made that this could be 

potentially dangerous for GPO to try for a number 

of reasons, the most important of which being the 

issue of mixing federal and non-federal content. 

The end consumer could have difficulty 

distinguishing what information is official, public 

domain Federal information or what is not, even 

with authentication assurances. 

One area in which the participants seemed to 

believe there might be some space for nonfederal 

content is that of State government information. 

Some participants stated that if it were clearly

denoted as to what kind of information is being 

presented at any given time, there would be no 

room for anyone to complain. 

Wrap-up Discussion 

A great deal of valuable information was obtained 

in this daylong meeting. While the group was not 

able to identify a concrete economic model for 

the Sales Program, a great deal of expert advice 

was offered that can be used as a baseline for 

developing the model. The comment was made 

that GPO was able to do more research in one day

then could have been done over the course of 

several weeks. The suggestion was made that 

follow- up conversations be scheduled on this 

topic in the near future, to which GPO would 

bring specific ideas and examples of its planned 

course of action. 

It is also important to note that the ideas 

presented during the meeting were not only

focused on the GPO sales program, but also 

identified other future revenue opportunities for 

GPO. These comments have been shared with the 

GPO New Business Development organization 

for review. 

Next Steps 

GPO will disseminate this report and seek 

comments from interested parties. 

15
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Summary of the Regional Meeting 

October 2003 – Arlington, VA 

SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, 

Opportunities and Threats 

Prepared by The Regional Planning Committee 

for the Fall 2003 Regional Meeting 

In October, 2003, Regional librarians, their 

representatives, and representatives from states

currently without a Regional depository library

met in Washington, DC. The Regional Planning 

Committee, Vicki Barber of the USGPO, Dan 

Barkley (University of New Mexico), John 

Phillips (Oklahoma State University), Susan Field 

(University of Georgia), Sandee McAninch 

(University of Kentucky), and Bill Sudduth 

(University of South Carolina), developed a 

program that focused on the strengths, 

weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) in 

the Regional library program. 

In the course of the 2.5 days of meetings, the 

participants worked through a series of exercises 

that reviewed the various components of services 

and duties performed by Regional librarians and 

their libraries. While there are a myriad of issues 

facing Regional libraries, the participants 

concluded that the following issues, highlighted 

and addressed below, will be pivotal in 

strengthening Regional depository libraries and 

the services they provide to their constituencies. 

The list and narrative developed will assist in 

redefining Regional libraries with respect to 

partnerships with GPO and their role in the 21st

century. 

Weaknesses Into Strengths

Monetary Support 

The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) 

has been the cornerstone of no-fee access of 

Federal Government information to the American 

public since 1813. However, the burden to 

provide no-fee access to government information 

has, over the years, fallen on the hosting 

institutions and less on the Federal Government 

to a point where constructive measures must be 

taken to relieve this burden either through the 

appropriations process or with grants. In these 

times of shrinking library budgets along with 

more government information being made 

available in electronic products and formats, 

Regional libraries will need to foster economic 

relationships with the public and private sectors 

that will provide funding necessary to continue 

the investment already made. These relationships 

are crucial to assist the hosting institution’s 

ability to defray costs it absorbs through the 

variety of services provided (e.g., space, staff, 

maintenance, purchasing of ancillary print and 

electronic bibliographic tools). It is also 

imperative that GPO, in partnership with

Regional libraries, work to provide financial 

assistance; either from Congressional 

appropriations or other means realized by GPO 

through cost savings measures that might be 

implemented. 

Retrospective Cataloging 

The lack of retrospective cataloging impedes 

access to historical information to the American 

public. It also inhibits access to a significant part 

of a Regional collection. It is imperative that 

Regionals, Selectives and GPO collaborate in 

joint cataloging ventures that make the 

information in these historical and important 

collections easily accessible. GPO, in partnership 

with Regional libraries, should provide access, 

support and expansion to these historical and 

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17

important collections. Given the number of 

cataloging records available from various retroconversion cataloging projects that have been 

conducted by Regional and selective libraries, 

GPO must engage and promote partnerships with 

Regional and selective libraries that have 

downloaded records into public bibliographic 

databases such as OCLC. 

GPO’s expertise in cataloging and the provision 

of complete cataloging records are well 

established; creating a national catalog of historic 

government documents should be a primary goal 

of the GPO/FDLP within the next five years. The 

product produced must be widely and freely 

available in national bibliographic databases, 

adhere to current and future cataloging standards. 

Emphasis should be placed on converting all pre1976 collections currently available in Regional 

libraries. Additionally, methods to enhance the 

search capability of historic government 

information should be explored, and other 

projects that highlight and enhance the pre-1976 

collections should be created. 

Retrospective cataloging of the pre-1976 

collections is integral to the success of the FDLP. 

Regionals and GPO should form a partnership to 

catalog these historical collections. Digitizing the 

Monthly Catalog and creating a Union List for a 

national collection will improve public access to 

the information contained in these historical 

documents. A five-year goal is a reasonable 

approach; planning should begin immediately 

with the appropriate personnel so as to reach this 

goal. 

Training 

The GPO must cooperate with Federal agencies, 

experts in the field, and the depository 

community in providing training utilizing the 

latest technologies in order to educate all 

government information users of the products and 

services available to them via the FDLP. Rapid 

changes in electronic information technology 

have increased the need for training so as to 

effectively and efficiently access government 

information. 

There is a growing body of literature as well as 

tangible evidence that librarians new to the 

profession, in particular, government information 

librarians, are in need of more specialized 

training. As in other areas of librarianship, 

Regionals are faced with the “graying” of the 

profession and many librarians are well within 

retirement range. Many of these librarians have 

dedicated their professional lives to providing 

public access to government information and 

have done so in libraries that have provided 

separate space from other housed collections. 

This landscape is changing as libraries are 

combining their public service units and fewer 

library school graduates are specializing in 

government information. The results are that 

there is a shortage of well-trained and 

knowledgeable government information librarians 

to replace those who have recently retired. This 

trend has and will continue to have a detrimental 

impact on the services provided to the American 

public. This trend will not subside. 

GPO, in its capacity as the aggregator and 

disseminator of government information, along 

with professional associations such as the 

Government Documents Round Table of the 

American Library Association (GODORT), 

develop and implement adequate training 

programs that will address the aforementioned 

issue. There is a timely and useful amount of 

training materials currently available from 

GODORT and other library associations and 

organizations. GPO should aggressively engage 

in the collection and re-dissemination of these 

materials to provide information that addresses 

the needs, questions, and the "how-to's" of 

documents librarianship. 

The training component should emphasize the 

continued importance of the Regional and the 

FDLP. GPO must take the lead and, with the 

support of the Regionals, investigate current and 

future training tools and opportunities that will 

provide for government information literacy. 

Resource sharing is becoming the norm in the 

field and there is little reason why GPO and the 

Regionals should not fully invest themselves in 

current technologies and knowledge that will 

enhance the FDLP while continuing to serve the 

American public. 
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Better Service to Selectives 

It is increasingly evident that selectives are 

beginning to feel the neglect of Regionals who 

are overwhelmed at their respective institutions. 

Historically, a fundamental role of a Regional 

was to provide advice, service, and leadership to 

the selective depository libraries in their state or 

geographic area. With the advent of electronic 

dissemination, shrinking staffs, loss of expertise 

through retirements, and a host of other 

situations, Regional service to its selectives varies 

from state to state, institution to institution. 

In order to provide better service to selective 

libraries that choose to remain in the FDLP, 

Regionals, with the assistance of GPO, must work 

in tandem to provide the service that was once 

fundamental to a Regional. At the very 

minimum, Regionals must take a more pro-active 

role in leadership by producing a state plan in 

consultation with selectives, engaging in more 

frequent visits to the selectives, developing better 

communication with each selective, and

providing regular and timely training. These are 

all fundamental services that Regionals must 

provide. In order to do so, Regionals must have 

the full support of their administration along with 

GPO's assistance. 

GPO must assist in providing training through a 

consultants program as well as surveying the 

needs of selectives in today's electronic 

environment. Most importantly, the GPO must 

revise the disposal and administrative 

requirements that Regionals and selectives must 

adhere to. This administrative change, 

implemented as soon as possible, will create an 

environment whereby selectives will be able to 

perform better collection development (e.g., item

selection) activities. In turn, these much needed 

and requested administrative changes will reduce 

the burdens of selectives to discard unwanted/or 

unneeded materials, free Regionals to devote 

more time to other issues, such as training, and 

overall provide GPO with some financial relief 

due to less printing of ephemeral materials. 

Further, GPO should capitalize on the best 

practices of education by providing 

videoconferencing for GPO-sponsored meetings 

(e.g., DLC), developing and enhancing Webbased tutorials as well as other training tools. 

Additionally, GPO might do well to examine the 

current state-based Regional configuration to 

determine if a geographical configuration would 

be a better alternative. 

However, the most important cornerstone, 

naturally, is the Regional librarian. That librarian 

must make a commitment to provide the best 

service possible to the selectives served. Whether 

it's creating a listserv to enhance communication, 

visiting selectives as much as possible, hosting 

training and meeting sessions, or ensuring that 

their administration fully understands the role and 

mission of the Regional library and librarian, the 

Regional librarian must assume responsibility for

leadership in that Regional’s area. It is an 

understatement in acknowledging that every

Regional librarian has a full plate, but it also 

equally and vitally important that the Regional 

librarian make the time in order to provide service 

to the selective depositories. Regional librarians 

must fully avail themselves of every opportunity 

to provide the services selectives need in this 

rapidly changing environment. 

GPO must clearly articulate GPO expectations, 

including those outlined in 44 USC 1911-1912. 

GPO has to begin to enforce the statutory 

guidelines, develop enforcement measures and, in 

some cases, step in and assist a Regional whose 

performance has not been acceptable to the 

selectives served. In some measure, selectives 

are withdrawing from the FDLP today because of 

poor Regional service. It's time that GPO 

interceded where appropriate, assisting the 

Regionals in meeting their obligations, and where 

necessary, looking for other institutions to host 

the Regional. 

Space Constraints 

Regardless of the hosting institution, every library 

today faces space constraints. Regional and 

selective depository libraries are all bursting at 

the seams because of the finite space a walled 

library presents. Library directors are also

pressed to provide more space for other aspects of 

their collections and services that libraries now 

provide to their constituents. Directors are 

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examining means by which they can curtail or Regionals Not Equal in Resources and Support 

even eliminate paper collections. The Regionals 

are being scrutinized. With the creation of a two-tiered depository

program in 1967, the Regional library concept 

came into realization. Regional libraries were 

created in order to provide a depository of last 

resort for each state. Within that general concept, 

Regionals were to provide assistance to selectives

in appropriate areas to include public service and 

access issues, advice, and assistance in selection 

and disposal. Nowhere in the law was it stated or 

suggested that all Regionals be equal in size, 

collection, expertise, resources, support, or other 

important characteristics. 

Regionals look forward to more information 

becoming available in electronic formats because 

physical space will become less of a concern. 

The corollary to this, however, will be the need 

for electronic storage that will proportionally 

increase. As GPO and other FDLP libraries 

explore digital concepts of information storage, 

retrieval and dissemination, Regionals will need 

to examine their practices and adjust accordingly. 

Obviously, Regionals will continue to impress 

upon their respective administrations the need for 

adequate space, archiving, and preservation of 

their "Legacy" collections. Further, Regionals 

should actively pursue partnership opportunities 

that would allow the migration of parts of their 

collections to digital formats. This would allow 

the Regionals to surrender their paper copies to 

GPO for their National Collection. 

All Regionals do not have the same resources. 

Currently, no two Regionals enjoy the same 

access to the financial, physical, personnel and 

administrative support needed in today's 

environment. While many Regional libraries 

have strong support in some or many of these 

areas, in order to fulfill their current and changing 

missions, Regionals need more consistency and 

congruency to maintain and increase their 

viability. Due to these inherent inconsistencies, 

the concept of "good vs. not-so good" Regionals 

continues to be fostered. 

New concepts include the opportunity to create 

shared Regionals based on either the current state 

model or on a newly defined geographic model. 

Some Regionals may avail themselves of storage 

opportunities that may exist or engage in selective 

housing agreements with department or branch 

libraries or libraries within a defined geographic 

area. 

For Regionals to maintain their leadership 

position, GPO must acknowledge that all 

Regionals are not equal. While a shared 

responsibility exists to create more congruency,

GPO has a responsibility to engage library

administrations in the need for the continued 

existence of the Regional when that 

administration pulls their support or other 

resources from a Regional. As well, GPO must 

recognize when a Regional is in trouble and may

need to surrender its status. Working with that 

Regional, as well as with the selectives served, 

GPO must find another hosting institution within 

that state or geographic area to assume the 

Regional responsibilities. GPO should not agree 

to allow a library administration to keep the 

Regional collection without fulfilling its other 

duties and obligations. While surrendering a 

collection must be a last resort, it is GPO's 

obligation to inform a library administration of 

the consequences of its decision to withdraw from

the FDLP as a Regional participant. 

Regardless, Regionals will continue to require 

space, whether physical or virtual, and GPO must 

help Regionals in acquiring that space. GPO is, 

obviously, limited in providing physical space to 

a Regional; however, it can assist that Regional 

when the hosting library administration requests 

that Regional surrender part or all of its paper 

collection. GPO should also provide computer 

storage, and equipment, as it moves to a more

electronic environment. In order for Regionals to 

maintain their leadership positions within the 

FDLP, new partnerships and other creative 

solutions will need to be sought and GPO must 

take the lead and cooperate as these opportunities 

become available. GPO, in consultation with 

Regional libraries, should begin to develop a plan 

that will address this issue and make it available 

to the depository community in a timely manner. 

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GPO has recently proposed the creation of a 

position entitled “field consultant.” As proposed, 

these consultants would assist Regionals in a 

designated area and provide training, on-site 

consultations and advice to selective librarians. 

The consultants would assist the Regionals in 

fulfilling their duties and responsibilities. 

GPO should put forth efforts to provide training 

and orientation sessions for new Regional 

librarians. As heretofore mentioned, the 

"graying" of the profession will create ample 

opportunities in the not too distant future for 

younger professionals to fill the shoes of their 

predecessors. In this regard, GPO may want to 

provide assistance and articulate its expectations 

to the library administration when a vacancy

occurs. 

One of the most significant problems is the lack 

of adherence to 44 USC 1911-1912 by many

Regional libraries. Because GPO has never 

developed any punitive measures in the 

enforcement of these statutory procedures, some

Regional libraries pay nothing more than lip 

service to the statutes. This is an incredible 

disservice to the selective libraries served and 

enhances the “good vs. not-so good” image that 

exists. 

GPO must enforce the requirements Regionals are 

required to follow in 44 USC 1911-1912. 

Further, it is time for GPO to develop and 

implement enforceable consequences to ensure 

Regionals fully adhere to the statutory

responsibilities as dictated by 44 USC 1911-1912. 

Although adherence to these rules and guidelines 

may force some Regionals to abdicate their 

Regional designation, it may also create new 

opportunities for other institutions to host a 

Regional. 

Lack of Preservation of Historic Collections 

Given the acknowledged difference in Regionals 

including size, space, staffing and other resources 

available, it should be recognized that each 

Regional has separate and different means by

which it maintains and preserves its historic 

collections. The library community and the 

American public would benefit greatly when 

GPO, in consultation with appropriate library

groups familiar with preservation and archiving 

practices, develops training programs and guides 

to assist Regionals in the preservation of their 

collections. GPO must articulate their 

expectations as to how and what best practices 

Regionals should engage in to preserve and 

maintain the historic value and nature of these 

collections. 

Concurrent to this is GPO's engagement in 

collecting and developing standards that will 

result in a national digital historic collection. The 

Regionals applaud GPO's efforts in this arena and 

appreciate their efforts. Yet it is important to note 

that some Regionals, along with their selectives, 

have began their own digitalization projects and 

these efforts should not be ignored by GPO. 

Rather than continue on a separate path, GPO 

must gather the information from these projects, 

share them with the depository community, and 

enlist their advice and support. This is an

excellent opportunity for GPO to partner with 

other libraries in order to provide reasonable 

alternatives to privately produced products. 

Lack of Support from Library 

Administrations 

Although not widely discussed outside of

Regional circles, we must acknowledge that 

several Regionals face increasing pressure from

their administrations to curtail their operations, 

scale back their paper collections, or outright 

discontinue their presence in the FDLP. This is 

the time to also publicly acknowledge these 

occurrences and allow these hosting institutions 

the opportunity to gracefully exit the FDLP. 

Additionally, this presents GPO and the Regional 

community with an opportunity to find other 

hosting institutions. 

However, it is clear that prior to allowing a 

Regional to leave the FDLP completely or 

partially, GPO should communicate the need for 

that Regional’s continued existence to the 

appropriate administrators (e.g., the 

Congressional District member, University

Presidents and Deans, City Councils, etc.). 

Simple acquiescence by GPO is inexcusable, and 

substantial communication from GPO to the 

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appropriate decision-makers at all levels must be 

fully engaged upon prior to allowing a Regional 

to surrender its status. 

When it becomes clear that the methods 

suggested above have failed and a Regional 

library will be lost, GPO must strictly enforce 44 

USC 1911-1912 and be in a position to assume 

responsibility for that Regional collection, 

whether it remains in the hosting institution or 

becomes the direct property of GPO. GPO 

cannot allow a hosting institution to surrender its 

status yet retain its collection. 

Service to the collection is an essential function 

that cannot be provided once a hosting institution 

decides to curtail its participation in the FDLP. If 

there is no service, there is no access for those 

wanting to use the collection. Other issues such 

as preservation, maintaining the integrity of the 

collection, and the unavailability of Interlibrary

Loan are also lost. Therefore GPO must insist 

that the collection be relocated so that there is no 

loss in service to the constituencies served. 

Lack of Marketing 

GPO has done a good job in providing a variety

of marketing materials to Regional and selective 

depository libraries. The provision of signs, 

decals, bumper stickers, bookmarks have had a 

positive impact on the users of FDL's. It is now 

time however, for GPO to develop a nation-wide 

marketing strategy. A national campaign will 

realize only positive results as it will reinforce the 

role of the FDLP; entice non-users to examine a 

depository library, and bring favorable attention 

to the agencies and people who assist the public 

in locating government information in all formats. 

Many Regionals have engaged in marketing on a 

local or state level. GPO must assume more

innovative measures, particularly those using 

current technology in investigating the many

ways Regionals and selectives have marketed 

themselves and expand on those creative 

approaches at the national level. Additionally, 

GPO should work with other professional, 

government and academic organizations in 

developing national marketing plans that fall 

outside the Sales Program. For example, GPO 

might better capitalize on the use of its Web site 

by driving people to it in a manner similar to 

Google and other Web sites. GPO should 

investigate the best practices of other commercial 

and private Web resources and develop

appropriate marketing strategies that will draw 

users to their Web site and resources. 

Regionals Based on Geographic Rather than 

State Boundaries 

Given that several Regional libraries are 

experiencing difficulties in maintaining their 

Regional status coupled with several Regionals 

serving multiple states, it may be time to reexamine the way Regional libraries and their 

selectives are currently organized. The statebased concept has served its purpose well and 

was designed in a time where government 

information was in an ink-on-paper environment. 

With the advent and widespread use of the 

Internet and electronic dissemination of 

government information, the state-base concept 

may have reached the end of its usefulness, and it 

is time to examine other means by which 

Regionals are designated, as well as what and 

how they best serve their communities and 

constituents in the digital environment. 

Several Regionals provide multi-state service. 

These Regionals do the best jobs possible; it is 

somewhat unreasonable to expect the Regional 

librarian to visit every library in each state. 

Further, the unique pressures of adherence to 

guidelines and laws, and in particular the 

disposal/weeding lists, are, if not overwhelming, 

very close to it. 

GPO and the existing Regionals must work in 

tandem to examine current configurations as well 

as 44 USC 1911-1912 to determine if there are 

better means by which Regionals can continue to

exist and operate functionally. Some concepts 

that need to be reviewed include the creation of 

state cooperatives that provide multiple housing 

agreements, the creation of shared Regional 

responsibilities with another large selective in a 

geographic region, and the creation of Regionals 

based on wider geographic definitions. 

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Threats into Opportunities As is always the case, monetary assistance to 

Regionals, whether in the form of privately

produced bibliographic tools, database access, or 

other means, would help Regionals fulfill their 

missions. While Regionals have assumed the 

responsibility of buying privately produced 

materials, as GPO evolves into the electronic 

milieu, appropriate GPO funds once used for 

paper products will necessitate transfer to

Regionals for their discretionary use. 

Changing Technology 

As technology continues on its rapid evolution, 

the opportunity to provide access to a larger 

population increases. The advent of the personal 

computer and wide-spread use of the Internet 

have increased exponentially the amount of 

information available, as well as the number of 

people who now have access to that information. 

While underserved populations still exist, 

primarily in the rural areas of America, these 

populations are beginning to have opportunities to 

access information that once required a site visit 

to a Federal depository library. 

Loss of funding 

Hosting institutions are facing budgetary crises 

that negatively impact Regional libraries. It is 

imperative that GPO develop cost analysis tools 

and provide the resulting data to assist Regionals 

in convincing their administrators that hosting a 

Regional has numerous benefits that reach 

beyond simple economics. The cost analysis data 

can also be used as a means to induce Congress to 

provide increased funding to assist GPO and 

Regionals. 

Regional libraries view these phenomena as a 

means to increase their visibility as well as to 

fulfill their mission in providing no-fee access to 

government information to their constituencies. 

In this regard, GPO shall provide assistance by

developing marketing tools that assist Regionals 

in their responsibilities to selectives and outlying 

areas. The development of Web guides and 

tutorials by GPO and Regionals can be used for 

distance education purposes. It has been noted in 

many of the preceding categories, training from

GPO and other Federal agencies is always

beneficial. Flexibility with GPO technical 

requirements is needed, as many depository

libraries are unable to meet these requirements 

that are dictated by technological advances. As 

alluded to earlier, Regionals are not equal; 

therefore GPO must realize that while the 

technological guidelines are a useful and needed 

approach, GPO must also accept economic 

realities that exist within each unique Regional 

library. 

Furthermore, cost analysis data can assist

Regionals, working with their administrators, in 

determining internal/external priorities. The data 

can help plan what is and what is not possible in 

short and long-term goal development. The data 

may also be useful in fund raising, educating the 

public about available services and the need for 

additional resources. 

It's All on the Web 

The unfortunate perception that echoes across the 

library profession is the assumption that all 

information, in particular, government 

information, is on the Web. While there is some

degree of validity to this perception due to

increased electronic publishing and dissemination 

practices, all agree that the perception is 

misleading and needs correction. 

Privatization of Information Services 

GPO must continue to remain cognizant of its 

historical mission--to provide no-fee public 

access to government information. In partnership 

with the Regionals, GPO must continue its role in 

educating Congress and the public on the value of 

library collections and the important role this 

partnership plays in the democratic process. 

The opportunity to debunk this myth through

education and training, via the Web and other 

avenues, can be achieved through better 

marketing and educational tools. Promoting the 

collection locally and regionally, highlighting the 

value of the Regional collection, and encouraging 

selectives to engage in more outreach are 

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necessary for Regionals to combat the myths 

surrounding this perception. 

Reducing Staffing Levels 

As was mentioned earlier, Regionals are 

beginning to realize a shrinking of staff, including 

the professionals who manage the Regional. Out 

with the old, in with the new might work well in 

politics, but the institutional knowledge and 

history of our professionals is lost with 

retirements. New blood is always necessary but

it’s important that the new professionals have a 

complete understanding of the past. 

It is incumbent upon GPO and the senior 

Regional librarians to institute mentoring 

practices that assist the new librarians taking our 

place. Collaboration becomes the key component 

as the transition is further realized. Concurrent 

with this transition is the move in many libraries 

to combine public service desks and change 

workflow processes and procedures. To assist in 

this transition, GPO and Regional librarians must 

develop and engage in successful mentoring 

projects. (Sessions could be conducted during 

DLC, ALA and other national, Regional and state 

meetings.) It will be necessary to renew 

institutional support and commitments, recruit 

new librarians for our profession, and ensure that 

as the torch is passed, the knowledge base and 

memory is part of that passing. 

Permanent Public Access at Risk

The legacy collections housed in the various 

Regional libraries are at risk. Although some

uniformity exists in collection holdings, each 

Regional has, over the years, engaged in 

collection activities that have filled gaps, 

collected fugitive documents, and performed 

cataloging to provide access to their collections. 

Yet, permanent public access to these collections 

becomes increasingly tenuous, particularly as 

more information becomes electronically

available. 

There is an energy existing today that provides 

numerous opportunities between GPO and the 

Regional community to work on this issue. GPO 

has the connections with Federal agencies, 

including those that have grant funding available. 

There is a level of expertise residing in the 

Regional community that in partnership with 

GPO can assist in projects that will realize 

positive outcomes in retention of these valued 

collections. Working with NARA, tracking 

fugitive publications, and facilitating better 

communications between Federal agencies and 

the library community will result in continued 

access to Regional collections. 

Lack of Preservation Activities Leads to 

Disintegrating Collections 

Closely related to the above issue is the fact that 

the legacy collections are deteriorating. 

Regardless of preservation measures taken by

each Regional library, librarians are realizing that 

documents produced in the late 1700’s have now 

begun to reach the end of their life cycle. While 

the physical loss of these collections is 

devastating, opportunities exist that in many ways

can preserve and provide permanent access to 

these historic collections. 

GPO and a fair number of Regional libraries are 

investigating various digitizing methodologies 

and practices. Partnerships should be formed 

from the various projects now under 

consideration. There may be opportunities for 

GPO to acquire collections from selectives and 

Regionals that are withdrawing from the program

and working with remaining Regionals in a 

search for storage facilities with controlled 

environments. 

Additional opportunities include GPO digitizing 

and providing electronic collections of all 

documents regardless of age, format, or form, and 

cataloging the collections, working in tandem

with Regionals to develop complete sets. 

Library Administration Perceives Regionals as 

Irrelevant 

As more information becomes available solely in 

electronic formats, there is a new paradigm

developing with library administrators suggesting 

that Regionals are becoming archaic and 

unnecessary collections. This paradigm also 

involves other issues heretofore mentioned such 

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as space, disposing of paper for electronic 

equivalents, not filling positions when retirements 

or other circumstances create openings. 

GPO must work with library administrators in 

dispelling the myth that Regionals are obsolete. 

A sound plan developed by and articulated 

through GPO will have a louder voice than the 

Regional facing this perception. The opportunity

to remind library administrators of the 

collection’s uniqueness, its historical significance 

and the various populations served are highlights 

that GPO should include in any communication 

with library directors. 

Loss of Selectives 

Perhaps the single most important issue GPO and 

Regionals face today is the continued withdrawal 

of selective depository libraries. While Regionals 

provide a host of services, advice, and training to 

selectives, the selectives are the cornerstone of 

the FDLP. Without them, the FDLP would not 

exist. 

Measures have been developed by the Depository

Library Council that is a step in the right 

direction. Providing flexibility to selectives with 

respect to collection development is needed. 

Allowing selectives to move to a more electronic 

collection is a reasonable approach that Regionals 

must consider. 

While the loss of some selectives is not 

preventable, GPO and Regionals must engage 

selectives long before this drastic step is 

implemented. Mentoring, assisting the selective 

in marketing and promoting its collection, and 

devising and developing plans to assist the 

selective in remaining in the FDLP are steps in 

which GPO and the Regionals can engage. 

Additionally, Regionals must be able to provide 

service to that area should the selective withdraw, 

as well as search for another hosting institution. 

Obsolete/Impermanent Digital Information 

As migration of information increases to more

digital information, including information born 

digitally, GPO must make certain that standards 

are developed that ensure permanency of this 

information. Federal agencies, such as Census, 

have already realized problems with the integrity

of their electronic information due to rapid 

technology changes that render earlier versions 

obsolete. There is a demonstrated need for the 

preservation of historical Government 

information. Technology will continue to evolve 

rapidly and GPO must be at the forefront of this 

evolution. 

Partnerships with other Federal agencies and 

Regional libraries must begin immediately.

Further, GPO must maintain current and acquire 

future technologies as they develop in providing

permanent public access to digital information. 

These practices will also be essential in 

maintaining electronic information in usable 

formats. 

Timelines will be dictated by the evolution of 

technology, its cost, Congressional 

appropriations, and other factors that surround 

this issue. GPO must also factor into the equation 

that they are the leaders, and in some

circumstances, the providers, in the evolution of 

technology. As well, GPO must recognize that 

partnerships will become more necessary in the 

storage, retrieval, access, and dissemination of 

electronic and digital information. 

Other 

There are several other categories that were 

developed through the course of the exercise. 

Staff retirements, loss of external funding which 

may lead to the loss of Regionals, and space have 

all been mentioned, and there is no need for 

repetition on these categories. They are important 

and should not be neglected. 

Conclusion 

As has been evidenced by this discussion, GPO, 

Regional libraries, and the FDLP face serious and 

long-term challenges as they migrate into the 21st

century. Technology will drive and dictate these 

and other challenges that lie ahead. How the 

issues outlined above are resolved will either 

reaffirm the important role the GPO and the 

FDLP have in the future of government 

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information access or cause its complete and utter 

demise. 

Yet is it also clearly evident that as other 

weaknesses and threats develop, the partnership 

that has evolved since 1967 between GPO and the 

Regionals remains strong, provides a number of 

solutions and alternatives through creative 

thinking and planning, and remains the 

fundamental vehicle for the collection and 

dissemination of government information. 

The history of this essential partnership is 

reflective of the changes that have been witnessed 

in society, technology, librarianship, and 

information collection, storage, retrieval, and 

dissemination. This partnership is forever linked 

with the democratic process as envisioned by the 

founders of our country. It is therefore of the 

utmost importance that this partnership continues 

on its path of offering no-fee access to 

government information. 

Thanks 

The Planning Committee along with the 

conference attendees wishes to thank the 

Government Printing Office for sponsoring this 

event. Without GPO’s financial, technical and 

staff support, this event could not have been 

successful. 

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Table of Contents 

First Fugitive Documents Week Nets 222 New Titles................................................................. 1 

Denise Thompson To Be Information Technology (IT) Project Manager ................................... 4 

GPO Depository Library Council Meeting Update, April 2004................................................... 4 

Summary of Meeting on the Future of the GPO Sales Program................................................... 9 

Summary of the Regional Meeting, October 2003 ..................................................................... 16 

Administrative Notes Cumulative Table of Contents 

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/adnotes/adnotes_toc.pdf 

Updated with each issue 

Searchable by keyword 

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 at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/adnotes/index.html 

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

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