ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES 

 Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program

Vol. 17, no. 09 GP 3.16/3-2:17/09 July 15, 1996 

 Fall 1996 Depository Library Council Meeting 

Scheduled

 The Fall 1996 meeting of the Depository Library Council to the Public Printer will convene in 

Salt Lake City, Utah, from Monday, October 21 through Thursday, October 24. The meeting will 

be held at the Quality Inn City Center, located in downtown Salt Lake City. The address is: 

 Quality Inn City Center 

 154 West 600 South 

 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 

 A limited number of rooms* has been retained for the attendees. Special room rates are $59 

single, double, triple, quad, per night, guaranteed through Oct. 1, 1996. Reservations must be 

made by calling (800) 521-9997, (801) 521-2930 or by fax at 801-355-0733. Please specify the 

GPO Depository Library Council Meeting when you contact the hotel. 

*A large convention will be arriving in Salt Lake City on Oct. 23, 1996. To insure a room at the 

Quality Inn City Center or other hotels in the area, make your hotel reservation early! There 

should be no problem obtaining rooms if you are coming in early. 

REGISTRATION FORM FALL 1996 COUNCIL MEETING 

E-mail, fax or mail to: 

 Mr. William Thompson Fax: (202) 512-1432 

 Library Programs Service (SL) E-mail: staf1lps@access.digex.net 

 U.S. Government Printing Office 

 Washington, DC 20401 

1

Yes, I plan to attend the Fall 1996 meeting of the 

Depository Library Council in Salt Lake City, UT. 

I will need a name badge. Preferred first name: 

 

Please type or print clearly: 

 

Name 

 

Library/Office 

 

Institution 

 

Address 

 

City/State/Zip Code 

 

Telephone (include area code) 
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GPO will seek to make accommodations for 

attendees with disabilities. Please specify needs 

when returning this registration. 

Micrographics Control Section 

 Has New Supervisor: Munn (Harris)

 The Library Programs Service is pleased to announce that Ms. Michele Y. Munn was appointed 

to the position of Supervisory Micrographics Technician, effective June 9, 1996. Michele was 

detailed to the Micrographics Control Section in March 1994 from GPO's Stores Division, 

Materials Management Section. In 1995 Michele became a Micrographics Assistant, performing 

microfiche quality control inspections. Michele would like everyone to know that she is eager to 

assist depository libraries with any micrographics concerns they may have. She can be reached at 

(202) 512-1060, by fax at (202) 512-1636, or by e-mail at lpsmail@access.digex.net. (Note: Michele 

is getting married on July 20, 1996 and her name will be changed to Mrs. Michele Harris.) 

 FBIS Publications Provided to Depositories on 

CD-ROM

 In a letter dated June 5, 1996, the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) announced its 

intention to provide the Library Programs Service (LPS) with the CD-ROM version of the FBIS 

publications in lieu of the microfiche version. 

 FBIS intends to discontinue the paper products sometime in September or October and FBIS 

confirmed that it expects to begin furnishing the CD-ROM to LPS for distribution to the 

depositories beginning with the disc covering the period June through September, 1996. Allowing 

for processing time, LPS expects to receive the disc sometime in November. Until that time, FBIS 

publications currently reproduced on microfiche will continue until all paper publications have 

been converted to "softcopy." As a result of the overlap in the scheduled discontinuation of the 

paper product and the production of the CD-ROM version, libraries can expect some overlap and 

duplication of content. 

 The current schedule for the phase-out of the paper product is as follows: 

 1 AprilArms Control and Proliferation Issues 

 1 MayEnvironment and World Health 

 1 JuneNarcotics 

 1 AugustChina, Latin America Daily Reports 

 19 AugustNear East and South Asia, West Europe, Sub-Saharan African Daily Reports 

 2 SeptemberEast Asia, East Europe Daily Reports; East Europe Economic Review 

 16 SeptemberCentral Eurasia Daily Report , Central Eurasia Military Affairs, Central 

Eurasia Economic Review. 
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 Many thanks to Sande Wilson and Melba Boyd of FBIS for assisting LPS staff in obtaining 

the CD-ROM for distribution to the Federal Depository Library Program. 
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 SuDocs Letter: Destroy IRS Publication

[The following letter was sent to all depository libraries in shipment boxes on July 3, 1996.]

Dear Depository Librarian: 

The Library Programs Service (LPS) has recently been notified that the publication, 75 Years of 

IRS Criminal Investigation History, 1919-1994, from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should 

not have been distributed to depository libraries. The IRS has advised us that the publication is 

"FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY." 

Descriptive information on this publication: 

Title: 75 Years of IRS Criminal Investigation History, 1919-1994 

SuDocs Number: T 22.2/15:7233 

Shipping List No.: 96-0237-P 

Shipping List Date: 5/23/96 

Item Number: 0569-B-02 

I am requesting that you immediately withdraw this publication and destroy it by any means to 

prevent disclosure of its contents. Both LPS and the Internal Revenue Service regret any 

inconvenience resulting for the shipment of this publication. 

Sincerely, 

WAYNE P. KELLEY 

Superintendent of Documents 
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4 Ways to Resolve Missing/Duplicate Volume 

Problems with 

Tax Information Publication 1194

 Tax Information Publication 1194 was pre-packaged and distributed on shipping list 96-0046-

S (item 0964-B, SuDocs T 22.44/2:1194/995/v.1-3). Each package should have contained one 

copy each of volumes 1, 2, and 3. Instead some of the cartons contained a copy of volume 1 and 

two copies of either volume 2 or 3. 

 Libraries that are missing a volume may already have the information from that volume on a 

depository CD, if they select item 0923-B-01. The CD-ROM version of Tax Information 

Publication 1194 was distributed under that item number on shipping list 96-0020-E (SuDocs T 

22.51/4:995/REL.95.3). The information is also available on the Internet, at the address given 

below. 

 LPS has received a large number of claims for volumes 2 and 3, but we are unable to procure 

sufficient copies to fill them without the help of depository libraries. 

 Please use one of the following options to obtain the missing volume: 

 1.Return the extra volume to GPO so we can use it to fill claims. Mail the volume to: 

 U.S. Government Printing Office 

 Library Programs Service: Stop SLDM 

 Paper Claims 

 Washington, DC 20401 

 2. Request the equivalent data on CD-ROM by faxing your request to (202) 512-1429 or by email to <lpsmail@access.digex.net>. Please include your library number and the item 

number for the product (0923-B-01). 

 3. Access this information on the Internet at 

http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/forms_pubs/index.html

 4. Find a depository that has an extra copy of the volume you need and exchange with them. 

Many of you have already done this through GOVDOC-L; and LPS thanks each of 

you who have taken this approach. 

 LPS regrets any inconvenience this may have caused. If you have any questions, please call 

Mr. Carl Redd at (202) 512-1014 or e-mail at <lpsmail@access.digex.net>. 
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 Wanted: GPO Access Gateways

 We currently have 37 Government Printing Office (GPO) Access Gateways in 28 states and 

the District of Columbia. Twenty-two states do not have a Gateway: 

 ARKANSAS - CONNECTICUT - DELAWARE 

 FLORIDA - HAWAII - IOWA - ILLINOIS 

 MAINE - MINNESOTA - MISSISSIPPI 

 NORTH DAKOTA - NEBRASKA - NEW 

 HAMPSHIRE - NEW JERSEY - NEVADA 

 NEW YORK- SOUTH DAKOTA - UTAH 

 VERMONT - WISCONSIN - WEST VIRGINIA 

 WYOMING 

 Federal depository libraries in these states: Get on board and become the first GPO ACCESS 

GATEWAY for your state! If you are in a state with a Gateway or Gateways, we want YOU too. 

We also want Gateways in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

 On December 1, 1995, the GPO announced the free use of its award-winning GPO Access 

online service. All Internet and dial-in users can use the GPO Access databases at no charge. This 

is made possible through the congressional funding of the Federal Depository Library Program, at 

a time when more and more citizens are receiving their information by computer. 

 Regardless of these changes, we still want you as a GPO Access Gateway. 

 Mr. Michael DiMario, Public Printer, emphasizes that "depository libraries will continue as an 

essential link between GPO Access and the public. Citizens lacking either computers or computer 

skills can visit a local depository for assistance." Users with modems can connect to GPO Access 

through depository library "gateways" with a local phone call. 

 As a gateway, your patrons will not only be able to connect to GPO Access, but they will see 

and use the services you provide. Further, the gateway will provide them with local assistance and 

support for online products. Plus, a GPO News Release will be issued announcing you as a GPO 

Access Gateway and sent to your U.S. Senators and Representatives, the news media and the 

depository community. In addition, there will be a link to your Gateway from the Superintendent 

of Documents World Wide Web (WWW) Home Page. 

 Even though we encourage you to put GPO Access on your WWW Home Page, we hope 

that you will also have (or will have) local (or at least within state) dial-in service for users that do 

not have Internet. This will ensure that they can search the databases through SWAIS with no or 

minimal long distance charges. Libraries without a Web page can still be a Gateway by offering 

telnet and modem access. 

 Registration is no longer required to use GPO Access. You can connect servers or any 

number of users to GPO Access, without restriction. In addition, there are no restrictions on the 

number of simultaneous users. However, if you use the customized WAIS client software, for 
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IBM or Macintosh, sold by GPO, please be sure to notify the GPO Access User Support Team if 

you plan on installing additional copies. This will enable GPO to pay the proper licensing fees. 

Each library may request up to 10 copies of the customized WAIS client software free, from the 

GPO Access User Support Team at (202) 512-1530. 

 For technical help in setting up your gateway, contact any of the active gateways. A listing is 

provided on the Superintendent of Documents Web page. Point your web browser to: 

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aaces004.html. If you require any assistance, call (202) 

512-1530 or e-mail <gpoaccess@gpo.gov>. 

 For general information, testing your gateway before it is advertised, etc., please contact 

William Thompson at <staf1lps@access.digex.net> or 202-512-1002. 

 We hope that you will become a GPO Access Gateway and look forward to working with you. 

 If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact: 

 William Thompson 

 U.S. Government Printing Office 

 202-512-1002 

 Fax: 202-512-1432 

 <staf1lps@access.digex.net> 

Open Letter from STAT-USA

June 17, 1996 

An Open Letter to Depository Librarians: 

 STAT-USA has enjoyed an extraordinary working relationship with Federal depository 

libraries for nearly a decade. Depository librarians have embraced all of our information services 

starting with the Economic Bulletin Board, the National Trade Data Bank, and now 

STAT-USA/Internet. We have always maintained that it is in our best interest to ensure these 

services are available for free depository library access. You give us an enormous amount of 

exposure which leads directly to sales of our services. 

 In April, we began posting the following message on our various services: 

 The Economic Bulletin Board (EBB), NTDB CD-ROM, and STAT-USA/Internet are 

designed and priced for single workstation use. As such, you may not redistribute the information 

through network, bulletin board, CD-ROM, Internet or any other electronic technology without 

permission from STAT-USA. 
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 This message caused some concern among the depository library community. I would like 

the opportunity to explain our actions. For nearly two years, STAT-USA has been operating 

without appropriations from Congress. Instead, we were told to charge for our services and 

recover the full costs of our operations. A revolving fund was created on October 1, 1994 and 

$1.67 million was deposited into the fund to serve as working capital until we reached a break-even 

level of operation. In essence, our assignment was to become a business overnight and sink or 

swim in the information marketplace. 

 The change from an appropriations funded agency to a fee-based organization has been an 

eye-opener to say the least. Every expenditure takes on a new level of importance and we must 

limit our activities to those which contribute directly to our operations. This is good because it 

makes us much more focused on providing the best information services possible. One area that 

we have examined closely is the pricing of our services. As part of our examination, we developed 

a clear set of principles that articulate how we price our products. Two principles are particularly 

important to the depository library community: 

 The government should charge the lowest reasonable price for access to the information. A 

given user should pay proportional to the volume of information used. For example, large volume 

customers accessing thousands of documents incur a greater proportion of STAT-USA's costs of 

dissemination and therefore will contribute more. 

 STAT-USA makes all its information products and services available to the public at no cost 

via Federal Depository Libraries. This program provides a safety net for those members of the 

public who do not possess the computer, financial, or technical resources needed to utilize 

STAT-USA services. A list of depository libraries offering STAT-USA services is available from 

STAT-USA at no charge. 

 The second point needs no elaboration; this is consistent with what we have been doing with 

the NTDB and STAT-USA/Internet for the last six years. The first principle may need some 

clarification. It costs us about $2.3 million to obtain data, create an information repository, create 

various information services, and distribute this information to our customers. Most of these costs 

are fixed and are incurred whether we have one customer or thousands. The question is how do 

we allocate these costs among our customers. We think it is reasonable to develop charging 

formulas based upon the idea "the more you use, the more you pay." This principle seems fair and 

equitable. Customers who use the data for their personal use do not want to subsidize large 

organizations that network our services to a large number of employees or those customers who 

take the data and resell it to hundreds, if not thousands of their customers. The single workstation 

phrase we are now attaching to our products is an articulation of the "more you use, the more you 

pay" principle. 

 How does this apply to depository libraries? The answer is the same. We have provided 

single use access as part of our services. However, we must begin drawing some boundaries 

around use of the data we provide. We hear stories such as "the NTDB is available to 3 million 

residents through our system" or "we are tied into our local freenet and the entire metropolitan 

area can access this service." I recognize the importance of these services and the conveniences 

they convey to you the librarian and to your customers. For example, many of you have requested 
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

9

more than a single use account to serve your customers from their dormitory rooms or campus 

offices rather than requiring they come into the library itself. We appreciate this customer focus. 

 However, we simply cannot survive financially if these activities continue uncompensated. 

Last year, we ran a deficit of over one-half million dollars and this year it will be $400 thousand. 

This deficit persists despite diligent efforts to cut back costs. We have lost four staff, and we have 

raised prices to attempt to recover more revenue. Moreover, we discontinued the National 

Economic, Social, and Environmental Data Bank because of its failure in the marketplace and the 

high costs of producing it. We told our story as part of the recent GPO depository library study 

and many librarians acknowledge our situation. Yet, the most significant reaction from the library 

community appears to be a reaffirmation of the right to free public access and that Congress 

should do something about this. I am normally optimistic but I doubt any change will be 

forthcoming given the budget environment. 

 We have asked GPO to fund network licenses, but until they do so, we ask you to not 

network STAT-USA's information products beyond the scope of your subscription. STAT-USA 

offers special rates for libraries to provide wider access to your patrons and I encourage you to sign 

up for these services. We know the impact these changes have, and we're sensitive to them. We 

are public servants after all, despite our funding, and we like to think we still operate that way. I 

recognize some of you will not agree with this change and will continue to distribute STAT-USA 

provided information as widely as possible. I cannot stop you from doing this. However, I can 

predict that if we do not solve our financial dilemma with the next 12 months, we will begin 

shutting down our services because we will not have sufficient working capital to continue. I think 

we would all lose if that event occurs. 

 If you have any concerns, please don't hesitate to send me e-mail: krogers@doc.gov. 

Sincerely, 

Ken Rogers 

Director, STAT-USA 
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Wayne P. Kelley

Superintendent of Documents 

U.S. Government Printing Office 

Testimony Before the 

Committee on Rules and Administration 

United States Senate

Tuesday, June 18, 1996

 Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for this opportunity to testify about 

an important, and endangered American Institution--the Federal Depository Library Program. 

 The program was created by Congress to promote public knowledge of Government activities. 

 It traces its roots back 183 years when congressional materials were first deposited at certain 

libraries for public inspection. Today the program is a partnership between the Government and 

some 1,400 libraries in communities throughout the nation: public libraries, academic libraries, 

and law school libraries. The U.S. Government Printing Office supplies copies of publications 

from all three branches of Government. Depositories house the documents and provide staff to 

give citizens free public access to the information. 

 There are 53 regional depositories, serving each state in the country. These regionals 

permanently retain all Government documents provided. I'd like to emphasize the word 

"permanently." That is our nation's only guarantee of continued, free public access to a vast 

storehouse of Government information. Nowhere else in law, or in practice, is there provision for 

permanent, no-fee, public access to Federal information. 

 The program is efficient. Last year some 20 million copies of publications were distributed at 

a cost of just over $1 per copy. Libraries contribute resources valued at some 4 to 5 times the cost 

of the publications they receive. 

 It is effective. Dedicated professional librarians assist millions of Americans each year in 

locating print and electronic information for business, education, personal needs, and evaluating 

the performance of our Government. 

 It is not political or subject to censorship. For 101 years, since the landmark Printing Act of 

1895, responsibility for the program has rested with the elected representatives of the people in the 

Legislative Branch. There is a depository library in nearly every congressional district, to directly 

serve all types of users in local library settings. A conservative estimate is that 10-12 million citizens 

use them annually. 

 The Depository Library Program continues to change to take advantage of electronic 

technology. Under the GPO Access Law passed by Congress in 1993, the public is getting a 

rapidly expanding list of publications delivered free of charge over the Internet. Users are 
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

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downloading electronic documents at the rate of more than two million per month. We are taking 

initiatives for a successful transition to a more electronic depository program. A congressionally 

mandated study of this transition was just completed and copies are available here this morning. 

 This program, serving the needs of a democratic society for an informed electorate, is more 

important today than ever before. But it is in real jeopardy, because content is being bled from the 

program: first, in a trickle, then a steady stream, until the fundamental, supporting principle of free, 

equitable access to Government information is itself in danger. 

 Until recently, Government agencies generally focused attention on carrying out their 

missions. Publications and collections of information were predominantly the byproducts of their 

work. Few agency publishers sought to control access to, or reuse of their information. Copyright 

on Federal information, produced at taxpayer expense, was prohibited. Information was in the 

public domain, available to everyone. 

 But today, dangerous new precedents are being set. Government information, produced by 

government employees at taxpayer expense, is being turned over to certain groups who are given 

exclusive distribution rights. These groups are establishing copyright or copyright-like controls. 

 Here is an example. The Commerce Department recently published a 480-page, four-color 

book titled "The Big Emerging Markets." The introduction says "the Big Emerging markets are a 

key focus of our National Export Strategy," and success there will "largely determine the United 

States' position as the world's economic leader." The book lists U.S. and foreign trade contacts for 

American businessmen. But you will not find it in the depository library program. All the 

editorial and design work was done by employees of the U.S. International Trade Administration 

of the Commerce Department at government expense. The names of 135 Government workers 

are listed as contributors. But the Commerce Department asserts it is not a Federal government 

document. It was printed by a private sector publisher under an exclusive agreement with the 

National Technical Information Service, a Commerce Department agency. 

 An introductory page states that "Big Emerging Markets" contains copyrighted material. But 

there is no specific designation of what information is subject to copyright. The book contains four 

pages of advertisements for other books available from the publisher. 

 This book deal would seem to violate current Federal information policy. On June 25, 1993 

the Office of Management and Budget issued a Revised Circular A-130 on the Management of 

Federal Information Resources. OMB told agencies to "avoid establishing, or permitting others to 

establish on their behalf, exclusive, restricted, or other distribution arrangements that interfere with 

the availability of information dissemination products in a timely and equitable basis." 

 OMB also directed agencies to "insure that government publications are made available to 

depository libraries through the facilities of the Government Printing Office, as required by law." 

NTIS refused to supply depositories print copies, offering microfiche instead. Microfiche of a 

book containing four-color graphs is unusable. 
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

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 One would think that A-130 and Title 44 of the U.S. Code established the rules for agencies. 

But an increasing number of agencies seem to be operating by a new set of rules. And the first rule 

is this--that there are no rules. 

 This book deal hits taxpayers three times: first, for the cost of the large number of government 

employees who worked on the book; second, in the pocketbook for those who purchase a glossy 

copy at an inflated price, and third, when citizens walk into their local depository library and find 

either no copy, or a copy a locally supported library had to purchase with local tax dollars. 

 There are many other examples of agency actions removing government information from 

both the public domain and the Depository Library Program. Current Population Reports from 

the U.S. Bureau of the Census are vital, frequently used reference materials in all of the nation's 

libraries. Depository librarians recently asked GPO to help them obtain copies of a new book, 

"The Hispanic Population of the United States: March 1994." This is the most recent volume in a 

series of Census publications, the P-20 Series, which routinely have been available to the 

depository program. 

 Despite some verbal, pre-publication assurances, the book was not made available for 

depositories. We found that it had been published, under a different title, by a Washington-based 

trade association. The Census Bureau provided data, staff assistance, and research help. 

Publication of the book was funded by Phillip Morris Companies Inc. The Phillip Morris 

corporate logo and a list of its companies was on the second page next to the Bureau of Census 

logo. 

 Copyright is held by the trade association and no material in the book can be reproduced or 

distributed without permission. Cost of the book, including handling and postage, is $15. Had it 

been printed by GPO, the book would have cost $3.50 for anyone who wanted to buy a copy. 

And it would have been sent without charge to depository libraries for free access to the public. 

 Government agencies turning over their publications to trade associations or any other special 

interest groups would seem to create the potential for serious conflicts of interest. Especially if the 

agency provides the time and assistance of its employees and then permits the interest group to 

obtain copyright over the material. 

 Vital and valuable Federal information is being transferred from the public domain to 

organizations with exclusive distribution rights at an alarming rate. McGraw Hill, a large privatesector publishing company, issued a press release on May 14, 1996, announcing that it had signed 

an agreement with NTIS to publish the popular United States Industrial Outlook and collaborate 

on "a multitude of information products and services." 

 For 35 consecutive previous editions, the U.S. Industrial Outlook has been published by the 

Commerce Department. The information was in the public domain and free for reuse by anyone, 

including private sector publishers. Its forecasts are widely used by American businessmen, 

scholars, researchers and the media. In a prospectus circulated late in 1995, NTIS said it would 

provide "appropriate copyrights" to any private sector partner selected. Government employees 

apparently will write forecasts for some industries and McGraw Hill will write forecasts for others. 

It is not possible to say for certain. When I asked NTIS for a copy of the NTIS-McGraw Hill 
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

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agreement, I was told it was not available because it may be "confidential." Nor would it be possible 

to get information by attending the NTIS Advisory Board meeting held yesterday at the NTIS 

headquarters in Springfield, Virginia. According to the Federal Register notice of the June 17 

meeting, it was closed to the public because, and I quote, "premature disclosure of the information 

to be discussed would be likely to significantly frustrate implementation of NTIS' business plans." 

 Is this the future? Government agencies entering into secret agreements and meeting behind 

closed doors to decide what information citizens will get, and the terms and conditions under 

which the public may have it? 

 Electronic information is just as likely to disappear from the Depository Program, and from 

the public domain, as print information. On April 1, 1996, staff of the Office of Export Services, a 

Commerce Department Agency, informed us they had awarded a $100,000 contract to NTIS to 

make a database of the United States Export Administration Regulations. Despite repeated 

requests, that database will not be available free to the public through the Depository Library 

Program. NTIS is selling it to the taxpayers who paid for it in the first place--at an annual fee of 

$250. 

 Unless appropriate safeguards are established, the government's most valuable and marketable 

information may quickly disappear from the public domain. Special interest groups may control 

what citizens know about certain government activities. Federal workers may be used to subsidize 

private publishers. 

 Under long-standing regulations, government agencies must get "waivers" from the Joint 

Committee on Printing to publish glossy, four-color books. The idea is that when the government 

gathers useful information, it should publish it at low cost in no-frills documents. Agencies are 

finding ways to evade oversight policies and provisions of present laws. If any changes in law are 

contemplated, they should be strengthened. The public should be protected against any attempt to 

use loopholes and taxpayer dollars for the purpose of creating a vanity press of eye-catching 

publications for the purpose of promoting an agency or touting the accomplishments of high-level 

officials. Government information should have integrity. 

 Mr. Chairman, I sincerely hope the Members of this Committee will continue to support the 

Federal Depository Library Program, and the historic principles of Federal Information Policy. 

which are its foundation: 

That the public has a right of free and equitable access to government information. 

That information created or compiled by government employees, or at government 

 expense, should remain in the public domain. 

And that government has an obligation to guarantee the authenticity, integrity, and preservation of 

its information. 

Wayne P. Kelley

 Superintendent of Documents 
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U.S. Government Printing Office 

Prepared Statement Before the 

Committee on Rules and Administration 

United States Senate

on 

Making a Successful Transition to 

A More Electronic Federal Depository Library 

Program

Tuesday, June 18, 1996

 Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify 

concerning the role of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) in ensuring public access 

to Government information, both today and in the 21st century. The Founding Fathers 

recognized the importance of an informed electorate to our Nation during the earliest years of our 

democracy. In 1822 James Madison said: 

A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a 

prologue to a farce or a tragedy. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people 

who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power that knowledge 

gives. 

 Informing the Nation has been a fundamental responsibility of our Government since its 

founding. For example, Article I of the Constitution calls on Congress to keep and publish a 

journal of its proceedings, a function that the Government Printing Office (GPO) still assists. By 

linking GPO's printing operations with the distribution function, Congress ensured that the 

comprehensive body of information produced at public expense would be made available for 

public use. The FDLP, administered by the Superintendent of Documents in GPO, thus serves as 

the popular "means of acquiring" Government information that Madison spoke of. 

 For over 100 years the FDLP has served the American public as the principal guarantor of 

their right to be informed about the activities of their Federal Government. By making a broad 

range of Government publications available locally, in libraries in virtually every Congressional 

district, the FDLP enables the public to have ready access to information of interest to them, and 

ensures that the information is preserved for use by future generations. The GPO, as the 

administrator of the FDLP, has forged a long and successful partnership with the Nation's nearly 

1,400 depository libraries. Together we have provided equitable, efficient, timely, and dependable 

no-fee public access to Government information. 
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Numbers and Characteristics of FDLP Users

 The FDLP continues to be a principle mechanism to meet the Government information 

needs of the American public. The most thorough study1

 of depository library users estimated that 

in 1989 there was "a minimum of 167,000 users, per week, of Government depository material in 

academic and public libraries." These users were "highly educated and split almost evenly by 

gender" and primarily identified themselves "as students or in professional or managerial 

occupations." Last year GPO, in the context of the 1995 Biennial Survey of depository libraries, 

collected updated estimates on the number of users of depository libraries. The Biennial Survey 

responses, from virtually every depository library, estimated that 189,000 to 237,000 persons used 

FDLP information each week. 

 In addition, Americans are also electronically accessing free Government information 

available from the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) at a rapidly growing rate. Since 

December 1, 1995, when the GPO Access online service was made available to the public at no 

charge, users have downloaded an average of 2 million documents per month from 58 databases. 

Such titles as the Congressional Record, the Federal Register, congressional bills, and a growing list 

of government documents are available on the same day of publication. Most are available in both 

ASCII text, which permits the use of assistive technologies by disabled users, and Adobe Acrobat 

Portable Document Format (PDF), which allows users to view and print exact facsimiles of the 

printed version of these documents. 

Study to Identify Measures Necessary for a Successful 

Transition to a More Electronic FDLP

 Today, emerging technologies present both tremendous opportunities for, and serious 

challenges to, our ability to improve and enhance public access to Government information. 

These opportunities and the challenges must be met by respecting the enduring core values of the 

FDLP, while recognizing where improvements can be made and economies realized. Some of 

these challenges require the careful enhancement of the FDLP in order to take advantage of the 

new opportunities and minimize the potential for disruption in public access during this period of 

rapid change. Last August, GPO, at the direction of Congress, initiated a cooperative study to 

identify measures necessary for a successful transition to a more electronic FDLP. The study was 

concluded in March 1996, and a draft Study Report was released for public comment. We 

considered each of the many comments which we received, and incorporated them into the final 

Study Report, which was issued this month. 

 To implement the study, the Public Printer established a working group consisting of 

representatives from GPO, appropriate Congressional committees, the Congressional Research 

Service (CRS), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA), the Federal Publishers Committee (FPC), the Interagency Council on 

Printing and Publication Services (ICPPS), the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, and the 

 

 1 McClure, Charles R., and Hernon, Peter, Users of Academic and Public GPO Depository Libraries. Washington, 

D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989. 
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depository library community. He also invited a number of organizations to identify 

representatives to serve as advisors to the working group. 

Preliminary Transition Plan

 Separately, a document entitled "The Electronic Federal Depository Library Program: 

Transition Plan, FY 1996 - FY 1998" was developed by GPO and included with our FY 1997 

appropriations request. The budget-driven Transition Plan had to be completed prior to much of 

the work on the Study due to the timetable for annual budget submissions. This early version 

envisioned an aggressive approach to changing the FDLP to a predominantly electronic program in 

2.5 years. The Transition Plan was very useful to GPO in eliciting public comment on these 

issues, and several major themes surfaced. 

 The first of these was that a 2.5-year transition period was far too fast, and exceeded the ability 

of the depository libraries, the publishing agencies, and the public to properly use or support this 

volume of electronic information. Input from publishing agencies and depository libraries 

indicated that a 5 to 7 year transition is more realistic and cost-effective since it would allow GPO 

to change to electronic information as rapidly as the publishing agencies can produce it and the 

libraries can absorb it. It would be substantially more costly for GPO to convert agency print 

publications to electronic formats than it would be to work in partnership with the agencies, 

assisting them in accelerating their own electronic publishing initiatives. Second, the needs of users 

for appropriate information product formats, suited to the intended audience and usage of the 

products, may have been undervalued. And third, the 2.5-year Transition Plan did not 

incorporate adequate measures to ensure permanent preservation of and public access to 

electronic information products. The public comments in response to the Transition Plan 

provided useful data to the study participants, and led directly to the development of the Strategic 

Plan that is included in the June 1996 Study Report. 

Study Report: Strategic Plan

 The Strategic Plan included in the Study Report proposes a more gradual transition, during 

the period from FY 1996 through FY 2001. The Strategic Plan builds upon the strengths of the 

existing program, while incorporating electronic information technologies. Emphasizing the 

incorporation of electronic information into the FDLP, the Strategic Plan will affirmatively move 

the FDLP toward a significantly more electronic information dissemination and access program. 

This Plan reflects the views and advice of the library community, Federal publishing agencies, and 

users of Government information. These views extend from the more realistic timetable, to 

increased emphasis on appropriate formats and the necessity for permanent public access to 

electronic information. 

 Under the Strategic Plan, the FDLP will provide official Government information products in 

a variety of formats to the Nation's nearly 1,400 depository libraries. Incorporating electronic 

Government information into the FDLP will augment the traditional distribution of tangible 

products with connections to Government electronic information services such as Internet sites. 

Electronic information will be accessible to the public directly or through depository libraries from 

a system of Government electronic information services administered by GPO, other Government 

agencies, or institutions acting as agents for the Government. The FDLP will identify and connect 
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

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users to electronic information services of other agencies or, when appropriate, obtain electronic 

source files from agencies for mounting on GPO Access. Tangible Government information 

products will be distributed to libraries, including CD-ROMs, diskettes, paper, or microfiche, as 

appropriate to the needs of users and intended usage. 

 Permanent access to Government information is a critical issue in the electronic environment. 

 GPO should, through the mechanism of the FDLP, ensure that electronic Government 

information products are maintained for permanent public access, in the same spirit in which 

regional depositories provide permanent access to print products. This requires the development 

of a system which includes all of the institutional program stakeholders: information producing 

agencies, GPO, depository libraries and NARA. 

 Effective public use of Government information, especially in the less-structured environment 

of the Internet, depends on the users' ability to identify and locate the desired information. 

Through continuation of its cataloging services, and the development of the Pathway information 

locator services, GPO will meet this need. GPO will present a suite of services, designed for use 

by the public as well as by depository librarians. 

Funding Requirements

 Significant progress toward a more electronic FDLP can be made by the end of FY 1998 with 

essentially flat funding. For the out years, FY 1999 and beyond, there are too many variables 

involved to accurately project program funding requirements at this time. GPO's FY 1997 funding 

request of $30.8 million for the Superintendent of Documents Salaries and Expense 

Appropriation assumes that some FDLP expenses, especially those associated with acquiring and 

shipping printed products, will decline as the use of electronic information dissemination 

technologies increases. However, there will be offsetting cost increases in other areas, such as 

expanding the capacity of the GPO Access system, acquiring and converting electronic source data 

files, and CD-ROM software licensing fees. 

FDLP Principles, Mission, and Goals

 During the course of the Study there was considerable discussion concerning the mission, 

goals, and values of the FDLP. These discussions led to the articulation in the Study Report of the 

principles for Federal Government information, as well as the Program's mission and goals. 

 GPO's tactical and strategic planning for the future of the FDLP, as well as the work on the 

Study Report, was guided by a set of fundamental principles regarding Federal Government 

information. This statement of principles closely follows the "Principles for Public Information" 

developed and published by the National Commission for Libraries and Information Science 

(NCLIS): 

1.The Public Has a Right of Access to Government Information 

Access to Government information, except where restricted by law, is a basic right of every 

American citizen. Open and uninhibited access to Government information ensures that 
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the public has the opportunity to monitor and participate in the full range of Government 

activities. 

2.The Government Has an Obligation to Disseminate and Provide Broad Public Access to its 

Information 

The Government should encourage public participation in the democratic process and use of 

Government information through proactive dissemination efforts that ensure timely and 

equitable public access. 

3.The Government Has Obligations to Guarantee the Authenticity and Integrity of Government 

Information 

These obligations, which are met in well-established ways in the print world, pose difficult issues in 

the electronic information environment. 

4.Government Has an Obligation to Preserve its Information 

Preservation and permanent public access are vital components of the national historical record. 

Preservation should be considered from the earliest stages of the information life cycle. 

5.Government Information Created or Compiled by Government Employees or at Government 

Expense Should Remain in the Public Domain 

Use or re-use of government information should not be diminished by copyright-like restrictions, 

which serve to reduce the economic benefits, or "multiplier effects" associated with 

unrestricted usage. 

 Within these broad principles, the study identified the mission for the FDLP as: 

The mission of the FDLP is to provide equitable, efficient, timely, and dependable no-fee public 

access to Government information within the scope of the program. 

 The Strategic Plan included in the Study Report incorporates several different goals to 

measure the successful performance of this mission: 

1.Ensure that the public has equitable, no-fee, local access to Government information through a 

centrally managed, statutorily authorized network of geographically dispersed depository 

libraries. 

2.Use new information technologies to improve public access to Government information and 

expand the array of Federal information products and services made available through the 

FDLP. 

3.Provide Government information in formats appropriate to the needs of users and intended 

usage. 
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

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4.Enable the public to locate Government information regardless of formats. 

5.Ensure both timely, current public access and permanent, future public access to Government 

information at or through depository libraries, without copyright-like restrictions on the use 

or reuse of that information. 

6.Facilitate preservation of Government information through NARA. This includes the transfer to 

NARA of information disseminated to depository libraries or held by GPO for depository 

library access. 

7.Ensure that the program is cost-effective for all parties involved, including Government 

publishing agencies, GPO, depository libraries, and the public. 

Study Conclusions

 In addition to the conclusions outlined in the Study Report, strong support emerged in the 

working group discussions over two major issues concerning the FDLP as a whole. The first issue 

concerned the value of having the authority for a broad-based public information program rest in 

the Legislative Branch. Nearly all of the participants felt that this model has served the public well. 

 High value was placed on the presence of the FDLP in every Congressional district, to directly 

serve the public in local library settings. The authority for distributing Government information to 

libraries was initially vested in the Executive Branch, first with the Secretary of State, and later with 

the Department of the Interior. However, 101 years ago, with the landmark Printing Act of 1895, 

Congress transferred the Office of Superintendent of Documents to GPO from the Department of 

the Interior, thereby establishing the responsibility for the "means of acquiring" popular public 

information with the elected representatives of the people. 

 There was also strong support for the value and utility to the library community of having a 

single entity in the Superintendent of Documents to coordinate library-related information 

dissemination activities. The depository library community has consistently affirmed the utility and 

cost-effectiveness of a "one stop shopping" approach to acquiring Government information. At the 

same time, centralizing this responsibility within GPO has fostered a relationship with the library 

community marked by enhanced communications and responsiveness to library and public 

information needs. In the study discussions nearly all of the participants agreed that it is not only 

possible but desirable to increase the dissemination of electronic information to depository 

libraries within the overall structure of current law and program operations, and that having a 

central entity to assist libraries and the public in accessing electronic Government information in a 

distributed environment is more vital now than ever. 

 Other key findings included the following: 

 

1.Scope of the FDLP: There is widespread interest in expanding the content of the program to 

make it more comprehensive, and a great deal of optimism that the rapid expansion of 

agency electronic publishing offers cost-effective options to do so. Nevertheless, the 

highest priority remains the retention of information content that historically has been in 

the program and is rapidly leaving it as agencies move from print to electronic publishing 

or eliminate information products to reduce costs. 
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

20

2.Notification and Compliance: Historically, the FDLP has relied heavily on the ability of the 

program to automatically obtain material as it was printed or procured through GPO. 

With the growing emphasis on electronic dissemination, and decreasing compliance with 

statutory requirements for agencies to print through GPO, identifying and obtaining 

information for the FDLP is becoming increasingly difficult. There must be new means to 

inform agencies of their responsibilities and to ensure compliance with agency FDLP 

obligations. In addition, there must be effective means for all three branches of 

Government to notify GPO of the intent to initiate or publish a new information product, 

substantially modify an existing product, or eliminate products and services. 

3.Permanent Access to Official and Authentic Information: The FDLP has always had the 

responsibility for providing permanent access to the official Government information 

disseminated through the program. Historically this has been the role of the regional 

depository libraries, and this has been a cost-effective means of ensuring that Government 

information remained available to the public indefinitely. Permanent access also is an 

essential element of the electronic depository library program, but it will be more difficult 

to attain. To ensure permanent public access to official electronic Government 

information, all of the institutional program stakeholders (information producing agencies, 

GPO, depository libraries and NARA) must cooperate to establish the authenticity of 

official information, provide persistent identification and description of Government 

information products, and establish appropriate arrangements for their continued 

accessibility. This includes establishing standard formats for dissemination and 

preservation and maintaining the technological currency of the data. 

4.Locator Services: Together the Cataloging and Indexing Program required by 44 U.S.C. §1710 

and §1711 and the Locator Services required by 44 U.S.C. §4101 provide the statutory 

basis for GPO to assist depository libraries and the public to identify and obtain access to 

the full range of Federal Government information. In an environment where libraries and 

users often are accessing remote electronic information rather than local collections, the 

tools for identifying and locating the information will become increasingly critical 

components of an effective program. 

5.Cost of Electronic Information Dissemination: While there are many benefits inherent in the 

use of electronic information, including more timely and broader public access, there is no 

conclusive data at this time to support the assertion that it will result in significant savings to 

the FDLP as a whole in the next few years. Based on information developed to date, 

electronic dissemination and access will shift the costs among the participants and will 

increase costs to the depository libraries and the public, at least in the short run. In 

addition, the migration to an increased use of electronic information technologies requires 

significant resources which, according to the Strategic Plan, are costs that the Government 

will incur when it assumes some of the responsibility currently held by regional libraries for 

ensuring permanent public access to Government information. Costs for migration can be 

minimized by the adoption and use of open systems standards through the entire life cycle 

of information products, from the time the original source files are created by the 

publishing agencies to final preservation by NARA. At the same time, depository libraries 

and their users will have to pay to print, or purchase printed copies, of information that is 
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

21

needed, but no longer disseminated, in print through the FDLP. Libraries also will have to 

provide specialized staff training, public access work stations, and the related services 

necessary to connect the public to remote Government information. 

6.Assessment of Standards for Creation and Dissemination of Electronic Government Information 

Products: Use of electronic Government information products also can be enhanced by 

the greater utilization of standards in the creation and dissemination of information. 

Therefore, GPO is proposing an Assessment of Standards for Creation and Dissemination 

of Electronic Government Information through a joint effort with the National 

Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS). 

For the successful implementation of a more electronic FDLP, the Congress, GPO and the library 

community must have additional information about future agency publishing plans, as well as 

an expert evaluation of the cost-effectiveness and usefulness of various electronic formats that 

may be utilized for depository library dissemination or access. A central implementation issue 

is the identification and utilization of standards for creation and dissemination of electronic 

Government information products. These standards would enhance access to and use of 

Government information by both the Government and the public. The Government 

produces an enormous quantity and variety of information. The standards best suited for one 

type of data may be substantially less suited, or even entirely inappropriate, for another. 

Consequently, there is no single standard in which all Government information products can, 

or should, be created or disseminated. Nevertheless, it is in the best interests of the 

Government, and those who use Government information, to achieve a greater degree of 

standardization than now exists, and to develop recommended standards for each major type 

of Government information product in order to facilitate the exchange and use of that 

information. 

To accomplish this, it is first necessary to know the range of formats Federal agencies currently use 

in the creation and dissemination of information and to assess the de facto or actual standards 

that are in use for each major type of data. It is also necessary to identify areas where there is 

no standardization, or such limited standardization that the effect is virtually the same. Finally, 

it would be useful to evaluate standards utilized by private sector and other non-governmental 

publishers. This information will provide the basis for an assessment, in consultation with the 

depository library community, of the usefulness and cost-effectiveness of various electronic 

formats for depository library dissemination or access. It will also be the basis for a dialog 

with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), NCLIS, the National 

Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and others with an interest in establishing and 

promulgating Government-wide standards for information creation and dissemination. 

Legislative Changes Which Support the Transition

 Substantial changes in the FDLP already are underway within the structure of the existing 

statute. GPO has the necessary statutory authority to incorporate electronic Government 

information products into the FDLP. However, certain amendments to Chapter 19 of Title 44, 

U.S.C., which authorizes the FDLP, would clarify this authority and facilitate the transition. For 

example, it should be established without question that electronic Government information must 

be included in the FDLP, to establish authority and responsibility for the FDLP to ensure that 
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

22

both tangible and electronic Government information products are maintained permanently for 

depository library and public access, and to authorize the Superintendent of Documents to request 

that the originating agencies provide electronic source data files of their information products. 

Some suggestions for legislative changes, which incorporate the advice of various program 

stakeholders, are included in the Study Report. 

OMB Proposes Draft Legislation 

 Recently, the Director of OMB transmitted to several Members of Congress proposed 

legislation titled "The Electronic Depository Library Act of 1996." We were provided with a copy 

of the proposal and have analyzed its provisions. Copies of our analysis were transmitted to the 

Chairman and ranking Member of this Committee. 

 As Public Printer Michael F. DiMario stated in his review of this legislative proposal, several 

key provisions of OMB's proposal contrast sharply with the legislative direction contained in the 

Study Report. Although the current FDLP includes information from all three branches of 

Government, the OMB proposal would apply to the executive branch only. It would potentially 

circumscribe the type of information that would be made available to depository libraries. It would 

transfer policy oversight for electronic dissemination to depositories from the Superintendent of 

Documents (and by extension the Joint Committee on Printing) to agency Chief Information 

Officers (CIO's), who are accountable by law to OMB. It would allow agencies to make individual 

arrangements with depository libraries to pay for fee-based information services operated by 

agencies, and would set no limit on the fees, signaling a dramatic departure from the traditional 

principle of making Government information available to depositories without charge. It would 

effectively transform the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) of the Department of 

Commerce--which has no depository distribution authority and which could provide no guarantee 

of assuring equitable public access to any information it disseminates to depositories--into the 

executive branch's depository of final resort. It would also establish NTIS as the centralized point 

of access for executive branch information, in curious contrast to OMB's objection to the 

"centralized management model" currently operational in the FDLP. While the OMB proposal is 

purportedly designed to improve depository access to electronic information, the enforcement 

mechanism it provides would be weak and ineffectual. 

 In our view, the most prominent shortcoming of OMB's proposal lies in the provisions 

regarding the dissemination of online services. Agency CIO's would make direct, individual 

arrangements with depository libraries for access to online services "in some suitable electronic 

format." Online services would be required to be listed in each agency's information locator service 

so that libraries could find them. This part of the bill seriously miscalculates the value and utility to 

the library community of having a single entity in the Superintendent of Documents to coordinate 

library-related information dissemination activities. Currently, GPO deals with hundreds of 

departments, agencies, bureaus, and offices, represented by approximately 4,500 billing address 

codes. To deal with a potentially vast number of online publishing entities in an increasingly 

distributed electronic environment, each of approximately 1,400 depository libraries would assume 

an enormous administrative burden without the presence of a central entity to coordinate services, 

provide notice of information availability, promote standards, develop guidelines on timeliness, 

and suggest user-friendly interfaces. Providing equitable dissemination to all libraries, regardless of 

differing equipment capabilities in the library community, would be equally burdensome to 
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

23

agencies. The GPO Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-40), was 

enacted in part to relieve agencies of this burden by establishing a single online service that would 

standardize service provision to all depository libraries. Since it is unlikely that many agencies 

would want or be able to provide differing levels of services, the result would be that only those 

libraries with the most comprehensive electronic capabilities would be able to access most Federal 

online systems. 

 Our review of OMB's legislative proposal concluded with a comment on the philosophical 

underpinnings of OMB's approach. To support its legislative proposal OMB stated their opinion 

that "the centralized management model of chapter 19 [of Title 44, U.S.C.] is not appropriate for 

distributed electronic information products and services." However, as I have noted, this is 

decidedly not the conclusion that was reached by the broad spectrum of participants in the 

technological study that was recently concluded. The study instead found that it is possible within 

the overall structure of current law and program operations to increase the dissemination of 

electronic information to depository libraries. More important, the study confirmed the value and 

utility of a central entity to assist libraries and the public in accessing electronic Government 

information in a distributed environment. As the Public Printer stated, these objectives could be 

attained through legislative revisions that would be less sweeping than those proposed by OMB, 

less burdensome on agencies, depository libraries, information users, and the taxpayers, and less 

damaging to the comprehensive and equitable system of access to Government information 

provided through the depository library program today. 

Chaos in Government Publishing--There Are No Rules

 I want to bring to the attention of this Committee other developments that are underway 

which, if allowed to progress, will have the effect of reducing free, equitable, public access to 

Government information through the FDLP. The Government information environment is 

changing rapidly, and this change is being exploited, sometimes to the detriment of the public. 

Increasingly, we see Government agencies acting as competitors, to each other and to private 

enterprise, often using their information as a source of revenue. In spite of long-established, 

successful statutes such as Title 44, we seem to have a new set of rules. And the first rule is--that 

there are no rules. 

Big Emerging Markets

 A book entitled The Big Emerging Markets, 1996 Outlook, which was produced by the U.S. 

Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, is a prime example of how the 

new information environment is being used to reduce the information available to the public 

through the FDLP. In an introduction, the late Secretary of Commerce said Big Emerging 

Markets, or BEMs, are "a key focus of our National Export Strategy." He continued that "Our 

success in these dynamic markets will largely determine the United States' position as the world's 

economic leader." The book lists U.S. and foreign trade contacts for American businessmen. 

Printed in September 1995, it is a handsome 480-page, three-color volume. It might have 

appealed to users of depository libraries or business people throughout the United States who rely 

upon depository libraries for access, but it was not disseminated through the FDLP. 
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

24

 Although all the editorial work was done at Government expense, the book was published by 

a private press under a partnership agreement with NTIS, and thus, in the narrowest sense, was 

not published at Government expense. Therefore the Department of Congress asserted that 

because of this publishing arrangement Big Emerging Markets is not a Government publication, as 

currently defined in 44 U.S.C. § 1901, which states: 

"Government publication" as used in this chapter, means informational matter which is published 

as an individual document at Government expense, or as required by law. 

 If the Department of Commerce had allowed GPO to handle the competitive bid for printing 

this book any Federal agency wanting copies could have placed a "rider" order at the cost of only 

printing, paper, and binding. Had GPO handled the procurement, any private sector publisher 

could have obtained the reproducible materials to print and sell the book themselves. However, 

most important of all, if GPO had printed or procured the book, it would have been distributed to 

depository libraries for no-fee public use. 

Export Administration Regulations

 Here is another, more recent example. For 48 years GPO has procured printing of the 

United States Export Administration Regulations (EAR) for the Bureau of Export Administration. 

 The Superintendent of Documents has promoted the EAR to an expanding audience largely 

made up of smaller businesses. In addition, the FDLP has ordered copies for distribution to 

selecting libraries throughout the country where it is in demand by many citizens, some of whom 

cannot afford their own subscriptions. 

 Several months ago, however, the Under Secretary for Export Administration included a letter 

in the EAR Bulletin announcing that "the Bureau of Export Administration is pleased to announce 

that it is placing all publication and distribution functions related to the Export Administration 

Regulations (EAR) in the hands of our sister agency, the NTIS." He added that "NTIS is uniquely 

qualified to be the exclusive (underlining added) provider of the EAR." The Superintendent of 

Documents never received official, written notice of this change from agency officials. 

 On April 1, 1996, staff of the Office of Export Services (OES) confirmed that OES would no 

longer publish the EAR using the services of GPO. They said OES had a contract with NTIS in 

the amount of $100,000 to make a database of the EAR, and that OES was having a WordPerfect 

EAR disk produced and that it would be provided to NTIS. They added that the agreement with 

NTIS included a provision for print copies of the EAR to be supplied to OES, if NTIS sold more 

than a certain number of print subscriptions. NTIS would also offer for sale an electronic version 

of the EAR on its FedWorld service. 

 I stated that the Superintendent of Documents would like to obtain a duplicate copy of the 

WordPerfect EAR disk at the incremental cost of reproduction. I expressed my interest in seeing 

that the EAR information gained the widest possible public distribution, including through the 

FDLP, and this request was subsequently transmitted to OES by letter on April 2, 1996. As of 

June 12, I have not had a reply. 
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

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 The intent of OES is to produce the EAR on disk, and make NTIS the exclusive recipient. 

NTIS will then print the paper copy and sell it for $89 per subscription. The price advertised by 

NTIS for access to the electronic online version is $250 per subscription. 

 I am concerned that this publishing arrangement may violate Section 207 of the Fiscal Year 

1995 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, Pub. L. 103-283, which, apart from certain limited 

exceptions, requires Executive Branch agencies to obtain printing and reproduction services from 

GPO. 

 Indeed, White House Chief of Staff Leon E. Panetta on April 11, 1996 reinforced this with a 

Memorandum For Heads Of Executive Departments and Agencies. In the Memorandum, Mr. 

Panetta said: "The President has asked me to remind you to make maximum use of the 

capabilities and expertise of the Government Printing Office in handling your agency's printing and 

duplicating procurements during the next 12 months, in accordance with the following: Agencies 

should continue to procure printing and high volume duplicating through the Government Printing 

Office." 

 In addition, I believe the arrangement is contrary to the policy set forth in OMB Circular A130, which directs agencies to "avoid establishing, or permitting others to establish on their behalf, 

exclusive, restricted or other distribution arrangements that interfere with the availability of 

information dissemination products on a timely and equitable basis." I have asked for an OMB 

review of this agreement between OES and NTIS. 

 GPO has expressed its desire to purchase a copy of the EAR electronic source files in 

whatever formats are available. Since the electronic disk of the EAR is being produced by 

Government employees, at Government expense, and procured with appropriated funds, copies 

should be available to anyone at cost. That would be the case if the disk were being procured 

through GPO. As a matter of fact, the Bureau of Export Administration initiated a procurement 

with a private contractor through GPO on March 21, 1996, for a WordPerfect EAR disk. On 

April 18, 1996, after the Superintendent of Documents ordered a duplicate copy of the disk, the 

procurement was canceled by the Bureau. 

 The end result of all of these maneuvers will be a decrease in the number of print subscribers 

and needless inconvenience to the many clients served continuously by GPO for nearly a halfcentury. If we were able to obtain the EAR electronic source data it could be made available to 

depository libraries and the general public via the Internet on our GPO Access service. This 

would permit us to encourage use of the electronic EAR by depository libraries, and reduce the 

need for print copies. It would not prevent NTIS, or any commercial vendor for that matter, from 

adding value and selling the EAR database at any price they wish. 

 Free public access and competitive private sector electronic versions of the EAR would not be 

possible under the terms of the agreement announced by the Bureau of Export Administration. 

The ultimate goal of this agreement is clearly stated in the NTIS order form for the 1996 Edition 

of EAR. "The Export Administration Regulations are now available exclusively (bold type in the 

original) through the National Technical Information Service, a United States government agency," 

according to the order form. 
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

26

 Certainly OES has authority to produce, compile, and format information as it wishes. But I 

do not see how either current law or federal policies permit them to make agreements and take 

actions granting anyone a monopoly. Furthermore this agreement with NTIS prohibits timely and 

equitable availability of the electronic version of EAR to anyone but NTIS. 

 Exclusive arrangements for distribution of Government information in print, or electronic, or 

any other format, are not in the public interest. There is an important precedent involved here, 

and clearly there are alliances being forged which will make these types of arrangements more the 

norm than the exception. 

McGraw-Hill/NTIS Joint Venture

 On May 14, 1996, the McGraw-Hill Companies and NTIS announced that "the two 

organizations have signed an agreement to collaborate on the development of a multitude of 

information products and services, [emphasis added] such as the United States Industrial Outlook 

and other market-specific projects." 

 Last produced in 1994, the U.S. Industrial Outlook, which is a product of the International 

Trade Administration (ITA), was distributed to 1,210 depository libraries. Although we have a 

preliminary commitment from the ITA to keep the U.S. Industrial Outlook in the FDLP, we will 

have to wait until late this year to be certain this commitment is met. Once again, however, we see 

that an exclusive arrangement is being made between a Government agency and a private sector 

concern, which will have the effect of raising barriers to widespread public access to the 

information. 

Reaction to GPO Involvement in Executive Branch Printing

 One of the historical strengths of the FDLP is the relative ease with which information 

products produced by or through GPO are obtained for the FDLP. This process is managed by 

GPO without any administrative involvement or expense on the part of the originating agencies, 

and has resulted in what is overall the most comprehensive public information program in the 

Government. The ability of the FDLP to automatically obtain Government information products 

is diminished when publishing agencies no longer utilize the services of GPO to publish their 

products. Once this effective connection between production and the FDLP is severed there is a 

marked tendency for the information to escape the FDLP; to become what has been referred to as 

"fugitive documents." 

 That is why I am concerned about the May 31, 1996, memorandum from the Office of Legal 

Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), on the subject of "Government Printing Office 

Involvement in Executive Branch Printing." In Section 207(a) of the Legislative Branch 

Appropriations Act, 1995 (Pub.L. 103-283), Congress prohibited the expenditure of appropriated 

funds by executive branch agencies for printing services other than those obtained from GPO. 

President Clinton's July 22, 1994, statement upon signing the bill, said that "[t]he Act raises serious 

constitutional concerns by requiring that executive branch agencies receive a certification from the 

Public Printer before procuring the production of certain Government documents outside of the 

Government Printing Office." 
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

27

 The recent DOJ memorandum goes beyond President Clinton's 1994 statement, concluding 

that "[t]o the extent that 44 U.S.C. § 501 and 501 note require all executive branch printing and 

duplicating to be procured by or through the GPO, those statutes violate constitutional principles 

of separation of powers." Regardless of the legal merits of these positions, the practical effect is to 

encourage executive agencies to bypass the GPO, thereby removing their information products 

from public availability through the FDLP. We estimate that up to 70% of the titles in the FDLP 

each year originate in the executive branch agencies. Removal of executive branch work from the 

GPO will have a serious impact on the equitable and comprehensive public access to Government 

information through the FDLP. 

Conclusion 

 Federal agencies are producing a rapidly growing volume of information in electronic formats. 

 In some cases these formats are information products such as CD-ROMs which are distributed to 

depository libraries. In other cases, the agency stores information on its own computers and 

provides access online. Agency online services are often, but not always, available free to the 

general public, not just to a targeted audience. Just how far agencies are willing to go in expending 

resources for the general public is an unanswered question, but serving the general public is rarely 

a primary responsibility. 

 The agencies are responsible, however, for the authenticity, currency and availability of their 

own electronic information products. Historically, depository libraries have been responsible for 

storing Government information onsite and providing free access directly to the public. In the 

electronic age, a great deal of information will be stored by the agency which created it, by GPO, or 

by agreement with a third party. The responsibilities of depositories are changing. They will 

provide access to electronic information stored elsewhere. 

 We are going through a time of technological chaos. When we emerge, it is important that 

the American public still have equitable and free access to information about what its Government 

is doing. Clearly the new electronic information technologies have enabled new approaches 

toward getting Government information published. However, in pursuing these new 

arrangements, agencies must not lose sight of the existing laws and regulations put into place to 

ensure broad and equitable public access, and to ensure that today's information is still accessible 

tomorrow. These are the concerns that the FDLP has addressed for many years, and intends to 

pursue in the electronic future. 

 Mr. Chairman, I thank the Committee for this opportunity to testify concerning public 

information policy and the FDLP. I welcome any questions that you may have. 

Testimony of 

Daniel P. O'Mahony
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28

Brown University Library 

before the 

Senate Committee on Rules and Administration

on 

Public Access to Government Information in the 

21st Century

Tuesday, June 18, 1996

 Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, my name is Daniel O'Mahony. I am the 

Government Documents librarian at Brown University in Providence, RI. This past year I also 

served as chair of the Depository Library Council, a national advisory board to the Public Printer. 

The Council has been one of the Advisory Groups this past year during the GPO Study to Identify 

Measures Necessary for a Successful Transition to a More Electronic Federal Depository Library 

Program. 

 I am delighted to be here today as the Committee begins to examine public access in the 21st 

century, and I appreciate the opportunity to offer you my perspective as someone who works day 

in and day out with all forms of government information. 

 My job as a documents librarian is to enable Rhode Islanders to gain access to government 

information. To effectively accomplish this, I rely heavily on the products, services, and support 

provided by the Federal Depository Library Program. This program, based on Madison's vision of 

an informed citizenry, has successfully fulfilled its role in meeting the government information 

needs of the American people for the past 139 years. But its mission never has been as important 

as it is today. 

 In the "information age" of the 21st century, our very survival--as a nation and as individuals--

will be determined by how successfully we utilize information. It is imperative that we make it as 

easy as possible for people to find, access, and use government information in ways that are 

meaningful for them and equitable and economical for us all. My message to you is that the most 

effective and cost-efficient way to achieve this is to strengthen the Depository Library Program. 

 Let me give you just a brief glimpse of the present landscape of electronic government 

information out there. On the one hand we have the promise of new technology. A student at 

Brown last year, for her senior project, used a number of electronic government sources, including 

the 1990 census on CD-ROM and the EPA Toxic Release Inventory database, to analyze the 

presence of lead-based paint in Providence homes with small children. The results were shared 

with local agencies to help identify neighborhoods at risk for lead poisoning. Electronic 

government information made available at Brown is helping the community. 

 On the other hand, however, we have the daily pitfalls of the electronic reality, with which I 

am sure all of you are very familiar. Another patron recently needed voting and registration 

statistics for the 1994 election. This information is now only available electronically. Despite two 
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

29

phone calls to government offices and an hour of searching the Internet, the patron could not find 

the data anywhere. The patron then asked the depository librarian, who luckily remembered 

coming across this file once before when looking for something else. When the patron finally 

downloaded the data, for some reason the format of the file made the data totally unreadable. It 

took three experienced computer technicians over three hours to determine the problem and 

reconstruct the information into a format that the patron could use. 

 Obviously, we are still a long way off from easy and instant access to government information 

at the touch of a button or the click of a mouse. We must be realistic in our expectations about 

how quickly we can implement electronic technologies, and not lose sight of the overriding goal of 

improving access for the public at large. 

 So how do we get there from here? As we look to the 21st century, what can we do to 

improve the system? How can we make it easier for the public to get the government information 

they need? 

 Well, first they have to be able to find it. Anyone who has attempted to locate anything on the 

World Wide Web--or for that matter, relocate again what you found there just YESTERDAY--

knows firsthand the confusion and frustration of users of electronic information. There needs to 

be an effective, standardized, and centrally coordinated mechanism for locating and cataloging 

government information on the Internet. We can't rely on serendipity or librarians' memories. 

 Second, the information has to be there when we need it. Some of the most heavily used 

documents in our library are older census reports and congressional documents from the 19th 

century. Fortunately, we have the tools and the structures in place that enable us to preserve these 

printed materials. We must be sure that there are adequate and reliable systems to guarantee that 

electronic information will be preserved as well. 

 Third, we must recognize that print is still very much a viable and cost-effective format. 

Without question, some information is highly suited for electronic access. When bank officers 

and hospital administrators come into our library and need to use the Federal Register, I don't 

point them to our room full of microfiche cabinets; I sit them down in front of a computer and 

show them how to search the Federal Register online through the GPO Access system. But ALL 

information is not always appropriate in electronic format only. Congressional hearings, and 

documents like the high school debate materials, are excellent examples of publications best suited 

for print. As we plan for the future, we must recognize the relative advantages of the many 

information formats at our disposal and understand the continued need for printed materials. 

 Fourth, in the highly decentralized world of electronic information, there is a critical need for 

centrally coordinated library-related services through the Superintendent of Documents. 1,400 

depository libraries individually making arrangements with hundreds of Federal agencies for access 

to government information equals chaos and inequitable service. 

 Finally, we must strengthen the support system. At Brown, we have over 250,000 books in 

our Federal documents collection. For any one of these volumes, any person can walk in off the 

street, take one off the shelf, and have a decent chance of finding--and then READING--the 

information they are looking for. By contrast, we have only about 1,100 CD-ROMs. But every 
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

30

one of these has its own equipment needs, software requirements, and other special idiosyncrasies. 

 We need common standards, sensible documentation, and practical training to give libraries and 

users a fighting chance against the tidal wave of electronic information heading our way. 

 Mr. Chairman, there is no question that electronic technologies can greatly improve public 

access to government information. I see examples of this every day. We must be certain, 

however, that, in our efforts to utilize these new technologies, we do not erect new barriers for the 

public. 

 In closing, I would like to thank you, Mr. Chairman, Senator Ford, Senator Pell, and the 

other Members of the Committee for giving full hearing to these important issues, and for 

soliciting the input of the depository library community in that process. I also am delighted to see 

represented on the panel this morning a USER of government information--probably the most 

important perspective of all. I would like to offer for the record, Mr. Chairman, a compilation of 

statements by other users of the Depository Library Program included in this publication recently 

put together by the Depository Library Council entitled, "Fulfilling Madison's Vision." 

 I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to appear before you this morning, and I thank you 

for your consideration of my comments. I would be pleased to take any questions you may have. 

Daniel P. O'Mahony Phone: 401-863-2522 

Government Documents Coordinator Fax: 401-863-1272 

Brown University Library - Box A ap201159@brownvm.brown.edu 

Providence, RI 02912 GovDocs@Brown.Edu 
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

31
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

32

 Library Programs Service Directory

 Revised June 1996 

Voice Fax E-mail 

DIRECTOR'S OFFICE

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

William Thompson 202-512-1125 202-512-1432 staf1lps@access.digex.net 

LIBRARY DIVISION

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

CATALOGING BRANCH

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

DEPOSITORY ADMINISTRATION BRANCH

Robin HaunMohamed202-512-1071 202-512-1636 chiefdab@access.digex.net 

Mike Clark 202-512-1619 202-512-1636 staf1dab@access.digex.net 

Michele Munn 202-512-1060 202-512-1636 lpsmail@access.digex.net 

Laurie Hall 202-512-1062 202-512-1636 staf3dab@access.digex.net 

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

DEPOSITORY SERVICES STAFF

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

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

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

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

DISTRIBUTION DIVISION

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

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

(actual claims 

only) 

202-512-1432 

(other messages) 

lpsmail@access.digex.net 
AN-v17-#09-7/15/96 

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Table of Contents

Fall 1996 Depository Library Council Meeting Scheduled......................... 1 

Micrographics Control Section Has New Supervisor: Munn (Harris)............ 2 

FBIS Publications Provided to Depositories on CD-ROM.......................... 2 

SuDocs Letter: Destroy IRS Publication............................................... 3 

4 Ways to Resolve Missing/Duplicate Volume Problems with 

 Tax Information Publication 1194.................................................... 4 

Wanted: GPO Access Gateways........................................................ 5 

Open Letter from STAT-USA ........................................................... 6 

SuDocs Testimony: Senate Committee on Rules and Administration............. 9 

SuDocs Statement: Senate Committee on Rules and Administration: 

 Making a Successful Transition to A More Electronic Federal 

 Depository Library Program ..........................................................13 

O'Mahony Testimony: Senate Committee on Rules and Administration: 

 Public Access to Government Information in the 21st Century .................27 

Library Programs Service Directory (Revised June 1996)....................................31