Administrative Notes 

Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program

Vol. 28, no. 05-06 GP 3.16/3-2:28/05-06 May 15/June 15, 2007 

HIGHLIGHTS 

New Council 

Members 1 

Fall Council 

Meeting & 

Conference 3 

Call for 

Educational 

Program 

Proposals 4 

Performance 

Metrics 4 

Item Selection 

Update 4 

CGP 

Functionality 4 

FDLP Desktop 

Beta 3.0 5 

Handbook 

Chapters 

Posted 6 

GPO 

Authenticates 

Electronic 

Documents 6 

LSCM Update 7 

LSCM Update 

Handout, ALA 13 

1 

New Members Named To Depository 

Library Council 

Acting Public Printer William H. Turri is pleased to announce the 

appointment of six new members to the Depository Library Council. 

The Depository Library Council, composed of 15 members, each of whom 

serve three year terms, advises the Public Printer on policy matters relating 

to the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). The FDLP, which 

traces its roots to 1813, provides access across America to the published 

information of all three Branches of the U.S. Government through 

partnerships with more than 1,250 libraries ranging from public libraries 

to research universities. 

“I am very pleased to announce the appointment of these accomplished 

and dedicated individuals who will advise us on crucial issues relating to 

public access to U.S. Government information,” said Turri. “The breadth 

of their experience will benefit the Federal Depository Library Program as 

it continues to evolve from print to digital media.” 

The six new Depository Library Council members are: 

Gwen Sinclair, librarian in Government Documents & Maps at the 

University of Hawaii at Manoa Library. Sinclair has served for eight years 

as a government documents librarian, of which five have been as head of 

the department. She has presented on depository issues at library 

conferences and published articles and brochures on various library topics, 

including government secrecy and libraries. Sinclair is the first DLC 

member to have ever been appointed from the Pacific Island region. She 

also has significant experience in library collection disaster planning and 

recovery. 

Victoria Trotta, Associate Dean for Information Technology and the RossBlakley Law Library at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, 

Arizona State University. She has directed the Ross-Blakely Law Library 

since 2000, and has been in her current position for five years. In addition 

to her responsibilities for the oversight and planning for all aspects of the 

Law Library and Information Technology, Trotta provides oversight of the 

library's Federal depository library program. She has published 

extensively on topics relating to legal research, provided legal instruction, 

and has extensive public speaking experience. 
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Dr. Christopher Greer, a senior advisor for 

Digital Data at the National Science 

Foundation in Arlington, Virginia. Dr. Greer 

is a member of the permanent staff at the 

National Science Foundation. His current 

responsibilities include strategic planning for 

digital data activities in the newly-formed 

Office of Cyberinfrastructure. Dr. Greer 

recently served as Executive Secretary for the 

Long-lived Digital Data Collections 

Activities of the National Science Board and 

is currently Co-Chair of the Digital Data 

Interagency Working Group of the National 

Science and Technology Council's 

Committee on Science. 

Kathryn Lawhun, the Chief of Main for the 

San Francisco Public Library. Lawhun 

instituted changes in the way San Francisco's 

Government Information Center collects, 

stores, and provides access to the collection. 

She aptly dealt with the shift from print to 

virtual documents by providing computers, 

free printing, training, databases, additional 

indexes, and audio-visual and microform 

equipment in order to keep her staff and 

customers better equipped to access 

information in this age of changing 

technology. Lawhun continues to actively 

work with San Francisco Public Library's 

document librarians to plan for the future of 

preserving government documents in every 

form of media. 

John Shuler, an Associate Professor at the 

University of Illinois at Chicago. He is the 

Bibliographer for Urban Planning and 

Government Information/Documents 

Librarian in the library’s Collections 

Development Department. Previously he was 

head of the documents department at Colgate 

University. Shuler has published extensively 

on the policy implications of government 

information in electronic media, and is a 

strong advocate of virtual reference. He 

worked with GPO to create our first ever 

formal partnership with the FDLP, and 

spearheaded a 30-library virtual reference 

collaboration that GPO is taking steps to 

endorse through a formal partnership. 

The following 2-year appointment fills the 

position vacated by Richard Akeroyd, 

completing the remainder of Akeroyd’s term: 

Kendall Wiggin is the State Librarian for 

Connecticut State Library, and was 

previously Director of Libraries at the New 

Hampshire State Library. He has also served 

on the board of directors of the New England 

Document Conservation Center and Libraries 

for the Future. As the head of a State Library 

that serves as a regional depository library, he 

is a strong advocate for public access to 

government information and at the same time 

very aware of the opportunities and 

challenges presented by the inevitable 

transition to electronic documents. 

Responsible for a large historic collection of 

government documents, he plans to work 

with GPO on the digitization and preservation 

of these collections. 

The GPO is the Federal Government’s 

primary centralized resource for gathering, 

cataloging, producing, providing, 

authenticating, and preserving published U.S. 

Government information in all its forms. 

GPO is responsible for the production and 

distribution of information products and 

services for all three branches of the Federal 

Government. In addition to publication sales, 

GPO makes government information 

available at no cost to the public through 

GPO Access (www.gpoaccess.gov), and 

through partnerships with more than 1,250 

libraries nationwide participating in the 

Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). 

For more information, please visit 

www.gpo.gov. 

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Fall Council Meeting & Depository Conference 

Announced 

Registration is now open for the fall meeting 

of the Depository Library Council and 

Federal Depository Library conference. For 

meeting registration, go to the events page on 

the new FDLP Desktop, at: 

http://www.fdlp.gov/events/fall07.html. 

Date & Time: 

Monday, Oct. 15, 2007, 08:00 a.m. — 

Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007, 05:00 p.m. 

Location: 

Doubletree Hotel Crystal City-National 

Airport 

300 Army Navy Drive 

Arlington, Virginia 22202 

The Conference and Council meeting are 

open to everyone, and there is no registration 

fee. The programs provide Federal depository 

library staff, information professionals, and 

all others interested in Federal Government 

information dissemination the opportunity to 

stay current with Federal Depository Library 

Program activities, provide input into the 

planning process, and exchange ideas among 

colleagues. 

Hotel Registration 

A limited number of rooms at the Doubletree 

Hotel will be available on a first-come, firstserved basis at the Government rate 

prevailing at the time of the meeting. The 

current rate is $195 (plus tax) per night single 

and $215.00 (plus tax) per night double. The 

Government rate may increase in the new 

fiscal year after October 1. Registrants will 

be charged the prevailing Government 

rate regardless of the date of their 

registration.

To book your reservations online, go to 

Doubletree's Web site and use 

group/convention code FDL or call 1-800-

HILTONS (445-8667). Please mention the 

GPO's Federal Depository Library 

Conference and Council meeting to receive 

the correct rate.

Reservations should be made before Tuesday, 

September 23, 2007 to ensure receiving the 

prevailing Government rate. The District of 

Columbia’s room tax is 14.5%. If you have 

any problem making your reservation, please 

contact the Office of Education and Outreach 

at (202) 512-1119 for assistance. Please make 

your reservations early! 

Hotel reservations made after Tuesday, 

September 23, 2007 will be subject to 

availability, and the rate may vary. The 

prevailing Government rate will be honored 

beginning Thursday, October 11 through 

Saturday, October 20, 2007. 

Parking 

The hotel offers daily, overnight and valet 

parking. The maximum daily self parking rate 

is $18.00 per day (with tax), valet is $24.00 

per day. Metro rail from the Reagan National 

Airport is approximately $2.00 and cab fare is 

approximately $8.00. The Doubletree offers a 

courtesy shuttle bus to and from Reagan 

National Airport to the hotel. 

Vendors 

Vendors interested in table space at the DLC 

meeting: please use the form at 

http://www.fdlp.gov/index.php?option=com_

philaform&form_id=11&Itemid=1 

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Call for Educational Program Proposals Issued 

GPO's Library Services and Content 

Management has issued a call for proposals 

for presentations for the upcoming fall 

meeting of the Depository Library Council 

and Federal Depository Library Conference. 

For details and the proposal form, go to the 

new FDLP Desktop at: 

http://www.fdlp.gov/events/cfp.html. 

Cumulative Listing of Executive Summary 

Performance Metrics Released 

Library Services and Content Management is 

releasing a cumulative listing of executive 

summary performance metrics on the 

activities of the Federal Depository Library 

Program (FDLP) and the Cataloging and 

Indexing Program (C&I). The cumulative 

statistics cover the date range of October 

2005 (Fiscal year 2005) thru May 2007 

(Fiscal year 2007 to date). The cumulative 

report is now available online at: 

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

ics/index.html. 

Annual Item Selection Update Cycle Ends July 31

Adds will take effect October 1 

For details, go to 

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

CGP Functionality Enhanced 

Library Services and Content Management is pleased to announce the availability of two new 

email features as we continue to enhance services available through the Catalog of U.S. 

Government Publications (CGP), http://catalog.gpo.gov. When emailing up to twenty records 

there are now more format options from which to select: “Standard”, “Short”, “MARC Tags” 

and the newly added data formats: “MARC Format (.mrc)” and “Aleph Sequential.” 

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FDLP Desktop Beta 3.0 Launched 

Beta 3.0 of the FDLP Desktop was unveiled 

on July 3, 2007. This limited release features: 

• New and improved forms--specifically 

Fall DLC Conference & Meeting 

registration and Call for Education 

Proposals. Users will receive an email 

confirmation of their submission. 

Meanwhile, LS&CM staff will receive 

email notifications of submissions and all 

entries are saved to a database. No more 

guessing if GPO received your 

registration! In the future, your FDLP 

Desktop user profile will store your 

contact information (if desired) and insert 

this information into forms to save you 

time. You will also have the ability to 

unregister should the need arise. 

• Keep up-to-date with the latest news 

regarding the FDLP with newsflashes, 

RSS feeds, news articles, and more! Our 

new and improved RSS feed is updated 

automatically as new content is published. 

In the future, your site profile will allow 

you to subscribe to receive email alerts of 

content based on content sections and 

categories. 

• Site search functionality. Our site search 

is two-fold. As you type your search term, 

a list of content items related to your 

search will appear. If you see what you 

want, use your keyboard arrow keys to 

navigate to the item and then hit 

<ENTER> to go to that article. If you 

don't see what you want, finish your 

query and hit <ENTER> to get a list of 

search results for your query. 

This is only a glimpse of what has been done 

and what is yet to come! Stay tuned as we 

continue to release new features of the 

Desktop. Other features pending release 

include: 

• Individual user profiles 

• Self-moderated Needs & Offers 

• Online ordering of GPO promotional 

materials with order tracking 

• Private messaging 

• Moderated online chats 

• Discussion forums 

LS&CM staff are currently conducting a 

comprehensive analysis of the information 

disseminated on the FDLP Desktop in order 

to ensure that it is current and catered 

appropriately for the Web and to our 

community's expectations. We have decided 

to launch what has been completed so far so 

that our community can take advantage of the 

completed, new features while also having 

the chance to provide us feedback so we can 

make the site as useful as possible. Due to the 

size of the site and scope of the redesign, we 

will maintain dual sites during the migration 

and will create redirects to migrated. 

In the meantime, our beta user is still active. 

Log in and check out what registration will 

offer: 

• Username: ahasse 

• Password: sudoc1 

As an added bonus, we are announcing a new 

URL for the FDLP Desktop. Access us now 

at http://www.fdlp.gov! 

Please report any bugs or provide your 

suggestions, rants, raves, et cetera via our 

feedback form.

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Federal Depository Library Handbook Chapters 

Posted for Comment 

Chapter 5: Depository Collections, is now 

posted for public comment by the depository 

community and other interested parties. 

Please use the Web form provided at the 

Handbook Web site to submit comments by 

Friday July 27, 2007. The chapter is available 

for review at: 

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

dbook/index.html. 

Chapter 6: Technical Services, remains 

available for public comment at the same web 

site. Deadline for comments on this chapter is 

July 20, 2007. 

The remaining three Handbook chapters will 

be posted at the Web site as they become 

available. 

GPO Authenticates Electronic Documents 

GPO has taken a big step in fulfilling one of 

the most important goals of its Strategic 

Plan—providing authentic, electronic 

government information to the public. The 

launch of the Public and Private Laws beta 

site is the latest milestone in developing our 

authentication capabilities. GPO launched 

this as a beta site to allow users to help us test 

the technology and to provide feedback. 

What is authentication?

Authentication is the process of verifying that 

the electronic document came from a trusted 

source and has not been modified before 

reaching the user. 

How does it work?

Currently, we are manually signing each 

Public and Private Law. That means a GPO 

employee goes through a process for each 

PDF (Adobe’s Portable Document Format) 

file and applies GPO’s Seal of Authenticity, 

using PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) and 

digital signature technologies. Seeing the seal 

allows the user to quickly recognize that the 

file has been authenticated by GPO, and that 

it is trustworthy. 

Can I see it?

You are encouraged to visit the site and to 

check out the authenticated documents. You 

can see firsthand GPO’s progress in 

executing its Strategic Plan. Also, there is a 

Provide Feedback box that will take you to a 

survey where you can share your thoughts. 

What’s the big deal?

Given the number of digital documents that 

GPO provides to our users, authentication is 

critical in ensuring that what they are getting 

has not been altered. Authentication is a 

major component of GPO’s Strategic Plan 

and also of the Future Digital System. 

What’s next?

The beta test is the first step toward being 

able to authenticate many more of the 

documents GPO provides electronically. 

GPO has been working with contractors on 

the development of a bulk signing tool that 

will allow us to automate the process and 

apply the signature to large numbers of 

documents in a shorter time.

6 
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Library Services and Content Management 

Update 

Remarks by Richard G. Davis 

Acting Superintendent of Documents 

Director, Library Services and Content Management 

At the Federal Documents Task Force Meeting 

ALA Annual Conference 

Saturday, June 23, 2007 

Good afternoon! I am pleased to be at the 

Federal Documents Task Force meeting to 

provide you with an update from the 

Government Printing Office. Before I begin 

with some of our new initiatives, there are a 

couple of important items of note to speak 

about. 

The FDLP and the Future Digital System 

Recently, I have heard some discussion in the 

Federal depository library community about 

how the future of GPO’s work with the FDLP 

may be taken over by the FDsys. I want to 

assure you that this is certainly not the case. 

In reality, the FDsys is being built, in part, to 

serve the digital content management needs 

of the FDLP, but it is also a key component 

of information/enterprise architecture for the 

agency. The FDLP remains an integral 

program, and the FDsys is an information 

management tool that will greatly benefit our 

program. Some of the specific benefits to the 

program that FDsys will provide include: 

improved search functionality, more 

authentication, version tracking, and online 

personalization options. FDsys is also 

complementing print by supporting Print on 

Demand and high volume printing 

technologies. We are looking forward to the 

future releases of technologies associated 

with the Future Digital System being built by 

Mike Wash’s Chief Technical Office team at 

GPO to help us. 

GPO Access – No Fee Access 

I also want to emphasize that GPO’s 

commitment to provide the public with no-fee 

access to Government information through 

the FDLP, including GPO Access, remains 

the same. GPO will not allow access to 

content available through GPO Access to be 

restricted, diminished, or based on user fees 

for the FDLP. The public will be able to 

continue to print and download this 

information through the FDLP without 

restriction into the future. 

New Public Printer and New 

Superintendent of Documents 

First, as you may know, President Bush 

intends to nominate Bob Tapella, of Virginia, 

to be the next Public Printer. Mr. Tapella 

currently serves as Chief of Staff of GPO. 

Prior to this, he served as Deputy Chief of 

Staff. It is our expectation that once the new 

Public Printer has been confirmed, a decision 

and announcement on the next 

Superintendent of Documents would follow 

shortly thereafter. While I am not a candidate 

for the position, I am proud to serve as the 

Acting Superintendent of Documents until a 

new one is appointed, and once that occurs, I 

7 
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will continue on in my current position as the 

Director, Library Services and Content 

Management. 

New Depository Library Council Members 

Depository Library Council members are so 

very integral to the long-running success of 

the FDLP. They serve to assist and advise 

GPO in identifying and evaluating methods to 

improve public access to Government 

information through the FDLP. We are 

currently in the process of confirming our 

newest DLC members, and you can expect a 

press release within the next week. 

Budget 

I also wanted to update on GPO’s FY08 

budget request, specifically as it relates to the 

Salaries and Expenses Appropriation. House 

Report 2771 is available on GPO Access, the 

Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2008. 

It passed the House of Representatives 

yesterday afternoon. 

For 2008, GPO requested $45,613,000 for the 

Salaries and Expenses appropriation. Special 

projects for the FDLP fall under this 

category, including data migration and 

processing new digitized and harvested 

content for GPO Access, FDLP outreach and 

assessments, an expansion of our cataloging 

and indexing program for web harvesting and 

other initiatives. The House recommendation 

is that we receive $35,434,000. While this is 

significantly less than requested, it is an 

increase of $2,338,000 from what we are 

currently receiving. Once we have more 

information on our appropriations, as they 

make their way through the Senate and 

conference, we will share it with you. 

I’d now like to take some time to update you 

on some of the various initiatives we are 

working on at GPO. 

FDLP Desktop 

I am pleased to announce that we have a beta 

redesign of the FDLP Desktop available. The 

innovative design offers the use of the latest 

Web tools to enhance your interaction with 

GPO and your colleagues. Although still in 

beta mode, the redesign features friendly and 

reorganized content with customization 

options, a site search, and more. All of your 

favorite content from the old Desktop is 

currently being migrated to the new site. 

Additionally, the Library unit will be 

unveiling a new service called FDLP 

Express. With this new service, users can 

register to have the latest news and updates 

from the new Desktop captured and sent right 

to their e-mail inbox. This new service makes 

it convenient and easy for you to stay current 

with the timeliest FDLP updates. FDLP 

Express will ensure that you receive news 

and updates as quickly as possible without 

having to constantly check the Web site for 

new information. 

Authentication 

As you may know, authenticated Public and 

Private Laws for the 110th Congress are now 

available on GPO Access as a searchable and 

browseable application in beta form. Public 

and private laws within this application 

contain digitally signed and certified PDF 

files that contain GPO's Seal of Authenticity. 

This authentication initiative furthers GPO’s 

work to provide users further assurance that 

files electronically disseminated through 

GPO Access are unchanged since GPO 

authenticated them. The URL for this new 

application is included in the latest GPO 

Update. 

As part of testing GPO's authentication 

technology, we would like to collect valuable 

input and comments from all users on this 

application. 

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Handles 

While GPO is currently assigning PURLs to 

online publications, Handles is the persistent 

identifier of choice selected by the team at 

GPO building the Future Digital System. In 

view of this, Library unit staff are leading an 

effort to release a beta version of the Handles 

implementation project. 

GPO began assigning PURLs to online 

publications in 1999 and to date we’ve 

created more than 80,000 PURLs with an 

additional 800-1,000 PURLs being generated 

each month. Migration of these PURLs to 

Handles will follow the implementation with 

the Future Digital System. 

Shared Regionals 

I’d like to talk about a goal identified in 

GPO’s A Strategic Vision for the 21st 

Century: to develop a new model for the 

FDLP that increases partner flexibility. I want 

to emphasize the word “flexibility.” One 

stated objective is, “to allow the existing 53 

[now 52] regional depository libraries to 

combine their tangible collections in a 

manner that will continue to offer acceptable 

public access to documents at reduced 

operating costs to participating libraries.” 

As you all know, the concept of multiple 

libraries sharing the responsibilities of a 

regional Federal depository is not new. It is 

almost as old as the statute that created 

regional depositories in 1962. Within the 

statutory framework of Chapter 19, Title 44, 

U.S.C., different models of sharing resources 

and responsibilities between regional and 

selective libraries within the states they serve 

have been implemented over the years. These 

include different models of intra-state sharing 

between regional and selective libraries, and 

between regional depository libraries in one 

state and selective depository libraries in an 

adjacent state where no regional library 

exists. 

For almost fifteen years now that I have been 

a part of it, the Federal depository library 

community has discussed alternative models 

for carrying out the responsibilities of 

regional depository libraries. More recently I 

recall, for instance, a Regional Meeting we 

had in 2003 on Strengths, Opportunities, 

Weaknesses and Threats at our Fall Regional 

Meeting. There was a statement made back 

then that in looking to the future, GPO must 

acknowledge that all regionals are not equal. 

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. 

Back then, and especially since then, 

technological innovations and the online 

environment have made it possible to develop 

models for sharing resources and 

responsibilities between regional depositories 

in different states and the selective libraries 

and patrons they support. In this environment 

where geographic boundaries are blurred to 

services, who better to determine how to 

deliver the Government information needs of 

a region than the depository libraries that 

currently serve it? 

In working to meet the goal in GPO’s 

Strategic Vision, and also at the request of the 

depository library community, GPO 

developed Guidelines for Establishing Shared 

Regional Depository Libraries. These draft 

guidelines were posted to the FDLP Desktop 

and a request for comments was sent through 

FDLP-L. At the start of my comments on this 

section, I emphasized the word “flexibility.” I 

can tell you today that based upon all the 

comments I have read thus far, I think all of 

us have general agreement on that principle. I 

believe every letter I have received used the 

word. 

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Now we need to work together, cautiously yet 

optimistically, and within the boundaries of 

the law, to move the FDLP forward in a 

manner that continues to serve the public 

without sacrificing our historical principles 

that have worked so well. That is the 

challenge: moving from broad principles to 

the details of how best to accomplish this 

without sacrificing the historical 

underpinnings of the program. I am confident 

that if we keep communications open and 

work on this together, we can keep this 

program viable and relevant into the future. 

GPO encourages you to read the guidelines 

and send in your thoughts and suggestions to 

us—as individuals, organizations, as a region. 

GPO wants to receive comments that 

represent the broad spectrum of our 

community. The deadline for submitting 

comments was extended through June 29th. 

GPO plans to share these comments with 

both legal staff at GPO and also our 

congressional oversight committee, so that 

we can work together with the library 

community on next steps to best address 

interstate shared regional opportunities that 

we are being asked to respond to. Send your 

e-mail to Cindy Etkin at cetkin@gpo.gov. 

While working on new initiatives, GPO 

continues to improve and enhance existing 

services. 

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications 

The first enhancements that I wanted to 

address concern the Catalog of U.S. 

Government Publications, GPO’s online 

public access catalog. The CGP has been live 

since March 6, 2006, and since that time, it 

has had more than 20 million successful 

requests. Recently, we began offering new email features. When e-mailing up to twenty 

records there are now more format options 

from which to select. 

Also, testing of Z39.50 access to the CGP has 

been underway since mid-April. Testers will 

continue to test and provide feedback on their 

experiences until the end of June. 

Additionally, the new Federal Depository 

Library Directory is nearing release as a 

service of the CGP. A Brief Bibliography 

pilot project is also underway to test 

workflows, and the separate record approach 

for cataloging and information is on the 

FDLP Desktop. 

Partnerships 

Partnerships with other organizations within 

the FDLP community are integral to GPO’s 

mission and to serving our customers 

according to the highest standard possible. 

There are a few enhancements of note that I 

wanted to talk about today. First, this April, 

GPO signed a partnership agreement with 

Southern Methodist University for permanent 

public access to the library's World War II 

digital library. Partnership discussions are 

also underway with the Homeland Security 

Digital Library and the Government 

Information Online virtual reference service. 

Also, work with Oklahoma State University 

continues on the redesign of Browse Topics. I 

want to encourage all of you to consider 

becoming a volunteer contributor for one or 

several of the many topics covered. 

Finally, to help encourage the development of 

partnerships, work is underway to enhance 

partnership-related information on the FDLP 

Desktop. As a first step, sample 

Memorandums of Understanding for content 

and service partnerships have been added to 

the Desktop. 

Digitization Demonstration Project 

In March 2006, a six-month digitization 

demonstration project was authorized by the 

Joint Committee on Printing (JCP). The 

project began in July 2006 and provided GPO 

the opportunity to test equipment capabilities, 

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develop workflow processes, analyze costs, 

and evaluate methods for ingest, storage, and 

access to the digitized files. 

The project was under the purview of the 

Customer Services Business Unit, Digital 

Conversion Services. They used our 

Operational Specification for Converted 

Content to produce preservation master files. 

Specifications for Quality Control was used 

to determine the quality of the preservation 

master files. The access derivatives were 

created as Adobe Acrobat Portable Document 

Format (PDF) files. 

We provided the unit with the publications 

for digitization, based upon previously 

identified priorities. The Chief Technical 

Officer (CTO) reaffirmed that the 

specifications met the requirements of the 

Future Digital System. 

The project was completed in December 

2006, and in January 2007 GPO arranged a 

meeting of specialists that represented the 

Federal government, Federal depository 

libraries, academic libraries, and others in the 

information community. 

The attendees were surveyed and there was 

agreement that the digitization specifications 

for preservation level scanning produced high 

quality acceptable derivatives that support 

access and search. 

There also was consensus that GPO’s role in 

the digitization arena is not necessarily to 

digitize the entire collection of Federal 

publications all on our own. Rather, the group 

indicated that GPO should play a role in the 

cooperative environment of Federal 

publications digitization projects. They also 

pointed out that GPO should carve a niche for 

itself by digitizing special materials such as 

maps, fragile materials, or microfiche. 

At its April 2007 meeting, the Depository 

Library Council came to similar conclusions 

and recommended that GPO partner with 

libraries and other institutions on digitization 

projects. Council further recommended that 

GPO focus its efforts on standardizing 

partnership agreements and coordinating the 

dissemination of specifications for 

digitization. 

GPO will be making a summary of the 

Digitization Demonstration Project available 

along with a proposed path for moving ahead. 

And we look forward to any comments you 

may have on the direction we’ll propose to 

the JCP. 

Automated Metadata Extraction 

GPO has entered into an agreement with 

DTIC, the Defense Technical Information 

Center, to be part of the automated metadata 

extraction software development project. 

DTIC has been working on this tool with Old 

Dominion University since FY 2004. 

The automated metadata extraction tool uses 

a software application that can identify and 

extract metadata such as title, corporate 

author, report date, distribution limitations, 

etc., from an electronic document with 

minimal or no human intervention for the 

citation creation. The application uses a rulesbased template approach. Documents are 

grouped based on layout and a template is 

created for each group. 

GPO will be working with ODU to enhance 

the templates already in use for the DTIC 

scientific and technical documents to test the 

feasibility of their use on the EPA documents 

that GPO gathered during the harvesting pilot 

project we conducted. 

For more information on the metadata 

extraction process, go to the FDLP Desktop 

for Gopi Nair’s presentation in the Fall 2006 

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Proceedings of the Federal Depository 

Library Conference. His presentation 

includes samples of metadata extracted from 

Congressional hearings. 

Lou Rosenfeld, co-author of the best selling 

book Information Architecture and the World 

Wide Web, has estimated that it would take 

60 employee-years to create metadata for a 

collection of one million documents. At that 

rate GPO is very glad DTIC began exploring 

automated metadata extraction. And we’re 

looking forward to working with DTIC and 

ODU on this project. We will keep the 

community informed as this project moves 

forward. 

Last but not least, there are a couple of quick 

reminders. 

Annual Item Selection Update 

The deadline for amending item selections is 

July 31, 2007. Any drop changes you make 

will be effective immediately, and any add 

changes will be effective on October 1, 2007. 

2007 Biennial Survey 

Also, the 2007 biennial survey is scheduled to 

be released in October 2007. GPO staff 

members are currently at work refining the 

survey tool, and of course, survey questions 

will be shared with the community prior to its 

release. More information on the survey will 

be forthcoming in the next few months. 

Interagency Depository Seminar 

I also wanted to take the opportunity to 

remind you that the 2007 Interagency 

Depository Seminar will be held in 

Washington, DC from July 30 - August 3. 

Representatives from a variety of Federal 

agencies will present an overview of their 

information products and services as they 

relate to Federal depository libraries. 

Advance registration is required, but there is 

no fee to attend the seminar. Prospective 

attendees should complete the online 

registration form on the FDLP Desktop. 

I sincerely thank you for your time today, and 

I will be available throughout the conference, 

along with several other GPO staff members. 

Feel free to engage us on any of the 

initiatives going on at the GPO. 

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[Handout] 

Library Services and Content Management 

Update – ALA Annual Conference – June 2007 

ANNUAL ITEM SELECTION UPDATE 

The annual update cycle affords depository 

libraries the opportunity to add items to their 

selection profile, and will take place 

beginning on June 1, 2007. Libraries are 

asked to evaluate their selections during the 

months of June and July and submit their 

final adds and drops by July 31, 2007. Items 

can be dropped during the update cycle, or at 

any time during the year. The drops are 

processed immediately and take effect within 

48 hours. Items selected during the update 

cycle will become effective on October 1, 

2007. 

GPO recommends that libraries review their 

current selections in terms of their 

communities’ Government information needs 

and change their selections accordingly. 

2007 INTERAGENCY DEPOSITORY 

SEMINAR 

The 20th Annual Interagency Depository 

Seminar will be held in Washington, DC 

from July 30 - August 3, 2007. 

Representatives from a variety of Federal 

agencies will present an overview of their 

information products and services as they 

relate to Federal depository libraries. 

Prospective attendees should complete the 

online registration form at: 

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

gistration/interagency_reg.html

DEPOSITORY LIBRARY COUNCIL 

MEETINGS & FEDERAL DEPOSITORY 

LIBRARY CONFERENCE 

The 2007 Fall Depository Library Council 

Meeting and Federal Depository Library 

Conference will be held from Monday, 

October 15 through Wednesday, October 17, 

2007, at the Doubletree Hotel Crystal City 

located in Arlington, VA. 

The 2008 Spring Depository Library Council 

meeting will be held March 30 through April 

2, 2008 at the Westin Crown Center Hotel 

located in Kansas City, Missouri. 

Additional information for these meetings 

will be made available to the depository 

community once registrations and hotel 

reservations are being accepted. 

PUBLIC ACCESS ASSESSMENTS 

Public access assessments will enable Library 

Services & Content Management (LSCM) to 

fulfill legal requirements “to make firsthand 

investigation of conditions for which need is 

indicated” (44 USC §1909). Assessments will 

emphasize public access to all formats of 

depository resources and related library 

services. They will also provide libraries with 

opportunities to share depository 

management best practices in order to 

enhance depository services and promote 

greater efficiency and effectiveness of 

depository operations. GPO expects to 

perform public access assessments of all 

libraries on a regular schedule, beginning in 

2008. 

For more on Public Access Assessments, go 

to: 

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

bs/proceedings/07spring/assessments0407.pdf. 

BIENNIAL SURVEY 

GPO is in the process of developing an online 

survey instrument and testing the 

functionality of the software for the 2007 

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Biennial Survey. In addition, GPO is 

reviewing the questions to find ways to more 

effectively measure operations and more 

accurately assess library conditions. 

The Biennial Survey provides GPO with 

important information used in administering 

the FDLP. The 2005 Biennial Survey Results 

include questions and aggregate responses 

from a total of 1,190 depository libraries that 

responded to the 2005 Survey. The 2005 

Survey data includes the questions and 

individual library responses which may be 

downloaded in preparation for the 2007 

Biennial Survey. These files are accessible 

from the FDLP Desktop at 

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

urvey/

AUTHENTICATION 

In late May, GPO released the beta 

Authenticated Public and Private Laws for 

the 110th Congress to the library community 

for comment. The beta application is 

searchable and browseable at 

http://fdlpdev.gpo.gov/plaws/index.html. 

This application contains digitally signed and 

certified PDF files that contain GPO’s Seal of 

Authenticity. GPO is using Public Key 

Infrastructure (PKI) and Digital Signature 

technologies to verify the authenticity of the 

electronic U.S. Government documents that 

are disseminated through the Federal 

Depository Library Program (FDLP). As part 

of testing GPO’s authentication technology, 

we would like to collect valuable input and 

comments from all users. If you would like to 

provide us feedback, please complete our 

feedback form, 

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=44

753915185. 

GPO’s Authentication initiative focuses on 

the primary objective of assuring users that 

the information made available by GPO is 

official and authentic and that trust 

relationships exist between all participants in 

electronic transactions. In furthering GPO’s 

mission to provide permanent public access 

to authentic U.S. Government publications, 

GPO is working to afford users further 

assurance that files electronically 

disseminated through GPO Access are 

unchanged since GPO authenticated them and 

provide security for and safeguard Federal 

Government publications that fall within 

scope of the FDLP. 

DIGITIZATION OF THE LEGACY 

COLLECTION 

In March 2006, a six-month digitization 

demonstration project was authorized by the 

Joint Committee on Printing (JCP). The 

project began in July 2006, with the goal of 

providing GPO the opportunity to test 

equipment capabilities, develop workflow 

processes, analyze costs, and evaluate 

methods for ingest, storage, and access to the 

digitized files. The demonstration project was 

completed in December 2006. In January 

2007, GPO arranged a meeting of digitization 

specialists representing Federal libraries, 

Federal depository libraries, academic 

libraries and others in the information 

community, to review and provide feedback 

to GPO on a sample set of digitized files in 

PDF format. 

A draft summary report of the Digitization 

Demonstration Project has been completed 

and is being reviewed by GPO management. 

The summary, which will be posted for 

public comment once approved, includes a 

short synopsis of the specialists’ review of 

the converted document files, as well as a list 

of recommendations for future GPO 

digitization efforts and next steps for GPO’s 

digitization program. 

SHELFLIST DIGITIZATION 

The pre-1976 historic shelflist project goal is 

to convert the bibliographic data on these 

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AN-v28-#05-06-06/15/07 

cards into machine-readable records in 

MARC21 format so that they can be loaded 

to GPO’s Integrated Library System (ILS) 

(Aleph 500) catalog. The solicitation for 

conversion of the historic shelflist was 

reposted and open for bids on May 24, 2007, 

and responses are due by June 29, 2007. The 

file is at 

http://www.fbo.gov/spg/GPO/PSPSD/Wash

ingtonDC/ASBTS07/listing.html. 

FDLP DESKTOP REDESIGN 

GPO unveiled a beta redesign of the FDLP 

Desktop at the spring Depository Library 

Council meeting in Denver, CO. Our goal for 

the redesign is to balance the mission of the 

FDLP with the latest Web tools to enhance 

your interaction with GPO and the depository 

community. The beta FDLP Desktop is 

available at: http://fdlpdev.gpo.gov/fdlp. [This site will be shut down soon. See article on 

Beta 3.0 on p. 5. –Ed. 7/13/07] 

EXPRESS NEWSLETTER 

In conjunction with the new FDLP Desktop, 

GPO plans to launch an online express 

newsletter that will “push” information to 

subscribers, taking advantage of many of the 

capabilities that will be available in the new 

desktop. The express newsletter will be 

offered in addition to the Administrative 

Notes newsletter and its Technical 

Supplement. Still in the planning stages, 

testing of the express newsletter will 

commence when the desktop is launched later 

this year. 

GPO/NTIS PILOT PROJECT 

Through a pilot project, Depository libraries 

have no-fee access to DARTS (Depository 

Access to Reports, Technical and Scientific), 

a database containing NTIS online reports 

dating from 1964 to 2000. The purpose of the 

pilot is to determine if NTIS can participate 

in the FDLP by providing access to its online 

content without having a negative impact on 

revenue, as by statute NTIS is self-sustaining. 

After beta testing, the pilot began in late 

February and is projected to last a year. To 

date, 322 depositories have registered for the 

service. They have visited the site more than 

2,000 times, with an average of 17 visits per 

day, each visit lasting an average of a little 

more than nine minutes. To sign-up for the 

service, fill out the verification form and fax 

it to GPO at 202-512-2300. The form is 

available at 

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

l-dev/ntisform.pdf. 

Any questions about this project or signing 

up for it, should be addressed to Cindy Etkin 

at cetkin@gpo.gov. 

HANDLES BETA TEST 

GPO has selected the Handles System for 

persistent identifier technology, and LSCM 

plans to beta test the system in the coming 

months. On-going discussions with other 

business units within GPO are now occurring 

to coordinate the technical aspects of the beta 

test. Additionally, LSCM staff are exploring 

the details for registering the IP address for 

the Handles server with the Corporation for 

National Research Initiatives, and staff are 

scheduled to attend a Handles workshop 

offered as part of the International Digital 

Object Identifier Foundation's 2007 Annual 

Members Meeting in Washington. GPO plans 

to complete the beta test and document the 

results before the end of this calendar year. 

ILS STATUS AND NEXT 

DELIVERABLES 

New Email Services Implemented

Library Services and Content Management is 

pleased to announce the availability of two 

new email features as we continue to enhance 

services available through the Catalog of U.S. 

Government Publications (CGP), 

http://catalog.gpo.gov. When emailing up to 

twenty records there are now more format 

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AN-v28-#05-06-06/15/07 

options from which to select: "Standard", 

"Short", "MARC Tags" and the newly added 

data formats: "MARC Format (.mrc)" and 

"Aleph Sequential". 

Z39.50

Testing by a select group of depositories is 

continuing through June 30. GPO continues 

to work on activities leading to release to all 

depositories, with a target of late summer, 

including analyzing the log files, data 

gathering, and evaluation of testers’ 

feedback. GPO automation staff have also 

been working with a variety of Z39.50 

clients, to enable some basic assistance to 

depositories with questions. 

New Federal Depository Library Directory

Final development is underway prior to the 

release of the new Federal Depository Library 

Directory as a service of the Catalog of U.S. 

Government Publications. A data entry 

conventions guide and an OPAL presentation 

will be released to the depository community 

for assistance in updating their directory 

information prior to release of the Directory 

to the public. 

Upgrade of Aleph software to version 18

LTIS is working with Ex Libris and our 

systems integrator, Progressive Technology 

Federal Systems (PTFS) on activities 

surrounding the upgrade of the Aleph 

software to version 18. GPO brought up the 

ILS on version 16.02. Once the new version 

is fully tested in the test environment, the 

production server will be upgraded. 

Completion is estimated by the end of the 

year. Version 18 has many new features, 

particularly in the area of patron 

authenticated services. 

Citrix implementation

The implementation of Citrix to provide GPO 

staff secure desktop access to the Aleph client 

is in the final testing stages before 

acceptance. Implementation will enable 

workflow changes and faster appearance of 

Federal government publications in the CGP 

in at least brief record form. 

MetaLib

Planning is underway to upgrade the MetaLib 

to version 4 prior to moving forward to 

implementation. Dependent on time and staff 

needed to work on the Aleph software 

version 18 upgrade, implementation is 

projected by the end of the year. 

FEDERAL DEPOSITORY LIBRARY 

HANDBOOK 

Work on the new Federal Depository Library 

Handbook is progressing steadily. The public 

comments received on twelve sections have 

been reviewed and incorporated as 

appropriate. 

Chapter 6 (Technical Services) is posted for 

public comment on the FDLP Desktop at 

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

ndbook/index.html, with comments due by 

July 23, 2007. 

Chapter 5 (Depository Collections) was sent 

to key stakeholders for comment. Chapters 2 

(Legal Requirements), 7 (Public 

Assessments), 13 (Increasing Electronic 

Depository Collections), and various 

appendices are under development. The 

twelve sections which are in "FINAL 

DRAFT" versions are posted to the FDLP 

Desktop for reference use. The final versions 

may change slightly when the entire FDL 

Handbook is finalized. The FDL Handbook is 

expected to be completed this summer. 

DISTRIBUTION AND GPO ACCESS

STATISTICS

During the period from October 2006 through 

May 2007, GPO distributed 2,620,678 

tangible copies of 5,768 titles (print, 

microfiche, CD's, DVDs and in-house maps). 

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USGS map distribution during the same 

period included 266 titles and 68,849 copies. 

From October 2006 through May 2007, 

10,122 online titles and 4,488 PURL links to 

agency titles outside of GPO Access were 

added, for a total of 14,610 new online titles. 

These additions bring the total number of 

titles to 219,773, and the total number of 

PURL links to agency titles outside of GPO 

Access to 52,442, for a total of 272,215 titles 

accessible through GPO Access. 

In the first 7 months of FY 2007, 270.3 

million documents were retrieved from GPO 

Access, averaging nearly 38.6 million a 

month, or 1.3 million per day. Retrievals 

from GPO Access since its inception in 1994 

now total 3.2 billion. 

In the first 8 months of FY 2007, 12,094 titles 

were cataloged, compared with 8,893 in the 

same period in FY 2006. 

Questions? 

If you have questions or comments on any of the content in Administrative Notes, please send them to askGPO, the 

online help service at: 

http://gpo.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/gpo.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

To ensure that your question is routed to the correct area, please choose the category "Federal Depository Libraries" 

and the appropriate subcategory, if any. 

You may also contact the GPO Customer Contact Center at 866-512-1800 (Toll-free), or at 202-512-1800 (DC 

Metropolitan Area), Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m., EST. 

17 
AN-v28-#05-06-06/15/07 

Table of Contents 

New Members Named To Depository Library Council ............................................................... 1 

Fall Council Meeting & Depository Conference Announced....................................................... 3 

Call for Educational Program Proposals Issued............................................................................ 4 

Cumulative Listing of Executive Summary Performance Metrics Released................................ 4 

Annual Item Selection Update Cycle Ends July 31...................................................................... 4 

CGP Functionality Enhanced........................................................................................................ 4 

FDLP Desktop Beta 3.0 Launched ............................................................................................... 5 

Federal Depository Library Handbook Chapters Posted for Comment........................................ 6 

GPO Authenticates Electronic Documents................................................................................... 6 

Library Services and Content Management Update: Remarks by Richard G. Davis................... 7 

Library Services and Content Management Update – ALA Annual Conference – June 2007 .. 13 

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, 

Government Printing Office, for the staffs of U.S. Federal Depository Libraries. 

Postmaster send address changes to: Administrative Notes 

U.S. Government Printing Office 

 Stop IDED 

Washington, DC 20401 

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

18