Report of a National Dialogue 

 

 

Co-Sponsored by 

U.S. Government Publishing Office 

UC Hastings College of the Law Library 

San Francisco, CA 

June 25, 2015 

1:00pm – 4:30pm 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Executive Summary 

 

GPO’s Federal Information Preservation Network (FIPNet) is a strategic initiative to expand Federal 

Depository Library Program (FDLP) library collections and the content for GPO’s Cataloging and 

Indexing Program (C&I) comprehensive index of Government information, or the National 

Bibliography, while at the same time guaranteeing the public long-term access to the Government’s 

publications and information from libraries, Government entities, coalitions, and organizations 

working to ensure free access for future generations. GPO in collaboration with its FIPNet partners 

will contribute to the preservation of both tangible and digital Government information. 

To build a sustainable preservation model GPO took into consideration the parameters included in 

the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) 2013 report, Rebooting the Government 

Printing Office: Keeping America Informed in the Digital Age., and recommendations; what was 

learned from depository libraries during the 2012 FDLP Forecast Study; and preservation best 

practices. FIPNet resulted from a model that had to have the following attributes: 

 Collaborative; 

 Leverage activities already undertaken; 

 Flexible/Scalable; 

 Partners beyond the FDLP; and 

 Within GPO’s statutory and regulatory guidance. 

GPO’s plan to preserve tangible and digital Government information had been discussed with the 

depository library community since the spring of 2014. Superintendent of Documents Mary Alice 

Baish saw the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Library Association as an opportunity to have a 

discussion and obtain feedback on the plan from stakeholders representing the broader library 

community and convened a meeting June 25, 2015 at the University of California Hastings College of 

Law Library in San Francisco, California. 

John Palfrey, Head of School at Phillips Academy in Andover and founding chairman of the Digital 

Public Library of America, provided opening remarks for the National Dialogue, and discussion was 

facilitated by Joan Lippincott of the Coalition of Networked Information (CNI). There were twenty 

people in attendance who are leaders of, or who have had experience with, collaborative networks; 

attendees were knowledgeable professionals who represented various libraries and library-related 

organizations. A list of organizations represented at the National Dialog is included in this report. 

One of the most important outcomes from the day’s discussion was the validation of GPO’s 

assumptions and FIPNet framework for preserving Government information for future generations. 

Recurring themes for suggested actions or approaches for a successful preservation network were 

identified: 

 Collaboration and Need for Inclusiveness; 

 Map the Preservation Landscape; 

 Inventory and Bibliographic Control; 

 Strategy for Acquiring Born Digital content; 

 Develop and Promote Guidelines and Best Practices; and 

 Develop Success measures. 

GPO will implement FIPNet with the above strategies and actions in 

mind. 

“What you’re doing in the

form of FIPNet, and leading

a national dialogue around

it, strikes me as exactly the

right metaphor for the

moment in history that

we’re at.”

                ~ John Palfrey                
Page | 3  

. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

 

 

 

Executive Summary 

 

Setting the Stage 

 

The Dialogue 

 Summation of John Palfrey’s Opening Remarks 

 Making the Case for FIPNet 

 Preservation of and Access to Federal Information 

 Identifying Preservation Solutions: Opportunities for Collaboration and Partnership 

 

Outcomes 

 Validation 

 Major Themes 

 

Appendices 

 National Dialogue Agenda 

 Organizations Represented at the National Dialogue 

 Federal Information Preservation Network (FIPNet) – Information Sheet 

 

 
Page | 4  

Setting the Stage 

 

The Principles of Government Information guide GPO’s work for the Public Information Programs of 

the Superintendent of Documents. They were developed by GPO in 1996 as part of the Report to 

Congress: Study to Identify Measures Necessary for a Successful Transition to a More Electronic 

Federal Depository Library Program. The first principle is, “The public has the right of access to 

Government information.” The other four principles are Government obligations that ensure and 

support the public’s right: 

 Government has the obligation to disseminate and provide broad public access to its 

information. 

 Government has an obligation to guarantee the authenticity and integrity of its information. 

 Government has an obligation to preserve its information. 

 Government information created or compiled by Government employees or at Government 

expense should remain in the public domain. 

The National Dialogue focused on the principle that it is the Government’s obligation to preserve its 

information. The historic collections of tangible Federal Government publications held by libraries of 

the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) and Federal agencies, and the born digital Federal 

information of today are a priceless information asset for the American people. This information tells 

the story of our Republic through Government works produced during the more than two hundred 

years of our history. Accessible Government information is a public good that can improve the quality 

of life for the American people. It advances government efficiency, improves accountability, and fuels 

private sector innovation, scientific discovery, and economic growth. Yet, this information asset is 

vulnerable to decay, neglect, obsolescence, damage, theft, and content degradation. A network of 

partners working cooperatively to preserve Federal Government information will ensure that this 

information asset remains freely accessible to the American citizenry both now and for future 

generations. 

In January 2013 after a ten month study, of the then Government Printing Office (GPO), the National 

Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) issued its report, Rebooting the Government Printing 

Office: Keeping America Informed in the Digital Age.1 It provided recommendations to strengthen 

GPO and its transformation for the digital age. Among the recommendations NAPA made was for 

GPO to develop a comprehensive plan to preserve the historical print collection of Government 

documents through digitization and ingest into FDsys, a preservation repository. FDsys conforms to 

ISO 14721, the Open Archival Information System Reference Model for preservation and access. GPO 

accepted the NAPA recommendations and is committed to implementing them. 

At the time the NAPA study was undertaken, GPO was already in the midst of the FDLP Forecast 

Study.

2

 The Forecast Study, now complete, was an important research initiative to gather data in 

order for GPO to better understand the pressing issues, goals, and viewpoints of depositories; 

                                                            

1 The full NAPA report is available from: http://www.gpo.gov/pdfs/about/GPO_NAPA_Report_FINAL.pdf. 2 In 2012 a study of libraries in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) was undertaken to assess the needs

of depository libraries and to determine how they viewed the future and ideal FDLP. More information about the

study, including the final report, is available from: http://www.fdlp.gov/project‐list/fdlp‐forecast‐study.   
Page | 5  

document the needs, vision, and environment in which individual depositories exist at the state level; 

and obtain a clear vision, based on consensus, about the FDLP’s future direction. One of the major 

findings of the Study is that many libraries look to preservation to ensure that access is reliable and 

that content remains available into the future. And depositories want GPO to coordinate and lead 

this effort. 

To build a sustainable preservation model GPO took into consideration the parameters included in 

the NAPA report recommendations, what was learned from depository libraries during the FDLP 

Forecast Study, and preservation best practices. The model had to have the following attributes: 

 Collaborative; 

 No additional responsibilities for FDLs; 

 Leverage activities already undertaken; 

 Flexible/Scalable; 

 Partners beyond the FDLP; and 

 Within GPO’s statutory and regulatory guidance. 

The result, GPO’s Federal Information Preservation Network (FIPNet). FIPNet is a strategic initiative 

to expand FDLP library collections and the content for GPO’s Cataloging and Indexing Program (C&I) 

comprehensive index of Government information, or the National Bibliography, while at the same 

time guaranteeing the public long-term access to the Government’s publications and information 

from libraries, Government entities, coalitions, and organizations working to ensure free access for 

future generations. GPO in collaboration with its FIPNet partners will contribute to the preservation 

of both tangible and digital Government information. 

The distributed collection of Government information to be preserved is referred to as the National 

Collection of U.S. Government Information and its scope is the corpus of Federal Government 

information dissemination products, regardless of format or medium, that have been paid for with 

Federal funds. Declassified materials and materials whose privacy considerations have expired are 

included within scope of the National Collection. In developing the preservation plan GPO made 

several assumptions: 

 The Principles of Government Information adopted by GPO in 1996 remain valid for the 

digital age. 

 Government information is a national asset and library collections of tangible and digital 

Government content are valuable to ensuring an informed citizenry. 

 The Federal Depository Library Program continues to be relevant in the digital age. 

 No one library or institution can do all that is required to preserve the entire corpus of 

Government information. 

 GPO will lead and coordinate a government-wide strategy for managing the life cycle of the 

comprehensive collection of tangible and digital Government information. 

 Collaboration and partnerships with Federal depository libraries, Federal agencies, and with 

additional public and private sector entities are necessary to accomplish lifecycle 

management of tangible and digital Government information.    

 Geographically dispersed collections of tangible publications and redundancy of digital files 

are necessary to ensure local access to Federal Government information. 

 
Page | 6  

The Dialogue 

 

While GPO’s plan to preserve tangible and digital Government information had been discussed with 

the depository library community since the spring of 2014, the summer 2015 Annual Meeting of the 

American Library Association provided an opportunity to have a discussion and obtain feedback on 

the plan from stakeholders representing the broader library community. 

The National Dialogue was co-sponsored by GPO and the University of California Hastings College 

of the Law Library. Joan Lippincott of the Coalition of Networked Information (CNI) facilitated the 

three and a half hour discussion. The afternoon’s program began with welcomes by Provost and 

Academic Dean of UC Hastings College of the Law Elizabeth Hillman, and Superintendent of 

Documents Mary Alice Baish, and opening remarks by John Palfrey, Head of School at Phillips 

Academy in Andover, MA and former executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet and 

Society. There were twenty people in attendance who are leaders of, or who have had experience 

with, collaborative networks; attendees were knowledgeable professionals who represented various 

libraries and library-related organizations. 

SUMMATION OF JOHN PALFREY’S OPENING REMARKS 

It’s on all of us – we as citizens in the broadest sense, “to support libraries as they make this crucial 

transition from predominantly an analog era to a digital era” Palfrey began. He asked, how do we 

keep doing all the wonderful things libraries have done for so long, while adding new and wonderful 

things that can and should be done in the digital era? Though optimistic he cautions, that if we don’t 

do this right, in the digital age we could end up with less access. Palfrey referred to the challenges 

of privacy, first-sale doctrine and copyright, shedding (what will you stop doing?), and sustainability 

of a volunteer network. 

Palfrey went on to say that this national dialogue on preservation is important because it is 

addressing exactly the core work that all of us think is so important. He doesn’t believe the Federal 

depository system ought to go away; it has worked so well in a collaborative way and historically it 

has been so effective. In fact Palfrey said, the FDLP “needs to be bolstered and continued. It's not 

sufficient for the digital era. It's not enough, much as the existing library statute is not enough or the 

existing activities of any of our individual libraries ...” 

We’re here today to figure out the conceptual work and how “to bring forward this program that's 

been so successful for so long and let's do it in a way that it's going to be highly networked and 

highly digital and highly attuned to the opportunities and the challenges of the digital age.” 

Palfrey’s quick reaction to FIPNet was, “I think it’s awesome!” And the right direction. He identified 

three important positive aspects of FIPNet: 

 The premise of collaboration; 

 It advances both access and preservation for the long run; and 

 It provides for mass amount of digitized content accessible for children to learn to be good 

citizens – bedrock work that is necessary for a democratic society. 

 
Page | 7  

 

DISCUSSION 

The discussion was organized into three topics: Making the Case for FIPNet, Preservation of and 

Access to Federal Information, and Identifying Preservation Solutions. 

DISCUSSION TOPIC 1: MAKING THE CASE FOR FIPNET 

Dr. Martin Halbert, Dean of Libraries and Associate Professor at the University of North Texas, 

introduced this discussion topic by asserting “the information of the United States government will 

always be of enduring importance and significance culturally, economically, historically and 

scientifically because of the sheer scale of the government, its unique centrality to our nation, its 

simultaneously singular and plural institutional character, and our enormous and ongoing shared 

social investment in it as a country and a people.” 

Halbert noted that making the case for FIPNet begins with three broad issues that are simultaneously 

challenges and opportunities: 

Challenge 1: Funding and the priorities that libraries face in making the transition from print to 

digital. 

Challenge 2: Building and maintaining digital expertise and infrastructure. 

Challenge 3: Organizing collective action and scale. 

To begin the first discussion topic, participants were asked about gaps in preservation and access to 

Federal information that add to our risk levels, and what they were doing to mitigate this risk. It was 

noted that significant risk factors exist for both tangible and digital Government information. The first 

risk mentioned was the absence of a comprehensive bibliography of U.S. Government publications. 

This presents a variety of problems and challenges including identifying the corpus of Government 

information for which preservation is needed, determining the condition of the materials, setting 

priorities for digitization, and collaboratively managing the national collection to ensure access. 

Another identified risk was “not necessarily having an agenda or a sense of a map of the various 

efforts that all contribute to solving the problem.” A related risk mentioned was the lack of 

identification of the most critical content to address first. One attendee put it this way, “We cannot 

digitize everything at once. Not everything has equal value ... to make this successful, we have to have 

some kind of process to prioritize as we move forward.”

It was pointed out, and there was much agreement, that while we know that digitizing the historical 

collection of Government documents and information products is very important, a bigger risk is the 

loss of born digital content. This content is not distributed in any coherent manner; it goes up on an 

agency’s website, and it goes away. To prevent a “digital black hole” and to create a sustainable access 

and preservation program we need to figure out “how to retools our organizations and our 

collaborations around the notion of moving from print to digital.” 

Collaborative digitization projects, shared best practices for digitization among stakeholder partners, 

and leadership from GPO and others working collaboratively to set priorities for developing digital 

collections of Government information are needed as well. 
Page | 8  

DISCUSSION TOPIC 2: PRESERVATION OF AND ACCESS TO FEDERAL INFORMATION 

The aim of the second topic of discussion was to gain a better understanding of the priority of 

preservation of and access to Federal information from the perspective of the institutions and 

organizations represented by attendees. 

Representatives from University of California System, Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), 

HathiTrust, Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL), Center for Research Libraries 

(CRL), and OCLC described their collaborative preservation efforts. All have made a commitment to 

preservation of the print publications, though the levels of commitment vary. 

Issues with Google scanning were raised as was the need for an inventory or catalog—the need to 

track who has what, how many copies there are, what has been digitized, who can discard, and what 

can be put into remote or centralized storage. This lead to a discussion of the need for national 

policies and standards for digitization and metadata and the need for collaboration with various 

stakeholders in their development. And this circled back to the need to map the preservation 

landscape. 

The observation was made that “there is not anywhere near the same level of systematic efforts to try 

to preserve digital information in the Federal sphere like there is in the print sphere.” The desire to 

see preservation of Federal digital assets made a national priority was expressed, along with the need 

to leverage our efforts and coordinate. The need to identify the best way to orchestrate this was 

conveyed. Involving the agency publishers in the collaboration was suggested. 

Most of the day’s discussion related to preservation. We’re preserving for public access. It was pointed 

out that it is often difficult to justify the value of these efforts if their use cannot be seen or understood. 

The suggestion was made to employ case studies of how digitized materials are used. Many 

organizations have longstanding policy statements about access to Government information. The 

value of the distributed model of Federal depository libraries was recognized and viewed as a feature 

not be lost in the digital age. A willingness was expressed to request or seek Federal or private funding 

to support access and preservation of Government information. 

DISCUSSION TOPIC 3: IDENTIFYING PRESERVATION SOLUTIONS: OPPORTUNITIES FOR 

COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIP 

Chuck Eckman, Dean of Libraries at the University of Miami, introduced this discussion topic by 

describing some of the collaborative preservation efforts in which his library participates. He finds the 

collaborative model quite compelling, stating “ongoing collaboration can really streamline the ways 

in which we get access to content, making it discoverable and useable and doing it in a sustainable 

way.” From the administrator viewpoint, collaboration reduces the risk of failure, reduces institutional 

investment, and creates a context for inspiring support from management, and acts as a bridge that 

“ties institutional imperatives,” which Eckman believes is really important as libraries transition to 

digital. “We know how to preserve digital information. It requires active professional engagement at 

regular intervals to migrate, refresh and back up the content. And many partner hands are required.” 

The “many partners model” of FIPNet lends itself to a promising successful future. 
Page | 9  

Discussion began by responding to a question about recognizing existing collaborative preservation 

efforts and if they might benefit from additional partners or resources – could they be “low-hanging 

fruit” and further collaboration be encouraged? It was noted that a key word there was resources – 

and the continual cry of the need for more. “But until you really know what the resource need is, it’s 

hard to talk about that.” It was suggested that funding Federal agencies be looked at to determine if 

there are any funding collaborations for them. It was further suggested that the few Federal agencies 

that provide grants and other funding for preservation collaborate to “build an argument to Congress 

for additional funding.” 

While there currently is collaboration in a variety of preservation areas, many local efforts are not 

known outside of their regions. Conversation circled back to the need to map the preservation 

landscape as it would provide a way of assessing what’s being accomplished and by whom. This 

mapping effort would also identify gaps and potential opportunities for collaboration and future 

growth. Federal agency collaboration was raised once again, with the possibility of determining the 

landscape and developing principles and priorities for preservation put forward. 

Collaborative partnerships can and should start small and provide opportunities for participation and 

incremental growth. Participants warned that attempts at a large-scale, one-size-fits-all, national 

effort will likely fail. A recommended approach to move forward is to test the model on a small scale, 

show successes, and then expand the model. 

A number of different collaborative models were mentioned, including ASERL’s (Association of 

Southeastern Research Libraries) Centers of Excellence, the University of California System, Digital the 

Public Library of America, and the End-of-Term Crawl. Participants in the National Dialogue asserted 

that a key part of the success and sustainability of FIPNet would be through keeping the governance 

of FIPNet so that the widest possible number of stakeholders can participate and “operate at the level 

or the way that fits all these other models they are trying to cope with at their own institutions ... we 

should create an environment that allows for and accepts all that difference.” 

Leadership will be required from GPO to facilitate partnerships and work with stakeholders within 

academia, government, and the public to make the case for preserving Government information and 

that the lack of preservation and access to government information is a barrier to the vision of open 

government. As a part of its leadership, GPO should promote best practices and develop the means 

for how partners can contribute to digitization, web harvesting, cataloging, content hosting, and other 

FIPNet preservation roles. 

“In addition to working with the community groups, I think it's really important to tell a story that the 

public can understand ... ultimately, for this to take hold, it has to be a public issue and the public has 

to understand what is at risk.” It's not enough for just librarians to fight the preservation battle, 

preservation of Government information has to be on the public's agenda. 

Attendees believed the National Dialogue was beneficial and that additional dialogue sessions with 

other stakeholder groups similar to this one should be held to gain additional perspectives and 

support. 
Page | 10  

Outcomes 

 

VALIDATION 

One of the most important outcomes from the day’s discussion was the validation of GPO’s 

assumptions and FIPNet framework for preserving Government information for future generations. 

MAJOR THEMES 

Recurring themes for suggested actions or approaches for a successful preservation network were 

identified: 

Collaboration: 

The preservation and access challenge is too great for one institution or organization to do it 

alone. Resources and knowledge are multiplied when many stakeholders participate together. 

Just as collections of Government information are geographically spread across the United 

States, the people who manage these collections and the user communities they serve must 

have a voice in the success of current and future plans for maintaining permanent public 

access to the collection in all formats. 

Map the Preservation Landscape:

Many libraries across the U.S. are engaged in a variety of strategies to maintain permanent 

public access to Government information collections. Mapping the landscape of these local 

level efforts is a way to elevate an awareness of the contribution of local institutions, join likeminded libraries together in collaborative partnerships, assess gaps in the preservation of the 

national collection, and set cost-effective plans for preserving tangible publications, digitizing 

publications for preservation and access, and harvesting and preserving Federal Web content. 

Inventory and Bibliographic Control: 

Government information has been recognized by a variety of stakeholders and noted by 

President Obama as a “national asset.” It is impossible to manage valuable information assets 

without first being able to account for what they are, describe them, know where they are 

held, and how they are being managed. Bringing the national collection inventory under 

bibliographic control is of the utmost importance. 

Born Digital Content 

A huge risk is the loss of born digital or web-based Government content. It goes up on an 

agency’s website, and it goes away. We must collaborate in a strategic manner to prevent a 

“digital black hole” of Government information. 

Develop and Promote Guidelines and Best Practices: 

“We have to figure out ways of assisting other organizations through FIPNet by broadening 

the base of digital library expertise ... and jump starting their progress more quickly and 

affordably.” This can be facilitated by the development and promotion of guidelines, standards, 

best practices, and responsibilities for the various FIPNet partnership opportunities. 

Need for Inclusiveness: 

Participants noted the success of FIPNet will require providing a way for local preservation 

efforts to contribute to the national preservation effort without constraints of trying to decide 

which collections or information formats are the highest priority for preservation. Participants 
Page | 11  

noted that there are many differing perspectives and opinions about whether tangible 

publications, collection digitization, or harvesting web content should be the priority focus of 

preservation. However, what everyone does agree upon is that Government information is an 

asset; there is a shared goal that it needs to be preserved for future generations. 

 

 
Page | 12  

Appendices 

 

 

 

National Dialogue Agenda ........................................................................ 13 

Organizations Represented at the National Dialogue ....................... 14 

Federal Information Preservation Network – Information Sheet ...... 15 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Page | 13  

Federal Information Preservation Network (FIPNet): 

A National Dialogue

Co-Sponsored by the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) 

and the UC Hastings College of the Law Library 

San Francisco, CA 

June 25, 2015 

1:00pm – 4:30pm 

1:00 Welcome and Overview

 Welcome 

Elizabeth Hillman, Provost and Academic Dean 

UC Hastings College of Law 

Mary Alice Baish, Superintendent of Documents 

Government Publishing Office (GPO) 

Joan Lippincott, Facilitator 

 Participant Introductions 

 Opening Remarks 

John Palfrey, Director 

Berkman Center for Internet & Society 

 

1:20 Setting the Stage (GPO)

 Purpose of Meeting

 Vision of the Federal Information Preservation Network (FIPNet) 

1:40 Making a Case for FIPNet

 Introduction 

Martin Halbert, Dean of Libraries and Associate Professor 

University of North Texas 

 Addressing Risk Factors 

 Identifying Gaps

 Supporting Key Stakeholders 

2:30 Break 

2:45 Preservation of and Access to Federal Information 

 Where does this fit with your organization's priorities? 

 Building community support for FIPNet as a national priority 

3:15 Identifying Preservation Solutions: Opportunities for Collaboration 

and Partnership, etc.

 Introduction 

Maura Marx, Acting Director 

Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) 

 Benefits and Challenges of a Collective Effort 

 Success Stories 

 Other approaches 

4:00 Wrap Up and Next Steps
Page | 14  

Organizations Represented at the National Dialogue 

American Library Association Washington Office, Office for Information Technology Policy 

Association of Southeastern Research Libraries 

Berkman Center for Internet & Society 

California Digital Library 

Center for Research Libraries 

Chief Officers of State Library Agencies 

Coalition for Networked Information 

Committee on Institutional Cooperation 

Depository Library Council 

Digital Public Library of America 

Institute of Museum and Library Services 

Ithaka S+R 

Library of Congress 

OCLC Research 

University of California Hastings College of the Law 

University of Georgia 

University of Miami 

University of North Texas 

U.S. Government Publishing Office 

 
Federal Information Preservation Network (FIPNet)

A national network dedicated to the 

preservation of both tangible and 

digital Federal Government information 

that elevates public awareness of 

Government information collections 

and their governing agencies and 

institutions.

To ensure access to 

Federal Government 

information for future 

generations

A component of the National Plan for Access to U.S. Government Information

Keeping America Informed OFFICIAL DIGITAL SECURE
What is the Federal Information 

Preservation Network (FIPNet)? 

The U.S. Government Publishing Office’s (GPO) Federal 

Information Preservation Network (FIPNet) is a strategy for 

a collaborative network of information professionals working in 

various partner roles to ensure access to the national collection of 

Government information for future generations. FIPNet contributes 

to the preservation of both tangible and digital Government 

information, and elevates the public awareness and prestige of local 

initiatives, specific collections of Government information, and the 

institutions and agencies that have stewardship over them.

Why is FIPNet necessary?

The historic collection of tangible Federal Government publications 

and the born digital Federal information of today are a priceless 

information asset for the American people. This information tells the 

story of the work of our democracy in action over the more than two 

hundred years of our history. Yet, this information asset is vulnerable 

to decay, neglect, obsolescence, damage, theft, and content 

degradation. A network of partners working cooperatively to preserve 

Federal Government information will ensure that this information 

asset remains freely accessible to the American people both now 

and for future generations.

Who can participate in FIPNet?

The FIPNet is open to participation from:

n Federal depository libraries

n The Library of Congress

n National Archives and Records Administration

n U.S. national libraries

n Federal agencies

n Library consortia

n Associations

n Public and private sector enterprises

n Others interested in Government information preservation

Participants will work in partnership with GPO to ensure access to 

Federal Government information for future generations.

What roles will partners play?

There are numerous opportunities for interested stakeholders to 

participate in and contribute to the preservation of Government 

information. These partners may elect to work with GPO on one or 

more of the following preservation activities:

n Cataloging and metadata creation

n Digitization and content conversion

n Harvesting Web content

n Hosting digital content

n Storing physical copies

n Condition assessment

n Conservation

n Other innovative activities that support preservation

How will the collaboration 

work? 

GPO will provide leadership and expertise, leveraging local 

preservation efforts already underway. GPO will assist stakeholders 

in finding partners and help develop or expand local preservation 

initiatives. GPO will provide the necessary coordination and the 

context needed to integrate these projects into a national preservation 

network. Local participation and decentralization are key to the 

success of the FIPNet.

How will FIPNet be governed?

Leadership, direction, and coordination of FIPNet will come from the 

U.S. Government Publishing Office with advice and guidance provided 

by an advisory board of FIPNet’s participants.

Where are we now?

GPO is planning and developing important components of the 

FIPNet, and implementing strategies. FIPNet is an investment to 

protect a national asset. This is a significant long-term collaborative 

effort. We seek potential partners looking for opportunities to work 

with GPO in various roles. If you have a project already underway 

or are planning a project that meets the objectives of the Federal 

Information Preservation Network, please contact us at the 

email address below.

For additional information, visit www.gpo.gov/PreserveFedInfo or 

contact us via email at PreserveFedInfo@gpo.gov. 

To ensure access to Federal Government

information for future generations

4/2015