Administrative Notes 

Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program

Vol. 19, no. 02 GP 3.16/3-2:19/02 January 15, 1998 

[The following 6 handouts were made available at GODORT meetings at the 1998 Midwinter ALA 

conference in New Orleans.] 

The FDLP in Transition 

POISED FOR CHANGE 

The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) is two years into a multi-year transition from 

an exclusively print environment to a mixed environment. The FDLP now includes tangible 

Government information products disseminated to depository libraries and online databases and 

locator services provided via the Internet from GPO Access. 

PROGRAM GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 

It is our goal that the FDLP ensure that the public has equitable, no-fee, dependable, local public 

access to Government information products through a centrally managed, statutorily authorized 

network of geographically-dispersed depository libraries. We will continue to administer the 

transition of the FDLP from paper to electronic formats, consistent with the needs of users and 

the intended usage. We will further develop the suite of locator services and cataloging 

initiatives to enable the public to locate Government information regardless of format. And we 

will develop a management plan for the FDLP Electronic Collection, in order to ensure 

permanent public access to Government information products at or through depository libraries. 

1997 HIGHLIGHTS 

LPS’ 1997 highlights include: 

 Permanent access initiatives, including the "collection management" concept for the 

FDLP Electronic Collection; 

 Expanded continuing education activities, including sponsoring the Regional Librarians 

Conference; 

 Developing new GPO Access Web applications and services for depository librarians, 

such as: 

 Adding the Council Web pages to the FDLP Administration Web page; 

 Creating "Core Documents of U.S. Democracy: An Electronic Collection;" 

 Using the Web to conduct the Biennial Survey and the Item Selection Update Cycle; 
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 Developing the Item Lister, putting up the electronic version of the Shipping List, and 

partnering with the creators of the Shipping List label service. 

 Raising awareness of the serious issues surrounding the privatization of important 

Government information products, and the copyright-like restrictions that often 

accompany these arrangements. 

More detail on LPS’ FY 1997 activities is available in our annual report, located on the FDLP 

Administration Page at <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/97lpsar.html>. The report 

will be printed in the January 15, 1998 issue of Administrative Notes. 

FDLP ELECTRONIC COLLECTION 

The developing FDLP Electronic Collection will be managed using many familiar library 

collection management policies and techniques, such as selection, acquisition, bibliographic 

control, access, organization, maintenance, deselection, and preservation for access. The 

Collection includes core legislative and regulatory GPO Access products, as well as other 

Federal Government information products, maintained for permanent public access either by 

GPO or by other agencies under formal agreements with GPO. 

A position paper on Managing the GPO Access Collection appeared in Administrative Notes, v. 

18, # 15 (11/25/97), and is available at <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/wpaper.html>. 

We intend to publish the Collection Plan in draft form for review and comments early this year. 

U.S. SUPREME COURT DATA BASE 

GPO is developing a searchable WAIS database for Supreme Court opinions that are part of the 

Project Hermes initiative. Project Hermes encompasses the time period from 1992 to present. 

Until now, this information has only been available through a browsable index on the Federal 

Bulletin Board (FBB), in either Word Perfect 5.1 or ASCII text format. Beginning in the 1997/98 

term, these files will be available on the FBB in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format 

(PDF) and tagged ASCII format. 

We are also working on a WAIS application, so users will be able to perform full-text searches 

and retrievals of this information, including multiple field searching. GPO expects to be able to 

provide some specific features for this application, including a field for conducting a full-text 

search; and the ability to search by case name; citation number; year; justice's name; and docket 

number. 

ASKLPS 

We are working on AskLPS, a Web-based inquiry and answer module to send inquiries, and get 

answers and news from us about the FDLP. We expect to have this operational in February, and 

we hope once it’s up you will use AskLPS as your preferred channel to get in touch with us. 

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Expert Consultants Sought to Work with LPS on the 

Electronic Transition in 1998 

The Government Printing Office (GPO) Library Programs Service (LPS) is seeking two people 

for one-year appointments as Expert Consultants to work on the transition to a more electronic 

Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). We are looking for librarians or other information 

professionals associated with the depository library community who have a demonstrated interest 

and expertise in the creation, dissemination, use, or permanent public accessibility of electronic 

Government information products, and who would like to work with LPS on related issues and 

projects for one year. 

Our current Expert Consultants are George Barnum from Case Western Reserve University, who 

will be with us through July 1998, and Sandy Schwalb, who ends her GPO tour in August 1998. 

Maggie Farrell and Raeann Dossett held these positions in 1995/1996; Duncan Aldrich and 

Sandy Schwalb were here during 1996/1997. 

The Expert Consultant(s) will work on projects directly involved in the creation, dissemination, 

bibliographic control, use, or permanent public accessibility of electronic Government 

information products. Some of these projects are continuing efforts, and some will be new ones 

initiated in response to emerging opportunities. 

During the next year we expect these positions to focus on: 

 Outreach and liaison activities, both with Federal publishing agencies and depository 

libraries, for the purpose of establishing partnerships to bring additional electronic 

products into the FDLP 

 An intensive review of LPS' cataloging program and operations, in order to function 

more effectively in the Internet/World Wide Web environment, and to determine if a 

commercial, off-the-shelf local cataloging system software can support the LPS 

cataloging operation 

 Participating in the "Assessment of Electronic Government Information Products" study 

now underway with the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science 

(NCLIS) 

 Advancing efforts with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the 

National Agricultural Library (NAL), or other institutions to advance the permanent 

access initiatives authorized by the "storage facility" component of the GPO Access Act 

 Designing and implementing projects in accordance with LPS’ “Management Plan for the 

FDLP Electronic Collection” 

 Designing, developing, and enhancing locator services in GPO's suite of Pathway 

Services 

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 Working to coordinate FDLP activities with other Federal agencies, and with other 

Federal units responsible for dissemination of Government information products 

 Drafting articles on issues pertaining to the FDLP’s electronic transition; delivering 

speeches or briefings on similar topics. 

The successful candidates will be hired as "Expert Consultants" for a maximum of 12 months, 

with a starting date to be determined. Pay to be determined, based on applicant's salary history. 

Benefits include some vacation and sick leave. Retirement benefits, health insurance, and 

relocation expenses are not included. 

The next opportunity to interview prospective candidates will be during the ALA Annual 

Conference that will be held in New Orleans, LA, January 9 through 13, 1998. 

 

If you are interested in one of these positions, whether or not you are planning to attend ALA, 

please contact us to arrange for an interview. Prospective candidates should submit a resume and 

contact LPS to set up an interview or to request further information. At ALA, you may locate us 

at Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) events, or at the GPO Exhibit, Booth 927. 

The LPS contacts are: 

Gil Baldwin, Chief, Library Division 

(202) 512-1002, fax (202) 512-1432, 

e-mail <ebaldwin@gpo.gov>; or 

Robin Haun-Mohamed 

Chief, Depository Administration Branch 

(202) 512-1071 

fax (202) 512-1432, 

rhaun-mohamed@gpo.gov 

If you have questions about the position(s), please feel free to contact George Barnum

<gbarnum@gpo.gov> or Sandy Schwalb <sschwalb@gpo.gov>. They may both be reached by 

phone on (202) 512-1698 or by fax at (202) 512-1432.

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Cataloging Branch Update 

RECENT ADDITIONS TO STAFF 

We have recently hired two experienced catalogers, one for serials and one for monographs. 

Both catalogers are now being trained and both will be involved with cataloging electronic 

Government information products. At present, our staff includes sixteen catalogers. 

CATALOGING BROWSE ELECTRONIC TITLES 

We began cataloging Browse Electronic Titles (BET) soon after this application was established 

by the Depository Administration Branch (DAB) in June, 1996. To date, DAB personnel have 

posted approximately 2,300 BET entries. During December, 1997, a two-week moratorium on 

posting "New Additions" to the BET application was initiated to allow for an assessment of the 

impact that BET and its related resources have on cataloging workloads. 

Many of the BET entries are "group entries" that lead users to remotely accessible works 

associated with monographic series, multi-part sets, technical and research report groups, and 

resources related by topics. As a result, a one-to-one correspondence between a BET entry and a 

single cataloging record is more the exception than the rule. Our survey of BET and cataloging 

activities reveals the following: 

 Approximately 3,700 electronic works suitable for cataloging are associated with the 

approximately 2,300 BET entries posted to the web site. Approximately 3,000 of these 

titles are related to monographs and approximately 700 are related to serials. 

 Approximately 1,700, or nearly 46%, of these 3,700 works have been cataloged as of the 

last week of December, 1997. Approximately 1,350 records represent monographs and 

approximately 350 records represent serials. It appears that most of the approximately 

2,000 works not yet cataloged may require original cataloging. 

Approximately 30 "New Additions" entries to BET are added each week. Many, but not all, of 

these entries are associated with multiple works. We are collecting data on the ratio of BET 

entries to cataloging workloads on a weekly basis and will report more information as it becomes 

available. Our objective is to catalog each week's "New Additions" BET application as soon as 

possible without compromising our cataloging of physical formats. 

TOTAL CATALOGING BACKLOG 

Approximately 7,600 pieces of work await processing. This work includes approximately 2,000 

BET-related works and approximately 5,600 physical formats. Approximately 3,000 pieces of 

work associated with physical formats relate to serials. 

CATALOGING PRODUCTION DATA, FY 1997 

More than 25,000 pieces of work were processed by the Branch during 1997. As in previous 

years, more than 90% of our cataloging is original. 

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Our Fiscal Year 1997 (October 1, 1996 to September 30, 1997) CONSER report indicates that 

we provided CONSER level cataloging for 149 serials and authenticated 118 additional titles 

present in OCLC for a total of 267 records that were added to CONSER. We maintained 1,487 

authenticated CONSER records during FY 1997. More than one third, or 596 of these 

transactions, were associated with electronic serials or with physical forms with electronic 

versions. Staff also created 57 series authority records for the NACO program and logged 81 

NACO-related maintenance transactions during the fiscal year. 

PERSISTENT UNIVERSAL RESOURCE LOCATORS (PURLS) SERVICES 

We have downloaded, installed, and tested OCLC's PURLs software and look forward to 

OCLC's impending software upgrades that are scheduled for public release in 1998. In response 

to our requests, OCLC has agreed to upgrades that will allow server administrators to generate an 

accession number as a unique identifying component of each PURL. A PURLs link checking 

application for use in server environments is also anticipated. We hope to begin assigning 

PURLs to BET applications and to cataloging records associated with these applications as soon 

as possible after PURLs upgrades become available for public use. 

WEB EDITION OF THE CATALOG OF UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT 

PUBLICATIONS 

The Catalog of United States Government Publications contains records produced from 1994 

through the present. During this period, more than 94,000 records have been added to this 

application. More than 2,800 of these records contain URL data. Most URL data are associated 

with records for titles in physical formats with electronic versions, but an increasing number of 

records are being produced for electronic versions only. 

We will investigate modifying the record displays at the web site to display a user friendly 

labeled format in addition to the current MARC tagged display. Work on this enhancement was 

postponed pending progress on the PURLs application to assist us in maintaining records with 

linked URLs. 

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Depository Administration Branch Update 

The U.S. Industry and Trade Outlook, 1998 was sent to libraries on SL 98-0006-S dated 

November 21, 1997. This title replaces the Industrial Outlook, last published in 1994. Over 

1100 libraries received copies of this title provided to LPS by the National Technical Information 

Service. 

Copies of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Manual will be 

distributed to depository libraries when available. Any commercial version advertised for sale at 

this time is not the complete manual. Libraries should retain the 1987 Standard Industrial 

Classification Manual as many of the non-statistical areas, administrative, taxes, etc. will not 

switch to the new system for several years. 

The LandView III CD-ROMs are expected from the Census Bureau this month. Copies will be 

provided for distribution to the libraries. LandView III is a desktop mapping system that 

includes database extracts from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Bureau of the Census, 

the U.S. Geological Survey, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of 

Transportation, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

USAMARK: Facsimile Images of Registered United States Trademarks is a new Cassis 

CD-ROM product which will contain facsimile images of U.S. registered trademarks from 1884 

to the present. Libraries will be surveyed in February via the GPO’s Web site for this product. 

(Note: all libraries must complete all surveys, including the regional libraries.) 

The Daily Treasury Statements (DTS) are now being uploaded on a daily basis to the Federal 

Bulletin Board (FBB). Please view them at <http://fedbbs.access.gpo.gov/libs/tres_rpt.htm>. 

The Union List of Item Selections is available at <http://fedbbs.access.gpo.gov/libs/unionl.htm> 

for download in ASCII comma delimited or fixed length field formats. The Union List will be 

uploaded to the FBB on a monthly basis on the first Friday of each month. In the past, this title 

was produced in microfiche format and distributed to all libraries, but the December 1997 issue 

will be the last one produced in fiche. 

The 1997 World Factbook is due in late January. Both the paper and CD-ROM versions will be 

ordered for depository libraries. 

Under an agreement between the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) 

and the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), depository libraries are being provided one 

free subscription to the online Environmental Health Information Service (EHIS), located at 

<http://ehis.niehs.nih.gov>. This service includes online access to Environmental Health 

Perspectives, Environmental Health Perspectives Supplements, National Toxicology 

Technical Reports, and the Historical Control Database. 

As a value added service, Wichita State University is partnering with LPS to make the 

Documents Data Miner (DDM), a collection management tool, available for use by depository 

libraries. DDM will be linked off the FDLP Tools page when the testing is complete. 

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In September 1997, Congress directed GPO to discontinue distribution of the bound U.S. 

Congressional Serial Set to all depositories, except the regional libraries, and one library in 

each state without a regional library, effective with volumes for the 105th Congress. LPS will 

continue to distribute copies of the bound Serial Set to all libraries profiled to receive them 

through the 104th Congress. All libraries profiled to receive the slip distribution of House and 

Senate Documents and Reports will continue to receive them as they are produced. The Serial 

Set Title Pages and/or Table of Contents pages will be distributed to libraries wishing to use their 

slip copies to bind their own Serial Set volumes. LPS will conduct a survey in February of all 

libraries to determine who needs the Title Pages. 

Libraries that submitted a letter of intent to the GPO Sales Program to purchase the Serial Set

for $15,400 for the 105th Congress will be receiving a follow-up letter and an order form to 

confirm the purchase of the Serial Set. If there are any additional parties interested in 

purchasing the bound Serial Set, please contact Alan Ptak, Chief, Sales Management Division, at 

(202) 512-1709 as soon as possible. 

Over 90% of the microfiche distributed to the depository libraries is done via one of the 15 fullservice microfiche contracts. LPS has a new contractor, Lake George Industries, Ltd. of 

Bohemia, New York, that will be doing the conversion of the Official Gazettes, the Tax Court 

Memoranda and the SEC News Digest. 

In the October 15, 1997 issue of the Administrative Notes, libraries were advised of some 

microfiche titles that were to be distributed to libraries only via an online web site. Following 

discussion at the October Council meeting, LPS postponed the discontinuation of any microfiche 

products pending further development and articulation of guidelines for such action. A set of 

guidelines utilized in identifying candidates for electronic only dissemination was described in 

Administrative Notes, (v.18, no.10, 7/15/97, p. 22). Anyone wishing to assist in the further 

development of these guidelines please contact: 

Robin Haun-Mohamed 

Chief, Depository Administration Branch 

rhaun-mohamed@gpo.gov 

phone: (202) 512-1071 

fax: (202) 512-1636 

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Depository Services Update 

OUTREACH 

The 7th annual Federal Depository Library Conference and Spring meeting of the Depository 

Library Council to the Public Printer are scheduled for April 20-23 in Arlington, VA. A one-day 

meeting for Regional librarians will be held on April 19 at the University of Maryland. For the 

third year in a row, the conference hotel is the Washington National Airport Hilton in Arlington, 

VA. The preliminary agenda was announced in the December 15, 1997 Administrative Notes. 

Hotel and conference registration forms were also included. Again this year, there will be Web 

registration. The URL is: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/98conreg.html 

The 11th annual Interagency Depository Seminar is scheduled for May 27-June 3, 1998 in 

Washington, DC. The preliminary agenda was announced in the October 15 Administrative 

Notes. The registration and hotel information was also included. The deadline for registration is 

March 2. 

ADDRESS CHANGES 

The depository library Directory update, which was part of the 1997 Biennial Survey, will soon 

become a separate module available from the FDLP Administration web page. Depository 

libraries will be able to view Directory data on any library by keying in a depository number. 

Changes will only be accepted with the input of a library's password. This data is used to correct 

addresses for shipments as well as the "Locate Libraries" function on GPO's Web site, U.S. Fax 

Watch, and the Federal Depository Library Directory. 

SELF-STUDIES 

In March 1998, depository libraries last inspected in 1992 in the following states will be notified 

to submit a mandatory self-study: California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, 

Montana, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. The due date for these 

self-studies will be June 15. 

1997 BIENNIAL SURVEY 

On October 20, 1997, LPS mailed the Biennial Survey of Depository Libraries with a due date of 

December 1. All libraries were required to submit the mandatory survey via the World Wide 

Web. The regional librarians were very helpful in expediting the prompt return of the survey 

from those selectives under their purview. Two weeks after the deadline, GPO staff telephoned 

50 librarians to remind them to submit the survey. 

The Web version was well received by those librarians with a graphical user interface on a 

computer workstation. Those libraries without an Internet connection or with only dial-in or 

Lynx capabilities had to locate a site with Web browser software for the survey to be accepted in 

the database. 

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 Out of 1,366 depositories, 1159 or 85% returned the survey on time. Two weeks after the 

survey deadline, 3.6% still had not submitted the survey. Four weeks after the deadline, 

1.4% of the surveys were outstanding. 

 Two small public library depositories relinquished depository status, preferring to rely on 

the Internet and selective purchases for government information. 

 Of the 1,255 or 93.3% of the libraries having an on-line catalog, 1,028 or 81.9% are 

accessible from the Internet. 

 Only 191 or 14.2% of the libraries report "hot linking" current bibliographic records for 

"Internet only" documents in the library's on-line catalog. 702 or 52% of the libraries 

plan to do so in the future. 

 1,202 or 89.4% of the libraries report having Internet tools available at public access 

work stations, 54 or 4% plan to have Internet available within six months and 57 or 4.2% 

in one year. 

 43 or 3.1% of the libraries have CD-ROM capability but do not select CD's; 22 or 1.6% 

select CD-ROMs but do not have CD-ROM capability; and six or .04% do not have CDROM capability nor select any CD's. 

 723 or 53.8% of the libraries report that the person responsible for the depository 

collection has not attended the Federal Depository Conference, Depository Library 

Council, or the Interagency Depository Seminar in the last three years. 

 Only 270 or 20% of the libraries report active, ongoing promotion of the depository to the 

general public; 851 or 63.2% infrequent promotion, and 222 or 16.5% no promotion to 

the public. 

 436 or 32.4% of the libraries charge a fee for printer paper, 387 or 28.7% for formatted 

floppy diskettes, 311 or 23.1% for fax services, and 723 or 53.6% no charge at all for 

these services. 

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Electronic Transition Staff Update 

FDLP/ERIC DIGITAL LIBRARY PILOT PROJECT 

GPO, the National Library of Education (NLE) and OCLC are cooperating to make public 

domain reports from the Education Resources Information Clearinghouse (ERIC) available 

online through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) . Scheduled to run through 

1998, the FDLP/ERIC Digital Library Pilot Project will provide the participants with valuable 

information on managing a large, high-demand collection in electronic format. Reports from 

January 1997 forward will be converted to TIFF image format and stored at OCLC, with access 

available through OCLC ‘s First Search. Up to 250 new reports are expected to be added each 

month. 

UIC/OTA 

Discussions are underway between GPO and the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) to make 

the electronic Government information products from the Office of Technology Assessment 

(OTA) legacy collection permanently accessible under the auspices of the FDLP. Although the 

OTA files have been available from various sites, GPO and UIC will now assure permanent 

accessibility under this agreement. 

WEB ACTIVITIES 

ETS has worked on a number of web projects, such as the item selection update process and the 

creation of AskLPS, a web-based inquiry and answer module for the depository community to 

send questions to and receive answers from Library Programs Service. These projects are 

designed to make life easier for the FDLP as well as the depository distribution and acquisitions 

staff at GPO. 

There is currently a rough prototype of the “LPS Virtual Tour.” The next step will be to load 

photos onto the site. An announcement will be made as soon as it is ready for public viewing. 

BROWSE TOPICS 

The Pathway Browse Topics service is being enhanced and expanded through the efforts of 

many in the depository community. As of early January 1998, 33 topic areas have been 

developed and kept up-to-date by 29 volunteers. In order to keep this project viable, individuals 

adopting a topic are asked to provide quarterly reviews of that topic. Some current topics that 

demonstrate the best practices for style and content are Human Rights, Economy, and LaborManagement Relations. Further information is available on the GPO Web site at: 

<http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/topics/invite.html> 

NATIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION SERVICE 

An Interagency Agreement (IA) has been signed between the National Technical Information 

Service (NTIS) and LPS to establish a pilot project through which NTIS will furnish U.S. 

Government information products in electronic image format to the FDLP. NTIS has been 

working with the University of California - Davis on the initial phase of this pilot project. The 

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long-term project is expected to include up to 20 libraries, ranging from well-equipped academic/ 

research institutions to small libraries that have an interest in this material, but do not have hightech equipment. This will enable NTIS to determine what technical specifications libraries 

should have in order to access these electronic image files. 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

GPO has signed an IA with the Department of Energy (DOE) that will provide depository 

libraries and the public with access to DOE reports in electronic image format. Under this IA, 

FDLP libraries and users will enter the DOE electronic dissemination system, called 

“Information Bridge,” through GPO Access. This gateway will provide a public view to the 

DOE reports. A number of documents librarians were asked by ETS staff to examine the DOE 

site and provide feedback on its accessibility and ease of use. The comments received will be 

shared with DOE staff to ensure that “Information Bridge” will be user-friendly for the 

depository community. A roll-out of the depository library version of “Information Bridge” is 

scheduled to be held during the April depository meeting in Washington, DC. 

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[The following draft was provided by staff of the Bureau of the Census.] 

DRAFT – FOR REVIEW ONLY 

Introduction to the LandView III CD-ROMs 

LandView III is a desktop mapping system that includes database extracts from the 

Environmental Protection Agency, the Bureau of the Census, the U.S. Geological Survey, the 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of Transportation, and the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency. These databases are presented in a geographic context on maps that show 

jurisdictional boundaries, detailed networks of roads, rivers, and railroads, census block group 

and tract polygons, schools, hospitals, churches, cemeteries, airports, dams, and other landmark 

features. 

LandView III Software 

The mapping software in LandView III is an adaptation of MARPLOT, part of the CAMEO 

system (Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations). MARPLOT was developed 

by the Hazardous Materials Response and Assessment Division, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration. The database software LandView III was developed at the 

Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office, Environmental Protection Agency, 

Washington, DC.

Minimum and Recommended Configurations

The minimum configuration required to run this CD-ROM: 

PC with a 486-class processor, or Macintosh with a 68020 processor, 

8MB of RAM, 

10MB of free hard disk space, 

VGA color display, 

2X CD-ROM drive, 

Windows 3.1 (for PC), System 7.0 (for 68K Mac), System 7.1.2 (for Power Mac) 

To maximize performance the recommended configuration is: 

PC with 586 or Pentium-class processor, or Macintosh with PowerPC processor, 

16 MB RAM 

SVGA color display 

4X CD-ROM drive 

Windows 95 or Windows NT (for PC), System 7.1.2 or higher (for Macintosh) 

Software Documentation 

LandView III comes with several documentation and tutorial files: LandView III Guided Tour 

(in PDF format), LandView III Help (in both PDF and Windows Help file formats), MARPLOT 

user manual and technical documentation (in PDF format), and MARPLOT Help (in Windows 

Help file format). The Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing PDF files is included on the CD. 

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LandView III Product Description

LandView III is a geographic reference, like an atlas. It displays: 

• A detailed network of roads, rivers, and railroads based upon TIGER/Line® 1995 files. 

NOTE — The TIGER/Line information is in MARPLOT format which is not 

readily exportable into other mapping software. 

• Jurisdictional boundaries — a set of generalized boundary files for states, congressional 

districts (105th), metropolitan areas, Native American Indian Areas, Alaska Native lands, 

counties, and minor civil divisions (for 20 selected states where minor civil divisions 

function as general purpose governmental units or constitute legal entities). 

NOTE — Detailed place boundaries are shown only on the local discs; the 

U.S. Summary disc contains only place centroids.

• EPA-regulated sites, a subset of the facilities, sites, and monitoring stations represented 

in five EPA data bases — Aerometric Information Retrieval System (AIRS), Biennial 

Reporting System (BRS), CERCLA Information System (CERCLIS), Permit Compliance 

System (PCS), and the Toxic Release Inventory System (TRI). 

• Selected demographic and economic information from the 1990 Census, and 

• Key geographic features of the United States provided by the United States Geological 

Survey and other Federal agencies. 

This software enables you to: 

• Create customized street maps showing only those classes of map features of interest. 

• Create thematic maps — a graphic display of geographic boundaries and Census bureau 

statistical data. Users can also create thematic maps from their own databases. 

• Easily determine the census tract and block group associated with a street address or 

point location on a map. 

• Calculate the number of people and other demographic characteristics within a radius 

from a given point. 

• Query the LandView III databases and MARPLOT map objects and export the search 

results to a separate file in dBASE, Lotus, Excel or fixed length text format. Users may 

also link the geographic areas contained in the search results to the map. 

• Create a user defined map layer. 

• Automatically match each record in a user file containing latitude and longitude 

coordinates to the census tract and block group level. 

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LandView III Product Organization

LandView III is distributed on a set of 11 compact discs. There are 10 local discs with each 

containing a grouping of states. An 11th CD-ROM (the U.S. Summary) covers the entire U.S. 

and includes all data except the detailed geography derived from TIGER/Line 1995 files (roads, 

rivers, railroads, place boundaries). 

The U.S. Summary Disc is designed for those users whose primary interests are creating 

thematic maps at the national level or performing radius calculations that extend over a number 

of states. With the exceptions of Delaware, District of Columbia and Prince William 

County, VA, this disc does not show local roads contained in TIGER/Line 1995. Therefore 

it would be unsuitable for either creating detailed street maps or matching street addresses to 

census tracts and block groups. 

The local discs contain the same information as the U.S. Summary disc for the grouping of states 

plus detailed networks of roads, rivers, and railroads based on the TIGER/Line 1995 files. 

NOTE — The U.S. Highways, Railroads, and Water layers present on the MARPLOT 

map for the national LandView CD (#11) which are from the Department of 

Transportation and the United States Geological Survey are not present on CDs 1-10 

because these CDs have the detailed network of roads, railroads, and water extracted from 

the TIGER/Line 1995 files. There are no database files associated with the roads, 

railroads, and water layers.

The local discs are designed for users who need to: create maps containing a detailed network of 

roads, rivers and railroads, match streets and addresses accurately to census tract or block groups 

or see detailed place boundaries. It also provides the same functions available on the national 

disc but only for the states contained on the local disc. For example, a population radius 

calculation performed from the District of Columbia on local disc 1 would not contain 

information for Virginia even if the radius encompassed portions of Virginia. 

Prices and Ordering Information

The prices are $99 for each disc or $549 for the entire set of 11 discs. 

NOTE: The LandView III discs are in production and will become publicly available by 

the end of November, 1997. Contact Customer Services, Bureau of the Census at (301) 

457-4100 or FAX (301) 457-3842 to order. For more information about LandView III contact 

the Products and Services Staff, Bureau of the Census at (301) 457-1128. 

Disc 1 CD-TGR95-LV3-1 

Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New 

Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. 

Disc 2 CD-TGR95-LV3-2 

North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia 

Disc 3 CD-TGR95-LV3-3 

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi 

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Disc 4 CD-TGR95-LV3-4 

Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio 

Disc 5 CD-TGR95-LV3-5 

Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin 

Disc 6 CD-TGR95-LV3-6 

Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma 

Disc 7 CD-TGR95-LV3-7 

Louisiana, and Texas 

Disc 8 CD-TGR95-LV3-8 

Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Utah 

Disc 9 CD-TGR95-LV3-9 

Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming 

Disc 10 CD-TGR95-LV3-10 

Alaska, American Samoa, California, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, 

Nevada, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands 

Disc 11 CD-TGR95-LV3-11 

Contains the entire U.S. (same data as on discs 1-10) except the TIGER/Line files 

(roads, rivers, railroads, etc.) NOTE — Detailed networks of roads, rivers, and 

railroads based upon TIGER/Line 1995 data are included for Delaware, District 

of Columbia and Prince William County, VA to serve as samples of local disc 

content. 

[As noted on p. 7, the Landview III CD-ROMs will be distributed to selecting depository 

libraries.] 

Library Programs Service Annual Report FY 1997 

Executive Summary 

Fiscal Year (FY) 1997 saw progress in every area of the Library Programs Service (LPS) in 

effectively moving toward a more electronic program. This transition is guided by the 1996 

"Study to Identify Measures Necessary for a Successful Transition to a More Electronic Federal 

Depository Library Program" (FDLP). 

Significant events in FY 1997 marked the beginning of partnerships and agreements among 

GPO, other Government agencies, and depository libraries, for making available, producing, and 

permanently storing certain electronic Government products. These initial projects will provide 

the foundation on which future partnerships will be based. The focus of this report will be on 

these partnerships as well as on the new applications that have been created in LPS to assist in 

the transition to a more electronic FDLP. 

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Important LPS 1997 highlights include: 

 Permanent access initiatives, including the "collection management" concept for GPO 

Access; 

 Expanded outreach activities, such as participating in and sponsoring conferences; 

 Developing new GPO Access Web applications and services for depository librarians, such 

as: 

 Adding the Council Web pages to the FDLP Administration Web page; 

 Creating "Core Documents of U.S. Democracy: An Electronic Collection”; 

 Using the Web to conduct the Biennial Survey and the Item Selection Update Cycle; 

 Developing the Item Lister, putting up the electronic version of the Shipping List, and 

partnering with the creators of the Shipping List label service. 

 Office space renovation and local area networking. 

The distribution of tangible products from LPS in FY 1997 was: 

 Titles: Copies: 

 Paper 13,216 Paper 6,123,497 

 Electronic 741 Electronic 341,105 

 Microfiche 16,347 Microfiche 6,001,858 

Total 30,304 Total 12,466,460 

FY 1997 saw the first general renovation of LPS' office space since we moved to the main GPO 

building in 1985. In addition to a general facelift, a Windows NT Local Area Network (LAN) 

was installed. The LAN is in its initial stages of development, and other applications will be 

added to enhance LPS' operational capabilities. 

Library Programs Service Highlights 

In Fiscal Year (FY) 1997 LPS continued the evolution toward a more electronic program. This 

transition is guided by the 1996 "Study to Identify Measures Necessary for a Successful 

Transition to a More Electronic Federal Depository Library Program" (FDLP). 

Significant events in FY 1997 marked the beginning of partnerships and agreements among 

GPO, other Government agencies, and depository libraries, for making available, producing, and 

permanently storing certain electronic Government products. These initial projects will provide 

the foundation on which future partnerships will be based. The focus of this report will be on 

these partnerships as well as on the new applications that have been created in LPS to assist in 

the transition to a more electronic FDLP. 

 

Other important LPS 1997 highlights include: 

 Permanent access initiatives, including the "collection management" concept for GPO 

Access; 

 Expanded outreach activities, such as participating in and sponsoring conferences; 

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 Developing new GPO Access Web applications and services for depository librarians, such 

as: 

 Adding the Council Web pages to the FDLP Administration Web page; 

 Creating "Core Documents of U.S. Democracy: An Electronic Collection;" 

 Using the Web to conduct the Biennial Survey and the Item Selection Update Cycle; 

 Developing the Item Lister, putting up the electronic version of the Shipping List, and 

partnering with the creators of the Shipping List label service. 

 Office space renovation and local area networking. 

FY 1997 saw the first general renovation of LPS' office space since we moved to the main GPO 

building in 1985. All of the offices were repainted and new carpet was installed. Office 

partitions were installed in the Micrographics area, and partitions are planned for the 

Acquisitions and Classification area. In addition to the general facelift, a Windows NT Local 

Area Network (LAN) was installed. The LAN, with Internet access, mainframe connectivity, and 

e-mail, enables LPS staff to communicate effectively with one another and the depository 

libraries. Catalogers are now using the Internet to access the OCLC system and produce 

cataloging records. The LAN is in its initial stages of development, and other applications will 

be added to enhance LPS' operational capabilities. 

Electronic Transition Staff 

The purpose of the LPS Electronic Transition Staff (ETS) is to identify, assess, and implement 

information technology solutions for the transition of the FDLP to a more electronically based 

program. Once developed, these solutions are being integrated into the LPS line operations. The 

four-person staff now includes George Barnum, of Case Western Reserve University in 

Cleveland, who joined LPS on a one-year appointment. George is concentrating on the issue of 

permanent public access for electronic information in general. Specifically he is working on 

forging partnerships between depository libraries, Federal agencies and GPO. Sandy MortonSchwalb has been appointed for another one-year term and is working primarily on negotiating 

with Federal agencies to expand depository access to their electronic information products. 

Managing GPO Access as a Collection 

One of the key developments of FY 1997 is the "collection management" concept for GPO 

Access, which establishes that GPO will manage the various electronic Government information 

products made permanently accessible via GPO Access as a library-like collection. Permanent 

public access will be provided under the authority of the Government Printing Office Electronic 

Information Access Enhancement Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-40), and planning for GPO 

Access storage will be done in the context of a GPO Collection Management Plan. GPO 

planning efforts recognize that GPO is building a FDLP Electronic Collection using GPO 

resources, and is coordinating permanent access through a distributed networked system. The 

FDLP Electronic Collection consists of remotely accessible electronic Government information 

products, including core legislative and regulatory GPO Access products which will reside 

permanently on GPO servers, and other products either maintained by GPO or by other 

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institutions with which GPO has established formal agreements. 

A Collection Management Plan is being developed by a team led by LPS, joined by staff from 

the Office of Electronic Information Dissemination Services (EIDS), and Production. The Plan 

will delineate policies, procedures, and organizational responsibilities for managing the 

Collection. Establishing a Collection Plan will promote recognition among Federal publishing 

agencies that GPO is dedicated to ensuring permanent access to Federal electronic information 

products, whether those products are held by GPO Access or by an institution with which GPO 

has a partnership agreement. 

Core Documents Collection 

The "Core Documents of U.S. Democracy: An Electronic Collection" went live in late June and 

gives users direct online access to the basic Federal Government documents that define our 

democratic society. This core group of current and historical U.S. Government publications is 

available for free, permanent, public access via GPO Access at the following URL: 

<http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/coredocs.html>. Where appropriate, the core 

documents collection points to content at other official Government sites such as the National 

Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Web site. 

LPS Web Applications 

LPS continues to develop applications for the FDLP Administration page on GPO Access as the 

principal channel for official communications for the FDLP. One addition to the FDLP 

Administration page in 1997 was the Council Web pages, which contain useful information on 

the activities of the Depository Library Council. This information includes the dates of and 

minutes from its meetings as well as its mission, history and a list of current and former 

members. Although GPO hosts the pages, the content originates from the Council. 

The most successful new service in 1997 was the development and implementation of the online 

"Amendment to Item Selections" form. The 1998 Annual Update Cycle was completed on July 

31, 1997. There were nearly 65,000 transactions performed by over 1,000 libraries on the 

"Amendment to Item Selections" on the FDLP Administration page. This new application saved 

104 hours of weekend overtime by Depository Administration Branch (DAB) staff in manually 

editing and keying in the information from the green cards that have been used in the past. 

In 1997 a change was made to the Browse Electronic Titles page. All titles are now maintained 

in a comprehensive list organized in alphabetical order by agency and sub-agency. The original 

single page has now been split into many pages, thus reducing the time required to pull up a 

page. Retention of titles on the "New Additions" page will increase from one week to four 

weeks. 

The Item Lister, which creates an online list of a depository library's item number selection 

profile, was launched during 1997 and has proven to be a most popular product. Located off the 

FDLP Administration home page on the World Wide Web, the Item Lister reflects the depository 

library's item selection profile in the latest update to DDIS (Depository Distribution Information 

System), and allows the libraries to download a copy of their selections. The application has 

already saved time and money for the program, as LPS no longer needs to annually print out 

each library's profile for the update cycle. Libraries can pull down this information from the 

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Web site as needed throughout the year. 

In January 1997, LPS began uploading shipping lists in DBF format to the Federal Bulletin 

Board. At the same time, in cooperation with the University of Texas-Arlington, and the State 

University of New York-Buffalo, all shipping lists are now available via the World Wide Web. 

Members of the depository community have long requested electronic shipping lists, and they are 

now available in both DBF and HTML formats. 

An electronic version of all significant GPO-produced print publications about the depository 

program was added to the FDLP Web site, including ongoing issues of Administrative Notes and 

Administrative Notes Technical Supplement (with links to back issues kept on the site). 

Pathway Services 

Pathway Services are available on the Internet via our GPO Access Web site at: 

<http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces760.html>. These services, which assist users in 

locating Government information products on the Internet, continued to expand during 1997. 

The Pathway Indexer in 1997 was indexing as many as 150,000 pages at one point. However, 

the Indexer has been placed in maintenance mode awaiting the implementation of the Advanced 

Search Facility. The Advanced Search Facility, a software procurement funded by the 

Commerce Department, is expected to provide sophisticated Internet information discovery 

capabilities. 

 

A "Search the Federal Government" page was created to supplement the Pathway Indexer by 

linking to GovBot and agency-specific search engines. The page is also linked to the 

Superintendent of Documents home page. 

The Browse Topics page currently has 138 out of the 157 topics finished and updated regularly. 

Thirty-four of the completed topics have been prepared by 29 volunteers from the depository 

library community. 

 

A Browse Federal Agencies page has come about through a service partnership with Louisiana 

State University. This site is based on the agency entries in the U.S. Government Manual and 

links users to agency Internet sites. This "service partnership" demonstrates how leveraging the 

skills of the depository library community can enhance FDLP services. The URL is 

<http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/agencies.html>. 

New Partnerships and Agreements 

In a more electronic FDLP it is assumed that the FDLP will provide permanent public access to a 

remotely accessible electronic collection of Government information and will develop services 

that improve librarians' abilities to manage the electronic FDLP. In the broadest sense, there are 

two kinds of partnerships: content and service. They share the common element of being 

formalized through some type of agreement between GPO and the library or agency. Partner 

institutions in content partnerships host part of the FDLP Electronic Collection for free use by 

the public. Service partners offer services that assist documents librarians and GPO in the 

administration of the FDLP. GPO, as administrator of the FDLP, coordinates such partnerships. 

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The first example of the content partnership is the three-way effort with the University of 

Illinois-Chicago (UIC) and the Department of State. An agreement was reached between GPO, 

UIC and the Department of State to let UIC hold for permanent access electronic information 

products that migrate off the Department of State Web site (DOSFAN). This agreement ensures 

adequate access, security, and preservation for permanent access to the research collection. 

In 1997, LPS worked with the Department of Energy/Office of Scientific and Technical 

Information (DOE/OSTI) to ensure that DOE/OSTI reports were made electronically accessible 

to depositories. An Interagency Agreement was negotiated between GPO and DOE/OSTI to 

allow depository libraries no-fee access to the 12,000 - 15,000 public domain reports produced 

annually by OSTI via a GPO Access link to the DOE/OSTI "Information Bridge" Web site. This 

service is expected to begin in Spring 1998. 

Progress has been made on the Interagency Agreement with the National Commission on 

Libraries and Information Service (NCLIS) to conduct an "Assessment of Electronic 

Government Information Products." Staff from the National Research Council produced a draft 

Statement of Work (SOW) on behalf of NCLIS. Woody Horton, an information consultant, was 

given the task of creating a document, based on the SOW, to be used as a request for proposal in 

seeking a contractor to actually conduct the assessment. Final approval of the SOW by the Joint 

Committee on Printing is required before proceeding to the next phase of the project. 

The University of North Texas and GPO have entered into an agreement for permanent access to 

the publications of the now-defunct Advisory Commission on InterGovernmental Relations 

(ACIR). The ACIR collection can be found at: <http://www.library.unt.edu/gpo/acir/acir.html>. 

GPO, the University of Texas-Arlington, and the State University of New York at Buffalo have a 

partnership that enhances the shipping list service. The service enables users to perform a 

number of tasks such as viewing and printing shipping lists in item number, classification 

number, or title order and search shipping lists for title keywords, items and classification 

numbers. 

GPO will be working with the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) on a pilot project 

that will enable depositories to have free online access to scientific and technical documents that 

are currently available in electronic format from the NTIS collection. After initially proposing 

some restrictions on redissemination of the information, NTIS has agreed to allow wider use of 

the materials, but has requested that it not be mounted on a Web site. While GPO would prefer 

no restrictions, this is acceptable in view of the benefits to the FDLP of having this information 

in the Program for the first time. 

FDLP Content and Products 

Discontinuing certain titles when reliable electronic alternatives are available was one of the 

transition alternatives identified in the 1996 "Study." There are several factors resulting in 

electronic information being assimilated into the FDLP. For example, many of the reductions in 

the number of tangible products in the FDLP are the result of publishing agencies changing their 

production or information dissemination practices. For a number of years, the most practical 

solution to the problem of "fugitive documents" was to obtain a single copy of a publication and 

convert it to microfiche. Today, the availability of many information products from Government 

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Internet sites offers another solution. LPS will mine the Internet to determine if an electronic 

alternative is available for publications that we might have previously converted to microfiche. 

In the October 15, 1997 issue of the Administrative Notes, the Library Programs Service (LPS) 

announced a list of titles currently distributed in microfiche format for which an online electronic 

source has been identified. LPS prepared this list to solicit comments prior to discontinuing 

distribution of these titles in microfiche format. 

After discussion at the fall 1997 meeting of the Depository Library Council in Clearwater Beach, 

Florida, LPS has decided to postpone acting on this proposal until the criteria for identifying 

appropriate tangible product titles has been more fully developed and publicized. When 

considering online resources for distribution to the depository libraries solely in electronic online 

format, LPS staff look for resources that meet the following specific criteria. The title must be 

available on a Government web site that has a significant amount of content, including both 

current and back issues. The title cannot be a reference aid. In evaluating titles for online 

electronic delivery only, we consider the number of libraries selecting a title. Generally, only 

titles selected by 500 or less libraries are considered. If an online resource has a value associated 

with timely delivery, such as newsletters and announcements of hearings, online is very likely 

more timely than distribution of the material in microfiche format. LPS will continue to work in 

consultation with Council on this issue. 

LPS staff continues to identify titles available on the Internet, and for some of these titles, the 

online version will eventually replace the current distribution of physical products. For those 

materials that are replaced, the delivery of the physical products will not be discontinued until a 

volume year is complete. If the title lacks volume numbers, the change will be made at the 

beginning of the calendar year. LPS with continue to notify libraries via the Administrative 

Notes Technical Supplement when a title is available online. 

Acquiring Content for the FDLP 

Identifying and reviewing products available from Government Internet sites has expanded 

traditional acquisitions duties. By September 1997, the Browse Electronic Titles page had over 

2,100 electronic product titles listed on the page. These products are classified and the 

information is sent to the Cataloging Branch, which provides cataloging records for these 

products in the Monthly Catalog. Weekly updates, performed each Monday, add an average of 

over 30 titles a week to the Browse Electronics Title page. 

LPS negotiated with National Imagery and Mapping Administration (NIMA, formerly the 

Defense Mapping Agency, DMA) to revise the existing Interagency Agreement to bring the 

NIMA products back into GPO for distribution directly from LPS. This was undertaken because 

of a shift in distribution facilities from NIMA to the Defense Logistics Agency in Richmond, 

VA. For several years, programming changes have been needed so that NIMA's system could 

accept the distribution information from the latest Item Selection Update Cycle. Bringing the 

material back into GPO for distribution to the libraries will eliminate this problem. And it 

should also allow LPS to have accurate statistics for the number of NIMA products being sent to 

the depository libraries. 

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Product Update 

The number of tangible electronic products, a category that is virtually all CD-ROM titles, 

continues to grow in the FDLP. By the end of FY 1997 we expect to have shipped 735 CDROM titles. New CD-ROM products include USAPat Facsimile Images of United States 

Patents, FBIS on CD-ROM, the Federal Acquisition Regulation CD-ROM, and the World 

FactBook on CD-ROM. LPS is still working with Production to produce a version of the TSCA 

Inventory provided on three floppy diskettes from staff at the EPA. It will be distributed to the 

libraries in CD-ROM format. 

Two online services continue to be quite popular with the Federal depository libraries. 812 

libraries are currently registered to access the STAT-USA databases via the World Wide Web. 

And a new online service, CenStats, also became available for depository access at no charge to 

the library. Beginning in March, patrons are able to access the paid CenStats database from 

workstations in the depository libraries. Census did not limit access to the database to one user at 

a time, but allows multiple users as long as the patron is located in the library when accessing the 

database. 

In December 1996, LPS was advised that the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) 

would no longer be available to GPO for the Sales Program or the FDLP. Under a cooperative 

research and development agreement (CRADA) between Oxford University Press and the 

National Cancer Institute, the JNCI was to be privatized over a five-year period. With assistance 

from the Joint Committee on Printing, the Public Printer, the Superintendent of Documents, the 

National Cancer Institute and Oxford University Press, LPS once again distributed this title to 

the Federal depository libraries, beginning with the September 3, 1997 issue. Oxford University 

Press has also made a commitment to provide sufficient copies of all issues of the JNCI, from 

January 1997 to the September 3 issue, to ensure libraries do not have a gap in their collections. 

Cataloging and Indexing Program 

During FY 1997 the Cataloging Branch received more than 34,000 pieces of work and processed 

more than 31,000 pieces. During CONSER's FY 1997, which concluded at the end of June 

1997, catalogers authenticated 149 original records and 118 existing records, and maintained 

1,487 records. 

A move to, and again from, a temporary work site while new carpeting and the GPO LAN were 

installed in the permanent work site accounted for an estimated decrease in production of 

approximately 1,000 Monthly Catalog records. Cataloging Branch workstations are now part of 

a LAN environment and will soon have network access to such useful tools as LC's "Cataloger's 

Desktop." Catalogers now have workstation access to ACSIS and DDIS and are able to obtain 

specialized locally produced information needed for cataloging records. We expect that long 

term benefits of a networked environment will far exceed the temporary decrease in production 

that resulted from the move. 

As of October 1, the cataloging backlog consists of approximately 3,100 pieces of work. Most of 

this work relates to microfiche, particularly individual issues of serials. Other work includes 

approximately 70 titles in CD-ROM and approximately 150 Internet related monographs. At the 

present time, most work published in paper, CD-ROM, and made available via Internet access is 

processed within approximately two weeks of receipt or notification. Titles in microfiche are 

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processed within approximately three weeks of receipt. 

Two people have joined the Cataloging staff. These new personnel will devote much of their 

effort to cataloging Internet resources and other locator service initiatives. 

New Cataloging Developments 

Significant attention has been focused on Internet-related cataloging initiatives of the Cataloging 

and Indexing Program. GPO's recently published cataloging policies for remote access, its 

Internet-related cataloging practices, and its use of CONSER's "single record" option for 

transcribing URL related data in records for physical form versions, were praised by several 

members of the CONSER Operations Committee during meetings at the University of Michigan. 

Several catalogers and Cataloging Branch management participated in Internet cataloging-related 

programs during the ALA Mid-Winter meeting of the GODORT Cataloging Committee and the 

spring 1997 Depository Library Conference. In response to invitations from the Indiana Library 

Federation and the National Serials Interest Group (NASIG), the Chief, Cataloging Branch 

addressed members of these organizations with regard to GPO Internet-related cataloging 

initiatives. 

Electronic Access and Dissemination of Monthly Catalog Records 

At the present time, the GPO Web site edition of the Monthly Catalog contains approximately 

87,000 records that represent titles cataloged since 1994. Approximately 2,300 of these records 

contain URL-related data. Most GPO Monthly Catalog Web site records with URLs provide 

hot-linked access to publications. 

Interest in initiating services to provide continued electronic access to titles represented by 

Internet-related Monthly Catalog records has produced a sustained and increasingly thorough 

consideration of the use of Persistent Uniform Resource Locators (PURLs) in Monthly Catalog 

records to support such services. Discussions with OCLC regarding the use of its PURL resolver 

software have reached a phase of detailed and substantive consideration. Such consideration 

includes testing current PURLs software in GPO's environment for GPO applications and 

continued consultation with OCLC as its considers development of a basic links checking 

function for potential integration with its freely available PURLs resolver software. Once 

available, we anticipate using enhanced PURLs resolver software as part of our cataloging and 

locator services. 

Improvements to data processing within GPO resulted in achieving the goal of publishing GPO 

web site Monthly Catalog records within 24 hours after production in OCLC. The GPO web site 

edition of the Monthly Catalog now represents a "daily catalog" of bibliographic records. 

Each issue of the CD-ROM edition of the Monthly Catalog now contains approximately 30,000 

records cumulated since 1996 and includes the Periodicals Supplements for 1996 and 1997. This 

version of the Monthly Catalog has been enhanced by a new interface that makes the product 

more user friendly and by features that enable users to simultaneously search more databases 

than had been possible with the original software. 

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Interactions with Depository Libraries 

In FY 1997, Depository Services Staff (DSS) conducted on-site inspections in 55 depository 

libraries. In addition, self-studies submitted by 140 depositories were evaluated and brief reports 

summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of the depository operation were mailed. The number 

of depositories examined in 1997 is down because only one Inspector instead of the full 

complement of four conducted the on-site evaluations. Two additional inspectors have been 

selected from the 30 who initially applied. Thomas Oertel, from the University of Utah Law 

Library, and Cynthia Etkin, from Western Kentucky University, joined GPO in September 1997. 

The remaining inspector is serving on the Electronic Transition Staff. 

Two libraries were designated depositories in FY 1997. Twelve libraries voluntarily 

relinquished their depository status, a decrease of two over FY 1996. Only two libraries cited 

lack of electronic equipment as the reason for terminating status. At year's end there were 1,366 

libraries in the FDLP, a reduction of twelve from a year earlier. One library was placed on 

probation as a result of deficiencies discovered during inspections, while two others were 

removed from probationary status based on improvements in compliance which were observed 

during the re-inspection. 

The depository library self-study was used during 1997 and began with 175 libraries that were 

last inspected in 1989 and 1990. Throughout 1997, these reports were evaluated to determine 

whether an on-site inspection was required. In July 1997, 150 libraries last inspected in 1990 

and 1991 were notified to submit the mandatory self-study by October 15, 1997. After analysis, 

a portion of the depository operations will be inspected in 1998. With the adoption of the selfstudy as an evaluation tool, the basis for inspections became 44 U.S.C. section 1909, i.e., "the 

Superintendent of Documents shall make firsthand investigation of conditions [in depository 

libraries] for which need is indicated..." This method of evaluation has permitted some resources 

devoted to periodic inspections to be reallocated to FDLP system support and related services for 

depository libraries. 

A Depository Library Council (DLC) Working Group on Statistical Measurement worked with 

DSS to develop the 1997 Biennial Survey of Depository Libraries questionnaire. In August and 

September, a Web application was developed and tested. The new application replaced the 

Teleform fax software used for tabulating the 1995 survey data. The Biennial Survey will be 

distributed to depository libraries in October with a December 1 due date for responses. As part 

of the Biennial Survey, depository librarians will be able to review and submit updates to their 

depository PROFILE information. 

Conferences and Outreach 

Within LPS, the DSS takes the lead in organizing continuing education efforts for documents 

librarians. The two premier events are the annual Federal Depository Conference, which is 

conducted in conjunction with the spring DLC meeting, and the annual Interagency Depository 

Seminar. DSS also serves on the DLC Working Group to develop Service Guidelines for the 

Provision of Electronic Government Information to the Public. The committee will present a 

progress report at the fall Council meeting in Clearwater, FL. Other speaking engagements in 

FY 1997 included ALA midwinter meeting, ERIC Clearinghouse Directors, FLICC Acquisitions 

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Institute, and the AALL annual meeting. The planning and organization of these events, as well 

as the coordination of GPO Access training and demonstrations with EIDS, has taken an 

increasing proportion of staff time in DSS. 

The 6th annual Federal Depository Library Conference, held from April 14-17, was an 

overwhelming success, with over 550 attendees and 50 speakers. This total was down slightly 

from the previous year as some academic librarians attended the Association of College and 

Research Libraries triennial conference from April 10-14. The Conference was held again at the 

Washington National Airport Hilton in Arlington, VA. As in previous years, the agenda allowed 

the attendees to choose among a selection of simultaneous sessions in addition to the plenary 

sessions. 

The Proceedings of the 6th Annual Federal Depository Library Conference will be available 

electronically on the FDLP Administration Web page in September, and available for shipment 

to all depositories in paper format in October. The Superseded List, distributed to all 

depositories in October 1996, was also available electronically via the Federal Bulletin Board 

and the FDLP Administration page. 

DSS also coordinated the weeklong 10th Annual Interagency Depository Seminar held May 28-

June 4, 1997. Sixty-five librarians with three or fewer years' experience as documents librarians 

attended the seminar. This seminar is designed as "basic training" for new documents librarians. 

It was presented by GPO, Library of Congress, Patent & Trademark Office, Copyright Office, 

U.S. Geological Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, General Accounting 

Office, Department of Energy, Office of the Federal Register, and the Bureau of the Census. 

The Regional Librarians Conference held August 11-13 in Minneapolis, MN, was a great 

success. GPO brought together regional librarians and one representative from each state 

without a regional within its border to this one-time program at SOD expense. The topics, 

conducted by regional librarians, focused on "best practices," including state plans, establishing 

in-state listservs, producing results with little money, and GIS management. The conference 

strengthened the ability of regionals to provide services to their selectives and to improve their 

own performance. 

Distribution of Tangible Products 

LPS' Depository Distribution Division (DDD) is responsible for the receipt, shipment 

preparation, and physical distribution of the tangible Government information products that LPS 

distributes to the depository libraries. 

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LPS' FY 1997 distribution of tangible products, by format, was: 

Titles FY1996 FY1997 

Paper 14,268 13,216 

Tangible Electronic 639 741 

Microfiche 14,465 16,347 

TOTAL 29,372 30,304 

Copies FY1996 FY1997 

Paper 6,084,337 6,123,497 

Tangible Electronic 275,815 341,105 

Microfiche 7,112,749 6,001,858 

TOTAL 13,472,946 12,466,460 

The beginning of FY 1997 marked the end of the distribution of the DOE reports in microfiche, 

as DOE/OSTI terminated its microfiche operations and began its own transition to an electronic 

information management system. As noted previously, DOE/OSTI and GPO have worked 

together to develop an electronic replacement which will keep this content available to 

depository libraries. 

Under an agreement with LPS, the U.S. Geological Survey distributes maps directly to 

depository libraries, and 295,493 maps were distributed in FY 1997. 

Nearly all depository shipments continue to be delivered by commercial carriers. GPO awarded 

a new delivery contract to Roadway Package Service (RPS), which now delivers nearly all 

depository shipments from LPS. Delivery by the U.S. Postal Service still accounts for less than 

10% of all depository shipments. Even though RPS is our commercial carrier, depository 

libraries felt the impact of the United Parcel Service (UPS) strike. Anticipating an increase in 

volume from the UPS customers, two weeks prior to the strike began RPS limited LPS to only 

600 packages per day, an allocation that was not lifted until September 17. The effect of this 

situation was to slow the delivery of shipments to depository libraries. 

The enhancements to the Lighted Bin System (LBS) performed during 1996 have allowed LPS 

to update the LBS with a daily download from GPO's mainframe of item selection files from 

DDIS (the Depository Distribution Information System). In addition, during 1997 the LBS has 

experienced less downtime due to the hardware and software enhancements added to each 

throwing zone during 1996. These upgrades have reduced the annual maintenance contract for 

the LBS by 50%. 

27 
AN-v19-#02-1/15/98 

28 

Table of Contents

The FDLP in Transition...................................................................................................................1 

Expert Consultants Sought to Work with LPS on the Electronic Transition in 1998......................3 

Cataloging Branch Update...............................................................................................................5 

Depository Administration Branch Update ....................................................................................7 

Depository Services Update.............................................................................................................9 

Electronic Transition Staff Update ................................................................................................11 

Introduction to the LandView III CD-ROMs (Draft) ....................................................................13 

Library Programs Service Annual Report FY 1997 ......................................................................16

Administrative Notes is published in Washington, DC by the Superintendent of Documents, Library 

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

It is published on the 15th day of each month; some months have additional issues. Postmaster send 

address changes to: The Editor, Administrative Notes 

 U.S. Government Printing Office 

 Library Programs Service, SLLD 

 Washington, DC 20401 

Internet access via World Wide Web at URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/adnotes.html 

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