Administrative Notes 

Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program

Vol. 26, no. 04-05 GP 3.16/3-2:26/04-05 April 15/May 15, 2005 

HIGHLIGHTS

New Council 

Members 

Appointed 1 

Council Meeting 

Update 3

Briefing Topics: 

 Tangible 

 Distribution 6 

 National 

 Collection 9 

 National 

 Bibliography 12 

 Authentica- 

 tion 15 

 Versioning 17 

FDLP Myths

and Monsters 20 

Future Digital 

System 22 

New Electronic 

Depository

Library 

Manual 25 

Public Printer Bruce James 

Announces New Appointees To the 

Depository Library Council; 

Salutes Outgoing Members 

Public Printer of the United States Bruce James announced the 

appointment of five new Depository Library Council members during the 

2005 Spring Depository Library Council meeting in Albuquerque, New 

Mexico. 

“We have gathered a superior group of individuals dedicated to continuing 

the important mission of providing all Americans with access to 

government information. These new members bring a wealth of 

knowledge and experience to the Council as we forge ahead with our 

common goal to ensure the digital future of information dissemination,” 

James said. 

As members of the DLC, appointees serve as advisors on policy matters 

pertaining to the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). The core 

task of the FDLP is to provide access to the American public through the 

dissemination of information products from all three branches of 

government to the more than 1,250 libraries across the country 

participating in the program. The FDLP involves the acquisition, 

dissemination, and distribution of depository materials and the 

coordination of Federal Depository Libraries across the country. 

The five new DLC members are: 

Peter Hemphill is a Senior Manager of software development with IHS 

Inc. (Information Handling Services) in Englewood, Colorado. He has 

been in the information technology field for more than a quarter of a 

century, specializing in large scale computer system application design 

and development, and maintenance of worldwide data collection for 

engineering and technical information. Hemphill is an expert on version 

control. 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

Marian Parker is presently serving as 

Associate Dean for Information Services, 

Director of the Professional Center Library, 

and Professor of Law at Wake Forest 

University. Parker’s law and library 

background include her serving as Associate 

Librarian for Research Services and 

Administration and Acting Director of the 

Harvard Law School Library. She was also 

Director of the New York University Law 

Library. 

Linda Saferite is CEO of the Tulsa CityCounty Library and was recently awarded 

Tulsa’s Pinnacle Award for Arts and 

Humanities. Tulsa City-County Library was 

named the first-ever Federal Depository 

Library of the Year in 2003. Saferite has 

served as Library Director in Fort Collins, 

Colorado, and in Scottsdale, Arizona. She is 

past Chair of the AMIGOS Library Services 

board serving seven southwestern states. 

Mark Sandler is currently Collection 

Development Officer for the University of 

Michigan University Library. Throughout his 

tenure at Michigan, Sandler has been 

instrumental in digitalization initiatives and 

the Google E-Print partnership. He previously 

served as Chairman of the Chief Collection 

Development Officers of Large Research 

Libraries Discussion Group. 

Geoffrey Swindells is head of the 

Government Documents Department at the 

University of Missouri-Columbia. He also 

serves as Regional Federal Depository 

Librarian for the state of Missouri. Swindells’ 

expertise on the preservation and digitization 

of government documents has been 

referenced in a recent Rare and Endangered 

Government Publications (REGP) report. He 

is an active member of the American Library 

Association’s Government Documents 

Roundtable (GODORT). 

Thanks to Outgoing Council Members 

The Public Printer recognized the five 

Council members whose term expires 

September 30, 2005, and presented them with 

certificates of appreciation for their 

contributions during their 3-years’ service. 

Outgoing members include the Council 

Chair, John Phillips (Edmon Low Library, 

Oklahoma State University), Michele T. 

McKnelly (Chalmer Davee Library, 

University of Wisconsin - River Falls), Mary 

W. Prophet (William Howard Doane Library, 

Denison University), Laura Saurs, (The 

Newark Public Library, Newark, NJ), and 

Lynne Siemers, (Library and Media Services, 

Washington Hospital Center, Washington, 

DC). 

2 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

[Handout] 

Depository Library Council Meeting Update 

April 2005 

SURVEY TO IDENTIFY ESSENTIAL TITLES 

FOR PUBLIC USE IN PAPER OR OTHER 

TANGIBLE FORMAT 

GPO conducted a survey from March 4 

through March 18, 2005 to identify items that 

should be added to the current list of 

Essential Titles for Public Use in Paper 

Format either for all Federal depository 

libraries or for specific types of depository 

libraries. The survey results can be found at 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/essential/statistics.

html. GPO has now analyzed the data, which 

can be found in the registration packets, and 

will be online at: 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/essential/. 

AUTHENTICATION/PKI 

GPO has nearly completed the installation of 

digital signing tools using PKI. The purpose 

is to enable the application of digital 

signatures to authenticate GPO Access files. 

The first digitally signed documents are 

expected in May, starting with Congressional 

Bills of the 109th Congress. Simultaneously, 

steps are being taken to complete the crosscertification of GPO's PKI operations with 

the Federal Bridge Certification Authority 

(FBCA) to ensure that business, 

administrative, and technical processes 

related to GPO's PKI match those of the 

Federal Bridge. 

ILS AND RETROSPECTIVE CONVERSION OF 

BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORDS PROJECTS 

UPDATE

A tentative “go-live” date of mid-June has 

been set for the Integrated Library System

(ILS). OPAC testing is planned for June 1st10th. Information about participating in this 

testing will be posted to FDLP-L in May. 

GPO staff continue to work on many related 

projects, including the customization of the 

out-of-the-box public interface, the 

development of training sessions for staff 

who will be using the system, on-going 

authority control services, and the migration 

of the “locate libraries” function to the new 

OPAC. 

The Office of Bibliographic Services has 

completed a statement of work for 

retrospective conversion services for the pre1976 GPO bibliographic records, and formal 

procurement activities should begin in the 

near future. 

INFORMATION DISSEMINATION 

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

The Office of Information Dissemination/ 

Superintendent of Documents (ID) is 

compiling the Information Dissemination 

Implementation Plan, FY 2005-2006. This 

document will reflect ID’s plans for the full 

scope of its programs and operations. To 

date, its chapters include the latest versions of 

three plans previously issued separately: the 

National Bibliography, the National 

Collection (formerly Collection of Last 

Resort), and the Federal Depository Library 

Program (FDLP) Electronic Collection. Other 

new chapters will be added as they become

available. The current version of the 

document will soon be available on GPO 

Access at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/ 

su_docs/fdlp/pubs/IDPlan.pdf. 

THE NATIONAL COLLECTION OF U.S. 

GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS

GPO and NARA are continuing to discuss 

transforming the set of FDLP tangible 

publications that NARA currently holds for 

GPO into one of the proposed National 

3 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

Collection dark archives. The working 

assumption is that NARA will continue to 

refer users to FDLP collections for tangible 

documents and will use the digital copies in 

the GPO Electronic Collection (EC) for 

access. GPO is working with NARA to 

develop procedures for the addition of 

publications to the National Collection dark 

archive that were not previously distributed to 

depository libraries. This will allow GPO to 

assemble comprehensive coverage of all 

content that should be in the FDLP, whether 

it was distributed at the time of publication or 

not. A second dark archive is being planned 

for the Western United States. GPO will issue 

an RFP this summer to identify a library or 

other institution partner for operating the 

Western collection. 

GPO recently placed online the Baseline 

Requirements for Digital Reformatting and 

Delivery of Legacy Federal Documents 

Collections, prepared for GPO by the Center 

for Research Libraries (CRL). The report 

includes CRL’s recommendations for the 

minimum requirements governing file 

formats, interoperability, accessibility, asset 

management controls, and other aspects of 

digital reformatting and delivery for print and 

microform legacy materials. The report is 

available from the FDLP Desktop at 

http://www.access.gpo.gov/pubs/crl_digital_b

aseline.pdf

FUTURE DIGITAL SYSTEM

GPO is concluding the third phase of a 

planning process to develop a comprehensive, 

integrated system for information lifecycle 

management that will transform GPO's role 

and practices. The earlier phases produced a 

Concept of Operations document, released in 

October 2004, which provides an initial 

roadmap for system development activities. 

This document can be found at 

http://www.gpo.gov/news/2004/ConOps_100

4.pdf. 

Preliminary functional requirements for the 

design of the system have been completed. In 

coming weeks, those requirements will be

refined, and will drive the development of

specifications, concept selection, and 

implementation plans. The depository library 

community will be notified as soon as these 

requirements are available for public review. 

DIGITIZATION OF THE LEGACY 

COLLECTION

GPO recently released for comment the 

Report on the Meeting of Experts on Digital 

Preservation: Metadata Specifications. The 

report is located at http://www.gpoaccess.

gov/about/reports/metadata.html. 

GPO is also moving forward with plans to 

begin digitizing documents of the historical 

collections of the FDLP. GODORT’s Rare 

and Endangered Government Publications 

Committee has voted to appoint four 

individuals to work with GPO to review the 

results of GPO's digitization ranking survey 

and to guide GPO in the nomination of 

materials that would be optimal for initial 

digitization activities. There will be 

additional opportunities for input from the 

library community as GPO continues to 

develop plans for the digitization of the 

legacy collection. 

WEB DISCOVERY AND HARVESTING

GPO will be working with the EPA Web site 

as a pilot project for Web Harvesting. While 

this pilot is being implemented, a set of longterm requirements for web discovery and 

harvesting is being developed in conjunction 

with work on the implementation of GPO's 

Future Digital System. 

GPO is now reviewing proposals received via 

its Solicitation and Statement of Work, and 

vendor selection should be announced in the 

near future. 

4 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

BOUND CONGRESSIONAL RECORD NOW ON 

GPO ACCESS

The most requested title in the GPO 

digitization priority survey was the Bound

Congressional Record, which is now 

available as a GPO Access application. 

A full-text, searchable and browseable online 

1999 Bound Congressional Record is 

available at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/

crecordbound/index.html. 

The application will be updated as additional 

volumes are published, and also built 

retroactively as part of GPO’s legacy 

digitization efforts. 

GPO also plans to release a U.S. Reports 

application this summer, followed by a 

Statutes At Large application this fall. 

GPO ADDS OCLC HOLDINGS SYMBOLS 

FOR REGIONAL DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES

GPO has begun adding the OCLC holdings 

symbol of 32 Regional depository libraries to 

the bibliographic records GPO contributes to 

OCLC WorldCat. Working with GPO, OCLC 

has developed an automated daily batch 

loading process to set the holdings. The 

presence of the 074 symbol indicates that the 

title was distributed to depository libraries. 

In February and March, GPO produced 2,443 

records to which holdings symbols were 

added, creating more than 76,000 new access 

points to specific Federal publications. 

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS FOR FDLP 

PARTNERSHIPS

• GPO has implemented a one-year 

pilot project, in partnership with the 

Library of Michigan, as part of the 

transformation of GPO’s mandate to 

monitor the performance of 

depository libraries from the 

traditional inspection process to a 

proactive model of regional 

consultation and education. To this 

end, Sally Lawler, Public Services 

Librarian at the Social Work Library 

at the University of Michigan, has 

accepted a position with GPO as a 

part-time consultant. 

• GPO, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the 

University Library of Case Western 

Reserve University have agreed to 

extend the current partnership, which 

makes electronic Government 

information products from the 2000 

Census of Population and Housing 

accessible under the auspices of the 

FDLP, for an additional two years. 

• GPO and the Federal Reserve Bank of 

St. Louis are finalizing details for a 

partnership agreement to provide 

depository access to Federal 

Government information in the 

Federal Reserve Archival System for 

Economic Research (FRASER) 

service. 

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP 

OPPORTUNITY IN PUBLISHING SERVICES 

(SALES PROGRAM) 

GPO is currently requesting information 

about the capabilities of vendors to provide 

some or all of the services involved in the 

transformation of our current sales and 

distribution operations. The goal is to 

propose, design, and execute an innovative 

new model for a publications sales and 

distribution operation on a revenue sharing 

basis. A successful model will: 

• Increase public awareness of these 

publications 

• Expand distribution channels 

• Move the brand name into the 

commercial mainstream 

• Utilize the latest technology 

• Achieve significant cost reductions 

5 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

For more information, please visit 

www.gpo.gov/salesprogramrfi/

STATISTICS

Since its inception in 1994, GPO Access 

retrievals have exceeded 2 billion. The 

average number of retrievals from GPO 

Access in 2004 was 1.6 million per day. The 

average number of daily retrievals from GPO 

Access is equivalent to more than 39 million 

single-spaced typewritten pages. 

Through February of FY 2005, GPO has 

disseminated a total of 14,274 online and 

tangible unique titles in various formats (This 

total does not include multiple formats of the 

same title). Approximately 92% of these new 

titles were electronic and about 8% were 

tangible distributions. 

Council Briefing Topic – Spring 2005 

Future Tangible Distribution to Depository 

Libraries

SETTING THE STAGE

The Federal Depository Library Program

(FDLP) is in the eighth year of a transition to 

a primarily electronic program. Data show 

that we have reached a point where 95% of 

the new titles coming into the program are 

disseminated online, whether or not they are 

also distributed in tangible form. This FDLP 

transition to a more electronic environment 

mirrors a similar transition across 

Government as more and more information is 

published electronically. 

All of this change in Government publishing 

necessitates that decisions must be made 

regarding formats for distribution through the 

FDLP. The Dissemination/Distribution Policy 

for the Federal Depository Library Program

(SOD 71) sets forth the guidelines for this 

decision process. SOD 71 acknowledges that 

there are certain essential titles that need to be 

distributed in tangible form, as long as the 

publishing agency continues to publish in that 

form. SOD 71 also recognizes that maps and 

other items, for which there is no current 

useful electronic format, need to be 

distributed in tangible form, even when they 

are not on the list of essential titles. 

The initial list of essential titles was 

developed in 2000 in consultation with the 

Depository Library community and an effort 

is currently underway to update that list. 

Earlier this year, GPO modified the list of

essential titles to include additional 

Congressional materials. With the addition of 

these item numbers, the expanded list of 

essential titles now includes approximately 

25% of FY 2004 print titles distributed to 

depositories and used 40% of the estimated 

FY 2004 printing dollars. 

GPO recently reaffirmed that it will continue 

offering microfiche as an alternative format 

for items currently available for dual 

distribution in both print and microfiche. 

NEW INFORMATION

GPO is currently updating SOD 71. When the 

proposed changes have been reviewed with 

the library community, SOD 71 will be 

reissued as ID 71. It appears that the most 

substantive changes are in the second, fifth 

and sixth guidelines of SOD 71. 

6 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

7 

SOD 71 (January 2001) Proposed Revision to be ID 71 (April 2005) 

2. When a product is only available in 

tangible format, then LPS will distribute it 

in a tangible format. 

2. When a product is only available in tangible format, 

ID will create an electronic version to be substituted 

for tangible distribution if it is not an essential title 

and one or more of the following conditions exist: 

a. The cost of printing and distributing the tangible 

product is prohibitive due its characteristics. 

b. Digital conversion results in better functionality 

of the product. 

c. The digital copy is an official representation of 

the original. 

d. The publishing agency does not fulfill the 

requirement to provide sufficient copies for 

tangible distribution. 

5. When a tangible product is to be 

distributed, the product will be distributed 

in the format issued by the publishing 

agency, except that a paper product will 

be reviewed for suitability for conversion 

to microfiche. If suitable, it will be 

converted; if not, it will be distributed in 

paper. 

5. When a tangible product is to be distributed, the 

product will be distributed in the format issued by the 

publishing agency, except for essential titles that 

have been identified for conversion to microfiche as 

a dual distribution option. Electronic dissemination 

will be utilized for publications that meet the 

conditions in number 2 above. 

6. LPS will not convert products that are 

issued solely in tangible print format to 

electronic format. This approach may be 

reevaluated as circumstances warrant. 

The costs of the conversion process and 

the official status of the resulting online or 

tangible electronic version are important 

factors.

6. In order to place electronic versions of all in scope 

documents in the FDLP Electronic Collection for 

preservation and dissemination, ID will convert from 

tangible to electronic format, if an electronic copy 

cannot be obtained. The costs of the conversion 

process, suitability of the material, and the official 

status of the resulting online or tangible electronic 

version are important factors. 

ESSENTIAL TITLES 

GPO recently conducted a survey to obtain 

recommendations from the depository 

libraries on which titles should be added to 

the existing Essential Titles list, either for all 

Federal depository libraries or for specific 

types of depository libraries. A total of 794, 

or about 63 percent of the 1,270 libraries in 

the Federal Depository Library Program 

responded to the survey. Respondents 

recommended and ranked up to 10 titles from 

lists of the 100 titles most selected by their 

library type as of March 2005. Only titles in 

tangible format in the List of Classes were 

included on the lists. Respondents were 

allowed to “write-in” up to three titles not 

included on the list for their library type. 

GPO now needs to determine how to move 

from the survey results to decisions on 

specific titles for tangible distribution to all or 

specific types of depository libraries. Results 

for each type of library are included in the 

registration packets, showing the top items 

recommended. Complete results are online at: 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/essential/statistics.

html. 

The list of Essential Titles developed in 2000 

included primarily items selected by over 

1,000 depositories. In contrast, the highest 

number of recommendations for a single item 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

in the recent survey was 373. This seems to 

represent less of community consensus on the 

recommendations than for the existing 

essential titles. In fact, there are many items

not on the essential titles list that have higher 

selection rate than the level of

recommendations, either in aggregate, or by 

library type. It is surprising that more of the 

highly selected items were not recommended 

as essential titles. 

ASSUMPTIONS

1. 95% of new titles coming into the 

FDLP are available online, whether or

not they are also distributed in 

tangible form. 

2. The transition to a primarily 

electronic FDLP was an incremental 

process and it is nearly complete. 

3. Federal agencies are publishing more 

“born digital” documents and 

increasingly relying on the Internet, 

rather than print, as the primary 

distribution for agency publications. 

4. Federal agencies play a significant 

role in determining whether their 

publications are published in 

electronic or tangible form. 

5. SOD 71 will become ID 71 and will 

continue evolve as the basis for access 

and dissemination to U.S. 

Government information through the 

FDLP. 

1. Essential Titles will continue to be 

distributed in a tangible format. 

2. Maps and other items, for which there 

is currently no useful electronic 

format, need to be distributed in 

tangible form. 

3. Tangible titles include products that 

are disseminated in either print, 

CD/DVD, diskettes, video, or 

microfiche. 

QUESTIONS

1. Does Council agree with these 

assumptions?

2. Does the proposed revision of SOD 

71 to ID 71 adequately provide for 

this evolution? 

3. With limited fiscal resources what 

criteria should GPO use to determine 

tangible distribution? Or is everything 

covered in ID 71?

4. What criteria should GPO consider in 

updating the Essential Titles list?

5. How can GPO most effectively utilize 

the survey results in this process?

6. Are there other elements of tangible 

distribution that GPO should be 

considering?

8 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

Council Briefing Topic – Spring 2005 

National Collection of U.S. Government 

Publications

The National Collection of U.S. Government 

Publications (National Collection) supports 

the Federal Depository Library Program

(FDLP) in its mission to ensure no-fee 

permanent public access to the official 

publications of the United States Government 

regardless of format. 

The National Collection includes preservation 

and access copies of digital publications and 

tangible publications. The National 

Collection will consist of geographicallydispersed collections of tangible and digital 

publications, located at multiple sites, and 

operated by various partners within and 

beyond the U.S. Government. This briefing 

topic is focused on the National Collection 

dark archives for preservation of tangible and 

digital publications. 

CONCEPTUAL OVERVIEW OF THE NATIONAL COLLECTION

Contents National Collection 

Preservation Sites 

Access Collections for Public Use

Tangible 

 publications

Dark archives with 

preservation copies 

Light archives (minimal use, active 

preservation), or 

Depository library collections (normal 

preservation efforts) with access copies

Digital 

publications

Dark archives with digital 

preservation masters 

Service archives at GPO or partner sites 

with access copies or derivatives 

For tangible publications the dark archive(s) 

include preservation copies which are only 

used when all other avenues to obtain a copy 

have been exhausted. Public access is 

provided from depository library collection 

access copies, or from light archives, which 

have minimal use and active preservation. 

Preservation copies of digital publications 

will be maintained in dark archive(s), and 

used to create access copies or derivatives for 

delivery from GPO service archives or 

partner sites. 

GPO will provide online public access and 

other publications and services derived from

the digital preservation masters and other 

items in the National Collection. Access 

copies, also referred to as “derivatives,” of 

the stored digital publications will be 

available for no-fee online use by the public. 

 

Publications in GPO portions of the National 

Collection will be bibliographically

controlled using GPO’s Integrated Library 

System. The cataloging records will be part 

of the National Bibliography data base, 

provided to OCLC, and made available to 

requesting libraries and vendors. Ultimately, 

preservation metadata will be included in 

GPO’s Future Digital System. 

KEY ASSUMPTIONS FOR THE COLLECTION

1. The National Collection primarily 

supports the FDLP goal of no-fee 

permanent public access, but also 

supports other GPO information 

9 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

dissemination and preservation 

programs. 

 

2. General administration of the National 

Collection and management of the 

tangible and digital publication dark 

archives are inherently governmental 

functions. 

3. Publications in the National 

Collection will be included in the 

National Bibliography of U.S. 

Government Publications. 

4. National Collection assets will be

maintained in geographicallydispersed locations. A National 

Collection segment may be 

consolidated in a single location or as 

a distributed collection at multiple 

sites which together form a single 

collection. 

5. National Collection management will 

be benchmarked against the criteria 

for assurance developed by the Center 

for Research Libraries or successor 

documentation of best practices.. 

6. National Collection preservation 

activities for digital resources will be 

based on the agreement between GPO 

and the National Archives and 

Records Administration (NARA) 

designating GPO as an archives 

affiliate. 

7. The National Collection includes the 

FDLP Electronic Collection. 

8. National Collection assets in the “dark 

archives” are held for preservation 

rather than public access. 

9. Access copies of the National 

Collection assets are publicly 

accessible from light archives 

(tangible) or service archives (digital). 

10. GPO will acquire tangible copies 

from a variety of sources, including 

the transfer of portions of the legacy 

FDLP Collections from depository 

libraries to GPO. 

11. The tangible publications in the 

National Collection will be digitized 

for preservation and access. After 

digitization the original publication, 

even if disbound, will be retained and 

preserved in case the item must be 

digitized again in the future. 

12. Tangible copies of “born digital” 

publications will be produced for the 

dark archive as backups for the digital 

publications. Tangible copies in the 

National Collection dark archive will, 

to the extent practicable, be produced 

on archival media. 

NEW INFORMATION

National Collection Acquisitions 

The National Collection receives two copies 

of every in scope tangible publication printed 

by or through GPO, whether or not it is 

distributed through the FDLP in tangible 

form. GPO will preserve the digital master 

files, access files, and other derivatives. 

In addition, there have been a number of 

important acquisitions from depository and 

Federal libraries, including: 

• Complete U.S. Congressional Serial 

Set

• Complete Records of the War of the 

Rebellion

• Bound Congressional Record, 1866-

1873 

10 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

11 

• Foreign Relations of the United 

States, 1907-1957 

• 82 folios of the Geologic Atlas of the 

United States

• Monthly Catalog, 1959-1999 

• Federal Reserve Bulletin, 1918-2002 

• Over 50 years of reports from the 

U.S. Tax Court 

• Social Security Bulletin, 1939-1989 

• Numerous U.S.G.S. Circulars 

Future Digital System 

Preservation is one of the core functions of 

GPO’s Future Digital System (FDSys). The 

FDSys planning team, under the leadership of 

the Office of Innovation and New 

Technology, has developed a detailed set of 

requirements for the System. Overall, the 

System design conforms to the OAIS (Open 

Archival Information System Reference 

Model, ISO 14721:2003) reference model for 

an archive. Preservation planning for the 

FDSys includes requirements for storage, 

access, preservation processes, metadata, 

security, system workflow and 

administration, and other functions. 

Center for Research Libraries’ Publication 

GPO recently placed online Baseline 

Requirements for Digital Reformatting and 

Delivery of Legacy Federal Documents 

Collections, prepared for GPO by the Center 

for Research Libraries. The report describes 

CRL’s recommendations for the minimum 

requirements governing file formats, 

interoperability, accessibility, asset 

management controls, and other aspects of 

digital reformatting and delivery for print and 

microform legacy materials. This report was 

used in developing the preservation 

requirements for the FDSys. The Baseline 

Requirements report is available from the 

FDLP Desktop at: 

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

/crl_digital_baseline_112904.pdf and is 

included as an attachment. 

NARA 

GPO and NARA are discussing transforming 

the set of FDLP tangible publications that 

NARA currently holds for GPO into one of 

the proposed National Collection dark 

archives. That would allow NARA to move 

that material to storage, providing greater 

preservation for those materials. NARA will 

continue to refer users to FDLP collections 

for tangible documents and will use the 

digital copies in the EC for access. GPO is 

working with NARA to develop procedures 

for the addition of publications to the 

National Collection dark archive that were 

not previously distributed to depository 

libraries. This will allow GPO to assemble 

comprehensive coverage of all content that 

should be in the FDLP, whether it was 

distributed at the time of publication or not. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Are the revised assumptions on the 

National Collection still appropriate, 

or should something be changed or 

added? 

2. Now that the plan for the National 

Collection has been revised in light of 

discussions with Council and other 

public comments, are there elements 

of the plan that need further 

refinement or need to be added? 

3. In the event that a publishing agency 

indicates a desire to withdraw a 

publication from the FDLP, does the 

proposed revision of ID 72 adequately 

provide for necessary actions? 


AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

Council Briefing Topic – Spring 2005 

National Bibliography of U.S. Government 

Publications

GPO is developing the National Bibliography 

of U.S. Government Publications (National 

Bibliography) that fully meets the statutory 

requirements of 44 U.S.C. 1710-1711. By law 

GPO is charged with preparing and 

publishing a “comprehensive index of public 

documents,” including “every document 

issued or published ... not confidential in 

character.” 

GPO’s National Bibliography is a 

comprehensive catalog containing 

descriptions and locations of U.S. 

Government unclassified publications in all 

formats. The National Bibliography describes 

any publication, regardless of form or format, 

that any U.S. Government agency publishes, 

disseminates, or makes available to the 

public, as well as any publication produced 

for administrative or operational purposes, 

that is of public interest or educational value. 

Publications represented in the National 

Bibliography are acquired from official 

sources or sites, and are not subject to official 

use or security classification restrictions. 

Initially the National Bibliography database 

will consist of GPO-produced bibliographic 

records representing titles cataloged from

1976 to the present. Once the ILS initial 

implementation is completed in spring 2005, 

GPO plans to expand the National 

Bibliography database by adding pre-1976 

records, records created by cooperative 

cataloging partners and other institutions, as 

well as records converted from other 

bibliographic or metadata formats. Building 

the National Bibliography legacy database is 

a project that will span multiple fiscal years, 

while adding records for new publications is 

an ongoing effort. 

Functionally, the National Bibliography will 

be a principal output of the Integrated Library 

System (ILS), Ex Libris’ Aleph 500. GPO 

will develop one or more relational databases 

of library cataloging and other metadata 

records that describe and link to U.S. 

Government publications in a variety of 

formats and locations. The National 

Bibliography will utilize metadata resources 

created by GPO, by other agencies, and by 

partner institutions. The ILS’ federated search 

function will provide the capability to search 

across a distributed set of metadata resources 

from other institutions and display a 

combined result set. The public face of the 

ILS will be GPO’s Online Public Access 

Catalog. 

Planning for the National Bibliography 

emphasized ways to improve the 

comprehensiveness of GPO’s cataloging and 

metadata programs, to enhance the usability 

of GPO’s bibliographic products and 

services, to operate a standards-based 

national library quality program, and to 

enhance the public’s ability to identify and 

locate U.S. Government publications. 

BIBLIOGRAPHIC CONTROL OF THE 

NATIONAL COLLECTION

Bibliographic access to all publications in 

GPO’s portion of the National Collection will 

be provided through GPO’s National 

Bibliography and potentially by other 

metadata services. Cataloging records for 

online publications will include a persistent 

12 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

link to the publication. GPO’s goal is that 

digital publications will be accompanied by 

preservation metadata describing their 

content, file type, provenance, etc. 

Bibliographic control will be provided to the 

individual publication level for all access 

copies of publications in the National 

Collection. Applying metadata at this level 

will enhance the performance of federated 

search tools and OpenURL linking 

technologies. GPO bibliographic records will 

conform to the practices and standards 

established for the National Bibliography. 

Digital publications intended for print-ondemand reproduction and sales will also have 

book industry standard metadata. The 

metadata for digital publications should 

indicate the permitted access to that item if

any restrictions apply. Other or additional 

metadata systems or elements may be applied 

to other portions of the National Collection. 

NEW INFORMATION

To improve communication about GPO’s 

cataloging practices and developments, ID 

has created a National Bibliography News 

page on GPO Access at http://www.access. 

gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/cip/index.html.

Beginning February 1, 2005, the OCLC 

holdings symbols of 30 regional depository 

libraries have been added to the bibliographic 

records GPO contributes to OCLC WorldCat. 

Working with GPO, OCLC has developed an 

automated batch loading process to set the 

holdings, which is run daily. This project will 

bring improved public and library community 

awareness of resources available in Federal 

depository library collections through an 

increased number of bibliographic access 

points and facilitated interlibrary loan of 

tangible U.S. Government publications. 

Adding OCLC symbols to GPO-produced 

cataloging originated as a suggestion from

regional depository librarians. Most recently, 

the Oklahoma Department of Libraries and 

the University of Maine joined the project, 

bringing the total to 32 regionals 

participating.

At the Midwinter meeting of the American 

Library Association, GPO announced that the 

Office of Bibliographic Services would begin 

creating a unique bibliographic record for 

each manifestation, or version, of a title, at 

the same time that the ILS goes live. This 

issue was first raised in the National 

Bibliography of U.S. Government 

Publications: Initial Planning Statement, 

published in draft June 18, 2004, and was 

also discussed at the October 2004 meeting of 

the Depository Library Council. This issue 

engendered a large number of comments, the 

majority of which favored creating a unique 

record for each publication or version. 

Reasons supporting GPO’s intent to create 

unique records include: 

• More precise searching by format in 

the OPAC. 

• Bibliographic record accuracy for 

libraries that receive only one format 

of a Government publication. 

• Conformance with emerging national 

and international cataloging 

standards. 

• Enables more precise version control 

and identification in content 

management systems such as GPO’s 

Future Digital System. 

KEY ASSUMPTIONS FOR THE NATIONAL 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. The Integrated Library System assists 

GPO in building the National 

Bibliography. A 21st century National 

Bibliography cannot be operated on 

GPO’s legacy information technology 

(IT) platforms. 

13 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

14 

2. GPO will continue to contribute 

records to OCLC. 

3. Initially, GPO’s core National 

Bibliography database format will be 

AACR2 cataloging records in 

MARC21 format. As cataloging 

standards and metadata schema 

evolve, GPO’s use of metadata 

schema and cataloging formats will 

also evolve. 

4. Other bibliographic formats may be 

ILS/National Bibliography system 

inputs or outputs. Possible system 

input or output formats include, but 

are not limited to: 

a) MARC21 

b) ONIX 

c) GILS 

d) Preservation metadata 

e) Dublin Core 

f) COSATI 

5. When GPO performs original 

cataloging, the default level of 

cataloging applied to U.S. 

Government publications, regardless 

of format, will be equivalent to OCLC 

“Full” level. Following applicable 

standards, GPO will apply different 

levels of cataloging in some cases, 

such as when converting records for 

older materials without the described 

publication in hand. 

6. National Bibliography cataloging 

records will come from multiple 

sources, including: 

a) GPO original cataloging 

b) Record imports 

c) Conversion of pre-1976 GPO 

bibliographic records 

d) COSATI-MARC conversions 

e) Harvested metadata 

f) Metadata from content 

originators 

g) Records contributed by 

depository libraries and other 

partners 

h) Preservation metadata from 

legacy digitization projects 

7. The National Bibliography will 

provide public access and location 

information for all items in GPO’s 

portion of the National Collection. 

8. GPO cataloging policies and 

procedures will be documented and 

communicated proactively. 

9. GPO will continue its participation in 

the LC Program for Cooperative 

Cataloging (PCC) Programs. These 

include: 

a) NACO (name authorities) 

b) SACO (subject authorities) 

c) CONSER (serial cataloging) 

10. GPO will continue to assign 

Superintendent of Documents 

classification numbers to publications 

made available to Federal depository 

libraries. 

11. No fees will be charged to search the 

National Bibliography or to link to 

publicly available data described 

therein. 

12. No fees will be charged to depository 

libraries to download bibliographic 

records from the National 

Bibliography. 

13. Location information in the National 

Bibliography includes persistent links 

to online resources and a mechanism 

to identify the depository libraries that 

hold tangible publications. 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

QUESTIONS

1. Are the revised assumptions on the 

National Bibliography still 

appropriate, or should something be 

changed or added?

2. Now that the plan for the National 

Bibliography has been revised in light 

of discussions with Council and other 

public comments, are there elements 

of the plan that need further 

refinement or need to be added?

Council Briefing Topic – Spring 2005 

Authentication 

SETTING THE STAGE

Authentication is a critical function of GPO’s 

planned Future Digital System (FDSys). As 

outlined in the FDSys Concept of Operations 

document, the authentication function will 

verify the authenticity of digital content 

within the FDSys, and certify this to users 

accessing the content. In order to move 

forward with its authentication initiatives, 

GPO has identified the need to develop 

concrete policies that address the 

authentication and certification of electronic 

Government publications. In order to keep 

within GPO’s mission to provide permanent 

public access to official or authentic U.S. 

Government publications, GPO is currently 

implementing a Public Key Infrastructure 

(PKI) initiative to ensure the authenticity of

its electronically disseminated content. 

GPO recognizes that as more Government 

information becomes available electronically, 

data integrity and non-repudiation of 

information become more critical. The 

primary objective of GPO’s authentication 

initiative is to assure users that the 

information made available by GPO is 

official and authentic and that trust 

relationships exist between all participants in 

electronic transactions. GPO’s authentication 

initiatives will allow users to determine that 

the files are unchanged since GPO 

authenticated them, help establish a clear 

chain of custody for electronic documents, 

and provide security for and safeguard 

Federal Government publications that fall 

within scope of the National Collection of

U.S. Government Publications. 

NEW INFORMATION

The following key issues pertain to GPO’s 

authentication initiative.

Levels of Authentication 

The provenance and fixity of an electronic 

publication is directly related to its level of

authentication. GPO will inform users about a 

publication's integrity and chain of custody 

through the designation of at least two 

different levels of authentication, "authentic" 

and "official." GPO defines authentic as 

content that is verified by GPO to be 

complete and unaltered when compared to the 

version received by GPO. Official content is 

content that falls within the scope of the 

National Bibliography and is approved by, 

contributed by, or harvested from an official 

source in accordance with accepted program

specifications. 

15 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

Integrity Mark 

The process of certification will produce an 

integrity mark that may include an emblem

and a certificate. Emblems and certificates 

will allow users to determine if files have 

been changed since GPO authenticated them, 

and help establish a clear chain of custody for 

electronic documents. Emblems may be 

presented to users in various ways, such as 

visible emblems or invisible emblems. 

GPO will provide a visible emblem to notify 

users of the authentication status of a 

publication in accordance with the required 

approval, when feasible, of the content 

originator. The visible emblem should 

contain the official GPO authentication seal 

and/or official seal for the publishing agency. 

It is recommended that the following 

information be available in the digital 

certificate: 

• Certifying organization 

• Date of the signature/certification 

• Digital time stamp 

• Reason for signing 

• Location 

• Contact information 

• Name of entity that certified the 

publication 

• Level of authentication 

• Expiration date of signature / 

certification

• Notification of changes occurring to 

the document

Granularity 

Feedback from Federal agency publishers, 

Congress, and users has revealed the need to 

authenticate granular sections of publications. 

Therefore, while digital files will be

authenticated by GPO at the entire document 

level, in the future GPO must also provide a 

means by which subdivisions of documents 

can be certified in an automated fashion, 

based upon the certification already applied 

to the entire document. 

IMPLEMENTATION

GPO has nearly completed the installation of 

digital signing tools using PKI. The purpose 

is to enable the application of digital 

signatures to authenticate GPO Access files. 

The first digitally signed documents are 

expected in May, starting with Congressional 

Bills of the 109th Congress. Simultaneously, 

steps are being taken to complete the crosscertification of GPO's PKI operations with 

the Federal Bridge Certification Authority 

(FBCA) to ensure that business, 

administrative, and technical processes 

related to GPO's PKI match those of the 

Federal Bridge. The FBCA is a fundamental 

element of the trust infrastructure that

provides the basis for intergovernmental and 

cross-governmental secure communications. 

ASSUMPTIONS

1. PKI digital signatures will provide 

GPO with the capability to certify 

electronic content as authentic and 

official. 

2. The authentication system will 

provide the capability to verify and 

validate the authenticity of deposited,

harvested, and converted content. 

3. GPO will provide the capability to 

provide date and time verification for 

certified content. 

4. GPO’s authentication system will 

support the capability to authenticate 

content that has already been 

authenticated at earlier stages in the 

publishing process. 

16 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

QUESTIONS

1. Are the assumptions in this document 

correct? 

2. As GPO works toward the 

implementation of its strategic vision, 

are we approaching the issue of 

authentication appropriately?

3. When should an integrity mark be 

visible or invisible?

4. To what level of granularity should 

GPO authenticate content? 

5. When authentication information is 

already available from the publishing 

agency, should GPO retain and 

display that information in addition to 

GPO’s own integrity mark? 

6. Does Council concur with the 

following definitions for authentic and 

official content? 

a. Authentic Content: Content 

that is verified by GPO to be 

complete and unaltered when 

compared to the version 

approved or published by the 

publishing agency. 

b. Official Content: Content that 

falls within the scope of the

National Collection of U.S. 

Government Publications and 

is approved by, contributed by, 

or harvested from an official 

source in accordance with 

accepted program policy and 

procedures.

Council Briefing Topic – Spring 2005 

Versioning: The Future of Managing 

Changes in Digital Content at the U.S. 

Government Printing Office 

SETTING THE STAGE

Digital content may change on a very 

frequent basis, and it is easy to transform

content without identification or notification 

to users. Users want to be certain that they are 

using the version of information that meets 

their needs and to be able to track the history 

of changes that may have occurred. In the 

case of Federal information, multiple versions 

of Government publications are often 

publicly available on Web sites, which can be 

confusing and potentially damaging to users 

who are not aware of the version status of the 

document. Version tracking is a necessary 

operation in the management and 

dissemination of Government information to 

ensure that citizens are accessing the 

appropriate documents. The following facts 

are presented to assist in the scheduled 

discussion. 

Version Control is a critical function of 

GPO’s planned Future Digital System

(FDSys). As outlined in the FDSys Concept 

of Operations document, the Version Control 

function will establish the version of a piece 

of content and subsequently track it through 

its entire life cycle, based on best practices. 

17 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

Currently at GPO, version control is 

combined with GPO’s bibliographic control 

processes. GPO provides bibliographic 

control by observing a set of rules, standards, 

and local practices to create and maintain 

bibliographic records. The standards, rules, 

terminology, and definitions were originally 

formulated to address “book format” 

terminology and the traditional relationships 

within the book industry with publishers, 

distributors, and libraries. GPO’s current 

functional requirements for bibliographic 

control are derived from the MachineReadable Cataloging (MARC) 21 standard. 

Electronic document standards and rules have 

only recently begun to deal with the nuances 

of the electronic publications. Currently, 

GPO applies the Cooperative Program for 

Serial Cataloging (CONSER) “single record 

option” as needed for cataloging purposes. 

GPO has investigated the implications of

creating a unique bibliographic record for 

each manifestation or version of a publication 

and will begin implementing separate

bibliographic records for titles available in 

multiple formats in conjunction with the 

implementation of the ILS. 

It is easier to control versions in the print 

environment, because a new version is 

generated when an agency sends an updated 

publication to GPO to be printed. GPO has 

the responsibility to preserve information for 

permanent public access in the digital 

environment, but agencies are constantly 

changing information without officially 

issuing new versions. In many cases, 

documents are changed and re-posted with 

the same file name on Web sites, and users do 

not know that they are looking at a different 

version. GPO’s commitment to version 

control will ensure that users have permanent 

public access to the appropriate versions of 

official Government publications. 

NEW INFORMATION

In order to move forward with a 

comprehensive version control policy, GPO 

will need to fully define what constitutes a 

“unique manifestation of a publication” 

across all publication formats (e.g., 

monograph, serial). GPO will follow 

established best practices and standards when 

developing this policy. 

GPO envisions that the future process of 

version control will include acquiring, 

cataloging, storing, preserving, and retrieving 

different versions of publications. This 

process may be accomplished by assessing 

various document attributes (e.g., structure, 

content, and format), creating metadata about 

these attributes, monitoring changes to the 

attributes, updating the metadata to indicate 

changes to the attributes, and creating links to 

related documents. In order to improve 

internal efficiencies and streamline 

workflows, the future version control process 

will be automated whenever possible, but 

subjective evaluation and interpretation may 

be required at various points through the 

process. 

Version triggers are changes to a publication 

that progress beyond an agreed upon 

threshold or tolerance. In other words, 

version triggers should be the main indicators 

by which new versions of publications are 

detected. GPO will need to develop a

comprehensive list of version triggers for all 

types of electronic publications that are made 

available through the FDLP. 

The issue of identifying and detecting various 

versions of electronic publications represents 

a highly complex situation for version and 

bibliographic control. GPO’s future version 

control process must deal with ambiguities 

routinely encountered for various kinds of 

documents and publications. These 

ambiguities make it difficult to detect and 

18 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

19 

determine if a publication is a version of an 

existing publication or a completely new 

publication for which a new record must be 

created. 

Version identifiers distinguish between 

versions and are stored in the metadata for a 

given publication. Version identifiers should 

be created when a new version is detected. 

GPO will provide public access points to 

current and historical versions so that users 

may access any version for needed 

information. Version crosswalks will be 

stored in the metadata about a given 

publication, providing links to other versions 

and corresponding metadata of that 

publication. These links will be permanently 

available and persistent, to ensure users have 

access regardless of where they reside. 

Version crosswalks should also provide 

persistent and permanent links to other inscope resources that may relate to the 

publication in question. 

In the online environment, where new 

versions of online publications supersede 

older online versions, Federal depository 

libraries should continue to consider “FDLP 

Guidelines for Determining Superseded 

Materials.” However, depositories may apply 

their local best practices regarding 

identification of new and older versions of 

publications. They may also choose to 

remove bibliographic records representing 

older versions from their catalogs if they 

determine that this practice best suits the 

Federal Government information needs of 

their community. GPO will retain all 

bibliographic records as a part of the National 

Bibliography of U.S. Government 

Publications. GPO intends to maintain and 

periodically update the Superseded List to 

assist depositories with version identification. 

GPO will continue to provide public notes 

regarding supersession where appropriate in 

its online catalog. 

ASSUMPTIONS

1. GPO will acquire, authenticate, 

catalog, preserve, and provide access 

to all published versions of official 

and authentic electronic Government 

publications that have been approved 

for dissemination to the public and are 

within scope of the National 

Bibliography and the FDLP. 

2. Policies will be developed to address 

version control for different types of 

electronic resources (e.g. monographs, 

serials, series, databases, Web sites, 

video, audio, data streams, and 

multimedia). 

3. Version information will be stored in 

the metadata associated with a given 

publication. The metadata will include 

information about the version of the 

publication being described and 

alternate versions of the publication. 

QUESTIONS

1. Are the assumptions in this document 

correct? 

2. As GPO works toward the 

implementation of its strategic vision, 

are we approaching the issue of 

Version Control appropriately? 

3. What information should be included 

in policies that pertain to what 

constitutes a new version? 

4. Version triggers are discussed in the 

Version Control White Paper. Are the 

outlined version triggers correct? 

Should other version triggers be 

included? 

5. Should a format change be considered 

a version trigger? 
[Handout] 

FDLP Myths and Monsters 

This educational program focuses upon the 

myths and monsters which have developed in 

the depository library program. The program 

dispels some of those pesky myths; it also 

sheds light on some of the issues that have 

become monsters. 

Myths

• Myth: You have to isolate government 

documents from the rest of the library 

collection and organize the collection 

using the Superintendent of 

Documents Classification system. 

Reality: There is no requirement to 

isolate government documents from 

the rest of the library collection. Each 

depository library is free to decide 

how best to manage their government 

documents collection. 

• Myth: Government document 

collections must be housed in the 

basement. 

Reality: GPO has no requirement 

mandating the physical location of the 

collection within a library beyond 

situating the collection in a location 

that allows access to the material. 

• Myth: Government documents don't 

get used. 

Reality: Government documents are 

utilized more and more, particularly as 

they are added to the library's OPAC. 

Outreach programs and training 

sessions with reference and other 

librarians can help increase comfort 

levels with government information. 

• Myth: All government information is 

available on the Web. 

Reality: While a great deal of U.S. 

Government information is available 

on the web, there is still a fair amount 

that is only available in tangible form 

and does not lend itself to electronic 

access, such as maps. Also, the vast 

majority of the legacy collection has 

not been digitized. 

• Myth: Federal Depository Libraries 

aren’t needed anymore because the 

public accesses government 

information online. 

Reality: According to a study by the 

Urban Libraries Council, 75.2% of 

Internet users also continue to use the 

services of libraries. Use of the library 

and the Internet is directly related to 

educational attainment, and libraries 

received high ratings for ease of use, 

low cost, and helpfulness of librarians. 

The study is available online at 

http://www.urbanlibaries.org. 

• Myth: Depository libraries must 

provide anybody access at anytime. 

Reality: GPO recognizes the 

legitimate need for institutions to 

balance the security concerns of 

depository libraries with public access. 

GPO permits various methods of 

access by administrators to ensure 

security of their facility and personnel. 

Permissible actions include asking 

patrons for identification, asking users 

to sign a guest register, asking 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

questions that screen users to make 

sure that the library has what they 

need and even escorting users to the 

depository library. 

• Myth: The Instructions to Depository 

Libraries and the Federal Depository 

Library Manual are written in stone. 

Reality: The Instructions and the 

Manual are being revised to allow 

greater flexibility for depository 

libraries. 

• Myth: A library, once it selects an 

item, can never get rid of it. 

Reality: Material listed in the 

Superseded List may be 

discarded. Selectives may discard 

material 5 years after receipt with the 

permission of their Regional. All 

libraries may also apply the 

Substitution Policy which permits 

librarians to withdraw materials prior

to 5 years by substituting online 

versions. Guidance is available at 

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

lp/coll-dev/subguide.html 

• Myth: A depository library has to 

maintain a certain Item Selection Rate 

to remain a depository. 

Reality: As long as they are not a 

Regional, a depository can select as 

little or as much as meets the needs of

their community. 

• Myth: The Shearer Measure (one hour 

of clerical staff time per percentage of 

item selection) is the standard measure 

for determining the staffing needs for 

a depository collection. 

Reality: Both professional and 

paraprofessional staffing levels must 

be sufficient, in terms of hours 

allocated to the depository and in staff

expertise, to meet depository 

responsibilities. Professional and 

technical support staff should be 

added depending on the size and scope 

of the library and methods of 

organization of the collection. 

• Myth: The new economic model for 

GPO will eliminate free public access 

to government information. 

Reality: GPO has an abiding 

commitment to provide free 

permanent public access to official 

federal government information and 

the Public Printer has upheld this 

commitment. In the Strategic Vision, 

he states one of the three essential 

missions of GPO is “to provide, in 

partnership with the Federal 

Depository libraries, for nationwide 

community facilities for the perpetual, 

free, and ready public access to the 

printed and electronic documents and 

other information products of the 

Federal government.”

21 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

GPO’s Future Digital Content System – Status 

April 19, 2005 

Presentation by Michael L. Wash 

Chief Technical Officer, Innovation and New Technology, GPO 

Background 

GPO’s Future Digital System will be a worldclass system for managing official 

Government content. 

The system will verify and track versions, 

assure authenticity, preserve content, and 

provide permanent public access. 

The system will be: 

–Rules based

–Policy neutral 

–Modular and adaptable 

Recap from last review

The Concept of Operations was published in 

October of 2004. 

This work serves as the basis for subsequent 

activities to be completed in future phases. 

Concept of Operations: 

http://www.gpo.gov/projects/pdfs/ConOps_10

04.pdf

October Presentation to the Depository 

Library Council: 

http://www.gpo.gov/projects/pdfs/presentation

101704.pdf

Program Management –Phases and Gates 

GPO has implemented a phases and gates 

approach for managing the program. Work is 

performed in phases. Deliverables are 

reviewed at Gates. 

System Requirements 

•A requirement is a structured collection of 

information that embodies the requirements of 

a complex system.

•Requirements serve to reflect back to the 

customer and users by communicating what 

the system will do. 

•Requirements also serve to communicate to 

the development community regarding what 

needs to be developed for the system. 

•Preliminary requirements developed under 

Phase 3 represent the core capabilities GPO 

intends to deploy. 

•These requirements will serve as the 

benchmark for system development. 

•Requirements will be updated as necessary to 

22 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

reflect customer needs and technology trends 

during Phases 4 and 5. 

Status 

•Preliminary Requirements have been 

completed (~1,100 requirements). 

•Final documentation (IEEE-1233) is being 

completed to support these requirements.

Functional Reference Model 

Functional Reference Model - updated 

23 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

24 

Next Step – Phase 4 

Implementation Planning 

Phase 5 and Phase 6 Activities 

• Phase 5 work will proceed on multiple 

tracks, and will include numerous 

development projects to test specific 

designs and approaches. 

- System Design 

- DVT Results 

- Final Requirements 

- Risk Identification and Mitigation 

- Updated Project Plan 

- Updated Cost Plan 

- Beta Test Plan 

• Phase 6 work consists of rolling out the 

system capability. 

- Beta Test Results 

- Final Cost 

- Sustainment Plan 

Summary 

GPO’s Future Digital System will be a worldclass system for managing official 

Government content, which will verify and 

track versions, assure authenticity, preserve 

content, and provide permanent public access. 

Work is progressing to plan. GPO is now 

entering the Implementation Planning phase.
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

[Presentation]

The New Electronic Depository Library Manual 

Janet M. Scheitle 

Director, Office of Library Program Planning 

April 20, 2005 

Purpose of Session 

• Report on our efforts to update the 

manual 

• Explain what we envision as content 

• Incorporate feedback from the 

community 

• Outline steps for revision

Reasons for Revisions 

• Nature of program is changing 

• Nature of our efforts is changing 

• Consolidate several previous 

documents 

• Refresh contents 

• Document good practices, lessons 

learned Process for Revising 

• Review and consolidate existing 

documents 

• Advice of DLC and Depository 

community 

• Cross-walk new to old 

• Develop a draft framework 

• Work with community 

• Initial release by Fall conference 

25 
Chapter 1: ID Organization and 

ContactsID Organizational Structure 

Contact Center as main Point of Contact 

• Mon-Fri, 8-5 

• (202) 512-1800 / Toll Free (866) 

512-1800 

• ContactCenter@gpo.gov

Chapter 2: Legal Requirements, 

Minimum Standards, Policies 

Title 44, Chapter 19, Sec 1909 

Minimum Standards 

Policies 

Chapter 3: Federal Depository Status 

Define FDLP 

Purpose of the FDLP 

Designation 

Withdrawal 

Chapter 4: Public ServiceDefine Public 

Service 

Public Service Functions 

Access 

Reference and Research Services to Users 

Referrals 

Circulation of Materials 

Marketing to Users 

Chapter 5: Depository CollectionsPurpose 

Scope 

Collection Development 

National Collection 

Collection Management 

Chapter 6: Bibliographic ControlILS and its 

Impact 

Pushing Records 

Future of Cataloging at GPO 

Link to NC and NB 

Chapter 7: Authentication, and Version 

ControlAuthentication 

Version Control 

Chapter 8: Preservation 

Definition 

Process 

Tangible Products 

Electronic Products 

Dark and Light Archives 

Chapter 9: HousingTangible collections 

• Current 

• Historical 

Electronic collections 

Shared Housing Agreements (also Chapter 

11) 

Chapter 10: Staffing 

Responsible Officials 

Staffing Levels 

Training 

Chapter 11: PartnershipsContent 

Partnerships 

Service Partnerships 

Hybrid Partnerships 

Chapter 12: Regional Services Designation 

Responsibilities of a Regional 

Minimum Service/Performance for 

Regionals 

Chapter 13: Virtual Depository Define an 

“almost” virtual depository 

• Characteristics 

• Requirements 

• Functions 

• Services 

• Support levels 

Chapter 14: Resources 

Resources 

• Tab A - Electronic Shipping List 

• Tab B - Essential Title Shipping 

List 

• Tab C - Administrative Notes 

• Tab D - Selective Housing 

Agreement 

• Tab E - Essential Titles Survey 

• Tab F - Digitization Ranking 

Survey 

• Tab G - Minimum Standards to be 

revised 
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

27 

• Tab H - Glossary 

• Tab I - Core Legacy Collection by 

Library Type 

Next Steps 

Work with DLC 

Work with Depository community 

Incorporate feedback 

Target date for initial release Fall conference
AN-v26-#04-05-5/15/05 

Table of Contents 

Public Printer Bruce James Appoints New Council Members, Salutes Outgoing Members ....... 1 

Depository Library Council Meeting Update, April 2005............................................................ 3 

Council Briefing Topics – Spring 2005 

 Future Tangible Distribution to Depository Libraries............................................................... 6 

 National Collection of U.S. Government Publications.............................................................. 9 

 National Bibliography of U.S. Government Publications ....................................................... 12 

 Authentication.......................................................................................................................... 15 

 Versioning: The Future of Managing Changes in Digital Content at the U.S. 

 Government Printing Office .................................................................................................. 17 

FDLP Myths and Monsters......................................................................................................... 20 

GPO’s Future Digital Content System – Status, April 19, 2005 ................................................ 22 

New Electronic Depository Library Manual............................................................................... 25 

Administrative Notes Cumulative Table of Contents 

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

Updated with each issue 

Searchable by keyword 

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

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

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

send address changes to: Administrative Notes

U.S. Government Printing Office

 Stop IDED 

Washington, DC 20401 

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

28