FY17 Annual Performance Plan 

and 

FY15 Annual Performance Report 

U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 

FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 3 

5 

CONTENTS 

Agency Information 

GPO’s Strategic Framework 

Strategic Goal: I. Satisfying Our Stakeholders 

A. It’s all About the Customer 

B. Open and Transparent 

C. Enhance Strategic Partnerships 

II. Strengthening Our Organizational Foundation 

A. Right Tools 

B. Maintain Fiscal Responsibility 

C. Environmental Stewardship 

D. Continuity of Operations (COOP) 

III. Offering Products and Services 

A. Statutory Foundation 

B. Secure Federal Credentials 

IV. Engaging Our Workforce 

A. Employer of Choice 

8 

9 

9 

15 

21 

23 

23 

27 

28 

29 

31 

31 

34 

37 

37 

FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 5 

AGENCY INFORMATION 

About GPO 

Established in 1861, GPO’s mission can be traced to the requirement in Article I of the 

Constitution that Congress “keep a journal of its proceedings and from time to time publish 

the same.” GPO’s inplant production and printing procurement operations produce the 

offcial publications of Congress, the White House, and Federal agencies. GPO’s information 

dissemination programs provide public access to the offcial publications and information 

of the government in both digital and printed formats through an offcial website (www. 

fdsys.gov), a partnership with Federal depository libraries nationwide, and both online and 

bookstore sales. In recognition of this transformation, in 2014 Congress approved and the 

President signed into law (P.L. 113-235) a provision redesignating GPO as the Government 

Publishing Offce. Total GPO employment today is approximately 1,700. 

Congressional printing and information services are the primary function of GPO’s 

inplant facility in Washington, D.C. In addition to the Congressional Record containing 

the daily proceedings of Congress, GPO produces bills, hearings, reports, and other 

legislative documents, in digital and print formats, as required by the Senate and House of 

Representatives and their committees. GPO’s inplant facility also produces the daily Federal 

Register and Code of Federal Regulations, and the annual Budget of the U.S. Government, 

as well as U.S. passports and other secure Federal credentials. GPO has an additional 

facility in Mississippi for passport production. 

GPO provides centralized operations for the procurement of information products for the 

entire government, purchasing approximately $300 million annually from private sector 

vendors nationwide for Federal agency customers. About 70% of all the products ordered 

annually from GPO (other than passports and secure credentials) are procured from the 

private sector, including Social Security cards, census and tax forms, and Medicaid and 

Medicare materials. GPO’s procurement program provides great economic opportunity 

for the private sector. The majority of the frms GPO deals with are small businesses of 20 

employees or less. 

GPO’s primary information dissemination program involves a partnership with approximately 1,200 Federal depository libraries nationwide. Today, the partnership is predominantly electronic, but tangible formats are distributed where required. GPO’s Federal 

Digital System (FDsys), and now the beta govinfo website (www.govinfo.gov), provides free 

public access to more than 1.5 million searchable titles linked through GPO. GPO also 

provides for public sale of government publications via its traditional and online bookstores, offers eBooks through partnerships with multiple vendors, and provides a variety of 

mobile web apps for key Federal documents. 

GPO operates on a revolving fund basis, like a business. Only 14% of GPO’s funding comes 

from direct appropriations to cover the cost of congressional work and the depository 

library program and supporting distribution programs. All other revenues to GPO are 

reimbursements from agencies for work performed or sales of publications to the public. 

For more information, please visit www.gpo.gov; follow GPO on 

Twitter http://twitter.com/USGPO, YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/gpoprinter, 

Facebook www.facebook.com/usgpo, Instagram http://instagram.com/usgpo, and 

LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/company/u.s.-government-printing-offce 
6 FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

Mission 

Keeping America Informed as the Offcial, Digital, and Secure source for producing, 

protecting, preserving, and distributing the offcial publications and information products 

of the Federal Government. 

Vision 

Continue to Transform Ourselves into a Digital Information Platform and Provider of 

Secure Credentials. 

Core Values 

GPO’s core values defne our character. These values transcend product and market cycles, 

management trends, technological change, and individual leaders. Over the years, GPO 

has developed new product lines, employed new strategies, reengineered processes, and 

signifcantly restructured the organization, yet the core values have remained intact. 

Commitment 

GPO has had the responsibility of Keeping America Informed for over 150 years. It 

continues that long tradition by providing an uncompromised dedication to authentic, 

fast, and reliable service. 

Customer Service 

GPO has a customer-centric approach and has agency-wide procedures, policies, and 

activities in place to ensure we are meeting customers’ needs and exceeding their 

expectations. 

Dependability 

GPO is a trusted source of Federal information and works to deliver quality goods and 

services on time. 

Diversity 

GPO is dedicated to diversity in every aspect of the business. Our commitment to 

diversity helps serve customers better and provides a positive work environment for 

employees. GPO is committed to promoting and supporting an inclusive environment 

that provides to all employees the chance to work to their full potential. 

Integrity 

GPO’s employees believe that honesty and the highest ethics form the cornerstone of 

the organization and create an environment of trust. 

Teamwork 

GPO employees treat one another with dignity and respect and communicate openly. 

GPO’s environment fosters collaboration and innovation while maintaining individual 

accountability. The agency partners with the government and the private sector to 

provide the best value to customers. 
FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 7 

.

.

.

GPO ORGANIZATION 

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT 

OPPORTUNITY 

Juanita M. Flores 

DIRECTOR 

Davita E. Vance-Cooks 

INSPECTOR GENERAL 

Michael A. Raponi 

CHIEF OF STAFF 

Andrew M. Sherman 

PROGRAMS, STRATEGY 

AND TECHNOLOGY 

Richard G. Davis 

CONGRESSIONAL 

RELATIONS 

Andrew M. Sherman 

(Acting) 

PUBLIC RELATIONS 

Gary Somerset 

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER 

Steven T. Shedd 

STRATEGY FINANCE 

EMPLOYEE 

COMMUNICATIONS 

DEPUTY DIRECTOR 

Jim Bradley 

OPERATIONS 

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE 

OFFICER 

Herbert H. Jackson, Jr 

ADMINISTRATION 

SUPERINTENDENT 

OF DOCUMENTS 

Mary Alice Baish 

PUBLIC ACCESS 

GENERAL COUNSEL 

Drew Spalding 

LEGAL 

OFFICIAL JOURNALS 

OF GOVERNMENT 

Lyle L. Green 

HUMAN CAPITAL 

Ginger Thomas 

LIBRARY SERVICES AND 

CONTENT MANAGEMENT 

Laurie Hall 

LABOR RELATIONS 

Melissa Hatfeld 

PLANT OPERATIONS 

John Crawford 

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 

AND SYSTEMS 

Charles E. Riddle, Jr 

PUBLICATIONS AND 

INFORMATION SALES 

SECURITY AND 

INTELLIGENT DOCUMENTS 

Stephen G. LeBlanc 

SECURITY SERVICES 

LaMont R. Vernon 

CUSTOMER SERVICES 

Bruce Seger 

ACQUISITIONS 

Herbert H. Jackson, Jr 

(Acting) 

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES 

Oksana Pozda 

CHALLENGES 

Our vision of continuing to transform GPO into a content-centric publisher featuring 

predominantly digital services requires continuing investment in state of the art technology 

while at the same time maintaining and investing in the Agency’s infrastructure. 

Fortunately, strong spending controls implemented over the past fve years have been 

successful. Annual payroll expense is less than FY 2007 while actual head count is at its 

smallest level in the past century. Overhead expense, although increasing slightly in the 

last two fscal years, is still substantially less than FY 2009. At this point in time, GPO is 

in its strongest fnancial position in many years despite the overall challenging fnancial 

conditions within the Government today. 

To strengthen GPO for the future, we plan to continue offering an expanded set of services 

for the digital age, preserve the viability of the Federal Depository Library Program, retain 

the production of executive branch printing, improve strategic and human capital planning, 

further consolidate operations, and automate more agency functions. 

The decline in printing government-wide has reduced the amount of work GPO produces 

through our longstanding partnership with the private sector printing and information 

product industry. However, this partnership achieves signifcant savings and effciencies for 

the printing that it continues to produce, and in the process generates private sector jobs 

nationwide. 
8 FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

 

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

		

 

		

 

		

		

 

GPO has long advocated that where Federal agency printing is required, this partnership is 

the most cost-effective way of producing it. A recent study conducted by the Government 

Accountability Offce (GAO) identifed approximately 80 Federal printing plants still 

in operation. Additional savings for taxpayers can occur if the work these plants are 

producing is transferred instead to GPO’s partnership with the private sector printing and 

information product industry. 

GPO’S STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK 

GPO’s mission is Keeping America Informed as the Offcial, Digital, and Secure source for producing, protecting, preserving, and distributing the offcial publications and information products of the 

Federal Government. 

Strategic Goals 

I. Satisfying Our 

Stakeholders 

A. It’s all About 

the Customer 

n Provide world-class 

customer service 

n Provide products that 

deliver results 

n Provide education 

opportunities 

B. Open and 

Transparent 

n Provide information 

through print and 

technology 

n Become a leader in 

open government 

C. Enhance Strategic 

Partnerships 

n Strengthen purposeful 

collaboration 

II. Strengthening 

Our Organizational 

Foundation 

A. Right Tools 

n Improve processes 

n Relate technology 

investments with 

business goals 

B. Maintain Fiscal 

Responsibility 

n Ensure continued 

financial stability 

C. Environmental 

Stewardship 

n Implement “green” 

initiatives 

D. COOP Operations 

n Enable continuation of 

essential functions 

III.Offering Products 

and Services 

A. Statutory 

Foundation — 

Title 44 U.S.C 

n Provide missioncritical products and 

services 

B. Secure Federal 

Credentials 

n Meet secure credential 

requirements of 

Federal agencies 

IV. Engaging 

Our Workforce 

Strategic Objectives 

A. Employer of Choice 

n Promote opportunity 

and inclusiveness 

n Attract and keep highcaliber employees 

GPO implements the spirit of the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 as a best practice in 

order to strengthen the agency’s strategic planning and performance reporting efforts and 

ensure that all agency operations, investments, priorities, and resources are in support of 

GPO’s mission, vision, and strategic goals. 

This is GPO’s inaugural consolidated Annual Performance Plan and Annual Performance 

Report which will be published annually to document prior fscal year progress and plans 

for performance in the following fscal year. This document captures the following: 

n	 Strategic goals and objectives — what we plan to achieve to advance our mission. 

n	 Strategies — how we will go about accomplishing our strategic goals and objectives 

based on an in-depth analysis and discussion of internal and external trends and 

challenges. 

n	 Performance information — programs, projects, and initiatives that clearly show 

progress is being made toward accomplishing our goals. 
FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 9 

 

STRATEGIC GOAL: 

I . SATISFYING OUR STAKEHOLDERS 

A. It’s all About the Customer 

Strategic Objective: Develop internal processes and procedures that support an internal 

organizational culture in which exceptional service, delivery, and customer satisfaction are 

encouraged and rewarded. 

n	 GPO will work to understand, anticipate, and meet the needs of customers. GPO will 

provide world-class customer service together with product innovation through a wide 

range of print and technology vehicles. 

n	 GPO is dedicated to providing products that deliver results and will recognize 

employees who exceed customer expectations. 

n	 GPO will continue to utilize our expertise in printing and information technologies to 

educate our customers so that they can take advantage of GPO products and services. 

Strategies 

Capturing and Implementing Customer Feedback 

GPO elicits feedback regularly from customers through multiple channels in order to gauge 

GPO service levels as well as customer expectations regarding future service needs. Survey 

results provide specifc areas of focus for improvement that result in action plans to effect 

changes in processes or behaviors. This allows GPO to nurture existing customer loyalty 

and ensure we are meeting evolving customer requirements. Dedicating resources to market research will enable to GPO to provide the best products and services to our customers. Leveraging our nationwide relationships with customers and vendors alike can provide 

unique access to insight into market trends and gaps in order to provide the solutions our 

customers need. 

Cataloging Records Distribution Program 

The Cataloging Records Distribution Program (CRDP) provides for GPO-produced catalog 

records to participating Federal depository libraries. As part of funding received from H. R. 

1105, the Omnibus Appropriations Act of FY 2009 (P. L. 111-8), a portion was allocated to 

support GPO’s Cataloging and Indexing (C&I) program and distribute cataloging records 

to depository libraries. The CRDP started on October 1, 2009 and has expanded each year. 

GPO purchases MARCIVE, Inc. services for libraries who sign up for the CRDP service; 

there is no charge for libraries to participate. 

Collaborative Guidance & Outreach Services for FDLP Libraries 

GPO will continue offering collaborative guidance and outreach services to FDLP libraries, 

including regular consultations and one-on-one information exchange, keeping the lines 

of communication open between GPO and our partner libraries and creating awareness of 

GPO’s services. GPO will also continue conducting Public Access Assessments to review 

Federal depository operations and services in accordance with 44 U.S.C. §1909. In addition, 

GPO will continue providing depository library guidance via articles on FDLP.gov and webinars/webcasts via FDLP Academy related to depository operations and management. 
10 FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

 

 

Developing Content-Centric Procurement Services and Enhanced Digital Solutions 

GPO operates a variety of procurement vehicles that simplify, streamline, and lower costs 

of the procurement process for Federal agencies. GPO’s demonstrated expertise in this area 

for print products and services is continually being expanded to include a wider array of 

digital solutions to help Federal agencies cost-effectively meet their publishing and information dissemination needs. The agency is also leveraging existing in-house capabilities, 

developed for GPO’s own information dissemination functions, but now offered as shared 

services for other Federal agencies. 

Providing Educational and Informational Opportunities 

GPO’s outreach efforts will refect the agency’s transformation from a print-centric to a 

content-centric operation, highlight our innovations and achievements, and equip our 

customers with the knowledge and tools that meet their information needs. GPO aims to 

develop educational opportunities and provide informational resources for Federal agencies, vendors, and the FDLP community as an integral partner in helping these stakeholders 

accomplish their missions. GPO’s outreach initiatives will integrate traditional channels with 

a range of digital communication channels to increase awareness of GPO programs and 

services. 

GPO promotes the FDLP, Cataloging & Indexing Program, and their related resources 

through promotional campaigns and social media, and maintains strong communication 

with the FDLP community through targeted outreach efforts including emails, newsletters, 

virtual meetings, social media, and the FDLP.gov Web site. 

GPO will continue to expand and sustain the FDLP Academy to increase knowledge of Federal Government information resources to nationwide Federal depository libraries, Federal 

agencies, and the public. FDLP Academy offerings will include more webinars and webcasts 

related to Federal Government information, both presented by GPO staff and hosted by 

GPO as other agencies and depository libraries present their educational content. GPO will 

also maintain the FDLP Training Assistance Center, a training resource portal for use by the 

FDLP community, as a collaborative tool. Further, GPO will launch its Coordinator Certifcate Program, a targeted training program for FDLP coordinators. As part of this initiative, 

GPO will continue to host virtual and in-person meetings and conferences. 

Providing Total Solutions 

GPO aims to offer customers products and services to support the entire publishing lifecycle of tangible and digital information products from concept generation, planning, and 

creative design, to production, publication, document conversion, dissemination, and 

storage. GPO will continue to work to tailor this “total solution” to meet customer needs 

effciently and effectively. 

Re-Branding GPO as the Government Publishing Offce 

GPO is working to effectively bring about a new level of visibility to the agency’s expanding array of products and services that meet the changing information needs of Congress, 

Federal agencies and the American public in the digital age. With a name that aptly refects 

GPO’s transformation, the agency will build and market this relevant brand and live up to 

the brand promise as the “Offcial, Digital, and Secure” source for producing, protecting, 

preserving, and distributing the offcial publications and information products of the Federal Government. 
FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 11 

 

 

Streamlining Customer-Facing Processes 

GPO is working to optimize the customer experience by enhancing external facing systems, streamlining access points for customer contact with GPO, and ensuring internal 

processes refect a customer-centric approach. Our goal is to ensure our customers and 

stakeholders have a seamless experience from initial contact to ordering, billing, and payment. GPO’s Customer Account Division focuses on developing informational resources on 

billing and payment processes, assisting in timely resolution of customer billing inquiries, 

and improving internal processes to facilitate ease of fnancial transactions. 

Performance 

Automated Procurement System — This project will replace legacy systems with an 

integrated and robust online procurement system which will include online ordering, 

enhanced customer communications, and improved vendor invoicing processes. In FY15, 

GPO also implemented a digital signature pilot program to test and further develop the 

capabilities of agency customer, to utilize digital signatures to initiate orders and authorize 

payment using the Standard Form 1. The result of this pilot program is the recent issuance 

of a Circular Letter notifying our agency customers of the options now available for 

submitting authorized signatures on ordering documents. 

Customer Experience— GPO surveys customers bi-annually with a focus on products, 

services, and programs; the cost-effectiveness of services; and satisfaction with GPO’s 

Web site and employee customer service. The fndings from this survey are used to inform 

daily interactions with customers to address desired service enhancements, identify new 

business opportunities, and develop plans to continuously improve performance. Most 

recent results included the following: 

n	 91 percent of customers are satisfed with overall service from their primary GPO 

location. 

n	 90 percent of customers are likely to recommend GPO to a colleague. 

n	 90 percent of customers say they do not believe they can beat or match GPO pricing. 

In FY15, GPO embarked on the development of Customer Experience Guidelines in an 

ongoing effort to continually improve the level and consistency of GPO staff interactions 

with customers and to address areas for improvement identifed by the Customer Survey 

results. This effort has been supported by the issuance of a CX Guidelines document and 

associated training on topics impacting the GPO customer experience nationwide. These 

efforts, which focus on soft-skills as well as process improvement and standardization, will 

continue to evolve and remain a focus in FY16 and FY17. 

Financial Document Repository — GPO continues to enhance the Financial Document 

Repository (FDR) which has been designed to provide customers with access to historical 

ordering documents such as the Standard Form 1, the basic form Federal customers use to 

requisition printing, binding, and related services from GPO. In FY15, copies of associated 

Form 400 invoices were added to the FDR to allow customers to cross-reference their 

ordering documents and invoices. 

Solutions for Federal Agency Customers 

eBooks — As a one-stop shop for eBook design, conversion, and dissemination, GPO’s 

presence in the eBook market continues to grow. We now have agreements with Apple, 
12 FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

 

Google’s eBookstore, Barnes & Noble, OverDrive, Ingram, Zinio, and other online vendors 

to make popular government titles such as the Financial Crisis Inquiry Report available as 

eBooks. Learn more about eBooks available at http://bookstore.gpo.gov/ebooks. 

Digital Content Solutions — GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys), and now the govinfo 

beta website, is available as a shared platform for information delivery for Federal entities 

on a cost recovery basis. These services include ingest of agency content (including 

preservation, authentication, and public search and display); content organization; and 

metadata, access fle, bulk data, and package creation. GPO is working to expand the 

provision of these services. 

GPO also provides an automated service applying digital signatures to PDF fles for Federal 

agencies. These visible digital signatures, viewed through the GPO Seal of Authenticity, 

verify document integrity and authenticity and provide end-users with assurance that an 

electronic document has not been altered since dissemination. 

Providing these services to other Federal agencies through a cost-recovery model offers 

an opportunity to leverage the FDsys platform consistent with our strategy to create a 

program of reimbursable services for agencies to help manage their life cycle information 

requirements. In FY17, GPO will work to expand this shared service to Federal agencies. 

On-Site Document Solutions — GPO has experienced a signifcant increase in revenues 

associated with this segment of the agency’s business. In FY15, additional staff resources 

were added to accommodate the growth of this revenue area. 

Learn more about GPO’s on-site document solutions at 

www.gpo.gov/customers/onsite_index.htm 

Graphic Design Services — GPO provides a range of graphic design services through GPO 

Creative Services including publication design, branding and identity, exhibit graphics, 

video, multimedia, photography, web design, and security design. 

Learn more about GPO Creative Services at www.creativeservices.gpo.gov 

Providing Educational and Informational Opportunities 

GPO’s FDLP Academy 

In FY15, GPO completed the following: 

n	 Webinars: 67 presented through FDLP Academy with 7,000 registrants 

n	 Webcasts: 14 recorded through FDLP Academy with 1,300 recording views 

n	 FDLP Training Assistance Center: Launched for use by the FDLP community in 

January 2015 

n	 FDLP Coordinator Certifcate Program: Launched as a pilot program in April 2015; GPO 

staff conducted an eight-week course (one class/week) to 20 participants 

n	 Presented a booth display at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference to 

over 500 visitors in June 2015 
FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 13 

In FY17, GPO will: 

n	 Continue developing webinars and webcasts and continue recruiting guest presenters on 

a monthly basis 

n	 Migrate the webinar and webcast archives from iCohere servers to GPO servers to 

ensure we have permanent custody of the fles and ensure permanent public access 

n	 Analyze the future direction of the monthly webinar and webcast offerings of the FDLP 

Academy, including staff time required, and develop a strategic direction to sustain the 

program 

n	 Analyze the success of the Coordinator Certifcate Program Pilot based on pilot reviews, 

staff time required, interest expressed by the FDLP community, etc. 

n	 Develop a plan for sustainment of the FDLP Academy and its programs and services 

n	 Analyze usage and format of the FDLP Training Assistance Center to determine its value 

for the FDLP community; defne next steps based on community usage 

n	 Launch the 1st cohort of the Coordinator Certifcate Program 

n	 Assess the current eLearning platform and GPO’s needs/requirements moving forward 

to determine if we will move forward with the current tool or seek a new tool 

n	 Present more booth presentations at national library events and conferences 

n	 Host annual Depository Library Council Meetings & Federal Depository Library 

Conferences 

n	 Host annual Depository Library Council Virtual Meetings 

Collaborative Guidance & Outreach Services for FDLP Libraries 

In FY15, GPO completed the following: 

n	 Conducted 179 Public Access Assessments in 13 states 

n	 Showcased six stand-out libraries through the creation of Spotlight articles for inclusion 

in the FDLP Connection newsletter on FDLP.gov and GPO.gov 

n	 Presented 14 webinars and four webcasts on depository operations and management 

through the FDLP Academy 

n	 In-Person Outreach: 

— University of Nebraska, Lincoln operational observation visit – January 2015 

— American Library Association Annual Conference in San Francisco, CA – June 2015 

— Oakland Public Library visit – June 2015 

— University of California, Berkeley visit – June 2015 

— University of Denver visit – September 2015 

— Denver Public Library visit – September 2015 

— Regis University’s Dayton Memorial Library’s 100th Anniversary Celebration in 

Denver, Colorado – September 2015 

n	 Created 10 new Guidance articles and posted them to FDLP.gov 

n	 Re-wrote one Guidance article and re-posted it to FDLP.gov 
14 FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

In FY17, GPO will: 

n	 Increase in-person visits to nationwide FDLP libraries 

n	 Continue showcasing stand-out Federal depository libraries through the creation of 

Spotlight articles for inclusion in the FDLP Connection newsletter on FDLP.gov and 

GPO.gov 

n	 Continue to regularly review FDLP Guidance and update/revise as needed 

n	 Develop outcomes-based Public Access Assessments that will ultimately evolve to 

become a relationship-building tool with the FDLP community, identifying opportunities 

to assess needs and respond to those needs in the most effcient manner possible 

n	 Develop a plan to work more closely with all library types and sizes 

n	 Investigate and identify new ways to recognize libraries for the excellent services 

provided to patrons 

n	 Review criteria and selection process for the Library of the Year Award and identify 

opportunities for improvement 

Cataloging Record Distribution Program (CRDP) 

In FY15, GPO completed the following: 

n	 The CRDP increased by 25 libraries, from 82 to 107 libraries 

n	 Any vacancies created by some libraries leaving the CRDP in FY15 were flled with new 

participants 

n	 Established baseline criteria for program participation in order to better serve the 

libraries 

In FY17, GPO will: 

n	 Increase communication with all CRDP participating libraries on a regular basis 

n	 Increase the number of participants in the program 

The Institute at GPO — GPO offers educational opportunities for Federal publishing and 

printing professionals through the Institute at GPO with courses that refect the changing 

face of agency needs to communicate effectively with a broad range of audiences using a 

variety of channels. 

In FY15, GPO introduced a variety of online training opportunities through the GPO 

Institute with more emphasis on utilizing GPO subject matter experts to facilitate training 

on publishing-related topics ranging from 508 Compliance to ePub Design. 

Learn more about the Institute at GPO at http://www.gpo.gov/customers/theinstitute.htm 

Integrated Digital Marketing (IDM) Outreach — In FY15, GPO launched a series of integrated 

digital marketing outreach campaigns to increase awareness of GPO’s products and 

services. By leveraging all available digital tools in a coordinated effort with traditional 

channels, GPO has endeavored to reach a broad audience of both Federal customer and 

the American public. 
FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 15 

 

GPO IDM topics included: 

n	 Onsite Document Solutions (951-M) 

n	 GPO Quality Control 

n	 Graphic and Web Design Services 

n	 GPO Warehousing and Distribution Services 

n	 eBooks 

n	 Onsite Support Service 

n	 GPOExpress 

n	 Transitioning from Print to Digital 

On-Demand Training — GPO instituted the use of recorded training “videos” accessed 

directly through the GPO website, gpo.gov, to provide customers with primers on GPO 

processes, products, and services. Current topics are as diverse as: Publishing Alternatives, 

Finance and Funding Options, and Quality Control services. 

Learn more at: https://www.gpo.gov/customers/marketing/ondemandtraining.htm 

B. Open and Transparent 

Strategic Objective: Build on GPO’s ongoing commitment to an open and transparent 

government. 

n	 GPO will continue to provide authentic information to the American public through a 

variety of print and technology vehicles effciently and securely. 

n	 GPO will become a key innovator and leader in the Presidential mandate of 

transparency (White House Open Government Initiative). Realizing that participation, 

and collaboration form the cornerstone of an open government, GPO will utilize all 

available technology to assist Federal agencies in disseminating information about their 

operations in a fast, secure, and permanent manner. 

Strategies 

Developing User-Focused, Mobile-Friendly Websites and Systems 

By actively and continuously capturing and implementing user feedback, GPO will ensure 

that our electronic information delivery systems are developed from a user perspective. 

GPO will continue to optimize our digital properties for a range of devices as our users 

increasingly access digital information from mobile devices. 

Enhancing Content for Public Access 

GPO will continue to work to bring new content into the FDLP and Cataloging & 

Indexing Program for enhanced access to Government information for the public. This is 

accomplished through tangible distribution of U.S. Government publications to Federal 

depository libraries nationwide, ingest into FDsys and govinfo, and identifcation and 

linking through GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP). GPO will also 

increase harvesting efforts of Federal Government websites and content and bring new 

content and metadata into FDsys and govinfo. 
16 FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

 

External Communications & Promotion for FDLP Services 

GPO will continue efforts to promote the FDLP, Cataloging & Indexing Program, and their 

related resources through promotional campaigns and social media. In addition, GPO will 

continue efforts to maintain strong communication with the FDLP community through 

targeted outreach efforts including emails, newsletters, social media, and the FDLP.gov 

website. 

Increasing Content Available 

Federal content is increasingly born-digital, living online and never printed or preserved. 

As part of the agency’s core and historic mission of Keeping America Informed, GPO 

continuously works to capture the ever growing amounts of this content to ensure its 

availability to the American public in perpetuity by increasing the amount of content 

managed, preserved, and made publicly and freely available in many different formats. This 

includes print, digitized, and born-digital content in formats ranging from PDF and HTML 

to MP3 and XML. 

Utilization of Shared-Services or Open-Source Technologies 

GPO is working to increasingly utilize shared-service and open-source technologies which 

enable increased sharing of data across government in an effort to make content more 

accessible. 

Performance 

Access to Digital Content 

GPO continually works to expand free public access to electronic content through the 

shared FDsys platform, and now govinfo, through a multitude of collaborations. This 

includes long-standing partnerships to publish content on a regular basis, such as issues of 

the Federal Register and Congressional Record, Congressionally authorized collaborations 

to make available historical digitized publications, collections added through Federal 

Depository Library Program partnerships, and working with Federal agencies to make 

content available on a cost recovery basis. 

n	 U.S. Courts Opinions Collection — GPO has an ongoing partnership with the 

Administrative Offce with the U.S. Courts (AOUSC) to provide public access through 

FDsys to opinions from selected United States appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts. 

In September 2015, GPO and the Federal Judiciary were honored by the Center for Digital 

Government with a 2015 Digital Government Achievement Award in the Government-toGovernment category for providing the public digital access to Federal court opinions on 

FDsys. The program was approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States and 

GPO’s congressional oversight committee, the Joint Committee on Printing in 2011. The 

content of this collection dates back to April 2004. The secure transfer of fles to GPO from 

the Administrative Offce of the United States Courts (AOUSC) allows GPO to authenticate 

the fles with digital signatures. Once an opinion is located, all associated opinions within 

the same case can be accessed from that opinion. 

n	 Bound Congressional Record — Contractor staff support will be used to produce 

metadata to provide access to volumes of the Bound Congressional Record dating from 

1873 to 1997 on FDsys and govinfo. In FY17, GPO will complete production of the 

required Bound Congressional Record metadata for 75 volumes of the publication. 
FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

n	 Historic Federal Register — The effort to digitize the historical Offce of the Federal 

Register’s reference collection Federal Register volumes was authorized in early 2015 

and a pre-solicitation notice for contracting the digitization effort was posted on 

FedBizOpps in late 2015. In FY17, GPO will digitize the historical Federal Register 

material (1936-1994) and begin to provide permanent public access to Federal Register 

volumes on FDsys. 

Cataloging & Indexing Statistics — In FY15, GPO completed the following: 

n	 Acquired 9,192 new titles for the FDLP 

n	 Cataloged 19,074 titles 

n	 Provided access to over 8,800 electronic titles in the CGP 

Communication & Promotion for FDLP Services— In FY15, GPO completed the following: 

n	 200 informational News Alerts disseminated to staff at Federal depository libraries via 

email and RSS 

n	 130 social media posts related to the FDLP and C&I Program 

n	 Six issues of the FDLP Connection newsletter created and disseminated to the FDLP 

community 

n	 Contracted with North American Precis Syndicate to launch a media campaign to 

promote GPO’s name change in January 2015 

— Campaign generated 2,608 news articles in 50 different states with a readership of 

9,781,616. The sites it was on were viewed by 26,334,158 unique visitors per month. 

Additionally it was viewed 335 times on the NAPS website. 

n	 Promoted the launch of Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government to the FDLP community 

through email, RSS, FDLP Connection, an FDLP Academy webinar, and announcements 

at FDLP virtual meetings in April 2015 

n	 Created two new promotional items for use by the FDLP community (promotional 

postcard and Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government bookmark) in June 2015 

n	 Re-wrote three FDLP Marketing Sheets to update information and rebrand with 

“Publishing Offce” in July 2015 

n	 Based on Depository Library Council Recommendation #1 (April 2015), developed a 

streamlined FDLP communication process in August 2015 

n	 Created new “FDLP Promotional Digital Toolkit,” including new audio Public Service 

Announcement, promotional graphics and logos for FDLP libraries to use on their 

websites, and promotional screensavers for use on library computers and on displays in 

libraries in August 2015 

n	 Created promotional video about the history of the FDLP for the 2015 Depository 

Library Council Meeting and Federal Depository Library Conference in September 2015 

n	 After reviewing user feedback and making site enhancements, promoted the launch 

of Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government through a press release, social media, through 

U.S. Government Bookstore email subscribers, and through contacts of GPO’s Customer 

Services in September 2015 

n	 Developed a virtual Registrant Guide for the 2015 Depository Library Council Meeting 

and Federal Depository Library Conference in September 2015 

17 
18 FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

In FY17, GPO will: 

n	 Live tweet the Depository Library Council Meeting and Federal Depository Library 

Conference 

n	 Launch a new CGP media campaign with NAPS 

n	 Present on FDLP promotional efforts and communication tools at the Depository Library 

Council Meeting and Federal Depository Library Conference 

n	 Launch new FDLP.gov promotional pages and new FDLP Guidance article on promotion 

of the FDLP collection 

n	 Provide promotional materials for FDLP libraries on FDLP.gov for free download and 

ordering 

n	 Disseminate FDLP Guide to Social Media on FDLP.gov 

n	 Present an FDLP promotion webinar for the FDLP community 

n	 Create new FDLP promotional video 

n	 Draft several FDLP social media posts per week 

n	 Develop six issues of the FDLP Connection newsletter for dissemination to FDLP library 

staff 

n	 Develop and disseminate FDLP News Alerts for the FDLP community and disseminate, 

as needed, via email and RSS 

Distribution of Publications to Federal Depository Libraries — In FY15, GPO distributed 

5,920 titles in tangible format to Federal depository libraries, totaling 1,072,919 copies. 

Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) 2.0 Point-in-Time System — In partnership 

with the National Archives’ Offce of the Federal Register (OFR), GPO launched the eCFR. 

gov Point-in-Time Enhancement. The eCFR Point-in-Time enhancement is a viable stop-gap 

solution to enhance the usefulness of the existing eCFR.gov website while the envisioned 

eCFR 2.0 project assumptions are validated and GPO’s Composition System Replacement 

(CSR) is further along to support the XML composition of Federal Register products. 

Previously, users of ecfr.gov were only able to view the most recent eCFR data. 

GitHub — In March 2015, GPO established an offcial agency presence on GitHub, a 

Web-based computer source code sharing and publishing service. In the current digital 

environment, there is a growing expectation for sharing not only information content 

stored on digital systems, but for sharing information on how that content is created, 

processed, stored, and made available to the public. 

In May 2012, the White House released the President’s May 2012 Digital Government 

Strategy, which calls for Federal agencies to “participate in open source communities.” One 

way this effort is being conducted is through participation in GitHub. GPO has established 

a presence on GitHub to share information about how content is stored and processed on 

FDsys. 

Through GitHub, GPO will be able to provide documentation to the developer community 

about the process used to create FDsys metadata for legislative, executive, and judicial 

content collections. It can also be used to provide documentation about the FDsys sitemap 

implementation and supporting resources that are currently available on the FDsys Bulk 

Data Repository (e.g. User Guides). 
FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 19 

 

Since establishing a presence on GitHub, GPO made four repositories available: 

1. Bulk Data - User Guides for XML on the FDsys Bulk Data Repository; 

2. Link Service - Create links to FDsys content and metadata; 

3. Collections - Information about FDsys metadata; and 

4. Sitemaps - Crawl FDsys content and metadata. 

View GPO’s GitHub page: https://www.github.com/usgpo 

Next Generation FDsys and govinfo — FDsys is a content management system, preservation 

repository, and public website providing free online access at www.fdsys.gov to offcial 

Federal Government publications in multiple formats that includes digitized historical 

content and numerous serial publications that are updated on a daily basis. GPO continues 

to expand the amount of content available through FDsys and develop enhancements to 

the system functionality. 

In FY15, GPO made fnal preparations to release the Next Generation FDsys website; 

govinfo was made publicly available as a beta in February 2016. The new govinfo website is 

a redesign of the FDsys public website, with a focus on implementing feedback from users 

and improving overall search and access to FDsys content. The redesigned, mobile-friendly 

website incorporates state-of-the-art innovative technologies and includes several new 

features for an overall enhanced user experience. 

The key new features of the website include a new look and feel, the capability to link 

related content, enhancements to the search flters, two new ways to browse content, a 

new open-source search engine, and more options for sharing pages and content on social 

media. 

Efforts in FY15 included development in increments called “sprints.” Each development 

sprint is two weeks in length and results in enhancements to the working prototype. This 

process is based on agile software development methodology. GPO also began conducting 

internal alpha testing and providing demos to external stakeholders and partners in an 

effort to elicit feedback early in the development process to be incorporated into the 

public beta site. In FY17, GPO will prepare to make govinfo the system of record, sunset 

the FDsys public website, and conduct post-usability testing to objectively measure the 

improvement of usability of the website based on the System Usability Scale. 

Social Media — GPO maintains a presence on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, 

LinkedIn, and through the popular Government BookTalk Blog. 

n	 Facebook (www.facebook.com/USGPO) – More than 5,800 likes 

n	 YouTube (www.youtube.com/user/gpoprinter) – More than 500 subscribers and 60 videos 

n	 Twitter (http://twitter.com/usgpo) – More than 5,800 followers and 1,900 tweets 

n	 Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/usgpo) – More than 500 followers and 480 posts 

n	 Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/usgpo) – More than 580 followers and 600 pins 

n	 LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/company/u.s.-government-printing-offce) – More than 2,800 

followers 

n	 Government BookTalk Blog (http://govbooktalk.gpo.gov) – More than 2,500 followers 
20 FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

 

Web Archiving — In FY15, GPO completed the following: 

n	 Added contractual staff support to increase web archiving content. 

n	 Developed a workfow to manage regular frequency of crawls of existing and future 

collections. 

n	 Began outreach to content creators beginning with a meeting with the Director of 

Digital Collections and the team at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. 

n	 Formed the Federal Web Archiving Working group with National Archives and Records 

Administration and the Library of Congress in late 2014. 

n	 Increased the size of the collection to 4.7 TB with over 35,070,000 documents crawled. 

n	 Increased archived agency websites available on the FDLP Web Archive on Archive-It to 

110 and 107 records available on the CGP. 

n	 Using several web harvesting software applications, archived over 8,000 individual title 

PURLs to the FDLP electronic collection. 

In FY17, GPO will: 

n	 Continue to develop staffng resources 

n	 Continue regular frequency of crawls 

n	 Continue to add additional agency websites to collection 

n	 Further outreach efforts to increase participation in Federal Web Archiving Working 

Group and increase knowledge of other Federal Web archiving efforts 

n	 Continue using web harvesting software applications to archive websites to the FDLP 

electronic collection 

n	 Transfer copy of WARC fles to GPO servers to maintain additional backup in house 

n	 Enhance access in CGP making the content available in its own “catalog to search” 

n	 Add FDLP Web Archive content to the New Titles page in the CGP 

XML Bulk Data — Providing data as bulk XML enables a “one-click” download of large 

sets of XML fles as opposed to downloading each fle individually. Providing content in 

the form of XML bulk data enables reuse and repurposing of the data for mobile web 

applications, data mashups, and other analytical tools by third party providers, which 

contributes to openness and transparency in Government. 

n	 Senate Bill Text and Bill Summaries — On January 7, 2015, GPO released Senate Bill Text 

and Bill Summaries in XML format to the FDsys bulk data repository. Previously, only 

House Bill Text and Bill Summaries were available in bulk XML. 

n	 Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) — On August 24, 2015, GPO, in 

partnership with the National Archives’ Offce of the Federal Register (OFR), made 

available the electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) in XML format for bulk data 

download from GPO’s FDsys bulk data repository. The eCFR bulk data allows for a “oneclick” download of the current XML fle for each of the titles in the eCFR. 

GPO plans to continue working with partners to make additional sets of data available for 

bulk download through this repository. 

Visit the XML Bulk Data Repository at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys/bulkdata 
FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 21 

C. Enhance Strategic Partnerships 

Strategic Objective: Enhance strategic partnerships to gain fexibility, build effective 

networks, and manage processes to meet customer demands and expectations. 

n	 GPO will develop the agency-wide synergies and fexibilities to continuously strive for 

quality, availability, and effciency in the delivery of products and services. GPO will also 

work to improve its internal culture and business processes to ensure mutual support 

and growth for customers and employees. 

n	 GPO will continuously work on strengthening purposeful collaboration with internal 

and external customers that will create more effcient and effective programs and 

processes. 

Strategies 

Establishing Partnerships for Collaboration 

GPO seeks to increase effciencies across government through knowledge sharing and 

exchange of ideas and best practices with the community through white papers, panel 

discussions, keynotes, and working groups. GPO collaborates with a number of other 

Federal agencies on solutions that enable both agencies to better fulfll their missions. 

FDLP Strategic Partners 

GPO will continue developing new strategic partnerships with Federal agencies, Federal 

depository libraries, and other entities to increase access to Federal publications and 

services, reduce duplication of digital initiatives, safeguard historical Government 

documents, and preserve print collections. These partnerships may include cataloging, 

digitizing, and preserving tangible copies of Government publications. GPO will support 

efforts to increase public access to digitized collections of high value to the American 

public. 

Performance 

FDLP Strategic Partners — In FY15, GPO completed the following: 

n	 Began work on cooperative cataloging partnerships with the University of Colorado, 

Boulder and the Colorado School of Mines in January 2015 

n	 Renewed ongoing partnership with Government Information Online, Ask a Librarian in 

April 2015 

n	 Signed permanent public access partnership agreement with Illinois State University in 

May 2015 

n	 Completed work on the cooperative cataloging partnership with the University of 

Montana in May 2015 

n	 Signed frst FIPNet partnership agreement with the University of North Texas in July 

2015 

In FY17, GPO will: 

n	 Sign new FIPNet partnership agreements 

n	 Continue work on cooperative cataloging partnerships with the University of Colorado, 

Boulder and the Colorado School of Mines 
22 FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

 

n	 Sign new cooperative cataloging partnership with the University of Montana 

n	 Renew ongoing partnerships with Government Information Online, Ask a Librarian; 

Library of Congress for eCIP; and TRAIL 

Interagency Council on Printing and Publications Services (ICPPS) — GPO hosts and is an 

active participant in the ICPPS, which provides for a cooperative relationship between 

Federal organizations and GPO in efforts to strengthen the Federal Printing Program. The 

ICPPS acts as an advisory group to the Director of the Government Publishing Offce. In 

FY15, GPO assisted the ICPPS in expanding the size and scope of the Board membership 

to include members outside of the Washington, D.C. area. General meeting presentations 

in FY15 included industry speakers addressing the use of augmented reality in print media 

and newly evolving inkjet printing technologies. 

Learn more about the ICPPS at www.gpo.gov/customers/updates.htm 
FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 23 

II. STRENGTHENING OUR ORGANIZATIONAL FOUNDATION 

A. Right Tools 

Strategic Objective: Anticipate, plan and equip GPO to provide products and services to 

customers. 

n	 In order to provide quality service to customers, GPO must invest in employees and 

technology. GPO will focus on the creation of frst-rate, system-wide solutions that meet 

customer requirements and exceed customer expectations. GPO will improve processes 

and technologies to ensure that solutions are scalable, available, cost-effective, and 

secure. 

n	 Technology investments will be in direct relationship with GPO’s business goals, 

resulting in excellent customer service, strong partnerships, secure infrastructures, and 

cost-effective performance. 

Strategies 

Adhering to Industry Standards 

GPO sustains a variety of certifcations in a dedicated effort to conduct operations 

effectively and in line with industry best practices and standards. 

Advanced Manufacturing 

GPO relies on a balanced approach when investigating next generation technologies for 

production operations. This practice applies to the identifcation of the appropriate niches 

for digital and high-effciency offset printing, including a cost/beneft analysis of the 

effectiveness, effciency, and dependability of the technologies. 

Expanding our Enterprise Architecture Program 

GPO is working to enhance our enterprise architecture program as an essential tool for 

effectively and effciently engineering business practices, implementing and evolving 

supporting systems, and transforming the agency. GPO’s Technical Change Control Board 

evaluates and monitors proposed changes to the technical environment in an effort to 

standardize technologies used throughout the agency. 

Increased Use of Cloud Technologies 

GPO will continue to expand its use of Cloud solutions for collaboration, data storage and 

hosting. 

Intelligent IT Outsourcing 

GPO utilizes contracted staff to augment and support various functions that require specialized skill sets necessary to support GPO’s IT functions. 

Modernizing Legacy Applications 

GPO is working to modernize legacy applications to ensure application support and improve system capabilities. This includes a migration of legacy mainframe applications and 

business logic to a more modern platform. Moving away from outdated technologies will 

ensure continuity and improve system capabilities. 
24 FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

Standardization 

Gold Image deployment that will continue to standardize more functions that support GPO 

user computers through automated updates, patching and application management. 

Technology Initiatives for FDLP Libraries 

GPO is developing and implementing tools and services for depositories and the public 

that enhance access to Government information and FDLP resources. Started in FY15, the 

FDLP Technology Plan is focused on deploying new technology to provide streamlined 

services to support the FDLP community as well as enhanced access for the public. The 

goal is to create a new suite of services based on a user-centric design approach, deploy a 

fexible architecture, as well as a service model with the capability to integrate easily with 

other related services. The Technology Plan will carry forward GPO’s commitment of being 

a frst-class library service provider. 

Performance 

Certifcation Initiatives 

Federal Digital System (FDsys) Certifcation as a Trustworthy Digital Repository — GPO 

is seeking to become the frst Federal agency to be named as a Trustworthy Digital 

Repository for Government information through certifcation of FDsys/govinfo under ISO 

16363. The Audit and Certifcation of Trustworthy Digital Repositories (TDR) checklist will 

be used by an accredited outside organization to assess FDsys/govinfo against 109 criteria 

covering Organizational Infrastructure, Digital Object Management, and Infrastructure 

and Security Risk Management. A certifcation under ISO 16363 will reinforce GPO’s 

commitment to its mission of ensuring effective public access to Government information 

through its assured preservation in digital formats. 

To begin the audit process, in FY15, GPO was named by the Library of Congress and 

the National Institute of Museum and Library Services as one of 5 institutions to receive 

a resident through the National Digital Stewardship Residency (NDSR) program. Under 

this program, host institutions are provided with a resident for one year to work on a 

signifcant digital stewardship project. GPO’s NDSR resident will work on preparation 

for the audit and certifcation of FDsys/govinfo as an ISO 16363 Trustworthy Digital 

Repository. 

ISO 9001 Certifcation of Secure Production Facilities — In FY15, both of GPO’s secure 

production facilities, in Washington, D.C. and Stennis, M.S., were audited and evaluated 

by an outside third party auditor and recertifed as ISO 9001 compliant. The ISO 9001 

standard is recognized around the globe for excellence in production, quality and process 

improvements. In FY17, both of the GPO’s secure production facilities in Washington, 

D.C. and Stennis Mississippi will be evaluated by an outside third party auditor and retain 

their ISO 9001 certifcations for excellence in production, quality and continual process 

improvements. 

ISO 28000 Certifcation for Security Management — In FY17, GPO plans to begin the 

process of conducting an internal audit in preparation of ISO 28000 certifcation, which 

specifes the requirements for a security management system, including those aspects 

critical to security assurance of the supply chain. 
FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 25 

Plant Certifcations- GPO’s plant sustains best-in-class industry certifcations such as: 

n	 IDEAlliance’s G7 Master Printer [GRACoL Proof, Digital Offset and Sheet-fed Offset 

Printing]; 

n	 ISO3664:2009 Certifcation for Graphic Arts Industry Color Viewing Standard; and 

n	 Certifed Institutional Member of the Library Binding Institute for compliance with 

ANSI/NISO/LBI Library Binding Standard Z39.78-2000. 

Internal Infrastructure and Technology Initiatives 

Bookfow Auto Casin System — In FY17, GPO plans to replace a bookfow machine that is 

over thirty years old. The new system will trim books, prepare books for cases, apply head 

bands, apply cases, and apply dust jackets. 

Composition System Replacement (CSR) — GPO is replacing a 30-year old locator-based 

composition system known as MicroComp with a state-of-the-art composition tool that 

is based on the Extensible Markup Language (XML) data standard. CSR will match the 

typographical style and page layout of current printed publications and also support 

enhanced search, retrieval, data formats, and repurposing of data. The system will include 

the necessary technology and business practices to enable GPO to replace or integrate all 

existing discrete applications, utilities, and processes currently used by GPO and its users 

to compose and create fles optimized for printing and access of select Congressional 

and Federal agency publications. In FY17, GPO plans to release the beta version of the 

Composition System Replacement (CSR) for review by our stakeholders. 

Congressional Record Index Applications Update — In FY17, GPO plans to contract with an 

outside vendor to rewrite the 16-bit applications which support the Congressional Record 

Index offce work fows. 

Data Center Consolidation and Migration — GPO is undergoing a modernization project 

to update the GPO data center environment to meet current and future technology 

requirements. IT continues to strive toward increased effciency through consolidation, 

virtualization, and relocation. In an effort to reduce costs and improve effciency and 

service to its constituent organizations, GPO is considering ways to improve daily 

operational performance, provide best response for COOP conditions, reduce the agency’s 

overall data center footprint, operational expenditures and environmental maintenance 

costs, and maximize support capabilities. 

Digital Binding Line — GPO continues to invest in upgrading its Plant equipment. In late 

FY16 a new digital binding line will be implemented and in FY17 an automated case 

making machine will be in place. 

Digital Offset Printing Press — GPO plans to invest in a digital offset printing press for 

producing short run color Congressional and agency work. Plans are for the new press to 

be operational in FY17. 

GPO Business Information System (GBIS) R12 Upgrade — GPO Business Information System 

(GBIS) supports various aspects of GPO’s administrative functions. GBIS is based on the 

state-of-the-art Oracle Commercial off-the-Shelf (COTS) software. The COTS package has 

been incrementally confgured to meet GPO’s business requirements through a series of 

systems integration projects for more than a decade. The current version, Release 11i, is 

reaching its end of life support effective December 2015 and GPO has initiated planning 

for upgrading GBIS to the latest code base Release 12 (R12). GPO’s upgrade to Release 12 

will be completed by the end of 2016. 
26 FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

 

 

High-Speed Digital Inkjet — GPO is in the process of acquiring a Monochrome High-Speed 

Web Inkjet Press to meet printing needs of our stakeholders at reduced cost and with 

signifcantly reduced waste. GPO plans to be able to acquire and implement the inkjet 

press by late FY16 or early FY17. 

Legacy System Upgrades — The modernization of GPO’s legacy systems is a long term 

effort and will continue through FY17 and beyond. 

Manufacturing Workfow System (MWS) — GPO is implementing a new MWS that will plan 

and monitor work throughout the manufacturing process and reduce operating costs. 

The new system will allow for dynamic scheduling and will offer dashboard analytics to 

GPO managers. It will also eventually allow for the retirement of two legacy systems. The 

system is currently being confgured and tested with the goal of implementing some of the 

components in FY17. 

Offce 365 — GPO continues to implement new features under the Offce 365 service. 

We are working to implement OneDrive in FY16 and preparing to move our on premise 

SharePoint to SharePoint online. 

Printec Digital Monitoring System — In FY15, GPO implemented a Printec digital monitoring 

system for its six and four unit color sheetfed presses. In addition to allowing for digital 

presets, the system allows for better tracking of waste, production time, and make-ready 

time for the presses. 

Warehouse Management System — GPO is implementing a digital system to control paper 

and production materials from end-to-end during manufacturing operations. The new 

system will reduce costs by replacing an intensively manual process and is expected to be 

operational in FY17. 

Technology Initiatives for FDLP Libraries 

Market Research / Depository Library Study — GPO is conducting a contracted study of our 

Federal depository libraries’ workfow and practices. In FY15, GPO awarded a contract and 

held the project kick-off. In FY17, GPO will: 

n	 Hold presentations at the Depository Library Council Meeting and Federal Depository 

Library Conference 

n	 Conduct Federal depository library Work Practice Studies for Market Research 

n	 Perform data Analysis and Interpretation on the Work Practice Studies 

n	 Hold a Two-day System Design Workshop for Federal depository libraries 

n	 Produce Final Findings Report of Market Research 

FDLP Web Services — GPO is conducting website maintenance and enhancing functionality 

and content for FDLP.gov, Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government and the Digitization Projects 

Registry. In FY15, GPO completed the following: 

n	 Enhanced security safeguards put in place for FDLP.gov, Ben’s Guide to the U.S. 

Government, and the Digitization Projects Registry to help prevent any security breaches 

– began August 2014 and ongoing 

n	 Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government launched with complete design and content revamp 

– April 2015 

n	 Digitization Projects Registry updated and relaunched — July 2015 
FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 27 

n	 Analytics placed on all FDLP websites to gather statistical data that can be used to 

pinpoint where adjustments and updates need to be made – began January 2015 

n	 Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government website updated with downloadable games; the 

User interface (UX) refreshed for the Apprentice level learning adventures; new glossary 

added, as well as a new Learning Adventure – August 2015 

In FY17, GPO will implement enhancements to WEBTech Notes, develop and implement 

more mobile friendly templates for all FDLP websites, and develop and implement more 

age-related content and features for Ben’s Guide. 

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications and MetaLib Enhancements — GPO is 

implementing service, maintenance and functionality enhancements for GPO’s CGP 

and related services. In FY15, GPO conducted authority control work which improved 

results for authority related content, developed new dynamic searches for the CGP’s New 

Titles pages, confgured new MetaLib resources, and redeveloped the New Titles Report 

Generator. In FY17, GPO will implement new MetaLib resources confgurations, refresh 

the CGP’s look and feel for CGP’s 10th Birthday, and develop requirements for future 

enhancements. 

Integrated Library System (ILS) — GPO is performing maintenance, evaluation, and recompetition of the ILS contract. In FY15, GPO awarded a bridge contract to strengthen 

security based on FISMA (Federal Information Security Management Act) and the SSP 

(Systems Security Plan). In FY17, GPO will conduct ILS market research on the state of the 

industry. 

Needs and Offers Tool — GPO is creating a Needs and Offers 2.0 tool that consists of 

functionality required to manage key information used by the depository libraries for 

disposition of materials. In FY15, GPO awarded a contract and held the project kickoff 

meeting. The Needs and Offers 2.0 tool will be under development throughout FY16 and 

FY17. 

Next-Generation Dissemination Management System (DMS) — GPO is enhancing library 

selection information services. 

Persistent Uniform Resource Locators (PURL) Service Enhancements — GPO is 

implementation service maintenance and functionality enhancements. GPO will be 

migrating the PURL server to a more robust hardware, update PURL software, enhance 

statistical reporting to assist with collection development for depository libraries, and 

implement auto link validation prior to the creation of a PURL. 

B. Maintain Fiscal Responsibility 

Strategic Objective: Utilize a cost effective and collaborative approach in managing 

GPO’s business processes to help the agency achieve its strategic initiatives and ensure 

continued fnancial stability. 

Strategies 

Lean Manufacturing 

Implement lean manufacturing techniques to streamline and simplify operations throughout the business unit, especially using 5S methodology. (This methodology refers to workplace organization, effciency, and effectiveness. Five Japanese “S” words translated to 
28 FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

English describe the process: Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain.) The Lean 

Manufacturing philosophy focuses on preserving value with less work and emphasizes the 

reduction of the seven unnecessary wastes including: unnecessary transportation, inventory, 

motion, waiting, over-processing, overproduction, and defects. 

Leveraging Physical Space 

The transition of the agency from a print-centric to a digital content-centric operation has 

provided an opportunity for GPO to lease space in our prime location on North Capitol 

Street to other organizations and also to evaluate and optimize other GPO-owned facilities. 

Reducing Costs and Controlling Overhead 

GPO continuously monitors and controls overhead costs and operating expenses, and manages investments and the overall agency budget through a Strategic Investment Committee 

that discusses, evaluates, and approves agency spending. 

Tracking Performance 

GPO has recently instituted more robust performance tracking methods across the agency that adhere to the spirit of the Government Performance and Accountability Act. The 

agency will continue to ensure all operations, investments, priorities, and resources are in 

support of our overall mission, vision, and strategic goals and have measures in place to 

track performance, ensuring accountability across the board. 

Performance 

Print Performance Ratios- GPO benchmarks fnancial performance of our printing 

operations based on applicable National Association of Printing Leadership (NAPL) 

Management Plus Ratios and seeks to ensure a positive net income. 

C. Environmental Stewardship 

Strategic Objective: Continue to integrate the application of environmental values into 

GPO processes and support environmental stewardship through effective implementation 

of “green initiatives.” 

n	 GPO is committed to working toward a more sustainable future and providing a safer, 

healthier environment to future generations. GPO will continue to introduce programs 

that include recycling, reducing energy consumption, and reducing GPO’s carbon 

footprint and will provide Federal customers with environmentally friendly printing 

alternatives. 

n	 GPO will remain committed to creating a sustainable environment that prioritizes 

agency actions based on return on investment. GPO will continue with initiatives 

regarding paper consumption, petroleum products utilization, energy expenditures, 

emissions, and other areas that have reduced its footprint on the environment. GPO is 

developing additional plans to incorporate this direction well into the future. 
FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 29 

 

 

Strategies 

Implementing Green Initiatives 

GPO will continue to integrate the application of environment values into GPO processes 

and support environmental stewardship through effective implementation of green initiatives. 

Reducing our Environmental Footprint 

GPO strives to reduce our environmental footprint from implementation of employee 

recycling and environmental awareness programs internally to measures taken in our plant 

to ensure environment-friendly and sustainable operations. 

Performance 

Asbestos Initiatives — GPO documented the status of known asbestos in a tracking 

database so deterioration can be easily identifed. Asbestos was removed prior to facility 

renovations. In FY17, GPO will continue to monitor and remove any asbestos that poses 

a risk to the environment and GPO employees using the database to evaluate the rate of 

deterioration and potential risk. 

Internal Environmental Initiatives — In FY15, GPO implemented new policies and 

procedures covering recycling and asbestos to improve the agency’s compliance process 

with Federal and local environmental regulations, and promoted environmental awareness 

internally through employee communication channels. 

Sustainable Green Printer — GPO’s plant maintains certifcation as a Sustainable Green 

Printer by the Sustainable Green Partnership (SGP) and integrates environmentally friendly 

values into processes and supports environmental stewardship through fscally responsible 

and effective implementation of green initiatives. Built on three pillars, economic, societal 

and environmental, SGP’s certifcation attests to GPO’s commitment to sustainability and 

environmental, health, and safety compliance. 

Zero Make Ready (ZMR) Press — GPO acquired a ZMR press in FY14 with the goal of 

reducing waste and supporting GPO’s dedication to sustainable and environmentally 

friendly operations. Since the ZMR was implemented in May 2015, GPO has realized a 

6% reduction in paper waste. This exceeds the original goal of 5% paper waste reduction 

established before the ZMR was implemented. 

D. Continuity of Operations (COOP) 

Strategic Objective: Develop appropriate plans to provide for the continuation of GPO’s 

essential functions and operations during a wide range of all-hazards emergencies. 

At GPO, COOP enables continuation of essential functions of printing and information 

product operations for Congress, Federal agencies, and the public in the event of a national 

security or isolated emergency affecting GPO facilities in Washington, D.C. 
Strategies 

Continuity of Operations (COOP) Planning 

Comprehensive planning is an essential element to an effective COOP operation and GPO 

will continue to develop appropriate plans to provide for the continuation of essential 

functions and operations during a wide range of all-hazards emergencies. 

Performance 

COOP Exercises — GPO conducts periodic exercises to ensure that the continuity plan 

is capable of supporting the continued execution of the agency’s essential functions 

throughout the duration of a continuity event. In FY15, GPO participated in two joint 

mobile COOP exercises with the House and Senate and conducted an internal mobile 

COOP exercise at the Laurel alternate production facility. 

Mobile Continuity of Operations (COOP) — Congress relies on GPO to provide services 

under any circumstances. To meet this need, GPO’s efforts are focusing on a mobile COOP 

capability. 
FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 31 

III. OFFERING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES 

A. Statutory Foundation 

Strategic Objective: The mission of the GPO is rooted in legislation codifed in Title 44 

U.S.C. We will continue to use technology and best practices to ensure the most effcient 

and effective provision of mission-critical products and services for Congress, Federal 

agencies, and the public. 

Strategies 

National Plan for Access to U.S. Government Information 

Based on the results of the FDLP Forecast Study, the recommendations of the National 

Academy of Public Administration’s (NAPA) 2013 report, “Rebooting the Government 

Printing Offce,” and other external factors, planning for the future requires enhancing 

the Cataloging and Indexing Program and the FDLP. The National Plan for the Future of 

the FDLP became the National Plan for Access to U.S. Government Information — a user 

centric approach to providing permanent public access to Federal Government information. 

A multi-year implementation of the National Plan began in FY 2014. It has three strategic 

priorities that guide the direction and work of GPO: 

n	 Implementing information lifecycle management processes and workfows 

n	 Developing a sustainable governance structure for the FDLP 

n	 Providing services to support the Federal depository libraries 

National Bibliographic Records Inventory Initiative 

Through this initiative, GPO will: 

n	 Identify fugitive U.S. Government publications (e.g., published Federal agency materials 

within scope of the FDLP and the Cataloging and Indexing Program that agencies have 

not notifed GPO of their publication or provided GPO copies) and pre-1976 titles not in 

the CGP that fall within GPO’s program responsibilities 

n	 Inventory historical publications at GPO for inclusion in the National Bibliographic 

Records Inventory 

Expanding Technology in the Publication Sales Program 

Once only available for sale at our brick and mortar bookstore at GPO headquarters in 

Washington, D.C., GPO also provides offcial Federal information for public sales through 

our online bookstore. As technology capabilities have further expanded, GPO has explored 

additional channels, formats, and effciencies for the sale of publications in addition to the 

traditional print format. 

Meeting Evolving Congressional Needs 

To produce congressional products under the close guidance and control of the House of 

Representatives and the Senate is why GPO was originally established, and this work continues as the agency’s primary mission. GPO is currently operating with the smallest workforce of any time in the past century, yet output for Congress has expanded to include both 

print and multiple digital formats, with a vastly superior ability to reach a larger portion 

of the public than ever before. Congress relies on GPO to prepare and post Congressional 

publications increasingly online as demand for printed copies declines. 
32 FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

Performance 

Agency Rebranding — GPO’s renaming through statutory change and the subsequent 

rebranding efforts will better convey the agency’s range of services to Congress, Federal 

agencies, and the public. 

National Bibliographic Records Inventory — In FY15, GPO completed the following: 

n	 University of Montana: Approximately 324 bibliographic records were created for 

publications from the U.S. Forest Service. This completes work on the partnership. 

n	 University of Colorado, Boulder: 362 records have been added to the CGP. 

n	 Colorado School of Mines: 348 records have been added to the CGP. 

n	 University of North Texas: The cataloging of 5 collections has been completed (Statutes 

at Large, United States Reports, Register of Debates in Congress, Congressional Globe, 

and The Debates and Proceedings of in the Congress of the United States) 

n	 Historic Shelfist: 47 drawers have been completed through FY 2015, exceeding our goal 

for the fscal year. 

n	 FRASER: GPO processed a quarterly spreadsheet submitted by the Federal Reserve Bank 

of St. Louis. – throughout 2015 

n	 Daily acquisitions: GPO continuously acquired material within scope of the FDLP and 

the C&I Program. – throughout 2015 

n	 As of the end of FY 2015, through this initiative, over 2,200 serial publications have 

been added to GPO’s CGP. 

In FY17, GPO’s plans include the following: 

n	 University of Montana: Bibliographic records will be created for approximately 100 

publications from 12 SuDoc classes. 

n	 University of Colorado, Boulder: Work will continue on adding bibliographic records for 

the print versions of the USGS Bulletins. 

n	 Colorado School of Mines: Work will continue on adding bibliographic records for the 

electronic versions of the USGS Bulletins. 

n	 University of North Texas – A comparison will be conducted of UNT bibliographic 

records with records available in the CGP to identify matches and records missing from 

the CGP. 

n	 Historic Shelfist: 45 drawers will be completed. 

n	 Serial Check-In Drawers: GPO will check-in 12 drawers and 8,000 serial issues to the 

CGP. 

n	 Monthly Catalog: GPO will transcribe the 1896, 1897, and 1900 volumes. 

n	 U.S. Serial Set: GPO will update the bibliographic records of the Congressional 

documents and reports included in the Serial Set. Serial titles contained in the Serial Set 

will also be checked into Aleph. 

n	 New FDsys and govinfo content, including the Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Tax 

Courts will be added. 

n	 FRASER: GPO will process the quarterly spreadsheet submitted by the Federal Reserve 

Bank of St. Louis. 

n	 Daily acquisitions: GPO will continue to acquire materials within scope of the FDLP and 

the C&I Program. 
FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 33 

n	 Congressional Hearings: A task order will be established to begin the addition of 

bibliographic records to the CGP for tangible Congressional Hearings acquired from 

Kansas State University. 

n	 List of Special Materials: A task order will be established to begin the transcription of 

publications noted in the List of Special Materials section of the Monthly Catalog. 

National Plan for Access to U.S. Government Information — In FY15, GPO completed the 

following: 

n	 Launched outreach campaign: 

— Depository Library Council Virtual Meeting: Focusing on Service – December 2014 

— Meeting with the American Library Association’s Washington Offce – March 2015 

— Meeting with National Libraries and the Library of Congress – March 2015 

— Depository Library Council Virtual Meeting: Navigating through Change – April 2015 

— Meeting with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) – May 2015 

— Meeting with IMLS – June 2015 

— Federal Information Preservation Network (FIPNet): A National Dialogue – June 2015 

— Various Meetings at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference – June 

2015 

— Various Meetings at the American Association of Law Libraries Annual Meeting – July 

2015 

— Meeting with representatives from TRAIL (Technical Report Archive & Image Library) 

– July 2015 

— Follow-Up Meeting with National Libraries and the Library of Congress – September 

2015 

n	 First FIPNet partnership agreement signed with the University of North Texas in July 

2015 

In FY17, GPO will: 

n	 Investigate pilot project to migrate harvested content from Permanent server to FDsys 

and govinfo 

n	 Deliver formal National Plan Framework Report with annual updates (each element will 

have its own project plan) 

n	 Further defne/develop FIPNet partner best practices 

n	 Develop extensive marketing packet for recruiting partners 

n	 University of North Texas – A comparison will be conducted of UNT bibliographic 

records with records available in GPO’s CGP to identify matches and records missing 

from the CGP. 

n	 Recruit new FIPNet partners 

n	 Implement Regional Discard Policy 

n	 Continue the outreach and awareness campaign: 

— Depository Library Council Meeting & Federal Depository Library Conference 

— FEDLINK Fall Exposition 

— Meetings with Columbia and Stanford universities 

— Meetings with National Libraries 

— Annual conferences of major library associations 

— Regional meetings within the FDLP community 

— Depository Library Council virtual meetings 
34 FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

 

 

 

Online Bookstore — Continuous efforts are being made by GPO to optimize online content 

for discovery by search engines and efforts also are underway to update the Online 

Bookstore to make it more compatible with mobile devices. Visit the online bookstore at 

http://bookstore.gpo.gov. 

Print-on-Demand — GPO is working to support the migration of products in GPO’s 

Bookstore to print-on-demand, in order to open new market opportunities for Federal 

publications and create broader exposure to a network of academic, library, and retail 

customers. In FY14, GPO saved more than a million dollars on inventory costs through 

increased use of print-on-demand and just-in-time printing, and signed print-on-demand 

agreements with Amazon and OnDemand Books. 

B. Secure Federal Credentials 

Strategic Objective: Provide the capability to meet the secure Federal credential 

requirements of Federal agencies. GPO plays a vital role in the security programs of our 

customers and our Nation. 

GPO produces the latest-generation electronic passports for the Department of State 

(DOS). Proven passport capabilities are built into a family of secure credential products 

for our agency customers. They acquire secure credential design, printing, manufacturing, 

personalization, and delivery—all from GPO. Work is performed in government facilities by 

government employees with proper clearances. 

Strategies 

Supporting Credentialing Requirements 

GPO plays a critical role in our nation’s security by producing Secure Federal Credentials. 

We have manufactured the U.S. Passport for over 80 years. Since the electronic passport 

program began in 2005, we have made well over 100 million e-Passports for our customer, 

the Department of State. 

GPO produces and personalizes over 2,000,000 secure federal smart card credentials each 

year for a variety of federal agency customers. These credentials are used to gain access to 

our nation’s borders, our federal buildings and facilities and our most sensitive IT networks 

and architectures. The success of our Secure Credential Programs proves that we can 

connect security printing with secure electronics to produce the most trusted credentials in 

Government. 

GPO serves as an integrator of secure identifcation smart cards to support the 

credentialing requirements of Federal agencies and other Government entities. GPO can 

offer secure credential services that include card and secure artwork design, security 

printing, card manufacturing, card personalization and fulfllment services. 
FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 35 

 

 

 

Performance 

Next Generation Passport Program (NGPP) — GEnhanced Secure Credential Production 

Capabilities— In FY15, GPO managers, supervisors and employees underwent 

training for enhanced skills in Continuous Process Improvement Methodologies and 

Lean Manufacturing Concepts delivered by industry-specifc specialists. Managers, 

Journeypersons, Engineers, and Plant Workers received this new and reinforcing training. 

These initiatives had a positive impact on production volume, manufacturing function, and 

improved ROI. 

In FY17, GPO will continue to build on our core value of tangible print and move toward 

digital transformation through the procurement and utilization of digital driven equipment, 

design suites, data tracking tools and other employee digital interfaces. 

Next Generation Passport Program (NGPP) — A major secure document that GPO produces 

is the U.S. passport for the Department of State, which we have been responsible for since 

1926. Since 2005, the U.S. passport has incorporated a digital chip and antenna array 

capable of carrying biometric identifcation data. With other security printing features, this 

document – which we produce in Washington, D.C., as well as an additional secure facility 

in Mississippi – is the most secure identifcation credential obtainable. 

GPO joined the Department of State to begin work on the development of the Next 

Generation Passport. GPO plays a key role in the development of the fnal design, 

construction and security features found in the Next Generation Passport and will ensure 

that the right equipment, trained personnel, and processes are in place to support the 

Department of State’s Next Generation Passport goals. 

In FY15, GPO’s activities in support of the Next Generation Passport program included 

refning program plans, product development, concept testing and evaluations, inter‐

agency and intra-agency meetings, budgeting, scheduling, and technology upgrades. 

In FY17, GPO’s activities in support of the Next Generation Passport program will include 

the deployment and roll-out plan execution to support the Department of State’s transition 

from the personalization and issuance of the current passport to the Next Generation 

Passport. As directed by the Department of State and during FY17, GPO will begin 

or continue to produce the components and fnished products of the Next Generation 

Passport program. 

Smart Card Products and Services — GPO serves as an integrator of secure identifcation 

smart cards to support the credentialing requirements of Federal agencies and other 

Government entities. GPO offers secure credential services that include card and secure 

artwork design, security printing, card manufacturing, card personalization, and fulfllment 

services. 

In FY15, GPO acquired additional smartcard equipment, facilities and personnel to support 

the growing business requirements of this division. GPO worked to support the launch of 

two new card programs including the Department of Defense’s Pentagon Force Protection 

Agency access card and the Department of Homeland Security’s Asia-Pacifc Economic 

Cooperation (APEC) card for approved travelers. 

In FY17, GPO will continue to support existing secure credential card customers, provide 

consultations and product upgrades when requested and continue to offer our secure 

credential products and services to new Federal agencies and Government entities. 
36 FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

Study Conducted by the Government Accountability Offce (GAO) — Government Publishing 

Offce: Production of Secure Credentials for the Department of State and U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection (GAO-15-326R: Published: Mar 10, 2015. Publicly Released: Mar 10, 2015) 

http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-15-326R 

GAO was asked by the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Printing to review the activities 

and processes related to GPO’s production of secure credentials. In addition, Senate Report 

113-196, which accompanied the fscal year 2015 legislative branch appropriations bill, 

mandated GAO to review GPO’s secure credentialing production activities. The resulting 

report addressed the following questions: (1) What factors did State and CBP consider in 

selecting GPO to obtain their secure credentials? (2) How does GPO produce and ensure 

the quality of its secure credentials? 

Concerning the Border Crossing Card (BCC) issued by the State Department, the GAO 

found that DOS considered the following factors before requisitioning the work from 

GPO: GPO’s experience producing Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)-compliant 

credentials; the favorable experience DOS has had in working with GPO for the production 

of blank passport books; the benefts of interagency coordination and collaboration; GPO’s 

redundant GPO production facilities; and GPO’s pricing, specifcally that “procurement of 

BCCs from GPO could result in a potential cost saving to State of over $1 million during the 

frst year of GPO production based on State’s annual volume of need.” 

Concerning Trusted Traveler Program (TTP) credentials issued by the Department of 

Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from GPO, GAO found that CBP 

considered the following factors before ordering the work from GPO: GPO’s experience 

producing passport books for State; GPO’s secure supply chain; the benefts of interagency 

collaboration and coordination; and GPO’s pricing, specifcally that “the pricing offered by 

GPO for TTP card production was favorable compared to the option of upgrading their 

existing in-house production capabilities or sourcing production to a private sector entity...” 
FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 37 

IV. ENGAGING OUR WORKFORCE 

A. Employer of Choice 

Strategic Objective: Transform GPO into an employer of choice through proactive 

workforce planning that focuses on diversity and through fostering work life programs to 

meet the changing needs of today’s and tomorrow’s employees. 

n	 GPO’s ability to be viewed as an employer of choice depends on the agency’s ability to 

develop and attract quality employees and to motivate them to perform at high levels. 

GPO will work to maintain an environment that is fair, unbiased, and family-friendly, 

that promotes and values opportunity and inclusiveness. This includes a focus on 

reducing the number of formal EEO complaints by addressing the allegations at the 

lowest level possible or through proactive intervention. 

n	 Attracting and retaining high-caliber employees and cultivating a talented, diverse 

workforce will allow GPO to tackle the challenges posed by an increasingly complex, 

ever-changing external environment. GPO is committed to treating all employees fairly, 

respecting their diversity, and valuing their contributions. 

Strategies 

Developing a Model Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program 

GPO is working to provide the framework to create and maintain a model EEO program in 

accordance with U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Management Directive 

715. This program is comprised of six essential elements: Demonstrated Commitment from 

Agency Leadership, Making EEO an Integral Part of the Agency’s Strategic Plan, Ensuring 

Management and Program Accountability, Proactive Prevention of Unlawful Discrimination, 

Effciency, and Responsiveness and Legal Compliance. 

Maximizing Opportunities for a Work-Life Balance 

GPO is working to maximize our ability to keep opportunities at GPO commensurate 

with those found in other agencies for the workforce to achieve and maintain a work-life 

balance. This includes a range of efforts such as expanding GPO’s telework program. 

Strategic Human Capital Management 

Since 1980, GPO has reduced its workforce by over 74% as the result of using new 

technologies, a rate of change unparalleled elsewhere among other Legislative Branch 

agencies. Furthermore, 38% of GPO’s workforce will be eligible to retire in FY 2019. 

Anticipated retirements could cause skill gaps to develop (particularly when considering 

the loss of GPO institutional knowledge) which could adversely impact the ability of 

GPO to accomplish its mission. For this reason, talent management, effective workforce 

planning, and knowledge management are vital to the agency’s transformation. 

Workforce Development 

As GPO’s workforce shrinks and competition with the Federal and private sector for 

skilled workers increases, it is important to identify skill gaps and attract, develop, and 

retain employees to ensure GPO’s workforce has the critical skills, competencies, and 

engagement to propel the agency through transformation. 
38 FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

 

Performance 

Employee Relations — Training was developed for supervisors relating to Corrective 

Actions, Key Elements of Performance Management, and Leave Policies and Procedures. 

One on One training was provided to managers on duties of deciding offcials and 

correctly completing Douglas Factors. 

Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) — The FEVS is a tool, administered by the Offce 

of Personnel Management, that measures employees’ perceptions of whether, and to what 

extent, conditions characterizing successful organizations are present in their agencies. 

GPO participated for the frst time in the Government-wide survey in 2012 and continues 

to gauge employees’ opinions. 

Survey results in 2014 indicated employees continue to think GPO is a good place to 

work. While in most Federal agencies the Global Satisfaction Index dropped, GPO’s 

score continues to steadily increase — from 61% in 2012 to 64% in 2013, to 65% in 2014. 

GPO’s 2014 responses also showed an increase in a “results-oriented culture” and “talent 

management,” while maintaining a steady response rate in “leadership and knowledge 

management,” as well as “job satisfaction.” 

GPO created a cross-functional group to identify areas of improvement noted in the survey 

and take action in addressing issues. From survey feedback received, progress has been 

made in the areas of leadership, strategic management, support for diversity, performance 

management, communications, technology management and collaboration. GPO began an 

initiative called the “We Hear You Campaign” to track progress made in addressing issues 

related to the survey. 

Human Capital Performance — In FY15, HC released EQPR 2.0. This web-based application 

incorporates EQPRs and performance appraisals and follows OPM rules and regulations. 

The EQPR system provides added transparency and visibility to the performance 

management process, making it easy to create and maintain an employees’ performance 

plans and quarterly reviews. In addition, in response to the FEVS, policies were changed, 

technology systems were modifed and training was provided to managers so that 

performance plans could be issued in October rather than later in the fscal year. 

Human Capital Service Level Partnership Agreements — A service level partnership 

agreement will be put in place in FY16 to establish a cooperative partnership between the 

GPO Human Capital Offce and the GPO Business Units. The objectives of this Agreement 

are to: 

n	 Integrate people, processes, and technology to provide a balanced service level to all 

business units. 

n	 Create a collaborative business environment where trusted relationships and teamwork 

are encouraged between HC and BUs and a HC structure that balances strategic and 

tactical efforts that promote effciencies. 

n	 Leverage human resources, institutional knowledge, developing skill sets, and 

technology in an effort to continuously improve service and productivity for all HC 

services. 

n	 Mitigate risk to the Business Units by focusing on HC compliance requirements and 

understanding the impact these requirements have on productivity for the business 

units. 
FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 39 

 

 

n	 Establish an integrated organizational structure that will promote the consistent 

interpretation and enforcement of policies, procedures, local, state and Federal laws and 

regulations throughout GPO. 

n	 Reduce unnecessary delays in processing of actions. 

Human Capital Technology — GPO is leveraging existing technology and pursuing new 

technology solutions to develop, implement, and manage human capital strategies and 

services. In FY15, GPO fully implemented the EQPR system and also improved the system 

after receiving feedback from users. Also, the 52 tracker database was updated to make 

tracking of personnel actions easier than ever, allow for benchmarking and add a level 

of transparency. Lastly, the Learning Management system (LMS) was implemented which 

improved training data integrity by creating a secure, automatic interface/update of the 

personal data in our learning management system (LMS). GPO will continue to automate 

processes to make the classifcation, recruitment and staffng as effcient as possible. 

Improvements will be made to these and other HC applications in FY16 including a major 

upgrade to OPM’s USA Staffng Application. 

MODEL EEO PROGRAM 

A model EEO Program ensures that all employees and applicants for employment enjoy 

equality of opportunity in the workplace regardless of race, sex, color, religion, national 

origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, and genetic information. GPO will engage in 

activities that demonstrate leadership’s commitment to achieve a diverse workplace, free of 

barriers to equal opportunity, and will continue its development of a Model EEO Program 

using the six essential elements established by the EEOC’s Management Directive. 

n	 Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives — GPO continued to promote diversity and inclusion in 

the workplace. Efforts in this area included: 

— The GPO conducted a self-assessment of its EEO Program that will serve as the 

baseline for making program improvements designed to achieve and maintain a 

model EEO Program. 

— A model EEO Program begins with an effective EEO Program Policy Statement that 

demonstrates commitment from agency leadership. The GPO’s EEO policy statement 

communicates the Director’s personal commitment to the principles of EEO and 

reiterates the agency’s position prohibiting discrimination based on any protected 

basis. The policy is available on the intranet to ensure easy access by all employees. 

— Special Emphasis Program observances with keynote speakers were sponsored 

throughout the year to promote a workplace that welcomes diversity and inclusion. 

— Director’s statements of support for all national observances that honor the valuable 

contributions of various groups and communicate the agency’s commitment to 

diversity and inclusion were prominently posted using various media. 

n	 Historic Low EEO Complaints — In FY15, there were only eight (8) formal EEO 

complaints fled, a 47% decrease from the previous year and the fewest number fled 

in the past ffteen (15) years. This trend refects GPO’s commitment to maintain a 

discrimination and harassment-free workplace. Efforts in the area included: 

— Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)/EEO Counseling: GPO maximized the use 

of alternative dispute resolution and traditional EEO counseling as strategies to 
40 FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

 

facilitate early, effective, neutral, and effcient informal resolution of allegations of 

discrimination that enabled parties to resolve concerns in a quick, amicable and costeffective manner. 

— Preventing Sexual and Discriminatory Harassment (PSDH): To proactively address 

prevention of unlawful discrimination, all GPO employees received PSDH training. 

The training was designed to provide an understanding about what constitutes 

harassment, the role and responsibility of all employees to ensure a harassmentfree workplace, the avenues of redress available to address allegations, and the 

consequences for engaging in illegal harassment. 

— Anti-Harassment Policy: The Director issued an anti-harassment policy statement 

to further support GPO’s efforts to prevent harassment throughout the agency. The 

policy is readily accessible and prominently posted on the intranet. 

n	 Workplace Assessments— In support of its commitment to a discrimination and 

harassment-free workplace, the GPO conducted climate assessments and management 

inquiries to address allegations of hostile work environment. 

Safe and Secure Environment — In FY15, GPO completed the following: 

n	 Completed Criticality and Threat Assessments. 

n	 Implemented security measures to ensure employees were safe in transit from Metro, 

Amtrak, and controlled lots, especially during low light and no light conditions. 

n	 Participated in the Federal Protection Service (FPS) Operation Mega Shield, a 

comprehensive operation that combined physical security expertise and law 

enforcement authority into enhanced security teams using Federal, State and local law 

enforcement agencies. 

n	 Conducted a combined physical security and law enforcement staffng assessment of 

GPO facilities with the United States Capitol Police. 

n	 Attended the monthly NoMa Business Improvement District concerning business, events, 

improvements and crime in the area which included several other Law Enforcement 

Agencies to build and maintain rapport. GPO actively engaged in enhancing 

collaboration and coordination with other agencies (US Park Police, MPD, FPS, and 

USCP) in areas of communication, intelligence, and operational planning and training to 

expand our Threat Response capabilities. 

n	 Conducted a vigorous and dynamic Random Antiterrorism Measures (RAMs) Program. 

RAMs enhanced the effectiveness of the law enforcement posture by altering GPO’s 

security profle, thus making it more diffcult for terrorists to plan and conduct 

operations against employees and facilities. 

n	 Conducted annual Physical Security and Safety Assessments of all main GPO, Laurel 

Warehouse and Stennis facilities. Additionally, four (4) regional offces were assessed. 

During the assessments, GPO identifed hazards and vulnerabilities and recommended 

prioritized actionable mitigation strategies. GPO will continue to track, trend and 

follow up on hazards and vulnerabilities until appropriate risk mitigation or formal risk 

acceptance occurs. 
FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 41 

 

 

 

 

 

 

n	 Maintained an aggressive Occupant Emergency Training Program. Conducted six annual 

exercises to test and evaluate response capabilities. Updated, implemented, and trained 

emergency preparedness plans. 

n	 Measured and trended GPO Safety Performance to identify areas of improvement. 

Tracked and trended accidents/incidents for continuous safety improvements and hazard 

reduction strategies. Used OSHA recording standards, determined a rate and compared 

it with the overall printing industry. Used trending to identify trends and disseminate to 

leadership so effective strategies can be implemented. Tracked hazards identifed during 

an accident investigation until mitigated or formally accepted. 

n	 Performed risk assessments of all key security material suppliers supporting GPO’s 

Secure Credential product lines. Qualifed new and existing suppliers and contractors 

were subjected to periodic security risk assessments based on the risk analysis. 

n	 Revised security plans, directives, and posts orders; and ensured security policies and 

procedures were maintained and developed to mitigate and promote a realistic strategy 

to protect the GPO asset from current and possible threats. 

n	 Maintained subject matter experts to sustain comprehensive security programs that 

addressed the GPO requirements in Information Security, Personnel Security, Physical 

Security, Operations Security, Communications Security, Access Control, Antiterrorism, 

Parking, etc., and promoted a highly-motivated and well-trained workforce. 

n	 Provided continued Operational Intelligence information and updates concerning the 

tactics, techniques, and procedures of current and potential adversaries 

In FY17, GPO will: 

n	 Have the speaker array installed which will improve notifcation capabilities in noisy 

production areas. Fire drills and shelter-in-place exercises will monitor improvements. 

n	 Improve operational effciency and effectiveness by shaping and enhancing the security 

network; and maintain a secure network to ensure both internal and external customers’ 

assets are protected. 

n	 Provide needed technical upgrades and equipment to enhance the overall security and 

safety for GPO; and increase operational effciency to operate under one management 

system platform for security and fre alarms. 

n	 Continue to update and act on the results of these assessments. 

Workforce Planning — In FY15, GPO conducted a buyout for over 100 employees. In 

contrast to the nearly 8,000 at its peak in the 1970’s, GPO’s total workforce is now 

approximately 1,700 employees, the fewest in the past century. 

Workforce Training — GPO focused its FY15 workforce development efforts on four major 

priorities: professionalizing workforce skills through industry certifcations, developing 

curriculums for critical skills required to continue our transformation from print to 

ePublishing and digital content management partnering with business units to identify 

and deliver training to support their employee and business development needs, and 

improving data integrity of training completions. Specifcally, specialized classes dealing in 

project management, business analysis, lean manufacturing, ePublishing and digital content 
42 FY17 Annual Performance Plan and FY15 Annual Performance Report 

management were developed. Workforce Development Education and Training (WDET) 

partnered with business units to develop and conduct on-demand training in several 

areas to include: Trusted digital repositories, contract law for print procurement, customer 

service, team dynamics, IT software, Offce 365, and many more. Lastly, accessibility to 

online training courses and the digital book library was increased by moving the GPO 

Learning Center to make it accessible to employees on 2nd and 3rd shifts. 

U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 

732 North Capitol Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20401-0001 

Keeping America Informed | OFFICIAL | DIGITAL | SECURE 

www.gpo.gov | facebook.com/USGPO | twitter.com/usgpo