The Federal Depository Library Program is the method through which government information is distributed throughout the country. Designated libraries receive copies of all government information for local citizen use. As the government gets more and more familiar with the beauty and low cost of electronic information, it sees the obvious efficiencies of transitioning to digital formats. A recent report to Congress from the Government Printing Office proclaims a lengthy set of high-minded principles and objectives declaring a commitment to insuring the most possible government information exist within the public domain and become available to the citizen on a timely basis. While it's hard to argue with these objectives, an impossible dilemma is being presented to the libaries involved.
New equipment is needed to receive, store, and retrieve electronic information.
Whole new skill sets must be developed within the staff. And the cost of developing this infrastructure will be bourne on the backs of the libraries themselves - as federal funding comes under the knife. The mission of the Library of Congress has traditionally been to serve as the library of the nation and the world by collecting all written works. A recent report prepared by Booz-Allen Hamilton and Price Waterhouse at the request of Congress suggested that the mission of the LOC be downsized to serve more as a broker of information than repository. The Library's collection would be split up and distributed among other institutions.