GPO appreciates the input from the 23 respondents who reviewed and submitted comments in November, 2007 on the Public Access Assessments: Focus on Access, Collections, and Service paper. The paper outlines the focus and organizational scheme of the Public Access Assessment and describes the major categories of Access, Collections, Service, and Overarching Responsibilities to be utilized in the program. GPO is taking all comments into consideration as we review and update the paper.
Overall, comments were supportive of the direction LSCM is taking.
We received several comments that the paper provides relevant,
straightforward concepts for the Public Access Assessment. Several
also commented that the document’s elements, since they are focused on
44USC§19, are already being applied at their libraries and, therefore,
will not need to do anything more in preparation for a Public Access
Assessment. Federal depository libraries following Federal Depository
Library Program (FDLP) legal and program requirements to ensure free
public access to Federal depository resources is provided shall be
successful in a Public Access Assessment.
GPO received several helpful suggestions for additions or revisions
to the paper, and we are reviewing each of these. Among the comments
were requests to define the following terms: “public access”, “without
impediments”, “reasonable amount of time”, “timely access”, and
“timeframe whereby the information has utility” within the context of
their use. We are reviewing the document to determine how best to
clarify these concepts. Please note that “free public access” is
defined in Public Access Assessments: Focus on Access, Collections, and
Service as “perpetual, no fee, and ready access to Federal Government
information products without impediments is available to the general
public”. 44USC§1911 indicates that “depository libraries shall make
Government publications available for the free use of the general
public …”.
To clarify the issues even further, LSCM is providing sample public
access scenarios to illustrate public access issues. Initial sample
scenarios were discussed at the 2007 Federal Depository Library
Conference. These scenarios illustrate potential public access
impediments and effective ways to provide timely access and raise the
visibility of the depository collection and services. We will provide
new sample scenarios which focus on best practices in the upcoming
months at the Depository Library Council Meeting and on the FDLP
Desktop.
Some of the suggestions received on the paper relate to concepts
that are not the primary focus of the Public Access Assessment, public
access requirements and other outcomes, but focus rather on depository
management practices. The suggestions will be considered in context of
the Federal Depository Library Handbook, which contains the official
FDLP requirements and best practices. They will also be reviewed for
inclusion in an updated library self-assessment resource. This
resource, which will be developed this year as an update of the
Self-Study of a Federal Depository Library (Federal Depository Library
Manual Supplement 3), will be available for individual library
strategic planning and educational purposes and will not be required in
a Public Access Assessment.
GPO will continue to share information about Public Access
Assessments as it is available. If you haven’t already, we encourage
you to review the other Public Access Assessments documentation
available here on the FDLP Desktop.
If you have any questions or comments about Public Access Assessments, please direct them to the askGPO service.
To ensure that your inquiry is routed to the appropriate subject matter
expert, please select the subject category of "Federal Depository
Libraries > Depository Management > Public Access Assessments"
from the category pull-down menus.
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