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Registration Information for Fall 2004 Federal Depository Library Conference & Council Meeting

The 2004 Federal Depository Library Conference and Fall Depository Library Council meeting will be held October 17 through October 20, 2004, in Washington, DC. The meeting hotel is the Hyatt Regency Washington On Capitol Hill.

A limited number of rooms are available for $145 (plus tax) per night single and $170 (plus tax) per night double. These rates will be honored only through September 16, 2004. The District of Columbia’s room tax is 14.5%.

You can make reservations online at:

Type "USPO" in the box labeled "Group/Corporate #"to ensure receiving the special room rate. Reservations can also be made by calling 800-235-1234 or the hotel directly at 202-737-1234. Please mention that you are attending GPO's Federal Depository Library Conference and Council meeting.

The hotel offers daily, overnight and valet parking. The maximum daily parking rate is $30 per day.

There is no charge for the conference. All participants should register at:

Alternatively, the form on the next page may be faxed or e-mailed.

Conference/Council Meeting Preliminary Agenda Being Prepared for Late August

The planning committee for the Fall 2004 Federal Depository Library Conference has received several dozen presentation proposals and is currently reviewing them. A preliminary agenda will be announced in the coming weeks on FDLP-L and will be posted to the desktop at:

The conference will begin with an educational program on Sunday morning, October 17. A Welcome to Council for new attendees and the GPO Update are planned for Sunday afternoon. The Depository Library Council meeting and the conference will continue with a full schedule of discussions and presentations on Monday and Tuesday, and will adjourn Wednesday afternoon, October 20.

Comment Period Extended for 3 Draft Reports of Critical Importance to the
Future of the FDLP

The comment period for the 3 draft reports listed below has been extended until September 17, 2004.

These three draft planning documents are of critical importance to the future of access, dissemination, and preservation of U.S. Government information. The comments that GPO received on these and earlier drafts have been very helpful in refining these plans, and we welcome additional thoughts and comments.

The comment period will end on September 17, 2004. It is important that these documents receive careful review and thoughtful comment since they will be the basis of new policies and procedures as we move forward.

Please send your comments to Judy Russell, Superintendent of Documents, at <jrussell@gpo.gov>

OR

Use the comment area provided at the end of the HTML document;

OR

Use the comment form at:

TITLE	URL
Collection of Last Resort Draft Plan	http://www.gpoaccess.gov/about/reports/clr0604draft.pdf http://www.gpoaccess.gov/about/reports/clr0604draft.html
Managing the FDLP Electronic Collection: A Policy and Planning Document, 2004 revised edition	http://www.gpoaccess.gov/about/reports/ecplan2004rev1.pdf http://www.gpoaccess.gov/about/reports/ecplan2004rev1.html
The National Bibliography of U.S. Government Publications: Initial Planning Statement	http://www.gpoaccess.gov/about/reports/natbib0604.pdf http://www.gpoaccess.gov/about/reports/natbib0604.html (also see text on pp. 7-14)

GPO first provided certification for Continuing Education Units (CEU) for GPO-sponsored programs at the Fall Federal Depository Library Conference in October 2002. Depository library staff and other information professionals attending the annual Spring Depository Library Council meetings and the annual Interagency Depository Seminar also received CEU certificates. Also beginning in 2002, certificates for Continuing Education Units were provided to participants in GPO Access training sessions.

CEU certificates may be used as evidence of professional development in many institutions. For some years, depository librarians had asked GPO library staff to award Continuing Education Units (CEU) for the Interagency Seminar, Federal Depository Library Conference, and Depository Library Council meetings.

Awarding CEU for these GPO programs is consistent with the guidelines established by IACET (International Association for Continuing Education and Training). Though GPO has not sought IACET certification, its programs meet IACET’s conditions for awarding CEU: "quality training and instruction by responsible, qualified organizations."

One CEU is awarded for 10 hours of instruction. Instructional hours do not include time spent on breaks, meals, social activities or business and committee meetings.

GPO prepares CEU certificates for individuals who register for GPO-sponsored programs. The number of units awarded is based on the total number of instructional hours in the program. CEU are awarded to participants in GPO-sponsored events as follows:

• The 2 ½ day fall Federal Depository Library Conference/Depository Library Council meeting and the spring Depository Library Council meeting, with its associated programs, will accrue 1.5 CEU. Council working sessions and the final Council plenary session are not included, as they are not instructional hours.

• The annual six-day Interagency Seminar will accrue 3.8 CEU, based on the expected number of instructional hours.

• GPO Access training sessions will accrue .5 CEU.

Shipping List Improvements Announced:
Full Titles to Precede Series

Beginning on August 1, 2004, all titles on GPO Depository Shipping Lists will be typed out in full, to include up to 10 key words. The series or report title and number, if given, will follow the title. This change applies to shipping lists produced by GPO in-house, not to contractor-produced lists for microfiche or maps.

The changes will be especially apparent in listings for public laws and for Congressional materials, especially House and Senate documents and reports and committee hearings. Several depository librarians have reviewed the new style entries and have been enthusiastic about the changes, expecting that those libraries that use shipping list entries as preliminary records in online catalog systems will have enhanced access to individual titles. It will also be easier to match shipping list entries with the piece when checking-in depository shipments.

Sample shipping list entries in the new format are shown below, together with the old format for comparison.

Old Style Depository Shipping List

Classification of U.S. Government Publications

This article addresses recent Government Documents Discussion List questions concerning the application of Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) and other classification systems to U.S. Government publications.

GPO understands the desirability of providing a full SuDocs classification number of each manifestation of the U.S. Government publications described in the National Bibliography. GPO is also investigating the implications of furnishing Library of Congress (LC) and possibly Dewey classification numbers in National Bibliography records as well. These ideas are long-term goals that have significant resource implications for GPO, as well as implications for local processes in depository libraries. Future changes to the application of various classification systems will take place based on broad discussions with the library community.

In the nearer term, GPO expects to discontinue the use of the "accession number" based SuDocs classification that has been applied to online resources in favor of a fuller SuDocs number that is more readily applicable to physical manifestations of the same content.

Classification issues are discussed in GPO’s draft paper, The National Bibliography of U.S. Government Publications: Initial Planning Statement, dated June 18, 2004, and located on GPO Access at <http://www.gpoaccess.gov/about/reports/natbib0604.pdf>.

Comments on the application of classifications systems are valuable feedback for the planning process and will be used in revising this initial plan. Other comments on the draft document should be sent to Judy Russell, Superintendent of Documents, at <jrussell@gpo.gov>, by September 17, 2004.

GPO appreciates comments and inquiries that assist us in refining our planning process and services. If you have any questions about this or other Federal depository library-related matters, please submit them through the "Ask a Question" feature of GPO's online help service at: <http://www.gpoaccess.gov/help/index.html>.

The National Bibliography of U.S. Government Publications: Initial Planning Statement

This document is located on GPO Access at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/about/reports/natbib0604.pdf

Comments on this document may be sent to: Judy Russell, Superintendent of Documents, at jrussell@gpo.gov

By law the U.S. Government Printing Office is charged with preparing and publishing a "comprehensive index of public documents," including "every document issued or published … not confidential in character."

Over time GPO’s Cataloging and Indexing Program has become a catalog of the publications distributed in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). This erosion of comprehensiveness has resulted from several factors, including fugitive documents not available to GPO, the rise in digital publishing, and ongoing constraints on program fiscal, information technology, and human resources.

GPO intends to develop a comprehensive and authoritative National Bibliography of U.S. Government Publications that meets the full extent of the statutory requirements of 44 U.S.C. 1710-1711.

This document, GPO’s initial planning statement on the National Bibliography, will examine ways to improve the comprehensiveness of our cataloging and metadata programs, to enhance the usability of GPO’s bibliographic products and services, to operate a standards-based national library quality program, to demonstrate GPO leadership in the bibliographic services arena, and to enhance the public’s ability to identify and locate U.S. Government publications.

Typically a national bibliography covers works published in or about a specific country and generally is compiled and published by a country’s national library. GPO’s National Bibliography of U.S. Government Publications is narrower in scope than a full national bibliography, in that its focus is entirely upon U.S. Government unclassified publications in all formats.

Many national bibliographies attempt to document a nation's published heritage, and in doing so makes that heritage known and accessible to present and future generations. This type of national bibliography lists and describes a wide variety of publications produced in a given country, or published elsewhere but of special interest or significance to that country. The country’s deposit law may form the most important acquisitions channel for the national bibliography. A full national bibliography may include books, periodicals, sound recordings, microforms, music scores, pamphlets, government documents, theses, educational kits, video recordings and electronic documents. It normally provides standard cataloging information for each item listed, and may include information on forthcoming publications to permit advance ordering of new products.

Historically, in the United States, the Library of Congress (LC) was responsible for the traditional national bibliography. LC compiled cataloging records for all types of works from contributing libraries, ultimately resulting in the production of the National Union Catalog (NUC), which ceased publication in the 1980’s. Today the nearest approximation of a national bibliography for the United States is contained in OCLC’s WorldCat online catalog. WorldCat is a worldwide union catalog created and maintained collectively by more than 45,000 member libraries in 84 countries. With millions of online records built from the bibliographic and ownership information of contributing libraries, it is the largest and most comprehensive database of its kind. WorldCat contains a significant number of non-U.S. imprints, and is therefore broader in coverage than a national bibliography.

GPO has contributed in excess of 337,000 records for U.S. Federal publications to WorldCat since 1976, and other OCLC member libraries have contributed many additional thousands, resulting in a de facto national bibliography for U.S. Government publications being embedded in WorldCat. However extensive WorldCat is as a resource, there are several concerns with it. Among these are lack of visibility of Government information to users, inability to focus only on U.S. Government publications, multiple records representing the same resource, a general lack of holding or location information from depository libraries for Government publications, variations in cataloging level and application that have occurred over time, and the lack of unrestricted, no-fee public access to WorldCat.

GPO’s National Bibliography of U.S. Government Publications will be a comprehensive catalog containing descriptions and locations of U.S. Government unclassified publications in all formats.

It is GPO’s goal to expand its cataloging initiatives to comply fully with statutory requirements, to increase the visibility and use of Government information products, and to develop a premier destination for information searchers.

This goal is consistent with, and enhances the ability to deliver on, GPO’s strategic direction of "Keeping America Informed." It is also consistent with the more general Government goal to improve public-facing services to facilitate public interaction with the Government.

Functionally, the National Bibliography will be the principal application of the Integrated Library System (ILS), once the ILS is procured and implemented. GPO will develop one or more relational databases of library cataloging and other metadata records that describe and link to U.S. Government publications in a variety of formats and locations.

The National Bibliography will become a premier discovery tool for users searching for U.S. Government publications, and will utilize metadata resources created by GPO, by other agencies, and by partner institutions. The ILS’ metasearch function will provide the capability to search across a distributed set of non-homogeneous metadata resources from other institutions and display a combined result set. The public face of the ILS will be GPO’s Online Public Access Catalog.

Initially GPO’s core National Bibliography database will consist of GPO-produced bibliographic records representing titles cataloged from 1976 to the present. Once the ILS initial implementation is completed, GPO plans to expand the National Bibliography database by adding pre-1976 records, records created by cooperative cataloging partners and other institutions, records converted from other bibliographic or metadata formats, etc. Building the National Bibliography legacy database is expected to be a multiyear project; adding records for new publications will be ongoing.

In order to facilitate public discovery of the body of U.S. Government public documents, the scope of the National Bibliography must comply with the full extent of the statutory requirements. The legal definition of the cataloging and indexing program, codified at 44 U.S.C. 1710-1711, does not specially address digital publications. However, the changes in the Government information environment require that the National Bibliography address digital publications. GPO’s cataloging authority in the electronic arena is derived from 44 U.S.C. 4101(a), which directs the Superintendent of Documents to maintain an electronic directory of Federal electronic information.

GPO considers that information in scope for the National Bibliography is any information product, regardless of form or format, that any U.S. Government agency discloses, publishes, disseminates, or makes available to the public, as well as information produced for administrative or operational purposes that is of public interest or educational value. Publications represented in the National Bibliography will be those acquired from official sources or sites, and not subject to official use or security classification restrictions.

The National Bibliography will cover an expanded range of current and future Federal publications. In addition, the National Bibliography will also expand in historic depth, as GPO acts to include bibliographic data for legacy U.S. Government publications.

V. Assumptions

1. The Integrated Library System enables GPO to build the National Bibliography. A 21^st century National Bibliography cannot be operated on GPO’s legacy information technology (IT) platforms.
2. GPO will continue its OCLC participation.
3. GPO’s core National Bibliography database format will be AACR2 cataloging records in MARC21 format.
4. Other bibliographic formats may be ILS/National Bibliography system outputs. Possible system output formats requiring crosswalks include:
1. MARC
2. ONIX
3. GILS
4. Preservation metadata
5. Dublin Core
6. COSATI
5. The default level of cataloging applied to U.S. Government publications, regardless of format, will be equivalent to OCLC "Full" level. However, GPO will apply different levels of cataloging to different types of resources, following applicable standards.
6. National Bibliography cataloging records will come from multiple sources, including:
1. Original cataloging
2. Record imports
3. Conversion of pre-1976 GPO bibliographic records
4. COSATI-MARC conversions
5. Harvested metadata
6. Metadata from printing contractors
7. Records contributed by partners
8. Preservation metadata from archiving projects
7. The National Bibliography will provide public access and location information for items in The Collection of Last Resort (GPO’s distributed archival collections of tangible and digital publications).
8. GPO cataloging policies and procedures will be documented and communicated proactively.
9. GPO will continue its participation in the LC Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) Programs. These include:
1. NACO (name authorities)
2. SACO (subject authorities)
3. CONSER (serial cataloging)

This section enumerates issues that GPO will investigate, document, and develop policies and procedures to cover.

1. The ILS is should produce outputs programmatically, with minimal reworking or modification.
2. GPO is considering changing its cataloging practice for archived documents to set the persistent link to the archived version immediately instead of waiting for the agency version to disappear.
3. GPO will investigate the benefits and costs of producing additional or more detailed analytics.
4. GPO’s application of the CONSER "single record option" varies with circumstances. GPO will investigate the benefits and costs of applying this option more consistently.
5. GPO will investigate the benefits and costs of GPO participating in standards-setting bodies such as NISO or MARBI.
6. GPO is investigating replacing its system of persistent identifiers. It is expected that Handles or DOIs will replace PURLs. Some issues that will be examined include to what extent are these solutions backwardly compatible with GPO’s installed base of nearly 50,000 PURLs, and whether GPO should continue to assign persistent identifiers to digital resources beyond its direct control.
7. GPO is investigating the use of industry-standard unique identifiers, such as ISBNs or ISSNs in National Bibliography records.
8. GPO is monitoring developments in the cataloging and metadata arenas in anticipation of potential impacts on the National Bibliography program. Some of the developments being monitored include:
a. FRBR b. METS c. MODS d. PREMIS
9. GPO is seeking the most efficient and cost-effective strategy for performing the cataloging work for the National Bibliography, including:
a. GPO staff b. Cooperative partners c. Agencies d. Contractors
10. GPO is investigating various means of providing bibliographic records to various users, including:

1. Libraries
2. Vendors
3. OCLC
4. Book industry partners

1. Determine how to best provide bibliographic access to documents, and full text in the case of electronic documents, including documents created "on the fly" from dynamic databases.
2. Need to plan enhanced OPAC content design, including the possibility of providing specialized services to International Exchange Program libraries.
3. GPO will develop a detailed Retrospective Cataloging Action Plan.
4. Classification systems:
a. Appropriate use of the Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) Classification system, such as application to non-depository publications or non-Federal publications b. Determine the role of SuDocs Classification numbers not assigned by GPO. c. Determine if SuDocs class numbers be assigned to intangible resources and by what method? d. Determine appropriate application of other classification systems, including LC Classification or Dewey.
5. GPO will investigate Item number issues, including:
1. Whether item numbers ideally have a one-to-one relationship with class stems or individual titles.
2. Whether the item number system has utility in the digital publications environment.
3. What alternative methods or data elements GPO and/or bibliographic record vendors might use to create library selection profiles.

Appendix I - LEGAL Basis for GPO’s Cataloging Programs

44 USC 1710. Index of documents: number and distribution

44 USC 1711. Catalog of Government publications

There is additional authority for a cataloging operation under Chapter 41--Access to Federal Electronic Information:

44 USC 4101. Electronic directory; online access to publications; electronic storage facility

(a) In General.--The Superintendent of Documents, under the direction of the Public Printer, shall--

British National Bibliography (BNB) description.

http://www.bl.uk/services/bibliographic/natbib.html

Canadiana: The National Bibliography of Canada.

http://www.collectionscanada.ca/canadiana/index-e.html

Defining What Government Information is to be Categorized: Statement of Requirements. (GPO, 2004) (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cgiwg/pdf/cgiwgroup/revMay2004.pdf

Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records: Final Report. (International Federation of Library Associations, Cataloging Section, FRBR Review Group, 2003) http://www.ifla.org/VII/s13/wgfrbr/finalreport.htm

[MARC Formats and Standards Description]. (MARC Standards Office, Library of Congress, 2003) http://www.loc.gov/marc/

Managing the FDLP Electronic Collection, 2^nd ed. (GPO, 2004)

www.gpoaccess.gov/about/reports/ecplan2004rev1.html

Metadata Object Description Schema Official Web Site. (Library of Congress, 2004) http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/

METS: An Overview & Tutorial (Library of Congress, 2003)

http://www.loc.gov/standards/mets/METSOverview.html

Template for Standard NAL Metadata. (NAL Metadata Task Force, 2001) http://www.nal.usda.gov/cataloging/TEMPLATE2.pdf

United States Code, 2000 edition. Title 44, Public Printing and Documents, Chapter 17, Section 1710, Index of documents: number and distribution, http://www.gpoaccess.gov/uscode/index.html

United States Code, 2000 edition. Title 44, Public Printing and Documents, Chapter 19, Section 1711, Catalog of Government publications, http://www.gpoaccess.gov/uscode/index.html

United States Code, 2000 edition. Title 44, Public Printing and Documents, Chapter 19, Section 1901, Definition of Government publication, available at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/uscode/index.html

United States Code, 2000 edition. Title 44, Public Printing and Documents, Chapter 19, Section 1902, Availability of Government publications …, available at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/uscode/index.html

• AACR2 – Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, 2^nd edition.
• CDS – Cataloging Distribution Service, Library of Congress
• CONSER – Cooperative program for serial cataloging.
• COSATI – Cataloging format used by scientific and technical agencies.
• DOI – Digital Object Identifier.
• DC, or Dublin Core – Metadata format developed by OCLC.
• FDLP - Federal Depository Library Program.
• FLICC – Federal Library and Information Center Committee, LC.
• FRBR - Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records.
• GILS – Government Information Locator Systems.
• IT - Information technology.
• ILS - Integrated Library System.
• ISBNs – International Standard Book Numbers.
• LC - Library of Congress.
• MARBI - Machine-Readable Bibliographic Information Committee of ALA.
• MARC – Machine-Readable Cataloging, a data encoding structure.
• METS - Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard.
• MODS - Metadata Object Description Schema.
• NACO – Cooperative program to establish name authorities.
• NISO - National Information Standards Organization.
• NUC - National Union Catalog.
• OCLC – Online Computer Library Center, Dublin, OH.
• ONIX – Online Information Exchange; book industry cataloging format.
• OPAC - Online Public Access Catalog.
• PCC - Program for Cooperative Cataloging, LC.
• PREMIS - PREservation Metadata: Implementation Strategies, an OCLC working group.
• PURL – Persistent Uniform Resource Locator.
• SACO – Cooperative program to establish subject authorities.
• SuDocs - Superintendent of Documents, GPO.
• U.S.C. – United States Code.

2004 Recommended Specifications for
Public Access Workstations in
Federal Depository Libraries

These recommended specifications (RS) are intended to assist depository librarians who are planning purchases of new personal computers (PCs) for public use in Federal depository libraries. This document supersedes the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) "2003 Recommended Specifications for Public Access Workstations in Federal Depository Libraries" (Administrative Notes, v. 24, no. 7, June 15, 2003).

In accordance with Depository Library Council action at its Spring 2000 meeting, these RS will become requirements October 1, 2005.

Processor

• FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: 3.4 GHz processor minimum

• FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: 1 GB DDR SDRAM

Ports

I/O bus

Video

• FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: 64 or 128 bit PCI interface SVGA controller with 128 MB DDR VRAM.

Audio

Hard Disk Drive

• FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: 200 GB or greater capacity, or network connectivity that provides the same.

Removable/External Storage

DVD Drive

• FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: 16x DVD. Single platter or changer design. Should support all available standard CD formats. Avoid proprietary I/O designs.

• FOR CARTOGRAPHIC USE: 48X24X48X

Monitor

• FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: 21" monitor, Super VGA (SVGA), with at least 85 MHz vertical refresh rate at 1024x768 resolution non-interlaced, 0.28 mm or smaller dot pitch; display card which supports 1024x768 resolution at 70 MHz or faster.

• FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: Color ink jet printer, 36", 600 dpi, 80 MB or more memory, or access to a comparable networked printer

or

Client Software

• FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: GEOTIFF file viewer. DLGv32 Pro Version 5.10. Viewing software for raster data, such as Photo Shop Pro, Print Shop or MrSid Viewer.

• FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: Data manipulation package, such as ArcView 3.1 or higher, Landview, MapInfo 4.5 or higher, or other similar package.

Related Issues and Considerations

These specifications are intended to assist depository staff in making informed purchases that will best achieve the goal of providing public access to Federal Government information in a variety of electronic formats.

These guidelines are aimed at providing reasonably robust workstations that should provide years of service before they become obsolete, but GPO encourages the purchase of equipment that exceeds these specifications if at all economically feasible. The speed at which computer capabilities are evolving indicates that the higher the initial outlay, the longer the useful life for the equipment. If a higher end system is not affordable, look for flexibility and expandability in the system that will allow for enhancements and upgrades at a later date. As these guidelines address minimums, ensure compatibility among chosen components before purchasing.

Depository libraries must have computer equipment sufficient to allow timely and equitable public access to Government electronic information products and should allow printing or downloading information selected by the user.

Please note the addition this year of a USB port on the computer’s front panel. This is to accommodate the increasing number of library patrons who use removable storage devices instead of floppy disks or CDs.

3.5 and 5.25 floppy drives: If your library still has depository materials on 3.5" and 5.25" floppy disks, you must have the equipment for patrons to access these products. Alternatively, depository libraries may "substitute" floppies in their collection for online editions located at the CIC Government Publications Task Force Floppy Disk Project (FDP), hosted by Indiana University Library in partnership with GPO. The site is located at: <http://www.indiana.edu/~libgpd/mforms/floppy/floppy.html>.

Check online holdings prior to substituting. If the FDP does not have the title you wish to substitute, you must provide access to the product by maintaining older equipment or converting these products to a new platform.

GPO works with the Cartographic Users Advisory Council (CUAC) to develop any additional specifications that support GIS applications. These are included in the recommendations with the indicator:

● FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE:

All depositories are not required to meet the cartographic specifications. They are meant to assist with planning purchases for those libraries that support and provide data services using spatial data and GIS applications. The "regular" specifications will allow for basic mapping applications. Census maps will be available in multiple formats, including PDF, so large-scale equipment will not be necessary, though consideration should be given to purchasing a color printer.

Viewers versus full working versions of applications software: If viewers are available on computers to allow access to Government information in the various formats this is acceptable and the library will meet the minimum technical requirements. While providing applications software and/or staff support to help patrons manipulate data or create reports is desirable, it is optional. This position is consistent with Depository Library Public Service Guidelines For Government Information in Electronic Formats at:

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (August 7, 1998) amended §508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to require "individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal department or agency, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities." Federal depository libraries must provide hardware and software to allow this or accommodate users in some other manner. Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards; Final Rule was published in the December 21, 2000 (pp. 80499-80528) issue of the Federal Register and became effective June 21, 2001. Further guidance on these issues is available from:

CD-RW drives can be purchased as either internal or external drives. With a CD-RW the discs can be reused, unlike those of the CD-R that can only be used once. The other major difference between CD-Rs and CD-RWs is that CDs created from a CD-R can sometimes be read in older CD-ROM drives while those created from a CD-RW can only be read from MultiRead drives. This is something to consider particularly if you are creating circulating copies and want to meet the needs of most of your users. Be sure to check compatibility with your operating system.

GPO cannot anticipate or address every possible depository library computer scenario, and depository libraries are encouraged to adapt this menu of specifications to fit their local situations. Depositories may require multi-purpose single workstations, electronic access in networked environments, or a combination of both. Given the large variation in the size of Federal depository libraries and the numbers of users served, GPO cannot recommend a universal standard for the number of public access workstations in any given library. However, when assessing workstation needs, librarians should consider such local factors as:

• the amount of information provided over the Internet compared with the amount from CD-ROM
• whether and how the workstations are networked
• to what extent users are permitted to perform additional information processing at the public access workstations
• whether users are experiencing extended waiting times at library peak service hours, etc.

When configuring workstations bear in mind that some government CD-ROM products link to the web to update information on the CD-ROM. This means that for the user to get the newer information and the full benefit of the product at least one workstation must have both CD-ROM capability and Internet accessibility with a graphical browser.

Additional or different capabilities may be desirable for workstations used by library staff. Some libraries may elect to add applications software, such as spreadsheet, word processing, or database software, to their public access workstations, but this is a local resource management decision.

Many depository libraries have existing computer equipment that is no longer "state of the art." These specifications should not be applied retrospectively to existing equipment, although they may assist in determining the appropriate time for replacement or upgrading. Libraries should also consider keeping this equipment in order to access electronic products that cannot be read with newer hardware and software.

For additional information, or if you have any questions about these specifications, please contact Cynthia Etkin, Program Analyst, at cetkin@gpo.gov or by voice at 202.512.1114.

Related guidelines:

• "Depository Library Public Service Guidelines for Government Information in Electronic Formats," Administrative Notes, v. 19, #11 (September 15, 1998). Revised March 2003. <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/mgt/pseguide.html>

• "FDLP Internet Use Policy Guidelines," Administrative Notes, v. 20, #2 (January 15, 1999). <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/mgt/iupolicy.html>

  
  

• "FDLP Guidelines on Substituting Electronic for Tangible Versions of Depository Publications," Administrative Notes, v. 20, #09 (May 15, 1999). <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/coll-dev/subguide.html>

Council’s Response to Report on the Meeting of Experts on Digital Preservation

Council commends the Public Printer and the Managing Director of Information Dissemination/Superintendent of Documents for their leadership roles on this very important issue.

With regard to selection for the legacy collection project, we recognize that there is an interest among library directors in identifying long runs of titles for which there is broad interest in the research community, occupy large amounts of shelf-space, and may be expensive to acquire in digital form from commercial vendors.

Council is deeply concerned that the targets for digital preservation should include some evaluation of the print documents most at-risk of loss. Council suggests that GPO engage in a preservation assessment of both microform and print publications with emphasis on 20th to early 21st century materials. Further, Council encourages GPO to partner with the depository library community, the National Archives and Records Administration and other federal agencies in the pursuit of this effort. Print publications on onion-skin and other poor-quality paper should be given a high priority for the project. Microfiche titles that may have print equivalents available are also an appropriate early target for the legacy project.

The intellectual content of the legacy collection is also a concern to the depository community. Council recommends GPO for soliciting input from those with subject expertise, including, for example, members of GODORT’s Rare and Endangered Government Publications Committee.

Council further recommends that flexibility be affirmed as part of the GPO’s retrospective digitization strategy. The report’s language on page 5, paragraph 3 acknowledges that some experts "expressed concern the GPO not set a bar so high that it would exclude smaller institutions from making contributions that they may be in a unique position to make." While the GPO benchmark for the creation of digital preservation masters is based appropriately on the recommendations of digital preservation specialists, a dynamic program with maximum feasible participation should allow creation of digital access copies with a benchmark that is less rigorous. Many libraries have already completed, or initiated, projects in which the digital preservation master standard cannot be met. It does not seem reasonable to exclude the contribution of this content to the Legacy Collection. Council urges GPO to survey the depository community and evaluate the suitability of these projects for inclusion in the Legacy Collection. It is Council's belief that many of these projects would be worth inclusion thus allowing GPO to concentrate its efforts on other aspects of the Legacy Collection.

Council believes it to be unreasonable to make the creation of the preservation master according to current standards a prerequisite for participation. While Council strongly supports a preservation master as the best means by which to achieve permanent public access, libraries that have created access copies without a preservation master should not be denied participation and GPO might wish to devote its expertise and appropriate resources to the creation of a preservation master in this scenario. At the local level each library may view a particular aspect of their collection as the best starting point for access. GPO should not deny that library the ability to participate simply because a preservation master wasn't developed in accordance to current stands; rather GPO might wish to create the preservation master itself.

In addition, Council suggests that GPO note that technologies, standards and best practices in all areas are evolving. Council suggests that libraries who chose to create digital access copies (without a correlate preservation master) may be allowed to use cheaper and more efficient technology in the future to create high-quality preservation masters in a more expedient yet less costly manner than current technologies provide. Council strongly recommends that the same level of engagement for creating preservation-quality digital masters for retrospective material be applied to the establishment of preservation standards for born-digital content. A similar expert meeting should be convened that addresses issues related to the capture, processing, storage, and preservation of born digital content including tangible and non-tangible formats, databases, and dynamic pages (information generated on-the-fly).

Council’s Remarks on
The Summary Meeting on the Future of the
GPO Sales Program

• Recognizing that many of the services provided in the Sales Program have become obsolete in the electronic environment and discontinuing them to save costs.

• Investigating whether GPO should re-locate its operations to another facility within the District of Columbia. Revenue realized from any sale or lease of the North Capitol property should be used primarily to ensure continued nofee access to government information products and services.

• Recognizing that GPO should not engage in unfair competition with privately funded entities while exploring potential new business products and services.

• Exploring potential new partnerships with other federal agencies, particularly outside of the legislative branch, that may provide their information via GPO Access.

• Exploring potential partnerships that expand the access of federal government information to the American public via e-commerce sites such as Amazon.com, commercial database aggregators, and other such companies as long as no-fee access to similar services is continued to be made available.

• Maintain continued no-fee access to government information to libraries participating in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). Council and the library community assign the highest priority to continued no-fee access to federal government information.

• Ensure vendor partnerships do not undercut the no-fee access currently enjoyed by participants in the FDLP.

• Provide accurate, consistent budget reports to Congress and the library community.

• Ensure long-term, no-fee, permanent public access to information content that may be generated through partnerships with non-federal sources.

• Understand that the Sales Program may never generate the large-scale revenues envisioned by the Public Printer and continue to identify and implement cost-cutting and revenue-generating measures that can be accomplished by departments other than the Superintendent of Documents/Information Dissemination unit.

• Understand that while arrangements or partnerships with private, commercial entities may be a source of potential revenue, any government information used in the production of these materials must remain in the public domain.

Council’s Comments on the
Draft Decision Framework for
Federal Document Repositories
May 13, 2004

• it is not clear where light archives fall within the spectrum ranging from operating library to dark archive, e.g., whether they are more akin to archives or to operating libraries?

• is the intent of light archives that they be used only in the event that efforts to locate items in operating depository libraries have been exhausted?

• will materials held in light archives be available for physical use by researchers, or will only digital surrogates be made available?

• other than staff, will there be "authenticated constituents" who have access to use light archive materials? Who? Why?

• will light archives require reading rooms, or will researchers rather be directed to their local depository libraries to use digital surrogates delivered thereto?

• should library consortiums be more likely candidates for governing light archives than individual institutions?

• are collections in light archives "depository" collections, or are they a new intermediary status somewhere between archival (NARA affiliation) and depository (FDLP) collections? Will a new status require statutory definition?

• would light archive materials circulate at all, even to branches within the parent institution?

• with the addition of some provision for on-site, limited use of materials, is it possible that certain "high end" existing depository library remote storage facilities might be converted to light archives?

• Disclosure of Holdings

• Ongoing Validation/Inventory

• Storage and Integration

Integration of Government Publication Collections Should not assume that a SuDoc arrangement of materials in repository is the best arrangement for an archival collection.

• Proximity to Users

• Physical Markings and Bibliographic Identifiers

• User Assistance

• Accessibility - Access to Originals

• Access to Reproductions – Digital What is meant in the middle category by the use of the word subscription in "digital surrogates or copies on the Web delivery on a subscription basis."?

• Governance

Council's Comments on the
Collection of Last Resort Draft Dated April 6, 2004

Council applauds GPO for developing the Collection of Last Resort draft plan. At this stage of the plan Council believes that the draft provides a clear vision for the future as it makes strong commitments to:

• Collect and preserve all formats, including born-digital objects;

• Reinforce the long standing principle of no-fee public access;

• Create cataloging and metadata records for access and preservation;

• Safeguard government information in times of national emergency.

The draft begins to articulate a new vision for long-term access to federal government information. For such a vision to become a reality, however, additional details must be provided to the library community and other stakeholders. The following recommendations suggest specific areas where additional details are needed.

1. In Spring 2003, Council recommended the creation of the "United States Library of Public Information." The recommendation is as follows:

United States Library of Public Information

Council recommends that as the Government Printing Office pursues its initiative in creating a United States Library of Public Information, the Government Printing Office, along with members of the depository library community, develop a cogent, flexible collection that is:

1. Comprehensive in scope and content

2. Fully cataloged

3. Widely accessible

4. Permanently archived

Rationale: In today’s increasingly electronic environment, the need for a United States Library of Public Information providing permanent public access, full cataloging records, widely accessible and comprehensive in scope, becomes more of a national need. GPO’s pursuit of this library will address the current and future needs of the new depository environment.

Council conceptualized the United States Library of Public Information as a widely accessible collection including appropriate service to that collection. As articulated in the preliminary CLR plan, there does not appear to be a clear statement regarding how access and service will be provided. Council strongly recommends that a plan for the shared or "light" repositories be developed and vetted with all stakeholders as soon as possible so that the larger context within which the CLR functions will be clear.

2. Council would like to see a more complete articulation of what GPO envisions regarding the roles of both FDLs and GPO in subsequent versions of the plan.

3. Assumptions #11-13 provide estimates of the time and money needed to digitize the legacy FDLP collection. Although not explicit, these assumptions appear to allude to the agreement between GPO and the Association of Research Libraries to collaborate on this effort. Council recommends that GPO also encourage, support and include the efforts of smaller depository libraries and those who are not members of ARL to be partners in this worthwhile endeavor.

Council would again like to emphasize our belief that born-digital government information should be of the highest priority in the GPO strategic planning process. See Spring 2004 recommendation on Born Digital Information is at Risk.

4. The CLR draft states that "Tangible copies of 'born digital' products will be produced for the dark archive." Council recommends that GPO devote appropriate resources to ensure the goal of creating and storing print copies of all electronic items, including those on floppy disks, CD-ROMs and DVDs. A tangible collection of current and retrospective U.S. government information would better ensure the preservation of the entire collection, particularly during and after a national emergency. Council suggests that GPO work with a variety of partners to print the digital collection, just as it is working with partners to digitize the print collection. For example GPO should begin to print 1 or 2 copies of information currently being added to the FDLP Electronic Collection. Printing a set of the pre-existing born-digital collection could be achieved through the print-on-demand service envisioned by GPO. Such printing will require the establishment of standards. Council also wishes to emphasize the importance of establishing "light archives" as locations for the additional copies of printed items. "Light archives" could include equipment for onsite printing and might be able to serve as distribution centers for libraries requesting hard copy from digital images.

5. Table 2 indicates that GPO will acquire fugitives to add to the CLR. Council recommends that GPO outline specific ways in which fugitives will be identified, added and preserved. Council further recommends that GPO partner with depository libraries and professional organizations in acquiring fugitive materials.

6. Table 2 also indicates that GPO will acquire tangible information products from depository

7. The plan discusses access and preservation in two separate sections. Council recommends that the plan articulate the long-standing view among preservation librarians that preservation and access are inter-related. Preserving information, regardless of form or format, helps ensure accessibility in the future, even though, as in the case of the dark archive, the physical items themselves are relatively inaccessible.

8. Assumption #14 states: "After digitization copies of the original publication, even if disbound, will be retained and preserved in case the item must be digitized again in the future." Council recommends that GPO not disbind its only copy of a publication.

9. Council recommends that a timeline for the development of the CLR, including a target date indicating when its existence begins, be included in subsequent versions of the plan. The timeline should include the preservation plan when the CLR comes into existence and should also include phases in the progress toward full digitization and cataloging/metadata creation.

10. Council recommends that a detailed cost analysis and/or budget should be included in subsequent versions of the plan.

11. Council recommends that GPO partner with OCLC and RLIN, perhaps through their respective members who are also in the FDLP, to acquire, use, and adapt pre-1976 cataloging for legacy collection items.

12. Council assumes that a "Dark Archive" containing master copies of the digital CLR will reside on digital storage devices that are not networked.

13. The CLR plan should answer the following questions:

• To what does Table 3's mention of GPO processing "CLR boxes" refer?

• What is ONIX and how will its use be of benefit?

• What does the statement "GPO is responsible for providing expertise in interpretation, access, and service for the publicly accessible portions of the CLR" mean in practice?

• Does the GPO plan to try to collect two copies of every legacy publication, or only one?

• Will the CRL be located in one facility or geographically distributed?

• What are GPO’s contingency plans for access in to the CLR in times of a national emergency?

• How will GPO authenticate digital masters?

• How can GPO guarantee that the digital masters are official and have not been tampered with?

• Will source files be made available to FDLs?

• Does GPO envision using LOCKSS (or similar technology) to safeguard the integrity of geographically distributed digital objects that are housed by partner institutions?