Superintendent of Documents Update
Remarks by Francis J. Buckley, Jr.
Superintendent of Documents

Before the Depository Library Council
Monday, October 19, 1998
San Diego, CA

Good morning! I can’t believe that it was only a year ago that I appeared before many of you in Clearwater just after agreeing to serve as the Superintendent of Documents. It has been quite a year for me, for GPO and for Washington--for different reasons in each case. I must thank Mr. DiMario for bringing me in to GPO during such interesting times. This morning, I would like to talk about some of the activities within GPO and those that affect the programs that I oversee as the Superintendent of Documents.

Before that discussion, however, I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize the departure of Jay Young, who retired in September after 27 years with GPO. As many of you know, within the last two decades, Jay twice served as the Director of Library Programs Service (LPS). During his first stint with LPS from 1980-82, he managed much of the transition of Government documents to microfiche format which, as many of us remember, was quite a feat for that time. The expanded use of microfiche was not only a cost-saving measure, but enabled greater inclusion of fugitive titles. From 1993-98, he had a major role in the depository program’s transition to include electronic formats. While heading up that electronic push forward for the FDLP, he also served as Director, Documents Sales Service, a position he had held since 1985. Jay reported directly to me, in both positions, and I appreciate his many contributions in planning and implementing so much that we now take for granted.

It was under Jay’s stewardship that the Electronic Transition Staff (ETS) was established. As many of you know, since 1995 we have had six outside "expert consultants" serve for one to two years in LPS to work on the FDLP transition. An integral part of these transition activities was the production of the 1996 GPO Study to Identify Measures Necessary for a Successful Transition to a More Electronic Federal Depository Library Program.

Jay has been gone a little over a month and he is missed already. I know we all wish him much luck as he works on his golf game in Florida.

In another personnel note, I would like to congratulate Tom Andersen on his new position within the California State Library as CLSA Coordinator. Tom, I know that, even with your new responsibilities, you will always remain committed to providing Government information to the public. Best of luck.

Now to discuss some of our policy and program concerns:

I know there has been much discussion on GOVDOC-L in recent weeks about access to libraries, fees and related issues. I want to reinforce the message that Sheila McGarr, our Chief of Depository Services, posted September 28 on GOVDOC-L:

• photocopies
• microfiche copies
• printouts
• circulation

A related topic also discussed on GOVDOC-L was of Internet access. LPS staff is in the process of drafting an "FDLP Internet use policy" to address this issue. Our initial opinion is that "access to online Federal Government information provided through the FDLP must be available to any library user free of fees or other restrictions, such as age, residency status, or filtering software, following the same principle of free access that governs the use of traditional depository materials, based on Title 44, United States Code." We hope this will be discussed during the conference here in San Diego. We would like your feedback.

I would like to discuss several activities within the Sales Program that will not be covered by LPS staff reporting on FDLP issues.

As you know, Washington has been abuzz over the release of the Independent Counsel’s materials, also known as the "Starr reports," and the President’s lawyers’ response. Over several weeks in September and early October, GPO was tasked with getting the materials from the Independent Counsel into usable formats for the House Judiciary Committee, the Congress and the public. The high degree of security required for the reports to be produced in print and electronic formats meant that all of the work was done under the watchful eyes of the GPO Police force. The Starr reports, three in all, were disseminated in multiple ways for use by different audiences. They were released in hard copy and microfiche to the depository program; there was distribution on-line via the House Website, LC’s Thomas and GPO Access, in addition to other public and media sources; and the GPO Sales Program has made them available in both hard copy and CD-ROM. We have been quite proud of the work of GPO’s Production staff in the quick turnaround time from receiving the materials to making it available.

The Sales Program reported brisk business, especially in the bookstores. As you are aware these are all House documents. I would like to briefly give you some sales statistics.

1. The first document issued called the "Starr Report," is 221 pages long, weighs 10 ounces and costs $14. To date, over 6,600 copies have been sold. In fact, when that first report was released, the GPO Main Bookstore was open on Saturday, September 12 from noon until 4 p.m., an unheard-of event, but nonetheless successful. On that day, we sold 306 copies to 194 customers and attracted local and national news media. When the store opened that day at noon, the line of people stretched to the corner of the building, with foot traffic until closing time.
2. The second Starr report was released a little over a week later and was a two-volume set, costing $68, running 3,221 pages and weighing almost 7 lbs. We have sold about 2,000 copies of the set.
3. "Starr 3," released in early October, contains additional appendices to the original report, is a three-volume set, costing $92, running 5,100 pages and weighing 10 lbs. 9 oz. More than 1,200 sets have been sold so far.

The President’s lawyers’ response was also released as a House document. T.C. Evans will provide more details about the report and its impact on the operation of GPO Access for the past few weeks. But I would like to note that although we encountered some technical problems, it is evident that the reports brought many new users to GPO Access, who are now aware of the site and are continuing to use it for other information.

Since it is so early into this new fiscal year, I don’t have sales numbers to report for FY 1998. We did have negative sales figures in August due to lower volume of sales as well as unexpected charges for equipment depreciation and the financial management audits, but we are optimistic that the Starr reports provided a positive cash flow for September and into October. We know that people who came into our bookstores to purchase the Starr-related documents also bought other Government information products.

I know you have heard much over the past year or so about the Integrated Processing System or IPS. This has been a huge project with many GPO staff working on numerous details. By the end of this month, we plan to have the system operational in terms of basic functionality. At that point, staff will be tasked with writing procedure manuals. Following that, hundreds of employees will begin their training, which should take five to six weeks. We want to ensure that the staff are trained properly in the use of the new system before beginning implementation.

Our realistic goal? To have IPS up and running in January. It has not been easy, but we have made much progress and are not discouraged. The staff is moving forward to see that the system will be available for our customers.

There are numerous hardware and software issues. Customer files must be dedupped in order to be ready for the cutover. New computer workstations, new printers, and a new NT network must be installed. Software integration and modifications are underway.

In addition we are working on our concepts of the sales collection, especially the identification of historically important titles which should be retained for sale indefinitely--Congressional Record, Public Papers of the President, U.S. Reports, other Decision series, military histories, etc.

The staff has planned a great program over the next few days to go along with the discussions and deliberations of the Council. I am very much looking forward to talking with many of you here, and I’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Library Programs Service Update
Remarks by Gil Baldwin
Chief, Library Division

Good morning, everyone! It’s a privilege to be here today to talk about the status of the Federal Depository Library Program and hear your views on how we are doing and where we should be going over the coming years. It’s been over 11 years since we last met in San Diego, and I'm really pleased to be back. California's a wonderful depository state, by my count you have 100 of the Nation's depositories. We really appreciate the warmth and hospitality you're extending to us and to everyone at this meeting.

These years have seen enormous changes in the world of information; in what citizens expect from their Government and in how the Library Programs Service (LPS) operates. For example, when Council last met here in 1987 we were asked how many personal computers LPS had to support FDLP operations, and incredibly enough, the answer was none. Thank goodness that's changed, but of course we now face other challenges, some helped by the now ubiquitous automation, and others, such as the Year 2000 problem, caused by it.

We are still engaged in that long process of incorporating electronic Federal Government information products into the FDLP. Many of our efforts in FY 1998 reflect LPS' initial realization of the policies and plans for the FDLP Electronic Collection. As might be expected in any transition period, our work is divided between maintaining and enhancing the traditional functions that relate to the management of tangible Federal Government information products, and developmental activities. The developmental efforts focused on expanding the FDLP Electronic Collection and using information technology solutions to improve services to the depository library community and the public.

LPS 1998 highlights include:

• Refining the "FDLP Electronic Collection" concept
• Developing askLPS
• Increased distribution of tangible products, especially microfiche
• Increased cataloging output
• The DOE Information Bridge partnership
• Using PURLs to improve access to Internet resources
• Outreach activities
• LPS employee orientation program
• New Web applications developed by LPS staff

LPS staff continued to refine a policy defining GPO's management of the various electronic Federal Government information products made available through the FDLP as a library-like collection.

The policy is documented in our paper entitled "Managing the FDLP Electronic Collection: A Policy and Planning Document," also known as the Plan. I know you’ve been hearing us talk about this paper for a long time, and I’m very pleased that copies are finally here for you. The Plan provides a foundation for policies and procedures, and defines organizational responsibilities for managing the Collection. It was developed by a team led by LPS, joined by staff from the Office of Electronic Information Dissemination Services (EIDS), the Documents Sales Program, and the GPO Production Department. In April, it was presented to GPO upper management, and subsequently was discussed at the spring Depository Library Council (DLC) meetings. In May, a draft of the Collection Plan was reviewed by the Council members, who provided significant input. Additional discussions took place at the American Library Association Annual Conference in June. We are publishing the Plan in Administrative Notes, [later decision was to publish separately] and it should be up on GPO Access today, at www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/ecplan.html. I hope you’ll take the opportunity to read it, and send us comments or questions.

Even before it was published, the Plan shaped how we in LPS think about our role in developing the FDLP Electronic Collection, the relationship between the Collection and our cataloging and locator services, and our role in ensuring current and permanent public access to information provided through the FDLP.

GPO's efforts to coordinate the development of the Collection are intended to complement the strategic goal of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to provide the public with access to the essential evidence of our Government. In July, GPO staff met with Dr. Lewis Bellardo, Deputy Archivist of the United States, and members of his staff, to discuss GPO’s and the National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) common interests. Copies of the draft plan were shared with NARA. Overall, NARA's reaction was supportive, and their comments helped us further clarify the difference between NARA's responsibility for the preservation of Federal records and GPO's permanent public access role for FDLP publications.

There are several useful distinctions in what is collected and maintained by NARA and GPO:

First, the FDLP Electronic Collection is not comprised of the record copies of electronic products. The Collection consists of permanent access reference copies maintained by GPO or its partners for the convenience of reference. GPO or its partners will initiate steps, whenever feasible and cost-effective, to migrate the content or refresh the operating software as necessary to make the content readily accessible to a broad spectrum of users. Inclusion of an agency electronic information product in the Collection is in no way intended to be a substitute for the issuing agency's disposition of that product to NARA in accordance with a records schedule. Like all other Federal agencies, GPO has a responsibility to transfer to the National Archives those products that are scheduled as permanent records of GPO's operation. This has historically included a record set of the tangible agency publications distributed in the FDLP as well as record copies of GPO publications such as the Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications. GPO will continue to work within applicable records schedules to ensure that its records management responsibilities are fulfilled in all media and formats.

Second, the content of the Collection is significantly narrower in scope than the full range of Federal records in the purview of NARA. Content of the Collection is limited to digital publications which have public interest or educational value, except for those that are administrative in nature, or for internal use by the agency, or restricted for reasons of national security.

Third, NARA intends to maintain electronic records in a format that is independent of any specific hardware or software requirements, and requires agencies to transfer such records to NARA in accordance with regulatory specifications that support that independence. In addition, it is critical for NARA to maintain the provenance of the records and other contextual information in order to document how the records were used to carry out the functions and activities of the creating entity. This contextual information enables the records to provide evidence and accountability, and must be preserved as well as the content of the Government information products that are archival records.

During our discussions at NARA we once again raised the idea of working with NARA to attain affiliated archive status for GPO, focusing first upon the core legislative and regulatory products on GPO Access. I'm convinced that attaining this recognition is a critically important step for GPO. Within the Federal agency community it could go a long way to improve the recognition of our obligation and our ability to assure permanent public access to electronic Government information. This is clearly a topic that must be investigated and discussed further, and both GPO and NARA agreed to keep the lines of communication open.

Of course, not all FDLP information is electronic. A substantial amount of our work is still distributed in tangible media; paper, microfiche, or CD-ROM. After several years of declining numbers the amount of material going out to the libraries rebounded in FY 1998, particularly in terms of microfiche going through the program. In fact, this year GPO distributed nearly 40,000 titles to depositories in tangible mediums. This represents an increase of nearly 29% compared to the previous year. This is particularly striking considering that it was the second session of the Congress, which typically results in a lower number of titles being processed.

In June, pursuant to the interagency agreement between GPO and the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS), a contract was awarded to Westat Inc., a social science research firm. Westat is conducting the basic research and will produce a report of findings for the NCLIS/GPO Assessment of Government Electronic Information Products.

GPO's purposes for funding the Assessment are to:

• Identify medium and format standards that are the most appropriate for permanent public access.

• Assess the cost-effectiveness and usefulness of alternative medium and format standards.

• Identify public and private medium and format standards that are or could be used for products throughout their entire information life cycle.

During the summer, Westat, NCLIS, and GPO identified 24 agencies in all three branches of the Federal Government that are now participating in the study. With your help and the input from the agencies, we selected nearly 400 information products that are being studied in detail. With Westat and NCLIS we developed the survey instrument, held numerous briefings for the participating agencies' personnel, and distributed the survey questionnaire to the agencies. Our goal is to have a report of the project's findings available for publication and distribution by the end of February 1999. The Assessment will provide important baseline information on the Federal Government's electronic product plans and practices, information that will enable GPO to improve its ability to advise the depository library community about the types of products that they may expect to receive. In addition, results will also assist GPO to provide permanent public access to FDLP electronic information, and will identify possible areas for future standards and policy development discussions.

I want to thank Bob Willard, the Executive Director of NCLIS, for all his support in moving this project forward. I’ve attended several of the sessions with the participating agencies, most recently at the Supreme Court, and Bob has left no doubt as to how important this project is to NCLIS and the FDLP. Woody Horton, who is a consultant retained by NCLIS, is working very closely with us and with Westat on the Assessment, will be here on Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. in the Terrace Room. Woody will provide a much more detailed update on the progress of the study, so I won't steal any more of his thunder.

Last April, Council recommended that we provide the FDLP community with guidance on the propriety of removing copies of tangible products from depository collections when those same products are available in the FDLP Electronic Collection. Council's rationale pointed out that GPO is now providing permanent public access to many Congressional and administrative publications through GPO Access. GPO is also developing plans for the FDLP Electronic Collection. In light of these developments, depositories are asking whether they may withdraw a tangible product and rely on the electronic version as their official depository copy.

In response to this recommendation, LPS is formulating guidance to the depository community on the retention of tangible products when official and reliable electronic alternatives are available. At our request the GPO General Counsel is reviewing the legislative history and extant opinions relevant to retention of publications also available via online databases. In our preliminary discussions, the General Counsel has advised us that incorporating an online electronic product into a depository collection by substituting it for a tangible product is acceptable, providing that certain conditions are satisfied. First, the electronic product must be a complete and official version. Second, permanent accessibility to the electronic version must be assured. Third, the library must be able to offer to its users unimpeded access to any electronic product incorporated into the library's depository collection. And fourth, the procedures for disposition of the tangible product copies shall conform to the requirements established by the Superintendent of Documents and the regional depository library.

We will be pleased to work with Council and the community on formulating the guidelines to put this advice into practice. Some issues that you might consider is whether GPO should prepare a list of electronic products that are approved for such replacement with online versions, and what the proper role of the regional is in the process. For example, how does the regional manage the replacement process within its service area, and is it reasonable to extend this replacement authority to the regional itself, or should regionals be expected to maintain complete collections of publications in all of the media in which they were disseminated.

As those of you who follow GOVDOC-L have seen, there's been a discussion recently about access issues. One message in particular dealt with Internet use policies and how local library policies relate to the free access requirements of the FDLP. Council has worked to develop the Depository Library Public Service Guidelines for Government Information in Electronic Formats, which were just published in Administrative Notes. As you just heard, we are working through the issues surrounding the substitution of online products for tangible versions. But there seems to be a need to articulate an FDLP Internet use policy, one that establishes that legitimate library security measures must be developed on a basis consistent with FDLP service guidelines and public access requirements. We thought that the best way to deal with this is for GPO and Council to develop and publish a model Internet use policy that depositories can refer to and, if necessary, adapt to fit their local needs. This is a proactive approach to what we see as an emerging issue, and a more positive way of putting the depository concerns up front, rather than working in a reactive mode and trying to intervene in each individual situation which may develop.

So we have put together a discussion draft, which is one of the many handouts available at the registration table. I'd like to start the discussion here, by summarizing the FDLP Internet Use Policy draft.

Access to online Federal Government information provided through the FDLP must be available to any library user free of fees or other restrictions, such as age, residency status, or filtering software. This is the same principle of free access that governs the use of traditional depository materials.

Depository libraries should have a written policy regarding access to FDLP information on the Internet that addresses these issues:

• Use or access may be mediated or unmediated

• Security measures must be consistent with FDLP guidelines and requirements
• Patrons cannot be required to present identification

• Log-in or sign-up sheets may be used (confidentiality of these records must be assured, as with circulation records)

• Special passwords may be used

• E-mail capability may be blocked

• Free and unrestricted searching may be provided at one or more workstations (time limits and the use of sign-up sheets are acceptable)

• Users may be charged the "usual and customary" fees for printing and diskettes

An orientation program was developed and implemented during FY '98 to provide current LPS and EIDS employees with an overview of basic job functions within all work areas of LPS. Managers and supervisors from LPS worked together on developing the program. Although the orientation is not mandatory, employee participation has been strongly encouraged. The ultimate goal of the program is to build a stronger work force that better understands the mission of LPS. By participating in the orientation, staff have gotten an understanding of how each individual position makes a difference in the accomplishment of the LPS mission. The program has fostered positive working relationships among employees in both LPS and EIDS. We have received feedback and recommendations from the participants that should help us to improve our efforts to serve the depository library community.

There have been six sessions since the program began in January 1998. Consisting of eight half-days, the program has been held over a two-week period. In FY 1998, 31 employees participated with five to six employees from various work areas within LPS and EIDS in the sessions. We are presently taking an extended break, to accommodate the fall Council, the winter holidays, and preparations for ALA Midwinter, but we expect to resume these orientations in the spring. We view the orientation as essential to transition our workforce to meet the challenges of a more electronic FDLP.

Recent Happenings in the Depository Administration Branch
Remarks by Robin Haun-Mohamed
Chief, Depository Administration Branch

Good morning! It’s been over six years since I moved from Southern California to Washington. I am pleased to be back for this visit not to just see the sights, but also to find some great and inexpensive local specialty food.

This morning I would like to bring you up-to-date on the physical operation of Library Programs Service. Potomac Business Center, Inc. (PBC) of Washington, DC began handling outgoing depository shipments June 1, 1998. PBC administrators have extensive management experience and have also provided mailing services to various agencies within the Department of Defense and other businesses located in the Washington metropolitan area.

PBC has secured United Parcel Service (UPS) as its subcontractor. Nearly all depository shipments, as well as other shipments sent to your depository through GPO, should be received through UPS delivery. Some libraries will continue to receive their mail through the U.S. Postal Service, which accounts for less than 10% of all depository shipments. Shipments should be received in the libraries within seven working days after being picked up from GPO.

Please continue to contact the LPS claims office to report non-receipt of shipments or receipt of damaged materials. LPS claims personnel can be reached on (202) 512-1024.

You may have noticed the change in shipping list numbers for all shipping list formats. Beginning October 1, 1998 the heading on the shipping list changed to 99-0001-P. The last shipping list numbers for FY 1998 are 98-0381-P for the paper shipping lists, 98-0055-S, for separates, 98-0076-E for electronic lists, and 98-1138-M for microfiche shipping lists.

As with all government services, LPS is concerned with programming changes to bring our "legacy" mainframe systems into compliance with the Year 2000 requirements. In DAB, these systems are the Depository Distribution Information System (DDIS) and the Acquisitions, Classification and Shipment Information System (ACSIS). Work has already begun on reprogramming these systems. We anticipate completion by March 1999.

Related to our efforts to bring our electronic systems into compliance with the Year 2000 requirements, we anticipate having the entire year on the shipping list heading. Thus, beginning October 1, 1999 the shipping lists will follow this format: 2000-0001-P. This shipping list number change is being made not only for the shipping list systems, but will also be incorporated in ACSIS.

LPS currently has 14 full-service microfiche contracts in place to provide material to the Federal depository libraries. As many of you have noted in e-mail messages to the discussion lists and to GPO, we continue to have problems with the contractors. One of our contractors, Lake George Industries, has applied for bankruptcy. At this time they only have two of the five contracts they have been awarded, and material that has been sent to them is being carefully monitored. Another contractor, Wilkins, Inc., continues to work with our Term Contracts Division and Quality Assurance staff to review material distributed under their contract. There are three remaining contractors, CRS, ReMac, and Engineered Systems that have the other 11 contracts.

I want to thank those in the depository community who continue to relay information on receipt of material from the microfiche contractors. In DAB, we also inspect shipments for faulty fiche, shipping list problems, and distribution problems. If you find you are having a persistent problem with a microfiche contractor, please let us know. It is always helpful to have all the information on the problem, such as the type of claim made, the length of time for non-receipt of material after a claim has been made, or the type of persistent problem your library has been encountering. And of course all libraries are to receive a copy of each shipping list, regardless of library size or item selection percentage.

Here are a few comments in response to the frustrations I hear expressed about the microfiche contractors. Given the number of libraries in the Program and the amount of material converted, there are bound to be some errors by the contractors. This is expected. But when the contractor is advised of the error and the appropriate action in not taken, you need to let GPO know. Please also remember, at this time you must submit claims via the official shipping list. It is not acceptable to take a printout of an electronic version of a shipping list, put the contractor’s mailing information on the bottom and fax it to the contractor.

With regard to claims in general, it is not appropriate at this time to submit claims to LPS via e-mail or an electronic inquiry form. You must continue to submit claims via fax or regular mail using the official shipping lists. LPS staff continue to work on automating the shipping list and claims process. I know you have heard of the other projects our programming people have been working on. In fact, programming for many of the new online services have been done by these fine folks, but there are just not enough people to do all the changes in an immediate time frame. We are committed to making electronic claims a reality, but we wish to do so in a comprehensive framework, replacing the largely manual and extremely time intensive system currently in place for the production of the shipping lists and filling of claims from the shipping lists.

And this brings me to askLPS. In April 1998, LPS brought the askLPS service live via the Internet. It has truly been an educational experience, as we knew it would be. In general, I have been pleased with the performance of the system, and again, I would like to thank the folks throughout LPS and GPO who make it work. We continue to have some problems with the service, generally dealing with the sheer number of inquiries submitted, but we are attempting to meet our goal of answering the inquiries within 10 business days of receipt.

For the first time we are systematically keeping track of inquiries sent to LPS for all areas. The numbers are pretty dramatic. Since March, over 12,400 inquiries have been received through all LPS channels with some 11,600 responses sent, generally within the 10 working day time frame. Most of the remaining inquiries are of a very detailed nature requiring coordination with agency officials.

As a depository inspector, one of my favorite phrases was, "I know you are making do with existing staff and LPS appreciates your effort." Well, this applies also to the inquiry process in LPS. The inquiries are being researched and answered using existing staff--the same folks that order, classify, catalog or distribute the material sent to the libraries. And of course, as in the libraries, the priority of inquiries shifts from day to day.

One very successful part of askLPS is the WEBTech Notes database. I appreciate the many librarians who are checking this resource before sending in their inquiry (well, not always, because it means there are fewer repeat questions, therefore placing the remaining questions into the problem or difficult to answer category). Another highly successful and useful component of askLPS is the FAQs & News service. LPS continues to post information to GOVDOC-L, but the information is also posted to askLPS. And my personal favorite is the online Directory with item lister option. I use this service several times each day.

So, if you feel your askLPS question has been lost, mislaid, etc., it may have been. Please let me know and we will try to find the request and resolve the problem. And remember, you can always send an inquiry without using the online form by sending an e-mail message to asklps@gpo.gov. If you feel your question is too complicated to convey via an e-mail message, please continue to use the Depository Library Inquiry Form (GPO Form 3794) to mail or fax the inquiry.

Beginning with volume 142 of the bound Congressional Record, GPO is producing this material on the DocuTech. I have brought a copy of the Record produced via the new process for anyone who wishes to take a look. There will be additional changes to the product, because the paper used in the DocuTech is very thick compared to the paper we are used to seeing in the Bound Record. I will convey any feedback you have on the volume back to the Congressional Printing Management Division.

When you have a few minutes, take a look at the handout for DAB. On October 2, 1998, LPS loaded three new files onto the Federal Bulletin Board (FBB) related to the List of Classes and the location is listed on the handout. The new files are Appendix II, Classes No Longer Active with Explanation, The List of Items and Class Stem, and the Inactive or Discontinued Items from the 1950 Revision of the List of Classes. This last file was issued as a separate publication and will now be updated each May on the FBB.

Now that all portions of the List of Classes are available in an electronic format on a monthly basis, LPS would like to change the frequency of the paper List of Classes from a quarterly to a semi-annual publication. Currently LPS spends $26,000 to print the List of Classes. If we change the frequency to twice a year, LPS could save $13,000 a year. Additional savings of $6500 could also be realized by distributing only one copy to each library on the twice year schedule. LPS seeks Council’s advice on changing the frequency of the List of Classes from quarterly to a semi-annual and also on decreasing the number of paper copies distributed from two copies to one copy each.

Finally, I’d like to close with a brief update on the distribution of material from the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA). Effective October 1, 1998, NIMA publications are being distributed via the lighted bin system rather than directly from NIMA and DLA. This step was taken because of past problems in obtaining distribution and cost information from NIMA on a regular basis. LPS also has had problems in recent years in making changes to library item selection profiles for NIMA related material. The DDIS system reflects the library current profiles, but programming changes at NIMA had not been done in several years.

In bringing this material back into GPO for distribution, we have come across a number of problems, not the least of which is the production of labels for the map selective housing sites. We believe at this time that we have solved the problems, but thank you in advance for your patience during the conversion process. One of the projects we are still in process of completing is a review of all selective housing sites for maps. We will be sending a letter to all parent depository libraries and the map selective housing sites to verify the map libraries should be receiving the maps they are currently profiled to receive. We also wish to obtain copies of all selective housing agreements.

ETS Activities and Projects
Remarks by Judy Andrews
Expert Consultant

It’s so nice to be back in California. I started my career in California - a little further up the coast, in Santa Barbara. Today I'm speaking as a member of GPO's Electronic Transition Staff (ETS). The changes in Government information keep accelerating and like Alice, we seem to be running as hard as we can just to keep up. ETS assists in identifying and managing these changes. I'd like to take the next few minutes to talk about some of our recent projects and future plans.

My first project when I joined ETS this summer was to take a look at the Locator and Cataloging Services. My study has investigated 14 different services to see if there is duplication of effort and if the original intent of the service is still served and necessary. It is an ongoing study, as I gather statistics and discuss the various services with Tad Downing and others in the new Cataloging and Locator Services Team. It has been a wonderful introduction to ETS, the LPS services and the people that design and maintain those services.

ETS is involved in Pathway Services, Web applications for depository library services and permanent public access for electronic products. Pathway Services provide ways to navigate GPO electronic products. One of my favorites is the "Browse Topics." Currently there are 171 topics, covering such things as air pollution, cost of living, health care, Pacific rim, social security and waste management. These pages link to Government Internet sites on the topic and are developed by volunteers from the depository and information community such as yourselves. There are still a few topics that need to be developed if you are interested.

Another Pathway Service that I'd like to highlight today is the Pathway Indexer page from which you may index between 150,000 to 200,000 Web pages from over 1600 .gov and .mil servers. This service may change depending upon the outcome of our tests of the Advanced Search Facility (ASF). ASF has been developed during the last year by the Commerce Department, under a directive by the Executive Office of the President. Two private companies subcontracted the work and are working with about 30 test sites to try it out. ETS and EIDS are both involved in testing ASF. ASF should be much faster than the Harvest search engine we are now using. It will also be Z39.50 compliant and able to search GILS records. It is anticipated that the search engine will be able to compile rudimentary metadata and index it. Agencies will then be responsible for a part of the Government Web pages that use ASF. This will be a wonderful, cooperative way for agencies to provide indexing for their Web pages.

Lee Morey has been the ETS member who has worked most closely with these Pathway Services. She has been doing a great job and now I must tell you the sad news that she is leaving GPO, as of today, to take a job in private industry. We will truly miss all the great work Lee has done for LPS during the last eight years and especially for ETS during the last 26 months. Her duties will be distributed among the rest of LPS.

Now on to happier subjects. Joe Paskoski continues his wonderful work with LPS Web applications. The LPS "virtual" tour went live in April and has received great reviews. Joe updates the LPS pages regularly and has nearly completed, "U. S. Congressional Serial Set: What It Is and Its History" adapted from a presentation by Virginia Saunders, GPO Congressional Documents Specialist. It should be up by the time you get home. You can find this, as well as askLPS, Council recommendations and responses, the Item Lister and other FDLP materials on the FDLP Administrative Page at www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/fdlppro.html.

Finally, I'd like to talk about the Partnerships. George Barnum, who remains with GPO for a second year as an expert consultant, has been instrumental in bringing about the FDLP/ERIC Digital Library Pilot Project. This project allows the 300+ depository libraries that select the ERIC depository microfiche to make these public domain reports available electronically via OCLC FirstSearch interface. Reports from January 1997 forward, previously provided to the FDLP in microfiche, are converted to TIFF image format and stored at OCLC. Using the authorizations and passwords distributed last summer, these depository libraries will be able to provide depository ERIC reports electronically, free of charge, to their patrons. This pilot project will provide the participants, FDLP, the National Library of Education and OCLC with useful information on managing a dynamic electronic collection. Since the beginning of the project LPS has been expecially interested in the economic aspects of data archiving. Data will be analyzed in the first months of calendar year 1999. The project is currently scheduled to conclude December 31, 1998.

Information Bridge, another of our partnerships, began in December 1997 when an interagency agreement was signed between GPO and the Department of Energy (DOE)/Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI). This agreement provides depository libraries and the public with electronic access to more than 26,000 reports, containing over 2 million full-text pages, that have been produced by DOE/OSTI since January 1996. OSTI staff introduced Information Bridge during the April 1998 Federal Depository Conference. Since that time over 5,000 documents have been added to the system.

During the first month of operation to the depository community, Information Bridge was a "Pick of the Week" from Yahoo!, the Web navigation and indexing site. In September, the Information Bridge Project Team at OSTI was selected to receive a FY 1998 DOE Information Management Quality Award for Technical Excellence. This award is designed to recognize those individuals, organizations, teams, and/or groups who have made significant quality contributions to DOE's Information Management Program. This project continues to furnish a vast amount of scientific research to the public and is a wonderful success story in providing permanent public access to government information.

One project that has made a significant step forward is the NTIS/GPO Image Format Pilot Project. GPO and the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) are implementing the December 1997 agreement that enables depositories to have free online access to scientific and technical documents that are currently available in electronic format from the NTIS collection. The University of California, Davis started with a pre-pilot project in 1997 and University of Nevada, Reno joined in mid-1998. Both NTIS and FDLP found this pre-pilot successful in testing the technological aspects of making electronic documents from NTIS available through depository libraries. We are now ready for the next step. 20 additional libraries have been selected by GPO and will join the pilot project next month. Documents from the NTIS PB collection, the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) and OSTI, some from August 1996 on, will be searchable using Oracle software. Currently there are over 87,000 documents and more are added each day as they are received. I am the contact person for the project and expect this to be an exciting part of my year at GPO.

Another project under discussion is a joint project with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Due to possible reductions in the NRC budget and the implementation of the NRC Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), in which all NRC documents from implementation forward will be represented in electronic form, the NRC is reviewing the possibility of terminating the Local Public Document Room (LPDR) Program. The approximately 70 LPDR collections in microfiche from 1981 on, include NRC reports in the NUREG series, Weekly Information Reports, transcripts of Commission meetings, existing and proposed regulations and amendments, NRC licensing files and correspondence on technical, legal, regulatory and policy matters. The LPDRs exist to provide public access to information about nearby commercial nuclear power plants with operating or possession-only licenses, or under construction, as well as potential high-level radioactive waste repository sites, gaseous diffusion plants, certain fuel cycle facilities and certain low-level waste disposal facilities. We are talking with NRC about the possibility of bringing these collections into the depository library program and preserving permanent public access to the collections.

This gives you a thumbnail sketch of what ETS has been doing recently. We will continue with these projects and forge new ones in the days to come. If you have any questions, ideas or comments I'd be happy to talk with you during the next few days. Thank you.

GPO Access Update
Remarks by T.C. Evans
Assistant Director, Office of Electronic Information Dissemination

It is a pleasure to be with you this morning to report on the continuing growth and development of GPO Access. As I am sure you are aware, recent events have presented great challenges to both the operators and users of GPO Access. The Congressional release of the materials associated with the Independent Counsel’s investigation of the President has significantly increased the traffic on our site. The increase has been so large that regular users have experienced difficulty in using the GPO Access services that they rely on.

In anticipation of receiving the large volume of Independent Counsel materials from Congress, two additional dedicated servers were configured into the existing gang of servers that provide round-robin service to GPO Access users. A third was added later when the full nature and scope of these materials became known. The extremely large image files that Congress placed on GPO Access, without accompanying plain text versions, posed difficult challenges to system resources. The additional servers provided adequate processing capability to handle the extraordinary amount of new traffic for these materials, but performance was hampered in other ways.

Over the past year the bandwidth available to connect users to GPO Access had consistently been running at 40 to 50 percent of capacity during peak hours. As a result of the dramatic increase in traffic associated with the Independent Counsel’s Report and the supplemental materials that followed, these pipelines began operating at 100 percent capacity during peak hours. Not exceeding 70 to 80 percent of capacity is recommended for best performance. Because the necessary bandwidth has not always been available, some user packets have been unable to get in to our servers, and in some cases the return packets being sent back to users from our servers have been unable to get out. This has made using the normally speedy resources of GPO Access much more difficult and at times resulted in users receiving error messages.

We view this reduced performance as an unacceptable condition. Efforts to upgrade began as soon as our monitoring indicated that we had exceeded acceptable levels. An expedited procurement is well underway that will double our available bandwidth. In addition, a powerful server array controller system is on order. This system is being successfully employed on some well known high-volume sites and will greatly enhance GPO Access performance by monitoring server performance, automatically routing incoming inquiries to the most available server, and speeding responses to users. As soon as the additional T1 lines have been installed and load-balanced and the server array is installed, users should see a significant improvement in response time.

Our expansion efforts are planned to provide more than sufficient capacity in advance of load increases on our system. The incredible jump in system usage caused by the Independent Counsel’s report went beyond anything we had envisioned, but we are taking steps to ensure that we will be fully prepared for such jumps in the future.

Despite all of this, GPO Access performed rather well during the Starr crisis according to statistical results from a study conducted by Inverse Network Technology. Our performance ranked behind only CNN and substantially ahead of the other congressional sites serving as official sources for the Starr material. This included a download failure rate of only 5.4 percent, compared to 2.9 percent for CNN, 74.6 percent for the House of Representatives, 10.8 percent for Thomas, and 59.2 percent for the House Judiciary Committee. For highest average throughput CNN achieved 3.07 kilobytes per second (Kbps), the New York Times 2.43 Kbps, GPO Access 2.16 Kbps, Thomas 1.20 Kbps, Judiciary 0.95 Kbps, and the House at 0.02 Kbps.

The good news is that it appears that many of the users who became aware of GPO Access as a result of this high profile material have discovered the many other valuable resources we have to offer. Traffic on our site has remained high even after the initial rush brought on by the congressional release of Mr. Starr’s work. Inquiries to the GPO Access User Support Team definitely show an influx of new users asking the kinds of questions frequently put forth by individuals new to our site.

Even though processing the huge volume of log files for September has been time consuming and difficult, it seems that about 15.2 million documents were downloaded from GPO Access during the month. I firmly believe that this number would have been significantly higher if the necessary bandwidth had been available. This means that a total of more than 137.2 million documents were downloaded from GPO Access in fiscal 98, compared to about 46 million in fiscal 97, or almost triple the previous year.

When you take the number of seconds in the year and divide it into the total number of downloads recorded, you find that, on average 44 documents were downloaded from GPO Access every second. This is amazing, considering the fact that many of the documents downloaded were quite large.

The troubles caused by the huge influx of traffic also made supporting users a more difficult task during this period. I wish to publicly thank our user community for their patience and understanding in this time of trial for GPO Access and the dedicated professionals on the GPO Access User Support Team for their diligent efforts to aid frustrated users. The unsung heroes in our Production Department definitely deserve a hearty well-done for the many long hours they put in during this time.

Throughout this recent turmoil the development and growth of GPO Access has continued. Work on our redesigned home page was completed and the new page has received a favorable response from most users. My thanks to all who assisted this process by providing feedback and participating in focus groups. Browse options have been added for the Code of Federal Regulations, the Congressional Record, and the Federal Register. A new GPO Access Training Manual was released in June. GPO Access is now hosting a Web site for the National Council on Disability, bringing the number of agency sites hosted to 14.

A new feature that allows the free download of MOCAT and SPC data files was released this past Friday. Anyone can download these complete sets of official records from the Federal Bulletin Board. The data sets for MOCAT contain the final edited records used to create the printed version of MOCAT, with the latest set released monthly. An updated file for the SPC will be available each day. These files are provided in ASCII text and have been compressed into self-executing zipped form to speed downloading. It is our hope that these files will be used by libraries, value-added providers, and others to further awareness of the Government information products available through the Federal Depository Library and Sales Programs.

The new promotional brochures pertaining specifically to Congressional and National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) products and services available through GPO Access have been approved. These area-specific brochures join the standard GPO Access brochure and the specialized brochure for CBDNet. Copies are available out on the information table and will be featured at the many conferences and tradeshows we participate in throughout the year. These new brochures, like the existing ones, can be provided to you in limited numbers for use in your libraries.

Work is continuing to improve the research and ordering capabilities for our sales applications. I am pleased to report that approximately $11.5 million worth of sales resulted from user activity on the GPO Access Web site in fiscal year 1998. This includes both online orders and orders resulting from forms downloaded from the site and sent in for processing. To put this in perspective, that total represents just over 15 percent of total revenue for the Sales Program.

A new List of Sections Affected (LSA) application is being released today on GPO Access. The LSA adds another valuable tool for utilizing the Code of Federal Regulations and the Federal Register. Preparations for adding the House Journal to GPO Access is well underway and should be released soon. A Senate version is also being discussed for the future. We also learned last week that the Bureau of Export Administration has accepted a GPO proposal to take over the production and dissemination of their Export Administration Regulations. This will result in an electronic version being added to the free services of GPO Access.

I would also like to remind you that requests for GPO Access training classes should be submitted to Sheila McGarr by January 1, 1999. A copy of the training request form is available in the July 15, 1998 issue of Administrative Notes [v. 19, no. 9]. We will only be able to honor a limited number of requests, so it is important that all requests sent in for consideration arrive in a timely manner.

Please join me on Tuesday, at 10:45, in the Crystal Room to hear more about the future development of GPO Access. I also invite you to participate with me in an informal focus group on Wednesday, at 10:45, in the Garden Room. I look forward to discussing with you there, and at any time, the ways in which you feel that GPO Access could be improved.

GPO Access: Future Development
Remarks by T.C. Evans
Assistant Director, Office of Electronic Information Dissemination

• What GPO Access is today
• What GPO Access will be tomorrow
• What challenges will be faced in getting from here to there

Almost 129,000 Electronic Titles

• Databases
• Locator Tools
• Storage Facilities
• Downloadable Federal Files
• User Aids
• Program Information
• Hosted Agency Web Sites

• Authentic and up-to-date
• Electronically accessible to all, free of charge
• Produced as a by-product of the production process for the official paper version
• Permanent access to the information available through GPO Access
• Provide support for users

• Almost 1,000 WAIS databases and growing
• A small number of databases using OpenText
• Approximately 45 GB of data
• With extra copies for load-balancing and backup, the total footprint comes to about 135 GB
• An average of almost 15 million documents are download by users each month

• Browse Titles
• Browse Topics
• GILS
• MOCAT
• SPC
• Pathway Indexer

• Individual documents such as the Starr Report and supplemental releases
• Federal Bulletin Board
• Various GPO documents

• GPO Access User Support Team
• Helpful Hints
• GPO Access User Guide
• About GPO Access
• GPO Access Training Booklet
• More About These Databases
• New and Noteworthy

• About the Superintendent of Documents
• Federal Depository Library Program
• FDLP Administration
• askLPS
• Depository Library Council
• WEBTech Notes

• Currently 14 agencies have chosen GPO Access as the host of their Web sites, and more are on the way
• These are official agency sites
• Content is controlled by the agency
• These sites are mounted on GPO servers and maintained by GPO

• It will continue to expand
• Usage will continue to increase
• Technology will change
• Managing this collection will become more and more difficult
• Users will continue to expect GPO Access to be quick and easy to use

• Resources ($ and Personnel)
• Infrastructure
• Which technology to use
• Migration to new technology
• Regulatory changes
• Competition
• Security
• Educating users
• Serving user needs
• Serving client agency needs

• Electronic Collection Management Plan
• Regular planning meetings
• Increasing outreach to agencies
• Working towards a GPO Access Learning Center
• Train-the-trainer sessions
• Improved notification of changes to our user community

If not, I look forward to working with you on developing the future of GPO Access