Administrative Notes-Special Issue

F e d e r a l D e p o s i t o r y L i b r a r y P r o g r a m

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ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES
Special Issue - Changes Proposed to Title 44, United States Code

Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program

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August 30, 1996 Issue

GP 3.16/3-2:17/12
(vol. 17, no. 12)

Table of Contents

Changes Proposed to Title 44, United States Code . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Public Printer Letter to Senate: Changes to Title 44, U.S.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Changes to Chapters 17 and 19, Title 44 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

This Special Issue of Administrative Notes contains proposed suggestions for changes to the law governing the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) which have just been sent to the Chairman of the Committee on Rules and Administration, U.S. Senate. The Committee requested suggestions from GPO as a part of its recent hearings on the FDLP.

We have proposed changes to the entire Chapter 19 of Title 44, U.S.C. which we feel will facilitate the transition to a more electronic Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). Also, we are suggesting new language for Sections 1710 and 1711, which relate to cataloging and indexing, and propose to incorporate that language in Chapter 19.

We want to thank the many people outside of GPO who contributed to this effort. This includes those who worked on the task of an þevaluation of current laws governing the FDLP and recommendation of legislative changesþ as part of the recent Study, Depository Library Council members, and the many people who spent many hours on this at the American Library Association's conference in New York. As the Public Printer's transmittal letter to the Committee Chairman states, this was indeed a consultative process.

In this effort, the existing structure of Chapter 19 has been maintained while language has been added which will facilitate the transition and provide explicit statutory recognition of the role and responsibilities of the FDLP in the Information Age.

Specifically, the major proposals would:: 1. Rename the Chapter to Public Access to Government Information Through Libraries: The Federal Information Dissemination and Access Program. This also renames the Program and changes the official name of the participating libraries to Federal Information Access Libraries.; 2. Incorporate new definitions in Section 1901 to define the overall Program and its scope, and establish and define new terms necessary to support the inclusion of electronic information.; 3. Establish in Section 1902 that the Superintendent of Documents, in addition to continuing to distribute tangible products, will ensure access to Government information products available via Federal World Wide Web sites and other online services. Section 1902 also provides that components of the Government will notify the Superintendent of Documents when they initiate, modify, or terminate a product and will, upon request, provide electronic source data files.; 4. Add language in Section 1903 to establish that the cost responsibility for providing access to products via electronic information services is analogous to that for tangible products. However, recognizing that some components of the Government are required by statute to charge for access to products available via an electronic information service, this Section would establish a minimum level of service that a component would be required to provide at no cost to the FDLP. It also provides provisions whereby the Superintendent of Documents may requisition additional access at a reasonable cost, or take other measures when deemed necessary to ensure that the information is in the Program.; 5. Bring together in Section 1905 the different means by which a library can become a program library, except for the designation of regional status, which is addressed in Section 1912.; 6. Establish in Section 1911 that access to Government information products available via Government electronic information services will be provided at no charge to program libraries and that all information products received or accessed through the Program will be made available for the free use of the general public. Also, Section 1911 will establish that retention requirements for tangible products will be as authorized under guidelines to be issued by the Superintendent of Documents.; 7. In Section 1912, charge the Superintendent of Documents with establishing a system whereby Government information products available via Government electronic information services will be maintained permanently for program library and general public access. The Storage Facility defined in the GPO Access Act will be one resource used for this purpose. Also, Section 1912 provides new mechanisms for flexibility in the designation and functions of Regional program libraries.; 8. In the new Section 1917, charge the Superintendent of Documents with providing cataloging and locator services which will direct program libraries and the general public to Government information products in tangible formats and those available via electronic information services. The Locator Service defined in the GPO Access Act will serve as the resource for this purpose.

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Public Printer Letter to Senate: Changes to Title 44, U.S.C.

August 22, 1996

The Honorable John W. Warner
Chairman
Committee on Rules and Administration
U.S. Senate
Room 305, Russell Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Mr. Chairman:

This letter transmits suggestions for changes to chapter 19 of Title 44, U.S.C., which governs the operation of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). They include suggestions for changes to sections 1901 and 1902 as well as proposed changes which would facilitate the transition to a more electronic FDLP. They also include suggestions to modernize and simplify the language of chapter 19.

The suggested changes result primarily from the Study to Identify Measures Necessary for a Successful Transition to a More Electronic Federal Depository Library Program (GPO: June 1996). The study included the task of an "evaluation of current laws governing the FDLP and recommendation of legislative changes." Working on this task were GPO staff along with representatives of the American Library Association (ALA), the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), and the Information Industry Association (IIA), although all members of the study group, including the Office of Management and Budget, were invited to participate. After publishing the final study report, we informally discussed and reviewed the suggestions for changes with Government information groups of the ALA, the AALL, members of the depository library community, and GPO's Depository Library Council. The enclosed changes reflect that informal consultative process.

Sincerely,

MICHAEL F. DIMARIO
Public Printer

Enclosure

cc: The Honorable Wendell H. Ford
Ranking Member
Committee on Rules and Administration
U.S. Senate