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Public Printer Names Five To
Depository Library Council

Public Printer Bruce R. James has named five new members to the Depository Library Council to the Public Printer. Bringing diversified experience to the Council, the newly appointed members are:

• Duncan Aldrich, University of Nevada, Reno
• Charles Eckman, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
• John W. Graham, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Cincinnati, OH
• Cheryl Malone, University of Arizona School of Information Resources, Tucson, AZ
• Barbara Selby, University of Virginia School of Law, Charlottesville, VA

This is a reappointment for Mr. Aldrich, who was a Council member from 1997 to 2000 and served as Chair during 1999-2000. He is DataWorks Coordinator at the University of Nevada Reno Libraries. A land-grant institution, UNR was designated in 1907. It serves as the Regional Depository for Nevada, selecting 100% of the items distributed to depositories. Duncan worked as an Expert Consultant at GPO from 1996-1997 on issues related to the electronic transition. He also served as Chair of GODORT during 1993-1994. Currently he is active in ALA and ALA-GODORT and is Co-Chair of the ALA Task Force on Restrictions on Access to Government Information.

Charles D. (Chuck) Eckman is Head, Social Sciences Resource Group and Principal Government Documents Librarian, Social Sciences Resource Center, Green Library, Stanford University, Stanford, CA. Chuck has been Principal Government Documents Librarian in the Stanford University Libraries since 1995, and Director of the GATT Digital Archive project since 1999. He participates in a collaborative project of the World Trade Organization and Stanford University, and leads a group of eight institutional partners to develop a grant exploring the potential applicability of the LOCKSS software model to the FDLP (LOCKSS-DOCS project) (LOCKSS = Lots of copies keep stuff safe). Chuck is active in ALA – GODORT, and serves as chair of the International Documents Task Force.

John Graham is Head of the Public Documents and Patents Department at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio. This is one of the oldest depositories, receiving a Representative designation in 1884. The library is also a Patent Depository. John was selected to head a newly reconstituted Documents Department at the Public Library of Cincinnati, consolidating functions and improving overall access to resources. He also served as a resource for a PBS documentary, with particular reference to the U.S. Congressional Serial Set.

Cheryl Knott Malone is Associate Professor, School of Information Resources and Library Science (SIRLS), University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. The Main Library, University of Arizona, Tucson, has been a depository since 1907. Cheryl is currently working on a pilot project with the Main Library, SIRLS, and GPO to develop a virtual depository collection. She teaches graduate courses on Government information, social constructs of information, information literacy instruction, and online searching. She is also researching the construction and revision of the Information Sector in the North American Industry Classification System, and is an Affiliate with the Women’s Studies program at the University of Arizona.

Barbara Selby is Documents Librarian at the Arthur J. Morris Law Library, University of Virginia School of Law, Charlottesville, Virginia. The Law Library received a Senatorial depository designation in 1964. Barbara authors a Web page, "Federal Administrative Decisions & Other Actions" (http://www.law.virginia.edu/admindec), and is Co-editor of the Virginia Library Association’s journal, Virginia Libraries. She is one of the directors of the Virginia Association of Law Libraries. Active in ALA GODORT, she received the Bernadine Abbott Hoduski Founders Award in 1999 for her work with state government information issues in Virginia.

Remarks by Judy Russell
Superintendent of Documents
before the
Spring 2003 Meeting of the Depository Library Council
April 8, 2003
Reno, NV

Let me start by saying that both Bruce James and I would like to thank the Council and all of you for your participation in the Monday session on the future of the FDLP. Both of us found it very helpful, and you will see the information that you shared with us reflected back in what we say and do in the coming months.

I’m very pleased to be back at GPO and working again with the depository community.

Would the audience please stand to identify yourselves by library type: academic (all and then all that do not consider themselves large), public, academic law, other law, research libraries, federal/military libraries, court, state and other. Could the library directors stand and be recognized? Thank you all for taking the time to come and participate. We are especially grateful to the library directors for taking the time to come and be part of these discussions about the future of the FDLP.

I’d like to announce several staff changes within the Superintendent of Documents organization:

• T.C. Evans was promoted to Deputy Superintendent of Documents in January;
• Ric Davis has been promoted to Director of the Office of Electronic Information Dissemination Services (EIDS)
• Bonnie Trivizas is retiring as Chief of the Library Division in the Library Programs Service and Sheila McGarr is returning to GPO in that position;
• T.C. Evans is serving as the Acting Director of Sales until that position is filled; applications for that position have been received and are being reviewed, so there should be an announcement on that position within a few weeks;
• Karen Sieger has been promoted to Product Services Manager in EIDS; she led the team that has developed the new web pages for GPO Access.

The launch of the new GPO Access pages was the culmination of months of work with focus groups, through usability testing, user surveys, and feedback received through the GPO Access User Support Team from Congress, Federal agencies, the depository library community, and the public. The prototype pages were shown at the ALA midwinter meeting and other places in advance of launch. The use of the new website designation, <www.gpoaccess.gov>, was not certain until the Thursday before the Council meeting. I apologize for the lack of more advance notice on the change in the URL. The old addresses will continue to work for some time and redirects will be put in place for each of the old links. We have heard the concerns of the community and will make sure that major changes are announced in advance next time.

I want to ask the new members of the Depository Library Council to stand and be recognized as I mention their names. Their terms will begin in October 2003. We are pleased that four of them could be with us at this meeting. Present at the meeting are Chuck Eckman from Stanford University; Cheryl Malone from the University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science (SIRLS), Barbara Selby from the University of Virginia Law Library, and Duncan Aldrich from the University of Nevada, Reno. John Graham from the Cincinnati Hamilton County Public Library was unable to attend because it is tax season and he is short of staff.

GPO is negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). This contract will make GPO an official "archival affiliate" and all of the GPO Access databases will be considered the official archival copies as if they had been transferred to NARA, but GPO will continue to maintain them for permanent public access.

Ric Davis is leading a GPO task force to implement digital signatures on Congressional bills, Federal Register documents and eventually on all GPO Access files. These digital signatures will allow users of downloaded files to determine that the files are unchanged since they were "authenticated" by GPO.

Bruce James has indicated that the first year of his term as Public Printer will be spent gathering facts about where GPO and its partners are and what we anticipate for the future, as a basis for a strategic planning process. He has encouraged GPO to work with the community to develop demonstration or pilot projects, which will test ideas about services that we may wish to offer in the future and provide facts about how such services should be implemented. GPO will also use surveys both to support data gathering and analysis of the pilot projects and to gather more general information about the FDLP and its users.

We have a number of pilot projects that are underway or contemplated:

• Economic Development Pilot: The work of the Council’s Subcommittee on Attrition and Retention (SOAR) shows that many of the libraries that left the program in recent years are small academic and public libraries in economically disadvantaged areas. GPO is developing a pilot project that will help comparable libraries that remain in the FDLP to focus their collection and services on government publications that are specifically applicable to community economic development. GPO will combine that recommended collection with specialized training on the utilization of the resources and seek training and other assistance from agencies with responsibility for small and minority business development. GPO may also provide workstations to these libraries, since they may not be able to afford the initial investment in appropriate equipment. We hope this program will provide a strong economic benefit and real incentive for such libraries to remain in the program and utilize information available from the Federal government to assist their communities.
• Kiosk: At the ALA midwinter meeting, we saw a kiosk that had been developed for the New Jersey State Library that included links to GPO Access, the Catalog of Government Publications, the Online Government Bookstore, Ben’s Guide, locating a Federal Depository Library and other Federal information sources. 3M and Public Information Kiosk, Inc. have brought one of the kiosks here to Reno, and it is available for you to test drive in the registration area. They have helped us adapt some of the screens from the New Jersey kiosk to show how we might use a kiosk for public access and as a GPO bookstore. The kiosk includes a telephone that can be used to call the GPO Access user support team or a reference librarian in a depository library. It also has a credit card reader for purchases or to pay for printing on the printer that is part of the unit. GPO plans to define one or more pilot projects using the kiosk so we can learn more about how this technology might assist us in the sale and delivery of government publications.
• State-wide Roll-out of GPO Access: I have had discussions with several state librarians and with the executive board of the Chief Operating Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA) about ways for GPO to help State Libraries treat GPO Access and Ben’s Guide the same way that they treat commercial databases and e-journals that are licensed under statewide contracts. Although the State Library doesn’t have to pay for GPO Access and Ben’s Guide, they have been paid for with appropriated funds. We would like to develop and test a roll-out package that can be supported with literature and training, so that GPO Access and Ben’s Guide can be available to the public in every school and public library in the test states. We would want to survey for recognition and use of these products before and after the roll-out so we could determine its effectiveness.
• DOE Pilot Projects: Some of you participated in a meeting earlier this week about the new opportunities presented to us by the Department of Energy (DOE), which has been a long time partner of GPO and the FDLP. As part of the Information Bridge, DOE has developed two new capabilities that it would like to test with depository libraries. One is a means to establish a profile based on search strategy or list of key words, so that every new document that is added to the database that matches the profile of the library will result in an e-mail notification of availability with a link to review or retrieve the document. The other is a means to identify categories of documents, much like the categories that were previously used to select subsets of the DOE microfiche, and all electronic documents fitting the category would be placed in a holding area from which the selecting library could FTP the copies to store and use locally. These items would be placed in a pre-determined folder at regular intervals and held for several days to provide an opportunity to the library to download the files. The content would be superseded at scheduled intervals with new material matching the profile.
• University of Arizona Pilot Project: Later in the program you will hear a presentation from the University of Arizona about their project to become the first all electronic selective depository library. They are working with GPO to identify electronic counterparts for all of the items that they select and systematically substituting those items for tangible products. This will help us examine the characteristics and service requirements for depository libraries in the future when all, or virtually all, of the material available through the FDLP is electronic.
• Academic Law Library Pilot Project: We are seeking one or more academic law libraries for a similar project to test the feasibility of an all electronic academic law depository library.
• Digitization and Preservation: We have been offered a set of 20 years of paper copies of Congressional hearings and we would like to find one or more depository libraries to work with us on digitizing this collection. We also want to encourage depository libraries to seek digitization and preservation grants for retrospective conversion of other materials from their Federal documents collections. GPO will work with the libraries to see that all converted items are cataloged; to establish standards for digitization that will result in searchable files; to ensure that the digitized materials are part of the FDLP and available for permanent public access; and to serve as a clearinghouse for information about digitization projects so that we can eliminate redundancy.
• New Concept for Inspectors: The regional depository libraries have been asked to develop proposals for pilot projects to test a new concept for inspections. We would like to establish locally based "consultants," who would be assigned responsibility for approximately 40 to 60 depository libraries in a geographic area. They would visit each of those libraries at least once per quarter, some for only a few hours and others for a day or more, depending on the need. They would offer training and attend local, state and regional documents meetings to speak and answer questions. They could assist with self-studies, help train new documents librarians, and advise on problems related to item selection, collection development policies, etc. The idea is to recruit from the community people who would serve in the community for a year or two and then return to work in a depository library. We have asked several regionals to consider providing a home base for such consultants, including office space, and mentoring/supervising them. A few regionals said they might be able to use a member of their own staff if GPO would cover the travel expenses. Others said they would prefer a GPO employee.

In my discussions with GPO staff and members of the depository community, I have been emphasizing the idea that "one size does not fit all." We are beginning to re-evaluate procedures, policies and regulations to determine what is best for each size and type of depository library. The core collection for a small public library may be very different from that of an academic research library or an academic law library. The technical requirements for a library with a large information commons may be quite different than those for a small library, which will need one or more dedicated workstations for access to Federal government information. For example, academic law libraries tell us that there are currently no DVDs offered in the items they select, so they do not understand why they should be required to have a workstation with a DVD player. Similarly, the list of titles that should always remain in paper may be different for different sizes and types of libraries. The breakout sessions on Wednesday morning are intended to provide an opportunity for dialog among librarians from similar institutions.

I have been having a series of conference calls with librarians from different types of libraries and will continue to do that as a means to explore the barriers to and incentives for participation in the FDLP, now and in the future. I encourage every one here to network among yourselves and with others who were not able to attend the meeting and then top provide feedback to us on the changes that you would like to see.

Gil is going to speak about progress on the acquisition of an integrated library system and our plans to establish a GPO collection of tangible materials, so I will not elaborate on either of those projects.

We would like to replace the microfiche contracts as they expire with contracts for digitizing documents. GPO will work with the community to develop specifications and standards that will result in searchable, useful electronic files.

Retrospective scanning is also an important issue. There is a need for library partners to help GPO identify and convert segments of the historical collections, again using common specifications and standards so the files are searchable and can be readily shared and preserved for permanent public access. Hopefully, libraries can obtain grants from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the National Science Foundation and other sources to help fund these efforts. Retrospective digitization will not only improve access to the older materials, it will enable the libraries that need or wish to do so to weed their collections and substitute the electronic titles. GPO will ensure that cataloging records are created for historical documents as they are digitized.

GPO is also seeking library partners to assist us with the development of virtual reference services and web-based training.

We are planning for the next generation of GPO Access. The new website is already available and should make it easier for users to find the right databases and search them effectively. Specifications are being developed for the functionality of the new search engine and platform. Procurement regulations limit what we can say about this, but it will be XML based and we will migrate forward all of the current GPO Access databases, adding XML coding and digital signatures. The target is to select the new software by the end of the year and implement next year. The FY 2004 appropriation request includes $4.1 million for that purpose.

GPO has now joined CENDI, the interagency group of scientific and technical information providers, including NLM, DOE, DTIC, NASA, NAL, NTIS and other executive branch agencies. We are the first legislative branch agency to join CENDI. GPO is also participating in the National Digital Information Infrastructure Program (NDIIP) of the Library of Congress and expects to be part of the OMB interagency e-government committee.

We have developed a proposed reorganization within the Superintendent of Documents staff. Bruce James has gone through a process of consultation with the senior managers. The organization chart for the new GPO structure is in the packet provided to each attendee. We have done a similar process within the Documents organization and are completing a proposal for a structure that is arranged in functional areas. There is a policy and planning group, which will focus (as the name implies) on the policies, procedures, collection development plans, and regulations for each program area. There are three main program areas: the Federal Depository Library Program, the Catalog of Government Publications, which we are now calling the National Bibliography, and cost recovery programs, such as the sales and reimbursable programs. Library and customer services is another area, which will include responsibilities such as a central contact center for user support and order processing; account records management; market and market research; and education and training. The operations areas will include an expanded acquisitions and agency outreach staff; cataloging and bibliographic control; and collection management for GPO Access, the electronic archive and the re-established tangible collection; as well as storage and distribution functions. There will continue to be a support group for financial, administrative and other cross-cutting functions. This will align our staff to reduce duplicative efforts and provide better service to our library partners and our other customers. It will allow us to focus more attention on establishing a comprehensive national bibliography as required by the statute as well as building a more comprehensive collection of tangible and electronic documents. The integrated library system is an essential tool that will make it possible for the first time to expand the current Catalog of Government Publications by incorporating bibliographic records from other agencies.

These changes will result in new positions and promotional opportunities for current staff and we hope that many of you will consider applying for positions at GPO and coming to help us improve our current services and prepare for the future. All of the new positions will be posted on FDLP-L as they are created.

In closing, I want to encourage each of you to work with one another and GPO to determine the mix of services that GPO must offer in the future to make it worthwhile for libraries to participate in the FDLP. It is particularly important to identify services that can be offered exclusively to depository libraries, so there are some substantial, tangible benefits to participation when all or virtually all of the material can be obtained free from the Internet without the obligations of being a depository library. In addition, we must all find ways to deal with the burdens of the large historical collections. We must consider setting up shared facilities into which collections can be de-duplicated, digitization projects, retrospective cataloging, and other means to better mange the retrospective materials. This is a great challenge, but we can do this together and make sure that this program is as strong in the next hundred years as it has been for the past two hundred years.

The End of the Beginning
Remarks by Gil Baldwin
Director, Library Programs Service
before the
Spring 2003 Meeting of the Depository Library Council
April 8, 2003
Reno, NV

Good morning, everyone. On behalf of all of the staff of the Library Programs Service, welcome to the spring Council meeting. It’s great to see so many of you here to participate in planning our future. You have far exceeded the usual number to attend a field Council meeting, and given the state of the world, your commitment to the Federal Depository Library Program and its future is commendable.

We are involved in a number of new initiatives and pilot projects, as you have been hearing. This morning I will focus on some issues and activities that will give you an overview of things in LPS. These are the selection of our Integrated Library System, identification and public access, the Depository Library of the Year award, and our planning for a true library collection of our own.

Our work to acquire and install an Integrated Library System remains on schedule. We are committed to bringing up the core ILS functionality for cataloging, authority control, and serials processing this year. GPO’s cataloging data will be available to you through an online catalog that will replace our WAIS-based Catalog of U.S. Government Publications. The coverage of the database will be immediately extended back to 1976.

We have attained a major milestone in our progress toward procuring an ILS. LPS has conducted an extensive study to select and procure an ILS. We have completed this review using a team technique that emphasizes due diligence, fair consideration of the competing vendors, and best value for the Government. The critical piece in the process was our decision to hire a top-flight library systems consultant to guide us through the evaluation and decision process. This has worked so well that the same method is becoming the agency standard for software procurements.

For the past six months, Rob McGee of RMG Consultants, Inc., has been working with our ILS team in a very focused intensive investigation of ILS offerings and what they could do for us. LPS has a number of unique requirements that were not covered by an off-the-shelf ILS product, but by working through the RMG fact-finding protocol, we have identified a system and solution that best fits our current and future needs. GPO is presently in the final stages of evaluating the proposal from one ILS vendor, partnered with a systems integrator based in suburban Maryland. Their partnership brings several exciting new capabilities to the table. Before June we intend to have all of our requirements and implementation plans documented in a signed contract. In the meantime, we are investigating the pros and cons associated with various sources for the initial data load.

It is exciting for our staff to see the ILS coming, especially since many of them were included in various aspects of the selection process. We are now planning the various implementation activities, such as data migration, user training, hardware purchases and installation, and more. Once we have the basic cataloging, authority processing, serial record, and OPAC functions in place, we will begin work on replacing or interfacing with our old legacy systems. These are the pieces that no standard ILS covers, and examining them will give us ample opportunity for business process re-engineering. One improvement you’ll notice immediately is that the cataloging data will include all of our records back to 1976.

I want to publicly acknowledge the superb efforts made by Laurie Hall, LPS supervisory program analyst, and her team in getting us where we are today. Without Laurie’s drive and commitment I don’t know if this project would have gotten off the ground. The other members of the ILS Team are Cynthia Etkin, George Barnum, Yvonne Louden, and Virginia Wiese.

The new ILS will provide numerous opportunities to improve traditional products and services. The OPAC will provide far superior search and retrieval capabilities than does today’s online Catalog of U.S. Government Publications or the printed Monthly Catalog. We expect the ILS capabilities to be so superior that we are thinking about providing only online versions of the Monthly Catalog, the annual Serials Supplement, and most of the biennial U.S. Congressional Serial Set Catalog. This change is consistent with the policy expressed in the 2001 Dissemination/Distribution Policy for the Federal Depository Library Program, (SoD 71). SoD 71, you will recall, states "As directed by Congress, the primary method of making publications available to the FDLP is online dissemination." In addition, the MoCat is one of the titles on the "Substitution List" which means that depositories may already substitute the online version and discard their print copies.

The MoCat family of products is produced using software and procedures now over 25 years old. As you might imagine, there is no ILS on the market, nor is there any off-the-shelf software, to produce book catalogs. Our antique software has degraded over time, and each issue is confronted with new problems and bugs. In addition, the COBOL language programs are nearly unsupportable from a personnel perspective. In other words, these products are extremely vulnerable, and we must plan for their replacement.

GPO plans to have the online version of these three titles up using the ILS by early next year, and these versions could completely replace the printed MoCat and annual Serials Supplements. The biennial U.S. Congressional Serial Set Catalog includes the Numerical List and Schedule of Volumes, as well as collecting in one place the bibliographic records for the all of the House and Senate Reports and Documents from a given Congress. LPS proposes phasing out the index and entries portion of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set Catalog and replacing them with an online version, but we would continue to provide print copies of the Numerical List and Schedule of Volumes.

GPO needs to make a decision during or soon after the Fall Council meeting if we are to substitute online for paper at the end of the current print volume. We want to start the dialog about these products, so that various views can be heard and considered in the decision process.

We do not make this proposal lightly. Before substituting online versions for print products we will first ensure that superior online versions are available, that we have Council’s concurrence, and that the Joint Committee on Printing has issued necessary waivers.

Free access to Government information is a cornerstone of the FDLP. Free access means that any member of the general public can use Government information products in all media at a depository library without impediments. Providing free access by the general public to the resources of the documents collection, including electronic resources, is a fundamental Program obligation.

LPS has recently reviewed and modified the "Instructions to Depository Libraries" and the "FDLP Internet Use Guidelines" concerning the issue of requiring users to present identification. In light of current and continuing security concerns, many institutions now require identification from library users. In the past, the "Instructions" prohibited requirements for patrons to present identification to utilize depository resources. With continued security concerns, it is appropriate for depository library administrators to determine operating hours, access and security procedures.

There are more details about the identification issue in our Handout, but here’s the bottom line: Identification requirements should not impede access to the depository resources. The FDLP exists to ensure access for patrons of all ages who wish to use the depository resources. We encourage depositories to provide the broadest, most open public access possible, while recognizing that the realities of our situation may require users to identify themselves.

I hope you know that GPO is accepting nominations for our first annual Federal Depository Library of the Year Award. Participation in the FDLP means that libraries invest significant time and resources in their public services. The Federal Depository Library of the Year award will provide special recognition for the library that furthers the goal of the FDLP by enhancing the American public’s free access to Government information.

The award-winning library will be notified by the end of August and will be recognized at the 2003 fall Federal Depository Library Conference, which will be held October 19-22 in Arlington, VA. GPO will provide travel and lodging to the Conference for the depository coordinator and the library director from the winning library to accept a certificate recognizing their institution as Federal Depository Library of the Year.

Some of the criteria that we are looking for include:

• Outstanding service to meet Federal Government information needs in the library’s service area.

• Creativity and innovation in developing specific community programs or use of Federal Government information, or a dramatic increase in their community’s usage of Federal Government information.

• Leadership in creating public service programs that can be emulated by other Federal Depository Libraries.

Federal depository librarians, other members of the library and information services community, as well as depository patrons are invited to nominate any Federal depository library, regardless of its size or type. We welcome your nominations by June 30, and we hope that Judy, Cathy Hartman, and I will have lots of nominations to consider.

Within LPS we have been examining various scenarios concerning developing, maintaining, and preserving a set of collections. Our thinking involves becoming the libraries’ library; the collection of record for the FDLP. I am intentionally not using the term "super-regional" as it does not convey the message right. Call it instead the U.S. Library of Public Information, whose mission is to maintain a collection of record of the publications of the United States Government that is permanently accessible. This is achieved by acquiring, classifying, cataloging, indexing and preserving those publications; by delivering services to Federal depository libraries so they may provide enhanced services to their patrons; and by supporting other information dissemination programs of the Government Printing Office.

Here are some of the assumptions we are working with:

• Think of this as the libraries’ library for the FDLP; the collection of last resort to back up your local holdings.
• The collection would include print and digital versions of Government publications.
• The collection will add value to depository status, and support new incentives to be part of the FDLP.
• The collection will be comprehensive, meaning the end of fugitive documents.
• The digital collection must meet preservation standards and be available for repurposing.

These are not insignificant goals, and meeting them all will require significant additional resources of talent, space, technology and money. One of my team’s goals is to develop resource estimates that can become the basis for future funding requests.

We are also examining various acquisition strategies for bringing material in to the collection. In the future, GPO will probably take a much more active interest in asserting the Government’s ownership of collection material when a depository leaves the FDLP. We have been closely monitoring several situations in which certain depositories are threatened financially. In such situations GPO could very well decide to "reclaim" portions of the collections for our use.

For several years I have been reporting to you on the progress of the "electronic transition." This winter we hit a milestone. Two-thirds of the new FDLP titles went online only. With our focus on the future, we cannot yet describe the end of all our travels, but we can see that we reached the end of the beginning.

Today I just hit the highlights; of course there are many other projects and ideas underway. This is a particularly interesting meeting and one that I’m sure will be memorable. It is also a jam-packed meeting, so if you find that you have questions or thoughts that you have not found time to get out, please send them to us, either personally or via askLPS.

Current Status and Next Generation
of GPO Access
Remarks by Ric Davis
Director, Office of Electronic Information Dissemination Services
before the
Spring 2003 Meeting of the Depository Library Council
April 8, 2003

I am delighted to have the opportunity to be here with you today to provide an update on the current status of GPO Access and to talk to you about our progress towards the next generation of GPO Access services. Hopefully, all of you have a copy of our printed GPO Access update, which summarizes recent changes to GPO Access and provides information about what is on the horizon.

GPO Access continues to grow in size, with almost 2,800 databases offered through some 80 applications. At this time, over 240,000 electronic titles are available through the FDLP Electronic Collection, with more than 147,000 titles on GPO servers and more than 93,000 others linked to from GPO Access. Since 1994, GPO Access retrievals have exceeded 1.6 billion, and we are currently averaging 32 million retrievals from this service each month. GPO Access reached a new all-time monthly high of almost 37 million document retrievals in January 2003.

In coordination with Library Programs Service staff, we are also in the process of developing statistical reports of PURL referrals to enable libraries to determine how often documents within the Federal Depository Library Program Electronic Collection are being accessed through library catalogs and Web pages. We are requesting that individual depositories provide us with more information on the actual sites from which the referrals are received so that data can be related back to specific institutions.

GPO staff have developed a mechanism as part of the Directory update page on the FDLP Desktop by which libraries may inform GPO of their desire to receive these statistics and provide the necessary information. GPO will then be able to create a PURL referral report similar to the URL referral report for depository libraries currently available on the Federal Bulletin Board. Once completed, the PURL referral report will be available at the same location and will be updated on a monthly basis.

We have also moved forward on the procurement of an upgrade to our Web Trends reporting software that assists us in this statistical work, and we will continue to provide cumulative reports of referrals to GPO Access from depository web sites, using the web addresses depositories have registered with the Library Programs Service.

Although the number of products and services available through GPO Access is growing, users have continued to express to us that they are experiencing problems with slow system response and longer than expected transactions required to search for and download content. A number of different efforts are underway and more are planned for the future to address this issue.

We continue to use the Keynote performance measurement service to track system performance from the user perspective in 10 major cities in the United States. This service provides immediate alerts to GPO staff when performance problems occur, as well as statistical information used in the daily evaluation of selected GPO Access applications. Based upon the invaluable feedback we have received from this service, GPO’s Production Services has taken steps to reconfigure existing servers to improve load balancing, and has added additional servers to expand system capacity where it is most needed.

Efforts are also continuing to break up large files wherever possible to make it easier for customers to download information. Additionally, GPO is taking steps to akamaize as many of the static files as possible so that they can be delivered through the Akamai content delivery network, effectively spreading the load to local servers and lessening the burden on the main GPO Access system. In addition to the Federal Register Table of Contents daily files, the browse feature beginning with the 2003 Code of Federal Regulations now includes akamaized Text and PDF files. Customer feedback on these enhancements has been very positive in regard to improving download time, and we will continue to work to expand the use of the Akamai service to other applications in order to help improve overall system performance.

While these solutions offer some immediate benefits for our customers, work also continues towards procuring a new platform to replace the WAIS search and retrieval software for GPO Access databases. Staff members from the Superintendent of Documents and Production Services are working closely on developing a detailed Statement of Work that outlines both customer functionality and the technical requirements needed to move forward with the procurement of the next generation of software. The Statement of Work will also include a requirement to migrate all WAIS databases on GPO Access to the new platform simultaneously to ensure continuity throughout the site.

These efforts aimed at improving the performance of GPO Access also extend towards our goal of establishing a geographically separate mirror site and backup facility for GPO Access in Pueblo, Colorado. Work is underway to establish this facility as a location for both backup data storage and a complete mirror site for all GPO Access resources that helps share the load with servers at GPO. It is expected that construction of the facility will be completed this summer, and then GPO staff will work quickly to build the necessary technical infrastructure.

In addition to improving performance, we have just released a redesign of the GPO Access Web site with a new and enhanced look and feel. This was accomplished as a result of the feedback that many of you provided to GPO through open forum sessions, as well as usability studies, customer surveys, focus groups, and contacts received through the GPO Access User Support Team. Additionally, we have established a new domain name for GPO Access, <http://www.gpoaccess.gov>. The former domain name, <http://www.gpo.gov/gpoaccess> will now re-direct users to the new domain name. Redirects from individual Web pages will also be provided as a service to customers.

If you have not already done so, I hope that all of you will have the opportunity to take a look at this new redesign of GPO Access in the near future and let us know what you think about it. As always, we welcome comments from each of you as we make additional improvements and refinements to this Web site. In conjunction with the release of this new Web site, we are currently working with other areas of GPO to finalize our GPO Access Web Design Guidelines. These guidelines are expected to prove beneficial for internal staff working on the site, and also serve as guidance to other Federal agencies whose web sites are hosted on GPO Access.

GPO also played a key role in the launch of the Regulations.gov Web site, which was released to the general public on January 23, 2003. This site was developed as a part of the President’s Management Agenda-E-Rulemaking Initiative, and it helps ensure that the public has a role in making regulatory decisions. Citizens can find, review, and submit comments on Federal documents that are open for comment and published in the Federal Register. GPO is one of the partner agencies on this initiative, providing both hosting services for the Web site, and also serving as the point of contact for user support and technical assistance.

Over the past several years, GPO staff made a number of enhancements to the U.S. Government Online Bookstore to improve the customer experience in regard to searching and ordering Federal Government publications. In order to move forward more quickly with the "next generation" of services that customers are expecting from the online bookstore, GPO recently placed a Request for Information (RFI) in FedBizOpps. The purpose is to procure the services of a consultant who can identify an e-commerce solution and make a recommendation on how GPO should proceed with a commercial e-commerce product solution. This includes, among other items, reviewing the capabilities currently in use for the front-end interface and back-end legacy systems for the online bookstore, correlating GPO’s needs with commercially available e-commerce software, and preparing a detailed report recommending a complete commercial off the shelf (COTS) e-commerce solution. The response date for the RFI was March 19, 2003, and GPO received approximately 30 responses for consulting services. The consultant GPO ultimately selects for this service will be expected to complete all of our requirements in a 60-day period. This will enable us to move forward more quickly and efficiently to make a number of enhancements that are required for the online bookstore to better serve our customers.

We have continued our work on the search engine project, which consists of a series of ongoing evaluations in order to assess and improve the visibility of GPO Access pages in the indices of major Internet search engines and directories. The just completed ninth evaluation found another overall increase in successful returns of GPO Access pages. This included gains in Top-5 and Top-10 returns, while Top-30 returns remained the same as our last evaluation. I am pleased to report that Top-5 returns reached a new high of 28% of the test searches. Some of these increases came in a number of interesting areas. For instance, the new search engine Teoma went from a number 20 ranking to number 7 since the last evaluation, with its Top-5 returns increasing by 467%. AOL has also moved up again, to a number 3 ranking, behind SearchGov and Google Uncle Sam.

We have also completed a second round of testing to promote the U.S. Government Online Bookstore through paid positioning on the popular search engine Overture. The GPO Paid Positioning Committee, with help from Overture, came up with a list of 26 keywords to bid on over a three-month period. During the testing period, almost 10,000 customers clicked onto the Online Bookstore from Overture and its affiliates. Moreover, 15 of the 26 keywords attained at least a 3% click-through rate, which is the rate at which listings are judged successful through benchmarks established by search engine experts. In fact, several of our keywords attained click-through rates of 15% or higher, which is an exceptional rate.

It is important to point out that while the percentages have increased in regard to top returns, our goal is to continue to improve the positioning of GPO Access pages in search engines. Selected EIDS staff just returned from the "Search Engine Strategies" conference in Boston, MA, where we had the opportunity to talk directly to search engine experts and industry representatives from Google, Yahoo, and other companies. Information gained from this conference will be used to make further enhancements towards improving the visibility of GPO Access pages.

There are a number of recent changes to GPO Access. The most notable are:

• A new listserv that enables subscribers to receive e-mail notification when new Public and Private laws become available on GPO Access. These e-emails include links to the ASCII text and PDF versions of new Public and Private laws.

• A Report of the Investigation of Enron Corporation and Related Entities Regarding Federal Tax and Compensation Issues and Policy Recommendations is now available on GPO Access.

• The 2001 Privacy Act Issuances are available via GPO Access.

• FY 2004 Federal Budget Publications are now available online.

• The Economic Report of the President, 2003 is also available.

• The Congressional Pictorial Directory for the 108^th Congress is now available on GPO Access.

Work is under way to add more content to GPO Access and to refine access to the products and services already provided. Some key examples of these activities include:

• The use of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to authenticate the PDF versions of Congressional Bills will be implemented for the 108^th Congress. Users with a free software reader will be able to confirm that a bill was approved for submission to GPO by the appropriate Congressional authority and that it has not been altered since it was signed.

• Procurement has been initiated for a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software package for use by the GPO Access User Support Team, Library Programs Service, and other areas of GPO. This software will provide a dynamic electronic knowledgebase to help answer frequently asked questions, create more efficient problem escalation workflows based upon business rules, and improve web chat functionality in real-time.

• A version of Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government targeted at adults is in the process of being designed.

As you can tell, many of the enhancements and improvements that we have made to GPO Access have been a direct result of your feedback. Please continue to let us know what you think is needed to make GPO Access better as we work together to move into the future. Thank you for your attention and I look forward to talking more with you during this conference.

GPO Access Update
Office of Electronic Information Dissemination Services
Federal Depository Library Council Meeting, Spring 2003
April 6 - 9 2003, Reno, Nevada
GPO Access Statistical Measures

• Since 1994, GPO Access retrievals have exceeded 1.6 billion, which is equivalent to over 39.2 billion typewritten pages, and reached an all-time monthly high of over 36.8 million document retrievals in January 2003.

• The average number of monthly retrievals from GPO Access is currently 32 million and the average size of these documents is currently about 49Kb. With 2Kb equaling roughly one typewritten page, the average size of a document retrieved from GPO Access equates to some 24.5 typewritten pages and costs less than a penny per retrieval.

• GPO Access contains over 147,000 electronic titles and points to over 93,000 others for a total of over 240,000 titles.

• GPO Access provides use of almost 2,800 databases through more than 80 applications.

• GPO Access has been re-launched with a new and enhanced look and feel. This was accomplished as a result of feedback from users, through surveys, usability studies, focus groups, and contacts received through the GPO Access User Support Team. Re-directs are provided from old pages to the current pages. Feel free to make comments as additional improvements and refinements are made to the Web site.

• GPO Access has established a new domain name, <http://www.gpoaccess.gov>. Re-directs will be provided for all pages to the new domain.

• GPO is taking steps to "Akamaize" as many of the static files on GPO Access as possible so that they can be delivered through the Akamai content delivery network, effectively spreading the load to local servers and lessening the burden on the main GPO Access system. In addition to the Federal Register Table of Contents daily files, the browse feature beginning with the 2003 Code of Federal Regulations now includes "Akamaized" Text and PDF files.

• Work continues towards procuring a new platform to replace the WAIS search and retrieval software for GPO Access in order to improve system performance and enhance customer usability. Staff members from Superintendent of Documents and Production Services are working closely on developing a detailed Statement of Work (SOW) that will allow GPO to select the most effective platform for GPO Access. The SOW will outline both the customer functionality and the technical requirements needed to move forward with the procurement and implementation of the next generation of software in FY 2004. The SOW will also include a requirement to migrate all WAIS databases on GPO Access to the new platform simultaneously to ensure continuity throughout the site.
• Through the use of Keynote Systems Inc., a performance measurement service, we are continuing to monitor system performance from 10 major cities in the United States. Daily monitoring is conducted on the GPO Access homepage, the U.S. Government Online Bookstore, and a transaction in the Code of Federal Regulations database. Recently, Regulations.gov <http://www.regulations.gov> has been included among the pages monitored. The information gained is being used to work toward improved performance.

• 2001 Privacy Act Issuances now available at <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/PrivacyAct.shtml>.

• FY 2004 Federal Budget Publications now available online at <http://w3.access.gpo.gov/usbudget/index.html>.

• 2003 Economic Report of the President now available at <http://w3.access.gpo.gov/eop/index.html>.

• The Congressional Pictorial Directory for the 108^th Congress now available on GPO Access at <http://www.gpo.gov/congress/108_pictorial/index.html>.

• Report of Investigation of Enron Corporation and Related Entities Regarding Federal Tax and Compensation Issues, and Policy Recommendations, February 2003, is now available on GPO Access at <http://www.gpo.gov/congress/joint/hjoint01lp108.html>.

• Regulations.gov <http://www.regulations.gov>, which was released to the general public on January 23, 2003, gives the public a place to have their voices heard, and it allows them to have a hand in the democratic and regulatory processes. Regulations.gov, which was developed as a part of the President’s Management Agenda – E-Rulemaking Initiative, is a groundbreaking achievement in the creation of a citizen-centered e-democracy. At this Federal regulatory clearinghouse, the public is easily able to participate in the Federal rulemaking process. From the Regulations.gov Web site, the public can view a description of every proposed rule, final rule, or other document currently open for comment, read full texts of these documents, and submit comments to the Federal agencies that have created them. NARA and GPO are two of the lead partners in the Regulations.gov project.

• In order to authenticate the PDF versions of Congressional Bills, the use of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) will be implemented for the 108^th Congress. Users with a free software reader will be able to confirm that a bill was approved for submission to GPO by the appropriate Congressional authority and that it has not been altered since it has been signed. The free reader will be linked from <http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/cong009.html> and other pages as a plug-in.

• A new LISTSERV has been developed by the U.S. Government Printing Office. Users can sign up to receive e-mail notification when new Public and Private laws become available on GPO Access. These e-mails include links to the ASCII text and PDF versions of new public or private laws. To sign up, visit <http://listserv.access.gpo.gov/archives/gpo-plaws-l.html>.

• The ninth evaluation was recently conducted on the visibility of GPO Access and its Web pages in the indices of major Internet search engines. Twenty of the major search engines were analyzed to determine the frequency at which a specified search term returned the appropriate GPO Access page. 28% of searches retrieved the appropriate page within the top five returns (up from 26% in the eighth evaluation), and 31% returned it within the top ten (up from 29%). GPO Access pages were within the top thirty returns 35% of the time (the same as in the eighth evaluation). Also analyzed were directories and how they list GPO Access pages. The measurement of success in directories is the number of clicks, which indicate the layers within the directories. Of the 20 search engines examined in the ninth evaluation, 13 possessed directory trees. Of these 13, eight listed at least one GPO Access page within four clicks/levels. For more information, the full report is available at <http://fedbbs.access.gpo.gov/access.htm> --click on GPO Access Search Engine Project Report.

• Over the past several years, GPO has made a number of enhancements to the U.S. Government Online Bookstore to improve the customer experience in regard to searching and ordering Federal Government publications. In order to move forward with the "next generation" of services that customers are expecting from the Online Bookstore, GPO recently placed a Request for Information (RFI) in FedBizOpps. The purpose is to procure the services of a consultant who can identify an e-commerce solution and make a recommendation on how GPO should proceed with a commercial e-commerce product solution.

• Procurement has been initiated for a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software package for use by the GPO Access User Support Team, Library Program Services and other areas of GPO. This software will provide an electronic knowledgebase to help answer frequently asked questions, and also will provide Web chat functionality in real-time.

• A version of Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government targeted at adults is in the process of being designed.

EIDS personnel will be attending and displaying the GPO booth at the following shows:

May 3 - 6	Medical Library Association	San Diego, CA
June 9 - 11	Special Libraries Association	New York, NY
June 21 - 24	American Library Association Annual Conference	Toronto, Canada

Responses to Recommendations

Depository Library Council Meeting
Fall 2002, Arlington, VA

Members

TERM EXPIRES SEPT. 30, 2003:

Charlene C. Cain
Associate Librarian/Government Documents
Librarian
Paul M. Hebert Law Center
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803-1010
225-578-4957 225-578-5773 (fax)
llcain@lsu.edu

Cathy Nelson Hartman
Texas Center for Digital Knowledge,
Associate Fellow
Head, Government Documents Department
University of North Texas Libraries
P.O. Box 305190
Denton, TX 76203-5190
940-565-3269 940-565-2599 (fax)
chartman@library.unt.edu

Dena Hutto
Documents/Social Sciences Librarian
Reed College
3203 SE Woodstock Boulevard
Portland, OR 97202
503-777-7572 503-777-7786 (fax)
dena.hutto@reed.edu

Greta E. Marlatt
Information Services Manager
Dudley Knox Library
Naval Postgraduate School
411 Dyer Road
Monterey, CA 93943
831-656-3500 831-656-2842 (fax)
gmarlatt@nps.navy.mil

John A. Stevenson
Coordinator, Government Documents and Maps
Processing Unit
University of Delaware Library
181 South College Avenue
Newark, DE 19717-5267
302-831-8671 302-831-1046 (fax)
varken@udel.edu

TERM EXPIRES SEPT. 30, 2004:

Paul A. Arrigo
Head Librarian
Lartz Memorial Library
Penn State Shenango
177 Vine Ave.
Sharon, PA 16146
724-983-2880 724-983-2881 (fax)
paa11@psu.edu

Daniel C. Barkley
Regional Government Information Library
Zimmerman Library
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-1466
505-277-7180 505-277-4097 (fax)
barkley@unm.edu

Barbara J. Ford
Director, C. Walter and Gerda B. Mortenson Center for International Library Programs and Mortenson Distinguished Professor
University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign
142a Undergraduate Library, MC-522
1402 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, Illinois 61801
(217) 244-1898 (217) 265-0990 (fax)
bjford@uiuc.edu

Doris Small Helfer
Department Chair, Technical Services Department & Science Librarian
University Library - 8328
California State University-Northridge
18111 Nordhoff St.
Northridge, CA 91330-8328
818-677-2562 818-677-4928 (fax)
doris.helfer@csun.edu

John C. Kavaliunas
Chief, Marketing Services Division
Marketing Services Office
Room 3021, Bldg. 3
U.S. Census Bureau
Washington, DC 20233
301-457-4090 301-457-2778 (fax)
john.c.kavaliunas@census.gov

TERM EXPIRES SEPT. 30, 2005:

Michele T. McKnelly
Government Documents
Chalmer Davee Library
University of Wisconsin - River Falls
River Falls, WI 54022
715-425-4482 715-425-0609 (fax)
michele.mcknelly@uwrf.edu

John Phillips
Edmon Low Library
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK 74078
405-744-6546 405-744-7579 (fax)
bart@okstate.edu

Mary W. Prophet
William Howard Doane Library
Denison University
Granville, OH 43023-1064
740-587-6512 740-587-6285 (fax)
prophet@denison.edu

Laura Saurs
Regional Depository Librarian
The Newark Public Library
PO Box 630
Newark, NJ 07101-0630
973-733-7812 973-733-5648 (fax)
lsaurs@npl.org

Lynne Siemers
Director
Library and Media Services
Washington Hospital Center
110 Irving St., NW
Washington, DC 20010-2975
202-877-6260 202-877-6757 (fax)
lynne.k.siemers@medstar.net

TERM EXPIRES SEPT. 30, 2006:

Duncan M. Aldrich
DataWorks Coordinator
University of Nevada, Reno
Libraries /322
Reno, NV 89557-0044
775-784-6500 ext 256 775-784-4398 (fax)
duncan@unr.edu

Charles D. Eckman
Principal Government Documents Librarian
Social Sciences Resource Center 123A
Green Library, 557 Escondido Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-6067
650-723-2982 650-723-9348 (fax)
ceckman@stanford.edu

John W. Graham
Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County
800 Vine Street – Library Square
Cincinnati, OH 45202-2071
513-665-3358 513-369-3123 (fax)
john.graham@cincinnatilibrary.org

Cheryl Knott Malone
Associate Professor
School of Information Resources and Library Science
University of Arizona
1515 East First Street
Tucson, AZ 85719
520-621-3957 520-621-3279 (fax)
ckmalone@u.arizona.edu

Barbara S. Selby
Documents Librarian
Arthur J. Morris Law Library
University of Virginia School of Law
580 Massie Road
Charlottesville, VA 22903-1789
434-924-3504 434-982-2232 (fax)
bselby@virginia.edu