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Update on Superintendent of Documents Programs
Remarks by Francis J. Buckley, Jr.
Superintendent of Documents
Before the Depository Library Council to the Public Printer
Kansas City, MO
Monday, October 18, 1999

Good morning. I’m very pleased to have a chance to talk to you all as representatives of the depository library community. With more and more talk within the government about provision of information via the Internet being public access, I am more and more appreciative of the partnership between GPO and depository libraries. I recognize and remind others on every possible occasion that it is not sufficient to just put information up on the Internet to achieve effective public access. There are many people without the technology or computer literacy skills to obtain government information and general search programs may or may not retrieve the items needed. Descriptive information needs to be included in bibliographic identification programs accessible to all. The content must be available. And most importantly, there must be a local connection (i.e., depository library) to assist those who need assistance to find the government information they need.

Just last week, at the ribbon-cutting ceremony to inaugurate PubScience, our new partnership with the Department of Energy that I will discuss later, Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson spoke about the unsung hero role of GPO in our printing and distribution capacities and by extension, that of depository libraries, and recognized us "for doing the Lord’s work." A pretty high tribute!

Secretary Richardson also spoke of one of the most significant events that took place in this last millennium as being the development, by Johann Gutenberg, of printing from movable type. Certainly those of us who work in the Government Printing Office would agree with this assessment. I understand that the television series, Biography, in listing the top 100 individuals of the past 1,000 years, had Mr. Gutenberg as number one! By contrast, Richardson thought the impact of electronic information would be a defining characteristic for the next millennium. Certainly electronic formats are changing the ways government collects, compiles, stores and disseminates information. What might Gutenberg think of e-books?

I would like to talk to you today about a number of general topics affecting the depository library program and our sales program as a complementary information dissemination program. Other staff will be speaking in greater depth about depository and GPO Access issues.

It has only been in the last decade or so that there has been concern raised about permanent public access to electronic resources. Those concerns have been discussed primarily in the library and archival communities. It is imperative that the rest of the world that uses computers, CD-ROMs and other electronic resources take this issue to heart. Every once in a while, the mainstream media takes a look at this issue. This past July, Newsweek had an article titled, "History: We’re Losing It," which called attention to the problem. In fact, the subtitle of the article is, "They told us digital data would last forever. They lied. How do we save the past before it all disappears?"

There were, therefore, a number of reasons why, last month, Mr. DiMario convened a meeting of a number of stakeholder organizations to discuss measures that GPO and the others are undertaking or might undertake to advance the goal of keeping essential Federal electronic information available to the American people. All of the national libraries were represented at this meeting -- the Library of Congress, National Agricultural Library, National Library of Medicine and the National Library of Education, as well as the National Archives and Records Administration, National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, Department of Energy/Office of Scientific and Technical Information, and from the non-profit sector the Council on Library and Information Resources. We were also pleased that a number of Congressional staff members, representing the Joint Committee on Printing (JCP) and the House Administration Committee, were present.

The attendees were given the opportunity to share information about their particular organization’s activities in the area of permanent public access (PPA), which spawned much discussion and ideas about cooperative ventures. The group agreed that there should be future meetings and GPO offered to organize and host them.

Later, Gil will be describing some of the PPA initiatives underway in GPO.

As you may be aware, LPS staff has worked with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) over this past year to produce a cooperative plan to ensure ongoing public access to retrospective NRC information on microfiche. For a number of reasons, including budgetary constraints and their electronic transition, NRC ended their Local Public Documents Room (LPDR) program as of September 30, 1999. The goal of the GPO and NRC was to maintain at least one microfiche collection in a depository library in each state. Twenty-eight depository libraries housing LPDR materials chose to retain the collections. Eighteen libraries that housed an LPDR chose not to retain this collection. In August I accepted these materials into the FDLP as a depository item with a plan to relocate the unwanted collections to 18 regional depository libraries. LPS staff has been working with the librarians at those 18 regionals to help with details relating to the shipment of the materials as well as any selective housing agreements to be worked out.

There continues to be a declining volume of sales and numbers of publications in the Sales Program as customer purchasing patterns and agency publication plans evolve. The coming year will be a time of transition as we react to these and other changing circumstances. We have had to increase prices, but the bulk of our stock is priced relatively low.

In the House Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee report for FY 2000, GPO has been directed to undertake an analysis of the future role of the Public Documents Distribution Center in Pueblo, CO. We are in the process of contacting the legislators who requested the study to get clarification of the scope of the study and we are organizing the study team. The study and its recommendations are to be provided to Congress no later than February 1, 2000.

This past July, the JCP approved our request to enable us to expand our sales procurement. Under a JCP Printing and Binding Regulation, we have been restricted to selling only those publications printed or ordered printed through GPO. In the past, requests by agencies to have us sell their publications, or public interest in the purchase of individual government publications not printed or procured through GPO, has led us to request waivers of this rule on a case by case basis.

Receiving a waiver to the Printing and Binding Regulation reinforces the notion that even those documents not printed by GPO must also be considered of public value. We will now be able to work with other Federal agencies to procure, purchase and sell government publications under two categories:

• Government information products produced by Federal agencies holding statutory exemptions or JCP waivers that allow them to obtain printing services outside of GPO and

• Government information products procured by agencies under Cooperative Research Development Agreement (CRDA) or other joint public/private partnership agreements under which products are not printed or procured by GPO.

This past July, we announced that deposition transcripts of the U.S. vs. Microsoft Corporation court case were available through our Sales Program on CD-ROM for $52. The CD-ROM includes indexed, redacted transcripts of depositions taken between July 1998 and January 1999. In addition, printed copies and videotapes of individual depositions are available on demand. So, if you would like to watch 20 hours of interviews with Bill Gates, you can purchase 11 videotapes from us for only $341! In fact, a few sets of these videotaped depositions of Bill have been sold to the media.

The Integrated Processing System (IPS) we have been working on for the last several years, as the automated system to support our sales operations, is still under development. It is progressing, but the complexity of automating our order systems, especially the variety of subscription orders, has caused delays.

I want to mention various content development activities that are underway.

There have been changes in the way STAT-USA will be accessed. Robin will fill you on the details.

As I mentioned earlier, GPO is continuing its cooperative endeavors with DOE/OSTI. The new venture on which we are working with DOE is called PubSCIENCE, an electronic system that provides GPO and the public a distributed searching capability of a large compendium of peer reviewed journal literature with a focus on physical sciences and technology. This web site enables public users to identify journal articles of interest, view bibliographic citations and hyperlink to the publisher’s site for full-text, if unrestricted, or via a site license, an electronic subscription or pay-per-view. As with our other partnership with DOE, Information Bridge, depository libraries and the public can enter PubSCIENCE via GPO Access.

Those of you who subscribe to GOVDOC-L might have seen the recent announcement posted by NTIS publicizing their version of the 1999 Federal Tax Forms and Publications - CD-ROM. I want to take this opportunity to let you know that GPO will be publishing its version of the CD-ROM, which will include 1999 IRS tax forms, instructions, and publications for individual and business filers, in addition to sets of previous years’ tax forms. One can fill in the forms on the computer screen, save the data, print the completed forms, sign, and mail. We will be selling this CD-ROM for $20.00 which is $1.00 less than the IRS/NTIS version, if ordered online, or $8 less for orders by mail, phone or fax.

The official IRS edition of this material is the NTIS CD-ROM; this is the one that will be distributed to the selecting depository libraries. An announcement from GPO about this product has been posted (perhaps even as I speak) on GOVDOC-L.

I am also pleased to announce that the U.S. Supreme Court has asked GPO to help develop the Court’s official web site. GPO is now engaged in the first phase of development, the graphic design, which may be the most challenging part of the project. Development will continue in phases, with the Court approving each phase before work proceeds. Once the Court gives final approval, the site will go live and although no specific date has been set for activation of the site, it will most likely be ready for public access during the current Court term. When activated, the site initially will contain slip opinions for the current term, the current schedule, visitors guides, guides for filing cases, Rules of the Court, biographies of the Justices, a brief history of the Court, the building, and information on the institution.

Currently, the plans are to continue releasing Bench Opinions through the Hermes system, in which the Federal Bulletin Board is a partner. GPO is pleased to be working with the Supreme Court on the project.

Efforts are underway to revise a number of our Circular Letters, which are our means of communications with our customers in the Federal community. Staff are working on updating letters that have to do with paper and web distribution of materials, both in the sales and depository programs; disseminating electronic government information products through the FDLP; guidelines for the provision of government publications for depository library distribution and the use of GPO Form 3868, notification of intent to publish.

Form 3868 is the primary means of notifying the Superintendent of Documents of a forthcoming publication. Work is moving forward on producing an electronic version of this form, so that agencies can easily submit it electronically to the sales and depository branches.

Discussions are continuing with representatives from the National Performance Review, CIO Council, General Services Administration, Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Geological Survey about the establishment of Access America, billed as a clearinghouse for accessing electronic government information.

I am certainly looking forward to a good meeting, with lots of discussion, and I hope that the Council and the audience can take advantage of the programs being offered here.

Library Programs Service Update
Remarks by Gil Baldwin
Director, Library Programs Service
Before the Depository Library Council to the Public Printer
Kansas City, MO
Monday, October 18, 1999

Good morning, everyone. This is an impressive turnout today. I believe this is the largest crowd ever for a field Depository Library Council meeting, and we appreciate the time you’ve committed to making the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), the public’s pre-eminent channel for information from and about our Government.

This is the year that online electronic U.S. Government information became the number one dissemination and public access medium in the FDLP. This continues the trends of the past five years, and the end isn’t in sight yet. Since the beginning of the electronic transition, the Library Programs Service (LPS) has concentrated on increasing the electronic content in the program and on building the support mechanisms to enable depository libraries and the public to locate the desired electronic resources and to ensure that those resources remain permanently accessible. For the most part these developments have been funded from program savings resulting from agencies reducing the numbers of titles published in print media. Due to continuing funding constraints, future efforts will have to focus more on reducing duplication of formats and media and on containing costs.

The distribution of tangible products through the FDLP remained virtually unchanged since FY 1998. The FDLP Electronic Collection is growing rapidly; increasing to some 44% of the titles disseminated this year. While the trend toward online publishing is accelerating, we are seeing CD-ROM publishing dropping off.

For the year the mix of products entering the FDLP is:

During the last Council meeting I talked about phasing out the physical distribution of certain FDLP microfiche titles and migrating to the online version, when an official, reliable electronic version is available from the agency. I am revisiting this issue today because I believe it is critical to move on this migration process. This is a rational next step in carrying out the Congressionally-directed transition to a more electronic FDLP. And increased reliance upon online dissemination also makes government information directly accessible to a growing segment of our population.

The policies, criteria, and procedures for migrating tangible products to solely online electronic dissemination are applied only in those cases in which LPS has a choice of dissemination media. In many cases the publishing agency has already made the decision to eliminate the tangible medium. Then LPS incorporates the online product into the FDLP Electronic Collection by describing it bibliographically and linking to it.

It is important to make a distinction between migration and conversion. Migration refers to choosing between available dissemination media when the agency publishes both online and tangible versions. Conversion refers to changing the agency’s published medium to another, as LPS does when we convert paper documents to microfiche. At present LPS has no program to convert print products to electronic media, for example through scanning and digitization.

During routine processing, LPS’ Depository Administration Branch, Cataloging Branch, and Electronic Collection Team often identify new products that agencies issue in both print and online versions. When LPS determines that the content of the online version is substantially equivalent or superior to the print version, LPS selects the online version for the FDLP. These decisions are made in accordance with criteria described in "Migration of Physical Format Products to Online Distribution," published in Administrative Notes in 1999 and in Appendix II of Managing the FDLP Electronic Collection. These titles are described as "EL" in the List of Classes. Some examples include The Food Safety Educator, FEWS (Famine Early Warning System) Bulletin, and the Economic Working Papers.

Given the continued pattern of essentially flat funding for the FDLP, and the delays inherent in the processing, conversion, and delivery of microfiche, LPS intends to begin actively migrating products currently distributed in microfiche and also available online by eliminating distribution of the microfiche versions. Whenever possible, the cessation of a microfiche serial title will take place at the end of a volume or annual run. LPS will announce these changes in distribution media in the Administrative Notes Technical Supplement. Some candidate microfiche titles for this migration include titles with low selection rates, such as the New Publications of the Rocky Mountain Research Station, the Small Business Innovation Research Program annual report, and the annual Report on the Survey of U.S. Shipbuilding and Repair Facilities. Other titles are under consideration for migration because they are currently offered in multiple formats with the online version available on GPO Access. Examples of this category include the daily Federal Register on microfiche, the daily Congressional Record on microfiche, and the Congressional Bills on microfiche.

We have heard your comments and concerns about the length of time between the submission of a depository library self-study and when you got a reply from LPS. Due to the staffing level on the inspection team we could not give a thorough review to each self-study and respond to you in a timely manner. Although we have reviewed over 250 self studies this year, we still have a backlog of 219 self-studies awaiting completion of their evaluations. In order to reduce the time lag between submission and reply, we are changing the self-study process. Next year we are going request self-studies in three stages, and the first batch of requests will be due to us in May. We believe that this plan will give us time to catch up with the self-studies we already have, since with a number of these the evaluation is already partially completed. Then by spreading the self-study process out through the year we should be able to avoid any more lumps in the snake. If you look in the Depository Services Staff handout, you’ll see the details of which states will be asked for self-studies and their due dates.

1999 has seen a several staff changes in LPS. Here are some of the personnel highlights:

• Sheila McGarr was appointed Chief of the Library Division in June. Her new duties include oversight of the Depository Administration Branch, the Cataloging Branch, and the Depository Services Staff. Sheila began her career at GPO in 1981. She will continue to supervise the depository library inspectors and organize the annual Federal Depository Conference and the Interagency Depository Seminar.

• Laurie Beyer Hall was appointed Supervisory Program Analyst in March. Her duties in this new position include supporting all of LPS’ developing and legacy automated systems, coordinating the requirements analysis for a future integrated library system (ILS), and managing LPS’ budget preparation. She is responsible for directing the activities of the LPS Program Analysts, the Office Automation Specialist, the Electronic Transition Specialists and network operations. Laurie has been with GPO in a variety of positions within LPS since 1985.

• George Barnum, who came to GPO in 1997 as an Electronic Transition Specialist, is now on board as LPS’ first Electronic Collection Manager (ECM). In this new librarian position, he will establish, review, maintain and modify comprehensive plans to assure permanent public access to products in the FDLP Electronic Collection. He will work closely with the Electronic Collection Team on permanent public access for electronic government information, creating partnerships between depository libraries, Federal agencies, information-related organizations, and GPO, as well as on managing the FDLP Electronic Collection (FDLP/EC).

• Judy Andrews left LPS in August 1999 for Portland (OR) State University where she assumed the position of regional documents librarian. She came to GPO from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA on a one-year appointment as an Electronic Transition Specialist. Her primary focus was on the FDLP/EC. She worked to develop the Electronic Collection Team that concentrated on ways to implement procedures to streamline electronic products into the FDLP. She managed the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) pilot project and worked closely with the participating libraries to launch the active phase of the project in January 1999 and evaluate its potential for the FDLP.

• Steve Kerchoff joined the LPS staff as an "Electronic Transition Specialist" for a one-year term, beginning just one week ago. Steve is a librarian from the Library of Congress’ Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC), and one of his first areas of concentration will be on developing additional partnership opportunities with agencies and depository libraries.

• John Tate, who many of you know from our Federal Depository Conferences, was appointed Chief of the Acquisitions and Classification Section of the Depository Administration Branch (DAB) in August. He supervises acquisitions and Superintendent of Documents classification of products in all media for the FDLP. He began his career at GPO in 1974 as a classifier, and from 1985-1999 worked in the Depository Services Staff as the designation program specialist.

In FY 1999, LPS staff concentrated on implementing the plans for the FDLP/EC, increasing outreach to Federal agencies and libraries, and developing the infrastructure and relationships that will provide permanent public access to FDLP electronic information. In order to put some structure around these efforts, we established a cross-organizational work group from LPS’ Depository Administration and Cataloging Branches, the Office of Electronic Information Dissemination Services (EIDS) and others. The group has been working to define the possibilities, identify the issues and develop strategies for dealing with the issues. The work group was successful in this endeavor and has been re-configured into an ongoing "Electronic Collection Team," which is examining and evaluating electronic products for inclusion in the Electronic Collection. While looking at these products, the team develops the processing procedures necessary to fully incorporate electronic resources into the FDLP. The Team also maintains the Pathway Locator service tools and the PURLs applications that enable users to access electronic titles.

One critical step in the transition to a more electronic FDLP is to establish a digital archive for the FDLP Electronic Collection (FDLP/EC). Dissemination of online electronic information is the fastest-growing component of the FDLP, and a significant portion of the FDLP/EC consists of titles at agency sites to which we point. Most of these more than 59,000 titles reside on servers at agencies or institutions with which we have formal agreements that provide for permanent public access (PPA), principally at the Department of Energy or at the University of Illinois-Chicago Department of State Collection. But there are about 2,000 other titles in the FDLP/EC that are not under our control, and the potential number is far greater. In our 1998 report, Managing the FDLP Electronic Collection, we stated that the FDLP/EC includes "remotely accessible electronic government information products that GPO identifies, describes, and links to but which remain under the control of the originating agencies." It is GPO’s goal to assure PPA to the electronic products to which we point and link since, by definition, pointing and linking makes those products part of the FDLP/EC and means that we have a permanent public access responsibility for them. Meeting our PPA commitment for the FDLP/EC requires bringing agency-disseminated Internet resources under GPO control by incorporating them into a digital archive.

The FDLP/EC digital archive is a cooperative venture shared by LPS, EIDS, and GPO’s Production Department. Since early this year a Production staff member has worked with LPS to provide space for our initial archive testing activity. The next step is the development of an integrated service to bring under GPO control selected individual electronic products that originated on other agency sites, and for which we do not have interagency or partnership agreements for PPA. Although we can capture agency files from the Internet at a particular point in time, without an agreement or a notification process in place we will face difficulties assuring that the publishing agency does not subsequently modify or supersede the product. Therefore a critical element in the archiving process is to establish communication with the publishing agency in order to develop a partnership or other formal relationship, so that the agency will notify us concerning changes in its products.

A new server and a backup initially configured with two years’ projected storage capacity were procured specifically for the digital archiving project. The first of the new servers was delivered in July and has been configured for use as the prototype digital archive. Functionally, the prototype FDLP/EC archive will be populated with electronic source data files by FTP transfers, downloads, file captures, or other means. The initial set of test files consists of source data files captured by LPS staff earlier in FY 1999 in conjunction with processing additions to the Browse Electronic Titles service. The files will be accessible through a persistent naming application and made freely accessible to public users through a Web interface. Users will be able to search cataloging or Pathway locator services record descriptions linked directly to the content described. We plan to open the FDLP/EC archive for public use later in 1999. For more detail and discussion on this project and other Electronic Collection matters, I invite you to attend George Barnum’s presentation on Tuesday at 3:45 in the Crystal Room.

Let’s turn now to the distribution of paper products. We’ve been experiencing a real-life demonstration of the Pareto Principle, the "law" that suggests of 80% of your effort will go into 20% of your outputs. As noted earlier, paper products now make up about 20% of what’s distributed through the FDLP, but in the last few months the different problems with physical shipments have been absorbing 80% of our attention. For Vicki Barber, it’s probably closer to 100%.

You probably know most of this litany all too well, but let me review some of the recent physical distribution issues.

Beginning as soon as possible, some "direct mail" titles will instead be placed in regular depository shipments. As printing contracts are amended, LPS will include the titles on the Shipping List and distribute them in the regular shipment boxes. Claims for these tangible products will be handled in the same way as other materials on shipping lists. A few titles and paid subscriptions will not be affected by this action. Previously, in the interest of timeliness, these titles were sent to depository libraries directly from contractors or from GPO's printing plant to depositories via first or second class mail. However, more timely access is now provided for most of these titles from GPO Access, the Federal Bulletin Board, or Federal agency Internet sites. The change in distribution for the 13 affected titles will produce substantial savings in postage costs, which have risen to an estimated $1 million annually for the direct mail titles, while the appropriation that funds the FDLP has remained essentially static.

Since mid-August you have been experiencing a series of disruptions in the established pattern of receiving shipping boxes from LPS. This started when our distribution contractor, Potomac Business Center (PBC), decided to subcontract deliveries to Roadway Package Service instead of United Parcel Service. For some reason RPS decided not to perform, held our work for about two weeks, and then returned all of the shipments to Potomac Business Center. PBC then shifted back to subcontracting with UPS.

Hot on the heels of resolving that set of delays, we began to receive inquiries from depository libraries about the frequency of depository shipments. Some of these concern delays in the receipt of shipments, while others indicated that shipments were being delivered in batches rather than on a regular basis. LPS and GPO’s contracting office have been pursuing these issues with PBC.

We have determined that PBC continues to pick up depository library shipments from LPS daily. However, beginning on Monday, August 23, there was a change in the frequency of sending depository shipments. At that time, PBC's delivery contractor, United Parcel Service (UPS) began to pick up all processed depository shipments from PBC once every three days. This practice has the effect of creating batches of shipments that arrive in your library on an irregular basis. GPO's contracting office advised LPS that the "every three days" practice fulfills PBC's current contractual obligations with GPO.

Most recently we have investigated the many messages that, taken together, implied that additional batching was taking place behind the scenes. We are fairly certain that UPS was aggregating multiple "every third day" pickups into a single delivery to you, meaning that a library might get several shipments in a batch every week or 10 days. LPS regrets the difficulties that these irregular depository deliveries have caused the depository libraries, and we are investigating the situation and working to develop a solution. GPO personnel are negotiating with PBC so that shipments can be delivered quicker and on a more regular basis. We intend to solicit for a new contract, with requirements designed specifically for depository library distribution. We are putting together a more stringent statement of work that specifically remedies these and other distribution issues. However, a new contract will not be in place until well into 2000. Even though we are monitoring the situation and are doing our best to improve contractual delivery services, we will be living with this current contract for some time. Until this situation is resolved libraries may still receive shipments in batches. We appreciate your patience cooperation in identifying shipment delivery performance problems. As always, please report delayed, missing, or irregular paper shipments to Vicki Barber, Chief of our Depository Distribution Division.

So that’s a very selective overview of what the Library Programs Service has been doing. For more details, relevant Web addresses, and more, I call your attention to the various handouts and updates available at the literature table. Thank you all for coming today, and we look forward to a great week.

Developments in DAB
Remarks by Robin Haun-Mohamed
Chief, Depository Administration Branch
Before the Depository Library Council to the Public Printer
Kansas City, MO
Monday, October 18, 1999

Good morning. I’m pleased to be here this morning to update you on activities in the Depository Administration Branch. With all the issues raised thus far, I expect this to be a very interesting Council meeting. To start off my discussion, I am pleased to announce the selection of John Tate for the position of Supervisory Publications Management Specialist. Many of you know John not only because of his long term of service with Depository Services and his role in many of the Federal Depository Conferences, but also as a classifier several years ago. Mr. Tate is replacing Earl Lewter, who has taken on the rather daunting task of managing and responding to askLPS inquiries. We also recently hired a Publications Management Specialist to replace the person who was promoted earlier this spring. The primary duties of the new staff member will be to assist with identifying and acquiring fugitive publications once the basic training has been completed. In coordination with the training for the new staff member, all Acquisitions and Classification staff will go through a series of review and training sessions.

I have a lot of product update information for you today. Depository libraries are now able to use Northern Light’s usgovsearch at no charge to the library. It is available to members of the library community without a mandatory registration requirement for access. The free Public Library Access Program version of usgovsearch will search across government sites and content that is available without charge. The free site does not contain any fee-based content from any source. The URL for the usgovsearch site has been included on the DAB handout. According to Northern Light, libraries are encouraged to point to this unique site from their resource listings or home page.

My thanks to the depository librarians who originally forwarded the information about usgovsearch and also kept me apprised of responses from Northern Light in regard to free access for depository libraries. After several discussions between Northern Light and LPS, Northern Light decided to avoid the problems associated with passwords and IP addresses and is making usgovsearch available to all K-12 school libraries, public libraries, and Federal depository libraries as noted above.

The Census Bureau’s American FactFinder was released early this spring. Everything on the database is available to all at no charge. The only applications currently being considered for future charges are the big downloads of files and the do-it-yourself tabulations from Census 2000.

Libraries should have received the first of the 1997 Economic Census data on CD-ROM. This will be a cumulative disc with quarterly releases over the next two years. The ECON97 Report Series, Economic Census 1997, Report Series Disc 1A, Issued August 1999 in CD-ROM format was distributed to the libraries earlier this month.

An old familiar face will be making a comeback this fall. Business America will resume publishing in November, under a new name, Export America. This will be a monthly publication that will be available for sale through the GPO Sales Program, and distributed to over 1100 depository libraries in paper format. There will be an online site for the publication, but it will only have the feature articles and an updated trade show listing.

Another publication is being published under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Oxford University Press. Copies of the Public Health Reports continue to be provided for distribution to the depository libraries from HHS, the Public Health Service, and Oxford University Press.

Effective with the November 1999 issue, the National Trade Data Bank will change access software from Autographics to Enigma. The Enigma, Inc. software will allow users of the product to extract documents and copy them in their native format or in a format that retains most of the original formatting characteristics. STAT-USA will issue a beta copy of the new NTDB in early October. Production will start with the November issue. FY 2000 will be a transitional year for the NTDB. LPS will be moving toward phasing out the NTDB on CD-ROM and using the funds instead to increase access to the STAT-USA Internet service.

The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) is making some changes in scheduling products to be issued in DVD format. PTO plans to isssue USAPat on DVD effective with the January 2000 issues. In late May, LPS surveyed some different PTO material. PTO still tentatively plans to issue this material in DVD format for the fourth quarter of 1999. PTO has advised LPS that they will not produce materials in both CD-ROM and DVD formats. When the DVDs are ready, that is the only format that will be available.

In August, libraries receiving the bound Congressional Record were directed to return specific volumes of the Record to GPO for rebinding. Most libraries have done the return and the material has been sent to the GPO following instructions from the Congressional Printing Management Division. The volumes will be over-sewn and sent back to each library. Libraries should expect to see the volumes back in their libraries by the end of this calendar year. If you have any questions or problems with the Record, please let me know.

At the beginning of each fiscal year, LPS goes through the process of rolling over the item numbers from the pending additions to an active status. This allows the item selection additions the librarians made during the update cycle to become active for the lighted bin system. Well, this year we were fortunate enough to be able to do this twice! In August, a librarian notified LPS her Item Lister selection records had dramatically increased. When we checked, we found the pending additions from the summer’s update cycle had gone into effect on July 30, instead of October 1. The lighted bin system had been using the information all month, which resulted in an increased number of rain checks for shortages. The file was corrected on August 27 and the numbers again rolled over on October 1, 1999. Again, it was a very busy update cycle with 947 libraries making over 63,000 changes to the item selection profile. Deletions accounted for over 60% of the changes.

With the Year 2000 potential problems on everyone’s mind, here is a brief update on the steps already taken for the DAB systems. We always begin with a new series of shipping list numbers starting with October 1^st. This year we began using the full four-digit year for the shipping lists. The changes and format are shown in the DAB handout. For example, when you see a shipping list number now, it will look like this: 2000-0031-P. The change affects the different data fields in different ways. Please review the handout for the instructions on accessing the shipping lists on U.S. FAX Watch and the Federal Bulletin Board on GPO Access. Here are the final shipping list numbers for FY 99:

LPS has begun distributing the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) maps once again to the libraries. This has proven to be a larger challenge that we anticipated for a couple of reasons. The first is mass quantities of material sent to LPS from the Defense Logistics Agency, acting as NIMA’s distribution agent. In addition to the mass quantities, there were many duplicate maps sent—requiring each to be looked up before it could be prepared for shipment to the library. But the lookup didn’t always include reviewing OCLC records, thus there were some duplicates distributed that should not have been sent. Treat the duplicates as secondary copies and follow the Instructions to Depository Libraries for dealing with secondary copies. There has been one other challenge--many, many maps were sent short. There is no where to store them while awaiting the reorders from NIMA for the shorts. Yes, this is fun! Distribution staff and classification staff will be journeying to Richmond to "visit" about these problems next Monday.

There is good news and bad news about receipts. Okay, the good news first, the backlog count in Acquisitions and Classification is 3200. The number of titles waiting for conversion to microfiche is less than 300, meaning at this time, there is essentially no backlog for microfiche conversion titles. The backlog material is generally the Technical Manuals and Flood Insurance Studies, which can be sent to only one contractor. All work is sent on one of the 15 microfiche contracts the day after receipt in the Micrographics Control Section.

This is also the time when I speak about our microfiche contractors. Last Wednesday, October 13, 1999, I posted a message on askLPS and the discussion lists asking libraries to check their receipts for a list of specific shipping lists. It is very important that every library that did not receive the material make a claim as soon as possible for these lists. If you need the information from that posting, please see me during this council session. We continue to have consistent problems with one contractor, and once again are trying to be sure they are performing as required under their contract.

The bad news about receipts is there are only 3200 publications in the backlog. We continue to see a decline in the number of tangible products distributed through the FDLP. Some of the decline is due to Internet publishing, but it appears that the agencies have never really recovered from the printing budget cuts taken back in 1996 when the appropriations process slowed all government printing. In 1992, DAB processed 89,000 publications. In 1993, the figure dropped to 69,000 and in 1998, the figure was 44,300. The projected number of publications classified for 1999 is up slightly, at 46,500, but this includes many online publications classified in coordination with the BET and PURL processes.

Here is a quick summary of the activity associated with classification of online publications. For FY 1998, there were 874 new Browse Electronic Titles entries posted on the BET pages. For FY 1999, there was a slight increase in the number of new titles, 943 entries. Staff from the Cataloging Branch, the Office of the Director, and DAB have been working on systematizing the identification and review of potential electronic titles, and then cataloging and applying the PURLS in a consistent manner for the BET entries. We have made a great deal of progress along these lines as Gil has already relayed to you.

I want to tell you what we are doing to improve the response time for inquiries, especially the askLPS inquiries. LPS started the year with a balance of 1436 inquiries. In FY 99 we received 15,126 and processed 15,157, leaving a balance of 1405 inquiries. These counts include e-mail, askLPS, phone, fax, and written inquiries. For the askLPS service, LPS received 2992 inquiries and processed 3025. In June, one staff member was assigned full-time to working with the askLPS inquiries. Some of the inquiries can be dealt with in a straightforward manner, especially those dealing with direct mail claims, but many of the inquiries relate to fugitive or missing documents. This is an important but time consuming effort, and our highest priority is the processing of the material we have in hand for distribution to the libraries. As you can see, askLPS continues to be a challenge, but we making efforts to improve these services.

I’d also like to review the publication shortage and rain check policies for Council. Shortages can occur for any number of reasons. They fall into five major categories: Deal Directs, Incorrect Orders, Contractor Shortages, Errors in Processing, and Fugitive Publications.

1. Deal Directs: The annual update cycle allows libraries the opportunity to add material to their item selection profiles. Many of the publications distributed through the FDLP are acquired through a deal direct arrangement between the agency and a contractor under a GPO administered contract. This material tends to be serial in nature—serial publications or established monographs in a series. Once the process has been set up, GPO does not see the requisitions again until they are reviewed for the next fiscal year. Many times these contracts have more than one publication on them and the agencies are then instructed to contact LPS directly for the correct quantities for depository distribution. Well, you can probably guess how many times that happens. If the agency guesses wrong, when the publication arrives, it is probably going to be short.
2. Ordered Incorrectly: There are two main causes for incorrect orders: agency error and acquisitions error.

1. Agency Error: When the agency submits a 3868, Notification of Intent to Publish, that is not correctly or completely filled out, the chances are very good the publication will be short, as item number assignment is based on this information. The three most common problems associated with the notification process are lack of information concerning reprint status, missing series information for monographs, and incorrect information about the agency submitting the requisition or 3868.

The problems associated with reprints include wasting of time and money to order the publications. And when it’s determined to be a duplicate or reprint of something we have already distributed, additional time and money is spent in trying to find a good home for the publication. If the title is in the Sales Program, we offer it to Sales. If it is not, we ask the agency to pick up the stock.

The problems that arise when the series information is not included with the notification or SF-1 usually result in a shortage. There is quite a difference in the number of libraries selecting general publications for the Air Force (Item 0424, 384 copies) and the Army Air Forces in WWII (Item 0422-M, 854 copies).

When an agency or commission submits their requisition or SF-1 under another agency’s print contract, a shortage will often result. For example, many of the Presidential general publications (Item 0766-C-03, 770 copies) are submitted as miscellaneous general publications under programs for the Department of the Interior (Item 0603, 634 copies). All information on the SF-1 or 3868 shows the material to be an Interior publication. Only when the product is delivered is the real publishing agency identified.

2. Acquisitions Error: The acquisitions staff in DAB did not choose the correct item number due to misreading of the List of Classes data, or because of problems in identifying the correct class and item number. The publication can be short or LPS may have many overs.

4. Error in Processing: We only order a limited number of extra copies of publications for claims. If the publications are very small, when the boxes are cut open, a few of the copies may be damaged. Or sometimes a box of stock cannot be located when the material is being prepared for shipment. Staff put the ship short with rain check symbol on the shipping list just in case the box cannot be located by the time the material is distributed on the distribution line.

5. Fugitive Publications: If the publication is a fugitive document and the agency can only supply a limited number of copies, we try to obtain at least enough for distribution to the regional libraries. A copy is sent for microfiche conversion for dissemination to the selective libraries for products that can be microfiched.

There are several possible solutions for each of the problems noted above.

1. If the document is a paper publication, we can call the agency and try to obtain the additional copies at no charge from the agency. A rain check is then issued and the material is shipped short with rain checks.
2. We can check with the Sales Program and acquire the requisite number of copies from the Laurel GPO facility. Again, the publication is prepared for inclusion in the shipment with the notification and shipped short with rain checks.
3. If it is a small publication, and the requisite number of publications is also small, we can make photocopies and send them out in the regular shipment.
4. If it is a color publication that will not photocopy well, the agency cannot supply the missing copies, and Sales does not have the publication in the Sales Program, it is shipped short with no rain checks.

Responses to Spring 1999
Depository Library Council Recommendations

Council recommends that GPO eliminate the production of availability records for all non-map serial and multi-part monograph products (tangible and electronic) for the Monthly Catalog.

Rationale: Availability records are currently created only for annual and semiannual serials. This practice is a procedural holdover from the pre-automated Monthly Catalog era. Eliminating production of these availability records would free up GPO cataloging resources to be allocated to other work and would eliminate the confusion that these duplicate records create.

Response: The Library Programs Service (LPS) ceased producing availability records for serials and multi-part monographs beginning October 1, 1999, the beginning of the data entry period for the year 2000 Monthly Catalog issues. We will continue to create, maintain, and update serial records but without accounting for the availability of specific issues. Implementing this recommendation permits re-allocation of personnel to more useful tasks, particularly in the area of providing additional cataloging and locator services for electronic resources.

Council recommends that GPO replace the Periodicals Supplement with a more comprehensive tool, which will list all serials in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) and all serials cataloged in the preceding year.

Rationale: The Periodicals Supplement of the Monthly Catalog currently contains serial titles issued three or more times a year; serial titles issued once or twice a year receive availability records and appear in the regular monthly issues of the Monthly Catalog. Council has recommended elimination of the production of these availability records. Therefore, all serials, regardless of frequency, should now be included in an enhanced Periodicals Supplement.

Response: The Periodicals Supplement for 2000 will be the last one to include only periodicals issued three or more times a year. In 2001, all serials, without regard to frequency of issue, will be included in the supplement, which will revert to its previous title of Serials Supplement.

Council recommends that GPO investigate the feasibility of acquiring an Integrated Library System that would represent bibliographic records and holdings for all pieces distributed to depository libraries (e.g. serial check-in, individual volumes of a multi-volume set) and be available for public online inquiries. Council also recommends that in its investigation, GPO consider the cost savings to be gained from acquiring an Integrated Library System, including savings gained from the elimination of inquiries about holdings on AskLPS.

Rationale: Council believes that both GPO and the depository community would benefit from an Integrated Library System that would reflect holdings to the piece level. Such a system would provide current awareness for materials processed by the Cataloging Branch and would eliminate any need for availability records.

Response: LPS recognizes that the acquisition of an Integrated Library System (ILS) would be beneficial. The installation of an ILS will cause many operations within LPS to be changed, including, but not limited to, the production of cataloging records, the automated check-in of serial titles and the development of an online public access catalog with holdings display capabilities.

Currently, LPS staff members are documenting operational and systems requirements, preparing preliminary cost estimates, investigating procurement options, and evaluating ILS project documentation obtained from several national libraries. However, the procurement and installation of an ILS within LPS would be a major project for the Superintendent of Documents and would involve the participation of several offices within GPO. These offices are currently committing resources to the installation of the Integrated Processing System (IPS) for Superintendent of Documents Sales operations, and are also still involved with Year 2000 (Y2K) remediation, testing, and contingency planning. GPO resources cannot be allocated to assist with the analysis, procurement, and implementation of an ILS in LPS at this time.

Council recommends that GPO strengthen its efforts to bring fee-based electronic products into the FDLP at no cost to the library.

Rationale: Council believes that fee-based electronic government information products and services should be made available to depository libraries at no cost, in compliance with Title 44 and other laws and regulations. In addition, Council has noted the increased use of limited passwords for fee-based products and services. Council strongly encourages GPO to aggressively pursue no-fee access to fee-based databases for depository libraries, including a sufficient number of passwords so depositories can provide adequate access to their user communities. Alternative approaches of acquiring no-fee access for depository libraries should be explored with agencies that are not now complying with the law.

Response: GPO continues to address the issues surrounding no-fee depository library access to agency fee-based information products and services. Each case is unique and FDLP access must be negotiated on a case-by-case basis. GPO strives to convince agencies that extending no-fee access to depository libraries is an effective way to implement the agencies’ public access missions. LPS’ earlier experience with GPO Access highlighted administrative and service limitations associated with password-based access. GPO now suggests that agencies provide depository library access through the allocation of a "pool" for a number of simultaneous users, rather than by assigning single passwords or IP (Internet Protocol) address recognition. The simultaneous user method proved effective during the GPO Access gateways project startup.

Council recommends that GPO investigate and implement strategies to include top level GPO Access pages on popular Internet search engines, e.g. Yahoo!, Northern Light, and Lycos.

Rationale: The general public often relies on popular Internet search engines and services to locate information. Therefore the inclusion of GPO Access pages into these services will achieve two very positive goals: first, it will promote the GPO Access system and its related services; and second, it will link citizens to the official versions of the government information they need.

Response: GPO shares Council’s desire to enable searchers on popular search engines to easily locate the many resources available to them on GPO Access. As a result of capacity concerns that required us to exclude indexing robots from our servers, we have been pursuing a much more labor-intensive strategy of using metadata for getting our pages included, but that has not always proved as effective as was intended.

As part of the development of a site-search capability for GPO Access, several different types of metadata are being coded into GPO Access pages, including accurate and descriptive title tags, an authoritative page description, and lists of appropriate subject terms included as metatags. In addition to improving the index used by the site-search mechanism, this metadata will improve results on popular Internet search engines.

Effective September 18, 1999, GPO discontinued the robot exclusion policy on GPO Access on a trial basis. If there are adverse effects on GPO Access response time, the hours during which the system is open to robots may have to be reduced or eliminated.

Council recommends that GPO work with depository libraries to continue its planning with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to assure permanent public access to NRC documents. GPO should identify a small group of depository librarians, including LPDR (the NRC’s Local Public Document Room program) and regional libraries, to work with them on final guidelines and procedures.

Rationale: GPO and NRC have entered into discussions about moving the NRC microfiche depository collections under the auspices of the FDLP, since the NRC’s LPDR program is being phased out at the end of fiscal year 1999. The LPDR program was designed to provide information to citizens in the immediate vicinity of nuclear power reactors throughout the licensing and operating life of the reactors. The LPDR collections have some overlap with FDLP collections, but also include many unique materials. The focus of the current discussions is 73 collections of microfiche from 1981 to date. While some LPDRs may choose to retain their collections, others may choose to withdraw them. Designating these collections as part of the FDLP program and finding homes for an appropriate number of those withdrawn from LPDRs will preserve public access to these valuable materials across the country.

Response: For more than a year, LPS staff has been working closely with NRC on a cooperative plan for permanent public access to an important body of NRC information. Due to budgetary constraints, and because of an electronic transition in the way NRC information is made available to the public, NRC decided to end the LPDR program as of September 30, 1999.

Under the LPDR program, NRC distributed a series of scientific and technical reports on nuclear energy related topics on 48X microfiche to participating sites for public access. Most of these publications were not included in the FDLP, although many of them would have been eligible for the program.

The goal of the GPO and NRC is to maintain at least one microfiche collection in a depository library in each state formerly served by one or more LPDRs to ensure that the information in the LPDR collections remains accessible to the public. This past August, the Superintendent of Documents accepted the collections from LPDR libraries into the FDLP. This acquisition brought these materials under the permanent access provisions of 44 USC §§1911-1912, and the guidelines and requirements of the FDLP.

NRC staff surveyed LPDR libraries and determined that 18 chose not to retain the microfiche, while the others indicated a desire to keep the materials in their collections. The 18 rejected collections are being redistributed to appropriate regional depositories. In most cases, regional depositories will receive a collection from a former LPDR library in its own state. In a few instances, collections will move from one state to another, in an attempt to provide an even geographic distribution. In 31 other cases, microfiche collections currently reside in libraries that are selective FDLP depositories that have agreed to retain the collections.

GPO's goals in acquiring the NRC microfiche collections for the FDLP are:

• to provide equitable, geographically dispersed access to a significant body of government information to which the public, particularly in the general vicinity of nuclear facilities, should have access.

• to assure that the public's access to this information is preserved permanently.

Permanent public access will be assured for the 49 collections in two forms:

• Collections that reside or are placed in regional depositories will be retained permanently.

• Collections that reside in selective depositories may be disposed of only with the expressed consent of the regional library under the usual procedures of the FDLP.

NRC is providing financial support for the relocation of the 18 collections that must be physically moved. The regionals were notified that the NRC microfiche would remain U.S. Government property as a depository item. Collections of microfiche not covered in the above provisions, as well as other NRC material in the LPDRs, have been abandoned to the custody of the libraries currently housing them, to be disposed of as they see fit.

Council recommends that GPO test the policies, procedures, and criteria for migrating titles to online electronic delivery only, as outlined in the document "Migration of Physical Format Products to Online Distribution" (Administrative Notes, v. 20, no. 4, Feb. 15, 1999, p. 4), and report back to Council within an appropriate time frame.

Rationale: This document provides useful guidelines for evaluating FDLP titles that have been identified for conversion from physical to electronic format. Prior to any implementation of these guidelines, Council asks GPO to conduct one or more pilot projects to evaluate the effectiveness of these criteria and procedures. Of special interest to Council would be procedures for FDLP input on the title selection process and the management plan and procedures for the digital archive. Council expects that GPO will be able to report on its progress in testing these guidelines at the next Council meeting.

Response: The policies, criteria, and procedures for migrating products historically disseminated in a tangible medium to solely online electronic dissemination are applicable only in those cases in which LPS has a choice of dissemination media. In many cases the publishing agency has already made the decision to eliminate the tangible medium. Then LPS incorporates the online product into the FDLP Electronic Collection by describing it bibliographically and linking to it.

It is important to note the distinction between migration and conversion. Migration refers to choosing between available dissemination media when the agency publishes both online and tangible versions. Conversion refers to changing the agency’s published medium to another, as LPS does when converting paper documents to microfiche. At present LPS has no program to convert print products to electronic media, for example through scanning and digitization.

During routine processing, LPS’ Depository Administration Branch, Cataloging Branch, and Electronic Collection Team often identify new products that agencies issue in both print and electronic (online) versions. When LPS determines that the content of the online version is substantially equivalent or superior to the print version, LPS selects the online version for the FDLP. These decisions are made in accordance with criteria described in "Migration of Physical Format Products to Online Distribution" (Administrative Notes, v. 20, no. 4, Feb. 15, 1999, p. 4) and Appendix II of Managing the FDLP Electronic Collection. These titles are described as "EL" in the List of Classes. Some examples include The Food Safety Educator (A 110.19:), FEWS (Famine Early Warning System) Bulletin (S 18.68:), and the Economic Working Papers (T 12.22:).

Given the continued pattern of essentially flat funding for the FDLP, and the delays inherent in the processing, conversion, and delivery of microfiche, LPS intends to begin actively migrating products currently distributed in microfiche and also available online by eliminating the distribution of the microfiche versions. Whenever possible, the cessation of a microfiche serial title will take place at the end of a volume or annual run. LPS will announce these changes in distribution media in the Administrative Notes Technical Supplement. Some candidate microfiche titles for this migration include titles with low selection rates, such as the New Publications of the Rocky Mountain Research Station (A 13.151/2:), Small Business Innovation Research Program annual report (D 1.48/3), and the annual Report on the Survey of U.S. Shipbuilding and Repair Facilities (TD 11.25:). Other titles are under consideration for migration because they are currently offered in multiple formats with the online version available on GPO Access. Examples of this category include the daily Federal Register on microfiche (AE 2.106:), the daily Congressional Record on microfiche (X 1.1/A:), and the Congressional Bills on microfiche (Y 1.4/).

Council recommends that GPO accelerate its outreach efforts to agencies to inform them of the mutual benefit that agencies, GPO, depository libraries, and the American public derive from the dissemination of information through the FDLP.

Rationale: Our democratic system depends on ready public access to Federal Government information as has been provided through the FDLP. The loss of electronic government information products from agency Web sites is a widespread, yet unrecognized, problem and perhaps the greatest challenge of the change in government publishing from the print to the electronic environment. Accelerated outreach efforts, such as promoting the "Internet Information Product Notification Form," will impress upon agencies the significant steps GPO is taking to address this great challenge and to make Federal electronic information readily available to the public through the FDLP.

Response: GPO continues to expand its efforts in promoting the benefits of agency participation in the FDLP. GPO staff from LPS, the Office of Electronic Information Dissemination Service (EIDS), and the Sales Program together have become more actively involved with agencies by meeting with agency publishing staff including Webmasters and other staff directly responsible for the creation and dissemination of electronic information. Acquisition of information products for the FDLP and Sales programs has expanded beyond the receipt of agency material through routine procurement tasks. We work directly with agencies as they create new products and services for their constituents and the public. Three such projects include our ongoing work with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Background Notes project with the Department of State, and the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) project with the Department of Labor.

Recently, new promotional materials, including an FDLP information package and partnership flyers, were developed to promote the FDLP and its mission and programs. This information is freely distributed when GPO staff visit agency libraries and attend government publishing and technology meetings, workshops, and conferences.

Revisions to GPO Circular Letters 320 and 413, emphasizing the role of the FDLP and our transition to a more electronic depository program, are being prepared for dissemination to the agency publishing community. An article promoting use of the "Internet Information Product Notification Form" will be included in the GPO Newsletter distributed to Federal agency publishers and others in the Federal information community.

Recognizing that permanent public access to electronic government information is an essential element of the FDLP Electronic Collection, Council recommends that GPO allocate the resources necessary to accelerate the process of identifying new partnership models and potential agency and institutional partners.

Rationale: The strategic plan identifies as a priority that GPO establish a distributed system for ensuring that government information products available via government information services are maintained permanently for public access through the FDLP. Council recognizes that GPO has initiated some efforts toward this goal. However, Council believes that, since partnerships are essential to a successful FDLP Electronic Collection, GPO must work more aggressively with agencies to develop partnership opportunities for libraries, consortia, and other institutions.

Response: GPO is committed to permanent public access to government information products. Establishing new and maintaining existing partnerships continues to be a priority as we make the transition to a more electronic depository program.

During FY 1999, LPS expert consultants met with staff from several agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services, Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Library, to identify possible opportunities for establishing content oriented partnerships and encourage participation in FDLP activities.

Our new Electronic Transition Staff member, Steve Kerchoff, continues the work begun by previous consultants, Judy Andrews and George Barnum. Steve, who comes to us from the Library of Congress’ Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC), brings an extensive knowledge of Federal libraries and information contacts to this position. Working together with the new Electronic Collection Manager, Steve will focus on strengthening existing partnerships, building new ones, and refining the partnership process.

Council recommends that GPO finalize and distribute the FDLP Guidelines on Substituting Electronic for Tangible Versions of Depository Publications. In publicizing the guidelines, GPO should emphasize that depository libraries should review their collection development and public service policies to ensure appropriate user services as they make decisions about substituting electronic formats for tangible versions of publications.

Rationale: The draft guidelines presented at this meeting provide a reasonable procedure for beginning the process of substituting reliable and permanently accessible electronic publications for tangible products. The guidelines include appropriate cautions about considering user needs, as well as requirements for following disposal guidelines of the Regional depository. Implementation of these guidelines will allow depositories to begin a reasoned process of collection management that includes fully electronic versions of products. The initial list of official GPO databases provides a good starting point and will be expanded as appropriate. Council suggests that it is not necessary to append a List of Official GPO Partnership Sites to this document in its initial distribution.

Response: The FDLP Guidelines on Substituting Electronic for Tangible Versions of Depository Publications, accompanied by the List of Official GPO Permanent Full-Text Databases, was published in Administrative Notes, v. 20 #9, May 15, 1999, pp. 2-6, and is also available at <[ was ] www.access.gpo.gov/su-docs/dpos/subguide.html [ now: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/coll-dev/substitutions.html] >. At the fall 1999 Depository Library Council meeting regional librarians plan to discuss implementation issues surrounding this policy. Over time, LPS anticipates adding additional products from official partnership sites and GPO Access to the substitution list.

Council recommends that GPO develop a prototype of an archive of FDLP electronic products to ensure Permanent Public Access (PPA).

Rationale: The archive prototype is a critical component of the life cycle process within a Permanent Public Access system. The archive must demonstrate success before other aspects of PPA are implemented. Ideally, the archive prototype should be developed by summer 1999.

Response: One critical step in the transition to a more electronic FDLP is to establish a digital archive for the FDLP Electronic Collection (FDLP/EC). Such an archive will address the "storage facility" requirements of the GPO Access law, pursuant to 44 USC §4101(a)(3).

Dissemination of online electronic information is now the fastest-growing component of the FDLP, accounting for over 45% of the titles made available to depository libraries during fiscal year 1999. A significant portion of the FDLP/EC consists of titles at agency sites to which we point. While some of these more than 59,000 titles reside on servers at agencies or institutions with which we have formal agreement that provide for permanent public access (PPA), many of these titles are not under our control. In our 1998 report, Managing the FDLP Electronic Collection: A Policy and Planning Document, we stated that the FDLP/EC includes "remotely accessible electronic government information products that GPO identifies, describes, and links to but which remain under the control of the originating agencies." It is GPO’s goal to assure PPA to the electronic products to which we point and link since, by definition, pointing and linking makes those products part of the FDLP/EC and means that we have a permanent public access responsibility for them. Meeting our PPA commitment for the FDLP/EC requires bringing agency-disseminated Internet resources under GPO control by incorporating them into a digital archive.

The FDLP/EC digital archive is a cooperative venture shared by LPS, EIDS, and GPO’s Production Department. Since early this year a Production staff member has worked with LPS to provide space for our initial archive testing activity. Production intends to devote additional personnel resources to the development of the digital archive once certain vacant information technology positions are filled. Initially, LPS and EIDS will utilize existing staff in this effort, but as the electronic archive grows in size and complexity additional staff may be required.

The next step is the development of an integrated service to bring under GPO control selected individual electronic products that originated on other agency sites, and for which we do not have interagency or partnership agreements for PPA. Although we can capture agency files from the Internet at a particular point in time, without an agreement or a notification process in place we will face difficulties assuring that the publishing agency does not subsequently modify or supersede the product. Therefore a critical element in the archiving process is to establish communication with the publishing agency in order to develop a partnership or other formal relationship, so that the agency will notify us concerning changes in its products.

A new server and a backup initially configured with two years’ projected storage capacity were procured specifically for the digital archiving project. The first of the new servers was delivered in July and has been configured for use as the prototype digital archive. Functionally, the prototype FDLP/EC archive will be populated with electronic source data files by FTP transfers, downloads, file captures, or other means. The initial set of test files consists of source data files captured by LPS staff earlier in FY 1999 in conjunction with processing additions to the Browse Electronic Titles service. The files will be accessible through a persistent naming application and made freely accessible to public users through a Web interface. Users will be able to search cataloging or Pathway locator services record descriptions linked directly to the content described. We plan to open the FDLP/EC archive for public use later in 1999.

Council recommends that GPO broaden its contact with the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA).

Rationale: Council is encouraged by, and very supportive of, GPO’s outreach efforts. The Chief Library Officers are responsible for overarching library technology planning at the state level. Therefore, it is essential that they are part of the planning for the FDLP and are involved in how that might relate to other statewide electronic information planning needs.

Chief Library Officers meet at least once annually in the Washington, DC, area and participate in National Legislative Library Day. Chief Library Officers work with their Congressional delegations on an ongoing basis. These officers are responsible for organizing the rapid and pervasive pace of technological change. Many state library agencies are regional depository libraries and most are at least selective depository libraries. The Chief Officers therefore understand the importance of citizen access to, and interest in, electronic government information. Many state document programs benefit from and are related to Federal document activities and services.

Chief Library Officers participate in and lead statewide technological interaction among libraries in their states.

Under the Federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), government information support is an allowable activity. Access to government information will increasingly depend on library building level technological capacity as well as the focal role of technologically sophisticated regional and selected depositories. The State Library Officers should be included in the planning for future government options and services.

Response: The Superintendent of Documents has talked with Ray Ewick, Indiana State Librarian and current Chair of COSLA, about an enhanced liaison relationship. This would build upon our practice of including COSLA in our distribution of important FDLP studies and reports, such as the Assessment of Electronic Government Information Products and Managing the FDLP Electronic Collection. The Superintendent of Documents has suggested a stronger relationship between GPO and COSLA given the number of state libraries that are depositories and the importance of access to Federal Government information to the libraries within their states.

GPO continues to refine our outreach efforts in venues where we can educate audiences about GPO’s efforts in keeping America informed and to identify potential partners for information dissemination endeavors. Over the past year GPO staff has participated in, spoken and exhibited at a variety of organizations’ conferences and meetings both in the Washington, DC area and around the country, including:

American Association of Law Libraries

American Bar Association Technology Show

American Library Association

Association of College and Research Libraries

Computers in Libraries

Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information Inforum

Federal Publishers Committee

Government Printing and Information Council, Printing Industries of America

Interagency Council on Printing and Publication Services

Michigan Council of Depository Libraries

Mountain Plains Library Association/Montana Library Association Joint Conference

NASA Information Managers Workshop

National Online Meeting

Online World

Special Libraries Association

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Digital Publications Preservation Steering Committee

Council recommends that GPO continue efforts to improve coverage of Congressional and other legislative information on GPO Access. To this end, Council recommends that GPO conduct a comparative analysis of the legislative branch information available through GPO Access with that of THOMAS, committee Web sites, and other relevant government and non-government sites. Council anticipates that GPO staff will provide a report on this topic at the fall 1999 Council meeting.

Rationale: Council reiterates the Fall 1998 action item on congressional information and continues to emphasize the importance of expanded GPO Access to current and archival legislative branch information.

Council believes the report will facilitate better understanding of the competitive position of GPO Access vis-à-vis other related Web sites for legislative branch information. This will also provide a test case of comparative analysis of GPO Access and implementation of the Electronic Collection plan.

Response: A report will be provided to Council at the upcoming meeting in Kansas City. The report will contain a comparison of the Congressional and other legislative branch information available through GPO Access with that available on other relevant government and non-government Web sites. The following factors will be analyzed:

• What resources are available (e.g., Congressional Record, Public Laws, U.S. Code)

• The scope of those resources (i.e., years, volumes, sessions of Congress, etc.)

• The source of those resources (i.e., Are they produced and housed by another provider or do the records on other Web sites point back to GPO Access?)

The report will recognize that some of the other Web sites in this comparison have resources that span a different period of time than GPO Access, as well as having different mission mandates. Recognizing these fundamental dissimilarities is critically important in both performing a comparative analysis and understanding its results.

1. Council commends GPO on their latest marketing efforts that include a new Web design, booth display, and promotional materials. Council is especially pleased with efforts to promote the full range of GPO services to existing and new constituencies. Council encourages GPO to continue broadening their marketing efforts to new audiences and industries.

2. Council commends Nan Myers and Ablah Library, Wichita State University, for taking a leadership role in developing and improving the Documents Data Miner, a Web-based, interactive tool integrating GPO-provided and other data elements. The DDM provides significant benefits to individual depository libraries, their ability to network and coordinate collection development, referral and other services.

1. Council will work with GPO to plan a report on methods and metrics for measuring usage of the GPO Access Web site and major components thereof.

2. Council will work with GPO staff to identify resources available for evaluating the value of depository collections of various sizes and ages. Libraries that have gathered information will be invited to share it, to be combined with cost information that GPO can supply.

3. Council will continue, through its Operations Committee, to consult with GPO on specific electronic products that present difficult software or usage challenges for GPO and depositories.

4. Council Operations Committee will explore with GPO, depository libraries, and vendors the current functions of item numbers for online electronic formats and consider alternatives.

5. Council has received the Report on the Assessment of Electronic Government Information Products commissioned by GPO to assist in planning and implementing the transition to a more electronic FDLP. Council will work with GPO in the analysis of the key findings and data.

6. The Electronic Transition Committee will analyze the Council Discussion Paper on Completing the Transition to a More Electronic FDLP and will report that analysis to GPO.

7. Council will respond to the University of California San Diego summarizing our discussions of UCSD’s correspondence regarding their suggestion that source files be made available for depository library selection.

[Handout]
Y2K and Depository CD-ROMs
Fall 1999 Depository Library Council Meeting
October 18 – 21, 1999

As of the end of September 1999, GPO has received Year 2000 (Y2K) compliance statements from the vendors listed below. The profusion of software used on CD-ROM publications distributed to depository libraries and the multitude of developers applying that software make it impossible to provide a simple blanket statement about Y2K compliance. GPO has been collecting Y2K statements from the companies that produce the software distributed to the libraries, and, to some extent, the software developers. In general, these sources tell a consistent, positive story, although there are many qualifiers.

In essence, CD-ROMs are not inherently susceptible to Y2K problems. If your workstation is Y2K compliant, it is highly likely that any CD-ROM will operate on January 1, 2000 the same way it did on December 31. For CDs with textual data this is what is important.

CD-ROMs with databases are more complicated. The CD-ROMs should operate in 2000 the same way they did in 1999, but if the developer of the CD entered any year/date fields in two digits, those fields will continue to be expressed as two digits. Expressing years in two digits is not considered Y2K compliant, although it will not affect the operation of the CD-ROM. Those users who extract databases from the CDs and import them into other programs will experience the most serious ramification of two-digit year fields. Even in this case, however, it is a simple matter in major database and spreadsheet programs to change two-digit dates to four digits with a global command. So, while some of the database CDs may not be strictly Y2K compliant, they will operate normally in 2000 and are unlikely to cause serious problems for the small percentage of users who may wish to copy and manipulate data off the CD-ROM.

GPO has received compliance statements from:

• Adobe, for Acrobat products (many GPO and agency-developed CDs)
• Verity, for Search ’97 (OSHA CDs through Spring 1999)
• Dataware, for CD Author (used in many GPO-developed CDs)
• Openmarket, for Folio Views (older OSHA CDs and others)
• Inso, for DynaText (used on World Factbook CDs)
• Insight (used on USA Trade)
• Macromedia, for Shockwave and Flash
• Jobjects, for QuestAgent Pro (on August 1999 and later OSHA CDs)

These statements generally advise that while the software is compliant, it can be used in a non-compliant way, such as using it on databases with two-digit year fields. Some programs automatically display two-digit years in four-digit format. Some programs also convert the underlying data fields.

In addition, one agency, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, has certified that its current CDs are compliant. They advise discarding older CDs, with the exception of archival products such as USAPat and USAMark. Libraries must be careful in discarding, however, because of the depository retention and superseded requirements for depository material.

Here are some of the compliance problems we have discovered thus far:

1. Personal Librarian is now owned by America Online, which has stopped supporting it. America Online has stated that Personal Librarian will NOT be tested for Y2K compliance. Personal Librarian is used on the U.S. Code CD-ROMs, which are strictly textual, so we are not anticipating any problems.
2. The National Center for Education Statistics advised us that CDs provided earlier than 1997 had year fields in two digits. Examples: EDSearch, Education Statistics on Disk and the National Household Education Surveys Data files and Electronic Codebook.
3. STAT-USA has indicated that issues of the NTDB with Autographics software are not Y2K compliant. They will be switching to new software with the November issue.

In addition, we have recently received a little information about the Y2K readiness of Folio software. This case is a bit more complicated than most because Folio and/or its new owners, Nextpage, are making a major effort to certify even old releases of its development software. To this end they posted a number of patches for previous versions on the page <www.folio.com/y2k/folio.com>. The current version is compliant, with very minor issues having to do with the way licensing information for the development package is displayed to the developer.

Published CDs, of course, do not contain the development software but search and retrieval software called Bound Views. In general, the same caveats that apply to the other CD programs apply to Folio Bound Views, i.e., on compliant workstations the CDs will operate next year as well as they do this year. If the developer of the CD publication used two-digit year date fields in building the CD, those fields will continue to be displayed as two digits. This is technically out of compliance but will not cause failures or operating errors when the CDs are used. Users who export data from these CDs will have to change the year date fields to 4 digits, a process that is accomplished globally or by default in most current spreadsheet and database software.

[Handout]

Cataloging Branch Update
Fall 1999 Depository Library Council Meeting
October 18 – 21, 1999

The transition to a more electronic Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) continues to produce a complex assortment of interrelated works in all media. At the conclusion of Fiscal Year 1999, approximately 29,000 works in various media were received for cataloging. Approximately 33,600 of these works were processed, leaving a balance of approximately 7,100 works to be processed. Most works in the backlog are serials that remain from prior years.

Most works in paper and CD-ROM and those available via the Internet are cataloged within one or two weeks of receipt. A backlog of approximately 145 Browse Electronic Titles (BET) entries remain to be cataloged. Most works in this backlog are serials.

In response to a recommendation from the Depository Library Council during the Spring 1999 meeting, catalogers ceased producing availability records on October 1, 1999. Previously, staff produced records that represented specific annual, semi-annual publications, or multi-part works. Based upon Council’s recommendation, catalogers now maintain, update, and create, as appropriate, records that represent serials irrespective of the frequency of issue.

This change should eliminate confusion caused by the production of piece level records for serials issued semi-annually and less frequently but not for those issued three or more times per year. Application of a uniform standard for bibliographic control of all serials will be most noticeable in 2001, when all serials will be represented within the Serials Supplement, the successor to the Periodicals Supplement. The last issue of the Periodicals Supplement, to be published in 2000, will include only titles issued three or more times per year.

A uniform practice for bibliographic control of serials has been established in consultation with the Depository Library Council to the Public Printer, the Cataloging Distribution Service of the Library of Congress, the Cataloging Committee of the Government Documents Round Table, American Library Association, and commercial tape vendors.

The Cataloging Branch identifies, catalogs, and authenticates serial publications published by Federal agencies for the CONSER (Cooperative Online Serials) database. In recent years an increasing number of works published by Federal agencies have been serials and, among serials, an increasing number appear as works published by Federal agencies at their Web sites. Approximately 50% of BET entries cataloged by the Branch are serials. At the conclusion of CONSER’s annual reporting cycle, GPO’s catalogers had produced 613 original CONSER level records, authenticated 427 records, added 1,040 records to the CONSER database, and performed 2,073 CONSER database transactions. Approximately 1,100 GPO serial records contain PURLs/URLs.

Ms. Esther Simpson, of the University of Maryland, McKeldin Library, has recently joined our staff of four other full time serials catalogers. Esther will contribute to efforts to represent and provide access to electronic texts of the increasing number of serials that are available from agency Web sites.

As of late September, approximately 3,400 PURLs (Persistent Uniform Resource Locators) have been assigned to electronic works available via BET and the Web Catalog application. Over the years, an estimated 6,000 URLs have been assigned to various resources. Long term access to most works is maintained via PURLs, although, for a time, URLs that have been recently recorded in Catalog records may also provide access.

Cataloging Branch personnel now provide centralized access to electronic works made available via the Library Programs Service. Personnel assign PURLs to electronic works chosen for the collection and maintain access by updating addresses within the LPS PURLs server. At present, we estimate that such efforts require approximately 30 hours per week. Reports from the library community regarding broken and new links are encouraged. Such information may be reported to askLPS or to Theodore Defosse at <tdefosse@gpo.gov >, phone (202) 512-1121, extension 31120.

The top priority accorded by technical support elements of GPO to assure Y2K compliance for the Office has contributed to an approximate four month delay in distributing CD-ROM and paper editions of the Monthly Catalog. Distribution of the Congressional Serial Set Catalog also has been delayed.

Circumstances that have delayed distribution of products have not affected the timeliness of dissemination of Monthly Catalog records to the Cataloging Distribution Service (CDS) of the Library of Congress. Monthly data sets of GPO records compiled by CDS personnel for dissemination to vendors are made available to CDS, via FTP, from the Federal Bulletin Board in accordance with schedules.

Similarly, records produced in OCLC are passed to the Web Catalog application within twenty-four hours after production. As of mid-September, we estimate that more than 132,000 records are available at the Catalog. Nearly 10,000 of these records provide hot-linked access to electronic works published at GPO and other Web sites.

[Handout]
Depository Administration Branch Update
Fall 1999 Depository Library Council Meeting
October 18 - 21, 1999

Beginning with the November issue, the NTDB CD-ROMs will be supplied with new Y2K compliant software from Enigma, Inc. LPS will continue to pay the licensing fees on behalf of depository libraries in FY 2000. After that, LPS will apply the funds previously used for licensing fees to purchase additional depository access to the Internet service, phasing the CDs out of the Federal Depository Library Program.

The October 1999 List of Classes will be distributed in October. The List of Classes is now produced only two times a year, in response to a fall 1998 Council recommendation to discontinue or consolidate traditional LPS products in tangible formats. As Council noted, updated online tools are more useful than the print editions, which are out of date by the time they are distributed.

In May 1999, LPS proposed changing the Administrative Notes Technical Supplement (ANTS) from a printed product to an electronic only product. LPS received many comments concerning the difficulty of producing a complete and satisfactory printed version of ANTS from the HTML pages on GPO Access. In light of these comments, LPS is investigating ways to improve the WEBTech Notes application, and will continue to produce the ANTS in paper format. After evaluating the many comments sent in response to this proposal, the ANTS paper product may also be modified.

New item selection additions from the FY1999 Annual Item Selection Update Cycle went into effect October 1, 1999. 974 libraries made a total of 63,897 changes to the item selection profile, with deletions accounting for over 60% of the changes.

Beginning October 1, 1999, the shipping list numbers for all formats changed to include the entire year in the heading. In the past, shipping list numbers began with the last two digits of the year, i.e., 99-0001-P. The first paper shipping list number for FY 2000 is 2000-0001-P. The four-digit format is being used to properly identify data in accordance with Y2K protocols.

However, because of file naming limitations, shipping list numbers in the Federal Bulletin Board (FBB) and U.S. FAX Watch systems will continue to use the older numbering format. For the FBB, the individual file numbers will continue to use the last two digits of the year plus the shipping list number and letters designating shipping list and file format, i.e., 000001P.DBF. The file directories for the FY 2000 shipping lists will be new, but libraries will not need to modify any bookmarks for the older material, only add new ones for FY 2000.

Shipping list numbers on U.S. FAX Watch will also continue using only the last two digits of the year. To obtain shipping list 2000-0001-P, a searcher must input 0000011. The last digit represents the alpha character for format: paper = 1, electronic = 3, separate = 7, and microfiche = 6. FAX Watch is accessible at (202) 512-1716 from a touchtone telephone.

National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) maps are being distributed under a new shipping list numbering sequence. The change was required because these separates are no longer being distributed by the publishing agency, but from GPO through a contractor. The numbering for the first NIMA shipping list for FY 2000 is 2000-2001-S.

Federal depository libraries are able to access the usgovsearch service at no charge to the library. Northern Light is providing free public access to public libraries, K-12 public school libraries, and the libraries in the FDLP. The usgovsearch Free Edition is located at <http://usgovsearch.northernlight.com/publibaccess/>. Libraries are encouraged to bookmark this page.

New and notable publications include:

• 1997 Economic Census, ECON97, Disc 1A C 3.277:CD-EC 97-1/DISC.1 A,

Item 0154-C
• 1997 Census of Agriculture, Geographic Series A 92.53, Item 0015-B-01 through

0015-B-52
• 1999 U.S. Industry & Trade Outlook C 61.48:999, Item 0215-L-08

Recent fugitive documents that were distributed through the FDLP include:

• Combating Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Y 3.2:C 73/2/W 37,

Item 1089
• Women in the U.S. Armed Forces (CD-ROM) D 1.95:W 84/CD, Item 0307-A

• Selection and Application Guide to Police Armor J 28.2:T 22/998, Item 0968-H-11

[Handout]
Depository Distribution Division Update
Fall 1999 Depository Library Council Meeting
October 18 - 21, 1999

The distribution of tangible products through the FDLP in FY 1999 is:

Since 1985, the Library Programs Service (LPS) has used the Automated Depository Distribution System (ADDS, formerly known as the Lighted Bin System), to guide the physical distribution of publications to depository libraries. During this 15-year period, ADDS has:

• Eliminated the production of large sets of computer printouts
• Increased productivity
• Improved the accuracy of distribution
• Reduced mailing costs
• Reduced the cost of mailing supplies
• Reduced the number of personnel required to distribute materials

Unfortunately, the hardware that drives ADDS is no longer supported by its manufacturer and there are no upgrades available to comply with Year 2000 (Y2K) requirements. Fortunately, the original vendor for ADDS has been awarded the contract to update the system. The hardware needed has been delivered to the contractor, who is rewriting and recompiling the supporting software. LPS anticipates delivery and testing of the updated ADDS system during mid-December.

LPS has received numerous inquiries from depository libraries about the frequency of depository shipments. Some of these concern delays in the receipt of shipments, while others indicated that shipments were being delivered in batches rather than on a regular basis. LPS has been pursuing these issues with GPO's distribution contractor, Potomac Business Center (PBC).

We have determined that PBC continues to pick up depository library shipments from LPS daily. However, beginning on Monday, August 23, 1999, there was a change in the frequency of sending depository shipments. At that time, PBC's delivery contractor, United Parcel Service (UPS) began to pick up all processed depository shipments from PBC once every three days. This practice has the effect of creating batches of shipments that arrive at depositories on an irregular basis. GPO's Materials Management Service advised LPS that the "every three days" practice fulfills PBC's current contractual obligations with GPO. The PBC shipping contract also covers work from other GPO offices in addition to LPS.

LPS regrets the difficulties that these irregular depository deliveries have caused the depository libraries, and we are investigating the situation and working to develop a solution. GPO personnel are negotiating contract modifications with PBC so that shipments can be delivered more quickly and regularly.

Receipt of depository library materials was delayed for a few weeks in August due to non-compliance by a subcontractor selected by PBC to deliver outgoing shipments. PBC has since returned to using United Parcel Service (UPS) as a subcontractor. Nearly all depository shipments should be received through UPS delivery. Delivery by the U.S. Postal Service accounts for less than 10% of all depository shipments. Libraries should receive shipments within 5 to 7 working days after being picked up from LPS. To ensure that this problem does not arise again, GPO's Procurement Office is acting in accordance with Federal Procurement regulations. In addition, LPS personnel are currently reviewing and determining possible changes in the language of future contracts.

Paper shipments that are divided among two or more boxes are commonly referred to as "split shipments." Although depository libraries may occasionally receive this type of shipment, it is our policy to send depository materials from one shipping list in one box. Split shipments typically happen due to errors in packing or during the training period of new personnel and are generally short-term. In the event your depository library notices a recurring problem with split shipments, please contact Ms. Colleen Davis, Chief, Processing Branch, at (202) 512-1007, or by e-mail at <cdavis@gpo.gov>.

Beginning in October 1999, some "direct mail" titles will instead be placed in regular depository shipments. Previously, in the interest of timeliness, these titles were sent to depository libraries directly from contractors or from GPO's printing plant to depositories via first or second class mail. However, more timely access is now provided for most of these titles from GPO Access, the Federal Bulletin Board, or Federal agency Internet sites.

The change in distribution for the 13 affected titles will produce substantial savings in postage costs, which have risen to an estimated $1 million annually for the direct mail titles, while the appropriation that funds the FDLP has remained essentially static.

As printing contracts are amended, LPS will include the titles (see Direct Mail Discontinued List, below) on the Depository Shipping List and distribute them in the regular shipment boxes. Claims for these tangible products will be handled in the same way as other materials on shipping lists. A few titles (see Direct Mail Continued List, below) and paid subscriptions will not be affected by this action.

[Handout]
Depository Services Update
Fall 1999 Depository Library Council Meeting
October 18 – 21, 1999

The 1999 Biennial Survey of Depository Libraries was mailed to each depository coordinator in a manila envelope marked with "Biennial Survey Open Immediately." The Survey, which is required by law, will be conducted during October and November 1999, and must be completed on the web at <www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/99survey.html>> by December 1, 1999.

The 1999 revision to a Self-Study of a Federal Depository Library was distributed to all depositories in paper early in October. The template is available from the FDLP Administration Web page at <[ was ] www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/selfstud.html> [ now: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/fdlm/selfstud.html ].

There are 219 self-studies in the backlog awaiting evaluation. Revising the Self-Study of a Federal Depository Library and creating a new template took longer than anticipated. Those depository librarians and their directors whose depository operations were last inspected in 1994 will not be notified to submit a mandatory self-study in October 1999 as previously announced. In order to complete the evaluation reports for the self-studies already at LPS and conduct follow-up inspections if necessary, self-studies will be requested in three stages during 2000.

In January 2000, depository librarians and their directors in Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, and Virginia will be notified to submit a self-study by May 1. In May, depository librarians and their directors in Arkansas, California, and Florida will be notified to submit a self-study by September 1. In September, depository librarians and their directors in Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania will be notified to submit a self-study by January 2001.

The spring 2000 Depository Library Council meeting will be held from April 10-12. The DoubleTree Islander Hotel, Goat Island, in Newport, RI has been awarded the contract. The preliminary agenda and registration form will appear in the January 15, 2000 issue of Administrative Notes.

The 9^th annual Federal Depository Conference and fall Depository Library Council meeting will be held from Monday, October 23 through Wednesday afternoon, October 25, 2000 and the Regional Librarians meeting will be held on Sunday, October 22. The Holiday Inn-Rosslyn Westpark, 1900 North Fort Myer Drive, Arlington, VA, is the conference hotel.

The 13^th annual Interagency Depository Seminar will be held from May 31-June 7, 2000 at the U.S. Government Printing Office. The preliminary agenda and registration form appeared in the October 15, 1999 issue of Administrative Notes.

The spring 2001 Depository Library Council meeting will be held from April 2-4, 2001. The Sheraton Four Points Hotel Riverwalk North, 110 Lexington Avenue, San Antonio, TX is the meeting site.

The 10^th annual Federal Depository Library Conference and fall Depository Library Council meeting will be held from Monday, October 15 through Wednesday afternoon, October 17, 2001 and the Regional Librarians meeting will be held on Sunday, October 14. The Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites, 625 First Street, Alexandria, VA is the conference hotel.

The August 1999 edition of the Federal Depository Library Directory will be distributed to all depositories in October. The Proceedings of the 8^th Annual Federal Depository Library Conference will be distributed to all depositories in late October and will also be available on the FDLP Administration Web page at <www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/99pro.html>.

During FY 1999, 100 depository libraries were inspected, down from 114 in FY 1998. However, 252 libraries received Self-Study Evaluation reports, up from 179 in FY 1998. Five libraries were put on probation this fiscal year compared with 7 the previous year.

As of September 30, 1999, there are 1,347 Federal depository libraries, of which 53 are regionals and 1,294 selectives. Sixteen libraries voluntarily relinquished depository status while three joined the program.

[Handout]
Electronic Transition Activities Update
Fall 1999 Depository Library Council Meeting
October 18 - 21, 1999

This cross-organizational group reviews new electronic resources acquired for the Federal Depository Library Program Electronic Collection (FDLP/EC). The Electronic Collection Team analyzes entries for inclusion in Browse Electronic Titles (BET), Browse Topics and other Pathway Services. The group discusses cataloging practices, classification and item number assignment and internal processing practices that may be impacted as these resources are incorporated into the LPS workflow.

George Barnum returned to the Library Programs Service (LPS) in late September in his new position as Electronic Collection Manager. He will be responsible for all initiatives related to the FDLP/EC and permanent public access to electronic resources in the collection.

LPS and GPO’s Production Department are working out the details necessary to build a prototype electronic archive. LPS is developing procedures for identifying, capturing and organizing electronic resources for the electronic archive. Initial efforts are focused on capturing electronic publications for which no tangible equivalent has been located or identified by LPS for distribution. These are typically FDLP titles that the agency has chosen to discontinue in paper, CD-ROM or other format. As the archive prototype develops, discussions are underway regarding:

• Tools and procedures to organize, manage and maintain the contents of the collection;
• Public access to the collection;
• Accuracy and authenticity of archived resources;
• Internal workflow procedures.

LPS is evaluating titles that are currently distributed in microfiche format for migration to online dissemination. Most of the titles under consideration are selected by fewer than 500 depository libraries. If an official, reliable version of the publication is available online, LPS will decide if it is appropriate to make only the digital version available to depository libraries. A primary consideration is whether permanent public access to the product can be assured, typically by including the online publication in the GPO electronic archive.

Judy Andrews, one of the Electronic Transition Specialists, left LPS at the end of August for Portland (OR) State University where she assumed the position of regional documents librarian. During her year with LPS, Judy’s responsibilities included managing the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) pilot project. She worked closely with the participating libraries and NTIS to launch the active phase of the project in January 1999. She also evaluated the pilot project’s potential for the FDLP.

LPS has worked with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to produce a cooperative plan to ensure public access to a body of NRC information (previously distributed by NRC in microfiche) that would no longer be accessible through the NRC Local Public Documents Room (LPDR) program as of September 30, 1999. In August, the Superintendent of Documents accepted the legacy microfiche collections from LPDR libraries into the FDLP. Letters were sent to 18 regional libraries to inform them that they would be receiving the collections from NRC. LPS staff have been working with the librarians at the 18 regionals regarding the shipment of the materials as well as any necessary selective housing agreements.

Steve Kerchoff will join the LPS staff as an Electronic Transition Specialist for a one-year term beginning in October 1999. Kerchoff, a librarian from the Library of Congress’ Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC), will use his extensive knowledge of Federal libraries and information resources to assist in increasing awareness about GPO’s Electronic Collection activities and in developing additional partnership opportunities with agencies.

A promotional packet containing information about partnership opportunities has been developed. Copies are available from LPS. Contact Sandy Schwalb at <smorton-schwalb@gpo.gov> to obtain a copy.

LPS staff is cooperating with other GPO units to ensure that internal processing information is available to other organizations serving as GPO partners.

LPS staff perform ongoing maintenance to the Pathway Services and FDLP Administration applications in order to provide users with current information about the FDLP. New titles are added to BET weekly and the Browse Topics pages are updated continuously with new and revised entries identified by the Electronic Collection Team and by depository community volunteers. Recently, two LPS staff members began a labor-intensive project to update or remove dead links on the FDLP Administration pages in preparation for the GPO Access site search engine.