5.17 Substitution of Depository Materials

• Carefully examine electronic equivalents when substituting online versions of documents for tangible versions of the same document. Before substituting, closely examine the online resource to ensure it is a complete and official electronic equivalent of the same content available in the tangible format.
• Permission is granted to all designated depositories to substitute purchased microform copies and CD-ROMs for any depository holdings prior to the expiration of five years, provided that they are properly referenced, can be readily located, and are easily accessible to users. Proper reading equipment MUST be available for their use.
• As previously mentioned, with approval from the regional, permission is also granted for depositories to substitute electronic-only versions of some publications in tangible form. Guidelines have been issued for FDLP Guidelines on Substituting Electronic for Tangible Versions of Depository Publications.
• You should use professional judgment and consider patron characteristics, usage patterns, community needs, research requirements, and collection development policy when determining if electronic-only access is best suited for a given title. Issues to consider include:
  
  
  • Is the title better suited in another format?
  • What is its scope, purpose and intended audience?
  • Is the title authoritative?
  • What is the date range or coverage?
  • Is the information time sensitive?
  • Is the title's electronic presentation comparable to the tangible version?
• Electronic-only information may require more staff time to learn, train, and assist patrons. Staff levels in your library MUST be adequate to do this and other required depository tasks.
• Electronic-only information may limit the number of patrons who can use all parts of the collection at one time. The library MUST be committed to funding future upgrades of computer hardware, printers, and software to ensure an adequate numbers of computer workstations exist for public access to electronic Government information.
• Your depository library's policies for electronic formats and Internet use MUST be within the guidelines established by the FDLP. The Depository Library Public Service Guidelines for Government Information in Electronic Formats can be found here, and the FDLP Internet Use Policy Guidelines can be found here.
• Your library should properly reference the substitution so it may be easily located and accessible to users. This can be accomplished by creating shelf dummies, OPAC/shelflist notes, or Web links.
• Regional disposal guidelines should include cooperation among depositories to ensure that one or more libraries in the state or region retain a tangible version. The substitution guidelines can be negotiated in a State Plan. Maintaining a viable copy of these titles in tangible format within a state or region is still a part of a Regional depository library's mission. A Memorandum of Understanding between the Regional and other depository libraries serves as a mechanism to ensure that a tangible copy is available in perpetuity.
• The substitute copies will be treated as depository materials for the same retention period as the original publications, and they will be subject to the same rules and regulations that govern the care, treatment, and public access to depository materials during that time period.
• Since all depository materials remain the property of the U.S. Government, original depository holdings replaced by acquired copies MUST be offered to the regional depository library. Substitute copies may be removed or disposed of only by following established procedures for all depository holdings. Your library may not barter or exchange the original depository paper copy for a substitute. If disposition is by sale, the proceeds of that sale MUST be returned to the Superintendent of Documents.

Several questions submitted to askGPO provide answers to clarify how to use the FDLP Guidelines on Substituting Electronic for Tangible Versions of Depository Publications policy:

Question: How long are Depository Libraries required to retain the paper copies of the Federal Register?

Answer: According to the 2002 Superseded List, the retention policy for the Federal Register (AE 2.106:) states that selective depositories should "Keep current two years". Regional depositories have decided to retain additional years; therefore, you may always consult with your regional depository library should you have a request for issues from previous years. The Federal Register is also on GPO Access. Because it is on GPO Access, you may also apply the FDLP Guidelines on Substituting Electronic for Tangible Versions of Depository Publications and substitute, with your regional depository library approval, the online version for your tangible copies.

Question: In the 2002 edition of the Superseded List, p. 296--297, there is a policy note for classes Y 1.1/3--Y 1.1/8:. What does the policy note "Check online holdings before substituting" mean?

Answer: "Check online holdings before substituting means that if a library wants to substitute paper or microfiche for the online House and Senate documents using these classes, they should first check to see if an online version of the complete and official document is available on GPOAccess. At one time, not all congressional documents were available online.