Chair Dan O'Mahony called the 48th meeting of the Depository Library Council to order at 8:35 a.m. This is the second year that the Council meeting and the Depository Library Conference are being held during the same week and the first time that concurrent sessions are being held.

The depository library community is being faced with many challenges as a new century begins. Dan presented an audio-visual presentation that demonstrated that technology alone has never been the answer to all the problems. It will take the collective talent of librarians to solve the problems of providing depository library services. He asked for suggestions and possible solutions from those attending the joint Council/Conference meeting.

Chair O'Mahony introduced the Public Printer, Michael F. DiMario.

Michael F. DiMario
Public Printer of the United States

The Public Printer began his presentation by welcoming the over 600 attendees to Washington, D.C. He was pleased to see so many people in attendance. GPO plays only a part in the role of providing government information to the public. The front line workers, in libraries, are the ones that interact most directly with the public. It was the Printing Act of 1895 that began the process of creating depository libraries with the goal of providing government information to the public. DiMario wonders if the increased reliance on technology will create an information elite that books can help to prevent. The process leading to the release of the publication entitled, Study to Identify Measures Necessary For a Successful Transition to a More Electronic Federal Depository Library Program (hereinafter referred to as Study Report) was reviewed. This report, currently in draft form, is the result of deliberations with all branches of the Federal government. It is very ambitious and comments on the draft are important.

Although the Study Report suggests a time frame of five to seven years for conversion to an electronic depository library program, the Subcommittee on Legislative Branch Appropriations, chaired by Representative Packard is not responsive to the time frame. Representative Packard prefers the two-year transition time frame originally suggested in The Electronic Federal Depository Library Program: Transition Plan, FY 1996-FY 1998 submitted by GPO to the House Appropriations Committee in December as part of its budget request for the next fiscal year. The allocation of one time technology grants totaling an appropriation of $500,000.00 for use in assisting technology-needy depository libraries is not supported by the Committee. DiMario did mention that he realizes that GPO provides little moneys for the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) in relation to the amount of funds actually spent by depository libraries.

The Senate has expressed some sympathy for the plight of GPO and depository libraries. A hearing has been tentatively set for May 13 the Senate Appropriations Committee. This hearing will focus on the Study Report. The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration has indicated that they will be holding hearings on revision of Title 44 of the United States Code in May. Any revisions to Title 44 will probably not occur in the Senate before the end of the current congressional session. Action on GPO's budget request will most likely occur during the conference committee process.

Federal agency replies to the Study Report have resulted in concern about the expanding role of GPO in the provision of electronic information. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has not responded directly on the Study Report, but has drafted its own legislation concerning GPO's involvement in executive branch printing which has been submitted to the House Appropriations Committee. Agencies also feel that the conversion to an electronic depository library program is occurring too quickly.

Wayne Kelley
Superintendent of Documents

Superintendent of Documents Wayne Kelley mentioned that there are no rules for the FDLP at this time. Confusion will exist for some time to come, but the confusion will be resolved. The role of depository libraries is to help steer GPO in the right direction and to help plan the electronic future. Technology should serve the citizenry. There are five main principles that will guide the development of an electronic depository library program. These principles are as follows:

• 1. The public has the right of access to government information
• 2. Government has an obligation to disseminate and provide broad public access to its information
• 3. Government has an obligation to guarantee the authenticity and integrity of its information.
• 4. Government has an obligation to preserve its information
• 5. Government information created or compiled by government employees or at government expense should remain in the public domain

Judy Russell
Director, Office of Electronic Information Dissemination Services

Ms. Russell, who also served as Chair of the Working Group for the GPO Study provided an overview of the Study Report. The Study Report contains an introduction, methodology, a set of principles for the FDLP, missions and goals of the FDLP, policy issues affecting the GPO, NARA, the depository libraries and the public and private sectors and a section on the historical development of the FDLP. Task force reports are included in the Study Report in Attachment D. The Task Force Reports provide various alternatives for dealing with the issues being addressed. One interesting situation was the fact the many of the Working Group members were unaware of the relationship between the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the Government Printing Office. GPO's strategic plan for FY 1996-2001 is also included. The following highlights from the Study Report were presented.

• 1. There is need for centralized management of the FDLP.
• 2. A program created by statute is necessary.
• 3. Equitable access to government information, including computer workstations for the public is important to Congress.
• 4. While it is important to provide electronic information, it is also important to maintain the range of information products currently in the FDLP.
• 5. GPO will convert products to electronic formats when it is cost effective to do so and when the means to convert a product are not available to the agency issuing the product.
• 6. An emphasis is being placed on providing access to products not in the FDLP because of cost or because of administrative reasons.
• 7. There is a need for standardized formats for electronic products and there is concern about the wide range of software being used.
• 8. GPO is seeing more occurrences of copyright-like restrictions on electronic and print products which means that these materials are not being included in the FDLP.
• 9. The increasing number of dissemination points for electronic information means that such services as the Pathway Services are are becoming more and more important as a way for the public to access government information.
• 10. There is a need to preserve government information for permanent retention and the National Archives and Records Service does retain materials sent to depository libraries.

Jay Young
Director, Library Program Services

Mr. Young thanked all who participated in the development of the Study Report. He particularly thanked Judy Russell, Chair of the Working Group. GPO is now focusing on future planning. The GPO Transition Plan, the GPO Study Report, and various internal reports will guide GPO with future planning. Legislative changes will be needed in Title 44 of the U.S.C. before many elements of an effective electronic FDLP can be realized.

It was mentioned that the number of titles distributed in microfiche as of the beginning of 1996, is less than the number of paper titles distributed. This is probably due to the fact that much agency material is not suitable for conversion to microfiche format.

The Library Programs Service will approach an electronic depository library program by concentrating on four main responsibilities. The people and divisions responsible for carrying out these responsibilities are in parenthesis.

• 1. Acquisition of Electronic Products (Robin Haun Mohamed and the Depository Administration Branch)

  For acquisition of electronic products to be effective, the definitions in Section 1902 of Title 44 of the U.S.C. need to be expanded to especially include electronic products and services. GPO will concentrate first on those electronic products that the Superintendent of Documents has control over. The GPO web page will contain references to government information products available on the Internet.

  An ad-hoc committee at GPO is looking at the application of su-doc numbers to electronic products. The committee is reviewing the elements that comprise a standard su-doc number to determine what should be included in the number. A modified classification number may be assigned to electronic products until a persistent uniform resource locator (PURL) has been developed for these products. On-line electronic resources will not be included on GPO Shipping Lists and these resources will not be given item numbers. Announcements of new resources will be included on the "New and Hot" section of the GPO web pages.

  GPO has been conducting tests using scanning technology and these tests have produced mixed results. The process is expensive and there are high character recognition errors. It appears that the best publications for scanning are those that are highly graphic in nature and that are thirty pages or less.

  The best situation for reproducing items in electronic formats is to obtain the source data file from the issuing agency.

• 2. Cataloging and Locator Services (Tad Downing, GPO Cataloging Branch with the assistance of the Electronic Transition Staff)

  Concern has been expressed over linking titles published in multiple formats using Marc linkages tags. The experts at the Library of Congress have been contacted and are identifying a range of options for the catalogers at GPO. On-line Monthly Catalog records will contain URLS but will not be hot-linked at this time. There are approximately 30,000 cataloging records on the GPO web site. One can link to a list of depository libraries holding the title. Pathway Services will provide hot links. A prototype Monthly Catalog CD-ROM will be sent shortly to Depository Library Council members for evaluation. The Pathway indexer functions similar to the Yahoo search engine, but is limited to .gov and .mil sites. It will also be possible to browse through GPO subject bibliography categories and titles and link directly to a government site through the Pathway Browse option. When GPO links to a government agency through its web page, it is implied that all depository libraries have selected that material and that depositories will provide guidance to users in using the materials found at that site.

• 3. Training and Inspection Program Revisions (Sheila McGarr and the Depository Services staff)

  Depository libraries will be required to provide public access to the Internet as of October 1, 1996. GPO inspectors will focus on whether or not a depository library is providing access to electronic products, not on the means or hardware that the library is using to provide the access

  The Depository Library Self-study will be adopted as the GPO inspection program. Inspectors will be sent to depository libraries when there appears to be a need, or when a depository library requests an onsite inspection.

• 4. Establish a System of Permanent Retention of FDLP Materials (Ric Davis and the Electronic Transition Staff)

Audience Discussion

1. What can be done to re-educate congressional officials about the importance of the FDLP? People should contact their elected representatives and should get the representative's constituency involved in speaking about the importance of the FDLP in meeting their information needs.

2. OMB has drafted a bill, in response to the Study Report that attempts to place executive branch printing in the hands of the individual agencies. DiMario feels that this bill has not been sent to the appropriate congressional committee and that it will not be acted upon during this Congress.

3. Concern was expressed over the disappearance of products from the FDLP. Materials once distributed in paper are no longer available in either paper or microfiche formats. The emphasis on electronic dissemination should not mean that the problem of fugitive documents is not addressed.

4. There is a need for concrete data on the cost to the depository libraries for participation in an electronic FDLP. Also, has GPO identified all the costs it will incur in the shift to an electronic FDLP?

5. Concern continues to be expressed that not all products are suitable for conversion to electronic formats. When the decision to convert a product to an electronic format is reached, the question of printing the information should also be considered. There are problems with printing out large documents and the need exists for a variety of printing options.

6. There will be a loss of selectivity for selective depositories if GPO considers that a depository item has been selected because the GPO web page links to that item. Concern was expressed over the service expectations for products that fall out of the overall specialty of the depository library, (i.e. small public libraries, law libraries).

7. One audience member felt that there were inherent contradictions in the Task Force report included in the Study Report when agencies are required to recover costs for their products, yet these same products are distributed for free through the FDLP.

8. The Minimum Technical Guidelines do not adequately address the needs of those who deal with maps. Hardware and software requirements are needed.

9. GPO needs to be reminded that the products that are most popular to the public and easiest it scan are the same products that are most cost extensive for libraries, if converted to electronic formats, because of the need for higher grade equipment, especially equipment that can print and display graphics.

10. There is a continuing need for good documentation for electronic products and depository librarians may be able to assist GPO in the production of more useful documentation.

11. Questions concerning the authenticity of information on the Internet and citing to government information accessed via the Internet were raised.

Council Business

Steve Hayes, Notre Dame, was nominated seconded and elected as Secretary-Elect of Depository Library Council. He will begin his duties at the Fall 1996 Council meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Monday Afternoon Session

Council will be preparing a response to the GPO Study Report. Comments at this Council meeting will assist Council in drafting its response. The following items as they relate to the Study Report were mentioned.

• 1. The five to seven year time frame for the conversion to an electronic program is more realistic than the two year time frame mentioned in the GPO Transition Plan.
• 2. There continues to be a need for some kind of grant program that would extend beyond a one year time frame. How to allocate these funds is not knows, however, responses to the Biennial Survey of Depository Libraries should provide information about those libraries which might be candidates for technology grants. GPO's target is to have at least one technologically-capable library in each congressional district. Funds allocated should not be limited to equipment purchases.
• 3. It would be useful to identify libraries which would help sell the value of the FDLP to specific congressmen. It would be of great benefit if each depository library invited their representatives to visit their depository library.
• 4. The problems of scanning documents and which documents are chosen for scanning still needs to be addressed.
• 5. Most users still want a paper copy. A shift will occur from GPO supplying a paper document to the depository library, to the depository library providing a paper copy to a library user. It is therefore, necessary for GPO think about the ease of printing and downloading electronic text when converting materials, or adding materials to on-line databases.
• 6. How will it be possible to enforce Federal agency compliance with any standards that GPO develops? This brings up the separation of powers issue.
• 7. GPO has traditional dealt with documents librarians, who may or may not have much technical skill. It will become more common for GPO to also interact with the technical personnel in depository libraries.
• 8. The printing of maps will need to be addressed since printing maps often takes lots of time and requires more sophisticated printers.
• 9. GPO is to congratulated on its more aggressive stance in obtaining fugitive documents.
10. Statistics on the cost of participation in the FDLP are needed.

Jan Fryer, Chair-Elect, presented the GPO responses to the Fall 1995 DLC recommendations. (For full text of Recommendations, see the v.16, no. 16 issue of Administrative Notes).

• The revised, "Guidelines for the Federal Depository Library Program" (Recommendation no. 10) have been completed and sent to depository libraries.
• The technical requirements outlined in the "Guidelines" are still undergoing revision (Recommendation no. 11) and will be discussed at Tuesday's Council session.
• No fee-access to GPO Access (Recommendation no. 12) is now in effect.
• A file of "frequently asked questions" has been added to GPO Access (Recommendation no. 15).
• The Depository Library Council Web page is now accessible on the WWW thanks to John Phillips at Oklahoma State University (Recommendation No. 21).
• There will continue to be a Congressional Priority Box (Recommendation no. 22).

• Recommendation 1: The ability to accomplish this recommendation which deals with balancing the needs of users with the potential economic benefit of converting items from a paper/fiche format to an electronic format is premature at this point. GPO will have a clearer picture of the potential costs as the Transition Plan is developed.
• Recommendation 2: The distribution of depository materials in appropriate formats is being addressed in the Transition Plan and is an area that continues to be addressed.
• Recommendation 3: GPO will further pursue the need for a technology assessment study and is disappointed that the Joint Committee on Printing denied GPO's request for funds to undertake a technology assessment study.
• Recommendation 4: The provision of support services to depository libraries and end users depends on congressional funding.
• Recommendation 6: GPO realizes that the issue of preservation needs additional study.
• Recommendation 8: GPO has been conducting preliminary investigations on the possibility of utilizing cd-rom jukeboxes as a way of providing access to cd-rom products. This approach might help libraries that are experiencing equipment allocation problems.
• Recommendation 13: GPO recognizes that some depository libraries, especially those libraries acting as GPO gateway sites experience problems when they do not receive advance notices of changes to GPO Access. GPO will attempt to provide advance notice although it is not always possible to do so.
• Recommendation 14: GPO will continue to seek Council's advice on the development of software for GPO Access and other electronic products, as far as it is possible.
• Recommendation 16: Including cataloging records from July 1976 to date on one Monthly Catalog cd-rom would cost money since all of the various cataloging practices would have to be brought into conformity.
• Recommendation 18: GPO is in the process of drafting a comprehensive plan for cataloging electronic materials which will include discussion of providing links from Marc records to titles converted from paper/fiche to electronic formats.
• Recommendation 19: GPO is already providing training for interested Federal agencies in publishing government information products for use by the general public.
• Recommendation 20: GPO is aware of the single password problem for depository libraries that provide access to STAT-USA.
• Recommendation 23: The Fall 1996 Depository Library Council Meeting will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The question of service guidelines in an on-line electronic environment has been raised. Some of the questions are:

1. How do we determine appropriate levels of service? (immediate access via contacting a library staff member for assistance; 24 hours)

2. What does the loss of selectivity for on-line products mean? (lack of staff expertise; harder to determine what service needs may be necessary)

Tuesday, April 19

Chair O'Mahony called the meeting to order at 8:40 a.m. The first annual exchange of disks containing help sheets for government information products, sponsored by the Government Documents Roundtable of the American Library Association will take place tomorrow morning. This is a continuation of the exchange which has taken place for the last ten years during the ALA annual meeting.

Tad Downing
Chief, GPO Cataloging Branch

The Chair introduced Tad Downing, who presented an update on GPO cataloging procedures in an electronic environment. GPO is trying to come to terms with how to handle the cataloging of electronic resources. A short time ago the major concern was reducing the cataloging backlog of paper/fiche. Although cataloging is now more timely, GPO is faced with new challenges and the need for new cataloging processes. While GPO is dealing with how to catalog items located on its web site, the cataloging of items residing on non-GPO sites is also a question that needs addressing. For materials residing on the GPO web site, GPO intends to provide full AACRII cataloging records,

GPO has been discussing how to provide links for titles converted from paper/fiche to an electronic format with the Library of Congress and CONSER participants. Twelve Marc tags could potentially be involved in the cataloging linkage process. The Marc tags involved are: 765, 767, 770, 772, 773, 775, 776, 777, 780, 785, 786 and 787. GPO's proposal is to add linking information from the most recent tangible format to the most recent electronic location if the item is located on a GPO web site.

If monographs, maps, and serials are available in both tangible and electronic formats and are located on the GPO web site, a 530 note with the URL will be added to the cataloging record for the paper version of the Monthly Catalog. For instance, the GAO publications located on the GPO web site will be cataloged using a 530 note that reads in effect that GAO publications are also available on the Internet at the GPO web site with an URL included.

The 856 field will be used for cataloging publication that are only available remotely. Maps and monographs located at non-GPO sites are not stable enough to be cataloged since there is no assurance that GPO will be notified if a title is withdrawn from an agency web site.

GPO does not feel that it is in a position to catalog Federal agency Internet sites and one solution to the cataloging situation may be to have the agencies catalog the Internet site themselves.

The Pathway Bibliographic Records Project is designed to aid in the identification of materials located on non-GPO Federal agency web sites. The Pathway indexer will allow users to search government (.gov) and military (,mil) sites on the Internet using keywords. A user can browse through Subject Bibliography Terms. Once the records are located, the records will provide a brief description and will contain several GILS-like elements including title, edition statement, publisher, date, notes and GPO Subject Bibliography Terms. There will be hot links directly to the site included within the records.

FOCUS DISCUSSIONS

1. Bibliographic Access in an On-line Environment
Cindy Etkin, Facilitator

A. What should be GPO's role in identifying, cataloging, and tracking electronic publications on the Internet?

• 1. GPO intends to provide full cataloging for items available on the GPO web site.
• 2. Pathway Services will provide some identification of titles, although it will not be full cataloging for non-GPO web sites.
• 3. In an electronic environment, what actually constitutes a title since a data format may be used; an html title record may be different from a paper publication title.
• 4. Although GPO intends to catalog serials located in its web site, how will GPO catalogers deal with the question of providing linking notes on GPO cataloging records for publications once distributed by GPO in paper and now available on-line via non-GPO web sites.
• 5. In a distributed electronic environment perhaps Federal agencies should be responsible for creating their own bibliographic data records. GPO could establish liaison relationships with Federal agency webmasters and then GPO would be able to keep track of what is happening on Federal agency web sites.
• 6. The 856 field of the Marc record could be used for adding an URL to bibliographic records: one library is using a 856 field note that read: "Additional statistical data is available via the Internet: to alert users to additional sources of information. In addition, the 500 Marc tag could be used.
• 7. In a web-based catalog, a direct link can be made to the Internet location.
• 8. One audience member felt that maintaining URL links is similar to the process of maintaining name/authority records.
• 9. Agency policies: There are two different groups of people within an agency that deal with paper and electronic materials. While the policies for handling print publications are very clear, the policies for electronic materials are still new and under development. There is often no communication between these two groups.

• 1. GPO might be able to provide a lead for Federal agencies.
• 2. A Pathway bibliographic record could been the basis for a Marc record if it is determined that there is stability at the Federal agency site.
• 3. There are now chief information officers in Federal agencies as a result of recent Congressional legislation.
• 4. A GILS record is a subset of the Marc record and the existing GILS core elements are based on Marc record elements.
• 5. The creation of cataloging records for electronic publications is probably not the primary mission for a Federal agency and may not be useful for the agency's primary clientele.

• 1. There was concern about using Subject Bibliography Terms because it was felt by some that the terms are too broad for locating information. GPO decided on using these terms because they do not need to do any authority work on the records and can maximize their time locating information and browsing web sites for information.
• 2. Concern was expressed about how records are going to be added to library catalogs, when vendors like Marcive profile by item number and when GPO might not use item numbers for on-line information products.
• 3. Are we spending too much time concerned about traditional cataloging records when there is much development going into creating indexing software. The creation of a "GPO Master Federal Information Site" would provide a means by which librarians and patrons could access materials on Federal agency web sites. GPO could work with Federal agencies to link with the master site, leaving GPO free to work on creating effective search engines.

  4. Pathway Locator is working on creating an indexer. The indexer will retrieve items at the file level. The browse option will get at the site level record.

  5. There is a need for more than one site for accessing electronic information because of down time problems.

• 1. There is a distinction between GILS as a technology and GILS core. GILS core provides for a high file level of identification.

• 1. Use of the su-doc number and an ACCIS-supplied number
• 2. The inclusion of a stem would help to link paper/fiche titles with electronic versions.
• 3. It would be useful to continue to break out series titles.

• 1. Materials located on the Internet will not be included in shipping lists.
• 2. There will be a "new item" file on the GPO web site.
• 3. It would be useful if the URL address remained the same when information is transferred from the custody of GPO to the custody of NARA for preservation.
• 4. If libraries decide to download publications from Federal agency web sites, how will these publications be shelved in libraries if no su-doc classification numbers are assigned to these publications?

2. Long Term Retention and Access to Electronic Information
Dan Clemmer, Facilitator

Dan thanked GPO for their concern on retention and access to government information as reflected in the Study Report. He mentioned that that we know how to preserve print and microfiche. Electronic information, due to its instability presents more of a problem to preserve. The responsibility for preserving government information in the electronic era has shifted from depository libraries to GPO and NARA.

A. What are reasonable expectations/standards for accessing files via GPO Access? Agency web sites? NARA

• 1. Descriptions and/or summaries are helpful to view before actually accessing an electronic file.
• 2. There is a big difference between preservation and access. Because something is archived at NARA does not necessarily mean that the information will be easy to retrieve once it is transferred to NARA. One of the problems of the Study Report is that is seems to rely on cooperation between GPO and NARA. There is a need for legislation to insure compliance.
• 3. The relationship between NARA and GPO needs to be clarified. When material is transferred from the GPO server to NARA, will there be a reasonable turn around time for inquiries for information? Will access be hampered by the need to submit a FOIA request for access?
• 4. Currently GPO provides copies of materials cataloged for the Monthly Catalog to NARA for preservation.
• 5. NARA does accept cd-roms for preservation but strips some software from the cd-rom especially if it is proprietary software. There is a question as to how much refreshing of data NARA will be willing to do. Are many electronic products really useful if saved in formats like ASCII?

• 1. There is a need for a regional system of electronic depository libraries which does not have to be the current regional structure.
• 2. What NARA can accomplish will be dependent on its level of funding
• 3. No one library is going to be able to archive all electronic information. They should archive based on the subject specialty of the individual library.

• 1. There needs to be commitments from libraries to assume responsibilities for archiving.
• 2. It is necessary to provide mirror sites.
• 3. The RLG conspectus approach might help in assigning archiving responsibilities to libraries bases on subject strengths.

• 1. OMB Bulletin 95-1 and GILS might allow depository library materials to be placed on a record retention schedule.
• 2. There is a need for verifying that electronic information is authentic.

NARA interacts with Federal agencies through the Federal Records Retention Act, which allows NARA to grant a Federal agency's request to discard records. If this Act includes electronic records, perhaps the appraising officials at NARA could notify the agency wishing to discard electronic records that the materials are of interest to depository libraries and NARA can deny the request for disposal.

Wednesday, April 17

Council met to discuss areas of concern and to draft Council recommendations to the Public Printer. The draft recommendations will be discussed at tomorrow morning's council session.

Thursday, April 18

Council presented its Draft Recommendations, which are the result of audience discussion on Monday and Tuesday and Council discussion which took place on Wednesday, April 17th. The recommendations are in draft format and subject to change. (Please see v. 17, no. 8, June 15, 1996 issue of Administrative Notes for the text of the final recommendations submitted by the Depository Library Council to the Public Printer)

DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS

GPO Study Issues

• 1. Council commends GPO for completing the congressionally directed Study to Identify Measures Necessary for the Successful Transition to a More Electronic Federal Depository Library Program, for including representatives from the library community on the Study Working Group and Advisory Group, and for carefully considering the input of depository libraries throughout the study process.
• 2. Council support the "Principles for Federal Government Information", and the "Missions and Goals for the FDLP" as stated in the draft Report to Congress, and Council recommends the adoption of these statements for the FDLP.
• 3. Council commends GPO for adopting a five-year time frame for the initial transition to a more electronic FDLP, and recommends that GPO continue to work with the library community, federal agencies, and other appropriate parties, to assess the capabilities of program partners and their progress towards implementing and expanding access to electronic government information.
• 4. Council recommends that the Public Printer seek common ground with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Federal policy that would achieve an appropriate degree of government-wide coherence in public information as has traditionally been accomplished through centralized cataloging.
• 5. Council commends GPO for its aggressive and creative proposals for expanding access to government information and providing access to previously fugitive government information.
• 6. Council remains concerned that the transition to a more electronic Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) continues to proceed without the fundamental data necessary to determine the most cost effective and feasible alternatives for providing access to electronic government information to the public through the FDLP. Council supports the Technical Implementation Analysis outlined in the draft Report to Congress and urges GPO to continue to pursue the means for conducting this analysis.

• 1. Council supports in concept the definitions of government information product , and government electronic information services as articulated in the draft Report to Congress and Council recommends that GPO continue to work with Congress and the library community to identify and recommend legislative changes necessary for a successful transition to a more electronic FDLP.
• 2. Council further supports the concept of the role of the Superintendent of Documents in the government-wide coordination of public access to, and long-term access to government information as articulated in the Draft Report to the Congress.

• 1. Council commends GPO for a timely test of the accuracy, feasibility, and cost implications of scanning paper publications for electronic dissemination to depositories. The depository library community is concerned about GPO's conclusion that graphic-intensive publications of less than thirty pages in length are candidates for electronic conversion. Council notes that these are publications intended for public dissemination for informational purposes by the agency which may not be suitable for the intended audience in electronic format and which may present printing problems for the depository libraries.
• 2. Council reaffirms the principle that paper is a viable format. When choosing publications for scanning, Council reminds GPO that a basic assumption stated in the Strategic Plan is that paper and microfiche will continue to be distributed when appropriate for user needs.

• 1. Council applauds the efforts of the Electronic Transition Staff for their diverse and creative approaches toward providing bibliographic access to government information in electronic formats. However, Council recommends that GPO provide a mechanism that will search these multiple directories simultaneously. Alternately, Council suggests merging the files of the Pathway List of Titles and the Bibliographic Records Project so that those items residing on GPO sites will also be searched along with those items residing on other government agency sites. Rationale: Council sees advantages of this for the depository librarian and public users. As the amount of information available on the Internet increases, it would be increasingly difficult to track or separate, for searching purposes, those on GPO sites and those beyond. GPO could realize advantages as well. Since both of these tools provide title access to electronic government information, the efforts directed toward two projects should be united to create one unified title index.

• 2. Council recommends that GPO develop and incorporate, within its suite of Pathway Government Electronic Products, records that communicate continues and continued by notes, as well as previous format statements. Council further recommends that depository libraries be notified when print titles are replaced by electronic, Internet accessible titles so that they may make similar notations in their local shelflists and /or OPAC entries.

• 3. Council supports the practice to apply a Superintendent of Documents classification stem and an accession number to government information accessible via GPO Access. This represents a transitional middle ground, which will assist depository librarians to relate Internet sources to previously printed information and to help identify the provenance of electronic publications. It is anticipated that in the future, this program may be superseded by other programs, such as the Persistent Universal Resource Locator (PURL) that is under development nationally.

• 1. Council affirms that the federal government has the responsibility to ensure that government information is preserved. All government information made available to the public through GPO Access, and to which the public is directed by GPO pathways and links to federal agency sites should be considered federal depository information and should be preserved in perpetuity unless determined otherwise by the Superintendent of Documents.
• 2. Council recommends that the Public Printer coordinate with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to develop plans for preserving material and request clarification on specific aspects of what NARA will maintain. Also, NARA does not currently retain electronic information for which there is no source documentation. Further, NARA converts information to the lowest common source format, such as ASCII and does not retain the software interface. Council recommends that GPO, in discussions with NARA, adopt the principle that information retired to NARA will, insofar as possible, be as accessible as before it was retired, i.e., as complete, as searchable and as available when needed by the user. For electronic information that NARA will not be maintaining, or for information which it cannot ensure adequate access, GPO and the depository community should look for other partners willing to maintain access to the information.
• 3. Council supports the concept of distributed housing as one means of ensuring long-term access to government electronic information and encourages the development of partnerships with non-governmental entities toward this end. As recommended in the Fall 1995 Council recommendations, Council urges Library Program Services to assist libraries and agencies interested in cooperative agreements and to develop model agreements to provide guidance on technical and service issues, including archiving responsibilities.

• 1. Council recommends that GPO offer a training component at the Fall Depository Library Council meeting in Salt Lake City, as a result of the success experienced at the Spring Joint Council Meeting and Federal Depository Conference. Council offers its services to help plan and assist in the training,
• 2. Council encourages the GPO staff involved in writing documentation for electronic products to work with Gateway Libraries and other interested librarians (i.e. technical support personnel) in creating user-friendly documentation. Council would be pleased to facilitate the organization of such a group who could develop a mechanism for facilitating coordination and communication among Gateway Libraries and other interested individuals.
• 3. Council recommends that GPO establish its own LISTSERV or distributed mailing list. The GPO LISTSERV should be designed as the official list for depository libraries. This will enable GPO to communicate directly with FDLP partners and conduct much of its official business electronically.

• 1. Council recommend that GPO set as a high priority supplying their Cataloging personnel with adequate equipment containing appropriate software and with Internet accessibility so that they can carry out their responsibilities. Rationale: As the central coordinating authority for bibliographic access to electronic Federal government information, it is imperative that GPO staff have the necessary technical infrastructure, equipment, and support in place in order to identify, catalog, and monitor government Internet sources and provide necessary bibliographic access to these sources for libraries and users.
• 2. Council recommends that GPO take full advantage of its WWW site to provide the broadest access to information about the FDLP and databases and resources such as the Publications Reference File.
• 3. Council recommends that GPO invest in URL verification software. Rationale: GPO must have the necessary software to effectively and efficiently maintain links and determine their stability, within the GPO web pages.

• 1. Council will submit written responses/comments to GPO on the draft Report to Congress within the 60 day comment period. Copies of these comments will be forwarded to the appropriate Congressional committees.
• 2. Council will conduct an orientation session at the Fall 1996 DLC meeting in Salt Lake City to introduce new documents librarians and first-time attendees to the mission, organization, meetings, and work of the DLC.
• 3. Prior to the Fall 1996 Council meeting, Council should examine the issue of service expectations for depository information in on-line formats. The lack of selectivity for on-line formats, and its relationship to collection development should also be considered, as well as the relative responsibilities of regional and selective depositories for depository information in on-line electronic formats. At the Fall 1996 Council meeting, Council should seek public input on these issues.
• 4. Statistical Measurement Committee

  Members: Anne Watts, Chair
  Cindy Etkin
  Lynn Walshak

  Charge: Support the efforts of the GPO in gathering, analyzing and disseminating statistical information in support of the Federal Depository Library Program. A progress report of the actions of the Committee will be provided at the Fall 1996 meeting of Depository Library Council.

  Tasks:
  1. To develop a statistical survey that can be used annually
  2. To create a glossary of terms to ensure consistent data gathering among all depository libraries
  3. To explore or identify existing statistical studies that would be useful for these efforts (i.e. cost benefit, input-output measures)
  4. To identify a valid random sampling of depository libraries and other measures of data gathering
  

  5. Council will develop guidelines for the new DLC web site and will develop mechanisms for adding/updating information on the web site.

Commendations

• 1. The Depository Library Council commends Wayne Kelley, as Chair of the Study, Judy Russell, as Chair of the Working Group and Jay Young for their leadership and hard work in the production of the Report to the Congress: Study to Identify Measures Necessary for a Successful Transition to a More Electronic Depository Library Program.
• 2. The Depository Library Council commends Julia Wallace of the University of Minnesota for representing the depository library community on the GPO Study Work Group.
• 3. The Depository Library Council commends Maggie Parhamovich Farrell and Raeann Dossett for assisting in the development of the GPO Pathway Services.
• 4. The Depository Library Council commends Kathryn McConnell of GPO's Creative Services for her graphic design work and assistance on Council's project, Fulfilling Madison's Vision.
• 5. The Depository Library Council commends Sheila McGarr and the GPO staff for their extraordinary planning and organization of a very, very successful 1996 Federal Depository Library Conference.
• 6. The Depository Library Council commends GPO for providing and distributing diskettes of the American Library Association Government Document's Round Table Handout Exchange at the 1996 Federal Depository Library Conference.
• 7. The Depository Library Council wishes to thank the Public Printer, Mr. DiMario, for extending the Council sessions from 2 and 1/2 days to 3 and 1/2 days.

Public Printer DiMario presented certificates of appreciation to the outgoing members of Depository Library Council: Cindy Etkin, Linda Kennedy, Wilda Marston, Dan O'Mahony and Bobby Wynn.

The meeting was adjourned.

Respectively Submitted,
Susan Dow
Secretary, Depository Library Council