Sheila McGarr welcomed the audience to the 1998 Federal Depository Conference. She described the contents of the conference packets and encouraged all attendees to complete the conference evaluation forms. Tours of Federal libraries and information centers had been scheduled. Since pre-registration had been required for both the STAT-USA and the Department of State tours, those tours were now closed. Ms. McGarr described the symbols used on the attendees’ badges. With more than 500 registrants, networking with colleagues was encouraged. The proceedings for the conference would be published in both Web and print editions. Ms. McGarr then announced a few program changes.

Dan Barkley announced an information session that evening co-sponsored by the American Library Association’s Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) and the Inter-Association Working Group on Government Information Policy (IAWG). Eric Peterson, Staff, Joint Committee on Printing, and Daniel O’Mahony, Chair, IAWG, would be speaking on developments to reform Chapter 19 of U.S.C. Title 44, the law governing the Federal Depository Library Program.

Chair Anne Watts welcomed everyone to the spring 1998 Depository Library Council meeting. Members of the Depository Library Council were introduced. Chair Watts then surveyed the attendees on a variety of topics (e.g., geographical representation, first time attendees, types of libraries represented, etc.). The Government Printing Office staff was introduced. The audience was encouraged to attend meetings of the Council. The Chair introduced Public Printer Michael F. DiMario.

After welcoming attendees to the conference, Michael DiMario noted that Eric Peterson of the Joint Committee on Printing would be speaking that evening and that he would have information on the initiative to revise Title 44.

Booz-Allen & Hamilton had delivered a draft management audit report of GPO conducted by the General Accounting Office (GAO). The draft report reviewed GPO’s document sales program, production, procurement, document delivery, and financial management. While there was some criticism of management issues and the sales program, the draft report viewed the depository program positively. GPO was in the process of reviewing the report and preparing comments.

Mr. DiMario was expecting appropriations to be decided soon. There had been three hearings on GPO appropriations since January. Funding was most likely to be level which would be essentially a decrease because of rising costs. If that is the case, there may be some negative impact to the Federal Depository Library Program. Mr. DiMario hoped that these problems could be overcome with the continuing electronic transition. GPO had assured legislators that they would be in compliance with the Year 2000 computer requirements.

Fran Buckley considered this his "maiden" speech as the official Superintendent of Documents. He noted that he had served on Council and had been Council Chair. He also noted that his overall concern was access to information, either at low cost or no fee, reiterating his long-standing commitment to provide access to Federal information. His hope was to bring a public service orientation to the Superintendent of Documents position.

Mr. Buckley enumerated his areas of responsibility, including the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), GPO Access, the nationwide Sales Program, the Consumer Information Center, the International Exchange Program, and the reimbursable program for Federal agencies. His goal is to ensure that these programs operated efficiently, complementing each other in order to provide effective public access to Government information.

The past four months have been challenging because of GPO’s size, scope, and organizational structure. Mr. Buckley reviewed the major SuDocs program statistics. 1,365 depository libraries have received 13.4 million copies of 44,820 tangible products within the past year. More than 30,000 items have been cataloged for the Monthly Catalog. Approximately 188,000 people are served each week in depository libraries. Over 89% of depository libraries provide direct patron access to the Internet, while another 4% offer staff mediated access. Use of GPO Access continues to increase, with March statistics indicating 13.5 million documents downloaded since 1994. Over 65,342 titles had been mounted on the GPO servers and 44,204 links provided to agency Web sites. GPO Access had been highlighted in Roll Call (December 1996) and in the Federal Computer Week (March 23,1998).

Mr. Buckley reported on his outreach and public awareness activities. Interviews and articles have appeared in a number of journals, including Library Journal and the AALL Newsletter. In addition, he has participated in hearings, forums, and has written an editorial column for American Libraries. Mr. Buckley thanked Sandy Morton Schwalb and Gil Baldwin for their assistance in these outreach activities.

Mr. Buckley noted that automation had been the backbone of the Sales Program. The Integrated Process System (IPS) had taken longer to implement than initially expected. It was hoped that it would be available this summer.

Mr. Buckley acknowledged the assistance of Duncan Aldrich on the development of the Collection Management Plan. The plan would help set up a policy framework for GPO collections. Council would discuss the plan in later sessions.

A new Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information partnership, the Information Bridge, was announced. Mr. Buckley recognized Dr. Walter Warnick and Kathleen Chambers of the Office of Scientific and Technical Information for their work on this new partnership. The Information Bridge would provide on-demand access to DOE reports similar to those that depository libraries had received in microfiche. Access to the collection, which dates from January 1996, would begin this week.

The NTIS pilot project providing on demand and free access to scientific, technical and business reports is being expanded. The initial pilot was at the University of California-Davis. The University of Nevada-Reno is the next depository in the pilot phase.

Mr. Buckley addressed the problem of fugitive documents. He estimated that only 50% of Federal documents are currently included in the FDLP. This is because of the growth in agency Web sites and agency failure to notify GPO about the electronic versions of the reports; the failure of agencies to print through GPO or provide copies to depository libraries; an increase in agency contracting printing resulting in copyright-like restrictions; and the increase in use of the language in Title 44 to exclude publications from depository libraries. Mr. Buckley also attributed the increase in fugitive documents to both a lack of agency knowledge about the FDLP and lack of interest in providing copies to depository libraries. He noted that one major compliance issue was publications in electronic format. Some executive agencies have not provided access for depository libraries to electronic information through GPO.

Mr. Buckley commented briefly on the Booz-Allen management audit draft report. He said that the Booz-Allen approach was to view GPO as a business. The draft report also suggested outsourcing or privatizing the Sales Program. GPO believes that there are a number of positive findings in the report.

Jay Young was pleased with Mr. Buckley’s proactive attitude regarding the Sales Program. Mr. Young noted that Mr. Buckley brought a new way of looking at the Sales Program. The Sales Program staff would like to develop their on-line site to resemble Amazon.com and to provide an optional notification system for new products. Mr. Young reiterated that the Sales Program was required to recover costs. In 1997 there was a surplus of $1 million and a projected surplus in 1998. He acknowledged the hard work of the Sales Program staff in controlling costs.

The new Integrated Processing System (IPS) for the Sales Program would replace eighteen mainframe systems. The startup of IPS had been slowed by legal problems.

T.C. Evans stressed EIDS’s goal of providing the best possible service to its customers. He described the growth of GPO Access including the inclusion of over 700 individual databases, requiring more than 80 gigabytes of memory. More than 100 megabytes were added daily. More than 57 million documents had been downloaded through March in FY 1998 and usage had doubled in the first half of this fiscal year. EIDS answered more than 9,000 user questions per month either by telephone or e-mail. In mid-May, user support service hours would be expanded to 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. E.S.T. EIDS user surveys had shown that the general public was happier with GPO Access than depository librarians.

EIDS had recently added NARA and NCLIS GILS sites. The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents now dated from 1995. Hearing applications had been added and Mr. Evans requested feedback on this effort.

Mr. Evans spoke of the constant need for training of users on GPO Access and of the Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information training interactions with EIDS staff on the new Information Bridge. A new GPO Access training booklet would be distributed and available for downloading.

EIDS had worked with the Sales Program to develop a shopping cart feature available in the Web. Customers could now order up to twenty products at a time.

Gil Baldwin presented the status of the electronic transition. The depository program was about two and one-half years into the five- to-seven-year transition. Last year GPO had been in the process of identifying microfiche and discontinuing this microfiche where the information was provided electronically. GPO believed that it was premature to eliminate tangible products; but was working on developing content partnerships, notification procedures and other mechanisms to ensure permanent public access to agency electronic information products. They would then proceed to identify and replace selected tangible products with reliable, official, and permanent electronic versions. Mr. Baldwin said the focus today was on what agencies were doing and incorporating their products into the Federal Depository Library Program.

He described the FDLP Electronic Collection as containing titles on GPO Access, at agencies, and 160,000 pages indexed in Pathway Indexer. Over 200,000 tangible product titles had been distributed over the past four years. The FDLP collection was already more than 35% electronic. He predicted that electronic products would soon outpace tangible products and that the number of tangible products would decline but not disappear.

Mr. Baldwin described the improvement in the cataloging service locator. GPO had an integrated process for providing bibliographic control to Internet resources. When a new Government product was found on the Web, that resource would be assigned a PURL and announced in the Browse Electronic Titles Pathway service. It would be cataloged with the PURL in the catalog record. Where GPO cataloging records were used, PURLS software would update the URL changes. This effort combined the work of the staff in the Cataloging and Depository Administration Branches, the Electronic Transition staff, and GPO’s Production staff.

The collection management concept would have GPO manage the various electronic Government information products made permanently accessible through GPO Access as a library-like collection. They would see the whole body of the electronic collection in the scope of their responsibility. There were four main components: (1) permanent core legislative and regulatory GPO Access products; (2) remotely accessible products (GPO or partnership management); (3) tangible electronic products distributed to depository libraries; and (4) remotely accessible electronic Government information that GPO would identify, describe and link, but which would remain under the control of the originating agencies. He reiterated GPO’s goal of current and permanent access to Government information.

Mr. Baldwin thanked Cindy Etkin for her assistance in developing a set of "FDLP Electronic Collections" Web pages which would provide links to resources inside and outside of GPO. He requested feedback on this new service when it was available.

Mr. Baldwin discussed the NCLIS assessment and suggestions of products for the process. An explanation of criteria had been made available in the handouts.

He described askLPS, which had been announced at last fall’s Council meeting. This past month askLPS began to accept Web-based inquiries. askLPS had five components: the electronic inquiry form; WEBTech Notes (which dated back to 1991); FAQs & News; the existing FDLP Contacts page; and a FDLP directory.

Last month, LPS received 2200 inquiries, of which 75% were by e-mail and 20% by phone. The askLPS inquiry form would provide automatic acknowledgment. LPS expects that an initial response would occur within 10 business days. Inquiries received by askLPS would have priority over fax, telephone, or mail inquiries. These inquiries would be responded to on askLPS if they were general questions that might be of interest to others.

Robin Haun-Mohamed summarized the activities of the Depository Administration Branch. She emphasized LPS’ service and reiterated the five components of askLPS. The inquiry form had two separate parts with one having a general inquiry form and the other having password protection. WEBTech Notes contained the Administrative Notes Technical Supplement retrospective to 1991 and would be updated weekly. The FDLP Directory was the SGML database for PAMALA and was password protected for corrections by depository libraries. She reminded everyone that inquiries to askLPS would be prioritized over fax, telephone, or mail inquiries. Response would normally be within 10 business days, but the response might also be a request for more information.

She announced another new electronic service: the Documents Data Miner (DDM), which would be a collection management tool featuring a searchable List of Classes, the Discontinued Item List, complete depository profiles, union lists, and a searchable library directory. The DDM was developed through a service partnership between the University Libraries at Wichita State University and the National Institute for Aviation Research.

The Union List of Item Selections would be updated the first Friday of each month and could be downloaded in ASCII format from the Federal Bulletin Board.

Ms. Haun-Mohamed also announced that the Shipping List service would now include the USGS Automatic Sendings. These would be posted on the Federal Bulletin Board in Word Perfect 6.0. GPO was working with their shipping list partners to find a better way to post this information.

Ms. Haun-Mohamed also presented a product update. The 1997 World Factbook in print and on CD-ROM had been distributed with additional software instructions posted on askLPS. House Committee Print 105-P, the documents relating to the Committee’s hearing on the proposed tobacco settlement, had been distributed, as well as numbers 16 and 17 of the FBIS CD-ROM series. LPS had not been provided enough copies of the CIA declassified report on Cuban operations, so LPS would convert it to microfiche for further distribution.

A new Memorandum of Understanding had been signed between LPS and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA, formerly DMA) which would bring NIMA products back into distribution. By early May, libraries should have begun to see the NIMA products arrive.

The Depository Administration Branch had a 94% response rate to Survey 98-001, the first on-line survey. The 1998 Periodicals Supplement had been distributed under an incorrect item number. Additional stock would be obtained for redistribution under the correct item number. The new CD-ROM tour of the White House was verified as not being a Government document and would not be distributed. Bound volumes 52-59 of the Tax Court Memorandum Decisions would be distributed after conversion to microfiche, since the title was now being published commercially. The FED LOG CD-ROM would not be coming since it had been classified as "For Official Use Only."

The Depository Administration Branch was monitoring and modifying PURLS as part of its numerous responsibilities in support of depository libraries. The item selection process had been changed in 1997 and the on-line application had enabled staff to work on other projects.

Thomas Downing noted that PURLS was a critical element in the FDLP electronic collection. He acknowledged the work of Michael Clark on the PURLS project. He also thanked OCLC, the Production Department and the Library Programs Service for their work on the substantial changes in PURLS software. PURLS would support efforts to provide continued access to electronic resources. As links changed, the Depository Administration Branch would substitute new links for old ones. As they learned of new URLs for old records, they would change them to PURLS on a record-by-record basis. They expected to gradually convert most in the months ahead. With LPS PURLS, libraries would not need to update their records locally when URLs changed.

Mr. Downing announced that effective this March catalogers would apply a collection level cataloging policy when cataloging Browse Electronic Title entries. He thanked Arlene Weible and the GODORT (ALA) Cataloging Committee for their assistance in establishing a satisfactory level of bibliographic control to many Internet works.

The Cataloging Branch was involved in the revision of ALA’s 1984 edition of Cataloging Government Documents: A Manual of Interpretation for AACR2. Rhonda Marker, Head of Rutgers University Cataloging Department and member of GODORT, was editing this publication.

Mr. Downing said that the Depository Administration Branch had posted 2,728 entries to the Browse Electronic Titles Web page. They had processed 13,287 pieces to date. Most of their cataloging backlog, 6,858 pieces of work, was associated with serials, many of which had been received recently.

The Monthly Catalog CD-ROM and paper issues were late. There was also a delay with cataloging tapes which was caused by shifting components of data support staff, partially to assure compliance with Year 2000 requirements.

The Web Monthly Catalog was moving towards 100,000 MARC records. Mr. Downing said that when links were broken, GPO would add a note "No longer available from the Internet." In response to Council’s recommendation, they were presenting a more user-friendly display for users. For those interested in using a numeric MARC display, that would still be available.

Mr. Downing reported that they would again publish the paper edition of the Periodicals Supplement which had ceased in 1995. Costs saved in publishing the Abridged Monthly Catalog had made this possible. There would be no significant difference in the Periodicals Supplement. It would also be available for purchase.

Sandy Morton-Schwalb reflected on her work at GPO first as an Expert Consultant and now as a permanent staff member of the Library Programs Service. The Electronic Transition Staff consisted of LPS staff Joseph Paskoski and Lee Morey and one outside Expert Consultant, George Barnum, who was working on the FDLP Electronic Collection, Gateways, and visiting agencies. Ms. Schwalb reported on a new link from the FDLP Administration page to a virtual tour of LPS. She was also working on information on the mission and operation of ETS with Joseph Paskoski and Lee Morey. Ms. Morey had prepared a draft of the new recommended specifications for computer workstations and would like comments from depository libraries by May 5.

They had also been working on an initial collection of sites for the Browse Topics (subject) lists. Their goal was to update all topics on a quarterly basis. She requested volunteers for this task. There were 33 topics being maintained by volunteers.

ETS staff was also working on Gateway status. Step-by-step information on Gateway status could be found in the April 15 Administrative Notes.

She also said that the Electronic Transition Staff continued to work with other staff on other Web products including askLPS. The Department of Energy would roll out OSTI’s Information Bridge on Wednesday. She acknowledged Kathy Chambers and Walter Warnick from the Department of Energy who had been working with GPO on this product for over eighteen months. The FDLP ERIC digital pilot project would be rolled out this summer and would contain public domain documents from January 1997. By July 1998 300 pilot depository libraries would be accessing the database with the remaining depository libraries accessing it by late 1998. A Century of Lawmaking site from the Library of Congress would be added to the Core Documents of U.S. Democracy site.

Volunteers were requested on GOVDOC-L for the NTIS pilot project. Twenty-six depository libraries had volunteered and from them twenty would be selected for this part of the project. LPS continued to provide feedback to the Foreign Affairs Documentation Center. Later in the conference there would be more discussion on content partnerships with the USGS and Cartographers Users Advisory Council representatives.

Dan Barkley, Chair, Government Documents Round Table (GODORT), ALA

Dan Barkley reported that Sunday’s Regional meeting was very productive and was attended by approximately 45 regional librarians or their representatives. Regionals are looking at partnerships with selectives and the need to rely on selectives for their expertise. He encouraged selectives to offer their assistance and support to their regionals. The regionals did not consider depository library work as a one-sided relationship. Electronic service guidelines would be presented later in the conference. The goal of the guidelines was to provide better service in an electronic environment. He reported that many Regionals were working on the State Plans, including adding electronic service components.

Promotion of Government information was discussed at the Regional meeting. A more proactive stance was suggested with the example of providing public access training on the Web beyond the campus.

The Regional meeting was a follow-up to the meeting in Minneapolis last August. Both meetings provided a great opportunity for Regionals to share ideas. Chair Anne Watts expressed appreciation to the University of Maryland and GPO for hosting the Regionals meeting.

Monday, April 20, Afternoon Session

Chair Anne Watts announced that the afternoon session would include reports from the committees, a review of the recommendations from the previous Council meeting, and a discussion of possible new recommendations.

Diane Garner summarized the report of the Statistics Committee’s work on the Biennial Survey. She suggested that we concentrate our work on sections 3, 4, and 5 of the survey. She reported that the committee believed that the Biennial Survey should be consistent from year to year, or at least for three survey cycles. New questions or topics should be announced ahead of time. She suggested that experts in statistical methodology needed to look at the survey and suggest how to collect the data. She emphasized that the main issue was to formalize and standardize the Biennial Survey. The Committee did not look at content, believing they had neither the time nor the knowledge.

Ms. Garner identified an article about statistical reporting written by Bruce Morton 10-15 years ago. Data on the costs of operating a depository library could provide us a market basket cost similar to the Cost of Living Index. Data should include public service, bibliographic control, conservation, binding, reformatting, training, etc. She recommended that another committee work on this project.

Comments:

Several members of the audience suggested adding binding questions. The cost of binding the Serial Set was mentioned.

Mr. Baldwin stated that concentrating on public service aspects for public advocacy reasons would be helpful in talking to legislative people. Questions of definition are important but this was increasingly problematic. Separate data gathering for a cost survey was being discussed.

It was noted that defining depository libraries by type, size, and selection rates was important, as well as determining cost figures for different types of depository libraries.

There was some discussion of the difficulty of gathering uniform statistics or cost figures from libraries that vary widely in their organization and practices. The usefulness of statistics as leverage to obtain more resources was mentioned.

The possibility of hiring experts to work on the survey was raised. Mr. Buckley agreed that valuable information could be obtained by sample or enumeration. He noted the lengthy process entailed in the use of consultants by GPO.

Members of the audience expressed an interest in having the Biennial survey questions remain the same from one survey to the next, while having advance notice of any changes. Mr. Baldwin said that this was a trade-off. Some of the questions were in response to questions from the legislative branch. He indicated that LPS would need to have another way of collecting this ad hoc information.

Diane Eidelman reported on the Draft Depository Library Public Service Guidelines for Government Information in Electronic Formats. Copies would be distributed the next morning and the Guidelines had been posted on GOVDOC-L. Ridley Kessler and Dan Barkley would present the Guidelines. Julie Wallace asked for clarification about the depository libraries that might not be covered by the guidelines, such as court libraries. A question on whether Federal agency libraries were outside the guidelines was also raised. Mr. Baldwin said that GPO would review the guidelines to be certain that they are consistent with other guidelines and laws before finalizing them.

A number of wording changes were suggested. It was noted that some libraries had hardware installations that might make it difficult to comply with some of the requirements. A suggestion to coordinate the public service requirements with the "Recommended Specifications for Public Work Stations" was made.

Anne Watts, Chair, Council, Fall 1997 Recommendations and Commendations

Chair Anne Watts began the review of the Fall Council Recommendations.

Discussion ensued on the physical form of the printed copy of the Serial Set, and on the eventual production of an electronic Serial Set and what form it might take. Gil Baldwin reported that about 80% of the reports and 20% of the documents were now received in electronic form. GPO production staff are encouraging Congressional committees to become more electronic.

Council would continue to monitor and suggest enhancements to askLPS. Documents librarians are encouraged to consult it regularly. It was noted that it would take time to train people to consult askLPS.

Gil Baldwin said that GPO’s response and additional information would be provided the next day in the presentation on the electronic collection. The scope of what would be in the collection would be expanded and many collection management issues would be addressed. There would need to be additional discussion on how the electronic collection would relate to withdrawal requirements and to the 5-year tangible versions.

Mr. Baldwin reminded the group that some issues were firmly established in Chapter 19 of Title 44. Mr. Buckley noted that in some quarters it was questioned whether electronic titles were viewed as "depository documents."

Thomas Downing and the Cataloging Branch staff were thanked for their work on the Web Monthly Catalog display.

T.C. Evans noted that the issue of using Z39.50 or SGML was part of GPO planning discussions. It was noted that the National Library of Medicine did not see a future in Z39.50, while it was also reported that some countries were translating databases for Spanish use and they would not be able to do that if they were not using Z39.50.

The issue of GILS compliant servers was raised, since some are accessible for searching only via WAIS. Mr. Evans said GPO was not moving toward proprietary software and Mr. Baldwin said that GPO was moving away from client software.

It was recommended that Council revisit the issue in the interest of the community. There was some discussion of using client software.

Further consultation with the depository library community was suggested.

Gil Baldwin said GPO was running into some problems but production staff continued to work to make this information available. GPO would appreciate feedback from people knowledgeable about legal citations.

Council members who attended the meeting on Sunday were pleased with the discussion. Council thanked both GPO and the University of Maryland.

Diane Garner requested the e-mail addresses of the new Council members. The omission of Council names and addresses from the list of attendees was noted. Mr. Baldwin said that the addresses were in the April 15, 1998 issue of Administrative Notes.

Tuesday, April 24, Morning Session

Chair Anne Watts called the meeting to order. She announced that there would be several presentations: the electronic service guidelines and the Statistics Committee report.

Dan Barkley directed people to look at the overhead transparencies and noted that there had been some wordsmithing since they were completed. He briefly reviewed the background of the drafting of the guidelines, which began at the Council meeting in Salt Lake City (October, 1996). During a discussion on State Plans, an interest was shown in service guidelines for electronic formats. This coincided with the evolving technical specifications requirements.

Dan Barkley and Ridley Kessler began work nearly two years ago in response to Council’s request for assistance. Those guidelines are the result of their work. He reiterated that these were very general guidelines and that they were probably not very different from what many libraries were presently doing. The objective was to be consistent within one’s own institution and with GPO. In response to a question from Carol Bednar, Mr. Barkley said they anticipated that these guidelines would be incorporated with other GPO guidelines. Mr. Barkley proceeded to read the guidelines as amended to date.

Guideline #1. All depository libraries should have a written policy regarding public services for Government information in electronic formats. This policy should contain provisions for no-fee access to computer workstations with CD-ROMs, diskettes, and the Internet. These should be equal to or exceed the services provided for other collections in the library.

Guideline #2. All depository libraries should offer access to electronic information for the general public. Attempts must be made to purchase hardware that meets the latest Recommended Specifications for Public Access Work Stations in Federal Depository Libraries as published in Administrative Notes (updated annually).

Guideline #3. All depository libraries should make tangible electronic products and services (CD-ROMs, floppy diskettes) available to the general public in a timely manner. For example, if a product is not currently loaded and/or supported on a depository library’s computer workstation, the depository library should attempt to provide access to it within a designated time frame as determined by each library. If the depository library is unable to provide adequate access to and technical support of tangible electronic products, circulation of those products should be made available in accordance with the library’s circulation policies of other non-Governmental tangible electronic products or other depository resources.

Guideline #4. All depository libraries should provide Internet access to Government information at no cost to the general public. Access should also include Telnet and FTP capabilities to encourage downloading and/or transmission of electronic data.

Guideline #5. Depository libraries are encouraged to develop home pages or bookmarks for Government information and/or work cooperatively with other depository libraries in their area to provide links to prominent or useful sites for the general public; such efforts would be in line with Section 8-6, (publicizing the depository collection) of the Guidelines for the Federal Depository Library Program.

Guideline #6. Depository library public service areas should have a capability for fax and e-mail delivery of Government information to distance users in accordance with existing policies in the library.

Guideline #7. Depository libraries are obligated by law to provide public access to depository receipts, including electronic Government information products. Depository libraries should provide the ability to download or print electronic Government information in accordance with GPO requirements and guidelines. Limits to or cost associated with printing or downloading shall be consistent with other public service provisions of the library.

Guideline #8. Whenever possible, depository libraries are encouraged to provide disk space on publicly available computers for temporary storage of electronic Government information for patron use.

Guideline #9. Depository libraries should provide appropriate reference service and help guides/documentation of tangible electronic products and the Internet for the general public.

Guideline #10. Depository libraries are encouraged to offer training for the general public in using tangible electronic products and Internet resources.

There was extensive discussion on the circulation of CDs. It was noted that depository libraries have different circulation policies and that circulation of CDs may not be consistent between libraries. Most libraries do not routinely circulate CDs while other libraries collect duplicates to circulate. Some libraries work with the state data center to have backups or purchase additional copies of selected CDs. Sheila McGarr said that GPO encouraged libraries to circulate CDs if they did not have equipment or software for the product, or sufficient expertise. Comparable treatment was important.

A question was raised on whether documents could be disposed of if they became available on-line or on CD-ROM. Ms. McGarr responded that the law had not changed although they would check with GPO’s General Counsel for additional advice.

Chair Anne Watts formally thanked Dan Barkley and Ridley Kessler for their work on the draft guidelines.

Diane Garner, Statistical Measurement and the Biennial Survey

Diane Garner acknowledged the members of the Statistics Committee and announced that there would be a recommendation emanating from their work. She briefly described what the Biennial Survey was and noted that last year it had appeared on the Web. GPO uses the data in various ways, including updating the Mast Data Base, management, inspections, and for reports to Congress. She also noted that the law required only one question, "Does your library wish to continue as a depository library?" She said that there had been a lack of coherence over time because questions were often asked in response to immediate information needs.

The Statistical Committee has compiled the following "General Principles for Data Collection in the FDLP":

1. The data that are gathered should meet the needs of GPO and the program libraries for program management, for program advocacy, for reporting to Congress, for depository library management, for depository library advocacy, and to satisfy the requirements of the law;
2. The data should complement and be standardized with other major data surveys, insofar as possible, e.g. IPEDS, ARL, and the Public Library Data survey;
3. Each data element should be sufficiently defined so that FDLs can complete the survey instrument with accuracy and consistency;
4. Data elements and definitions should be consistent over time. There must be compelling reasons to add or change data or definitions;
5. Program libraries should have sufficient advance notice of new data or definitions to allow them to prepare, e.g. if annual data are required, the libraries should know at least a year in advance;
6. The content, wording and methodology of the Biennial Survey should be reviewed and tested in advance by experts in statistical and survey methodology;
7. The content, wording and methodology of the Biennial Survey should remain relatively constant or should change only with advance warning. If other data are needed on an occasional or emergency basis, GPO should use other means or special surveys. With the assistance of the Depository Library Council, GPO should review the survey instrument biennially in the off years, looking at old responses and suggesting substantive and reasoned revisions. In general, a question should be of sufficient lasting import to stay on the survey for at leas three surveys.

Diane Garner further stated that the Statistics Committee was looking at questions that would be valid over time and that would assist GPO in studying their relationships. She read the Statistics Committee’s recommendations:

Ms. Garner said that the last recommendation would be reworded as a commendation since GPO had already made the Biennial Survey data available on the Bulletin Board.

The audience understood why questions remained the same; but was concerned that there would be a proliferation of questions coming out. The audience suggested that perhaps there could be a standard part and another part could be a miscellaneous section. Ms. Garner indicated that their suggestions would be taken into consideration. If GPO needed immediate information, they could not wait for the Biennial Survey. A suggestion was made that GPO could use questions every year as a test. It was also suggested that the classification of collections by size be revised.

It was noted that the topic of the cost of being a depository library was so overwhelming that it should be considered separately, and outside assistance might be needed. Chair Anne Watts reported that the St. Louis Public Library was undertaking a three year cost-benefit study. She said that designing a cost study would take considerable time. She inquired if the audience was in support of looking at the cost of being a depository library. The audience responded with a show of hands in support. It was noted that information would be valuable, particularly when speaking to elected representatives who might not realize the contributions made by depository libraries. It was suggested that an alternative might be case studies to provide a baseline rather than do a thorough analysis as at the St. Louis Public Library.

Chair Anne Watts thanked Diane Garner and the members of the Statistics Committee.

Council Business

Chair Watts asked if the audience had any questions from GPO’s presentations on Monday.

There was some discussion about the priorities of producing the cataloging tapes, and the role of the Library of Congress in the process. Thomas Downing indicated that the problem was complicated and that GPO would be discussing a solution with the Cataloging Distribution Service of the Library of Congress.

Concern was expressed about the LPS response time to written self-studies. Sheila McGarr responded that they had been short-staffed and were rebuilding the staff.

There was further discussion on Congressional hearings being available on GPO Access. T. C. Evans responded that GPO would like that to happen but that it was probably not possible in the foreseeable future, because the files are not provided to GPO in electronic form.

The use of hot links in library catalogs was discussed. Several libraries reported that there had been some problems with broken links, but that PURLS would help alleviate the problem, and that using dumb terminals for accessing the on-line catalog freed up library computers for other uses. Broken links were a general concern. The audience was reminded that vendors provide changes and updates as part of their services.

Subsequent discussion concerned the Congressional Research Service (CRS) material being distributed to depository libraries. Two bills have been introduced into Congress, and librarians were urged to write letters to their Congressional representatives on this issue. Apparently there is some resistance to providing public access to CRS data.

Francis Buckley, Gil Baldwin and George Barnum, Managing the FDLP Electronic Collection

Fran Buckley said that this project was a way of recognizing developments in the electronic transition of the program. Previously, attention was focused on distribution; now, with the advent of technology, the transition would take a fresh approach, using library management tools in the development of a collection plan. More attention should be paid to content, collections or knowledge management. He thanked Duncan Aldrich for his work in bringing this approach to GPO. Mr. Buckley said that there was a new role, a need to institutionalize all the elements of information. The electronic collection framework was still a draft.

Gil Baldwin began the presentation on "Managing the FDLP Electronic Collection" by indicating that he would discuss the collection from the Government’s perspective and George Barnum would cover the librarian’s point of view.

Mr. Baldwin said that the focus on the electronic collection was based on a policy and planning document that LPS had been working on for months. They had what they were going to do, but not fully how they were going to do it. Under the GPO Access Act, GPO was taking responsibility for the life cycle management of electronic products. This was a corollary to the responsibilities of the regional depository libraries for tangible products.

George Barnum listed some key assumptions and guiding principles: no-fee access was a right of the people, all Government information that was statutory in nature was to be included, and there would be a central coordinating authority.

The implementation of the FDLP Electronic Collection’s goal was predicated on several assumptions including the following: GPO Access would be the primary delivery vehicle, the mix of institutions and users would be diverse and complex, and products would be selected and added according to the needs and demands of constituents. Success would depend on several factors: cooperation is key; agencies must inform GPO of new products and changes; GPO must provide timely and accurate services; and GPO must facilitate partnerships. Mr. Baldwin continued the description: a variety of media and formats which would comprise the collection; the mix of media and formats would be adjusted to meet user need and advancing technology; copyright-like barriers would be avoided; standards-based tools would enhance access and empower a broad spectrum of users; and the experience and expertise of FDLP libraries would form policies and practices for managing the collection.

Eliot Christian inquired about the central coordinating agency/authority, stating that "authority" does not imply authority. Mr. Baldwin responded that the concept was not in a strict legal definition. This central authority is needed because agencies forget their responsibilities to depository libraries and the central authority is responsible for providing for public access. In further response to a question on the involvement of agencies in developing the plan, Mr. Baldwin reported that they had not gotten to that stage yet. This document was still under review within GPO. After that, they would share it with Council, then have a public comment period from agencies such as NARA. Mr. Baldwin also responded that they were not suggesting that anyone (e.g. partnerships) would assume sole responsibility. He said that partnerships recognized that no single entity could accomplish all of this alone. The responsibility of the Government (in this case, GPO) is primary, however.

In response to a question on the explanation of "copyright-like barriers," Mr. Barnum said they wanted to avoid problems when proprietary client software was selected by the agency. Obtaining licenses for public access required a great deal of work. Mr. Baldwin pointed out that the process is slowed when they are involved with proprietary software.

Further comments from Council included the suggestion that focusing first on the presentation of information was backwards and that it seemed better to focus initially on content. Mr. Baldwin responded that this document was speaking to a number of audiences.

Julie Wallace said that she was interested and pleased that GPO was including metadata.

A member of the audience said the real interest was access to information. Proprietary software was incompatible with permanent public access.

Mr. Baldwin continued with the presentation. The FDLP Electronic Collection would include electronic Government information products except those determined by their issuing agencies to be required for official use only or for strictly administrative or operational purposes which had no public interest or educational value. Publications classified for reasons of national security are also excluded. The elements of the FDLP Electronic Collection: (1) core legislative and regulatory GPO Access products; (2) other remotely accessible products maintained by GPO or other institutions with which GPO had agreements; (3) tangible electronic Government information products distributed to depository libraries; and (4) remotely accessible products which GPO would identify, describe, and link to, but which remained under the control of the originating agency. He continued that the public could use the Electronic Collection without depository libraries but depository libraries do add the value that the public needs. Open system standards would be encouraged.

A question from the audience was raised on whether GPO was envisioning this as duplicating what agencies were doing on their own sites (like census reports). Would GPO say "Gee, Census is covering that?" Mr. Baldwin responded that GPO would like an understanding with the agency on the agency’s responsibility to keep their information accessible. Things would be maintained at the agency site, but they would be considered part of this collection.

Tom Andersen said that one of the criteria would be permanent public access. Mr. Baldwin responded that if the agency made their access time short, then GPO would need to have some mechanism for making the information available long term. Considerable work had been done on criteria for what products were to be included in the collection and how to deal with them.

Another question from the audience was on what "facilities and resources of depository libraries" meant. Mr. Barnum said they had wrestled with this. They wanted further discussion on supporting every user including the lower end user in Gateways. GPO had focused on depository libraries and their users but recognized a lot of users were not coming in from there. They recognized depository libraries were adding a great deal of value. They needed users with whom they could talk. Mr. Baldwin reminded the audience of T.C. Evans’ survey yesterday where he pointed out that they received double the return in responses from the depository libraries than from the general public.

Duncan Aldrich pointed out that the plan called for considerable investment in outreach by GPO to Federal agencies.

Mr. Barnum said there were three big questions in evaluation of the FDLP Electronic Collection: (1) did the product meet the criteria of 44 U.S.C. sections 1901-1902; (2) what was the value and importance to the user community; and (3) what priority did it have in relation to other products. He asked what did we already have in the program in print and was it an exact copy, noting that electronic versions can have subtle differences.

Continuing his presentation, Mr. Barnum explained that GPO was responsible for providing locator services that would include standard library descriptive and subject cataloging; GILS records; metadata records including persistent naming; indexers and robots; and the Pathway indexer/browser applications. GPO is also committed to both high-end and low-end users.

Compliance with ADA requirements is expected and would be guaranteed if GPO linked to another agency. They would attempt to provide text only where feasible and cost effective. There would be some redundancy and mirror sites for disaster preparedness and for rapid response. GPO might enter into agreements for mirror sites by sharing the burden of storage and maintenance. Mr. Baldwin continued that the storage of digital information would be accomplished through a variety of mechanisms: core legislative and regulatory material in GPO Access would remain on GPO servers, agency material might be resident on GPO servers, on agency servers, or managed cooperatively by partner institutions.

In response to concern for ADA accessible sites, Mr. Baldwin said that that would be addressed in the evaluation guidelines. Mr. Barnum added that the intent was to make as much available as possible. A person in the audience acknowledged that it was realized that GPO could not replicate all sites.

The audience was also interested in mirror sites, especially on the West coast where geographic equitability was desired. It was also asked if GPO would be overloaded with PURLS and mirror sites. Mr. Baldwin did not see why a PURL site could not be mirrored. They would have to look into that issue.

It was suggested that GPO needed to become more visible. A question was posed on whether usability issues would be discussed. Mr. Barnum said that they did not know how much more they could tell agencies what to do.

Another member of the audience reminded everyone that feedback to the agency was important. GPO could be a conduit between agencies and the Federal depository libraries. Gil Baldwin said that GPO was trying to provide a choice of formats in GPO Access, both PDF and ASCII. Agencies are responsible for complying with ADA requirements. GPO would ensure agencies that GPO Access would be in compliance. He continued with a description of organizational responsibilities. Within GPO, responsibility for the FDLP Electronic Collection would be vested in the Superintendent of Documents. He then enumerated the various responsibilities of the different services under the Superintendent of Documents.

Mr. Baldwin then addressed archival preservation and permanent access, noting that they were frequently asked about their relationship with what NARA was doing. He stated that GPO wanted to complement what NARA was doing and what other national libraries and partner institutions were doing. GPO’s activities were not a substitute for agencies’ responsibilities to NARA.

He repeated that GPO would migrate content where feasible and cost-effective to make Government information available to a wide spectrum of users. Funding would come from the Superintendent of Documents Salaries and Expenses (S&E) appropriations. Depository money would be funding GPO Access.

In conclusion, Mr. Baldwin identified the next steps. They include coordination with other entities; cooperative agreements with agencies for retention; short term strategic planning for hardware and software, system capacity, personnel; and long term planning as data was gathered.

Chair Anne Watts thanked Gil Baldwin and George Barnum. She announced the Council’s working sessions and invited the audience to attend them.

Chair Anne Watts called the meeting to order. Ms. Watts announced copies of the draft of Council’s recommendations and commendations were available for the audience. Ms. Watts reminded all present that these were drafts and that Council would be wordsmithing and writing the rationales for each before they would be posted on the Council Web page. Ms. Watts would read the recommendations, Council would comment, the audience would comment. She requested those coming to the microphone to identify themselves and their institution.

Council recommends that GPO adopt the "Draft Depository Library Public Service Guidelines for Government Information in Electronic Formats" as amended at the spring 1998 Depository Library Council. Council understands that GPO may need to make certain technical amendments.

Diane Eidelman presented the rationale: The eighteen-month process of creating the Draft Guidelines had provided the entire depository community with adequate time to comment, recommend changes, and dialog with one another. Many changes were made taking these comments and GPO’s into account. It was time to move forward and finalize the Guidelines.

Audience questions/comments: None

Vote of Council: Approval

Council recommends that:

• PO formalize and standardize the Biennial Survey;
• the core elements of the Biennial Survey remain consistent over time;
• the core elements of the Biennial Survey be compatible with other major data surveys (e.g., ARL, IPEDS, Public Libraries Data Survey) wherever possible;
• Council and FDLP libraries be consulted on the content of the survey instrument;
• experts in survey research be consulted on the methodology of the survey instrument;
• Council and GPO review the instrument in the intervening years between surveys;
• new questions to survey be announced with sufficient notice; and,
• If the Biennial Survey must be used to gather data needed on an occasional or emergency basis, those questions be relegated to a special section.

Diane Garner presented the rationale: The Survey needed to be standardized and rationalized. We would get our questions in the Survey and GPO would have theirs. The committee believed that the questions needed to be tested before being used. They wanted sufficient notice (1 year) and not be caught short. There was no content presented since the committee was not ready for that.

Audience questions/comments: None

Council questions/comments:

Chair Anne Watts noted that Council was looking for volunteers to serve on the Statistics Committee and work on the Biennial Survey component.

Vote of Council: Approval

Council recommends that the Public Printer allocate appropriate resources for GPO Access training and user support and asks the Public Printer to provide a progress report to Council on the GPO Access Learning Center. In addition Council recommends that GPO expand its GPO Access hands-on training efforts.

Diane Eidelman presented the rationale: the remarkable success of GPO Access as evidenced by the phenomenal growth in its use as well as the positive publicity that had appeared in the professional literature demonstrated the need for expanding training opportunities. Council reiterates the importance of training and user support in the continuing transition to a more electronic Federal Depository Library Program despite the reality of constrained funding. The entire GPO Access user community continues to benefit from the training efforts at conferences as well as on-site training and user support.

Audience questions/comments:

There was some discussion on the GPO Access Learning Center. Council had last year recommended a training center. GPO was developing it and would call it the GPO Access Learning Center. Council wished to be kept apprised of its development.

The Center’s location in Washington, DC, was questioned. The general consensus was that there was an advantage in training Government employees and congressional staff, and that the Washington base would help broaden scope of training sessions.

Vote of Council: Approval

Council recommends that GPO resolve problems related to the processing of cataloging records so that they are available in a timely manner for the production of GPO’s own products and for use by libraries. Specifically, Council urges GPO to: in the short term, intensify the current analysis of tape processing problems within GPO and with the Cataloging Distribution Service of the Library of Congress, to ensure that a usable product is available promptly each month; in the longer term, work toward a solution based on modernizing the entire technological infrastructure; keep the depository community informed of developments because of the importance of these records to the libraries and their users.

Julie Wallace presented the rationale: It would solve two problems: short term and long term.

Thomas Downing expressed his appreciation to Council for their recommendation. He reported that he would be meeting the next day with the Library of Congress Cataloging Distribution Service concerning two data sets, which would speed up distribution. He pointed out a potential problem with the Periodicals Supplement; but he believed that to be small and resolved soon.

Audience questions/comments: None

Vote of Council: Approval

Council recommends more frequent updating of the on-line Superseded List. Council and GPO should establish an ongoing committee of depository librarians to evaluate new items for retention decisions, with special emphasis on tangible electronic products.

Julie Wallace presented the rationale: Mounting the Superseded List on the Web has helped and the ability to update it more frequently was possible. CDs had been a particular problem. This would be a project in which others can participate and she requested people to volunteer. She also noted that Regionals should look at CDs in the likelihood that the Selectives would discard the CDs.

Audience questions/comments: None

Vote of Council: Approval

Council recommends that GPO provide the FDLP community with guidance on retention of tangible products that are available in the FDLP Electronic Collection.

Julie Wallace presented the rationale: Council believed that even with the on-line electronic collection, there would still be a need to retain tangible documents for five years because of the legal requirements. Council would like GPO to look at the existing law and see what was appropriate and the effects on alternative formats.

Audience questions/comments: None

Vote of Council: Approval

Council recommends that GPO work with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House to encourage more Congressional committees to create electronic files of hearing transcripts, and that these be made available through the GPO Access database of Congressional hearings.

Mary Alice Baish presented the rationale: She mentioned the encouragement of GPO to work with Congress to develop a more comprehensive electronic collection.

Audience questions/comments: None

Vote of Council: Approval

Congress is currently considering legislation (S. 1578 and H.R. 3131) that would provide no-fee public access through the Internet to issue briefs and reports of the Congressional Research Service (CRS). If this legislation is enacted, Council recommends GPO pursue making these important Congressional materials available through GPO Access.

Mary Alice Baish presented the rationale: She reminded everyone of the previous demonstration of the CRS Web site which was available to Congress but not to the general public.

Audience questions/comments: None

Vote of Council: Approval

Council recommends that GPO continue to provide an update at Council meetings on its progress in implementing Z39.50/GILS compliance for the databases GPO maintains.

Eliot Christian presented the rationale: Council reiterated its concern, expressed in recommendations of October 1997, that GPO remain committed to the interoperability of its on-line services using the Z39.50 and GILS search interface specification. This particular interface was essential to GPO's ability to keep pace with technology evolution in its own information systems as well as to GPO's ability to enable access to information throughout Government.

Audience questions/comments: None

Vote of Council: Approval

Council recommends the formation of a committee to provide expert advice to GPO and Council on issues of information architecture in systems operated in support of the FDLP.

Eliot Christian presented the rationale: The complexity of systems supporting the FDLP would be a design challenge under any circumstances. The pace of change in information technologies compounds the challenge and makes it even more critical to attend to the basics of information architecture. Council and GPO could benefit greatly from an ongoing source or architectural advice focused specifically on the FDLP. Council believes such advice could be obtained directly from information architecture expertise available among institutions participating in the FDLP. The work of such a committee might also generate a greater awareness of the FDLP among computer science and networking leaders.

Audience questions/comments: None

Vote of Council: Approval

Chair Watts then read the Draft Commendations.

Council commends Dan Barkley and Ridley Kessler for their extraordinary efforts in the writing of the "Draft Depository Library Public Service Guidelines for Government Information in Electronic Formats." Their commitment to work on this project with the entire depository community and GPO is greatly appreciated.

Council commends GPO for its active and positive role in assigning and maintaining persistent names for cataloged Internet resources. In addition to the challenges of tackling a complex technical problem, GPO has demonstrated leadership in accepting the risks associated with choosing among competing technologies such as PURLS and DOIs. Council looks forward to GPO's continued leadership in this critical area.

Council commends GPO for making the raw data from the 1997 Biennial Survey available for downloading from the Federal Bulletin Board.

Council commends Kevin Reynolds of the University of the South for his implementation and maintenance of the on-line "Needs and Offers List." This service provides a rich opportunity to Federal depository libraries to exchange depository publications.

Council commends GPO for developing a new user-friendly default public display of entries in the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, while retaining the MARC display as an option. Council believes that the public would more easily understand this descriptive-label display.

Council commends GPO for resuming publication of the Periodicals Supplement to the Monthly Catalog. The recent selection of this title by 990 depository libraries is a clear indication of the continuing need for this product.

Council commends the GPO and the Department of Energy for providing no-fee public access to the Office of Scientific and Technical Information’s "Information Bridge" through GPO Access. This partnership between a major technical agency and GPO provides a convenient and cost-effective successor to the DOE depository microfiche collection.

Chair Anne Watts requested assistance from the FDLP for several of the following Council Action Items.

New Recommended Specifications (high and low) with clarification. Diane Eidelman was leading this.

West coast mirror sites for GPO Access. Duncan Aldrich and Thomas Andersen were in charge of this.

Restate charge to Statistics Committee for cost-study. Anne Watts and Diane Garner are leading this. Diane Garner said that the Statistics Committee would be working on a revised Biennial Survey, and the draft would be needed by October 1998.

Superseded List committee. Council was looking for assistance from the FDLP community.

Electronic Collection Plan

Chair Anne Watts expressed Council’s appreciation to Sheila McGarr, Willie Thompson and the many people at the Government Printing Office who had worked to made this a great conference.

Public Printer Michael DiMario thanked Council for their work. He noted that this was Anne Watts’ second term on Council and her numerous contributions to the Federal Depository Library Program. Mr. DiMario expressed appreciation to the institutions for sending representatives to the Conference. Mr. DiMario then presented outgoing Council members (Eliot Christian, Dan Clemmer, Lynn Walshak, Anne Watts, Richard Werking) with Certificates of Appreciation for their work on Council.

Chair Anne Watts thanked everyone. She then presented the Council gavel to incoming Council Chair Thomas Andersen. Chair Tom Andersen announced that Denise Davis would serve as the incoming Secretary. He thanked the outgoing Council members and, in particular, Anne Watts.

Chair Tom Andersen invited all to attend the fall Council meeting in San Diego. The meeting was adjourned.

Respectively submitted by: