The Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC) is probably most widely known for its humorous television
public service announcements promoting the mailing address “Pueblo, Colorado 81009.” That’s
where consumers write for the free Consumer Information Catalog and hundreds of low-cost Federal
publications on everything from their homes and cars to health and financial questions. What you may
not know is that FCIC (part of the General Services Administration) also provides web, telephone and
e-mail services where citizens can get answers to questions about the Federal government.
Additionally, FCIC is the executive sponsor of the USA Services e-Gov initiative and working with us
can help your agency “get to green.” This fact sheet explains the many services FCIC offers to Federal
agencies to help you get your information to the public quickly, easily, and cost-effectively.
What can the Federal
Citizen Information Center do for you?
FCIC, with over 35 years of experience, is a trusted one-stop
source for answers to questions about government services
and consumer problems through information posted on the
web at USA.gov, pueblo.gsa.gov, or
ConsumerAction.gov, through its toll-free National Contact Center
and through printed publications. This multi-channel
approach lets citizens get information through whatever
means they desire, and enables agencies to reach their target
audience through an array of channels.
FCIC can provide
a wide range of information services to Federal agencies, including:
• posting or linking to your information on the FCIC
family of websites in multiple formats,
• handling your agencies’ misdirected telephone calls
and e-mails,
• providing telephone and e-mail contact center services
through FirstContact, our multiple award IDIQ contact center services contract,
• listing your
publications in the Consumer
Information Catalog;
• identifying
government/industry cooperative
publishing opportunities;
• promoting your information through the print, broadcast,
and electronic media,
• providing publication order fulfillment and warehousing,
• offering specialized or targeted mailing services in
English and Spanish, and
• publicizing your agency programs in the Consumer
Action Handbook;
What will this cost you? Surprisingly little. In fact, much of
it is free to your agency. FCIC does not charge your agency
for putting your information on our websites, for handling
any misdirected telephone calls or e-mails you receive, for
Catalog or Handbook listings, for publication development
services, or for online or media promotion activities. There
are costs associated with providing specialized contact
center services and publication order fulfillment. These
costs vary according to the level and kind of service provided
but, in most instances, using the FCIC established
infrastructure will result in lower costs than agencies can
command individually.
Web Sites
FCIC will add your agency information and publications to
our award-winning website, pueblo.gsa.gov. Consumers
can read, print out, or save the full text of all the publications
listed in the Consumer Information Catalog. Users
can also find great information on a wide range of topics,
as well as the latest product recalls and scams and
updates of consumer news items from Federal agencies.
The complete Consumer Action Handbook is also available online at ConsumerAction.gov. The website has thousands of links to Federal websites; state, local and county consumer agencies; FCIC corporate publishing partners; consumer organizations; and corporations and trade associations with ongoing consumer programs.
FCIC also manages USA.gov, the official web portal
of the U.S. Government. Citizens use USA.gov to find
information, services, and transactions on millions pages
of Federal, state, and local government websites.
Your agency can also be featured where appropriate on
kids.gov, which was developed and is maintained by
FCIC. Kids.gov is the official children’s portal to the
U.S. government and provides links to over 400 kid-friendly
websites from government agencies, schools, and private
organizations—all geared to the level and interest of kids.
National Contact Center
FCIC operates a National Contact Center (NCC) that
answers questions in English and Spanish about Federal
agencies, programs, and services. The public can call tollfree
1 (800) FED INFO (1-800-333-4636), Monday through
Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time. At all other times,
automated messages are available. The public can also
e-mail their questions through a handy web form found on
USA.gov. The trained NCC staff either directly
answers questions about all aspects of the Federal government
or provides callers with the most appropriate contact.
Additionally, FCIC encourages agencies to redirect phone and
e-mail inquiries to the NCC whenever those inquiries are not
related to the agency’s mission.
FCIC can also provide contractual assistance to agencies
through FirstContact, a new multiple award indefinite-delivery,
indefinite-quantity contract. This saves agencies time and money
when purchasing a wide variety of contract center services.
Catalog and Handbook
Listings
FCIC revises and publishes the free
Consumer Information Catalog four times a year and distributes more than 10 million
copies annually. Each issue has descriptive listings of about 200
Federal publications, covering everything from health to housing,
from buying Federal surplus property to building careers, from
credit to cars. The Catalog is made available through schools,
libraries, consumer groups, Federal offices with large numbers of
visitors, Congressional offices, and in response to individual
requests. Orders for publications in the Catalog are received and
filled by the Government Printing Office (GPO) facility in
Pueblo, Colorado.
Your agency may also be featured in the
Consumer Action Handbook, one of the most helpful and popular consumer Federal
publications ever published, with more than 9 million copies
requested since 1979. This 168-page guide is designed to help citizens
find the best and most direct source for assistance with
their consumer problems and questions. Congressional offices,
state and local government agencies, and libraries nationwide
use the Handbook as one of their most trusted and frequently
used consumer resources.
Cooperative Publishing
Although the majority of the publications handled through FCIC
are developed by Federal agencies alone, FCIC also manages
publications that are developed cooperatively by Federal agencies
working together with the private sector. FCIC is authorized
to accept money from the private sector to assist with the costs
of these publications.
The benefits of
cooperative publishing include:
• pooling available
resources (staff time, expertise, and budget);
• providing
improved information from a greater number of sources; and
• expanding
the reach and availability of your information.
FCIC actively seeks opportunities for government/industry collaboration
and helps agencies identify appropriate and interested
corporate partners.
Media Promotion
FCIC has an ongoing nationwide media program to promote
Federal information through television and radio public service
announcements and through the print media. Agency information
is regularly featured in FCIC "New for Consumers" press releases.
FCIC credits and clears each release with the appropriate
Federal agency. These releases are distributed electronically and
in print to all Congressional offices and to approximately 10,000
newspapers and magazines, consumer organizations and state
and local government agencies nationwide. Your FCIC contact
can provide you with clips from newspapers and magazines in
which "New for Consumers" releases written about your information
have appeared.
Finally, FCIC works with magazines such as Family Circle and
Parade to develop special promotions for individual publications.
FCIC consults with agencies when planning special promotions
and obtains agency approval before authorizing high volume or
high visibility media placements.
Order Fulfillment and Warehousing Services
The GPO facility in Pueblo, Colorado provides a wide range of
warehousing and distribution services—from targeted mailings
to ongoing, large-scale receipt and filling of orders from
the public. The facility can also meet your warehouse needs for
high volume publication storage and management.
In response to Catalog orders or media mentions, the Pueblo
facility fills requests promptly and accurately. FCIC can provide
you with distribution statistics for your publications and
estimates for annual distribution. FCIC will work with you during
the early stages of the publication development process to
customize a low-cost distribution package that covers both
individual and bulk order fulfillment.
The cost of distributing publications through FCIC depends on
the pricing system your agency chooses.
a. Free publications. The sponsoring agency prints publications,
provides copies to Pueblo, and pays for distribution
costs. These books are free to the public. FCIC uses a
standard interagency memorandum of agreement that
explains the billing procedure and outlines the specific
services provided.
b.
Low-priced publications (LPP). Publications in this
program must weigh less than three ounces. The sponsoring
agency prints and provides copies to Pueblo and the
customer pays $1.00 to cover postage and handling costs.
c. Sales publications. The sponsoring agency turns the
publication over to the Superintendent of Documents of
the U.S. Government Printing Office for printing and inclusion
in the GPO sales program. GPO sets the price to
cover printing, postage, and handling costs.
Resources in Spanish
FCIC publishes the Lista de publicaciones Federales en español para el consumidor, which lists nearly 200 free Federal publications
available in Spanish and provides the Federal office
addresses where requests for these publications can be sent.
FCIC also coordinates an annual direct mail publication offer for
Spanish-speaking individuals. FCIC acquires bulk quantities of
publications in Spanish from Federal agencies and cooperative
partners and offers them to consumer protection and counseling
organizations, childcare and health care providers, mental health
clinics and social services centers in Hispanic communities
across the country. There is a reduced distribution charge to
agencies for participation in this targeted promotion.
Citizens can also access FCIC’s Spanish Federal information
resources online at USA.gov en español (http://www.usa.gov/gobiernousa/index.shtml) or
FCIC consumer information at www.pueblo.gsa.gov/spanish.
These pages link the public to hundreds of Federal Spanish-language
websites.
In Summary
FCIC is a central source of Federal and consumer information
for the general public. Citizens can write, call, e-mail, or visit
FCIC’s websites to get the most up-to-date Federal information
to answer their questions. FCIC’s toll-free National
Contact Center acts as a single point of information about the
Federal government and its Pueblo address is known throughout
the country. Together, these services make FCIC an excellent
partner to deliver your agencies’ information to the public.
For more information
contact Mary Levy, Director, Federal Agency Services, at (202) 501-1794
(mary.levy@gsa.gov).
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Updated January 2005
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