Guest blogger Kelly Seifert, Lead Planning Specialist for GPO’s Library Services & Content Management Division, writes about the final switchover from GPO Access to FDsys, GPO’s state-of-the-art digital database of Federal information.
Farewell, GPO Access! GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) is here to stay and is better than ever.
Today, March 16, 2012, marks a momentous occasion for the Government Printing Office and its groundbreaking service, GPO Access. After 16 years of keeping America informed, the GPO Access website is shutting down and been replaced by its successor, GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys).
Image: Switchover notice from GPO Access to FDsys
All of the information the public had access to on GPO Access and more is available through FDsys (pronounced by “those in the know” as “F – D – sis”).
While not the traditional “Government book” discussed on this blog, we at GPO thought it only appropriate to blog about a service that provides free access to a vast number of Federal Government publications. FDsys provides the American public with free online access to about 50 different collections of U.S. Government information ranging from the Code of Federal Regulations to the U.S. Government Manual to the U.S. Budget.
Image: GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) home page, www.FDsys.gov
GPO Access introduced electronic access to Government information
In 1993, Congress passed the U.S. Government Printing Office Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act (Public Law 103-40), which expanded GPO’s mission to provide access to Federal Government information not only in print, but also electronically. In June 1994, in response to that legislation, GPO launched GPO Access.
FDsys takes electronic access to new levels
Even the best of information systems have to evolve. Thus it was in January 2009 that GPO unveiled the next generation of Government information online with FDsys. The countdown to the shut-down of GPO Access began on December 20, 2010, when FDsys became GPO’s official system of record for free access to information and publications from all three branches of the Federal Government. In November 2011, GPO Access entered its “archive only” state and transitioned its status to historical reference archive. From that point forward, FDsys was GPO’s only resource for access to current, updated information, and now, GPO Access has shut down for good.
Image: FDSys Advanced Search results page
FDsys offers new, improved features to find Government publications
FDsys boasts key enhancements to GPO Access that allow users from librarians to scholars, researchers, lawyers and the public to:
- Easily search across multiple Government publications;
- Perform advanced searches against robust metadata about each publication;
- Construct complex search queries;
- Refine and narrow searches;
- Retrieve individual Government documents and publications in seconds directly from each search result;
- View more information about a publication and access multiple file formats for each search result;
- Access metadata in standard XML formats;
- Download content and metadata packaged together as a single ZIP file;
- Browse FDsys alphabetically by collection, by Congressional committee, by date, and by Government author; and
- Utilize extensive help tools and tutorials.
Image: List of collections of Federal Government publications available on FDSys
Links to printed versions of Government publications
In addition to providing free access to almost 50 different Government publications online, FDsys also directs you to GPO’s Online Bookstore, where you can buy those same publications, if you wish to have a bound and printed official copy.
As a GPO employee who has worked extensively with FDsys, I think you will really enjoy it and the new, enhanced features that are provided by FDsys for navigating Government information.
How do I find Federal Government publications?
- Search GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) at www.FDsys.gov.
- Search GPO’s Catalog of Government Publications (CGP) at http://catalog.gpo.gov.
- Shop GPO’s Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov/, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.
- Visit GPO’s Retail Bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday through Friday, 9am to 4pm, except Federal holidays. Call (202) 512-0132 for more information.
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