October 26, 2020 Law Library of Congress Signs Preservation Steward Agreement with Government Publishing Office

The Law Library of Congress has signed an agreement with the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) to become a preservation steward. Through the agreement, the Law Library of Congress will preserve its collection of the daily Congressional Record and Federal Register, which are produced by GPO.

To help libraries meet the needs of efficient government document stewardship in the digital era, GPO has established preservation stewards to support continued public access to historic U.S. government documents in print format. Preservation stewards contribute significantly to the effort to preserve printed documents, and GPO welcomes all libraries that wish to participate as preservation stewards.

The Law Library is pleased to partner with the U.S. Government Publishing Office, said Law Librarian of Congress Jane Sánchez. “As the largest, most comprehensive and authoritative law collection in the world, the Law Library of Congress is naturally suited for this collaboration,” Sánchez said. “It is inherent in our mission to preserve primary sources of law created by the branches of our federal government.”

“GPO values its partnership with the Law Library of Congress and thanks them for their commitment to preserving government information,” said Superintendent of Documents Laurie Hall. “It is critical for our nation’s history that we maintain these collections of the Congressional Record and Federal Register.”

This agreement comes in addition to the Library of Congress’ 2017 preservation steward agreement with GPO to preserve congressional hearings. The Library of Congress and GPO also have a digital access partnership to provide permanent public access to digital publications within the scope of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) available through the Library of Congress website.

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. Established by an act of Congress in 1832, the Law Library serves members of Congress, the Supreme Court, other branches of the U.S. government and the global legal community. The Law Library maintains and preserves a universal collection of law for future generations. With more than 2.9 million volumes, and just under 3 million micro-format items, the Law Library contains the world’s largest collection of law books and other resources worldwide. Learn more at loc.gov/law.

GPO is the federal government’s official, digital, secure resource for producing, procuring, cataloging, indexing, authenticating, disseminating, and preserving the official information products of the U.S. government. The GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of information products and services for all three branches of the federal government, including U.S. passports for the Department of State as well as the official publications of Congress, the White House, and other federal agencies in digital and print formats. GPO provides for permanent public access to federal government information at no charge through govinfo.gov and partnerships with approximately 1,100 libraries nationwide participating in the Federal Depository Library Program. For more information, please visit gpo.gov.