ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES NEWSLETTER OF THE FEDERAL DEPOSITORY LIBRARY PROGRAM Vol. 20, no. 05 GP 3.16/3-2:20/05 February 25, 1999 SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS UPDATE REMARKS BY FRANCIS J. BUCKLEY, JR. SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS BEFORE THE FEDERAL DOCUMENTS TASK FORCE GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS ROUND TABLE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION PHILADELPHIA, PA JANUARY 30, 1999 Introduction Good morning. When I first appeared before you last year during the ALA Midwinter meeting in New Orleans in my new role as Superintendent of Documents, I said that I was pleased Mr. DiMario, the Public Printer, had asked me to be a spokesperson for comprehensive, equitable public access to Government information--something I have advocated throughout my library career. In the 14 months since my appointment as Superintendent of Documents, I have taken that charge to heart. I have spoken to library and information-related conferences, library science classes, and various professional association meetings. My most recent trip was to Tokyo to address a Symposium at the National Diet Library about our programs for the dissemination of Government information. It was a very interesting experience for cross-cultural exchange of information and ideas. In addition to this travel, I am attempting to work closely with you in the depository community, to ensure that the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) will be strong and viable into the next century, which is quickly approaching. To manage the program we appointed Gil Baldwin, whom many of you know, Director of Library Programs Service (LPS) this past November. Gil has been with GPO for over 25 years. I know that he doesn't always like to be reminded of that number. Does a quarter century sound any better? However it is phrased, Gil has done much during his years at GPO. He started out indexing the Congressional Record and then moved to LPS as a cataloger. He held a number of other staff and management positions within LPS, including Cataloging Branch Chief and since 1994 until his recent appointment, he served as Chief of the LPS Library Division. He was the principal author of the Strategic Plan portion of GPO's 1996 Study that outlined the transition to a more electronic FDLP. Most recently he has been concentrating his efforts on permanent access issues. I know you share my sentiments in wishing Gil well in this new phase of his GPO life. Overview of FDLP's accomplishments Whether we look at this past fiscal year (which ended on September 30) or calendar year 1998, I can tell you that overall it was a good year for the depository program. In FY '98, we provided 15.2 million copies of more than 40,000 tangible products (print, microfiche, and CD-ROMs) to depository libraries. At the end of calendar year '98, we provided online access through GPO Access to more than 85,000 titles directly on GPO servers and we pointed to more than 47,000 titles on agency Web sites, making a total of over 133,000 publications available. And one more statistic to share with you. As of this past Monday, January 25, 1999, there were 1,352 depository libraries in the program. A major initiative in the FDLP has been the development of a policy and planning document, Managing the FDLP Electronic Collection, to chart our course in the transition to a more electronic depository library program. You'll be hearing more about our electronic collection plan from Gil, who follows me, and tomorrow during the joint meeting of the GODORT Cataloging Committee and Federal Documents Task Force. We want to distribute it widely. In December the plan was shared with more than 130 individuals in the library/information community, including all members of the Depository Library Council to the Public Printer, the Inter-Association Working Group, staff and elected representatives of the major library and information associations, faculty at a number of graduate schools for library and information science, and a wide array of Federal agency officials. We have received some feedback about the report and would welcome more. We continue to be concerned about the fugitive documents problem. But, with your help, we are making inroads. The Depository Administration Branch (DAB) has been very successful in obtaining fugitive documents from a number of Executive Branch agencies, including the Civil Rights Commission, the Department of Agriculture, and Health and Human Services. Your inquiries have helped LPS staff to investigate and then acquire fugitive documents for the FDLP. We are pleased with the continued success and popularity of GPO Access. Between October 1997 and September 1998, searches on GPO Access increased by 21%, while retrievals increased by 85%. Currently, the Web site is averaging close to 5 million searches and 10 to 15 million retrievals per month. TC Evans will be reporting on GPO Access developments tomorrow. I also want to mention that we are continuing to work on a proposal to create a GPO Learning Center. We would like to establish a facility to demonstrate GPO Access and train librarians on using it. Sales Program In FY '98, the Sales Program handled more than 653,000 orders and sold over 11 million copies of publications. Financially it appears that our expenses exceeded revenues, but final year-end adjustments are still being made, so I do not have specific figures. We experienced declining sales volumes, changes in buying patterns, reduced number of titles to sell and unanticipated charges for special management and financial audits and revised depreciation expenses. The inventory of the Document Sales Program consists of over 12,000 products offered in a variety of formats such as CD-ROM (over 100 titles), magnetic tapes, microfiche, and videos. However, the bulk of the inventory remains ink on paper, although we have been seeing a gradual decline in traditional printed products as more Federal agencies place their products on their Web sites or publish in other electronic formats. Nonetheless, GPO staff managed nearly 5.6 million copies of Government information products at a retail value of approximately $66.4 million in our warehouse in Laurel, Maryland, 24 GPO bookstores, the distribution center in Pueblo, Colorado, and some dozen Consigned Sales Agents from other Federal agencies. To meet the need to retain certain U.S. Government publications for long-term availability in the GPO Sales Program, I have appointed a committee, chaired by former Depository Library Council member Peggy Walker, members of the depository community and staff from LPS and GPO Sales to help identify appropriate titles and develop guidelines for the program. An initial group of titles that will not go out of print has been identified. We are developing a policy statement on the "Retention of Government Information Products of Historical Significance in the Sales Collection." For the purpose of such a policy, a Government information product of historical significance is one that documents or reflects major historical initiatives or activities of lasting importance carried out by the Federal Government, its branches, or its agencies or is one of permanent reference value. This may include historical documents or works of historical scholarship, legal and regulatory decisions, major statistical compilations, and official reports of significant events or occurrences. Government information products retained under this policy will meet both current and future needs of customers who wish to purchase their own copies of such products at a reasonable price. Products listed as historically significant will be reviewed periodically to verify the need for continued retention as sales items. I am pleased to report that we are more "aggressive" about getting items into our Sales Program; by fashioning new arrangements and examining different ways of doing business with other groups, both inside and outside of Government. As an example, we have an agreement with the National Technical Information Service to purchase copies of the Federal Tax Products IRS CD-ROM for the GPO Sales Program. GPO staff has worked with the Central Intelligence Agency to ensure that its World Factbook is printed and included in our Sales Program. We have reprinted the public domain portions of the North American Industrial Classification System. And we have worked with agencies to publish O*NET and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). We buy copies of Environmental Health Perspectives from the contractor for Sales. I would like to now mention a topic that has been brought before you a number of times in the past few years--the implementation of the Integrated Processing System (IPS) in the Sales Program. As we were preparing for this conference, the vendor (Northrup Grumman) provided us with their new proposed schedule which called for the critical functions of the system to be completed next week. All of the software has been delivered and all the modifications we have contracted for have been made. Now various bugs and glitches are being fixed. We expect to undertake a complete test of the critical functions of the system in February. The "go live" date would then occur after procedures and training are completed, probably mid- to late May. Y2K The January 11 issue of Federal Computer Week contained its annual "what's out, what's in" list. For 1999, it notes that Y2K deadlines are out. What's in? Well, December 31, 1999. Also on the "Out and In" list is that "dire predictions of Y2K calamity" are out. That comforted me until I saw what was in: "the end of the world." Well, our predictions are not dire and we do not foresee the end of the world for the SuDocs programs. I am pleased to note that in 1998, we analyzed all of the legacy mainframe applications and local personal computer (PC) applications to determine what steps would be necessary to ensure that the various systems and services are Y2K compliant. Much work on the various systems has been completed, including the modifications needed to ensure that the Shipping List application was ready for Y2K. The software for ACSIS, the Acquisition, Classification and Shipping Information System, has been Year 2000 tested and implemented. Twenty-five percent of the DDIS (Depository Distribution Information System) software still needs to be renovated, tested and implemented before it will be Year 2000 compliant. Overall, there are some 41 PCs in LPS that need to be replaced to be ready for Y2K. The process of replacing the computers is underway and will be completed well in advance of the year 2000. All of the Microsoft Office 97 software on the Windows NT network is Y2K compliant. We are preparing a transmission to the Joint Committee on Printing to request funding to upgrade the lighted bin system to be Y2K compliant. I also wanted to mention that IPS has been certified by the vendor, Northrup Grumman, to be Y2K compliant. Conclusion At GPO we all recognize and appreciate the partnership we have with libraries in the provision of access to Government information. We have a number of staff here to report on developments in our programs and to listen to your ideas and concerns.