F e d e r a l    D e p o s i t o r y    L i b r a r y    P r o g r a m

                            ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES

            Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program



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                             December 15, 2000
                             GP 3.16/3-2:21/16
                             (Vol. 21, no. 16)

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              Depository Library Council to the Public Printer
                             Fall 2000 Meeting
              Recommendations, Commendations, and Action Items

                              RECOMMENDATIONS

  1. Cataloging Priorities

     Council recommends that GPO articulate its cataloging priorities 
for
     all publications, both tangible and online. Council further 
recommends
     that GPO identify the scope of its cataloging activities for 
online
     resources; i.e., what will be cataloged, what will not, and 
whether
     records for tangible publications will be updated when electronic
     versions are discovered.

     Rationale:

     Federal depository libraries can make best use of both GPO 
cataloging
     records and local staff resources when they are able to dovetail 
their
     own workflows and procedures with those used by the GPO Cataloging
     Branch. Libraries can plan activities such as enhancement of GPO
     records with URLs for online versions if they know whether or not 
GPO
     will add PURLs/URLs to its records retrospectively, or they can
     catalog online resources that are not a priority for GPO 
Cataloging.

  2. GPO Participation in Governmentwide Initiatives

     Council recommends that GPO continue to interact with agency and
     interagency initiatives that focus on access to government 
information
     utilizing new and emerging technologies.

     Rationale:

     GPO has much to offer new information access initiatives given its
     experience in providing government information through the FDLP.
     FirstGov is the latest in a series of government initiatives that
     would benefit from the consultation and assistance of GPO in such
     areas as metadata, PURLs/URLs, Web site design for public access, 
Web
     search engines, and policies such as permanent public access.

  3. PURL Identification

     Council recommends that GPO enhance the online versions of
     Administrative Notes Technical Supplement and WEBTech Notes by 
adding
     a GPO PURL server search box so that URLs may be searched easily 
to
     identify associated PURLs. Council further recommends that the URL 
for
     the GPO PURL Server Search page be published in each issue of the
     paper format Administrative Notes Technical Supplement to aid FDLP
     library staff in resolving PURL issues.

     Rationale:

     Council is aware that many FDLP libraries wish to add PURLs to 
their
     catalogs and Web pages when Electronic Library (EL) titles are
     announced in Administrative Notes Technical Supplement. 
Recognizing
     that the time lag between discovery of online titles and PURL
     assignment would result in an unacceptable delay if inclusion of 
PURLs
     were required for announcement of online titles in Administrative
     Notes Technical Supplement, Council suggests this solution to 
support
     timely announcement of accurate information.

  4. Policy and the Infrastructure for Permanent Public Access

     Council recommends that GPO, with assistance from a Council 
working
     group and selected members of the depository community, examine 
policy
     and infrastructure necessary for the hosting and maintenance at
     multiple FDLP sites of digital government information for the 
purpose
     of providing no-fee permanent public access.

     Rationale:

     In light of the dramatic increase in online products, there is a 
need
     to identify the policies and infrastructure necessary to 
accelerate
     the partnership processes. Council believes that the establishment 
of
     a working group, consisting of the Council Electronic Preservation
     Committee and selected experts from the depository community, 
would
     assist GPO in accomplishing the recommendation. The working group
     should consult with content partners and others involved in 
digital
     preservation for their experiences relating to costs and lessons
     learned. The issues to be examined should include:

        o Official status and authenticity
        o Currency (maintenance and updating of serial files)
        o Integrity and viability of files
        o Costs involved (to include public services)
        o File types (source files, PDF, text, HTML, etc.)
        o Redundancy (mirror sites).

  5. Draft SOD

     Council recommends that GPO proceed with the draft SOD dated 
October
     6, 2000. We further recommend that GPO consider a review of the
     definitions listed in the policy, a clarification of the concepts
     therein, and an expansion of the essential titles to be available 
for
     selection in paper.

     Rationale:

     Council understands that GPO must take serious steps to balance 
their
     budget in light of the $2 million budget reduction directed by
     Congress. However, the policy can be clarified in the following 
ways:
     1) adding and defining the term announcement and reviewing the
     definitions for dissemination and distribution in relation to the 
term
     announcement; 2) adding the term online product to parallel the 
term
     tangible product; 3) reviewing the entire document to reflect 
these
     new and changed definitions; and 4) editing and amending the 
content
     as Council discussed.

     Council is concerned that the list of essential titles needs 
broader
     input from the depository community. Council requests that 
interested
     parties submit additional titles for consideration to Laurie Hall
     <lhall@gpo.gov&gt; by November 10, 2000.

  6. Official Status of Online Bills

     Council recommends that GPO work with the Clerk of the House and 
the
     Secretary of the Senate to certify the official status of
     Congressional bills available through GPO Access. Council requests
     that GPO report on their progress at the Spring 2001 meeting of 
the
     Depository Library Council. Council further recommends as an 
interim
     solution that GPO add a statement on applicable Web pages that the
     official print bills are produced from the same source as the 
online
     products available on GPO Access.

     Rationale:

     It is the sense of Council that users need to be assured of the
     official status of the online Congressional bills. We believe that
     this can be accomplished by a certification statement similar to 
that
     used by the National Archives and Records Administration on GPO 
Access
     for the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations.

  7. Identification of Online Products for Inclusion in the FDLP

     Council recommends that GPO establish a working group for the 
purpose
     of tracking selected agency Web sites for online-only government
     publications. The goals of the working group would be to determine 
the
     scope of agency online publishing, recommend priorities for 
inclusion
     in the FDLP, and examine other issues as identified by the working
     group.

     Rationale:

     Recent trends by government agencies toward exclusive use of the
     Internet to publish information have challenged the FDLP, as
     information dissemination is very different in the digital
     environment. GPO needs to bring these resources into the FDLP.
     However, GPO’s resources to discover these products are limited.
     Therefore, Council believes that the depository community should
     participate in bringing these documents into the FDLP. The above
     working group will plan this pilot project, seek volunteers, and
     implement and manage this undertaking.

                               COMMENDATIONS

  1. Council commends GPO and the National Library of Medicine (NLM) 
for
     their recently completed partnership agreement. This agreement 
assures
     permanent public access to many NLM titles and covers important 
online
     resources such as PubMed. The agreement exemplifies Council’s 
desire
     and the stated Electronic Collection Plan goal that GPO partner 
with
     agencies to assure permanent public access to Federal Government
     information.

  2. Council commends GPO for the development and implementation of 
NET:
     New Electronic Titles. Council is especially pleased with the
     deliberate and thorough process used in development of NET as
     evidenced by the April 2000 report on GPO’s Cataloging and Locator
     Services.

  3. Council commends GPO for the Conference that now runs in 
conjunction
     with the Depository Library Council Meeting. Experts from all 
fields
     of government and librarians offer information and advice, and 
hear
     input from depository librarians from all across the country. This 
has
     been especially valuable during the ongoing transition to an
     electronic environment as:

        o The Proceedings of the Conference are a concrete body of work
          depository staff can use for training and referral in their 
home
          libraries.
        o Increasing attendance at the Conference provides Council with 
a
          variety of valuable input for its deliberations.
        o Library administrations across the country recognize the 
value of
          the programs, training opportunities, and networking 
environment,
          and show the importance by supporting attendance at the
          Conference.

     Council further commends Sheila M. McGarr (Chief, Library 
Division,
     Library Programs Service) for her enthusiasm, energy, 
organizational
     skill, and persistence. Her ability to perceive needs in the
     depository community and to craft programs that address those 
needs
     has provided ongoing professional development benefiting thousands 
of
     depository librarians and those they serve.

  4. Council commends GPO for the superb work on the redesign of the
     operational pages that resulted in the FDLP Desktop. The unifying
     nature of the Desktop maximizes the power of the electronic
     environment to serve the needs of depository staff. Improved
     navigation and the Site Index and Site Search capabilities ease
     finding program information, greatly increasing access to FDLP
     publications.

                                ACTION ITEMS

  1. Review of NCLIS and GAO Reports

     Council will review the forthcoming National Commission on 
Libraries
     and Information Science (NCLIS) and General Accounting Office 
(GAO)
     reports on government information and the Government Printing 
Office.
     Council will send forth comments regarding these two reports to 
the
     Public Printer.

  2. Replacement Value of a Depository Library Collection

     Council will organize the information gathered regarding the
     replacement value, for insurance and other purposes, of a 
depository
     library collection and publish the findings on the Depository 
Library
     Council Web site.

  3. Letter on FDLP Value in the Digital Age

     Council will forward a letter to the Public Printer reaffirming 
the
     values of the FDLP in the digital age. The letter will emphasize 
the
     key role of the FDLP in assuring no-fee public access to Federal
     Government information, and will highlight the defining 
contributions
     of the FDLP toward this end.