ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program --------------------------------------------------------------------- February 15, 2000 GP 3.16/3-2:21/04 (Vol. 21, no. 04) --------------------------------------------------------------------- [Handout] GPO Access and Office of Electronic Information Dissemination Services Activities Update January 2000 GPO Access Statistical Measures o Currently, GPO Access is averaging about 21 million document retrievals per month. o GPO Access now contains more than 104,000 electronic titles and points to more than 68,000 others. o There are more than 1,300 databases available through more than 80 applications on GPO Access. o On October 5, 1999, a user survey was placed on GPO Access. Because EIDS just took it down at the beginning of 2000, final results are not yet available. However, preliminary results from December 15, 1999, showed that, of 213 respondents, 19% use GPO Access daily. With regard to finding information on the site, 9% consider it "very easy" and an additional 49% indicated that they find it easy to do so. Users also displayed satisfaction with the timeliness of information, online user aids, and web site organization. System Performance o GPO has contracted for an expansion of its Internet bandwidth. Upon completion, this enhancement will more than double GPO's guaranteed rate of bandwidth, to 12 mbps, and will allow for rapid expansion to 45 mbps, when additional capacity is needed. The existing T1 lines will back up the new equipment. What's New on GPO Access o "Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids" o 1999 Biennial Report to Congress on the Status of GPO Access o "Findings of Fact" in the antitrust case against the Microsoft Corporation o Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States (1997, vol. 1; 1996, vols. 1 and 2) o Transitional web pages (or "exit pages") are being added to all points from which users can exit GPO Access through links to other web sites. U.S. Fax Watch o The Office of Electronic Information Dissemination Services (EIDS) has recently assumed responsibility for managing and administering the U.S. Fax Watch service, available through the Superintendent of Documents. This service is still available at (202) 512-1716. o New software will soon allow users to receive documents via e-mail, in addition to fax. Search Engines and Directories o Since removing the robot-exclusion protocol on GPO Access in September 1999, EIDS has made an effort to publicize its online resources by contacting webmasters and editors of search engines and directories to improve the ranking of GPO Access web pages. This effort has coincided with the coding of more than 100 GPO Access web pages with keyword and description meta tags. Y2K Effort o A joint effort by EIDS, Library Programs Service, Document Sales Service, and the Production Department prevented any major mishaps from occurring due to the Y2K bug. Apart from a few minor glitches that are being corrected, the overall transistion into 2000 has been a smooth one. Upcoming Products and Site Enhancements o Deschler's Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives o A Statutes at Large application o e-CFR: A pilot project with NARA's Office of the Federal Register is in progress that will provide a more frequently updated electronic version of the Code of Federal Regulations o A web site for the U.S. Supreme Court o A prototype site to host declassified State Department cables o EIDS staff has been in discussion with EPA about making Offsite Consequence Analysis data available using E-Book technology. By law, this data may not be provided in a format that allows printing or file copying. If adopted, it is anticipated that an E-Book reader would be provided to each selecting depository library. o GPO is contracting for DVD-ROM replication of patent awards with the Patent and Trademark Office. o Electronic access to General Wage Determinations Issued Under the Davis-Bacon Act, by March. o We anticipate that the FY 2001 Federal Budget Publications and the 2000 Economic Report of the President will be released on GPO Access on February 7, 2000. A CD-ROM of the FY 2001 Federal Budget Publications will be released on the same day as the printed Budget, but will not contain the 2000 Economic Report of the President. o EIDS continues to enhance our customers' ordering experience on our Online Bookstore. In addition to the Sales Product Catalog, functionality is being added to sales pages that enables customers to perform new searches from partially filled order forms to add to their orders. Also in development is an application that would let users select topics of interest (based on Subject Bibliographies) and receive e-mail notification of the release of new products in the fields they select. Upcoming Travel Events o GPO Access Booth Exhibits Public Library Association National Conference Charlotte, NC, March 28-April 1, 2000 Spring Depository Library Council Meeting Newport, RI, April 10-12, 2000 Texas Library Association Houston, TX, April 11-14, 2000 Special Libraries Association Philadelphia, PA, June 12-14, 2000 ALA Annual Conference Chicago, IL, July 6-13, 2000 + GPO Access Training Sessions Drake University Des Moines, IA, March 2000 – PENDING Fort Worth Public Library Fort Worth, TX, April/May 2000 – PENDING Western New York Library Resources Council Buffalo, NY, May 11, 2000 Interagency Depository Seminar Washington, DC, June 1, 2000