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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ May 5, 2002 GP 3.16/3-2:23/06 (Vol. 23, no. 06) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ GPO Access Update Office of Electronic Information Dissemination Services Spring 2002 Depository Library Council Meeting April 21-24, Mobile, AL GPO Access Performance Measurement and Improvement It has recently become apparent that system performance problems have been severely limiting the amount of usage possible and frustrating large amounts of GPO Access users. Time-out and other types of errors were far too common, particularly during the busiest hours of the workday, and even successful transactions took far too long. Through a performance measurement service contract with Keynote Systems, Inc., we are tracking performance of the Code of Federal Regulations from the user perspective from ten major U.S. cities. The findings from this service and problem reports from users were shared with the GPO Production Department, who have begun work to eliminate these problems. They have succeeded in virtually eliminating the error problems, and results are showing that successful transactions during peak times are now taking on average less than 10 seconds from start to finish, down from over 42 seconds previously. We will continue to monitor performance with an eye towards improvement. GPO Access Statistical Measures * Since 1994, GPO Access retrievals have exceeded 1.2 billion. This is equivalent to over 29 billion typewritten pages. * GPO Access has averaged close to 32 million document retrievals in the last six months, and reached an all-time high of almost 36.5 million document retrievals in October 2001. * GPO Access contains over 133,000 electronic titles and points to over 89,000 others for a total of more than 222,000 titles. * GPO Access provides use of almost 2,400 databases through more than 80 applications. What's New on GPO Access * The Budget of the United States Government for FY 2003 is now available via GPO Access at . It was transmitted to Congress on February 2, 2002, and covers the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2002 * The new edition of the Congressional Directory for the 107th Congress is available at . * The 2002 Economic Report of the President is now available on GPO Access at . * Volume I of the 2000-2001 Public Papers for William J. Clinton is now available online at . * Two Independent Counsel Reports available at : * Final Report of the Independent Counsel In Re: Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan Association Regarding Monica Lewinsky and Others * The Final Report of the Independent Counsel In Re: Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan Association (The Madison Guaranty/Whitewater Investigation) * Riddick's Senate Procedure-Precedents and Procedures is now available via GPO Access at <;http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate/riddick/index.html>. * Two new topics have been added to the New Titles By Topic E-mail Alert Service. Employment and Occupations and Federal Statistics. To sign up for any of these lists, go to: . Online Bookstore Enhancements Several new features have been added to the U.S. Government Online Bookstore in order to enhance usability and expedite orders: * The various browse features on the Online Bookstore have been enhanced so that price and status information is updated daily. In addition, customers may now use the search and browse features to add publications to their shopping cart for a fully integrated shopping experience. * While the Online Bookstore has safeguarded a customer's personal information through online encryption since 1999, the service was recently changed so users do not have to enter the secure environment until they have finished shopping and need to enter personal information when completing the order. GPO Access Training Manual Updates Updates to the GPO Access Training Manual were recently posted on the GPO Access help page. Approximately 33 pages were changed, including URL updates, new diagrams for tracking legislation, regulations, and Federal publications, and updated U.S. Government Online Bookstore information. In addition, a special insert has been added that discusses Federal depository library access to STAT-USA/Internet, which is provided through a partnership between the U.S. Government Printing Office and the Department of Commerce. These updates may be found at . Changes made to Senate, House and Executive Reports Application on GPO Access In response to user feedback, the Senate, House and Executive Reports application on GPO Access now includes the ability to search across multiple Congresses in addition to being able to search for these documents within a particular Congress. GPO Access User Survey EIDS staff is in the process of developing a new online GPO Access User Survey, which will provide us with valuable feedback and a measure of usability and efficiency. The survey will be available in the near future on GPO Access at . Under Development * An interactive site guide is being developed to help users find their way to the resources of GPO Access. Users will be able to follow a pathway of links in an exploration of the rich set of resources that GPO Access offers. It will provide an augmented assistance tool that lets users learn more about what is available when the regular navigation paths have failed to point them in the right direction. * Making use of what has been learned from our work with users in open forums, usability studies, and through regular feedback channels, work toward an enhanced look and feel for GPO Access has begun. Please play a role in this process by attending the GPO Access Open Forum sessions this afternoon (Monday, April 22, 2002, at 2:00 pm and 3:30 pm) and reacting to some prototype pages created to show our current approach. * Future enhancements for the U.S. Government Online Bookstore include improved online ordering for foreign customers and providing third-party hand off of orders for those who are unable to directly purchase from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore. Upcoming Outreach EIDS personnel will be attending and displaying the GPO booth at the following shows: May 14-16 Info Today 2002 New York, NY June 13-19 American Library Association Annual Atlanta, GA Conference June 30- July National Education Association Dallas, TX 2 http://www.gpo.gov/gpoaccess