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 [ PDF version ] [ Back Issues ] --------------------------------------------------------------------- July 15, 2002 GP 3.16/3-2:23/09 (Vol. 23, no. 09) --------------------------------------------------------------------- THE FUTURE OF ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFORMATION Remarks by Francis J. Buckley, Jr. Superintendent of Documents Before the Government Documents Round Table American Library Association Atlanta, GA June 15, 2002 Introduction Good morning. I am pleased to be here to participate in this dialog on the future of government information dissemination. I believe no-fee access to public Government information is a right of the people and a necessity, now and in the future, to support our democratic society. Also, that the Government has an obligation to provide broad, ongoing public access to its information. But as I see the evolution of information technology and the movement toward e-government, there are significant impacts on the future of access to government information through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). New Roles The Government Printing Office Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-40), more commonly called the GPO Access Act, ushered GPO into the online information environment. By requiring online access to the Federal Register and Congressional Record, and "other appropriate publications distributed by the Superintendent of Documents" the foundation for the Federal Depository Library Program Electronic Collection (FDLP/EC) was laid. Specifically, the GPO Access Act charged the Superintendent of Documents to: 1. maintain an electronic directory of Federal electronic information, 2. provide a system of online access to the Congressional Record, the Federal Register, and other appropriate publications, and 3. operate an electronic storage facility for Federal electronic information. In concert with the GPO Access Act, in 1996 Congress directed GPO to transition to a more electronic FDLP. Thus in addition to the publications we put up on our own servers, we are pointing to electronic publications on agency websites. The electronic information environment has provided several new roles and expanded some traditional roles for GPO: 1. Managing an electronic collection, the Federal Depository Library Program Electronic Collection (FDLP/EC); 2. Finding, identifying, and acquiring electronic government information products; 3. Developing locator and other services to complement the traditional bibliographic monthly catalog system; and 4. Providing permanent public access to electronic Government information. Permanent public access to government publications has long been a requirement for GPO and the Library Programs Service. This has traditionally been achieved by distributing tangible items to depository libraries. In the electronic collection, permanent public access is achieved through a digital archive at GPO and partnerships with Federal agencies and depository libraries. Our efforts toward digital archiving ensure that citizens' long-term rights to information access are protected. Now, current events are forcing a review of government information public access policies and programs, and we are addressing electronic security concerns at GPO through archiving, the use of PURLs, and the development of a geographically separate backup facility and mirror site for GPO Access. We strive to maintain the same level of permanency and security for the Electronic Collection as for tangible titles distributed to libraries. Our program has been developed in concert with depository librarians and reflected in two documents: our plan for the transition to a more electronic FDLP and a collection development plan for the FDLP/EC. The FDLP has a long and distinguished history as a centrally coordinated system of shared responsibility for building, storing, disseminating, providing access to, and preserving Government information. Also, in terms of electronic access, the FDLP/EC complements other government initiatives such as FirstGov and the National Archives Electronic Records program. Challenges An increasingly electronic FDLP presented several challenges for GPO. First, Discovery of publications on the web: In online distribution, we lack the automatic system of riders added to print orders to provide stock of printed publications to be distributed to libraries. GPO is developing systems and practices to enable us to discover agency publications on the Web effectively, and to gather the information efficiently about those publications needed for subsequent cataloging and preservation. Assuring ongoing integrity of content: In the print world, a user was assured that a publication from a Government agency, printed through GPO, was an approved, official document. Online, publications generally are not consistently reviewed and are not fixed in time by the printing process. Users, however, still need and expect the information to be official. GPO is working toward mechanisms that provide the same level of authenticity, both for publications on agency servers to which we point, and for archived publications. Assuring ongoing access to content: GPO currently points to publications on the originating agency server for as long as possible, and we also maintain an archival copy of the publication. Users are routed to the archival copy only when the publication is no longer available from the originating site. GPO is involved in work to develop other systems and processes for archiving and preserving data and reliably delivering it to users over time. Enhancing and extending the service role of depository libraries: The link between Government information, technology, and users at all levels of skill, knowledge, and proficiency is the depository library. More than ever users need assistance in making sense of the mass of Government information, and not all users are equally able to use and interpret Government information resources. This traditional role for depository librarians as guide and interpreter is being expanded and emphasized. Archiving: No consensus exists on strategies for archiving digital information, and far more research is being done on large repositories than on distributed archives. GPO has made it a priority to be aware of the state of the art, and to be involved actively in developing it. Currently, most research points to a central archive with adequate redundancy built in for disaster recovery. But what we are doing is capturing digital information for which we have no assurance of preservation. Discovery and cataloging: As the electronic transition has progressed, resources at GPO that had been directed to distribution have been and continue to be reallocated to identification and acquisition, and we continue to expand the cataloging function. Acquisition of electronic publications is far more labor-intensive because we lack the print rider system. And last but not least, a new issue for both the tangible FDLP collection as well as the Electronic Collection is that of Information sensitivity post 9-11. Our mission has always been to collect as comprehensively as possible government information products that are not classified or official/administrative use only that have no public interest or educational value (to paraphrase Section 1902 of Title 44). We collect and disseminate agency "publications" in various formats as a ministerial or service function. Over the years, agency publications have been included in the program and later withdrawn for one reason or another. Since September there has been a lot of concern about the possibility that some of the information in the FDLP may be used inappropriately, but we have only had two agency requests to remove publications. One was from the U.S. Geological Survey last fall to pull a CD-ROM on water resources. The second is a current request from the General Accounting Office to pull a report from GPO Access on the Brady Act Instant Background Check. Although we have withdrawn the title from GPO Access, it is still available in hardcopy from GAO. The current issue of Administrative Notes has complete information on the title and ordering information. But we are aware that other agency websites have removed many publications for reasons of "national security" (undefined criteria). The Future In the future, the format of more and more government information will be electronic, although I envision the FDLP will always contain mixed media. In keeping with the GPO Access Act, we are working to ensure continued access to government information in an increasingly electronic environment. In FY 2001, over 15,200 online titles and over 7,600 links to agency titles were added to GPO Access, for a total of well over 22,000 new online titles that year alone. There were 355 million document retrievals from GPO Access in FY 2001. Today document retrievals average more than 31 million per month, the equivalent of about 750 million pages of typewritten documents. In FY 1999, online dissemination represented 44% of titles distributed to depository libraries. This grew to over 60% of the titles distributed in FY 2001. More government information than ever is available online, and more Americans are using online government information than ever before. According to a recent study titled The Rise of the E-Citizen: How People Use Government Agencies' Web Sites, published on April 3, 2002 by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, "One of the fastest growing activities online in recent years has been the use of government Web sites (12)" . I would like to share with you the opening of this study's Summary of Findings: Web presence is not optional for governments in the United States. Citizens are online and learning to demand answers at Internet speed. Government budget-writers require that the cost-savings potential of the Internet be mastered. At the same time, laws and executive orders mandate the provision of at least some services online. And Americans are stepping up to use them. Fully 68 million American adults have used government agency Web sites - a sharp increase from the 40 million who had used government sites in March 2000... They exploit their new access to government in wide-ranging ways, finding information to further their civic, professional, and personal lives (1). The Rise of the E-Citizen found that: 58% of American Internet users, or 68 million adults, have visited at least one government Web site, and most have visited more than one. This makes the act of seeking government information and completing transactions with government agencies one of the most popular activities online. More Americans have visited government Web sites than have sought financial information online, made travel reservations, sent instant messages, or gotten sports scores online (12). This is good news for the FDLP. American citizens are increasingly comfortable with obtaining government information online, and the demand is rising. The FDLP Electronic Collection is growing to meet the demand. However, this does not mean that the need for GPO or depository librarians is diminished. In particular, I see the need for a centralized Superintendent of Documents program to find and acquire appropriate tangible and electronic information products for the FDLP, to catalog and index them for inclusion in the national bibliography, and to have systems to address the issue of permanent public access. The FDLP program and the Cataloging and Indexing program are complemented by, but not replaced by, newer initiatives for public identification and access to electronic government information. Though direct access to government information online is growing by leaps and bounds, not everyone is able to take full advantage of it without the aid of depository libraries and librarians. Even amidst the growing electronic nature of government information distribution, many citizens will continue to seek out depository libraries for access and guidance. We will always need libraries and depository librarians to facilitate access to electronic documents in addition to continuing to keep the documents in tangible format. Citizens will continue to go to libraries for expert guidance in finding and accessing information, whether that information is presented in tangible or electronic formats. Closing Statements In the development of the FDLP and our distribution programs, we have seen many milestones and many changes. Through it all, the FDLP has remained committed to providing public access to official, public Government information, and we will continue in the future. Thank you for your attention.