Finding and Using U S Government Information A Practical Guide for Librarians pdf pdf
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About the Series
This innovative series written and edited for librarians by librarians provides authoritative, practical information and guidance on a wide spectrum of library processes and operations. Books in the series are focused, describing practical solutions to problems facing today’s librarian and delivering step-by-step guides for planning, creating, implementing, managing, and evaluating a wide range of services and programs.
The books are aimed at beginning and intermediate librarians that need basic instruction and guidance in specific subjects and also at experienced librarians who need to gain knowledge in a new area or guidance in implementing a new program or service.
About the Series Editors The Practical Guides for Librarians series was conceived and edited by M
Sandra Wood, MLS, MBA, AHIP, FMLA, Librarian Emerita, Penn State University Libraries from 2014 to 2017. Ms. Wood was a librarian at the George T. Harrell Library, the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, College of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, in Hershey, PA, for over thirty-five years, specializing in reference, educational, and database services. Ms. Wood received an MLS from Indiana University and an MBA from the University of Maryland. She is a fellow of the Medical Library Association and served as a member of the MLA’s Board of Directors from 1991 to 1995.
Ellyssa Kroski assumed editorial responsibilities for the series beginning in 2017. She is the director of Information Technology at the New York Law Institute and an award-winning editor and author of thirty-six books, including Law Librarianship in the Digital Age for which she won the American Association of Law Libraries 2014 Joseph L. Andrews Legal Literature Award. Her ten-book technology series, The Tech Set, won the American Library Association’s Best Book in Library Literature Award in 2011. Ms. Kroski is a librarian, an adjunct faculty member at Drexel and San Jose State University, and an international conference speaker. She has recently been named the winner of the 2017 Library Hi Tech Award from the ALA/LITA for her long-term contributions in the area of library and information science technology and its application.
Titles in the Series edited by M. Sandra Wood
1. How to Teach: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Beverley E. Crane
2. Implementing an Inclusive Staffing Model for Today’s Reference Services by Julia K. Nims, Paula Storm, and Robert Stevens by Matthew C. Mariner
4. Outsourcing Technology: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Robin Hastings
16. Collection Evaluation in Academic Libraries: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Karen C. Kohn
25. Story-Time Success: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Katie Fitzgerald
23. Patron-Driven Acquisitions in Academic and Special Libraries: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Steven Carrico, Michelle Leonard, and Erin Gallagher 24. Collaborative Grant-Seeking: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Bess G. de Farber
H. MacKellar 22. 3D Printing: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Sara Russell Gonzalez and Denise Beaubien Bennett
21. Meeting Community Needs: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Pamela
20. Infographics: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Beverley E. Crane
19. Integrating the Web into Everyday Library Services: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Elizabeth R. Leggett
18. Using Google Earth in Libraries: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Eva Dodsworth and Andrew Nicholson
17. Creating Online Tutorials: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Hannah Gascho Rempel and Maribeth Slebodnik
15. Genealogy: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Katherine Pennavaria
5. Making the Library Accessible for All: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Jane Vincent
14. Children’s Services Today: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Jeanette Larson
13. Going Beyond Loaning Books to Loaning Technologies: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Janelle Sander, Lori S. Mestre, and Eric Kurt
12. Mobile Devices: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Ben Rawlins
11. Usability Testing: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Rebecca Blakiston
10. Using iPhones and iPads: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Matthew Connolly and Tony Cosgrave
9. Implementing Web-Scale Discovery Services: A Practical Guide for Librarians by JoLinda Thompson
8. Makerspaces: A Practical Guide for Librarians by John J. Burke
7. Digitization and Digital Archiving: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Elizabeth R. Leggett
6. Discovering and Using Historical Geographic Resources on the Web: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Eva H. Dodsworth and L. W. Laliberté
26. Teaching Google Scholar: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Paige
Alfonzo and Geri Swanzy 28. Data Management: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Margaret E. Henderson
Burke, revised by Ellyssa Kroski
46. Teen Fandom and Geek Programming: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Carrie Rogers-Whitehead
45. Coding Programs for Children and Young Adults in Libraries: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Wendy Harrop
44. Serving LGBTQ Teens: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Lisa Houde
43. Making Library Web Sites Accessible: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Laura Francabandera
42. Instructional Design Essentials: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Sean Cordes
41. Finding and Using U.S. Government Information: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Bethany Latham
40. Implementing the Information Literacy Framework: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Dave Harmeyer and Janice J. Baskin
39. Summer Reading Programs for All Ages: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Katie Fitzgerald
37. User Privacy: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Matthew Connolly 38. Makerspaces: A Practical Guide for Librarians, Second Edition by John J.
29. Online Teaching and Learning: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Beverley E. Crane
36. Managing and Improving Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Programs: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Matthew C. Mariner
35. How to Teach: A Practical Guide for Librarians, Second Edition by Beverley E. Crane
34. Understanding How Students Develop: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Hannah Gascho Rempel, Laurie M. Bridges, and Kelly McElroy
A. Dalal, Robin O’Hanlan, and Karen Yacobucci
33. Video Marketing for Libraries: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Heather
32. Providing Reference Services: A Practical Guide for Librarians by John Gottfried and Katherine Pennavaria
31. Gamification: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Elizabeth McMunn- Tetangco
30. Writing Effectively in Print and on the Web: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Rebecca Blakiston
Titles in the Series edited by Ellyssa Kroski
Finding and Using U.S. Government Information A Practical Guide for Librarians Bethany Latham PRACTICAL GUIDES FOR LIBRARIANS, NO. 41
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD Lanham • Boulder • New York • London Published by Rowman & Littlefield An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 Unit A, Whitacre Mews, 26-34 Stannary Street, London SE11 4AB Copyright © 2018 by The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical
means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data AvailableISBN 978-1-5381-0715-7 (pbk : alk. paper) | ISBN 978-1-5381-0716-4 (e-book) ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Printed in the United States of America Unless otherwise specified, all figures are from the U.S. federal government and are public domain.
Contents
Preface
Librarians are information professionals, and the U.S. federal government produces a massive trove of valuable information. Yet due to how federal government information is produced and organized, these resources can be more difficult to locate and effectively use than traditional information sources. Additional layers of understanding must be added to the librarian’s core skill set in order to make the most of these unique resources.
This book introduces the field of federal government information and provides a subject-based guide for government information reference sources and other issues related to government information management. The approach is one of simplicity—government information can be complicated, and it can also be intimidating for librarians who possess little experience with it. Think of this work as the sort of guidebook you would take to a foreign country when unacquainted with the culture and language. Guidebooks will not turn you into a native, but they will help you communicate, get around, and essentially get the job done. That is the goal of this book.
This work is written in plain language for practicing and new librarians in the areas of reference and other user services, as well as anyone interested in gleaning a basic understanding of how federal government information is created, acquired, organized, searched, and used. It is also written with the “inadvertent” depository coordinator in mind—those librarians who find themselves responsible for government information at their institutions but have had no background or training in this area. Those in charge of collection development will also find this book beneficial, since government information resources are often freely available, authoritative primary sources repackaged and sold by vendors to libraries at premium prices. Knowing what is freely available from the government allows libraries to be more efficient in the allocation of financial resources, which furthers collection development and management goals.
Scope
Both tangible and digital government information is covered in this book. The focus skews more toward the digital simply because this is the U.S. government’s focus for the current information it releases, in addition to the retrospective digitization projects it has begun. Many library users now prefer cartographic materials). I have made every effort to provide easy access to digital resources when possible, with the caveat that this method is notoriously impermanent since it involves the use of URLs that change quite frequently.
This work is not a textbook for library and information science students (though they can certainly benefit from it, especially if they do not have the opportunity to take a government information course), and it is not intended to be an exhaustive examination of every single government information resource; such an endeavor would require multiple volumes and would not serve the audience for this book. Instead, the goal is to cover major resources and provide a ready reference for the types of sources that can answer many of the questions commonly encountered at the reference desk. Sources that will already be familiar to most practicing librarians (e.g., historical, archival, and library-related materials from the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services) are eschewed in favor of less familiar sources that can be used to answer government information questions from library users.
The scope of this book is information produced and disseminated by the U.S. federal government or under its auspices. Since the federal government aggregates state-level data in many of its sources and reaches outside our country’s borders in others (e.g., trade data), information at these levels can be found in this book. However, international/intergovernmental, state, and local government–created information is outside its scope. A few selected commercial resources are included to illustrate the ways vendors repackage government information and how those commercial resources can be weighed against freely available government information to determine which sources are best for certain applications. But the vendor resources listed are not comprehensive, nor should the inclusion of any particular commercial resource be taken as an endorsement of that product. They are provided simply to inform users about additional methods to access some types of government information.
Organization
The first three chapters of this book provide the background necessary to give those new to government information a foundation for further examination of the subject. Chapter 1 elucidates why government information is valuable and provides a brief history of government information in this country—how it grew into our present-day government information environment. Since it is the primary organ for disseminating U.S. government information, the Government Publishing Office and the legislative foundations in which it is grounded are also examined, along with its and other federal agencies’ role in the organization of government information. The majority of libraries that have substantial government information collections are members of the Federal Depository these materials. Thus the history, governance, and procedures of the FDLP and the role it plays in public access to government information in the United States are covered in some detail. Chapter 2 briefly examines the available formats and methods of delivery for government information, as well as the branches of government that produce it and the few special audiences often singled out by the government as target audiences when creating its information. Chapter 3 discusses approaches to locating and using government information; some reference processes are universal, but government information reference has unique aspects that can affect the reference process, so librarians must be aware of them.
The meat of this book can be found in chapters 4–13. Taken on their own, these chapters can serve as a ready reference tool for those seeking government information broken down by subject. Parsing government information by subject can be problematic, since the information is a provenance-based system—it is beneficial to know the agency and what types of information it collects and publishes before pigeonholing subject categories to know what is available. Some agencies produce information that fits into multiple subject categories. Thus, chapters 4–13 arrange government information by the primary subjects under which most government agency publications fall. This topical list is not comprehensive but rather made up of the major topics that general users seek in the realm of government information. Each topical section also includes “practical applications” at its conclusion. These vary, from more in-depth terminology to assist with searching in certain subjects (e.g., industry information) to “how do I?” step-by-step guides geared to answering a particular question. These applications illustrate government information in action, showing the practical ways it can be used to further reference and informational goals.
The last two chapters offer some tips for managing government information collections to ensure their usefulness, as well as ideas for further professional development and continuing education in the field of government information.
Part I CHAPTER 1
Introduction to Government Information
The value of federal government information Background and history of government information in the United States Organization of government information
HE AMOUNT OF government information is vast, and it can be
intimidating to the uninitiated. Even defining what constitutes “government information” is not a straightforward proposition. For the purposes of this book, we will primarily be exploring information produced and
T
disseminated by the U.S. federal government, with side trips into the area of commercial resources, which repackage information in a meaningful way. The realm of international/intergovernmental, state, and local government information is as large; it is also beyond our scope. The goal here is to familiarize you with federal government information with an emphasis on digital methods of delivery and to provide you with the tools you need to understand how this information is:
Produced Organized Located Accessed Effectively used
Why should one put forth the effort to learn about government information? You may be thinking that there was a reason, probably a good one, for avoiding that government documents course in graduate school. The fact is that, for those of you working in reference and collection development, a passing knowledge of the types of information available from the federal government and where to look for this information is an integral part of your skill sets—learn how to access this information and you will be a better librarian. You do not have to be knowledge of government information sources. More importantly, your users will benefit, since they will have a more effective librarian to guide them. Government information includes sources of great usefulness, but its disparate systems of organization and the (often illogical) statutory dictates that affect its creation, access, and use can mean that library users will need even more assistance than with traditional, nongovernmental resources. You need to equip yourself with the knowledge necessary to offer that assistance.
The Value of Government Information
The U.S. federal government produces an enormous amount of information which encompasses almost every conceivable subject area. While the most familiar government information products are usually concerning law, demographics, or commerce, the government collects and disseminates information on everything from library cataloging practices to teen pregnancy to the number of forest acres impacted by the Rocky Mountain pine beetle. If your user has a topic in mind, chances are the government has collected and published information on it, probably at length. It is also possible that the government is the only source which has produced this information; while others may repackage or redistribute it, the U.S. federal government is uniquely positioned to provide primary source material. As you will read in the discussion of the history of public printing in this country, vendors have long recognized that government data is commercially valuable, and the relish with which the private sector has exploited this information has only grown with time and the use of digital methods of harvesting and delivering the information. The government itself recognizes this:
Government data is a key input to a wide variety of commercial products and services in the economy, although many of these uses may not be apparent because attribution to the Government is not required. . . . The lower-bound estimate, based on a very short and incomplete list of firms that rely heavily on Government data, suggests that Government data helps private firms generate revenues of at least $24 billion annually—far in excess of spending on Government statistical data. The upper-bound estimate suggests that this sector generates annual revenues of $221 billion. These crude estimates provide rough order-of-magnitude estimates of the range of the sector’s size and illustrate the 1 importance of Government data as an input into commercial products and services.
This particular report, by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economics and Statistics Administration, refers solely to economic data. The value gleaned by the private sector throughout the subject range of government information is incalculable. It is important to note because, for cash-strapped libraries, understanding where the information has been gathered from through the use of their paid tools can result in more efficient collection development and better allocation of library resources. You may not need to pay for that database because the information it has repackaged is freely available from the to everyone. This is precisely the case with the majority of government information. One simply has to know where to look for it and, once found, know how to utilize it.
Librarians have long seen it as a professional responsibility to educate information seekers about the authority of sources, and this is another area where government information demonstrates its value. As Eric Forte notes, “One of the most empowering aspects of understanding government information is 2 the ability to conduct one’s own fact-checking.” While no information produced by someone can be said with certainty to be completely bias or agenda-free, government information is recognized as reliable source material. In an era when many library users get their “facts” from Facebook, checking information and statistics against official government sources can provide clarification. The digital age has also brought with it the concern of authenticity of information; since technology has changed how information products are created and delivered, that same technology has also provided a multitude of opportunities for alteration. U.S. federal government information has developed strategies to meet the challenge of verifying information—of ensuring that government information products are verified as authentic, unaltered, and “official.”
The Government Publishing Office (GPO) applies digital certificates to the government information it publishes in PDF format. Users can verify these certificates using Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat. Users can tell which documents the GPO has certified because a visible “seal of authenticity” with an eagle logo is added to the document; a blue ribbon icon also appears beneath the top navigation and in the signature panel. When a GPO- authenticated PDF is printed, the seal of authenticity prints on the document as well.
Background and History
The history of government information in the United States finds its roots in the “publick printers”—Benjamin Franklin is one recognizable example—of the colonial era. These businessmen produced official documents when America was still a colony, primarily in the form of legislative and other government documents detailing the works of the English Crown. Steeped in Enlightenment philosophy, many colonial printers held the worldview that individuals had a right to know about the proceedings and legislation of their government. The government information has commercial value, and it was also lucrative for them to print and sell such documents (e.g., Acts of Parliament). By the end of the American Revolution, the concept of having access to government information as a right rather than a privilege solidified with the formal establishment of the United States of America as a country. The Continental Congress made provision for congressional journals to be printed, and Article I, Section 5, of the Constitution of the United States requires that “Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the 3 same.” James Madison held forth his view, now taken as a mantra by government information specialists, that “A popular Government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy, or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the 4 power which knowledge gives.” It is from these ideological roots that the concept of freely available government information produced through taxpayer expense was developed.
The tap for government information in the fledgling United States had been turned on, but logistical issues were yet to be resolved. In the late 1700s, Congress began accepting proposals from printers, and a small number of firms were employed to handle congressional printing. These firms soon realized that, with the increasing volume of government printing and the steady stream of revenue it provided, they could subsist almost entirely on the work commissioned by the federal government. Printers even followed Congress around, relocating from Philadelphia and New York to Washington, DC, when Congress moved to the newly established capital in 1800.
Yet these local, private-sector printers were far from ideal as a way to produce government information for extensive dissemination. There was no uniformity or quality control, and end products varied widely. Pricing was also an issue. Originally, public printing was performed at a fixed rate, but Congress realized that as technology improved, fixed rates meant the government was paying significantly more for print jobs that were requiring less effort and time— resulting in a large profit margin for the printers. In the 1840s, several laws were passed with the intention of remedying this situation, of introducing competition into the mix. The United States Congress Joint Committee on Printing, which still exists and to the present day plays a prominent role in government information, was formed during this time. Despite the supposedly competitive bid system, costs continued to rise, and when a switch was made back to a fixed rate, the result was the highest printing costs the government had ever seen, thanks to cronyism, lack of oversight, and outright fraud. The public reaction against all this waste and corruption resulted in an attempt at reform, of removal of the private sector from the printing process. Joint Resolution No. 25, which was passed in 1860, provided for the purchase of buildings, machinery, and all materials. The Government Printing Office (GPO) 5 opened for business on March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln’s first day as president.
The Government Publishing Office
A detailed history of the GPO is beyond the scope of this discussion, but an overview of certain aspects of its operation is necessary to understand how government information has been and currently is created, procured, published, accessed, and preserved for future use. You may notice from the heading of this section that the GPO is no longer the Government Printing Office—legislation was passed in 2014 to change its name to the Government Publishing Office, an update in terminology intended to reflect the myriad ways in which the GPO now produces government information.
The statutory foundation of the GPO originates in Title 44 of the United States Code; this legislation underpins the GPO’s mission and provides a basis for its organizational structure and operations. It is important to note that, as a government agency, the GPO is bound by statute and governmental mandate. Even what the GPO defines as a “government publication” is codified (specifically, “informational matter which is published as an individual document 6 at government expense, or as required by law”). Many who delve into the world of government information find certain aspects confusing or frustrating. One encounters a great deal of: “Why do they do things this way? It would make more sense to . . .” In the majority of these cases, the GPO approaches issues the way it does because it is required to by law; modification would necessitate a literal Act of Congress.
The United States Congress Joint Committee on Printing is responsible for oversight of the GPO and for ensuring that any issues regarding the delay of services, neglect, or waste are addressed. Title 44 stipulates that the GPO be overseen by a Director (until 2014 known by the title of “Public Printer”), a 7 presidential appointment made with the advice and consent of the Senate. Of the six major branches of the GPO’s organizational chart which report to the Director, the branch of primary relevance to our discussion is Public Access (i.e., the division responsible for the dissemination of government information to the public at large). This branch is overseen by the Superintendent of Documents (SupDocs), who is chosen by the GPO’s Director, and administers the divisions of Library Services and Content Management and Publications and Information Sales.
Figure 1.1. Government Publishing Office organizational chart, highlighting the Public Access division, which includes the Federal Depository Library Program. Courtesy of the author.So how exactly is government information procured, published, and made available? The GPO is, by law, the sole source authorized for federal printing services. This does not mean that the GPO prints or produces all these materials itself; it can also serve as a procurement agency, contracting out to the private sector. Primarily, the GPO functions as a clearinghouse of sorts for all three branches of the federal government for any publication which meets the requirements of Title 44. In the past, this resulted in an enormous volume of printing, making the GPO the single largest printer not just in the United States but the entire world. With the advent of digital technologies and the concept of e-government information, the GPO saw its print production nosedive. Since the 1990s, it has downsized its print production facilities significantly while branching out in other areas. To remain viable, it has evolved—which is still ongoing—with an end goal of being the centralized source for all official government information products in all available formats.
In the era of print publication, it was relatively simple for the GPO to keep up with the information produced by the various agencies of the government: those agencies gathered and created the information, and they needed the GPO to print that information for them. There was a financial incentive for agencies to use the GPO—for the additional copies necessary to make a document publicly accessible, the GPO would bear the cost, not the agency. If an agency went outside the GPO for production of a document, the agency was required to pay for the extra copies necessary to disseminate it. For those few publications that were printed by a publisher other than the GPO, Title 44 also required that statutory exceptions (e.g., classified and official-use-only or strictly make available to the public the majority of government information produced by the three branches.
Born-digital government information has complicated the process. When an agency employee can compile a report, use desktop publishing software to put it into a “document” file form (e.g., PDF), and post that to an agency’s website to “publish” it, the GPO is less necessary as a middleman. It is by no means assured that every agency employee is even aware that the GPO is mandated to be such a middleman (i.e., not all agency employees may be familiar with Title 44). The GPO also has no power to compel federal agencies to use its services or notify it of these types of documents floating around outside the system (known as “fugitives”); Title 44 has no legislative teeth. In lieu, the GPO uses a sort of value proposition—that agencies can have significant cost and effort savings by utilizing the GPO for printing or digital production. In addition to print production, the GPO offers graphic design and digital media services, e-books, and web and other facilities aimed at helping government agencies provide their information in any way they choose, especially as electronic content.
Once the GPO has been made aware and seen to the production of a government information product, how is that product then made publicly available, for free, to any citizen of the United States? This is where the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) comes in.
The Federal Depository Library Program
The origin of what would become the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) pre-dates the GPO by nearly half a century. In 1813, Congress passed legislation to allow the provision of one copy each of the Journal of the House of Representatives and the United States Senate Journal, as well as a few other congressional documents deemed of importance, to be deposited with selected historical societies, state libraries, and universities. This resulted in the first “depository library”—the American Antiquarian Society (AAS). The responsibility for administration of this program originally rested with the Secretary of State.
Through the years, it would pass to a “Superintendent of Public Printing” within the Department of the Interior, and then to the Secretary of the Interior in the 1850s. During this period, the Secretary of the Interior had the power to designate which libraries, as government depositories, would receive publications. Later legislation allowed each representative to designate a single depository from his or her district, and delegates from the territories were also included. Shortly afterward, each senator was also given the right to designate a depository in his or her state.
The Superintendent of Documents, formerly a Department of the Interior position, would finally move underneath the purview of the GPO with the Printing Act of 1895, Title 44’s direct antecedent. One other piece of legislation of importance is the Depository Library Act of 1962. The FDLP, as its structure hierarchy for depositories, but it also finally introduced the element of choice— the ability for certain depositories to select the publications they wished to receive. The last piece of the puzzle was added in the 1970s with the addition of an outside advisory body, the Depository Library Council to the Public Printer. Consisting of fifteen members who are appointed by the Director and serve three-year terms, and the Depository Library Council’s role is to advocate for depository libraries and the FDLP and to advise the GPO’s Director and Superintendent of Documents.
Governance and Structure of the Depository System
Title 44 and the other legislation which provide the statutory framework for the FDLP have been excerpted and compiled into a single, slim volume entitled Legal Requirements & Program Regulations of the Federal Depository Library 8 Program. This publication, last updated in 2011, supersedes some of the other, more complicated attempts at putting Title 44 and its brethren into a manual- type format that depositories could easily use to govern their operations, such as the 210-page FDLP Handbook. The Handbook, while superseded, can still be consulted for more in-depth information—such as explanatory or background information that helps libraries maintain compliance with FDLP regulations. If your interest is in learning exactly what a depository must do as a member of the program, Legal Requirements will offer enlightenment in nine pages or less, with every mandate a building block toward a very specific goal: providing the public with access to government information, free of charge, and unimpeded.
Librarians quickly learn that there are two types of statements the government uses when soliciting action from a depository: “should” and “must.” The GPO makes a large number of “should” statements—things it would prefer depository libraries do, but these actions are not mandatory. By contrast, “must” statements (like those in the Legal Requirements) are few but nonnegotiable; depositories are mandated to comply, or they risk expulsion from the program. In the past, the GPO’s stance was somewhat unforgiving: depository status was viewed as a privilege, and if the depository did not meet its obligations, then that privilege could be revoked. Formerly, depositories underwent regular inspections by designated GPO inspectors who would travel to the library’s physical location and scrutinize operations, looking for areas of noncompliance. A report was then issued to the depository noting the areas of noncompliance and the steps the library must take to address them. This process is now known as a Public Access Assessment. A representative from the GPO reviews a library’s policies, website, and other information provided by the depository before speaking with the depository coordinator (more information on depository coordinators will follow) and others involved in the operations via phone to help clear up any issues or concerns that are encountered. These assessments also seek to point out the areas where a depository is succeeding “notable achievements.” This is representative of a certain shift in mindset; many libraries have voluntarily given up depository status due to staffing and space concerns, and the GPO itself has seen a reduction in staffing and other resources. Due to these factors, the approach now is more one of shepherding— the GPO wants libraries to remain in the program and has positioned itself more as a partner to help with meeting rules and regulations, rather than looking to penalize for noncompliance. The legislation also requires that depositories report to the GPO every two years; this is accomplished through the Biennial Survey, a questionnaire that depositories complete and submit online. The GPO then releases the results to the depository community.
There are approximately 1,200 libraries currently in the FDLP, and they can be one of two types of depositories: “selectives” or “regionals.” Selectives are what they sound like—depositories with a small basic collection to which they must maintain access, but outside that collection selectives are allowed to select which government publications they wish to receive.
Table 1.1. Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) Basic CollectionRESOURCE
American FactFinder Online Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government Online
Budget of the United States Government Online and Print Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Online and Print Catalog of U.S. Government Publications Online Code of Federal Regulations Online, Print, and
Microfiche Congressional Directory Online and Print Congressional Record Online, Print, and Microfiche Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation
Online and Print Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents Online Economic Indicators
Online and Print Economic Report of the President Online and Print FDsys (soon to be govinfo) Online Federal Register
Online, Print, and Microfiche Occupational Outlook Handbook Online Social Security Handbook Online and Print United States Code
Online and Print United States Government Manual Online United States Reports Online and Print United States Statutes at Large Online and Print
They are also allowed, within certain constraints and after following prescribed procedures, to discard publications. Each selective is required to have a depository coordinator; this is an individual who is responsible for keeping current with FDLP information, monitoring changes in regulation, liaising with the GPO, and in general overseeing depository operations for the library. Though depositories designate a coordinator—occasionally spreading these duties out across multiple positions within an institution—the final responsibility for meeting all mandates and regulations rests with the library’s top-level administration (i.e., dean, director, etc.).
Selectives report to a regional library, which is tasked with overseeing them and offering guidance and assistance, especially in the realm of collection management and materials disposal. In addition to acting as a intermediary between selectives and the GPO, regional libraries, of which there can be no more than two per state, were intended to serve as legacy collections; they were initially required to receive 100 percent of the publications available from the FDLP, and, with a few exceptions (e.g., superseded materials), to keep at least one copy in tangible form (print or microform) in perpetuity. In this way, preservation of these materials for continued public access would be assured. This resulted in an ever-expanding collection that could never be culled, a state of affairs that many regional libraries, after decades in the FDLP, began to see as a burden. In 2016, the Superintendent of Documents issued a policy statement allowing regional libraries to discard certain publications which had been retained for seven years and had authenticated digital versions available from the GPO or those which had at least four tangible copies geographically 9 distributed within the FDLP. Advance approval for this disposal must be granted by the GPO, and the publications must be offered to the selective depositories within the regional’s state. This process is similar to the disposal process under which selectives have always operated: namely, that with regional approval and after offering the publication to all selectives within the state, a selective may dispose of a publication which it has held for five years.
How does a library receive these publications in the first place? Regionals are still sent everything the GPO produces; selectives are allowed to choose which publications they prefer to receive through use of the GPO Item List—a list of numbers a depository library has selected are known as that library’s selection profile. Using a publication entitled the List of Classes of United States Government Publications Available for Selection by Depository Libraries, selectors can cross-reference item numbers with the titles of the publications they represent.
Figure 1.2. The printed version of the List of Classes of United States Government Publications Available for Selection byDepository Libraries, 2015 revision.
While the Item List’s name suggests that selection could be made with specificity (one item number equaling one title), that is not the case. Many item numbers correspond to entire classes of publications, some of which are not helpfully labeled (e.g., Department of Agriculture, Electronic Products, Miscellaneous). The GPO has made strides over the years toward modifying the Item List to clarify what a library will be receiving if it selects a particular item number (and perhaps just as importantly, in what format that item will be received), but there is still much work to be done. The GPO also employs a practice it considers helpful: randomly adding certain item numbers to a library’s profile because the library selected an item number the GPO considers to be similar—consider it along the lines of Netflix’s type of suggestions where “because you watched Jane Eyre, we suggest you’ll enjoy this unspeakable squid-based erotica.” Government information librarians refer to this as “profile creep” and must monitor their selections to make sure they drop item numbers which result in publications they do not wish to receive (and occasionally, never selected). Understanding how government publications are selected—the item number method is codified in a statute—is essential, since it affects collection management in ways not applicable to traditional library resource acquisition.
In the past, the profile update cycle was annual; libraries could only make additions or drop item numbers once a year. Using the intuitively named Depository Selection Information Management System (DSIMS), libraries may now update their profiles continually, dropping or adding item numbers at any time. The addition of electronic products take effect immediately, as does the dropping of any item number; additions of tangible publications are “held” by the system until the beginning of the next fiscal year. Similar to ordering anything else online, tangible publications arrive at depository libraries in a cardboard box from a warehouse, usually from the larger of the GPO’s warehouses, located in Laurel, Maryland.