From lpsmail@access.digex.netFri Feb 16 12:21:19 1996 Date: Thu, 15 Feb 1996 16:07:02 -0800 From: Shipment Reply to: Discussion of Government Document Issues To: Multiple recipients of list GOVDOC-L Subject: ADNOTES: SUDOCS REMARKS AT ALA MIDWINTER THE MESSAGE BELOW IS FROM ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES, VOL. 17, #04 (Feb. 15, 1996) Responsibilities of the Federal Government In the Electronic Information Era Remarks by Wayne Kelley Superintendent of Documents Federal Documents Task Force Government Documents Round Table American Library Association Midwinter Meeting Saturday, January 20, 1996 It is a great pleasure to be here with you this morning. Those of us who believe in free, equitable, public access to Federal Government information have important issues to discuss. I'm going to talk about the responsibilities of the Federal Government in the electronic information era. But first, let me tell you why I chose that topic. And why I believe that understanding responsibilities is important to all of us. The current Government information environment is changing so rapidly, it is impossible to describe. You are familiar with the forces at play: electronic technology, shrinking budgets, government restructuring, new leadership in the House and Senate, conflicting legislative priorities, the clash of fundamentally different philosophies about the purpose and goals of government. On one hand, Government agencies as competitors, to each other and to private enterprise, using their information as a source of revenue. On the other, agencies cooperating to serve the public, providing free access to information. The scene is like an action movie on fast-forward. It does no good to freeze the frame and try to draw an impression. What we see in that suspended moment is not an accurate take on the whole picture. It gives us no plot, no story line, no uplifting message. Perhaps it is easier to describe things this way. As far as Government information policy goes, we have a new set of rules. And the first rule is--that there are no rules. Let me give you an example. I have here a book titled "The Big Emerging Markets, 1996 Outlook" produced by the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration. In an introduction, the Secretary of Commerce says Big Emerging Markets or BEMs are "a key focus of our National Export Strategy." He goes on to say that "Our success in these dynamic markets will largely determine the United States' position as the world's economic leader." The book lists U.S. and foreign trade contacts for American businessmen. It is a handsome 480-page, three-color volume. It was printed in September, and it might have appeal to users of your library. But you won't get it from the Depository Library Program. It is not a Federal Government document. Although all the editorial work was done at Government expense, the book was published by a private press under a partnership agreement with the National Technical Information Service. The price, including delivery, from the private publisher is $43.95. You can purchase it from NTIS for $45. Had a book like this been available for sale from GPO it would have cost $40. Had GPO handled the competitive bid for printing this book, any Federal agency wanting copies could have placed a "rider" order at the cost of only printing, paper and binding. Had GPO handled the procurement, any private sector publisher could have obtained the reproducible materials to print and sell the book themselves. Had GPO handled the book, it would have been distributed to depository libraries free of charge. Here is another example. Subscribers to an important regulatory publication, the Export Administration Regulations, were informed a few weeks ago that publication and distribution of that government document was being removed from GPO and placed with NTIS. According to the Under Secretary for Export Administration, NTIS, which he described as our "sister agency" in Commerce, "is uniquely qualified to be the exclusive provider of the EAR." Over the years, GPO had built up a list of some 9,000 subscribers to the Export Regulations. About 500 depository libraries have selected the publication and have been receiving it free of charge. We have had no word from the agency what it intends to do about depository libraries. None of this is really very surprising. I am aware that NTIS has statutory authority for partnership agreements. I was reminded of this recently when I read an NTIS solicitation for a private sector partner to publish the next edition of the U.S. Industrial Outlook. Under this solicitation, the U.S. Industrial Outlook will no longer be a Government document. NTIS does say, however, it expects the new book to be "an annual high profile, high-volume publication with private-sector sales ranging between 25,000 to 40,000 copies the first year it is marketed." I am also aware that the Office of Management and Budget, effective June 25, 1993, issued a Revised Circular No. A-130 on Management of Federal Information Resources. OMB told agencies to "avoid establishing, or permitting others to establish on their behalf, exclusive, restricted, or other distribution arrangements that interfere with the availability of information dissemination products on a timely and equitable basis." OMB's Revised A-130 also directed agencies to "ensure that government publications are made available to depository libraries through the facilities of the Government Printing Office, as required by law (44 U.S.C. Part 19)." You would think that A-130 established the rules for agencies. But remember rule number one. There are no rules. Or at least the rules are different under different circumstances. I guess we can forget that part about not permitting others to establish exclusive distribution arrangements on their behalf. I do not want to leave you with the impression that NTIS is the whole picture, It is nothing more than a few frames in the movie. Many other, larger factors are at play. Hoping to sort out the current environment by rules, laws, policies and the like, just does not seem very realistic right now. We are going to have a period of confusion. Is chaos too strong a word? And we must quickly adjust to it. That is why I want to talk about Government responsibility as it applies to information. Each Federal agency has a mission and certain responsibilities in carrying out that mission. If we look at the current information environment in that light, we can avoid surprises and establish a frame of reference for useful discussion. Government agencies produce information at taxpayers' expense in pursuit of their core missions. As their first priority, agencies make this information available to a specific, targeted audience most affected by agency activities. When an agency's resources are stretched thin, it uses them in its own best interests. That is a law of nature that outranks Title 44 of the U.S. Code. The agency may seek authority to sell its information products and use the revenues to support operations. It may cease publishing certain titles. Agencies using GPO to contract for publishing have never before had to pay for distribution of that information to depository libraries. The Federal Depository Library Program has a different mission. We seek to guarantee access of the general public to a broad range of Government information preserved over a long period of time. Our appropriation has paid costs of reproducing and distributing agency information to depositories. In the electronic information age, the roles played by Government agencies, the Government Printing Office, and the depository libraries are changing. Federal agencies are producing a rapidly growing volume of information in electronic formats. In some cases these formats are information products such as CD-ROMs which are distributed to depository libraries. In other cases, the agency stores information on its own computers and provides access online. Agency online services are often, but not always, available free to the general public, not just to a targeted audience. Just how far agencies are willing to go in expending resources for the general public is an unanswered question. But serving the general public is not a primary responsibility. The agencies are responsible, however, for the authenticity, currency and availability of their own electronic information products. There is a need for an authoritative study on how agencies are addressing these responsibilities. Historically, depository libraries have been responsible for storing Government information onsite and providing free access directly to the public. In the electronic age, a great deal of information will be stored by the agency which created it, by GPO, or by agreement with a third party. The responsibilities of depositories are changing. They will provide access to electronic information stored elsewhere. Now here is a sensitive subject. The Congress, OMB, and the National Archives all have responsibilities. I'll leave it to them to define those areas of responsibility. But it is clear that GPO's oversight and appropriations committees are taking a close look at the Depository Library Program. The House and Senate Appropriations committees, in a Conference Report adopted in July 1995, directed the Public Printer to initiate a study, under the direction of the committees, to identify measures necessary for a transition to a more electronically based Depository Library Program. The Conferees also adopted language, offered by House conferees, requiring GPO to submit a budget last December assuring "substantial progress toward maximum use of electronic information" in the depository program. Agencies failing to make this progress must pay for print or microfiche even if they procure these formats through GPO. It is the responsibility of the Congressional authorizing committees to define GPO's mission and authority. It is the responsibility of the appropriations committees to set the level of funding for our programs. As I said at the beginning, we are going through a patch of chaos. When we come out the other side, it is important that the American public have equitable and free access to information about what its Government is doing. Now is the time for people and organizations who care about libraries and care about access to government information to make their views known to the responsible government officials. If the legacy of the electronic information era is to pull the plug on public access to Government information, it will not serve either our country or the democratic process. The low level of public confidence in government is already a very serious problem in the United States. Thank you for listening to me. I expect to spend the rest of my time at this conference listening to you.