From lpsmail@access.digex.net Thu Nov 14 11:34:12 1996 Date: Thu, 14 Nov 1996 07:54:55 -0600 From: Shipment Reply-To: Discussion of Government Document Issues To: Multiple recipients of list GOVDOC-L Subject: ADNOTES: DEPOSITORY ADMINISTRATION BRANCH UPDATE THE MESSAGE BELOW IS FROM ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES, VOL. 17, #16 (Nov. 15, 1996) Depository Administration Branch Update Remarks by Robin Haun-Mohamed Chief, Depository Administration Branch Library Programs Service U.S. Government Printing Office Depository Library Council to the Public Printer Monday, October 21, 1996 Salt Lake City, Utah Study to Identify Measures Necessary for a Successful Transition to a More Electronic Federal Depository Library Program It has been a very full and exciting year for the Federal Depository Library Program. Depository Administration Branch (DAB) staff have participated in several tasks associated with the Study to Identify Measures Necessary for a Successful Transition to a More Electronic Federal Depository Library Program. The final study in hard copy was mailed to libraries in June. Electronic versions of the study were posted on the Federal Bulletin Board in PDF and WordPerfect formats before the print version was mailed. And we will be posting an ASCII version this week to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. GPO's Electronic Initiatives DAB staff also participate in the development of the Pathway Services, specifically, the "Browse Electronic Titles" page or "B-Titles" page which made its debut in June of 1996. A number of projects have been implemented since last April; some of them were not even in the planning stage a year ago in Memphis. Council's recommendation in Memphis that each library must be capable of accessing the Internet has allowed LPS to pursue many of these projects. I'd like to again thank Council for this recommendation. Since we last met in April, LPS has begun visits to agencies in a concerted effort to discuss electronic products. Recent visits include Agriculture, Census, NASA, SBA, Treasury, and NTIS. Council's recommendation at the Memphis session for each library to be Internet capable has been raised in discussions during each visit. Agencies are very pleased to hear that the Federal depository libraries are committed to making this level of electronic access to the agencies' resources available to the public. Agency outreach is of such importance to LPS that Gil Baldwin and T.C. Evans will be addressing the November meeting of the Federal Publishers Committee on GPO's electronic initiatives. Some of the information that will be relayed to Federal publishers include the need to update other agencies when a change is made on a Web site, or as in the CIA case recently, when the Web site is taken down. We were not notified of their actions and found out as did everyone else when the link was tried, or by reading about the problem in the newspapers. We also can relate to agency webmasters at this meeting what happens when they make a simple change in a URL, like taking it from ".Html" to ".html" (this is a real life example). We sent a message to the Webmaster when we identified the problem, but did not get a response back. Also at this time we hope to cover the rather mundane, but important issue of filling out the "3868" (Notification of Intent to Publish) completely. Recently a CD-ROM serial was distributed through the FDLP that required a password. The product is "Unit Level Logistics System Ground" or "ULLS-Ground." Not only could you not access the program, you also could not easily de-install the CD-ROM. Upon checking with the agency it was determined that this product should not have been ordered for depositories. The problem in this case was the submission of an incomplete 3868 which did not specifically identify the material as for limited distribution and that additional software would be needed to use the product. A recall is being developed for this title. In addition to agency visits and attendance at meetings such as the recent Webmasters Conference (which Duncan attended), LPS staff have been working on other outreach efforts to bring additional electronic products into the program. LPS has developed a Web form for agencies to use to advise GPO when products or sites are changed. It is entitled "Internet Information Product Notification Form" and it has been reproduced as a handout for this Council meeting. Libraries may also wish to use this form to advise GPO of a URL change. A new circular letter, number 413, "Disseminating Electronic Government Information Products to the Public Through the Federal Depository Libraries," has just been completed. The next step is to utilize mailing lists from Customer Service, Marketing, and the Institute for Federal Printing and Publishing to distribute the letter to other agencies and to publicize electronic efforts at GPO. The URL for the new Web update form has also been included in the Circular Letter. LPS also plans to develop a marketing brochure based on the letter to further promote electronic initiatives at GPO. Browse Electronic Titles (B-Titles) Web Page Before the new Web form was released, DAB staff developed a mini-notification message for agencies when staff pointed to electronic resources on the "B-Titles" Web page. When staff point to a new site we are now attaching an e-mail message advising the agency of the specific title we are pointing to and providing the URL for the "B-Titles" page. My e-mail address is also included in case the agency has problems or concerns about LPS pointing to their site. Now that the new Web form has been released, we have also included that URL in the e-mail messages. While the response rate to these e-mail messages has been a great deal less than spectacular, there have been some responses, including a few praising our efforts and advising us they will monitor our site to be sure their new electronic products are included in the future. I've included a copy of the new Web form page, the e-mail message and a few responses in a handout which is available at the back of the room. The "B-Titles" page continues to grow, but at a much less rapid rate than it did in the first three months. As mentioned earlier, this page made its debut in June 1996 and has grown from a very modest entry of some fifty titles to its present size of over 500 listings. We recently began taking off listings that have been up for at least 3 months. These are generally monographs and older annuals. Because of problems with URLs and serial titles in the Monthly Catalog, the serials are generally being left on the list. If you haven't been to the page in some time please revisit the site. Not only has it grown in size, but additional resources have been included on the site, specifically a category entitled "Other Resources." These include database sites that are not really a title or product, but a service. The recent mounting of the FLITE database of Supreme Court cases has been included in this category. The URL for all Pathway Services pages has been reproduced for this Council session and is located with the other handouts. [http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces760.html] Another reason to visit the "B-Titles" page is to review the seven graphically intensive products converted and mounted in response to Council's concern over differing electronic formats. Each of these titles was mounted in July in PDF, JPEG, and ASCII formats. We have had some responses to the different formats, but I would appreciate additional input. Right now there is a pretty even split between preferences for the PDF and JPEG, but almost all preferred the ASCII format, mostly because of the time associated with downloading or printing of the other two formats. We will leave the link to these products off this page until the end of November and then the main link will be from the Monthly Catalog record. One final reminder on these graphically intensive products: do not attempt to download them from a slow modem if you wish to look at either of the graphic image formats. It will tie up your computer for quite a long time. New Projects Also along electronic lines, I would like to highlight three applications we are working on at the present. None of these are original concepts; to some degree they began in depository libraries and we have taken on similar projects because of requests from Council and depository librarians. The three projects are shipping lists in an electronic format, development of a survey mechanism via the Web, and an electronic item number listing for each library available via the Web. All of these applications will be available off the FDLP Administration Page. Before I describe these projects I need to publicly thank the Electronic Transition Team, former and present team members: Maggie Farrell, Raeann Dossett, Duncan Aldrich, Sandy Schwalb, Lee Morey, and Ric Davis. But most specifically, Joe Paskoski who has been instrumental in pushing me into the 21st century with Web applications for traditional services. Many of the projects we are currently working on have been started due to Joe's enthusiasm, and, of course, the library community's examples and innovations. Shipping Lists on the Federal Bulletin Board One of the most exciting projects is the posting of paper, electronic and separates shipping list information in a DBF format on the Federal Bulletin Board (FBB). This is still very much a pilot project, but we hope to develop the necessary in-house procedures to allow it to be done on a regular basis by the end of this year. The plans include posting the shipping lists on the Federal Bulletin Board on a regular basis, at least within two days of the shipping list date. And we hope to expand this project down the road to include the contractor-distributed microfiche products and shipping lists. We also hope to develop a partnership with the State University of New York at Buffalo, and with the University of Texas, Arlington to improve electronic access for the shipping lists. We hope to point to their excellent shipping list site and the label program that is currently in place. The posting of the shipping lists on the FBB should also prove helpful for this very useful and innovative service, as title information will also be included for the first time. GPO will direct libraries to the University of Texas, Arlington and the SUNY Buffalo site for the ASCII format and the label program. For this project, I request Council's assistance in reviewing the usefulness of having both sites available to the FDLP libraries in light of the commercial resources currently available and the limited resources of the FDLP for staff and funds. I had hoped to have a demo for this session, but we are still working on placement of the directory on the FBB and speaking with staff at the two Universities to set up a partnership. Additional information about this project will be relayed to Council in the near future. My thanks to the individuals and the supporting institutions for taking the initiative to develop such a program and share it with the libraries. And if you know of other services or people with specific skills to provide better service to the program libraries who should be interested in developing a partnership with Library Programs Service, please let us know. Survey Responses via Web The next time a survey is done for a product we will begin allowing response via the Web. We have developed a "Green Card" online and are interested in the community's response to this mechanism. For some time now we have been utilizing telefax for survey responses, and while this has proved more timely than the mailing back of the surveys, it still requires keying in of the green cards into the online system. Recent software acquisitions have allowed us to develop this new mechanism. Libraries will be advised via first class mail when a new survey is ready, and I look forward to putting the project to the test (I love to key green cards!). Item Number Profiles on GPO Web Site The third project I'd like to discuss has perhaps the greatest implications of the three in that it could eliminate the need to send out item number listings and sending in of green cards to add and deselect products. GPO staff are working on an item number listing that will allow libraries to see their item selection profile on the Web site and pull down that information in an electronic format. As most of you know, the current process of obtaining an item number listing of your library's profile requires you to request the printout if we are not in the midst of the update cycle. And while we have been sending an individual library's profile on a diskette, this has been done on an extremely limited basis because the process is not automated. Staff that pull this information from the mainframe are responsible for so many other duties at the same time. When this project is ready for testing, I will advise Council and I look forward to your specific responses to this service. It has a future potential of eliminating not only the green card keyboarding, but also the stuffing and mailing of printouts to the libraries. All libraries will be able to access their profile at any time. New CD-ROM Products Before I leave electronics for the more traditional services I'd like to cover some of the new CD-ROM products in the program. The SSA on CD-ROM was distributed to libraries in August, three years after it was surveyed. It has many products in addition to the POMS that was originally surveyed, including the Social Security Handbook, Social Security Rulings, and Acquiescence Rulings. These additional products are what caused the shorts for the initial release of the product. It is important to remember that each issue cumulates, and therefore supersedes the previous month's issue. USAPAT came into GPO before the survey could be done, thus many libraries that would not have selected it had they been surveyed received the first couple of shipments before they deselected the item number. This product was originally going to be included with the FBIS Survey, 96-003. But with three to five CD-ROMs per week arriving and no warehouse space to store the titles until the survey could be completed, we sent the material directly out to the libraries under an item number split. Since we began sending out the CD-ROMs we have had many requests for a user guide or manual. The agency recently contacted LPS to advise us there is a users manual, but they did not intend to reprint it soon. LPS will obtain a copy and reprint it at our cost for distribution to those libraries that still select USAPAT. FBIS on CD-ROM will be distributed to libraries this fall. We surveyed for it during the month of September, but have extended the survey period due to a low item selection rate from the libraries. Recently I sent a notice to GOVDOC-L advising libraries to reconsider adding this highly useful and valuable product to their collection, but a minimal number of libraries responded. 583 libraries have selected this item number for their library. This product should prove to be an extremely popular, well-used product, but it appears most public and community college libraries did not select this title during the survey. Earlier this month it was announced that the "Government Reports Announcements and Index" was being discontinued by the publisher. The 1994 and 1995 cumulative indices will not be produced at this time. NTIS is in the process of developing a new product, "OrderNow" on CD-ROM. This is a cooperative publication that must be self-sustaining to recover the costs of producing the product. Current plans do not include distribution to the FDLP libraries at the present time. LPS is talking to NTIS to find a way to have this product included in the program. This summer GPO was advised by GSA that the GSA FAR/FIRMR on CD-ROM was no longer going to be produced by GPO, but by NTIS. Several subsequent meetings between GPO staff and GSA were held to bring the issues into focus, including the price differences between the NTIS and GPO products and the services GPO could provide in setting up a Web page for the FAR. A letter was sent from the Public Printer to GSA, but it appears the project has already gone forward with NTIS. We spoke with staff at NTIS to be sure that NTIS knows the depository libraries will continue to need copies of the FAR on CD-ROM and the specific number of copies that we need for distribution to all libraries currently selecting this item number. Staff at NTIS have advised me the depository copies will be forthcoming and verified the total quantity needed for distribution. Lastly, for new physically distributed electronic products, I need to raise the recent problems for the NTDB on CD-ROM, Beta disc. I apologize for the confusion in getting the test disc to the libraries late and without the necessary instructions. Sometimes when we try to do a service such as this it works out and sometimes it doesn't. Despite the confusion and mix-ups, I hope you had a chance to test drive the new software. When the disc moves to a production version, hopefully with the November issue, libraries will receive the old and new version for only one month, then only the Windows version will be distributed to the libraries. The libraries will not be given a choice as the DOS version will only be available through January 1997. Beginning in February, only the Windows version will be available. The new software provides a more user friendly graphical interface than the DOS version. The new product's searching capability is far superior to the old version's. The search engine on the Windows version is the same as the NTDB on the online STAT-USA service. And the new version allows a search across the entire database on the CD-ROM. Finally, the new CD-ROM utilizes an operating system that is more in line with current products and programs that are being produced today. Other Electronic Products The Census Bureau's Subscription Service is still available to all at no charge via the Web site, but the new date for the service to convert to a charge service is January 1997. I confirmed again that Census intends to provide access to Federal depository libraries at no charge to the library. They are still working on the specifics of the charging mechanism, but assure us we will have access for all depository libraries. LPS is pursuing discussions with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for access to their fee-based online database. Portions of their information are available on the Web site at no charge to libraries, but recent information is not available except through the Direct Access Program database. We are attempting to gain access to this paid database for the libraries and I will advise Council on how this discussion proceeds. Item Selection Printouts I would like to update Council on the services the Depository Administration Branch has traditionally provided to the libraries of the Federal Depository Library Program. New item selection printouts that reflect the changes made during the update cycle were mailed to the libraries the week of October 7 - October 11, 1996. The printout replaces the "Amendments to Item Selection" report that was usually sent to libraries in late August. Recent programming changes for the Lighted Bin System caused problems with this report. As many libraries have placed requests for an updated printout, we hope this action proves helpful to the libraries. US FaxWatch Early this fall, LPS was notified of a space problem on the US FaxWatch service. The shipping lists on FaxWatch were cut to thirty days, rather than sixty days. We advised the libraries of the problem as soon as we were notified. Because of the popularity of this service, we are in the process of upgrading the memory of the FaxWatch to again allow shipping lists to be maintained for sixty days. Remember, we also load surveys on the system. When we do the next survey, libraries will be able to obtain a copy in one of three ways: 1) via 1st class mail, 2) via FaxWatch, and 3) via the Web off the FDLP Administration page. Bound Congressional Record Because of delays in the Bindery, the bound Serial Set and Congressional Record are still running behind schedule. Gil discussed the Bound Serial Set and it is my pleasure to update you on the bound Congressional Record. The last volumes of the bound Congressional Record distributed to the libraries were the Indices for the 101st Congress, second session on shipping list 96-0044-S. The bound Congressional Record will continue to be distributed to Regional libraries and one library in each state for those without a regional through the 104th Congress. Beginning with the 105th Congress, GPO has been directed to produce and distribute a CD-ROM product for the material in the bound Congressional Record. GPO staff in Production and Congressional Printing Management continue to work on the specifics for this problem. Council will be advised when additional information is available. Congressional Printing Management Division is working with the Joint Committee on Printing to revise the distribution list for the bound Congressional Record in paper format. Although the House Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, FY 1997, directs GPO to discontinue distribution of the bound Congressional Record to the limited number of depository libraries that now receive the set, the required steps have not yet been taken to implement this limited distribution. One final word on the bound Congressional Record. The House appropriations language made no mention of the microfiche version of the bound Congressional Record, hence the bound Record in microfiche will be continued for the foreseeable future for all libraries. Microfiche In DAB we continue to work on a backlog of titles to convert from paper to microfiche. Please continue to bear with us in this area. The backlogs for agency supplied microfiche have been caught up for NASA, FBIS, and GAO titles. We are focusing on preparing and sending the 1994 Federal Reserve Home Mortgage Disclosure Data out to the contractor. And we have now received the 1995 fiche, so when the 1994 is done, we will move right into the 1995 issues. Our full-service microfiche contractors continue to have problems, thus further delaying the conversion of documents from paper to microfiche. We do random inspection of microfiche, but we currently have an open position for an inspector. Michele Harris, our new Supervisory Micrographics Technician, has followed up on the problems the libraries have been finding. Presently there are no contractors in default, but two of the three major contractors have been issued Notices of Quality Defect. Term Contracts and the Quality Assurance sections continue to work with Micrographics staff to monitor the full-service microfiche contracts. Many claims have been made by libraries for materials distributed by Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), for materials included in defaulted contract 823-S (bound Congressional Record in microfiche) and for documents included in several of the last print orders under contract 562 (Senate and House Committee Prints, Reports, and Documents). LPS has received 393 claims for 1312 titles that need to be sent to depository libraries. We have collected the claims and will be sending them out for replication and we plan to ship them to the libraries by the end of the year. Depository Administration Branch Operations I'd also like to address Council on the current mix of services being done by DAB staff. As in the libraries, our staff continues to decrease, but additional duties seem to be ever on the increase. We have come a long way from a year ago, or even six months ago, in the acquisition of equipment to assist staff in identifying electronic resources for the FDLP, including new computers for all DAB staff. We have added additional Internet access points and acquired new software to assist in checking URLs and developing pages with HTML code. Staff are becoming more familiar with the Internet, and additional staff members are being trained on Internet "mining" techniques. DAB staff have begun implementing conversion of titles from microfiche to electronic format. We are beginning with materials sent for microfiche conversion and/or duplicated on CD-ROMs, such as telephone directories and newsletters that are available in an electronic online format. There have also been some monographs that we have pointed to, but not distributed in a tangible format. In many ways I am glad I did not have to relay to Council the number of paper titles that we would have had to discontinue distributing if the interagency agreement with STAT-USA had gone through earlier this summer. As things stand now there still continue to be many resources that are sent in multiple formats, including the World FactBook, the Country Studies, Background Notes, and Dispatch. Fugitive Documents DAB staff continue to receive inquiries on fugitive documents. The first step we now take in responding to these inquiries is to check if the product is available online. If it is, we point to the product from the "B-Titles" page. For those titles that have been part of the program in the past, or that look like they would meet "hot topic" requests for specific subjects, or that look like they would meet reference needs, we contact the agency to determine if the agency has sufficient paper copies for depository distribution to the libraries. For fugitives which are dated, or which have traditionally converted to a microfiche format, or for which the agency does not have sufficient copies, the entry point into the FDLP is via the "B-Titles" page and cataloging into the Monthly Catalog for the online format. We continue to rely on the assistance of depository librarians to help direct us to the most important resources in the very large field of online products that are currently available via the Internet. To summarize, I seek Council's assistance in reviewing the graphically intensive files located off the "B-Titles" page. LPS also would like Council to review both the shipping list online project and the item number listing project when they are ready for testing. I look forward to your responses and thank you for your time this morning.