ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES
                Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program
 
 
 
Vol. 18, no. 03 GP 3.16/3-2:18/03       February 15, 1997
 
 
 
 
Summary of the Interagency Agreement
between the
U.S. Government Printing Office
and the
U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science
 
        Following approval by the Joint Committee on Printing, the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO) and the U.S. National Commission on
Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) entered into an Interagency
Agreement (IA) under which NCLIS will conduct an Assessment of Standards
for Creation and Dissemination of Electronic Government Information
Products.
 
        Under the terms of the assessment, NCLIS will be responsible for
the development of a Statement of Work defining the steps to be taken to
conduct the assessment.  Using its independent contracting authority,
NCLIS will then be responsible for the tasks necessary to produce the
assessment.  The information gathered by NCLIS will be used to help
improve public access to Government information made available to the
Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) and the general public.  It is
fitting that NCLIS conduct this assessment since, as an independent
Executive Branch agency, it is charged by law (P.L. 91-345) to advise the
President, Congress, State and local governments and others on national
and international policies and plans for library and information services.
 
        The need for an evaluation of the use of standards during the life
cycle of Federal Government information products is widely recognized.
This was one issue addressed in the Study to Identify Measures Necessary
for a Successful Transition to a More Electronic Federal Depository
Library Program, released by GPO in June 1996.  The Study Report
recognized that in order to effectively implement a more electronic FDLP,
the Congress, GPO and the library community need additional information
about future agency publishing plans, the cost-effectiveness of various
electronic formats that may be utilized for depository library
dissemination and public access, and the usefulness of Government
information products to the public.
 
        The Study Report identified NCLIS as an appropriate partner to
work with GPO in assessing the many standards used within and outside of
the Federal Government.  In a resolution passed in July 1996, its
commissioners directed NCLIS "to proceed with a study which will
facilitate improved public access to government information."
Subsequently, GPO and NCLIS began developing the Interagency Agreement.
 
        The assessment will identify standard formats most appropriate for
product creation and dissemination, and assess the cost-effectiveness and
usefulness of various electronic formats.  An additional goal is the
identification and utilization of public and private electronic
information product standards that are or might be used for creation and
dissemination of electronic Government information products.
 
        It is a fact that the U.S.  Federal Government produces an
enormous quantity and variety of information.  The standards best suited
for one type of product or data may be substantially less suited, or even
entirely inappropriate, for another.  Consequently, there is no single
standard in which all Government information products can, or should, be
created or disseminated.  Nevertheless, it is in the best interests of the
Government, and those who use Government information, to achieve a greater
degree of standardization than now exists.
 
NCLIS was established in 1970 as a permanent, independent agency of the
Federal Government.