ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program Vol. 18, no. 04 GP 3.16/3-2:18/04 February 28, 1997 MICHAEL F. DIMARIO PUBLIC PRINTER PREPARED STATEMENT BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON APPROPRIATIONS ESTIMATES FOR FISCAL YEAR 1998 February 11, 1997 TRANSITIONING THE FDLP TO A MORE ELECTRONIC BASIS Section 210 of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act for FY 1996 required GPO to conduct a study to identify measures necessary for a successful transition to a more electronic FDLP. In response to the direction from this Subcommittee for broad consultation on the study, GPO formed a group comprising representatives from GPO, the Joint Committee on Printing, the Senate and House Appropriations Committees, the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, the House Oversight Committee, the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, the Office of Management and Budget, the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration, federal publishing agencies, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the depository library community, and others. The study was completed in March 1996 and issued as a draft document for a public comment period of 60 days. The final report, titled "Study to Identify Measures Necessary for a Successful Transition to a More Electronic Federal Depository Library Program," was submitted to Congress, including this Subcommittee, in June 1996. Preliminary Transition Plan Separately, a document titled "The Electronic Federal Depository Library Program: Transition Plan, FY 1996 - FY 1998" was developed by GPO and included with our FY 1997 appropriations request. We discussed it before this Subcommittee last year. The budget-driven Transition Plan had to be completed prior to much of the work on the Study due to the timetable for annual budget submissions. This early version envisioned an aggressive approach to changing the FDLP to a predominately electronic program in 2.5 years. The Transition Plan was useful in eliciting public comment on these issues, and several major themes surfaced. The first of these was that a 2.5-year transition period was too rapid and exceeded the ability of the depository libraries, the publishing agencies, and the public to properly use or support this volume of electronic information. Input from publishing agencies and depository libraries indicated that a 5-to-7 year transition would be more realistic and cost-effective since it would allow GPO to change to electronic information as rapidly as the publishing agencies could produce it and the libraries could absorb it. It would be substantially more costly for GPO to convert agency print publications to electronic formats than it would be to work in partnership with the agencies, assisting them in accelerating their own electronic publishing initiatives. Second, the needs of users for appropriate information product formats, suited to the intended audience and usage of the products, may have been undervalued. And third, the 2.5-year Transition Plan did not incorporate adequate measures to ensure permanent preservation of and public access to electronic information products. The public comments in response to the Transition Plan led directly to the development of the Strategic Plan that was included in the June 1996 Study Report. Study Report Strategic Plan The Strategic Plan included in the final Study Report proposes a more gradual transition during the period FY 1996-FY 2001. The Strategic Plan builds on the strengths of the existing program and will move the FDLP toward a significantly greater electronic information dissemination and access program. The Plan reflects the views and advice of the library community, Federal publishing agencies, and users of Government information. Under the Strategic Plan, the FDLP will provide official Government information products in a variety of formats to depository libraries. Incorporating electronic Government information into the FDLP will augment the traditional distribution of tangible products with connections to Government electronic information services such as Internet sites. Electronic information will be accessible to the public directly or through depository libraries from a system of Government electronic information services administered by GPO, other Government agencies, or institutions acting as agents for the Government. The FDLP will identify and connect users to electronic information services of other agencies or, when appropriate, obtain electronic source files from agencies for mounting on GPO Access. Tangible Government information products will be distributed to libraries, including CD-ROMs, diskettes, paper, or microfiche, as appropriate to the needs of users and intended usage. The FDLP will ensure that electronic Government information products are maintained for permanent public access, in the same spirit in which regional depositories provide permanent access to print products. This requires the development of a system which includes all of the institutional program stakeholders: information-producing agencies, GPO, depository libraries, and the National Archives and Records Administration. Effective public use of Government information, especially in the less-structured environment of the Internet, depends on the ability of users to identify and locate the desired information. Through continuation of its cataloging services, and the development of Pathway information locator services, the FDLP will meet this need. Funding Requirements Significant progress toward a more electronic FDLP can be made by the end of FY 1998 with essentially flat funding. For the out years, FY 1999 and beyond, there are too many variables involved to accurately project program funding requirements at this time. Our FY 1998 funding request assumes that some FDLP expenses, especially those associated with acquiring and shipping printed products, will decline as the use of electronic information dissemination technologies increases. Cost savings in the FDLP under the transition plan will support no-charge use of the GPO Access services for depository libraries and the general public. However, there will be offsetting increases in other areas, such as expanding the capacity of the GPO Access service, acquiring and converting electronic source data files, and CD-ROM licensing fees. Study Conclusions Two major conclusions emerged from the study. The first was strong support for retaining the authority for a broad-based public information program in the legislative branch. Nearly all of the participants felt that this model has served the public well. High value was placed on the presence of the FDLP in every congressional district to directly serve the public in local library settings. There was also strong support for having a single entity in the Superintendent of Documents to coordinate library-related information dissemination activities. The depository library community has consistently affirmed the utility and cost-effectiveness of a "one stop shopping" approach to acquiring Government information. The study participants agreed that it is not only possible but desirable to increase the dissemination of electronic information to depository libraries within the overall structure of current law and program operations, and that having a central entity to assist libraries and the public in accessing electronic Government information in a distributed environment is more vital now than ever.