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
 
ASSESSMENT OF STANDARDS
 
        The FDLP Study concluded that the use of electronic Government
information products can be enhanced by the greater utilization of
standards in the creation and dissemination of information.  Therefore,
GPO proposed an Assessment of Standards for Creation and Dissemination of
Electronic Government Information through a joint effort with the National
Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS).  The NCLIS agreed
to this approach and recently an interagency agreement for the conduct of
this study, at a cost of $200,000, to be paid out of current year Salaries
and Expenses Appropriation funds, was approved by the Joint Committee on
Printing.
 
        For the successful implementation of a more electronic FDLP,
additional information about future agency publishing plans is needed, as
well as an expert evaluation of the cost-effectiveness and usefulness of
various electronic formats that may be utilized for depository library
dissemination or access.  The Government produces an enormous quantity and
variety of information.  The standards best suited for one type of 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, and to develop recommended
standards for each major type of Government information product in order
to facilitate the exchange and use of that information.
 
        To accomplish this, we need to know the range of formats Federal
agencies currently use in the creation and dissemination of information
and to assess the de facto or actual standards that are in use for each
major type of data.  We also need to identify areas where there is no
standardization, or such limited standardization that the effect is
virtually the same.  Finally, we need to evaluate standards utilized by
private sector and other non-governmental publishers.  This information
will provide the basis for an assessment, in consultation with the
depository library community, of the usefulness and cost-effectiveness of
various electronic formats for depository library dissemination or access.
It will also be the basis for a dialog with NARA, NCLIS, the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and others with an interest
in establishing and promulgating Government-wide standards for information
creation and dissemination.