Administrative Notes Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program Vol. 19, no. 03 GP 3.16/3-2:19/03 January 25, 1998 Building upon the Depository Library System Model Remarks by Francis J. Buckley, Jr. Superintendent of Documents Before the Federal Documents Task Force Government Documents Round Table American Library Association Saturday, January 10, 1998 New Orleans, LA Welcome Good morning! I am pleased to be here this morning, speaking to you as the Superintendent of Documents. It is a position I never anticipated in my career, but I am grateful Mr. DiMario called on me because it certainly fulfills my longstanding professional interest to ensure effective, efficient and equitable public access to Government information. It is very interesting to be talking from "inside" GPO. I am still learning much about the agency and the U.S. Government. So far, it has been quite a fascinating journey. In my first two weeks, I have had the opportunity to sign Interagency Agreements (IAs) with the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). Our agreement with the DOE will enable their technical reports to be accessed by depository libraries via GPO Access. The NTIS agreement is for the continuation of the pilot on-demand digital image distribution program. Sandy Schwalb will discuss both of these projects in more detail, but I also wanted to mention a joint marketing pilot project that is in the works between GPO and NTIS. Each agency will supply to the other a list of 20 information products that are not available in the other's sales program. The concept is that GPO and NTIS will take orders for these materials and then pass those orders on to the other agency for fulfillment. As Superintendent of Documents I oversee, as you know, three main programs for public access to Government information; the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), GPO Access and the Sales Service. I want to ensure that these complementary programs are coordinated to provide effective public access to information in tangible and electronic media, to provide for permanent public access to the information, and to enable individuals to purchase popular materials for personal use at low cost. I am pleased to note that the Federal Depository Library Program is now supplying 1366 libraries across the country with nearly 13 million copies of approximately 30,000 titles per year. Those of you who know my background may remember I was the regional depository librarian at the Detroit Public Library. I am reliving those days again as I have made myself a regional depository to see all the print products we are distributing to depository libraries. GPO Access continues to grow by leaps and bounds. T.C. Evans will provide more details about the program, but I did want to mention that in October, 1997 we saw record use of the system. Over 8 million documents were downloaded from GPO Access. Just recently, the Biennial Report to Congress on the Status of GPO Access was completed. It is a depository item and you will be receiving it in the near future. The Sales Program is functioning well, although the volume of new titles being published is diminishing. The program includes about 10,000 titles, about half of which are individual issues of dated periodicals of some 400 subscription items. The program operated in the black in 1997. Approximately 69% of the customers in FY 1997 were businesses, 24% were private individuals, and 9% were government and academic users [adds up to more than 100% because some customers are counted in more than one category]. The Program handled 447,000 orders and generated $70,490,000 in revenue. The order desks answered 326,000 telephone calls. In addition to touring the telephone and mail order sections at Main GPO, I've toured the what seemed like miles of shelves of publications at the Laurel warehouse, attended the opening of a relocated bookstore in Denver and had the chance to visit the Pueblo bookstore and the Consumer Information Center in Pueblo that we manage for the General Services Administration. All in all, it has been quite a learning curve. I am most pleased, however, to be able to continue being a spokesperson for comprehensive, equitable public access to Government information, something I have advocated throughout my library career. In my new role, I expect to work closely with the depository community, with which I have very strong ties, to ensure that the Federal Depository Library Program will be strong and viable into the next century. FDLP Partners A guiding principle in our planning for an electronic future is the assumption that partners, libraries, agencies, non-profits, and consortia will share the tasks of building, storing, disseminating and preserving the collection of FDLP electronic resources, building upon the depository library system model. Several partnerships have been forged in recent years that will help to ensure permanent online accessibility for electronic Government information products. FDLP partnerships are official agreements between GPO and one or more individuals, depository libraries and/or U.S. Government agencies in joint projects which benefit the public and the depository program. There are three types of partnerships: 1. Content Partnerships -- In Content Partnerships a partner institution hosts part of the FDLP Electronic Collection for free use by the public. One of the first content partnerships established was between the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) and the Department of State. UIC provides permanent access for files removed from the active main web pages of the State Department. 2. Service Partnerships -- These partners offer services which assist documents librarians and GPO in the administration of the depository program. In this case, the State University of New York at Buffalo and the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries are working together on the enhanced shipping list service through which one can: * View and print shipping lists in item number, SuDocs number, or title order * Search Shipping lists for title keywords, items and SuDocs numbers * Automatically check the inclusion list against shipping lists and print call number labels for your library * Obtain information and instructions pertaining to the Label service 3. GPO Access Gateways -- Gateways provide expanded accessibility to the information available in GPO with interpretive and instructional content developed by Gateway partners for their specific clienteles, a variety of alternatives for structuring searches and viewing results, and local low- or no-cost connections for dial-up users. In addition, Gateways assist GPO by providing input in development and refinement of electronic products and services. Over the next two days, Sandy Schwalb and George Barnum of the Electronic Transition Staff will provide more details about other partnerships in which GPO has become involved. Letter to Library Directors As for that electronic future, in late November, the Public Printer sent a letter to the directors of all of the depository libraries. I was pleased that he took the opportunity, at that time, to introduce me as the new Superintendent. But what was key in the letter was that he addressed concerns that have been raised in the depository community about how fast the transition to a more electronic FDLP was taking place. Mr. DiMario made it clear that for the foreseeable future, a significant amount of print products would continue to be distributed to depositories. When a Federal publishing agency produces a title in paper and it is available to GPO in paper, we will acquire copies for library distribution even if an alternative electronic version available. Under law, this is what GPO is authorized to do, and we plan to continue in this manner until Congress provides another direction. In most cases, we are also making the electronic version available. We believe that the electronic transition should proceed based on: * the actions of the publishing agency * cost-effectiveness * usability of the information The entire text of the Public Printer's letter appears in the December 15, 1997 issue of Administrative Notes (Vol. 18, no. 16). IPS At the Fall Depository Library Council meeting, Jay Young talked about the Integrated Processing System (IPS) that has been in the works for many years in our Sales Program. IPS will replace over 20 mainframe legacy systems, dating back to the 1970s, and put in place a state-of-the-art, customer-oriented business system. IPS should greatly improve customer service and document delivery by using one central database for transactions to streamline the ordering process. It will utilize scanning and imaging technology to record orders. It will improve research, inventory management and forecasting tools, and it will have state-of-the-art warehouse management technology. We foresee this will enhance marketing opportunities for the Sales Program. We are anxious to get it underway. We had thought that it would go live this past November, but are now looking at implementation in late March. This will give the Sales staff adequate time for testing, training and eventually, implementation. We want to be sure that all phases of IPS are ready for use before hitting that button that says, "Go." Although the system will initially focus on the ordering process and GPO bookstores we expect to go beyond the Sales Service to other areas. A year or so after implementation we will evaluate the possible integration of other existing legacy systems in Library Programs Service and move them off the mainframe and into an integrated client-server environment. Stay tuned! NCLIS assessment Another project I had been watching from the sidelines is now one in which I will be closely involved. As many of you know from previous updates, the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) entered into an IA with GPO to conduct an "Assessment of Electronic Government Information Products." We are seeking information about the standards and mediums being used or which agencies plan to use for electronic dissemination. NCLIS is in the process of signing an agreement with a contractor to undertake research and data collection from Federal agencies in all three branches as well as solicit opinions from selected knowledgeable experts. The contractor will also be required to complete an analysis of the data and opinions and produce a final report. We are planning for a draft of that report to be available to the Depository Library Council in advance of the October 1998 meeting. Expansion of Collection Management Concept I am very pleased with the development of the collection management concept now underway. It is analogous to a collection development plan found in your libraries. I understand this concept originated with Duncan Aldrich while he was working at GPO. The original idea for a GPO "Collection Plan" began with a focus on the electronic products residing on GPO Access. After much internal discussion about the plan, we have expanded the idea of the "FDLP Collection" to encompass not only those products residing on GPO Access, but also those electronic products residing with partner institutions and the tangible products that are housed in depository libraries. Gil Baldwin will discuss the FDLP Electronic Collection concepts in more detail. In the future, I would like to take this idea a step further and expand the concept to consider those titles that are selected for the sales program, but of course with permanent access to this material provided through the FDLP. Indeed, I envision at some point collection management responsibilities will be in all areas of Documents; EIDS, LPS and the Sales Service. I would also like to look at broadening the sales collection beyond its traditional borders, but recognizing that the program must continue to be self-sustaining. Conclusion I am pleased to have had this opportunity to talk to you this morning. This is but the start of my dialog with you on how we can work together to improve our systems for public access to Government information speaking from my new position as Superintendent of Documents. I am looking forward to exciting future developments in the program.