Two appointments have been made in the new Information Dissemination/ Superintendent of Documents organization: Ric Davis as Director of the Program Development Service and Sheila McGarr as Director of the Collections Management Service. Offers are pending for the directors of Program Planning and Coordination and Library and Customer Relations and should be announced shortly. Postings for vacancies in the next tier of positions will be available before the end of January and notice will be sent to a number of lists as well as posted on the USAJobs and Monster.com Web sites.

Browse Topics is an important tool that provides users with topical pathfinders to U.S. Government information. Recently, GPO and its partner, Oklahoma State University, have teamed up to examine and enhance the Browse Topics application. A prototype is being demonstrated at the GPO booth (#251). GPO is currently gathering feedback from the library community on ways we can improve the service. Please take some time to stop by the GPO booth to view the proposal and provide feedback.

The spring meeting of the Depository Library Council to the Public Printer will be held in St. Louis, MO, from April 18-21. Discussion will focus on "the facts" from GPO's data gathering, input from the Depository Library Council and the community, GAO report, etc. GPO is seeking concurrence on the facts from all constituencies before beginning to develop the strategic plan for the future of GPO and FDLP. The main issues include: authentication of government information, preservation of information for future generations, version control, and the training of depository library staff to deal with new technologies.

Nominations for five new Council members for the fall meeting are now being accepted. GPO invites library organizations to submit nominations and also encourages nominations from interested individuals. To submit a nomination, contact Judith C. Russell, Superintendent of Documents, at jrussell@gpo.gov, or fax nominations to (202) 512-1434.

The 17th Annual Interagency Depository Seminar will be held in Washington, DC from June 2-9, 2004. The weeklong seminar, which is considered invaluable by new depository staff who have attended, presents an overview of various agencies' information products and activities as they relate to Federal depository libraries. Register online by March 29 at <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/tools/04interagency_reg.html>. Space is limited so be sure to sign up early.

Applications for the 2004 Federal Depository Library of the Year Award may be submitted at <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/04dlofyear.html>. The award provides recognition for a library that furthers the goals of the Federal Depository Library Program by ensuring that the American public has free access to its Government's information. Service, community programs, and leadership in areas affecting Federal Government information are the primary criteria.

The 2003 Biennial Survey of Depository Libraries was conducted from November 5 through December 5, 2003. 1,243 of the 1,279 depositories responded by the closing date. By law, the GPO must conduct the survey every two years to ascertain conditions in the libraries and each library is required to submit a response to the survey. Libraries that have not submitted their survey must do so by contacting staff in Depository Services at (202) 512-1119, or by e-mailing Robin Haun-Mohamed at rhaun-mohamed@gpo.gov.

GPO will circulate a draft plan for the collection of last resort prior to the spring Council meeting. GPO is waiting for additional input from Council and the regional libraries before issuing the draft plan.

GPO has acquired the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion for the collection. An acquisitions team has also found a treasure trove of old documents for the collection in GPO's basement storage areas. GPO continues to explore the possibility of acquiring other materials, including the Serial Set.

GPO is well underway in its efforts to implement Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology that will include the use of digital signatures for Congressional and other information made available through GPO Access. This will help ensure the protection of data against unauthorized modification or substitution of information. It will also enable GPO customers to verify the authenticity and integrity of the information they are using from GPO Access, now and in the future. Customers will be able to confirm that information was approved for submission to GPO by the appropriate Federal agency and that it has not been altered since it was signed.

Work has recently been completed on a Certificate Policy, PKI Architecture document, and Certification Practices Statement. GPO has procured hardware/ software and PKI professional services to assist staff in the Chief Information Officer's (CIO's) organization on a PKI implementation.

Once this work has been completed and an audit is conducted, GPO will begin to digitally sign GPO Access files. This signing process is expected to begin in April 2004. In conjunction with this, GPO is taking steps to cross-certify its PKI with the U.S. Federal Bridge Certification Authority.

GPO continues to work on procuring a new platform to replace the WAIS search and retrieval software for GPO Access databases. Based on research conducted by GPO staff, software alternatives have been identified that meet customer functionality requirements and can provide for a transition from WAIS to XML encoded documents. Currently, staff is in the process of evaluating all of the features and advantages of the various solutions. Once a solution is selected and procured, GPO plans to migrate all WAIS databases on GPO Access to the new platform. This will help ensure continuity and ease of use throughout the site and provide greater functionality and inter-linking of data. In conjunction with our WAIS replacement efforts, GPO is planning to have network attached storage (NAS) at an Alternative Congressional Facility (ACF). This will also allow for the completion of a mirror site which will be set up based on the new platform.

The Superintendent of Documents has made a recommendation to the Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) regarding the procurement of a new ILS system, and that office will operate the ILS system on behalf of the Superintendent of Documents. The CIO organization is currently taking steps towards the acquisition of the system.

As part of ongoing efforts to provide users with the highest quality service, GPO recently launched a new customer service tool, which can be found on the "help" page at <http://www.gpoaccess.gov/help>. This tool consists of a knowledge base that contains answers to frequently asked questions related to GPO Access, the U.S. Government Online Bookstore, and the Federal Depository Library Program. The customer service tool also replaces the LostDocs and askLPS services. The added functionality of Web chat may be implemented in the near future.

Phone assistance is also available Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. eastern standard time at 888-293-6498 (toll-free) and 202-512-1530 (DC Metro area). Since October 1, 2003, there have been more than 63,000 hits on the help page, and customers have retrieved almost 11,000 answers. Additionally, nearly 12,000 customer inquiries have been submitted and answered through this service.

There is a new page at the FDLP Desktop: "Main publisher domains within the Catalog of United States Government Publications." It identifies and provides online access to approximately 1,500 main publisher domains associated with more than 40,000 online titles cataloged by GPO.

This application, available at <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/tools/domains.html>, will be updated on the first Friday of each month. It provides access via two listings, by publisher and by URL. Access is to main publisher domains only. Those who wish to identify and access individual online titles should see the "Catalog of United States Government Publications" at <http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cgp>.

GPO conducted a survey of Essential Titles for Public Use in Paper Format, seeking suggestions for additional titles to include in the list. By the end of the survey in October, 2003, 108 libraries had nominated a total of 324 titles.

All titles with three or more requests were collated for review. 43 titles had three or more requests across all categories of libraries; two of the titles were no longer active and six were already on the Essential Titles list. Law libraries requested 15 additional titles; Medium and Small Academic libraries requested six titles; Large Academic libraries requested four titles; Large Public libraries requested four titles; Small Public libraries requested one title to be added to the list. State and Other libraries and Federal libraries did not have any titles that had at least three requests.

As the number of respondents is limited, additional consultation must be done with Council before any of the recommendations will be implemented. The list of titles submitted will be made available on the Council Web page at <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/council/index.html> in the near future as we continue to work on this important project.

Training of key cataloging and acquisitions/classification staff has begun in the use of the tool set built by OCLC as part of their Digital Archive. The new tools streamline and enhance the processing of electronic publications into the Electronic Collection Archive and will greatly expand the production of metadata for preservation, integrating that process with other cataloging and classification activities. GPO was a principal participant in the design and testing phases of the Digital Archive service.

GPO is accepting proposals from regional depository libraries for a pilot project to test the concept of establishing locally based "consultants," who would be assigned responsibility for approximately 40 to 60 depository libraries in a geographic area. They would visit each of those libraries at least once per quarter, with the duration of the visit depending on the need. They would offer training and attend local, state and regional documents meetings to speak and answer questions.

The idea is to recruit from within the community people who would serve as a consultant for one to two years and then return to work in a depository library. GPO has received proposals from Michigan, North Carolina/South Carolina/Georgia, and Minnesota. Regional coordinators in California, Massachusetts, and New York have also made inquiries to host a consultant in their areas. If you wish to submit a proposal, please contact Robin Haun-Mohamed for further information at rhaun-mohamed@gpo.gov.

In June 2003, GPO and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced a compact that will allow Federal agencies to select their own commercial printers using standard contracts issued by GPO. GPO will register and qualify printers for participation in the contract and offer twenty-four hour customer and printer support, while the agencies will have authority to address performance issues directly with the printers they select. Payments will be routed through GPO to private printers, with agencies approving them before they are made, and GPO will offer additional printing procurement services on a cost recovery basis.

Under the terms of the agreement, GPO will receive an electronic copy of every publication directly from the printer for dissemination to the public. This contract condition should help eliminate the fugitive document problem and bring many more titles into the FDLP. In addition, GPO will receive two printed copies of these publications, from which GPO can create a new digital copy if future format or other usability issues occur with the original electronic copy. GPO will also have the option to create a version of the file for print-on-demand publishing.

This agreement currently is being tested through a pilot project with the Department of Labor. Since the inception of the compact, there have been 84 offers made through the compact. Twenty-six publications were selected from among the print orders submitted for inclusion in the FDLP. Those not selected were not within the scope of the FDLP.

• The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions is now available on GPO Access at <http://www.gpoaccess.gov/ua>.
• The GPO Annual Report Fiscal Year 2003 is now available online at <http://www.gpo.gov/aboutgpo/03annrep/Welcome.html>.
  • The Congressional Directory for the 108th Congress is now available on GPO Access at <http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cdirectory>.

    Search Engine Report

    The tenth iteration of GPO's Search Engine Evaluation Project has been completed. Based on the results, the 20 search engines studied returned GPO Access pages for targeted keywords in the top five search results 29% of the time, which is an increase of nearly 4% since the previous evaluation. This overall increase is an encouraging sign that the visibility of GPO Access in the major search engines is continuing to increase. However, further analysis of the results of this evaluation and current industry trends reveals several areas in need of more consideration. The full report of the Search Engine Evaluation Project can be found on the Federal Bulletin Board (FBB) at <http://fedbbs.access.gpo.gov/access.htm>.

    GPO Sales Program

    The GPO Sales Program continues to streamline its operations by reducing overhead, most recently through the ongoing consolidation of its warehouse facility in Laurel, MD. It has begun using print on demand technology to increase the long-term availability of publications and testing the capabilities of a number of vendors. Sales is also engaged in bringing its bibliographic practices more in line with those of the commercial publishing sector by exploring ONIX (Online Information Exchange), the publishing industry's standard electronic format for sharing product data with wholesale and retail booksellers, other publishers, and anyone else involved in the sale of books. ONIX will enable GPO to have Government publications listed, promoted, and sold by commercial book dealers worldwide.

    Opportunities are also being explored to initiate e-commerce consulting services, for the purpose of defining alternative solutions that will enable the U.S. Government Online Bookstore to offer the "next generation" of enhancements aimed at improving customer functionality and order processing. The Superintendent of Documents has provided a list of functionality requirements to the Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and asked that consulting services be procured.

    GPO Access Statistical Measures

    • Since 1994, GPO Access retrievals have exceeded 1.8 billion, and in October of 2003, reached a monthly high of more than 38 million retrievals.
    • The average number of monthly retrievals from GPO Access is 33 million, or over 1 million retrievals a day. The average number of monthly retrievals from GPO Access measures over 1.6 terabytes in size and is equivalent to over 808 million typewritten pages.
    • GPO Access contains over 156,000 electronic titles and points to over 103,000 others for a total of over 259,000 titles.
    • GPO Access provides use of almost 2,900 databases through more than 100 applications.

    Upcoming Outreach

    GPO Staff will be attending and displaying the GPO booth and/or conducting training at the following venues:

     

    January 22 - 24 Florida Educational Technology Conference Orlando, Florida

    February 2 - 4 Legal Tech New York, New York

    February 24 - 28 Public Library Association Seattle, Washington

    March 17 - 20 Texas Library Association San Antonio, Texas

    April 18 - 21 Depository Library Council Spring Meeting St. Louis, Missouri

    June 5 - 10 Special Libraries Association Nashville, Tennessee

    June 24 - 30 ALA Annual Conference Orlando, Florida