Online Articles by Oklahoma Depository Library Staff
HomeFederal Government Information in Transition: Current Situation, Problems and Opportunities
Steve Beleu, ODL; Suzanne Holcombe, OSU
OLA 2001
See Steve's Search Engine guide in Word Format.
For those of you who are not familiar with the U.S. Government Printing Office's Federal Depository Library Program, it is system of libraries throughout the U.S. which receive tangible (paper, CD-ROM, etc.) copies of select federal government agency publications. There are 20 depository libraries in Oklahoma. Steve and I are from the two regional depository libraries that collect 100% of what is distributed through the program. The other libraries collect a certain percentage of materials.
We are splitting this talk into two parts. I will address the issues at play in the great transition of federal government information from tangible to electronic format. Steve will then show how libraries can use this to their advantage by using search engines set up specifically to locate federal information on the Web.
Every year the Journal of Government Information publishes an issue that reviews notable federal government documents. This year, for the first time, over one-half of the publications selected for this issue are available either exclusively or additionally on the Web. This is in large part due to the percent of U.S. Government depository items online. 60% of all federal government publications are now available on the Web. As the Internet has revolutionized access to information, Federal agencies are taking advantage of this and are making more and more of their information available online.
This is both positive and negative in its impact. Materials online can be accessed from any workstation with Internet access, but federal materials on the Web can be difficult to locate (buried in agency Web sites, in .pdf, here today gone tomorrow) and are often more difficult to use than the paper format. Also, as mentioned in a report that we'll come to shortly, other challenges include ensuring that these documents are (1) authentic, (2) permanently maintained (and tracked), and (3) equally accessible to all individuals. Public access to federal information is key ingredient of our democracy: we need to ensure that this continues to be the case.
Impact on U.S. GPO
In 1993 Congress passed Public Law 103-40: the Government Printing Office Electronic Information Enhancement Act of 1993, an initiative to make government materials available electronically (mostly in CD-ROM format at this point). Since then, the U.S. House has been anxious to continue to cut the U.S. GPO's budget, due to the misconception that materials in electronic format are much cheaper to produce.GPO suffered a 4% cut in appropriations last year, an improvement over the House's original plan for a 25% cut. The Federal Depository Library Program sustained a 6% or $2 million cut. Cutbacks will most likely be attempted each year. There is a general lack of knowledge on Capitol Hill about what the Federal Depository Library Program is and does.
In response, GPO has recently instituted the Federal Depository Library Program Electronic Collection, a fairly comprehensive digital library of U.S. Government information, drawn from a wide variety of sources. http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/ec/index.html It includes:
1. GPO Access, core legislative and regulatory publications that reside on GPO servers (119,000 titles).
2. Products directly managed for other agencies on GPO servers (84,000 titles).
3. It also includes products identified, etc. by GPO but residing on agency servers and tangible electronic products distributed to or only available to Federal Depository Libraries (Stat-USA, etc.).GPO does provide locator tools for this material, but there is not one central tool to do this. So the tracking all of the electronic materials continues to be a challenge. The search engines that Steve will mention will help here.
GPO has also created a list of "Essential Titles for Public Use in Paper Format." It includes titles of 42 publications that GPO is committed to keeping available for selection in paper format by depository libraries as long as those titles continue to be issued in paper by the publishing agency. In sum, GPO is doing its best to keep up with this transition, but the agency is in turmoil. It will be affected and its future determined by Congress and major studies and initiatives that are taking place. Oklahoma librarians who attended the spring Depository meeting in San Antonio reported that GPO is waiting to see what the new administration will decide as to budgets, appointments, etc.
U.S. Government Initiatives
The approach by the federal government as a whole to make information available electronically is termed "e-government." Web sites such as the e-government project and e-government--the Next American Revolution look at reduced costs and greater access to information and services via technology. And the U.S. Government has sponsored FirstGov, a search engine for locating U.S. Government information on the Web. http://www.firstgov.gov/e-Government project
http://www.senate.gov/~gov_affairs/egov/
Electronic government is an opportunity to take advantage of the increased productivity and reduced costs that can be achieved using Internet-based technology. Even better, e-Government can enhance the citizen's access to government information and services, and can provide new ways to increase citizen participation in the democratic process.e-Government, The Next American Revolution
Intergovernmental Technology Leadership Consortium
http://www.excelgov.org/techcon/egovex/index.htm
Blueprint of the product of an unprecedented 14-month effort launched and led by the Council for Excellence in Government. Spans public, private, nonprofit, and research sectors..Congress: GAO Report
Last year, Congress mandated that the U.S. GAO study the impact of providing government documents solely in electronic format. This March, GAO released the report Information Management: Electronic Dissemination of Government Publications. It also studies the feasibility of transferring the FDLP to the Library of Congress.The report summarizes that to move to an environment in which documents are disseminated solely in electronic format, a number of challenges would need to be overcome. These challenges include ensuring that these documents are (1) authentic, (2) permanently maintained, and (3) equally accessible to all individuals. In addition, certain cost issues - including the effect of shifting printing costs to depository libraries and end users - would need to be addressed.
As to transferring the FDLP to LC, this has been studied before, and there are both advantages and disadvantages. The FDLP is somewhat consistent with the mission and functions of LC and a transfer could facilitate the development of government-wide solutions to issues surrounding the acquisition, management, and dissemination of electronic documents. Disadvantages include public access to information, lack of funds to manage the program, etc.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d01428.pdf
Congress: NCLIS Report
The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) has also released this March the final report: A Comprehensive Assessment of Public Information Dissemination. Initially asked by Congress to study the Commerce Department's decision to close NTIS (clearinghouse for technical government information), this report is the resulting document.The report has 36 recommendations, the first of which is that the U.S. Government formally recognize and affirm that public information is a strategic national resource. The second recommendation is to establish a new agency, the Public Information Resources Administration (PIRA). Unfortunately, the Bush Administration's recent 2002 budget has zeroed out NCLIS.
http://www.nclis.gov/govt/assess/assess.htmlPrivate Sector
The private sector too is playing a role, although it takes a slightly different view. Meanwhile, the private sector is criticizing the government, as, because of new technologies, it can and is now competing with them for profit (e.g. IRS tax preparation software, USPS eBillPay program, etc.). The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), published in October 2000 The Role of Government in a Digital Age. This study written by three leading U.S. economists is an independent analysis of the appropriate role for government in an information economy, or, what services the government should and should not be providing on-line. They claim that government must abide by existing policies that outline the core principles surrounding dissemination of government information: Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, OMB Circulars A-76 and A-130. The Report "proposes a major review of how government agencies are participating in the new Internet economy - and to serve as a blueprint that will help policymakers determine the proper role for the government’s online offerings."
http://www.ccianet.org/digitalgovstudy/main.htmlThe Software Information Industry Association (SIIA) takes a similar stance. They report that the public is not served when the government is the only source of public information. Private information disseminators must play a role because of the vast amount of information available, the value that they can add to the information, etc.
http://www.siia.net/govt/issues.aspConclusion
So there are numerous factors at play here - a number of studies and initiatives in progress, both government and private. We can only keep abreast of them to see what direction they take and continue to support public access to information. And therefore as to the future of the Depository Program, there is not yet an answer. Materials presented by agencies will continue to be more and more electronic in nature, and GPO will do its best to keep up with them for the moment. At the spring Depository meeting in San Antonio several weeks ago, GPO is waiting to see what the new administration will decide as to budgets, appointments, etc. Hopefully GPO or another agency will continue to exist to uphold the requirements of authentication, retention, equal access, etc. and that there will be trained staff to assist with the location of historical materials, also the newer materials online.Again, online access to the excellent data that the federal government produces is a true positive, enhanced by the search engines available that we will review. For questions, help, etc., please contact a depository library close to you.
Return to Oklahoma Department of Libraries
Return to Oklahoma State University LibraryLast update: April 25, 2001
Questions and comments to:
sholcom@okstate.edu
URL: http://regdocs.okstate.edu/