U.S. government printing office,no more

Changes in electronic technology and publishing and distribution patterns are affecting how government agencies are making information available. These factors, as well as the Government Printing Office's (GPO) monopoly-like status, its inability to transform its operations as described in GPO/2001: Vision for a New Millennium, its historical inefficiency, and its potential violation of the separation of powers doctrine require new institutional arrangements for the distribution of government information to the public. This author recommends that GPO be abolished and its printing authority be transferred to the General Services Administration (GSA). In addition, the author recommends that the Superintendent of Documents be transferred to the Library of Congress, an Office of Congressional Printing Management be established, and the GPO work force be reduced and then relocated to other agencies. In addition, a statutory policy should be articulated by Congress to disseminate government information to the public and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) should be directed to implement this policy.     

Providing Perpetual Access to Government Information

Abstract

The past few years have seen the Government Printing Office (GPO) move from managing predominantly paper based government publications to collecting, organizing, and disseminating government information electronically. Serious concerns have been raised about perpetual access and authentication of government information in the new digital environment. This article focuses on GPO's plans to preserve both electronic and tangible government information resources and the initiatives being taken by GPO in collaboration with the library community and other stakeholders to address these matters.     

How the GPO Got Its Groove Back

Abstract

In the last decade, the Government Printing Office has dealt with two major problems of this revolution. First, GPO has had to master the various aspects of the electronic age. Second, they have had to deal with the “under-the-gun” mentality of a government totally enamored of the “apparent” efficiency and accuracy of electronic information. GPO's struggle with these problems has been neither easy nor comfortable. From top to bottom in the government documents world nearly everyone has some degree of apprehension, misgiving, or outright suspicion concerning the future of the accessibility of government information. Despite these difficulties GPO has made important strides toward implementing the apparatus of electronic information, while at the same time striving to ensure the quality and coherency of the end product available to the nation's citizens.     

The federal depository library program in transition: A perspective at the turn of a century

The basic legal framework covering government information procurement, production, and dissemination has been in place for over 100 years. Congress is currently developing revisions to Title 44 of the United State Code in order to reform this system. Fundamental principles of public access to government information, embodied in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), must guide these revisions. The strategic planning process, currently underway by federal agencies, must give due consideration to the entire life cycle of government information, particularly the dissemination and public access responsibilities.     

Florida's response to serving citizens in the information age

The Florida Legislature created the Joint Committee on Information Technology Resources for the purpose of, in part, analyzing the impact of advances in information technology on the Florida Public Records Law. In responding to the U.S. Information Industry Association's recently promulgated access principles for state and local government, the author found that although Florida does not actively encourage a diversity of information sources, such diversity is an indirect result of the state's long tradition of open access. The public's right of access is now guaranteed in Florida by a new constitutional amendment that guarantees every person the right to inspect or copy the public records of all three branches of Florida government.Florida's law is silent about an agency's obligation to provide a public record in a particular medium. However, the Joint Committee has proposed legislation that would require an agency to provide a copy of a public record in the medium requested. Additionally, the proposed legislation would allow a reasonable fee for costs for the labor and overhead associated with duplicating or copying a computer database; current law allows only the actual cost of duplication. In an effort to insure equal and timely access, this legislation also contains a provision that requires agencies to consider public access and redaction of exempt information in the design and development of all electronic recordkeeping systems.In an attempt to avoid monopoly control over public information, the author sponsored legislation last year that would have repealed Florida's law allowing the copyright of agency-created software. The Joint Committee's proposed legislation has a provision that would assure meaningful access to data controlled by proprietary software and would also preclude an agency from entering into any contract that would impair the right of the public to inspect and copy public records.     

Congress as publisher: Politics,institutions, and policy

Since the beginning of the federal government, Congress has functioned as its publisher — the manager and director of government printing operations. Initially performed by private printers through lucrative contracts, production was statutorily vested in the Government Printing Office (GPO) in 1860 to assure efficient, economical, and quality printing. Over the past century and a half, however, changes in technology, law, and constitutional relationships have eroded arrangements for the public printing system. Information products printed by GPO in the past may now be agency-generated and made directly available to the public through agency Web sites or social media, with the result that congressional general management of the publication system is seemingly decreasing, at least in terms of GPO workload, publication accountability, and document sales. While it is unlikely that Congress will reduce or vacate its publisher capacity anytime soon, some adjustment of the scope of that role and related management capability may appropriately be in order.     

GPO Gate University of California,San Diego's New Gateway to electronic government information

Over the past year, a team of librarians and computer analysts at the University of California (UC), San Diego developed a new interface for accessing the Government Printing Office's WAIS databases, collectively known as GPO Access. GPO Access has been an important development in the delivery of government information. UC San Diego's new World Wide Web interface, called GPO Gate, provides a powerful, user-friendly method of searching and retrieving full-text government information from GPO access. GPO Gate is now the University of California's system-wide gateway for GPO Access. The GPO Gate team instituted two mechanisms to monitor database usage: a user-tracking system and a user survey. The user-tracking system logs the number of uses, searches, and retrievals by domain type and identifies users by the database used. Since its inception in August 1995, use of GPO Gate has increased dramatically. Much of the increase can be attributed to searches and retrievals from the Federal Register. The largest single user group is composed of commercial users. The increased use of GPO Gate has many implications for public service related to government documents, including an expansion of the number of users, the need for reference providers to better understand computer hardware and software, and confusion among users caused by rapid changes in the delivery of government information.     

The U.S. Government Printing Office's initiatives for the Federal Depository Library Program to set the stage for the 21st century

It is estimated that the majority of federal information is born digital. To that end, the U.S. Government Printing Office is transforming into a 21st century electronic information agency. As part of this effort, the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) has been investigating new options for the dissemination of Federal information that incorporate digitization, preservation, electronic metadata, and information retrieval. The FDLP's efforts to find new solutions will improve acquisitions, information access, and collection development for depository libraries. This article describes just a few of the initiatives GPO has undertaken to increase access to electronic U.S. Government information.     

Information Policy Issues and Access to U.S. Government Information

During the end of 1988 and through the Summer of 1989, a flurry of activities occurred as Congress considered legislation regarding management of and access to U.S. government information. This paper identifies and discusses a range of policy issues that evolved from these activities and are likely to affect access to U.S. government information in the immediate years ahead. The paper stresses the importance of addressing these policy issues and offers suggestions for resolving them as a means for increasing access to government information.     

Civic librarianship: Possible new role for depository libraries in the next century?

Profound changes have been taking place throughout the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) since passage of The Depository Library Act of 1962 (P.L. 85-579). This Act codified several critical perspectives regarding the role of libraries in a system of federal government information distribution; the responsibilities shared among FDLP's participating libraries (selective libraries and regionals), as well as the proper management and policy role for the Superintendent of Documents (and, by extension, the GPO). The foundation of these perspectives, obviously, depends on the relative limitations and advantages of printing technologies and paper-based distribution systems. Within this scheme, local “ownership” of collections housed in a wide variety of private and public institutions across the nation best meets the information needs of citizens. The enactment of the Government Printing Office Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-40) shifts the FDLP's historic emphasis on local collection building and maintenance back to the Superintendent of Documents and the GPO. This article outlines several possible implications developing from this transformation.     

Partners on the net: FDLP partnering to coordinate remote access to internet-based government information

In June 1996, the Government Printing Office (GPO) published a plan for its transition to a more electronic Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). This plan assumes that federal information policy requires that the FDLP provide permanent public access to remotely-accessible electronic government information products and indicates that such access will be provided through a network of partnerships comprised of the GPO, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), federal agencies, and FDLP libraries. GPO has established its first library partnership in this FDLP network with the University of Chicago at Illinois' Richard J. Daley Library and the Department of State (DOS) to ensure that DOS materials will be available for permanent public access through the FDLP. To extend the partnership network to publishing agencies, a partnership has been arranged with the Department of Energy (DOE) to ensure direct FDLP access to technical reports maintained on a DOE World Wide Web site.     

The impact of the national performance review and other forces on the rights of an informed citizenry: A case study in reinvention—reforming government publishing

Title 44 of the United States Code, containing the law governing the printing, publication, dissemination, and access to government publications, was written over 100 years ago. In the past decade, this law has come under attack, undermining the ability of the American citizenry to be fully informed about the activities of the federal government. This article examines the needed reforms to Title 44 and other legislative initiatives required to ensure the right of the citizenry to be informed.     

NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND OLD-FASHIONED ECONOMICS:: Creating a Brave New World for U.S. Government Information Distribution and Use

New technologies, including the ability to distribute government information globally across the Internet, are creating a need for new ways to view the U.S. Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). The changing needs and roles of government information’s five stakeholders: federal agencies, the Government Printing Office (GPO), the depository libraries, the commercial sector, and the American public will need to change drastically in reaction to improved technologies and to the pure economics of information dissemination. The concept of the FDLP network may have outlived its relevance. Experiments should begin to explore new ways to provide users with assistance in locating government information in a timely and economically feasible manner. Shoring up a program that has outlived its relevance in today’s world is not an option.     

US government information: selected current issues in public access vs. private competition

Web information systems are having a profound effect on the way information is being disseminated today. Current technological advances have caused many government agencies to re-evaluate their practice of contracting with private sector vendors who have traditionally repackaged and marketed the agency's raw data. These new opportunities for government agencies wishing to make information publicly accessible have blurred the traditional distinctions between public and private dissemination activities. Low-cost public dissemination of information has resulted in private sector vendors arguing that public electronic distribution and publication creates unfair competition. New partnerships, such as the recent venture between the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) and the commercial search engine, Northern Light, in developing the “usgovsearch” product are also being explored. From another viewpoint, library associations are strongly supporting legislation that would broaden, strengthen, and enhance public access to electronic government information. Key issues to be discussed are: (1) the debate concerning public vs. private access to government information; (2) Does electronic access to government information eliminate the need for printed documents? and (3) Joint efforts — when should the government team up with private sector allies to charge for information services and access?     

Implications of harmonizing the future of the federal depository library program within e-government principles and policies

For more than 150 years, the United States Government Printing Office (GPO), along with its Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), has supported an informed citizenry and democracy by ensuring access and preservation to a broad swath of federal government information. This collaborative national public information program between local libraries and the national government, if it is to survive beyond its second century of service, must overcome profound challenges within a rapidly evolving complex of e-government policies and principles. The FDLP can (and must) find a way to serve its traditional values – permanent and public access to government information – that allows for growth and change within the demands of a dynamic electronic environment between the governors and the governed.     

The Gender War in U.S. Sport: Winners and Losers in News Coverage of Title IX

Title IX, the 1972 federal law that guarantees girls and young women access to scholastic sporting opportunities, has been the catalyst for explosive growth in female athletics. Despite evidence that Title IX has opened doors for female athletes without closing them to boys, the law continues to be a source of controversy. This research explores the ways stories in U.S. regional and national newspapers framed Title IX issues between 2002 and 2005, critical years for the civil-rights legislation because of political and legal activity at the national level. Content analysis found that although most stories avoided negative framing devices, stories about the Title IX Commission during 2002 and 2003 more often used negative framing that could perpetuate misunderstanding about the law. Further, paper size, placement of stories and reporter gender were factors in the way stories framed and sourced Title IX coverage. This study points to the need of journalists for a better understanding of the law and its impact on high school and collegiate athletics. Journalists also need to better understand Title IX's relationship with the fiscal hierarchy of collegiate athletics in U.S. universities so “blame the victim” mythology is not reinforced. Journalists should reject patriarchal frames and report about Title IX in ways that benefit public discourse.     

Age of Aquarius—The FDLP in the 21st century

With the appointment of Bruce James as Public Printer of the United States in 2002 (confirmed by the Senate on November 20, 2002),¹ the Government Printing Office (GPO) began to forecast and plan for its future in the age of the Internet. During the spring of 2005, the Depository Library Council (DLC), an advisory body to the Public Printer, concluded it was time for depository librarians to play a more active part in envisioning the future of government information. Toward that end, DLC wrote a discussion paper, Knowledge Will Forever Govern: A Vision Statement for Federal Depository Libraries in the 21st Century, ² and with the GPO's support devoted the 2005 Fall Depository Library Council meeting to discussing and refining a vision for the future of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP).     

Computerized and networked government information

This column examines several systems that provide access to U.S. federal or state bills via the Internet. These include the Government Printing Office's GPO ACCESS, the Library of Congress' THOMAS, the House of Representatives gopher system, and the California State Senate's World Wide Web server.     

A brief history of the Federal Depository Library Program: A personal perspective

The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) has served as a major public access point for government information for well over 130 years. Recent budget cuts to the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) appropriations and an increased use of electronic formats for dissemination purposes have created many changes and problems for the system and the depository libraries that serve it. This article discusses the history of the FDLP and the impact of new formats in the last 25 years—especially electronic information. It also discusses the future of the FDLP and some of the problems that electronic information has brought to depository libraries and the need of depository librarians to accept and manage these new formats.