Redefining the Future: Changes in Government Information

1. Redefining the Future: Changesin Government Information Judith C. Russell Superintendent of Documents Arizona Library Association November 15, 2006

2. Background • "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government; ... whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights.”Thomas Jefferson --1789 • "A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."James Madison -- 1822

3. GPO Mission GPO has 3 essential missions: • Expert publishing and printing services for all 3 branches of the Federal Government • Perpetual, free and ready public access to printed and electronic Federal Government information in partnership with the FDLP • Dissemination of printed and electronic Federal Government information to the public on a cost recovery basis 3

4. GPO Mission These missions have a common purpose: “Keeping America Informed” 4

5. Principles • The public has the right of access to government information • Government has the obligation to disseminate and provide broad public access to its information • Government has an obligation to guarantee the authenticity and integrity of its information • Government has an obligation to preserve its information • Government information created or compiled by government employees or at government expense should remain in the public domain 5

6. Historical Perspective 1813 – Initial authorization for distribution of Congressional materials by the Secretary of State 1861 – Government Printing Office (GPO) established in the Legislative Branch to provide Congressional printing services 1895 – Printing Act of 1895 moves FDLP administration to GPO; requires Monthly Catalog 1993 – GPO Access Act of 1993 – Requires online access to the Congressional Record and Federal Register and authorizes online access to other Federal publications 2003 – GPO becomes an affiliated archives for GPO Access through an MOU with NARA 6

7. Access Required It’s the law (44 U.S.C. 1911) … “Depository libraries shall make Government publications available for the free use of the general public…” GPO, through the depository library program, has the responsibility for permanent public access to Federal publications that are within the scope of the FDLP. 7

8. FDLP Publications Scope of the FDLP: … all published Federal government information products, regardless of format or medium, which are of public interest or educational value, except for those products which are for strictly admin-istrative or operational purposes, classified for reasons of national security, or the use of which is constrained by privacy considerations. 8

9. Electronic Transition 1996: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/rep_cong/efdlp.html • Study to Identify Measures Necessary for a Successful Transition to a More Electronic Federal Depository Library Program • 5% of titles distributed to depositories were electronic (mostly CD-ROM) 9

10. Electronic Transition Ten Years Later: • 92% of the new titles are available online, whether or not they are also available in tangible form • 21% of the new titles are available both online and in one or more tangible formats • 8% of the new titles are available to depository libraries only in tangible form (primarily maps) 10

11. New Roles for GPO • Providing no-fee online public access through GPO Access • Managing an electronic collection/archive • Brokering for depositories to access information directly from Federal agencies • Ensuring permanent public access to electronic Government information • Developing locator and other services 11

12. GPO Access GPO Access is an award-winning service of the U.S. Government Printing Office that provides free online access to Federal Government information. http://www.gpoaccess.gov 12

13. 2004, A New Vision http://www.gpo.gov/ congressional/pdfs/ 04strategicplan.pdf “To deliver Federal information products and services from a flexible digital platform.” 13

14. Legacy Digitization “The goal is to digitize a complete legacy collection of tangible U.S. Government documents to make sure that these materials are available, in the public domain, for permanent public access.” Joint Committee on Printing recently approved a 6-month demonstration project. Specifications, priorities for digitization and other details are available at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/legacy 14

15. Legacy Digitization GPO will “digitize and authenticate all known Federal documents … to allow the entire collection to be searched on the Web and viewed over the Internet from a home, office, school or library.” • The collection will date back to the beginning of the Federal government • Digital conversion will begin in 2006 with print publications, but will eventually include microfiche and other tangible formats. • Digitization specifications are for both preservation and access 15

16. Digital Preservation Digitization is an excellent means to provide broad publicaccess to Federal publications now available only in print or other tangible form. Key benefits include: • Increased accessibility and functionality • Ability to output to other media and in various formats • Capture and display of materials that are not easily reformatted using other technologies  (e.g., color items, oversize materials and other complex graphic materials) Digitization is also an excellent means to ensure preservation so there will be permanent public access. 16

17. Digital Preservation • Traditionally, high resolution microfilm or microfiche has been the used to reformat publications for preservation • In June 2004, the Association for Research Libraries endorsed “digitization as an accepted preservation reformatting option for a range of materials” stating: “Many approaches are possible, but digital reformatting should now be considered a valid choice among various methods for preserving paper-based materials.” 17

18. Future Digital System • GPO’s Future Digital System is a platform for managing the life cycle of official US government publications that will: • Ingest digitized, harvested and submitted content • Verify and track versions • Assure authenticity • Provide permanent public access • Preserve content by refreshing, migrating, and emulation 18

19. Cataloging & Indexing • Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) • Finding tool for print and digital publications • Over 500,000 records from July 1976 to present • Retrospective cataloging planned • Cataloging online resources • Approximately 75,000 PURLs assigned since 1998 • Persistent identifiers are assigned as born digital and digitized content is acquired, 19

20. CGP Advanced Search http://catalog.gpo.gov 20

21. CGP Search Result 21

22. http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS68350 22

23. CGP New Titles 23

24. Web Discovery & Harvesting • Concurrent contracts with two vendors • Three passes through 20+ EPA Web sites • Discovery Tools: to locate publications on a Federal agency Web site • Assessment Tools: to determine whether discovered publications are within scope using rules and instructions • Harvesting Tools: to ensure permanent public access • Results currently being evaluated; report to be published in early December

25. Harvesting Next Steps • Determine methodologies going forward • Conduct a pilot with another agency based upon lessons learned • Incorporate harvester technology as part of Future Digital System (FDsys) • Catalog and assign PURLs to in-scope harvested publications

26. Registry ofDigitization Projects • Provides comprehensive coverage of freely accessible digitization projects that include Federal publications • Increases awareness of U.S. Government publication digitization projects, in any stage • Serves as a locator tool • Fosters collaboration and identifies potential partners • Provides models and best practices • Available at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/legacy/registry/ 26

27. http://www.gpoaccess.gov/legacy/registry/ 27

28. 28

29. Efforts Underway • Automated Metadata Extraction • Comprehensive National Bibliography (Catalog of U.S. Government Publications) Through Federated Search and Retrospective Cataloging • New Services from the Integrated Library System (Deliver Cataloging Records; Enhance Item Selection) • Comprehensive Tangible National Collection (Preservation Archive) With NARA 29

30. Other Efforts Underway • Authentication (Digital Signature) Services • Version Control Requirements • Preservation Planning & Implementation for Tangible and Digital Assets • Disaster Recovery Implementation for GPO Access • Future Digital System (FDsys) Requirements • Planning for the Future of the FDLP 30

31. For More Information … About GPO’s initiatives please visit: • GPO’s Digitization and Preservation Initiatives http://www.gpoaccess.gov/legacy • Recommended Readings http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/reading.html • Depository Library Council Proceedingshttp://www.access .gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/council/index.html • GPO – Future Digital System (FDsys)http://www.gpo.gov/projects/fdsys.htm 31

32. Contact Information Judy Russell Superintendent of Documents jrussell@gpo.gov 202-512-0571