Finding and using u s government information a practical guide for librarians

Finding and Using U.S. Government
Information


PRACTICAL GUIDES FOR LIBRARIANS
About the Series
This innovative series written and edited for librarians by librarians provides
authoritative, practical information and guidance on a wide spectrum of library
processes and operations. Books in the series are focused, describing practical
solutions to problems facing today’s librarian and delivering step-by-step guides
for planning, creating, implementing, managing, and evaluating a wide range of
services and programs.
The books are aimed at beginning and intermediate librarians that need basic
instruction and guidance in specific subjects and also at experienced librarians
who need to gain knowledge in a new area or guidance in implementing a new
program or service.

About the Series Editors
The Practical Guides for Librarians series was conceived and edited by M.
Sandra Wood, MLS, MBA, AHIP, FMLA, Librarian Emerita, Penn State University
Libraries from 2014 to 2017. Ms. Wood was a librarian at the George T. Harrell
Library, the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, College of Medicine, Pennsylvania
State University, in Hershey, PA, for over thirty-five years, specializing in
reference, educational, and database services. Ms. Wood received an MLS from
Indiana University and an MBA from the University of Maryland. She is a fellow
of the Medical Library Association and served as a member of the MLA’s Board
of Directors from 1991 to 1995.
Ellyssa Kroski assumed editorial responsibilities for the series beginning in 2017.
She is the director of Information Technology at the New York Law Institute and
an award-winning editor and author of thirty-six books, including Law

Librarianship in the Digital Age for which she won the American Association of
Law Libraries 2014 Joseph L. Andrews Legal Literature Award. Her ten-book
technology series, The Tech Set, won the American Library Association’s Best
Book in Library Literature Award in 2011. Ms. Kroski is a librarian, an adjunct
faculty member at Drexel and San Jose State University, and an international
conference speaker. She has recently been named the winner of the 2017
Library Hi Tech Award from the ALA/LITA for her long-term contributions in the
area of library and information science technology and its application.

Titles in the Series edited by M. Sandra Wood
1. How to Teach: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Beverley E. Crane
2. Implementing an Inclusive Staffing Model for Today’s Reference Services


3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.

19.
20.
21.
22.
23.

24.
25.
26.

by Julia K. Nims, Paula Storm, and Robert Stevens
Managing Digital Audiovisual Resources: A Practical Guide for Librarians
by Matthew C. Mariner
Outsourcing Technology: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Robin
Hastings
Making the Library Accessible for All: A Practical Guide for Librarians by
Jane Vincent
Discovering and Using Historical Geographic Resources on the Web: A
Practical Guide for Librarians by Eva H. Dodsworth and L. W. Laliberté
Digitization and Digital Archiving: A Practical Guide for Librarians by
Elizabeth R. Leggett
Makerspaces: A Practical Guide for Librarians by John J. Burke
Implementing Web-Scale Discovery Services: A Practical Guide for
Librarians by JoLinda Thompson
Using iPhones and iPads: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Matthew
Connolly and Tony Cosgrave
Usability Testing: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Rebecca Blakiston
Mobile Devices: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Ben Rawlins
Going Beyond Loaning Books to Loaning Technologies: A Practical Guide
for Librarians by Janelle Sander, Lori S. Mestre, and Eric Kurt

Children’s Services Today: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Jeanette
Larson
Genealogy: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Katherine Pennavaria
Collection Evaluation in Academic Libraries: A Practical Guide for
Librarians by Karen C. Kohn
Creating Online Tutorials: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Hannah
Gascho Rempel and Maribeth Slebodnik
Using Google Earth in Libraries: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Eva
Dodsworth and Andrew Nicholson
Integrating the Web into Everyday Library Services: A Practical Guide for
Librarians by Elizabeth R. Leggett
Infographics: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Beverley E. Crane
Meeting Community Needs: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Pamela
H. MacKellar
3D Printing: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Sara Russell Gonzalez
and Denise Beaubien Bennett
Patron-Driven Acquisitions in Academic and Special Libraries: A Practical
Guide for Librarians by Steven Carrico, Michelle Leonard, and Erin
Gallagher
Collaborative Grant-Seeking: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Bess G.
de Farber
Story-Time Success: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Katie Fitzgerald
Teaching Google Scholar: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Paige


27.
28.
29.
30.
31.

32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.

Alfonzo
Teen Services Today: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Sara K. Joiner
and Geri Swanzy
Data Management: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Margaret E.
Henderson
Online Teaching and Learning: A Practical Guide for Librarians by
Beverley E. Crane
Writing Effectively in Print and on the Web: A Practical Guide for
Librarians by Rebecca Blakiston
Gamification: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Elizabeth McMunnTetangco
Providing Reference Services: A Practical Guide for Librarians by John
Gottfried and Katherine Pennavaria
Video Marketing for Libraries: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Heather
A. Dalal, Robin O’Hanlan, and Karen Yacobucci
Understanding How Students Develop: A Practical Guide for Librarians
by Hannah Gascho Rempel, Laurie M. Bridges, and Kelly McElroy
How to Teach: A Practical Guide for Librarians, Second Edition by
Beverley E. Crane
Managing and Improving Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Programs: A
Practical Guide for Librarians by Matthew C. Mariner

User Privacy: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Matthew Connolly
Makerspaces: A Practical Guide for Librarians, Second Edition by John J.
Burke, revised by Ellyssa Kroski
Summer Reading Programs for All Ages: A Practical Guide for Librarians
by Katie Fitzgerald
Implementing the Information Literacy Framework: A Practical Guide for
Librarians by Dave Harmeyer and Janice J. Baskin

Titles in the Series edited by Ellyssa Kroski
41. Finding and Using U.S. Government Information: A Practical Guide for
Librarians by Bethany Latham
42. Instructional Design Essentials: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Sean
Cordes
43. Making Library Web Sites Accessible: A Practical Guide for Librarians by
Laura Francabandera
44. Serving LGBTQ Teens: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Lisa Houde
45. Coding Programs for Children and Young Adults in Libraries: A Practical
Guide for Librarians by Wendy Harrop
46. Teen Fandom and Geek Programming: A Practical Guide for Librarians
by Carrie Rogers-Whitehead


Finding and Using U.S. Government
Information
A Practical Guide for Librarians
Bethany Latham
PRACTICAL GUIDES FOR LIBRARIANS, NO. 41

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD
Lanham • Boulder • New York • London

Published by Rowman & Littlefield
An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
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Copyright © 2018 by The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical
means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher,
except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available
ISBN 978-1-5381-0715-7 (pbk : alk. paper) | ISBN 978-1-5381-0716-4 (e-book)
™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for
Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
Unless otherwise specified, all figures are from the U.S. federal government and are public domain.


Contents
Contents
Preface
Part I: Background and Context
1 Introduction to Government Information
2 Types of Government Information
3 Approaches to the Research Process
Part II: How to Find and Use Government Information
4 General Resources, Search Engines, and Tools for Locating Government
Information

5 Business, Economics, and Labor
6 Census and Housing Data
7 Education
8 Environment
9 Geographical Information Systems, Maps, and Other Cartographic Materials
10 Health, Medical, and Consumer Information
11 Intellectual Property
12 Legislation, Law, Jurisprudence, and Criminal Justice
13 Scientific, Technical, and Statistical Information
Part III: Collection Management and Professional Development
14 Tips for Collection Development
15 Professional Development and Continuing Education
About the Author


Preface
Librarians are information professionals, and the U.S. federal government
produces a massive trove of valuable information. Yet due to how federal
government information is produced and organized, these resources can be
more difficult to locate and effectively use than traditional information sources.
Additional layers of understanding must be added to the librarian’s core skill set
in order to make the most of these unique resources.
This book introduces the field of federal government information and provides
a subject-based guide for government information reference sources and other
issues related to government information management. The approach is one of
simplicity—government information can be complicated, and it can also be
intimidating for librarians who possess little experience with it. Think of this
work as the sort of guidebook you would take to a foreign country when
unacquainted with the culture and language. Guidebooks will not turn you into a
native, but they will help you communicate, get around, and essentially get the

job done. That is the goal of this book.
This work is written in plain language for practicing and new librarians in the
areas of reference and other user services, as well as anyone interested in
gleaning a basic understanding of how federal government information is
created, acquired, organized, searched, and used. It is also written with the
“inadvertent” depository coordinator in mind—those librarians who find
themselves responsible for government information at their institutions but have
had no background or training in this area. Those in charge of collection
development will also find this book beneficial, since government information
resources are often freely available, authoritative primary sources repackaged
and sold by vendors to libraries at premium prices. Knowing what is freely
available from the government allows libraries to be more efficient in the
allocation of financial resources, which furthers collection development and
management goals.

Scope
Both tangible and digital government information is covered in this book. The
focus skews more toward the digital simply because this is the U.S.
government’s focus for the current information it releases, in addition to the


retrospective digitization projects it has begun. Many library users now prefer
digital government information, though there are notable exceptions (e.g.,
cartographic materials). I have made every effort to provide easy access to
digital resources when possible, with the caveat that this method is notoriously
impermanent since it involves the use of URLs that change quite frequently.
This work is not a textbook for library and information science students
(though they can certainly benefit from it, especially if they do not have the
opportunity to take a government information course), and it is not intended to
be an exhaustive examination of every single government information resource;

such an endeavor would require multiple volumes and would not serve the
audience for this book. Instead, the goal is to cover major resources and provide
a ready reference for the types of sources that can answer many of the
questions commonly encountered at the reference desk. Sources that will
already be familiar to most practicing librarians (e.g., historical, archival, and
library-related materials from the Library of Congress, the National Archives,
and the Institute of Museum and Library Services) are eschewed in favor of less
familiar sources that can be used to answer government information questions
from library users.
The scope of this book is information produced and disseminated by the U.S.
federal government or under its auspices. Since the federal government
aggregates state-level data in many of its sources and reaches outside our
country’s borders in others (e.g., trade data), information at these levels can be
found in this book. However, international/intergovernmental, state, and local
government–created information is outside its scope. A few selected commercial
resources are included to illustrate the ways vendors repackage government
information and how those commercial resources can be weighed against freely
available government information to determine which sources are best for
certain applications. But the vendor resources listed are not comprehensive, nor
should the inclusion of any particular commercial resource be taken as an
endorsement of that product. They are provided simply to inform users about
additional methods to access some types of government information.

Organization
The first three chapters of this book provide the background necessary to give
those new to government information a foundation for further examination of
the subject. Chapter 1 elucidates why government information is valuable and
provides a brief history of government information in this country—how it grew
into our present-day government information environment. Since it is the
primary organ for disseminating U.S. government information, the Government

Publishing Office and the legislative foundations in which it is grounded are also
examined, along with its and other federal agencies’ role in the organization of
government information. The majority of libraries that have substantial


government information collections are members of the Federal Depository
Library Program (FDLP), which is the principal method of acquisition for most of
these materials. Thus the history, governance, and procedures of the FDLP and
the role it plays in public access to government information in the United States
are covered in some detail. Chapter 2 briefly examines the available formats
and methods of delivery for government information, as well as the branches of
government that produce it and the few special audiences often singled out by
the government as target audiences when creating its information. Chapter 3
discusses approaches to locating and using government information; some
reference processes are universal, but government information reference has
unique aspects that can affect the reference process, so librarians must be
aware of them.
The meat of this book can be found in chapters 4–13. Taken on their own,
these chapters can serve as a ready reference tool for those seeking
government information broken down by subject. Parsing government
information by subject can be problematic, since the information is a
provenance-based system—it is beneficial to know the agency and what types
of information it collects and publishes before pigeonholing subject categories to
know what is available. Some agencies produce information that fits into
multiple subject categories. Thus, chapters 4–13 arrange government
information by the primary subjects under which most government agency
publications fall. This topical list is not comprehensive but rather made up of the
major topics that general users seek in the realm of government information.
Each topical section also includes “practical applications” at its conclusion.
These vary, from more in-depth terminology to assist with searching in certain

subjects (e.g., industry information) to “how do I?” step-by-step guides geared
to answering a particular question. These applications illustrate government
information in action, showing the practical ways it can be used to further
reference and informational goals.
The last two chapters offer some tips for managing government information
collections to ensure their usefulness, as well as ideas for further professional
development and continuing education in the field of government information.


Part I

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT


CHAPTER 1

Introduction to Government
Information
IN THIS CHAPTER
The value of federal government information
Background and history of government information in the United States
Organization of government information

HE AMOUNT OF government information is vast, and it can be
intimidating to the uninitiated. Even defining what constitutes
“government information” is not a straightforward proposition. For the
purposes of this book, we will primarily be exploring information produced and
disseminated by the U.S. federal government, with side trips into the area of
commercial resources, which repackage information in a meaningful way. The
realm of international/intergovernmental, state, and local government

information is as large; it is also beyond our scope. The goal here is to
familiarize you with federal government information with an emphasis on digital
methods of delivery and to provide you with the tools you need to understand
how this information is:

T

Produced
Organized
Located
Accessed
Effectively used
Why should one put forth the effort to learn about government information? You
may be thinking that there was a reason, probably a good one, for avoiding that
government documents course in graduate school. The fact is that, for those of
you working in reference and collection development, a passing knowledge of
the types of information available from the federal government and where to
look for this information is an integral part of your skill sets—learn how to


access this information and you will be a better librarian. You do not have to be
depository coordinator (a term we will define later) to benefit from a working
knowledge of government information sources. More importantly, your users will
benefit, since they will have a more effective librarian to guide them.
Government information includes sources of great usefulness, but its disparate
systems of organization and the (often illogical) statutory dictates that affect its
creation, access, and use can mean that library users will need even more
assistance than with traditional, nongovernmental resources. You need to equip
yourself with the knowledge necessary to offer that assistance.

The Value of Government Information
The U.S. federal government produces an enormous amount of information
which encompasses almost every conceivable subject area. While the most
familiar government information products are usually concerning law,
demographics, or commerce, the government collects and disseminates
information on everything from library cataloging practices to teen pregnancy to
the number of forest acres impacted by the Rocky Mountain pine beetle. If your
user has a topic in mind, chances are the government has collected and
published information on it, probably at length. It is also possible that the
government is the only source which has produced this information; while others
may repackage or redistribute it, the U.S. federal government is uniquely
positioned to provide primary source material. As you will read in the discussion
of the history of public printing in this country, vendors have long recognized
that government data is commercially valuable, and the relish with which the
private sector has exploited this information has only grown with time and the
use of digital methods of harvesting and delivering the information. The
government itself recognizes this:
Government data is a key input to a wide variety of commercial products and services in the economy,
although many of these uses may not be apparent because attribution to the Government is not
required. . . . The lower-bound estimate, based on a very short and incomplete list of firms that rely
heavily on Government data, suggests that Government data helps private firms generate revenues of
at least $24 billion annually—far in excess of spending on Government statistical data. The upper-bound
estimate suggests that this sector generates annual revenues of $221 billion. These crude estimates
provide rough order-of-magnitude estimates of the range of the sector’s size and illustrate the
importance of Government data as an input into commercial products and services. 1

This particular report, by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economics and
Statistics Administration, refers solely to economic data. The value gleaned by
the private sector throughout the subject range of government information is
incalculable. It is important to note because, for cash-strapped libraries,

understanding where the information has been gathered from through the use
of their paid tools can result in more efficient collection development and better
allocation of library resources. You may not need to pay for that database


because the information it has repackaged is freely available from the
government. It is not often that something truly valuable is offered for free and
to everyone. This is precisely the case with the majority of government
information. One simply has to know where to look for it and, once found, know
how to utilize it.
Librarians have long seen it as a professional responsibility to educate
information seekers about the authority of sources, and this is another area
where government information demonstrates its value. As Eric Forte notes, “One
of the most empowering aspects of understanding government information is
the ability to conduct one’s own fact-checking.” 2 While no information produced
by someone can be said with certainty to be completely bias or agenda-free,
government information is recognized as reliable source material. In an era
when many library users get their “facts” from Facebook, checking information
and statistics against official government sources can provide clarification. The
digital age has also brought with it the concern of authenticity of information;
since technology has changed how information products are created and
delivered, that same technology has also provided a multitude of opportunities
for alteration. U.S. federal government information has developed strategies to
meet the challenge of verifying information—of ensuring that government
information products are verified as authentic, unaltered, and “official.”

HOW DOES AUTHENTICATION WORK?
The Government Publishing Office (GPO) applies digital certificates to the
government information it publishes in PDF format. Users can verify these
certificates using Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat. Users can tell which

documents the GPO has certified because a visible “seal of authenticity” with
an eagle logo is added to the document; a blue ribbon icon also appears
beneath the top navigation and in the signature panel. When a GPOauthenticated PDF is printed, the seal of authenticity prints on the document
as well.

Background and History
The history of government information in the United States finds its roots in the
“publick printers”—Benjamin Franklin is one recognizable example—of the
colonial era. These businessmen produced official documents when America was
still a colony, primarily in the form of legislative and other government
documents detailing the works of the English Crown. Steeped in Enlightenment
philosophy, many colonial printers held the worldview that individuals had a


right to know about the proceedings and legislation of their government. The
motives of the printers were not entirely altruistic; as previously noted,
government information has commercial value, and it was also lucrative for
them to print and sell such documents (e.g., Acts of Parliament). By the end of
the American Revolution, the concept of having access to government
information as a right rather than a privilege solidified with the formal
establishment of the United States of America as a country. The Continental
Congress made provision for congressional journals to be printed, and Article I,
Section 5, of the Constitution of the United States requires that “Each House
shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the
same.”3 James Madison held forth his view, now taken as a mantra by
government information specialists, that “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.” 4 It is from these ideological roots that the

concept of freely available government information produced through taxpayer
expense was developed.
The tap for government information in the fledgling United States had been
turned on, but logistical issues were yet to be resolved. In the late 1700s,
Congress began accepting proposals from printers, and a small number of firms
were employed to handle congressional printing. These firms soon realized that,
with the increasing volume of government printing and the steady stream of
revenue it provided, they could subsist almost entirely on the work
commissioned by the federal government. Printers even followed Congress
around, relocating from Philadelphia and New York to Washington, DC, when
Congress moved to the newly established capital in 1800.
Yet these local, private-sector printers were far from ideal as a way to
produce government information for extensive dissemination. There was no
uniformity or quality control, and end products varied widely. Pricing was also an
issue. Originally, public printing was performed at a fixed rate, but Congress
realized that as technology improved, fixed rates meant the government was
paying significantly more for print jobs that were requiring less effort and time—
resulting in a large profit margin for the printers. In the 1840s, several laws
were passed with the intention of remedying this situation, of introducing
competition into the mix. The United States Congress Joint Committee on
Printing, which still exists and to the present day plays a prominent role in
government information, was formed during this time. Despite the supposedly
competitive bid system, costs continued to rise, and when a switch was made
back to a fixed rate, the result was the highest printing costs the government
had ever seen, thanks to cronyism, lack of oversight, and outright fraud. The
public reaction against all this waste and corruption resulted in an attempt at
reform, of removal of the private sector from the printing process. Joint


Resolution No. 25, which was passed in 1860, provided for the purchase of

everything necessary to build an official, government-operated printing house—
buildings, machinery, and all materials. The Government Printing Office (GPO)
opened for business on March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln’s first day as president.5

The Government Publishing Office
A detailed history of the GPO is beyond the scope of this discussion, but an
overview of certain aspects of its operation is necessary to understand how
government information has been and currently is created, procured, published,
accessed, and preserved for future use. You may notice from the heading of this
section that the GPO is no longer the Government Printing Office—legislation
was passed in 2014 to change its name to the Government Publishing Office, an
update in terminology intended to reflect the myriad ways in which the GPO
now produces government information.
The statutory foundation of the GPO originates in Title 44 of the United States
Code; this legislation underpins the GPO’s mission and provides a basis for its
organizational structure and operations. It is important to note that, as a
government agency, the GPO is bound by statute and governmental mandate.
Even what the GPO defines as a “government publication” is codified
(specifically, “informational matter which is published as an individual document
at government expense, or as required by law”).6 Many who delve into the
world of government information find certain aspects confusing or frustrating.
One encounters a great deal of: “Why do they do things this way? It would
make more sense to . . .” In the majority of these cases, the GPO approaches
issues the way it does because it is required to by law; modification would
necessitate a literal Act of Congress.
The United States Congress Joint Committee on Printing is responsible for
oversight of the GPO and for ensuring that any issues regarding the delay of
services, neglect, or waste are addressed. Title 44 stipulates that the GPO be
overseen by a Director (until 2014 known by the title of “Public Printer”), a
presidential appointment made with the advice and consent of the Senate.7 Of

the six major branches of the GPO’s organizational chart which report to the
Director, the branch of primary relevance to our discussion is Public Access (i.e.,
the division responsible for the dissemination of government information to the
public at large). This branch is overseen by the Superintendent of Documents
(SupDocs), who is chosen by the GPO’s Director, and administers the divisions of
Library Services and Content Management and Publications and Information
Sales.


Figure 1.1. Government Publishing Office organizational chart, highlighting the Public Access division,
which includes the Federal Depository Library Program. Courtesy of the author.

So how exactly is government information procured, published, and made
available? The GPO is, by law, the sole source authorized for federal printing
services. This does not mean that the GPO prints or produces all these materials
itself; it can also serve as a procurement agency, contracting out to the private
sector. Primarily, the GPO functions as a clearinghouse of sorts for all three
branches of the federal government for any publication which meets the
requirements of Title 44. In the past, this resulted in an enormous volume of
printing, making the GPO the single largest printer not just in the United States
but the entire world. With the advent of digital technologies and the concept of
e-government information, the GPO saw its print production nosedive. Since the
1990s, it has downsized its print production facilities significantly while
branching out in other areas. To remain viable, it has evolved—which is still
ongoing—with an end goal of being the centralized source for all official
government information products in all available formats.
In the era of print publication, it was relatively simple for the GPO to keep up
with the information produced by the various agencies of the government: those
agencies gathered and created the information, and they needed the GPO to
print that information for them. There was a financial incentive for agencies to

use the GPO—for the additional copies necessary to make a document publicly
accessible, the GPO would bear the cost, not the agency. If an agency went
outside the GPO for production of a document, the agency was required to pay
for the extra copies necessary to disseminate it. For those few publications that
were printed by a publisher other than the GPO, Title 44 also required that
agencies furnish the Superintendent of Documents with a monthly list. With few


statutory exceptions (e.g., classified and official-use-only or strictly
administrative materials), this ensured that the GPO was aware of and could
make available to the public the majority of government information produced
by the three branches.
Born-digital government information has complicated the process. When an
agency employee can compile a report, use desktop publishing software to put
it into a “document” file form (e.g., PDF), and post that to an agency’s website
to “publish” it, the GPO is less necessary as a middleman. It is by no means
assured that every agency employee is even aware that the GPO is mandated to
be such a middleman (i.e., not all agency employees may be familiar with Title
44). The GPO also has no power to compel federal agencies to use its services
or notify it of these types of documents floating around outside the system
(known as “fugitives”); Title 44 has no legislative teeth. In lieu, the GPO uses a
sort of value proposition—that agencies can have significant cost and effort
savings by utilizing the GPO for printing or digital production. In addition to print
production, the GPO offers graphic design and digital media services, e-books,
and web and other facilities aimed at helping government agencies provide their
information in any way they choose, especially as electronic content.
Once the GPO has been made aware and seen to the production of a
government information product, how is that product then made publicly
available, for free, to any citizen of the United States? This is where the Federal
Depository Library Program (FDLP) comes in.

The Federal Depository Library Program
The origin of what would become the Federal Depository Library Program
(FDLP) pre-dates the GPO by nearly half a century. In 1813, Congress passed
legislation to allow the provision of one copy each of the Journal of the House of
Representatives and the United States Senate Journal, as well as a few other
congressional documents deemed of importance, to be deposited with selected
historical societies, state libraries, and universities. This resulted in the first
“depository library”—the American Antiquarian Society (AAS). The responsibility
for administration of this program originally rested with the Secretary of State.
Through the years, it would pass to a “Superintendent of Public Printing” within
the Department of the Interior, and then to the Secretary of the Interior in the
1850s. During this period, the Secretary of the Interior had the power to
designate which libraries, as government depositories, would receive
publications. Later legislation allowed each representative to designate a single
depository from his or her district, and delegates from the territories were also
included. Shortly afterward, each senator was also given the right to designate
a depository in his or her state.
The Superintendent of Documents, formerly a Department of the Interior
position, would finally move underneath the purview of the GPO with the
Printing Act of 1895, Title 44’s direct antecedent. One other piece of legislation


of importance is the Depository Library Act of 1962. The FDLP, as its structure
exists today, is a product of this legislation. Not only did this act set up a
hierarchy for depositories, but it also finally introduced the element of choice—
the ability for certain depositories to select the publications they wished to
receive. The last piece of the puzzle was added in the 1970s with the addition of
an outside advisory body, the Depository Library Council to the Public Printer.
Consisting of fifteen members who are appointed by the Director and serve

three-year terms, and the Depository Library Council’s role is to advocate for
depository libraries and the FDLP and to advise the GPO’s Director and
Superintendent of Documents.

Governance and Structure of the Depository System
Title 44 and the other legislation which provide the statutory framework for the
FDLP have been excerpted and compiled into a single, slim volume entitled
Legal Requirements & Program Regulations of the Federal Depository Library
Program.8 This publication, last updated in 2011, supersedes some of the other,
more complicated attempts at putting Title 44 and its brethren into a manualtype format that depositories could easily use to govern their operations, such
as the 210-page FDLP Handbook. The Handbook, while superseded, can still be
consulted for more in-depth information—such as explanatory or background
information that helps libraries maintain compliance with FDLP regulations. If
your interest is in learning exactly what a depository must do as a member of
the program, Legal Requirements will offer enlightenment in nine pages or less,
with every mandate a building block toward a very specific goal: providing the
public with access to government information, free of charge, and unimpeded.
Librarians quickly learn that there are two types of statements the government
uses when soliciting action from a depository: “should” and “must.” The GPO
makes a large number of “should” statements—things it would prefer depository
libraries do, but these actions are not mandatory. By contrast, “must”
statements (like those in the Legal Requirements) are few but nonnegotiable;
depositories are mandated to comply, or they risk expulsion from the program.
In the past, the GPO’s stance was somewhat unforgiving: depository status was
viewed as a privilege, and if the depository did not meet its obligations, then
that privilege could be revoked. Formerly, depositories underwent regular
inspections by designated GPO inspectors who would travel to the library’s
physical location and scrutinize operations, looking for areas of noncompliance.
A report was then issued to the depository noting the areas of noncompliance
and the steps the library must take to address them. This process is now known

as a Public Access Assessment. A representative from the GPO reviews a
library’s policies, website, and other information provided by the depository
before speaking with the depository coordinator (more information on
depository coordinators will follow) and others involved in the operations via
phone to help clear up any issues or concerns that are encountered. These


assessments also seek to point out the areas where a depository is succeeding
or going above and beyond what is required—what the GPO refers to as
“notable achievements.” This is representative of a certain shift in mindset;
many libraries have voluntarily given up depository status due to staffing and
space concerns, and the GPO itself has seen a reduction in staffing and other
resources. Due to these factors, the approach now is more one of shepherding—
the GPO wants libraries to remain in the program and has positioned itself more
as a partner to help with meeting rules and regulations, rather than looking to
penalize for noncompliance. The legislation also requires that depositories
report to the GPO every two years; this is accomplished through the Biennial
Survey, a questionnaire that depositories complete and submit online. The GPO
then releases the results to the depository community.
There are approximately 1,200 libraries currently in the FDLP, and they can be
one of two types of depositories: “selectives” or “regionals.” Selectives are what
they sound like—depositories with a small basic collection to which they must
maintain access, but outside that collection selectives are allowed to select
which government publications they wish to receive.

Table 1.1. Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) Basic Collection
RESOURCE

FORMAT
AVAILABILITY

American FactFinder

Online

Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government

Online

Budget of the United States Government

Online and Print

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Online and Print

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications

Online

Code of Federal Regulations

Online, Print, and
Microfiche

Congressional Directory

Online and Print

Congressional Record

Online, Print, and
Microfiche

Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and
Interpretation

Online and Print

Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents

Online

Economic Indicators

Online and Print

Economic Report of the President

Online and Print

FDsys (soon to be govinfo)

Online

Federal Register

Online, Print, and
Microfiche

Occupational Outlook Handbook

Online

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States

Online and Print

Social Security Handbook

Online and Print

United States Code

Online and Print

United States Government Manual

Online

United States Reports

Online and Print

United States Statutes at Large

Online and Print

They are also allowed, within certain constraints and after following
prescribed procedures, to discard publications. Each selective is required to have
a depository coordinator; this is an individual who is responsible for keeping
current with FDLP information, monitoring changes in regulation, liaising with
the GPO, and in general overseeing depository operations for the library.
Though depositories designate a coordinator—occasionally spreading these
duties out across multiple positions within an institution—the final responsibility
for meeting all mandates and regulations rests with the library’s top-level
administration (i.e., dean, director, etc.).
Selectives report to a regional library, which is tasked with overseeing them
and offering guidance and assistance, especially in the realm of collection
management and materials disposal. In addition to acting as a intermediary
between selectives and the GPO, regional libraries, of which there can be no
more than two per state, were intended to serve as legacy collections; they
were initially required to receive 100 percent of the publications available from
the FDLP, and, with a few exceptions (e.g., superseded materials), to keep at
least one copy in tangible form (print or microform) in perpetuity. In this way,
preservation of these materials for continued public access would be assured.
This resulted in an ever-expanding collection that could never be culled, a state
of affairs that many regional libraries, after decades in the FDLP, began to see
as a burden. In 2016, the Superintendent of Documents issued a policy
statement allowing regional libraries to discard certain publications which had
been retained for seven years and had authenticated digital versions available
from the GPO or those which had at least four tangible copies geographically
distributed within the FDLP.9 Advance approval for this disposal must be granted
by the GPO, and the publications must be offered to the selective depositories
within the regional’s state. This process is similar to the disposal process under
which selectives have always operated: namely, that with regional approval and
after offering the publication to all selectives within the state, a selective may
dispose of a publication which it has held for five years.

How does a library receive these publications in the first place? Regionals are
still sent everything the GPO produces; selectives are allowed to choose which


publications they prefer to receive through use of the GPO Item List—a list of
numbers which correspond to government information publications. The item
numbers a depository library has selected are known as that library’s selection
profile. Using a publication entitled the List of Classes of United States
Government Publications Available for Selection by Depository Libraries,
selectors can cross-reference item numbers with the titles of the publications
they represent.



Figure 1.2. The printed version of the List of Classes of United States Government Publications Available for Selection by
Depository Libraries, 2015 revision.

While the Item List’s name suggests that selection could be made with
specificity (one item number equaling one title), that is not the case. Many item
numbers correspond to entire classes of publications, some of which are not
helpfully labeled (e.g., Department of Agriculture, Electronic Products,
Miscellaneous). The GPO has made strides over the years toward modifying the
Item List to clarify what a library will be receiving if it selects a particular item
number (and perhaps just as importantly, in what format that item will be
received), but there is still much work to be done. The GPO also employs a
practice it considers helpful: randomly adding certain item numbers to a library’s
profile because the library selected an item number the GPO considers to be
similar—consider it along the lines of Netflix’s type of suggestions where
“because you watched Jane Eyre, we suggest you’ll enjoy this unspeakable
squid-based erotica.” Government information librarians refer to this as “profile

creep” and must monitor their selections to make sure they drop item numbers
which result in publications they do not wish to receive (and occasionally, never
selected). Understanding how government publications are selected—the item
number method is codified in a statute—is essential, since it affects collection
management in ways not applicable to traditional library resource acquisition.
In the past, the profile update cycle was annual; libraries could only make
additions or drop item numbers once a year. Using the intuitively named
Depository Selection Information Management System (DSIMS), libraries may
now update their profiles continually, dropping or adding item numbers at any
time. The addition of electronic products take effect immediately, as does the
dropping of any item number; additions of tangible publications are “held” by
the system until the beginning of the next fiscal year. Similar to ordering
anything else online, tangible publications arrive at depository libraries in a
cardboard box from a warehouse, usually from the larger of the GPO’s
warehouses, located in Laurel, Maryland.
Acquisition of digital materials is more complicated than receiving tangible
ones. If a library selects an item number for a tangible publication, that
publication then arrives at the library in a box; if a library selects a digital
publication, literally nothing happens. The GPO offers a notification of sorts
through a tool called New Electronic Titles. This is a list of all of the new digital
titles released, which libraries can then compare with their profiles to find titles
to select so that the libraries may then provide access, either through creating
records for their online catalogs, linking in LibGuides or the library’s website, or
through other methods. Vendors (e.g., Marcive) also offer batch records for
electronic resources based on a depository’s selection profile, which some
libraries use to manage and provide access to their digital selections from the