Fiscal Year 1999 Susan M. Tarr, Executive Director
Highlights Quarterly Meetings Working Groups During Fiscal Year 1999, the Federal Library and Information Center Committee
(FLICC) continued to carry out its mission "to foster excellence in federal library and information
services through interagency cooperation and to provide guidance and direction for FEDLINK."
FLICC's annual information policy forum, "Copyright, Electronic Works, and Federal Libraries:
Maintaining Equilibrium," focused on how authors, publishers, readers, libraries, and the
government are working to redistribute rights and obligations between authors and readers and
restore balance to the copyright arena. FLICC also held its annual FLICC Symposium on the
Information Professional, this year focusing on the current context for federal outsourcing.
FLICC working groups achieved a broad agenda in Fiscal Year 1999: the first annual FLICC
Awards to recognize the innovative ways federal libraries, librarians and library technicians
fulfill the information demands of government, business, scholarly communities and the
American public; a Web-based handbook of federal librarianship; new educational initiatives in
the areas of cartographic and serials cataloging; surveys to members on fees, technical
processing, and information technology; knowledge, skills, and abilities statements for federal
cataloging librarians; increased federal library participation in the Library of Congress
Bicentennial; and expanded access to resources through distance learning and the FLICC Web
site.
FLICC also collaborated with the Library's General Counsel on a series of meetings between
federal agency general counsels and their librarian counterparts. These general counsel fora grew
out of the recognition that federal attorneys and librarians face many of the same questions in
applying copyright, privacy, FOIA, and other laws to their agencies' activities in the electronic
age -- with regard both to using information within the agency and to
publishing the agency's own information. These meetings have
already fostered a closer relationship between agency attorneys
and librarians and helped them develop contacts with their
counterparts at other agencies.
In addition to supporting the membership projects, FLICC staff
identified and implemented a series of customer service
initiatives, made substantial improvements to the efficiency of
the FEDLINK program, improved members' use of OCLC, negotiated
additional and substantial discounts for FEDLINK members, and
investigated options to replace the FEDLINK financial system.
Staff also sponsored 34 seminars and workshops for 1343
participants and conducted 105 OCLC, Internet, and related
training classes for 1099 students.
FLICC's cooperative network, FEDLINK, continued to enhance its
fiscal operations while providing its members with $50.8 million
in transfer pay services and $67.5 million in direct pay
services, saving federal agencies more than $14 million in vendor
volume discounts and approximately $6.6 million more in cost
avoidance.
During Fiscal Year 1999, FEDLINK staff resolved all critical
"Y2K" issues for systems throughout FLICC and automated the
billing upload to the Library's central financial system to
reduce members' IAG billing turnaround time. FEDLINK staff also
collaborated with the Library's central accounting unit to
eliminate redundant data entry associated with the processing of
member refunds. Continued success with FEDLINK's document
imaging and archiving system streamlined member and vendor
billing inquiries and improved records management. Moreover,
FEDLINK's continuing financial management efforts ensured that
FEDLINK successfully passed the Library's Financial Audit of
Fiscal Year 1998 transactions performed by Clifton Gunderson,
LLP.
FLICC managers worked throughout Fiscal Year 1999 to improve
project planning, implementation, and staff participation through
effective use of Facilitative Leadership (FL) techniques and
leadership development programs fostered by the Library.
FLICC Quarterly Membership Meetings
In addition to regular FLICC Working Group updates and reports
from FLICC/FEDLINK staff, each FLICC quarterly meeting had a
special meeting focus on a new or developing trend in federal
libraries: the first FLICC Quarterly Membership meeting featured
a report on the Depository Library Council by Fred Wood of the
National Library of Medicine and a presentation and tour of the
Library's Scholarly Program by its director, Prosser Gifford; the
second meeting included a demonstration and discussion of OCLC's
pilot Cooperative Online Resource Catalog (CORC) project by Terry
Noreault, Vice President of the OCLC Office of Research; the
third meeting hosted Stephen Griffin, Program Director, Special
Projects, National Science Foundation (NSF), who discussed "The
Digital Libraries Initiative at the Division of Information and
Intelligence Systems" at NSF; and the fourth meeting featured Jay
Liebowitz, Robert W. Deutsch Distinguished Professor of
Information Systems, University of Maryland-Baltimore County, who
addressed the role of federal libraries in knowledge management.
FLICC Ad Hoc Bicentennial LC Working Group
In honor of the Library's upcoming bicentennial celebration, a
FLICC working group formed in Fiscal Year 1998 to develop
programs for the entire federal library community to participate
in the Library's celebration and derive expanded promotion of
their efforts beyond the Library's bicentennial year. By
participating in the Library's bicentennial activities, federal
libraries and information centers will increase recognition of
their programs and link federal libraries to the Library of
Congress under the larger campaign to publicize the "Nation's
Collections." In Fiscal Year 1999, the working group began
working with an outside contractor to create a poster, bookmark,
and promotional toolkit for federal libraries to use in their
local celebrations. The working group developed a slogan,
celebration guidelines, and a chronology of federal libraries,
and began gathering additional materials for an online federal
library almanac. In collaboration with the FLICC Preservation
and Binding Working Group, members explored opportunities to
create a national registry of historical materials in need of
preservation and digitization. By the end of Fiscal Year 1999,
the working group had completed the majority of its planned
bicentennial toolkit materials and initiated the production and
distribution phase of their efforts in time for the bicentennial
year.
FLICC Awards Working Group
To honor the many innovative ways federal libraries, librarians,
and library technicians fulfill the information demands of
government, business, research, scholarly communities, and the
American public, the Awards Working Group administered a series
of national awards for federal librarianship. The three awards
are:
Federal Library/Information Center of the Year -- to commend
a library or information center's outstanding, innovative,
and sustained achievements during the fiscal year in
fulfilling its organization's mission, fostering innovation
in its services, and meeting the needs of its users;
Federal Librarian of the Year -- to honor professional
achievements during the fiscal year in the advancement of
library and information sciences, the promotion and
development of services in support of the agency's mission,
and demonstrated professionalism as described in the Special
Library Association's Competencies for Special Librarians in
the 21st Century; and
Federal Library Technician of the Year -- to recognize the
achievements of a federal library technician during the
fiscal year for service excellence in support of the library
or information center's mission, exceptional technical
competency, and flexibility in adapting work methods and
dealing with change.
In this first year of the program, the working group reviewed 19
nominations in the three award categories. They selected eight
entries as finalists for the FLICC Executive Board to review and
determine the 1998 winners. At the annual FLICC Forum on Federal
Information Policies in March 1999, FLICC announced the winners
of the first annual awards:
Federal Library and/or Information Center of the
Year (tie)--National Institutes of Health Library and the
Defense Technical Information Center;
Federal Librarian of the Year--Joan Buntzen, Librarian of
the Navy; and
Federal Library Technician of the Year--Connie Clarkston,
David Grant Medical Library, Travis Air Force Base.
The individual award winners each received a certificate and an
engraved crystal award in the shape of a book honoring their
contributions to the field of federal library and information
service, and the institutional winners each received a framed,
hand-painted certificate for display. The working group then
reviewed the program criteria in the summer of 1999 and initiated
promotion efforts for the second annual awards program.
FLICC Budget and Finance Working Group
The FLICC Budget and Finance Working Group developed the Fiscal
Year 2000 FEDLINK budget and fee structure in January 1999. When
approved unanimously by the FLICC membership in June 1999, the
final budget for Fiscal Year 2000 kept membership fees for
transfer pay customers at Fiscal Year 1998 levels: 7.75 percent
on accounts up to $300,000 and 7.00 percent on amounts exceeding
$300,000. Direct pay fees also remained at Fiscal Year 1998
levels.
FLICC Education Working Group
During Fiscal Year 1999, the FLICC Education Working Group
developed or supported 34 programs for 1343 participants in the
areas of technology development, copyright issues, technician
training, cataloging and classification, and appropriations law.
In addition, the FLICC Orientations to National Libraries and
Information Centers and brown-bag luncheon discussions continued
throughout the year.
In November 1998, the working group sponsored "Contracting Out:
Making It Your Job" with speakers including: Sybil Bullock,
Director, Redstone Scientific Information Center, U.S. Army
Missile Command; Barbara Wrinkle, Director, U.S. Air Force
Libraries and Information Systems; Dorothy Fisher Weed,
Librarian, Department of Labor; Omar Akchurin, Project Manager,
SANAD Support Technologies; and Doria Grimes, Chief, Library
Contracts, NOAA. Seventy-five federal librarians attended this
program to discuss the current context for federal outsourcing of
information and library services.
During the winter months FLICC continued its commitment to
librarians' and library technicians' continuing education by
hosting satellite downlinks to two popular teleconferences,
"Soaring to... Excellence" and "Periodical Database," both
sponsored by the College of DuPage.
Following the success of previous programs, the working group
held the third annual "Federal Library Technicians Institute."
This week-long institute again focused on orienting library
technicians to the full array of library functions in the federal
context. Federal and academic librarians joined FLICC
professionals to discuss various areas of librarianship,
including acquisitions, cataloging, reference, and automation.
The newest FLICC institute, "Financial Management Institute for
Federal Librarians," reviewed accounting and budgeting
principles, federal appropriations law, non-federal funds and
fund raising, interpretation and presentation of financial
information, cost analysis, and vendor price analysis.
Participants gained skills in making financial decisions,
budgeting, and accounting for library resources in a federal
environment.
The working group also began developing an online handbook of
federal librarianship to serve as a resource tool for librarians
new to the federal community and a quick reference guide for
established federal librarians.
FLICC Information Technology Working Group
In Fiscal Year 1999, the Information Technology Working Group
promoted its new Web-based survey entitled "The FLICC Information
Technology Assessment for Federal Libraries and Information
Centers." This tool helps federal librarians examine how
information technology is being used in their organization and
glean information about other libraries' equipment and programs.
The results of this informative questionnaire are accessible
through the FLICC/FEDLINK Web site and allow federal librarians
to assess the level of automation in their libraries by comparing
their agency's use of technology with other agencies' library
profiles.
The working group also co-sponsored, with the OCLC Institute, a
two-day seminar, "Technology in a Time of Rapid Change," to help
libraries explore and quantify current technology trends and
their impact on federal libraries. Participants gained a
foundation to guide their agencies with improved strategic
technology planning.
FLICC Nominating Working Group
The FLICC Nominating Working Group oversaw the 1999 election
process for FLICC rotating members, FLICC Executive Board members
and the FEDLINK Advisory Council (FAC). Librarians representing
a variety of federal agencies agreed to place their names in
nomination for these positions.
FLICC Personnel Working Group
The Personnel Working Group continued its efforts in developing
sample Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities(KSAs)statements to help
hiring officials specify appropriate quality ranking factors on
vacancy announcements for federal librarian positions. They
intended these KSAs be used as a guide; they are not associated
with specific grade levels nor are they intended to be used for
classifying 1410 positions. During Fiscal Year 1999, the working
group formalized KSAs for cataloging librarians and posted them
on the FLICC Web site.
The working group also contacted the Office of Personnel
Management(OPM)regarding improved recruitment for the 1410
librarian series, requesting that OPM eliminate references to a
defunct test previously administered by OPM from the current
qualifications standard. Their continued correspondence with OPM
also has begun to focus on current qualification requirements for
library positions.
FLICC Preservation and Binding Working Group
The Preservation and Binding Working Group reorganized and
reformed in Fiscal Year 1999, naming new co-chairs late in the
year. The goals of the revitalized working group are to identify
preservation priorities for federal libraries and information
centers, discover alternative sources of funding to support these
preservation efforts, and to create and disseminate preservation
information and resources in an electronic format through the
FLICC Web site.
The working group explored the current GPO Binding contract and
made strides toward developing a standard federal
conservation/preservation contract. Through the FLICC/FEDLINK
Web site, the working group also promoted the "Disaster
Preparedness Workbook for U.S. Navy Libraries and Archives,"
written by Robert Schnare of the U.S. Naval War College Library.
FLICC Publications and Education Office
Publications: In Fiscal Year 1999, FLICC supported an ambitious
publications schedule producing 11 issues of a completely
redesigned FEDLINK Technical Notes: October 1998 (8 pages);
November 1998 (8 pages); December 1998 (8 pages); January 1999
(12 pages); February 1999 (12 pages); March 1999 (12 pages);
April 1999 (12 pages); May 1999 (8 pages); June 1999 (8 pages);
July 1999 (8 pages); and August/September 1999 (12 pages); and
two issues of the FLICC Quarterly Newsletter: Fall/Winter 1998
(double issue/16 pages); and Spring 1999 (12 pages).
FLICC published expanded and enhanced materials to support the
FEDLINK program including the 75-page Fiscal Year 2000 FEDLINK
Registration Booklet; six FEDLINK Information Alerts; and the
1999 FLICC Awards brochure. FLICC also produced the minutes of
the four Fiscal Year 1999 FLICC Quarterly Meetings and bimonthly
FLICC Executive Board meetings and all FLICC Education Program
promotional and support materials including the FLICC Forum
announcement, Forum attendee and speaker badges, press
advisories, speeches and speaker remarks, and Forum collateral
materials. In addition, FLICC produced 24 FLICC Meeting
Announcements to promote FLICC Education Programs, FEDLINK
membership, vendor, and OCLC users' meetings, and education
institutes, along with badges, programs, certificates of
completion, and other supporting materials.
FLICC and FEDLINK staff worked diligently throughout 1999 to
continue to expand and update the FLICC/FEDLINK Web site. The
site contains a variety of information resources, member
information, links to vendors and other members, listings of
membership and minutes of various FLICC working groups and
governing bodies, access to account data online, award program
information, event calendars, and an online training registration
system that is updated nightly. FLICC staff converted all
publications, newsletters, announcements, alerts, member
materials, and working group resources into HTML format,
uploading current materials within days of their being printed.
Through collaboration with the FEDLINK Network Operations staff,
the FLICC Web site continues to expand and offer resources
including OCLC Usage Analysis Reports, pricing data for the
FEDLINK Books Procurement Program, and many new documents,
including the Fiscal Year 2000 budget materials, serials
procurement materials, and training resources.
Education: In conjunction with the FLICC Education Working
Group, FLICC offered a total of 34 seminars, workshops, and
lunchtime discussions to 1343 members of the federal library and
information center community. Multi-day institutes covered
serials cooperative cataloging, technology planning, library
technician training, metadata, federal financial management,
cataloging cartographic materials, managing interlibrary loan;
one-day sessions offered hands-on and theoretical knowledge on
serials procurement, managing Web access, periodical databases,
implementation of the Library's Integrated Library System, and
contracting out. The "FLICC Orientations to National Libraries
and Information Centers Series," comprised of tours of other
federal libraries and information centers, continued in Fiscal
Year 1999 with visits to and presentations at the Government
Printing Office, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), the Supreme Court, the U.S. Department of
the Interior, and the U.S. Department of State. FLICC also was a
host to two General Counsel Fora, and to the College of DuPage's
"Soaring to Excellence," a multi-session satellite downlink
program on library science issues for librarians and library
technicians, as well as DuPage's "Periodic Database" satellite
presentation.
FLICC also provided organizational, promotional, and logistical
support for FEDLINK meetings and events including: the FEDLINK
Fall and Spring Membership Meetings; two FEDLINK OCLC Users Group
meetings; a series of vendor briefings; and a program on "How to
Use FEDLINK in Fiscal Year 2000."
FLICC continued to improve its multimedia distance learning
initiative through significant upgrades to equipment (camera,
lighting, sound system), software, and video quality. Using
these resources, FLICC produced high quality, edited educational
programs (with title pages, subtitles, voiceovers, rolling
credits, etc.), and through its arrangement with the National
Library of Education, made these videos available for
interlibrary loans to federal libraries throughout the country
and around the world. Planning and testing in Fiscal 1999 moved
FLICC's distance learning initiatives toward a World Wide Web-based presentation with the acquisition of Real Media Producer
software and equipment.
FEDLINK (Federal Library and Information Network)
In Fiscal Year 1999, FEDLINK gave federal agencies cost-effective
access to an array of automated information retrieval services
for online research, cataloging, and interlibrary loan (ILL).
FEDLINK members also procured publications, technical processing
services, serials, electronic journals, CD-ROMs, books, and
document delivery via Library/FEDLINK contracts with major
vendors.
The FAC met monthly during Fiscal Year 1999 (except in November,
May, and August), holding its first all electronic meeting in
June. During the year, the FAC approved the Fiscal Year 2000
FEDLINK budget and worked with staff to create a white paper for
agency contracting officers on the value and efficiency of using
FEDLINK services.
FEDLINK's semiannual membership meetings both focused on
electronic collection development. The Fall meeting featured
guest speaker Joyce L. Ogburn, Assistant University Librarian for
Information Resources and Systems, Old Dominion University
Library, Norfolk, Virginia, who addressed integrating electronic
materials into library operations from the librarian's
perspective, and Marcia Talley, FEDLINK's OCLC Users Council
Delegate, who reported on the October OCLC meeting entitled
"Digital Libraries: Looking at the Future of the Information
Industry." The FEDLINK Spring Membership Meeting featured Gil
Baldwin (GPO), Janice Beattie (NOAA), and Martin Smith
(Smithsonian), who discussed "controlling access to digital
resources." FEDLINK staff also presented a description of OCLC's
pilot CORC project which explores technology to share cataloging
of electronic resources.
FEDLINK/OCLC Network Activity
The Fall and Spring OCLC Users Group Meetings highlighted OCLC
advancements in the use of Web and Windows technologies. At the
Fall meeting, FEDLINK staff outlined both OCLC and FEDLINK plans
to implement and train users on a redeployed FirstSearch system
that takes advantage of Java scripts and allows libraries to
customize library resources to suit user needs and optimize local
budgetary requirements. FEDLINK members also heard reviews of
OCLC's new simplified cataloging system for use via the Web,
designed for use by small libraries or libraries with large copy
cataloging operations. The Spring meeting featured presentations
outlined OCLC's Cataloging MicroEnhancer and its other Windows-based packages which were recently enhanced to automate more
complex cataloging functions. All of these packages reached a
critical mass of functionality this year, making them optimum
choices for the majority of the federal libraries already
contributing to OCLC's WorldCat database.
FEDLINK also promoted increased use of OCLC's and FEDLINK's
electronic choices for gathering information about products and
prices, ordering products, and asking questions, via the Web,
email, and electronic listservs. Although about one third of
this type of information is still made available via print in
newsletters and product literature, the majority of OCLC's and
FEDLINK's information about OCLC systems, services and prices are
now distributed first or only via electronic means.
Through FEDLINK's efforts, several federal libraries began
participating in OCLC's pilot CORC project, agreeing to develop
and test this online system for streamlining the collection and
cataloging of Web resources. The Smithsonian and the National
Wetlands Research Center joined the pilot early in the process,
followed by a group of earth sciences libraries organized by the
FEDLINK office, including Environmental Protection Agency,
Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, NASA Goddard,
NOAA, and the Naval Research Laboratory. Ann Parham, the Army
Librarian, then worked with FEDLINK to organize a second group
that includes the National Defense University (NDU), the Center
for Army Lessons Learned (CARL), a TRADOC library at Ft.
Leavenworth, the Pentagon Library, the U.S. Military Academy
(West Point), the Army War College, and three Army Corps of
Engineers libraries: Headquarters, Cold Regions, and Waterways
Experiment Station. The Air University and the National Labor
Relations Board also began work in the CORC system in early 1999.
Beyond the routine support and administration of OCLC services
for FEDLINK members, FEDLINK's Network Operations also cross-trained three staff members from FEDLINK Fiscal Operations (FFO)
in consecutive 120-day details to a paraprofessional level
position to support OCLC administration. These details
benefitted FNO beyond the administrative assistance they provided
by enhancing FNO staff's understanding of fiscal processes and
FFO's understanding of network operations. This improved
communication between units met goals previously established
cooperatively by staff and management.
FEDLINK Training Program
The 1999 FEDLINK training program included specialized training
classes and customized workshops for FEDLINK members around the
globe. OCLC's introduction of its New FirstSearch service
provided reason and opportunity to conduct 20 targeted training
sessions for members converting to this upgraded retrieval
service. Staff held 10 of these FirstSearch sessions onsite in
member libraries and hosted two special sessions at the American
Library Association (ALA) conference for Air Force and Army
librarians. FNO met other important training needs by tailoring
special workshops to specific members, including a class on basic
acquisition of library materials and an advanced acquisitions
class developed for the Military Librarians Workshop in
Alexandria, Virginia in November. Additionally, FNO staff held
two workshops on information service licensing for Air Force
librarians at ALA in New Orleans in June. To assist members with
integrating their research and library acquisitions/collection
development on the Web, FNO staff presented session at the second
annual cooperative workshop with MINITEX in April.
Overall, FEDLINK conducted 105 OCLC, Internet, and related
classes for 1099 students. Of the 105 classes held, 55 were at
field sites. Staff held training sessions in Alabama, Arizona,
California, Florida, Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington
state. Through its contract training programs, FEDLINK offered
members access to programs through the OCLC Pacific Network
(Vandenberg Air Force Base (AFB), California and Travis AFB,
California) and the Bibliographical Center for Research (Cannon
AFB, New Mexico; Malmstrom AFB, Montana; Peterson AFB, Colorado;
Warren AFB, Wyoming; and Edwards AFB, California). Federal
librarians also continued to have access to training through
FEDLINK agreements to four OCLC regional library networks:
Capcon, Palinet, Solinet and the Michigan Library Network.
Procurement Program
FEDLINK successfully re-competed its Fiscal Year 2000 basic
ordering agreements (BOAs) for serials subscription services by
May and presented these service updates in the same month. BOAs
were issued to American Overseas Book Company, Blackwell, EBSCO,
and Faxon. FEDLINK subsequently competed 300 serials accounts in
Fiscal Year 1999 for Fiscal Year 2000 service.
In 1999, FEDLINK took the initiative to research commercial
information retrieval/electronic publications products and
services available to its members. The objective of the project
was to gain better discounts and more comprehensive offerings for
FEDLINK members. In anticipation of beginning the contract
renewal process, staff had discussions with Amigos, BCR, Incolsa,
Ohionet, and Solinet regarding vendors' products and services and
the level of discounts offered to those networks and FEDLINK.
FEDLINK distributed renewal information to all the service
providers, requesting that they review their product offerings
and discounts. FEDLINK's top 10 database vendors also met with
FEDLINK and Contract and Logistics staff to discuss their mergers
and acquisitions, new consortial arrangements, additional
products/services, revised pricing and licensing terms.
FEDLINK also collected information from FEB and FAC members,
regarding their negotiations with commercial vendors for services
outside the scope of the FEDLINK program. In addition, staff
compared products/services available through FEDLINK with those
available via the General Services Administration (GSA)
schedules. FEDLINK used the results of this in-depth research as
background and briefing information when negotiating with Lexis-Nexis, West Group, Information Handling Service, Chemical
Abstracts, Gale Research Group, Congressional Quarterly, Dialog
(including DataStar & Profound), and Bell & Howell/UMI.
Staff explored a variety of issues with these information
retrieval/electronic publications vendors:
As a result of these discussions, FEDLINK vendors are now
offering a variety of new discounts and other savings. FEDLINK
also worked with a number of vendors to implement a pilot plan to
streamline end-of-year billing disputes. Some vendors also
agreed to offer additional products and services to FEDLINK
members, and others consolidated their offerings into single
accounts to streamline billing functions. Throughout the annual
contract renewal process FEDLINK staff emphasized with vendors
that FEDLINK was a procurement consortium and that FEDLINK
contract officers are willing and able to negotiate special
arrangements for any FEDLINK members.
During Fiscal 1999, FEDLINK focused on the Library's purchasing
agreements and staff met with representatives from interested
Library units to negotiate Library enterprise-wide access to
Lexis/Nexis and free trial offers from the Bureau of National
Affairs (BNA) and Bell&Howell UMI/ProQuest.
Expanding its consortial purchasing efforts, FEDLINK worked
closely with Wright-Patterson Technical Libraries to negotiate
consortial pricing with Dialog. Currently, Dialog is offering
special consortial pricing for Wright-Patterson Technical
libraries: Wright-Patterson, Phillips, Rome, and Tyndall
Technical Libraries.
FEDLINK staff also completed site visits to the District of
Columbia Corporation Counsel, the Agency for International
Development Office of the General Counsel, and the International
Trade Office. FEDLINK also assisted the Health Care Finance
Administration with cost proposal review of an online vendor's
proposal.
To improve contracts/account management, FEDLINK arranged
separate agreements for network training contracts in Fiscal Year
2000. In Fiscal Year 2000, FEDLINK members will use their
FEDLINK training accounts solely for FEDLINK or FLICC events and
set up separate accounts with other networks (e.g., CAPCON) whose
training services they plan to use.
During Fiscal Year 1999, FEDLINK processed 8,675 member service
transaction requests for current and prior years, representing
$50.8 million in current year transfer pay, $2.9 million in prior
year transfer pay, $67.5 million in current year direct pay, and
virtually zero in prior year direct pay service dollars, saving
members more than $14 million in vendor volume discounts and
approximately $6.6 million more in cost avoidance. Staff issued
54,087 invoices for payment of current and prior year orders and
earned $12,800 in discounts in excess of interest penalties for
late payment of FEDLINK vendor invoices, completed Fiscal Year
1994 member service dollar refunds to close out obligations for
expired appropriations and refund members' remaining account
balances, and successfully passed the Library of Congress
Financial Audit of Fiscal Year 1998 transactions performed by
Clifton Gunderson, LLP.
FEDLINK implemented several initiatives to collaborate with the
members to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of customer
service operations, resolved critical "Y2K" issues for its
financial system, and revised plans to replace the current
financial system through the Library's planned procurement for
financial management software in 2004. Staff also found
innovative ways to improve the efficiency of FEDLINK's financial
processes and ensured that administrative expenditures and
obligations did not exceed program fee projections.
FEDLINK Vendor Services
Total FEDLINK vendor service dollars for Fiscal Year 1999 alone
comprised $50.8 million for transfer pay customers and $67.5
million for direct pay customers. Electronic information
retrieval services represented $13.5 million and $55.0 million
spent, respectively, by transfer pay and direct pay customers.
Within this service category, online services comprised the
largest procurement for transfer pay and direct pay customers,
representing $13.1 million and $54.4 million, respectively.
Publication acquisition services represented $30.7 million and
$12.4 million, respectively, for transfer pay and direct pay
customers. Within this service category, serials subscription
services comprised the largest procurement for transfer pay and
direct pay customers, representing $23.8 million and $12.3
million, respectively. Library support services represented $6.6
million and $65 thousand, respectively for transfer pay and
direct pay customers. Within this service category, bibliographic
utilities constituted the largest procurement area, representing
$5.3 million and $65 thousand for transfer pay and direct pay
customers respectively.
Accounts Receivable and Member Services
FEDLINK processed Fiscal Year 1999 registrations from federal
libraries, information centers, and other federal offices that
resulted in 662 signed Fiscal Year 1999 interagency agreements.
In addition, FEDLINK processed 2,320 IAG amendments (1,063 for
Fiscal Year 1999 and 1,257 for prior year adjustments) for
agencies that added, adjusted, or ended service funding. These
IAGs and IAG amendments represented 8,675 individual service
requests to begin, move, convert, or cancel service from FEDLINK
vendors. FEDLINK executed service requests by generating 8,375
delivery orders that LC/Contracts and Logistics issued to
vendors. For Fiscal Year 1999 alone, FEDLINK processed $50.8
million in service dollars for 2,470 transfer pay accounts and
$67.5 million in service dollars for 177 direct pay accounts.
Included in the above member service transactions were 621 member
requests to move prior year (no-year and multi-year) funds across
fiscal year boundaries. These no-year and multi-year service
request transactions represented an additional contracting volume
of $5.3 million comprising 1,018 delivery orders.
The FEDLINK Fiscal Hotline responded to a variety of member
questions ranging from routine queries about IAGs, delivery
orders, and account balances, to complicated questions regarding
FEDLINK policies and operating procedures. In addition, the
FLICC Web site and email contacts continued to offer FEDLINK
members and vendors 24-hour access to fiscal operations. Staff
continued to schedule appointments with FEDLINK member agencies
and FEDLINK vendors to discuss complicated account problems and
assigned senior staff to concentrate on resolving complex current
and prior year situations. FEDLINK online financial service
system, ALIX-FS, maintained current and prior year transfer pay
accounts in Fiscal Year 1999 and continued to provide members
early access to their monthly balance information throughout the
fiscal year. FEDLINK prepared monthly mailings that alerted
individual members to unsigned IAG amendments, deficit accounts,
rejected invoices, and delinquent accounts.
Transfer Pay Accounts Payable Services
For transfer pay users, FEDLINK issued 54,087 invoices for
payment during Fiscal Year 1999 for both current and prior year
orders. Staff efficiently processed vendor invoices and earned
$12,800 in discounts in excess of interest payment penalties
levied for the late payment of invoices to FEDLINK vendors.
FEDLINK continued to maintain open accounts for three prior years
to pay publications service invoices ("bill laters" and "back
orders") for members using books and serials services. Staff
issued 90,036 statements to members (23,047 for the current year
and 66,989 for prior years) and continued to generate current
fiscal year statements for electronic information retrieval
service accounts on the 30th or the last working day of each
month, and publications and acquisitions account statements on
the 15th of each month. FEDLINK issued final Fiscal Year 1994
statements in support of closing obligations for expired Fiscal
Year 1994 appropriations. FFO issued quarterly statements for
prior fiscal years and supported the reconciliation of Fiscal
Year 1995 FEDLINK vendor services accounts.
Financial Management
FEDLINK successfully passed the "Library of Congress Financial
Audit of Fiscal Year 1998 Transactions" performed by Clifton
Gunderson, LLP. During the same time period, FEDLINK also passed
a formal review of its management and internal controls policies
and procedures by the Library's Inspector General. FEDLINK then
completed a limited review of its automated financial system for
the Library's 1999 financial audit. FFO invested significant
time and effort to support these audits including: 1) financial
systems briefings, 2) documented review and analysis of financial
system, 3) testing and verification of account balances in the
central and subsidiary financial system, 4) financial statement
preparation support, 5) security briefings and reviews, and 6)
research and documented responses to follow-up audit questions
and findings.
In response to customer service research in Fiscal Year 1998,
FEDLINK implemented several of the initiatives identified by
members to enhance the efficacy and efficiency of fiscal
operations. Specifically, fiscal managers collaborated with
members to develop policies to improve member management of OCLC
deficits and reduce the risk of anti-deficiencies. FEDLINK also
secured a 30-day extension for year-end deadlines for adding
funds to member accounts. Other initiatives included reducing
the turnaround time for MIPR signatures, IAG bills, invoice
rejection notices, and money move requests; establishing closer
working relationships with members and vendors in the areas of
customer communication and account management; and expanding
resources and account information access on the FLICC Website;
and streamlining the acquisition of FEDLINK vendor services
through credit card and online e-business procurement.
Financial Management Systems
By the end of Fiscal Year 1999, FEDLINK's financial system and
the Library's central accounting system were "Y2K Ready,"
denoting that Year 2000 changes have been made to operating
software although functional elements are subject to further
testing. During the fiscal year, the FEDLINK systems team
resolved all critical Y2K issues for systems throughout
FLICC/FEDLINK. Their efforts included converting the financial
management system from a Banyan Vines network operating system to
a Windows NT network operating system; modifying integrated
software tables, forms, and reports to accommodate four character
years; and updating Web file management and uploads.
In Fiscal Year 1999, FEDLINK researched private sector financial
management system capabilities to develop requirements for a new
automated financial system to replace FEDLINK's current financial
system. The research indicated that private sector systems should
be part of the choice set for the next generation FEDLINK system.
As part of these research and review efforts, FEDLINK revised and
streamlined a request for proposal for private sector and
Treasury approved system providers, determined proposal
evaluation strategies, and assembled an evaluation team. Because
submitted proposals exceeded FLICC's predetermined cost target
for acquiring a new financial management system, FEDLINK revised
its strategy to become part of the Library's planned financial
procurement scheduled for Fiscal Year 2004 in support of all
congressional agencies.
FEDLINK also automated its billing upload program which
significantly reduced members' IAG billing turnaround time and
collaborated with the Library's central accounting unit to
eliminate redundant data entry associated with the processing of
member refunds. Continued success with FEDLINK's document imaging
and archiving system streamlined member and vendor billing
inquiries and improved records management. Future efforts
include extending the use of this system to other units within
FEDLINK's Accounts Receivable and Contracts areas.
Budget and Revenue
During Fiscal Year 1999, FEDLINK earned only 90 percent of its
target Fiscal Year 1999 operating budget in fee revenue from
signed IAGs. Since FEDLINK canceled its request for proposal for
a replacement financial system, administrative expenditures and
obligations did not exceed program fee projections. As Fiscal
Year 1999 ended, FEDLINK fee revenue was approximately 9 percent
below Fiscal Year 1998 levels for the same time period.
Approximately half of the 9 percent drop in fee revenue is
attributed to the Fiscal Year 1999 budget reduction in fees for
transfer pay service accounts. The other half of the 9 percent
drop in fee revenue is attributed to approximately a 5 percent
drop in transfer pay service dollar volume below Fiscal Year 1998
levels.