Brief History
FDLP Today
Federal Libraries
FDLP on the Web
Electronic Collection Plan
Legislative Mandates
FDLP Designation

Federal librarians should know about the no cost availability of U.S. Federal Government information products both within and outside of agency libraries.

The Government Printing Office (GPO) through its Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) provides free government information products to designated depository libraries throughout the United States and its territories. These libraries, in turn, provide local, no-fee access in an impartial environment with professional assistance. They contain information on careers, business opportunities, consumer information, health and nutrition, legal and regulatory information, demographics, and countless other subjects reflecting the activity of the Government. The collections are in print, microform, CD-ROM, and online electronic media.

News, information, and communication for and about the FDLP can be found at:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/about.html

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Brief History

The FDLP originated in the early 1800's by a joint resolution of Congress and the Printing Act of 1895 was a comprehensive and substantive revision of public printing laws. This act established the basic parameters for the current FDLP and GPO's role in providing distribution and cataloging services for U.S. government information. Of note to Federal librarians, it was this law that added:

1. executive department documents to depository distribution
2. libraries from executive branch departments and the military academies to the FDLP.

For more FDLP "highlights" see Keeping America Informed at,
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pr/keepam.html

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FDLP Today

The depository program has grown into a system of more than 1350 libraries consisting of public, academic, law, federal and other types of libraries designated by members of Congress or by law as official depositories. With a few exceptions, all congressional districts and territories of the United States have at least one federal depository library.

Categories of Depository Libraries: (as of January 1999)

• Academic (general) libraries 50%
• Public libraries 20%
• Academic law libraries 11%
• Community college libraries 5%
• State and special libraries 5%
• Federal and State court libraries 4%
• Federal agency libraries 4%

There are 53 regional depository libraries which have agreed to receive all of the products available through the program and retain them for permanent public access. The majority of the depositories are selective, tailoring their selections of government information products to their community's primary needs. These libraries have limited retention responsibilities.

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Federal Libraries

There are 65 agency libraries in the executive, judicial, and legislative branches that are part of FDLP. See chart below:

INSTITUTION	LIBRARY	STATE
Air University	Air University Library	AL
Alaska Resources Library & Information	ARLIS Library	AK
U.S. Court of Appeals	Ninth Circuit Library	CA
U.S. Naval Postgraduate School	Dudley Knox Library	CA
U.S. Department of the Interior	U.S. Geological Survey Library	CA
U.S. Courts of Appeals	Tenth Circuit Library	CO
Executive Office of the President	Library	DC
U.S. Department of State	Law Library	DC
U.S. Department of Education	National Library of Education	DC
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs	Headquarters Library	DC
Department of the Army	Pentagon Library	DC
U.S. Department of Housing & Urban	Development Library	DC
U.S. Department of Agriculture	National Agricultural Library	MD
U.S. General Accounting Office	Information Services Center	DC
U.S. General Services Administration	Library	DC
U.S. Department of the Interior	Departmental Library	DC
Federal Election Commission	Law Library	DC
U.S. Department of Justice	Main Library	DC
U.S. Senate Library		DC
U.S. Department of Labor	Library	DC
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve	System - Law Library	DC
Navy Department Library	Naval Historical Center	DC
Library of Congress	Serial and Government	DC
U.S. Postal Service	Library	DC
U.S. Supreme Court Library		DC
Library of Congress	Congressional Research Service	DC
U.S. Department of State	Ralph J. Bunche Library	DC
Federal Mine Safety, Health Review	Library	DC
U.S. Department of Transportation	U.S. Coast Guard Law Library	DC
U.S. Department of the Treasury	Library	DC
U.S. Department of Transportation	TASC Library	DC
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission	Library	DC
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation	Library	DC
National Defense University Library	Fort Lesley J. McNair	DC
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission	Library	DC
U.S. Information Agency	Information Resource Center	DC
U.S. Court of Appeals	Federal Circuit Library	DC
U.S. Court of Appeals	Judges Library, Room 5518	DC
U.S. Department of Commerce	Library	DC
U.S. Patent & Trademark Office	Scientific & Technical Information	VA
Comptroller of the Currency	Library	DC
U.S. Court of Appeals	Eleventh Circuit Library	GA
U.S. Court of Appeals	Seventh Circuit Library	IL
U.S. Court of Appeals	Fifth Circuit Library	LA
Uniformed Services, University of Health	Sciences, Learning Resources	MD
Naval Air Warfare Center	Central Library	MD
U.S. Department of Health & Human Service	National Library of Medicine	MD
U.S. Court of Appeals	Fourth Circuit Library	MD
U.S. Department of Commerce	NOAA Central Library	MD
U.S. Court of Appeals	First Circuit Library	MA
U.S. Court of Appeals	Eighth Circuit Library	MO

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FDLP on the Web

GPO Access, http://www.gpoaccess.gov/index.html, the agency's legislatively-mandated online service, provides online access (Internet or dial up) to:

• Federal Register
• Congressional Record
• Congressional bills introduced in the Congress
• Code of Federal Regulations
• Commerce Business Daily
• public laws
• over 70 official government databases

The Federal Bulletin Board (FBB) http://fedbbs.access.gpo.gov/ provides free access to thousands of files from more than 20 federal agencies representing all three branches of the federal government.

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Electronic Collection Plan

In recent years, the FDLP has grown increasingly reliant upon electronic information. GPO must ensure the same permanent public access to government electronic information products included in the FDLP as the program has provided for the print/tangible products distributed to depository libraries. Therefore, GPO developed and published a policy defining the management of the electronic government information products made available through the FDLP. This policy is contained in a paper called, Managing the FDLP Electronic Collection: A Policy and Planning Document http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/ecplan.html.

The FDLP Electronic Collection has four components.

1. Core legislative and regulatory GPO Access products which will reside permanently on GPO servers;
2. Other remotely accessible products managed by either GPO or other institutions with which GPO has established formal agreements;
3. Remotely accessible electronic government information products that GPO identifies, describes, and links to but which remain under the control of the originating agencies; and
4. Tangible electronic government information products distributed to federal depository libraries.

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Legislative Mandates

Chapter 19 of Title 44 USC is the authority for the establishment and operation of the depository program.
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/title44/chap19.html
Among other things, this chapter gives the Superintendent of Documents responsibility for acquiring, classifying, cataloging, distributing to libraries and ensuring long-term permanent access of federal government information products. It and OMB Circular A-130 requires federal agencies to make all of their publications, in all formats, available to the Superintendent of Documents for distribution to depository libraries.

The Government Printing Office Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-40) is contained in Chapter 41 of Title 44 USC.
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/44/4101.html.
Commonly known as the "GPO Access Law," it was implemented in 1994 and requires the Superintendent of Documents to:

• Maintain an electronic directory of Federal electronic information;
• Provide a system of online access to the Congressional Record, Federal Register, and other appropriate publications distributed by the Superintendent of Documents;
• Operate an electronic storage facility;
• Maintain a Federal Bulletin Board.

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FDLP Designation

Designation Handbook for Federal Depository Libraries
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/desig.html

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Comments

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