Permanent electronic access to government information: A study of federal, state, and local documents.

Even before the conception of electronic-only documents, providing permanent public access to government information was challenging. Since 1813, federal depository libraries have acquired and maintained tangible items to ensure continued access for the public. Fugitive documents, or government-produced information which escapes distribution through the Federal Depository Library System (FDLP), have always been a major concern. In our current environment, where the vast majority of government information is distributed electronic-only, this problem has only worsened. That, coupled with the ability to completely destroy electronic documents with the click of a mouse, has made the task of finding and ensuring permanent public access to this information even more daunting. Agencies remove information for a variety of reasons—fear of the release of sensitive material, web site restructuring, or a lack of understanding of the historical significance of some materials. In 1998, an audit of the National Institute of Health found that 78% of material suitable for inclusion in the FDLP was not submitted by government agencies. Former Public Printer Bruce James noted that agency self-publication which bypasses standard government distribution “deprives future generations from having an accurate record of the work of our government.” In this day and age, how permanent is electronic government information? This paper will explore the permanency of selected electronic government information over a twelve-month period to determine its stability and accessibility

Migration of Government Information Products to the Internet

Government information traditionally published in printed form is increasingly appearing on federal agency websites. This transition generally results in better access to information. However, these changes raise a variety of bibliographic control and access problems for the Federal Depository Library Program. This article provides an overview of these issues, examines responses to date, and provides the perspective of a government manager on some of the access issues, arguing that rather than fighting the changes librarians need to help the system evolve by embracing proactive solutions

Permanent Electronic Access to Government Information: A Study of Federal, State, and Local Documents

[First two paragraphs] Even before the conception of electronic-only documents, providing permanent public access to government information was challenging. Since 1813, federal depository libraries have acquired and maintained tangible items to ensure continued access for the public. Fugitive documents, or government-produced information which escapes distribution through the Federal Depository Library System (FDLP), have always been a major concern. In our current environment, where the vast majority of government information is distributed electronic-only, this problem has only worsened. That, coupled with the ability to completely destroy electronic documents with the click of a mouse, has made the task of finding and ensuring permanent public access to this information even more daunting. Agencies remove information for a variety of reasons—fear of the release of sensitive material, web site restructuring, or a lack of understanding of the historical significance of some materials. In 1998, an audit of the National Institute of Health found that 78% of material suitable for inclusion in the FDLP was not submitted by government agencies. Former Public Printer Bruce James noted that agency self-publication which bypasses standard government distribution “deprives future generations from having an accurate record of the work of our government.” In this day and age, how permanent is electronic government information? This paper will explore the permanency of selected electronic government information over a twelve-month period to determine its stability and accessibility

The Availability Of U.S. Government Depository Publications On The World Wide Web

In order to explore the prevalence of federal government information on the World Wide Web, two random samples were taken of material sent to federal depository libraries in the first half of the year 2000. Over the course of eighteen months four separate attempts were made to find each of the sample publications on the World Wide Web using a variety of search engines. During the first attempt, one to five months after the material was sent to depository libraries, 47% of the publications in the sample were located on the Web. During the final and most successful attempt, 18 to 23 months after the distribution, 63% of the sample publications were located. Based on the sample, at present almost two-thirds of depository material are available on the Web approximately two years after the material was sent to depository libraries

Depository libraries in the 21st Century: recasting the ILO programme

Institutions established depository library programmes to ensure universal access to specified documentation. Access to depository materials has traditionally been physical, requiring publishing, dispatching, cataloguing and shelving of documents. With the global shift from print to online availability of material, institutions are questioning whether their depository library programmes have become redundant. Are depository schemes anachronistic when the public can access documents directly via the internet? Depository libraries must also look at whether, in the face of evolving priorities, they should continue to acquire material through such schemes. This paper seeks to understand changes affecting depository library programmes and explores an appropriate model for the International Labour Organization (ILO). The paper argues that, drawing from the experiences of others, the ILO should encourage the electronic dissemination of publications, and work with a more limited set of partners to promote the availability of ILO documentation and research. The content of this paper is the opinion of the author and does not imply the expression of opinions on the part of the “Fribourg formation continue” programme or the ILO Library

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Managing Government Document Collections in a Digital World

An Oregon State University Libraries (OSUL) study group\u27s review of its current policies, practices, and costs provides an illustrative case study of the challenges in managing government documents during this period of transition from print to digital. In its exploration of more aggressive approaches to greatly increasing access to electronic collections and reducing the size of the print footprint, OSUL learned that the current requirements of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) hamper such efforts. This case study provides background on prior internal studies, OSUL\u27s participation in a shared housing agreement, statistics on size and current usage of its government documents, and the costs to receive, process, and provide access to its document collection. It concludes with the recommendations for OSUL to be as proactive as it can be under the current FDLP rules and regulations while bringing projected costs to manage government documents more in line with higher priorities