In 1993, Congress passed the U.S. Government Printing Office Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act (Public Law 103-40), which expanded GPO's mission to provide electronic access to Federal Government information. In June 1994, GPO launched GPO Access, and in January 2009 GPO unveiled the next generation of Government information online with its Federal Digital System (FDsys). December 20, 2010 begins the countdown to the sunset of GPO Access. For the next several months, GPO Access will continue to be updated in parallel with FDsys, and in mid-2011, GPO Access will be officially retired.

FDsys is:

• A content management system (CMS) that ensures content integrity and authenticity.
• A preservation repository that guarantees long-term access to digital Federal Government content.
• An advanced search engine that combines extensive metadata creation with modern search technology.

FDsys enables GPO to manage Government publications from Congress and Federal agencies that are submitted to GPO in digital form, gathered from Federal Web sites, and created by scanning previously printed publications. Through FDsys, GPO is utilizing new technologies and methods for acquiring, authenticating, preserving, and providing access to Government publications in digital form.

Federal depository libraries should be planning for the public launch of FDsys and the replacement of GPO Access.