National Collection Service Areas (NCSA) group Federal depository libraries into four regions as a means of ensuring geographically-dispersed permanent public access to Federal Government information products, sharing resources among depository libraries, and receiving services from GPO’s Library Services and Content Management (LSCM).
In 2015, Joint Committee on Printing (JCP) specified there be no fewer than four geographically-dispersed tangible copies of a publication in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). These four geographic areas evolved into what we now call the Midwest, Northeast, South, and West National Collection Service Areas that are shown in the map below.
Midwest, Northeast, South, and West Goals for an NCSA Approach to the FDLP: |
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Impacts of the National Collection Service Area Approach to the FDLP
Selective Federal depository libraries:
- Provides the potential for more targeted collecting of Federal information to meet local needs as a result of a greater emphasis on cooperative collection development in each region and NCSA.
- Redefines “local” for Federal information collections.
- Strengthens the safety net for tangible materials across a wider area, reducing the need for “just-in-case” collecting.
- Assists selective depository library coordinators in the maintenance of their Federal depository collections.
Regional Federal depository libraries:
- Facilitates management of Federal depository collections in their regions.
- Increases coordination of collections between regional depositories and selectives within the NCSA.
- Enables flexibilities for regionals to weed tangible formats of some titles covered by Superintendent of Document’s authorization of Regional Discard.
- Allows regional depositories the option of no longer receiving print publications.
- Increases potential for resource sharing to ease the burden of space planning.
Library Services & Content Management:
- Affords a more active role in managing tangible National Collection materials across the FDLP.
- Localizes service to depository libraries and to the service area, including targeted preservation and training opportunities.
- Addresses safety net concerns for guaranteeing permanent public access.
- Provides a framework for monitoring collection levels to ensure an adequate number of copies to meet JCP criteria.
- Provides more flexibility for the allocation of limited distribution titles on the Print Distribution Titles List.
- Creates a way to recognize and address the different needs of depository libraries in each of the NCSAs.
Limited Print Distribution & Preservation Stewards
With the implementation of the New Limited Print Distribution Framework, LSCM is currently prioritizing Preservation Steward print retention agreements for titles found on the Print Distribution Titles List. Please contact LSCM via askGPO to discuss these important National Collection opportunities.
If you would like to volunteer your library to be a Preservation Steward for any title, SuDoc class, or subject area, please reach out to LSCM via askGPO. Select the category, ‘Other depository library question or issue.’
Related Resources
Webinar recordings
- NCSA Meetings (held February 2022)
- Implementation of a Digital FDLP: NCSA Virtual Meetings (September 2023)
- NCSA Collaborative Collection Development Meetings (held November 2023)
- Other recordings related to the PDT List and the Digital FDLP may be found in the FDLP Academy Training Repository by clicking on the “Digital FDLP” subject tag.
Related web pages
- Regional Depository Libraries (guidance article)
- Regional Discards
- Selective Housing Agreements (SHAs) (guidance article)
Questions or comments?
- Contact LSCM via askGPO. Use the category, ‘Other depository library question or issue.’