Colorado Library Named the Best in the Nation

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) has named Arthur Lakes Library at the Colorado School of Mines as the 2025 Federal Depository Library of the Year. The Golden, CO library was selected for its significant role in increasing access to and preserving Government information, including making publications from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) easily accessible to the public in digital formats.

“Arthur Lakes Library truly is a leader among libraries,” said GPO Director Hugh Halpern. “The staff at this library is dedicated to advocating for and practicing preservation of Government information. We are grateful to this library for helping GPO deliver on its vision of an America Informed and congratulate them on this well-deserved high honor.”

“Arthur Lakes Library is honored to be recognized as Library of the Year by the U.S. Government Publishing Office,” said Jack Maness, University Librarian at Colorado School of Mines. “Colorado School of Mines has long partnered with the Federal Government in efforts to engineer a better world, and access to information has always been a part of that. I’m particularly proud of our coordinator, who has undertaken all this work with eagerness and passion, engaging students in high-level activities that help them better understand the importance of the FDLP.”

Arthur Lakes Library serves as a Cataloging and Metadata Contributor creating catalog records for digital publications from USGS, such as bulletins, water supply papers, and professional papers. Since 2014, the Colorado School of Mines added nearly 14,000 records to the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP). Arthur Lakes Library has served as a Preservation Steward since July 2018 preserving publications from the War Department, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Bureau of Mines, USGS, and more.