The National Plan for Access to U.S. Government Information fulfills the information needs of the public and ensures that Government information is available in perpetuity, when and where it is needed.

Whether in a library or online, our goal is to create, sustain, and enhance programs that ensure Federal Government information is acquired, cataloged, digitized, made findable, preserved for future generations, and disseminated broadly.

In order to achieve this vision, the National Plan sets the groundwork and provides long-term strategies for the success and growth of:

• The Federal Depository Library Program (statutory program)
  The FDLP will continue its evolution to be agile, scalable, flexible, user-centric, and outcomes-based. Extensive partnerships with Federal depository libraries and other Federal agencies and organizations will be key to long-term growth and success. Providing depositories with a rich education program, new services, and flexibilities that will allow for serving diverse communities in the most comprehensive way possible are top goals of the FDLP.


• The Cataloging and Indexing Program (statutory program)
  The C&I Program will continue to enhance its cataloging and metadata creation through the National Bibliographic Records Inventory and its lifecycle management of Government information processes. Acquiring, harvesting, cataloging, discovery tools, and preserving will all play roles in the achievement of a comprehensive Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, both historical and moving forward. Again, partnerships with Federal depository libraries and other Federal agencies and organizations will be key to long-term growth and success.


• The Federal Information Preservation Network (GPO strategic initiative)
  The creation of FIPNet affords the public with guaranteed, long-term access to resources, materials, and expertise from libraries, Government entities, coalitions, and organizations. This program will ensure permanent public access to historic, at-risk publications and resources of significant value to the public. Depository libraries will benefit from the added resources and the sustainability of those resources for their patrons. Based on formal partnerships with GPO, FIPNet partners will provide an added guarantee that our rich history will be accessible for future generations to come. GPO is currently in the process of developing types of FIPNet partnerships, standards, guidelines, and best practices.  More information on FIPNet.

Background

Numerous factors and initiatives provided evidence of the need for a National Plan.

• The FDLP Forecast Study results demonstrated that FDLP libraries need and want services outside the scope of the current FDLP structure.
• A Report by a Panel of the National Academy of Public Administration recommended that GPO take a number of actions to advance its mission and the success and sustainability of its programs.
• There are also a number of external factors that affect evolving library and Government operations.

What began as the “National Plan for the Future of the Federal Depository Library Program,” has evolved into the broader picture of ensuring access to U.S. Government information, of which the FDLP plays one of three parts. For this reason, the National Plan is now formally known as the “National Plan for Access to U.S. Government Information.”

Components of the National Plan

• National Plan for Access to U.S. Government Information (Final version, February 2016)
• FIPNet Information Sheet
• National Plan Information Sheet

1. Introduced FIPNet to the Library of Congress and National Libraries: March 2015
2. Launched the website for the National Plan for Access to U.S. Government Information: April 2015
3. Present the National Plan at the 2015 DLC Virtual Meeting: April 2015
4. Present the National Plan at national library conferences: Summer 2015

Related Resources

National Plan Presentations

• October 2015 DLC Meeting and FDL Conference; Implementing the National Plan: Focusing on Users and Services
• April 2015 Depository Library Council Virtual Meeting: Navigating through Change; National Plan for Access to U.S. Government Information
• April 2015 Depository Library Council Virtual Meeting: Navigating through Change; Process of Change within the FDLP: Open Forum on the National Plan
• December 2014 Depository Library Council Virtual Meeting: Focusing on Service; The National Plan: A Progress Report
• 2014 DLC Meeting & FDL Conference; National Plan for the Future of the FDLP

Back to Top

• Description
• Background
• Components of the National Plan
• Milestones
• Related Resources

In October 2005, the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) and Library of Congress Cataloging Distribution Service (CDS) investigated options for electronic dissemination of CDS cataloging publications to Federal depository libraries. At the spring 2005 Depository Library Council Meeting in Albuquerque, GPO staff demonstrated the e-LCSH—a PDF version of the Library of Congress Subject Headings, 28th edition. Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) partners were then invited to review the e-LCSH and provide feedback by answering a brief survey on the value of LCSH in that format.

The survey results were later shared with CDS for the purpose of assessing the viability of this delivery mechanism and for identifying potential product improvements.

Since the completion of the survey, Library of Congress lists new and changed subject headings on a weekly basis.

In March 2007, representatives from several GPO business units formed a team to conduct a Handles pilot project. Results of the project were to support GPO’s Federal Digital System team on its implementation of Handles.

Handles, like PURLs, are persistent identifiers for Internet resources. Both PURLs and Handles resolve through an intermediary database which can be updated to reflect changes in the location of the internet resource.

At the request of GPO’s Chief Information Officer, Library Services and Content Management (LSCM) staff initiated the creation of Handles in August 2007. After conducting internal (alpha) tests, an external (beta) test was announced at the Depository Library Council Conference in October 2007.

The purpose of the beta test, which ended November 26, 2007, was to gauge the Federal depository library community’s response to Handles and to a range of possible naming conventions. The Handles naming conventions fell into two broad categories – intelligent (containing descriptive characteristics) and non-intelligent (containing no descriptive characteristics and created or assigned automatically).

Beta Test Results

The test, which was conducted from October 15, 2007 through November 26, 2007, revealed the following:

• Access to the requested documents using the Handles was satisfactory.
• There is less interest in the technical aspects of Handles creation and naming than in their utility and other aspects outside the scope of the survey.
• Some libraries would prefer some descriptive content in Handles but not at the risk of jeopardizing their accuracy by increasing the likelihood of typographical errors.
• Non-intelligent naming conventions would be acceptable.

Recommendations

• Handles names should be easily (i.e., machine-) generated and have as much “intelligence” as possible without making them prone to error.
• Handles should be assigned as early in the ingest process as possible.

Requirements

• The library community requires a robust GPO initiative to resolve the problem of broken PURLs, especially in U.S. Catalog of Government Publications (CGP) records.
• In order for PURLs to resolve through the Handle server, Handles need to be created for the approximately 90,000 PURLs that currently exist.

Conclusion

The depository community is more interested in the functionality of persistent names than the specific format utilized to create them.

• Next stages of the PURLs to Handles transition require a coordinated planning effort between LSCM and other areas of GPO.
• Security and support issues involved in continuing the use of PURLs emphasize the need to expedite the transition to Handles.
• Implementation is planned via future FDsys releases.

See where GPO has traveled on our interactive map.

Depository Library Spotlight

Read about previous libraries that were highlighted in the Depository Library Spotlight.

The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) is a member of the LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) Alliance. LOCKSS provides libraries with digital preservation tools and support so they can collect and preserve their own copies of authorized electronic content.

GPO’s work in this area is in keeping with our mission to provide permanent public access to official Federal Government publications in print and electronic formats through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). The FDLP was established by Congress to ensure that the American public has access to its Government’s information. Since 1813, depository libraries have safeguarded the public’s right to know by collecting, organizing, maintaining, preserving, and assisting users with information from the Federal Government.

In a July 2010 interview in Library Journal (LJ), Ric Davis, GPO's acting Superintendent of Documents, told LJ that libraries working with GPO have expressed interest in having FDsys established as a trusted digital repository as well as the possibility of having their own local copy of GPO content.

"The foundation of the Federal Depository Library Program was built on a distributed model, with tangible publications being held throughout the country," Davis said. "We're looking at how we can continue that activity in the electronic world."

GPO's participation in the LOCKSS alliance is a step toward fulfilling the interests that have been expressed by the Federal depository library community.

What is LOCKSS?

LOCKSS (for"Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe") is open source software that provides institutions with a way to collect, store, and preserve access to their own, local copy of content. LOCKSS was developed by Stanford University, and it is currently maintained by the Stanford University LOCKSS Program Management Office with support from the LOCKSS Alliance. LOCKSS runs on standard desktop hardware and requires minimal technical administration. Once installed, the LOCKSS software converts a personal computer into a digital preservation box that creates low-cost, persistent, accessible copies of e-journal content as it is published. The accuracy and completeness of content stored in a LOCKSS box is assured through a robust and secure, peer-to-peer polling and reputation system. A LOCKSS box performs the following four functions:

• It collects newly published content from the target e-journals using a Web crawler similar to those used by search engines.
• It continually compares the content it has collected with the same content collected by other boxes, and repairs any differences.
• It acts as a Web proxy or cache, providing browsers in the institution's community with access to the publisher's content or the preserved content as appropriate.
• It provides a Web-based administrative interface that allows the institution staff to target new journals for preservation, monitor the state of the journals being preserved, and control access to the preserved journals.

Collecting

Before LOCKSS boxes can preserve a journal, two things have to happen:

• The publisher has to give permission for the LOCKSS system to collect and preserve the journal. They do this by adding a page to the journal's Web site containing a permission statement and links to the issues of the journal as they are published.
• The LOCKSS box has to know where to find this page, how far to follow the chains of Web links so that it doesn't crawl off the edge of the journal and try to collect the whole Web, some bibliographic information, and so on. In order to add new publishing platforms, the LOCKSS system provides a fill-in-the-blanks tool that a librarian or administrator can use to collect this information and test that it is correct. The information is then saved in a file (the LOCKSS plug-in) and added to the publisher's Web site or to some other plug-in repository, so that it is available to all LOCKSS systems.

Preserving and Auditing

The LOCKSS boxes at libraries around the world use the Internet to audit, continually but very slowly, the content they are preserving. At intervals boxes take part in polls, voting on the digest of some part of the content they have in common. If the content in one box is damaged or incomplete that box will lose the poll, and it can repair the content from other boxes. This cooperation between the boxes avoids the need to back them up individually. It also provides unambiguous reassurance that the system is performing its function and that the correct content will be available to readers when they try to access it. The more organizations that preserve given content, the stronger the guarantee they each get of continued access.

Providing Access

LOCKSS boxes provide transparent access to the content they preserve. Institutions often run Web proxies, to allow off-campus users to access their journal subscriptions, and Web caches, to reduce the bandwidth cost of providing Web access to their community. Their LOCKSS box integrates with these systems, intercepting requests from the community's browsers to the journals being preserved. When a request for a page from a preserved journal arrives, it is first forwarded to the publisher. If the publisher returns content, that is what the browser gets. Otherwise the browser gets the preserved copy.

Administering

Staff administer their LOCKSS box via a Web user interface. It allows for targeting the appliance to preserve new journals, monitoring the preservation of existing journals, controlling access to the box and other functions.

Additional information about LOCKSS is available from the Stanford University LOCKSS Web site.

Pilot Project

GPO received numerous requests from research institutions, universities, depository libraries, and other Federal Government agencies to investigate using LOCKSS as a means to manage, disseminate, and preserve access to Web-based Federal Government e-journals that are within the scope of the FDLP and the IES. As a result, GPO conducted a 12 month pilot to make Federal Government e-journals available to select pilot libraries that are operating LOCKSS boxes. The following provide a summary of GPO's evaluation of the pilot project.

 pdfExecutive Summary (40 KB)

 pdfReport (282 KB)

The GPO Historic Shelflist is the U.S. Government Publishing Office's (GPO) historic card catalog covering tangible U.S. Government documents from the 1870s to October 1992. The cards were digitized in 2012, so that a copy of the Shelflist can be maintained for cataloging projects, and for any future internal processing needs. The GPO Historic Shelflist contains:

• Over one million digitized 3x5 cards arranged in Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) order;
• Bibliographic information for U.S. Government documents from all three branches of the Government in a variety of formats including monographs, maps, serials, microfiche, and posters;
• Digitized cards representing documents that were distributed to libraries in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) and documents that were not distributed but required by the Cataloging and Indexing Program, as required by U.S.C. Title 44;
• An estimated 455,000 OCLC digitized cards that were produced by GPO through OCLC beginning in July 1976; and
• An extensive collection of bibliographic information, but not a complete inventory of publications distributed through the FDLP.

Shelflist Projects and Descriptions

Project 1: Transcription of cards (Complete)

In January of 2010, the GPO began working with contract staff to transcribe the approximately 600,000 relevant cards into MARC 21 records. Contract staff created brief bib records, enhanced with one Library of Congress Subject Heading, and one corporate name authority. The project contract ended on 12/31/2018. Contract staff had cataloged 75% of the HSL drawers.

Project 2: Digitization of Cards (Complete)

As part of its records management requirement, GPO is planning for the eventual transfer of the Shelflist to the National Archives and Records Administration. By digitizing the Shelflist, GPO will be able to maintain a copy for any future internal processing needs. The digitization project was completed in April 2012.

Project 3: Cleaning Up the Catalog (In Progress)

GPO staff are working to create a clean and accurate resource in the CGP. This step involves the resolution of SuDoc classification problems and the identification and resolution of duplicate records that occur after Shelflist records are in the CGP. This is an ongoing project, and will continue into the foreseeable future.

Project 4: Cataloging of Cards (In Progress)

The scope of Project 4 is to catalog approximately 66,000 to 88,000 remaining cards into MARC 21 records. These records are then made available through the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP). As part of the cataloging, holdings and item records for continuing resources are being created as well. GPO is also enhancing the records by adding one Library of Congress Subject Heading and one corporate name access point. Please note: the records are for tangible versions of the titles only.

Phase 1 ran from October 2021 to December 2023 with contract cataloging staff. Phase 2 began in August 2025 under a new contract and vendor. Contract staff are working through card images for the estimated 67 remaining drawers.

How to Locate and Retrieve Shelflist Records

The processed Historic Shelflist records are available through the CGP. The records are identifiable by the phrase "Historic Shelflist" in the 955 field of the MARC record display. Federal depository libraries are able to retrieve these records for their own use by searching the CGP (conduct an ‘expert’ search with the phrase “wcat=historic shelflist”), by searching OCLC, or via Z39.50. Historic Shelflist records are also included in the monthly CGP On GitHub record set (a specific record set of the Historic Shelflist is not yet available). For more information on utilizing these sources of GPO cataloging records, please see the Sources of GPO Cataloging Records webpage.

The CGP also has a dedicated collection for HSL records, which can be searched by specific criteria (see Catalogs to Search “Historic Shelfist” at the top of the CGP home page,). For example:

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 began the countdown to the shut-down of GPO Access when FDsys became GPO’s official system of record for free access to information and publications from all three branches of the Federal Government. In November 2011, GPO Access entered its “archive only” state and transitioned its status to historical reference archive. From that point forward, FDsys was GPO’s only resource for access to current, updated information. On March 16, 2012, after 16 years of Keeping America Informed, GPO Access was shut down. In honor of the Father of the Constitution, James Madison’s, birthday, GPO chose his birthday, March 16th, for the momentous occasion. URL redirects were enabled as of March 16th to send users to the FDsys equivalent of GPO Access resources. In other cases, where one-to-one redirects were not possible due to differences in site layout, users have been redirected to the best available FDsys equivalent or the FDsys homepage at www.fdsys.gov.

FDsys is:

• A Content Management System
  FDsys provides free online access to official Federal Government publications and securely controls digital content throughout its lifecycle to ensure content integrity and authenticity.
• A Preservation Repository
  The repository guarantees long-term preservation and access to digital Government content. To meet this critical need for permanent access to Federal Government information, FDsys follows archival system standards.
• An Advanced Search Engine
  FDsys combines modern search technology with extensive metadata creation to ensure the highest quality search experience.

Through FDsys, you are able to:

• Search for documents and publications: FDsys provides advanced search capabilities and the ability to refine and narrow your search for quick access to the information you need.
• Browse for documents and publications: FDsys offers browsing by collection, Congressional committee, and date.
• Access metadata about documents and publications: FDsys provides information about Government publications in standard XML formats.
• Download documents and publications in multiple renditions or file formats: With FDsys, users can download a single file or download content and metadata packaged together in a compressed file.

Benefits of FDsys

In keeping with GPO’s mission of Keeping America Informed, FDsys continues to give the American people a one-stop site to authentic, published Government information, while enhancing the searching and browsing capabilities found on GPO Access.

FDsys provides key enhancements to GPO Access that will allow users to:

• Easily search across multiple publications or collections of Government publications from a single search box.
• Perform an advanced search against robust metadata about each publication from a single advanced search page.
• Construct complex search queries using advanced Boolean and field operators.
• Refine and narrow searches by applying filters, sorting search results, and searching within search results.
• Retrieve individual Government documents and publications in seconds directly from each search result.
• View more information about a publication and access multiple file formats from a "More Information" Web page that is available from each search result.
• Access metadata or information about Government publications in standard formats such as MODS and PREMIS.
• Download content and metadata packaged together as a single ZIP file.
• Browse for a specific Government publication and browse within the publication using its table of contents.
• Utilize enhanced help options including context specific field level help and a searchable online help system.

Effect on Federal Depository Libraries

As GPO transitioned from GPO Access to FDsys, depository libraries needed to update literature, presentations, Web pages, and other materials that were used to promote, teach, or utilize GPO Access. In addition, staff needed to learn the features and capabilities of FDsys. For instance:

Branding

Libraries should have planned for the following changes:

• Replacing uses of the GPO Access name and logo to the FDsys branding.
• Updating screenshots of GPO Access pages to reflect the FDsys pages.

New FDsys brochures and promotional materials were made available in spring 2012.

Web Links

URL redirects were enabled to send users to the FDsys equivalent of GPO Access resources on March 16, 2012. In other cases, where one-to-one redirects were not possible due to differences in site layout, users have been redirected to the best available FDsys equivalent or the FDsys homepage. Libraries were asked to update their bookmarks in spring 2012.

The transition from GPO Access to FDsys did not in any way affect the operation of the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) and PURLs in regard to record or resource retrieval.

Bookmarking in FDsys

All links in FDsys can be bookmarked, including links to search results, browse pages, individual documents, and “more information” pages.

Learn About FDsys Features and Functionality

In order to effectively point users to the Federal information on FDsys, librarians should learn more about the features and functionality that are available. Use the following resources to learn more about FDsys:

• About FDsys
• Training Manual

FDsys training videos will also be available in the coming months from www.fdsys.gov, www.gpo.gov, and www.fdlp.gov.

If you are in the Washington, D.C. area and would like to attend an Introduction to FDsys or Advanced Navigation in FDsys class at GPO, please visit for more information.

Finally, if you would like to request an FDsys class at your institution and you are in the Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, D.C. area, please use askGPO to make your request. Visit , and click on the Ask a Question tab. Choose “FDsys: Federal Digital System” as the category and “FDsys Training” as the sub-category. Also in the coming months, GPO will be offering live, virtual training on FDsys.

FDsys Promotional Graphics

FDsys logo graphics are provided for use on your Web site or for use in printed educational and public relations materials you develop. The graphics are available in a variety of formats, depending on whether the images are needed for print or electronic format. View and download the FDsys logo graphics here.

In September 2010, the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) contracted with Ithaka S + R (Ithaka) to develop practical and sustainable models for the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) to continue to fulfill its mission in a changing information environment now dominated by digital technology. These models were intended to serve as a guide in planning the future direction of the Program. After careful review it was determined that the models presented by Ithaka are not practical and sustainable to meet the mission, goals, and principles of the FDLP. These models have some value as we move forward together with the library community to develop new models based on a shared vision which will increase flexibility for member libraries and ensure the vibrant future of the Program in the digital age.

The archived version (847 KB) of the Ithaka Web site that was created as part of this study, as requested under the terms of the contract, is available in PDF format. GPO appreciates the comments that were submitted by members of our community during Ithaka’s study of the FDLP. Posted below are the previously released draft documents, public comments, and final modeling report to GPO. We look forward to obtaining comments and feedback from more participants in our depository library network. We plan to use these comments as part of the foundation to build on as we continue our future visioning and modeling process. The deadline for submission of comments is September 16, 2011.

Note that the Ithaka Web site ceased adding comments in March 2011.

Ithaka has provided a PDF of their final report. The final report is accompanied by a statement from GPO.Final Report with Recommendations and Accompanying GPO Statement (1.79 MB) : “Over the course of this project, Ithaka S+R released draft versions of the major components of the final report . . . via the project’s website; this final report brings together these deliverables, revised in response to community feedback on these drafts, in completion of the project.”

The other documents listed below are taken from the Ithaka Web site archive.

1.  Environmental Scan (1.41 MB) : “A broad examination of the environment in which the FDLP exists . . . to identify the broad range of key external issues that can inform planning and decision-making.”
2. Report of Existing Networks/Consortia and Depository Programs (1.14 MB) : “A report on existing models of library networks, consortia, and depository programs.”
3. White Paper on New Models for the FDLP (1.56 MB) : “A series of new models for the FDLP that build upon the Direction [draft document, #2 below] released previously."
4. Value Proposition for the FDLP (762 KB) : “This document focuses on evaluating how the proposed Direction and Models will impact the Program’s sustainable accomplishment of its overall goals by considering the value proposition that they pose to libraries.”

The following additional documents, which were posted to the Ithaka Web site, have been reproduced here as well:

1. Summary of New Models (71 KB) : “This document summarizes the new models this project has drafted for the Federal Depository Library Program.”
2. Draft Direction (334 KB) : This document “lay[s] out an overall direction for the Program . . . and describes a set of functional and structural themes.”
3. Summary of the Research Phase Findings and Implications (338 KB): “This ‘findings’ section . . . serves to conclude and reflect on the research phase of this project.”

Descriptions of documents delivered and posted to the FDLP Desktop have been taken verbatim from the Ithaka Web site or the documents themselves.

Join The Discussion

The community was asked to participate in a discussion of GPO's shared vision of the future of the FDLP.  Comments were used in the Thursday, October 20, 2011 day-long discussion, "Creating Our Shared Vision: Roles and Opportunities in the FDLP."

Due to the nature of the Superintendent of Documents Classification scheme, it has been difficult for LSCM to provide access to Federal government information based on subject matter. However, librarians and users typically search for information based on subjects rather than government agency authorship. Many have also expressed an interest in having LSCM provide a subject-based method for selecting depository materials.

Library guides are a tool commonly used by libraries to provide users with lists of resources on particular topics. Providing Federal Depository Library partners with guides created by LSCM would be a valuable service to the community.

The project team selected Springshare’s LibGuides as the tool to provide this service.

A very limited pilot for FDLP LibGuides was conducted using nine volunteers from academic and tribal libraries in the FDLP, and a project team from LSCM.

The project ran for eight weeks, with feedback accepted throughout that time. A questionnaire was sent out at the end of the pilot. Eight out of nine volunteers responded to that survey.

Survey results were affirmative overall. Volunteers reacted positively to most aspects of the pilot, but also provided recommendations and suggestions for improvement.

An extended and expanded pilot, open to the entire FDLP community, will run from October 2017 through September 2019. At that time, the service will be re-evaluated to determine whether or not it will continue.

Next Steps

Metrics will be collected during the extended pilot to measure both submissions and use. The metrics will be measured across time during this two year period, with particular attention paid to changes in use immediately following promotion of the tool. This will allow us to not only determine whether the service is wanted, but also the best ways to promote it.

Promotion

FDLP Connection Articles/ News Alerts

• June 2016- FDLP LibGuides from GPO: A Pilot Project
• December 2017- FDLP LibGuides- Available and Free to all Depository Libraries
• June 2018- Have you Tried FDLP LibGuides?
• August 2018- New LibGuide on Opioids
• September 2018- FDLP LibGuide and Other Resources on Natural Disasters

Depository Library Conference Presentations

• Poster- October 2016- FDLP LibGuides
• Poster- October 2017- FDLP LibGuides
• Poster- October 2018- FDLP LibGuides Community Page

Webinars

• January 24, 2018- FDLP LibGuides for Libraries

LibGuides Resources

• FDLP LibGuides Disclaimers
• FDLP LibGuides Policies and Requirements