Rebooting the Government Printing Office: Keeping America Informed in the Digital Age Page: 35
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disappearing altogether without notice. As a recent article in The Economist noted, "The
rapid turnover of content on the web has made total loss the norm."57 With changes in
administrations, web content turnover is particularly high. There currently is no agreed-
upon process for systematically capturing and preserving content on agency websites.
GPO is exploring solutions for identifying and capturing the ever-growing number of
fugitive documents through pilot projects with a small number of agencies to test
automated web harvesting of government documents. In addition, several depository
libraries monitor specific agency websites to identify fugitive documents and report them
to GPO. Coordinating these efforts could significantly improve preservation of government
information.
Government Information Dissemination and Access (Finding 111-5):
The transition to disseminating primarily digital content has changed the dynamic
among GPO, depository libraries, executive branch agencies, and the public, as well as
led to fundamental questions about the future of the Federal Depository Library
Program and the Publication and Information Sales Program.
GPO disseminates government information through FDsys, the FDLP, and the Publication
and Information Sales program. The information disseminated by GPO is increasingly
digital, which has had profound effects on how information is disseminated and accessed.
First, the transition has required both GPO and depository libraries to take on new
responsibilities and shift spending to new areas. Second, as federal agencies publish born
digital publications, bypassing GPO altogether, GPO's ability to identify and disseminate
government information has been challenged. Third, while the public's access to
information has improved as a result of electronic dissemination, there have also been
some new burdens placed on the public in terms of technological equipment and skills that
have negatively affected access.
FDsys
FDsys replaced GPO Access on January 15, 2009. FDsys is considered a significant
improvement over GPO Access, and was named one of the "10 Great Government Web
Sites" by Government Computer News and received an American Business Award. In
October 2011, there were over 60,000 FDsys visitors per week, a 300 percent increase over
December 2010.58 By April 2012, the number of weekly visits to FDsys had increased to
190,000.59 FDsys currently includes more than 40 collections, including the Economic
Report of the President, U.S. Courts Opinions, and History of Bills. Six collections are
available for bulk download, such as Commerce Business Daily and the annual edition of
57 "Lost in Cyberspace," The Economist, Technology Quarterly Q3 (2012),
http://www.economist.com/node/21560992, from the print edition.
58 Government Printing Office, Strategic Plan Fiscal Year 2011 Accomplishments (Washington, D.C.: October
2011), 2.
59 Government Printing Office, FY2012 Mid-Year Strategic Plan Progress Report (Washington, D.C.: April,
2012), 3.
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National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA). Rebooting the Government Printing Office: Keeping America Informed in the Digital Age, report, January 2013; Washington, DC. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc141805/m1/45/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.