The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA) retained Ithaka S+R to conduct a comprehensive study on the state of the Federal Library Depository Program (FDLP) and to recommend how to respond to changes in an increasingly digital, networked environment that have caused a decline in incentives for libraries to participate in the Program. The report from this project is now publicly available following extensive research and community engagement. 

How the Study Was Conducted

Ithaka S+R interviewed nearly 90 individuals, including librarians from 40 institutions as well as representatives of the Government Printing Office (GPO) and a number of other key stakeholders.  In developing this study, Ithaka S+R emphasized incorporating the views and priorities of a broad spectrum of FDLP stakeholders. In October, in order to stimulate discussion and reactions in preparation for the final report, Ithaka S+R released an interim summary report and presented at the Association of Research Libraries and the Depository Library Council.  

The Issues Identified 

Participating libraries in the FDLP, like many libraries, contend with a rapidly changing environment for information dissemination, access, and usage.  The Program, while building infrastructure to adapt to the digital environment, has not addressed the core strategic dilemmas associated with this new environment:

• Many federal depository libraries no longer have the right incentives to remain in the Program, which may threaten the preservation of and access to the historical print collections.

• The historical collections are dramatically underutilized in relation to their potential value.

• Newly released digital government information is not adequately preserved. 

• Discovery systems do not effectively serve user needs for seamless and immediate access. 

Without substantial structural change, the FDLP risks sliding further into irrelevance and the general public’s need for sustainable, no fee, permanent access to government information will be increasingly threatened.

Recommendations

Following a thorough examination of the Program’s current state, this report suggests a vision for the program: seamless, no fee access to government information for a range of potential users at their point of need and appropriate preservation of this material for future generations. To achieve such a vision, the FDLP community must address five key goals:

1. Newly issued government information must be made freely available in digital form and must be preserved for the long-term. 

2. To provide this permanent public access for the historical collection, a significant program of retrospective digitization is required. 

3. Print will play a significantly reduced role for access by users to the historical collections, so some original print copies must continue to be preserved even though fewer depository library collections overall will be required. 

4. The print format will continue to have advantages for certain subsets of material types and user communities, so the Program must provide appropriate access to certain historical and new materials in print form, where appropriate via print on demand.

5. Depository libraries must reemphasize their commitment to serving user needs for outreach, discovery, and access. 

The project team worked with many in the community concerning the Program’s future, and the report has benefitted tremendously from these conversations. Working towards a strong vision for the future of the FDLP, the federal government, librarians, and the general public, can together reinvigorate this Program and see it continue its role in American democracy.

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