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Subject: ALA Model for "New Universe" of Federal Information Access a
***************************************************************************
ISSN 1069-7799
ALAWON
ALA Washington Office Newsline
An electronic publication of the
American Library Association Washington Office
Volume 4, Number 77
August 9, 1995
In this issue: (469 lines)
FULL TEXT OF WORKING DOCUMENT:
MODEL FOR "NEW UNIVERSE" OF FEDERAL INFORMATION ACCESS
AND DISSEMINATION
***************************************************************************
Working Document: August 4, 1995
MODEL FOR "NEW UNIVERSE" OF
FEDERAL INFORMATION ACCESS AND DISSEMINATION
Preliminary Results of
Forum on Government Information Policy
July 20-21, 1995
Sponsored by American Library Association
The Forum was convened to seek consensus among the nation's
principal library organizations as to whether (and, if so, how)
federal information policies and structures should be changed in
order to maximize the amount, quality, organization, accessibility
and dissemination of federally generated or maintained information
made available to the public through the nation's "federal deposi-
tory," and other, libraries. The participants' analyses and
preliminary proposals, in the following form, are here presented.
CONTENTS
I. RECONCEPTUALIZE FEDERAL INFORMATION ACCESS AND DISSEMINATION
RESPONSIBILITIES
A. GOALS
B. "THE NEW UNIVERSE"
* Chief Federal Information Dissemination
Officer -- responsible to Steering Committee
* Coordinating Council -- representatives of
federal agencies with explicit information
dissemination mission
* Council Steering Committee -- one representat-
ive of each of three branches of government
II. REINVENT THE CURRENT FEDERAL DEPOSITORY LIBRARY PROGRAM: A
FEDERAL/STATE/LOCAL LIBRARY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM
A. GOALS
B. FEDERAL LEVEL
C. NATIONAL AND/OR REGIONAL PROGRAM PARTNERS
D. STATE - LEAD LIBRARY AND/OR LIBRARY AGENCY
E. LOCAL - PARTNER LIBRARIES
F. ELEMENTS OF STATE PLANS
G. STRENGTHS OF THE PARTNERSHIP
I. RECONCEPTUALIZE FEDERAL1 INFORMATION ACCESS AND
DISSEMINATION RESPONSIBILITIES
In keeping with the United States' long-standing legal
tradition of free and equitable public access to
government information, and libraries' unwavering
commitment to that principle, the following model has
been devised to assure that changing information
technology enhances such access:
A. GOALS
1. specifically identify aspects of current information dissem-
ination policy which require revision and/or improvement
2. specifically identify opportunities for improving and
increasing public access to government information afforded
by digital and other emerging dissemination and retrieval
technologies
3. increase public awareness of the availability of government
information and public advocacy in support of maximizing its
availability and ease of use
4. increase and expand cooperation within and among government
agencies in furtherance of government information
dissemination
5. increase awareness, within government, of its critical
information dissemination role and responsibility
6. improve, and increase the number of, government information
"gateways"
7. acknowledge the need to involve all information "players"
(producers, supporters and disseminators) in reconceptual-
izing government information dissemination policy
8. explicitly articulate how such "players" will contribute to
the development and implementation of such policy
9. define the Federal role in coordinating the information
dissemination activities of all relevant government agencies
and "actors"
10. define the role of Federal agencies in informing the public
of the means to obtain government information
_____________
footnote:
(1) "Federal" in this document includes all three branches of
government--legislative, executive, and judicial.
--------------
11. achieve the widest dissemination of government information
through the use of appropriate technology
12. achieve the broadest and easiest accessibility of government
information
13. improve the organization and identification of electroni-
cally available government information (including catalog-
ing, indexing, and abstracting) to better facilitate public
and research use
14. improve the "usability" of electronically available
government information
15. assure and facilitate access of the disabled to government
information
B. GOVERNMENT INFORMATION ACCESS AND DISSEMINATION:
"THE NEW UNIVERSE"
1. Endorse, in concept, the evolution of the Superintendent of
Documents into a new "Chief Federal Information
Dissemination Officer" (CFIDO) responsible to a "Steering
Committee" constituted from the legislative, executive, and
judicial branches of government (see discussion below), and
charged with operational -- but not decision-making --
authority for:
-- implementing applicable laws, Executive Orders and
coordinated government information dissemination
policy;
-- dispensing appropriated funds to federal agencies for
information dissemination and other Congressionally
authorized purposes
2. Create by statute a government information "Coordina-
ting Council" comprising high-level representatives of
Federal agencies with explicit information dissemina-
tion missions (examples include but are not limited to
the Government Printing Office Superintendent of Docu-
ments, National Technical Information Service, Defense
Technical Information Center, Library of Congress,
National Library of Medicine, National Agricultural
Library, National Archives and Records Administration,
Educational Resources Information Center, Department of
Energy Technical Information Center), and representa-
tives of the Office of Management and Budget, the
Supreme Court and Administrative Office of the United
States Courts, and the Legislative Branch
3. Charge the Council, by statute, with:
-- setting standards, issuing regulations and negotiating
agreements pertaining to access to, and the dissemina-
tion of, information to libraries and the public;
-- assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of federal
information dissemination programs;
-- assessing and evaluating the adequacy of federal
information archiving and preservation policies and
practices (including the accessibility of information
collected by discontinued agencies and offices);
-- formally and regularly reporting to Congress and/or the
Executive Branch on:
- the scope and state of federal government
information dissemination;
- anticipated information dissemination needs;
- recommendations for creating or modifying applic-
able law or policy pertaining to government
information dissemination;
- recommendations for instituting or modifying
Congressional, Executive Branch, and/or Judicial
information dissemination policy or practice;
4. Constitute, by statute, a Steering Committee from the
membership of the Council comprising one representative
from each of the three branches of government (legis-
lative, executive, and judicial) and empowered to:
-- sit for a term of years;
-- recommend candidates for Chief Federal Information
Dissemination Officer to the appointing authority;
-- direct the CFIDO to implement regulations and standards
duly adopted by the Council;
-- such other related functions as Congress may authorize
II. REINVENT THE CURRENT FEDERAL DEPOSITORY LIBRARY PROGRAM: A
FEDERAL/STATE/LOCAL LIBRARY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM
Recognizing that libraries and librarians have existing
human and institutional networks, and a commitment to
providing access to information, the Partnership
addresses the following:
A. GOALS
1. design a system of equitable, no fee, efficient, and
dependable access/distribution of electronic and other
formats of government information from all branches of
government through a partnership of government, libraries,
and others
2. forge an easily-accessible information link between citizens
and their elected representatives, to enhance economic
development, citizen empowerment, and participation in the
democratic process
3. incorporate rapidly changing information and communication
technologies that serve the public's multiple levels of
skills and format needs for government information
4. empower state and local libraries to design their own
systems, in partnership with the federal government, to meet
user information needs
5. reduce federal requirements and increase state/local
flexibility to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and better
serve the public
6. ensure that expertise and resources are within easy
geographic reach of all the U.S. public
7. incorporate library and librarian strengths in helping the
public locate, use effectively, and customize to their needs
current and historic government information in all formats,
plus additional relevant library and information resources
8. address archiving and preservation issues through state and
national cooperative plans, in partnership with the federal
government, especially for preservation of electronic
information
9. support increased training for staff and public to assure
efficiency and expanded access
10. provide for accountability for measuring and evaluating
levels of access for the public, and for evaluating the
usefulness of government information products
11. make the library partnership program an asset and an
incentive for federal agencies to partner with libraries and
participate willingly in a federal coordination effort
B. FEDERAL LEVEL
1. Coordinates dissemination and availability of federal
information, working with all government agencies and
information providers
2. Develops catalogs, pathfinders and other locator systems to
identify government information products and services
3. Ensures archiving and preservation of federal information
4. Establishes criteria for state plans
5. Provides incentives for program participation, and for local
development of high quality access tools
C. NATIONAL, REGIONAL OR CONSORTIAL PARTNERS
1. Develop agreements with central authority and government
agencies to ensure permanent archiving and access for
electronic information resources
2. Accept responsibility for comprehensive collections and/or
specialized expertise in subject areas or formats and
provide support for program partners nationwide
3. Cooperate with federal agencies and other libraries in
acquiring, maintaining, providing access to, archiving, and
preserving government information
D. STATE - LEAD LIBRARY AND/OR LIBRARY AGENCY
1. One or more major libraries, in coordination with state li-
brary administrative agency (which may in some cases be the
lead library), takes responsibility for developing state
plan for public access to federal government information
2. Involves current federal depository libraries (or partner
libraries in future) and other appropriate groups in
development of state plan
3. Coordinates designation of continuing and new library
partner members
4. Facilitates intrastate and intra-regional communication
5. Coordinates training and technical assistance for library
partnership members
6. Communicates with federal central authority
E. LOCAL - PARTNER LIBRARIES
1. Partner libraries in every congressional district, offi-
cially recognized by members of Congress
2. Public, academic, research, state, federal, school, law,
medical, court, special, and private libraries and library
consortia throughout the states and territories may
participate
3. Partner library services and responsibilities reflect
varying user needs, library capacity, and state plans
F. ELEMENTS OF STATE PLANS
1. Designation of partner libraries by congressional district
2. Provision of specific steps for meeting government
information needs of local users including users with
special needs
3. Delineation of partnerships between partner libraries and
other agencies or entities that create and/or provide access
to government information
4. Sharing of access/collection responsibilities, both current
and historical, based on subject strengths of libraries or
geographic considerations
5. Identification of government information holdings through
online catalogs, union lists, and other locator systems
6. Integration and improvement of existing resource
sharing/document delivery agreements
7. Provision of opportunity for all partner libraries to
provide basic electronic access
8. Coordination of training for staff and public in the use of
electronic information resources
9. Provision of enhanced services for access to complex elec-
tronic products requiring special software and/or equipment
10. Incorporation of library arrangements within the
state/region for national level archiving and preservation
of government information
11. Encouragement of local/state advisory and support groups
12. Identification of measures of accountability for program
partners
13. Advocacy for citizen access to government information and
citizen education regarding such access
14. Provision of feedback mechanisms for information creators
and access providers, to evaluate government information
products and services
15. Coordination with other appropriate state plans, including
plans for interlibrary cooperation under Library Services
and Construction Act, state plans for public access to state
government information, and state telecommunication plans
-- Existing library plans meeting, or modified to meet,
Partnership specifications may be used as the
Partnership plan
-- The state plan requirement also may be met in whole or
in part by reference to a multi-state plan or a
regional plan
G. STRENGTHS OF THE PARTNERSHIP
1. Builds on strength of current depository library program
2. Increases flexibility, emphasizes partnerships, recognizes
multiple federal players, and spells out library
responsibilities
3. Reduces rigidity of regional/selective depository system and
increases state/local responsibility
4. Recognizes that transition to electronic dissemination will
be gradual, costly, and never complete
5. Links access to government information with
telecommunication planning
6. Encourages coordination of library provision of
federal/state/local government information, so that the
source of government information is transparent to users
7. Employs technology to provide access on demand when it is a
more efficient alternative to housing large but little-used
collections in many locations
8. Enables additional libraries to be partners for electronic
entry-level access for basic government information
necessary for participation in a democracy
9. Provides the flexibility for states/regions to develop
partnership programs that may evolve in very different ways
from the current depository library program
(end Working Document of August 4, 1995)
***************************************************************************
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ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the American Library
Association Washington Office, 110 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC
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