About the Federal Depository Library Program
The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) began in the late 1800’s with the Act of 1813 and has evolved as scope, format, and distribution of materials have developed over time. The Government Printing Office (GPO) was established in 1861, in an effort to rein in costs by creating a public printing office to manage production and distribution of information. The Superintendent of Documents position was established in 1869. The first Monthly Catalog of US Government Publications was printed in 1895 in response to The Printing Act’s mandate of creating a catalog of publications. This publication will be an invaluable resource to any researcher accessing government publications collections. Four hundred and twenty libraries became Federal Depository Libraries (FDLs) in 1895. The standard at the time was that a collection must hold at least 1,000 volumes. Today the standard is at least 10,000 volumes. The first depository shipment was sent on July 17, 1885 and contained eleven congressional publications. Beginning in 1907, land grant colleges became FDLs. Prior to 1922; FDLs were required to collect all items distributed through the depository program. Collections were becoming difficult to manage and libraries were then allowed to become ‘selective’, choosing from a list of class numbers by subject to narrow the scope of the materials collected. The purpose was to better manage local collections and focus collection development on the needs of their user base. (McGarr 1994) Each state contains a regional depository, generally maintained by the state library, that collects every item distributed. The idea behind the FDLP was to provide free public access to government information for every person in the United States. The goal was for the public to gain access to committee hearings, legislation, and public information without having to travel any further than their local depository.
Today there are 1,220 designated Federal Depository Libraries. At the peak of the program there were 1,350. The number has declined in recent years because of a variety of reasons, predominantly a lack of funds and resources to maintain the collections. Today the program is administered through the Library Services and Content Management (LCSM) division of GPO. The division provides support to depository librarians through the FDLP Desktop, FDSys, training opportunities, and a summer ‘boot-camp’ session to train new documents librarians and share new services and programs. Many libraries have taken cost savings measures of eliminating the documents librarian position or merging the position into the reference desk or other departments. Often librarians become the documents librarian by happenstance, and do not have resources within their organization to gain full understanding of collection management, selection processes, FDLP procedures, and services. LSCM makes an effort to reach out to new government documents librarians and welcome them through email correspondence directing them to resources available and providing contact information for questions.
It is recommended that a researcher become familiar with the tools available online through the FDLP Desktop and read through the FDL handbook to gain an understanding of the program’s history, scope, operation, and administration. Understanding the program will help you to understand the purpose and value of undertaking this project. Links to these websites can be found in the resources section of this document.
Today there are 1,220 designated Federal Depository Libraries. At the peak of the program there were 1,350. The number has declined in recent years because of a variety of reasons, predominantly a lack of funds and resources to maintain the collections. Today the program is administered through the Library Services and Content Management (LCSM) division of GPO. The division provides support to depository librarians through the FDLP Desktop, FDSys, training opportunities, and a summer ‘boot-camp’ session to train new documents librarians and share new services and programs. Many libraries have taken cost savings measures of eliminating the documents librarian position or merging the position into the reference desk or other departments. Often librarians become the documents librarian by happenstance, and do not have resources within their organization to gain full understanding of collection management, selection processes, FDLP procedures, and services. LSCM makes an effort to reach out to new government documents librarians and welcome them through email correspondence directing them to resources available and providing contact information for questions.
It is recommended that a researcher become familiar with the tools available online through the FDLP Desktop and read through the FDL handbook to gain an understanding of the program’s history, scope, operation, and administration. Understanding the program will help you to understand the purpose and value of undertaking this project. Links to these websites can be found in the resources section of this document.