Digital Commons Network^™

Promoting Federal Depository Libraries: Improving Public Access To U.S. Government Information, Newkirk Barnes

The Southeastern Librarian

Since its creation in 1860, the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) has supplied the nation’s Congress, federal agencies, and citizenry with the information they need to carry out their daily activities (Morehead 1999, 15). Through its Superintendent of Documents programs, the GPO produces and disseminates the largest volume of U.S. government publications in the world (U.S. Government Printing Office 2003).

The most widely publicized of the Superintendent of Documents programs is the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). Authorized by Title 44 of the United States Code, the FDLP provides the American public with information resources from the legislative, executive and …