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Administrative Notes: Newsletter of the FDLP

GPO Fills Three Key Information Dissemination Posts

The U.S. Government Printing office (GPO) has filled three key positions in its Information Dissemination (Superi ntendent of Documents) area. Gretchen A. Schlag ha s been named Director, Program Planning and Coordination Service. Janet M. Scheitle is the new Director, Office of Library Program Planning. Donald Hagen has been named Business Development Officer in the Program Development Service.

Gretchen A. Schlag - Director, Program Planning and Coordination Service
Gretchen Schlag, in her new position as Director of the Program Planning and Coordination Service, oversees six key areas in Information Dissemination: Library Program Planning, National Bibliography Program Planning, Cost Recovery Program Planning, Acquisitions and Development, Bibliographic Services, and Preservation. Her extensive background in information management make her an outstanding choice to plan, design, and oversee the implementation of all GPO information dissemination programs.

Ms. Schlag comes to GPO from the U.S. Department of the Navy, Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO), where she was the Enterprise Knowledge Team Lead and Librarian of the Navy (LON). Other positions during her career include eBusiness Program Manager for Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Office of the CIO, and Technical Information Specialist, Program Manager and Chief of the Collection Division at Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC).

Ms. Schlag has led many development and transformation programs related to information services, including portal and large- scale electronic document management system deployments. She has received many awards and recognition for her work in information management and collection development.

Ms. Schlag is an honor graduate from Syracuse University with a Masters degree in Information Resources Management, Government Specialization. She has a CIO Certification from the National Defense University (NDU) Information Resources Management College (IRMC), master's degrees in American Studies and Library and Information Science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and an undergraduate degree in American Studies from the College of St. Rose, Albany, NY.

Janet M. Scheitle - Director, Office of Library Program Planning
As the new Director, Office of Library Program Planning, Janet Scheitle is uniquely prepared to coordinate the strategic planning of GPO services to libraries and the public through the FDLP. Prior to j oining GPO, Ms. Scheitle worked for the U.S. Department of the Army, Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO), as a strategic planner for Army Knowledge Management and Army Knowledge Online. Other experience includes a year assignment to Army Knowledge Online, ten years as command librarian overseeing daily operations of a network of university and community libraries, and doing strategic planning for library and information services to meet the training and doctrine mission of the Army. Ms. Scheitle has led planning and implementation efforts related to libraries and information services within the Army, including transforming Army training plans for librarians and developing a strategic plan for command libraries.

Ms. Scheitle is a Summa Cum Laude graduate from the University of Pittsburgh with a Masters degree in Library Science and a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Christopher Newport University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. She is currently a doctoral candidate at George Washington University working on a Doctorate of Science in Engineering and Applied Sciences with a concentration in Knowledge Management.

Donald Hagen - Business Development Officer
Donald Hagen joins GPO’s Information Dissemination staff in Program Development in the newly created position of Business Development Officer. Mr. Hagen comes to GPO keenly prepared for the tasks of developing solid business practice and product development from Bernan Associates, a subsidiary of the Kraus Organization Limited in Lanham, MD. Don served as managing director of Bernan Associates from 1987 to present. He had the overall responsibility for Bernan’s day-to-day and long-term operations, with responsibility for financial management, marketing and sales, acquisitions, customer service, and warehouse functions. During his tenure, Bernan Associates grew revenue and profitability and kept a sharp focus on customer demands for services, including standing orders for major U.S. government and intergovernmental serial publications. Mr. Hagen also oversaw the development of Bernan Press, a successful publisher of reference works based on U.S. government data. Prior to Bernan, from 1983 to 1988, he was general manager of Questel, Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Telesystems.

Mr. Hagen’s Federal service began with two years as a biologist in the U.S. Peace Corps in the Philippines, followed by four years as a technical information specialist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York and coursework towards a Management Information Science degree at American University.

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GPO’s New Contact Center: Customer Focused, Mission Driven

Quality service to the public has always been a challenge, and few Government agencies do it well, as documented by customer service studies conducted by the University of Michigan’s School of Business and other institutions. Running a Contact Center, the central point from which all customer contacts are managed, can be one of the hardest jobs in any business, and is especially true for government agencies. Typically, a contact center has to serve as the face and voice of an enterprise. To accomplish this, agent training, attendance, and knowledge of order processing systems must be first-rate. General office practices normally accepted elsewhere within an organization, such as flex time or AWS, cannot always be implemented within a Contact Center because it needs to function based on the time schedules, needs and desires of customers, not typical office arrangements. To accommodate these customer needs, the GPO Customer Contact Center has extended its business hours to 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., EST, Monday through Friday.

When Bruce James assumed office as Public Printer, he immediately recognized improved customer service as a top priority. In the past, GPO call center operations focused around knowledge of a particular specialty, such as taking orders for publications and subscriptions. Today, the new Contact Center within GPO’s Information Dissemination area focuses around a “universal agency” concept, meaning all agents are cross-trained in all areas, enabling them to address any customer concern. According to Kevin O’Toole, Information Dissemination’s Director of Library Services and Customer Relations, “Our hope is to reduce service call time, which was previously quite high. Now we have the service expertise available immediately, and do not have to search for someone to address the caller.”

The new Contact Center, which was launched on August 2, 2004, is staffed by a cross-section of experienced GPO employees who know how to deal with customers. Since it began operations, the new 30-person organization, headed by its Director, Lisa L. Williams, has handled 17,699 incoming calls and processed 1,449 emails. It has also handled the rush of customer orders generated by sales of the 9-11 Commission Final Report, as well as orders generated by a successful Information Dissemination promotion of World War II military history publications, which began with the dedication of the new World War II Memorial on the Mall during Memorial Day weekend.

Information Dissemination’s top customer relation’s managers are also working closely with GPO’s Office of Information and Technology Systems to improve credit card processing. This has now advanced to the point that online orders are now no longer accepted when a consumer credit card is declined. Consumers must submit an approved credit card, which has eliminated the collections efforts that were once necessary.

The new Contact Center is not a magic bullet, but it has already improved the way GPO interacts with its customers. As time goes on, new technology and its top-notch staff will bring further improvements in GPO’s service to the American public.

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Contact Center Replaces Previous Customer Service Sites

Information Dissemination’s new Customer Contact Center is part of GPO’s ongoing efforts to provide users with the highest quality service. The Center personnel respond to all of your phone calls to GPO about depository or other matters. When appropriate, the calls are transferred to subject specialists. The Center personnel also manage the customer support service at <http://www.gpoaccess.gov/help> that many of you are already familiar with. The service was launched on October 1, 2003, replacing askLPS@gpo.gov and gpoaccess@gpo.gov. This service includes a knowledge base that has been populated with answers to frequently asked questions related to the following services: GPO Access, the U.S. Government Online Bookstore, and the Federal Depository Library Program. Users can search or browse the knowledge base as a whole or by category/subcategory. Questions that cannot be answered by the knowledge base can be sent to GPO using the “Ask a Question” tab, and questions will be routed to the appropriate subject specialists within GPO.

For all of your questions or comments about depository matters, please see <http://www.gpoaccess.gov/help/index.html> or contact the GPO Customer Contact Center at (Toll-free) 866-512-1800, (Washington Metropolitan Area) at 202-512-1800, Monday through Friday, 7:00 am - 9:00 pm, EST.

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GPO Awards Contract for ILS

The U.S. Government Printing Office has awarded a contract to Progressive Technology Federal Systems Inc. (PTFS) of Bethesda, MD, to provide GPO with software and services to create a state-of-the-art integrated library management solution. The new Integrated Library System (ILS) is Ex Libris (USA)’s Aleph 500 software. GPO is also procuring their MetaLib/SFX federated search and reference linking application. These products provide the bibliographic core of the systems infrastructure required for GPO’s new Information Dissemination organization. Aleph 500 and MetaLib/SFX are critical for the administration of GPO’s National Bibliography and the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP).

By law, GPO is required to create a comprehensive index and catalog of U.S. Public documents from all branches of the Federal Government. The Ex Libris products will facilitate this process and provide a publicly accessible Web portal to the National Bibliography of Government publications. The new ILS will support electronic alternatives to several GPO printed products and their legacy support systems and allow the migration of GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP)to a more powerful and easily searched database tool.

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GPO to Provide LC Classification Numbers for Congressional Publications

Beginning on October 1, 2004, the GPO Office of Bibliographic Services will begin to assign Library of Congress classification numbers to Congressional hearings, reports, and documents. The class numbers will appear in GPO cataloging records with MARC coding 050 14, indicating that they are assigned by an agency other than LC.

Access to the LC class numbers will be through record loads, through the online Catalog of Government Publications <http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cgp/index.html>, and through the printed Monthly Catalog. GPO will not add LC classes to the shipping list, because that service would create significant delays in shipping to the depositories. The numbers will not appear on microfiche headers. LC classes will be assigned to current titles, and no retrospective project is planned. GPO remains the national authority for SuDocs classification only, and will continue to assign and maintain those classes.

Assigning the LC classification numbers is being done in response to requests from the depository library community. The numbers will assist those libraries that already integrate Federal documents into their LC-classed collections, and may enable other libraries to do so, if they were previously constrained by lack of technical staff.

After gaining experience with LC classification for Congressionals, GPO will evaluate the possibility of expanding the effort, taking into account the initial experiences and the availability of resources.

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Change in SuDocs Classification Policy for Online-Only Monographs

As of August 1, 2004, GPO is assigning SuDocs classification numbers to all online-only Federal Government monographs in accordance with existing policies for tangible government monographs. The previous policy was to use a machine-generated record control number as the suffix after the class stem. Serials were not affected. The new policy, requested by depository librarians, replaces the control number with a Cutter or series number, as appropriate to the material.

At this time there are no plans for any retrospective conversion. However, the older numbers will be changed when a revised edition is issued, and for titles of high historical importance.

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History of House Speakership To Be Distributed To All Libraries

House Document 108-204, “Changing Nature of the Speakership: Cannon Centennial Conference” is in production, and because it is considered to be of historical interest, it will be distributed to all libraries in paper, under item number 1004-E. It will be a 152 page, 7.4 x 10.4, case bound document.

A Serial Set number will be assigned after publication. Libraries will receive an adhesive strip with the serial number to be added to the volume at a later date.

This document is a result of a conference sponsored by the Congressional Research Service on the House Speakership in modern times.

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EPA BETA-SP Video Distributed to Depositories

GPO distributed the EPA video "After the Storm" on shipping list no. 2004-0028-E, on August 23, 2004. The video is in BETA-SP, a format widely used by cable and other TV channels. BETA-SP should not be confused with the old "BETAMAX" format. Though many depository libraries will not be able to use BETA-SP, some library patrons may be able to use it, and depositories may check the video out to local broadcasting stations. This would be an excellent opportunity to publicize the Federal Depository Library Program to local media outlets.

Title : After the Storm
Class : EP 1.104:ST 7/VIDEO
Item no .: 0431-R
Shipping list : 2004-0028-E
Shipping list date : August 23,2004

The EPA has also issued a VHS version with an accompanying brochure. The VHS version has a slightly different subtitle, “A citizen's guide to understanding stormwater.” GPO is in the process of acquiring the VHS video and the brochure.

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Two CGI Documents Open for Comment

The CGI Working Group is chartered under the E-Government Act, Section 207, which requires the U.S. Federal Interagency Committee on Government Information (ICGI) to make recommendations to OMB and NARA by December 2004 concerning certain aspects of government information management.

On August 18, CGI Working Group received from OMB a note saying: ‘the ICGI Executive Committee has reviewed your products and clearly your committee has done a lot of thinking and work. Let's open these up to public comment and review.” Accordingly, we have asked that the two recent CGI WG products be posted at the ICGI Web site for comments: <http://www.cio.gov/documents/ICGI.html#comment>.

The first product is the draft "Combined Requirements" document, written primarily by Gil Baldwin, Jin Erwin, TC Evans, Richard Huffine, and Gretchen Schlag (http://www.cio.gov/documents/ICGI/CGI-Requirement-040805.doc). It will be out for public comments until September 27 and the descriptive "blurb" is this: This draft defines requirements for enabling the identification, categorization and consistent retrieval of U.S. Federal Government information. It addresses: What government information is categorizable? What are searchable identifiers and how can they be applied to government information? and, Why should Agencies and Departments apply categorization? Please send your comments to gschlag@gpo.gov.

The second document is the draft Recommendation for Search Interoperability, which follows from the draft Requirements document reviewed publicly over the February - April period: <http://www.cio.gov/documents/ICGI/recommendation.html>. On this document, comments are also invited until September 27 and the “blurb” for this one is: The draft recommendation concerns how the U.S. Federal Government should adopt a search service standard to enhance interoperability among networked systems that aid in the discovery of and access to government information. Please send your comments to echristi@usgs.gov.

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Weather Limitations Affecting FDLP Shipments

If inclement weather or other emergency has caused a Depository library to close, it is imperative GPO be notified as soon as possible. The Instructions to Depository Libraries (page 20) states, “in the event of a natural disaster, arson, flood, etc., the library must immediately inform the Superintendent of Documents in writing.” If you are unable to notify the Managing Director of Information Dissemination (Superintendent of Documents) immediately in writing, please contact the GPO Customer Contact Center so staff can provide immediate assistance.

To contact the GPO Customer Contact Center regarding depository shipments or other issues, please visit our Web site at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/help or contact the GPO Customer Contact Center at (866) 512-1800 (Toll free) or (202) 512-1800 (Washington Metropolitan Area), Monday through Friday, 7:00 am – 9:00 pm, EST.

During an emergency, FDLP libraries have the option of:

• Having GPO hold all future shipments until further notice;
• Having GPO intercede with microfiche contractors to send us your shipments on a temporary basis; and,
• Having GPO send your shipments to a temporary alternative mailing address for regular mail and an alternative physical delivery address for courier shipments.

At the conclusion of the emergency, GPO will forward all shipments to your library when you are able to start accepting deliveries again. This also includes any shipments returned to GPO as undeliverable. The GPO Customer Contact Center will assist you so the normal claim process will not be used .

If all or part of your current depository library collection is destroyed or needs to be supplemented, please use the national Needs and Offers List, GPO’s partnership with the University of North Dakota, at http://www.und.edu/fdlp/. It’s an extremely helpful collection development resource that allows you to view lists of titles other libraries have been authorized to discard, and to post lists of titles you need. You may request any listed title for your library.

Again, for more information, please see page 20 of the Instructions to Depository Libraries. This information may also be found on our Website at: <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/instructions/in_ch4.html#B>.

Together, through the FDLP, we can make a difference.

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Online and Tangible Titles Available through GPO

July 2004
In July, 1,236 online titles and 762 links to agency titles were added to GPO Access, for a total of 1,998 new online titles. During the same period, LPS distributed 1,014 tangible titles; this figure reflects a total of 713 paper titles, 224 microfiche titles, 9 CD-ROMs, and 68 USGS titles. Thus, the total number of titles added to the Federal Depository Library Program was 3,012 of which 66% were made available onlin e.

Fiscal Year 2004
For fiscal year 2004, 10,303 online titles and 7,587 links to agency titles were added to GPO Access, for a total of 17,890 new online titles. During the same period, LPS distributed 9,461 tangible titles; this figure reflects a total of 5,080 paper titles, 3,088 microfiche titles, 198 CD-ROMs, and 1,095 USGS titles. Thus, the total number of titles added to the Federal Depository Library Program was 27,351 of which 65% were made available online.

These additions bring the total number of titles on GPO Access to 163,651 and the total number of titles linked from GPO Access to 109,136 for a grand total of 272,787 titles available through GPO Access as of July 2004.

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Fall Federal Depository Library Conference &
Depository Library Council Meeting
October 17-20, 2004
Hyatt Regency Washington Capitol Hill
Washington, DC

AGENDA
(A dashed line represents different sessions being held at the same time)

A service of the U.S. Government Printing Office.

Last update Date: October 1, 2004
Page Name: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/adotes/ad091504.html