April
2-5,
2006
Note: links active when this file was originally written may no longer work.
Federal Depository Library Conference
April
2-5,
2006
Partnership with FedEx/Kinkos. This is an exciting-sounding initiative that could theoretically drastically reduce the problem of fugitive documents. Agencies will get special cards to use at any Kinko's for printing services. The card would allow them to take advantage of hefty discounts, with GPO eventually paying Kinko's for the printing. In order to get paid, though, Kinko's has to send the Superintendent of Documents an electronic copy of the document printed. She then determines if it fits the scope of the depository program. More information about this program can be found here.
If this project takes off, buying Kinko's stock might be a good idea; GPO will be their biggest customer, with even more partnership activities on the horizon. It's possible that a future Print-on-Demand program would allow customers to pick up tangible copies at a local Kinko's after ordering the document through GPO.
Electronic=Legal? Bruce James has a meeting scheduled soon with the Chief Justice (yes THE Chief Justice of the Supreme Court) to discuss the problem of the courts not accepting electronic versions of bills, laws, regulations, etc., as the big-O Official verions. James hopes that if the Justices can be convinced of the integrity and robustness of GPO's authentication software and safeguards, then we'll be on our way to courts everywhere accepting electronic versions of documents for legal purposes.
Web harvesting. There is a pilot project underway that will run through 2006, harvesting EPA documents and websites. The specifications and procedures developed during this project will help GPO launch more wide-scale harvesting activities.
CDs. GPO is working to migrate data or set up emulations for CDs running old software so that the information they contain will be more easily available over the web, and won't be lost as technology evolves. Highest priority is given to CDs whose content is not duplicated by agency web products.
Digitization. GPO is now digitizing fugitive publications instead of filming them for microfiche distribution as they used to do. Working on this digization is helping to develop specifications and procedures for the larger digitization projects that should be getting underway shortly.
