November 2017 571 C&RL News

Gavin Baker is assistant director of the Office of 
Government Relations, ALA’s Washington Office, email: 
gbaker@alawash.org

W a s h i n g t o n  H o t l i n eGavin Baker

Congress looks to strengthen FDLP 
for public access to government 
information
Congress’ Committee on House Adminis-
tration this year began examining Title 44 
of the U.S. Code, which is the authority 
for the Federal Depository Library Pro-
gram (FDLP) and Government Publishing 
Office (GPO). This is an important oppor-
tunity for librarians to advocate for im-
provements to FDLP and public access to 
government information.

FDLP was designed to ensure wide-
spread and long-term public access to 
information produced by the federal gov-
ernment. The program is managed by GPO, 
formerly known as the Government Print-
ing Office, a federal government agency 
that publishes information on behalf of all 
three branches of government. 

Under FDLP, participating libraries are 
entitled to receive a free copy of any gov-
ernment publication distributed by GPO. 
In exchange, the libraries agree to provide 
free public access to the publication and 
to retain the publication according to 
program rules. Currently, 1,143 libraries 
nationwide participate in FDLP. Academic 
libraries comprise 72% of the participat-
ing libraries. 

Through this partnership, FDLP has de-
livered valuable information to the public 
for decades. However, many provisions of 
the law date to 1962 and are badly out of 
step with current publication, library, and 
information practices. As one consequence, 
the number of participating libraries has 
shrunk by 19% since 1991, as some libraries 
have quit the program.

With an eye to this issue, on September 
26, the Committee on House Administration 
held a hearing to discuss FDLP—the first 
congressional hearing about the program in 
20 years. Five librarians testified about their 
experiences with the program, highlighting 
the enduring value of FDLP and sharing 
their ideas for strengthening it. 

C o m m i t t e e  C h a i r m a n  R e p .  G r e g g 
Harper (R-MS) described the hearing as 
an opportunity “to see how we can make 
something that we like, better.” Committee 
members expressed interest in working in 
a bipartisan fashion to develop legislation 
to modernize the program.

ALA has sent recommendations to the 
committee that emphasize three key con-
cepts for ensuring the public’s long-term 
access to government information:

• Strengthen library partnerships. The 
law’s requirements for FDLP libraries are 
overly specific, and some are outdated. 
Congress should streamline the law to 
reduce unnecessary burdens and foster 
greater cooperation. 

• Ensure long-ter m preservation. To 
ensure that Americans can continue to ac-
cess the documents of their government in 
the future, Congress should codify GPO’s 
responsibility to preserve publications in 
partnership with FDLP libraries.

• Improve the collection and distribu-
tion of digital publications. FDLP was de-
signed for the print era. Congress should 
update the law to more effectively collect 
digital government publications and dis-
seminate them to libraries and the public.

As of this writing, legislation to amend 
Title 44 has not been introduced, but is 
expected in the fall. ALA’s Washington 
Office will remain engaged in the process 
and will notify members of opportunities 
to advocate for reforms that best serve 
libraries and the public. 

mailto:gbaker%40alawash.org?subject=