Porter, 'Public Electronic Access to GPO Publications', NCSU Libraries Newsletter v21n02 (September 1993)
 
_The NCSU Libraries Newsletter_
Volume 21 no. 2
September 1993
Porter, Jean
"Public Electronic Access to GPO Publications"


The Government Printing Office (GPO) Electronic Information 
Enhancement Act of 1993 was signed into law on June 8, 1993 
(P.L. 103-40).  The law mandates that by June 1994, the 
_Congressional Record _ and the _Federal Register_ must be 
made available to the public electronically. This is a major 
step in acknowledging that the public should have access to 
government information, regardless of its format. The three 
major provisions of the law are: 1) to maintain an electronic 
directory of federal electronic information;  2) to provide 
online access to the _Congressional Record_, the _Federal 
Register_, and other appropriate publications distributed by 
the GPO;  and 3) to operate an electronic storage facility for 
the GPO information provided online.  Although GPO may charge 
reasonable fees, there will not be a charge for use by 
depository libraries.  The system must be operational no later 
than June 8, 1994.

A major obstacle exists, however--the law contains no funding 
to accomplish its tasks.  The lack of resources at GPO has 
already resulted in the conversion of major series to 
microfiche, an unsatisfactory medium for many government 
publications.  To cover the costs for implementation of online 
access, additional cost-cutting measures will need to be taken 
in an already meager budget.  Also omitted from the law was a 
requirement that electronic access be provided through the 
Internet.  On the positive side, the law gives GPO the authority 
to distribute electronic information and defines public 
electronic information.  By next year at this time, perhaps the 
Libraries will be accessing the _Congressional Record_ and the 
_Federal Register_ through an online system.