Preface

In what has become the Nation’s premier event for Government information librarians, nearly 600 depository librarians and federal agency representatives attended the 9^th annual Federal Depository Library Conference, sponsored by GPO. The conference was held concurrently with the 57^th meeting of the Depository Library Council to the Public Printer, in Arlington, VA.

Highlights of the 3-day conference included demonstrations of Web sites from FirstGov, the Defense Technical Information Center, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Institute of Peace, the National Transportation Library, and others. GPO’s ongoing transition to a more electronic FDLP, including the budget cuts to the program contained in GPO’s fiscal year 2001 appropriations bill, was a primary focus of the event. The Census Bureau and STAT-USA from the Department of Commerce, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, the Forest Service, the Department of Energy, and others presented updates on their agencies’ public information activities and products. The National Commission on Libraries and Information Science provided a status report on its review of the Federal Government’s information dissemination activities, including the Superintendent of Documents’ programs.

Concurrent technical and information sessions included digital archiving, economic statistics, Presidential libraries, and library grants. Tours of the Senate Library, the Center for Legislative Archives, GPO’s Library Programs Service, and the Library of Congress were also conducted for meeting attendees.

In concluding the conference, the Depository Library Council commended GPO for its role in organizing the event:

• The Proceedings of the Conference are a concrete body of work depository staff can use for training and referral in their home libraries.

• Increasing attendance at the Conference provides Council with a variety of valuable input for its deliberations.

• Library administrations across the country recognize the value of the programs, training opportunities, and networking environment, and show the importance by supporting attendance at the Conference.

Council further noted that the conference presents programs that address needs in the depository community, providing ongoing professional development benefiting thousands of depository librarians and those they serve.