Circular Letter No. 1056
(Supersedes Circular Letter No. 1012 dated August 10, 2018)

August 18, 2020

TO: Printing and Publishing Officials of the Federal Government

SUBJECT: Disseminating Information Products to the Public through GPO’s Federal Depository Library Program

The Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO), administers the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) in compliance with the Depository Library Act (Pub. L. 113-187, Aug. 9, 1962, 76 Stat. 352, codified as amended at 44 U.S.C. §§ 1901-1916), and in support of GPO’s mission of keeping America informed. The FDLP provides permanent free public access to tangible and electronic information dissemination products of the U.S. Government through a network of over 1,100 depository libraries throughout the United States and its territories.

All published Federal information dissemination products, regardless of format or medium (e.g., online, print, CD, DVD), which are of public interest or educational value, or produced using Federal funds, are to be provided to depository libraries for public use. Exceptions are those products that are:

  • For official use only or for strictly administrative or operational purposes that are not of public interest or educational value.
  • Classified for reasons of national security.
  • The use of which is constrained by privacy considerations.
  • “Cooperative publications” which must be sold by the publishing agency in order to be self-sustaining.
  • Protected under copyright and the Government does not have rights to publish or otherwise use the work for Federal purposes.

All Federal information dissemination products published on an agency’s (or an agency’s official partner’s) publicly accessible website and originating from, or funded by, the agency are intended for public use and are considered in scope of the FDLP.

For more information see Superintendent of Documents Public Policy Statement 2019-1 Scope of Government Information Products Included in the Cataloging and Indexing Program and Disseminated Through the Federal Depository Library Program.

How Working with GPO Benefits Your Agency

Your efforts are crucial to help GPO widely disseminate your agency’s publications and, in addition, meet the mandates of 44 U.S.C. §§ 1710, 1902-1903 that require information dissemination products published with Federal funds, in any format, be made available to the public.

Besides complying with the law, including publications in the FDLP guarantees your information dissemination products are:

  • Discoverable by a broad audience.
  • Represented in the comprehensive index of government publications, the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP).
  • Preserved in perpetuity for future generations of researchers, historians, and the general public.

See Appendix I Benefits to Agency, Reach the Public through GPO’s Federal Depository Library Program for more information.

How to Inform GPO of Your Publications

  • Print and Other Tangible Publications
  • For orders placed through GPO (Central Office and Regional Offices) and/or on agency direct-deal contracts, GPO decides which publications to distribute through the FDLP and determines the appropriate distribution medium and quantity required. GPO bears the printing and binding costs of the depository copies.
  • For products produced independently of GPO, agencies are required to notify GPO of their intent to publish, and bear the printing and binding or replication charges for the number of copies required for depository library distribution. In all cases, GPO bears the expense of distributing the copies. Please notify GPO of upcoming publications printed independent of GPO by submitting one of the following forms to the shared [email protected] email box for rider determination:
    • GPO Form 3868 Notification of Intent to Publish
    • GPO Form 4044 Simplified Purchase Agreement (SPA) Work Order Form

Forms are available at https://www.gpo.gov/how-to-work-with-us/agency/forms-and-standards available at https://www.gpo.gov/how-to-work-with-us/agency/forms-and-standards

Electronic or Online Publications

GPO will ensure permanent public access and make your publications discoverable in GPO’s online research systems, OCLC (an international cooperative catalog of library resources), and the online catalogs of depository libraries nationwide. Please notify GPO via askGPO (https://ask.gpo.gov/) using the Agency Content Submission form. Instructions for submission can be found on the Dissemination Program page.

To discuss other mechanisms for submitting publications (e.g., API) please submit an inquiry through askGPO, using the category Agency Publication Submissions/Document Discovery. We endeavor to make it as easy as possible for you to meet your statutory obligation.

Additional Guidance

A listing of terms and their definitions is included for clarification. The enclosed Guidelines for the Provision of Government Publications for Depository Library Distribution (Appendix II) was developed to guide Federal agency officials in determining the suitability of various U.S. Government publications for depository distribution. To further assist you in making your determinations, “Types of Publications to Be Included in the Federal Depository Library Program” and “Types of Publications Excluded from the Federal Depository Library Program” are also included as Appendices III and IV.

Please help us ensure that all U.S. Government publications are evaluated for inclusion in the FDLP. If you have any questions about what is in scope of the FDLP, or how to comply with the statutory mandate to furnish publications, please contact us through askGPO using the category Agency Publication Submissions/Document Discovery.

Sincerely,


SANDRA MacAFEE
Managing Director, Customer Services

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