WASHINGTON - The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) Director Davita Vance-Cooks names Laurie Hall the Acting Superintendent of Documents.  In this capacity Hall will oversee the operations of the agency’s Library Services and Content Management (LSCM) business unit with a staff of approximately 95 librarians and other information professionals.  LSCM administers four major congressionally-mandated information dissemination programs: the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), the Cataloging & Indexing Program, the International Exchange Service, and the By-Law Distribution Program.  She will also be responsible for supporting the implementation of strategic programs and operations in partnership with depository libraries and in collaboration with other GPO business units and Federal agencies. Hall will succeed Mary Alice Baish, whose retirement will be effective at the end of April.

Hall has been with GPO since 1985, most recently serving as LSCM’s Managing Director.  Since 1992, she has worked on key agency initiatives, including the acquisition of GPO’s first Integrated Library System. Additionally, Hall has worked on projects to deliver cataloging records created by GPO staff to FDLP libraries through GPO’s Cataloging Record Distribution Project. She also managed the National Bibliographic Records Inventory Program, an initiative to identify and catalog both historic and new content for GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP). The Bibliographic Inventory includes many projects, such as the conversion of GPO’s Historic Shelflist of U.S. Government Publications (1880-1992) and the development and implementation of cooperative cataloging partnerships with libraries in the FDLP to identify fugitive publications and link to recently digitized U.S. Government publications. A new project sponsored by Hall beginning in 2013 is the Web harvesting of agency content. The roles held by Hall since joining GPO have been fundamental to the digital transformation of key agency initiatives. 

Prior to GPO, Hall worked in a variety of corporate, public, and academic libraries. She began working with the Federal Depository Library Program while working in the documents collection at Georgetown University, Lauinger Library.  Ms. Hall earned her Bachelor’s degree in Art History and American Studies at the University of Virginia and her Master’s degree in Library Science at Catholic University.

“Laurie Hall is a tremendous asset to GPO and the Federal depository library community we serve,” said GPO Director Davita Vance-Cooks. “She is highly regarded throughout the library and Government information communities.  Laurie’s background and experience have well-positioned her to continue the strategic direction we have set for meeting the challenges of the digital era in carrying out GPO’s mission to Keep America Informed.”