Washington - Public Printer Bill Boarman has named Mary Alice Baish Assistant Public Printer, Superintendent of Documents, for the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO).  This position is the agency's lead in guaranteeing permanent public access to Government information published by the three branches of the Federal Government.  Baish will oversee GPO's Library Services & Content Management unit, Publication & Information Sales unit and the management of GPO's Federal Digital System (FDsys www.fdsys.gov), which is a one-stop site to authentic, published Government information.  In her role, Baish will work with more than 1,200 Federal depository libraries nationwide, through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), to ensure Government information is available in all forms to the public.

"Mary Alice has been a strong advocate for GPO and the library community throughout her entire career, which makes her a natural choice to assume this important position for the agency," said Public Printer Bill Boarman.  "Her vision and experience with open Government initiatives will be an asset to the FDLP and GPO's effort through FDsys in making Federal Government information open and transparent for the American people."  

Throughout Baish's career, she has worked with all sectors of the library community, testifying before Congressional committees on behalf of GPO, and has been a leading voice in developing electronic systems to disseminate Government information.  Prior to her appointment at GPO, she previously served as the Director of Government Relations for the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), a nonprofit educational organization that serves the information needs of the legal community. Baish has worked closely with Congressional committees, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Federal agencies and the Administration in developing policies and legislation that promote the needs of libraries, the legal community and the American public. She is among the founding members of OpenTheGovernment.org (OTG.org), an organization created to promote democracy and end Government secrecy. She has worked with OTG.org, the White House and Office of Management and Budget in implementing President Obama's Open Government Directive and with auditing agency Open Government Plans.  She has written and spoken extensively about e-government information policy and is a past member of the Depository Library Council to the Public Printer.

She is a resident of Fairfax Station, VA, and holds a master's degree in Library and Information Studies from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and an Ed.M. from the State University of New York at Buffalo.