WASHINGTON — The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) is the first Federal agency to become a member of The Technical Report Archive & Image Library (TRAIL). GPO and TRAIL have a shared goal of advancing free public access to U.S. Government information and will now work together to ensure discoverability, permanent public access and preservation of Government technical reports. TRAIL identifies, acquires, catalogs, digitizes and provides unrestricted access to U.S. Government agency technical reports.  TRAIL currently consists of over three dozen member institutions, many of which are Federal depository libraries, whose annual membership fees and volunteered staff time further the efforts of the project. 

https://www.crl.edu/grn/trail/about-trail

As a member of TRAIL, GPO will offer expertise and guidance in cataloging and other areas. Through this partnership, GPO will participate in the exchange of information about U.S. Government scientific and technical reports and represent the interests of FDLP libraries.

Much of the focus of TRAIL is on materials from Federal executive agencies that were produced prior to 1976. Examples of some of these reports include a U.S. Geological Survey earthquake report, Atomic Energy Commission publications, and National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics reports.

“GPO’s participation in TRAIL will enable us to share valuable information with Federal depository libraries and the public,” said GPO Director Davita Vance-Cooks. “GPO continues to use digital technologies and relationships to provide options for the public to access historical and current Government information in various formats.”