Washington –The Norlin Library of the University of Colorado at Boulder has signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) to become the first Preservation Steward library in GPO’s Federal Information Preservation Network (FIPNet).  Under this agreement, the library pledges to permanently preserve its print collections of congressional hearings, the U.S. Congressional Serial Set, and the bound edition of the Congressional Record in the digital era.   

To help Federal depository libraries meet the needs of efficient Government document stewardship in the digital era, GPO has established Preservation Stewards to support continued public access to printed documents that are eligible for discard from the permanent collections of regional Federal depository libraries serving the populations of each State if (a) the documents have been held more than 7 years, (b) their digital equivalents are available on GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) and its successor system, govinfo, and (c) print copies of the documents remain available in geographically dispersed locations nationwide. GPO welcomes all Federal depository libraries that wish to participate as Preservation Stewards. 

The Norlin Library has been a member of GPO’s Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) since 1879.  Through the FDLP, GPO works with approximately 1,150 libraries nationwide to provide public access to authentic, published information from all three branches of the Federal Government in print and electronic formats. The program's antecedents can be traced back to the act of Congress dated December 27, 1813 (3 Stat. 140), which provided that one copy of the journals and documents of the Senate and House be sent to each university and college and each historical society in each state. GPO has operated the FDLP since 1895. FIPNET is an initiative of the FDLP to expand public access to Government information in depository library collections through collaboration with non-depository library institutions and resources that also possess collections of Federal documents and publications. This effort will result in a National Collection of U.S. Government Information for the use of future generations, and will transform GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications into an index of that comprehensive body of Federal information.

“As collections of Government information become easily accessible digitally, it is important to continue to preserve the print versions of these valuable collections in geographically dispersed locations,” said GPO Director Davita Vance-Cooks.  “I congratulate the Norlin Library for becoming the first Preservation Steward in this program.  I look forward to working with more libraries on this important venture to preserve these valuable collections of printed Government information.”