Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) welcomes Dixon Public Library in Dixon, IL to the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth designated the library as a Federal depository. As a member of the FDLP, the library will provide its residents free access to Federal Government information in both digital and print formats. It will serve the 16th Congressional district and the surrounding area.

“GPO welcomes the Dixon Public Library into the FDLP,” said Superintendent of Documents Laurie Hall. “As a member of the program, this library will help GPO carry out its mission of Keeping America Informed by providing the public free digital access to the official publications of the U.S. Government.”

“The board and staff of Dixon Public Library are excited to be part of the Federal Depository Library Program as it allows us to share valuable resources with our patrons,” said Dixon Public Library Director Antony Deter. “We are proud to be one of the public libraries in the State of Illinois, and across the nation, offering unrestricted access to government documents in support of the public's right to be informed.”

The roots of the Dixon Public Library reach back to 1872 when the firemen of Dixon Hose Company began a small subscription library. It became a city library in 1895–1896. Special collections include the Local History, Reagan, and Lincoln collections, a display of original WWI posters, and a Seed Library in which seeds can be checked out, planted and returned. The library recently created a program that lets children pay off their overdue fees by reading. Those in pre-K through eighth grade can check out books, rack up time reading and trade in those minutes or hours to pay off late fees. As a member of the Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS), the Dixon Public Library allows patrons to visit any library in Illinois with their Dixon Public Library card.

Through the FDLP, GPO partners with approximately 1,150 libraries nationwide to provide public access to authentic, published information from all three branches of the Federal Government in both digital and print 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. Since 1994, the program has become predominantly digital, but Federal depository library print collections nationwide continue to provide the public with a rich diversity of information resources.

GPO is the Federal Government's official, digital, secure resource for producing, procuring, cataloging, indexing, authenticating, disseminating, and preserving the official information products of the U.S. Government. The GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of information products and services for all three branches of the Federal Government, including U.S. passports for the Department of State as well as the official publications of Congress, the White House, and other Federal agencies in digital and print formats. GPO provides for permanent public access to Federal Government information at no charge through www.govinfo.gov, partnerships with approximately 1,150 libraries nationwide participating in the Federal Depository Library Program, and our secure online bookstore. For more information, please visit www.gpo.gov.