The Superintendent of Documents (SupDocs) leads the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) in providing public access to Government information published by the U.S. Congress, Federal agencies, and the Federal courts. The SupDocs:
- Focuses efforts on the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) in cooperation with Congress and GPO’s library partners.
- Oversees the policy and strategy for GPO’s Library Services and Content Management and Publication and Information Sales business units.
The SupDocs is appointed by the Director, U.S. Government Publishing Office (44 U.S.C. § 1702).
Current Superintendent of Documents
Scott Matheson was named Superintendent of Documents in October 2022. As Superintendent of Documents, Matheson leads the Agency in providing public access to Government information published by the U.S. Congress, Federal agencies, and the Federal courts. Matheson will also focus on modernizing the Federal Depository Library Program in cooperation with Congress and GPO’s library partners. He also oversees the Agency’s Publication and Information Sales unit and GPO’s distribution warehouses in Colorado and Maryland.
Matheson has over twenty years of experience in libraries working both directly with researchers and managing library staff. He began his career as the Depository Coordinator at the Lillian Goldman Law Library at Yale Law School then worked at the University of Colorado before returning to Yale University Library. More recently, he served as Associate Law Librarian for Technical Services at the Lillian Goldman Law Library.
Matheson is active in professional associations and has worked with the Preserving Electronic Government Information Project, which aims to ensure that “born-digital” web-based public information is preserved for future researchers. Matheson taught Government information for seven years at the University of Illinois’ Library School and represented the library community on GPO’s Depository Library Council, serving as chair from 2016–2017. He currently serves on the Director’s Task Force on a Digital Federal Depository Library Program, which will make recommendations on the evolution of this flagship public information program.
Matheson studied journalism at the University of Alaska and earned Law and Library degrees from the University of Washington and a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Connecticut.