Introduction for New Coordinators and Staff

If you are new to the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) welcomes you. Your position and hard work support free, public access to U.S. Government information resources.

Your primary role as Federal depository library staff is to help your library’s researchers find and access Federal content. This guide is intended to help you learn more about your library's Federal depository operation.

Depending on your library, you may need to know about all or just some of the information in this guide. The FDLP is a multi-size, multi-type library program, and every depository operates differently. You choose best how to serve your library's patrons with free, public access to Federal depository content.

Identify Basic Information about Your Library

Read Requirements and Guidance

Follow Official FDLP Communications

Plan for Training and Additional Resources

Learn How to Ask Questions

For regional depository staff only: Learn about Your Regional Depository

Identify Basic Information about Your Library

Learn this information and see how your library fits into the FDLP national network.

Find or request your FDLP passwords and accounts.

Locate the following in the Federal Depository Library Directory, after logging in:

• Federal depository library (FDL) number: your library’s unique number.
  • The number includes leading zeroes and may contain a letter at the end, for example, 0463B.
  • Depository records are identified and referenced by this number.
• Depository coordinator: the primary point of contact between your library and GPO.
  • GPO requests that one person at each Federal depository serve as a depository coordinator. The coordinator is usually responsible for managing some or all of the library’s depository operation.  
• Additional staff: a secondary point of contact between GPO and your library as depository responsibilities are shared at many libraries.
• Depository type: either “selective” or a “regional” depository.
  • Historically, regional depositories selected comprehensively while selective depositories chose which depository resources they wished to receive.
  • Regional depositories still manage the depository publication weeding processes for the selectives they serve and often also provide training or consultation.
• Your regional depository (if your library is a selective):
  • To identify the regional which serves your library, see a list of regional depositories or view this information within your library’s account.
  • 46 libraries in the FDLP are “regionals” and serve one state or region.  Most selectives have one regional depository, but some are served by two.
• Type of designation: how the library gained Federal depository designation and joined the FDLP (for example, Representative, Senatorial, or By-Law).
• Designation date: the official date your depository was designated, when known.
• National Collection Service Area (NCSA): Midwest, Northeast, South, or West.

Learn if your library has voluntarily taken on additional FDLP roles and responsibilities as:

• An official FDLP Partner.
• A Print Distribution Title (PDT) recipient.
• A participant in the Cataloging Record Distribution Program (CRDP).

Tip: All Federal depositories partner together in support of the FDLP mission, but the term “FDLP Partner” denotes a specific, official role of some Federal depositories.

Tips for new coordinators:

• If you’re the new or interim depository coordinator at your library, notify GPO by asking the outgoing coordinator to update the coordinator field in the FDL Directory or send a message through askGPO.
• After GPO learns that you are the new coordinator and you are listed as such in the FDL Directory:
  • We’ll create your askGPO account and send you a separate email from the askGPO system asking you to create your own askGPO password.
  • We’ll also add your name and email address to select other FDLP accounts and then send you an email welcoming you to the FDLP as a depository coordinator. We appreciate your service!
• Once you receive our “welcome email”, you can request your library's case-sensitive “FDLP Password” by entering your FDL number and your email address in the Retrieve Password feature. The password will be emailed to you. (The feature is located within the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP). For more about the FDLP Password, see Passwords and Accounts Used By Depository Libraries.)
• As a coordinator, you have access to review and update your library’s FDL Directory entry, the staff side of which is located within askGPO. Please review your library’s entry and keep it current. 

Read Requirements and Guidance

Your library accepts specific obligations with FDLP participation.  

Read the Legal Requirements and Program Regulations of the Federal Depository Library Program (LRPR).  See also Legal Requirements & Program Regulations of the FDLP at a Glance. 

Read also the associated Guidance, which has advice and additional information about the rules and regulations.  

Tip: Official “FDLP Partners”,  Print Distribution Title (PDT) recipients, and Cataloging Record Distribution Program (CRDP) participants have additional responsibilities within the FDLP. Please feel free to contact GPO to consult further about these roles. 

Tip: If your library is digital only, with no physical format depository publications being acquired or in the library’s physical collections, please simply disregard rules describing the management of physical resources.

Follow Official FDLP Communications

There are two lists:

• FDLP News and Events is the official communication source used by GPO to notify depository library staff about FDLP news, training opportunities, and other depository-related information.

          Anyone may sign up for FDLP News and Events.

• NCSA Communication Distribution lists are unmoderated lists that allow depository coordinators to communicate with other coordinators in their NCSAs. This supports communication and FDLP collection development at the NCSA level. See the Midwest, Northeast, South, or West NCSA web pages for more information.

New coordinators: GPO will sign you up for both FDLP lists when your contact information is added to the FDL Directory Depository Coordinator fields.

Plan for Training and Additional Resources

Pursue training opportunities to enhance your knowledge of Federal Government information resources.

The FDLP Academy helps you learn about the FDLP and U.S. Government information resources. Depository library staff, GPO and other Federal agency staff, and library partners present or train through the Academy.

Training sources include:

• FDLP Resource Guides 
• FDLP webinars and webcasts (announced via FDLP News and Events)
• Depository Library Council (DLC) Meetings and Federal Depository Library Conferences
• FDLP Academy Training Repository (contains webinar, meeting, and conference recording archives)

Trainings and meetings are announced via FDLP News and Events.

Tip: See also short videos in the Help section of FDLP resources or on FDLP.gov, for example: askGPO Training for Federal Depository Libraries and FDLP eXchange tutorials.

Learn How to Ask Questions

Contact GPO via askGPO.

Contact others in the FDLP network, such as:

• Your regional depository library 
• Other depositories. Find them in the Federal Depository Library Directory
• Other Government information library staff on lists, such as GOVDOC-L, DocTech-L , Law-Lib, or Maps-L.