OREGON LIBRARIES TAKE 2023 FEDERAL DEPOSITORY LIBRARY OF THE YEAR HONORS

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) names the State Library of Oregon and Portland State University Library as the Federal Depository libraries of the year for increasing access to Government information throughout the Pacific Northwest. Both libraries worked together over the last couple of years to make more than 37-thousand Government documents accessible to the public, as part of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). The collaboration by the libraries creates a fully-cataloged collection for Oregon. The success of this project can serve as a blueprint for other libraries throughout the country in collaborating to increase public access to Government information.

“Congratulations to both of these Oregon libraries for their can-do efforts to provide the public access to Government information,” said GPO Director Hugh Nathanial Halpern. “This project is a great example of libraries coming together to support a digital FDLP. I encourage other libraries to collaborate and discover ways to advance public access of Government information.”

“Our intention with this project was to document the depth and breadth of Oregon’s Regional collection as well as make it more accessible. The value of the collection will never be fully recognized until it is brought into the light with complete and accurate catalog and holdings records that can be accessed by other libraries,” said State Library of Oregon, Regional Depository Coordinator, Arlene Weible.

“Cataloging these documents has finally made them findable by users, from Portland State, other Alliance institutions, and other Oregon libraries. There is little benefit in holding materials no one knows you own. It also helps Oregon selective depositories as they launch withdrawal projects. Thank you to GPO and the FDLP for this award,” said Portland State University, Interim Dean, Michael Bowman.