The West National Collection Service Area (NCSA) is one of four areas in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) that was established to ensure geographically dispersed permanent public access to Federal Government information products, to receive services from the Government Publishing Office, and to facilitate collaboration between and among Federal depository libraries.
About the West NCSA
 | This area, with thirteen states, Guam, and the Federated States of Micronesia, has 214 Federal depository libraries serving a population of 78,843,417. This is one depository library for every 368,427 people. Digital Only FDLs: 53 (25%)
FDL Data current as of 07/15/2024. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Directory of West NCSA Depository Libraries Directory of West NCSA Regional Depository Libraries | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The West NCSA Steering Committee
The West NCSA will have a steering committee for the purposes of facilitating discussion and collaboration among the Federal depository libraries, increasing opportunities for collection flexibilities and management, increasing the collaborative possibilities for depository library administration (e.g., training, resource sharing), and coordinate NCSA-wide planning.
- Steering Committee Charter
- Steering Committee Members
| WEST NCSA | INSTITUTION | TERM (years) | TERM ENDS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Cornwall | Alaska State Library | 2 | 5/31/2026 |
| Cass Hartnett, Chair | University of Washington | 3 | 5/31/2027 |
| James Jacobs | Stanford University | 2 | 5/31/2027 |
| Jen Kirk | Utah State University | 2 | 5/31/2026 |
| Karen Pfiffner | Colorado School of Mines | 2 | 5/31/2026 |
| Niamh Wallace | University of Arizona | 2 | 5/31/2027 |
| Gwen Sinclair | University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa | Depository Library Council | 5/31/2026 |
| Natalie Bond | University of Montana | Alternate | 5/31/2026 |
GPO Representatives
| NAME | GPO ORGANIZATION | ROLE |
|---|---|---|
| Kathy Bayer | Federal Depository Support Services | Non-voting Member |
| Katherine Pitcher, Chief | Federal Depository Support Services | Advisory Designated Federal Officer |
| Cynthia Etkin | Superintendent of Documents’ Office | Advisory Designated Federal Officer |
The West NCSA and Limited Print in the Digital FDLP
At the core of the New Limited Print Distribution Framework for the digital FDLP is the need for at least four geographically dispersed copies throughout the FDLP network and the recognition that the needs of depository libraries and their users may vary from NCSA to NCSA. GPO sought a collaborative process to obtain input from depository libraries and the NCSAs. All were invited to complete a questionnaire that identified and ranked criteria that were important to them for GPO to consider when determining which libraries would receive Print Distribution Titles (PDT).
There were 217 active depository libraries in the West when this process began. Of those, 109 (50%) responded to the criteria questionnaire. Below is a table of the South criteria ranked from highest to lowest — Interlibrary loan available to Depository collection circulates.
| Criteria | West |
|---|---|
| Interlibrary loan available | 13.23 |
| Print preservation commitment | 13.19 |
| Distributed geographically - NCSA subregions | 9.58 |
| Community with limited internet connectivity | 8.69 |
| Demonstrated user need for print | 8.56 |
| Geographically dispersed | 8.03 |
| Extensive run of title preserved | 7.78 |
| Government information expertise available | 7.16 |
| Depository type (regional/selective) | 6.23 |
| Will provide reference service for NCSA | 6.14 |
| Library Type | 6.4 |
| Depository collection circulates | 4.46 |
The next step was for depository libraries to complete a questionnaire to indicate which, if any, print titles they want to receive. They were also asked to identify which of the above criteria applied to them for each of the titles they identified as wanting. The questionnaire deadline was December 22, 2023. Just over sixty-three% of depository libraries from the West completed the questionnaire. A spreadsheet of the final library allocations for print distribution was released July 9, 2024.
West NCSA Communication Distribution List
In the Digital FDLP framework, depository libraries are encouraged to consider FDLP collection development at the NCSA level. These NCSA distribution lists are a venue for depository libraries to foster discussion and communication about collections and services with the other depository libraries in their NCSA. GPO will also use these lists to convey activities and information to the individual NCSAs. Ensure you have whitelisted the email address of the distribution list, so you receive these email communications. Please contact us via askGPO for any questions or concerns about the NCSA Distribution Lists.
Titles Eligible for Regional Discard in the West NCSA
The following titles are eligible for Regional Discard in the West NCSA under Superintendent of Documents Public Policy Statement, Government Publications Authorized for Discard by Regional Depository Libraries SOD-PPS 2020-1. Permission to discard must be received from the Superintendent of Documents prior to removing publications from a regional depository’s collection. See the Regional Discard page for more information and instructions to submit a discard request.
| Title | SuDoc Stem | Regional Discard Eligibility (SOD-RDE) | Eligible Items | Preservation Steward(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statutes at Large | GS 4.111: | 2020-1 | See Spreadsheet | University of Colorado Law School, William A. Wise Law Library University of Washington Gallagher Law Library |
| Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States | GS 4.113: AE 2.114: | 2019-1 2020-2 | See Spreadsheet | Law Library for San Bernardino County |
Regional Online Selection Authorization
Regional depositories were previously authorized to deselect print format material via Regional Online Selection Authorizations (ROSAs). With the implementation of the digital FDLP and the reduction of copies per the Print Distribution Titles List, ROSAs are no longer being sought. Archived information about ROSAs may be found on the Superintendent of Documents Public Policies, Guidance, and Reports page on FDLP.gov under Regional Online Selections Authorization (SOD-ROSA).
Related Resources
Webinar recordings
- NCSA Meetings (held February 2022)
- Implementation of a Digital FDLP: NCSA Virtual Meetings (September 2023)
- NCSA Collaborative Collection Development Meetings (held November 2023)
- Other recordings related to the PDT List and the Digital FDLP may be found in the FDLP Academy Training Repository by clicking on the “Digital FDLP” subject tag.
Related web pages
- Regional Discards
- Selective Housing Agreements (SHAs) (guidance article)
Questions or comments?
- Contact LSCM via askGPO. Use the category, 'Digital FDLP.'