The plenary session for the spring DLC is now available in audio. The audio includes speeches by Public Printer Bruce James, co-director of the Office of Innovation and New Technology Mike Wash and a question-and-answer period with the Depository Library Council, Superintendent of Documents Judy Russell and DLC attendees. The audio is not of the best quality, so please use headphones for best results. As always, we’d like to hear your comments.
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I played the plenary session through my home stereo and the audio was fine, no headphones needed.
After listening to Mike Walsh present on the “Future Digital System” and the Council Q&A that followed, I’m concerned about the lack of stakeholder involvement in development the requirements for the FDS.
As I understood the audio, GPO developed 1,100 requirements for this system using a group of eighty or so people within the federal government. It seems like no one from either the depository or end-user community was asked to participate. During the Q&A period, Mr. Walsh indicated that libraries and other information stakeholders would be invited to provide input during phase seven, which includes beta testing. If you believe this is not a fair characterization of what was said, please listen for yourself and tell me what I didn’t pay attention to.
From my understanding, it looks like the vast amount of development of the FDS will take place without the meaningful participation of librarians and other users of government information. It sounds like a way to deliver a system that the technologists want, as opposed to a system that stakeholders need and/or desire.
I understand a list of the 1,100 requirements was available for viewing at the Council meeting. Were copies distributed? If so, would someone scan it into a PDF and send to us at dnlcornwall@alaska.net? Hopefully it will be made available through FDLP Desktop in the next few weeks.
I won’t comment much on the requirements without seeing them; except to say that I hope they plan on pushing documents to depository libraries. The audio mentioned that interoperability with a number of technolgies, including some that could be used to create a true electronic depository system is one of the requirements. No mention was made ON THE AUDIO that GPO was committing itself to electronic deposit to depository institutions.
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“And besides all that, what we need is a decentralized, distributed system of depositing electronic files to local libraries willing to host them.”
I just asked someone who was at DLC and she says that the full requirements were not distributed. A brief brochure giving the big picture was though. I’m sure that the requirements will correlate with the concept of operations document (’cause what’s the point of a concept of operations otherwise?), which is posted on the FDLP Desktop.