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Strengthening Title 44 part 1: Modernize definition of “publications.”
Modernizing the FDLP
We recently made several recommendations for strengthening Title 44 of the U.S. Code. In a new series of posts, we will explain the reasoning behind each of those recommendations.
Our first recommendation suggests how a very simple change to Title 44 would modernize the FDLP for the digital age and explicitly broaden its scope beyond paper "publications."
Recommendation
Current Law
Title 44 §1901 currently defines the term "government publication”"
This definition was useful in defining the scope of the FDLP in the print age and useful when Congress wanted to require "publication" of government information. But, in the digital age, both uses are out of date.
Analysis
The U.S.Code and the Office of Management and Budget define different categories of government information. Perhaps most familiar to government information specialists are the categories of "records" and "publications." But these are just two of six categories — each one narrower than the one above it. The six categories are defined in OMB Circular A-130 (pp. 26‑37).
We suggest that the most appropriate definition to use in §1901 is "Public Information," which is defined in Chapter 35 of Title 44:
This definition (which includes information that is disclosed, disseminated or made available to the public) is broader than “information dissemination product” (which only includes information that is “disseminated”) and broader than “government publication” (which only includes information that is “published as an individual document”). It is narrower than "records."
Using "Public Information" instead of "government publication" in §1901, would broaden the scope of FDLP. Once an agency has disclosed, disseminated, or made information available to the public, it would be in the purview of FDLP.
This definition is appropriate in the digital age for two reasons. First, it updates the outdated limitation of "published as an individual document," which was precise for the print age, but is imprecise and limiting in the digital age of dynamic web pages, e-government services, multi-part PDFs, audio-video presentations, databases, etc. Second, it encompasses all "Federal Information" that an agency has made public — regardless of the form, format, circumstances, or methods of disclosure or dissemination.
Effects
Changing §1901 to cover all "public information" instead of just "government publications" would have several positive effects:
Endnotes
Authors:
James A. Jacobs, University of California San Diego
James R. Jacobs, Stanford University
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Tags: digital fdlp, fdlp, future of federal depository library program, gpo, title44