We're in the Future Now: Advocating for Transformative Change in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP)

The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) is a longstanding, geographically distributed partnership between a network of libraries and the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO). The goal of the FDLP is to provide permanent no-fee public access to federal government information. Academic and research libraries make up the bulk of participants in the program and are essential to achieving this objective.

The combined force of the rapidly changing landscape for academic library collections and services, and the transition of government information resources to be almost entirely web-based, has led to the need and opportunity for the FDLP to adapt. Advocating for modernization and change from within the program is a community effort, and a variety of strategies can – and have – achieved meaningful change. Countering the traditional narrative that change to federal agency programs requires Congressional intervention, we see in practice that the FDLP is responsive to community engagement and relies on knowledgeable professionals serving as advocates both in formally appointed roles and as community leaders acting within professional associations and as part of independent organizations.

This chapter will highlight ways in which the FDLP has changed in response to community advocacy, discussing methods that individual advocates and organizations of varying sizes can use to have influence on the direction of the program. We will describe the changing trajectory of the Depository Library Council, the committee that formally advises the GPO Director and the Superintendent of Documents, which has shifted over the last two decades to encompass policy issues as well as operational practices. We will also present a recent successful, non-legislative advocacy route that has brought about significant reprioritization and change to the future direction of the program – the GPO Director’s Task Force to Study the Feasibility of a Digital FDLP, which in just under a year researched and wrote a report recommending considerations and methods for transitioning to a digital program.

Active participation in the modern FDLP is a crucial means by which academic and research libraries can serve the current and future needs of researchers, teachers, and learners. The sustainability and effectiveness of this program is therefore a public policy issue that affects the interests of academic libraries; fortunately, there are many avenues to advocacy that can make a lasting impact on the FDLP as a public good. Engaging in advocacy within the FDLP can also align with professional service requirements or expectations for academic appointees, and providing professional expertise to agency representatives steers well clear of most prohibitions on political activity at publicly-funded institutions. By advocating for changes that improve the value proposition and long-term stability of the FDLP, academic and research library workers can support the shared common goods of achievable participation that leads to a stronger FDLP and more access to federal government information for all.