Developments in U.S. federal government information : Introduction

The U.S. government has worked with libraries to provide people with information it produces since at least 1813.  The types of information provided have evolved as the government has evolved (for instance, the government has established more agencies and bureaus; series have come and gone), and the formats have evolved too, as technology has changed.  For over a century, government publications were only in print; in the last few decades, they are available in electronic format, whether videos, webpages, or datasets.

Since 2024, the pace of change of information provided by the executive branch of government has sped up.  Policies and practices in what is made available are changing rapidly.  At the same time, the Federal Depository Library Program, coordinated by the Government Publishing Office, has moved to distributing current government publications to Federal Depository Libraries almost entirely in electronic format.  

While libraries, colleges and universities, government agencies, think tanks, advocacy organizations, media organizations, and individuals have been thinking about the archiving of electronic government for the last few decades, and developing different ways to accomplish this, the pace of these efforts, too, have quickened in the last several years.

This research guide is an effort to 

• provide information on how to evaluate government information;
• inform about projects that are archiving electronic government information;
• inform about projects that are tracking what information is being removed or relocated;
• provide information on how individuals can participate in archiving or tracking efforts.

Here's how I use the following terms in this research guide.

Government information

The American Library Association, on its Government Information page, defines government information and government information products as

"published, compiled, or created by the government, at government expense or as required by law. This applies to all government publications, regardless of format, including:

• Census data
• Scientific research
• Laws and regulations
• Information about how to interact with government (apply for programs and comply with rules)
• Educational information
• Information about how government is operating"

Government information and government information products may be produced in

• tangible formats, including print books, pamphlets, magazines, maps, posters, and even DVDs or floppy disks
• electronic formats, including websites, datasets, databases, interactive maps, videos

Dataset

a collection of related sets of information that is composed of separate elements but can be manipulated as a unit by a computer 

"data set." In Oxford Dictionary of English, edited by Stevenson, Angus. : Oxford University Press, 2010. https://www-oxfordreference-com.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/view/10.1093/acref/9780199571123.001.0001/m_en_gb0205640.

Document

A collection of information that stands alone, can be read and interpreted without the aid of a machine, and is unalterable once published (though later versions can be revised). Can be in tangible or electronic format.

Webpage

The collection of text, graphics, sound, and video that corresponds to a single window of scrollable material displayed by a browser. 

"Web page." In A Dictionary of the Internet, edited by Ince, Darrel. : Oxford University Press, https://www-oxfordreference-com.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/view/10.1093/acref/9780191884276.001.0001/acref-9780191884276-e-3502.

Website

A location on the World Wide Web where specific information is grouped together in an interconnected collection of pages that appears to the visitor as a single entity. A website has a main home page and the user clicks on links from this to other pages on the site.

Doyle, Charles. "website." In A Dictionary of Marketing. : Oxford University Press, 2016. https://www-oxfordreference-com.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/view/10.1093/acref/9780198736424.001.0001/acref-9780198736424-e-1851.

  The UW-Madison is part of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), and has been a depository library since the mid 1800's.  (There are 19 federal depository libraries in Wisconsin.) This program, administered by the U.S. Government Publishing Office, provides free federal government publications to depository libraries in exchange for the library's commitment to make the publications available to the public at no fee.

Starting in 2024, the FDLP became a nearly completely digital program.  This means, in part, that starting in 2024, the GPO only distributes a very limited number of titles to federal depository libraries in print, and only distributes them to a limited number of depository libraries.  GPO calls this Limited Print Distribution.

The GPO does catalog electronic government publications; these can be identified in the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.  The GPO also maintains a digital platform for many federal government publications, GovInfo, especially but not limited to Congressional publications.

The UW-Madison is a regional federal depository library.  A regional depository library receives and keeps all depository titles, and serves as a resource for other federal depository libraries in its state.  Because of its regional depository status, nearly all depository titles can be found somewhere on the UW-Madison campus. Milwaukee Public Library is also a regional depository library. (MPL's federal government documents site).

See the guide U.S. Government Publications at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for more information on finding U.S. government publications.

Governmental bodies follow different information dissemination practices

The U.S. federal government is made up of three branches and many agencies, sub-agencies, and commissions.  While there are laws governing the dissemination of government information, it's hard to enforce them across all federal governmental bodies.  These bodies follow different practices regarding information dissemination, especially disseminating information electronically.

Governments rely on other governments for statistics/data

Federal agencies both gather statistics/data from state and local agencies, and report national statistics to international government organizations.  The statistics the federal government chooses to gather and publish affect what governments at other levels gather and publish.