Senate Committee Votes Favorably On GPO Director Nomination

The U.S. Senate Rules and Administration Committee has voted to report the GPO Director nomination of Hugh Halpern out of committee to the full Senate for consideration. President Donald Trump nominated Halpern on October 17th, and he testified before the committee confirmation hearing on November 14th.
Halpern previously served as the Director of Floor Operations in the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives before retiring in January 2019 after more than 30 years of service. During his career, he also served as staff director of the House Rules Committee and in various roles on other House committees, including Financial Services, Energy and Commerce, and Public Works and Transportation. He was the recipient of the McCormack Award of Excellence for Congressional Employees and holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from American University and a J.D. from the George Mason University School of Law.

Scheduled Maintenance for GPO Websites

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) is performing scheduled network maintenance on Saturday, November 16, 2019, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (EST). During this time the following websites may experience intermittent service disruptions:

• FDLP.gov
• govinfo.gov
• U.S. Government Bookstore
• Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government
• GPO.gov

Thank you for your cooperation, and we apologize for the inconvenience.

GPO Completes Digitization of 1,300 Congressional Hearings

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) has digitized more than 1,300 historical Congressional Hearings dating back to 1958 and made them available on govinfo, GPO’s one-stop site to authentic, published Government information. Through these digitization efforts, the public can access records of Congressional Hearings for free. These include the transcripts from meetings or sessions of a Senate, House, joint, or special committee of Congress, in which elected officials obtained information and opinions on proposed legislation, conducted an investigation, or evaluated the activities of a government department or the implementation of a Federal law.
This project is part of a multi-year effort to digitize a collection of nearly 15,000 Congressional Hearings from Kansas State University Libraries, which serves the Nation as a Federal Depository Library. The digitized documents include many historical sessions. As part of this project, GPO plans to digitize nearly six million pages, of which approximately 230,000 pages have been completed.
Some interesting information the public can expect to find in the Congressional Hearings includes:

• Portions of the Watergate Hearings
• Hearings on how three paintings, including a Rembrandt, were stolen from Germany in 1922 and ended up in Ohio
• A 1961 Hearing on bills to prohibit shipment of goods to the U.S. from Cuba and to prohibit the shipment of goods to Cuba from the U.S.

“This project is another example of how GPO is embracing digital technology to provide the public easy access to Congressional documents,” said GPO Acting Deputy Director John Crawford. “GPO is proud to have brought these important moments in our Nation’s history to people on their smartphones, tablets, laptops, and personal computers.”
This is one of a series of recent projects in which GPO has worked to expand free public access to Congressional information in digital formats. Previously the agency digitized the Congressional Record back to 1873, the Federal Register back to 1936, and the Public Papers of the Presidents back to 1929. In collaboration with the Law Library of Congress, GPO has begun a large multi-year effort to digitize and make accessible volumes of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set back to the first volume, which was published in 1817.
The Congressional Hearings are available on govinfo at https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/CHRG.

GPO and Law Library of Congress will Digitize Nation's Most Treasured Publications

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO), in collaboration with the Law Library of Congress, has started a large multi-year effort to digitize and make accessible volumes of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set back to the first volume, which was published in 1817.
The United States Congressional Serial Set, commonly referred to as the Serial Set, is a compilation of all numbered House and Senate reports and documents, including executive reports and treaty documents, issued for each session of Congress. As a chronicle of events of the U.S. Congress over the years, the Serial Set is one of the Nation’s most treasured publications.
Some interesting information the public can expect to find in the Serial Set includes:

• Maps and reports of explorations of the West
• Reports of explorations and surveys for the Pacific Railroad
• Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, 1789–1897 (Includes Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln)
• Annual Report of the Boys Scouts of America, dating back to 1924

“GPO is honored to partner with the Law Library of Congress on this massive effort toward digitizing the entire Serial Set,” said GPO Acting Deputy Director John Crawford. “Through this digitization, members of the public will be able to digitally access comprehensive and detailed information on a wide range of subjects useful for genealogical and biographical research. Of course print versions of these historic publications are available in Federal Depository Libraries across the country.”
“The U.S. Congressional Serial Set documents the history of the United States of America. We are very pleased to partner with GPO in order to make these key historical government publications searchable and freely available to the public,” said Deputy Librarian for Library Collections and Services and Law Librarian of Congress Jane Sánchez. “The Library's collection is so vast and impressive, but it is not enough to collect and preserve. To be successful, collections must be used, and this collaboration signifies our resolve to do that.”
The Law Library of Congress will digitize the Serial Set. GPO will securely store the files in its certified preservation repository where the documents cannot be edited or tampered with in any way. GPO will upload volumes of the official Serial Set in phases for free public access on govinfo, the one-stop site for authentic, published Government information. The entire effort is expected to take at least a decade to complete.

GPO Produces U.S. Code With New Digital Publishing Technology

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) has taken a major step forward in the modernization of its publishing systems by beginning to publish the 2018 main edition of the United States Code through XPub, the agency’s new digital technology for XML-based publishing. With the implementation of XPub, GPO will be able to simultaneously publish all legislative documents in a variety of print and digital formats in a timelier manner. The 2018 main edition of the U.S. Code is the first, large-scale production job that GPO has published using the new composition system.
“XPub is reinventing GPO’s production process,” said GPO Acting Deputy Director John Crawford. “The new system will allow GPO to complete work for Congress and the American people with remarkable efficiency and accuracy. I congratulate everyone who is working to develop this system that will carry GPO into the future.”
The XPub system will replace GPO’s more than 30-year-old MicroComp system. GPO plans to transition the production of all routine publications, including the Congressional Record, the Federal Register, Public Laws, Congressional Bills, Statutes at Large, and House and Senate Calendars, to the XPub system. XPub will allow customers to provide GPO with content in any format. The system will also be able to do the following:

• Accept content in any form, including XML sources, as well as digital file formats and hard copy manuscript pages.
• Simultaneously generate content in a variety of print and digital formats, including but not limited to mobile apps, websites, eBooks, print-ready PDFs, and print products.
• Produce PDF files and digital products that are Section 508-compliant, meaning they are accessible to people with disabilities.
• Create templates so content can be easily repurposed and reproduced.

Print copies of the U.S. Code are being shipped to Federal depository libraries nationwide as volumes become available. The first seven titles of the 2018 U.S. Code are available now on govinfo with additional titles to be released continuously as they are available.

• Title 1 - General Provisions
• Title 2 - The Congress
• Title 3 - The President
• Title 4 - Flag and Seal, Seat of Government, and the States
• Title 5 - Government Organization and Employees
• Title 6 - Domestic Security
• Title 7 - Agriculture

The U.S. Code is a consolidation and codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States and is produced in a main edition every six years. The 2018 main edition is approximately 60,000 pages encompassing 54 volumes and is prepared by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Through XPub, GPO plans to complete the publishing of the 2018 main edition in less than a year – a process that has historically taken 1.5 years.

Public Papers of the Presidents available on govinfo

On July 10, 2019, GPO announced that digitized volumes of the Public Papers of the Presidents are available on govinfo. For selected volumes, we now have four or more geographically-dispersed Preservation Stewards, making the Public Papers of the Presidents the first title eligible for regional discard. A letter was sent to all Regional Federal depository libraries today, August 5, 2019.
Preservation Steward holdings for this title are available from the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications. Click “All Items” to see the summary holdings for the Preservation Stewards, as well as item records and condition for each volume being preserved.
Any regional depository library that wishes to discard these volumes must submit a discard request and receive approval from the Superintendent of Documents.
To see the full list of eligible titles, see Superintendent of Documents Public Policies, Guidance, and Reports. For more information on the regional discard process or to submit a request, see the Regional Discards Policy page.

Financing Export Development Activities Webinar by Small Business Administration (SBA)

The webinar topic will discuss financing export development activities.  Learn from other companies that faced export challenges and hear their best practices that will assist you in overcoming those hurdles.
WebEx Link: https://census.webex.com/census/onstage/g.php?MTID=efb5d2e33c39634919d19998de3b4af1f
Call-in number: 888-843-9982
Participant passcode: 6 7 9 7 3 2 8

DLC Delivers FR Modernization Act Issue Brief

In March 2019, the GPO Acting Director Herb Jackson charged the Depository Library Council (DLC) with reviewing the Federal Register Modernization Act, H.R. 1654, and providing an issue brief on how its passage might impact the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP).
The DLC sought the opinions, comments, and questions of the broader depository library community during a discussion session of its virtual meeting in April 2019. The feedback obtained during this session informed their deliberations and the recommendations made in their issue brief.
The DLC issue brief on the Federal Register Modernization Act is now available on FDLP.gov.

International Trade Outreach Events

The U.S. Census Bureau provides valuable resources and training on understanding the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR), classifying your commodities, filing export information, and utilizing international trade data. Learn more about these topics through our webinars, tutorials, training videos, seminars, conferences and other useful tools to help you build a strong foundation in the fundamentals of exporting. Please visit our full calendar on our website.

William Boesch Named GPO Chief Financial Officer

U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) announces William (Bill) L. Boesch, Jr. as the agency’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO). In this role, Boesch will administer and guide policy and oversight of the agency’s financial strategies and administrative support systems, personnel, and operations. He will serve as GPO’s principal financial liaison with the Appropriations Committees in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. Boesch has served as GPO Acting Chief Financial Officer since December 2018.

Boesch has been part of GPO’s Finance department for nearly 40 years. He joined the agency in 1979. Since then, he has been intricately involved in managing GPO’s finances, including budgeting, financial audits, accounting, and financial reporting. Positions he has held at GPO include several account analyst positions, Assistant Comptroller, Comptroller, Deputy CFO, and Acting Chief Financial Officer. Before arriving at GPO, Boesch worked for the U.S. Army and private accounting and data processing companies. He is a native of Baltimore, MD and is the fourth generation in his family to work in the printing and publishing industry.

“I congratulate Bill on his promotion as Chief Financial Officer,” said GPO Acting Deputy Director John Crawford. “With four decades of experience working in GPO finances, he is an invaluable asset to the agency, and I can think of no one better fit to take on this role.”
Boesch holds a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Baltimore (UB) and has completed graduate work at both the UB and George Washington University.

FDLP and C&I Scope Policy Revised

On April 9, 2019 the Superintendent of Documents issued SOD-PPS-2019-1, Scope of Government Information Products Included in the Cataloging and Indexing Program and Disseminated Through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). This policy became effective April 10, 2019 and it supersedes SOD-PPS-2016-1, a policy with the same subject.

With this revision, the scope policy now explicitly states that Federal information products protected by copyright are in scope of the Cataloging and Indexing Program. Works that are both protected by copyright and for which the Government does not have rights to publish or otherwise use the work for Federal purposes, are not in scope of the FDLP.

Additionally, the scope policy now reaffirms our cataloging practice of creating a note in bibliographic records when copyright information is available. An example in the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications:

Title:  Our national cemetery: a place of honor, a place of valor, a place of remembrance
SuDoc Class:  D 1.2:N 19/4
Item no.:  0306
CGP System no.: 000862468

Five Libraries Sign Preservation Steward Agreements With GPO

Arthur Lakes Library, Idaho State University Libraries, Felix G. Woodward Library, Jerome Hall Law Library, and Salmon Library each signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) to become Preservation Stewards. Under this agreement, the libraries pledge to permanently preserve print collections of the following:
Arthur Lakes Library, Colorado School of Mines

• Publications from the U.S. Geological Survey
• Publications from the U.S. Bureau of Mines
• Publications from the Department of Energy
• Publications from the Energy Research and Development Administration

Idaho State University Libraries

• Handbook of North American Indians and the Congressional Record and its predecessors

Felix G. Woodward Library, Austin Peay State University

• Publications related to the 101^st Airborne Division

Jerome Hall Law Library, Indiana University

• Code of Federal Regulations
• U.S. Reports
• Statutes at Large
• U.S. Code
• Revised Statutes
• Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
• Public Papers of the Presidents
• The Congressional Record and its predecessors
• Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications

Salmon Library, University of Alabama in Huntsville

• NASA History Series publications

To help Federal depository libraries meet the needs of efficient Government document stewardship in the digital era, GPO has established Preservation Stewards to support continued public access to historic U.S. Government documents in print format. Preservation Stewards contribute significantly to the effort to preserve printed documents, and GPO welcomes all Federal depository libraries that wish to participate as Preservation Stewards.
“GPO welcomes these five new libraries as Preservation Stewards and their commitment to maintaining Government information in multiple platforms,” said Superintendent of Documents Laurie Hall. “I encourage more libraries to become part of this venture of preserving valuable print collections of Government information.”

New govinfo Webcast Series

Six new govinfo webcasts are now available. These are part of a new series of tutorials that offers users introductory guidance in navigating GPO’s govinfo, performing various types of searches, narrowing search results, browsing, and using Help features. Recordings are brief—from two to seven minutes in length—and include:

• Introduction to govinfo
• What’s Available
• Introduction to Browsing
• Introduction to Basic Search
• Introduction to Advanced Search
• Introduction to Citation Search

No prerequisite knowledge is required, and GPO encourages all to share and post these brief educational webcasts on your web pages and social media.

More webcasts will be posted and announced throughout 2019.

GPO’s govinfo Makes History by Earning Global Certification for Trustworthiness

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) makes history by becoming the first organization in the United States and second organization in the world to achieve the highest global standard of excellence for digital repositories. The Primary Trustworthy Digital Repository Authorization Body Ltd. awarded GPO ISO 16363:2012 for govinfo, the one-stop site to authentic, published Government information. GPO achieved the certification by meeting official criteria for trustworthy repositories as defined by experts in the field.

ISO is the International Organization for Standardization and the world’s largest developer of international standards used by Government, business and new information technology companies. The standard achieved by GPO outlines the expectations for digital repositories to be certified as “trustworthy,” meaning that they are implementing digital preservation practices to ensure long-term preservation and access. Certification under ISO 16363 will provide assurance to the public that govinfo is a standards-compliant digital archive in which Government information will be preserved, accessible, and usable into the long-term future. The certification demonstrates that not only the documents themselves, but also the organizational structures and systems around those documents, maintain integrity.

“This certification reconfirms GPO’s mission of providing the public authentic, published information on the three branches of the Federal Government,” said GPO Acting Deputy Director Herbert H. Jackson, Jr. “I am proud of our employees for attaining this certification, which emphasizes the important work GPO does for our country.”
Certification has been a key GPO strategic initiative since 2015. GPO was evaluated against 109 criteria that assessed GPO’s organizational infrastructure (adequate staffing, staff knowledge, policies and procedures), digital object management (content management and access), and security risk management (plans in case of a system failure).

Partial Federal Government Shutdown – GPO Remains Open

As of the close of business today December 21, 2018 (5:30 pm EST), the GPO was notified that the U.S. Congress had not passed Federal Government appropriations to operate some Federal Government agencies beyond December 21, 2018. GPO, as a legislative branch agency, will be operating after December 21, 2018 because its operating budget was passed and signed by the President. In light of the shutdown, the following are updates on the statuses of GPO services.

• The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) will be available, however GPO cannot ensure that all PURLs pointing to other Federal agency resources will work during this time. PURLs may point to content on agency websites where funding has not been approved past the December 21, 2018 deadline. All other CGP functionality will continue as usual and will not be affected.
• FDLP.gov, govinfo, the FDLP Web Archive, and Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government will not be affected and will continue to operate as usual.

GPO will update the FDLP community as information becomes available on the status of Federal Government operations.

GPO Names Acting Inspector General

U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) Acting Deputy Director Herbert H. Jackson, Jr. appoints James R. Ives as the Acting Inspector General for GPO. Ives will oversee the agency’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), which provides an independent and objective means of keeping the Agency Director and Congress informed about problems and deficiencies relating to the administration and operations of GPO. Ives has been detailed to GPO while the agency searches for a permanent Inspector General, following the departure of Melinda Miguel.
Ives has over 25 years of Inspector General experience, including nine years of senior executive experience. He is currently the Assistant Inspector General for Investigations at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Office of Inspector General.
“James brings a wealth of Inspector General experience to GPO,” said Acting GPO Deputy Director Herbert H. Jackson, Jr. “I look forward to working with James and welcome his ideas for improving efficiency to GPO’s operations.”
Prior to joining NASA OIG, Ives served with the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General for 22 years. He held numerous positions of progressive responsibility at DoD IG, including Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Special Agent, Criminal Intelligence Program Manager, Assistant Deputy Director for National Security, Deputy Director of the Investigative Operations Directorate, Special Agent-in-Charge of the DCIS’s Mid-Atlantic Field Office, Acting Principal Director of DoD IG's Office of Professional Responsibility, Deputy Director of DCIS, Acting Deputy Inspector General for Intelligence and Special Program Assessments, and Assistant Inspector General for Investigations. Ives received DCIS's Manager of the Year Award in 2007, and on two separate occasions (2005 and 2014), he received DoD IG's Team Work Award. Upon departing DoD IG in 2015, he received the organization's Distinguished Career Achievement Award.
As a special agent assigned to DCIS’s Boston Resident Agency, Ives conducted criminal investigations of allegations impacting civilian and military DoD components. Investigations focused on allegations of bribery and kickbacks, anti-trust, corruption, environmental crimes, health care fraud, export violations, significant thefts of government property, internal affairs related issues, acquisition and procurement fraud, computer crimes, and other issues impacting DoD. Following September 11, 2001, he served as a representative to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Boston, conducting counterterrorism investigations. As a result of his efforts in Boston, Ives received several awards for investigative excellence, including the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency Award for Excellence, the Department of Health and Human Services' Award for Cooperative Achievement, and the U.S. Attorney's Office's Award for Investigative Excellence.
Ives is pursuing a Doctor of Criminal Justice degree at Saint Leo University. He is a 2005 graduate of Georgetown University, where he earned a Master of Public Policy degree; and a 1992 graduate of State University of New York, College at Brockport, where he graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Criminal Justice and a minor in Psychology. He is a 2017 graduate of Harvard University’s Senior Executives Fellows program. He is also an adjunct professorial lecturer at American University, and an adjunct associate professor at University of Maryland University College (UMUC). He currently serves as course chair for UMUC's Criminal Justice Ethics class.

GPO Awards New Contract for 2020 U.S. Census Materials

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) has awarded the contract for 2020 Census printing materials and mailing services to R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD) following a competitive procurement process. RRD is a Chicago based company, and production will take place at several of its facilities across the country. The contract was awarded for $114,557,201.27, which is well within the U.S. Census Bureau’s budget. It covers the production of materials that will help the public respond to the 2020 Census, including questionnaires, letters, inserts, postcards, and envelopes. GPO and U.S. Census Bureau employees will conduct quality control and testing throughout the contract period.
GPO initially made an award in November 2017, but that contract was terminated following a settlement between the Department of Justice and the contractor in July 2018.
“GPO is committed to working with the U.S. Census Bureau on the successful production of the 2020 Census,” said GPO Acting Deputy Director Herbert H. Jackson, Jr. “This is another example of how our long-standing print procurement program meets the printing needs of Federal agencies through GPO’s partnerships with private-sector companies.”
GPO’s nationwide print procurement program provides significant economic opportunities for private sector companies to expand their business by providing services to Federal agency customers on a national level. Nearly 75% of all printing ordered by Federal agencies from GPO is performed by private sector firms working under contract with the agency. GPO typically awards contracts to about 700 printing contractors a year. Nearly 10,000 companies are registered to do business with the agency, using GPO as their one-stop shop for print contract opportunities. GPO's long-standing relationship with the private sector dates back to the 1940s.

POLO Series Available in Catalog of U.S. Government Publications

GPO recently cataloged 38 titles of the Central Intelligence Agency’s POLO series. Inspired by the threat of international communism, the Sino-Soviet Studies Group (SSG) was established in 1956 within the Office of Current Intelligence and was the office responsible for the POLO series.
Written between 1961 and 1973, these informal intelligence studies provide insight into the Chinese government under Mao Zedong. Topics include the Cultural Revolution, the Sino-Indian border dispute, leadership after Mao, and various purges.
Individual PURLs have been created for all 38 titles. One example:

• Title: Lin Piao and the Great Helmsman
• SuDoc: PREX 3.22:P 75/29
• System #: 1087974
• PURL

View all POLO series titles available in the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) by entering ‘polo series’ in the Basic Search or ‘polo’ in the Series/Periodical keyword(s) Advanced Search.
To learn more about this and two related series, see the publication on the CAESAR, POLO & ESAU papers (also available at the GPO Bookstore) as well as the POLO collection on the CIA website.