Government Publishing Office (GPO) and Authentic Official Publications

 

The U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE (GPO)　is the official, digital and secure source for producing,　protecting, preserving and distributing the official　publications and information products of the Federal　Government.

GPO provides public access to the official publications　and information of the Government. GPO’s mission can　be traced to the requirement in Article I of the Constitution　that each House keep a journal of its proceedings and　from time to time publish the same.

When GPO signs and certifies a digital document, a blue ribbon icon appears right beneath the top navigation menu and also in the Signature Panel within Adobe Acrobat or Reader. When users print a document that has been signed and certified by GPO, the Seal of Authenticity will automatically print on the document, but the ribbon will not print.　

Try This:

Click here to open the document. Is it authenticated by GPO?
(Note: You need to open the document within Adobe Acrobat or Reader to check the Blue Ribbon Icon and the GPO's Seal of Authenticity.)

Image above: Blue Ribbon Icon

Image above: GPO's Seal of Authenticity

Follow Kelley Center Government Information blogs to learn more.
You are also invited to explore more authentic official government publications and use our services to enhance your research: check out our research guides at https://libguides.rice.edu/gov , visit the Kelley Center, or schedule an appointment with Anna Xiong, your FDLP Representative at Fondren Library: govhelp@rice.edu.

GovInfo Reaches Record Number of Hits

Since 1994 the Government Publishing Office or GPO (formerly the Government Printing Office) has been providing trustworthy government information online for free to anyone.  The GPO is a government agency falling under the legislative branch of government and by law provides free access to government documents produced by all three branches of government.  Until the onset of electronic access, the only way to accomplish this was through the Federal Depository Library Program whereby documents are sent to designated government libraries across the country.  Now, in conjunction with the FDLP, government information is widely available online through the site GovInfo.gov.

Last year a record number of 1.15 billion retrievals were accessed through GovInfo.  This is an increase of 32% over 2022 and an increase of 215% over 2018! The most popular source of information in 2023 was the Federal Register (the Federal Register is a daily compilation of documents produced by the Executive branch including changes to federal regulations, notices from federal agencies, executive orders and other presidential documents).

The GPO’s electronic dissemination of information began in 1994 with the creation of GPOAccess.  In 2009 the next generation system, the Federal Digital System (FDsys), was introduced.  In 2016, the current site GovInfo was launched.  But the GPO is not only assigned the duty of spreading government information; it is also given the responsibility to preserve government documents for future posterity, including those documents born digital.  In 2019 GovInfo was the first US digital depository, and the second in the world, to be certified as having the “highest global standard of excellence possible” in providing access and preservation to these important materials. 

GPO Completes Digitization of the Historical Congressional Record - Issues final release for the period 1873-1890

In cooperation with the Library of Congress, the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) has completed the digitization of all historical issues of the Congressional Record dating to the first appearance of this publication on March 5, 1873. The final release of this project, covering the period 1873-1890, is being made available to the public free of charge on GPO's govinfo. Today’s release covers the debates and proceedings of the House of Representatives and the Senate from the 43rd through the 51st Congresses.

For this project the Library created digital images of the Congressional Record pages. GPO devised the necessary metadata to preserve the pages and make them accessible and searchable by users across a variety of digital platforms. It is one of a series of projects in recent years in which the Library and GPO have collaborated to expand free public access to congressional information in digital formats.

For background on the Congressional Record and the importance of this document, see GPO’s official history, Keeping America Informed: The U.S. Government Publishing Office 1861–2016: A Legacy of Service to the Nation, Washington, DC: GPO, 2016, pp 18-19.
The period of 1873-90 in Congress was notable for a number of events including:

• The second term of President U.S. Grant; the disputed election of 1876, resulting in the presidency of Rutherford Hayes; the election and assassination of President James Garfield; the administration of President Chester Arthur; the election and first non-consecutive term of President Grover Cleveland; and the first two years of the administration of President Benjamin Harrison
• The admission of Colorado, Montana, Washington, North and South Dakota, Idaho, and Wyoming as state
• The Panic of 1873
• The Civil Rights Act of 1875
• The Battle of the Little Bighorn (Custer’s Last Stand)
• The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act
• The Sherman Anti-Trust Act
• The Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act

"This final digital release of the historic issues of the Congressional Record gives the public easy access to the historic debates of Congress on smartphones, tablets, laptops, and personal computers," said GPO Acting Director Jim Bradley. “We are pleased to have completed this project with the Library of Congress to provide the public with digital access to this publication that traces the history of our life as a Nation since 1873.”

Passport Concerns

The Washington Times, is currently running (March 26-28, 2008) a three-part series about the outsourcing of U.S. passports. The Government Printing Office (GPO) addresses concerns raised by this series in a press release dated March 26, 2008.