USU Libraries Selected for U.S. Government Publishing Office Pilot Project

Utah State University Libraries has been chosen as the first participant in the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO)’s Library Services & Content Management (LSCM) Pilot Projects Initiative. The project is designed to help Federal Depository Libraries make government information more discoverable for the American public.

“I’m honored that USU Libraries was selected as GPO’s first participant in pilot projects to describe and digitize historic documents from the Government Information Collection,” Government Information Librarian Jen Kirk said. “As a FDLP regional depository, I am mindful that our materials contribute to the larger national collection of government information and I’m thrilled that our collection of WWII-related materials will be available on govinfo.gov.”

GPO teammates visited Merrill-Cazier Library last week to assess the condition of tangible documents, conduct item-level inventories, catalog, and digitize government collections.

“GPO is excited to work with Merrill-Cazier Library on this initiative to enhance access to government information,” said GPO Director Hugh Nathanial Halpern. “This project is a great step in continuing to support and cultivate an America Informed. We are also excited about the opportunity to work with other libraries in the future. As always, we are thankful to the libraries in our FDLP community who help us deliver trusted information to the American people.”

In the first Pilot Projects Initiative, GPO will catalog and digitize 200-300 documents, pamphlets and other materials from the U.S. Department of War from World War II (1941-1945). GPO expects to have the documents from the first Pilot Projects Initiative with Merrill-Cazier Library available on govinfo.govin Winter 2023.

“USU Libraries will benefit from GPO’s expertise in cataloging and digitizing materials, and we will receive support for the documents’ long-term preservation,” Kirk said. “USU Libraries has provided access to these documents for more than 50 years. Through this project, we’ll be able to provide access to them for the considerable future.”

GPO is the Federal Government’s resource for publishing trusted information for the Federal Government to the American people. The GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of information products and services for all three branches of the Federal Government, including U.S. passports for the Department of State as well as the official publications of Congress, the White House, and other Federal agencies in digital and print formats.

“The USU community will benefit from greater access to these materials. Through description and digitization, folks at USU and nationally will be able to explore information about war-time production, home front programs, and impacts to American businesses,” Kirk said. “Government information describe programs and decisions that have impacts throughout academic disciplines. These historic materials highlight both large and small impacts.”