Costing out a depository library: What free government information?

Abstract

Lauinger Library at Georgetown University developed a model to compile fiscal year 1993 annual operating costs supporting its depository library program. For the same time period, the costs for the Government Printing Office (GPO) to support distribution of Federal information to Lauinger were calculated. This study demonstrated that Lauinger expended over four dollars for every one dollar expended by the GPO. The cost of information compiled and studied raised questions concerning administrative decisions and the broader issue of cost sharing, especially cost shifting, between the GPO and the depository libraries. Construction of a political strategy that identifies the key players in Federal information policymaking, prioritizes library information needs, documents costs, and articulates this information to the stakeholders, especially Congress'Joint Committee on Printing (JCP), should reverse the perception that Federal information is “free” to depository libraries.