“State plans”: Their development and potential for regional depository libraries participating in the GPO depository program

Abstract

Many librarians affiliated with regional depositories are concerned about the ability of their libraries to receive, process, store, and service all the titles and series available on deposit from the Government Printing Office. Some of them have even questioned whether their library can maintain regional status and fulfill all the service elements specified in the Guidelines for the Depository Library System (1977). As this article demonstrates, regional librarians supported the concept of state plans because they believed that this process offered an excellent means to address their concerns. However, in only a few instances have the plans fulfilled the purpose which regional staff envisioned. Nonetheless, the foundation which they laid, if pursued and if the basic documentation underlying the depository program are rewritten, could lead to the type of changes sought by regional libraries.